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What are Software Audits?

August 18, 2017 By eStormAdmin

What Is a Software Audit?

A software audit is a formal review of an organisation’s software suite which can be limited to one manufacturer (for example, a Microsoft or Adobe-specific audit), or open to all operating software within a business.

In a lot of cases, audits will be conducted by specific manufacturers (or parties acting for those manufacturers) who are interested exclusively in their own products. However, businesses may have a partnering company who can do a complete audit on their entire software suite.

The purpose of a software audit is to determine the nature of a software product, software process, or set of software processes to assess compliance with specifications, standards, contractual agreements, or other criteria. The manufacturer is then permitted to conduct an audit at their leisure to ensure that the agreement has been adhered to. Note that “Agreed to Terms” may be implied if you are simply using their software.

The Difference Between Manufacturer & Preparatory Audits

Manufacturer audits

A manufacturer will conduct an audit to ensure their IP and relevant agreement are being protected. The audit may detect, amongst other things, the use of pirated, expired,
or unauthorised software. Typically, a manufacturers audit will result in compliance, or, the business being required to take immediate action to prevent further legal or nancial penalties.

Preparatory audits

Preparatory audits are audits conducted by a business itself or by a partnering organisation such as eStorm. A preparatory audit can examine the compliance of all software within an environment, and can reallocate licenses that aren’t being used, saving the organisation money. Feasible and potentially more economical strategies can then be devised to address potential non-compliance issues.

Common Non-compliance Issues

Software not evolving with changes in IT systems or hardware may conflict with your licensing structure or agreement. Some software license contracts may be aligned with certain technologies and once these technologies are replaced or upgraded, the license agreement you were operating under may be unintentionally compromised.

Not conducting regular internal software audits. Regular internal software audits can save businesses a lot of trouble. They can be executed any which way a business chooses – by acquiring a partnering business to examine the environment, or by walking around the of ce with a clipboard and pen. Whichever method a business chooses will help avoid compliance issues should an external audit be thrust upon your company.

An unclear software licensing policy inside an organisation can catch them unaware of potential licensing breaches. Multiple license types – open licensing, OEM, per device, per user, volume licensing, upgrade licensing etc, can make it decidedly tricky to understand what can and cannot be done with particular licenses.

Example: A business may buy 100 per-device licenses. If they “ghost” (or replicate) an image of one PC to create a standardised desktop, a new license will be required for each new system that the replicated image is loaded on to. The new system will still work without a new license, however “sharing” a license could be in breach of the original agreement.

Not establishing and enforcing software installation and usage policies can complicate software licensing issues from day one. Installation and usage policies are critical to outlining how software is to be utilised, shared, or acquired within a business. The usage policy will outline what is acceptable (or legal) and what is not. The consequences of breaching these policies also need to be communicated.

Not dedicating the responsibility of compliance to an internal team or business partner will hinder a businesses ability to stay on top of their software licenses. Whilst allocating responsibility to one person inside a business creates bottlenecks and redundancy issues, an internal team or external business partner can strategise ways to ensure your organisations software is compliant by conducting regular preparatory audits as part of their regular business-as-usual activities.

 

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

During the 2013 calendar year, 58% of 1800 executives surveyed from Australia, the USA and Europe said they had been audited by one major manufacturer of software, whilst 20-30% acknowledged that they had been audited by at least four other major software brands. Of those who were audited, more than 20% incurred “true-up” costs of more than $1M, while the majority of respondents incurred costs of around $100K.

Ensure your business is protected from Software auditing and speak to an eStorm Managed Services representative today.

Filed Under: eStorm News, General News, IT Support Tagged With: it strategy

Now FREE – iWork, iMovie and GarageBand

April 19, 2017 By eStormAdmin

Apple quietly rolled out updated versions of its iWork, iMovie and GarageBand apps on Mac and iOS today, making them free for all customers on both platforms.
Many customers already had free copies of these apps, as they came free with new Mac or iOS devices. The pricing change removes the requirement to have bought new Apple hardware to get the apps for free. This expands the apps’ reach to anyone using Apple devices, even if they didn’t but new new or are using older devices.

iWork is actually a suite of productivity apps — Numbers, Keynote and Pages to rival Microsoft Office and Google Docs. GarageBand and iMovie are more directed to consumer and education, for music and video editing.

Prior to the price change, the Mac versions of the iWork apps were $19.99 and the iOS versions were $9.99 each. iMovie and GarageBand for Mac were $14.99 and $4.99, respectively, and their iOS counterparts were $4.99 on the App Store.
Since late 2013, Apple had been bundling these apps with new devices or making them free to download.

Below is a list of the now free apps, along with the software version requirements needed to run the latest versions:

iWork Mac: macOS 10.12 or later
iWork iOS: iOS 10.0 or later
iMovie Mac: macOS 10.11.2 or later
iMovie iOS: iOS 9.3 or later
GarageBand Mac: macOS 10.10 or later
GarageBand iOS: iOS 10.2 or later

Filed Under: Education, eStorm News, General News, Mobile, News Tagged With: Apple

Skype Translation Services breaking down language barriers

April 11, 2017 By eStormAdmin

Microsoft, through Skype and its other translation services, is making it even easier for people to share information across the globe.  Skype Translator can help you communicate in 8 languages for voice calls, and in more than 50 languages while instant messaging.

With the advent of the internet, there are fewer barriers to communication than ever before. Distance is no longer a barrier to  talking to each other. Now, with more advancements in technology and software, language will soon not be an impediment either.

These innovations are not just useful for social or business purposes. More medical practitioners, scientists, teachers and leaders are collaborating  across the globe. Increased functionality from these services will allow such collaboration to be even more widely, and readily available with language no longer being the hurdle.

 

Filed Under: Education, eStorm News

Clips the new iOS app – COMING SOON

March 22, 2017 By eStormAdmin

Introducing Clips. A new iOS app for making and sharing fun videos with text, effects, graphics and more. Adding content is simple and quick. Just record it on the spot, or grab a video clip or photo from your library. Live Titles let you easily create animated captions — just by talking as you record. Choose from a variety of styles, all perfectly timed to the sound of your voice. Pick a filter that flatters. Drop in an emoji. Apply overlays like speech bubbles and arrows. Or set the mood with music that automatically adjusts to the length of your video. Clips recognises who’s in your videos and makes smart suggestions for sharing. Just tap a name to send your video using Messages.

Filed Under: eStorm News, Mobile, News Tagged With: Apple

NEW iPad Range Announced

March 22, 2017 By eStormAdmin

Well finally we have some answers to the “What’s going on with iPad’s?” question.

Apple with very little pomp and ceremony announced the that the iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 2 and Mini 4 32GB are all now end of life and the lineup is pretty close to what we expected.

New iPad (5th Gen) in 32GB or 128GB (Space Grey, Silver, Gold) entry level device starting from $469 RRP

iPad mini 4 now only in 128GB capacity (Space Grey, Silver, Gold)

iPad Pro 9.7-inch or 12.9-inch.

Watch this space for availability and pricing from eStorm.

Filed Under: Apple, eStorm News, Mobility Tagged With: Apple

Mars in Virtual Reality

March 21, 2017 By eStormAdmin

Buzz Aldrin, the second man to step on the Moon, has launched a virtual reality movie detailing his plan to get humans to Mars.

The film – Cycling Pathways to Mars – lasts just under 10 minutes and features the astronaut as a hologram narrating the experience.

Mr Aldrin’s plan involves using the moons of Earth and Mars essentially as pitstops for people travelling to and from the Red Planet – a trip that will take about six months each way.

Speaking to the BBC, he said he hoped the film would help governments focus on a single plan to get to Mars.

“You can’t afford to do them all,” he said of competing visions. “Because it’s using up the budget that we’ve got and we’re going nowhere.”

SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk is investing in space exploration and travel, but said it’s governments who must provide the guidance for achieving the goal of a Mars colony, not companies.

The film brings the viewer to the surface of Mars – surrounded by an envisioning of what a Mars colony may look like.

The film was one of many on show at SXSW’s virtual cinema, a collection of virtual and augmented reality experiences.

 

Charles Singletary from Upload VR, said he was impressed with the experience.”The production quality makes you feel like you’re standing in the middle of a high tier sci-fi film, which makes it all the more mind blowing that Buzz is guiding you through something that could realistically be implemented. “The hologram was very crisp and was presented as a projection in the virtual space, a small detail that keeps the immersion intact.”

The film is available for to view on HTC’s Vive headset – and is coming soon to the Oculus Rift.

Filed Under: eStorm News Tagged With: emerging technology

Microsoft Surface Pro 5???

March 16, 2017 By eStormAdmin

People are already very excited for the upcoming Microsoft Surface Pro 5. Reports have it that it will be out as early as  April along with Windows 10. This is not confirmed and is purely speculation with other rumours reporting October release dates. We here at eStorm are looking forward to Microsoft officially advising on it’s release (whenever it happens). Stay tuned for more news and updates.

To wet the appetite, here are the unconfirmed specs of the highly anticipated device. Microsoft Surface Pro 5 is expected to feature the Intel Kaby Lake Core i7 processor. The new chip will improve the device’s overall performance and save battery life as well. It will also be equipped with 16GB RAM and 512 GB internal storage. However, this is still unconfirmed as some sources claim that the device will have Qualcomm Snapdragon 365 processor.

Microsoft Surface Pro 5 will come with a rechargeable Surface Pen, new keyboard base and a lightweight aluminum body. Reports are rife that it will also have a 12.3-inch ultra HD/4K display, USB Type-C support and a robust battery life.

Filed Under: Digital Learning, eStorm News, Microsoft, Mobility, News Tagged With: Microsoft

Apple Teacher Program

February 27, 2017 By eStormAdmin

Apple just announced Apple Teacher, a new program created to support and celebrate teachers. The program provides a self-paced learning experience with tips, inspiration, news and learning materials to help unlock the magic of iPad, Mac and built-in apps in the classroom. Earn badges and an official Apple Teacher logo so you can share your achievement with the world. Sign up today!

To learn more and to sign up, visit the Apple Teacher website.

 

Filed Under: Education, eStorm News, News Tagged With: Apple, education

JAMF PRO your Apple MDM solution

February 13, 2017 By eStormAdmin

Give employees and students the tools they need to have more ah-ha moments at work and in the classroom. Designed to automate device management for you while driving end-user productivity and creativity, Jamf Pro (formerly Casper Suite) is the EMM tool that delights IT pros and the users they support by delivering on the promise of unified endpoint management for Apple devices.

~JAMF

eStorm has extensive experience supporting our clients with MDM solutions. Jamf Pro is one such tool that we believe outperforms other MDM’s particularly in the Apple space.

Hands-on, user-initiated or zero-touch deployment. Jamf integrates with Apple Device Enrollment Program (DEP), so you can automatically enroll and configure new Macs, iPads or iPhones remotely. Time-consuming imaging and manual configurations can now be a thing of the past. Together, Jamf and Apple DEP go beyond the basic mobile device management (MDM) capabilities to help you deliver a streamlined experience.

For this looking for a more hands on approach, Mac imaging lets you take part in a manual approach to deploying computers. Utilize Jamf Pro to build modular or monolithic images and deploy them fast. Or you can completely wipe the computer’s drive and start with a fresh image.

If you’re implementing a bring your own device (BYOD) program or managing devices already in use, user-initiated enrollment is the way to go. Through a webpage, allow users to self-enroll their devices into Jamf Pro. This is all done on demand and at the user’s discretion, easing the burden on the IT department.

Device management requires more than just the basics. Go beyond simple troubleshooting and keep devices up to date and secure – all while ensuring users have the resources, apps and services they need. Jamf Pro utilises key functions to provide a great user experience. Configuration Profiles allow you to define settings with iOS and macOS and distribute them to devices utilizing Jamf Pro. Easily apply Wi-Fi, VPN, email settings and more so users can seamlessly connect to the resources they need. Unique to macOS management with Jamf Pro, policies go beyond the basic device management capabilities of configuration profiles and help you install software and printers, manage local user accounts and conduct advanced management workflows. Run scripts on macOS utilizing the Apple device management capabilities of Jamf Pro. Scripts provide more flexibility than standard configuration profiles and open the door to infinite device management capabilities.

Jamf Pro is feature rich software that supports device, App, inventory, self service and security features that are unmatched on the Apple MDM platform. Speak to eStorm about Jamf Pro and how it can improve your staff or students experience and minimise IT department stress.

Filed Under: Brisbane IT Support And Managed Services – EStorm Australia, Education, eStorm News Tagged With: Apple

ClassDojo an app for all lower school teachers and special education

January 23, 2017 By eStormAdmin

CLASS DOJO 

ClassDojo helps teachers celebrate student moments in the classroom, and share those home with parents.

I loaded this application myself through the web browser and it was so simple to register, create a class and personalise, invite students and parents (autogenerated PDF with access codes) and to celebrate students, reward them through feedback directly,  preset skills are customisable, to suit your classroom. I see this as an enjoyable and positive way to encourage positive behaviour management and for students to receive instant feedback.

I give it 5 stars!

Features

  • Encourage students: Give students positive feedback for any skill, like participation, persistence, or curiosity – it’s fully customizable.
  • Seamless family engagement:
  • Teachers can share photos, videos, and more with parents — parents get notified instantly!
  • Any device: ClassDojo works on any iOS/Android/Kindle Fire device or web browser.
  • Administrator access: Administrators can sign up as School Leaders to see Highlights from their school and to share updates with all parents easily.
  • FREE for everyone: ClassDojo is free for everyone. In the future there may be some optional, premium features available for schools.

http://classdojo.com

 

Filed Under: Digital Learning, Education, eStorm News

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