Microsoft recently made waves when they rebranded one of their more ubiquitous products. Its popular productivity solution for small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) now has a sleeker look, heralding a new era in software development and design.

On the outside, it looks pretty much the same as the previous version.

Remote work is the new normal, as the public seeks refuge at home during the pandemic. Many owners and managers are concerned about the security risks of this shift, and with good reason.

But if you look at it, cybersecurity is just a matter of being proactive and strategically allocating resources to mitigate the biggest threats.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems rely on huge blocks of live data to generate accurate reports and perform the right actions. Naturally, it’s important to secure business data. Poor data practices will surely expose a company to regulatory audits, not to mention ruin its reputation and loss of customers and investors.

Many business leaders approach new technology with a degree of skepticism. For decision-makers, security and reliability are among the highest priorities when it comes to selecting the right systems for their business. Unexpected downtime and data breaches, after all, lead to greatly reduced profitability as well as a whole host of other problems.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) refers to the integrated management of business processes, such as inventory management, customer relationship management, and marketing and sales. Typically mediated by technology, which is increasingly likely to come in the form of a fully cloud-enabled infrastructure, ERP involves the handling of large sets of confidential corporate and customer data.

Migrating business applications to the cloud offers many long-term benefits, such as reduced overhead and practically unlimited scalability and accessibility. At the same time, choosing the right cloud provider can be a daunting process.

Although there are many factors to consider, security should never be overlooked when it comes to the cloud.

As you probably heard by now, a powerful ransomware strain known as WannaCry devastated more than 200,000 computers in 150 countries last month. The outbreak, which started on May 12, infected government, healthcare, and private company computer systems, including UK’s National Health Service and FedEx. Aside from a financial loss, this cyber attack created mass chaos and a logistical nightmare for all involved.