Last year, $3.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen from various services, making 2022 the biggest year ever, according to a report from Chainalysis. Crypto risks seem to be consistent with overall cybersecurity risks: higher than they’ve ever been, and lower than they ever will be. So, we’re taking a look at that risk landscape and explaining the role of a security and compliance program in navigating it. The Crypto Risk Landscape Unfortunately, there’s no shortage of news about crypto fraud and theft. On March 6, the SEC shut down Miami investment adviser BKCoin for orchestrating a $1 ..read more

Welcome back to the third and final installment in our recent business continuity series. First, we covered what it means to not have a Business Continuity (BC) plan, then looked at the gains you can realize by using Google Workspace for BC, including cost savings. Wide Ranging Impacts of Downtime New research commissioned by Opengear has uncovered increasing costs of downtime, with lengthy resolution times, creating financial and reputational damage for organizations. 50% of CIOs reported their businesses have recorded financial losses due to increased downtime. “While CIOs rank financial los ..read more

On February 15, 2023, Google announced pricing updates and more flexible payment options for Google Workspace. Google states that these updates, “reflect the value in our products, alongside expanded commitment options to lock in the lowest pricing, providing our customers with more choice.” Increasing Prices for Flexible Plans  Google is increasing the price of Flexible Plan subscriptions. Flexible Plans offer customers the option to pay as you go, with no commitment, and provide the option to add or delete user accounts at any time. The updated list prices for Google Workspace editions ..read more

Universal Analytics will be going away Google Analytics 4 is the next-generation measurement solution, and it’s replacing Universal Analytics.  On July 1, 2023, standard Universal Analytics properties will stop processing new hits.  If you still rely on Universal Analytics, we recommend that you prepare to use Google Analytics 4 going forward. GA4 is running and ready for businesses to move over, however it’s not a simple migration. It’s not as easy as simply changing out the code and then carrying on with business as usual.  There are fundamental changes in features and how yo ..read more

Here is a running summary of the visible changes to Google Workspace in 2023. We will continue to update this list every month so check back often. Contact us with any questions about the new features or how to enable them for your users. February already launched Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) features: Save time with suggested work locations in Google Calendar Easily define your work location much quicker with suggested working locations based on your routine. Gradual Rollout | 2/27/23 | Rapid Sales and customer service integrations now available in Google Chat Third-party sales and ..read more

Video conferencing has become a primary tool for enabling hybrid or fully remote teams. Team members can use company equipment or their own device to connect from their chosen location, whether it’s a home office, coffee shop, shared workspace, or even outside. With Google Meet’s visual effects you can blur the background or even change it entirely. I once had an entire conversation with a colleague before realizing they were sitting outside since he had Meet visual effects turned on.  Empowering collaboration between in-office and remote staff can require additional hardware. As you migh ..read more

Wursta recently presented a webinar, “Top Ways to Automate your Organization in 2023,” in which we shared automations to help save time and make your work more efficient. You can watch the webinar recording and I’ve covered highlights in this blog. We broke down automation into three key areas: Repetitive Tasks: Account provisioning, role access, group membership Reporting/ Monitoring: Activity alerts, system alerts Incident Response: Data protection, trust rules First Things First: On-Boarding & Off-Boarding Automating account lifecycle would be the first area I tackled if I was coming ..read more

Bridging the Gap Between Locations & Device Google recognizes that platform interoperability challenges have caused organizations to struggle to connect their conference rooms to customers, partners, or colleagues in different organizations. On October 26, 2022, Google announced efforts to bring Google Meet to more meeting rooms and shared spaces. To help, “bridge the gap between locations and device,” Google invested in improvements to the experience for in-room and remote participants alike. Google Meet and Zoom Interoperability Google is introducing video conferencing device interoperab ..read more

At the beginning of 2022, Google redesigned the Gmail web interface and recently made it the permanent standard for all users. We’ve covered the highlights below and provided some tips, accompanied by screenshots from our “Game of Thrones” themed training account. Facilitating Collaboration with Centralized Access The main takeaway of the new Gmail layout is that you can accomplish more in one space. All of the vital Google apps you use every day are available in one central spot. The view builds on earlier changes which facilitate collaboration, such as enabling you to start a Google Meet fro ..read more

We’ve rounded up the most innovative updates from Google throughout the year, along with some brief info on how to apply it to your teams.  1. Gmail Layout Earlier in 2022, Google redesigned the Gmail web interface and recently made it the permanent standard for all users. This new layout is organized in a more concise way, and aims to integrate Gmail, Chat, and Meet more seamlessly in one view.  If your team needs help adjusting, you can try keeping Chat open in a separate tab in addition to Gmail or download the desktop app to use both at the same time. You also have the option to ..read more