Enterprise email services have become pretty much like buying electricity. Just as you wouldn’t operate your own power station so you don’t need to build and support many of your own IT services unless your needs are unusual and very specific.  

If your business needs to upscale or downscale for seasonal or other reasons (eg consequences of a pandemic) then Cloud offers huge advantages over fixed IT infrastructure.

Does your business have a lot of remote workers ?

This may be workers on site, working from home or perhaps your business operates from a number of locations. Cloud brings better connectivity for business and makes it much easier to manage a geographically spread workforce.

Cloud is better for IT spend.

There maybe a limited up front spend but after this you pay for the services you use on an ongoing basis. Better for the balance sheet and better for business budgeting. No surprise server replacement costs.

If you don’t have the required levels of expertise then it’s worth looking at a small independent cloud provider. SMEs under 200 people or so are unlikely to have specialists in all the different disciplines required to have a truly resilient platform.

If your internet connection is rubbish don’t move to Cloud – leased lines are preferable.

Some things to be aware of; products and services like CCTV controller software, door access and time & attendance systems may have to be located on site.

Lastly, the trend and benefit of shifting to cloud hosted applications is clear. Cloud offers so much more operational flexibility and then there’s the real-time data and more. It will only become increasingly difficult to interact and run viable IT services outside of the Cloud as time goes on. Just take time to choose the right provider and don’t cut corners.

Some OVH customers have lost data that can’t be recovered, and it’s been suggested that some ‘didn’t understand exactly what they bought’. The consequences of data-loss on this scale can be catastrophic for any organisation. That well-worn phrase, ‘If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail…’ is wholly appropriate in this case.

We believe in working closely with our customers, taking time to explain the benefits our hosting service offers. All of our customers have robust security, multi-site backups and disaster recovery measures in place as standard. It is a shared responsibility. Ultimately you are responsible for making decisions for your own business but as hosting experts we see it as our responsibility to provide an industry-leading service and to do everything we can to protect our customers from potential data-loss. It is about responsible Cloud-hosting and for us there is no other way.

All too often we do not really know until it’s too late and something goes wrong. And there are always consequences.

Through history we have seen buildings and bridges (even Empires) collapse because of weak foundations or architectural flaws with an inevitable conclusion.

The Genoa Bridge disaster in 2018 is a terrible example of just how devastating inadequate foundations can be and illustrates the importance of safeguards, backups and vigilance.

Working with new clients it is surprising how often we encounter systems with inadequate foundations and architectural flaws. Businesses happily navigate the systems assuming that safeguards are in place to protect critical applications and functionality, unaware of the underlying weaknesses.

It’s becoming clearer that we’re going to have to get used to Covid restrictions being in place long term. More than ever, we need to do all we can to ensure that our people can work productively from home.

Cloud has enabled significant innovation in every sector through 2020 with Healthcare, Logistics and eCommerce adapting quickly to the new demands. Cloud-hosting and remote/virtual desktop technology allows you to work effectively from any location without the burden of maintaining and constantly upgrading your own infrastructure.

Of course, we’re all positive about the opportunities that lie ahead in 2021 and Cloud-hosting accommodates growth – you can add users, increase bandwidth and storage rapidly.

With instant, stable connectivity, industry-leading security and back-ups and expert local support, IT really does become an asset to your business.

It may all have been very different back then if Julius Caesar had remembered to bring the adaptor for his fax machine.

In modern times the Empire-building baton has been passed on to Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos and they all recognise the power of digital communications, allowing people to work remotely, sharing information and accessing real-time data.

HSCN has been introduced to improve accessibility within the NHS as well as for application providers, pharmacy organisations and the social care community.

The sector has seen a massive surge in the adoption of digital technology and the sharing of information designed to put patient care at the forefront.

Secure and reliable HSCN connectivity underpins the ability of the community to share information reliably, efficiently and without delay. That’s where we come in.

Most of us will have received an email that raises our suspicions and when this happens it’s best to be cautious and check it out. In many cases the message will ask you to confirm personal information – a PIN or a password. There may be a link to click on or an attachment (maybe a fake invoice) to open. Don’t click, don’t open unless you are sure.

The scammers work on human weakness. They may try to personalise messages to get your attention, offer free goodies or threaten the termination of services to prompt an urgent response. It’s inevitable that some of these Phishing expeditions will find a victim but we can make it more difficult for the scammers.