Archive for August, 2020
Team Challenge for Action Mental Health
General fundraising has been hit very hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of fundraising events have been cancelled and many charities, are struggling to maintain services because of this huge reduction in income.
We believe that mental health is important as physical health and our charity champions have launched a TEAM CHALLENGE with a personal target, to raise funds and support our charity partner Action Mental Health.
This September everyone involved has agreed to complete 5k a day. The minimum distance will be covered by a variety of activities including walking, swimming, cycling and running.
Statistics on mental illness in Northern Ireland can be shocking, and experts believe they will be on the rise because of the impact of the recent pandemic.
Did you know?
- One in five adults in Northern Ireland will show signs of a mental illness
- NI had the 2nd highest rates of mental ill-health, when matched to 17 other countries.
Stress is a major factor and AMH have recently launched a tool to help people build resilience and get through difficult times. To find our more about the four A’s of Avoid, Alter, Adapt and Accept check out the guide to relieve stress and regain control: Steps to relieve pressure and regain control
Our team are committed to doing what we can to help support the vital work of the charity across Northern Ireland. Who offer a range of support services including:
- Mental Health Awareness
- Education & Training Schools Programs
- Young People Personal Development & Support
- Eating Disorders Learning, Disability Mental Health in the Workplace
- Advice Counselling and much more.
Help us to support the vital work of all at AMH by visiting our JustGiving Page and making a donation today.
All support and donations are greatly appreciated.
Effective Communication Is Essential For Success and Growth.
Ongoing restrictions impact our ability to live the life we knew a few months ago. But with change there is always opportunity.
How and when we communicate has been transformed and many companies have responded to change by implementing technology to enable their staff to adapt quickly to more remote or hybrid ways of working.
Effective communication is essential for success and growth of every organisation.
Is it time for you to get curious about technology?
We believe in strength in partnership and are proud to work with a range of global technology suppliers to ensure our customers have access a range of collaboration tools and technology services which can streamline the employee and customer experience. These include two of the biggest technology companies in the communication and collaboration marketplace, 8×8 and Microsoft.
Did you know?
- Your employees can collaborate on any device, across the entire organisation, even when they are on the move or scattered across the globe.
- You can have peace of mind with the highest level of security and compliance requirements in place.
- Your teams can connect and collaborate as if they were in the same room using HD video conferencing.
- You can decide which is best for you. There are video, voice and chat options available to allow you to empower your customers and employees to communicate however they want.
During this time of massive upheaval and constant change, people want to work with and for business’ they can trust. Communication within teams and customers provides reassurance in tough times.
Remote working has become a bigger motivator for staff during the past five years. All signs suggest this trend will only continue to grow and that remote teams are the future of work.
With almost half of the UK population already working remotely stats would suggest that many would like it to continue, or at least have the option of some days at home.
A Gallup study of US workers found that 59% of those surveyed would like to continue working remotely.
This means a new kind of communications and approach is required to ensure employees benefit from better work life balance and do not feel disengaged or isolated. In turn the business will benefit from increased productivity, a reduction in employee turnover rates and decrease in overhead costs.
Technology can help promote meaningful interactions internally and externally.
Customers expectations are at an all time high and business communication is vital, as a positive customer experience is immensely reliant on communication.
IT is personal, every business has different needs and it is important to ensure you work with a technology partner you can trust to help you find the right solutions to assist your business to perform beyond expectations and communicate effectively.
Get in touch today to talk to one of our expert team about the range of technology services and solutions we offer. We are here and would be happy to help. Or check out this video of a short break out session hosted at our recent virtual event which focused on communications to find out more.
A recent project by our team for Kingspan Water & Energy Limited involved unifying communications to improve their customer experience and employee engagement, read more about their experience with our team by clicking here
Can IT Maximise Your Business Performance?
In the age of Covid-19, Device Maintenance is on many business’s minds. IT Performance, Data Recovery and Data Security are just a few of things that business leaders could be concerned about in the current situation.
Legacy infrastructure lacks the modern technologies required to support the demands of the ever-changing technologies, increased traffic, distributed data, complicated security and compliance needs, and other necessities for effective IT infrastructures.
They are also placing game-changing demands on existing networks.
Network transformation isn’t just needed: it’s inevitable. But the capital outlay required for a network overhaul causes many organisations to think it’s impossible. However, based on our experience with our customers, we can always find a way to help. Our range of services can be tailor-made to ensure they offer the best fit solution for your business needs.
The longer you wait, the less you gain
Delaying inevitable projects, such as the provisioning of Data Security, Disaster Recovery and Device Management, means your business waits longer to realise the value of transformation, and that value shrinks in the interim.
You don’t have to build your network transformation alone
We’re dedicated to helping our customers overcome any of challenges brought by the recent pandemic, our certified teams are innovative in their approach. To meet our customer needs we develop best in class solutions using a diverse range of highly regarded and proven global partners, to ensure our customers have access to the most advanced range of services and solutions available.
Whilst there is a lot of uncertainty of what the future will look like researchers believe the COVID-19 crisis is likely to significantly accelerate the shift to digital and fundamentally shake up the business landscape.
We are here and ready to help you build a transformation road map for your business that will deliver positive results.
Click here to check out a video of a breakout session at our recent RE:IMAGINE virtual event, hosted by Jonny & Barry. Watch and listen as the guys discuss ideas and share information on how technology could help improve your overall business performance.
Get in touch to discuss your business needs with one of our expert team today.
Think Bigger
Digitalisation puts Information Technology at the centre of business growth. Now is the perfect time for business’ to respond to changes, forced by the recent pandemic, with technology solutions.
Along with recovery it is imperative that companies think bigger, beyond the current situations and reinvent or re:imagine a new way forward. Senior business leaders must address company pain points and frustrations by encouraging open dialogue and listening to their teams.
Then respond by working with an IT Consultant and IT company they can trust.
Together they can develop a business relationship to ensure everyone involved has a complete understanding of current business objectives and future plans. To allow expert teams involved in creating business transformation options and ideas to deliver best fit technology solutions from a range of local and Global Partners.
Cloud, VoiP, SaaS, VPN, MFA , the list of services can be mind numbing. The tech world is full of acronyms and a range of services that are vast and different, one size does not fit all. But the correct technology solution, created with your business in mind can:
- Enable innovation
- Secure Information
- Inspire customer confidence
- Create a next-generation workforce
- Facilitate collaboration
- Support flexibility
- Accelerate Growth
Technology is an enabler, working with the right IT provider is critical to your business success. Our expert teams are made up of the best people ready to engage in dialogue, create ideas, develop solutions, implement services and deliver results that will MAKE LIFE BETTER for you and your business.
Talk to us about how we can help you begin, develop or expand your business transformation journey.
Keep Your Eyes Peeled For Security Threats
The world is changing, and alongside that the rapid pace of technology has picked up speed, leaving many business leaders confused and unsure of what is the best way forward for them. A primary focus for every business, regardless of industry, size or sector should be their I.T. security.
Do you consider online security as a top priority for your business?
The world’s largest work from home experiment is now underway, and over the next three years over 50% of the UK’s workforce, is expected to work from home, as part of their daily routine.
The extent to which a business can enable employees to perform effectively is dependent on many different factors, but I.T. security, in our opinion, should be number one.
The National Cyber Security centre releases a weekly report and recently stated: “With more organisations moving operations online, it has never been more important to ensure your defences are as robust as possible”
There has never been a better time to review your I.T. security.
- Are your staff aware of their IT security risk?
- Do your teams know what links they are clicking?
- Who is using their laptop?
- Are they using it for work and sharing with their kids for home school activities?
- Who are they sharing a network with?
- Is their network secure?
- Could your business recover from a breach?
We recommend that every business keep their staff informed of the danger of cyber attacks and build effective security awareness within their company communications, to ensure that staff do not become complacent and remain risk aware. Inform your teams of what to look out for, and the importance of keeping their eyes peeled and being vigilant about suspicious emails.
One effective way to mitigate risk is to introduce phishing campaigns to your business. These can pre-empt threats, improve overall awareness and ensure your employees know what to look for. If they do receive a real threat, they will be able to identify discrepancies and avoid clicking any suspicious links.
The question is when there will be a cyber-attack on your business? Not if.
We recommend a multi-layered approach to protecting your business from security breaches. Our services are tailor-made to suit your business requirements. We offer solutions which provide 24/7/365 security in the form of monitoring, alerts, security updates and can also provide vulnerability scans.
We believe that the single best way we can deal with the threat of cyber-attacks for our customers is to pro-actively stop them before they succeed. Our services are designed to offer maximum protection and peace of mind.
We have achieved Cyber Essentials Plus certification and partner with a range of global providers to ensure that we provide and implement the best bespoke cyber security solutions available to meet our customer needs.
Click the link below to watch a breakout session from our recent RE:IMAGINE virtual event which focused on security. Orla and Sandra discuss some services and solutions that you might be able to implement in your business to improve your IT security and defend against cyber-attack.
Kingspan Moves to the Cloud to Support Global Growth
Kingspan Water & Energy Limited Deploys 8×8 to Unify Communications and Customer Engagement on a Single Global Cloud-based Platform
We are delighted to be working alongside our Telecoms Partner 8×8, to deploy their X series to support the global growth plans, and streamline the employee and customer experience of Kingspan Water and Energy Limited, a Division of global high-performance insulation and building envelope solutions provider, Kingspan Group plc.
Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Ireland, Kingspan Group Plc has grown from a small family business to a global leader with more than 15,000 employees across over 70 countries. Growing predominantly through acquisitions, Kingspan Water and Energy was challenged by having many disparate legacy on-premises telephony and contact centre systems in use across the organisation.
With growing demand for a single voice, video, team chat and contact centre solution, Kingspan needed to retire legacy PBXs and contact centre solutions and bring everyone onto a new cloud communications platform to improve employee productivity and customer experience. There was also a need to address significant gaps identified in its customer analytics and data. With multiple vendors and platforms used across the business and in different locations, having a single view of a customer had been an almost impossible task. In order to achieve this they required a single vendor to unite data spanning across their international offices, providing them with the insights needed to remain competitive in their market.
Starting in the UK, Kingspan will deploy 550 seats of 8×8 cloud communications and contact center seats across six countries, with first line support provided by 8×8 and Outsource.
“We’re moving toward a digital workplace and it’s proving a powerful enabler for our business as we continue to grow. Not only does it allow us to improve employee productivity, but access to more data allows us to improve business insights and meet ever-changing customer needs. Working with local contacts at Outsource, who had global experience and expertise, was critical in helping us identify the best solution to meet our needs. We’ve got a great relationship with both Outsource and 8×8 that inspires confidence. They work hard, they’re responsive, and their solutions lead the field, based on our experience,” said Richard Gray, IT Manager – Operations, Kingspan Water and Energy.
“We are delighted to be working with Kingspan as they make their move to the cloud. 8×8 is committed to helping organisations improve employee productivity and customer experience as well enabling them to operate from anywhere, should they need to,” said Jamie Snaddon, Managing Director, EMEA, 8×8.
“We developed a great relationship locally with Kinsgpan to ensure we fully understood their global needs and future growth plans. Having vast experience in delivering solutions to mission critical business’, and many years of experience with our partner 8×8, helped us to identify the needs and business benefits for a secure unified communications solution. We set out to enable team collaboration, eliminate information silos and give access to real-time intelligence in a single secure platform, for a team who work across multiple geographies. We are confident the solution implemented will scale according to growth plans, ensure that ever changing customer needs can be met, and make life better for everyone at Kingspan.” said Terry Moore, MD, Outsource.
To find out more about our Telecoms services and how together with 8×8 we can improve your employee productivity and customer experience with Unified Communications solutions click here.
