An IT Support Blog from London

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

Does Your Business Need an Automation Strategy?

Does Your Business Need an Automation Strategy

Some businesses would like to think that doing things the traditional way is best. Well, this may be true for certain tasks, but in general, technology has allowed processes to be done much faster and more efficiently—and that’s with the help of business automation.

Automation strategies have proven to be very effective for many enterprises, so much so that Gartner, Inc. speculates that 69% of managers’ current workload could be fully automated by 2024. If your organisation is not yet making full use of automation tools, this post should enlighten you on how your business can benefit from an automation strategy.

Continue reading
  1745 Hits
1745 Hits

Eight Top Tips to Help Your Business Stay Ahead of The Tech Curve

Eight Top Tips to Help Your Business Stay  Ahead of The Tech Curve

Technology has always moved rapidly –even more so in today’s cloud-centric world where the next major feature is an automatic update away. Needless to say, the companies that can make the most of the technology available to them are likely to enjoy a competitive advantage over their peers.

How can businesses stay ahead of the technology curve – making maximum use of the technology available to them, while ensuring that competitors never gain a competitive advantage due to their greater ability to harness the latest technology? Let’s take a look.

Continue reading
  2415 Hits
2415 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.

Continue reading
  1838 Hits
1838 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.

Continue reading
  1988 Hits
1988 Hits

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.

Continue reading
  3778 Hits
3778 Hits

6 Ways to Digitally Declutter Your Business

6 Ways to Digitally Declutter Your Business

The start of a new year always brings with it the impulse to make sweeping changes around us. This often involves getting rid of things we would now classify as unusable and other stuff that have simply lost their appeal—an activity commonly referred to as decluttering.

Businesses in particular, would significantly benefit from this as it could potentially free up some office workspace and eliminate unnecessary tasks. And now that many of business activities and employees’ functions revolve around the use of technology, a digital decluttering has become as important as a physical one.

Performing a digital declutter within the organisation may simply require a few straightforward processes to be initiated by the users themselves, or may necessitate the intervention of the inhouse IT team or professional IT services. That said, here are six surefire ways to digitally declutter your company:

Continue reading
  2307 Hits
2307 Hits

How To Choose The IT Support Company That Matches Your Appetite For Business

How To Choose The IT Support Company That Matches Your Appetite For Business

Growing businesses need IT support even more than established companies – after all, setting the right IT in place during a period of growth will help support growth and ensures that your business does not end up held back by creaky tech infrastructure.

But not all IT support companies are equally good at providing tech support to growth-hungry companies. In this article, we outline a few key points growing businesses should look out for when choosing an IT support partner.

Continue reading
  2193 Hits
2193 Hits

Six Common IT Mistakes Made by Small Businesses – And How to Avoid Them

Six Common IT Mistakes Made by Small Businesses – And How to Avoid Them

In a tech-first world, even small businesses are highly reliant upon technology to get through the typical business day. Make the wrong decisions around technology, or skimp on IT support services, and it could cost your growing business dearly.

However, with so many things to focus on, growing businesses often leave IT on the backburner – and that leads to mistakes. Here, we list the ten most common IT mistakes growing businesses make – and what they can do about it.

Continue reading
  1849 Hits
1849 Hits

AI in Customer Service - Would It Work for Your Business?

AI in Customer Service

Artificial Intelligence (AI), the creation of intelligent machines that emulate human thinking and decision making, has long been touted as one of the most disruptive technologies of this decade—and for good reason too. From healthcare to finance to manufacturing and even in our homes (think Alexa, Roomba, etc.), AI has permeated almost every aspect of daily living.

A common misconception among SMBs is that only an IT company or big corporations can leverage AI. But the truth is, many businesses are already using AI solutions, especially in customer service, where it is making a significant impact.

Continue reading
  2258 Hits
2258 Hits

How To Tell If You Need To Build Your Own Data Lake

How To Tell If You Need To Build Your Own Data Lake

In the current digital economy, data is the new oil, so an organisation can’t have too much of it. Today’s company executives are turning to data when making crucial business decisions in sales/marketing, operations, human resources, and just about every aspect of the enterprise.

More data is becoming available in large volumes and from various sources, but turning plain data into actual usable information—i.e. facts, trends, and statistical numbers, can be a complicated and tedious process. So, businesses have a choice. They could continue to acquire whatever data they can, then simply leave out what they can’t store, or they could invest in data warehouse technologies to process data faster and get the right information more quickly.

Continue reading
  3050 Hits
3050 Hits
Top