If we asked a large group of people what the most important department of a business if, the responses would vary. Many would say the senior leadership team, whose direction and management guides the business forward. Some would say the finance department, making sure the money keeps moving and that people get paid. Maybe it’s sales, for bringing the money in in the first place?

We’re here to make the case for the IT department – the backbone of any modern business.

We might be biased, but the case is a compelling one. Gone are the days of basement-dwelling IT teams telling people to turn it off and back on again (even if those days never really existed in the first place) and instead we are in an age whereby technology shapes and impacts each and every part of the business. From transforming the business with a forward-thinking artificial intelligence strategy, to maintaining an accessible and effective cloud environment, IT teams of today have a profound impact on how each part of the business operates day in, day out.

It is therefore important that you, as a figurehead in the IT department, understand the impact you are having on everybody else and the work they are doing. Starting a new job can be daunting, but by building relationships with your internal stakeholders early on, you set yourself up for success.

To help get you started, we’ve set out a list of key people to speak to, and what to speak to them about.

Human Resources

Your HR department plays a pivotal role in the success of your organisation by attracting, retaining, and developing its employees. With the best people on-board, all pulling the same direction, a business best positions itself to achieve its goals, so the importance of the HR team cannot be overstated.

They can, however, be empowered. The relationship between HR and IT is clear, and covers everything from applicant tracking and testing systems during the hiring process to e-learning platforms and employee wellbeing software during the course of their employment. You’ll also work closely on onboarding new employees and ensuring they have access to the right technology and data, managing remote working policies, and offboarding employees.

In your position as an IT decision maker, you have a direct link to the success of the HR team and, as a result, the success of the business. Whether it’s ensuring that AI is introduced ethically and effectively into your HR processes, or the team wants to be able to conduct accurate sentiment analysis by investigating and unpicking its data, a helpful and impactful HR team relies on technology, so building and maintaining this relationship is a must.

Speak to… the Head of HR, HR Director, or HR Manager. Find out who is in charge of the people aspect of your business, and book in a meeting. Sit down with a cuppa and understand what technologies they are already using, the challenges they are facing, and how your can work together to create an even greater, happier, and more successful workforce.

Operations

The efficiency of your operations can be the difference between the world’s most successful business, and a failing one. Jeff Bezos built the Amazon empire on the foundation of ruthless operational efficiency.

Now, building the world’s biggest ecommerce platform might not be your goal, but the lessons and takeaways are there. By optimising productivity, reducing costs, and improving the quality of your products or services all at once, your business will be best positioned to succeed – and the effective use of technology holds the key.

This might start with Enterprise resource planning systems that pull together a range of operational functions to provide operations leaders with the information and insight they need to highlight, analyse, and tackle inefficiencies, and ensure they remain agile, responsive, and resilient in today’s ever-changing business landscape. You may then look at adopting an effective DevOps methodology, and creating a process that enables constant innovation and development within your organisation. Ultimately, it could then escalate to considering the data and artificial intelligence platforms that can transform operations teams by enabling everything from predictive machine maintenance to automated inventory management systems.

Effective technology usage fuels improved performance, productivity, and efficiency, and you’re in the position to help your Operations team achieve that.

Speak to… the Chief Operations Officer or Head of Operations. They will have the best insight into how their department is currently using technology and will be willing to listen to how your policies and plans can drive further efficiencies and greater productivity within their team.

Sales and Marketing

Your sales and marketing teams are the ones responsible for driving revenue growth. It’s their job to build awareness, grow pipelines, and convert customers, and in a modern business world they are increasingly powered by data. They generate tonnes of the stuff – everything from information on social media followers and website users to insights on customer intent and sales performance.

Your data strategies will therefore play a key role in the work of your Sales and Marketing teams. They will rely on your security and governance policies, require constant access to the data they generate, and need to be able to unpack that information, pull it apart, and act on it.

They also represent your organisation to its customer base. They are brand advocates and have an element of control over how your business is perceived. Poor data governance and patchy IT practices are quick to hit the headlines and have a significant impact on the trust people have in your brand. Maintaining a close relationship with those who are speaking directly to your customer base is, therefore, crucial.

Speak to… the Heads of Sales and Marketing. Each will be experiencing their own pain points when it comes to technology, so individual meetings will also be beneficial, but sitting down with them together will also provide insight and allow to you identify potential efficiencies that will create smoother, more seamless processes in this part of the business.

Finance

Whether you’re building the bottom line in the interest of shareholders, or you’re a non-profit trying to serve its local community, money matters. The finance department is the backbone of almost any organisation, and is responsible for making payments, tracking performance and, most importantly in your case, setting budgets.

Finance is analytical by nature – it is, quite literally, a numbers game. IT and finance can, therefore, form a perfect partnership and lean heavily on one another in their respective best interests. A healthy IT budget makes your life easier, while effective technology processes and innovative analytics tools stand to benefit their work.

But securing that budget relies on a healthy relationship between you on your financial controller. It’s wise to keep them involved in your project plans from the get-go, so that you can demonstrate the value and potential of your ideas, the understand the business value they provide, and get them bought in from the outset. Improved efficiencies, enhanced productivity and an empowered workforce are all music to a CFO’s ears because they drive business performance.

Speak to… the Chief Financial Officer or Head of Finance. Having a strong relationship with these roles is an absolute must for an IT leader. Not only do they ultimately hold the purse strings, but it is in their best interests to identify and implement the most effective and efficient processes to bolster the organisation’s bottom line. You are the employee that will help them unlock those efficiencies, both in the finance department and across the business.

Senior Leadership Team

In today’s world, businesses are built on technology. Whether your organisation was founded a century ago or started in a bedroom late last week, technology is everywhere you look, in every process that is undertaken, in every room of the office. Your IT strategy is no longer a standalone piece of work – it should be entwined in your wider business strategy, and play a key role in directing the organisation forward.

That’s why you’ve been hired – to shape the way in which technology is used across the business, and help it reach its goals.

So, who better to speak to than the people setting those goals, and driving that performance? Whether you’re part of a small team or a multinational organisation, understanding the driving force behind it will paint the picture for how technology can play its part. It might be that the goal is to implement automated processes to drive efficiencies, or it might be to bolster the business’ security standing. The best way to find out is straight from the horse’s mouth.

Speak to… the CEO, Owner, or Managing Director. Sit down with whoever is ultimately in charge of your business. As the key decision maker in the business, who has control of its vision and direction, your input will have a direct impact on them and, therefore, the business as a whole. If you start singing from the same hymn sheet now, you’ll help your business and its senior leadership team meet their goals quicker.

 

So, who does your work as an IT leader impact? It’s everybody, and we’ve only scratched the surface. The changes you make and the policies you enforce will also affect administration teams, your business’ research and development, your legal or PR departments… the list really is endless.

Your department is the catalyst for change, so it’s really important that, in the first few days and weeks of your new role, you meet with leaders in these departments to understand their experiences and challenges and discover ways in which your role as an IT leader can make a positive impact. Then – and only then – will you set yourself up for long-term success within your organisation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s time to renovate your garden. You’re fed up with the view from your kitchen window as you look outdoors and see a space that passes as usable for the odd barbecue or to kick a ball around in, but you know it isn’t everything it could be. You’ve got a rusty table for two, the fence didn’t survive the last storm, and the weeds are winning the war over your border plants. It’s only taken a couple of summers to get to this point since you last spent hours out there tidying the place up.

You’ve decided it’s time to act. So, do you do it all over again in the hope of achieving a different, longer-lasting outcome? Or do you get the specialists to transform your garden and then maintain its picturesque yet practical state?

If you’re asking for our advice, it’s a no brainer. By bringing in the experts you’ll transform your space in less time, get more for your money, and end up with a garden that looks its best and continues to serve its purpose year after year after year.

Though, we aren’t gardeners. We are service providers though, and there are similarities. Rather than transforming your garden, let’s look at the same scenario through the lens of transforming your IT estate – after all, there may be a few weeds in there, too.

Let’s put a Cloud Managed Service Provider (CMSP) in the place of the gardeners, and look and the differences they’ll make in your cloud journey.

The obvious impacts…

There are a few benefits of working with an expert CMSP that are immediately apparent. An experienced Provider will be backed by years, if not decades, of insight, knowledge, and know-how that you simply won’t be able to compete with, no matter how much research you do.

That experience will be on-hand and available to your business around the clock, whenever you need it, and is backed up by other areas of expertise that you may not need right now, but could benefit from in the near future. That unlocks a level of scalability for your business that you simply don’t have with in-house resourcing.

And while yes, this level of expertise comes at a cost, one of the most eye-catching benefits of an effective CMSP is in the value and cost savings that they can deliver. By optimising the products you use and the services you receive, as well as unlocking otherwise inaccessible funding packages from technology providers like Microsoft, CMSPs are often a much more cost-effective way of accessing the skills and insights you need, especially in comparison to the amount of time, effort and capital that would need to be invested in-house to achieve a result that even came close.

…and the less obvious

Beyond the round-the-clock support and assistance, access to additional skills/resources, cost savings, improved scalability, enhanced security and compliance, and increased reliability, there are a whole host of benefits that aren’t quite so apparent.

Firstly, there’s the unrivalled insight into new technologies. In a world that is constantly evolving, having a CMSP that is up-to-date and informed on your industry’s latest trends and technologies is crucial. A good CMSP will provide that; a great CMSP will have close ties with technology providers, like Microsoft, and provide early insight and access to new features and upcoming changes to ensure you stay at the forefront of innovation.

They’ll also bring cross-industry experience to the table, as well as an expansive network of partners and providers to help you deliver on your cloud strategy. They’ll know the best security providers, or the connectivity providers that are best suited to your business, and have existing relationships with them that can be leveraged to negotiate deals and discounts. After all, it’s often who you know, rather than what you know.

Lastly, having an outsider’s perspective can prove invaluable. You’ve been looking out at the same garden – sorry, IT estate – all day every day, so the chances of you identifying the biggest areas of concern is slim. You’ll see what you’ve always seen. This is also beneficial in dealing with disputes between internal stakeholders, which can often lead to delays, inefficiencies, and suboptimal outcomes.

Not only will a good CMSP provide that outsider perspective, but they’ll bring that viewpoint into your organisation with a view to upskill your existing team and share its insights and learnings. This creates a two-way relationship between provider and customer that serves to benefit everyone.

Creating the perfect garden

We’ve come along way from our convoluted garden analogy, but we’re standing by it. In order for your garden, or your IT estate, to be shipshape, to flourish, and to best serve its purpose, you need an expert on hand. By engaging with a CMSP, adding your business context to those conversations, and undertaking bespoke assessments and workshops, you’ll soon realise that they are your greatest and most valuable resource. Nothing else comes close.

Just like that you can wave goodbye to your grimy garden, and instead look out into a space that is bustling with wildlife, bursting with colour, and brimming with possibilities for the seasons that lay ahead.

 

This IT utopia sounds a little too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, we’re here to show you it isn’t. As one of Microsoft’s leading partners, and an Azure Expert Managed Service Provider, Cloud Direct can provide the resource your organisation needs to revolutionise its IT estate and achieve everything we’ve outlined.

Get in touch with a member of the team and we can help put everything we’ve outlined into the context of your business, and help you explore the value of a great CMSP.

When we attended Microsoft’s Global Nonprofit Leaders Summit earlier this year, we came away filled with energy and excitement having witnessed the innovative work that is taking place in the nonprofit sector, and what Microsoft has in store in the near future.

But for many UK nonprofits, making the 10,000-mile round-trip to Seattle just wasn’t feasible. Eager for you not to miss out, however, we teamed up with mhance – as the only two UK organisations to sponsor the event – and with Microsoft to host a UK Nonprofit Leaders event on the 28 March, to bring you everything you might’ve missed from Seattle. Bringing together IT leaders from a range of charities across the UK, we spent the morning talking about all things Microsoft AI, and how non-profits can start leading the way in using AI for good.

If you weren’t able to make it to Seattle, or to our event in Reading, then we’ve created this rundown of key highlights so that you don’t miss a trick.

Key highlights from our Reading event

We opened with David Leigh and Ha Cole, from Microsoft’s Tech for Social Impact team, who started by highlighting how technology is moving at such a fast pace that, for nonprofits, it’s starting to raise challenges and intensify existing inequalities.

In comes AI, which can start to address some of these growing challenges and inequalities. David showed us that Microsoft is investing heavily in AI technology and says nonprofits are increasingly becoming one of the largest adopters of AI as a force for good.

But AI adoption doesn’t come without its challenges. Ha demonstrated that nonprofit employees are ready to embrace AI, with 70 per cent willing to delegate work to AI, while three in five say a lack of innovation from leaders is a concern of theirs.

We quickly covered what cognitive tasks nonprofit employees want to use AI for, which include:

• Summarising meetings and action items
• More creative work
• Analytical work
• Planning and managing their day
• Repetitive admin tasks

Some nonprofits have already started using AI, with one example showing how Microsoft Copilot can be used to create summaries of missed meetings, saving an average of 32 minutes per meeting – time that can be spent on more important tasks.

But what is holding nonprofits back?

• 52 per cent lack skilled workers in AI
• 28 per cent are worried about the cost of AI
• 28 per cent are concerned about data or IP loss due to improper AI use
• 26 per cent lack any form of AI governance or risk management

With a well-developed AI strategy and upskilling in workers’ AI knowledge, nonprofits can start to overcome these challenges.

Transformative Leadership in the Age of AI

Up next was Jonathan Chevallier, CEO of Charity Digital, who was there to talk about how you can be an effective IT leader in the age of AI.

Straight off the bat, Jonathan referenced the 2023 Charity Digital Skills Report to highlight some key stats around leadership and team support for nonprofits that are adopting AI:

• 51 per cent of respondents stated that their organisation was providing no AI training and support
• 43 per cent would like their leaders to develop and embed a good digital strategy
• 6 per cent of respondents felt that there is sufficient AI upskilling support available to the sector

It was evident that AI is a recurring theme for nonprofits across the sector. Its power can work wonders for a nonprofit, but many don’t know how to get started or how to support their teams in leveraging AI responsibly.

Jonathan also went through the facets of developing an AI strategy, and how to become a great AI leader. He mentioned that for a strong AI-focused digital transformation journey, you need to align these three main strategies:

Business strategy

A plan of action that outlines what an organisation needs to do to strengthen their performance and achieve their desired goals and outcomes.

Digital strategy

A plan of action that outlines how an organisation will leverage digital technologies and channels to fulfil its objectives.

IT strategy

A plan of action that outlines how an organisation will use its IT resources, systems, and infrastructure to achieve its goals.

Jonathan closed with his top three traits that make a good AI leader:

• They focus on empowering and supporting their team with AI technology
• Decisions on AI are made collaboratively within the team
• They help their team develop AI skills and capabilities

Charity Digital have some useful resources that can help nonprofits get started, including this AI checklist for nonprofit IT leaders which is free for you to use.

Empowering your fundraising journey through AI

Next up, we had a great demonstration from James Glover at mhance, about Journeys and Propensity Modelling within Microsoft’s Customer Insights, and how it can be used to enhance fundraising efforts with AI.

James showed how you can start to analyse your donor journeys and predict their behaviour and preferences. We were shown how, with Customer Insights, you can map out and analyse the end-to-end journey that a donor takes and understand their interactions across various touchpoints, such as emails and website visits.

By segmenting your donors based on behaviours and preferences, you can tailor your communications and engagement strategies. James demonstrated that, with the help of AI, you can proactively identify those donors who are more likely to donate and focus your efforts on engaging with them.

With AI in Customer Insights, you can also predict donor behaviour and understand which ones are more likely to contribute and to engage with your campaigns. Many nonprofits are trying to find new ways to improve their donor retention rates, so it was a notable highlight for the room to see James demonstrate how AI-powered insights can help optimise campaign performance to increase donor engagement and retention.

Seven Step Roadmap to AI

We know that AI can help you make better decisions and improve efficiencies within nonprofits, but you have to start with a plan before diving straight into it – and it all starts in the cloud.

Up next was Cloud Direct’s Principal Cloud Evangelist Leon Godwin, who brought to life our seven-step roadmap to adopting artificial intelligence. Here’s a quick rundown of those seven steps.

Step 1 – Migrate to Azure

To meaningfully embrace AI, your data must be accessible in real time, and migrating to Azure will allow for this kind of accessibility. Start with creating a business case, and set out why cloud migration is right for you and how it can help with your AI strategy.

Step 2 – Controlling cloud costs

An Azure cost optimisation report will establish what your cloud spend is, and whether you are spending too little or too much. The Azure model means you only pay for the tools you need, so you must consider what you’re paying for and what you need in order to lay the foundations for AI.

Step 3 – Security and performance review

Undergoing a security review will help you understand and identify threats that are relevant to you. You’ll also want to review performance to ensure your cloud environment continues to deliver what you need it to. Tools like Azure Monitor and Advisor will allow you to keep a close eye on your environment and ensure it is equipped to handle your AI tools.

Step 4 – Modernising your applications

What services are you using? Can they be found on Azure? If so, this ensures you are paying for up-to-date tools that are designed with data accessibility, scalability, and security in mind, as and when you need them. Doing this before AI adoption means you remove many of the barriers ahead of you, making you more operationally efficient and giving you a greater degree of agility.

Step 5 – Making data accessible

Data powers AI and if it isn’t modernised or accessible then your AI will be running on inaccurate and unstructured information. Make sure your data has been collected, organised, cleaned, and stored properly before you introduce any element of automation or AI.

Step 6 – Gaining insights from data analytics

At this stage, your data will be in good shape for AI to start delving into. These insights will provide a foundational understanding of your business’s pain points, inform future decisions and choices, and enable you to accurately and effectively allocate resources. You can also use Power BI at this stage to make insights from your data clearer, which is particularly important when it comes to explaining the reason behind your AI decisions to your team and leadership.

Step 7 – Create an AI policy

AI is complex and constantly evolving. There needs to be an element of control around how you and your employees use AI, so you should adopt concise policy documents before rolling it out to keep everyone on the same page and using it responsibly. Once your strategy is in place, and your data and apps are ready, you can begin to work with AI, confident that you are well-prepared and primed for success.

What you need to know before using Microsoft Copilot?

Last up to present was Stuart McSkimming, an experienced charity CIO and now Deputy Chair of Charity IT Leaders. We were very excited to have him on board to give some insight about his time trialling Microsoft Copilot and offer advice for nonprofits that want to start using it.

It was no surprise to see that when Stuart polled the audience, nearly all of the attendees did not think their nonprofit were experts at AI, and that the vast majority had only limited experience in using a handful of AI products.

“The differentiator between success and failure was how people used and embedded the technology in their day-to-day work,” he said.

Stuart learnt a lot through trial and error with Microsoft Copilot at a charity – meaning you don’t have to! He shared his top considerations before embarking on an AI project:

• AI Skills Training for your team – do you need to form an AI board?
• Find use cases – can they help to inform a business case?
• Start small – get a handful of Copilot licences and start to explore in a small team.
• AI Policy – create a policy that outlines how and why you’re using AI.
• Celebrate your successes when using AI.
• Develop AI champions in your team.
• Produce an AI roadmap for the next 12 months.
• Consider your AI readiness with the seven steps.
• Get help! Don’t be afraid to speak to a Microsoft partner, like Cloud Direct or mhance.

There’s a lot to consider here from Stuart, but his key takeaway was making sure you get your IT infrastructure and data into a position that is ready for AI before you embark on your journey. Don’t set off with a planned route.

What can you do next?

At Cloud Direct, we understand that using data and AI can play a crucial role in the success of your nonprofit. As a leading UK Microsoft Solutions Partner and Azure Expert Managed Service Provider, we can assist you in your digital transformation journey and provide access to Microsoft nonprofit resources and funding.

From Azure migration to building a sound data strategy and implementing key Microsoft AI services such as OpenAI, Copilot, Power BI and more, our experts can help kickstart your data and AI journey in the cloud. Get in touch today to find out more, or book a free 1:1 Data and AI Innovation Workshop for a tailored assessment of your AI potential.

Whether you’ve just moved to Azure, or have been operating in the cloud for a few years, staying secure is a top priority. According to a recent Cloud Security Report by Cybersecurity Insiders, ’95 per cent of organisations are moderately to extremely concerned about cloud security, while another IBM report states that the global average cost of a data breach was $4.45 million US dollars. It is, therefore, the perfect time to get on top of your security needs in the cloud.

Microsoft Cloud is as vast as it is complex, so it can at first seem tricky to figure out what to do next to stay secure on your cloud journey. If you’re reading this, then that probably means you’ve already decided to start the next chapter of your cloud journey. Learning from experts in the field is a great next step, so you’re in the right place – we hold five of the six Azure and M365 Microsoft Solutions Partner certifications, as well as being an Azure Expert Managed Service Provider. So, without further ado, here’s our advice our advice on staying secure.

Zero Trust

Adopting a Zero Trust policy is a fantastic first step when looking to become secure in the cloud. A Zero Trust policy treats all devices as a threat until they are verified, regardless of connection, ownership, or previous access permissions. Nothing is getting access to your network unless you allow it to. This is often used to buffer more traditional security practices, such as using strong and unique passwords, and is even more effective when combined with multi-factor authentication.

Implementing a Zero Trust policy requires a bit more than just adopting new technologies. It means changing your culture and training your employees as well. According to the World Economic Forum, 95 per cent of all cybersecurity issues can be traced to human error, and adopting a Zero Trust policy that combines the factors above means that someone accidentally revealing a password or leaving a device behind is no longer as much of a major threat.

Zero Trust comes with three guiding principles. There is the previously mentioned verify explicitly, the practice of always authenticating and authorising data points. There’s least privileged access, which is a system where you set the boundaries so that everyone gets access to exactly what they need to complete their job function and nothing more than that. Finally, assume breach, which is the foundation of Zero Trust and assumes that all devices and anomalies are a threat and treats them as such until verified as otherwise.

Microsoft Sentinel

Sentinel is a cloud-native Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution, that monitors signals and data from all applications, services, infrastructure, networks, and users within your estate, regardless of whether it is hosted on-premise, in Azure, or with another cloud service. It provides a bird’s eye view of everything.

Because Sentinel is cloud-native it is fully scalable, which allows you to reduce cost during times of low activity and scale to meet demand during times of high traffic. It provides full flexibility for fluctuating workloads.

Sentinel also uses advanced analytics and machine learning to proactively detect threats, and will even respond to them itself in real time. If someone’s trying to access your network outside of your agreed region, Sentinel will automatically hold the device in quarantine and deny access until you allow the device in.

Microsoft Defender suite

The Microsoft Defender suite is a collection of products that will really bolster your security standing.Defender blocks around 70 billion email and identity threats each year, while Defender for Cloud reduced security breaches to cloud workloads by up to 25 per cent.

• Defender for Cloud allows you to protect your specific Azure workloads.
• Defender for Cloud Applications keeps you secure down to the coding level, enabling smoother deployments.
• Defender for Endpoints helps you monitor and keep safe end users on your network.
• Defender for Microsoft 365 allows you to defend your modern work data.

Defender’s cloud-based products are designed to keep all areas of your business protected, from your Azure workloads to more targeted areas like DevOps environments that need protection from the top level down to the coding level. It even provides threat protection across multi-cloud environments, including Azure, AWS, and on-premise environments.

Copilot for Security

This one is perfect for those who are further along in their cloud journey and are ready to make the most of AI. It pairs fantastically with the previously mentioned products, but it shouldn’t be thought of as a standalone solution, but rather as a string to the bow of cybersecurity professionals.

When paired with products like Sentinel and Defender, Copilot for Security really sparkles. Studies show that security analysts who used Security for Copilot with Sentinel were 44% more accurate across all tasks, which demonstrates the impact it can have when it’s in the right hands.

We’re only scratching the surface of what Copilot for Security is capable of here. Trained on 78 trillion security signals, it delivers information about threat actors, indicators of compromise, and vulnerabilities in an instant – empowering your cybersecurity staff and your organisation. If you’re looking to learn more about Copilot for security then we wrote another blog earlier this month for you to check out.

Cloud Operating Model

Security products are all well and good when looking to stay secure in the cloud, but a solid foundation and a security blueprint are vital for long-term success. A Cloud Operating Model is a set of principles, practices, and processes designed to help you govern, manage, and protect your cloud estate.

As we’ve mentioned, 95 percent of all cyber security incidents can be traced to human error, but a Cloud Operating Model will identify the roles and responsibilities that allow you to hold members of your organisation accountable for security errors. It also lays the groundwork for upskilling your security team and providing improvements that will benefit your business in the long term.

If you have been thinking about implementing a Cloud Operating Model but don’t know where to start, we’ve outlined seven considerations you should have for your Cloud Operating Model on our Learning Hub.

Working with a Managed Service Provider

The biggest issue with cybersecurity in general is staffing. It’s an industry that is strained, and finding the right personnel is both a difficult and often long process, so this is where partnering with a Cloud Managed Service Provider can be key.

The idea of outsourcing work can often put businesses off, but a Managed Service Provider can fill the gap of existing vacancies and has a range of other benefits too, from cost-effectiveness and in-depth expertise to around-the-clock availability.

We understand that using a fully managed service isn’t for everyone, but there are of course other ways to work with a Managed Service Provider. If you work with an Azure Expert MSP – like Cloud Direct, for example – then they might be able to gain you access to Microsoft funding pots that other partners don’t, which could unlock exciting opportunities for your business and allow you to de-risk and accelerate your security and future cloud projects.

If you’re interested in learning more about some of the lesser-known benefits of partnering with a Cloud Managed Service Provider, then our CTO Paul Sells has got you covered.

What’s next in your security journey?

Now that you know how to stay secure in the cloud, what’s next? It’s all well and good having the information but what you do with it is key, Cloud Direct offers funded assessments and workshops that link to the aforementioned Sentinel, Defender, and Zero trust, if you’re interested in exploring any of these options then get in touch with a member of our team and find out how you can add some sparkle to your cloud journey.

In today’s data-driven world, businesses must harness the power of their data effectively to stay competitive, innovative, and one step ahead. Data is your organisation’s most valuable asset, and it can unlock new opportunities, create efficiencies, and allow you to create continual operational improvements… but only when it is used, and managed, effectively.

The only way to do that is to create and enforce a robust, comprehensive data strategy – only then will you unlock its full potential, and drive success for your team.

But how do you get there? There are five considerations that are critical to the creation of an effective data strategy.

Modern Analytics Platform

A modern, cloud-native analytics platform enables you to collect, collate and clean your data so that it can be unpicked and analysed to, ultimately, drive smarter decision making.

A modern analytics platform forms the backbone of any successful data strategy. It brings together various data sources, tools, and technologies to enable seamless data processing, analysis, and visualisation. When you go about building a modern analytics platform for your business, there are a few Azure technologies you can leverage.

Azure Synapse, which brings together Enterprise SQL data warehousing and big data services.

Azure Databricks, a fast, easy, and collaborative Apache Spark-based big data analytics service which is designed for data science and data engineering.

Microsoft Fabric, which launched in May 2023, is an AI-powered analytics platform that unites your data and an array of services, enabling you to get more value from your data than ever before.

Leveraging these will enable you to future-proof your infrastructure and ensure you have the required agility when handling evolving data requirements.

Data Governance and Security

Data governance and security are incredibly important in safeguarding sensitive information and ensuring regulatory compliance. By establishing robust policies, procedures, and controls to govern data access, usage, and sharing across your organisation, you can have confidence in your data’s quality, accessibility, and effectiveness. Implement encryption, authentication, and access controls to protect data from unauthorised access and cyber threats and conduct regular audits and compliance assessments to help maintain data integrity and mitigate risks which, in turn, will foster trust among stakeholders and customers.

When looking to improve your data governance and security, it’s important you consider:

• Ownership of data – who is responsible for your data and its management?
• Data catalogue – where, and how, is your data stored?
• Data lineage – can you track your data’s journey and trace it back to source?
• Data classification – is your data organised effectively, and therefore accessible and searchable?

Data Quality

Data quality is the foundation of reliable insights and informed decision-making. Investing in data quality management processes, to identify and rectify inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and incompleteness in your datasets, is the only way to guarantee your decisions are informed correctly. You can also leverage data profiling, cleansing, and validation techniques to ensure data accuracy, completeness, consistency, and timeliness.

By prioritising data quality, you can enhance the credibility and usability of your analytics outputs to drive better business outcomes and fuel strategic initiatives. When you have data that you can trust, you and your team will gain confidence in the business decisions you are making off the back of those data insights – which should ultimately drive the business forward.

Data Modelling

Dashboards serve as visual representations of key performance indicators (KPIs) and make the insights derived from data analysis much more digestible. To maximise the effectiveness of your dashboards, there are five data models worth considering:

• Descriptive: Summarise historical data trends and patterns to provide context and understanding of past performance.
• Real-time: Monitor and visualise data in real-time to enable immediate action and response to changing conditions.
• Diagnostic: Identify root causes and correlations within data to troubleshoot issues and optimise processes.
• Predictive: Forecast future trends and outcomes based on historical data patterns and predictive analytics models.
• Prescriptive: Recommend actionable insights and strategies to achieve desired outcomes and address business challenges effectively.

Each data model has its purpose, and applying the correct one will empower stakeholders with actionable insights at various levels of the organisation, facilitating data-driven decision-making and performance monitoring. This is where tools like Microsoft Power BI really come into their own.

Generative AI

Generative AI, powered by advanced machine learning algorithms, enables the creation of new, synthetic data based on existing datasets. By leveraging generative AI techniques such as generative adversarial networks and variational auto-encoders, businesses can augment their existing data assets and generate synthetic data for training AI models. This not only addresses data scarcity and privacy concerns, but also enhances model performance and generalisation capabilities. Whether it’s generating realistic images, text, or other data types, generative AI opens up new possibilities for innovation and experimentation in any number of ways.

The main concern that businesses face is how to responsibly manage AI. Microsoft is one of the industry leaders in empowering businesses to leverage AI responsibly and have been investing billions of dollars into their technology to ensure businesses are equipped to do so. They’ve produced guideline on how to empower responsible AI practices, which is well worth the read.

 

Building a successful data strategy requires careful consideration of a wide range of factors, from infrastructure and governance to quality, analytics, and AI, but by prioritising these considerations and embracing emerging technologies and best practices, businesses can unlock the full potential of their datasets and drive sustainable growth – all while building a competitive advantage over others the market.

To help you understand how you can unlock the power of your data, we are running fully-funded Data & AI workshops to apply these learnings to your specific business context.

Sound good? Let’s talk.

In March, we had the opportunity to host a number of technology leaders from the Financial Services and Insurance sectors at our breakfast briefing at The Gherkin, where the London skyline served as a beautiful backdrop for a morning of insightful talks and engaging conversation.

To discuss what the future holds for digital transformation and artificial intelligence within the FSI space, we were joined by BankClarity’s Aidan McAvinue, and Yasser Toson and Nadya Aneva from Microsoft, who provided insights into the experiences they’ve had, what Microsoft technologies can help you achieve, and how Microsoft’s partner ecosystem can help you get there.

Key highlights

Henry Bird, our host for the morning, began the session by running us through the morning’s agenda, and explaining how we work hand-in-hand with Microsoft.

Over the last 20 years, Cloud Direct has developed its relationship with Microsoft, establishing itself as on of the fastest growing partners in the UK and positioning itself within the top 0.5 per cent of global partners. What does that mean? It means our customers benefit from exclusive perks like direct access to advanced Microsoft support, funding opportunities, and detailed solution assessments and analysis.

“We do one thing really well, and that is helping our customers innovate, leverage technology stacks and operate them effectively and efficiently.”

Aidan McAvinue, CEO of Bank Clarity

Following Henry’s introduction, BankClarity CEO Aidan McAvinue shared his personal approach to AI and the experience his business has had working with Cloud Direct and Microsoft. Aidan’s tractor-based analogy of how John Deere embraced AI and machine learning to set itself apart from competitor Massey Ferguson really resonated with the room.

“Too many businesses are sitting waiting for something to happen. Especially at C-Suite level, business leaders really need to step up and start to embrace these technologies and the infrastructure around them as quickly as possible.”

Aidan closed by throwing down the gauntlet to Microsoft and its partners – like Cloud Direct – by asking for greater clarity and accessibility to the Azure toolkits that might be relevant and useful to his business. BankClarity has dedicated teams of developers who are “always tinkering”, says Aidan, while the apps and tools are already hosted within Azure, and should be much more accessible.

Yasser Toson, Azure Core Specialist at Microsoft

Up next was Yasser Toson, Microsoft’s Azure Core Specialist for the FSI Space. Yasser has been with Microsoft for nearly a decade, having started off in technical and infrastructure roles before moving to technical sales. He used his speaking slot to run through the immense range of solutions that Microsoft offers, and will offer in the future, including the growing Copilot stack that includes:

• Microsoft Copilot
• Copilot for Dynamics 365 Finance
• Microsoft Copilot for Service
• Microsoft Copilot for Sales
• Copilot in Microsoft Fabric
• Copilot in Power BI
• Microsoft Copilot for Security
• Microsoft Copilot for Azure
• GitHub Copilot
• GitHub Copilot X
• Build your own copilot with Azure AI Studio

FinOps was another hot topic in Yasser’s talk, as he stated that it’s not a management principle but rather a culture principle. It is a practice that provides visibility to as many stakeholders as possible around spending and enables distributed decision making so that everyone has the consciousness of the business’ technology spend.

Nadya Aneva, Solution Assessment Specialist at Microsoft

Nadya Aneva, Solution Assessment Specialist at Microsoft, followed on from her Microsoft colleague by presenting the solution assessments that Microsoft have to offer. She explained that when Covid-19 hit, a number of on-premise customers wanted to move to the cloud quickly to keep their business afloat, which meant questions and concerns needed to be addressed quickly and clearly. Microsoft’s Solution Assessments played a key role in this, providing clarity and evidence to CTOs, CIOs and Technology Leads that needed answers quickly.

“Moving to the Cloud is often seen to be expensive, but it’s only expensive if it’s not done properly and efficiently.”

There are a wide range of Microsoft Solution Assessments on offer, each suited to specific technology products and services to ensure you are extracting detailed information within the context of your specific business case. These include:

• Rapid Migration Assessment
• Application Modernisation Assessment
• Advanced Migration Assessment
• Cloud Security Assessment
• AI Masterclass & Proof of Concept

Henry Bird, Senior Cloud Sales Executive at Cloud Direct

To close, Henry took attendees through the role of partners like Cloud Direct. We’ve got a whole host of options when it comes to assessments and workshops, many of which are discounted or free of charge to the customer. If you’re interested in finding out more about these, then you can visit our workshop page to get started.

Did you miss out? We’re sorry that we can’t put breakfast on, but the event is available to watch on-demand on The Learning Hub.

When Microsoft announced that the cybersecurity industry’s first generative AI solution would be made generally available in just a matter of weeks, businesses across the globe stood to attention. That launch date – 1 April 2024 – is now here, and the rewards are ready to be reaped. 

Just like all other new technologies, those who act fastest will put themselves in the strongest possible position to leverage Copilot for Security as a competitive advantage. But before you dive in, it’s critically important to gain an understanding of how the technology works, what it can achieve, and how it can benefit your business. 

This short guide is here to bring you up to speed on all of that, enabling you to build a business case and better protect your organisation from both existing and future threats. Ready to harness the power of Copilot? Let’s dive in.

What is Copilot for Security? 

It’s no coincidence that the emergence of artificial intelligence has coincided with the growing rate of cyberattacks, with the World Economic Forum predicting that this trend will only continue throughout 2024. Bad actors are now equipped with revolutionary AI platforms that can target businesses at scale, and with incredible accuracy and agility, to the extent that Microsoft estimate that around 4,000 passwords attacks are happening every second of the day.  

Microsoft Copilot for Security enables businesses to better defend themselves against the threat that artificial intelligence, in the wrong hands, can pose. Using natural language models and trained on the 78 trillion security signals that Microsoft processes everyday, Copilot for Security can offer advice on how to fix incidents, produce reports, simplify complex data, and perform proactive threat-hunting tasks. It’s your AI assistant that allows cybersecurity professionals to identify, investigate, and deal with attacks more quickly and efficiently. 

Copilot for Security will also help find threats that were previously missed because of its ability to develop an understanding of threat activity signals and make connections when reviewing attack data. Its main goal is to improve the capabilities of Security Analysts by accelerating threat intelligence summaries and interpretation, allowing them to act faster and more decisively.  

It’s important to remember that Copilot for Security is a tool in the armoury of a cybersecurity professional – not a replacement for human intervention. Think of it as your AI sidekick.

What are the benefits of Copilot for Security? 

In its announcement, Microsoft highlighted top level findings from its pilot that celebrated the impact of Copilot for Security. It saw accuracy of security professionals increase by seven per cent, speed rise by 22 per cent, and 97 per cent of those who tested it said they would want to use Copilot the next time they did the same task. Results were green across the board, but it doesn’t stop there. 

Improved efficiency

Security teams face a daunting challenge of keeping pace with the ever-evolving threat landscape and the increasing complexity of security incidents. Copilot for Security helps professionals to automate and streamline their workflows at every stage of the incident lifecycle – from its identification to its resolution – and uses AI and natural language processing to analyse data, generate insights, provide recommendations, and generate high-quality reporting and documentation.  

Tedious tasks taken care of

In every job there are elements that can be a little tedious, and cybersecurity is no different. However, Copilot for Security can make many of these tasks – be it report writing, documentation, alerting or follow up – more enjoyable and straightforward with easy-to-use interfaces, natural language inputs and outputs, and interactive feedback loops. It can also generate engaging and informative content to enhance reports, such as graphs, charts and tables that make your content more appealing and digestible. Allowing you to gain confidence that you’re protecting your business.  

Enhanced response quality

Security experts need to provide accurate, timely, and consistent responses to security incidents alongside complying with an array of industry standards and regulations. And Copilot for Security can help you achieve this with ease. 

Copilot for Security helps meet these requirements by provide best practice guidance and templates, as well as checking the quality and completeness of responses in real time. It also learns from feedback and the preferences of the individual security expert to tailor its responses accordingly. 

Reduced resistance

There will inevitably be some resistance or reluctance from security experts when it comes to AI, but Copilot for Security has been specifically designed to overcome these obstacles by providing full transparency and allowing professionals to retain full control of the response process. Copilot for Security augments their capabilities and supports the expert’s decision making – it does not replace them. 

Empowered senior staff

The list of responsibilities and expectations of a senior cybersecurity staff member is long. Remits cover everything from setting the vision and direction of a security strategy, to managing stakeholder relationships and mentoring security teams. By providing high level overviews, insights and recommendations, Copilot for Security can help senior staff achieve all these objectives with high level overviews, insights, and recommendations, as well as assisting in the monitoring and delegation of tasks. 

How do you use Copilot for Security, and how much will it cost? 

You can’t come at Copilot for Security from a standing start. You’ll need to already have the ball rolling with access to Microsoft’s existing suite of security products – Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Defender, and Microsoft Intune. Those are the products that feed Copilot for Security with the insight and information it needs to provide insights and recommendations. You can also access Security Copilot through a standalone web-based interface, via chatbot, or directly within the context of the application during investigations, where you can type in your queries or choose from predefined scenarios, such as incident response, threat hunting, or security reporting.  

For example, if you want to investigate an ongoing attack, you can ask Copilot for Security questions like “What is the scope of the attack?”, “What are the attacker’s objectives?” or even “How do I stop the attack?”. The platform will then go away and analyse the data from your security products and generate responses that are tailored to your organisation, providing step-by-step instructions on how to remediate the attack based on proven tactics from real-world incidents, almost instantly. 

Microsoft has made Copilot for Security accessible to organisations of all shapes and sizes with a pay-as-you-go pricing model. Its usage will be billed monthly at a cost of $4 per hour – though as the number of users, number of queries, and the complexity of queries rise, so too will your outlay. At present there are no calculators available to Microsoft Partners or their customers to help understand costings more accurately, so our recommendation is to undertake a short trial period of one or two months to assess its cost and value if you want to get things up and running quickly. 

There is more to it, however, with Copilot for Security customers also gaining access to the Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence workbench at no additional cost. This provides users with cyberthreat intelligence to assist them with understanding their adversaries and their methods, and to further enhance alert investigations. 

What next? 

Businesses operating within the Microsoft ecosystem have the opportunity to transform their cybersecurity processes immediately. Having been made generally available on 1 April 2024, there is little that stands between your team and the benefits of Copilot for Security. 

With cyber threats continually rising – and all predictions indicating that they will continue on an upwards trajectory – it’s critically important that you provide your organisation with the tools and capabilities it needs to keep its data, its people and its customers safe and secure. 

Whether adding artificial intelligence to your security processes is the next stop on your journey or it’s still a little way down the line, engaging a Microsoft Partner – like Cloud Direct – is the best way to get there. Through a range of assessments, readiness checks and managed services, we can help you unlock the full scope of capabilities that Copilot for Security brings, to best prepare your business to protect itself against the threats of today. Let’s talk.

The growth of AI has been the big talking point over the past year. For non-profits, these emerging technologies have thrown up innumerable possibilities from automation of administrative tasks and fundraising campaigns to improving donor relationships and tailoring community services – the list is endless. The majority of non-profits agree that AI can help transform their way of working, and more than one in three organisations saying they are already using it to perform certain tasks.

It’s interesting to see the speed at which non-profits are adopting AI technology. But while the potential benefits of AI for non-profits are substantial, organisations must tread carefully, considering the ethical implications associated with the adoption of these advanced technologies.

Many people see ethics as the moral principles that guide a person’s choices and behaviours. That’s true, to an extent, but it goes far beyond that. Ethical considerations now guide much more than people – they guide businesses, organisations, and technologies.

Let’s look into the ethical considerations of the latter, for ambitious non-profit organisations who are looking to transform their operations.

Being transparent

Remember to prioritise transparency when embracing artificial intelligence. Communication with stakeholders, donors and beneficiaries on how AI is being used and the impact it has on the ways of working for your non-profit is essential. It’s also important to develop accountability measures to ensure that AI is being used responsibly and for the right means.

Remaining fair

The algorithms that power AI are only as unbiased as the data that they are trained on. Make sure that you are aware of and actively mitigate any biases that may exist within your data, as these biases can lead to unfair and discriminatory outcomes – and you want to keep the trust of your donors. Regularly evaluate and audit your data to ensure that they remain fair and unbiased.

Obtaining consent

When collecting data to be used in AI systems, a non-profit should obtain informed consent from all parties and individuals involved. Explain the nature of the data collection, how their data will be used and the risks that could be associated with it. By doing this, you maintain a respectful relationship between yourself and your donors and beneficiaries.

Being data secure

Protecting the privacy and security of your information is paramount to your non-profit. Make sure that robust security measures are in place to safeguard all confidential information, especially from donors and external parties. Cloud technology platforms such as Microsoft Azure can help ensure that you remain compliant and follow all data protection regulations and cybersecurity best practices.

Human-centred approach

For a non-profit, being human-centric means recognising your people, volunteers, and the value that they bring. AI technology should be adopted with this in mind. Prioritise the well-being of your people and try to minimise the impact that AI-assisted decisions can make. AI should be integrated as a tool that complements human judgement, not completely replace it.

Accessibility and inclusivity

As a non-profit, accessibility and inclusivity should be a key consideration if you are undertaking any digital transformation projects. Make sure that any AI technologies you enable are available to all, including individuals with disabilities and additional access requirements. Strive to minimise the risk of creating digital divides and actively work towards inclusivity when leveraging AI technology.

Getting your people prepared

Up to 52 per cent of non-profits are looking into AI but lack the resources or skills within their teams to engage with it fully. Remember how we said that non-profits should take a human-centric approach? The same applies to the knowledge and experience of your teams. While AI can help automate certain tasks, you should also consider reskilling and upskilling within your non-profit, to ensure that your teams are equipped with the skills required to manage and work within the evolving technological landscape.

Think sustainably

Consider the environmental impacts of adopting AI technologies. When researching AI systems, look at the energy consumption associated with the infrastructure and explore the various options that can minimise your non-profit carbon footprint.

Wherever your non-profit is in its AI journey, there’s no doubt that ethical considerations play a big part in your decision-making. By adopting a proactive approach to AI adoption, you’ll be able to harness its power responsibly, uphold your values and contribute positively to the mission of your non-profit organisation. Make yourself a leader in shaping the ethical landscape of AI adoption for the greater good.

 

What’s next?

Did you know we offer a Data and AI Innovation Workshop, completely free of charge? Hosted by our Principal Cloud Evangelist Leon Godwin, this 1:1 workshop is designed to be a strategic two-way discussion based on your specific organisational needs, giving you clarity on what your next steps should be. By the end of the workshop, you will have the building blocks of a business case for maximising your data adopting artificial intelligence. Find out more.

Nothing is more important to a non-profit than its principal mission.

It’s also no secret that non-profit organisations rely on donor relationships to help contribute to the success of their organisation. However, in today’s fast-paced digital age, non-profits need to find new ways of managing these relationships to sustain their funding and support their missions.

According to the 2023 Charity Skills report, two-thirds of charities are not confident in their understanding of data management – but it doesn’t have to be this way. Fortunately, advancements in data analytics within the cloud can help non-profits enhance donor relationships and bring you closer towards achieving your mission, with just a couple of simple steps.

Step one: Moving your data to the cloud

Harnessing the power of data is a hot topic in the non-profit sector. From conducting research and assessing communication efforts to informing your decisions and positively benefitting the service you provide, your data is a powerful resource to tap into. Where it can have its biggest impact, however, is in improving donor relationships.

Moving to a cloud environment means storing all donor data securely in a central location. Having your data in one place transforms the way you can analyse it, making it accessible anytime, anywhere.

Microsoft Azure is the ideal platform for non-profit to unlock the functionality of their data. Its scalability is steps ahead compared to other cloud providers, allowing your non-profit to start small in its data journey and easily expand when required. This means you maximise your budget by only  committing the resources you currently need in Azure, before taking that next step forward.

Cost-effectiveness is another key benefit. Azure offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model, meaning you will only pay for the storage that you need and use. For non-profits, this can really help when your IT budgets are constrained and when you need to manage your resource spend.

The advanced analytics tools in Azure are unrivalled, too. With tools like Power BI, your non-profit can leverage machine learning, predictive analytics and data visualisation in compelling reports. Start harnessing this power for your non-profit and gain insights on your donor behaviour and make data-driven decisions to improve those relationships.

If the above doesn’t get your brain racing with excitement at the possibilities, then the funding support might get you there. Did you know that, as a non-profit, you can get exclusive access to discounted solutions from Microsoft? In its dedicated non-profit hub, you can take advantage of customised offerings to ensure that you have the right data tools to start improving your donor relationships.

Now you’re in Azure, let’s see what insights you can get from your data.

Step two: Start leveraging data insights to personalise and improve donor relationships

Within cloud databases, non-profit organisations will find it easier to access and manage all types of donor information, such as donation history, communication preferences and engagement patterns. You can then focus on gaining insights from this data to help streamline donor relationship processes and develop more personal interactions to help increase donations.

Outreach campaigns

In an ideal world, non-profits would know each of their donors on an inherently personal level – but in the real world, that just isn’t possible – but accessible datasets can help you personalise these interactions. Using giving history and preferred engagement methods, you can develop outreach campaigns targeting individual donor needs and donor segments. By doing this, you can expect to see appreciation from donors and longer-lasting relationships.

Feedback analysis

Feedback is important and the insights gained can keep your non-profit on course in reaching its goals. Input from your donors is just as important as internal feedback, and analysing the information you receive can help you understand donor satisfaction, identify areas for improvement and demonstrate back to donors that their opinions are valued. You can also start using the feedback to refine your donor approach, identify new opportunities and adapt to changing donor preferences.

CRM

Having an effective donor stewardship strategy is crucial to maintaining these relationships. Cloud-based CRM systems work hand-in-hand with data analytics tools, where automated workflows can be set up for donor acknowledgement, recognition, and follow-up. Taking it one step further, these systems can trigger personalised thank you messages and provide updates on projects that the donor has helped towards. You’ll make your donors feel valued and inspire loyalty with this proactive approach to donor stewardship.

Donor reporting and journey mapping

Start mapping out your donor journey using data insights. Here, you can understand the touchpoints at which donors interact with your organisation and you can use the information to optimise the way in which they experience your organisation. Building on this, donors like to see how they are making a difference, and advanced reporting tools can help visualise this. You can then share this information to develop your donor’s trust and demonstrate accountability.

Staying GDPR compliant

As we’ve previously highlighted, non-profits rely on donors to support their mission – but donors need trust in you to keep their information safe and secure. Non-profits can rely on trusted cloud platforms that offer encryption and regular data backups to safeguard their donor’s sensitive information, ensuring they stay within the remit of privacy regulations that they need to follow, such as the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). Enforce your reputation as a trustworthy organisation by reassuring donors that their information is being monitored and looked after in the cloud.

The list of ways in which donors relationships are improved with an innovation data strategy could keep going on and on and on. The Charity Digital Skills Report 2023 shows that 59 per cent of charities want to use data and insights to improve their services and operations, and if your non-profit is one of these, then we can help.

Ready to transform your data?

At Cloud Direct, we understand that data can be crucial to the success of non-profits. Whether your Azure journey is already underway or you’re looking to get started, our experts can help you elevate your project and unlock the power of your data. Let’s get you started.

Today, local and regional councils across the UK face the strain of trying to improve their public service offering while staying within ever-tightening budgets. IT leaders have to navigate a challenging and evolving technology landscape to keep up with demands, which are being shaped by the shift from on-premises infrastructure to cloud-based solutions – a key priority for many local and regional councils in 2024.

Many IT leaders end up inheriting IT infrastructure that is still on-premises when they join a new organisation, and are tasked with successfully getting an outdated technological environment up to scratch.

If you’re in that boat, we’ve picked out four key considerations to get you heading in the right direction.

Understand your council’s needs and objectives

Before embarking on any technological transformation, IT leaders need to develop a clear understanding of their council’s requirements and expectations. This can include conducting thorough assessments of your existing inventory and assets, identifying pain points and challenges, and aligning your cloud migration goals with broader council goals and strategies.

Here are some top tips:

• Take stock of your existing systems and applications, identifying components that are essential to your council’s day-to-day operations.
• Take note of systems that depend on each other and consider how migrating each system independently could disrupt functionality.
• Consider which systems may not be cloud-compatible – do they need to be replaced, retired, or reconfigured?
• Catalogue all your data that’s stored on premises. This will come in handy and keep you compliant when you come to migrate it.

There are any number of reasons as to a council might take on a cloud migration project. Is it to enhance service delivery, improve the functionality and scalability of their services or reduce long-term operational costs? The list can be extensive but as part of your assessment, it will be important to consider what objectives the council wants to achieve and align your cloud initiatives with them.

Understanding your landscape sets the foundation for a successful cloud migration. It informs decisions about workload prioritisation, migration strategies and resource allocation. By assessing your current state, IT leaders can navigate the cloud with confidence. The cloud journey isn’t just about technology – it’s also about aligning IT with your council goals to deliver better services to the public.

Develop a Comprehensive Migration Strategy

A move to the cloud is no easy task and there is no one-sits-fits-all process. Cloud migration requires careful planning and having a well-defined strategy in place can help you. By breaking down the migration process into smaller phases and establishing clear objectives and timelines, you can mitigate risks and ensure a much smoother transition.

There are three keys step when developing a cloud migration strategy for a council.

Data Management

• For any organisation, data is its biggest asset. Mismanagement of that data can lead to severe consequences, including heavy fines and loss of reputation. You should develop a detailed migration plan that outlines migration methods, tools, and best practices to ensure the secure transfer of your data and infrastructure. Consider factors like the volume of your data, its complexity, and any regulatory requirements that councils must adhere to.

Security and Compliance

• Local and regional councils have to abide by central government frameworks that help to build and maintain a cyber-resilient public sector, such as the Government Cyber Security Strategy: 2022 to 2030. Remember to implement robust security controls, encryption, access management policies and compliance frameworks to protect your most sensitive data and ensure that you are meeting public sector security standards.

Risk Management and Contingency Planning

• A cloud migration can be risky business if you dive in head first. Preparation is key, so it’s important to prepare for the worst-case scenario just in case. In your migration strategy, identify potential risks and challenges and develop strategies to mitigate them. Establish contingency plans and rollback procedures so that you can minimise disruptions to your infrastructure if any problems were to arise. There’s no harm in testing and validating your migration strategy to identify any potential risks proactively.

There are more steps to creating a migration strategy, but the three above are important to ensure you remain compliant throughout the process and don’t run the risk of creating problems.

For more on creating a comprehensive migration strategy, download our guide.

Assess your Costs and Budgets

In a time where councils are told to ‘do more with less’, costs and budgets for new technology are stricter than ever. If you’re considering a cloud migration, you need to make sure you factor in costs and budgets effectively to ensure that your transition is cost-effective and efficient, which means you’re only paying for what you need and what aligns most with your council’s objectives.

CapEx vs OpEx

While the private sector steps up its cloud migration approach, the public sector still seems to be wrestling with issues around CapEx and OpEx budgets. Put simply, capital expenditure (CapEx) refers to the one-time cost a council may spend on a fixed asset over a longer period whereas operating expenditures (OpEx) are funds that support day-to-day operations, like pay-as-you-go monthly models.

If you’re looking at a move to the cloud, it’s a good time to reconsider how best to classify this cost. Many cloud managed service providers (MSP) will offer you their services at a monthly cost as part of your OpEx, meaning you have greater control of your cloud spend. You won’t be tied down to a fixed-cost contract over a long period of time.

With a cloud management classified as OpEx, it will be much easier to control your costs and you can target your monthly spend on subscriptions and licenses to ensure that you are only spending money on services that you are using.

The are three key considerations when managing your money.

• Consider the initial migration costs. These can be related to data transfer, application migration and initial infrastructure set-up, but could also incluside hiring consultants or specialists, purchasing migration services and conducting staff training.
• Try and estimate your costs for any of the cloud service subscriptions. By factoring in these estimates with your projected usage requirements, you can work with the cloud provider to create a pricing option that best suits your council.
• Think about your costs for ongoing managed services. These fees may include the maintenance and management of cloud resources, technical support and other cloud optimisation and troubleshooting services.

Invest in Training and Plan for Change Management

Moving to the cloud represents a significant organisational change that goes beyond technology. It requires a cultural shift in mindset, workflows, and processes at your organisation. Therefore, as an IT leader, it wil be essential to invest in change management initiatives to help your team and other direct stakeholders at the council adapt to the new cloud environment and embrace new ways of working.

What should you consider?

• Invest in training programs to equip the IT staff with the knowledge and skills needed to design, deploy, operate, and optimise your cloud environment.
• Empower your team with the necessary tools and expertise so that they can become champions of your chosen cloud platform.
• A cloud migration affects everyone in your council, not just the IT team. Develop resources, guides, and training sessions to help support all levels of employees in the council. This will minimise disruptions, improve user adoption and maximise productivity and satisfaction.
• Foster a culture of feedback and continuous improvement. Soliciting feedback from users throughout the training and migration process will help identify areas for improvement, in turn ensuring that your investment in training yields maximum impact and drives a successful cloud journey.

Investing in training and change management is essential for ensuring the success of a council’s cloud migration. By empowering IT staff, end-users, and stakeholders with the necessary skills, knowledge, and support, councils can navigate the complexities of cloud adoption effectively, minimize resistance to change, and maximise the benefits of the cloud for their organisation and constituents.

What next?

Cloud migration projects are complex, and navigating them alone only enhances their difficulty. There are countless reasons to engage with a Managed Service Provider, but their experience is particularly invaluable. We’re here to lend a hand.

Artificial intelligence has completely changed the landscape of many industries, and the financial services sector is no exception. In recent years, AI has played a significant role in reshaping the way financial institutions operate, making them more efficient, customer-centric, and competitive. Microsoft is making it easier than ever before for ambitious businesses in the finance industry to leverage its AI solutions, in turn unlocking success with an array of applications, benefits, and prospects.

Enhancing Customer Experience with Microsoft AI

In today’s digital age, customer experience is a top priority in financial services. By utilising your business’ data, Microsoft’s AI chatbots and digital assistants can be trained to provide personalised and responsive customer support around the clock. These AI systems can answer common queries, assist with transactions, and even offer financial advice based on customer data analysis. This level of service not only improves customer satisfaction but can also reduce operational costs for banks.

Risk Management and Fraud Detection with Azure Machine Learning

One of the critical challenges in finance is risk management. Microsoft’s Azure Machine Learning platform is instrumental in analysing vast amounts of data to detect potential risks and fraudulent activities. Machine learning models built on Azure can identify unusual patterns and anomalies in real-time, significantly reducing the risk of financial fraud. Moreover, AI algorithms running on Azure can provide more accurate credit risk assessments, helping financial institutions make better lending decisions.

Investment and Portfolio Management with Microsoft Power BI

AI-driven algorithms are transforming the investment and asset management landscape. Microsoft’s Power BI platform, coupled with AI integrations, can help finance professionals create diversified portfolios that match individual investors’ goals and risk tolerance. These digital advisors continuously monitor market conditions, making adjustments as needed. This automated approach lowers management fees and improves returns, making investing more accessible to a broader audience.

Automation of Back-Office Functions with Microsoft RPA

Microsoft’s Robotic Process Automation solutions, including Power Automate, are streamlining back-office operations within the finance sector. Tasks such as data entry, reconciliation, and compliance checks are being automated, reducing the risk of human error, and saving valuable time. RPA powered by Microsoft can handle repetitive, rule-based tasks, allowing employees to focus on more strategic and value-added activities.

Predictive Analytics with Azure AI

Microsoft’s Azure AI services are invaluable in making informed business decisions. By analysing historical and real-time data, financial institutions can forecast market trends, customer behaviour, and even internal processes. Azure AI enables proactive decision-making, helping businesses stay ahead of their competition.

Regulatory Compliance with Azure AI

Compliance with ever-evolving financial regulations is a complex challenge. Microsoft’s Azure AI can assist in monitoring and ensuring compliance by automatically reviewing transactions and flagging potential breaches. This not only saves time but also reduces the risk of non-compliance, which can lead to hefty fines and reputational damage.

Benefits of Microsoft AI in finance

Microsoft’s AI solutions offer a comprehensive and integrated ecosystem, making it easier for financial institutions to adopt AI across various functions.

Efficiency: Reduce operational costs and improve efficiency thanks to seamless AI integration with existing Microsoft tools and platforms.

Accuracy: Microsoft’s AI systems can process vast amounts of data with minimal errors, ensuring reliable results.

Personalisation: Comprehensive data allows the creation of customised services and recommendations for customers, enhancing their overall experience.

Competitive Advantage: Financial institutions that leverage Microsoft’s AI solutions gain a competitive edge in the finance sector due to their enhanced capabilities.

Future

The use of Microsoft’s AI solutions in the financial services sector is expected to continue evolving. As Microsoft continues investing in AI research and development, we will consistently see new, cutting-edge applications and features being realised.

Leveraging these solutions for business success in financial services is not just a trend; it’s a necessity. Financial institutions that embrace Microsoft’s AI solutions are better positioned to provide superior customer experiences, manage risks, automate operations, and make better-informed decisions.

As Microsoft continues to advance its AI offering, it will be exciting to witness how these technologies further transform the financial services industry. Ensure your organisation keeps pace, and get in touch to start your AI journey.

If you’re a lawyer, you might think that artificial intelligence has nothing to do with your profession. After all, you deal with complex legal issues that require human judgment, critical thinking and creativity, not algorithms and data.

But what if we told you that AI can, and will, help you become a better lawyer, saving you time and money, and improve your level of client satisfaction? Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it’s not – but you’re not alone in thinking that, with only half of lawyers believing that their practice will be significantly transformed by AI.

It’s time to introduce Harvey.

What is Harvey?

Microsoft has invested more than $10 Billion in Open.AI as this is part of a long-term partnership aimed at advancing AI research. This has led to the development of some market leading products, such as Microsoft Copilot, but part of Open.AI’s mission statement is to invest $100 million into small, early-stage AI startups. This is where Harvey comes in.

Harvey AI, a legal-focussed artificial intelligence model, received $5 million funding from Open.AI and, by mid-2023, had raised over $21 million in funding led by Sequoia Capital.

This sector-specific AI-powered platform helps lawyers with various tasks such as research, drafting, analysis, and document reviews. It uses natural language processing and machine learning to understand legal documents, find relevant information, generate summaries, suggest edits, and more, capabilities that have all been trained and developed specifically within legal contexts.

Harvey AI can also integrate with other software and databases, such as LexisNexis, Westlaw, and Google Scholar, to provide you with comprehensive and accurate results.

How can Harvey AI help your legal work?

Increased productivity

You can save time and effort by letting Harvey do the tedious and repetitive tasks for you. For example, it could scan thousands of documents in minutes, extract key facts and arguments, and create a concise report for your case, cutting out hours of reading time. You can also use Harvey to draft contracts, motions, briefs, and other documents based on templates and best practices from past examples. This way, you can focus on the strategic and creative aspects of your work.

Quality and consistency

You can improve the quality and consistency of your work by using Harvey’s feedback and suggestions, check your documents for errors, inconsistencies and ambiguities, and ensure that you are using the appropriate terminology and tone of voice. You can also use Harvey to compare your documents with similar ones from other sources, such as previous cases, statutes, regulations, and precedents. This way, you can ensure that your work meets the highest standards of professionalism and accuracy.

Knowledge and skills

You can enhance your knowledge and skills by using the platform’s learning resources. For example, you can use Harvey to access a vast library of legal content such as articles, books, podcasts, videos, and courses, or test your knowledge and get personalised feedback and recommendations. It provides everything you need to stay updated on the latest developments and trends in your field and expand your expertise.

Harvey in action

On November 2022, Allen & Overy, one of the UK’s largest law firms, started the trial phase with Harvey, with more than 3,500 of their lawyers testing it with some 40,000 questions during their working day.

“I have been at the forefront of legal tech for 15 years but I have never seen anything like Harvey,” said David Wakeling, Head of the Markets Innovation Group at Allen & Overy. “It is a game-changer that unleashes the power of generative AI into the legal industry. Harvey can work in multiple languages and across diverse practice areas, delivering unprecedented efficiency and intelligence. In our trial, we saw some amazing results.”

PwC then announced a strategic partnership with Harvey on March 2023. The aim is for Harvey to help provide PwC clients with enhanced insights, transparency and quality. Harvey has been trained on UK tax riles, law, legislation and PwC’s intellectual property.

Carol Stubbings, PwC Global Tax & Legal Services Leader, PwC UK, said: “Harvey’s AI solution marks a huge shift in the way that tax and legal services will be delivered and consumed across the industry. Access to Harvey will be a game-changer for our people and for our clients, and I’m incredibly excited about the problem-solving capability that will be generated by combining PwC’s technical capabilities and deep market insights.”

AI Risks

It’s impossible not to feel even the slightest bit of excitement with the new innovations like Harvey – after all, they’re here to make our lives easier. However, it’s crucial to recognise that AI isn’t going to replace lawyers. It’s important to note that platforms such as ChatGPT are still known to provide incorrect information, and while Harvey AI is an exciting, sector-specific model, it remains in beta and it will need to continue its rigorous testing process before reaching general availability.

If your law firm is thinking about adopting AI in the future, you need to make sure that you have the right foundations in place. Our Cloud Evangelist, Leon Godwin is running an interactive workshop for law firms looking to understand how to adopt Data and AI and apply it to their specific business case. Sign-up to our Data and AI Innovation Workshop to learn more.

We know that law firms are turning to technology to streamline their operations, handle cases more efficiencly and effectively, and provide excellent client experience. Some have even begun adopting artificial intelligence.

As we increase our reliance on technology, the importance of cybersecurity and risk management escalates. Implementing robust risk management strategies is therefore vital, which adds complexity to the skillset required to effectively manage your tech stack. That’s where Managed Service Providers (MSPs) come in.

Let’s explore why law firms should consider partnering with an MSP to safeguard their sensitive data and maintain a robust digital infrastructure.

Threats in today’s environment

Law firms are a particular target for cybercriminals and cyberattacks because of the nature of the sector. They handle vast amounts of sensitive data and confidential information. When those threats recently became a reality for CTS, a legal-focussed MSP, in an attack that affected approximately 80 firms, everything from emails and digital paperwork to contractual agreements and property deal completion documents were compromised.

It’s a growing issue, too. A recent report from Chaucer Group found that nearly three-quarters of the UK’s top 100 law firms have been affected by cyberattacks, with incidents rising from 166 in 2022 to 226 in 2023.

A data breach can have severe impacts, including financial loss, the tarnishing or loss of reputation, and the inevitably of lengthy, convoluted legal processes, so addressing the root of the problem, before it becomes a problem in the first place, is critical – and that’s where MSPs come in.

What an MSP does

What are you getting in return for your investment in a reliable, experienced and expert managed service provider?

Risk Assessment and planning

Conducting a risk assessment is critical for understanding a law firm’s needs. Your MSP wil identify compliance gaps, potential points of failure and vulnerabilities, and create action plans to help you address critical issues quickly.

A good MSP will operate with a collaborative approach, working closely with you to understand your unique security requirements and designing tailored strategies that align with your firm’s goals. This will ensure that you receive the most effective and efficient solutions for your firm, to safeguard its future.

Real-time security monitoring and reporting

Understanding the importance of active surveillance on a law firm’s IT infrastructure is crucial. By identifying and resolving issues early, you prevent them from becoming significant disruptions a little further down the line.

With applications such as Azure Defender, an MSP will continuously watch over your environment, promptly detecting and addressing any potential threats, before analysing the event and creating a workflow to stop similar incidents from reoccurring.

Baking in compliance

Law firms are ambitious businesses. They are constantly striving for growth and innovation, while trying to remain within the remit of strict regulation. Regulatory compliance doesn’t have to be an obstacle in their journey, however. An established MSP will not only bring their previous experience to the table, but collaborate with your in-house experts to understand your firm’s bespoke compliance needs.

Disaster recovery

If the worst does happen, then being able to keep your firm running in any given circumstance is one of the most important things you will ever do. You must have a disaster recovery plan in place that has been planned, developed and tested before the event so that it’s ready for action. There’s a lot that goes into an effective disaster recovery plan, which an MSP will guide you through.

Teaming up with an MSP that emphasises clear risk mitigation practices is a smart move for law firms in today’s digital world. With cyber threats always looming and the increasing importance of data security and compliance, having experts by your side is crucial.

This allows law firms to concentrate on their core competency – delivering legal services – while entrusting the intricate task of risk management to specialists who excel in protecting their digital assets and reputation.

 

If your law firm is ready to partner with an MSP who specialises in security, contact one of our security experts today, or discover how to leverage Microsoft to help better secure your firm with our dedicated 1:1 security workshop.

Paul Sells, CTO of Cloud Direct, shares his insight and experience on what it really means to partner with a cloud managed service provider.

Cloud computing has become an integral cog in the machine of many businesses, but managing cloud infrastructure and applications can be a complex and time-consuming task, especially for businesses that lack the necessary skills and resources. That’s why many businesses choose to partner with a cloud managed service provider (CMSP), who can take care of cloud operations and maintenance, freeing the business to focus on its core competencies and to drive innovation. 

Many of the benefits of partnering with a CMSP are well-known, such as round the clock support and assistance, access to additional skills/resources, to help deliver cost savings, scalability, security, compliance, and reliability. However, there are also some benefits that don’t steal the headlines, ones that can really add value to your business and give you a competitive edge. We think it’s high time we shout about them.

Insights into new technologies

Cloud technology is constantly evolving and introducing new features and capabilities. A good CMSP will help you stay updated and informed about the latest trends and innovations in the cloud market; a great CMSP will have forged close ties with cloud providers such as Microsoft. Through them, you will then have early access to new features and insights into upcoming changes, and the chance to evaluate and adopt the ones that are relevant and beneficial for your business. This can help you improve your products and services, enhance your customer experience, and gain a competitive advantage.

Cross-industry experience

Your chosen provider will typically work with clients from different industries and sectors and have exposure to various use cases and scenarios. This can give them a broader and deeper perspective on how to leverage cloud solutions for different business challenges and opportunities. By partnering with a CMSP, you can benefit from their cross-industry experience and insights and apply them to your own business context. 

An expansive network

A CMSP can help you connect with a diverse range of cloud partners and vendors that can offer you specialised solutions and services that complement your cloud strategy. For example, they can help you find the best managed security provider for your security & compliance needs, or the best networking provider for your connectivity requirements. A CMSP can also help you negotiate better deals and discounts with these partners and vendors, as they have established relationships and leverage in the cloud market. Often, they will have integrated their ITSM platforms and operations with that of the partner and be act as a single point of contact streamlining support and reducing vendor complexity. Remember, it’s often about who you know.

Targeted outcomes

A provider is not just a vendor who sells you cloud services and products – they are a partner who works with you to understand your business objectives and challenges, and design and deliver cloud solutions that are tailored to your specific needs and expectations. A CMSP is focused on delivering outcomes that matter to your business, such as improving efficiency, productivity, quality, customer satisfaction, and revenue.

An outside perspective

Sometimes, internal stakeholders may have conflicting interests and agendas when it comes to cloud decisions, such as which cloud provider to use, which services to adopt, and how to allocate the budget. This can lead to delays, inefficiencies, and suboptimal outcomes. By partnering with a CMSP, you can leverage their impartial and objective advice, based on their experience and best practices, and make decisions that are aligned with your business goals and needs, bypassing the hurdles of internal politics.

Upskilling

By working with a CMSP, your internal IT staff can learn from the experts and gain new skills and knowledge in cloud technologies to further improve their performance, satisfaction and, ultimately, retention. With these new skills, internal IT staff can start to deliver more value to the business. Upskilling could happen either formally or informally during the initial cloud adoption phase, during delivery of a specific project or organically during BAU operations. 

Shared learning

As Cloud Direct’s CTO, I regularly communicate with other CTOs within the customer base to exchange insights, understand goals, challenges and issues, and offer advice and knowledge based on my own experiences. Based on the feedback received, I can ensure our products and services match customers need and align with their strategy resulting in better overall outcomes. When customers and CMSP staff connect at all levels, they build mutual trust, close knowledge and lasting relationships that make the CMSP an extension to the business, all of which can, in turn, benefit your business.

Written by

Paul Sells
Chief Technology Officer, Cloud Direct
LinkedIn

 

You can level up your cloud strategy by partnering with a successful, experience cloud managed service provider like Cloud Direct. To find out more about how we can help you, let’s talk.

The cloud is not just a technology trend. It’s a total paradigm shift that impacts each and every aspect of your business. It enables you to access countless resources, to scale on demand, to innovate faster, and to deliver better customer experiences. But to realise these benefits, you need more than just a cloud strategy… you need a Cloud Operating Model.

Wait, what’s a Cloud Operating Model?

A Cloud Operating Model is a set of principles, practices, and processes that guide how you design, build, run, and govern your cloud-based applications and services. It covers everything from security, compliance and reliability, to performance, cost management, and automation. It also defines the roles, responsibilities, and required skills of your teams, and how they collaborate and communicate across the organisation.

Why is a Cloud Operating Model important to my business?

What makes a Cloud Operating Model so impactful is the alignment it enforces between your cloud adoption and your business objectives and outcomes. It helps you avoid common pitfalls such as silos, unnecessary complexity, damaging inefficiencies, and security risks. It also helps you leverage the full potential of the cloud, such as agility, scalability, innovation, and resilience.

Okay, so how do I create a Cloud Operating Model?

Creating a Cloud Operating Model is not a one-time project. It’s a continuous journey that requires a culture of learning and adaptation. As a starting point, you will need to tick off each of the following…

• Assess your current cloud maturity state and identify gaps and opportunities
• Define your vision and goals for your cloud adoption and how you will measure success
• Establish your cloud governance framework and policies to ensure compliance, security, and accountability
• Design your cloud architecture and infrastructure to support your applications and services
• Implement your cloud automation and DevOps practices to enable faster delivery and feedback
• Train and empower your teams with the skills and tools they need to work in the cloud
• Monitor and optimise your cloud performance, reliability, and costs
• Review and iterate your cloud operating model based on your feedback and learnings

Where can I find out more?

Microsoft’s Cloud Adoption Framework documentation: This is the official Microsoft guide to help plan, implement, and govern your cloud journey. It covers all the domains and disciplines of the CAF framework, with best practices, tools, and templates.

Microsoft’s article on defining your Cloud Operating Model: The CAF framework breaks down each aspect of the operating model into methodologies and provides guidance on how to design and implement your future state operations.

Microsoft’s Cloud Operating Model assessment: This is an online tool that helps assess current cloud readiness and maturity, and provides recommendations and guidance based on the CAF framework. It also generates a personalised report and action plan to help you achieve your cloud goals.

So I need a Cloud Operating Model to make my cloud adoption a success?

In short, yes. A Cloud Operating Model is a key enabler for successful cloud adoption. By aligning your cloud strategy directly with your business outcomes, you will set yourself and your business up to unlock the transformative, innovative opportunities that the cloud presents.

Written by

Paul Sells
Chief Technology Officer, Cloud Direct
LinkedIn

 

For more content on Cloud Operating Models, visit the sub-section of our Learning Hub. If you’re looking to get started, then get in touch with one of our experts who can help you understand how to get started.