Pro: Saving money

A big advantage when using Cloud is the fact that you are saving money on both the equipment you need to buy and the software itself because most of the software itself, such as Google docs is free to use. Due to the fact that the apps and data are all stored on a number of computers and servers accessed via the internet, you don’t have to worry about not having an up-to-date machine or having to go out and purchase new equipment.

Con: Spending money

However a downside is that you need to have a constant, high speed connection to the internet to get the most from Cloud computing. If you have no internet connection then you simply can’t use the Cloud applications. If your connection is slow, you could find yourself just doing nothing for a while whilst you wait for a certain document to load.

Pro: Improved computer performance

If your computer is set up as part of a cloud, you will notice your computer will perform better too and boot up and run faster. This is due to the amount of processes and programs loaded into the systems memory has been greatly reduced compared to a normal desktop.

Con: Possible complete data loss threat

Also, be weary of relying heavily on the Cloud because if your data vanishes for some reason from the cloud then your data won’t be backed up unless you have downloaded all of your Cloud documents to your desktop, but very few users actually do this.

In conclusion, Cloud computing can prove to be extremely useful, especially to those who travel alot and can’t afford to be tied down to a desktop machine such as salespeople. But as with anything, a degree of care and thought should be given too when using it.

In Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft have introduced the new Text Effects button which gives the user the chance to add Word Art style effects to their text, but without turning the text into a graphic.

To access these text effects, you go to the Home tab and select Font. This will add a text effect button which you use to add the effects.

To get a set of effects that doesn’t appear in the pop-up Text Effects gallery, click the lower right corner of the Font group to launch the Font dialog box, and then click the Text Effects button at the bottom for a complete set of options.

2. Try some Calligraphy in your documents.

In Microsoft Office 2010, you get the chance to use effects to change text to make it look like fancy calligraphy work. To do this you have to experiment with the fonts as some don’t change as much as others.

To start experimenting, click the lower right corner of the Font group to launch the Font dialog box, and then select the advanced tab to access settings for custom kerning (character spacing), ligatures, and stylistic sets, which create the extended swirls that will achieve the calligraphic look with some of the fonts.

3. Use artistic effects on your pictures.

These artistic effects can be used to change your normal photos to make them look like drawings or painting and can add an artistic flare to the document itself.

To try out these new artistic effects, simply click the Artistic Effects button in the Picture Tools ribbon and then hover over the effect you wish to try out. Be prepared to wait a few second to preview some effects, however. To try different intensities and transparencies of effects, select the effect and click the Artistic Effects Options button at the bottom of the preview gallery.

4. Play videos from the internet in your PowerPoint presentations.

If there is a video that you would to use in a PowerPoint Presentation and it is only available online, there is now the option to play the video through PowerPoint if you play the presentation on computer with an internet connection.

In order to do this, just copy the embed code from the site, open the Insert tab on the ribbon, and click the Video button in the Media group on the far right. Then click Video from Web Site in the pop-up menu, and paste in the embed code.

5. Insert screenshots quicker and easier.

With Microsoft Office 2010, it is now even easier to insert screenshots of any windows that haven’t been minimized into a document.

To do this, go to the Insert tab; click the Screenshot button in the Illustrations group to get a pop-up window that shows all open windows. Click the one you want to capture and the screenshot will appear in your document, ready for any editing you need to do.

It is official, Microsoft have released the 2010 version of Microsoft Office. Choose from 3 different versions: Home and Student, Professional or Home and Business.

This new version offers a range of new features that the previous 2007 version lacked such as a new feature that Microsoft call a ‘Serial Connector’ in Microsoft Outlook which allows the user to write emails whilst seeing status updates from their family, friends and colleagues as well as showing any past communication with them.

Another new feature for 2010 is the new ‘Co authoring’ which can be used in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Note. This allows both you and colleagues to share and work on documents together online, in real time.

Microsoft gives you the chance to trial the product before you buy with a free trail which you can download from here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/try/try-office-2010-FX101868838.aspx?WT.mc_id=MiG_Products

For example: you choose to take the Microsoft Office Word 2007 Level 1 (Introduction) course, Infero’s fee is £168 exc VAT whilst another company charging for the same course charges £235 exc VAT. That’s a whopping £67 saving when you train with Infero!

There’s nothing like having a well skilled workforce and with Infero, you can train up your team with quality training courses at affordable prices.

See more great value Training Courses with Infero’s full money-back guarantee if you aren’t satisfied, subject to Terms and Conditions.

 
Well, Infero’s trainer Suada flew to Guernsey on a private jet of one of our prestigious customers to deliver the training. This is what Suada says about her experience.

‘That was awesome. The trip from the beginning till the end was very pleasant. People were very nice taking care of me from the beginning of the flight, while I was delivering training and on my return back. I hope they enjoyed the training and took something useful from it. I certainly enjoyed it a lot. I’ve learned about the history of our client, understood more about operation of the company and met lovely people.’

We might not need to fly to you, however we are always here to provide high-quality training courses if you need one.

A year ago I embarked on the journey of blog writing. I knew that I would receive no remuneration for writing, only the opportunity to share my knowledge and experience, and create a web space for anyone interested in working efficiently.

It certainly was an adventurous journey! Starting on the Wordpress hosting, we soon moved to our own hosting server. We started sending biweekly e-newsletters, and introduced a wider range of topics than Microsoft Office.

We published 70 articles and tips on helping you to work effectively. As a result, we have more than 450 regular readers of our e-newsletter and it is growing every week. People who are searching for our tips and tricks coming not only from the United Kingdom, but also from other 86 countries including the Unites States, India, Canada and Australia. 75% of the visitors to our blog are unique.

Our most popular posts were:

• Why Microsoft Excel is Magic for Your Business Inventory,
• Hints & Tips: MS Project – How to Unhide Columns in Gantt Chart,
• Putting the ‘Wow’ in to PowerPoint Presentation Part 1 Readability,
• Putting the ‘Wow’ into PowerPoint Presentation Part 2 Images,
• At Home with Microsoft Word Checklists,
• and Why your Business Needs to be More Like a Penguin.

So if you missed them here is your chance to read them again.

It was great to get your comments, messages and support. When we had problems with our blog hosting in April, some of you were impatient to receive your regular e-newsletter. J I almost lost my motivation to write then, and it is your regular messages to me enquiring on e-newsletter, which gave me the drive to start it again.

I would like to thank you all for your support! Without you this blog would disappear in the web of the Internet. I cannot express the impact comments you left have touched me. Thank you for your encouragement!

Yours truly,

The truth is that in tough times, well targeted, high quality training can keep a business one step ahead of the competition. Of course, there is the reality of limited budgets and overall resource planning to contend with. There’s no doubt that we all need to make careful choices right now. But this should be more about the quality of training, not writing IT and technical training off the list for the foreseeable future. So what is the best approach for keeping your team well skilled in challenging times? Here’s what you need to ask yourself:

What training should come top of your list?

What are your business priorities for the next month, six months, year? What skills are going to help push your people and your organisation forward? Prioritising will help you create the ideal training shopping list for your business. It’s time to go through your company’s training schedule and work out which courses are the most beneficial for now, and further down the line. Which courses are going to help upskill your staff? Which areas of the business could benefit from training on core skills like team building and time management? After all, both these skills help build a stronger, more efficient organisation. Think about what will keep your business competitive and prioritise your training plan around these areas.

Do you really know all your training options?

This could be the perfect opportunity to review and update the way you organise your training. Reassess your training options and you could uncover all kinds of interesting and more flexible opportunities. It’s always worth making a call and seeing what’s on offer. Ask your training provider about pricing options and discounts for group or advance bookings. You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised! It’s also worth chatting to your training provider about the full range of courses on offer.  Ok, you know they do Excel training, but are you aware of all the other technical and business training courses available? It pays to think flexibly.

Are you really thinking ahead?

Health Warning: significantly reducing your training spend could have serious implications for the long-term well being of your business. 

We all need to respond to economic changes in the short-term, but not to the long-term cost of our competitiveness. How will you progress when your team lacks up-to-date skills? How will your company cope with reduced productivity and decreased employee morale? Never stop planning for the long-term. Choose great quality training from the experts. After all, you are investing in the future of your business.

You can access flexible, budget-friendly IT and business training through Infero Training. We can also give you helpful, no-obligation advice on your training options and tell you how you can get a training grant of up to £1000! Contact us now.

But how do you review your systems to improve your own business performance – and make day-to-day work even easier, too? With a Microsoft Certified System Engineer or MCSE. More and more businesses are discovering the advantages of this mark of quality. So how could an MCSE-qualified professional help you?

The business benefits to your company are:

Reduced costs – bringing in a qualified professional will cut the costs of maintaining your workstations and personal computers. And you’ll be able to make your network more reliable with Microsoft Windows 2003 Active Directory – and have the professional support to back it up.

Improved performance – Microsoft’s Active Directory is powerful stuff for business. It could help you simplify your IT management, strengthen security, and boost how well your current systems and software work together. To make the most of this, your organisation needs a professional with the expertise to manage Active Directory and help you plan strategically for what you want your network to do in the years ahead. No one is better prepared to do this than a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) who is certified in Microsoft Windows 2003.

Up-to-date technology – MCSEs lead the way in helping businesses move effortlessly to the Windows 2003 operating system. They can also ensure you get all the potential benefits from Windows 2003 and Active Directory.

Easy progress – A smooth and successful is roll out of technology such as Windows 2003 Server is much more likely with the support of an MCSE-qualified professional. Technology experts IDC recently asked more than 500 Microsoft Certified Partners and Value-Added Provider Partners about the greatest benefit from a business perspective of having MCSEs. Eighty percent responded with shorter time to deploy Windows solutions, lower implementation risk, or an increased sales hit rate.

Great value – Hiring an MCSE makes better use of resources and improves performance. It all adds up to great value.

Stand out from the competition – keep ahead of a crowded marketplace with support from MCSE – and proven experience with Active Directory.

All kinds of businesses can develop with the help of MCSE professionals. They’ll ensure your IT works at its best for you – not against you! To benefit from the knowledge of an MCSE professional, book a course for your IT personnel.

What is the MCSE certification?

It’s the mark of quality. In fact it’s the premier certification for a professional involved with analysing the business requirements and designing and implement the infrastructure for business solutions based on the Microsoft Windows platform and Microsoft Windows Server System. In other words, a person involved with helping to make a business more productive through installing, configuring, and troubleshooting network systems.

Who needs MCSE certified professionals?

You do. The MCSE qualification is designed to suit the needs of a wide range of medium to large organisations. What they have in common is the need for specialist skills and knowledge to maximise typically complex systems and ways of working.

Why your business needs Microsoft Certified System Engineers

Microsoft products are designed specifically to boost business performance. Whether it’s engineering or egg farming, Microsoft’s technology can drive a business forward with extra agility, speed, and reliability to compete and win. An MCSE-qualified professional provides your business with an in-house expert with the most up-to-date expertise on these powerful tools and solutions.

The qualification is so well respected that according to Microsoft, in a 2001 survey of 225 technical and non-technical hiring managers representing companies in a variety of industries, 89 percent of respondents said they recommend Microsoft certification for candidates seeking an IT position at their company.

So why doesn’t your organisation benefit from training such that your IT personnel can become MCSE professionals?