Wednesday, 7 June 2017

Avoid Malware Attack Using Windows 10 OS

You must have heard about the Wannacry malware infection. This is a global crisis now and it affected computers which ran Windows XP and Windows 7. These operating systems don't receive any update from Microsoft now because the official lifespan of these operating systems have died. The hackers were able to find a flaw in the security system of these OSes and they exploited that to attack the computers which are still running these. The result is disastrous. Thousands of computers, some of them being critically important to different organisations got their data corrupted and held for ransom.

If you want to avoid this situation, you should upgrade your operating system. The latest OS from Microsoft, Windows 10, was immune to this attack because it receives regular security updates. The computers running Windows 10 had no vulnerability and thus, these were not attacked by the hackers. Thus, it would be prudent if you decide for a Windows 10 migration for all the computers, your personal one and your organisations.

Apart from being immune to the malware threats, Windows 10 is really the best OS right now. It is fast, it is intuitive and it is the safest operating system in the world now. While you can perform the upgrade for your personal computer by yourself, it would be wise if you choose a professional agency for the organisational upgrade because all the computers might not be at the same place and remote deployment of the OS might be necessary.

Saturday, 6 May 2017

Move to Windows 10 Even If Not Comfortable

Windows 10 has landed in the market with several advantages over the Windows 7 version. The biggest change is the approach of Microsoft who has stopped considering computers as the only target. Realising the advancements of technology users towards an app based ecosystem where the users can move swiftly between mobile devices and the pc, they have created an app based operating system in Windows 10. They have also introduced Cortana, the virtual assistance which understand voice commands very well.

However, all of these have one combined effect, Windows 10 is becoming the most helpful operating system in the world in no time. This means that employee productivity touches a new high with Windows 10. This is why every company should invest in Windows 10 transformation and they are. Some of them are hesitating because they aren't very sure if their internal applications would run smoothly on the new OS. This is natural because these applications actually are the revenue earners for those companies.

However, there is another factor to be considered seriously by the companies and that is the data security. Windows XP has stopped receiving supports in 2014 and Windows 7 also retired this year. Which means these two OS will not receive any updates. That makes these operating systems very insecure. While ease of use and habit of using are greatly beneficial for employee productivity, ignoring security threats is surely not a prudent call. Even if it takes little acclimatisation, companies should invest in migrating to Windows 10.

Advantages of Using SCCM Management


SCCM is widely used technology for maintaining a group of computers over the internet or any other type of networking. While internet is all what we think about, there is intranet and also LAN and WAN to think of. In fact, WAN can have hundreds of computers connected together and it would be a network admin’s worst nightmare to attend to those computers one by one for a group job. If an application is malfunctioning due a reason of its own, a bug or a misfiring code, and the computer is not to be blamed, it is understood that every used would face the problem. This is when a mass management of all the networked computers is necessary. This is when SCCM asset management becomes indispensable.

System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM, also known as ConfigMgr), is a Microsoft product which is freely downloadable from the official site. The site also hosts a complete range of wiki, how to, popular scripts, troubleshooting materials and tutorials for the network admins to use. Thus, with minimal amount of scripting, any network-wide update or upgrade can be pushed. This makes life very easy for the admins. They can push the updates to the complete network or can select multiple PC at once and can determine when to execute the updates. This is far better than manual attendance because often these computers are at another location, even another continent.

Why Companies Fear To Test Windows 10 Compatibility

Windows 10 is the latest offering from Microsoft and looking at how strongly it is promoting the operating system, it is here to stay. It is evident by the fact how Microsoft has taken off the support for both Windows XP, their most popular and successful operating system till date and Windows 7, a worthy successor. It is allowing personal users to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, it that means anything to you. Thus, if you are living in the Microsoft ecosystem, you need to embrace Windows 10.

This can be little tough for some companies, especially those who depend on internal software to run their business. The internal software might be dated and was created to work well in Windows XP or 7. While many programs offer excellent compatibility with Windows 10 as well, there are certain compatibility issues always. They originate from how the core architecture behind the operating system changed. And Windows 10 has changed a lot from the Windows 7.

It is not easy to upgrade the internal software, because of the simple fear, if it breaks down, the company operation would come to a standstill. Which means, the revenue generation of the company is halted. This is why professional agencies should handle the Windows 10 compatibility. They will check the compatibility, upgrade as needed and then check in a closed simulated environment before deploying the updated version. One4 thing is for sure, Upgrading to Windows 10 compatible ecosystem is highly recommended.

Legacy Applications Must Be Updated But With Care

Legacy applications are those which have served their purpose previously but look horribly outdated and outsmarted. People still go for it at times, simply because they have been using that for last 2 decades. For example, the great 5250 interface for data entry jobs. While it was the best in its days, it is certainly nothing compared to the Microsoft interface. Microsoft interface is much more empowering to the employees. And we all know what employee empowerment can do to employee productivity. Expect a manifold increase in the efficiency of your employees when using modern interfaces like Microsoft. Moreover, they hardly need any training to get accustomed to this environment. They grew up using that.

This brings us to the important consideration of the roadblocks to legacy applications modernisation. The most obvious one would be, whether the application function in the modern environment as, if not, it might hit the revenue making process of the company and that is simply unacceptable. Thus, the duty should be handed over to a professional agency who can do this and perform sandbox testing for the application before really getting to work.

The other challenge would be to maintain the integrity of the database and to align it with the new system. Working for so long, the application must have gathered ample data and this data can’t be lost. Whoever is handling the upgrade should keep that in mind. Moreover, this database need to be utilised in the modernised version as well.

Monday, 10 April 2017

Organisations Migration from Windows XP

Windows XP was a good operating system and was the best in its time. It was also the longest running operating system from Microsoft and frankly, if we compare the peak popularity of Windows XP against any other operating system in the world, the former would emerge winner. However, with time, people needed more features which couldn't be integrated in the old operating system due to the inherent architecture and Microsoft came out with modern versions, Vista, 7, 8 and 10, in that order.

However, people and companies became so habituated of using XP that they simply couldn't or wouldn't stop using it. While for personal users, it was more of a personal preference, companies faced a trickier situation. They have built their whole IT infrastructure on Windows XP and it is not a simple task to migrate to another OS. There would be compatibility issues, if nothing else. And companies and organisations can't risk breaking their IT system down as that would be catastrophic. Thus, they are stuck with XP, even if they want to move on.

Thankfully, there are some niche agencies who made it their job to help companies with Windows XP migration. They will ensure that no data is lost and every internal application, servers, databases and systems are properly functioning after the upgrade. It would be great if the whole infrastructure can be upgraded to Windows 10 which is the most recent offering from Microsoft and looks like a long time player, going by the success of the OS.

Migrate to Windows 10 For Better Interconnectivity

OK, to be frank, I love Windows 10. It is super smooth, super-fast and has loads of new features. I strongly believe that Microsoft is trying to move to an app-based ecosystem from a software based operating system. Just like Google Play store, there are Microsoft app store in Windows 10 and you can find so many apps which can be installed just like you install Android apps.

Windows 10 has also diminished the gap between the PC and the Windows phone. Windows phone is still to catch up against Google Android but Windows rule the PC market and there is no competitor in the hindsight. Probably for 10 more years, Microsoft can stop worrying about PC market dominance. But, Windows 10 is a clear effort towards exploiting the PC dominance to influence the smartphone market. There is a seamless connection between a Windows 10 PC and a Windows 10 phone. With almost all the Windows phone being Windows 10 phones, the transition is smooth and people can easily access contents and services of one device in the other. Microsoft has invested heavily in the cloud infrastructure so yes, the interconnection of services and data is super easy now.

I already said, almost all the Windows phones are Win 10 phone but many PC owners are still stuck with Windows 7 or 8. It would be a good time for Windows 8 to 10 migration as you can utilise the advantages the new OS offers and the best thing is, it’s completely free.