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Who are you going to call? This week we’ve had a few calls from clients saying things like ‘internet down’ but upon investigation it’s turned out to be a specific application issue.  But do you know how to tell the difference and whom to call? Let me ask you: When you’ve got a tech problem who do you call? Do you know who to call? Have you been in the position where all your providers blame each other leaving your frustrated? So who are you going to call?  Call Cirrus and let us take care of these issues so you can get on with running your business.  We’ll manage all aspects of your IT and if there’s an issue we’ll work with 3rd parties like your broadband provider, the copier company, till company, etc and isolate and resolve the problem.  Yes we’ll manage them for you and deliver you a seamless service. Lets be honest your speciality is your business and for most people figuring out what’s needed to manage, run, troubleshoot and find the way through the different relationships and technologies is simply a minefield.  To us however it’s what we do; we’ll deal with the blurred lines, the finger pointing and and lack of ownership being taken.   We’ll figure out what needs to be done and by whom and manage your issues to resolution. Call us, let us work out where the issue lies and what’s needed to resolve matter. Our Proactive IT management  gives you peace of mind, allowing us to plan structured maintenance, regular updates and IT projects to give you the best return on your IT investment and make sure you’re getting the most from your network. From Windows Updates to multi-phase deployment project, our  IT managed services let us manage your network for you to save you money and make your business more efficient. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/operations/articles/global-outsourcing-survey.html https://www.thinkcirrus.co.uk Send us an E-mail Call us on 03303 130966

Data is powerful it provides insight, knowledge and factual information about what’s going on in your business and with your customers. The true value however lies in interpreting the data for improvement purposes. Say hello to VOIP Analytics, analytical data for your phone system and call centre. Your probably utilise Analytics routinely through your website and use the data generated to help improve, track and guide your marketing activities. VOIP analytics is a focus on your inbound/outbound call system. It provides you with crucial information relating to how many calls, busy periods, ring length, abandoned calls, call durations, call routing, automated messages and more. Organise Your Team and their Access Access to the platform is via a URL, no additional licenses or application software is needed. Better still you can assign levels of access to match your organisation. Many organisations choose to have a display screen showing current stats and information. You can do this with VOIP Analytics too and customise the view to show exactly what’s needed. Data and Big Organisations Big Business routinely uses Big Data. Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s out of reach for your business. It comes in many shapes and sizes but the intention is the same. Improve service, grow your business. For More information contact the team @ Cirrus hello@thinkcirrus.co.uk / 03303 130966 https://www.thinkcirrus.co.uk/about-us/ #VOIP #Analytics #ITSupport #CallCentre #ServiceDesk #PBX #VoipAnalytics #Cloud

Protect your business from a Cyber Attack Cirrus Risk Intelligence Scan will allow you to take proactive measures against threats to your business. Risk Intelligence Scan & Analytics – Are you compliant? Why should your systems be scanned ? So, lets ask you a question…… Do you know how safe your company systems really are? We ran a Risk Intelligence scan on a Company who had asked us to go and review their current systems and IT. one of the questions they asked us, was to check how secure their systems were and whether  there were any risks to them or their customers data. As you can imagine, the results were quite alarming to the customer and we ask you again……… How Confident are you? Cyber Attacks are growing and becoming more expensive. According to the latest IBM report, the average cost of a data breach in the UK rose by 8% over the past year to reach nearly £2.7m. IBM claimed that firms able to contain a breach in under 30 days managed to save over £755,000 compared to those who that took more than 30 days. While malicious outsiders caused half of all breaches, organizations should be aware that human error (26%) and system glitches (24%) were responsible for the other half. Although the latter two types of breach were quicker to spot, with better staff training and IT monitoring they remain highly preventable. Protect your MOST valuable assets: Your Information and your CUSTOMERS! The costs a data breach can be massive and can come from many directions including: – Damage to your reputation and brand. – Unexpected loss of customers. – Compliance fines. – System downtime. – Ransomware. – Lawsuits. PCI/DSS Now, here’s the shocking truth: In the latest PCI DSS Compliance Report conducted by Verizon, none of the companies it had investigated in ten years had been fully PCI DSS compliant at the time they were breached. Wondering about where you stand? Locate Security Holes in Your Systems These days, hackers have more tricks up their sleeves than ever before. Whether it’s phishing emails, drive-by downloads, or old-fashioned malware, malicious attackers have a lot of options to try to exploit a company’s IT security. Our Risk Intelligence scans systems not only for unsecured data, but for any potential vulnerabilities that an outside party might try to exploit. Do you have any issues or concerns about risk, security, GDPR, PCI/DSS? Risk Intelligence Scan & Analytics – Are you compliant? Our Risk Intelligence Scan service can check through your devices and provide a detailed report of what’s good, bad and risky in your environment. We can scan for security vulnerabilities in your OS Compliance for PCI DSS and credit card details Security of your files and folders Scan of perimeter systems and internet connections Unpatched software: The Risk Intelligence scan will discover unpatched software across your networks, protecting you from threats. E-mail:  Risk Intelligence also scans Outlook files for known vulnerabilities and threats. Mac and Windows operating systems vulnerabilities: The Cirrus Risk Intelligence scan covers all known malware threats registered with the CVSS database and runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux.. Threats from VPN connections: Configure scans to automatically run when a new or unknown device connects to your network. Get Your  Risk Intelligence Profile set up with Cirrus Technology Solutions. Be Up and Running Quickly The costs of a data breach can be debilitating. It can lead to lost intellectual property, regulatory issues, or even bad press. Cirrus Risk Intelligence gives you a financial amount on the liability a business faces in the event of a data breach. Call us today and Lets make sure you are definitely Secure. 0330 130966 hello@thinkcirrus.co.uk www.thinkcirrus.co.uk @ThinkCirrus

In need of a Strategic Review of Your IT? Generally speaking it’s better to have a plan than not to.  Your IT certainly falls into this category and having a clear plan of what you need to achieve, probably linked to business goals, would be a very sensible idea.  But do you have a plan?  Would you benefit from help creating one?  Perhaps a Strategic review of your IT and some fresh thinking would be useful. Most of the posts we write are about how we as a business can help your business.  This post is slightly different as it’s a little more about me, my background, my experience and how I can help you address the more fundamental parts of your IT.  Help with the general direction of travel or, as happened this week, help with a plan for disaster recovery. My name is Anito Lauriello.  I’ve worked in IT for over 30 years and it’s the only business I’ve been in.  In that time I’ve done everything from build PC’s planned large scale transformations, developed and delivered multi-million £ projects and built consulting teams across the globe.  The point to this is that the technology is fine, it’s one element.  But success also needs experience, consideration but importantly a plan.  Is it time for you to LookUp and make a plan? Common example for clients these days is the question of the cloud.  What is it, how do I benefit from it, is it right, is it affordable? Other topics include help with a disaster recovery plan What to do with or about aging systems Dealing with the many suppliers The days of IT just being something you use are gone.  Think about phones, e-mail, internet, applications, cctv, website, social media.  How would your business survive if any of these became unavailable for lets say 24 hours.  Would you be left sating into a hole or able to get your head up and know exactly what to expect?  IT is ingrained into our lives, our work and your business and for many it’s time to start thinking of it this way. If like most companies the sheer size and scale of your systems are increasing them maybe it’s time for a Strategic Review of your IT.  You may just need a sounding board, perhaps a proposal is on the table and you’d like an independent view?  Maybe your in a constant state of firefighting and need someone to help see through the haze?  Perhaps you know you need to improve or change a specific element? 30 years is a long time.  It’s also a vast amount of experience that you may benefit from? Coffee.  I find coffee and an open chat the best place and way to start so please get in touch or call on 03303 130966 http://www.linkedin.com/anitolauriello https://www.thinkcirrus.co.uk

If you’re taking card payments either on the phone or in person then he question of Completing your PCI Compliance is certainly something you should be paying attention to.  It’s possible you are being fined by your merchant for being non-compliant too, perhaps without realising or knowing what to do.  Read on and understand what completing your PCI compliance means and why its important.   So what is PCI compliance? PCI compliance is a way for the industry (merchants and banks) to ensure good practices are being adopted when taking card payments.  It a common set of standards and processes that everyone should adopt as a minimum.  PCI stands for Payment Card Industry and Completing your PCI Compliance is mandatory. Why should I be PCI Compliant The most obvious and simple reason to be compliant is failure to do so will result in regular and on-going charges by your provider.  The amount can vary depending on how much use you make of card payments and the scale of charges will also increase if you continue to ignore the standard. Continued refusal to become compliant can also result in services being withdrawn! All providers have the same requirement and standards, so changing provider won’t help you!  – Sorry What does it take to be PCI Compliant? There are two simple parts to being compliant and each merchant typically has a form you complete with a a series of predetermined questions & outcomes.  In essence you need to demonstrate 2 things, these are: Do you have adequate process for safeguarding information Does your technology provide adequate safeguards for securing the transactions   What does this all look like? Your merchant will typically send you an e-mail advising of the need to complete your compliance.  This will require your registration via a secure portal and completing information about your business.  There’s a form to complete asking about the size of you business, how you use card payments, what you do with slips,if your payments are in person, on-line, etc.  These are the procedural steps Next there’s the scan which you will be asked to schedule to complete the technical part.  If you fail you’ll see a very satisfying green tick.  A failed scan will produce a detailed report of what needs to be addressed. Summary If your business is taking card payments, whether in person, on the phone or on-line PCI compliance applies to you.  Like most things in life ignoring it won’t make it go away and will ultimately just cost you money. Call us today on 03303 130966 or visit our website https://www.thinkcirrus.co.uk for more information http://www.theukcardsassociation.org.uk/security/PCIDSS_checklist.asp  

Far from being just a marketing buzzword, unified communications (UC) refers to the integration of devices, applications and communication methods to develop collaborative and productive methods of communication. This could include a combination of real-time communication services such as instant messaging, voice over IP (VOIP), video conferencing and interactive whiteboards or non-real-time methods such as email, text messages or voicemail. Ultimately, unified communications brings together various communication methods to create consistency across devices and platforms in order to streamline business processes. If you’re looking to boost efficiency and productivity through unified communications – here are ten things you must think about before you decide to make the transition: Top Tips for Adopting Unified Communications   1) It’s about the business first, not the technology It’s essential to get clear on your business drivers for the project. What are your Unified Communications priorities? When you know the drivers behind the project, you’ll have an easier time building your business case to gain management support – as well as explaining the project and the benefits to the users to improve adoption. Don’t look at technologies until you define your business drivers first! 2) Get support from the top Unified Communications is all about changing the way people work, so you’re going to need senior management support for a successful Unified Communications roll-out. When presenting the project, emphasise the increase in business responsiveness and employee productivity, cost reductions in travel, infrastructure and call charges to show the return-on investment. 3) Start with Discovery   Businesses today are fragmented, with multiple offices and remote workers which makes it harder for people to communicate, and often results in multiple tools and point solutions. The first step in a successful Unified Communications implementation is a thorough Discovery phase to understand who your users are, their business requirements and their communication habits. What tools do they have in place to deliver conferencing, video, messaging and voice? When are the contracts up for renewal? The best technology in the world will fail if it doesn’t enable your users to work when, where and how they want – so take this in to consideration from the start. 4)Is your network up to the task? Integrated voice, messaging and conferencing may be more network intensive than your old systems. Before you select any technology, you need to understand if your network will be able to handle the increased activity. Voice communication is business-critical, it must have high-availability and resilience to enable the business to work. Plan and prepare in advance, spend time finding experts to conduct a network assessment to ensure you’ll be able to use the new system to its fullest once in-house. 5) Consider Cloud Unified Communications solutions can be delivered on-premises or in the cloud. Many businesses believe the cloud won’t work for them – but it’s worth taking another look. Cloud services offer your users access from anywhere with single sign-on and reduce the burden of a new platform for your IT team. Ensure your chosen partner is giving you all the available options, including cloud or hybrid cloud/on-premises options to ease your transition. You should use the cloud on your terms, not the suppliers. 6) Protect your information Unified Communication tools improve collaboration and communication amongst fragmented and mobile workforces and information will grow and flow more easily throughout your business. Be prepared to protect this information that could be valuable to your business. Consider compliance and regulatory requirements, and your own information governance policies. Investigate tools and services which enable you to secure and archive data such as instant messaging and persistent chat. 7) Create a delivery plan Since Unified Communications integrates voice, messaging and conferencing, it tends to be a complex project to deliver within the business. It’s critical that you make a roadmap at the beginning, so that you can roll out the new technologies in phases and feel confident that you haven’t forgotten key components. 8) Ensure User Adoption Technology is pointless if your employees won’t use it. Plan for user adoption and training from the very start of the project. We recommend rolling out modern technology in phases, to allow ample time for training and support. You might consider webinars, in-person training sessions and individual support in your adoption plan. 9) Know who will manage Unified Communications Once you’ve completed your Unified Communications implementation, you need to know what happens next. Who will manage the system? Don’t assume you have to hire experts in-house. A Unified Communications Managed Service provides experts on-demand, guaranteed up-time and SLAs and monitoring of your business-critical systems. It lets you focus on your areas of expertise, while ensuring that your Unified Communications system is in experienced and safe hands.10. Consider a single supplier. 10) Consider a single supplier A Unified Communications solution can be complex with lots of moving parts and when something goes wrong, who are you going to call? Consider working with a single supplier, who understands the end-to-end solution, and provides a single point of contact for all questions and issues. A single supplier also makes the implementation process easier, allowing them to focus on delivering a complete solution from system design and network architecture to call tariffs and hardware, rather than you project-managing multiple vendors.

Don’t be caught short. Enterprise networks and data access can go down without warning.  You can’t stop it from happening, but with a good disaster recovery plan you can be better prepared for the unexpected. Expect the unexpected – always!   We know you’ve already got a disaster recovery (DR) plan in place to protect your enterprise’s data, employees and business. But how thorough is your disaster recovery plan? When was it last updated and tested? Have you taken into account new technologies and services that can make it easier to recover from disaster? Here are a few things your IT disaster recovery plan should include. An analysis of all potential threats and possible reactions to them Your disaster recovery plan should take into account the complete spectrum of potential interrupters to your business. As part of the plan you should spell out a recovery plan for each scenario. Of course, not all scenarios are equally likely to occur. So as best you can, try to anticipate which potential disruptors are most probable. Sadly, cyber attacks are becoming a more likely scenario so, cyber attack planning might take precedence over some natural disruptors in your planning. A business impact analysis (BIA) To effectively determine DR priorities, put each major information system through a business impact analysis. A BIA identifies and evaluates the potential effects (i.e. financial, safety, regulatory, legal/contractual, reputation) of natural and man-made events on business operations. Completing a BIA for major IT systems will allow for the identification of system priorities and dependencies.  The BIA examines three security objectives: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Going through this process means that you’ll be able to establish priorities for your disaster recovery plan. Once you’ve completed the BIA contingency strategies can then be developed. You can find BIA templates and questionnaires online from Ready.gov and other sources.   People People and processes are just as important as technology when it comes to the Disaster Recovery Plans. Now is the time to think about behaviours, systems; essentially all the steps needed so that everyone can start work again as soon as possible. Also, identify by name the critical people charged with responding to a crisis. Have a VIP Crisis list and make sure the direct email, mobile number and home number is clear, correct and up to date. This list are the important people to contact in a crisis and they should know that they are being held accountable. Work with marketing and communications team as well as senior management to determine who will speak for your company to the victims, clients and employees in the event of a disaster. Know what you plan to say, how much you plan to reveal, and how you’ll reassure those who might be nervous of continuing business with your company.   Priorities Not everything in your business is worth saving or needs to be protected. Your proprietary information, of course, is. But any info that is for public release is not as important. Think of it as if your house were on fire. What would you grab as you run out the door?   Regular rehearsals Don’t forget that practice makes perfect. Know you have your plan it needs to be tested regularly. The team involved need to practice the processes and procedures that have been put in place, just like a fire drill, for example. If not regularly practiced, the plan is ineffective.   A consideration of DRaaS The growing practice of moving data operations into the cloud has helped give rise to disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS). These on-demand services have made DR easier and more economical, which in turn is enabling more organizations to be better prepared for disasters. When considering DRaaS, ask how the provider will test and validate recovery of your data and workflows, as some testing is more extensive than others. Act Today The biggest mistake most companies make is waiting until after a cyberattack or disaster to figure out what to do next.  

Is it time to weatherproof your business? The last month has been a tumultuous one when it comes to the weather, with the beast from the east causing disruptions, and amber weather warnings for torrential rain and gale force winds becoming a nightmare for business owners. You’d be forgiven for thinking that any major natural incident could halt business operations. Right? Wrong! Here at Think Cirrus we pride ourselves on being able to work from any place at any time, as long as there is internet coverage. This means you can work as if you were in the office, when you’re not or you can’t be. There’s no excuse with modern technology why any business shouldn’t be able to operate remotely if employees are stuck at home.   This technology isn’t expensive, and in some cases is cheaper than using older systems. Here are a few easily accessible and affordable technologies that can weather-proof your business: Telephone Systems – VoIP (Voice over IP) VoIP systems are the ultimate no-brainer.   Not only do they give you the flexibility to connect to your internal phone system from almost anywhere (and in most cases, from many types of device) but pretty much without exception they are cheaper on rental and call charges than traditional systems. We use VoIP at Think Cirrus, so when our helpdesk guys can’t get into the office because of flooding or snow they simply plug their IP handsets in to their home broadband connections or fire up the VoIP app on their smartphones and are immediately able to deal with support calls. VoIP is great if you have home workers or multiple offices – calls between internal extensions are always free regardless of where they are (including overseas which is a godsend for a few our clients). It’s handy for part time workers who need to work seamlessly from home, or for busy MDs who spend a lot of time out of the office but still need to be part of the system to receive and make calls. Cloud Computing ‘Cloud’ is a huge subject to cover here, but in summary – your data and software no longer needs to be confined to an internal computer network.   With cloud you can access your files, folders, emails and software remotely, usually from almost any device. The benefits of cloud are wide-ranging, from flexibility, resiliency and backup and compliance through to saving both money and the environment. Remote connectivity to your office network (VPN) VPN – Virtual Private Networking – isn’t new by any means but is still a great way of connecting remotely to an internal IT system that hasn’t yet embraced cloud computing (and in some cases, systems that are in the cloud too – though that’s getting a bit technical).   Essentially, a VPN creates a secure, encrypted connection between the device you’re using (e.g. a home PC) and your business computer network, allowing you to access internal resources via a secure link. We’re happy to say Think Cirrus practices what we preach when it comes to remote access, and the team are able to remain fully operational during times of adverse weather. We use a combination of all of the above – we have a VoIP telephone system allowing all staff to connect in from home, and we can also connect mobile phones and tablets to the system if necessary. Our systems run in the cloud – our data is stored in a secure online datastore so we can access it from any location and any device, our email server is online and of course our helpdesk is hosted in the cloud.   We use a secure VPN connection to connect into the office in case we need to access our internal servers. So, if you’d like your business to continue making money whatever the weather, isn’t it time you made your business weatherproof?