Drum roll please. It's almost a week after our big event and guess what, we all made it out alive; hard to believe, isn't it!? For most of us I think bittersweet is a better portrayal than misbelief.   Either way, we've spent the past few days cleaning up, prepping for follow-up and getting on with the everyday grind.

During that arduous process, we've all come to the very realization that the months of planning and the hours of work we dedicated to our celebration were over in a few blissful hours.   One minute we were welcoming in our Vendor partners and the next we were raising our glasses amongst hundreds of loyal customers, friends, colleagues, family members and even our predecessors in recognition of 50 years. Yes, before we knew it we were extending appreciative farewells.

In reiteration, it's crazy to think that months of planning, coordinating, promoting and work dedicated to last week's event comes down to one single day! Now, think about that in reference to your business; the years, the months, whatever your case may be, spent building your business.   It doesn't matter if you're the owner, the person responsible for welcoming in clients or the teacher educating our youth all of which are equally important. It's the time and the effort we commit 40 hours a week or more to and then being left behind because we aren't keeping up with the growing needs of today's business.

Take the Cloud for example. It's safe to say the cloud is definitely not a buzzword anymore, it's not the future, it's now and in the IT industry, now is yesterday, and yet businesses far and wide are still hesitant to buy into the solution.

We were fortunate enough to have Microsoft join us at this year's show. If you want to talk Cloud - talk Microsoft 365; talk about the show stopper. Beyond the packed seminar itself, the session did more than provide a level of familiarity and understanding of the Cloud for users, it left our audience begging for more.

While we'll be following up with our session archives that can be viewed on-demand at your convenience, there's no better time than now to start your journey. Think about it this way, as you've been reading through my babble, you're utilizing the Cloud. The payment you made through your online banking last night after dinner, the Cloud. The Hawk gear you purchased online for this weekend's game, THE CLOUD! Get my drift?

I couldn't go this whole article without a season opener reference so I'm going to leave you with this, personally, you're using the Cloud and you may not even realize it. It's not going anywhere, we aren't going anywhere and if you don't want your business to go anywhere but forward stop fighting the inevitable and get ahead of the game while you still can. Explore Microsoft 365 if you need a starting point and we're always ready and willing to have the discussion. In the meantime, Go Hawks!

Cheers,

Mike Brogan, President