What did the snow do to your productivity?

There are many reasons given for poor performance over the course of the year but ultimately we all want to meet our targets.

The picture to the left is it?
 a)  Winter Wonderland  or
 b)  Productivity hell

If  b) then what are you doing within your business to ensure that the next 'excuse' does not affect your goals for the year?

We may have a few ideas for you. Give us a call to discuss your challenges over a cup of hot chocolate.

0800 849 3333

Warning: Solar Storm

The largest storm of its kind for 5 years is currently bombarding the Earth's magnetic field with charged particles from the Sun and will continue to do so until 03:00 tomorrow.

The good news is the Northern Lights may be visible at lower latitudes.  The bad news is that these events, known as solar "eruptions", could interfere with technology: satellites, electrical grids and communications systems.  In 1972, a geomagnetic storm provoked by a solar flare knocked out long-distance telephone communication across the US state of Illinois.

This “eruption” was triggered by a pair of solar flares - the largest of their kind - earlier this week.  In the UK, the best chance to see them will be on Thursday night, the British Geological Survey says. So keep your eyes peeled!

Talk Talk Offer Security from the Server

Internet giants, Talk Talk, are about to offer their customers the option of filtering malicious or offensive material out of their broadband service from centralized server level.  They claim to be the first major ISP to offer such a service.

TalkTalk's Home Safe runs on the company's central computer system and sits between the web and individual home connections.  The anti-virus system works by scanning a site that someone wants to visit to see if it harbors malicious programs. Those found to be clean will be put on a "white list" for 24 hours.

Parents worried about their children seeing adult material will be able to log on to a web page and define their own content filters, so that sites containing pornography or online gambling, for example, can be blocked completely.

However, the ingenious selling point, will be the option to put timed locks on certain websites, such as Facebook or game portals, to stop children viewing them when they should be doing school homework.

Rik Ferguson, senior security researcher at Trend Micro is not entirely impressed; one of his most significant concerns is the danger posed by larger sites frequently hit by threats.  He suggested that the 24-hour "all clear" white list might not work for sites such as Facebook due to the frequency and speed that rogue apps are developed.  

Do You Have More Than One Site?

Adodo provide tailored solutions to all of our clients, this is vitally important when it comes to clients who have multiple sites. 

In all cases we consider the communication systems that are already in place, and what vision the business has for the future.  We then provide cost effective recommendations on the latest technology available to mobilize our clients in delivering excellent service and response to their customers.

Linking systems across sites;

• Consolidates the call analysis for all sites into one manageable system.

• Allows FREE calls between sites. No longer pay thousands a year on calling mobiles or landlines for people in different sites.

• Improves business efficiency as well as communication to customers. This is because calls can be directed to the relevant person across the entire organisation, through the use of a single internal telephone directory.

• Organises your communications and streamlines the way calls are handled. You can have the main business telephone number ring extensions across multiple sites and you can transfer customers directly to an internal extension at the other site - for FREE.

As the Italian’s say “Caio”

Disaster recovery preparation is also a major benefit of multi-sited solutions.   

Why?  Because in a multi-site network with Call Servers distributed across the company's IP WAN, all Call Servers are constantly receiving updates from each other. This provides real resilience against local outages and network downtime. 

Full remote survivability means that even if an IP link between sites fails it will still be business as usual as calls can still be made and received over the local ISDN network, with full system functionality - not just a sub-set of features - available to each employee. Once the IP WAN link is restored, only database changes are forwarded between Call Servers, minimising the traffic between sites.

Disaster Recovery - Be Prepared

Disasters in Business can range from staff not being able to make it into the office due to natural disasters, extreme weather conditions, like the snow, to IT failure, or terrorist attacks.  Knowing the types of disasters that could affect your company will minimize your exposure, as will, having realistic objectives that are based on the needs of the business.

Disaster recovery plans should be clear, precise and comprehensive, concentrating particularly on the recovery and safeguarding of Voice and Data systems, should disaster strike.  A key element to good business continuity is having a disaster recovery plan in place that is tested and ready to implement when needed.

Every organisation, large or small, should have a Business Continuity or Disaster Recovery plan, and Adodo are here to help you do just that.  The SpliceCom maximiser's modularity and distributable architecture make it the ideal business telephone system for contingency plans. Not only is it simple to add maximiser modules to expand your business telephone system, it's just as easy to add extra resilience and system redundancy exactly where it's needed for business critical applications - in a very cost-effective manner. 

5 Tips For Disaster Recovery Planning:

1. Protection Planning and Day to Day Business need to be linked
Voice and Data services are intrinsic to the way modern society does business, what repercussions would you face if your phones stopped working and customers could not reach you?  Whilst people realize the best practice of creating a Disaster Recovery plan, they also see it as a compromise and face issues relating to cost. However, preparing for it should not be a burden and should be integrated with day-to-day priorities.

2. Put a Plan in Place
The plan needs to represent all functional areas within IT prior to, during, and after a disaster. It needs to include applications, networks, servers and storage. Contingencies, such as “what-if” scenarios should be considered as part of the planning process. It should be kept current as a part of day-to-day priorities.  It also needs to be tested regularly to ensure the business can recover the operation successfully and in a timely fashion.

3. Define Disaster Recovery responsibilities 
Roles and responsibilities need to be clearly defined across the spectrum of potential business disasters.  For example, a plan needs to consider redundancy of roles when ensuring that people are available to cover various responsibilities in the process.  It is also important to set sensible Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) and Recovery Time Objectives (RTO).

4. Address Disaster Recovery risk
The definition of what constitutes a disaster also has to be considered because the plan needs to address the right risks.  It is essentially an insurance policy.  However, what happens when the backups don’t work? Application recoverability must be validated through the recovery of backups to the application level.  It is also important to have alternative recovery services; perhaps Data needs to be protected offsite so that if disaster strikes it can be recovered to the affected site.

5. Consider Costs 
Voice and Data protection and recovery requirements may seem expensive, but what is the real cost of downtime? Being able to address the I.T. cost for Disaster Recovery is an issue of integrating Disaster Recovery into standard operations as much as possible. 

There's too much at stake for you not to have emergency management and continuity plans in place. How can we help you?

Office relocation – your move

Did you know that failed office relocation projects have become one of the most common causes of disaster recovery events?

It is business critical that, on the first morning in your new office, all of your equipment, systems and phones are fully functional. For this to happen, you need to plan well in advance and seek specialist expertise and advice.

Getting the IT & Telecoms part of an office move right can be the most challenging part of any office relocation - which is why it merits special attention.

A move is likely to involve: -

·                     Carrying out a  full equipment audit prior to the office move

·                     Assessment of IT & Telecom needs in the new office

·                     Advising on a suitable infrastructure for your new office

·                     Advising on a new Business Phone System or relocating your old one

·                     Producing a reliable Business Continuity Plan 

·                     Relocating IT & Telecoms equipment safely and securely

·                     Setting up and testing of all equipment so it is ready to use 

·                     Providing a support service after the move

Adodo would also work closely with you on the following: - 

A Review of your current technology equipment

An office move is the ideal time to consider upgrading technology and can provide a trigger for renewing/switching supplier contracts.  Your current system might well be perfect for your existing office, but is it right for the new offices? Adodo will advise you on what technologies will help improve business efficiency and whether any cost cutting measures can be implemented. 

IT & Telecom requirements in your new office

We will advise you on a suitable network infrastructure that best meets your requirements in the new office, and ensure that all services (such as broadband speed, digital communications etc) are available in the new location. We will draw up a detailed configuration plan of the new office; this will determine the best location for workstations, as well as office equipment such as servers, computers, telephones, printers and photocopiers. 

Your Business Phone Systems

What would the impact be on your business if you had to change your telephone number? We can advise you on whether you are able to take your existing phone number with you when you move office - if not what your options would be. We will also assess your current and future communication needs and whether you need to upgrade your business phone system when you move office.

Removal and set-up of your IT & Telecoms equipment

Whether your office move requires moving desktop computers, printers, phones or even an entire server room, the logistical issues of an IT move can be complex and this process requires specialist IT removals who are experienced in handling this type of equipment.

Your server relocation

The server is at the heart of your network. Due to the complexities and high risk involved in server relocation, this task should only be carried out by professionals who can handle the technical, logistical and business considerations of server relocation. If your company has dedicated server(s), make sure you involve us to execute this part of the move on your behalf.

Your Business Continuity Planning

Failed office relocation projects have become one of the most common causes of disaster recovery events, and it is for this reason that we recommend using Adodo to create a detailed Business Continuity Plan in the event your relocation experiences delays or unforeseen problems occur. Over the past year we can recall many different scenarios that were unforeseen but contingency planning meant that normal business continued.

Why use Adodo

·                     We have specialist skills and technical expertise to handle all types of business-critical IT & Telecoms equipment

·                     Your business is more likely to be up and running far quicker in your new office with minimum downtime

·                     We have the experience on how best to configure your new office layout from a network cabling and IT & Telecoms perspective

·                     We can advise you on the most suitable technology and communications services for your new office which may reduce costs and increase business efficiency

Even if you have an in-house IT department, they may not have the skill set or time to manage the transition and migration of IT & Telecoms business services to the new office.

By employing Adodo to carry out your IT relocation, you will reduce risk, avoid delay and ensure that costly downtime is minimised.

Your business communications infrastructure (servers, computers, phones, faxes, printers etc.) are central to your company being able to operate. If you have no IT and/or Telecoms connectivity then your company isn't working - and, if your company isn't working - you're losing money.