Cyber Security and how to reduce your risk

As you may have seen in the press recently, Cyber Crime has been at the forefront of focus for many businesses.   Not only are the large enterprises being affected by cyber-crime, there are thousands of small and medium businesses being affected just like yours.

With the recent outbreak, you may have seen how whole networks can become infected with an unwanted application.

At Pearce IT, we pride ourselves in keeping abreast of the latest technology and making sure this is correct for your business.  With that in mind, every product or solution we advise on always has Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity at its forefront.   With our partnership with both Microsoft and ESET, we have a zero % infection rate to date of customers being contaminated by these exploits.

So, should the unexpected happen we are always available to make sure we can get your business back up and running with the minimum downtime.

Here are some basic steps you can take to reduce your risk.

• Make sure your windows updates are enabled – by default we enable this setting on everything we supply.
• Make sure you are using a brand leading antivirus – by default, we recommend and install ESET Antivirus. They are a many award winning antivirus provider with software which will cover Mac’s, PC’s, and Android Tablets, including cross-contamination of these.  Home use or free antiviruses are available however we have found these do not offer the cover required nor are free versions to be used in a commercial environment.
• Secure Online Backup – This needs to be UK based for compliance both for GDPR and speed of recovery. –  We offer full UK hosted backup which can be quickly and easily restored.   Backup and cost as little as £5 a month.
• Be cautious of emails you receive. – Just because you recognise the name of the user doesn’t mean it necessarily from them. If in doubt with websites, hold your mouse over the link to check whether the link name is the same as the address disclosed.   If different, this is usually the case of a fraudulent email.

Want to make sure you have everything covered?

Please give us a call on 01452 222000, to speak to myself or a member of the team where we can talk through your concerns and make sure everything is covered to reduce your risk from attack and data loss as much as possible.

Pearce IT are also a member of the Cyber Club helping businesses like your stay safe online and helping to reduce the likely hood to be at risk from the exploits of others.

For information, direct from the National Cyber Security Centre please visit https://www.ncsc.gov.uk

Revolutionise Your Business With VOIP

Whether you are a home-based business, a one-man/woman band or you employ a team of people there is a telephone system that can revolutionise your business – that system is VOIP.
VOIP (Voice over IP) uses the Internet rather than traditional, labour intensive telephone lines to transmit phone calls and brings many benefits to business owners.

I am being asked a lot about the benefits of VOIP and I thought I would share some of the ways I believe it can revolutionise YOUR business.

#1 Cost

Cost is just one of the benefits of VOIP. VOIP is cheaper than traditional land-lines and utilises the technology that you are undoubtedly already using and paying for – the Internet. No new connections need to be installed and there are no high call costs.

#2 Flexible Working

Do your colleagues work in different offices or different locations? With a VOIP phone system you can put calls through to any destination and have your phones ring on multiple phones, all setup through a simple web browser.

#3 Call Screening

Increase productivity by only taking the calls that you need to. Imagine how satisfying it will feel to ignore and disconnect those annoying ‘can’t take no for an answer’ sales calls. Prioritise calls and choose which go through to your well-crafted answer phone message. This ensures you are not distracted from what you are working on and taken off on an unnecessary tangent – remember your time is very valuable too.

#4 You Decide Who Is Connected With You and When

This is a must-have feature for those of us who aren’t in front of our desks all of the time. Call twining lets you create a list of people and numbers that get redirected to another number (i.e. your mobile) before your business number voice-mail kicks in. You can set the number of ring times before the call divert is implemented and the number of different numbers the call is diverted to before voice-mail eventually is received. Make it easy for those important clients to reach you wherever you are.

#5 Voice-mail to Email

It is not always easy to discreetly check your voice-mail using your mobile, however with the rise of the SMART phone and accessibility to email wherever we are you can have flexible and easy access to all of your messages. VOIP will send your voice-mail messages straight through to your inbox allowing you to listen to them anywhere you are.

#6 Make It Easy For Your Callers To Speak To EXACTLY Who They Need To

VOIP’s auto attendant feature is one of the most useful for larger companies. I call it the electronic receptionist! Callers are able to interact with a selected menu of extensions appropriate to your business. Again you set the extensions and messages so you get a completely unique service that represents your business exactly how you want it to. And if that isn’t enough you can create a call plan to set the times of day that calls are routed to who and where you wish.

#7 Do Not Disturb

This feature does exactly what it says on the tin…set it when you are in meetings, focusing on an important piece of work or just having a five-minute breather to recharge. You can programme the Do Not Disturb Feature so your callers do not feel unloved and ignored and direct them to another destination or your voice mail.

#8 Business Continuity

You will remember last month we focused on the importance of being open for business and business continuity. VOIP is an essential risk management tool that will enable you to transfer your telephone services instantly should the worse ever happen – you just plug your handset into another network socket in any location and you are good to go. This will not only keep you accessible to your customers and allow you to maintain a service for them but will also enable you to make all those calls that will be needed to get your business back up and running. As well as this any amendments can be made to your call plan by simply logging into your online portal and making those changes live.

Call me on 01452 222000 for a no obligation quote and find out how VOIP can benefit your business from only £13.49 including unlimited 01/02 numbers.

The Ten Things to Look for in an IT Company

Investing in IT services and solutions can be a daunting task. Every business, whether large or small, needs to keep abreast of the fast-changing world of technology but that obviously costs money.

So how can you ensure you get a great return on your IT investment? Just as a lot of businesses need IT support, there are also a lot of IT companies out there to choose from!
So how do you ensure you choose the right one? To help, we thought we would share our list of ten top things to consider when engaging an IT Company.

1. Try them out first! Make sure you benefit from an initial “no obligation” appointment during which you can discuss your ideas, concerns and business goals within the context of IT support and strategy.

2. Make sure they communicate well. The need for “good communication skills” seems to be a pre-requisite for any job application and it’s the same when investing in IT support and solutions. Make sure the company uses plain, down-to-earth language and avoids ‘tech-speak’ as much as possible.

3. Find out how they will keep you informed. Will they readily answer all of your questions? Will they keep you informed every step of the way? Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings, possibly a finished job you may not be happy with and even unwelcome surprises on the final bill. Discover what the company does to avoid this scenario!

4. How quick will they respond? What do their service level agreements say about response times? Does the company provide remote and on-site support? How can you contact the company – by telephone, by email, through online ‘chat’ or social media? You want to know that you have back up should something go wrong or help is needed and that you can contact the company in a variety of different ways.

5. Find out about their team. A company is only as good as the people it employs – do they have a great team of hard-working, dedicated and enthusiastic people who are all friendly, warm and personable?

6. What accreditation do they hold? Are all the staff fully trained and do they have the right knowledge and skills? What accreditation do they have that verifies their level of service and support?

7. Find out who’s talking about them. Can they provide genuine customer testimonials and case studies? Can they give you details of existing clients who you can contact yourself for references?

8. How long have they been established? Is their reputation well founded? Do they have a proven track record of supplying business solutions in your area?

9. Do they have the necessary clearance? If your business is an educational establishment or a care-home, does the company have the necessary DBS/ CRB clearance? In addition, your chosen IT company may have access to your company records, files and financial information – are they compliant with specific industry regulations such as data protection. And whilst you’re at it, find out what level of insurance they hold.

10. Do they offer an iron-clad guarantee? Are they confident enough in their services to offer a written guarantee? If they do, does this apply not only to the normal product [hardware/software] warranty but also to the installation and on-going service level agreements?

Next time you’re looking for IT solutions or support, go armed with these ten tips in mind. And if you want to make it a really easy search then why not give us a call because PearceIT already score 10/10 in all these areas!
PearceIT is justifiably proud of its long-standing and good reputation for doing IT really, really well. We are very proud of our track-record of solving complex issues and providing continuous improvements and business solutions for all of our clients.

Top 5 Technology Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Tips

Top 5 Technology Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Tips

At PearceIT we are passionate about technology and this month we are sharing with you our Top 5 Technology Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Tips to make sure you are always open for business.

#1 Reliance on Data – How long can your business survive without any access to your data?  Minutes, hour, days?  Depending on your requirements there are a variety of solutions which can help you to get back to work with the minimum of downtime (if any).

#2 Security – Do you know how safe is your data is?  If you are still using External Hard Drives or USB sticks you may be at risk and need to consider your options seriously. Data on these devices is easily accessible after theft as well as being a single point of failure.  Do you send un-encrypted e-mails to your customers or store personal data on your PC’s?  The Data Protection Act insists that all personal data is held in a secure form and many institutions insist on this data being held in an EU or UK only datacentre.

How secure is your WIFI?  Do you have a secure password to enter to log onto your Wi-Fi and do you give these details out to any contractors or staff for their personal devices?  Corporate Wi-Fi should be kept for corporate use only.  If personal devices are to be used then we would always recommend a separate guest Wi-Fi is used.

#3 Business Continuity – There is a common misconception that this is the same as disaster recovery but there are key differences. Business continuity is essential to those customers who can’t afford downtime for a single point of failure in any system.  If your data is held on a single PC on a single site what would happen if there was a fire/data/breech/hardware failure?  Can you access the same data on another device? Is this automatically replicated? Can you continue to provide the same service to your clients without the data or information being available to you?  We would like to share an important case study with you that shows business continuity in action. You can read it here.

#4 Telecommunications – The big what if…   Whether it’s the man with the JCB who cuts through your cables or your building suddenly becomes inhabitable would you still be able answer your clients calls and be open for business? Do you have the facility to have your calls diverted to another device? Do they automatically failover to mobiles?  Can they be remotely diverted in the event of failure.  Do your critical answerphone messages come through on e—mail to your smart phone? VOIP phones (Voice Over Internet Protocol) enable this to happen and is one of our recommended solutions to ensure your business can still function should the worst happen.

#5 Printing – If your printer broke down would you have a business break down?  For many of our clients such as GP Surgeries, School and Garages the ability to print information for clients and customers is essential.  If you are printing more than 2 reams of paper per month not only can we save you on your printing costs but should your printer break down we can ensure that it can be replaced or fixed the next day.

Act Now:  Call us today if you have any concerns that your data is not as secure or regulated as you would like it or it needs to be..  We can arrange a FREE no-obligation consultation to assess your requirements to make sure everything your business needs is available to you.

Reasons to Keep Your IT Up To Date – plus a few “How To” Tips!

As Bill Gates said “Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don’t think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without the talking about the other” … and he should know!

There is no argument that whatever the size of business and whatever sector it is in, it will rely on some aspect of information technology. From computers, telephones and messaging services to networks and servers, from point-of-sale tills and security systems to websites, emails and social media, all businesses will rely on some of these if not all.

Technology is essential to every business as part of its infrastructure and many are becoming even more reliant upon it with the growing influence and importance of social media and online merchandising.

It is therefore very important for businesses to recognise the need to keep their IT up to date. Of course, a business has its own specialisation and focus and cannot necessarily be an expert in all-things-technological too. It’s not possible to know everything, but it is possible to stay up to date in your own particular niche and that’s where PearceIT comes in!

As an IT company with authority and knowledge across a broad spectrum, PearceIT is able to provide expert advice on a number of technological areas – from IT strategy and solutions to integrated internet and email systems to disaster recovery and business continuity and IT support (on-site and remotely).

PearceIT recommends that you consider the following reasons for keeping abreast of technological advances and recognise that it is an on-going job which will, ultimately, prove its initial worth and investment:

• Technology empowers companies to grow faster, produce better products and serve customers more effectively.
• IT connects a workforce and its customer
• IT analyses data and allows products to be manufactured precisely.
• Faster and newer IT contributes to giving a business a competitive edge.

PearceIT recommends that every business:

1. Develops an IT Strategy that defines the role that technology performs within the organisation. An IT budget should be allocated as once the strategic role that IT plays within an organisation is defined then the search for solutions is easier to identify and manage.

2. Centralises its IT hardware and software capability as much as possible so that all departments (eg sales, accounts and logistics) are ‘singing from the same song-sheet’. This will improve communications and customer service across the board. PearceIT is able to advise on technologies that benefit the entire company, not simply ones that assist in day-to-day opportunities.

3. Limits some IT expenditure by using their own tech-savvy employees! For example, when a new mobile device is released there are likely to be a number of employees willing to test the device and to give honest feedback.
The same can be said for new versions of existing software and computer hardware. This approach may appear to be ad hoc but will usually provide a good sense of the functionality and perils of new IT technologies – and will also engender a feeling of involvement and loyalty from the employee too. Alternatively, PearceIT will already have road-tested new technologies so can provide impartial advice as a matter-of-course!

4. Considers testing a new IT product within a singular department for a period of time before ‘rolling it out’ across the whole organisation. PearceIT can oversee this process, highlighting and analysing any problems or issues and enabling a smoother transition that will be easier to manage in the long-term.

5. Recognises the importance of keeping all their IT functions secure – which includes up-to-date anti-virus programming. However diligent an organisation thinks it is, invariably employees will install other applications (sometimes unwittingly!) and these can be linked to media players, games, web-browsers and can ‘infect’ the hardware. Sometimes ‘bugs’ or viruses can be inherent within ‘normal’ software and it is necessary for the application creators to release new versions – which need to be downloaded and installed to rectify any anomalies. PearceIT can assist as keeping your applications up-to-date is just as important as updating your operating system.

6. Gets its money’s worth! PearceIT is confident that by providing expert IT advice, in a timely and efficient manner, with approachable and friendly staff, all its customers can be sure of making the most of the IT investments made.

If you have any questions about how PearceIT can help you to ensure your IT is up to date then just give Liam and the team a call on 01452 222000.

World Backup Day

World Backup Day

World Backup Day was chosen to be the day before April 1st (April Fools) in order to drive the message that one should backup all those pictures, spreadsheets, love letters, cat pictures, & important financial documents before it’s too late.

Key points about backing up data:

• Items to backup:  Your computer, laptop, phone, iPod, tablet, other wireless devices, photos and videos on social networks.
• Common ways to lose data:  Theft, hardware failure, natural disaster, alien invasion, obsolete file formats, you forgot where you put it (really, it has happened).
• Backup options:  Backing up is easy. Once set up, your data should be backing up automatically. There are two main types of backup solutions:
  • Local backup: An external hard drive that can be easily retrieved at home.
  • Cloud/offsite backup: An online backup service or hard drive securely placed in a different location
  • Having both local and offsite backups gives you piece of mind knowing your files are safe and secure.

• If you are working in a business:
• tell your bosses & colleagues about the importance of data backups
• check your backup procedures & restores to make sure everything is up-to-date and working.
• if don’t have one, consider creating a company data backup & continuity plan

Call us on 01452 222 000 to see how we can help your business protect its self from data loss in the event of a disaster.  With Online Backup from as little as £12 why wouldn’t you backup?

Don’t be an April Fool.  Backup your data. World Backup Day is March 31st.

Is Your Business Performing At Its Best?

It’s a no-brainer that you want your business to be as successful as possible! Whether you’ve been established for a while or are still at the fledgeling stage, you need to ensure that you, your business and your staff are all performing at the best level possible.

However, it is easy to slip into a complacent mindset when wrapped-up in the day-to-day tasks of running a business and actually lose sight of your ultimate direction and goals.

It is therefore important you regularly keep on top of all your business strategies, your IT strategy included.

Assess Your Current IT Situation!

Take the time to step back and take an overview of the current situation.  What are your core activities, the products that you make or services that you provide and are they being supported as well as they possibly can be by your IT functionality?

Can they be improved upon? For example, are you using the best software and systems?

Key Things You Need To Consider

PearceIT is a specialised resource and we help businesses to perform at a higher level.  We thought we would share six of the key things we look for during our IT reviews so that you can consider these things in your business to:

• What management information and other IT systems are already in place.
• Whether or not these systems cater for any proposed expansion.
• Whether the current systems make a difference to the quality of product or service the business provides.
• If they don’t, we look at whether the systems can be changed to make sure that they do.
• Whether the best use is being made of emerging technology to allow for more flexible working.
• Whether the internet provision provides the level of service required. We look at whether there are times when the connection slows down – mid-afternoon or during school holidays in particular.

By first identifying current technological capacity you can then identify whether you need to upgrade or improve your IT infrastructure within your organisation.

Information Technology plays a significant role in the efficiency of your business and therefore, if you want to ensure your business constantly performs at its best, then it’s vital that this crucial component also constantly performs at it’s best.

In today’s digital world, enhanced business performance can only be achieved by good, dependable IT strategies and support.

If you struggle with any aspect of this, don’t forget that PearceIT can assist you.  We can work with you to establish clear IT goals helping you to identify what you want to achieve, how you are going to achieve it and how you can do it all within a specific time-frame and budget.

Spooky goings on in your IT

Does your IT leave you a little perplexed sometimes? I’m sure I didn’t click that or how did that happen?

We all get these moment when there doesn’t seem to be any logic in why things happen. Whether it’s a pop up window that appears or the PC/Server suddenly goes slow or turns itself off!

These actions can be a sign to us that there are things going on that we are not aware of. Unbeknown to us there could be things at work inside our PC’s.

Top  5 things to watch out for happening in your IT:

1. Computer suddenly reboots occasionally with a bluescreen with white writing on it. This is a tell-tale sign of a memory issue on your PC.   When the memory has completely failed it will just bleep on startup and not start at all.

1. Access to your server is slowing and documents are taking a while to open. This can be caused by one of the disks failing in the server.   All good servers have two or more disks in, this ensures that if one fails the second disk will kick in and take the load.  Whilst doing this you will notice a dip in performance.   It is imperative to get the failing disk replaced ASAP before it fails completely.

1. Access to file slows and some files just won’t open. Similar to the above most PC’s / Laptops only have one disk so when this occurs it is usually a sign of the disk is about to fail. Some PC’s and Laptops warn of a predictive failure but most don’t.   Do seek the advice of an IT professional who can usually ‘hear’ this fault or at least see the errors in the log files.

1. We here this a lot, “I didn’t click anything” “I never use the internet or I Only access this page”. Virus’s and malware can infect any PC.  It is very important to keep your Antivirus protection up to date.  Virus’s not only can arrive by email and the internet but can spread on your local network too.

1. Laptop keeps turning itself off with no warning. Batteries on laptop are very good when you 1st get them. Over time these batteries fail and the runtime on these becomes a lot less. A great tip is to charge your battery and then let it run down.   Overcharging or not letting you battery run down can cause all sort of issues.  The charge doesn’t hold as well and the lifespan is reduced.

Here at Pearce IT we can help with all of these things. Whether its PC or Laptop diagnostics, replacing those failed disks or providing the brand leading Antivirus to keep those bugs away from your PCs’.  Pearce IT are an Authorised Partner of ESET Antivirus. This really is the best protection for your technology ensuring the files are safe and secure and with an advanced firewall protection which keeps you safe when you’re working away or connected to Wi-Fi connections.

One big piece of advice we give all of our customers is Make sure it’s backed up.  An online backup is essential to any IT maintenance.  Make sure your data is backed up safe and secure online.   An onsite backup to an external drive is pointless if you always keep the drive with the device.   As a final word on external drives.   These are designed for backup purposes not for storing data on.   If you copy data to your external drive it is at the same risk of just storing it on your laptop/PC.  External Drives due to their portability have a much shorter shelf life than internal drives and should only ever be used as a secondary backup of data not to hold it exclusively.

Pearce IT supporting Quedgeley Wanderers Football Club

Pearce IT are proud to be sponsoring Quedgeley Wanderers Football Club and displaying our pitch side sign.

The Cloud - your 24/7 business booster

Any time, any day, anywhere… your 24/7 business booster

Whether you’re a technophobe or you revel in using the latest gadgets and software, there’s no escaping the fact we now live in a world reliant on IT – and our customers expect us to be online, on demand and on the ball.

Most business owners that I speak to have a website and some form of online presence.  However, it seems there is widespread uncertainty in many about using IT to support their business and the potentially significant risk in how it is being deployed.

Let me suggest how to put your mind at rest ….

Your data – such as your customer database, electronic documentation or e-commerce information – is precious to your business.  The same is true of your ability to add or update records when your customers contact you, be it by web, email or phone.  Nowadays (sadly, perhaps, but true) few people are willing to wait for service: we live in a society demanding instant answers and confirmations.

So how do we achieve this without heavy investment, disrupting our private lives or having multiple copies of our diary?

One answer – I believe, by far the best answer – is to use a cloud-based system such as Microsoft Office 365. In one, smart move you will give yourself access to all your important information, from any device and at any time. You’ll also de-risk your business from the threat of data loss.

‘The cloud’ demystified

Before I continue, please allow me to dispel a few myths about ‘the cloud’. Many people believe it means data is floating about in the ether somewhere. It isn’t. ‘Cloud-based’ simply means using a remote server (a physical piece of IT kit which holds data and software). These remote servers are totally secure and fully backed up. They are kept in specially-designed cabinets within very safe, temperature-controlled, monitored buildings.

They are thousands of times safer than any personal computer, laptop, tablet or smart phone, any and all of which can be stolen, hacked, damaged or simply ‘give up the ghost’ at any time.

What will you gain?

Using software such as Microsoft Office 365 will afford you many business benefits.

Using a high-security log-in you’ll have full e-mail functionality, with in-built anti-virus and anti-spam filtering, and you’ll be able to create or amend documents, your diary and other important information such as documents or photographs. All this is from any computer or mobile device, (such as a tablet or smart phone), at any time. When you’re on holiday or having a day out, you can allow your stand-in to access business e-mails while still keeping an eye on all communications yourself, if you wish.

Another, vitally important benefit is secure data back-up. There’s no longer a need to worry about computer failure, flood or fire damage or your back-up drive refusing to restore your records.

The servers are UK-based, meaning they comply with the Data Protection Act and EU data protection laws, with robust privacy policies. As the data is held remotely, you’ll see the same data whether accessing it via your iPad, laptop, PC, smartphone or any other computer device.  They have 99 percent guaranteed ‘uptime’.

If you also use a simple tool like Livedrive, you can completely synchronise your data using ‘the cloud’ from any internet connection. This means synchronising between all devices, such as different PCs in separate rooms and in different locations.

if all this sounds like a dream come true, make it your reality! It’s very affordable.

Full support whenever you need it

 I’d also recommend any owner of a small business to establish IT support. Using just a phone and military-grade, secure internet access, a qualified technician can dial into your PC or another computer device (needing your permission each time) and resolve around 90 percent of software-related problems. Using IT support remotely means it’s inexpensive, fast and convenient.

Get it in place soon, rather than wait until you need it! If you don’t use it, you don’t pay; but if you do need it, it could save you a fortune – or even save your business.

Top tips

♦  Back up your data – not on tapes or disks but on a remote server (‘the cloud’)

♦  Make sure you can access your data whenever (and from wherever) you need it

♦  Know who to turn to for support when you need it. Don’t wait until you have a problem!