Managed.IT - issue56

BULLETIN MANAGED.IT 11 www.managedITmag.co.uk High growth industry The UK cyber security industry is worth an estimated £8.3 billion, with total revenues in the sector up 46% from £5.7 billion in 2017, according to a new report from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The UK Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 2020 report shows that since 2017 the sector has seen significant growth in annual revenue and employment: the number of active cyber security firms in the UK has increased by 44% to over 1,200, from 846 in 2017; and the number of full time employees working in the cyber security sector has gone up by 37% to 43,000, with average revenue per employee up 7% to £193,500. https://www.gov.uk/ government/publications/ cyber-security-sectoral- analysis-2020 What’s my password? ‘I don’t remember my password’ is the most common IT help desk request, cited by 31% of 300 IT professionals surveyed by Ivanti, followed by ‘I can’t login’ (27%) and ‘Why is the internet/ my computer slow?’ (22%). Not surprisingly, password resets are also considered the most annoying request, ahead of questions about slow running computers and malfunctioning printers. Standardising on BenQ IFPs Woodmansterne School in London has installed more than 40 Interactive Flat Panel (IFP) displays from BenQ, as part of a large-scale transformation that has seen it open a secondary school alongside the existing primary school and increase its student intake from 350 to 2,000 pupils aged from 2 to 16 years old. Education technology integrator Partnership Education specified and installed forty-four 75-inch BenQ RP Series multi-touch interactive displays in classrooms, support rooms, music studios and the school library, with BenQ providing teachers with initial training, ongoing support and additional training twice a year. BenQ’s Account Management System (AMS) enables teachers to access lesson plans and materials on any display and the IT department to maintain and service displays remotely. Partnership Education also specified equipment, including 3D printers, for the school’s five IT suites, music studios and assembly hall. The high cost of passwords Biometrics-based authentication platform Veridium claims that it costs a company $70 for each password reset. For an enterprise with 10,000 employees, the annual cost of resetting passwords could run as high as $1.9 million. HR’s little helper Welbot, the digital interventions app that seeks to improve workplace wellbeing by addressing posture, flexibility, mood, nutrition and productivity, is celebrating a successful development trial with Seiko Epson in which employees who used the app daily for a period 12 months recorded an 8% increase in positive mood and a 20% decrease in negative mood. Commenting on the trial, Ethan Kelly-Wilson, Epson Senior HR Manager EMEAR, said: “We have been involved with Welbot since the very beginning and it has now become a cornerstone of our internal wellbeing initiatives. We have seen a reduction in both private medical claims and musculoskeletal sickness since we started our activities.” In a separate study, the University of Strathclyde’s Physical Activity for Health team found that Welbot users were less sedentary than before and experienced a marked drop in depression, anxiety and stress. https://welbot.io/ Once a year is not enough Over half (55%) of HR professionals say that workforce engagement is now either a ‘high’ or ‘very high’ consideration in their boardroom. Yet, 76% still rely on annual employee surveys to measure workforce engagement, reveals a new survey commissioned by live polling company Vevox. Pete Eyre, Managing Director of Vevox, said: “Having a touch point once a year is simply not enough. To keep a workforce engaged, employees should be encouraged to contribute on a regular basis, which can then shape the direction of the business. This is also critical when it comes to trying to retain employees; leaving it until the end of the year is often too little too late.” www.vevox.com Virtual meeting benefits compromised by poor technology Nine out of 10 IT and business professionals describe virtual meetings as critical and/or very important (87%), according to a new survey commissioned by audio conferencing equipment specialist Shure. Yet, only 36% of professionals believe their organisations have the right technology to support them, with three out of five claiming their employers have basic technology in place but need to make improvements. On a more positive note, the growing importance of virtual meetings, cited by 86% of respondents, means that three out of four IT professionals expect their businesses to allocate bigger budgets to support them in the coming year. Investment is needed to alleviate a range of problems, from technical issues that necessitate the rescheduling of meetings to poor audio quality, cited by 82% of respondents. Two thirds (68%) of executives complain that they have to escalate meeting room issues to IT at least weekly. Effortless.Shure.com www.shure.com