The world of work has changed, and so have our device operating systems.

Are your remote or temporary users productive and secure from anywhere, on any device, without compromising IT security? It’s no longer enough to simply have the latest operating system, such as Windows 11, rolled out across your fleet. If you are managing a temporary or elastic workforce, working across both company-owned and personal devices, we know how challenging this can be to manage.

Introducing your solution: Microsoft Windows 365, a cloud service offering a new way to experience Windows 11. Connect to your own dedicated PC hosted in the Microsoft cloud, from any device or anywhere, and stream your personalised apps, settings, and content. Windows 365 helps you support your remote and hybrid workforce without sacrificing security or performance.

Want to learn more? Watch our webinar on demand below to hear from Data#3 Principal Solution Architect Sam Allitt, and Microsoft W365 Global Black Belt Andrew Lowson, as they demystify Windows 365!

Keen to learn more about Windows 365? Contact us to speak with one of our W365 experts directly and begin your Cloud PC journey.

Data#3, proudly sponsored by Cisco, Microsoft and Palo Alto Networks, are pleased to present to you: Delivering the Digital Future, Securely – for Western Australia.

Did you know 80% of Australian organisations have experienced a ransomware attack, compared to the global average of 68%1? Cyber security challenges continue to evolve, compliance obligations increase and skills shortages stress your teams – what if we could reframe our mindset towards cyber security?

During global cyber security awareness month, Data#3 customers joined us for a thought-provoking cyber security state seminar at The Westin Perth. Guests were treated with a keynote address from Peter Boulhas, WA Chief Information Security Officer at the Office of Digital Government, to hear how Project Fortify plays an important role in accelerating the cyber security posture of WA.

Attendees were then treated to an interactive panel discussion with Mr Boulhas and security experts from our sponsors.

  • Carl Solder, Chief Technology Officer, Cisco
  • George Coldham, Microsoft Security Advocate and Cloud Architect, Microsoft
  • Martyn Young, Senior Manager System Engineering, Palo Alto Networks

Enjoy this short video of what the day held for our attendees.

To learn more about Data#3’s security solutions, please speak to your Data#3 Account Manager or submit your enquiry online today.

1 Proofpoint (2022). Email cyber attacks on businesses soar. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.mybusiness.com.au/resources/news/email-cyber-attacks-on-businesses-soar
One thing we can all agree on, is that the nature of work has changed. 

Employees expect to work securely from anywhere, on any device. The modern workplace is evolving at lightning speed, with geographically disperse teams, rapid advancements in technology and complex security issues. 

Together with Microsoft, Data#3 hosted a series of virtual events exploring how Microsoft’s modern workplace solutions, coupled with the right digital tools, can connect and support employees, wherever they are, while encouraging productivity, engagement, and collaboration. 

Discover the benefits of modern workplace solutions from Microsoft and Data#3, in a series of sessions tailored to each step of your digital transformation journey. 

Session One

Surface Portfolio: See what’s new from Surface.

Data#3 is Microsoft’s largest Australian Surface partner and will work closely with you to end the frustrations associated with device sourcing, deployment and warranties. You can also access training and adoption services to upskill your people on their new devices, to ensure the greatest return from your investment.

Session Two

Modern Management: Helping you work smarter, not harder.

As Microsoft’s largest Australian partner, Data#3 is uniquely positioned to help your organisation realise the benefits of the anywhere workplace. Find out how Microsoft Endpoint Manager provides a flexible, unified and efficient way to manage devices without compromising security.

Session Three

Secure from Chip to Cloud: Protect your business with Microsoft security and Surface.

As a Microsoft Gold Certified Security Partner, Data#3 simplifies the increasingly complex task of protecting your critical technology assets. Combining the experience of a dedicated strategic consulting team, as well as hands-on cybersecurity specialists, Data#3 has one of the most mature and highly accredited security teams in Australia.

Session Four

Collaboration Utopia: Collaborate and connect like never before.

As Microsoft’s largest Australian partner, Data#3 is the safe pair of hands when looking to deploy Microsoft Teams Rooms across your organisation. We’re the only partner able to provide complete end-to-end support for your modern workplace initiatives with comprehensive strategies traversing the entire Microsoft ecosystem – including Microsoft 365, Teams Rooms and Calling. We create collaborative workplaces for your staff no matter where they are working from.

Session Five

Device as a Service: Shift from procuring devices, to procuring outcomes.

Data#3’s Device as a Service is the modern way to manage diverse device fleets. It is a unique managed lifecycle for all your end-user compute devices, including the services your environment requires to remain secure, well managed and accounted for.

Adobe recently added some major enhancements to Adobe Acrobat Pro to create a new all-in-one PDF and e-signature solution, Adobe Acrobat Sign.

In this live webinar, Adobe Principal Solutions Consultant, Matt Davis, demonstrates how your teams can boost productivity and collaboration using the expanded capabilities of Acrobat Pro, Adobe Acrobat Sign for Enterprise and the Document Services APIs:

  • Add e-signatures to digital document workflows
  • Work more efficiently with Microsoft 365 and Teams
  • Automate Document processes with Power Automate
  • Deliver enterprise grade security and compliance, and more

With deeper Microsoft integrations, enhanced e-signatures and more ways to collaborate, learn how your team can work more productively with Adobe Acrobat Pro.

Questions from the Webinar

What has changed with Adobe Acrobat?

As of August 8th 2022, Adobe’s e-signature functionality is now included in the Acrobat Pro platform. This won’t change too much for anyone with Acrobat Standard subscriptions, but Acrobat Pro users will receive some added functionality (see below).

Where can I access e-signatures in Acrobat Pro?

You can use the ‘Request e-signatures’ option in the Acrobat app, or on the web version of Acrobat depending on what you prefer.

Where is the data residency for Adobe Sign?

The Adobe Sign service will be onboarded to Australian shores, meaning the data will go through Adobe’s AWS data centres in Sydney, Australia.

What roles can you assign to people in SMB version of Adobe Sign?

You have access to three roles in the updated SMB version of Adobe Sign: signer, approver or form filler.

Are there any security features I can set up for my document?

Yes. You can assign each individual recipient a password, or set a global password to the entire document for added peace of mind.

Can I edit my document after I’ve sent it for signing?

You cannot edit the document itself, but you can change some settings of it. Within Adobe Acrobat you can view the signature progress, cancel the document, add notes or adjust the recipients.

What are Adobe Document Services?

Adobe Document Services are made up of PDF Services and Sign for Enterprise. These are APIs designed to automate your workflows and make your job easier.

How do I access Adobe Add-ins such as Adobe Acrobat for Microsoft 365?

If you have admin access to your Microsoft 365, you can find all the Adobe Add-ins on Microsoft AppSource and then make them available for your organisation.

Can I try out the Adobe APIs for free?

Yes. Head to https://developer.adobe.com/apis to start free trials of all the Adobe APIs discussed in this webinar.

How does pricing work for Adobe Sign for Enterprise?

You are able to purchase Adobe Sign for Enterprise for each individual employee at your organisation, although 99% of people purchase it as a transaction (or an envelope). The Adobe APIs also follow a similar transaction-based pricing framework.

Learn More about Adobe Acrobat

Has this webinar sparked your interest in the new functionality available in Adobe Acrobat? Speak to a Data#3 Licensing Specialist today to receive a quote for Adobe Acrobat Pro, or learn how to get the most out of your current Adobe subscription.

During the recent ISQ IT Managers forum, many schools expressed strong interest in a follow-up session on Microsoft 365 A5. As a result, Data#3 and Microsoft are excited to present this Licensing Update and Microsoft 365 A5 Deep Dive event.

Join our panel of experts from Data#3, Microsoft and Veeam in this webinar as they:

  • Explain the full Microsoft 365 A5 suite of offerings
  • Address the confusion around Student Use Benefits
  • Explore complimentary Microsoft 365 backup solutions from Veeam

Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 gives the power to securely backup Office 365 to any location, on-premises or in cloud, including Azure Blob Storage. In this session, Will Stezenko will also walk you through Veeam’s latest release, Version 6, and how you can take advantage of this at your school.

Questions from the Webinar

“What’s the value of Microsoft 365 A5?”

Microsoft 365 A5 adds value across four main solution areas:

  • Security
  • Compliance
  • Meetings & Calls
  • Analytics

“Do I have to buy the whole A5 suite?

No. You can choose from a range of mini suite offerings if that will better suit your needs. There are options to buy an A5 Security suite, or A5 Compliance suite among others. Talk to your Account Manager for more details about the suites available.

“How does Microsoft 365 help with security?” Microsoft 365 provides a simplified and affordable approach to security. By switching to Microsoft 365 A5 security, you can replace up to 26 other security vendors without losing any functionality or protection. Some key categories that Microsoft 365 A5 can help protect you in are:

  • Identity and access management
  • Threat protection
  • Information protection
  • Unified endpoint management
  • CASB

For example, one school may have over 1300 different applications they are using to manage security across all their devices and groups. By switching to Microsoft 365 A5, they can create a much better protected, more streamlined process for their organisation, while also saving up to 52%.

“What are the different security functionalities in the A5 suite?”

The Microsoft 365 A5 suite can provide a wide range of security offerings, including functions such as:

  • Defender of Office – malware detection, safe links and safe attachments
  • Defender for Identity – identity protection and conditional access for SSO applications
  • Microsoft Defender EP – endpoint detection and response (EDR) and end point protection (EPP)
  • Defender for Cloud Apps – extends protection and conditional access to other cloud apps

“What’s the difference between Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 and Plan 2?”

The Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 provides a light attack surface reduction and support package. This gives you next generation protection which is embedded inside Windows 10 and 11. In comparison, Plan 2 is a premium solution package. It still includes the attack surface reduction and next generation protection, but you also get endpoint detection and response, automation and remediation tools, and access to Microsoft threat experts.

“What Student Use Benefits are included in Microsoft 365 A5 for Education?”

If you license A5 for all your faculty and staff, you get the following four products for your students at no additional cost:

  • Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2
  • Azure Active Directory Premium Plan 2
  • Microsoft Cloud App Security
  • Microsoft Defender for Identity

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is not a Student Use Benefit. However, there are discounted pricing options available through Data#3.

“What is Veeam backup for Microsoft 365?”

Veeam backup for Microsoft 365 eliminates the risk of losing access to your Microsoft 365 data, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business and Microsoft Teams. It allows you to protect, store, copy and recover your data. Securely backup to any location, including on premises or cost-effective cloud object storage, and:

  • Protect your Microsoft 365 data from accidental deletion, security threats and retention policy gaps
  • Quickly restore individual Microsoft 365 items and files with industry-leading recovery flexibility
  • Meet legal and compliance requirements with efficient eDiscovery of Microsoft 365 backup data

“What is the new Veeam Self-Service Restore Portal?”

The self-service restore portal provides users with a location to efficiently divide restore permissions and access backup data across your organisation. It provides:

  • Automation and scalability
  • Time savings
  • Enhanced security

“Why is backup important?”

The golden rule of backups is the master 3 – 2 – 1 rule. This recommends that you should always have:

  • Three copies of your data
  • On two different media types
  • With one of them kept off site

Version 6 of Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 allows you to do just this. It saves you money by storing data in a low cost cloud object storage, while also keeping datasets divided with individual retention periods.

Free 30-Day Veeam Trial

Has this deep dive sparked your interest in the offerings and special discounts available from Microsoft and Veeam? Speak to a Data#3 Education Specialist today to get a Free 30-Day Veeam Trial or more information about the latest in Microsoft 365. If you’d like a closer look at the services showcased in this webinar, download the presentation slides below.

Data#3 and Tenable are pleased to present: Behind every breach is a known flaw.

With the rise of public cloud deployment, IoT, mobile and container technology, cyber criminals have more entry points than ever before to launch an attack. This elastic attack surface can often create gaps in an organisation’s ability to truly understand its cyber exposure at any given time.

Join our panel of experts from Tenable and Data#3 as they discuss how you can best protect your organisation from cyber attacks in this ever-changing landscape.

Learn how Tenable’s comprehensive cyber solutions, combined with Data#3’s extensive security expertise and services, will help you to close your cyber exposure gap with full visibility of the modern attack surface.

Questions from the Webinar

“What avenues do you need to cover from cyber attack?”

There are many avenues you need to cover to ensure cyber attackers cannot harm your business. This is called the ‘Attack Surface’ by Tenable and includes everything from your applications, computing, cloud, infrastructure, and development environments. The attack surface is very complex these days, so having a tool that allows you to report and investigate that entire landscape is very important.

“Why should you use Tenable?”

Tenable has been a recognised leader in the vulnerability management space for over 10 years. They are recognised as a leader in the industry because they focus their entire development team purely on vulnerability management. This gives the reassurance that by investing in Tenable products, you will be providing your organisation with a long-term relationship not just with Tenable but with their partners as well.

“How does Tenable protect your organisation?”

Tenable’s 2022 portfolio of products provides customers with an end-to-end perspective of your organisation’s vulnerability across every attack surface. This is known as tenable.ep and is a collection of eight modules that can be purchased individually or collectively.

“What are the Tenable.ep modules?”

  • Tenable.sc – Flagship module that provides a risk-based view of your IT, security, and compliance posture to identify and investigate vulnerabilities. Managed on-premises.
  • Tenable.io – Provides actionable insight into your entire infrastructure’s attack surface. Managed in the cloud.
  • Tenable.io Web App Scanning – Scan your websites and get actionable results in minutes.
  • Tenable Lumin – Allows you to visualise and explore your cyber exposure, track risk reduction over time and benchmark against your peers with a cyber exposure score.
  • Tenable.cs – Assess infrastructure as code before deployment and identify drift at runtime to secure the cloud at the speed of code.
  • Tenable.ad – Combined vulnerability management and active directory security to disrupt attack pathways, to ensure attackers struggle to find a foothold in your organisation.
  • Tenable.ot – Protects industrial networks from cyber threats, malicious insiders and human error.

“What vulnerability management services does Data#3 provide?”

As a Certified Tenable Managed Security Services Provider, Data#3 not only offers licenses at discounted rates, but also provides the following five security services as a baseline:

  • Solution Deployment
  • Vulnerability Scanning
  • Vulnerability Reporting and Dashboards
  • Optional Remediation
  • Tenable Management

Free Trial

Are you interested in giving Tenable a try, but you’re not sure if the program is right for your organisation? Data#3 and Tenable are very pleased to provide both a Tenable Proof of Concept and Free Trial for anyone interested in the software. Enquire either to your Data#3 Account Manager, or through the link below, to begin your journey to a more secure digital future today!

Education is evolving at lightning speed, with remote classrooms, new learning models, and complex security issues.

The right digital tools connect and support students, wherever they are, to foster participation, engagement, and collaboration.

Together with Microsoft, Data#3 specialists will show you how Surface for Education devices and Microsoft 365 address today’s technology challenges in education, providing an integrated hardware and software experience.

Discover the benefits of modern management solutions from Microsoft and Data#3, in a session tailored to Education.

To learn more about The Microsoft Surface Family with Data#3, please speak to your Data#3 Account Manager or submit your enquiry online today.

Part four of the Confident Decision Making with Power BI webinar series.

Historically, most data operates in a business silo, forcing teams to make isolated decisions. This outdated model doesn’t work in the modern data age, with organisations needing a planned infrastructure to deliver transformative insights.

Modernising the data estate starts with asking new questions.

How do we make our data discoverable, trustworthy, and understandable? How can we unleash the power of AI and machine learning? How do we govern and secure our data without hindering users from uncovering the insight they need?

In this session we cover the following:

  • Data modernisation overview
  • Why modernise, including tools and approaches
  • Example of a data modernisation assessment
  • First steps to transform your data estate

Where to from here?

To learn more about Power BI, please speak to your Data#3 Account Manager, visit our Power BI page or get in touch with us today.

This is webinar 4 of a 4-part series. Find the rest of the series below:

1. Data, Analytics and Visualisation with Power BI
2. Improve data governance and speed up discovery with Azure Purview and Power BI
3. How to get started with machine learning and Power BI
4. Tools and a data framework to modernise and migrate your data to Azure

Part three of the Confident Decision Making with Power BI webinar series.

Every day we are exposed to the magic of machine learning. Whether it is the risk assessment your mortgage lender performs in seconds, your super funds’ millisecond automated trading or the AI-powered voice assistants that answer your questions.

In this session, Data#3 will enhance your understanding of machine learning and explore the basic concepts. We will show how to create a simple model you can apply to your data and demonstrate a pretrained example.

Key topics explored include:

  • Understanding what machine learning is
  • Real time examples of developing a simple model
  • Discussing the Power BI products it is available for
  • Broader Azure machine learning and how it works with Power BI

Watch this session to find out how you can get started with Azure machine learning and powerful Power BI.

Where to from here?

To learn more about Power BI, please speak to your Data#3 Account Manager, visit our Power BI page or get in touch with us today.

This is webinar 3 of a 4-part series. Find the rest of the series below:

1. Data, Analytics and Visualisation with Power BI
2. Improve data governance and speed up discovery with Azure Purview and Power BI
3. How to get started with machine learning and Power BI
4. Tools and a data framework to modernise and migrate your data to Azure

To provide secure, consistent access wherever users and applications reside, the enterprise needs to now treat each user as an “individual branch,” without the additional IT spend and workforce that’s needed for that mammoth task.

Cue Cisco SASE; a simpler, more scalable method bringing network and security functions closer to users and devices, so users can connect securely and efficiently.

Join our panel of security experts from Cisco and Data#3 in this interactive Q&A as they discuss:

  • Perimeter-based security shifting to identity-based security
  • Cisco end-to-end SASE architecture and security integrations
  • The future of Cisco SASE

Questions from the Webinar

“Why are we talking about SASE?”

As many industries experience disruptions and move to the cloud, and users become more decentralised, organisations are put under more pressure to be able to deliver the same sort of networking capabilities in a more efficient way. This was, quite obviously, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, when many businesses were forced to move to remote working frameworks.

“What are the problems that SASE is attempting to solve?”

  • Connecting users from anywhere to their applications
  • Protecting against evolving threat vectors and attack surfaces
  • Delivering continued high quality user experience in smarter ways

“What is Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)?”

At its most basic level, SASE is simply about the control and security of users. This applies to remote sites, branch offices and for some customers their head offices as well. SASE is less of a solution and more of an architecture or journey. It is a suite of products as well as a method of approaching problems in a way that works for your organisation.

“What components make up SASE?”

  • Secure web gateway
  • CASB
  • FWaaS (Firewall as a Service)
  • SD-WAN
  • Zero Trust Network Access
  • Observability

“What impact does SASE have?”

  • Market Impact – It’s estimated that 60% of organisations will have a SASE strategy implemented by 2025.
  • User Impact – With SASE, users are given a much more streamlined experience without the use of tedious security strategies such as VPNs.
  • Operational Impact – Touch points are reduced for users with SASE, making operational management easier.
  • Financial Impact – SASE provides one solution under the same umbrella, reducing the number of vendors and licensing agreements.

“Are VPNs and other legacy technologies being made obsolete by SASE?”

No. Some legacy technologies may be re-prioritised, but they will not disappear, and many that are currently deployed will continue to serve their intended purpose. SASE’s goal is to change the way a lot of these technologies are delivered, as opposed to replacing them entirely. On the user front, it’s expected that a convergence of zero trust network access and VPNs will occur with the aim of making the user experience more simplified and secure. The technologies won’t go away but will change and evolve depending on each organisation’s needs.

“How does SASE improve security without sacrificing network traffic and latency?”

SASE is not designed to weaken the security posture of customers, but instead change the way it’s deployed to make it more manageable for security teams. Its main goal is to not remove any existing functionality, and instead improve on traditional frameworks.

“How do firewalls function within SASE?”

Some form of firewall functionality is still required in any security solution. SASE solutions may elect to put the firewall on-premises or in the cloud, and the only difference between the two options from a security standpoint is their focus. For example, a user-based firewall at an organisation’s head office would be focused on the user experience and ensuring all staff have secure access to the internet. It’s not the functionality of firewalls that is changing with SASE, but the manageability of firewall policy.

“Can SASE protect any user, device or location, and does it support any app?”

Yes. Many pre-existing technologies that protected users in browsers and applications have been brought forward into new SASE solutions. The only functionalities that have potentially been removed are ones that were not providing a useful solution for organisations in the past; the rest have been retained or improved. SASE is an architecture and can absolutely accommodate all use cases no matter the users, devices, apps or locations.

“How many security defences are cloud native versus hosted in the cloud, and does it matter?”

Cloud native traditionally means that a product is run as an as-a-service type offering; it’s not necessarily something that’s installed on a server or in the cloud. Some SASE solutions are cloud native, and some aren’t. One option is not necessarily better than the other. Ultimately, it’s more important that the solution meets the performance, availability and security requirements of the organisation, and these will be different for every user case. Cloud native does have advantages in that it provides greater scalability but the decision of how to deploy the SASE security solutions is up to each organisation.

“How does licensing work for SASE?”

The SASE licensing is component based (see above for full component list). Any of the SASE solutions can be pieced together under the one operational licensing model, which is a bonus of SASE. There are other bundling and enterprise licensing options as well.

“Should SASE be top of mind for CIOs and CISOs?”

All businesses are digital these days in some way. Organisations need to look at both security and connectivity, and SASE is the foundational architecture for that. It has many benefits that make it a critical security solution framework moving forward.

Free Demo

Has this interactive Q&A sparked your interest in the Cisco SASE solution? Speak to a Data#3 Security Specialist!