technology
reseller.co.uk
NEWS : TRENDS
7
Who cares about
cyber security
Directors/senior
managers in finance
and insurance are
the most concerned
about cyber security,
with 60% classifying it
as a very high priority,
compared to 15% in
the hospitality and food
sector, according to
SavoyStewart.co.uk’s
analysis of findings from
Gov.uk’s survey of 1,500
firms.
Office workers embarrassed by lack of IT skills
One in five (20%) British office workers feels embarrassed by their lack of basic IT
skills, reveals a survey by memory and storage experts Crucial. Almost half (47%)
claim to have good IT skills; 22% describe their knowledge as excellent.
n
5% don’t know how to send emails
n
13% don’t know how to scan for viruses
or other infections
n
21% don’t know how to update their
software
n
11% don’t know how to uninstall
programmes
n
11% don’t know how to open task
manager
n
44% don’t know how to upgrade memory
n
42% don’t know how to upgrade their
storage
n
13% don’t know how to clear internet
cookies and web cache
n
29% don’t know how to defrag their drive
n
7% don’t know how to use Microsoft
Office
/
Registration opens for new
Manchester expo
Registration is now open for Smarter
Business Tech LIVE 2017, a UK
business technology expo focusing on
IT Infrastructure, Sales & Marketing,
Financial, HR, Operational &
Enterprise-level business software and
technology for small and mid-sized
companies. The event is taking place
at the Manchester Central Complex on
November 15 and 16.
The cost of collaboration
Collaboration is a high priority for
most large organisations, yet 56% of
IT professionals don’t know how much
they are spending on subscriptions
and licenses for conferencing and
collaboration solutions.
A recent Spiceworks survey
commissioned by Lifesize reveals that,
on average, large organisations use 4.4
different solutions (web, audio, video, chat,
etc.) from three providers.
Lifesize CEO Craig Malloy warns that
managing multiple systems increases costs
and creates additional challenges to do
with network limitations, service quality and
IT management.
He said: “Managing multiple
collaboration solutions from multiple
vendors is complicated and chaotic and
results in paying a premium for feature
overlap, inconsistent experiences, slow
adoption and reduced productivity.
At Lifesize, we address this issue and
inefficiency by consolidating a holistic suite
of IT-driven and user-friendly collaboration
tools – like video, web, audio, chat,
recording and live streaming – into one
offering.”
@philjones40
Insider...
When did you last invest in yourself?
By that I mean take some time out to
do some thinking or attend a course
to sharpen up your skills.
As the cadence of our working lives seems constantly
to increase, it is too easy to put off time for reflection,
review or re-booting. Yet, if you examine what it is that
makes super successful people so successful, you’ll find
that they all set aside time to step back and consider
the larger picture.
A year or so ago I attended a dinner and found myself
next to a gentleman who used to be in charge of a large
nuclear power plant with responsibility for around 30,000
people. What a fascinating dinner companion he was.
During our conversation, I asked him to share one of his
greatest life lessons and he recounted a story from when
he was an apprentice shadowing some highly experienced
engineers as they tried to solve a problem with a key piece
of malfunctioning equipment.
After hours of unsuccessful diagnosis, parts
replacement and testing, the best of the best were still
scratching their heads, while he kept out of their way at the
back of the room. Standing there, he noticed that the board
on which all this electro-mechanical wizardry was mounted
was awry, only by a couple of degrees or so but by enough,
it seems, to affect the highly sensitive parts mounted upon
it. By stepping away, the solution came into view. Taking his
courage in his hands – bear in mind, he was the apprentice
– he approached the senior engineer and shared his
observation. The team re-grouped, re-aligned the board
and, hey presto, everything went back to normal.
This story highlights, in a very literal way, the
importance of stepping back, particularly when faced with
a difficult issue or challenging situation. Sometimes, we
are so close to a problem that it’s hard to think differently
about it. With so much change happening in our industry,
it is vital to take time to invest in personal growth, to
challenge your belief systems, to see different perspectives
and to think about new opportunities. Schedule some time
without distraction, away from the office. Take a pen and a
notebook and let your thoughts drift.
See you out there.
Phil Jones MBE
,
Managing Director,
Brother UK
