Archive for July 29, 2024

Sage Strengthens Partnership with Microsoft

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 29, 2024 by itnerd

 Sage, a leader in accounting, financial, HR and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), today announces new developments in their ongoing partnership with Microsoft. The advancements in Sage Instant Analysis, Sage Active and Sage Network are set to enhance operational efficiency and innovation for SMBs through integrated solutions and cutting-edge technologies.

Enhanced Financial Analysis with Sage Instant Analysis:

As part of Sage Copilot’s reporting and analytics capabilities, Sage Instant Analysis integrates Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to empower SMBs by unlocking their data. Embedded within Sage Active, this tool can swiftly access financial data from various in-product forms, enabling customers to glean financial insights that might have otherwise been overlooked. With just a click, users receive actionable insights about their company’s financial health, including detailed assessments of strengths, weaknesses, and critical areas such as the balance sheet, cash flow, working capital, and gross profit. This integration makes it easier to manage business activities, boosting productivity and streamlining routine tasks.

Unlike simple automation that uses a template requiring new data input by the customer, Sage Instant Analysis can delve into the details of a company’s year-to-date financial performance by using accounting data already in the system. The service dives beneath the surface of financial reports, using advanced large language model (LLM) engineering through Azure OpenAI Service that not only reads numbers but truly understands them – calculating key ratios and providing rich context for decision-making.

Sage Instant Analysis uses sophisticated prompt engineering models and chaining techniques for easy data ingestion and processing through Azure OpenAI Service. Intelligent cache remembers past calculations, eliminating unnecessary LLM calls. Additionally, detailed logging and analytics provide visibility into how and when the service is being used.

Output from Instant Analysis can be set to a user’s native language – French, Spanish, German or English – based on preferences stored in the user profile.

Built on Microsoft Azure App Service, Cosmos DB and Blob Storage, Instant Analysis, a feature of Sage Active, is available in France, Spain and Germany and is tailored to the evolving needs of European small businesses, allowing them to automate accounting, manage sales and cash flow, and navigate the complexities of European legislation. Helping to create and manage products, optimize sales flows, and generate professional invoices and quotes efficiently, Sage Active streamlines processes so customers can drive growth and innovation across their businesses.

Sage Network – Connected Accounting
Sage Network is transforming the way businesses interact, by automating workflows and synchronizing financial transactions across entities, even those outside the Sage accounting software ecosystem. Sage Network integrates seamlessly into the broader Microsoft ecosystem with connectors to Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft  365. These integrations enable Dynamics users, along with users of other third-party accounting products and the Sage portfolio, to create an integrated global network. This enhances efficiency by reducing manual data entry and speeding up financial processes.

Sage Connect, the user interface that enables the Sage Network business interconnectivity, offers a simplified, secure platform for managing financial transactions and automating accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP) workflows, leading to faster payments and improved compliance, including e-invoicing.

For SMBs and Sage’s partner ecosystem, this means accessing a unified platform that not only streamlines financial operations and AR and AP digital workflows, but also opens up new opportunities for collaboration, efficiency, and growth within the Microsoft ecosystem.

HR and Payroll – Enhancing Workforce Management

Sage continues to work with Microsoft on enhanced HR and payroll capabilities, aiming to provide SMBs with advanced tools for more efficient workforce management. 

Enhancements include integrating HR tasks within the flow of work through Microsoft Teams, starting with the highly utilised absence and time off feature of Sage People. Employees can now request various types of leave directly via a chatbot in Microsoft Teams, with approvals managed through the platform and synchronised with Microsoft Outlook calendars to streamline processes.

Additionally, a new interview scheduling feature integrated with Microsoft Outlook , enables recruiters to swiftly coordinate interviews, addressing the fast-paced demands of today’s competitive job market.

Benefits for SMBs and Partners

Sage’s integration with Microsoft brings significant advantages to SMBs and Sage’s partner ecosystem, including:

  • Streamlined Operations: The integration of Sage and Microsoft services simplifies complex workflows, enhancing productivity and efficiency across business functions.
  • Security and Reliability: Sage products hosted on Azure benefit from Microsoft’s dedication to Responsible AI by offering enhanced security, scalability, and reliability, ultimately allowing businesses to operate with confidence in a secure digital environment.
  • Innovative Connectivity: Driving business efficiency through connectivity, enabling a seamless flow of information and financial transactions.

Looking Ahead

Sage is continuously exploring new ways to support SMBs and the wider partner ecosystem to boost operational efficiency and resiliency in a dynamic economic landscape.

RansomHub Leaks 175 GB of Data from Clinical Research Institute 

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 29, 2024 by itnerd

Safety Detectives just published a report regarding a ransomware attack and subsequent data leak affecting Boston’s Baim Institute for Clinical Research. 

Their cybersecurity team stumbled upon a post in which the ransomware group “RansomHub” stated that they acquired 175 GB of data from the Baim Institute, after the leakage of the data they reviewed a sample of it and could find: 

  • clinical trials programs; 
  • invoices tracking files showing lists of sponsors, projects, doctors’ names and rates; 
  • study access request forms, which display the employee’s full name, email address, and phone number and more. 

You will find all the details to their findings here: https://www.safetydetectives.com/news/biam-leak-report/

New Vital Controls to Achieve PCI DSS 4.0 Compliance Now Available in Fortra Managed WAF

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 29, 2024 by itnerd

Fortra today announced a significant update to its managed application firewall (WAF) solution that aims to reduce client-side risk and protect users from data-stealing attacks in the browser, as outlined in new requirements in PCI DSS 4.0.

Fortra Managed WAF now includes enhanced client-side protection controls to eliminate reflected and inline cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. This additional security helps Fortra customers meet and exceed PCI DSS 4.0 XSS controls in requirements 6.4.3 and 11.6.1, protecting users’ payment information from in-browser data-stealing attacks like Magecart.

A WAF is an essential element of a security strategy for any organization with a web presence and APIs. Fortra solves the most significant challenge of optimizing the protection provided by a WAF through its managed services for SMEs to Fortune 500 customers.

Fortra Managed WAF is the only WAF solution that enforces the execution of active items in the browser, regardless of whether they are delivered via inline, first, or third-party scripts. With this release, Fortra Managed WAF closes a gap that still is prevalent in competitors’ WAFs where they are unable to comprehensively address inline script integrity enforcement, a delivery mechanism used by most websites. 

Learn more about the enhancements to Fortra Managed WAF through a free demo

5000% VPN Demand Surge in Bangladesh During Internet Restrictions

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 29, 2024 by itnerd

VPN Mentor just published a research concerning a massive increase of VPN demand in Bangladesh.

Their research team conducted an analysis of user demand data in Bangladesh during the curfew and internet restrictions imposed by the government amid the violent protests, and they observed a surge of 5016% in VPN demand in the country. 

You will find all the details here: https://www.vpnmentor.com/news/vpn-demand-surge-bangladesh/