Tabush Group Annual Update 2021

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ANNUAL UPDATE 2021

OUR COVID STORY By Morris Tabush, Founder and President

HIGHLIGHTS OUR COVID STORY pages 1-2 IT LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE PANDEMIC pages 3-4 OUR NEW REALITY SUPPORTED BY FLEXIBILITY AND TECHNOLOGY pages 5-6 REFLECTING ON 2020 pages 6-7 2020 YEAR IN REVIEW pages 8-9

Towards the end of 2019, like many businesses do, Tabush Group established our goals for the coming year. We were off to a great start in January and February, but in the second week of March, pretty much every aspect of life changed. Tabush Group shifted to working from home on March 13. We are fortunate that our systems are cloud-based so everyone was up and running right away – we’re proud to practice what we preach! The first month was one of the busiest times in the history of the firm as many of our non-Boxtop clients immediately needed full remote access setups. While the technical implementation was generally straightforward, we had a few thousand end users learning a new way to connect, which meant our support team had to deal with a variety of issues in addition to supporting home networks and Wi-Fi. Even for our Boxtop clients who are already fully in the cloud, many were setting up home offices and needed general IT support. We also helped clients by ordering laptops, monitors, printers, and webcams. Our procurement team had to source this equipment despite the shortages (who remembers Amazon’s 4-week delivery times?!) and ship orders to hundreds of employees’ homes. Our clients trust us to be there for them, and we did not let them down. We experienced 80% more support tickets and 217% more phone minutes than a typical month. April and May were quiet as projects got put on hold and everyone wondered where the world was headed. Business development was paused, so while we could not focus on getting bigger, we shifted to getting even better at what we do. Innovation is one of our core values, and we challenged our leadership team to make process improvements in the business.

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ANNUAL UPDATE 2021 Team members who normally focused on business development, new client onboardings, and projects, instead used their time to work on “wish list” items that had accumulated over the years. In a few short months, we saw improvements in our accounting, communications, cloud, automation, and client portal systems. Each of these was a great enhancement and many are now things that we wonder how we lived without.

on site. Darragh and I suddenly became webinar stars, either hosting or participating in more than 20 webinars covering topics ranging from navigating the new normal with technology, to new security concerns, to general business management in the remote world. Our frequent flyer statuses may have been downgraded, but we learned new ways to communicate with our clients and partners.

Around Memorial Day, as some businesses began to reopen and business leaders realized the world was not ending, but was definitely changing, things started to warm up again. Projects resumed and support call volume went back to normal. Most notably, not only did interest in Boxtop resume, but it came back stronger than before, but for different reasons. Since 2015, we promoted Boxtop’s main advantages as simplicity and better security than traditional desktops and servers. The seamless remote access was a ‘nice to have.’ Suddenly, this mobility – without VPN, lag, desktops going offline, and other limitations of on premise IT – became the biggest appeal of Boxtop. This was especially true for law, accounting, and other professional services firms that rely on multiple applications and cannot afford to compromise on security, productivity, or performance.

In 2020, despite the environment, I “met” more professionals and grew my network more than ever before, thanks to Zoom and Microsoft Teams. We realized that some of the things we had grown accustomed to, including face-to-face meetings, travel expenses, and even office space, may not be as essential in the future. This certainly upended many industries and many impacted businesses pivoted to find a new market or way to service their customers. Business leaders are rethinking not only what their companies do, but how they do things. I’ve often heard said, “We’ve been dragged into the future,” and I think this is very apropos. When this pandemic is in the past, many of the new things we learned about how we run our businesses will remain. Even more of our processes will become digital and move out of email and spreadsheets into appropriate platforms. Conference rooms will be outfitted with proper video conferencing equipment, enabling meetings to be a hybrid of in-person and remote. Offices may not go away, but their setups and sizes will definitely change.

Business leaders are rethinking not only what their companies do, but how they do things. From a technology standpoint, connectivity, cloud, and security are now even more important. When employees are physically dispersed, it no longer makes sense for the IT they are utilizing to be in the office. We heard many stories about users being unable to work from home because of a problem with the office’s network (internet down or a server issue) or users’ desktops going offline and losing remote access. In these scenarios, the issues could not be resolved until someone was able to physically get to the office. Today, with so much available in the cloud, having IT on premise no longer makes sense. On the security side, too many firms still use VPNs, which creates many security risks. Can you imagine trying to control a ransomware attack when the infected computers are spread out in so many locations? It would be even more crippling to a firm than in the past. Fortunately, so much progress has been made in cloud, connectivity, and software these past few years that not only are we finding better options for firms, but often at significant savings.

This year we hosted a series of webinars featuring several of our clients (check out our 3-minute summary!), who spoke about how seamless it was for their firms to instantly transition to a fully remote model. One law firm managing partner said he felt like “the smartest guy ever” because he had moved his firm to Boxtop a year earlier and while his competitors were still figuring things out, he was fully functional without downtime.

This was a year like none other and it is up to business leaders like ourselves to find ways to make lemonade. So many companies have. When we will look back on 2020, Tabush Group will talk about innovations and how we not only survived, but came out stronger. What will your COVID story be?

Naturally, all of our travel plans were canceled, including public speaking engagements, industry and partner events, and visiting new clients. We rethought our onboarding process to migrate new clients to Boxtop without requiring us to be

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ANNUAL UPDATE 2021

IT LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE PANDEMIC

There are different types of cloud systems, but the majority can be broken into three types of cloud platforms: SaaS (software as a service), IaaS (infrastructure as a service), and DaaS (desktop as a service). Each offers many benefits including less hardware, increased system redundancy, enhanced mobility, accessibility, and flexibility. DaaS seems to be the least known type of cloud; however, in 2020, it has been the clear cloud winner with Gartner predicting 95%+ growth in DaaS cloud services. Why are firms choosing DaaS to futureproof their firms?

By Darragh Fitzpatrick, EVP and Partner What a crazy few months it has been! We experienced disruption on a scale none of us ever conceived possible. While businesses plan for many types of disruption, none of us planned for a scenario of this magnitude. There are lessons to be learned here!

WHAT IS DaaS? When utilizing DaaS, all users access their Windows 10 desktop from the cloud, which looks and operates in the exact same manner as a PC. Since it is in the cloud, it is accessible securely and seamlessly from any device and any location.

Large-scale disruptions force us to reflect on what we could have done differently and what to change moving forward. Post-pandemic, will we return to living and working as we did previously or will we continue some version of now? In a survey at the Managing Partner Summit in November 2020, only 2% of firms said they will get rid of their offices altogether, while the majority will decrease their office space, indicating a willingness to continue some level of workplace flexibility. How flexible will our workplaces need to be, and what impact will that have on how we operate our businesses? The fact is, the future is uncertain. Just as we could not predict the pandemic and its impact, we cannot predict what the post-pandemic world will look like.

IT IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD While there is uncertainty, we can make some preparations for a post-pandemic business world. We need to ensure that IT does not dictate how and where we work. Rather, IT must reflect and support how we need to operate. What is the best way to do this for small to midsize businesses? Buy and build less IT while outsourcing IT to leverage cloud!

WHY IS DaaS THE FAVORED CLOUD SOLUTION?

Cloud is a broad term that covers many different types of systems, but at the basic level, it is the separation of people and business from applications and data. It is the first step in preparing for the next unknown disruption as it allows for interruption in your environment without bringing IT systems – and therefore, your business – offline.

Familiarity. Moving to the cloud is a change for any business and change can be difficult to embrace. When users log in to the DaaS environment, they are working in the exact familiar setting they did before, using a Windows 10 desktop and all the same applications and network drives, yet they and the business are now fully secure. Simplicity. We are strong proponents of cloud because it simplifies a firm’s IT from both a technical and business standpoint. Ask yourself how many of your IT discussions revolve around endpoints (PC, laptops, tablets), server upgrades, backup and business continuity protection, maintenance, security, and the constant need to improve all of this. None of these discussions make your business more effective or efficient, yet they are all necessary. With cloud, these issues are resolved as they are all inherent in a good cloud solution. In a SaaS cloud model, you utilize different services from different providers, such as one for practice management and another for email services. Each service provider has its own security protocol and compliance standards. Associated documentation

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ANNUAL UPDATE 2021 for each system must be obtained and incorporated into your own security and compliance structure. Each service provider is another vendor for you to understand and manage. While you are solving one set of complex technical problems, you create a different set of complexities.

you can use any secured device. Since the pandemic, with nearly all of your workforce accessing systems from outside the office, this has become a major security risk due to unmanaged device access and ignorance to policy. As such, the information provided to your clients and institutional partners stating your IT and employees work in a secure manner is compromised.

In an IaaS cloud model, you buy and build your own cloud infrastructure through an IT partner in either their cloud or another company’s cloud, such as Amazon. You acquire certain benefits of cloud, such as accessibility, backup, and business continuity, but generally compromise on redundancy, mobility, reduction of hardware, and maybe even expertise.

In a DaaS cloud, regardless of where you are working or what device you are using, you are always accessing your applications and data from the cloud. The security approved by your clients and partners is always in place. Your security is truly elastic, meaning it stretches beyond your office walls and ensures your people are always compliant.

With DaaS you truly achieve the simplicity that cloud promises because all applications and data are accessible from one cloud desktop. All systems run within a single security framework. All servers, applications, and data are backed up and replicated by one backup and business continuity system, and all are supported by the experts that designed that platform.

AT TABUSH GROUP One of our key core values is innovation. We strive to develop the best solutions to meet growing and changing IT business needs, which is why we developed our own DaaS solution, Boxtop. Businesses across many industries, including legal, accounting, financial services, real estate, and construction, leverage our cloud from all over the United States. When the pandemic hit, personal impact aside, it was business as usual for these firms. They left their offices to work from home and were immediately fully operational. Their IT reflects how their businesses need to operate, instead of restricting it. And most importantly, they are prepared for whatever and whenever the next “it will never happen� scenario strikes.

Security. Since the arrival of ransomware and other cyberattacks, security has become a top priority for businesses. Cloud enhances security but does not fully resolve it. If the device you are using is not secure, then any system you use is also not secure. Security starts at your device, whether it be Windows, Mac, Chrome, or Android. In SaaS and certain IaaS environments, every device must be secured by the same services, which limits true mobility and accessibility because you cannot use any device, but rather,

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ANNUAL UPDATE 2021

OUR NEW REALITY SUPPORTED BY FLEXIBILITY AND TECHNOLOGY

PHONES Even before the global pandemic, we needed a more flexible team and knew that technology should be the driver of that change. With that mindset, we set up an internet-based phone system that could be accessed from any platform. We also changed our caller options to provide what our clients need the most: quick and responsive service.

By Albert Vilar, Director of Service Operations The impact COVID-19 has on our lives was totally unthinkable back in March when overnight we decided that our company will start operating 100% remotely. It was an unprecedented decision (and why not admit it, a little scary, too), but we made it knowing we were prepared because of changes we put in place long before the pandemic.

AGILE MINDSET About two years ago, we realized there was room for improvement in our production processes and systems to enable the team to deliver the best service possible to our clients by providing them the proper tools. We established a new set of methodologies to foster each team’s autonomy without losing the importance of relying on one other to create a cohesive work environment. Little by little, we transitioned to an agile production system that is easier, clearer, and more integrated into our daily operations.

SCRUM AND HIVE

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

We implemented Scrum methodology to manage our projects two years ago. It brought excellent results in 2019 becoming, by far, the best year in number of projects completed.

In retrospect, agile seems a logical next step, but when everybody was working in the office it was not so obvious. We strived to turn instant messaging into our main communication channel because we were convinced it saves time and also keeps everybody aware of the current status of the team in real time.

That was only the first step. We knew our systems would work as long as we were physically together, but we also knew additional actions were needed to reach the level of autonomy and cohesion we sought if we were not together.

But instant messaging is only a channel. The real challenges are implementing it into the team’s communication and building the structure for its use including sub-channels, members of each group, and notifications. This is a process of defining how a team will work because communication is so integral.

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By migrating to Hive, a project management platform, in early 2020, we centralized the monitoring and project implementation of our entire portfolio. Now project production was completely independent of the team’s location and we were able to cut unnecessary process steps.

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ANNUAL UPDATE 2021

REFLECTING ON 2020

INTEGRATIONS AND EQUIPMENT Transforming a location-dependent team to 100% remote takes both time and investment. Integrating platforms eliminates waste and streamlines processes, something necessary when everyone is not working next to each other. By putting our Professional Service Automation (PSA) in the center of our production process, all systems in some way either feed or get information from it, acting as satellite systems around a central platform.

By Nandita Baheti, Talent & HR Manager Like everything else in our lives, our 2020 Year in Review looks much different than in years past. So much has changed about our everyday life, priorities have shifted, and we all had to reassess what is most important, both at home and in the office. Overnight, we made the switch from an office work environment to a virtual one. Gone are the days of in-person events that Tabush Group thrived on. Despite the fact that we were all separated geographically, we chose to remain focused on our team and abide by our core values — Teamwork, Innovation, Integrity, and Care. We put those values into virtual practice with strategies and solutions to keep our team engaged and appreciated through the ups and downs of this unpredictable year. This year more than ever, we are grateful to our clients and our dedicated staff, who showed courage, resilience, and patience while navigating these unprecedented times.

KEEPING EVERYONE IN THE LOOP Although we had been using virtual communication tools for years, they became essential lifelines for our team this year. Zoom, Slack, and Teams replaced office meetings and one-onone chats. Moving away from our usual routine, we focused on ways to Innovate through the stay-at-home mandate to not only maintain productivity but to also stay connected to one another. We are thankful for a team that made the leap to full virtual communications. Sometimes we even found ourselves chatting with people we rarely had the chance to interact with in the office!

A NEW REALITY The decision to close our office was made on March 12 and the next day, the entire company started working from home. Like many other companies, there was no time for testing.

COVID CARE PACKAGES As soon as the stay-at-home orders hit New York, we put together care packages for each of our team members to show our support and solidarity. We mailed out “coffee breaks in a box” to everyone to make their adjustment to working from home a little bit sweeter. Each box was packed with Starbucks mugs, coffee, hot chocolate, a sweet treat, and a personal note of thanks. It was just a small gesture to let our team know that we Care.

Tabush Group is a service company. We do not want our clients to think about their IT because we do that for them. In a world that completely migrated their production systems over a twoweek period, that was a huge responsibility, and we accepted it as part of what defines who we are. Here we are, nearly a year later - succeeding. Nothing, of course, is a perfect story, and during all these months we fine-tuned our initial setup, even adding small details we never thought would be necessary. After all this time though, it is safe to say that without all the right tools, the situation would be completely different and we would not be writing this newsletter in the same terms we are today. Finally, most important of all: even with the best systems and processes, none of this would be successful unless you have a professional and committed team ready to contribute, no matter what, to make things possible and keep our clients satisfied. And here at Tabush Group, our dedicated employees are our everything.

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ANNUAL UPDATE 2021

VIRTUAL HAPPY HOURS

CELEBRATING TOGETHER WHILE APART

We have been missing the personal connection that comes with going to a lunch or happy hour. To combat this, we host virtual events for the entire company to stay connected, have some fun, and get everyone’s mind off of the stress of the pandemic. We planned themed virtual events, beginning with a game of “Guess Who.” Team members submitted random or quirky facts about themselves and everyone else had to guess who the fact was about. Not only did it keep everyone engaged and chatting through the session, we also learned something new about our colleagues.

Because of the pandemic circumstances, we moved our holiday party onto Zoom. Ahead of the night, each employee received a picnic basket full of goodies, as well as a few celebratory treats. Our festivities included a holiday cookie decorating competition that got everyone’s family involved as well as a few games and a lot of socializing. A great time was had by all!

We also hosted “Tabush Cribs,” which was a company favorite. Everyone sent photos of their home workstations and during our Zoom meeting, we tried to guess who lived in the wellappointed apartment or which colleague had the fanciest LED keyboard. From playing virtual Jeopardy to Pictionary, we put our Teamwork into play to have fun and get to know each other in a new way. Although we might be in separate homes, we truly felt more connected.

VIRTUAL MEETINGS Our virtual trainings helped to address some of the isolation and confusion everyone experienced in the early days of working from home. Based on our core value Integrity, being transparent and honest above all else, we ensured communication was a hallmark of our transition to virtual. Our leadership team prioritized regular check-ins to proactively support the needs of their teams. Virtual meetups gave everyone access to updates throughout the pandemic. We also developed protocols to seamlessly and virtually onboard new hires, which allowed us to continue growing and meeting the needs of our clients. And finally, we opened up channels for team members to talk about the challenges of working from home – from figuring out a work/ life balance to coping with the feelings of isolation.

QUARANTINE PROFILES To show our dedication to our team, we launched our Tabush Group Quarantine Profile series where we regularly highlighted individual staff members. From asking about their stayat-home snacking and entertainment habits, to showing off their talents and personality, these profiles gave individual employees a time to shine in the spotlight.

We’re grateful to have fantastic clients and an enthusiastically supportive and flexible team that makes us excited and optimistic for 2021.

VIRTUAL THANKSGIVING WALL OF THANKS When we are in the office, each person at Tabush Group writes notes of thanks to our colleagues, which we hang on our walls during our annual potluck lunch to surround ourselves with kind words of praise. This year we improvised and it was amazing. In lieu of our potluck, we submitted our favorite holiday recipe, detailed the significance of it, and compiled a digital cookbook, Cooking with Colleagues. We also assembled a virtual gratitude wall to make sure we got to thank each other and show our Care and appreciation for all the hard work put forth in this crazy year!

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Is Your Firm Cloud Ready?

$

DaaS is expected to have the most significant growth in 2020, increasing

95.4% to $1.2 billion.

Spending on cloud services, the hardware and software components underpinning cloud services, and the professional and managed services opportunities around cloud services will surpass $1 trillion in 2024. Source: IDC

Source: Gartner

By the end of 2021, based on lessons learned in the pandemic, most enterprises will accelerate their shift to cloud-centric digital infrastructure and application services

twice as fast as before the pandemic. Source: IDC

In 2021, more of us will be

working on virtual cloud desktops, sometimes known as desktop as a service.

Source: Forbes

Recent Security Breaches JANUARY 22, 2020 Microsoft – A breach of a customer support database exposed more than 280 million Microsoft customer records including emails and IP addresses

MARCH 5, 2020 Google Cloud Server – Personal, demographic, and property information of 200 million US resident exposed for 1 month

Your Business Cannot Afford a Security Lapse The average cost of a data breach for SMBs is $36,000-$50,000. Source: Security Magazine

JUNE 17, 2020 Cognizant – The IT managed service company announced a ransomware attack stole user’s information including names, SSNs, tax IDs, and more PII


Your Business Needs a Secure Cloud Solution Boxtop simplifies your IT by moving your desktop, servers, applications, and files to the cloud, making them secure and accessible from anywhere…so you can focus on what matters. Secure. Enterprise-level encryption, firewalls, and malware protection

Eliminates desktops and servers. All servers and applications live in the same Boxtop cloud with your desktop

Backup and Business Continuity. Your data and applications are always backed up in the Boxtop cloud without the need for separate platforms

Increased productivity. All applications you currently use can now have all the benefits of cloud

Our Clients are Saying… “ I was already happy that we moved our entire IT infrastructure to the cloud in early 2019 with Boxtop, which of course was done without considering a possible pandemic. But, after this past year with the office working entirely remotely since March 16, I am truly grateful and appreciative of the ability to make the transition to office-wide work from home seamlessly and without issues. I am quite secure knowing we have Boxtop as the backbone of our operation.” “Thank you so much for all your help over the past week. Really could not — JEFF POPPER have done this without you and your Partner at Popper & Company LLP, CPAs team. Means a lot!” — ISAAC ASH CTO at United Legwear

“ Your team has been extraordinary transitioning us over to Boxtop and helping us deal with the recent uncertainties.” — SAM HADDAD Sales Executive at Fashion Options Inc.

“ It’s because of Boxtop and the service you provide that we’re able to operate the company through all of this.” — J OSEPH JEMAL Principal at The Jemstone Group

“ Having Boxtop meant we immediately had no problems having staff open up their laptops at home and get right to work. It was seamless and painless because of Boxtop.” — L OUIS BURKO Managing Partner at Severance, Burko, Spaker, Masone & Laurette PC


Tabush Group makes your IT life simpler. Boxtop, our cloud solution, enables small and midsize professional firms to securely move their IT to the cloud and get rid of hardware hassles and unexpected costs. Our mission is to deliver amazing service so our clients can focus on success. Founded in 2000, Tabush Group is a privately held company headquartered in New York City.

148 West 37th Street New York, NY 10018 tabush.com contact@tabush.com 212.252.0571 @TabushGroup linkedin.com/company/TabushGroup

Š Tabush Group


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