BEI Monthly Newsletter – June: Summer-Ready IT

 🌴Hello June! Hello Summer!🌴

Summer is here, and while schedules may shift with vacations, holidays, and busy mid-year priorities, your technology still needs to keep everything running smoothly in the background.

This month, we’re focusing on simple ways to help your business stay connected, productive, and secure.

Here’s what we’re sharing this month:

  • Featured Blog: Remote Work in the Summer – How to Keep Your Team Secure
  • Copilot Quick Prompts – Tips & Tricks
  • Featured Service: Unified Communications
  • What’s New in Microsoft
  • Ask BEI: Is it safe to work from a hotel or airport Wi-Fi?
  • Cybersecurity Corner: Stay Alert During Summer Travel Season

💬 We’d love to hear from you! If there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a question you want answered, feel free to suggest it. This newsletter is for you—and your input helps us make it even better.

Featured Blog: Remote Work in the Summer: How to Keep Your Team Connected and Secure

remote work

Summer often means more travel, flexible schedules, and remote work — which makes it a great time to review how your team connects, communicates, and protects company data outside the office. This blog shares practical ways to make remote work easier without adding unnecessary risk.

Read more from our recent blog

Copilot Quick Prompts – Tips & Tricks

Try these quick Copilot prompts to save time (and have a little fun):

“Summarize my unread emails from this week and list anything that needs a response.”

Helpful for catching up after travel, meetings, or busy days away from your inbox.

“Create a short checklist from this document that I can share with my team.”

Great for turning policies, procedures, or notes into something easier to follow.

“Create a simple checklist from this policy or procedure.”

Use Copilot to get clear answers quickly and easily, without any additional work. But remember to always review and spot check for errors.

Featured Service: Unified Communications

Communication tools should make work easier — not more scattered. Unified Communications brings calling, messaging, meetings, and collaboration together so your team can stay connected from wherever they work.

For businesses with remote staff, multiple locations, or employees who rely on mobile devices, the right phone and communications setup can improve responsiveness, reduce missed messages, and create a smoother experience for both employees and clients.

If your team needs better call routing, Microsoft Teams integration, mobile flexibility, or a more modern phone system, BEI can help you review your current setup and identify what makes the most sense for your business. Now that Excel Communications is now part of BEI, we are better equipped to support your communication needs.

Not sure if your current phone system still fits your business? We can help you review it.

Ask us about our Unified Communications

Ask BEI: Tech Questions, Answered.

“Is it safe to work from a hotel or airport Wi‑Fi?”

Short answer: it can be risky but it can be done safely with the right precautions.

Public Wi‑Fi networks (like in hotels, airports, and coffee shops) are convenient, but they’re not always secure. Because these networks are shared, it’s easier for attackers to intercept data or try to access devices, especially if protections aren’t in place.

  • Use a VPN whenever possible – this encrypts your connection and helps protect your data
  • Avoid accessing sensitive information like banking or confidential files on public Wi‑Fi
  • Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) for your accounts
  • Make sure your device is updated and protected
  • Better to connect to your own hotspot connection from your device
  • Stick to secure websites (look for HTTPS)

When in doubt, it’s always safer to assume public Wi‑Fi isn’t fully protected and take a few extra steps to secure your connection. Working from anywhere this summer? If something doesn’t feel right, submit a question, we’re always happy to help.

Submit a Tech Question

What’s New in Microsoft?

More ways to work across Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat

Smarter responses and better context mean less prompt‑tweaking and better results.

More security visibility in Microsoft accounts

Easier ways to review sign‑ins and suspicious activity help users stay informed.

Teams meeting chats are easier to find!

Microsoft Teams has introduced a dedicated Meeting chats section that groups conversations tied to meetings, making it easier to find discussions without scrolling through unrelated chats.

Cybersecurity Corner: Stay Alert During Summer Travel Season

Summer often brings more remote work, travel, and flexible schedules — which can also create more opportunities for mistakes. Employees may connect from hotels, airports, coffee shops, or personal devices, and attackers know that busy or distracted users are more likely to click quickly.

A few simple habits can go a long way:

  • Avoid using public Wi-Fi for sensitive work unless you’re connected through a secure VPN.
  • Be cautious with unexpected “urgent” emails, especially around travel, payments, password resets, or account access.
  • Keep laptops, phones, and tablets locked when not in use.
  • Report suspicious emails instead of trying to investigate them yourself.
  • Use MFA wherever possible, especially for email, VPN, banking, and cloud apps.

🛠 We’re Always Here for You

If you’re experiencing any IT issues—big or small—and if you are looking for an MSP in the D.C. Metro Area, don’t hesitate to reach out. Whether it’s a quick fix, a system concern, or just a question about best practices, our team is ready to help.

📧 Email us anytime at sales@beinetworks.com
📞 Or give us a call at your usual support number 703.528.8300

Your uptime, security, and peace of mind are our top priorities. Let us know how we can support you today.