Things are starting to get a little more connected in the area of Blackpool and Fylde. For too long both residents and businesses in rural Britain have had to get by on a lack of fibre optic broadband. These areas are called “not spots,” which may be a clever play on “hot spots,” but there’s nothing funny about it if you live and do business in these areas. While there is much to be said for living a peaceful and pastoral life, it can be frustrating for those who wish to connect to the Internet at a faster speed than they are able. The good news is that the area of Whitehills business park, located at Junction 4 on the M55, finally has access to fibre optic broadband. Fibre optic is now available with estimated speeds of 50mbs. This is quite a boost from previous speeds of about 1mbs.
The Whitehills business park covers over 700 acres with two and a half million square feet of industrial and office floorspace. Whitehills business park provides homes to a mix of roughly one hundred different companies, including the facilities of the Department for Work and Pensions, National Savings & Investments and NST Travel Group. Along with these companies the area is also the site of the Premier Inn hotel, a Fayre & Square pub and restaurant, Tesco superstore and several car dealerships including BMW Mini, Vauxhall, Chevrolet, Honda, Suzuki and Saab. The residential portion of Whitehills includes Redrow Homes which is a part of the Whitehills Meadows housing scheme. With all of these businesses and residents in need of fibre optic broadband service, AGT Computer Services is available to help all of them get connected with affordable rates.
If you do business or live in Whitehills business park or the surrounding area, AGT Computer Services can install fibre optic broadband for you to get you connected faster. Our prices for installation are £225.00 for a Business Class Router, £99.00 for new phone line installation and a £25.00 activation fee. Line rentals are £17 per month and fibre is £25 per month.
Call us today and we can get you set up. We also offer cloud and data storage solutions in the Blackpool, Lancashire, Fylde and Lytham area as well as cyber security solutions and Windows migration. We are a Microsoft Silver Partner for Small and Midmarket solutions and can work with you to meet all of your company’s IT needs.
In case you haven’t heard, Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for existing Windows users—as long as you don’t procrastinate. You need to act fast, and by fast we mean within one year of the as-yet-to-be-announced launch date. This bit of information came straight from the top when Microsoft Operating System Chief, Terry Myerson made the announcement earlier in the year. That’s good news for those people currently using Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1. While any change can be disruptive, in the quickly evolving tech world it is par for the course, and there are several compelling reasons to embrace this upgrade.
Once users make the upgrade to Windows 10, there’s no going back, not that anyone would want to. In addition to the free switch, users will also receive updates for the supported lifetime of their devices. Microsoft does warn that there may be hardware and software requirements that will apply, and availability may vary by particular device (and there’s some other fine print available on the Windows 10 site if you’re intrigued) but users would be wise to take advantage of this year-long opportunity for upgrades.
The free upgrade was no doubt inspired by a preference for some users to stick with Windows 7 after hearing reports from those who made the upgrade to Windows 8 and were less than thrilled with the new operating system. This threw a potential roadblock in Microsoft’s desire to be viewed as a service-centric company. The very mention of the word free has a tendency to generate interest, however, but Windows 10 also happens to be a better system. Here are a few reasons why upgrading to Windows 10 is appealing, with or without the word free attached to it.
1. Skip ahead. If you were one of the wary ones that avoided Windows 8.0 and 8.1, you can skip them completely and upgrade straight to 10.
2. More Security. Windows 10 has a much more secure browser than its predecessors and features greater compatibility with web pages and apps using legacy applications and data.
3. Improved Email. Outlook features MS Word capabilities making it easier to perform tasks like adding tables and inserting images into individual emails.
4. Customise Updates. Windows updates can be customised by individual IT managers and departments based on their specific needs. Updates can be performed according to user and type.
5. New Laptop Features. Laptops with precision touchpads will have new gestures when navigating open applications.
Those are just a few of the many good reasons to embrace the change. At AGT Computer Services, we eagerly anticipate the launch on the new system, and hope it’s here by summer. Until that time, we can help address any questions or concerns you may have with incorporating Windows 10 into your business. We serve the Blackpool, Lancashire, Fylde, Lytham and surrounding areas with cloud storage, cyber security, and system upgrades. We are a Microsoft Silver Partner for Small and Midmarket solutions and can work with you to meet all of your company’s IT needs.
There are many reasons to outsource your IT needs. For many small businesses there comes a time when their IT needs grow beyond their in-house capabilities. In the ever changing area of Information Technology, sometimes companies struggle to stay on top of upgrades and new software applications. The answer for many lies in the outsourcing of these IT needs to a reliable third-party resource like AGT Computer Services.
There are many benefits to be gained by outsourcing IT for everything from database and application management to data storage and troubleshooting technical issues. Many IT Directors may feel that outsourcing is an indictment of their talents and may be a blow to their ego, but it can actually free up their time and resources so they can be better used on expanding the business as a whole. While an in-house team may feel they can handle any problem that comes their way, or they may feel uneasy about surrendering control to an outside entity, the benefits can far outweigh any of the perceived drawbacks. One of the biggest reasons to outsource IT services is simple economics. Outsourcing saves companies money.
When a business outsources their IT needs to a company like AGT, they will start to see savings on the cost of hardware maintenance and are also guaranteed to have quick access to new applications as they become available. They stay current on upgrades as well. By outsourcing some or all of these tech services, businesses can make their IT costs more predictable and therefore more manageable. Companies can also avoid paying high licensing costs on software applications.
When employees leave the company this can many times leave employers in the lurch until they find a suitable replacement, which can be challenging enough. When you outsource your services to a trusted company like AGT Computer Services, our knowledge and expertise doesn’t walk out the door. Consequently, your business can spend less time training staff and more time moving the company forward. Recruitment and training costs are lowered as well as the training time necessary to learn upgrades and new applications. An outsourced IT team can work in tandem with in-house employees to form a solid team while taking up less space and other resources. A third party support team can provide assistance at all hours and can help business owners rest a little easier at night knowing they are protected around the clock. We can solve problems quickly and remotely.
Many companies are not able, or even willing to outsource all of their IT needs, and that’s fine. Whatever the company is comfortable with, there is a solution. If you think your company might be ready to outsource some or all of their IT needs, AGT is ready to discuss what we can do to serve you. If you have a goal in mind, let us know and we can help you reach it. At AGT Computer Services we provide IT support and cloud storage to our customers in the Blackpool, Lancashire, Lytham and Fylde areas. We allow your employees to focus on your business while we focus on your IT issues.
