Now we’ve had time to settle in to the New Year, many of us are implementing our resolutions, or at least trying to, whether it be to eat healthier, take more time for ourselves or be more conscious of how we spend our money. With the continuous increase in the cost of living, so many of us are creating our own budgets to try and manage our bills and spending. We know sticking to any budget can be hard… but we’re here to help! An IT budget, similar to a personal budget, has many benefits to help your business pre-plan for expenditures and therefore reduce the likelihood of surprise or unplanned costs. We’ve started working with our clients to support them in creating and implementing realistic budgets… here’s what you [...]

What does end of support mean? For computers running on Windows 8.1, Microsoft will no longer provide the following: Technical support of any issue Software updates Security updates or fixes While you could continue to use a PC running on Windows 8.1 without continued software and security updates, your PC will be at greater risk for viruses and malware.   If you are a business with PCs still operating on Window’s 8.1, we would recommend upgrading to a version of Windows that is still supported. At Office Tech Suite, we can support you in the transition of either upgrading your current PC or starting from scratch with a new PC.   Upgrading current PCs We can manage the upgrade for all PCs within your business, ensuring your devices meet the [...]

What is an MSP: A Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a company that remotely manages a business’ IT support and other technology solutions, typically on a proactive basis. As an MSP, Office Tech Suite take a consultative approach to understand your business needs and identify where we can add the most value to your organisation. By outsourcing to an experienced MSP, you’ll be able to focus on the demands of your business without the headaches and associated costs of system issues and faults. And that’s not the only benefit…   Cost Reductions: An internal IT manager has an average annual salary in the region of £50,000 per annum. In addition to that, there’s the cost of the initial recruitment, on-going training, and associated company benefits such as pensions, national insurance, [...]

The Christmas holidays are a prime time for criminals to take advantage of businesses running with a heavily reduced staff count. Malicious cyber actors often take advantage of holidays and weekends to attack and disrupt critical networks, systems and infrastructure belonging to organisations. Here are some tips for keeping your business cyber secure this Christmas…   Train your users: Your employees are your first line of defence, so ensuring they have proper training on what to look out for is imperative to keeping your business secure. Do they know what to look for? Do they know how to report suspicious activity? Arm your employees with all the information and tools they need to keep your business safe.   Think before you click: Does this email look right? Do I trust [...]

Over the past few weeks, we have been providing all the information you need about the security features within Microsoft 365. In today’s blog, we wanted to cover another aspect of cyber security that is incredibly important for your business: Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.   What is Cyber Essentials? A government backed, effective scheme that helps you protect your business, no matter what size, against a range of the most common cyber-attacks. As we know, cyber attacks present themselves in many different ways, and attackers are becoming increasingly successful in gaining unauthorised access to confidential data. The following two levels of certification are designed to help you prevent these attacks.   Cyber Essentials: This is a self-assessment option that gives you protection against a wide variety of the [...]

As companies move to support hybrid and remote working, they are faced with the challenge of managing the different devices that access their business resources. Employees need to be able to collaborate, work from anywhere, and securely access and connect to these resources. Organisations need to protect their data, manage end user access, and support users from wherever they work. Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based endpoint management solution that helps businesses allow their people use the devices and applications they love, while configuring device settings to meet compliance needs. Intune also has compliance and reporting features that support a Zero Trust security model. (For more information on this, please visit our Zero Trust blog)   Benefits of Intune: Supports Android, Android Open Source Project, iOS/iPadOS, and Windows client devices. With [...]

Security remains one of the biggest concerns and most challenging responsibilities facing businesses today. With the rise in cyberattacks targeting small to medium-sized businesses, threats are becoming increasingly automated, striking at a significantly higher rate. In November 2021, Microsoft reported a 300% increase in ransomware attacks with over 50% reaching small businesses. To address this, they invested in security solutions purposefully designed to help protect your company, such as Defender for Business.   What is Defender for Business? An endpoint security solution designed especially for the small to medium sized businesses (up to 300 employees). Defender for Business elevates security from traditional antivirus to next-generation protection, endpoint detection and response, threat and vulnerability management, and more. It helps to protect your business against cybersecurity threats including malware and ransomware across [...]

Previously known as Office 365, Microsoft 365 offers packages with more advanced security and device management. It is designed to bring together Office 365, Windows 11, and Enterprise Mobility and Security, which aims to support the functionality of the day-to-day tasks within your business. In April 2020, two packages were adapted: Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Both offer similar support, with Business Premium providing advanced cyber threat protection.   What is Business Standard? Business Standard provides Office applications across multiple devices, with the addition of business email, cloud file storage and online meetings and chat.   What is Business Premium? Business Premium provides everything that Business Standard has to offer, with the additional add-ons of advanced cyber threat protection and device management, improving security for your [...]

Are you ready to have a security strategy in place that’s aligned with the modern, hybrid work environment? Embrace proactive security with Zero Trust.   What is Zero Trust? Instead of assuming everything behind the corporate firewall is safe, the Zero Trust security model assumes breach and verifies each request as though it originated from an uncontrolled network. Regardless of where the request originates or what resource it accesses, the Zero Trust model teaches us to ‘never trust, always verify’. Every access request is fully authenticated, authorised and encrypted before granting access.   Why Zero Trust? Businesses today need a new security model that more effectively adapts to the complexity of the modern environment, embracing the hybrid workplace, and protecting people, devices, apps, and data wherever they are located. The [...]

Lancer Scott are a major privately-owned built environment construction, development, and property maintenance company in the UK. They started out in 1996 and have since developed in a structured manor, ensuring they maintain the foundations that have underpinned the organisation since inception. Their vision is to be the most trusted partner in the built environment, leaving a positive legacy for the communities in which they work and live. Lancer Scott have over 200 employees, making them one of our largest accounts to date. We are particularly proud to work with them, due to their core values; Honesty, Pursuit of Excellence, Corporate Responsibility, Diversity and Inclusion, Teamwork and Care for the Community.   The Challenge: From initial conversations with Lancer Scott, we identified that they needed a full review of their [...]