An IT Support Blog from London

Read the latest IT news, tips and insights from IT Support pros at HTL Support

IT Asset Disposal: How Should You Deal with Old IT Equipment

IT Asset disposal

Used IT equipment must be disposed of responsibly. When we say that, we refer not just to the environmental footprint of used IT equipment – we also refer to data security. Your IT asset disposal (ITAD) process or IT support vendor must also include fully wiping data on the IT kit that you are disposing.

Correct IT asset disposal is essential if you want to prevent information security risks. That said, you can also enjoy some returns on your used IT if you dispose of it correctly – particularly where companies are undergoing large shifts in IT and there is a significant volume of equipment involved.

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6 Ways to Digitally Declutter Your Business

6 Ways to Digitally Declutter Your Business

The start of a new year always brings with it the impulse to make sweeping changes around us. This often involves getting rid of things we would now classify as unusable and other stuff that have simply lost their appeal—an activity commonly referred to as decluttering.

Businesses in particular, would significantly benefit from this as it could potentially free up some office workspace and eliminate unnecessary tasks. And now that many of business activities and employees’ functions revolve around the use of technology, a digital decluttering has become as important as a physical one.

Performing a digital declutter within the organisation may simply require a few straightforward processes to be initiated by the users themselves, or may necessitate the intervention of the inhouse IT team or professional IT services. That said, here are six surefire ways to digitally declutter your company:

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How To Choose The IT Support Company That Matches Your Appetite For Business

How To Choose The IT Support Company That Matches Your Appetite For Business

Growing businesses need IT support even more than established companies – after all, setting the right IT in place during a period of growth will help support growth and ensures that your business does not end up held back by creaky tech infrastructure.

But not all IT support companies are equally good at providing tech support to growth-hungry companies. In this article, we outline a few key points growing businesses should look out for when choosing an IT support partner.

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2540 Hits

Six Common IT Mistakes Made by Small Businesses – And How to Avoid Them

Six Common IT Mistakes Made by Small Businesses – And How to Avoid Them

In a tech-first world, even small businesses are highly reliant upon technology to get through the typical business day. Make the wrong decisions around technology, or skimp on IT support services, and it could cost your growing business dearly.

However, with so many things to focus on, growing businesses often leave IT on the backburner – and that leads to mistakes. Here, we list the ten most common IT mistakes growing businesses make – and what they can do about it.

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2099 Hits

AI in Customer Service - Would It Work for Your Business?

AI in Customer Service

Artificial Intelligence (AI), the creation of intelligent machines that emulate human thinking and decision making, has long been touted as one of the most disruptive technologies of this decade—and for good reason too. From healthcare to finance to manufacturing and even in our homes (think Alexa, Roomba, etc.), AI has permeated almost every aspect of daily living.

A common misconception among SMBs is that only an IT company or big corporations can leverage AI. But the truth is, many businesses are already using AI solutions, especially in customer service, where it is making a significant impact.

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2475 Hits

How To Tell If You Need To Build Your Own Data Lake

How To Tell If You Need To Build Your Own Data Lake

In the current digital economy, data is the new oil, so an organisation can’t have too much of it. Today’s company executives are turning to data when making crucial business decisions in sales/marketing, operations, human resources, and just about every aspect of the enterprise.

More data is becoming available in large volumes and from various sources, but turning plain data into actual usable information—i.e. facts, trends, and statistical numbers, can be a complicated and tedious process. So, businesses have a choice. They could continue to acquire whatever data they can, then simply leave out what they can’t store, or they could invest in data warehouse technologies to process data faster and get the right information more quickly.

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How Cyber Criminals Are Using Social Media To Attack Companies

How Cyber Criminals Are Using Social Media To Attack Companies

Social media is the new black and everybody wants to be part of it. Posting one’s activities, sharing one’s thoughts, and reacting to other people’s posts have simply become part of our daily lives.

But to those who know what they’re looking for, this social media content can lead to a goldmine of information. It is through this goldmine—terabytes upon terabytes of data, that cyber criminals flourish, using such data to attack individuals and even companies.

How exactly can cyber criminals use social media to compromise online security and attack business organisations? Let’s discuss their methods.

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2815 Hits

Disaster Recovery Myths - and How to Manage Them

Disaster recovery myths

Disaster recovery is one of those topics that isn't particularly complicated, yet is easily misunderstood. It is, nonetheless, a crucial aspect of technology management. The cost of a disaster can be tremendous, and with no fast route to recovery, an adverse event can have game-changing consequences for a business.

Getting backup and disaster recovery right is not that hard, yet 50% of UK businesses are leaving their data at risk, according to a 2018 survey. Though businesses generally make some effort to guard against disaster, plenty of disaster recovery myths persist. In this article, we tackle those myths and propose steps to ensure a reliable disaster recovery scenario.

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Reactive vs Proactive IT Support - Know the Difference

Reactive vs Proactive IT Support

When it comes to IT services, many businesses still go for the fix-it-when-it-breaks approach. And why not? They think that getting the services of an IT support company only when a problem actually arises will save them money. But does it really?

If you also think that saving your financial resources for a time when something breaks down is the right way to manage your organisation's IT ecosystem, then it's time for you to know all about reactive and proactive IT support. This should help you to determine which would work best for your business. But first, on to the definitions.

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3185 Hits

How Will 5G Impact Your Business?

How Will 5G Impact Your Business

The long-awaited and much-hyped 5G network has finally launched in some markets and will be rolled out in more major cities by the second half of 2019. 5G is the fifth and latest evolution of wireless connectivity and is expected to have a transformative impact on consumers’ lives and businesses across most industries. The reason for such excitement is, of course, the high speed, low latency, better network reliability and massive device connectivity that 5G performance promises.

While faster speeds are always a welcome development for end-users, the business landscape is where 5G is anticipated to have the most impact. In fact, an Oracle-commissioned survey of 265 business leaders and IT executives across 11 countries reveals that many enterprises are well aware of the possible opportunities that 5G connectivity can create. More than 80% of the respondents say that it can significantly improve many aspects of business operations, and more than 82% believe that it can pave the way for launching new products and services.

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