How do experts build business resilience?

IT professionals face significant challenges in adapting operations to new ways of working. Sara Diggle, Head of SMB print business unit at Brother UK recently spoke to technology experts from KPMG, Moneypenny, Weightmans, and Alliance Manchester Business School to produce a comprehensive report about where resilience priorities should lie.

Building resilient businesses in the post-pandemic economy

The magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic placed unforeseen pressures on even the most robust business continuity plans in organisations operating in every sector, from retail to professional services.

The economic and social repercussions have driven systemic changes in every business model, demanding leaders to inject greater flexibility and new resources to ensure they can respond quickly. From delivering reliable and secure remote working options to changing product offerings and shifting sales channels online, adaptability has continued to be a key factor for those organisations that have responded most effectively over the last 12 months.

And, technology has played an essential role in their success.

Overnight, the first lockdown forced the hands of many technologies and IT decision-makers, compelling them to rapidly adopt and integrate new solutions or face grinding to a halt. Many organisations shoehorned several years of digital transformation into just a few months, from rapidly scaling up cloud systems and rolling out new-generation hardware, to driving app development and introducing new security architecture.

But despite a return to normality being within society’s grasp, we can’t press pause. This renewed focus on resilience, enabled by technology, will not be a temporary shift. According to IDC, the market intelligence firm, enterprises that are focused on resiliency will be able to react to disruption 50% faster than rivals in the future.

2020 showed us that technology has a key role to play in making businesses more robust in the face of disruption, enabling them to quickly and seamlessly pivot to new ways of working.

To understand its importance, Brother UK recruited an expert panel of IT decision-makers, academics, and advisors to look at how firms are introducing new technology to build business resilience. Those businesses with robustness and agility will be best placed to survive both short-term shocks and longer periods of uncertainty.

The report helps in highlighting the role technology must play and help IT decision-makers with the choices they make in enabling their organisations to become more resilient.

Find out more

Get in touch to find out how Brother solutions can help you improve your business’s resilience.

 

Why cybersecurity always requires a layered approach

Ransomware is an increasingly complex challenge for IT departments to solve. With attacks doubling in the last year in the UK alone, there is still clearly a huge amount of work to do until organisations can consider themselves secure – even with the most robust backup strategies in place.

The need for a layered approach

Veeam Software works with partners such as Blocky for Veeam to provide customers with a multi-layered approach to defend customers against ransomware.

During a keynote at the The Channel Company NexGen+ Conference 2021, John Alexander, Veeam Cloud and Service Provider aggregation manager, stressed that Veeam recognises the importance of working with partners in the cybersecurity realm because data recovery and cybersecurity go hand-in-hand.

A last line of defence

In a recent article for CRN, senior editor Gina Narcisi highlights key points from the session where John added that:

“To address ransomware we have to go down through the layers, working with multiple partners to provide a comprehensive solution. With data protection as the last line of defense, it‘s critical that businesses and partners have confidence in that solution.”

A weak point exists because Veeam Software backups stored locally on Microsoft environments lack any native immutability for Veeam Backup and Disaster Recovery volumes.

To close this gap, Blocky for Veeam provides immutable Veeam Backup and Disaster Recovery volumes using application fingerprinting technology. This represents a vital security layer for all Microsoft Windows based Veeam Software installations.

Want to learn more?

As Blocky for Veeam Certified Partners, Complete IT Systems have a team of specialists on hand to demo the solution. We can discuss business benefits and help you understand how the technology works for your organisation. We also offer FREE trials.

To get in touch or request a demo please contact us.

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4 ways RMM protects your technology assets

As trusted IT specialists, our top priority is effectively managing your network and technology assets to keep them safe and optimised so you stay productive.

Datto Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) is a great way to manage and protect your business. It delivers premier monitoring and management services of your technology assets, delivering better service and greatly reducing any potential for downtime or disruptions to your operations.

This enables you to spend more time focused on what matters most in running your business. When you turn the safety of your network and assets over to us, we provide you peace of mind by offering you the benefits of Datto RMM:

1) Proactive Support

With Datto RMM, we can address potential issues before they become a problem because we have the ability to
monitor your businesses’ devices, applications, and systems continuously. In fact, Datto RMM can fix up many common issues proactively before they actually affect your network.

  • For a more secure environment, Datto RMM automates software patching of devices and applications. It tracks the status of all devices to ensure all devices are properly supported.
  • The ability to do real-time monitoring means we can keep all of your technology assets (devices, networks) running smoothly 24/7/365. Datto RMM is always on: keeping your servers, mission-critical computers, and other devices up and running and fully productive.
2) Rapid Response

When a particular issue or scenario arises, get on top of it immediately with Datto RMM. You can give it the focused attention necessary to minimise any disruption.

  • Datto RMM enables the remote support of any device, from any location, within moments—IT staff don’t need to be onsite to fix issues or errors. With instant and remote access from anywhere, you have the ability to run scripts and execute tasks, even after business hours if necessary to avoid disruption.
  • With automated remediation capabilities, we can programme the system to automatically fix commonly encountered issues with zero interruption to anyone in your business.
3) Actionable Insight

Technology isn’t only an asset. It’s a major investment for your organisation. Datto RMM can arm you with the insight you need to see how your valuable assets are performing, therefore empowering you to make fact-based decisions to optimise your technology investments.

  • Datto RMM completes thorough audits of every device and every activity across the entire network. With visibility of your IT assets, it can capture everything from hardware to software to license information and track any system changes daily.
  • You also get detailed reports that are easy to understand and are relevant to your business. These reports identify what devices are having the most issues or aren’t up to date with security patches or are coming out of warranty. The goal is to give you the information you need to make informed business decisions supported by data.
4) World-Class Security

It’s more important than ever to protect your IT infrastructure and the devices you use to run your business. Datto RMM has built-in comprehensive security measures at every point.

  • The backend platform is built within the World-Class Amazon Cloud and is protected from external threats with a persistently tested and hardened cloud infrastructure.
  • Multi-factor authentication safeguards access to each individual user account.
  • Security controls and privacy mode can be enabled to prevent unauthorised access to devices. With privacy mode, the user must grant permission before their device is accessed by a technician for remote support. Datto RMM gives the visibility and control to effectively manage all aspects of your IT service delivery, including hardware and software inventory, licensing, monitoring events, response times, resource utilisation, life cycle management and every aspect of your IT environment.

With Datto RMM, you can confidently keep your technology assets optimised, eliminate disruptions to your operations and to ensure the safety of your business data, give us a call today.

Find out more

We are running a live webinar on 4 November 2021 to showcase Datto RMM and answer any questions. Click here to find out more and register.

Check out this short video outlining what is Datto RMM and how it works:

Find out more

As Datto Partners, Complete IT Systems can offer you expert advice on the solutions and how they could be effectively deployed in your business.

To find out more please call us on 01274 396 213 or use our contact form and we’ll arrange a good time to call you back.

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The future of physical security

Complete IT are proud to be working with Verkada, who are revolutionising the world of CCTV and Physical Security.

Verkada’s technology allows the deployment and management of premises security to be EASY, SMART and SCALABLE. Join us for a short demo session to learn how you can:

  • Reduce on-premise hardware
  • Quickly find and share incidents over the cloud
  • Receive proactive alerts for Over-crowded, motion, face recognition and more

Want to find out more?

As Verkada Authorised Resellers, Complete IT Systems can offer you expert advice on the solutions and how they could be effectively deployed in your business.

To find out more please call us on 01274 396 213 or use our contact form and we’ll arrange a good time to call you back.

How to put IT sustainability into action

IT sustainability remains a concept as opposed to a concrete action in many organisations.

New technology can seem like the best or only option, but this endless desire for the newest product creates enormous amounts of waste. For decades, the IT industry has built economies on the principle of ever faster turnover, harnessing the power of marketing to encourage consumers to believe that the sooner they replace their devices, the better.

Today we are waking up to the fact that this approach, which applies to almost every piece of technology we consume, is no longer viable. It’s time to look for a more sustainable model that is better for businesses, end-users and the planet.

Read this whitepaper from our partners Circular Computing to find out more about how your organisation can put IT on the sustainability agenda while delivering on your core objectives.

Want to learn more?

As Circular Computing Partners, Complete IT Systems have a team of specialists on hand to demo the solution. We can discuss business benefits, provide demonstration models, and offer special monthly pricing.

To get in touch or request a demo please contact us.

Best backup for SMB. Powerful. Easy-to-use. Affordable

Operating a small business can be overwhelming. You’re managing your own IT with limited time, smaller budgets, and fewer resources. You’re forced to do more with less. This is why you need a backup solution that just works and can save you valuable time and money.

Veeam and Complete IT Systems offer a single platform for cloud, virtual and physical backup that is:
  • Powerful, offering reliable backup and fast restores to protect you against data loss and downtime.
  • Easy-to-use, making installation simple and easy day-to-day management means you don’t need a massive IT team to manage your data.
  • Affordable, giving you the ability to maximize your budget with special pricing for small businesses.
The following packages are available for small businesses:
  • Veeam Backup Essentials: Single platform for backup and recovery, data management and cloud mobility of virtual, physical and cloud-native workloads
  • Veeam Backup for AWS, Azure or Google Cloud: Standalone cloud-native backup and recovery modules
  • Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365: Standalone protection of Office 365 data
Overcome the “3C” Backup Problem

You can overcome the “3C” Backup Problem – lack of Capabilities, Complexity and Cost – with the best backup solution for small business.

Find out more in this short deep dive video:

 

Find out more

As Veeam Silver partners, Complete IT Systems have the skills and resources to help your business. For more information on how Complete IT Systems and Veeam can help, call 01274 396 213 or email .

 

Bad bots, broken APIs, and supply chain attacks put business data at risk

Barracuda Networks recently surveyed a group of IT professionals worldwide to find out their challenges, opinions, and priorities associated to application security and compiled the results into an insightful market report.

Read “The state of application security in 2021” to delve into top application security vulnerabilities, data breaches, and the most important product capabilities needed to defend against multi-vector application attacks.

Read the report to find out:

  • The recent data breaches, top application security vulnerabilities, and how businesses are dealing with them.
  • The most important product capabilities needed to defend against multi-vector application attacks.
  • The security solutions decision makers plan to deploy in the next 12 months to protect against top threats.

Want to learn more?

Complete IT Systems have a team of Barracuda specialists on hand to demo the solution, discuss business benefits and help you understand how the technology works for your organisation.

To get in touch or request a demo please contact us.

Building business resilience with print – top tips

Building business resilience with print is front-of-mind for management teams. This is especially true as they step down from crisis stations and find the headspace to plan for the future.

It’s a focus that’s already seeping into IT procurement decisions. Firms want to harness solutions that can offset the impact of future disruption following a year of overcoming challenges.

We spoke to Sara Diggle, Head of SMB print business unit at Brother UK. She told us what decision makers need on their checklists when searching for new print systems with the end-goal of building resilience.

Agility

Cloud and the internet of things enabled print technology is allowing systems to be more decentralised. This means maintenance and support needs to be available wherever a device may be.

Managed print services (MPS) can easily be rolled out across a businesses’ network of offices, or even among home workers. This should still allow for full oversight by IT managers. Solutions like Brother’s remote panel, offers quick diagnosis and problem solving without the need to send out an engineer.

Security

Modern print devices offer end-to-end encryption. Manufacturers like Brother provide regular firmware updates that help end-users to stay one step ahead of hackers.

But sensitive information printed by devices can also fall into the wrong hands. Brother’s Secure Print+ solution offers easy-to-manage card-based user authentication. This ensures documents are only printed when they’re ready to collect from the printer.

Reliability

Remote diagnostics available through MPS can spot issues for end-users before problems arise. This keeps device uptime high. Meanwhile, Brother’s Request Help solution helps to ensure any problems are resolved quickly. This means users can contact an engineer via a printer’s interface.

Predictability

Predicting costs is central to building resilience. Setting monthly fees for MPS programmes helps businesses forecast costs. This is easier than managing in-house costs with potential repair and breakdown costs to factor in. Supplies replenishment also ensures that end-users don’t have to order in inks and toners. This avoids waiting for them to arrive if they run out, causing downtime.

COVID-secure

While the vaccine rollout picks up pace, we’re likely to be living with COVID-19 for some time. This means IT decision makers need to ensure that shared devices can be used safely.

A decentralised approach to print can be a safer choice for businesses. This means using tailored devices located across an office, rather than having a central multifunction device where users have to queue for use.

Scalability

While additional devices can easily be added to an MPS programme, devices themselves can build scalability. Brother’s flagship devices can be equipped with additional print trays, mailbox trays and automatic stapling. This boosts capacity when needed for fast-growing offices.

Find out more

Get in touch to find out how Brother solutions can help you improve your business’s resilience.

Is your print solution enhancing your business’s resilience?

Following a year no one could have anticipated, many businesses are operating in a vastly different environment to the one they faced little over 12 months ago.

While this period has seen enormous digital transformation, as the pace of change begins to relent, now is the time for IT managers and decision makers to reflect on the technologies they have in place and turn their focus to the future to ensure it is enabling them to operate agilely, safely and flexibly.

We spoke to Sara Diggle, Head of SMB print business unit at Brother UK about how the right print solution can enhance business resilience in any environment and what businesses should be looking for.

With more and more employees adopting hybrid working practices, it’s vital that any print solution is optimised to perform in every environment. Ensuring employees can continue working effectively and efficiently from anywhere keeps productivity levels high and simplifies working practices, helping businesses to remain agile and able to cope with whatever challenges they face.

Supporting business resilience

Here are five key things that your print solution should be providing if it’s designed to support business resilience:

1. Comprehensive device options

Any print solution that is truly going to deliver for every environment needs to offer a comprehensive range of device options that are designed to support the employee whether they are working from home, office, a co-working space or a blend of all three.

Brother’s industry-leading devices range from scalable, robust SMB laser printers for the office to compact multifunction desktop devices for the home, enabling reliable, simple and secure printing and scanning everywhere.

2. Remote support

With a seemingly ever-expanding network of devices and locations, managing technical issues and providing support is becoming increasingly challenging for IT managers and their teams.

Solutions such as Brother’s remote panel, give service providers the means of quickly diagnosing and solving printer problems without the need to send out an engineer, easing pressures on the team and ensuring minimal disruption to employees.

3. Managed print service (MPS)

Implementing an MPS is one of the most impactful ways IT teams can transform how they manage their print network.

Managed print services can easily be rolled out across a business’s network of offices, as well as among home workers, while still allowing full oversight by IT managers. Not only does an MPS enable easy remote management, it also improves reliability of the network and productivity of employees by ensuring every office and employee has an up-to-date device with the latest software and can reduce costs and downtime with the automated delivery of toner and ink cartridges.

4. Enhanced security

A security breach compromises a business and often halts all activity, putting it in a potentially precarious position. According to research from Quocirca in 2019, more than one in ten of all security incidents that affected a business involved a printer, 59 per cent of which resulted in data being lost.

The number of entry points hackers can use to access company networks has grown exponentially and home printing can increase network vulnerability. Businesses need a print solution that proactively tackles these security blind spots at home and the office.

Remote management can help ensure home devices remain up to date with the latest software reducing risk, while solutions such as Brother’s Secure Print+ can protect devices in the office, with access to devices and the network limited to the authenticated user.

5. Touch free printing

Employee safety in the office is an ongoing concern and while the focus for many will be social distancing through one-way systems and re-worked seating plans, the shared usage of office technology will also present a challenge.

Decentralising print and the balanced deployment of machines will help reduce the need for users to move around the office to retrieve documents and limit the number of people congregating at devices. Additionally, to ensure people don’t need to physically engage with a device, solutions such as Brother’s Secure Print+ enables touch-free printing, using card-based authentication.

Find out more

Get in touch to find out how Brother solutions can help you improve your business’s resilience.

The implications of cyber attacks on backup data

Cybercriminals are desperate to collect their ransoms and are finding stealthy ways to corrupt backup data that are often missed by detection tools. This causes prolonged downtimes, financial hardships, and loss of consumer trust.

Veeam backups stored locally on Microsoft environments lack any native immutability for Veeam Backup and Disaster Recovery volumes.

Blocky for Veeam solves this problem by locking backup volumes to any process other than fingerprinted Veeam Software application executables.

In addition, any unauthorised attempts to access backup volumes are notified by Blocky for Veeam providing valuable intelligence that could provide warning of an active cyber attack.

Read more

In this article for Toolbox for IT, see why organisations should strive for data resiliency using a 3-prong approach that combines isolation, immutability, and intelligence.

Want to learn more?

As Blocky for Veeam Certified Partners, Complete IT Systems have a team of specialists on hand to demo the solution. We can discuss business benefits and help you understand how the technology works for your organisation. We also offer FREE trials.

To get in touch or request a demo please contact us.

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