by Richard Jones | Dec 2, 2024 | Business, Business Continuity, Cybersecurity, IT Management, New Technology, Online Presence, Productivity
How do you feel about the technology you use in your business? A recent study found that 90% of business leaders felt confident that their IT systems today are “best in class”.
But how about tomorrow?
The same study showed that:
- Only 39% of business leaders felt confident that their current IT system was future-ready
- 64% worry that their technology might be getting outdated
- Around half the tech used by businesses was at its end-of-life.
When technology is no longer supported by the manufacturer or software creator, it’s like driving a car that hasn’t had a service in years. Sure, it might run fine for now – but sooner or later, it’s going to break down (and it’ll probably happen at the worst possible moment).
When it comes to business IT, cyber security is another big concern. The study found that 65% of business leaders worry about cyber attacks, and 56% admit that they find it a challenge protecting their business from these attacks.
Nobody can control whether their business comes under attack – but you can make sure your business is prepared. And the best way to do that is by keeping your IT systems up to date and investing in the right security tools.
So, how can you make sure your business’s IT is future-ready?
Take a good look at your current setup. Is your tech starting to slow down? Do you need to start replacing your hardware or software?
If your business tech does need updating, don’t wait until things have stopped working. Think ahead and start planning for upgrades now.
And while you’re at it, make sure your team is trained up on how to use the latest tools and systems.
If you need help building a technology strategy for your business’s next few years, that’s what we do – get in touch.
by Richard Jones | Oct 21, 2024 | Business Continuity, Cloud, Cybersecurity, IT Management
Losing access to your business’s data – even temporarily – is a nightmare worthy of a horror movie.
Data backup tools create copies of your data and store them in a safe place. If something goes wrong, recovery tools will use these copies to restore your lost files.
So, if your business already uses backup and recovery tools, you’d think your data is safe… but this isn’t necessarily true.
A new report shows that some backup tools aren’t always as reliable as they should be. In fact, a third of all data losses are caused by backup-related issues. When people try to recover data, they discover it’s been lost or corrupted.
It’s not just corrupted backups that you should be aware of.
One of the biggest threats to businesses right now is ransomware. This is a type of malicious software (or “malware”) that locks you out of your files unless you pay a ransom to regain access.
The report found that half of businesses using backup tools still ended up paying ransoms to retrieve their files, because it was faster than trying to use their own recovery tools. Even worse? Only a small number of businesses that paid ransoms were able to fully recover their data.
Backup tools are supposed to keep your data safe, so why are they unreliable for so many businesses?
Often, it’s because they haven’t been set up properly. And even when they are, they still need to be verified regularly to make sure they are still backing up your files.
Also, older backup and recovery tools can’t always keep up with today’s sophisticated cyber attacks.
Setting up and maintaining a reliable backup system can be complicated. IT experts (like us) can make sure your tools are running correctly every day.
We can also put in place extra safeguards such as continuous data protection (CDP). This constantly saves changes to your files, allowing you to go back in time and restore your data as it was just before an attack or loss.
This is something we do for businesses like yours every day. If you’d like us to help you too, get in touch.
by Richard Jones | Sep 23, 2024 | Business, Business Continuity, Cybersecurity, IT Management, Microsoft, New Technology, Working from Home
With the end of support for Windows 10 just over a year away, many business owners are starting to wonder why they haven’t upgraded to Windows 11 yet. Are you one of them?
Research shows that most businesses could make the switch, but a surprising number are still holding back. This despite the upgrade being free and easy.
A recent survey of more than 750,000 Windows 10 systems found that 88% are on hardware that’s fully capable of moving to Windows 11.
Yet, 82% of businesses haven’t taken the plunge.
This is worrying, especially with the clock ticking down to the deadline in October 2025. After then, Windows 10 won’t get any more free updates, including all-important security patches. That could leave your business exposed to risks.
So, what’s the hold-up? For many, it’s the fear of disrupting business operations. Upgrading an entire business’s operating system might sound like a hassle, with concerns about downtime or technical headaches.
But the truth is, upgrading to Windows 11 can be a lot easier than you think, especially with expert assistance (contact us if we can help you with this).
And there’s more to it than just avoiding the risks of sticking with an outdated system. Windows 11 comes with so many benefits:
- Better security to keep your business safe from modern threats
- Improved performance to boost productivity
- And a sleek, intuitive interface that makes work easier for your team
Plus, if you are using newer hardware, Windows 11 will let you make the most of it.
The upgrade from Windows 10 to 11 is free if your devices meet the requirements.
With so many advantages and the deadline fast approaching, there’s no reason to wait.
We help make all upgrades as easy as possible. Let’s jump on a call and we’ll tell you about our extensive preparation, when we schedule upgrades, how we train your team – and answer all your questions.
Our goal is to get you up and running on Windows 11 without disrupting your daily operations. Let’s talk.
by Richard Jones | Sep 16, 2024 | Business, Business Continuity, IT Management, Microsoft, Productivity, Working from Home
If you’ve ever had the misfortune of seeing the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on your computer, you know just how frustrating it can be. It’s that moment when your screen turns an ominous shade of blue, and you’re left wondering what went wrong and how much work you’ve just lost.
For businesses, these crashes are more than just annoying – they can be disruptive and cost money.
Recent research highlights just how common BSODs have become, with one in 200 devices crashing under normal use. And it gets worse. During the recent CrowdStrike outage, that number shot up to one in ten devices.
While the tech industry seems to be hit the hardest, with more than 15% of devices affected monthly, even sectors like healthcare and retail, which are less prone to these crashes, still get about 8-10% of devices displaying the dreaded blue screen.
So, what’s causing all these crashes? And more importantly, how can you reduce the risk of them happening in your business?
The good news is that about half of these incidents are avoidable.
The bad news is that many businesses simply don’t have the tools or strategies in place to prevent them.
One of the key takeaways from the study is that many BSODs are linked to a few common issues. Problematic hardware, poorly managed Windows updates, and misconfigured drivers for things like graphics cards, networks, and audio systems are among the top culprits.
When these aren’t working properly, it can lead to system instability, which often manifests as a BSOD.
For business owners, this means taking a proactive approach to IT management is crucial.
Instead of waiting for something to go wrong and then scrambling to fix it, businesses should focus on identifying potential problem areas before they lead to a crash. By monitoring the health of your devices and making sure that updates and drivers are properly managed, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of BSODs disrupting your operations.
The research suggests that with the right preventative measures, businesses could cut the number of BSOD incidents in half, reducing the occurrence to about one in 400 devices. This not only minimises downtime but also frees up your IT team to focus on more strategic tasks rather than constantly putting out fires.
Unfortunately, many businesses lack the necessary tools to identify these risks early on. In fact, most companies don’t even know which of their devices are at risk right now, let alone which ones might crash in the future.
To move from a reactive approach to a proactive one, invest in tools that can provide insights into your IT systems. These tools allow you to make data-driven decisions, which can reduce costs, relieve employee stress, and ultimately increase productivity.
Better still, get experts to do it for you. Our approach is proactive IT management. This prevents problems before they can interrupt your work.
Let us keep your business crash-free. Get in touch.
by Richard Jones | Sep 2, 2024 | Business, Business Continuity, Cybersecurity, IT Management, Microsoft
If you’re like most people, you probably find system updates a hassle. They take ages and those big downloads eat up precious bandwidth and storage.
Good news then: Microsoft is about to make your life a whole lot easier with the upcoming Windows 11 24H2 update.
It’s introducing something called ‘checkpoint cumulative updates.’ That might sound a bit technical, but don’t worry – it’s simple and very beneficial.
Normally, Windows gets its updates every month. These are known as cumulative updates, which bundle all the latest fixes and enhancements together. These bundles can be large and take a while to download and install.
The new checkpoint cumulative updates change this process. Instead of downloading a big update every time, your system will now receive smaller updates more frequently. These are tweaks to the last major update or checkpoint.
So, what does this mean for your business? It’s great news… you’ll spend less time waiting for updates to finish so you can get back to work.
And, if you have a limited internet connection, smaller updates are a blessing. They use less bandwidth, so less chance of interrupting someone else’s video call.
The best part? All of this happens automatically through Windows Update. You don’t need to do anything differently. Your system will keep running smoothly, with most updates happening in the background. This seamless experience ensures that your work is not interrupted.
This isn’t the first time Microsoft has streamlined updates. When Windows 11 was first launched, Microsoft used new compression technology to reduce the size of updates by 40%. With the 24H2 update, they’re taking it a step further to ensure that your experience is even more efficient.
It’s also worth noting that while this new update system will be standard for Windows 11 and the upcoming Windows Server 2025, it’s less likely to be implemented for Windows 10, as that version is nearing its end of life. This means there’s even more incentive to upgrade your business to Windows 11 if you haven’t already.
Want to migrate to Windows 11 with zero hassle? We’re the people to talk to.
by Richard Jones | Aug 12, 2024 | Business, Business Continuity, Cybersecurity, IT Management, New Technology
Here’s a topic that’s been making headlines and causing sleepless nights for many: Cyber extortion.
Is it something that’s on your radar? It should be, because it might affect your business one day.
What is cyber extortion?
It’s a type of cyber crime where criminals threaten to harm your business by compromising its data and digital assets unless a ransom is paid. These threats often involve ransomware, a malicious software that encrypts your data, making it inaccessible until you pay the ransom.
Sometimes, cyber criminals go a step further by stealing data and threatening to release it publicly on dark web leak sites if their demands aren’t met. This dual threat is known as double extortion.
According to a 2024 report, the number of victims of cyber extortion scams has skyrocketed by 77% over the past year. What’s more, small businesses are four times more likely to be targeted compared to their larger counterparts. This is a worrying trend, especially considering that smaller businesses often have fewer resources to defend against these attacks.
In the first quarter of this year alone, 1,046 businesses fell victim to double extortion. That may not seem huge, but bear in mind the actual number is likely much higher since many cases go unreported, hiding in the shadows of what experts call the “dark number.”
The truth is, all businesses, regardless of size or industry, are potential targets. However, certain sectors are more frequently attacked. Manufacturing, professional, scientific, and technical services, as well as wholesale trade, top the list. Alarmingly, the healthcare and social assistance sectors are also seeing a significant rise in attacks, despite the potential societal and political repercussions.
Cyber criminals are opportunistic and strategic. They target regions with strong economic growth and shared languages. For instance, cyber extortion attacks in the UK have increased by 96%.
While the rise in cyber extortion is a big worry, there are steps you can take to protect your business. Here are some key strategies:
Back up your data: Make sure you have a robust backup plan. Keep your critical data in an offline or offsite location and regularly test your backup restoration process.
Keep software updated: Make sure all your devices use the latest software, especially those connected to the internet.
Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Strengthen your access controls with MFA. This adds an extra layer of security by requiring multiple forms of verification before access is granted (such as a code on a separate device). Also, limit user access to only the systems they need for their job.
Patch and vulnerability management: Regularly update your systems to fix any security vulnerabilities. Cyber criminals often exploit known weaknesses, so staying on top of patches can prevent many attacks.
By understanding what cyber extortion is and how it works, you can better prepare your business to defend against it. Remember, the key is to be proactive.
If we can help prepare your business and keep it safe, get in touch.
