Top IT Mistakes

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Four IT Mistakes that Many Companies Make.

There are some constants that hold true for nearly every company, and one of those is that technology plays a key role in their success or failure. It used to be that only companies like Facebook or Apple were considered “tech” companies, but that definition is changing as technology becomes as core a part of businesses as the employees who work there.

Common IT  mistakes and  IT errors to avoid

This doesn’t mean that all companies are performing well when it comes to implementation of technology. There are many mistakes companies make, including four common IT traps people fall into:

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  1. Not Listening to Users: Your users are perhaps your most important resource for building a better technological infrastructure. Employees use your system every day, and you would be a fool to ignore the feedback you receive from them. If you built an app and released it for sale to the public, you would happily take the feedback and use it to improve your product, so you should do the same with the employee feedback you receive.
  2. Failing to Future Proof IT Systems: Lack of foresight or long-term thinking is a common setback for companies. They only think in terms of the present needs and fail anticipate what is necessary for success in the future. By making sure all the technological systems in place are compatible with future technology, massive amounts of downtime and costs can be saved.
  3. Not Investing Enough in IT: Technology can make your company an efficiency juggernaut, and has the power to propel your business forward if you use it correctly. Sometimes CEO’s start to look at technology as an expense rather than an investment, because there isn’t always a clearly demonstrable and measurable ROI available. This is a short-sighted mistake that can cost the company significantly.
    If you are smart about your IT investments, you can create a firm where efficiency and experience are constantly improving, and the initial investment will be recovered in full through increased profits across the company’s different business lines.
  4. Not Properly Securing Systems: Security is a growing concern, and in line with the point above about treating your IT like an investment, you need to manage the downside risk. By establishing strong protocols that can weather any external attacks, you will protect your resources and reputation in full. There is no such thing as a 100% secure system, but you can take many steps to make it safer and mitigate risks along the way.

On examining these points, it is clear that that are mistakes of omission. Companies fail to commit a certain action and it can cost lots of time and money to put right further down the line. Avoid these common IT mistakes and your company will continue to grow and thrive over the long-term.

Brexit and IT Technology

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Brexit and the IT Sector

Brexit, as you must have heard by now, is due to make a considerable impact on the British way of life when the UK leaves the EU on 29th March 2019. Without that connection to the EU, the rules are going to change and this will be felt most keenly in business.

And the impact this is going to have on the IT sector will be particularly noticeable and has the potential to cause a number of headaches for those involved with technology as they adjust.  Understanding these upcoming obstacles, therefore, is the key to tackling them effectively.

Reduction in Talents and Skills

Like most industries in Britain, technology thrives upon foreign workers bringing unique perspectives and skills to the table. It’s this varying makeup which makes Britain a world leader, but one of the main selling points of Brexit is that it will reduce immigration into Britain. Naturally, obtaining a visa will become more difficult for those outside of Britain and this could have a huge impact on the resources available. Whilst this is troubling news for the industry, the good news is that the technical skills associated with IT mean that obtaining a visa may make things that little bit easier.

Brexit technology impact

Brexit has created a real sense of uncertainty not just in the UK and Europe, but around the entire world. Accordingly, there’s a fear that foreign investment into the UK tech sector is going to be hit significantly. In particular, startups are likely to bear the brunt of this financial downturn as, without investment, they’re unlikely to even reach the startup stage. Therefore, it’s crucial that organisations in the technology sector can firmly underline their credentials in order to demonstrate that they’re worthy of investment.

Change in Trade Rules

Under existing EU rules, trade between member countries is encouraged thanks to preferential rates and procedures. However, once Britain has left the EU, these rules will no longer apply and the British tech sector is likely to discover that trading with their neighbours is not as beneficial in terms of finances as it once was. And the real worry is that this could lead to price increases back home which will hit not just the technology sector’s profit margin, but also the consumer’s finances. This is why preparing for new financial outlooks is going to be essential for businesses in the IT sector.

Threat to Data Flow

Britain and the rest of the EU are still going to be working very closely together despite Brexit, but for technology companies this is going to be dependent on data protection regulations. UK data protection will no longer have to match existing EU regulations, so this could seriously impact the free flow of data between the two.

Without the freedom to share information easily or legally, firms in the IT sector are going to find that communication and business with their most local export markets could be seriously hampered. Understanding, therefore, the best way to deal with personal data from the EU is highly important.

If you have concerns about the future the impact of Brexit on your IT services please call us for a free and frank assessment.

Hosted Email Advantages

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Secure Email Messaging

Over the past two decades, email has become the de facto communication tool for businesses. For new and growing businesses, setting email up properly using your own domain name is essential to establish credibility with your customers.

Security of your messaging has also become vitally important, as losing access to email, or allowing hackers access to sensitive customer data can have disastrous effects.

Safe Email Messaging

With the ever-increasing reliance, many business owners have been left wondering “how secure is email?” And fears are compounded by the regularity of stories in the press about security breaches, data loss and ransomware attacks.

Free email services like Gmail and Hotmail are particularly prone to attack from hackers, simply because of their visibility and widespread use. Tellingly, Google offers support and guidance on how to “recover a hijacked or stolen Google account”.

From a compliance perspective, you have a responsibility to protect any data that you collect from your customers, including anything stored in email.

Hosted Email

Increasingly, businesses are turning to hosted email services to run their email for them, as opposed to managing the infrastructure in house.

Large corporations will typically benefit from the hosted email advantages using solutions such as Microsoft Exchange to manage their own email, this generally doesn’t make sense for smaller businesses.  A hosted email solution is usually a much more cost effective approach, requiring much less effort to manage.

In this model, a third party manages the email service, and provides you a mechanism to access your email via a secure web platform, or integration with traditional email clients like Outlook.

Hosted Email Benefits

There are very many Hosted Email Advantages, particularly with regard to business applications:

  • Security – As mentioned above, security is paramount for business messaging services, and hosted email platforms can invest heavily in security protocols to keep your email safe.
  • Reliability – With such heavy reliance on email, ensuring that you have a highly reliable service with minimal downtime is key. Hosted email services schedule regular maintenance windows to ensure that software patches are up to date, and use the latest disaster recovery principles to make sure that you’ll never lose your email. Further to this, hosted email providers will have engineers on call who can get the systems back up and running should any failure occur.
  • Scalability – As your business grows, you want an email solution that will grow with you. Hosted email allows you to do this simply and inexpensively, without the need to purchase any hardware.

Flexibility – Using a hosted email server means that your email can be accessed directly from the web, and therefore you don’t need to be in the office, or with your work laptop to pick up email. This gives you the flexibility to read and respond to email from any location, using any web enabled device.

Another clear benefit of hosted email is the simple fact that you don’t have to worry about managing it yourself. It is one less thing for you to worry about, allowing you to focus that energy on the things that will help to grow your business.

You won’t have the overhead of purchasing and maintaining the physical hardware or the software upgrades, nor will you have to worry about how to scale the system in the future.

If you’re wondering how secure your current email solutions are and you’d like more information about the hosted email advantages could be applied to your business, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

VoIP Systems Advantages

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VoIP Communications Systems Advantages

Information has become key to doing business, and communication and collaboration tools are now a vitally important part of company infrastructure.

Advances in communications technology over recent years have made it easier, faster and cheaper to connect with employees and customers than ever before. And this phenomenon is allowing companies to grow at an unprecedented rate.

One of the most important developments is without question VoIP telephony.

Key VoIP advantages

VoIP technology has several key benefits over traditional telecommunications systems including:

  • Cost – VoIP calls are considerably cheaper than tradition phone services, and in many situations call are actually free. Calling from one VoIP system to another comes at no cost, as the call is carried over your existing internet infrastructure, as opposed to a separate phone line. VoIP fees for international calls are also very attractive compared to traditional operators, allowing you to connect more easily with customers in new markets.

 

  • Data and analytics – VoIP systems make it easy to track details about incoming and outgoing calls, such as number and frequency of calls, and call duration. This is really useful for analysing things such as the performance of call centre staff or sales teams. Are they hitting the required number of calls each day and what is the average call duration?

 

  • Integration with other systems – VoIP can be integrated into other business systems, such as CRM, vastly increasing the functionality of both systems. The CRM could then log the number of times each client has been called, or prompt employees to contact customers that have not been contacted for a certain length of time.

 

  • Mobility – As VoIP functions over the internet rather than a fixed telephone line, you can take your phone number with you wherever you go. This is great for employees who work flexibly between the office and home, or who travel frequently.

 

  • Productivity – Many of the features mentioned above translate into better employee productivity, enabling them to get more done in the same period of time. The “click to dial” feature is a great example, saving employees from having to key in individual phone numbers.

For more information on how VoIP could help to transform your business, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Contact Us:  0844 770 0199

Why Private Cloud Computing

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Benefits of Private Cloud Computing.

Many people are familiar with cloud computing and understand that it comes with lots of benefits in terms of flexibility, scalability and time to market. However, there are also problems with public cloud services like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, which make them unsuitable for certain tasks and organisations.

Two of the key concerns are related to security and data residency. In particularly, there are legal considerations to be made about where your data is being stored, as some types of data are not allowed to leave the UK or the EU, and with public cloud services it is not always easy to guarantee this.

The compromise is an internal “private cloud” where you own the infrastructure yourself, but run it in the same cloud style model.

Key Benefits of Private cloud

The private cloud approach lets you retain many of the benefits of a public cloud, but without the other concerns. Some of the key benefits of private cloud computing includes:

  • Improved security – When building a private cloud you are no longer depending on the security protocols of a third party cloud provider, and therefore have the ability to set the security of each component to the level you require. This can include everything from the choice of firewalls and anti-virus, to the physical locks on the door of the data centre, depending on how much of the end to end infrastructure you want to own and operate.
  • Better Stability and Disaster recovery – A private cloud of pooled virtual server resources, means that problems with individual nodes on the network effectively become irrelevant, as server resources can be shifted between machines. This allows you to achieve excellent redundancy, keeping your data and systems safe and operational for as long as possible.
  • Higher Efficiency – Using virtual servers on a private cloud allows you to achieve far higher utilisation rates that you could otherwise, meaning that you are getting the most from your hardware investment. You also have far greater control over how and when you scale the environment up or down, for example test environments can be switched off if they are not being used.
  • Greater flexibility and time to market – With a private cloud you can spin up new server environments in a matter of minutes, enabling you to get new products and services to market really quickly. You don’t have to wait on procurement to order new hardware at the start of each project, saving precious time and money. On the flip side, you also have the flexibility to switch off servers easily if they are not being used.

Private Cloud Implementation Expertise

If you are interested in utilising cloud computing but are concerned by certain aspects of the public cloud model, a privately hosted cloud could be the perfect option for you.

But private doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to run it yourself, with many IT services companies offering to build and operate a private cloud environment on your premises. This further enhances the benefits of the model, as you don’t have to fill the skills gap to run such a service, or support it on a daily basis.

If you would like to know how Private Cloud can benefit you click here or call : 0844 770 0199

Antivirus Review

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Review your Anti-Virus Software to Protect your Systems

It is widely agreed that the threat of cybercrime has increased dramatically over recent years, with businesses and individuals falling victim to online attacks more and more.

Despite this, many people have still not taken the simple step of installing antivirus software to help protect their personal data and systems.

Getting started with Antivirus software

The core purpose of antivirus programs is to detect malicious software on your machine and to safely incubate it, before permanently deleting it. But depending on the specific application they can also protect you in other ways such as detecting and blocking suspicious URLs when you are browsing the internet.

The software works by constantly running in the background, scanning files and applications. Before you open a program your antivirus application will check it against a list of known viruses to see if it is safe to open.

If the application looks in anyway suspicious you will usually get a pop up warning you of the potential virus and asking you to confirm if you would still like to open it.

Most applications will cover the full range of harmful code such as malware, ransomware and other types of computer virus.

Popular Antivirus solutions

There are many different antivirus solutions available today, including a wide range of free tools that you can easily download.

Some of the most popular antivirus tools include:

  • Windows Defender – Previously known as Microsoft Security Essentials, this software is built into Windows 10 and is therefore the default choice for many. It is free to install, with free updates.
  • Norton – Norton offers a range of paid antivirus packages, starting from single machines and scaling up to many different devices. Many of the packages also give you access to an expert from Norton to help protect your devices.
  • McAfee – McAfee is generally regarded as the world’s largest security technology company, offering solutions to both individuals and businesses. They offer a wide range of packages on an annual subscription basis, which also include a money back guarantee if they fail to remove viruses from your machine.

This software is simple to install and set up for individual users, but business users would benefit from speaking to IT professionals for guidance on the most comprehensive and cost effective way to protect their systems as part of a company wide security strategy.

Ensure that your antivirus software is up to date

Simply installing antivirus software in the first place is not enough, in order to get the best results and ensure you are fully protected it is essential that you update your software regularly. Cyber criminals are constantly looking of new ways to exploit systems, and likewise software providers are always looking for ways to make their solutions more secure.

Most antivirus packages will automatically look for updates each time you connect to the internet, but you will sometimes be prompted to restart your machine in order for the changes to take effect.

Cyber Security Threats

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Are You Taking The Cyber Security Threat Seriously?

The threat of cyber-attacks has been talked about with increasing frequency in the media over the past few years, and recent incidents have brought to light how real this threat is. In May 2017, the WannaCry ransomware attack disrupted computer systems around the globe, and a similar style attack was announced at the end of June, impacting sites such as the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Despite the fact that these attacks were over a month apart, many companies still seem to have been caught off guard, suggesting that they failed to take necessary precautions.

This is indicative of a problem within cyber security circles. Even when the threat is well known, people often don’t think that it will happen to them, and put off making the strategic decisions about how best to protect their systems.

Is Cyber Security just a “nice to have”?

Although companies are increasingly aware of the risks they are exposed to, when it comes to justifying investment in security, it can be very difficult to get the business case through. Investment prioritisation exercises tend to favour revenue generating initiatives, without fully appreciating that a cyber threat could cripple the business entirely.

One method to help raise the profile and importance of cyber security is to look at the types of attacks that could occur and consider the impact each will have on your business.

For example:

  • You are hit by a ransomware attack that downs your systems and prevents you trading. What is the cost to your business if you can’t trade for even one day? How many days could you survive without trading while you tried to fix the problem?
  • Your customer data is stolen by hackers. Could your brand survive the reputation damage and legal fines for not properly securing customer data? How long would it take you to regain customers trust?

The Likelihood of a Cyber Attack

Calculating the likelihood of a cyber security threat occurring is difficult, but understanding the devastating effect they can have on your business helps to justify the comparatively small investment you would need to make in cyber security to help prevent them occurring.
Going a step further and looking at the exposure of each of your individual systems will enable you to decide which risks you want to mitigate, and which you are happy to live with.

If you don’t have the expertise in house to carry out this analysis, it is worth getting a security audit from an external provider. An independent review of your systems could also help to support your business case for investment in cyber security initiatives.

Create a response plan in advance

Whatever level of cyber security you decide to opt for, it is worth crafting a response plan should the worst occur.

Many companies have been praised for how swiftly they shut off corporate email in the wake of the WannaCry attack to stop the virus spreading. If you know what steps to take in advance and act quickly, it can make a huge difference to the outcome of the attack.

Office Networks

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Understanding the Importance of Office Networks

Office networks are becoming an increasingly important component of any business. Over the past decade, companies have been using IT systems to increase productivity and efficiency by fostering greater collaboration and slicker links between disparate parts of the business. Office networks are key to underpinning this interconnectivity.

An effective office network can have a multiplicative effect, compounding and accelerating the success of other elements in your business. It can also help to save employees time, which can be reinvested in value-add activities, ultimately improving your company’s overall performance.

Key Office Network Components

The core components of a network are:

  • Network Router – A router serves as the central form of communication between the devices and the outside world. It is referred to as a splitter in how it functions and could be seen as the hub of all communications.
  • Network Software – The router is the hardware, but your network also needs software to tell it how to handle data transfer. Networking software is essential for running the router and controlling its main function. This can also include other types of software like firewalls to ensure the security of the network.
  • Cable Connectors or Wi-Fi – There needs to be something to connect each computer or device to the network router. You can either use a hard form of connection like cable connectors (Ethernet cables) or you can have a wireless network. Wi-Fi is becoming increasingly popular as it enables people and equipment to move around the office in a more ad hoc fashion while remaining connected to the network.

Once you have the basics of the network right, like providing secure internet access to employees, and shared drives to enable seamless file sharing between workers, you can start to think about more complex tasks that will really differentiate your business from your competitors.

This might include greater interconnectivity between networked devices, like machinery, allowing you to remove manual intervention and automate parts of your workflow. It could also mean collecting data from different systems into a central repository to help you understand how you can optimise your business.

The possibilities are almost endless, but it is essential that you put the right building blocks in place from the outset, so that you can do the more complicated tasks further down the line.

Network Investment and Maintenance

As your business becomes increasingly reliant on the network, it is essential that you don’t simply view it as a one off investment.

Doing a frequent check-up will help to avoid lots of problems in the future, and will highlight any element of the network that might need upgrading or replacing. You will need to ensure that your IT technicians have the right skills to carry out these check-ups and fix issues as they occur.

Rather than hiring full time staff, many small business choose to partner with an external company who will offer 24/7 network support should the network go down.

Setting aside additional funds to upgrade the network over time will ensure that you benefit from increased productivity gains that come with improved technology, enabling your company to continue to prosper long into the future.

How to Avoid Spam

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How to Avoid Spam and Free Up Your Time.

Spam is one of the few things that everyone can agree we receive too much of these days. It is one thing to receive lots of email from family or business contacts, but when you include spam, it can start to feel entirely overwhelming.

We can broadly define spam as any messages sent over the internet that are either irrelevant or inappropriate. They’re usually trying to sell something, give you a virus, or con you into something. Processing all these messages, and deciding which ones are relevant can be a tedious draw on your time.

Three useful tips to avoid spam from entering your life:

  • Be extremely careful about what websites you give your email address to

The key here is to make sure you aren’t constantly giving out your email address to companies, especially the suspicious ones. Not only will some legitimate companies bombard you with unwanted messages, but the more nefarious ones will sell your information to other companies who will email you junk.

Unless you specifically want to receive frequent emails from companies, you should always remember to untick the opt-in box that gives them permission to send you marketing messages.

  • Get a spam blocker or junk filter

Most adware suites or email clients come with some sort of a spam solution. These are usually worthwhile and will automatically sort the spam out of your life and into a junk mail folder. The downside is that these functions aren’t always accurate and you could possibly miss out on an email that was meant for you.

This means you should still check your spam folder every few weeks to see if anything important that somehow got filtered there due to a big attachment or outbound link.

  • Use a separate email for any potential spam

Rather than having just a personal email and business email, create a spam email as well. This is something you check a little less regularly, and when you do, you do it with a mindset focused on aggressive deletion of irrelevant emails.

If you’re operating on Gmail, there is a great tip available that allows you sign up for an additional email under your own name, just by putting a “+” sign at the end of your name. For example, if your original email was “john.nospam@gmail.com”, you could create another email “john.nospam+spamfolder@gmail.com”, and then filter your junk mail to there.

Between these three tips, you should be well on your way to fighting spam and eliminating the annoyances from your life. Most of the time, it just comes down to constantly opting out of the mailing lists and being vigilant about who you give your details to. Employing tools like spam filters, even though they are by no means perfect, will help to further eliminate nuisance emails.

 

Cyber Security – Understanding the Threat of Cyber Attacks

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Cyber Attacks

The recent ransomware cyber attack brought to light the damage that can be done by hackers targeting vulnerable IT systems. While the NHS has received a lot of attention in the press, this attack in fact impacted organisations and individuals around the world.

A 2017 survey by the British Chambers of Commerce revealed that 20% of UK businesses have fallen victim to a cyber-attack in the past year.

While larger companies and well-known brands are the most likely to be targeted, small businesses are also under threat. 18% of small companies (with fewer than 99 employees) also found themselves hacked in the past 12 months.

Before taking the necessary precautionary steps to protect your website, your data and your business, it is worth investing some time to educate yourself as to the types of attacks that you could be exposed to.

Some of the most common cyber attacks include:

  • DDoS attacks –

    Distributed denial of service attacks prevent real customers from using your website or service, by flooding you with traffic from multiple different sources.

  • Malware –

    Malicious Software, or Malware, includes a number of different types, all of which are intended to disrupt normal computer operations. Specific examples include:

    • Adware – Displays unwanted adverts to users, with users often being inundated with pop up ads.
    • Spyware – Tracks usage information and sends it to third parties
    • Ransomware – Blocks access to the data on your machine until you agree to pay a randsom to unlock it.

  • Phishing –

    Phishing attacks can include emails, websites or even phone calls, where hackers impersonate trusted organisations to try to convince you to hand over personal information, or install suspicious software on your machine. For example, you may receive an email that appears to be from your bank, asking you to reset your password. This could then redirect you to a site where you would input your password and other personal data that could be used to access your accounts.

  • Password attacks and credential reuse –

    Phishing is just one way hackers can steal your passwords. Other techniques include brute force password attacks, which involve using automated software programs to try to guess your password. As many people use the same password on multiple sites, once they have your password, hackers will try to compromise and steal data from other sites using the same log in details.

  • Man in the middle –

    This type of attack occurs when a hacker positions themselves between two people or systems communicating over a network. This allows them to intercept data that is being transferred between the two parties, without either side knowing. Conversations that were meant to be private are at risk of MITM attacks, as are sites that require users to login, as the log in data can be compromised.

Protecting Yourself from a Cyber Attack

By working with security experts to understand which type cyber attack you are most exposed to, you can build a secure and effective strategy to help keep cyber criminals at bay.

Though some businesses may see cyber security as an unwanted and unnecessary cost, the true cost to your business of a full cyber attack will be far greater if you fail to take sufficient precautionary action.

See this blog on How to Prevent Cyber Attacks  or for more information and advice Contact Us: 0844 770 0199