Message from General Computer Development 

Investing in cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others have become popular in recent years. Prices are soaring and major corporations invest large sums of money in these options.

What is cryptocurrency?

Simply stated, it is a new form of digital money. Also known as crypto, it uses cryptography (practice of securing communication under a third party) to secure and verify transactions, and to control the creation of new units of a particular cryptocurrency.

A lot of people are starting to get on board with crypto, not just for investing but also as a payment system. It is faster, lower cost than other payment systems, and it is global. 

Major companies like Microsoft (XBOX), Starbucks, Overstock, and others are now accepting crypto to make purchases, and those investing are doing so heavily. Tesla recently bought $1.5 billion in crypto to further diversify and maximize returns on cash. MicroStrategy, a business intelligence company, bought over $1 billion to hedge against possible inflation and devaluation of the dollar.

If or when crypto becomes mainstream, you may be glad you invested in it. However, there are risks to investing in crypto at this time. 

It is highly volatile, its prices have fluctuated a lot in previous years, and while they seem to have stabilized now, you're not completely immune. 

It is not treated the same as cash, crypto is treated as property, so it may be subject to different tax rules. 

It is unregulated, there is no governing body, so if you were to lose your cryptocurrency or have it stolen, there  is nothing anyone can do about it. This also applies to companies investing in it. 

Before investing in crypto, consider the risks and evaluate your business tolerance to loss. It appears crypto is here to stay and will continue to go up, and as such, it may be a good investment. Experts recommend only investing an amount that you are comfortable losing and holding for the long-term plan.  

All businesses will face a data disaster at some point, the level of impact can be mitigated by having the right measures and plan in place. 

Data disasters can be caused by human error, cybersecurity breach, hardware & software failures, and natural disasters. These events will create downtime and loss of money. It is estimated that an average of $5,000 per minute is lost due to IT downtime.

When that time comes, will you be ready? 

Businesses must plan ahead and set backup and disaster recovery measures in place to be prepared for the worst. 

Backup and disaster recovery are two separate things. Backup is making copies of your data, having multiple copies of your data in different storage will allow you to access vital information when an incident occurs. 

A disaster recovery plan is the process of getting your IT infrastructure including data, network and devices up and running after an incident. It is reported that 1-in-3 businesses do not have an adequate or updated plan. 

There is no one-plan-fits-all solution. Each business has unique needs and therefore its plan must be customized to consider priorities in the continuity of operations. 

With services such as on-site and off-site backups, enhanced security, user training, cloud storage, your company can be ready to survive a data disaster, and continue operating within minutes, instead of days after the incident. 

GCD can help you create a back up and disaster recovery plan based on your business needs. 

Important Announcements

1. Microsoft Teams: Join a meeting with digital meeting ID. 

This release of Microsoft Teams Meeting ID will be rolling out across Teams desktop, mobile, and web interface and will provide an additional way for users to join a Microsoft Teams meeting by entering a digital ID. 

Timing: Roll out begins in early May and is expected to be completed by late May 2021. 

How will this affect your organization: All meetings will have a Meeting ID that is automatically assigned to a Microsoft Teams user and added to the meeting invite under the meeting link. Meeting attendees can join the meeting by entering the Meeting ID. For all meeting attendees, the pre-join, lobby and security will remain the same. 

What you need to do to prepare: You might wan to notify your users about this new capability and update your training and documentation as appropriate. 

2. Microsoft Teams: Transfer calls between devices.

This new release will expand support and allow call participants to transfer an ongoing call between Teams devices. Users will be able to transfer a call from one device to another or even add a second device to the same call. 

Timing: Rollout expected from early May to late May 2021

How will this affect my organization: After joining a Teams call on one device, users will be able to join the same call on a second device. For example; going from desktop to a mobile device or even to another desktop. Additionally, they will be able to transfer a call from one device to a second device, in the same call, if there is a need to share content from the second device. 

What you need to do to prepare: You might wan to notify your users about this new capability and update your training and documentation as appropriate. 

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