#GrowYourBiz Archives | Americas Partner Blog

Controles Empresariales sees a world of possibilities for education with AI

Microsoft Americas Partner Team — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 13:00:28 +0000

Partner Audience: #AllPartners
Relevant to: #SuccessStory #GrowYourBiz #CrossSolution

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept but a reality that’s revolutionizing multiple sectors, and education is no exception. As AI technologies advance, new opportunities are arising to improve and transform education, from personalized teaching to streamlining administrative processes. But how can AI, in combination with digital tools, radically change the education sector and better prepare students for the future? Controles Empresariales partnered with Microsoft to explore the possibilities.

Personalized learning is at the heart of this educational revolution

One of the biggest benefits of AI in education is the ability to deliver personalized learning on a large scale. With the use of advanced algorithms, it’s possible to tailor educational content to the specific needs of individual students. This means that students can learn at their own pace, focusing on areas where they need more support and advancing faster in the subjects they’ve mastered.

In addition, AI can be used to analyze large volumes of data to identify patterns in student learning. These trends allow educators to adjust their teaching methods and offer additional resources to those who need them. This not only improves the quality of education, but also reduces dropout rates by keeping students engaged and motivated.

Leveraging AI to optimize administrative processes

The implementation of AI is not limited to the classroom. Educational institutions can leverage it to optimize their administrative processes, such as enrollment management, student progress tracking, and resource allocation. For example, AI systems can predict the demand for certain courses or educational resources, allowing institutions to plan better.

Likewise, AI can be a powerful tool for automated assessment of tests and assignments, reducing the workload of teachers and allowing them to focus on teaching. With the help of AI, educational institutions can achieve greater operational efficiency, resulting in a better experience for students and teachers.

AI in action in educational environments

In Colombia, we have added several experiences that reflect the power of technology in educational spaces. For example, we collaborated with the Secretary of Education of Medellín to strengthen education during the pandemic crisis in 2020 that resulted in 102,000 students dropping out of school.

Together with Microsoft, we implemented Microsoft 365 in 118 educational institutions, benefiting 1,960 users, including teachers and students, through 167 workshops and more than 330 hours of training. This project not only improved connectivity and reduced dropout rates, it also boosted educational productivity and personalization. Through the integration of tools such as Code Combat and Educaplay, Controles Empresariales demonstrated leadership in the digital transformation of education.

In this scenario, we used AI to transform educational processes by personalizing learning, adapting curricula according to the needs of each student, especially in rural areas with limited resources. In addition, AI was used to predict student dropout rate by analyzing behavioral patterns, enabling early interventions to keep students in the education system. Virtual assistants were also implemented to guide students and teachers in the use of digital tools, offering real-time support and improving accessibility.

AI was also used to automate repetitive administrative tasks, such as attendance management and test marking, allowing teachers to focus more on teaching. Interactive, AI-powered tools were able to deliver more dynamic educational content, while education leaders used predictive analytics to make more informed policy and resource decisions. The result: AI can be leveraged to optimize existing resources and improve the efficiency, accessibility, and personalization of education, generating a lasting positive impact.

The future of education with AI

The implementation of AI in education is not just about improving teaching methods and administrative processes. It also has the potential to transform the way we think about learning and education. As technology continues to advance, it’s critical that educational institutions and governments prepare to integrate these tools effectively, ensuring that all students, regardless of location or socio-economic status, have access to quality education.

AI has the power to bridge gaps, personalize education, and optimize processes. The integration of AI into the education sector is undoubtedly one of the keys to preparing future generations for the challenges of the modern world. Together with Microsoft and the right strategy, Controles Empresariales has shown it’s possible to build a more equitable future full of opportunity for all with AI.

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Want to explore this and other topics you care about with Microsoft and other US partners? Head over to the Microsoft Americas Partner Community on LinkedIn.

Rackspace partners with Microsoft to reduce costs and provide more value to customers

Rackspace has been an innovator and leader in the technology services industry for more than two decades. The latest innovations in hybrid cloud led to a partnership with Microsoft around Azure Arc, transforming how they help customers, both in the security space and in managing their workloads running Windows Server and SQL Server.

“This is the perfect world for Arc. It allows us to have a single pane of glass, to be able to manage and secure our customers’ workloads. It’s a bridge to hybrid computing.” —Jeff DeVerter, Chief Technology Evangelist

When Rackspace started looking into transitioning from their SPLA SQL Server to Arc-enabled SQL, they realized the potential to reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) was massive—an estimated $40 million over the next three years. Along with the financial benefit to Rackspace, Arc would enable their customers to manage, through a single pane of glass, their day-to-day business more cost-effectively and provide improved billing economics.

“Coming to us for not just our SPLA licensing but also for extended support is a huge value to our customers. They’re able to access and see in real time what their utilization is. It leads to better visibility or observability, as we like to say, which at the end of the day is what all customers want.” —Zachary Symm, Product Manager for Managed Public Cloud

Empowering partners and customers in a hybrid world

Rackspace plays a critical role in the hybrid world. Their ability to support customers in their data center and in Azure enables customers to utilize resources where it matters most. Azure Arc empowers customers to get the services they need in a more manageable and efficient way. The shift, says Symm, “opens up AI, it opens up security like Sentinel, it opens up licensing, it opens up as Microsoft evolves all these future services that they can now consume. It’s a massive transformation journey for the customer to be able to utilize all those benefits.”

Rackspace worked with the Microsoft Datacenter Optimization (DCO) team to successfully make the move to Azure Arc.

Looking ahead, Rackspace plans to continue growing their partnership with Microsoft as they continue to build out new capabilities and provide managed services on Azure and across their datacenters with Azure Arc. In Azure Arc, they now have a single management tool that reduces complexity and security risks while providing greater benefits to their customers.

Says Symm, “The ability to use all the new services from Azure and transport the scalability, the portability, all of those things, into the on-premises or multi-cloud world is a massive opportunity for all MSPs.”

Next steps

Learn more about this story in the latest episode of the Hybrid Cloud Partners podcast.

Subscribe today to listen wherever you get your favorite podcasts:

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*With closed captions in Spanish, Portuguese, and French.

For exclusive resources and to become part of the Microsoft DCO community, visit dco.microsoft.com.

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Want to explore this and other topics you care about with Microsoft and other US partners? Head over to the Microsoft Americas Partner Community on LinkedIn.

Bulletproof partners with Senserva to innovate security solutions for Microsoft customers

Microsoft Americas Partner Team — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 13:00:09 +0000

Partner Audience: AllPartners
Relevant to: #SuccessStory #GrowYourBiz #Azure #Security

In a world where cyber threats are constantly maturing and evolving, no one provider can do it all. That’s why Bulletproof has partnered with another Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) member, Senserva, to further develop our Microsoft Managed Extended Detection and Response (MXDR) services with an advanced automation technology called Drift Detector.

As technology evolves, our solutions must be optimized to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers. Through our Drift Detector technology, we’ll reduce the time it takes to detect changes in configuration that might impact our client’s security posture.

Elevating our MXDR solution through automation with Drift Detector

Security technology is no longer something that evolves every few years; it’s evolving in real time. For some customers, this can cause a deviation or, as we call it, a “drift” from the established best practice-based configuration, which can leave a gap and cause a security risk.

With the Drift Detector solution, we can detect deviations from the best practice configuration within minutes.

The Drift Detector solution is available to our Bulletproof 365 Enterprise (B365E) customers. Best practice security configurations are used; however, the customer can make updates and changes to their tenant. If the security configuration is changed after the onboarding, the drift detection technology will provide that visibility. It will periodically scan the tenant for changes and drifts from the previous B365E configurations. Scans don’t have to be manually initiated; the solution will do this automatically. This strengthens the posture and confidence of a customer’s B365E settings and speeds up detection and response time if a drift from the Gold Standard occurs.

Here’s how it works

The control hub for the solution, which will constantly scan for drifts, is an Azure-hosted, .NET web service. There is also a Gold Standard based on best practices for each security solution in the stack; the solution will compare customer settings to this Gold Standard. Deviations will be reported and the Security Operations Center (SOC) team at Bulletproof will immediately triage drifts to proactively fix drift-related security incidents within minutes.

Information about the Gold Standard settings and deviations will be stored within a geo-redundant Azure SQL Server secured with the latest Microsoft Entra ID authentication. The solution will update the database with any drifts detected, which are then cleared at the next scan. This allows the Bulletproof SOC team to act with the latest and most up-to-date information possible. The only scan information from a customer environment that will be stored is that which deviates from the accepted Bulletproof Gold Standard. This solution scans and compares security configurations on Microsoft Sentinel, Intune, Entra, and Defender.

Putting Drift Detector to the test with our Microsoft customers

Bulletproof worked with a municipality that was hit by a serious ransomware attack. After reviewing their security environment and pain points, we knew the best solution for the customer. Bulletproof 365 Enterprise (B365E), the end-to-end enterprise security solution built on Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Sentinel, was key to restoring services quickly for the city.

As a customer of B365E, the municipality was eligible for Drift Detector. They’ve been onboarded to further improve the security posture for the city. If a drift in Gold Standard configurations is automatically detected, Bulletproof will create a ticket that will be managed by the SOC team.

Learn how Bulletproof empowers organizations with enterprise-class security and productivity solutions.

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Want to explore this and other topics you care about with Microsoft and other US partners? Head over to the Microsoft Americas Partner Community on LinkedIn.

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