Five Misconceptions of Cloud Computing

The cloud is consistently growing with many public and private sector companies using it in some form or another. Whilst some may see it as a way to solve all of their IT issues, others find it a source of worry. As with many new technologies, there are sometimes myths and inaccurate information being spread about them. Here are some of the top misconceptions of cloud computing. 

The cloud will guarantee money-saving on IT 
Although cloud computing is a great and effective way to reduce costs, a company needs to bear in mind that this will not happen instantly.
Cloud computing offers flexible options based on your budget. However, a business should not focus on cost alone. The cloud enables a company to quickly adjust the computer power they need which is extremely useful if the team gets smaller, as you do not have excessive computer capacity that is being wasted.

How Hosted Exchange Benefits Businesses

For the majority of small and medium companies, email is essential to the everyday running of the organization. As email is such a critical business tool, it not only has to be fast and reliable, but it also needs to be able to be accessed remotely. Having this flexibility allows staff to always be in touch with the business. Although managing your email infrastructure in-house is definitely achievable, this method can be both time-intensive and expensive. Luckily, there are hosted exchange options available that allow businesses to outsource their emails to help streamline their business. Here, we discuss in more detail how hosted exchange can benefit businesses.

How Cloud Computing Can Save Your Business Money

Cloud computing has brought new and exciting opportunities for companies of all sizes. Small and medium-sized companies have seen benefits as the flexible technology allows them to compete on a global scale. They can now utilize technologies that were previously too expensive. Not only does cloud computing provide storage, software solutions and technology infrastructure, it can also help businesses minimise their costs.

Here we discuss 5 ways that cloud computing can help your business save money.

Outsource Your IT Support- 7 Reasons Why

There are many reasons why businesses should outsource their IT support. Here we discuss 7 reasons to outsource your IT Support. Having an internal IT Manager can be reassuring to many small businesses for reasons such as familiarity of systems and process as well as accountability, however, after reading our list below, you might find the better option is to outsource your IT.

1.Reduce the cost of hiring

When you are hiring a new member of staff, it is not just the cost of their salary that you need to budget for. The associated costs of recruiting the new member of staff and any costs for taxes, staff benefits, and training will all add up to a significant amount. Choosing to outsource your IT support instead turns what could be a large fixed cost into a variable cost. The amount of support you pay for is based on your individual requirements. You can control the costs when you outsource, choosing from retainer based packages to fixed and scheduled visits.

Best Email Practices for Companies to Adopt

Emails have become a fundamental communication channel for many people and companies. Email is a powerful tool that should be used with consideration for the best results. Here we go through some of the best email etiquette practices that companies should consider adopting for their members of staff to ensure professionalism and efficiency at all times.

1.    Be clear in subject lines

Ensure that your subject lines are as clear as possible. You want the recipient to understand exactly what the email will contain before they even open it.

2.    Always use a professional email address that is standard across the company

Ensure every member of staff uses a professional email address. Never let them use their personal emails and try and obtain a company domain so all will be standardized. This provides professionalism and is expected from companies now.

5 Steps for creating a cyber security prevention plan

Cybercrime is risk to any business with an online presence. Cyber-attacks can have huge and sometimes detrimental implications for a business. A cyber- attack may even reduce trust in the company which can dramatically affect sales. As technological sophistication levels rise hackers are becoming equally as sophisticated. All companies should ensure they have a security prevention plan in place to try and avoid the damage cyber-attacks could do.

Here we discuss the 5 steps to improve cyber security in your business.

10 things for IT departments to do when an employee leaves their job

It is inevitable that you will have employees come and go throughout the years. Whether the employee has left due to poor performance, the company downsizing, or they are moving on to another job, you must consider the actions needed to happen to ensure once they have left your company data remains secure. Here we discuss a checklist of actions you need to take to ensure IT security remains tight once an employee has left. Regardless of whether there was hostility when the employee left or it was amicable, you can never be too safe when it comes to sensitive information and company secrets.

Once the decision has been made that the employee is leaving (regardless of whether this decision was made by the company or the individual) the HR department should let the IT department know immediately the date the employee is leaving so they can complete the actions on the checklist.