entrustIT Insights | IT Support (10)

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7 common misconceptions surrounding Managed Services

In modern business, there is an increasing reliance on technology. With this comes several daunting complexities that many businesses don’t have the time or expertise to deal with in-house. We are now seeing more and more people turn to Managed Services to alleviate the stress on their internal IT-team, as well as to help align their adoption of IT with their core goals in a more efficient way.

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Can your IT provider do that?

In the modern workplace, we rely on technology whether that be cloud or traditional environments, in order to function. If something breaks or fails, it can have a direct impact on your bottom line and ongoing business operations. Interested in learning more about how Managed Services can free up resource and reduce stress in your business? Learn more about the problems they solve here >>

the network went down when someone stepped on a crack in the sidewalk

How would your Independent School cope with 22 hours of ICT Downtime?

Originally posted on 12 June 2017 In the wake of British Airways catastrophic IT Failure which left so many passengers stranded at airports at the start of half term, I thought it would be timely today to talk about disaster recovery. As anyone who has ever experienced network downtime will know, it is amazing how crippling an ICT system failure is to a school, and how far reaching the consequences can be. Not only does an outage create classroom and administrative operational chaos, it can also have serious consequences for the school’s reputation, particularly where there is loss of critical data such as pupils’ coursework, or a breach of security around confidential pupil data. Interested in finding out how educateIT could help improve your schools disaster recovery? Download our FREE White Paper >> Whilst many schools I talk to tend to associate ICT downtime with large events such as fires or floods, the reality is that the majority of ICT downtime has much more mundane causes which can include hardware failures, loss of power, cyber security breaches (such as ransomware attacks) and software failures. And in many cases the downtime is considerable, with the EMC Global Data Protection Index 2016 study showing that the average length of unplanned downtime was 22 hours. Indeed the situation seems to be worsening this year, with ICT downtime caused by ransomware attacks in particular often running into a week or more. And while many of us can work around a short system outage, when such outages are extending into days or even weeks there can be a serious impact on the school’s operations and reputation. As such, it is critical that the senior leadership team have a thorough understanding of their risk management processes and contingency procedures around network resilience, backups and disaster recovery. So is it enough to have a disaster recovery plan? Sadly I fear not. I’m sure BA had a disaster recovery plan, but how well did it work when it was used in anger? For many schools, I find the disaster recovery plan that was put together some years ago and has sat in the fireproof safe ever since, without testing or updating. My experience is that this document needs to be constantly evolving, as our use of technology in education has moved on apace, and what was an acceptable recovery plan a couple of years ago may now be totally inadequate. In addition, our systems are constantly changing, with software updates and security fixes being installed on a regular basis, all of which can impact on the technical success of a recovery. In order to ensure ongoing relevance, I always recommend that schools continually re-assess and test their plans around resilience, backup and disaster recovery, against the operational needs of their school and their changing use of technology. Some points to consider would include:-

Public Benefit – another job for a beleaguered bursar?

Originally posted on 6 February 2017

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Cloud CCTV: Affordable security for all.

Did you know only 14 arrests are made for every 100 burglaries?

Design firms: How can you keep ahead of the competition?

Architects and Designers must look to technology to solve their productivity puzzles. Technology is reshaping the way we live and work, impacting all industry sectors. It has enhanced collaboration, changed the way we communicate with one another, and even altered the traditional working schedule. This is especially true for the design industry, who have always been reliant on technology, most often CAD software, in order to function.

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ICYMI: This week in tech.

The tech world is constantly evolving and changing. With such a pace of change, it is easy to get left behind. With that in mind, we have compiled a list of some of the most interesting stories we found in the last week in the world of tech.

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Does your IT have the support it NEEDS?

Technology is great, but sometimes it lets you down. If your hardware fails, who do you turn to? Things can get expensive quickly - according to Gartner the average cost of IT downtime is $5,600 per minute. entrustIT can be there to support organisations of all sizes, from small businesses to big corporates, helping to reduce downtime and maximise productivity.

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How a Virtual IT Director can change your business!

There comes a point in a growing organisation when the board needs access to an IT skilled person who talks 'business' to help build a business strategy. Often the IT manager has grown into the role and is very technically competent, but struggles to communicate potential business advantages of a digital transformation.

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7 Reasons You Want An External Partner To Manage Your IT Infrastructure

Businesses are under more pressure than ever to support and manage their IT. However, having the time and money to do this on your own can be challenging.

photo-of-two-people-shakehands-2058130

7 common misconceptions surrounding Managed Services

In modern business, there is an increasing reliance on technology. With this comes several daunting..

business-busy-chair-2451645

Can your IT provider do that?

In the modern workplace, we rely on technology whether that be cloud or traditional environments,..

the network went down when someone stepped on a crack in the sidewalk

How would your Independent School cope with 22 hours of ICT Downtime?

Originally posted on 12 June 2017 In the wake of British Airways catastrophic IT Failure which left..

Public Benefit – another job for a beleaguered bursar?

Originally posted on 6 February 2017

pawel-czerwinski-zBTYRFCeaS0-unsplash

Cloud CCTV: Affordable security for all.

Did you know only 14 arrests are made for every 100 burglaries?

Design firms: How can you keep ahead of the competition?

Architects and Designers must look to technology to solve their productivity puzzles. Technology is..

Image result for iphone 11 apple photo

ICYMI: This week in tech.

The tech world is constantly evolving and changing. With such a pace of change, it is easy to get..

Two Businesspeople shaking hands indoors

Does your IT have the support it NEEDS?

Technology is great, but sometimes it lets you down. If your hardware fails, who do you turn to?..

adult-analyzing-attentively-1059111

How a Virtual IT Director can change your business!

There comes a point in a growing organisation when the board needs access to an IT skilled person..

Business partners shaking hands in meeting hall-1

7 Reasons You Want An External Partner To Manage Your IT Infrastructure

Businesses are under more pressure than ever to support and manage their IT. However, having the..