Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for your continued support and trust throughout the year.

Please note that we will be closed on the following days:
Monday 25th December 2023
Tuesday 26th December 2023
Monday 1st January 2024

During this time, our usual out-of-hours service will be available. As we embrace the holiday spirit, the team wore their most cheerful, quirky and festive jumpers. Great to see everyone at the team meeting and lunch.

We’re also proud to have supported Mission Christmas, helping kids in need in Northern Ireland, and donated to a local Mother and Baby unit. Well done team for a great effort.

As a leader in providing cutting-edge managed services, Outsource Group is proud to announce the evolution of its flagship offering from Outsource Managed Service to Outsource Managed Security. This change represents a significant enhancement in our commitment to safeguarding businesses in the rapidly changing digital landscape.

A New Era of Digital Security

In an age where digital security is more crucial than ever, we have recognised the need for a more focused approach towards protecting clients’ data and systems. Outsource Managed Security is not just a new name; it’s a redefined mission to offer superior protection, ensuring that businesses are not only running efficiently but are also shielded against modern cyber threats.

Three Pillars of Excellence

Our enhanced service is built on three foundational pillars:

1. Recovery: Guaranteeing 100% recovery of your data, we ensure that your business is prepared for any eventuality.
2. Security: Offering superior protection for your systems and data, we’re setting new standards in digital safety.
3. Performance: Our service ensures your business operates at peak productivity, without any compromises on security.

Aligning with Cyber Security Standards

This upgrade is not just a step forward for our service offerings but a leap towards aligning with essential cyber security standards. We are empowering businesses to stay competitive and secure in a rapidly advancing digital age.

Commitment to Your Security

At Outsource Group, your business’ security is our top priority. We are thrilled to embark on this enhanced journey with our clients and assure you of our unwavering commitment to your digital safety.

Terry Moore, CEO wins Outstanding Contribution to the IT Sector award presented by Noel Brady, Managing Director, NB1 Ltd

The award for Outstanding Contribution to the IT sector was given to IT veteran and Outsource Group chief executive Terry Moore.

Terry’s commitment to his team, customers and industry helps him lift Outstanding Contribution to the IT Sector award | BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

Following a referral from Ofcom, The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an independent market investigation into concerns around competition across cloud service providers.

Specifically, AWS and Azure have a combined market share of approximately 80% of the £7.5 billion UK market, based on the 2022 numbers.  The main areas of concern are:

• Egress fees: charges levied on customers to transfer their own data out of these cloud services, and between other cloud providers.
• Technical barriers: lack of interoperability and therefore portability, requiring significant developments and reconfiguration to move applications between cloud providers and on-prem infrastructures.
• Discounts: incentives structured in a way to attract new customers and strengthen vendor lock in.

The above make it difficult, unattractive, and in some cases financially prohibitive for customers to freely move between cloud providers and on-premise infrastructures.

OSG Cloud has been designed both technically and commercially to address these anti-competitive practices.

• Simple, open and transparent pricing.  No complex consumption billing models based on variables that are impossible to accurately predict and plan for.  All inclusive pricing with no hidden egress charges; customers are free to move their data whenever and to wherever they want.
• Built on VMWare Cloud Foundation (VCF) provides a consistent and standardised infrastructure and configuration across hyperscale cloud service providers, as well as specialist and local cloud providers, and on-premise infrastructures.  Zero technical barriers to move, with no reconfiguration or development of applications required.  Maximum flexibility and portability.

At Outsource Group, we believe that you should always chose the most appropriate cloud or infrastructure for your applications.  That decision should always be based on the technical and business requirements.  Once the requirements have been satisfied, then buying smart and maximising budgets is critical; not the other way around.  We’re not interested in locking customers in.  Instead by providing the right technical solution with simple and transparent pricing, customers chose to stay with us because they want to, not because the ‘feel’ they have to.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-launches-market-investigation-into-cloud-services

As businesses continue to embrace and rely on technologies to operate, the scale and complexity of cyber attacks continues to grow. Investment in PREVENTION measures continue to be a fundamental requirement for every business, but increasingly businesses are realising that they need to do more, leading to an increased focus on THREAT DETECTION, (finding and stopping threats before they can attempt to breach your security) and the rise of SOC services.

Historically the levels of technical sophistication, cost of cutting-edge analysis tools, and expert skillsets required to operate a top tier SOC were only financially viable for enterprise customers, however that is changing. We are beginning to see SOC providers offering more flexible, bespoke offerings, with service offerings designed in partnership with individual business needs and affordability, allowing both Enterprise and SME’s to find the right SOC and relevant services for their needs.

The primary benefit of using a SOC is that it uses intelligent tooling, more extensive monitoring, massive data crunching and a dedicated technical team which proactively finds threats and stops attacks.

Other benefits include;

• 24/7/365 Protection – attacks are not restricted to working hours.
• Speed of Response – pro-actively detected, investigated and dealt with earlier.
• Reduced Costs – it is significantly more cost effective to protect and deter cyber threats, than to react and deal with the consequences of a successful breach.
• Proactive Rather Than Reactive Model – use of intelligent Threat Hunting prevents attacks happening in the first place.
• Skilled Security Focused Staff – dedicated and experienced staff fully focused on specialised security roles.
• Improved Business Reputation – indicates to internal and external stakeholders that the business takes data security, privacy, and regulatory compliance seriously.

SOC providers offer a comprehensive range of services. In order to secure the best SOC and services for your business, some areas you should consider in your assessment;

• Does the SOC use top tier technology partners which have the capacity to grow with your business needs – what tools are being used, is there an over reliance on one technology or provider.
• What Security Incident and Event Management (SIEM) is the SOC relying on, how does the market rate its performance, can it perform real-time and historical cross correlation at speed?
• How does the SOC log events and deal with data – event log and network flow data consolidation is about raw information and storage, required for auditing and compliance purposes.
• Threat Detection – what tools are used and what sources are covered in terms of geography and sectors. How many intelligence feeds are typically analysed and is the analysis static or continuously learning.
• You are paying for expertise, not incidents, so consider the expertise and experiences of the team operating the SOC, are they dedicated SOC staff.
• Can the SOC integrate with the way your business functions and convert that intelligence into action, any benefit will not be fully realised.
• Are Consultancy Services available to undertake security assessments, generate implementation plans and provide holistic security advice.

Outsource Group deliver a wide range of SOC services, with a focus on working with customers to both understand their business requirements but also to design the right suite of SOC services to satisfy their needs.

If you are considering SOC services or want to find out more get in touch.

Join us at Connect 2023 to discover the latest technological advances in IT, Power and Security, with an emphasis on Artificial Intelligence. 

Outsource Group is delighted to sponsor this one day industry event on HMS Caroline showcasing solutions that can be implemented to drive efficiencies in your business.

There will be a trade exhibition with presentations delivered by industry experts and you will have the opportunity to tour this historic ‘floating museum’ and enjoy lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

​Save the Date Thursday 28th September at HMS Caroline

Discover how the latest technologies, including Artificial Intelligence can benefit your business.

Register to attend RSVP | Connect 2023 (connect-event.co.uk)

We are delighted to take part in the panel of speakers at the annual NI SME Business Conference & Expo. This year, the conference will take place on Thursday 28th September 2023 in the Canal Court Hotel & Spa, Newry.

It is supported by Principal Sponsor, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, Supporting Sponsors, FSB Northern Ireland, British Business Bank and SRC.

You can view the full programme HERE and view the full list of exhibitors HERE who will be at the conference to provide help, support and advice on the day.

The conference will include a combination of keynote addresses, panel discussions and six workshops covering the most topical issues for SMEs.

DATE:    Thursday 28th September 2023
TIME:     8am – 2:30pm (Breakfast & Lunch Included)
VENUE: Canal Court Hotel & Spa, Newry
COST:    FREE for Newry Chamber Members

𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘: https://lnkd.in/erpVKzjz

Tara Leathem has been appointed as the new Business Development Manager at Outsource Group. Tara has over 20 years of experience in business development and software solutions, IT and renewable energy, owning her own business for 10 years, which offered web solutions to over 120 clients across Northern Ireland and Ireland. At Outsource Group, Tara will be overseeing all new business development activities across IT Managed Services, Cyber Security, Cloud and Telecoms as well as developing relationships with the company’s current client base. She will also be seeking new business development opportunities in both the public and private sectors.

An employee at one of NI’s leading IT security and managed services providers, Outsource Group, has become one of the first people – and the first woman – in Northern Ireland to become an assured Cyber Advisor (Cyber Essentials).

Sandra Quinn from Cookstown who has been working at Outsource Group for 9 years, most recently in a Cyber Advisor position, is leading the way for women in the tech industry in Northern Ireland. She recently became a registered Cyber Advisor, making her the first female in Northern Ireland to hold this recognised and trusted position.

Cyber Advisor is the National Cyber Security Centre’s new Industry Assurance scheme delivered in partnership with IASME. It provides small and medium sized organisations with reliable and cost effective cyber security advice and practical support.  This has become increasingly important due to the adoption of digital technology for products and services, expedited by the pandemic. To gain this accreditation, all cyber advisors have passed an independent assessment which measured their knowledge and understanding of Cyber Essentials’ technical controls, competence in providing practical and hands-on support and ability to understand and work with small and medium sized organisations.

Outsource Group, headquartered in Antrim, was founded in 2000 and offers a broad range of technology support and services to customers in the UK and Ireland, with an increasing focus in recent years on embedding IT security in everything it does.  Outsource Group are now trained and licensed to assess and certify against all levels of the Government’s Cyber Essentials scheme and provide guidance and assistance to organisations aiming to achieve certification.

Speaking of her achievement, Sandra commented: “I am delighted to be the first female in Northern Ireland to have achieved the status of Cyber Advisor (Cyber Essentials). At Outsource Group, we pride ourselves in offering a high-quality service and this is yet another step in our journey as a company leading the way as one of the fastest growing IT managed services companies.”

“As a female working in the male dominated tech industry, I know the challenges that we can face, and I hope that I can help to lead the way for other females in the tech industry.”

Terry Moore, CEO of Outsource Group, said: “It is fantastic to see Outsource Group lead the way in cyber security as we see an increasing demand for advice on cyber security in the industry. We are on a journey to being the number one managed services company for security and this is a really important next step in this journey as it further enhances our skills and showcases our abilities in this area.”

Sandra has also recently completed the Empowering Women to Lead programme which is a three-month unique cross-sector initiative, backed by industry and government, which aims to support the creation of a sustainable network of empowered female leaders in digital transformation and cyber security across the UK tech sector. The model for the programmes is built around regional cohorts of digital professionals from public, private and third sector organisations, who are selected from an open application process to take part in three months of intensive leadership coaching, culminating in a group project specifically designed around a key challenge facing civic society, which cyber security and information management can help to address.

Outsource Group is delighted to collaborate with IoD NI to present a keynote event for business leaders who worry about their organisation’s readiness to face a cyber-attack.

➡️ Gina McIntyre, CEO, Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) – European Funding
➡️ Paul Woods, Detective Chief Inspector, Head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland Crime Centre
➡️ Scott Roberts, Cyber Resilience Director EMEA, Dell Technologies

Breakfast is included at this event and places are limited. This event is open to members and non-members of the IoD Northern Ireland

Please register now to secure your place https://bit.ly/3ofJGR7

Outsource Group is delighted to announce that we have gained two internationally recognised certifications, ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies) composed of representatives from the national standards of organisations of members countries.

The first of the certifications to be recently gained by Outsource Group is ISO 9001, the world’s most recognised quality management system standard which is given to companies that have achieved management excellence in their quality management systems.

In addition to this, Outsource Group has also gained the accreditation of ISO 14001, the internationally recognised standard for the environmental management of businesses, prescribing controls for those activities that have an effect on the environment.

Terry Moore, CEO of Outsource Group, commented on this recent success: “I am delighted that Outsource has gained these excellent certifications which are a reflection of the business as we continue to grow. It underlines our commitment to our customers and our focus on quality as well as being proactive towards our environmental management and reducing our carbon impact.”.

With the increasing frequency of cyber threat due to the reliance organisations now place on IT, digital forensics has become an important part of the cyber security world. 

Expedited by the global pandemic, today data is stored on a wide range of digital devices, making it increasingly easy for hackers planning a cyber-attack. 

The term forensics has been used for many years and has its origins in the Latin word forensis, meaning “pertaining to the forum”, or as we now refer to it, the courts. Cyber crimes are not easy to investigate because the crime scene exists in the digital world.  Digital forensics is a branch of cybersecurity which focuses on the recovery and investigation of material found in digital devices. It is the process of identifying, preserving, analysing, and documenting digital evidence to a standard that can be presented as evidence in court, if required. 

This can include civil cases, employment tribunals and even internal disciplinary hearings. A common factor is that all hearings will require evidence to be produced to the highest possible standard before it can become admissible. 

In a digital forensic process, the type and location of data may not be known or fully understood. It could involve the recovery and analysis of deleted or hidden data and the analysis of artifacts from inaccessible areas of the file system which need to be interpreted by the expert and ultimately presented and explained to the court. This will often require an opinion to be given, which in a court will require the person providing the evidence to be considered an expert in their field. 

Businesses seeking digital forensics services need to act fast to ensure the digital evidence is preserved for the investigation process.  One of the most common issues in digital forensics is that an organisation will request an investigation into something that happened months prior, only to discover that their software licencing only retains log files for one month or that logs have been overwritten before being backed up to a secure location.  It is not uncommon to find that computers have been in regular use since the alleged incident or even that they have been wiped and reallocated to another member of staff. This can often have a negative impact on the outcome of the investigation.  

An unwanted incident can lead to a wide range of issues including insurance claims and legal matters. Therefore, having a forensic readiness plan in place can assist your organisation in its response to any incident by ensuring that vital digital evidence is collected, preserved and protected by competent staff using approved methods. Having a forensic readiness plan can also minimise the costs of investigations, block the opportunity of cyber threat and show due diligence and good corporate governance as well as determining the next logical steps your business needs to take to ensure your cybersecurity. Indeed, many government departments and agencies are now required to have a forensic readiness policy in place, as the government security policy framework states that, “well-tested plans, policies and procedures will reduce organisations’ vulnerability to security incidents”. 

Effective leadership is a critical component of good security and accountability. It is ANSEC’s recommendation that the leadership team in any organisation should give serious consideration to the implementation of a forensic readiness policy if they have not already done so. 

While many organisations are currently aware of the need for business continuity plans, they should also consider the need for a forensic readiness plan to minimise the potential issues that could arise and to ensure that digital evidence is gathered appropriately and treated with due care. 

The importance of forensic readiness for businesses – The Irish News

ANTRIM-based IT security and services firm Outsource Group has landed a significant deal with a leading consumer goods company in Dublin to provide a full refresh of its IT infrastructure.

The contract – worth close to €500,000 – has been done with Stafford Lynch Ltd, the sales, marketing and distribution company for major brands like San Pellegrino, Schwartz, Dr Oetker and Tony’s Chocolonely.

As well as creating a new highly secure IT infrastructure for the client, the project includes the provision of a fully integrated service desk, software and hardware updates, and full disaster recovery.

Terry Moore, chief executive of Outsource Group, says this will help Stafford Lynch, which has more than 100 staff, to ensure it operates modern and robust IT and to continue to deliver best in class services to its customers.

He said: “Stafford Lynch is a well-established and highly successful business with world-leading brands as customers. They understand how crucial modern and robust IT is to their operations and we are pleased they have entrusted Outsource Group with this vitally important project.

“The objective of the project is to provide a reliable, secure and supported modern IT estate, enabling the highest levels of system availability to underpin the continuous operations of the business.

“The new IT infrastructure will be highly secure, well-integrated and optimised to reduce support complexity,” he adds.

Outsource Group employs almost 100 people and offers a broad range of technology support and services to customers in the UK and Ireland, with an increasing focus in recent years on embedding IT security in everything it does.

Stafford Lynch, based in Ballycoolin and operating for nearly 50 years, provides distribution and marketing and sales activation services to many industries including retail and grocery, food service and pharmacy. Other brands it works with include Wilkinson Sword, Baxters and Tetley.

Its head of finance and IT Triona Kelly said: “We are excited to partner with Outsource and have full confidence their expertise and solutions will enable us to enhance our services to customers and continue our growth in the Irish FMCG industry.

“We tendered across the island of Ireland and felt Outsource Group put together an outstanding proposal that adds significant value to our business.”

Outsource Group recently announced plans to increase its workforce, and with a series of new contract wins, continues to recruit for a range of technical and non-technical roles.

Belfast’s recent staging of CYBERUK 2023, the UK’s flagship cyber security event, was a fitting symbol of Northern Ireland’s new-found status as a leading global cyber security hub, with hundreds of businesses now contributing jobs and millions of pounds in investment to the local economy.

One of the foundations of this success has been the reputation and achievements of local indigenous IT focused firms, such as the Outsource Group, an IT security and managed services group of companies which has been innovating and delivering cyber security solutions to the local market for over two decades.

Founded by IT innovator Terry Moore in 2000, Outsource Group has grown year-on-year into what is now recognised as the leading locally owned IT security and managed services business in Northern Ireland, with over 70 staff, five offices and a compelling suite of IT related services on offer.

Originally established as a IT managed services business, Outsource has grown into a security focused group, with IT security underpinning all products and services. Security is the number one priority of Outsource, whether it be via our suite of managed services, cloud, telecoms or consultancy offerings.

To further enhance the Outsource focus on security and as part of the group’s growth plans in 2022, Outsource acquired one of the most highly respected cyber security consultancies, on these islands and beyond, in ANSEC IA.

This acquisition was a key part of Outsource’s strategic decision to become the “powerhouse in IT security services”, with ANSEC adding  additional skills, experience and reputation, underpinned with some  of the most experienced and technically proficient security consultants in the industry.

Based on this growing reputation for service, innovation and delivery, the growth of Outsource has no longer confined to Northern Ireland, with additional new business secured in the last 12 months in ROI, USA and Australia.

Terry Moore says: “Despite our overseas success stories, Northern Ireland will always be our core market, with the region’s growing reputation as a global hub for cyber security underpinning our growth plans. Being involved in CYBERUK 2023 and having the USA President Joe Biden tell the world that Northern Ireland is leading the world in Cyber Security, all helps cement this place as a world leader in cyber security.”

With specific regard to the recent acquisition of ANSEC, Terry goes on to say: “Businesses like ANSEC are key to developing the Outsource global brand. The acquisition is a statement to the market that any company which requires exceptional levels of security expertise and experience need to consider Outsource as the ‘go to’ group for IT security. No other local company can provide the depth and breadth of security services that Outsource can and with all group technical staff holding individual security clearances no other group in Northern Ireland can deliver the levels of security support and services, to every public or private entities, on these islands and beyond”.

Outsource’s plans remain to double in size over the next three years, which is supported by the acquisition of ANSEC, however the group continues to seek additional new acquisition opportunities, where it is considered its expertise or footprint could be further enhanced.

The group is also experiencing strong growth in its new cloud business, OSG Cloud. Another wholly-owned subsidiary of Outsource Group, OSG Cloud was formally built and developed in partnership with the Dell Group and is a full Dell, VMware, Veeam designed hyperscale cloud and direct competitor to the market-dominating ‘Big 3’ Public cloud providers of Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Service and Google.

Terry explains: “OSG Cloud was another innovation by the group and was developed from the ground up in partnership with the leading global IT solution providers in the world. Our Cloud delivers an enterprise grade solution to the mass market, delivering greater performance than the incumbent players at more competitive, ‘guaranteed’ price points. With the entire solution built with a security first objective, OSG Cloud will enable businesses to accelerate productivity, optimise IT, and maximise return on investment.”

“OSG Cloud enjoyed exceptional results across its first full 12 months of trading, exceeding all our expectations by recovering its initial capital investment and enjoying a positive cashflow position, almost two-years ahead of original forecasts. We expect the extremely strong demand for OSG Cloud to continue as companies prioritise cyber resiliency and disaster recovery services,” he continues.

Like all fast-growing businesses in the IT sector, a big challenge is around finding enough high quality people to enable and sustain expansion. Outsource Group has had real success in this area though, more than doubling its workforce in the past few years. The company puts a high priority on its culture and on providing learning and development opportunities for its team.

Terry Moore says that this has been really important in attracting talent. But he says that they have big plans to further enhance their offering.

“To sustain growth in the IT sector, you need great people and to get great people, you need to offer a great working environment where people are paid well for what they do, treated extremely well, and given everything they need to learn, perform, develop and grow. That’s where our focus is, and we’re working hard to further enhance our offering, with new benefits and incentives being added at the minute,” he continues.

“2023 won’t be without its challenges, and continuing to attract the right talent is one of them. But we expect this to be another very strong year for Outsource Group, and we’re excited about the possibilities this year and into the years ahead.”

In the High Flyers spotlight this week is Susan Hill, head of people and culture at Outsource Group

What was your first job?

Working as a waitress in a hotel restaurant which gave me a great start in life, growing my confidence, and I will encourage my daughters to do the same.

What qualifications do you have?

I have a BA honours degree in international business studies and I am a Fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. I also completed the CoachWise programme and am currently studying for ILM Level 7 in executive coaching.

What do you attribute your success to?

Heading out to work at an early age, being encouraged by my parents to understand the value of money. Making some good educational decisions with support from my parents but being allowed to own those decisions. Moving from grammar school to the local college to study the subjects that I wanted which led me to university.

How would you describe yourself to someone who’d never met you?

I would say that I am caring, empathetic, and a good listener.

Who do you look up to in business?

Directors of Northern Ireland companies who have created real success stories. Coming from 13 years with Novosco, Patrick McAliskey, John Lennon, Karen Shearer and Gary Parkinson are definitely at the top of my list. Terry Moore and Eamonn Bunting from Outsource. The company is on an exciting growth trajectory with a great vision for the company.

How do you get the best out of people who work with you or for you?

By treating everyone with respect. I also like to find out about people and their story, from there you build trust and a good rapport.

If you could change one thing about doing business in Northern Ireland, what would it be?

The recruitment challenges were difficult in 2022 especially within IT. The cost of living crisis greatly impacted this and people were understandably reluctant to move jobs. This year, I am focusing on being more innovative in the use of recruitment tools, building on the great culture that exists within Outsource Group, and getting out there and telling people about it.

What website or App could you not do without?

Spotify – for music and podcasts.

What was the last book you read?

Simple Scaling by Brendan McGurgan and Claire Colvin.

What car do you drive?

Audi, A3 – hoping to move to an electric car soon and Outsource are in the process of implementing this.

Tell us something interesting about yourself?

I recently signed up to the Friends of the Cancer Centre 100k Your Way challenge with two Outsource colleagues and we plan to extend that out to 300k.

What’s your greatest passion outside work and family?

Going to the gym. We have just put a small gym into our garage and my daughter and I have also joined our local Hitzone gym together, so this year I want to get fit and healthy.

HIGH FLYERS: Susan focuses on being innovative in the use of recruitment tools – The Irish News

Another fantastic effort by the team at Outsource Group. This year our chosen charity was to support Mission Christmas | Cash for Kids Northern Ireland and we had a special visitor to come collect the toys himself. 😜🎄

#christmas2022 #cashforkids #missionchristmas

We could not be prouder of our colleague Sandra Quinn on graduating from ‘Empowering Women to Lead Cyber Security’ program. Well done Sandra, you rock 👊

#cybHERNI #Cybersecurity #femaleleaders #talent #NICyberSec #womenintech #womenincyber #inspriation Empowering-You

BELFAST TELEGRAPH INTERVIEW: 15/11/2022

Terry Moore founded Outsource Group 22 years ago, and his ambitions haven’t dimmed over those two decades. A sale of the business definitely isn’t on the cards.

The managed IT services and security provider has 70 staff and is on course to employ 100 people. Last year it acquired cyber-security provider ANSEC IA.

This year, it secured three new contracts for its OSG Cloud business from transport, homeware and hospitality companies, and announced the appointment of Novosco co-founder Patrick McAliskey as chairman.

Terry says: “My aim is to grow Outsource to be the number one managed services and security provider in Northern Ireland.

“To me, that probably means sticking at it and getting the job done, and not going for an exit.

“I have an image in my head of what success looks like and exit doesn’t form any part of that definition.

“The group is at about £10m in revenue and our aim will be to push out, maybe moving to £40m.”

Our interview takes place during a wave of job losses in the tech sector, affecting big players like Twitter and Meta.

Another big headache, that’s particularly acute for tech and IT, is the dilemma over whether to coax or even force your staff back into the office.

Terry thinks the best approach is a middle of the road one. A bit of the office can do us good, he maintains. “Somebody explained it to me yesterday as, on the one hand you give your kids medicine, they don’t want it and you don’t want to have it give it to them, but everybody will feel a lot better once they take it.”

The issue of working from home has been a bugbear for new Twitter owner Elon Musk. He banned remote working, not long after sacking half his workforce.

“There’s a lot of upheaval and everyone is trying to interpret the upheaval in their own way so the story suits their own agenda,” Terry says.

“I would say that certainly there’s been a far amount of fat built into that industry over the years and it certainly feels like job losses were always coming.

“The size and economics of some of those businesses doesn’t seem to stack up unless they can continue to fuel continuous, stellar growth, and that doesn’t seem as if it was ever likely.

“But they’ll maybe confound us all and reset and go again.”

He thinks there are big questions for the industry over remote working. “There’s the idea that you just make it okay to never work in the office again, then there’s the Elon Musk approach that if you want to work from home, you work somewhere else.

“There are two extremes, and the best approach is probably somewhere in the middle.”

His own business, which includes ANSEC IA after acquiring the cyber-security specialist last year, has a routine of getting people in on ‘core days’. “It’s trying to create moments where groups of people can get together so that we get that overused word, ‘synergy’.

“It’s very hard to achieve that when people aren’t rubbing off each other and getting those wee interactions that produce something that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.

“I wouldn’t say we’re forcing it or taking a really heavy hand, but we’re trying to say that there are loads of benefits to being around each other.

“One of our best people has worked in Scotland from the day we hired him. He’s been in our building in Antrim about 10 times in the last four years. But we do have a number of roles where it’s just impossible not to come into the office, and with those, we have to say, remote won’t work.”

The company last month took its workforce on a teambuilding weekend in Spain, involving watersports and socialising. “No matter what they say, people want to be together again.

Outsource Group founder Terry Moore: ‘An exit doesn’t form any part of my definition of what success looks like’ – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

Outsource Group is proud to have signed the Climate Action Pledge, a public commitment to achieve a 30% – 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions before 2030. The Climate Action Pledge is part of Business Action on Climate, a collaborative that puts Northern Ireland businesses at the forefront of action on the climate emergency. Businesses have an important part to play in addressing the climate crisis, and Outsource Group is at the forefront of the action in Northern Ireland.

Outsource Group has secured three new contracts for its fast-growing OSG Cloud business across the transport, homeware and hospitality sectors.

TST Group, Maestro and Bedeck are the latest customers to sign up for the services offered by the Antrim-headquartered company. This brings OSG Cloud’s customer-base to over 50 companies, spanning Europe, the Middle East & Africa and North America.

TST is one of the UK and Ireland’s major haulage and logistics companies, Canada-based Maestro PMS provides technology for hotels around the world, and Bedeck is the UK’s leading luxury bedding brands with retailer outlets across the UK and Ireland.

These new contracts and the 50 + contracts secured since last year, have delivered exceptional results, and Outsource has exceeded all expectations by recovering its entire capital investment 3 years earlier than planned.

OSG Cloud, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Outsource Group, launched last year with a mission to provide an alternative to the ‘Big 3’ Public cloud providers of Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Service and Google.

Terry Moore, CEO of Outsource Group says: “OSG Cloud’s goal was to deliver guaranteed performance, security, reliability and recoverability for enterprise applications and IT workloads.  At the same time demystifying the commercial and billing models; putting an end to ‘bill shock’ that many businesses have begrudgingly been tolerating for years.”

“OSG Cloud has enjoyed exceptional results across its first full 12 months of trading, exceeding all our expectations by recovering its initial capital investment and enjoying a positive cashflow position, almost two-years ahead of original forecasts.

“We expect the extremely strong demand for OSG Cloud to continue as companies prioritise cyber resiliency and disaster recovery services,” he continues.

“With our recent acquisition of Ansec IA, the expertise that now exists within the group lays the foundations for many exciting new products and services that will bring together the best technology, people and processes.  Providing world class security, resiliency and absolute recoverability solutions that help enterprises achieve and protect their investments in digital transformation,” he adds.

Outsource Group, headquartered in Antrim, was founded in 2000 and offers a broad range of technology support and services to customers in the UK and Ireland, with an increasing focus in recent years on embedding IT security in everything it does. It recently merged with ANSEC IA, one of the most highly regarded IT security consultancies in the UK & Ireland.

Outsource Group currently employs around 70 people and expects to grow that to over 100 this year. Longer-term, the group has aggressive growth plans at home and abroad, with a number of additional strategic opportunities currently being progressed, which will see staff numbers and revenues continue to grow significantly year-on-year.

Outsource Group is delighted to announce that the OSG Cloud business has secured a place on the G-Cloud 13 Framework, which launches in November. We are very proud to be an approved supplier and looking forward to working with more public sector customers.

#cloud #hosting #gcloud13 #consultancy #framework

Outsource Group, the Antrim headquartered IT services business with five offices across the UK and Ireland, is actively recruiting for another 40 new roles that will primarily be based in Northern Ireland. 

The company, which acquired ANSEC IA, the leading IT security consultancy in NI, earlier this year, has experienced ongoing stellar demand for its products and services from across all of its markets this year securing high profile customers locally and abroad. 

The new roles are primarily sales and technical positions, including technical support engineers, project engineers, sales support executives and account managers. Recruitment for the positions is already underway, and once filled, they will take the company’s headcount to over 100 people, with additional growth plans thereafter. 

Terry Moore, CEO of Outsource Group says: “The unprecedented success of our market beating OSG Cloud suite of services and IT Managed Services & Security offerings, have been further enhanced with the inclusion of the UK’s leading dedicated security consultants in Ansec. Security has always underpinned what we do at Outsource, however as businesses face into an unprecedented threat landscape, we have pro-actively taken steps to firmly establish Outsource as the leading IT & Security Managed Services business in NI and beyond. We believe the local market both needs and should expect exceptional levels of expert security advice and support from their IT partner. Our proven model has contributed to another year of record breaking growth, securing some of NI’s most high profile enterprise customers and a pipeline of new business that will see the Outsource Group continue to grow and break records”. 

 “There is no doubt recruiting in the IT sector remains challenging however our focus on staff development and wellbeing, the work flexibility we offer, our enhanced remuneration packages and the ability for staff to work with leading technologies in a multi-award winning company, all underpinned with a culture where our people really matter, have all helped us secure and retain some of the best talent in the marketplace. Being headquartered in Antrim, a 20 minute commute out of Belfast, has also ensured that we are recruiting from the largest talent pool across Northern Ireland,” he continues. 

Outsource Group was founded in 2000 by CEO Terry Moore and now has offices in Antrim, Belfast, Cookstown, Dublin and Edinburgh. Earlier this year, the company won the Best Medium Sized Business in NI and appointed IT entrepreneur Patrick McAliskey as its chairman to support the continuing growth plans of the company.

To find out more Careers, Jobs – Outsource Solutions (osgroup.co.uk)

Outsource Group announces 40 new Jobs

We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace and value each and every one of our employees. We are absolutely delighted to achieve the Diversity Mark Accreditation for the 2nd year running. We will continue to build on this achievement and are committed to developing on this journey.

The Diversity Charter Mark is awarded to companies following an independent panel assessment. It is a ‘mark of progress’ that publicly declares a company has reached the required standard of commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion to benefit all employees. Outsource Group is committed to creating an inclusive environment, accepting of every individual’s differences, enabling all employees to achieve their full potential, and as a result, allowing the business to reach its fullest potential. By valuing each person’s differences, everyone can contribute their unique experiences, which can have an extremely positive impact on work, other employees, motivation, productivity and client experience.

In a strong field of successful companies from across Northern Ireland, Outsource have been named the Best Medium Sized Company in NI.

Outsource CEO Terry Moore commented “This is an amazing achievement for the Outsource Group and reflects on the successful development of our business in recent years. With the introduction of our market beating OSG Cloud offering and the joining of forces with Ansec, the NI’s premier IT Security & Consultancy business we are establishing our business as a powerhouse in IT and Security. Our aggressive growth plans will continue to focus on leading the market with more new services and solutions in the pipeline, all underpinned by the most dedicated and diligent staff in the market”

OUTSOURCE GROUP and IT SECURITY LEADER ANSEC IA to JOIN FORCES.

       Creating the leading NI based Security and IT Managed Services Group

ANSEC IA become part of the Outsource Group, creating a ‘powerhouse in security-focused IT managed services’ with plans to employ a workforce of over 100 people by the end of this year and aggressive future growth plans, locally and beyond.

ANSEC IA is Northern Ireland’s leading IT security consultancy with an exceptional reputation dealing with public and private companies across the globe. It was recently named by Invest NI as a cyber security company to watch.

Terry Moore, CEO of Outsource Group, says that as a result of this merger the group will be the number 1 ‘go to’ IT partner for businesses ‘WHEN SECURITY MATTERS’.

“Outsource Group is one of the fastest-growing IT managed services companies in Northern Ireland with a wide range of SME & Enterprise customers. One of the areas in which we are seeing demand grow most quickly and where we see the biggest growth opportunity is in cyber security,” he points out.

“Our merger with ANSEC IA and the exceptional security skills and expertise they bring, will allow us to accelerate that growth and offer a truly market-leading cyber-security suite of services and solutions. I have no doubt that the combined experience and skills of both companies will deliver the leading power-house and go-to group for security-focused managed services,” he adds.

Peter Leitch, Managing Partner of ANSEC IA added: “Over 20 years we have exclusively focused on improving the security posture of businesses in NI and across the globe. Dealing with Outsource it became clear to us very quickly that they also understand why security needs to be the backbone of all things IT. They understand that security is about more than a range of products; it is a business risk management process that should cover all aspects of every organization. We believe that ANSEC IA can therefore complement and add huge value to the group and help take it to the next level in terms of offering world-class, enterprise-level, security-focused services to a wider range of customers across the UK and Ireland.”

To deliver on ambitious plans, we need ambitious people – so if you want to join us on our journey and be part of something special, email your CV – (CV delivered directly to a senior Director in the group and treated as totally Strictly Private and Confidential).

. #business #innovation #cloud

Outsource are absolutely delighted to have been awarded the Dell Technologies Rising Star Award 2021.

In presenting this Colm Greene, Director Channel Sales for Dell Ireland commented “We recognise Outsource’s commitment to growth and the innovation they have demonstrated and more importantly being brave and approaching things differently across what’s been a very strange and challenging year“.

With such a strong shortlist, (congratulations again to the other nominees, BT, Softcat and EOS), this is a major achievement for Outsource and highlights the dedication of our staff, our commitment to our customers and a significant stamp of approval for Outsource from one of the world’s leading IT companies.

To be shortlisted in the Dell Technologies Partner Awards 2021 in one category is Excellent, but to be shortlisted in two categories, is a tremendous achievement and an absolutely Fantastic recognition of our staff, customers and industry recognition of our future growth plans

We are thrilled to have been shortlisted in the national Awards 2021 in the following two categories;

–  GROWTH PARTNER OF THE YEAR 2021
&
–  RISING STAR 2021

With such strong competition and excellent nationally recognised fellow nominees, we already feel like winners making it this far, but to get an award on the night would be very special for everyone at Outsource and OSG Cloud – fingers crossed.

It’s that season again where sport is dominating the headlines and screens are filled with athletes competing and pushing themselves to achieve their absolute best on the world stage of the Olympics. Everyone is striving to attain the top performing gold medal and make their home country proud

Like Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy, who won Ireland’s first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday with a stunning victory in the lightweight men’s double sculls. Hours on the water and years of training paid off.

In a humorous interview with the BBC, asked how being an Olympic gold medal-winning athlete sounded, O’Donovan said: “It’s alright, yeah. You can’t complain about it really. I wouldn’t go around introducing myself like that though.”

He seems fully aware and not at all bothered that the Olympic coverage will fade over time and will likely be happy to get back on the water and “do what we always do, the best we can.”

Some similarities could be drawn to the initial hype around Public Cloud. When first launched over a decade ago it promised infinite scale, global reach, on-demand flexibility, rapid deployment, super low unit cost and consumption based ‘only pay for what you use’ billing.

Public Cloud has delivered on all these areas.  In most cases exceeding expectations. The exception to this is costs – the reality of the super low unit cost and consumption-based billing model, is increased costs.  Not the savings everyone expected.

There is no doubt that if time is spent using cost calculators available (note: these are sales and marketing tools), the numbers always look favourable.  However, the unit-based costs are allocated to absolutely everything – including things that happen ‘under the hood’ on the platform that most people don’t understand, let alone know how to translate their own requirements and use cases to.

This is in absolutely no way a failing or misrepresentation by Public Cloud providers.  They’ve been upfront and honest with their transparent pricing and low unit costs.  It’s simple misunderstanding, people getting carried away with all the hype, that has led most businesses to expect to achieve considerable cost savings, by moving to Public Cloud.

There will always be examples of companies that have achieved reduced costs.  However, organisations that are heavy users of IT or applications, or just have heavy applications, often, will have realised considerably higher costs post move.

In addition to increased costs, another unexpected or undesired realisation is lack of certainty or predictability around monthly costs.  Cloud infrastructure and resources are not consumed in a uniform or consistent way, leading to variables that are difficult to predict, manage, and in some cases impossible to control, leaving budget holders with an unenviable task.

Public Cloud does, and will, always have its place. 

However, companies that have embraced these platforms should begin to review their longer-term strategies; and consider a multi-cloud operating model which is becoming ever more prevalent.  Which involves moving those applications that don’t necessarily need global reach or hyper scale whilst still having access to all the other goodness that Cloud offers. Including typically high levels of performance, that can be delivered close to their end users

No matter where you are on your journey, it’s important to review and assess regularly to make sure you are embracing the technologies and platforms that allows you to evolve and adapt, and not be locked in to any one vendor or platform.

Not all clouds are created equally.   

No one size fits all.  It will take a hybrid and multi cloud approach and operating model to best fit all your requirements (known and unknown).  That may include public cloud, but most likely will incorporate specialist private and hybrid cloud platforms managed by trusted partners and delivered closer to home, and importantly closer to your end users.

OSG provides an enterprise grade private and hybrid cloud platform, with guaranteed performance, recoverability, with predictable commercials.

For us it will never be about the hype but doing the best we can with the technology available to ensure your business can always access gold medal standard cloud services and solutions.

Get in touch to discuss how we can help your business leverage cloud.

OSG Cloud welcomes new team member with vast experience in line with expansion and growth plans for the UK.  

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Paul Devlin as Commercial Development Manager in line with strategic growth plans of OSG Cloud.

Paul joins OSG Cloud from Verizon Business where he was responsible for the development of new business accounts. With a career spanning some 25 years in the IT, telecoms and media industries Paul brings with him a deep and broad knowledge of the UK market for IT services. Originally from Northern Ireland Paul has lived and worked in the South East of England throughout his career.

Terry Moore Outsource CEO commented: “I’m delighted to welcome Paul to the OSG Cloud team. With his market knowledge and years of experience I have every confidence that OSG Cloud will go from strength to strength. I’m looking forward to welcoming customers to the platform from across the UK and beyond in the near future”.

Paul Devlin added: “I’m delighted to be joining OSG Cloud at this important time in their evolution. The demand from customers for Cloud services continues to grow and I have no doubt that the OSG Cloud proposition will quickly become an attractive solution for the needs of many businesses. With the outstanding service levels on offer customers can be confident that their applications are in good hands”.

We remain committed to a journey of relentless improvement that challenges convention and delivers a powerful competitive advantage to enable business success.

We are pleased to announce that we have achieved the globally recognised ISO:27001 certification which specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an information security management system. Demonstrating that we have taken the necessary steps to ensure data is protected in a way that meets the highest internationally acknowledged security standards.

World class security standards. Implemented and accepted worldwide, ISO/IEC 27001 is the gold standard certificate and known as the quality assurance marque for IT Security and Information Governance.

Organisations who achieve the award have gone through rigorous independent testing in three key areas:

• Confidentiality: data is always protected, with only authorised persons having access.
• Integrity: no data modifications or changes allowed expect by authorised persons.
• Availability: steps have been taken to minimise or eliminate downtime, information must be available to authorised persons whenever it is needed.

Terry Moore, Outsource CEO, commented “Security and safeguarding data always has, and always will be a high priority for our business. We aim to exceed rather than just meet expectations. Achieving this certification assures our customers and partners that we meet the highest international standards for information security as prescribed by ISO 27001. We are delighted to be among the few MSP’s who have achieved this elite standard.”

No matter where your company finds itself today, our dedicated team will stop at nothing to help you remove the complexities that come from supporting your team, applications and data; to help your business and your people be ready for whatever comes next.

Get in touch, talk to any of our friendly expert team to find out more about how we can help MAKE LIFE BETTER for you and your business.

Our diverse team is growing, and we have room for you!

If you want to thrive in an environment where you will be treated fairly, encouraged to be brave and are willing to be stretched then keep reading.

We are actively seeking new people to join our growing Cloud team, and have the following open positions:

• Cloud Commercial Development Managers
• Lead / Demand Generators

Skills and experience are vital for all our career opportunities, but we value who you are as a person more. We often talk about the Outsource DNA which involves, trust integrity, bravery, creativity and a “can do”, positive attitude.

The following personal qualities are essential for current available opportunities:

• Drive & ambition for sales/business development.
• Curiosity and developed research capability.
• High energy and a solid work ethic.
• Excellent communication skills – written & verbal.
• Confidence and capability to engage with executives at all levels.
• Excellent organisation and time management capability.
• Passionate about technology and how it can make your life better.

Choosing to work as part of the team at Outsource is more than just a good career choice, it is a decision that will make your life better.

Check out our group careers page to find out more about the range of benefits you can expect and how you can apply.  Or get in touch with our Sales Director to set up a virtual coffee and have a chat!

OSG Cloud are proud to be recognised as the first, and only, Dell Cloud Provider in Northern Ireland

For over 20 years Outsource have enabled businesses across the UK and Ireland to solve tomorrow’s problems today. We take care of our customers’ technology needs and make life better so they can focus on what is really important, their people, business and customers.

Our team of experts have been collaborating with the team at Dell Technologies to create, design and deliver world class cloud services  to enable us to rapidly deploy scalable infrastructure for our customers.

OSG Cloud delivers scalable, secure, high performing solutions to maximise the agility needed by business to drive success and enable growth in our rapidly changing digital world.

The hybrid cloud infrastructure on Dell’s VxRail and Unity platforms, powered by Intel and VMWare provides us with exactly what we need to deliver guaranteed performance, security and availability to our customers.

OSG Cloud removes the barriers and complexities of cloud enablement to allow businesses to choose an IT delivery model that fully meets their exact needs.

Check out our OSG Cloud video gallery to hear more from Jason Ward, VP Dell Technologies, Terry Moore and Brian McCrory on what they think about this achievement and what it could mean for your business.

With an initial £1.5m phase one investment Outsource Solutions Group has announced the launch of OSG Cloud, the next generation of Enterprise Cloud services.

OSG Cloud has been specifically established to address the common issues that businesses face with poor performing public cloud implementations, and ever increasing and uncontrollable costs.

We design, manage, maintain, operate, and support large scale compute and storage infrastructures and resources with the objective of providing the single best cloud platform and performance to our customers.

Our globally recognized top tier infrastructure and solution has been built for customers, partners, and users to consume in any way, size, configuration, or specification they need, when and where they need it.

From a technological perspective OSG Cloud has been delivered in partnership with the World’s leading Cloud infrastructure and solution partners. Built on Dell Technologies hyper converged infrastructure VxRail, and underpinned with VMware’s Cloud software and management tools, and Veeam for complete recoverability, this is simply best in class. Together we have created a cloud offering with unparalleled collective technical experience and best practices delivered from purpose built Tier3+ data center facilities, all certified to ISO 27001 standard for information security.

OSG Cloud provides industry leading performance and service levels and whilst not another generic cloud reseller business, we can leverage other public cloud offerings such as Azure, AWS, Google as complementary services to deliver bespoke customer solutions, where it makes sense based on a customer’s individual circumstances.  OSG Cloud will always take an agnostic and unbiased approach, (your business strategy first, cloud support second), so that we can remain focused on delivering the best possible technical solution for our customers.

At its most basic level OSG Cloud delivers enterprise grade managed cloud infrastructure, with absolute guarantees and SLAs around performance, security, and availability.  With an infinite amount of scale, business continuity and disaster recovery inherently built in. Our solution offers the same exacting standards for availability, performance, and security that is expected of infrastructures running hospitals and emergency services, at competitive prices.

OSG Cloud is unapologetic about its standards and will never compromise on:

• Performance, security, and availability
• Understanding customer requirements and delivering fit for purpose solutions
• Technical support and customer service
• Our relationships with our customers and technology and delivery partners

We adopt an equally flexible approach to commercial and billing models, ensuring that it is always easy to engage and work with us.  As an example, but not limited to:

• Capex or Opex
• Pay as you grow
• Fixed pricing and budget certainty
• Consumption based
• Monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, annually, or full-term contract

OSG Cloud is the final stop on your journey. 

We are so confident that the platform will outperform whatever provider you currently use we are offering customers a money back guarantee – run a workload trial with OSG Cloud and if we don’t deliver you don’t pay.

Get in touch with us here to find out more about how you can begin your journey with OSG Cloud.

OSG Cloud is the proud sponsor of the Belfast Telegraph 2021 Business ‘Innovation’ Award; the category that recognises and celebrates companies which have demonstrated creative thinking and developed innovative products, solutions and services during a global crisis

Companies which focus on and invest in innovation within their industry, are always better placed to positively react to local or global events. In addition to insulating a business from the worst impact of negative events, innovative businesses are best placed to discover and develop new business opportunities and generate new competitive advantages.

For over twenty years the Outsource Group has progressed its own continuous improvement philosophy, collaborating with industry leading technology companies, to ensure that both local and international companies have access to the widest range of proven and innovative technology solutions & services which enables them to compete on a global scale.

OSG Cloud was born out of our belief that ‘the cloud’ needed a new more innovative approach to allow businesses to fully exploit the full benefits of new cloud technologies. To deliver on our approach we have partnered with the world’ leading cloud specialists (DellEMC, VMware, Veeam) and jointly designed and delivered the best performing Cloud offering and services available in the market.

OSG Cloud has been built using some of the worlds leading cloud technologies. Built on DellEMC’s hyper converged infrastructure VxRail, underpinned with VMware’s Cloud software and management tools, and using Veeam for complete recoverability, this is simply best in class, resulting in unparalleled workload performance levels and a customer experience.

We are so confident in our leading solution that we are the only cloud business which will GUARANTEE Performance, Security and Delivery Levels.

We also understand that some customers, in specific individual circumstances, may wish to retain elements of their existing cloud based services on a generic public cloud. OSG Cloud infrastructure is such that we can readily incorporate and work alongside other public cloud offerings such as Azure, AWS, Google as complementary services to deliver bespoke customer solutions.

We will work with customers to help design, support and manage their digital transformation journeys by removing barriers and complexities of cloud enablement and delivering a highly scalable, flexible and performant enterprise cloud platform for businesses across the UK and Ireland. Allowing business leaders to focus on growing their business and supporting their staff and customers.

The expert team at Outsource Group empower businesses to solve tomorrow’s problems today. They utilise the power of technology to “Make Life Better” for enterprises of all sizes, across all sectors. By providing an exceptionally high standard of managed IT and security services. They take care of customers technology needs, fully de-risking their IT, so they can focus on what is really important, their people, business and customers.

OSG Cloud gives you Performance Where You Need It. 

We are so confident that the platform will outperform whatever provider you currently use we are offering customers a money back guarantee – run a workload trial with OSG Cloud and if we don’t deliver you don’t pay.

Outsource Achieve the exclusive Veeam GOLD Partner Status

Outsource are delighted to announce they have been awarded the distinction of being Northern Ireland’s only indigenous IT Managed Services and Security Provider to achieve the Veeam Gold Cloud and Service Provider Partner Status.

Veeam are the number one and global leader in Back-Up Solutions and Cloud Data Management providing a simple, flexible and reliable backup & recovery solution for organisations of all sizes and complexity.

Outsource now join the select few Gold Service Providers in the United Kingdom and Ireland as a result of achieving the rigorous performance and capability requirements, which further bolsters Outsource’s expertise in delivering our cloud, back up and disaster recovery solutions.

Terry Moore CEO Outsource commented “In the current environment our customers are faced with many new challenges including complex cloud requirements, data management and increased cyber security threats. This enhanced level partnership with Veeam enables Outsource to help customers further with their digital transformation journeys. Customers can confidently rely on us to partner with them as they transition from older less secure or under performing technologies to state of the art robust and reliable solutions, which save time and resources, whilst protecting workloads and improving performance. With a reliable and flexible IT solution in place, our customers will have the technological reassurance they need to navigate these challenging times”.

If you haven’t yet managed to reach a high degree of workforce transformation, you are not alone. It is a process that doesn’t happen overnight, and everyone is at different phases of their digital workplace journey.

Asking the following questions could help you better understand and establish the condition of your current environment:

1. How do you manage all the technology you already have in the workplace?
2. Do you have an overall governance plan for this technology?
3. Can all your employees find the tools they need to be always-on, collaborative and productive?
4. Is your workplace technology infrastructure or legacy apps hindering automation or employee experience?
5. What data and reports can you access to make decisions at the speed your business requires?

Answering them could help to create clear objectives of how you can move forward to secure your business future.

We understand that there are many challenges associated with a disjointed approach to workplace technology. A holistic approach that ensures all of your technology can be managed by a team of experts is one way to solve this problem and make life better for you and your business.

A “digital workplace” is about approaching technologies with an integrated mindset to deliver a more connected and cohesive user experience.

Given the speed at which our world is changing, business can no longer rely on long-term project roadmaps.

It’s a big change and challenge for any organisation that is accustomed to planning far in advance, but it’s essential to remain modern and flexible in today’s digital age.

In the world of technology standing still is going backwards. At Outsource we remain committed to a journey of relentless improvement that challenges convention and delivers a powerful competitive advantage that enables business success.

Connect with us. Talk to one of our expert team to find out more about how we can MAKE LIFE BETTER and help you on your digital workplace transformation journey.

The FSB 2020 awards did not happen in the way they were originally planned but we were delighted to receive the winning “Wellbeing Award” trophy today.

Some positive news to end an extremely challenging year.  Check out the more about what the award means to CEO Terry Moore by reading his responses to a few questions from FSB’s Roisin McAliskey below:

How does it feel to win and how does it affect your business?

Fantastic, to achieve any external recognition for what we do is an always an achievement but an award regarding the wellbeing of our staff is extra special as it is so important to us.  Our mission statement is to “Make Life Better” for our staff, our customers, partners and anyone connected with our company. We passionately care about what we do and the impact it has on others. We continuously try to find ways to improve and develop our culture, to maintain and promote the importance of personal wellbeing – and this award recognises that we are delivering.

How has Covid-19 impacted your business and how do you see things for yours and other small business?

The human cost and loss of life has been so tragic for many and cannot and should not be overlooked.  Businesses have faced unprecedented challenges and have had to adapt and change at a rapid pace, with some unfortunately struggling to survive.  But as the world slowed everyone got a chance to take stock and think about what was really important; for me it has highlighted the importance of people and relationships.

At Outsource we deeply understand that more than ever technology impacts every business, but also at the heart of every business are real people with their own challenges. The pandemic has only reinforced our commitment to ensure that Outsource will Make Life Better for everyone and every business we touch. To support this, we have accelerated plans to launch some exciting and ground-breaking disruptive products and services in early 2021, watch this space, to further drive and support the future success of our existing and new customers, during and beyond the current challenges.

I firmly believe that all businesses need to embrace the power of technology internally and/or with external assistance to fully exploit the benefits it will bring. The teams at Outsource have continued to work with businesses in all sectors, developing and implementing bespoke solutions to bring positive change throughout the crisis. 

Responding to today’s adversity requires a strategic plan, a resilient mindset and some creativity to approach new ways of thinking.

In a business climate where the most innovative products and services become commodities faster than ever before, the customer experience has emerged as a powerful differentiating force. At the same time, managing the customer experience in contact centers has become incredibly complex.

The first consideration is your contact center technology. Cloud is key.

We deliver telecoms solutions which allow you to look at every touchpoint your customer has with your business. Our telecoms solutions experts explore all areas including:

• Connectivity
• Infrastructure
• Staff strengths and weaknesses
• Goals and opportunities- What do you want to achieve from a new system
• What are your KPI’s and how do you want to measure them?
• Do you need omni-channel
• Do you need video Capability? Text to save engineers going to buildings
• Do you need to integrate with apps and CRM’s through API’s?
• Do you take payments?
• Do you need SMS or Chat app functionality?
• Do you want to enable your customers to call you directly from your app?
• How secure does your system need to be?
• What are you going to need in the future?

We then take all of this info, and create one, people-centric solution to ensure your technology is perfectly matched to meet your bespoke needs.

Customer Experience is about more than just one event.

When business is not “business as usual”

As a complete cloud solution, 8×8 Contact Center ensures you’re ready to handle the unexpected. 8×8 can activate your operation swiftly and painlessly—at a local, national or global level. And if you need to quickly add agents—or want to deactivate agents—we make that easy, too.

Work from home made possible

For agents to successfully work remotely, they need to be able to respond to customers consistently, completely and in spite of any business disruptions. Remote work also requires that supervisors are able to monitor and fine-tune customer and agent engagement, just as easily as if they were in the office. With 8×8 Contact Center, work-from-home can easily become an option—or even a new norm—for everyone.

Deliver exceptional customer experience

In these times of uncertainty, your contact center is either ready—or it’s not. Analytics can give you a unique, outside-in perspective of the contact center to help solve the toughest CX puzzles and ensure customer loyalty without the worry.

Digital transformation is inevitable, business’ need to adapt and change or be left behind by those who will.  The future is now, the possibilities are endless, we can help.

Click to read the eBook, 8×8 Customer Experience Analytics – eBook – -Solve the Toughest CX Puzzles

Contact us to find out more!

We began 2020 with a determination that this year would be one to remember as the company celebrated 20 years in business.

Our planned celebrations in the European sun were quickly adapted and transformed to collaborating whilst connecting remotely from home and innovating new ways of working. Technology environments are typically fast paced so our teams adapted quickly and responded positively to change by creating new ways to support customers and deploy new services to meet growing demands.

In typical Outsource fashion our people have excelled with frequent emails and messages from customers across every area of the business to extend thanks for the positive and professional experiences they have encountered.

Check out more about a recently completed project that involved an infrastructure and connectivity refresh, for PAYESCAPE, in the link below

Case Study Payescape

Managing Director John Borland commented of the experience:

“The Outsource team worked through every challenge to ensure the range of IT solutions were implemented to enable us to re-locate to our new premises on time and without hitch, despite all the additional restrictions brought by Covid. They kept in touch with regular updates throughout, delivered expert training, and allowed us to remain secure and operational. They have removed the internet speed and performance issues which has eliminated frustrations from my team, who are also delighted with the new phone system and all the functionality it delivers. I would highly recommend their range of services, the entire project was a pretty painless experience and I look forward to developing our relationship further in the future.”

Whist this year may be like none of us imagined our teams have simply supported each other and responded to every challenge together. By utilising technology to deliver services and solutions that ensure we continue to deliver on our promise to MAKE LIFE BETTER for our customers.

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Mental health problems can affect anyone, any day of the year, but World Mental Health Day, is a great opportunity to show your support for better mental health.

The months of lockdown and loss have had a huge impact on us all, and prioritising mental health has never been more important than it is now. Recent studies suggest that at least half a million more people in UK may experience mental ill health as a result of Covid-19,(Centre for Mental Health)

Making positive change can seem so hard, especially during uncertain times. It can be difficult to know where to start. Our team are committed to making life better, every day they work hard to deliver creative technology solutions and exceed customer expectations.

At the beginning of 2020 staff voted for Action Mental Health to be our charity partner for the year, raising support and funds for them has remained important to everyone despite the challenges Covid restrictions have imposed. AMH have continued to deliver vital services throughout the pandemic and found innovative ways to support and help people.

Whilst team fundraising options were limited and some would have preferred coffee morning treats and bake- off challenges, we opted to get active and move for mental health. Staff agreed to take part in a 5k a day challenge for the month of September. Some walked, others ran, and there were even a few cyclists and swimmers over the 30 days.

Collectively the team exceeded expectations and covered 3035km and raised a fantastic total of £1500

It costs on average £300 for AMH to deliver  a session in a secondary school, these funds will support the delivery of another five sessions for local schools and help around 150 young people!

Many local business and organisations across N. Ireland, including Antrim and Newtownabbey Council will flood their buildings in purple light on world mental health day, our team will be joining in by wearing purple to show our support.

Check out the photos below of few of those who took part in our team challenge and join them, and others globally, on 10th Oct, wear purple to raise awareness that mental health is as important as physical health this #worldmentalhealthday

Diversity, inclusion and performance go hand in hand.

A recent McKinsey report which includes data from over 1000 companies in 15 countries, suggests that diversity wins. It also states that the relationship between diversity on executive teams and the likelihood of financial outperformance has strengthened over time.

The report suggests that “whilst inclusion and diversity may be at risk in some business because of the crisis—they remain critical for business recovery, resilience, and reimagination.”

Whilst it is understandable for business leaders to focus on the critical and urgent areas of their operations those that implement a diversity and inclusion strategy whilst adapting to the new normal will reap the benefits.

Diverse and inclusive companies are likely to make better, bolder decisions. For example, diverse teams have been shown to be more likely to radically innovate and anticipate shifts, pivot in response to consumer needs and help their companies to gain a competitive edge.

At Outsource we are committed to developing our diversity and inclusion strategy, it remains a core part of our agenda during the current crisis and beyond.  At Outsource our people–centric workplace has a culture that focuses on employees. A hard-working culture backed up by creativity, ambition and energy, but which involves putting people front and centre of everything it does, and in an innovative way. We listen and learn from one another and strive to exceed expectations and make life better for each other and our customers.

We were delighted to recently receive the Mark of Progress for our Bronze award for the Diversity Charter Mark NI demonstrating our progress and commitment to advancing diversity in the workplace. The organisations receiving the Charter Mark, granted by an independent assessors panel,  have committed to addressing areas of unequal gender representation at all levels, removing obstacles of career development; implementing structural and cultural changes that will help advance gender diversity; and putting in place a strategy and action plan to effect change.

The Belfast Telegraph Business Awards in partnership with Ulster Bank is the biggest celebration of business success in Northern Ireland.

Mark Crimmins, head of Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland, said: “Companies across NI have shown great resilience this year, so it is fitting that the Belfast Telegraph Business Awards, in partnership with Ulster Bank, show resilience themselves and proceed with recognising impressive business achievements.

“Indeed, as the focus now turns increasingly towards securing an economic recovery, it is perhaps more important than ever that we do shine a light on examples of innovation and ingenuity.” He added.

We are delighted to be recognised alongside a diverse range of talent and expertise within small businesses, family firms, and larger corporate business across N.I.   It demonstrates once again, the commitment and resilience of our excellent team.

Who despite the many challenges posed by COVID-19 have continued to create bespoke technology solutions, deliver and provide expert support and make life better for our customers.  We are delighted receive this positive recognition and add this accolade to our ever growing list of awards.

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.

SECURITY FOCUS SESSION VIDEO 

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. 

Heraclitus states “The only constant in life is change” and for some there has been more change in recent months than in a lifetime before.

Things that we once assumed “normal” became anything but and words that we had never linked together became everyday phrases like “social distance”.  Business’ have been turned upside down, with many being forced to close their doors and send entire teams home.  With staff expected to adapt overnight to extreme change whilst also adding chef, cleaner, cook and childminder to their daily to-do lists. On top of that they have had to navigate new technology to help ensure they remained connected and productive whilst at home. It makes for exhaustive reading never mind living!

Our teams responded by asking questions, listening to customers, reading lots of research and very quickly realised why many business leaders were feeling overwhelmed.

Gartner Reports stats state that:

74% of companies plan to permanently shift to more remote work*

54% of HR leaders indicated that poor technology and/or infrastructure for remote working is the biggest barrier to effective remote working in their organisation*

We wanted to help! We understand that every business, regardless of sector, size or scale needs to prioritise security, improve productivity, increase collaboration, engage remote teams and make data driven decisions and our team can create and implement the technology solutions to make that happen. Change in the world of technology is inevitable, standing still is never an option and our expert teams continued to deliver innovative solutions to enable businesses to thrive during the pandemic.

We decided to add a bit of creativity to our events calendar and created a virtual event to connect and engage with our customers in a new way. We hosted our RE:IMAGINE live virtual event, in collaboration with our partner, Dell, with breakout sessions, panel discussions and even included some prize giveaways.

Feedback from the event included:“That was excellent thank you. Most informative and a lot to think about. 10 out of 10 from me!” 

“That was a fantastic event, creative, informative & engaging. Thank you!”

Many have said events can’t happen, our team demonstrated they can. Anything really is possible with the right people and the right technology solutions.

Terry Moore said during the event “Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. Don’t implement technology in your business just for the sake of it, implement technology that works for you and your business”.

We will never do something just for the sake of it, or just because we can, but we will do everything we can to provide the best solution to meet your business needs.

Talk to us if you want to find out more about how we can help you RE:IMAGINE your business future. Contact one of our Relationship Managers to discuss how technology can help you and your business adapt and grow through change.

If you missed out on the event you can watch it by clicking here 

Awards season may look a little different than normal this year with many of the usual events being cancelled or postponed, but despite the challenges faced by the organisers we have been pleased to receive multiple notifications of awards that we have been shortlisted or nominated for during recent months.

We received recognition at the Dell Partner Awards were we were nominated for two awards, namely:

• The Rising Star Of The Year
• Growth Partner of The Year

IoD NI recently revealed the finalists for the Northern Ireland Director of the Year Awards, a list that comprises some of the best performing leaders in the region.

• Terry Moore has been nominated in the Director of the Year – Inclusivity category
• Eamonn Bunting has been nominated in the Director of the Year – Small to Medium Business

The Belfast Telegraph have shortlisted our team their Business Awards for the Best Established Small/Medium Business.

Our team have continued to work together tirelessly during the recent months, finding creative ways to meet and exceed customer needs, going above and beyond to deliver services and support and deliver on our commitment to make life and business better for others. These nominations help to recognise the efforts of everyone on the team.

We don’t need an award to tell us we have the best staff and most professional customer service in the IT Managed Services and Security world – but it is still nice for others to recognise how good our staff are!

Want to join our award winning team? Click here to check out current available opportunities.

Many people and businesses are experiencing incredible change because of Covid 19. Never before has the whole world been turned upside down!

We see things differently at Outsource, change in the world of technology is inevitable, standing still is never an option and our expert teams have continued to deliver innovative solutions to enable businesses to thrive during the pandemic.

Many business are adapting positively to changes implemented in response to the pandemic and recent stats would suggest that Remote Working is here to stay.  With 77% of executives saying they have benefited from lower operating costs*, and up to 40% experiencing an increase in productivity*.   Remote working is something that business leaders cannot ignore as organisations should expect that 75% of their staff will ask to expand their remote work hours by 35%.*

Check the link below for some more stats that might surprise you!

Is Remote Working Here to Stay

We believe it is time to challenge thinking, explore the art of the possible and re:imagine a better future together. 

Every business, regardless of sector, size or scale needs to:

• Prioritize security
• Improve productivity
• Increase collaboration
• Engage remote teams
• Make data driven decisions

We are hosting our first virtual thought leader event on THU 23rd JULY  where we will discuss how technology can help you and your business adapt and grow through change. Join with us and a panel of experts to find out how together we can re:imagine ways to make life better for you and your business.

This event has now taken place and registration is now closed.

Watch this space for links and info on how you can access all information from the LIVE sessions.

*Stats are sourced from Gartner, What CIOs Need to Know About Managing Remote and Virtual Teams through the COVID-19 Crisis

Phishing is an industry-wide problem and it’s growing, even during lockdown. During the current Covid 19 crisis there has been an increase in the number of cyber-attacks as companies roll out remote working for the first time, or employees who have never previously have had to, figure out how to plug in and work from home.

Hackers and cyber criminals see potential vulnerabilities and areas of weakness. Protecting the integrity of an organisations network and maintaining the highest level of cyber security should remain the highest priority at all times. 

Every business is vulnerable because business email is a very popular attack vector for cybercriminals who hope to gain easy access to your assets and data by fooling unsuspecting employees. Often if they know the email address of one person in an organisation, they can easily work out the rest, and use that information to exploit any weakness. These attacks can infiltrate an organisations infrastructure and encrypt their data simply by an employee clicking on a malicious link which they believed to be genuine. It is a misfortunate incident that can have major consequences on any business or organisation.

Passwords provide the first line of defence against unauthorised access to your computer and personal information. The stronger your employees password, the more protected their computer and your company will be from hackers and malicious software.

A strong password provides essential protection from financial fraud and identity theft.

Some ideas worth considering when creating passwords are:

• Using passwords that are long, complex and random, not linked to any personal information.
• Passwords should contain at least ten characters and have a combination of characters such as commas, percent signs, and parentheses, as well as upper-case and lower-case letters and numbers. e.g. Pr1nt3ris0ut0f!nk. Different users can also have different complexities to increase security of any sensitive data they may have access to. e.g. Finance 12, Director 16.
• Never writing down passwords, the days of a post it under your keyboard should never return!
• Never use the same password twice. Hackers who break into one machine will try to use the same password to take control of others, don’t make it easy for them. If you have trouble then Consider a core password e.g. Pr1nt3ris0ut0f!nk then mix it up e.g. Amazon password @m_Pr1nt3ris0ut0f!nk_@z0n! and for Netflix password  N3tF_Pr1nt3ris0ut0f!nk_l1x or use something like KeePass, set a very strong original password.

We would recommend that business layer up by using Multi-Factor Authentication. This is an authentication method in which a computer user is granted access only after successfully presenting two or more known identity confirmations, one that you know  (password) and what you have (such as a code texted to their known phone number).

As we move into a new phase and a “new normal” ahead every business and organisation wants to ensure productivity for staff who may have to continue to work remotely, however it cannot come at the expense of proper security. Business leaders must weigh the risks they are facing with these heightened threats very carefully and take any and all measures available to ensure access is granted only to authentic users.

At Outsource we understand the importance of having a multi-layered defence mechanism to provide maximum protection from cyber-attacks to help make life better for you and your team. Our multi-layered approach to data security is proactively updated, continually monitored, and has a variety of alerts in place which allow us to respond and take any necessary actions. Our services are designed to offer maximum protection and peace of mind and should the worst happen our FMC will guarantee recovery your data.

Contact us if you would like to find out more about how we can help you and your business best plan and prepare for the new normal ahead.

The lyrics of the famous song include a “dazzling place we never knew” and whilst if given the choice we may have opted for dazzling to mean exciting or adventurous as we imagined exploring a whole new world we can make the choice to embrace the unknown future with an attitude of kindness, resilience and hope.

Comments ring loud from people expressing how they are “feeling like they’re in a movie”, others are “fearful of the future” and some have genuine “concerns about health and financial risk”. Whilst we can never underestimate the anxiety some are experiencing, and should ensure we make time to empathise with how people are responding to the Covid-19 crisis, we can all choose to respond by committing to do something to help make life better for someone else.

“We will get through this by working together to help others.”

We can take our responsibility to keep good hygiene measures in place seriously, we can adhere to social distancing to minimise risk to the vulnerable and we can make all necessary changes to our current way of life to make sure the health of the people in our lives is the number one priority.

People above everything else.

Lifestyles can change, we can all adapt.  Whilst none of us may have experienced anything like this in our lifetimes, history has taught us that resilience in the face of adversary will help to ensure we come out of this crisis better people.

We have many tools available to help us function as “normally” as possible, things that during previous war like times of history were only imagined by those who found themselves isolated and alone. Use them to equip yourself will all you need to help yourself and others. Remembering always to keep an eye on the future, ambitions and plans should not be forgotten, place them on hold for now, not forever.

Check out the info-graphic below for a few ideas that might help or might inspire your thinking and contact us if there is anything that our team can do to help.

As the Covid 19 pandemic evolves we are seeking to help business’ explore technology and discover solutions that can enable new ways of working.

Our global telecoms partner 8×8 UK have released a FREE service that can enable your staff to work from anywhere using any device.

Some of the key features include:

• • Unlimited meetings
• • Freephone dial in numbers
• • Use of a Web RTC-compatible browsers means no downloads are required either.

This free video service is allowing people around the globe to work safely and productively.

It is fast and simple. You can instantly join using an easy and intuitive user interface allowing full-screen experience using desktop and mobile apps or the Web.

Video collaboration also gives access to easy screen sharing, remote desktop control and cloud-based recordings.

Resilient Infrastructure

The 8×8 cloud communications platform is highly resilient and scalable. It is designed with a high degree of redundancy and geographic fail-over capabilities to minimize disruptions. The Unified Communications and Contact Center platforms are cluster-based. This means the existing capacity which is already able to handle 4x the current peak load is scalable to greater capacity as needed.

The resilient infrastructure 8×8 offers means they are ready to respond to customers’ needs with technical support teams located around the world.

Stay connected by using 8×8 Free Video Meetings available without any downloads or registration required.

Or contact us to talk to one of our expert team who will be happy to help get you set up on your first of many video calls and conferences.

We are closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 as it continues to affect various areas of the world. We have an important role to play in helping customers with their business continuity plans as information around the virus continues to unfold.

Outsource’s number 1 priority is the health and well being of our staff, our customers and their businesses and we have taken the decision that all Outsource staff will be working remotely with immediate effect.

In our business every day we deal with business critical issues and even the occasional crisis on behalf of our customers so we do not take knee jerk reactions to events and we will always take a measured, professional and practical approach to matters. At this point in the spread of Covid-19 we believe this is the right approach and we shall continue to monitor and assess events on a daily basis and respond in our typical dynamic manner whatever issues our business or our customers business encounter.

Based on our existing capacity to operate remotely during this period we will continue to provide the full range of support and services, 24/7/365, to our normal high standards but we will be limiting face to face visit and customer and site meetings where practical to do so.

At this difficult time for some businesses we remain here to help and we wish you, your business, your families and friends best wishes over the coming days and weeks.  Please contact us if if you would like to discuss further how our range of IT Managed Services and Security Solutions can help minimise disruption and keep your workforce safe, engaged and connected.

It might get a bit bumpy over the next while but we will all come out the other side and life will return to normal sooner rather than later. Our team of experts can Make Your Life Better by equipping your teams with the correct technology, training and support from our trusted global partners to ensure your business is prepared for any eventuality.

We are delighted to announce our staff have chosen Action Mental Health as their Charity of the Year for 2020.

Outsource staff are committed to giving back to local communities and charities with teams constantly looking for innovative ways to raise funds, support and donate to local causes. Action Mental Health do amazing work across Northern Ireland in raising awareness and supporting people in need or in crisis, working to enhance the quality of life and the employability of people with mental health needs or a learning disability.

“Mental health and well being needs to be a priority for us all. At Outsource we build and develop relationships and are committed to Making Life Better for our staff, our customers and local communities. It is our privilege to support Action Mental Health in this small way and support the fantastic work they lead bringing positive change and removing the stigma associated with mental health. As our partner of the year, we look forward to doing our small bit to support their work by getting involved in a range of planned events to raise vital funds to help the charity continue their efforts in tackling this issue.” Terry Moore – CEO at Outsource

Outsources efforts to raise awareness and funds will be spearheaded by our two charity champions, Gena Notman and Damien Atkinson,  who already have a wide range of activities planned for staff to get involved, including the Belfast Marathon and staff abseiling off some local buildings.

Behind the wall to wall headlines, almost hysteria at times and 24/7 news coverage businesses need to take a mature approach on how to deal with instances such as Conoravirus. Such events are serious and unfortunately businesses will face more such detrimental external events in the future however we can only manage what is within our control.

Firstly, and most importantly in terms of Coronavirus “wash your hands more often and avoid unnecessary risks of exposure”.

Secondly, and in a much wider context take some time to assess the readiness of your business to deal with such unplanned detrimental business incidents going forward.

Two areas which should be assessed as a matter of best practice by all businesses are Flexible Working and Disaster Recovery. The best solutions will vary for every business so a professional assessment will be required using internal and possibly external resources.

Flexible Working:- Research has shown that remote working, if managed and supported correctly, can increase productivity, improve the health and well being of staff and improve overall business performance.

• What flexibility do you currently provide employees?
• What additional options have you considered?
• What systems and infrastructure do you have to support remote working?
• Do your staff have adequate training, technical support and guidance on remote working?

Disaster Recovery:- Every business should have an insurance plan to cover a worst case scenario and be concerned at their exposure if they don’t.

• Do you have a DR plan in place?
• What are the business implications of not having one (financial/reputation etc)?
• What does a good DR Plan cover and cost?
• Do you need external professional support in assessing and preparing a DR Plan that meets the requirement of your business?

Technology and Telecoms provide people with the tools and solutions they need to work from anywhere at any time. All of the necessary systems, technology and communication tools exist now and businesses do not need to wait for the next big technological breakthrough. Nor do they need to wait for costs to fall further, they no longer have excuses not to deliver increased flexibility to their staff. The future of remote working and enhanced staff flexibility is now and the only thing left is for business to fully embrace.

Get in touch today if you would like to discuss how our team can offer a bespoke range of IT Managed Services and Security Solutions to minimise disruption to your business and keep your workforce safe, engaged and connected.

Our team of experts can Make Your Life Better by equipping your teams with the correct technology, training and support from our trusted global partners to ensure your business is prepared for any eventuality.

Celebrating GALentines (yes, it’s a real thing!) at the women in tech conference was perfectly fitting. The event was thought provoking, motivating and full of inspirational women that left you feeling like you can take on the world. And thanks to Emer Maguire, who was the conference host, full of giggles!!

Jennifer Neff, Co- CEO of Elemental in her session said ‘You don’t have to be a technical woman to be a woman in tech’ something that resonated with me as I personally worried about having only joined the world of tech seven months ago.

The transition from one career to another was never going to be a smooth process, and I am extremely lucky that Outsource welcomed me with open arms. I’ve never been made me feel that my lack of technical skills was an issue, instead the focus is placed on the experiences, knowledge and skills that I can bring to the team.

In speaking of her successful career Aislinn Rice, MD at Analytics Engines shared a little of her story, the takeaway piece of advice for me was when she said  ‘Be honest, if you don’t know, say you don’t know and be willing to ask for help’. This is a key message that is also valued in Outsource, where advice and support are always available for career and personal issues.

Keynote speaker Priya Lakhani left us with the resounding message; “The team you surround yourself with is really important. Girls can be puppy’s or cats. You decide who you network with, but your team should be made of class ‘A’ people.”  I personally feel lucky to be part of a team of people who support, uplift and motivate each other. Outsource call it DNA, you must be a certain type of person to become part of the team, not everyone gets to work here!

We are back to work, motivated and ready to take on the world after such an inspiring event. Proud to be able to work for a business that partners with other leading IT companies across NI  in collaboration with Women In Business to create conferences like this, encourages staff to attend and doesn’t limit anyone because of gender.

Orla McDonald

At Outsource we are committed to change and tackle the stats that suggest only 15% of the tech workforce is female and that 7.8% girls currently pursue STEM to the point of employment in a STEM role.

We understand the benefits and positive impact that diversity has to business culture, performance, innovation and growth. We are proud that we have been awarded the Diversity Charter Mark, and increased our workforce to 19%  female as part of our ongoing diversity strategy. We are committed to equipping and empowering our current and future workforce to make life better for everyone on our team.

Check out this video to find out more about The Women In Tech Conference: https://vimeo.com/392526327

From 2019–2023E, approximately $5.2 trillion in global value will be at risk from cyber attacks, according to a report from accenture, creating an ongoing challenge for corporations and investors alike.

Attackers can be driven by political, ethical, financial or social incentives. With every industry seeing a rise in both the number and cost of attacks, no one is excluded from risk. Cyber crime will remain a large scale concern and challenge for business both today and in years to come.

Everyone can do something to mitigate the risk of cyber crime to their business, it has been said that prevention is often better than a cure.

Below are some simple steps you might want to consider adopting and sharing with your team to help prevent you and your business from becoming a victim of cyber crime.

Think before you click – Clicking without thinking is reckless.  Just because you can click, doesn’t mean you should!  Malicious links can do damage in several different ways, so be sure to inspect links and ensure they are from trusted senders before clicking.

Stick to your own devices – try to limit the devices you use and never share your credentials with others.

Be aware of your surroundings – keep an eye on your device.  Lock it when you step away from your computer and never leave sensitive or confidential items at your desk e.g. post-it notes with your password written on them.

Keep track of your digital footprint – can you recall everywhere you have online accounts and what information is stored on them? Do you store credit card numbers for easier payments?  It important to keep track of your digital footprint, including social media accounts where information can be stored. Remember to delete accounts you are not using.

Recommended Password Complexity

• Use passwords of at least eight characters or longer – the more characters you use, the more difficult a password is to crack.
• Use numbers, lowercase letters, uppercase letters and symbols in your password.
• Each password should be unique to each service – bank account, work password, do not use the same password for everything.
• Passphrases are much easier to remember than passwords and allows you to add complexity to your password.

Bad Passwords

• Awesomedog1
• Sunshine12

Good Passphrase

• May1the2force3be4with5you6!
• G0 @h3@d, M@k3 My Day!
• TH3r3’5 n0 pL@c3 l1K3 h0m3_

Never connect to an unsecured connection There is often free Wi-Fi in a restaurant, coffee shops and hotels, in order to access you may need to tick a box, this usually waivers your right to privacy.  If you are working on anything that you wouldn’t want others to access do not use free Wi-Fi. It is not recommended for any business purposes. If you need to access information remotely tether your device to your mobile phone and use 4G.

We recognise that cyber security issues can be a struggle, however research and statistics suggest a huge increase in hacked and breached data from sources that are increasingly common in the workplace, like mobile and IoT devices.  Most companies have unprotected data and poor cyber security practices in place, making them vulnerable to data loss. To successfully fight against malicious intent, it’s imperative that companies make cyber security awareness, prevention and security best practises a part of their culture.

Get in touch to talk to one of our team. We would be happy to discuss your business and current IT infrastructure and explore together any key areas for development. Our experts are on hand to help deliver a range of cyber security services including training and testing to help make life better for you and your team.

Contact us to find out more about how we can mitigate risk, protect against security vulnerabilities and secure your business data today.

At Outsource our people–centric workplace has a culture that focuses on employees. A hard-working culture backed up by creativity, ambition and energy, but which involves putting people front and centre of everything it does, and in an innovative way.

At Outsource our success is linked with that of our customers which at its most basic level means “If you are not happy, we are not happy”.

Everything we do is about delivering Managed IT Services and Security solutions that will “make life better” for you.

Our team is made of the best people who all have the ‘Outsource DNA’ which incorporates three major factors which are trust, integrity and fairness.

We put our expertise and experience to work for you. 

At Outsource our people are valued. Our services are underpinned by deep expertise, a robust process and grant access to a comprehensive range of solutions including some of the world’s leading technology providers. Our diverse team is made up of creative thinkers, who are brave in their approach and passionate about making a difference. Everyone on our dynamic team is excellent at what they do.  Together they deliver platinum services to a wide range of industry and business users across NI, ROI, GB & Europe, often exceeding customer expectations by going above and beyond to create bespoke solutions to allow their business to function at it’s best.

We deliver peace of mind. We understand how important your business assets are to you and we work with you and your people to deliver the best experience and tangible results. For 20 years we have been safeguarding our clients’ assets, in many our technology expertise has enabled them to secure their future from one generation to the next. You can have confidence that your business, your people and your personal data are in safe hands with us.

If you want to find out more about how we can help you and your business just get in touch.  Our team are happy to help. https://osgroup.co.uk/contact/

Outsource is TWENTY! A milestone that not every business achieves and one that says a lot about the man behind the company, our CEO, Terry Moore.

Terry recently had a conversation with John Mulgrew about the milestone – below is just a snippet of what he had to say. Check out the January edition of Ulster Business magazine to find out even more, or read online here: https://www.ulsterbusiness.com/articles/2020/01/20/outsource-twenty-years-on-and-with-the-future-on-the-horizon

Outsource Solutions is a firm which is ahead of the curve when it comes to emerging technologies and a company which embeds itself in a client’s business to ensure total integration, ultimately helping to boost it and enable growth.

“Our approach is to take IT out of the boardroom,” Terry says, “What we do is to try to get ahead of some of the problems, understand the business and recognise that technology is there to benefit the company. We are there to make sure that business is possible, enriching lives, making things better and safer.  An important part of this is the relationships that we have.”

Terry formed around the time of the so-called ‘millennium bug’ when he said some firms were using scare tactics to get businesses to spend often hundreds of thousands of pounds, often unnecessarily.

“For me one of the things I felt was missing was understanding a business and factoring that refresh into it over a few years – removing barriers and letting them get on with what they do. Our job is to enhance, improve and optimise the performance for as many users as we can. Our aim over the next four years is to be able to deliver those services outside Northern Ireland, across the rest of the UK and into the Republic of Ireland.”

“For us, the constant is that we are always there at that point of where technology is consumed. The role we play is being integrated and a trusted advisor. That’s how we will continue to be successful.”

Predictions For The Next 20 Years

With a rise in automation and artificial intelligence – something Terry says has to become a little more intelligent and a little less artificial – the next major leap will be the advent of quantum computing. It’s something which remains in its infancy.

“While it’s still early, we are on the verge of the most aggressive technological change that any of us have ever seen,” he says

New decade, new approach is a statement that has appeared in various media platforms over the past few days as N.Ireland political leadership have agreed a collective commitment to making politics work for the people.

What about the decade we have just left behind? Are you aware of the various technological changes that have changed and transformed our world?

This week Outsource will celebrate 20 years in business and during that time there has been a lot of change.

Mobile phones were only just emerging and gaining popularity in 2000, they were used only to make calls and people thought they were really advanced when they could be used to send text messages or play snake!

Using the phone and internet together was not an option. You had to wait until a call had finished to dial up and access the information needed,  most people 20 years ago used the internet for work or school purposes. Today it is estimated that over 4.33 billion active internet users worldwide. 57 percent of the entire world’s population has internet access. There are 3.9 billion unique mobile internet users worldwide, which makes up 51 percent of the global population.

In the year 2000 we still went to a local shop to hire videos to watch movies rather than stream them via on demand or subscription services like we do today.  We had no option but to watch the advertisements and had to make sure someone was at home to press record at the right time if we didn’t want to miss out favourite TV programme.

Business have been massively impacted by technological change. Our always on and always connected world gives us access to almost everything we need 24/7 giving business greater influence and access to wider and global market. It can also make it difficult to go completely off the grid, with people struggling to incorporate any downtime into their lifestyles.

20 years ago business leaders primarily communicated in person or by phone, and when on the road they had to stop to use payphones if something needed urgent attention. Today business leaders are expected to write letters, send emails, create proposals, tweet in less than 140 characters, update on LinkedIn, connect and present to prospective customers, appear on company video channels, be comfortable appearing on a video conferencing calls, and be prepared to sit down for an interview with the local press or media and speak to groups of employees. The emphasis is on business leaders to connect and communicate effectively on whatever platform or method the customer or consumer expects.

Technology allows people to connect from different locations easily, share information, access data and collaborate to creatively solve problems and develop solutions. Less paper is involved with invoices being sent via email, payments being processed via online transactions, CRM systems containing vital information and all data being hosted, stored and backed up in the cloud.  File rooms, stores and reams of paper are a thing of the past. Some business’ are making the choice to use virtual offices and abandoning designated office space altogether, they instead meet when and where necessary at a place with access to secure Wi-Fi, helping them reduce overall costs and giving their employees access to flexible work and home working options.

Innovation in technology is rapidly developing and will continue to change how businesses operate over the next 20 years. However, the majority of business would still agree that their employees are their greatest asset. Technology doesn’t always work in the way that it should or is even designed too, there are always inevitable challenges, as one area impacts another.  Technology can’t read our minds yet, and until it does, humans need humans to understand them and then use technology to help provide a solution. There are some problems only a human can solve.

What will the next 20 years bring?

A lot more change and if futurists are to be believed that change will be at a speed that some of us may struggle to get our heads around.  Ian Pearson, a futurist with an 85% accuracy record, has said we can expect to see drones making deliveries, space trips to Mars and clothing that could give people access to super human skills.

Whatever emerges you can guarantee that our team at Outsource will continue to explore possibilities, uncover potential and develop solutions that will make your life and your business better.

Get in touch to find out more about how we can help your business today and prepare you for the future ahead.

Our expert teams are committed to listen, learn and better understand our customer needs to deliver innovative technology solutions that will make life better. 

We were delighted to welcome Paul Boyle, Fiona O’Neill and Barry McCafferty along with a class of IT students from our customer Workforce Training Services to our Antrim office to discover more about what they do and introduce them to a little of the world of technology and all that involves for us at Outsource.

Workforce Training Services is a welcoming and dynamic work based learning provider. Who are committed to providing quality training, learning and support dedicated to their learners’ development and achievement

Our team hosted a morning session to help their students better understand the world of IT and technology. We covered a variety of topics including jobs in tech, cyber security, Wi-Fi, and culture. A panel discussion allowed the students to hear from a few of our current staff about how their careers in technology started, progressed and developed.  The interactive session allowed us to hear from the students and some even won prizes for demonstrating their creative and communication skills so effectively.

Ongoing training and development is critical in our industry as technology changes at rapid speeds.

It was great to partner with a company who understand the benefits of quality training and enables students to access different environments to help them experience and better understand the work environments they may be part of in the future

Our Relationship Managers are invested in building relationships with our customers to better understand what is important to their people and their business to ensure they perform at optimum levels now and have continued success in the future.

Equipping people with the correct technology tools is one way to future proof your business, another is engaging with your future work force to help them to see the difference they could make by choosing to pursue a career in your industry.

The 12th of the 12th was a busy day at Outsource HQ. 

Everyone from across all of our locations met at our Antrim HQ were we had our final “Terry Talk” of 2019.  It was a great opportunity for everyone to get involved in our last fundraising event of the year  “Sweaters for Simon” for our charity partner The Simon Community.

Our teams are made up of expert dreamers and doers who are innovative in their thinking and approach. Their creative skills are normally used develop and implement the best technology solutions for our customers but during our huddles they were put to the test in a few different ways.  Our “12 days of Christmas” theme created a lot of laughs as the teams worked together to create their Outsource version of the traditional song whilst practising their gingerbread house making skills.

We also took time to recap on a great year and recognise the dedication of our staff who have spent the last twelve weeks loosing weight in order to raise funds to buy gifts for kids in need this Christmas. For every pound in weight the company agreed to donate £5 in funds, together the team managed to raise an amazing £675 which will be donated to local charities in Antrim & Cookstown.

2019 has been a great year, our teams have all experienced the addition of new staff and there has been significant growth across every area of the business, all while having the same focus of making life better.

2020 is just around the corner and the team at Outsource are excited for all that is ahead as the company celebrates its 20th birthday.

We have partnered with the Simon Community NI throughout 2019 to raise much needed funds to tackle the ongoing issue of homelessness in NI.

Our staff have volunteered and participated in various events including the Belfast Marathon, 5k Runway at Belfast City Airport and The Slieve Donard Challenge.  Others have baked and bought for coffee morning fundraisers and together we have raised over £3200 to date. With our “Sweaters For Simon” Christmas event still to happen!  Thank you to everyone of who has sponsored or donated to our various appeals.

Any time of year is a vulnerable and lonely for people living on the streets. Christmas exaggerates and highlights the difficulties as everything commercial focuses on family and festive fun, people rush too and fro ignoring those sitting cold in desolate shop fronts.  However this stereotype of homelessness is not the reality, particularly here in Northern Ireland.

Thankfully we don’t have the same level of street homelessness experienced in other parts of the UK and Ireland, but that can sometimes mean that people underestimate the problem, are cynical about the volume of people affected by homelessness, and are somewhat indifferent to the cause that requires support now more than ever.

During winter, death rates from homelessness escalates to an average of two per week. Let’s not let homelessness fall on deaf ears any longer, your donations could save someone this winter.

There are a number of ways you can help end homelessness in NI.  You can volunteer, you can donate or you can get involved. £10 could make sure someone enjoys a hot meal on Christmas Day.

Check out the Simon Community NI Website for information  https://www.simoncommunity.org/get-involved

Companies can no longer ignore the importance of building a culture that allows a company to be more creative and collaborative.  As business leaders it is imperative that you keep your workforce engaged, excited and open to the possibilities.

Significant evidence exists supporting the link between well-being at work and productivity. With well-being including physical health and mental well-being. Jobs that are skilled, autonomous, supported, secure, and offer a good work–life balance with a good income, are associated with better physical and mental health and less absenteeism. However, businesses vary considerably in how proactive they are in promoting employee well-being. Approximately 55% say well-being is on the agenda of senior leaders, with only two-fifths having a standalone well-being strategy in support of their wider organisation.

At the centre of every business are people and culture. Company culture can often develop organically over time from the cumulative traits of the people the company hires. A company’s culture will be reflected in everything from dress code, business hours, office setup, employee benefits, turnover, hiring decisions, treatment of clients, client satisfaction and every other aspect of operations.

A culture that is centrally aligned with the business’s purpose and strategy can positively impact organisational outcomes. A collaborative approach that engages a self-organising team and empowers people to determine their own way of working is one of the best ways to achieve the overall company goals. A little can go a long way to achieving this, such as offering flexi-time working or working from home options to aid a healthier work-life balance and give employees a greater sense of freedom and trust. Company culture is fast becoming the differentiation between successful businesses and unsuccessful ones, the culture you create for your people matters.

Technology can help engage and empower your workforce.

For some employees it is more about the results that the process. People are becoming less interested in following a tedious, conventional framework and expect tools in place to allow them to be more creative, engaging and immediate. For example, Millennial’s would much rather submit information via text message or a messaging apps than spend time writing long, formal emails or reports; they also prefer video chats instead of in-person visits. They utilise the latest technology to get the results as quickly as possible. They want to be judged on their results, not on how they got there, or how “professional” their approach may appear.

An effective employee well-being strategy requires a ‘whole organisation’ response with serious leadership commitment. Companies can no longer ignore the importance of building a culture that allows a company to be more creative and collaborative.  When we work and how we work has changed and will continue to change. Outdated technology can impact your employee well-being, company culture, productivity and ultimate success. 

At Outsource we are continually working with our partners to create and develop innovative solutions that will help make like better.

Get in touch with us today if you want to discuss and discover ways that technology may be able to help  to keep your workforce engaged.

The end of 2019 is fast approaching and in this season business leaders are often thinking ahead, looking to the future and planning for growth and change.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) are two emerging technologies that are becoming more increasingly more normalised in business life. This may be the perfect time for you to consider emerging technologies and explore how they could make an impact to your business success.

AI help make your life better in so many ways – and it’s probably been doing so for some time already. For example, if you use a virtual assistant like Alexa, you’re among over 1 billion people who are taking advantage of conversational AI systems.

Artificial intelligence is becoming a game changer for many local business and it can be used to improve and enhance standard business processes, streamline strategic output and remove guesswork from your decision-making. High costs, multiple repetitive tasks, and hours spent doing non-complex tasks are some of the challenges that companies face daily that AI can quickly solve. The main advantage of this technology is its contribution to automating processes and optimising resources.

IT might be time for you to think of the future of your business differently.

Get in touch with any of our Relationship Management team if you would like to discuss any ideas. 

Embrace the future.

Founder & CEO of Outsource

Everyone always likes the opportunity to find out more about the people involved in building and leading in business.  We grabbed a quick chat with Terry to find out more about how and why he got started in IT.

Check out the questions below to get a glimpse into the man who prides himself as simply being one of the team.

How did you get started in the industry?

It wasn’t a conscious decision to end up in the IT industry. I’ve always had a passion for business and innovation and after completing a business degree I had the opportunity to study for a Masters whilst captaining the university rugby team. IT was the most attractive subject to me at the time so that was the route I went down. It was actually the ideal subject as it plays to my interests and skill set in building solutions and seeking constant innovation.

I moved to Manchester and worked for a large IT firm for a few years then relocated back home where I continued in the industry. I realised that I wanted to run my own business in order to do things the way I felt was best. The so called ‘Millennium Bug’ had been a major scare story in the industry and I recognised that security was actually the real issue businesses needed to focus on, not a hyped-up ‘bug’. When I first started out the business was called Secure IT Systems and it was all about delivering IT solutions with security at the core – even today, security is still one of the key pillars we continue to build the business and our services on.

In 2004 we re-named as Outsource Solutions. The business had grown to more than just IT and we were becoming integrated within our client’s businesses and delivering solutions to many other areas of their operations which have IT links, such as telecoms, online sales, and integrated security.

Within the last three years there has been rapid growth for the business and we now have offices in Antrim, Belfast, Cookstown, Dublin and Edinburgh, supported by a team of highly skilled staff. It’s been an amazing journey so far and we’re all excited about what’s ahead.

Typically, who are your clients or customers?

When the business was first established the majority of our clients were from the professional services industry, particularly in the legal sector. Whilst the clients we had when we first set up are still clients to this day, we definitely represent a wider range of industries, from hospitality and tourism to aviation, engineering, manufacturing and food production.

Do you enjoy what you do, and what in particular?

I can say with all honesty that I love what I do. I work very long hours, but the job is part hobby and part passion, so it never feels like work.

I love the opportunity for problem solving and the fact that the industry is constantly evolving with new technology and innovation to help us deliver an even better service to our clients. It’s a fast-paced industry and it’s really exciting to part of.

What is the most difficult part of your job?

Resourcing can certainly be a challenge. Finding the right people for particular jobs is about more than just qualifications and skills, it’s so important to have the right aptitude and client-focused approach which leads to really great work.

Outsource has a big birthday approaching! Keep in touch and stay connected to find out more about the vision and plans for the future as we approach our 20 years in business anniversary.

Thanks to digital transformation, the way we work has changed dramatically.

We now spend less time at the office and are collaborating more than ever before in teamwork. Today’s most productive employees are paid to think and collaborate with distributed team members, suppliers, partners and contractors across an increasingly global and modernised workplace, in order to help grow your bottom line.

As digital ways of working have changed how people exchange information, businesses are recognising the need to ensure their workplace technology keeps up. After all, it’s your people – the ones who are improving experiences, transforming products, affecting change, sharing insight and exceeding customer expectations — who are your company’s true competitive advantage.

Research tells us that collaboration is of great importance to 94% of employees, with 83% depending on technology to do their job. Which means your team need modern solutions that work just as well externally as they do internally, allowing content to flow easily and securely between different parties.  Without doubt, there is unsurpassed power in workplace collaboration.

By working together, employees can help develop better products and services, connect strategy with execution, make more effective business decisions, and increase revenue.

Our team of experts are committed to taking time to understand your business and create bespoke technology solutions to make your life and your business better. Get in touch with any of our team to find out more about how technology could help

Email is a key communication tool in business.

We all know someone with an exploding or overloaded inbox! An average office worker receives 121 emails and sends about 40 each day so it is easy to understand why this is a key method for attackers to infiltrate systems and take over credentials.

Fraudulently obtaining security information such as usernames and passwords, through phishing scams is the fastest rising online crime method.

Phishing is a cyber-crime in which a target or targets are contacted by email, telephone or text message by someone posing as a legitimate to lure individuals into providing sensitive data such as personal information, banking and credit card details, and passwords.

At Outsource we understand the importance of having a multi-layered defence mechanism to provide maximum protection from cyber-attack.  Our multi-layered approach to data security is proactively updated, continually monitored and has a variety of alerts in place to allow for any necessary response.

However, we are aware that ransomware attacks continue to rise in frequency, impact and intensity. These attacks can infiltrate an organisations infrastructure and encrypt their data simply by an employee clicking on a malicious link which they believed to be genuine. It is a misfortunate incident that can have major consequences on any business or organisation.

Regardless of the size or type of your business it is important to understand why you and your staff might be vulnerable to a cyber-attack, and how to respond should an issue arise.

Educate your team, make sure your staff know what to look for and what to do if they receive a suspicious email.  Produce user security policies covering acceptable and secure use of your systems, include in staff training and maintain awareness.

Be safe not sorry.

If you are unsure about an email, stop and think – do not open it or click on any links.

Did you know that companies with good communication practices are three and a half times more likely to outperform their competitors?

Communication plays a vital role in every area of business and can:

• Help build and maintain relationships
• Develop effective teams
• Encourage innovation
• Contribute to growth
• Enhance your customer experience

We partner with leading global telecoms provider, 8×8, to enable local business to benefit from their range of services.  We offer one platform cloud solution, to equip your employees with the exact tools they need to communicate, collaborate, access data and contact experts at the speed business requires. Our plans offer voice, video, chat and contact centre solutions and can be matched to meet your diverse needs in the most cost-efficient manner.

Services are delivered by our team of local experts who will take time to listen to and understand your specific business needs and propose solutions that will help transform how your business communicates.

Check out more on our telecoms page.

The tech industry moves at a phenomenal rate with companies striving to create a culture of innovation for their staff.  Employees are given the freedom to experiment, encouraged to attend events and conferences and get massive training opportunities to develop skills. Yet research suggests that by 2020, more than 800,000 technology posts will be unfilled due to the skills gap, and even lower level positions will require increasing levels of STEM knowledge and competence.

The potential and possibilities are endless with every sector in business being influenced, shaped or changed by technology in some way yet young people simply aren’t aware of it. At Outsource we understand the importance of tackling this issue and are doing what we can to give students a better understanding of the relevance of STEM to life and career choices in the future.

We are partnering with Young Enterprise to ensure we do what we can to help bridge the gap by sharing the knowledge and experiences of our team through volunteering.

Young Enterprise work with the government, MPs, civil servants and wider industry to make sure that every young person is given the opportunity to develop crucial financial management and employability skills, as well as an understanding of the broad range of careers available to them.

Young Enterprise work directly with young people, teachers, and businesses to help build a successful and sustainable future for all young people helping to unlock their potential. They develop key employability skills outside of the classroom through experiential learning. Enabling young people to develop practical skills to prepare them for the world of work.

In 2017/18, Young Enterprise reached 315,000+ young people across the UK, facilitating them to develop their business, financial and entrepreneurial capabilities.

We are delighted to be able to support them through volunteering alongside other business from across a range of sectors at a variety of their workshops in local schools and colleges.

One of our team who recently volunteered at a workshop commented “It was great to be able to engage with over 100 young people in a morning session at a local school.  They shared ideas and discussed how they imagined their lives in the future, it was great to be able to interact and help them think about how technology might impact and influence some of their choices.”

Most of us will have used free public Wi-Fi, whether sitting in the airport lounge or grabbing a coffee in between meetings, but how aware are you of the significant risks facing your business every time a member of staff logs onto a free Wi-Fi network?

These risks are significant enough for in excess of 65% of CIO’s in the USA to have introduced HR policies instructing staff not to use Free Wi-Fi, for any business related matters. It is not clear why UK businesses appear to be more relaxed about these risks, but one view is that UK businesses have not been provided with the information to appreciate the magnitude of their exposure or vulnerability to free Wi-Fi network use.

So for the avoidance of any doubt, if  you or your staff use Free Public Wi Fi or any unsecured Wi-Fi then not only is their personal information at risk (log in details, on line banking info, emails etc.) but so too is your company information at risk (harvesting of corporate data, intellectual property, business emails etc).

A hacker can within “seconds” launch a basic Man-in-the-Middle (MiTM) attack, which will monitor all of the data used by your employee, as it travels from the users device to his target location. It is also important to consider that if one of your staff’s devices are breached in this way and the hacker secures access to his device, in one simple step the hacker could have access to every device on your company network.

If still not convinced spend a few minutes ‘reading’ the terms and conditions you agree to before you log on to a free Wi-Fi service, (as we all normally do anyway !!), where it can be openly declared that by accessing the network you are agreeing that your data will be exposed to access by unauthorized third parties. Interestingly on reviewing some T&C’s you may also find that you may also be agreeing to the network owner itself harvesting some of your personal data.

What is the solution – there are two primary approaches to mitigate these Wi-Fi risks and to stop eavesdropping exposure:

• introduce a staff policy instructing staff to stop using free Wi-Fi
• or instruct staff to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) which encrypts the data going or coming from the device making it useless to hackers.

At Outsource we use certified Wi-Fi engineers to design, install and manage Wi-Fi solutions so we understand deeply the real benefits and reliance businesses have on Wi-Fi.  We believe businesses need to ensure their own internal Wi-Fi is as robust and secure as possible but also critically they need to take pro-active actions to immediately remove the risks associated with free unsecured Wi-Fi services.

Check out our services to find out more.

We have been awarded a Bronze Gender Diversity Charter Mark, recognising our commitment to advancing gender diversity in the workplace.

Diversity Mark NI Ltd was set up by Women in Business to deliver the Charter Mark, awarding organisations for their commitment to progressing diversity. Those receiving the Charter Mark have committed to addressing areas of unequal gender representation at all levels, removing obstacles of career development; implementing structural and cultural changes that will help advance gender diversity; and putting in place a strategy and action plan to effect change.

Terry Moore, CEO commented “We are delighted to have received recognition of our ongoing efforts to ensure that we develop and create a diverse culture and make life better at Outsource. We are absolutely committed to equality as we work to deliver the ambitious vision that we’ve set out in our application. We will do all that we can to ensure that we develop an inclusive culture where everyone is valued regardless of gender, age, background or ethnicity.”

The Charter enables organisations to identify and reflect on institutional barriers which impact progression. It enables business and organisations to progress the overall diversity and equality agenda and improve the working environment for all employees. Building and fostering a diversity and inclusion strategy that is truly lived in an organization is a catalyst for success and a foundation for innovation. Diversity has a positive impact on every area of business including financial performance.

The Bronze Charter Mark was awarded by the Diversity Mark NI Independent Assessors panel which included Judith Gillespie, former Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Kieran Harding, Business in the Community Director, Deborah Lange, Board Member at Invest NI and Belfast Harbour Commission and Dianne Foster, Baker Mc Kenzie.

At Outsource our team is made up of the best people who are leaders, not followers.

As a technology company we fully understand that having the right tools to do your job is a necessity, but we believe that having the right staff is more important.

We spend considerable energy and effort in recruiting the right people, who fit our open, trusting culture. We are committed to investing in their personal training and development whilst continually empowering and equipping them to influence and make decisions.

We provide a ground-breaking and innovative suite of IT managed services and are proud that we have the title of Best Place to Work as selected by the judges of The Irish News Workplace and Employment awards.

We are fast approaching our 20^th anniversary and during the time we have been in business have remained true to our core principles, despite operating in a rapidly changing environment with ever competing demands.

Our primary purpose has never been to be the biggest managed services provider in Ireland, despite a record-breaking year, nor has it been to be the most profitable, despite year on growth in profitability.  Fundamentally we have an always want to be number one at how we deliver exceptional levels of service and support to our customers and staff, when we believe are not mutually exclusive.   We do not benchmark ourselves against competitors, we want to lead and not follow.  Our focus is on constantly developing and delivering new and innovative service offerings to enable us to deliver on this strategy.

We have one of the highest retention rates in the industry and every new team member is welcomed with the hope and aim that “this will be the last job that you will ever have”.

Our business model is based on using the best technology and best people to deliver service for customers, and it operates under two over arching principles of “trust and fairness” with both staff and customers.  We encourage staff to call out when they make mistakes so that everyone can learn, and it constantly seeks performance feedback form customers so we can continually improve. Overall, we have developed an inclusive and empowered culture which makes our offices a positive and empowered place to work.

A few of our team had a great night at the Irish News Awards when they picked up the “Best Place To Work Award” on behalf of everyone at Outsource. A title that recognises the ongoing efforts from everyone at Outsource to make life better.