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Business continuity (or BC for short) is not an optional extra in any industry. And to even start your business continuity planning steps, you need to gain the buy-in of your key stakeholders.

Securing the support of senior management reduces the possibility of running into internal resistance that could stop you from making your vision a reality.

So if you’re starting out on a business continuity plan, here’s how to make sure you can get it off the ground.

Why gaining buy-in is critical for business continuity

If you’re a project manager making a BC plan, you’ll need the support of everybody. Not just those at the top.

Why? Well, because if some people aren’t on board it can compromise the entire strategy. And if you don’t have the support of your senior stakeholders, there may be push-back before the plan is even in motion.

Without that backing, you’re also unlikely to get the funding and resources you need to implement business continuity throughout the organisation.

In truth, for both those scenarios, your business continuity plan won’t meet the strategic requirements you’ve set. Which, in turn, means your business will remain at risk. That’s why it’s worth going above and beyond to get this crucial stakeholder engagement right.

Your first business continuity planning steps

Begin by identifying stakeholders who have the highest levels of influence. Eventually, you will need to bring them together for a meeting to present your strategy to them.

To approach this with confidence, carry out a stakeholder analysis in advance. Learn how your ideas will affect each of them, and what sort of objections they might have.

Prepare to manage their expectations by demonstrating the importance of business continuity to the organisation as a whole. Then outline its relevance to their specific department or business unit.

Demonstrating the financial risk to the business is a great way to do this. With every potential risk or threat that business continuity aims to mitigate, provide data and examples to support the actions you’re suggesting.

Running risk assessment and business impact analysis (BIA)

A thorough risk assessment and a strong business impact analysis (BIA) will also be valuable when trying to manage everyone’s expectations.

These are tangible, empirical ways of illustrating the need for comprehensive business continuity, and will help you in gaining buy-in from across the organisation.

Your BIA is a tabletop exercise that demonstrates the risks and their potential impact. But it also highlights the consequences they could have in areas like the supply chain and brand reputation.

Answering objections to your business continuity plan

Impact on budget

Budget concerns are the most common objection you’ll be faced with. Protecting your business from all of today’s various risks and vulnerabilities can be costly, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t remain a top priority.

Here it’s important to refer to your risk assessment. Turn the discussion round to focus on how much a disaster would cost the business if it were allowed to happen. For example, if a number of critical business processes and applications were to fail because of a cybersecurity attack. Compared to the up-front cost, it becomes an easier argument to make.

Disruption to productivity

Interfering with the productivity, and usual running of business operations is another common concern. Installing new systems for cybersecurity or disaster recovery could be seen as a cause of business disruptions in a number of ways.

To overcome these objections, you’ll first need to find the right approach to implementation. You also need the right systems to make sure your business continuity plan doesn’t impact productivity.

Cybersecurity tools are designed to be user-friendly, and when deployed via the cloud their introduction to the organisation can be seamless. Although some team members may be resistant to new security measures or additional authentication processes.

For this reason, it’s critical to plan your communication strategies throughout the business. Make the reasons and thought processes behind each change clear to the entire business as early as possible.

Tips for gaining buy-in with stakeholders

Tell a business continuity story

Crafting a compelling and relatable story is an effective way to get your message across to the business’s senior leadership team.

This can be particularly true with business continuity and disaster recovery. There have been some high-profile cases of global brands suffering the consequences of data breaches and cyber-attacks in recent years.

You can use your story to tie everything together in a way that’s clear and easy to understand. If the data can be supported by a tale that hits close to home, the concept will become more real to your stakeholders.

Align your strategy with company objectives

Map out your business continuity planning steps, and ensure they align with the wider company objectives or business goals. This will help you remove as much potential friction as possible.

The senior leaders will have been the ones who set company objectives, so it’s important to ensure any plans you’re presenting don’t create conflict.

Get third-party validation

There’s an old saying: “A prophet is not accepted in his hometown.”

Understanding how to demonstrate the necessity of business continuity, and knowing how to communicate the change to stakeholders, can be a difficult challenge.

Just yourself and your internal project team may not be enough when it comes to gaining buy-in from the right people.

One tactic here is working with a partner to consult on the current risks you’re facing. Let them help you validate the need for business continuity and disaster recovery plans.

An external, objective opinion could be the deciding factor that senior leaders need to realise the importance of supporting your business continuity plan.

Take your next step towards business continuity

Follow the link below for an infographic of what a good disaster recovery and business continuity plan should look like. You can also discover some more of our insights on digital transformation, and expert guidance on the key platforms your business relies on:

Learn more about how you can make the most of cloud services to support, enhance, or protect your IT infrastructure. Contact us for a free demonstration.

What is cybercrime?

Cybercrime is in most cases an attempt to break into your or your company’s computer or computer network. Its almost a certainty that you have come across a cybercriminal before. A familiar one would be within your personal e-mail which looks like a poorly constructed paragraph and an attempt to replicate a company’s logo to steal your credit card details. This is called “Phishing”, the name being appropriate as the email is the bait, the fake link being the hook and you are the fish. (more…)

Thinking of life before Covid-19 seems like a lifetime ago. It has been one year since the UK went into lockdown and office life has, for most people, ceased to exist. But looking before this pandemic took hold employees were expected to commute to the office 5 days a week, and although this was the normality of the time were people happy to do so?  (more…)

Who needs an IT Managed Services Provider (MSP)?

More often than not, businesses start to look for an IT managed services provider (MSP) because something has changed. Ultimately, that change can come in many different forms.

Perhaps you’ve experienced some significant business growth and need IT support services to help you manage in a simpler and more cost-effective way.

It might be that you’ve upgraded or adopted some new technology. Even when business benefits are clear, new technology is often challenging (complete with a steep learning curve) to implement and adapt. So much so that UK-based knowledge and expertise from a team of highly experienced, highly skilled experts makes sense.

You could be on one side of a merger or acquisition and need support to get different systems talking. You may be facing the logistical and technical challenge of entering a new market. Or a change in dynamic within your existing market that has forced you to become more agile.

Whatever the catalyst, there comes a point where you are spending too much time and effort trying to make your IT work, instead of making your business work. But in order to adopt managed services, you need an understanding of what you need to look for in a provider.

Not only can they plug the gaps in your skillset, but they also provide the additional resource that allows your business to focus on what it does best. A customer service-focused provider that remotely manages your IT can enable the evolution and digital transformation of your SME.

Selecting the right IT managed services

A good IT managed services provider is effectively a systems integrator. They can offer a comprehensive IT support service by combining any number of different subsystems or services into a single package.

These services include a variety of service desk support and administration for your IT infrastructure, network and cybersecurity. This information technology services business model could mean:

But as an SME it can be difficult to know what service you need. With these services, it really is a matter of learning what you need to know.

When you consider each IT support service, think of them as their own kind of Lego brick. An IT managed services provider can use them to build anything you need. However, you might begin your search thinking you need to build a spaceship, when in fact you need an all-terrain vehicle. Or vice versa.

And that is why it’s important that you’re able to trust your provider to not only understand your needs but be able to deliver the necessary support.

What to look for in an IT managed services company

They focus on your objectives, not just challenges

Remember the Lego brick analogy we used earlier? The first thing you should look for is an IT services company that doesn’t immediately decide what you need to build. The difference between a good and bad provider starts with whether or not they take the time to understand your business and its goals, rather than just its IT problems.

Only when they have a good understanding of where you want to end up can they start planning the journey. In essence, the question must never be “What do you need?” Rather, the relevant question to ask is “What do you want to achieve?” Undoubtedly, you’ll surely know the answer to the second question.

They’re an ISO accredited IT managed services provider

Every provider will tell you that they are good at what they do. But it is quite different when an internationally recognised body agrees. An ISO accredited IT services provider means their standards have been professionally audited to ensure they meet international best practice.

This becomes hugely important when you deal with your own customers. Larger organisations regularly require their suppliers to show extensive compliance with GDPR regulations. If your systems are being operated and stored with an ISO accredited provider, that compliance is much easier to demonstrate.

They offer 24/7 support within the UK

For SMEs, the consequences of a system going down can be more severe than larger organisations, because it is more likely to result in a 100% loss of productivity. Because when you’re working late on a Sunday night and the worst happens, simply writing a support ticket and hoping for the best is not ideal.

Through remote monitoring, an IT managed services provider examines your system on a proactive basis. They can instantly spot a cyber-attack or a system fault. And they will continue managing and supporting you wherever you’re located. It reduces the response to minutes instead of days.

They provide comprehensive cloud solutions

Cloud solutions offer consistent access to the highest level of performance without the need for capital expenditure. Instead of buying expensive equipment, you can get the best tech via a subscription model. A good IT managed services provider will offer flexible, scalable cloud solutions that allow you to create agile user systems.

Nevertheless, what that looks like will depend entirely on your own needs. But that’s the point: it’s about finding the right service level for your business. Some businesses will need managed security, storage, email and access to Office 365. But others will need a more powerful virtual machine capable of handling Computer Assisted Designs, graphic design services or other solutions that require more resources.

And that goes back to our first point about asking the right questions.

They’re happy for you to speak to other clients

A universal hallmark of any provider that over-promises and under-delivers are when they’re a bit cagey about providing references. In short, that’s true for any industry or service, not just this one. But for IT managed services providers, it’s always a good idea to examine what kind of case studies they provide.

Firstly, take the time to figure out if they are similar to your company. Did they have similar objectives and challenges? Is the provider happy for you to speak to the clients involved? It will tell you how confident they are in the consistency of their services and lets you ask questions about things that may not have been mentioned in the testimonial.

Need to speak to an IT managed services provider?

As we said right at the start, usually the businesses in need of support are facing a change of some sort. Defining that business transformation can be tricky. You know you need a solution; however, you’re not sure how to put one together.

To learn more about how you can make the most of cloud services to support, enhance or protect your IT infrastructure, contact us for a free trial or demonstration.

Do you remember when everyone thought emails would go the way of the fax machine? In an age of iPhones and exchange hosting services, that’s not happening. In fact, the number of emails being sent and received each day is set to grow by another 20% in the next 3 years to 362 billion per day.

Not all hosted servers are created equal for email delivery or email migration. It’s not hyperbole to say that exchange hosting services can have a significant impact on the security and productivity of your business.

let’s start with what exchange hosting services mean and the different choices that small businesses have.

Why choose exchange hosting services?

Before we get into the specifics, it helps to put them in the context of the other business email servers that you can use as an SME. For hosted Microsoft Exchange, email clients, dedicated exchange and more, here’s a breakdown from bad to best.

Generic email

These are the email addresses most people use for their personal email. But “BUSINESSNAME@yahoo.com” does not scream professionalism. There are also several other drawbacks.

For example, a lot of personal email services will use an algorithm to read the content of your emails to personalise their ads more effectively. It’s not too surprising that most SMEs quickly move on to option number two.

Shared email hosting

Usually, when you buy a domain, your web hosting provider will also supply free exchange mailbox to send and receive emails via your own URL. There’s just something far more reassuring for customers to receive an email from hello@BUSINESSNAME.com.

However, even if you pay extra for dedicated server space to host your website, your email hosting is often shared. That means your communication can be routed through the same IP address as hundreds of other domains.

So, if one of those domains is flagged for firing out spam, then everyone on that IP address will see their messages going straight to the junk folder.

The spam issue goes both ways. Shared email hosting usually has very rudimentary spam filters. However, the biggest issue is the lack of security built-in. It’s cumbersome work to set up and manage your own POP or IMAP service to receive emails.

But sending them through the SMTP protocol can leave them at risk of being exposed due to a lack of inbuilt encryption.

Dedicated business email

In short, a dedicated business email is another way of saying Microsoft 365. Of course, there are other platforms available (not including their previous incarnation as ‘Office 365’). However, Microsoft 365 is the most popular by far because it offers a range of collaboration features and security that you just cannot get with the previous two options.

Microsoft 365 options including Business Basic, Business Standard and Business Premium, the full Office solution. Instead, for email only, you can opt for Exchange Online. All offer you automatic updates against new security threats, protection against data-loss, basic email retention and disaster recovery.

Moreover, as your business grows, they are also easy to scale. And unless you choose Exchange Online, you will have some form of access to essential Office apps. For instance:

Another thing to be aware of with regards to Microsoft 365 Personal and 365 Family: they are not ideal for business use. Additionally, with these accounts, Microsoft can take your content and use it for its own promotional purposes. Chances are slim that your content might end up in some public forum, but it’s something to consider.

Exchange hosting services

Microsoft Exchange hosting providers offer services provide a dedicated Microsoft Exchange server, privately hosted in the cloud.

So: what’s the difference between Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Exchange? Well, Microsoft 365 offers you a rigid package hosted by Microsoft itself. But exchange hosting services allow you to create a completely bespoke email management service.

Because it’s privately hosted, you can pick the best elements that the platform has to offer. That means for the same or lower cost, you also get additional features and far greater control.

Why exchange hosting services make more sense

Whatever your size as an organisation, there are some common factors that everyone wants from their hosted email solution. And it just so happens that exchange hosting services nail each of them.

1. Better privacy

Firstly, and most importantly, you do not get any algorithmic snooping on your email content as you would with a generic email service like Gmail. And you still get the same automatic security updates as Microsoft 365.

Because everything is separately and privately hosted, you have full control over where your data is stored. For example, if you are a UK business you can use a data centre service. Particularly one that stores and hosts all your data in the UK, making GDPR compliance much simpler to demonstrate. While Microsoft 365 is certainly secure, you are still sharing your exchange with other companies and you do not really know where your data is held.

2. Customised collaboration

Exchange hosting services allow you to select the collaboration tools you want to include in your email service. While Microsoft limits your collaboration options to three different packages, a bespoke exchange allows you to create a tailored platform that will maximise the productivity of your business.

Your products and services can include shared contacts and calendars, appointments, video conferences and integrated VoIP calls. You can also access more apps via the cloud such as Publisher and Access.

3. Superior anti-spam

Spammers are a sneaky lot. In some cases, they have moved on from sending out badly worded sales pitches to millions of addresses. Instead, they are crafting handwritten ‘artisanal’ spam and sending it to mere thousands.

Lower volumes and higher quality content can make it difficult for even robust filters to notice. As a result, relying on a ‘one-size-fits-all’ spam filtering solution can be problematic. But with a bespoke exchange, you are in full control of what gets through.

4. Stronger email account backup

If you have ever panicked about deleting the incorrect email, then you will appreciate the value of being able to fully restore them whenever you need. Compare that with Microsoft 365, wherein your recovery opportunity is limited to just 14 days.

There are other, more significant consequences. Because Microsoft 365 has no native backup solution, if a malicious email slips through your spam filter, accidentally opening it could result in losing all your emails.

With cloud-hosted exchange services, you can fully restore emails up to 45 days afterwards and recover deleted items up to 150 days later.

With the introduction of GDPR, archiving your emails properly has also taken on a lot more importance. Exchange hosted services allow you to bundle your old emails into a single archive and keep them safe without slowing down your service.

In addition, most business emails offer limited space for archiving. Once the archive is full, you then must start deleting emails to free up space. By opting for a hosted exchange email server, you can access unlimited, indefinite archiving, meaning there is no need to choose what to keep and what to lose.

Finally, most cloud email providers will only allow email retention of up to two years, which is completely inadequate for compliance in many industries. With exchange hosting services, however, you can retain emails for up to 30 years where necessary.

5. More flexible and responsive

The good thing about subscribing to Microsoft 365 is you get automatic security updates. But you are also obligated to accept automatic feature updates or product upgrades. That all sounds wonderful if you have not been relying on a tool that suddenly changes or disappears.

With a hosted exchange you are in complete control of what gets updated and when. You can also have access to full UK-based support if something breaks in your business. In addition, Microsoft 365 offers you a mailbox of around 50 Gb and limited options for aliases such as invoices@BUSINESSNAME.com or accounting@BUSINESSNAME.com.

Instead, you can double your mailbox size to 100 Gb and use unlimited email aliases – useful if Jeff from accounting also does your marketing, recruitment, and credit control.

6. Better value

Following on nicely in the flexibility stakes, one of the key strengths of exchange hosting services is that they only require a month-to-month commitment.

If you contrast that with Microsoft 365, a default option is a year-long contract at a minimum. If you dig deeper, however, you will find that Microsoft does also offer a monthly 365 option, albeit at a slightly higher price.

Regardless, you will find that a cloud-hosted exchange is much more cost-effective than Microsoft’s 365 Business Premium. Furthermore, it can provide your business with even greater functionality, security, and control.

Talk to an exchange hosting services specialist

SMEs do not usually start life by using exchange hosting services for their emails. They realise that they are missing something. Growing organically usually involves using what’s convenient until suddenly it’s not. That’s true for everything from your computer systems to your accounting software and your emails.

To learn more about how you can make the most of cloud services to support, enhance or protect your IT infrastructure, contact us for a free trial or demonstration.

There is usually a sweet spot before you start thinking about needing outsourced IT support. You know, that time when your operations are running smoothly. Life is productive. Blissful. Serene. Until suddenly it’s not. So here are a few ways to recognise the signs that you need to bring in some external help:

1. Productivity has dropped

It starts with a team member getting locked out of their system. Then your printer stops working properly. Or someone’s emails aren’t sending. Or the programme won’t work because the system is too slow. These problems have become a major drag as the team and responsibilities grow. The more lost working hours stack up, the more cost-effective it becomes to bring in some outsourced IT support.

2. Your outsourced IT is actually Jane from accounting

Jane from accounting has been your go-to IT expert since forever. But she is paid handsomely to be an expert accountant. And frankly, she’s getting pretty sick of dealing with the niggly problems that everyone keeps bringing to her desk. So now you can let Jane get on with the job she’s paid for and live with the problem, or pull her away and have two people out of commission until the issue is solved. But by really outsourcing your IT, you get the equivalent of a fully managed IT service desk, complete with the right expertise, better response times and a much happier accountant.

3. You’ve got data compliance concerns

Depending on your industry and the expectations of your customers, there can be a LOT of hoops to jump through when it comes to compliance. They range from the basics of making sure your data protection processes are in line with GDPR, to demonstrating that you’re adhering to specific security rules within a highly regulated industry.

But even if you’re extremely knowledgeable about the expectations, delivering the business IT solutions are an entirely different matter. That is unless you have the right outsourced IT support service.

4. Your competitor has already outsourced IT support

It’s weird. You were pretty much neck and neck. Now they seem to be providing a smoother customer experience. Their systems and processes are more robust. They have more time to work in the business, instead of trying to make the business work.

Unless your competitor has suddenly become an industrial genius, then there’s a chance that they have outsourced IT managed services to an external provider. One who knows how to support companies like yours.

5. Outsourcing IT becomes more cost-effective

It takes a lot of resources to stay on top of the latest IT developments. And within six months, everything you learn could be redundant. That means more training, more time, more money. By outsourcing skilled IT experts, the burden of staying up to date falls on them. This means you can reduce costs and fix problems faster by an account management team who already know what they’re doing.

To learn more about how you can make the most of cloud services to support, enhance or protect your IT infrastructure, contact us for a free trial or demonstration.

What on earth are IT infrastructure management services?

OK, don’t panic, this is nowhere near as intimidating as it sounds. IT infrastructure management services involve managing the right physical IT solutions to help your business achieve its key objectives as efficiently as possible. That’s it. (more…)

If you have been reasonably conscious over the last five to ten years, you’ve probably heard about the advantages of cloud computing. You may be wondering what the business benefits of cloud computing are if you run a small or medium enterprise. In this blog, we explore how using a cloud hosting service can help save your business time and money. (more…)

Do you really need a hosted desktop?

Citrix hosting providers offer you the option of working via a cloud-hosted desktop. This is a computer that you access in the same way as any other. Except for the platform, applications and processing power all exist in the cloud, instead of on your actual machine.

Everything you need is available via cloud hosting services. Here, several data centres work together to emulate the exact type of computer that your business needs to operate.

What’s the point? Well, firstly, it means that it doesn’t matter how old or slow your existing equipment is. Because all you’d need is a good internet connection to access some seriously powerful processing speeds.

It also means that your employees can access work via a remote desktop. This has proved to be handy in the last 12 months, as you can imagine. And because you do everything through a monthly subscription, hosting solutions allow your business to scale with total flexibility.

Why Citrix works as a Desktop as a Service (DaaS)

Desktop as a Service (DaaS) allows businesses to run all their computers via a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). By subscribing to a DaaS, you have complete virtual access to all your apps and desktops. Regardless of your location or which device you’re using.

One of the reasons why Citrix is an effective DaaS is because as a virtual platform it uses comparatively little bandwidth. So if you’re travelling in an area with a less than stellar internet connection, you can continue to do your job. It also has an offline option, allowing you to keep working and connect and sync once your internet gets better.

Citrix has the added benefit of offering a more secure login method than a Windows desktop or Microsoft virtual machine. Instead of logging into your desktop, Citrix sets up a buffer that checks things like your security settings before allowing you to access.

That encrypted buffer means your physical machine has no access to read, copy or retrieve data from desktop applications on the Citrix platform.

It’s just a window into what’s being processed in the cloud-based data centres. Thereby making it impossible to transfer data onto an unsecured machine. Even taking a screenshot or using the snipping tool will result in a black screen if the security settings are at their highest.

What makes good Citrix hosting providers?

To access Citrix as a DaaS, you need to work with a Citrix partner who is listed as a Citrix Service Provider (CSP). These companies specialise in providing hosted Citrix desktops and application hosting on a rental, services or subscription basis.

Citrix partners have to pass strict criteria in order to be able to offer Citrix solutions. From having the right number of technicians to having specific qualifications within the company.

They are well versed in delivering Citrix cloud hosting solutions. And they also receive the latest releases, patches, updates and warnings as a matter of priority.

But there are other things that you need to look for in a good Citrix hosting provider. For example, ensuring that they have the right credentials, experience and security in place in their own business.

ISO accreditations like ISO/IEC 27001 demonstrate that your provider regularly audits its own security, on top of being audited externally. It also shows that they replace their network switches, firewalls and assets over time.

These standards are important when it comes to how providers segregate their multi-tenant reference architecture. Because the last thing you want is for your system to be accidentally made accessible to another company hosted by the same provider.

A good provider will offer Citrix DaaS as a managed service. Meaning they monitor and optimise your access so you can focus on what your business does best.

Learn more about how you can make the most of cloud services to support, enhance or protect your IT infrastructure. Contact us for a free trial or demonstration.

Why SMEs need better cyber security

Let’s be honest. In many cases, cyber security for small business often stops installing the paid version of antivirus software in your laptops. The argument for this approach goes something like this:

“It’s too expensive to get proper IT support: besides, nothing bad will happen to me anyway.”

But in the last year alone, ransomware attacks have grown by almost 500%. Smart home gadgets on the Internet of Things (IoT)* were found to make up 96% of all vulnerabilities, while the number of malicious or unwanted applications grew by 320%. And with so many people working from home via their own wi fi, smart TVs have also proven to be particularly vulnerable.

The truth is that small business owners are often more at risk of cyber attack because they are not as secure as larger organisations. And cybercriminals tend to follow the path of least resistance.

Of course, the irony is that SMEs find it more difficult to recover from a severe cyberattack once it occurs. The smaller the company, the fewer resources they can put into data backup and recovery if there’s a breach.

The reality of cyber security for small businesses

When you fall victim to cybercrime, the consequences often reach beyond the expectations of many small organisations.

There is the inevitable disruption to your business caused by parts of your system going down. Perhaps you’ll need to recover data. If it’s ransomware, you might be forced to pay to have sensitive information decrypted. But there’s no guarantee that the cybercriminals will actually do it. They may have stolen your data for their own nefarious ends. Or they might be scamming you out of money.

You may have to notify any affected parties about the loss of personal data, which can have a long-term impact on your reputation. You’ll also have to tell the Information Commissioner’s Office, which supervises data protection in the UK. They can then take your equipment away as part of their investigation – which means more disruption. And if they find negligence or malicious behaviour, you could face a hefty fine or even jail time.

One SME owner told me that after they had suffered a security breach, they ended up losing one of their most valuable staff members. She was under so much stress as a result of the cyberattack that she left her job.

Reducing the cyber threat to small organisations

Cyber security is not an IT problem. It is an organisational one. And there are several steps you can take that are both cost-effective and protect your business from cyber attack.

Firstly, you need to have a proper, physical firewall device installed in your network. This is not the same as having antivirus software on your computer. Frankly, not having a smart firewall device in your businesses is like not having a front door on your house. It doesn’t just stop malicious actors from hacking into your system. Your firewall device will track all the traffic on your network and make sure devices aren’t being hijacked.

You also need to segregate your Wi-Fi into at least two separate zones. Keep one reserved for guests, visitors, sales reps etc., while having a separate network for the rest of your office. A password should protect both with a minimum of 20 random characters. Because there are bots out there that can crack anything less in about 8 minutes. Other tactics include whitelisting, meaning you can physically identify and restrict the devices allowed to connect.

But your ability to reduce the risk of a data breach requires a LOT. By that, I mean it needs a layered approach consisting of Legal, Organisational and Technical protection.

For more on this, download our Cyber Security Booklet today. 

Learn more about how you can make the most cloud services to support, enhance or protect your IT infrastructure. Contact us for a free trial or demonstration.

*IoT devices are devices that connect to the network but without the benefit of either an operating system or an antivirus. On the home front, these could include smartwatches, fitness bracelets, doorbells, fridge cams, medical devices etc. In the work environment, security cameras, printers, production line sensors, and instrumentation. As these devices become more popular, they have equally become more and more of a security risk.

The new reality of remote working

The last 12 months have redefined how most businesses operate. For many organisations, remote working solutions went from ‘nice-to-have’ to ‘adapt-or-perish.’ But even as the world begins to return to some kind of normality, the benefits of having a more remote workforce remain very real. As a result, the vast majority of employers are considering a hybrid of working from home and the office.

And it’s no wonder. Because with a properly optimised remote working model, employers can:

Of course, Zoom fatigue is still very much a thing. And no one is suggesting that businesses need to switch to a completely remote workforce. But the reason these numbers are so strong is that many employees say the option of working from home helps them:

So how can you help your employees (and your business) thrive in a more normalised remote working future?

Protect your business with a hosted desktop

As an employer, you need to accept the fact that remote employees will connect to your business via a much less secure means. Whether it’s via an unsecured Wi-Fi network or a personal laptop, the risk of a cyberattack can significantly increase. So allowing direct remote access to your server is a big no-no.

A cloud-based hosted desktop service such as Citrix offers a secure virtual environment that your company has full control over. Employees can log in from any device on any network, but all activity is hosted, monitored and limited to the cloud. No data can be viewed or transferred to the physical device, and access comes with powerful encryption and a secure login feature.

These are essential for things like GDPR compliance. So you can reassure both your customers and the Information Commissioner’s Office that your sensitive data is secure.

Improve your resilience and disaster recovery

In addition to improving your resilience to cyberattack, a cloud-hosted desktop is important for maintaining business continuity. It means everything is hosted away from your physical location. So if your office goes offline for any reason, like a power outage or flood, your employees can switch to remote working.

And if a security incident does happen – you have the ability to bounce back quickly. Few SMEs have the kind of failover and redundancy capabilities offered by cloud-hosted services. These terms refer to the amount of equipment that backs up the smooth running of your service. Simply put: if something fails or is subject to a cyberattack, you can get back online with minimal time and effort.

Remote working solutions to cut costs and grow flexibility

When delivered as a managed service, hosted desktops like Citrix can significantly improve your experience as a remote employer. Apart from the obvious cost savings in terms of real estate, heating and consumables, it can help in other ways.

By removing the need for a physical office, you have a wider talent pool to recruit from. This is useful if you’re based in London. There, hiring someone with the same skills could cost around 40% more than in the rest of the country.

But it’s also possible to integrate features like VoIP and call recording into your Citrix environment, so employees can still use their office phones. As part of a managed service, you can get access to a free firewall, antivirus and monitoring software. And it can ensure your employees’ devices are more secure by forcing Windows updates.

Learn more about how you can make the most of cloud services to support, enhance or protect your IT infrastructure. Contact us for a free trial or demonstration.

Few would deny the advantages of business continuity planning (BCP). There are plenty of business continuity benefits for your organisation. The most important being greater integrity, security, speed and reputation when a crisis plays Jenga with your business model. (more…)