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Many people usually turn to Microsoft’s online productivity suite, Office 365 because of the apparent breadth and depth of its features, which allow them to accomplish what they are unable to do with other similar products on the market.

However, the business environment is always changing and organizations increasingly put a premium on agility, as staying competitive means being able to do more with less. Time is increasingly more valuable as well. Organizations need technology that requires very little training to reduce onboarding expenses for new employees.

With this understanding, Microsoft is rolling out updates to its Office 365 and the Office.com environment to simplify tasks and take the user experience to a higher level. Once this rollout is complete, users will be able to enjoy a much better experience across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, as well as Outlook.

While these user experience updates are set to roll out slowly over the next couple of months, many of them are already available for Office.com users to experiment with. Microsoft has deployed new designs to a select customer group. These will be released in phases and carefully tested, so the tech giant can learn as they go.

A user centric approach

According to Microsoft, every change they are making on the user experience is focused on three key things: incorporating customer input, considering the context under which the feature will be best and most easily applied, and giving people control over their experience.

It is actually because of this user-centered approach that Microsoft is rolling out these updates gradually to allow room for incorporating the new feedback they obtain from customers during the process.

Shadow and depth on Office

As you scroll over the items on Office.com, you will notice that they pull forward with shadow and depth. This is because Microsoft is bringing its Fluent Design system to the web and to Office 365.

More importantly, Microsoft has rebuilt Office on a modern platform to be much faster and far more efficient than ever. So you’ll notice that every item you tap, such as a Word document, opens much faster than ever.

Simplified ribbon

Once you open your document, you’ll notice an updated, simplified, and better version of the ribbon. The new ribbon design will help users focus on their work and collaborate with others in a more natural and informal way.

For those who prefer to dedicate more screen space to showing commands, there is the option to expand the ribbon into the classic three-line view. This option will continue to be available to users so that everyone can choose the experience they prefer.

The simplified ribbon is first rolling out on the web version of Word. It will then become available to select consumers on Office.com and to Select Insiders in Outlook for Windows later on in July.

The simplified ribbon will not be available on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Windows yet. Microsoft intends to gather enough feedback from a broader set of users before implementing any changes that could disrupt people’s work. Upon rolling out the ribbon on these products however, users will still be able to revert back to the classic version of the ribbon with just a single click.

New animations

As part of the Fluent Design system, the ribbon has been improved with new animations. The user experience is improved with better speed and velocity to improve the overall look and feel. All these have been designed to be inclusive and accessible so that the user experience is streamlined.

New icons and color in the right places

Along with the new animations, users will enjoy a fresh array of new colors and icons. These will help people find the commands they’re looking for more easily. These new features were developed as scalable graphics. They render with precision on any screen size or type.

Users will be able to see the new icons and colors first in the web version of Word for Office.com. Select Insiders will see these new features in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Windows in late June. The new icons and colors will then roll out to Outlook for Windows in July, and ultimately to Outlook for Mac in August.

Personalized intelligent Search

Microsoft is also rolling out a new personalized, intelligent Search feature across its products. This will provide access to commands, content, and people in a more enhanced manner. This feature makes suggestions on actions you can take, the content you may be looking for, and people that you may want to connect with – all based on your past work patterns. For those who love Office 365 and even for those who may not yet be fans, these new updates promise a world-full of new possibilities.

All you have to do is place your cursor in the search box and all these recommendations powered by machine learning and the Microsoft Graph will show up.

This experience is already available to commercial users in SharePoint Online, Office.com, and the Outlook mobile app. Commercial users of Outlook on the web will also start seeing this experience in action in August.

Wrap up

These updates are a sign of Microsoft’s commitment to making its products more useful to its customers. Against this backdrop, we can expect nothing but the best user experience from these products as the tech giant continues to roll out innovative modifications.

Yam Jam – The Virtual Town Hall Experience That Brings Your Organization Together

If you are an avid user of Office 365 or have in some way expressed interest in Microsoft’s online environment, then you’re probably familiar with Yammer – the freemium enterprise social networking service that is used for private communication within organizations.

Also, chances are that you have come across terms such as “Yammer Town Hall,” “Yammer Power Hour,” or “Yammer Time.”  They all refer to the same thing: Yam Jam.

What is Yam Jam?

This is simply a digital meetup on the Yammer network. It provides a unique space for real-time Yammer discussions where people can exchange ideas and learn from one another. One of its strong points is that an organization’s employees have the opportunity to break the typical organizational chain of command and interact directly with senior leaders alongside fellow staff.

As such, you can look at Yam Jam as a curated virtual town hall event that is held within a designated group in the Yammer network.

Attendees within Yam Jam get the rare opportunity to interact directly with subject matter experts, company leaders, or executives as well as with one another (fellow employees). Anyone can participate in Yam Jam because it is actually an open environment on the network. They can ask questions related to the topic of discussion, learn from the experts, and share ideas with one another.

Every Yam Jam event typically lasts about an hour but they continue on after the live event is finished, which is the best part. This makes global engagement much easier and more inclusive, which can be extremely helpful for organizations with remote staff. It brings them together regardless of where they are on the planet. Yam Jam events are also scalable and measurable, in addition to being low cost and focused.

The fun thing about Yam Jam

Yam Jam is not restricted to a single shape and size. The type of event you hold on this network is determined by your specific need. There is also the option to @mention someone on the Yam Jam environment so that they get notified about an ongoing event that they can benefit from.

Thinking about hosting a Yam Jam? Here’s why you should

There’s so much your organization stands to gain from hosting Yam Jam. For starters, the events enable your employees to engage with multiple participants on Yammer, which can promote the culture of cooperation.

Participants on Yam Jam share ideas and insights with one another and receive valuable information that they can use to better their performance and productivity of the organization overall.

More importantly, Yam Jam is a means for the employees to break hierarchy and interact directly with company leadership. Participants can not only gain richer insights from subject matter experts but also get a chance to address pressing matters with the company leadership and reach solutions that may benefit them and the organization as well.

Employees can build a great deal of confidence in their senior leadership from interacting in the Yammer Town Hall. Leaders also get a good opportunity to interact directly with practitioners in a way that helps them remain connected to the massive pool of talent within the organization.

Yam Jam best practices to ensure you make the most of your events

One interesting thing about Yam Jam is that they are rather easy to organize or set up; anyone can do it. To host a successful Yam Jam, here are some tips to ensure you have your best foot forward.

Ensure your participants are Yammer savvy

Yam Jam participants need to have sufficient Yammer knowledge to effectively participate in any event on the platform. As such, it will help to do some due diligence beforehand to be certain that your team or the audience you’re targeting is well-versed on the network. Otherwise, consider offering a Yammer training session before taking the plunge.

Choose an appropriate time and topic

Participants are bound to contribute properly if the time is right and the discussion involves pertinent topics or ones with varying viewpoints. The time is right when the participants are in a position to take part. As such, it is best to consider time zones and days of the week when jobs and other similar engagements are not likely to stand in the way.

Advertise the event properly

People easily forget schedules, so it is important that you keep them properly informed about the event and the exact time, date, and topic of discussion so everyone can prepare appropriately. Remember, the more engaged the participants are, the more interaction the event is likely to achieve. The more interactive the event, the more likely it is to be productive.

Wrap up

Yam Jam can be hugely beneficial to any organization that seeks to improve and become more productive, especially if they provide participants with a proper feedback loop, or means to give feedback at the end of the live event. If you haven’t tried it yet, then no time is better than the present.

Officials recently revealed that a data breach occurred involving a Navy Contractor where hackers working for the Chinese government gained access to highly sensitive data regarding submarine warfare. Included in the breach were top secret plans for the design of a supersonic anti-ship missile system that was to be used in U.S. submarines by the year 2020.

American officials have confirmed that these breaches occurred in January and February of 2018, but would say very little else about the breach, citing the secret nature of the stolen plans. An investigation into what happened and exactly how the breach occurred is ongoing and the government is reluctant to speak of the incident while the investigation unfolds.

Though the naval contractor was not identified, U.S. officials confirmed that he worked for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. This military organization is located in Newport, R.I. They conduct research on underwater weaponry and develop weapons specifically for submarines.

The Sea Dragon Project

The stolen data consisted of 614 gigabytes of information closely related to a project called Sea Dragon. In addition, radio room materials related to cryptographic systems were stolen along with, signaling and sensor data. The Washington Post has obtained more detailed information about this breach but, at the request of the U.S. Navy, they have agreed not to publish those facts. The military believes releasing these documents could further harm national security and put other military projects in jeopardy.

One of the more alarming details of the breach was that this naval contractor had highly sensitive information about Sea Dragon stored on his personal computer and phone. These devices did not have the necessary security protocols for storage of classified government documents. The contractor was using a normal unclassified network for his phone and computer despite knowing that the information he was privy to was of top-secret nature. Charges may be filed against the individual for not taking basic steps to secure the data and following NIST guidelines.

Problems with Naval Contractors

This incident has sparked highly-charged discussions about the Navy’s ability to properly oversee its vast network of contractors. Many of these people have access to the designs for America’s latest weaponry. Loss of these plans and blueprints could result in a devastating effect on America’s military capabilities.

Last week, the inspector general’s office at the Pentagon confirmed that Jim Mattis, Defense Secretary, was currently reviewing the handling of all military contractors. Mattis and his team will investigate whether there are other blatant cybersecurity issues that could possibly leak classified information to the Russians, Chinese, or North Koreans.

The Navy, working in conjunction with the FBI, is currently leading the investigation into what happened.

The naval spokesman, Cmdr. Bill Speaks, commented saying, “There are measures in place that require companies to notify the government when a ‘cyber incident’ has occurred that has actual or potential adverse effects on their networks that contain controlled unclassified information.” He added that “It would be inappropriate to discuss further details at this time.” The FBI has declined to comment.

Is the Sea Dragon Project Sunk?

Little is known about the Sea Dragon project, except that the project was designed to provide a “disruptive offensive capability” by “integrating an existing weapon system with an existing Navy platform.” In addition, the Pentagon said that the project has to date, cost over $300 million. The Navy had plans to begin underwater testing as early as September of 2018, but those plans will now most likely be placed on hold.

Military experts believe that China will now be able to develop technology that will render the Sea Dragon project ineffective. There is some speculation that other weaponry projects could also be compromised.

The government has set in place an extensive array of security protocols and guidelines to ensure that events like this do not happen.

According to the Nist.gov website:

All Department of Defense (DoD) contractors that process, store or transmit Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) must meet the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) minimum security standards by December 31, 2017, or risk losing their DoD contracts.[1]

Stopping Hackers in their Tracks

DFARS regulations were created to stop cyber breaches like Sea Dragon from taking place. All government contractors and sub-contractors are required to use high-level security protocols anytime they store, process or transmit sensitive government data.

According to a study done by IBM in 2014[2], human error is involved in as many as 95 percent of all data breaches. Cyber breaches are successful because hackers prey on human weaknesses. Most commonly, hackers lure an unsuspecting victim into giving access to the cyber thief believing him to be a legitimate person or company. Hackers are able to sell the information they obtain on the Dark Web.

Many governments around the world now employ a staff of hackers who work continuously to steal data from large companies, individuals, hospitals, various government organizations, non-profits and many others. The stolen information will fetch a high price on the Dark Web. In the case of Sea Dragon, the data loss could place an advanced Naval weapons systems into the hands of the Chinese.

[1] https://www.nist.gov/mep/cybersecurity-resources-manufacturers/dfars800-171-compliance

[2] https://securityintelligence.com/the-role-of-human-error-in-successful-security-attacks/