This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
You’ve probably been told that Azure Synapse is just for very large data projects. Which is true. It is designed for limitless storage and super powerful compute. But there are ways to start with smaller datasets and grow from there by integrating new data engines to the workspace. In this episode of Data Exposed: MVP Edition with Armando Lacerda and Anna Hoffman, you will learn how to tailor Synapse to your data volume profile and position your cloud data pipeline for growth and expansion when needed.
About Armando Lacerda: Armando Lacerda is a 30+ years computer geek. He’s been working with SQL Server since version 6.5, Azure SQL DB since 2010 and Azure SQL DW / Synapse Dedicated SQL pool since 2017. As an independent contractor he has helped multiple companies to adopt cloud technologies and implement data pipelines at scale. Armando also contributes with multiple local user groups around the Bay Area in San Francisco/CA and around the world. He has presented in multiple conferences on data platform topics as well as Microsoft certification prep. You can also find him riding his motorcycle up and down highway 1.
About MVPs: Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, or MVPs, are technology experts who passionately share their knowledge with the community. They are always on the “bleeding edge” and have an unstoppable urge to get their hands on new, exciting technologies. They have very deep knowledge of Microsoft products and services, while also being able to bring together diverse platforms, products and solutions, to solve real-world problems. MVPs make up a global community of over 4,000 technical experts and community leaders across 90 countries/regions and are driven by their passion, community spirit, and quest for knowledge. Above all and in addition to their amazing technical abilities, MVPs are always willing to help others – that’s what sets them apart. Learn more: https://aka.ms/mvpprogram
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
There’s no doubt about it: technology has revolutionized how we do business. But the same technologies that allow consumer goods brands to reach customers worldwide have created an environment in which change happens fast and continually, competition is fiercer than ever before, and even incremental adjustments in strategy can significantly impact a company’s profitability and growth. At the same time, the past two years’ events have laid bare how companies of all sizes are vulnerable to global, social, political, and economic disruptions. With so much change it can be difficult to understand what trends are worth the investment, which is why we’ve taken a data-driven approach to cut through the noise. Four key trends are highlighted below and a more in-depth look can be read in the Consumer Goods Trends in 2022 report by Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce.
1. Social commerce makes every online touchpoint a potential storefront
Social media has revolutionized how people connect and is now transforming the way consumers discover and engage with brands. One clear example is social commerce, which is an integrated and seamless strategy for allowing customers to discover, browse, share, and purchase without ever leaving a social media platform. Now brands are opening significant new revenue streams by delivering seamless purchasing experiences to consumers on the social media platform of their choice. The results are staggering, with the value of social commerce sales worldwide in 2021 hitting an estimated $732 billion and projected to grow to $2.9 trillion by 2026.1
Unsurprisingly, social commerce, or live commerce according Gartner Hype Cycle for Retail Technologies, 2021, “can increase brand awareness and generate a large amount of traffic in a short time.”2 One country that is leading the live commerce trend is China.
Dynamics 365 Commerce can help organizations consistently deliver great customer experiences on any social channel or front-end application. This is because Dynamics 365 Commerce can utilize both headless and other modern commerce architectures to seamlessly connect enterprise systems, such as payment processing, content management, and omnichannel inventory.
2. Digital shelf analytics improve online merchandising
In 2021, US merchants recorded a record $870.8 billion in online sales, an increase of 14.2 percent compared to the year prior.3 As online sales continue to increase in volume and importance, brands will need to collect, measure, and monitor product and sales data from a growing variety of sources. One way brands can stay on top of this information is by using digital shelf analytics (DSA) to improve online merchandising.
DSA applications give retailers the ability to monitor data and metrics from all their digital sales channels, including retail digital commerce sites and online marketplaces. DSA solutions may often provide product data from social sites and collect competitive pricing data. These applications use API connections and automated website scraping to ingest data on metrics such as ratings and reviews, product availability and placement, search rankings, and product information content quality, alerting users to updated content.
Another technology related to DSA is the Smart Shelf. According to Gartner, “Smart shelf refers to the connected shelf in a physical retail store, which can include computer vision, weight or other sensors, electronic shelf labels (ESL) or LCD displays.” Gartner classifies the technology as “emerging” with a “high” benefit rating,2 which we believe makes it a technology to watch in the near future.
3. Immersive commerce helps retailers combat the rising cost of returns
One technology trend helping companies improve how they interact with consumers is immersive commerce (IC). IC reinvents customer experiences by integrating physical and virtual worlds via augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality. With IC, brands can give customers a new way of visualizing a product in their space, such as seeing the way a Microsoft Surface Laptop looks on a desk in a home office or how different shades of makeup look before ordering online. Experts believe that AR-enabled shopping will soon become a must-have for furniture retailers. Home Depot, Wayfair, Target, Overstock, and Houzz have already adopted the technology.4 Significantly though, IC goes beyond improving and augmenting the customer experience. It also presents opportunities to solve costly inefficiencies, the most obvious and expensive being returns.
The growth in e-commerce and virtual shopping that accompanied the pandemic led to a corresponding increase in returns. In 2020, total return losses, including the value of lost sales, reached $428 billion, with an estimated $101 billion purely from returns.5 The loss from returns is expected to increase in the next several years, eventually reaching $1 trillion annually. According to Gartner, “Size and ‘best fit’ recommendations using AR can drastically reduce return rates and improve conversion.”2 We agree and believe that in the face of growing losses from returns, brands will likely increase their investments in AR because of its ability to help consumers avoid returns altogether. For example, by allowing customers to see how furniture will look in their house or how clothes will look in a virtual fitting room, they are more likely to purchase the product they need and will enjoy.
Add AR, VR, and mixed reality capabilities to your digital storefronts using apps available in Microsoft AppSource, like Web AR with D365 Commerce from Hexaware Technologies.
4. Supply chain resilience is more crucial than ever
The events of 2020 unleashed a series of disruptions to global supply chains, such as border closures, stay-at-home orders, severely depressed demand in industries like travel and in-person services, and demand booms in others, such as healthcare equipment and operating supplies. The cost of these disruptions is significant: in a study conducted by Deloitte, 32 percent of chief financial officers (CFOs) said that shortages and delays were responsible for depressed sales, and 44 percent said that their costs have increased by 5 percent or more this year as a result.6
For retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands, a primary beneficiary of supply chain resilience is the consumer, who will switch retailers if an item is out of stock and expects to be able to order from any channel with fast and convenient delivery to anywhere. This means that retailers need technology solutions that enable omnichannel retail and fulfillment while also ensuring inventory availability.
Interested in learning more about live commerce or digital shelf analytics? Need to cut through market hype to prioritize your retail technology investments? Download Gartner Hype Cycle for Retail Technologies, 2021.
What’s next?
These are just a few trends that you can find inside our report on Consumer Goods Trends in 2022. In the full report, you’ll find relevant and impactful insights drawn from extensive research curated by industry professionals, subject matter experts, and thought leaders. Download your copy of the Consumer Goods Trends in 2022 report. And, be sure to register for the corresponding webinar on Top Retail Trends which you can attend live on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM Pacific Time or watch afterward on-demand.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s Research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
GARTNER and HYPE CYCLE are registered trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
CISA has added seven new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation. These types of vulnerabilities are a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risk to the federal enterprise. Note: to view the newly added vulnerabilities in the catalog, click on the arrow on the of the “Date Added to Catalog” column, which will sort by descending dates.
Although BOD 22-01 only applies to FCEB agencies, CISA strongly urges all organizations to reduce their exposure to cyberattacks by prioritizing timely remediation of Catalog vulnerabilities as part of their vulnerability management practice. CISA will continue to add vulnerabilities to the Catalog that meet the meet the specified criteria.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
We are excited to share major updates to the Malware protection capabilities of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on Android. These new capabilities form a major component of your next-generation protection in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. This protection brings together machine learning, big-data analysis, in-depth threat research, and the Microsoft cloud infrastructure to protect Android devices (or endpoints) in your organization.
Today, we are thrilled to announce the public preview of this new, enhanced anti-malware engine capability!
What to expect with this enhancement:
Cloud Integration with support for metadata-based ML models, file classifications and reputation-based ML models, etc.
Better support for false positive and false negative prevention.
Reduced memory and CPU footprints.
Integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 Defender portal across platforms.
Threat nomenclature: The change in threat / malware name will now be in accordance with the standard naming scheme followed across all platforms, including Windows. This is part of the effort for aligning our nomenclature across all platforms and having a single naming mechanism for consistency.
Changes to Android Threat names as depicted in the security center portal will be as under:
There are no changes to the user experience aside from the threat naming:
Screenshot showing a threat detection on the device
Microsoft 365 Defender portal example:
Screenshot showing an alert in the portal with the new naming convention
Getting started with the preview:
To get started, an IT Admin needs to use Microsoft Endpoint Manager (MEM) – Intune – to manage deployments from Managed Google Play’s pre-production tracks for Android.
Use the recommended minimum version as 1.0.3825.0301. Sometime after GA, APKs older than version 1.0.3825.0301 would stop getting Antimalware protection, so it’s recommended to plan for an upgrade.
We welcome your feedback and look forward to hearing from you! You can submit feedback through the Microsoft Defender Security Center or through the Microsoft 365 security center.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
The pandemic has greatly influenced the way we work. For many of us, the option to work from home was a relatively smooth transition. Video calls, instant messaging, and other digital tools filled the colleague collaboration gapreplacing in-person meetings and chats around the water cooler. Office-based workers overcame a few technological speed bumps; however, business continued to hum along at a decent pace.
But what if the focus of your job is to physically interact with the customer and their equipment on site? This level of interaction is dependent on a whole new set of digital tools, and nowhere is this more important than in the delivery of field service. In fact, the most crucial aspect of field service is mobility.
For there to be true mobility, there must be complete and seamless functionality across any and all devices at the same time. These mobile devices keep the technician digitally tethered to operations by providing real-time access to dataincluding updated schedules, recommended travel routes, and key customer information. With the right technology and devices, offline mobile capabilities provide frontline workers what they need when they need it, even in the most remote locations.
On a mobile device (phone, tablet, or laptop), technicians can access knowledge articles, work orders, and task lists from anywhere. They can also add notes and images, which sync to the back office. If a problem is outside of his or her expertise, the technician can leverage videos and product guides, and even consult with experts by connecting with Microsoft Teams or via mixed reality tools like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist and HoloLens 2.
About 75 percent of field service businesses that utilize mobility tools have observed increased employee productivity, while the rest have seen customer satisfaction rates rise.1
True mobility transforms the customer into a knowledgeable partner and enhances the customer experience with transparency into all facets of service delivery. Information is available for customers in real-time using an easy-to-use portal to navigate the service history and on-demand appointment scheduling. Customers can even track and trace the route of the technician enroute on any mobile device.
Connecting people, places, and things to consistently deliver customer-centric experiences is at the core of Dynamics 365 Field Service and is the foundation in transforming service delivery. And within this transformation is the art of true mobility through the Dynamics 365 Field Service mobile app.
With the 2022 release wave 1, we have made notable enhancements in the Field Service mobile app. First, we improved how frontline workers perform actions, view, and update data to increase productivity and usability. These usability enhancements include:
Date and time input fields will leverage default input controls provided by the device operating system.
Mobile optimized device keyboards will be shown when interacting with numeric, phone, email, and URL input fields.
Large format devices (such as tablets and PCs) will have a streamlined agenda view available as part of their booking calendar.
Customers’ primary account phone numbers will be accessible directly on the Bookable Resource Booking Customer tab.
A long list of enhancements to Dynamics 365 Field Service mobile are now available for iOS (left-center) and Android (right) devices.
In addition to usability enhancements, we have continued to invest in core functional and performance improvements such as:
Offline sync notifications to alert users when the offline-enabled application is downloading data from the cloud. This will provide clarity on the app status and feedback to the user when data is refreshing.
Offline Profile (Preview)configuration that will be available in the modern app designer and offer an improved experience to makers. The new offline profile can be assigned to an app module, removing the need to manually add users to the offline profile. This will greatly simplify app user management for makers and admins.
Mobility on every device
Not every frontline worker wants to perform work using their mobile device or carry multiple devices from location to location. For frontline workers that prefer working on a single tablet or laptop, or are required to use a PC for their business needs, we are pleased to announce the general availability of the Windows Dynamics 365 Field Service app. Technicians can do all of their work tasks on the same Windows device, such as a Microsoft Surface Go, without having to carry multiple devices. Technicians will be able to fulfill end-to-end scenarios without losing context or switching devices. They can view their bookings, manage their work orders, and perform inspections with this rich application that is deeply integrated with the rest of their Dynamics 365 applications.
The Field Service mobile app is now available on Windows laptops to enable seamless mobility across all devices.
This Windows Field Service app includes:
Offline support to keep the frontline worker productive even without internet access. While using the app offline, data is stored in the local device database and uploaded to the server when network access is restored.
Outlook-style calendar for bookings, with intuitive user interface which gives the frontline worker visibility into active and upcoming workincluding key information like scheduled times, duration, customer name, and address as well as the type of work to be done. The calendar can be further extended to include additional fields giving at-a-glance information a frontline worker needs to prepare for their day, such as assets they may be working on or the customer contact’s name.
Tailored user experiences available with Power Apps component framework with hundreds of powerful controls out of the box.
Access to device camera to take pictures and scan barcodes.
Deep-link support into the Dynamics 365 Field Service mobile app.
Using a tablet, Surface, or laptop, frontline workers can access detailed customer information including a map showing the service account location using the Windows supported Dynamics 365 Field Service app.
Improve customer experiences with Dynamics 365 Field Service
The focus of this release was to further extend customer and worker mobility while acknowledging different work requirements and work styles. These enhancements come together to create a seamless workflow by enhancing the tools that increase productivity and optimize system operations. Our goal is to develop features to overcome barriers frontline workers experience every day when delivering superior serviceon or offsite. We will continue to laser focus on the customer experience by arming technicians with the right technology at the right time to do their job better, faster, and more efficiently.
Recent Comments