Our IT Department have been around for a long time now (since 1990 to be exact). During this time we have been approached by many businesses looking for alternative IT Support because they were unhappy with the service levels provided by their existing IT company.

Choosing Outsourced IT Support isn't always easy. With so many companies out there in London it can be difficult to decide what company to work with. Obviously we would be bias and say ‘work with us' because we know how good our level of service is!! However here are some pointers to consider when looking for professional Outsourced IT Support;

Choose an established company.

London is a very competitive marketplace for all of us. Many businesses come and go and IT Support companies are no exception to the rule. For this reason we would suggest working with an established company that has a proven track record at supporting Small businesses over a long term period. If an IT company has survived for as long as we have then they must know what they are doing.

Customer retention is important.

Customers who are happy with a service will not look for it elsewhere. A good IT company will has a record of working with a large portfolio of clients over a long term period. Do not be afraid to ask for referrals that are specifically long term customers.

Referrals.

Many IT Support companies on the web choose to show their clients as case studies, but can you be really sure that these are genuine referrals?  It may be an idea to ask for a referral from a company that does not feature on the website. Never be afraid to ask for a multitude of referral's and be fair when assessing them.

Resources.

It's no good working with an IT Support company that doesn't have the resources to look after you properly!!! Don't be afraid to ask how many engineers they have and how many clients these engineers are currently working with.

Location.

Remote support has changed the way we look after clients. Only the other day I was working on a laptop remotely that was in Australia from my office in London!! However at some point you will probably need some onsite support and that is when it is important to choose a company with local resources available. This nicely brings me onto the next pointer....

SLA

One of the main reasons many of our customers have moved over to us from other IT Support companies. It is no good having a local IT company if they are going to take 8 hours to come and fix something!!! Check the service level agreement with a fine tooth comb and make sure you are happy before signing on the dotted line.

Services

There is nothing more annoying than trying to get a problem fixed, only to be told ‘sorry, this isn't part of your contract'. IT support companies SHOULD be flexible and try to help you whatever the problem may be.

I hope these tips are of help. If you are thing about using Outsourced IT Support then please bear the above points in mind.

A recent survey revealed that 60% of all business critical data in the UK is held on laptops, and as more and more businesses allow their staff to work remotely and on the road, this trend will only continue to grow, as will the threat of a security breach or potential loss of critical data.

When you hand a member of staff their company laptop you are created a potentially major security risk. Without the proper use of password encryption or backup of valuable data, there is a serious risk of jeopardising the future of your organisation in many ways so stringent group security policies together with a reliable backup solution are absolutely paramount.

Backing up laptop data.

When it comes to data, most businesses keep their files and folders on a series of company network drives, however some smaller businesses and one man bands tend to save data locally, and this can be a very costly mistake indeed.  Also, business users can sometimes save data locally on their laptops to work on documents when they don't have access to company drives.  They then upload the amended data when they are back in the office.  

Ways to backup laptop data.

There are various ways for laptop users to back up their data. Some are better than others;

• 1. External storage. Using an external storage device is one way to back up your data. More popular storage devices include USB sticks and external hard drives. This type of backup "does the job" but it also has downsides, such as a) like laptops, external devices can go missing or be stolen or b) external devices can go wrong.
• 2. Optical storage. The cheapest form of backup is OK if you have a small amount of data to backup, but if you have anything above 6 GB then it can become tiresome to keep burning disks. Also, optical storage cannot be trusted because it is the most volatile storage medium. Also, like the above, disks can be stolen and the data can be easily accessed.

The solution.

Online backup has revolutionised the way we think about backing up data and implementing disaster recovery solutions. Online backup not only provides the end user with the quickest, easiest and most reliable backup solution, it also provides them with the fastest way of restoring their data, at the touch of a button.

Unlike office pc users, laptop users are at a disadvantage by the fact that their machines are never in a constant state of standby, which means that they are not always connected to the internet and could very easily miss a scheduled backup.  The best possible solution for laptop backup is an online backup solution that is designed purely for laptop users. Our IT Department has developed the perfect online backup solution for laptops in the form of an automated "laptop specific" backup service that automatically backups up the selected data on your laptop as soon as an internet connection is available. We also have a dedicated laptop backup service that backs up any changes that made to your data every 15 minutes. The service is not resource intensive as all backups are incremental.

If you are concerned about laptop security issues and you would like to find out more about our laptop specific backup solutions then give us a phone call today.

About Our IT Department.

Our IT Department are an IT Support London based company established in 1990. We offer our clients a range of IT related products and services, from unlimited IT Support solutions to other services such as IT consultancy and hosted solutions. We have two office locations, one in East London and the other in Regent Street, with a third on the way. If you ever want to pop in and dscuss your IT requirements then feel free to drop in at any time for a coffee and a chat.

Our IT Department recently conducted an online poll to determine the popularity of social networking sites with our customers.

There was a choice of four social sites in the poll. These sites were Facebook, My Space, Twitter and Linkedin. Voters also had the option to choose "other" should they not use any of the above social sites.

The results.

• Facebook 44%
• Linkedin 29%
• Twitter 29%
• Other 8%

Facebook is one of the most popular websites in the world, so it wasn't really much of a surprise when it came first in our online poll. The big surprise for us is that only 29% of people voted for Twitter, with Linkedin receiving the same amount of votes. The results above could well reflect the amount of business users our website attracts.

More and more business are now starting to use Facebook for online marketing purposes. It is very easy easy to setup an online business page on facebook and millions of organisations use facebook to promote their products and services.

Twitter is also another great tool to promote your organisations activity and attract the right type of visitor to your website.

A big thank you to everyone that participated in our online survey. Please visit our homepage and take part in our new online poll for May 2010.

A bit about us.

Our IT Department are an IT Support comapny based in London, UK. Established in 1990, we specialise in providing Unlimited onsite and remote IT Services for small to medium sized businesses in the Greater London area. We also provide IT consultancy and specialist Hosted Services. Take a look around our website to find out more. 

Outsourced IT Support is the perfect service to compliment any existing in-house IT Support team. Many people believe that it has to be "one or the other" i.e. you either have an in-house IT team or you use an external IT Support company, but that doesn't have to be the case.

Many of our existing clients use both in-house and external support services because in many ways it offers them the perfect IT Support service. There are many ways in which Outsourced IT Support can be used to assist your existing IT Support team. Here are a few examples;

Holiday cover;

Everyone needs a holiday, and your super human IT manager is no different!! Holiday cover from an agency can prove to be expensive and that's where an IT Outsourcing Company can be the perfect answer.

Sickness

We don't always appreciate something until its gone, and that is certainly the case when it comes to your in-house IT Manager!!  Losing your IT Manager at short notice can cause major problems so it is important to have a contingency plan in place and this is where an IT Support company can play an important part in business continuity.

First line end user support.

IT managers that work for large organisations tend to find the "quick fix" jobs a hindrance when they are trying to concentrate on the more technical aspects of their work.  An IT Support company can work alongside your in-house IT team providing 1st line support, leaving your technical managers to concentrate on strategic work within your company.

Project Management.

Sometimes, Junior IT Managers need a little bit of extra help when it comes technical project work. IT Support companies can provide technical consultation services for all aspects of your network, from server migration to Complex Firewall installation and configuration.

Outsourced IT Support companies can play a big part in working alongside an existing IT team. Take a look around our website and find out more about our products and services.

A national competition is being launched in the UK to find people with a talent for keeping computers and networks secure.

The competition will use a series of web based games and tests to find users with the best cyber security expertise. It is hoped that the competition will encourage people to pursue a career in computer security.

"There is a real need for people with these skills and they can give great value back to the nation as a whole," Said Ms Baker, Director of the cyber security challenge.

Ms Baker also stressed how increasingly dependent we all are on computer systems because "The whole digital economy and society is structured around them."

The upcoming games and tests are built around eight key skill areas. These areas include network analysis, logical thinking and digital forensics.

The challenge officially starts on 27th April. Prizes for top performers will include training courses and scholarships.

A recent survey has suggested that many cyber security companies are struggling to recruit enough people with the required skill set required to cope with the upcoming volume of work . This challenge will hopefully unearth a new generation of cyber security experts!!

Backers include the Cabinet Office, the Metropolitan Police, Qinetiq and the Institute of Information Security Professionals.

Gordon Brown got involved in the internet debate today, and this time he is promising high speed broadband for everyone!!

The PM has outlined a vision for Britain where everyone will have access to a "superfast broadband connection" which will include a dashboard of government services.

Called "MyGov", the aim is for everyone to be given access to a government dashboard/website. From here you will be able to access personal information including pensions, tax, benefits council tax etc, all accessed directly via a super fast broadband connection. You will even be able to arrange doctor's appointments and take advantage of other services such as applying for a new driving licence or ordering a new passport.

The prime minister believes that faster, more widely available internet access will help create a better approach to the government and its services from the general public. There has been no timescale for the project, although the government did say that they expect over 90% of homes in the UK will have access by 2017.

Other announcements.

Gordon Brown has also announced that 30 million will be invested on a new institute of web science which shall also be headed by Sir Tim Banners-Lee and professor Nigel Shadbolt. lastminute.com's co-founder Martha Lane-Fox will also be getting involved by helping to establish a Digital Public Services Unit.

Our IT Department Welcomes faster broadband in the home because will help IT Support companies like us support home users more efficiently when it comes to remote access. Hopefully we will finally see the end of slow internet connection speeds for good!!!

Our IT Department today launched their new VMware consultation services for businesses in and around the London area. These services have been designed to complement our unlimited IT Support services and our Hosted infrastructure.

Together with cloud computing, virtualisation is fast becoming the platform of choice for many SME's  as it gives businesses the opportunity to optimise their existing IT network and expand their infrastructure without the financial outlay.

In our opinion, VMware is by far the most stable and reliable virtual platform to use in a business environment. There are many virtual platforms out there, but few if any can match the flexibility and functionality that VMware can bring to the table.

So what is this virtualisation all about?

With virtualisation you can consolidate your existing server infrastructure to a ration of up to 4 workloads per cpu. This will reduce hardware and maintenance costs, improve your carbon footprint and create more solid, robust server infrastructure within the workplace.

Interested in saving money and improving your IT Network?

Thousands  of businesses have already implemented a virtualisation solution worldwide. You can find out more about our VMware services on our website under the "specialist services" section. If you would like to speak with a member of our team regarding virtualisation and how it can improve your business then feel free to give us a call.

Here at Our IT Department we have always been an admirer of Dell and their ability to produce exceptional cost effective hardware for business users, especially their server hardware. Dell's latest addition to the server family is no exception, a 2U server with a potential storage capacity of ( geek alert) 24.6 TB, now that's what I want from a 2u server!!

The R510 includes a number of new  features designed to meet the needs of many IT environments. Both SATA and SAS drives can be used in the server (we would always recommend SAS) and  up to 16GB of memory can be added to the specification. There are 12 internal hard drive bays available which is more than enough for most and the server can also support up to 2 x Quad Core processors.  

The R510 is practically designed too. The server itself is just a space saving 24" in depth which perfect for the modern day server rack that needs every free inch it can get! All external ports in the same location so they are easy to get to. There is also an interactive LED screen which makes server monitoring even more easier from within the server room.

Our senior engineers are currently twisting the Directors arm about purchasing some of these new servers, they are a persistent bunch so I can see some new hardware heading our way soon!!

Our IT Department are an IT Support company based in London. we are an  official reseller of Dell hardware including servers, workstations and laptops. Feel free to contact us if you are in London and you need some help with your IT network.

Our IT Department has a full time in-house procurement team that are dedicated to providing our customers with the latest IT technologies at a cost they can afford. No matter what your requirements,  Our IT Department offer the perfect one stop shop for all of your IT hardware and software needs.

What hardware does OUr IT Department provide?

Our IT Department are an official reseller of the following brands; Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Apple, Hewlett Packard, Watchguard, Cisco plus many other hardware manufacturers. We have the resources available to offer a fast  supply and installation service, with many items available for on a same day or next day delivery time. We prove our clients with the latest technologies including laptops, desktops and workstations, servers, routers, firewall and cabling.

Our hardware procurement team compliment our Unlimited IT Support Service perfectly. We are able to diagnose hardware related problems, suggest suitable replacements  and install your new hardware within a very limited timeframe. This means less downtime and more productivity for your business.

We also sell software.

Our IT Department are a Microsoft Gold partner. We can provide all of the latest Microsoft Applications and operating systems to our clients at very competitive prices plus we can offer an onsite or remote installation service. we also supply our clients with other brands such as Adobe and Apple.

Unlimited IT Support + Hardware procurement = The perfect IT Support company.

We offer an Unlimited It Support service that we believe is the best in London. We provide our clients with everything they could possibly need from an IT company and more.  If you think Our IT Department can help improve your business then get in touch for a free no-obligation onsite consultation.

Our IT Department would like to introduce their very own collection of company mascots from the head office in London.

Each mascot is owned by one of the companies IT geeks (sorry, I mean " IT Professionals"). Every mascot is Microsoft certified and each  has to undergo rigorous training before they are allowed to sit on our desks and act as a screen wipe!!

Let me introduce the team. from left to right;

Gooner bear. Gooner bear looks after our North London clients. He will always fly Emirates when working abroad and he loves being one of the "Top four" company mascots.  

Norwich bear. You could say this bear is in a different league :) Norwich bear is by far the most intelligent mascot of them all. He is clever, good looking and very thoughtful  just like his owner. I wonder who that could be :)

Shaun the sheep. Shaun never lets the grass grow under his feet because he is always eating it. Shaun regularly works on Ceebies providing first line IT Support.  

Percy the pig. The company legend. Percy  is in charge of keeping all supplied with cups of tea and biscuits, although for some reason he refuses to make us bacon sandwiches?

Hammer bear. A key member of the team, hammer bear is in charge of marketing in East London, particularly the Upton Park area.

So there you hasve it. Thanks for taking the time to check out our team of company mascots!!