ENow News & Updates

Last week Microsoft announced Windows 365, a new cloud service that introduces an innovative way to experience Windows 10 or Windows 11 (when W365 is generally available later this calendar year) for workers of all types, from interns and contractors to software developers and industrial designers. Windows 365 takes the operating system to the Microsoft Cloud, securely streaming the full Windows experience—including all your apps, data, and settings—to your personal or corporate devices. This approach creates a fully new personal computing category, specifically for the hybrid world: the Cloud PC.

As hopefully many of you already know Exchange Server 2016 entered the Extended Support phase of its product lifecycle on October 14th 2020.  During Extended Support, products only receive updates defined by the Fixed Life Cycle.  For Exchange Server 2016, the Fixed Life Cycle will include any required product and security updates and time zone definition changes. With the transition of Exchange Server 2016 to Extended Support, the quarterly release schedule of cumulative updates (CU) will end.

A critical milestone during a merger or acquisition for enterprise end-users is Day 1. This is the first day when the merging organizations officially start working as one. It lays the foundation out of the gate and can affect the first 100 days post-transaction. To achieve a successful Day 1, it all comes down to IT.

For investors, executives and the entire business, the much anticipated and immediate synergies, growth and business benefits of a merger or acquisition concentrates everyone’s expectations.

These days, chances are you will be asked to help orchestrate a merger or acquisition at some point, if you have not already. But you don’t have to wait until the project is underway. In fact, you can get started on a few things now,  before an M&A is even being discussed by your executive team.

A quote by Bill Gates, "Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don't think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without talking about the other,"  still holds true today, especially when it comes to mergers and acquisitions (M&As).

In 2020, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) evolved rapidly. Activity started modestly at the beginning of the year, but M&As had plenty of potential to gather momentum. Then the pandemic hit, and by late March, most deal-making had come to a standstill. Focused on transitioning staff to working from home, shoring up balance sheets and maximizing liquidity, many companies shelved any M&A plans they may have had. The good news – global M&A activity recovered dramatically in the second half of 2020.

As we start off 2021, we thought it would a perfect time to look back at the ENow Solution Engine blog results for 2020.

It was an interesting year to say the least. Many of us found ourselves working remote (whether our organizations were prepared for it or not) amongst the many other challenges 2020 brought and although we've learned a lot, we think it's safe to say we're all ready for a fresh start in 2021.

Microsoft Ignite 2020 Recap

Microsoft’s virtual Ignite conference was held this week and did a pretty good job of maintaining the hype and excitement of a real in-person event. Gone were the opportunities to talk with colleagues in-between sessions or in the hallways, but I think Microsoft made the most of this two-day virtual event and made it easy for attendees to view the pre-recorded content they wanted to see on their own schedules. This content is still available in the Ignite 2020 Virtual Hub.

About Techtronic Industries (TTI)

Techtronic Industries (TTI) is a fast-growing world leader in Power Tools, Accessories, Hand Tools, Outdoor Power Equipment, and Floor Care for Do-It-Yourself (DIY), professional and industrial users in the home improvement, repair, maintenance, construction and infrastructure industries.