You know about Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but there are countless hidden gems included with your Microsoft 365 subscription that you might be missing out on. And they could provide a huge productivity boost for the whole team.
The most likely targets for all sorts of cyber attacks are small and medium sized businesses. They don’t have the budgets for dedicated staff or numerous layers of protection.
But the weakest link in any security chain is your staff.
Good cyber security awareness training is essential for everyone in your business.
You will need a strategy to start with.
Remember 2012, when the analogue TV signal was switched off and we all went digital?
Well now it’s your phone’s turn, and in December 2025, the last old analogue phone service – the PSTN – is due to be switched off forever.
So if any devices in your business currently use the analogue phone system, you’re going to need to make some changes. That doesn’t just mean your landline phone – you may have alarms, lift emergency phones, some card machines (and you don’t still use a fax, do you?)
You have a bit of time to plan, but it’s important not to leave everything to the last minute on this. As we get nearer to the deadline, suppliers will be stretched and you’ll want to allow time to transition to a new system.
If you have business systems that feel like they need bringing into the 2020s, you might be thinking about a major IT project.
And that can mean a big commitment – of time, money, effort and headspace.
Watch our latest video for the three things to get straight in your mind before you involve the experts.
You might already have heard that the UK’s Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) is being switched off in December 2025.
This affects everyone.
The old, analogue PSTN can’t keep up with the demands of modern communication, so the switch to fully digital will mark a big step forward.
Put simply, everything will use the internet.
But it’s not just our phone lines that will be affected by the PSTN switch-off. Any equipment that also uses PSTN will stop working too. That could be your alarm systems, cameras, fax machines (yes some are still in use!), even door entry systems and EPOS machines.
You may also need to update your broadband and some of your other hardware.
A major change to your IT infrastructure isn’t something to be planned in a hurry. So if you’re starting to think about ending it with your current systems and bringing your business into the 2020s, there’s plenty to think about before you commit to another long-term relationship.
How’s the January health kick going?
Lots of us take our health seriously – once a year, anyway – and it’s good to spend time thinking about whether you’ve been looking after yourself (and better still, doing something about it).
Your doctor would probably like to see you once a year for a health check, just to pick up any small problems and stop them getting worse.
It’s exactly the same principle with your technology.
So why not book in for an IT check-up, to make sure everything’s in great shape for the journey ahead?
You do this for yourself, you do it for your car, and it’s a good plan to think the same way about your workplace tech. Because it might have to work pretty hard in the year to come.
Getting everything checked out now will pay dividends later.
It’s not easy knowing which new technology to adopt in your business so we’ve got a new video giving you 3 top trends to look out for in 2023.
December is a month when many of us take time to plan for the year ahead.
But instead of looking at your forecasts for the next 12 months, we’d like you to think about what’s coming up over the next decade.
Will you keep up?
Will you choose the right tech?
Here’s our guide to the 8 tech trends that your business needs to be ready for.
Working from home. Or remote working, as it’s now called.
It’s the big thing in business, isn’t it? And some people love it.
They’re happier working where they want, and when they want. And that makes them more productive and less likely to leave.
But have you stopped to consider the downside to remote working? The negative elements for your business and your people?
While many employees are happy to work from home using video calls and collaborative software to stay connected, there’s a small percentage who find the whole experience isolating.