Bringing business to the cloud

I accidentally came across this new feature ( possibly ) in the past few weeks which is becoming more and more typical of the cloud features of all products, not just Office365.  In fact, in the past two months, I’ve learned more about how to use my devices as powerful tools than ever!  From the iPhone/iPad space bar feature to use as a mouse to this little DOOZY I’m all set for success. Summary: Now you can view OTHER people’s calendars on your mobile device from within your Office365 subscription.  We have found a way for an assistant to see your calendar up to date in real time on their mobile device.  This feature hasn’t been available in previous versions and all of a sudden it seemingly worked without flaw last week.  Here is how we found out and what to do. What to do: Have your user share their Outlook calendar with you by following the steps to share.  If you need help just head over to https://ryantechinc.com/portal and we’ll support you. ...

First of all, YES, I have a gmail address.  I enjoy it!  It's used almost every time I buy something online, subscribe to a newsletter and/or I join a list.  What does that tell you?  It means it's my junk mail email address.  And it works so well to deliver my junk to me that I look at it about 24 times a year.  Yep, it's on my Outlook calendar to look at twice a month.  Usually I get to it and I did this morning.  It takes me about 15 minutes each time to scan through all the garbage and only interact with what I need.  For this, I LOVE my gmail. Now, ask me where I spend my every day all day?  It's not in my gmail.  That said, I've seen and have the metrics to show that there has been a HUGE number of companies or people using gmail as their primary work email address and it's KILLING their ability to get to my inbox.  I'm nobody special, just a guy who lives in his inbox buying and selling goods for the better of our ...

That’s right, you might now have read it.  In 2014 Steve states “Amazon isn’t a real business” and in 2017 he states he’s “Admiring Amazon” while in 2019 he chooses Amazon for a Clippers Real-Time engine for video and other AI tech. Many are going to over complicate this but here is my take: Mr. Ballmer is one of the most brilliant minds in technology Mr. Ballmer’s opinion has evolved in 5 years just as Amazon has Microsoft has changed its own opportunity and power, which Ballmer obviously sees in more depth than we are able The focus for Microsoft Cloud has shifted and probably doesn’t compete with billion dollar purchases like Amazon is ready for Microsoft Cloud works well for small and medium business Amazon Web is arguably leaps ahead of others for Cloud Enterprise but that doesn’t mean Microsoft lost Those that know me know one thing for sure, I’m a Microsoft supporter.  I’ve been in and led our organizations down the Microsoft Partner program since the very da...

One of the most popular combinations of words used by an Entrepreneur are "Net Worth" and it's become my life goal to PERFECT the combination of these two powerful words.  This is NOT about money but about NET WORTH!  My thoughts... BUSINESS: In Business, your net worth is all about the dollar amount you have in disposable income after all things are said and done.  It's about the footprint you leave on everybody else as you climb to the American Dream of working bell to bell and counting your successes and failures in the experience called a career which in turn becomes a number. When you arrive at your first, second or final goal do you look back and decide for yourself what the Net Worth of all things done has cost you and everyone you touched? FAMILY: In Family, your net worth can be so many different things.  Your relationship with your mate or your calculation of how well you DIDN'T mess up your kids and could also be measured by the amount of "co...

April 6-8, 2017 - A NEW kind of auction experience It was a big week last week for RyanTech, Microsoft and Barrett-Jackson auctions.  Not only did they auction off over 400 vehicles and generate tons of cash for charities they "unleashed" the cloud in a partnership with RyanTech, Microsoft and BuildFire. Our planning for the event started only 2 days prior to heading out to Palm Beach, FL to support the desire to replace the paper catalog that bidders are provided with a digital one.  True digital transformation happened in lightning speed thanks to the interest and approval of Barrett-Jackson's CEO Craig Jackson.  Craig has invested in technology for a very long time and certainly holds the award for most innovative in their space.  Craig has been utilizing the Microsoft on-Premise infrastructure for over 15 years and in fact even stated in an interview at the auction that he personally built the first server that his companies run on.  When I had th...

www.mbgilbert.com facility photo This past month has been exciting for the community in Gilbert, AZ after the long awaited opening of Mercedes Benz of Gilbert when they unveiled their amazing facility. Throughout the period of time that the dealership has been constructed we have been visiting, involved and overjoyed by what the owners Charlie and Audrey Alfano have accomplished. To our delight we have been witness on their use of Cloud Technology like Office365.   When you arrive at the dealership you'll be greeted by an amazing reception, branded water bottles and Free WiFi.  Their sales professionals have an open demeanor and are listeners unlike some of the experiences we've had in visiting similar facilities in the area. The lot is FULL of pre-owned cars and the NEW cars they have on display include AMG super-cars as well as an experience center that reminds me of the XBox displays at Microsoft Stores.  With this experience center you can listen to ...

Wit is defined as a form of intelligent humor of course, however, the WIT I'm referring to is not that simple.  It's an acronym that our partner Microsoft uses alongside many other other organizations and partners throughout the industry.  This blog is all about how these "WIT" people have enabled RyanTech. W OMEN I N T ECHNOLOGY At RyanTech we've worked very hard to create an image of credibility, investment and second to none support for our customers.  Over the years we've invested time in organizations such as EO ( The Entrepreneur's Organization ), IAMCP ( The International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners ) as well as the MCC ( Microsoft Community Connections ) and participated in the Partner Engagement Board for Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference.  All of these engagements have brought value to Me as the CEO and the company as a whole however what's most important about these engagements is that it's taught me to h...

Today we are proud to release our custom Office365 app which comes free of charge to all of our clients.  We are deploying the app across all of our instances so we wanted to take a moment to talk a little about what you'll experience.  This is just one more reason why our Office365 clients are more satisfied than any others and we hold a 100% satisfaction rate in our ZenDesk ticketing system and have for 18 months running! We have deployed this new widget to assist our clients in reaching out for any questions related to Office365 or any of our products and solutions!  So, let's take a moment to view what we've done! Outlook Desktop Users: When you open up Outlook the next time you're going to see a new icon on the Office Ribbon.  At the top right you'll want to look for our logo charm which looks like the image below:  When you click that button a new add-in that we've deployed just for you will fly out in your Outlook Desktop client. ...

Time is Money Let's face it. We all need to be fiscally responsible right? But wasting TIME is the same as wasting money. You may be receiving inexpensive or even free email service, but are you paying for: Server or email provider downtime? Inability to send or receive emails, large emails and attachments? Excessive Spam and Malware crowding inboxes? Out-of-house IT support for your employees? If you said YES to any of the above questions, consider upgrading your email solutions to Office365 by Microsoft and get implementation from the ONLY Dealer.com Certified Technology Provider in Automotive! Office365 eliminates server downtime with Microsoft's 99.99% uptime guarantee. Office365 is Cloud based and does not originate from just one IP. Microsoft works hard to ensure your mail gets through to your customers without fail. And every mailbox has 50 GB of space in the normal mailbox as well a...

This would be the most touching opportunity I could ever embrace.  I did not graduate college. I did NOT succeed or did I?  I did WIN and I did NOT WIN. How does one contradict ones self?  Simply through drive and love. Where do you think the name RyanTech came from? Me? Nope!  Although if I had a dollar for every time I was called Ryan I'd be filthy rich. This young man named Ryan is my son and he's done an amazing job with life.  Working summers, winters and after school time in college at George Fox University where he recently graduated with his BA and prior to that being educated at Modesto Christian School since Kindergarten. He's the best McMillen to have ever been gifted life.  He's married to an amazing woman, Cortney, who graduated from Corbin University in only three years and invested time at Oxford.  What a resume! From the day he was born I told him "You're going to college no matter what it takes" and he lived the dream of gettin...

Some of us have the job of arriving early to #NADA2015 and here is my checklist for my bags: Phone chargers! Stevia ( they only have sugar and Sweet and Low at conventions ) Extra socks! Feet are going to be hurting, twice the number of socks is a great idea to stay alive for the second part of your day Smile! It's going to be a jam-packed week so better put that smile on Extra shirts! Inevitably somebody ALWAYS spills on me  Extra phone! Inevitable somebody USUALLY knocks my phone out of my hand and breaks the screen That's it, I'm packed and ready for #NADA2015 Kevin McMillen @ryantechkevin 

For those of you that have been to so many, we know the drill.  Jeans, a dress shirt and sport coat for guys with comfortable shoes and for you ladies not something "very" revealing and shoes that allow you to not be in pain the next day in shoe-dome. I'm not a fashion guy, just a guy that has been to many of these and I've heard it all.   Comfortable shoes, extra chargers for your phones/devices and your "friends" devices and a water bottle, RedBull and Caffeine are your friends.  So are sleep, water and focus.  Stay the game, keep the right face on.  These are all "Dress Attire"! How many times did I say water? Many will show up in full suits and dress shoes and so forth but we call those folks "Day-Sayers" and they come in on Friday night and leave Saturday night or they stay along with us the entire trip and we'll recognize them - they are the "newbs".  This is a long and hard show.   The winners come out on Monday...

In my series on the "Road to NADA 2015" I felt I'd share my own personal and professional steps in my preparation for NADA 2015.  This has proven successful year over year and I've certainly done it wrong many times.  This is how we at RyanTech stay focused, driven and WIN at NADA. 1.        Get extra sleep the days coming up to NADA a.        No shortcuts – this is a very hard show b.       Continue good sleep patterns aiming to be in your room by no later than 11pm every night 2.        Hydrate exceptionally well the days coming up to the show a.        Standing on your feet is going to be hard on your body, we need to look sharp b.       It is almost impossible to NOT drink at this show – alternate water with EVERY single beverage you have.  This also refers to coffee.  Drinking too m...