Decoded Clouds

10/24/2025

🚨NIST has updated its password guidelines to make security easier and more effective:

📏 Longer is better.
Use passwords that are 15+ characters if possible.

‼️ No weird rules.
You don’t need to mix symbols, numbers, and uppercase letters unless you want to.

🚫 No more frequent changes.
You only need to change your password if it’s been compromised.

🛠️ Use tools.
Password managers and copy-paste are encouraged.

🚦 Security behind the scenes.
Systems should protect your password with strong encryption and limit login attempts.

✅ Bottom line: Focus on long, memorable passwords and let technology do the heavy lifting.

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NIST Special Publication 800-63B

08/28/2025

Get more productivity, better security, and cost savings when you maximize the value of your technology investments with Microsoft 365.

No matter how you run your business or your team, Microsoft 365 is the cloud-first platform that enables all the ways people work today – wherever, whenever, and however.

Sign up for our mailing list to learn why Microsoft 365 is a better way to work for your small business. We can help you do more with less. Let’s stay connected!

08/26/2025

It’s hard to overstate the impact of having secure and reliable productivity and collaboration tools. It’s these tools that enable the communication, flexibility, and innovation that keep businesses thriving in this new era of hybrid work.

Small- and medium-sized (SMB) businesses are no exception, but they need tools tailored to their unique needs and challenges. Microsoft 365 for Business can help your business do more with less.

See how.

Businesses of all industries and sizes have had to adapt to new ways of working, a challenging operating environment and ever-changing customer expectations....

08/20/2025

Digital transformation and cloud migration can be a complex process. It takes comprehensive planning, successful ex*****on, and ongoing maintenance after everything goes live.

In this article from the San Francisco Business Times, read about the advantages of moving to the cloud, and five pitfalls to avoid as your business builds its plan for digital transformation.

Read more.

Harnessing the power of cloud computing is not always easy. It takes comprehensive planning, expert-level ex*****on and upkeep after everything goes live.

08/19/2025

Elite Construction + Development, a small Washington company, owes much of its success to unfettered collaboration and a communication-first approach, which is now at the center of the company’s enthusiastic adoption of Microsoft Teams.

When Elite became overwhelmed with a dozen or more overlapping technology platforms, it decided to consolidate to Microsoft 365, retaining only one third-party solution—its specialized accounting software. Elite uses Microsoft 365 apps for every other function in the company—creating content, managing projects, scheduling, collaboration, and even telephony.

08/06/2025

Remote work, managed services, and technology solutions that help your business do more with less – according to Entrepreneur.com, these are just a few of the ways you can incorporate efficiencies into your business to help keep it recession-proof.

Read more to learn strategies that can help you increase efficiency, decrease overhead, and bolster your business to weather a recession.

Between the near-total shutdown of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the highest inflation rates we've seen in decades, and the economy entering a downturn in the first quarter of...

08/05/2025

As a leading communications provider in the Asia-Pacific region, Toku helps companies streamline their workflows and optimize customer experiences by moving their business communications to the cloud.

They needed a cost-efficient endpoint security solution that would help them implement a zero-trust strategy company-wide. They turned to Microsoft 365 Defender to eliminate cyber threats.

Today, Toku enjoys enterprise-grade protection against cyberattacks and boasts high scores on IT security and compliance, cementing trust among its customers as a result.

07/31/2025

Small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) must successfully manage many of the same collaboration challenges that face larger enterprises—but with lower budgets.

Microsoft commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) SMBs can realize by deploying Microsoft 365 for business.

This eBook covers nine customers’ investments in Microsoft 365 for business, and the resulting organization-wide improvements to productivity and reductions to travel and technology expenses.

Read more.

07/29/2025

There's no shortage of technology to answer virtually every work-related need, but this disjointed landscape of apps from different vendors can add up financially. Simply consolidating to a single all-in-one platform eliminates the possibility that you're paying for redundant capabilities or overlapping services.

Microsoft 365 can help meet every work-related technology need. You can also save by consolidating point solutions and replacing third-party security and identity applications. Microsoft 365 is your one solution to do more with less.

07/23/2025

For businesses in start-up and growth periods, staying lean to ensure healthy growth is crucial.

Here, Forbes offers 15 ways to save money when a business is in a growth stage – including automating processes with cutting edge technologies – that can be used for any business interested in working smarter and doing more with less.

While the ultimate goal is to get into an optimal rhythm in terms of cash flow, saving wherever you can is important during a growth stage.

07/22/2025

Every Morning Consulting, a small sales consultancy based in Madrid, Spain, works to help SMB clients achieve growth and improve profitability.

During pre-pandemic times, most meetings with clients were in person, and traveling was the norm. When COVID-19 hit, the firm turned to the free version of Microsoft Teams, and later adopted Microsoft Teams Essentials for its expanded capabilities.

With Teams Essentials, Every Morning Consulting is now closer to their customers and more flexible in day-to-day day activities. And they see new avenues of growth for the future.