Tag Archive for: Covid-19

Our approach to Managed IT

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Who? What? Where?

We’re Cloudscape, a full-service IT company based in the heart of London.  Working primarily with small to medium-sized companies, we offer a full complement of IT support services covering all bases; from routine maintenance and remote monitoring to IT project management, consultancy and much more.

We draw on over 30 years of experience to deliver honest, dependable support that our clients rely on.  We have an excellent record of customer retention – many of our clients have been with us over for over a decade – as we put customer satisfaction at the heart of how we operate.

See below for a brief description of the services we provide, bearing in mind that we only propose solutions based on the requirements of our individual clients – we never promote unnecessary services or tech!

 

Cloud Services and Hosted VoIP

As a Cloud Service provider, we can help your business navigate the fairly new but exciting world of cloud computing.  ‘The Cloud’ broadly denotes computing services and resources accessed remotely via the internet rather than through in-house or local physical infrastructure.  ‘The Cloud’ lets you take advantage of computing power, security and scalability without the capital expense and maintenance hassle of physical infrastructure.   It also offers cost-efficiency and flexibility that is difficult to achieve with hardware, as the subscription-type nature of cloud services let you pay for the services and resources you need and dispense with those you don’t.

A common entry-point to the cloud is through Hosted email services, cloud-based backup solutions and cloud storage.  We can advise on the best blend of Cloud services and Physical infrastructure for your business that capitalises on the benefits of the Cloud and makes optimum use of the server infrastructure you may already have.  We even offer ‘Private cloud’ solutions for businesses wishing to operate their own hardware in the cloud.  This offers the benefits of the ‘public Cloud’ but with greater control and customisation potential.

We also set up ‘hosted’ (Cloud Based) VoIP phone systems.  Such systems offer the features of a traditional business phone system but with much easier and cheaper set up as well as many of the benefits inherent in cloud services such as scalability and convenience.

IT Support

All-encompassing IT support is the cornerstone of our offering.  We employ ‘prevention is better than cure approach’ using our advanced monitoring platform.  This lets us scour your network for signs that something is likely to go wrong (such as a Hard drive error message), allowing us to take action before harm can be inflicted.

You’ll be able to rest assured knowing that your data is backed up, the latest updates are installed and that your entire network is safeguarded by the most up-to-date malware and virus protection.

In addition to our Microsoft expertise, we are also recognised as the leading Apple Mac specialist in London and are committed to supporting Apple products.

Cyber Security consultancy

We can advise on and implement a host of Cybersecurity measures to safeguard your business’ applications, software, hardware and data from a range of online threats. From Antivirus software and firewalls to access management and web filtering, our expertise in the field of online security will add resilience to your business’ cyber defences and help you uphold your data protection obligations.

Additionally, with our threat monitoring and reporting tools, we can help you understand the sources of cyber threats, allowing preventative action to be taken to safeguard your network.

Other Services

We offer a range of other services in addition to our core offering.

Our relocation service takes the stress out of the logistical complexity of an office move.  With the provision of a dedicated IT relocation manager, we will take care of everything – backups, security, hardware installation, dealing with contractors etc. – ensuring your move is a smooth and stress-free experience.

In addition to the ongoing support services we also offer project management and consultancy services.  Whether you want to migrate services to the cloud, upgrade hardware, install telephony infrastructure or manage data more efficiently, you can be sure that our project consultancy will keep you on track with solutions that are a custom fit for your business.  We work with a variety of sectors – creative industries, banking, finance, hospitality, Law, retail and HR – and as such we have developed an understanding of the unique and often ‘sector-specific’ challenges that businesses face.  We employ this understanding when working with our clients to ensure we consistently deliver solutions that meet their needs and the unique operational challenges they encounter.

Lastly, as a ‘Cyber Essentials’ accredited IT company, data protection and security is at the core of everything we do.  We are well versed in the complexities of the EU’s GDPR legislation (soon to be adopted into UK law post-Brexit), and can help to ensure that your business is GDPR compliant using a range of strategies such as the implementation of Data privacy policies and introducing Cybersecurity procedures.

 

We’re Cloudscape

At Cloudscape, we know what technology means for your business.  While some IT companies live on cloud-nine, we are very much grounded and realise that for many firms IT is a vehicle for their business and not the destination itself.  We only deliver solutions that will get results and instead of dazzling our customers with jargon and shiny, new products at every opportunity we focus on plain-English guidance and an efficient, friendly and reliable support service that your business can have confidence in.

Covid-19 – IT support expectations

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Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown has had a profound effect on all our lives and presented huge challenges to businesses great and small. Many businesses have been forced to close, and many of those able to continue trading have been forced to adapt-to-survive by adopting new technology and ways-of-working to facilitate remote operations.

While the crisis has affected all businesses to some extent, it is fair to say that the IT sector is better equipped than many to deal with the challenges posed by working from home and the need to keep physical contact to a minimum.  It is therefore fair to expect a certain level of service of your IT support provider despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.  This article reviews some of the expectations you should continue to have, and allow you to consider areas where your IT provider might be falling short.

 

So, what should I continue to expect in terms of IT support?

Uninterrupted maintenance and timely support when it’s needed.  Proactive systems maintenance should continue as before.  If your team are logging more support tickets than usual this may be a sign your IT provider isn’t being proactive, resulting in a greater number of issues arising.

Similarly, you should expect your provider’s Helpdesk to be manned and operational when you expect it.  Your IT support provider should continue to be responsive to support tickets, and while some delay in terms of resolution times may be acceptable due to increased demand, you shouldn’t be waiting days for simple issues to be resolved.

Consultancy and Appropriate/cost-efficient solutions.  If working from home is a new concept for your business (as it will be for many) then the transition could prove fairly stressful and daunting.  It’s important that your IT provider is able to guide you through the process and propose solutions that are appropriately scaled and cost.

Solutions should be realistic in terms of cost, but also shouldn’t be so compromised that your business isn’t able to operate effectively.  For example, if your business is ‘data heavy’ you may want to enable easy access to files through either remote access to your Office Network or by introducing a Business-Grade Cloud storage solution.

Similarly, if another priority is communication – both within your business and with clients and potential clients – your IT provider should be able to propose and implement solutions that enable video conferencing and perhaps the continued use of your office phone system by setting up cloud-based VoIP.

Ultimately, your support provider should know your business well enough and also know the technology well enough to provide solutions that are a good fit for your operation.

Solutions that are secure and compliant.  Whether you are required to follow industry-specific codes of conduct and regulation or you fall under the all-encompassing scope of GDPR, ensuring that you maintain data security and operate compliantly is as important now as ever.  The FCA, for example, stated that companies should ‘take all reasonable steps to meet their regulatory obligations,” in a statement before lockdown began.  You should expect your IT provider to only propose solutions that allow you to meet any regulatory obligations you currently have.

The use and storage of data is among the most common compliance considerations for businesses.  Your IT provider should be able to provide your team with secure, functional devices such as laptops or tablets.  They should ensure that such devices are backed up, maintained and run adequate anti-malware protection.  You may also want to consider remote device and application management to ensure access to data is tightly controlled – particularly relevant if you intend to allow staff to use their own devices.  Your provider should be able to talk you through the options available to you.

A Disaster recovery plan.  Any IT support company worth their salt should be able to explain how they’ll recover your data in the event of a disruptive event such as a cyber-attack or device damage/theft.  Ask your provider how they would recover your important files, databases, applications etc if such an event were to occur while your team are working remotely.

The above list is not exhaustive by any means but it does provide a basis from which to evaluate your IT provider’s performance through the Covid-19 crisis.  Many businesses outsource their IT for peace of mind, believing that their IT provider will act as a safety net to their business when disaster strikes.  Therefore, if your IT provider is falling well short of your expectations at the moment you should ask yourself whether they can be trusted to look after your business in the future.

 

We’re Cloudscape

At Cloudscape, we know what technology means for your business.  While some IT companies live on cloud-nine, we are very much grounded and realise that for many firms IT is a vehicle for their business and not the destination itself.  We only deliver solutions that will get results and instead of dazzling our customers with jargon and shiny, new products at every opportunity we focus on plain-English guidance and an efficient, friendly and reliable support service that your business can have confidence in.

Covid 19 – Is your IT support provider failing to deliver?

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The Covid-19 crisis has presented considerable challenges to most businesses.  For some it has meant having to close completely, while others have had to overcome severe operational challenges as they make every effort to maintain some sort of normal service to their clients.

With the recommended advice being to work from home wherever possible, many businesses have closed their offices and relied on the guidance and support of their IT provider to enable secure and effective remote operations.

Therefore, it is now more important than ever that you have an IT provider you can rely on. Your provider should continue to offer the same quality of support and maintenance you expect of them, but they should also have been able to help carry your business through this period of uncertainty by proposing and implementing new solutions that are fit for purpose and economically viable.

This article should help you consider whether or not your IT provider is doing enough to help your business through the crisis. Listed below are a few things to look out for.

 

Knowledge and Skills gaps

The upheaval and forced change caused by the crisis is a test for IT providers.  While many providers cope well in their day-to-day provision of IT services, they have now been forced to think on their feet and come up with new and inventive solutions for their clients which for some may lay bare knowledge and skills gaps.  If your provider is struggling to implement changes and you sense they are learning as they go this could indicate inexperience or a lack of continuous training and staff development. Technology never stops evolving and as a result IT companies should ensure that their staff are familiar with the latest developments so that they can deliver the most up-to-date solutions to their clients.

When you are looking for an IT provider don’t be afraid to ask about their experience, qualifications, accreditations and even things like client testimonials.  You may also want to consider whether they invest properly in staff training development, as conscientious firms will pay attention to this!  Lastly, while there are no doubt many capable young firms you shouldn’t be afraid to ask how long a provider has been in business for, as long-lived firms tend to be long-lived for good reason.

Failure to meet guaranteed response times

Pay particular attention to how long it’s taking your provider to register your request for support.  While not all companies offer response time guarantees they will likely have target figures so that their clients know roughly how quickly requests will be dealt with.  While support request has been higher than usual in the wake of lockdown restrictions being applied you should still have reasonably high expectations on this; after all ‘response time’ only refers to the time taken to acknowledge a support request, not actually resolve it.  Response times may vary depending on the level of support you have agreed with your provider and the level of priority assigned to different support requests but if you have been with your provider for a reasonable length of time you’ll likely know what to expect.

Failure to meet response time pledges or expectations may be a sign of an under-resourced helpdesk, a lack of organisation or it may be indicative of false promises that the company is not serious about sticking to.

Lax security Practices

Businesses generally assume that their IT provider applies the highest standards when it comes to security as ‘reducing risk’ is cited as a common reason for outsourcing IT in the first place.  The assumption of good security, however, can be dangerous, as assumptions often are, so it is important to know what to look out for to ensure that your provider considers security a top priority.

You might want to consider whether your provider holds ‘cyber essentials’ accreditation and whether they operate on the basis of a ‘no trust’ policy (whereby all individuals within and outside an organisation are considered a potential threat to security).  You should also be confident in your provider’s approach to preventative maintenance and backups.  Effective update and patch management will help safeguard against some forms of malware that exploit weaknesses in software, and regular backups will safeguard your files against attack provided that files are backed up in multiple locations.

They won’t accept blame

There is a certain amount of shared responsibility between IT providers and their clients, as no single party is fully responsible for ensuring systems run smoothly and that data is kept secure.  It’s your responsibility to take on board advice given to you by your provider and act in good faith, and it is their responsibility to ensure the solutions they implement pose an acceptably low level of risk to you and your business.

This relationship can be tested however when one party makes a mistake and fails to accept responsibility for it or blames the other party.  If your provider has a tendency to do this it may be time to look elsewhere for an IT partner who’ll treat you and your business with more respect.

You’re not learning anything

Your IT provider should function as a sort of ‘Tech guru’ in some capacity to your business.  Many businesses outsource their IT to tap into the expert guidance and knowledge of IT companies, seeing it as an opportunity to adopt new technology and learn while doing so.  If your provider leaves you to figure things out on your own and seems unwilling to provide proper guidance then it could be a sign that they don’t value their relationships with their clients.

They aren’t commercially savvy

For many businesses, IT is just a means to an end: a tool for managing client relationships and increasing revenue.  It’s therefore important that your IT provider has some understanding of how a particular Tech solution will affect your business’ performance and the implications for things like sales and financial performance.  If your provider never explains technology in the context of your business or businesses in your sector more generally and calls routinely sound like a sales pitch, it could signal that they don’t know your business very well and/or don’t understand your sector.

Poor Proactive maintenance

Reactive IT companies resolve problems after they have occurred whereas proactive IT companies monitor systems to anticipate issues before they arise, leading to less downtime and increased productivity.  You want the latter! Reactive IT support is a sign that your provider doesn’t have adequate insight into the ‘end-user experience’ either because they don’t have the tools in place for monitoring or because they aren’t actively carrying out preventative maintenance.  A proactive company, on the other hand, has the capability to tackle issues before they arise using monitoring tools and will be able to resolve issues often without you realising anything has taken place.

If your staff are logging an excessive number of tickets this could be a sign that preventative maintenance isn’t happening.  You might also want to ask your provider if they use a monitoring platform.

It’s understandable that IT support may not be your primary concern at the moment, however, the current crisis provides a valuable opportunity to evaluate your IT provider’s performance to determine whether they have what it takes to safeguard your business against cyber threats and the possibility of future crises.

 

We’re Cloudscape.

We believe you should have the best technology solutions for your business.

We’ll get to know your business and determine the most appropriate solution to meet your technical requirements while being commercially sensible in cost and productive with time.

If you feel that you’re not getting the most from your IT Provider, please get in touch.