An IT Support Blog from London

Read the latest IT news, tips and insights from IT Support pros at HTL Support

IT Security for SMEs - What Do You Need to Think About?

IT Security for SMEs

Like any other form of crime, when it comes to cybercrime, there’s always the temptation to take the view that “it would never happen to us”. However given that, every single day, more than 65,000 attempts are made to hack an SME in the UK, the risk of cybercrime is real for UK businesses – no matter their size, or their position in the market.

In this article, we outline some of the key points SMEs in the UK should think about around IT security. While most businesses would take at least some precautions, it’s nonetheless worth taking a more structured approach to IT security – even if your business is not enterprise-scale.

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2402 Hits

What Makes an Effective IT Support Helpdesk?

What Makes an Effective IT Support Helpdesk

 

Technology has become an integral part of every organisation today, and business executives have learned that IT investments allocated wisely pay off in spades. But just as technology is essential to ensure effective business operations, IT support services play an integral part to that efficiency as well.

Reliable tech support helps your employees and customers deal with the everyday challenges that they may encounter, particularly those concerning digital hardware, IT solutions, and tech products. If your business is located in the UK, a secure and smoothly-running system, thanks to good IT support in London, allows you and your staff to focus on the core tasks at hand.

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2585 Hits

How Microsoft 365 Can Keep Your Users Safe from Phishing

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365, which encapsulates Office 365, is incredibly popular – and one of its most commonly used components is Exchange Online and Outlook – Microsoft’s online email server and desktop and mobile email client, respectively.

When it comes to email, security is a big concern – with one particular email security topic increasingly making the headlines. We’re talking about phishing, a frustratingly effective e-mail attack that’s experienced by 86% of businesses, according to the 2020 UK Cyber Security Breaches Survey.

In this article, we will outline what a phishing attack is – and explain how Microsoft 365 and its component email services can help protect your company against phishing attacks.

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1849 Hits

Three Ways Your IT Support Partner Boosts Business Continuity

Three Ways Your IT Support Partner Boosts Business Continuity

Business continuity matters. It matters for profits, for client satisfaction – and for keeping you in business in the long run. Business continuity planning is an important element in ensuring continuing operations. Partnering with the right technology firm is key given how critical technology is to business operations.

In this article we will take a look at the contribution that your IT partner can make to ensuring business continuity and outline why, when looking for IT support London companies need to seek a partner that does much more than deliver technical support – why you need a partner that helps you to deliver business continuity too.

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1911 Hits

An Update On Current Cyber Security Threats and How You Can Mitigate Them

Current Cyber Security Threats

As organisations gradually shift to the new normal, we see corresponding changes in the cybersecurity threat landscape that warrants adjustments in how businesses should frame their security strategy. While some of the older threats certainly still remain, there are a couple of new entrants that have only emerged as a byproduct of the new work environment.

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2462 Hits

Moving to the Cloud? Here’s How Cloud Migration Services Can Help

Moving to the Cloud

If you’re just starting out on your cloud migration journey, then you’re a little bit late to the party. But the good thing is that there are now a lot of cloud services out there that can help make your transition to the cloud smoother. In this post, we’ll discuss cloud migration plus its benefits and challenges, and identify the ways wherein cloud migration services can boost your chances for success.

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1749 Hits

Why Managed IT Support Is Better Than In-House Support

Managed IT Support

Managed services is a sector that’s growing rapidly – according to a MarketsAndMarkets metric, managed services will grow from a global value of USD 223bn in 2020 to USD 329bn to 2025. This is clearly outsize growth, which indicates the growing popularity of outsourcing IT – for businesses large and small.

But why is managed IT embraced by so many companies around the world – and at such a scale? In this article we will look at some of the various benefits of managed IT services, showing why, when seeking IT support London companies often choose managed services.

We also cover some of the things you should watch out for when hiring managed IT services and point to a possible compromise that may fit companies that have unique IT requirements: augmenting in-house IT with managed services.

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2001 Hits

5 Signs That Say It’s Time to Change Your IT Support Provider

Time to Change Your IT Support Provider

Organisations wouldn’t change their IT support provider if they can help it, thinking that putting up with the subpar quality of service is better than being left in chaos with the absence of tech support. After all, finding out that your managed services provider (MSP) is not as dependable as their service level agreement (SLA) would have you believe is something that you would rather not act on because changing providers could mean significant business disruption.

Still, staying in a disadvantageous partnership with an unprofessional service provider will do your business more harm than good in the long run. Whether it’s your MSP’s lack of concern for cybersecurity, slow response to reported issues, unwillingness or inability to adapt to your changing needs as a company — and everything else in between, these incompetencies are costing your business time, money, and opportunities.

But what shortcomings should you consider as ultimate deal breakers in IT support London or elsewhere? If you’re not quite sure whether it’s still worth waiting for your service provider to improve their service, here are 5 signs that will tell you that yes, your business deserves better quality IT support.

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IT Asset Disposal: How Should You Deal with Old IT Equipment

IT Asset disposal

Used IT equipment must be disposed of responsibly. When we say that, we refer not just to the environmental footprint of used IT equipment – we also refer to data security. Your IT asset disposal (ITAD) process or IT support vendor must also include fully wiping data on the IT kit that you are disposing.

Correct IT asset disposal is essential if you want to prevent information security risks. That said, you can also enjoy some returns on your used IT if you dispose of it correctly – particularly where companies are undergoing large shifts in IT and there is a significant volume of equipment involved.

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3797 Hits

In-house Vs. Outsourced IT Support: Which Works Better for You?

In-house Vs Outsourced IT Support

With the plethora of solutions available in the IT landscape and with more companies finding the need for them, IT support has become an integral part of every business organisation. Enterprise software has become more complex and having reliable technical support is one of the best ways to maximise these applications.

If you’re looking to have a dedicated IT resource team to deploy, secure, and manage your solutions, and generally, maintain a productive work environment for your company, then you’re on the right path. Now the only question that’s left to ask is: Should your organisation go for an in-house team or IT outsourcing? In this blog post, we explore the benefits and drawbacks of both options so you can then make an informed decision.

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