Technology is constantly evolving, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking centre stage, transforming how we work. Forget dystopian robots; AI is here to empower your human workforce, not replace it.
Curious how your business can leverage AI to optimise processes, boost creativity, and unlock hidden potential? Let’s delve into the top 5 ways AI can supercharge your office:
1. Automating the Mundane:
Say goodbye to repetitive tasks like scheduling meetings, data entry, and email management. AI-powered tools can intelligently automate these activities, freeing up your employees to focus on higher-value work. Imagine the time saved and the boost in productivity!
Information overload is real. AI can analyse vast amounts of data, uncovering hidden patterns and trends that traditional methods miss. Use these insights to make informed decisions, optimise marketing campaigns, and predict customer behaviour, giving your business a strategic edge.
Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all solutions. AI-powered personalisation takes centre stage, tailoring experiences to individual employees and customers. From creating custom learning paths to recommending relevant products, AI fosters deeper engagement and drives better results.
Think AI can’t be creative? Think again! Use AI tools to generate design ideas, write unique content, and compose compelling music. Let AI fuel your creative brainstorms, and free your team to refine and personalise the outcomes, unleashing innovation like never before.
Language barriers can be a hurdle. AI-powered translation tools break down these barriers, facilitating seamless communication across teams and borders. Real-time translation for meetings, multilingual customer support, and even content localisation become effortless, opening doors to global collaboration and market expansion.
Ready to embrace the AI revolution? Remember, AI is a tool, not a replacement. By integrating it strategically, you empower your workforce, unlock efficiency, and drive innovation, taking your business to the next level.
Get started by:
Identifying repetitive tasks that can be automated.
Exploring data analysis tools to gain valuable insights.
Experimenting with personalisation tools to engage employees and customers.
Utilising AI-powered creative tools to fuel brainstorming sessions.
Trying out translation tools to facilitate communication
There are a growing number of technologies that businesses can use to access speedy broadband or the Internet. For years, most businesses have used ADSL, which was limited to around 28mbps. With the rollout of fibre Internet, VDSL became the predominant form of Internet, this normally uses FTTC, which is fibre to the cabinet, it then uses copper for the connection to your home, and it is normally limited to around 70Mbps. Virgin Internet has been a popular option for years, and they have progressively been increasing the speeds available with gigabit currently available. More recently, many companies are rolling out FTTP, or Fibre to the premises. This is both via BT Openreach and CityFibre and will typically start at 150mbps and go up to 1000 Mbps. An increasingly popular option is to use 5G routers as a form of Internet access, in theory, this can hit gigabit speeds, but generally, it is a few hundred megabits per second.
What is speedy broadband?
Speedy broadband is a relatively loose term, encompassing a range of different types of internet connection. This includes:
• Superfast broadband: Broadband connections of over 100 Mbps and up to 300 Mbps
• Ultrafast broadband: Broadband connections of over 300 Mbps but less than 1 Mbps
• Gigabit broadband: Broadband that supplies speeds of more than 1 Mbps, typically using full-fibre connections.
All of these options provide business premises with consistent access to high-speed download and upload capacity. Broadband refers to more than the download speed that individual devices receive, also including the WiFi connection on the premises and the connection that IoT objects have to the internet.
Benefits of speedy broadband for a business
There are several benefits of using speedy broadband in a business, including:
Website hosting
Some companies host their own websites on business servers. These companies do so as a means of cutting down on costs, as hosting your own servers means no subscription fees to external companies. However, hosting a popular website can strain your servers, increasing loading times and ruining the customer experience. By focusing on increasing the speed of a company’s broadband, you reduce load times and ensure that people have a reason to come back to your business.
More users
Faster broadband is ideal as it has more bandwidth. This means that users can have more devices on the network without degrading the quality of the service everyone receives. According to a government report, there are over 40,000 companies with more than 50 employees. A good broadband connection is a necessity for getting all of these staff members connected in a reliable way.
Media sharing
A significant part of working in a modern office is improving the media-sharing potential of the company. This means sending assets across the business, sending draft videos and content to clients and making quick edits to major files. Gigabit internet means receiving and adjusting files quickly, before sending them off again in no time at all. Companies work far more quickly with faster broadband connections, as a company’s output is much more flexible with potential for adjustments up until the last moment.
Try AGT Computer Services
If you’re looking for reliable IT support that can get your company working more effectively with a speedy broadband connection, get in touch with the AGT Computer Services team today to find out more and make the most of your company’s potential.
Ransomware attacks are nothing new, but they have been growing rapidly in recent years. One estimate puts the annual cost of such security breaches at $11trillion, with an attack every 11seconds of every day. Now there is a new player on the scene in the form of the Qlocker security threat, and it is something every SME needs to be aware of.
What is the Qlocker security threat?
The Qlocker security threat exploits a weakness in QNAP network attached storage (NAS) systems, which are permanently linked to the net. This is a popular system used by many SMEs to facilitate backups in case of system failure or ransomware attacks, yet this defence is being used against the system.
The attack does not use malware as such but exploits the software to password protect the 7zip files used for backup. To get the password to unlock the files, the victim must pay a ransom. This is pitched at an affordable 0.01bitcoin, around £263, to encourage companies to pay. By hitting a huge number of companies, this relatively small amount soon adds up for the attackers.
Why is my company at risk from the Qlocker security threat?
Unlike many ransomware attach, which target specific organisations, such as the NHS or major companies, demanding a large sum, the Qlocker security threat is much more widespread. Their software scans the net for QNAP devices and automatically exploits the weakness. They neither know or care, who you are or what you do, which means that every company, large or small is vulnerable if they use QNAP NAS.
Unfortunately, your system will not be protected by most antivirus or malware products. The Qlocker security threat simply exploits existing vulnerabilities in the system to execute the password protection scam on your files.
If you experience the Qlocker security threat, you should keep your system running. It is tempting to shut down and reboot, but this will only make things worse. QNAP’s advice is:
* immediately disable myQNAPcloud
* change the default web admin port from port 8080 to another port
* terminate any active ‘7z’ processes
Alternatively, you can contact AGT Computers and we will walk you through your immediate steps and work with you to get you up and running as soon as possible.
Avoiding the Qlocker security threat
QNAP are working to combat the Qlocker security threat and has issued a number of updates to its software. To avoid falling victim, it is important to keep your system updated with the latest versions of Multimedia Console, Media Streaming Add-on and Hybrid Backup Sync. Once again, AGT computers are on hand to help you with this and ensure that your system is as safe as possible from the Qlocker security threat.
Ongoing system security
After a year and a half of unprecedented challenges, the last thing your business needs is to take a hit from ransomware or malware. That’s why AGT offers a full suite of cyber security services, from managed cyber security, including complete cyber security training for your team, to disaster recovery and business continuity services in the event of an attack.
Our experts are available around the clock, all year round, to keep your company computers safe and keep your business data secure. To find out more about how AGT can enhance your security and help protect you against ransomware attacks like Qlocker, get in touch today or fill out our contact form. With first-class computer support in Manchester, Preston and the Fylde, you can beat the cybercriminals and protect your company both now and in the future.
Computer support has always been key to predicting the weather. It enables meteorologists to process data using complex models of the atmosphere, in order to forecast storms, flooding and droughts, both in the short term and over longer periods. From next year, the Met Office will have more computing power than ever, when a brand new £1.2bn supercomputer comes online.
What is a supercomputer?
Supercomputers are huge machines with mind-boggling processing power. While your average desktop machine will have two or perhaps four processing cores, the new Met Office machine will have 1.5million. This will enable it to process 60petaflops of data every second – that is 60 quadrillion or 60 with fifteen zeros after it. To put that in context, counting to a quadrillion would take you over 200million years.
The new Met Office supercomputer will be made up of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Cray supercomputers and will utilise cloud computing from Microsoft Azure. It will be one of the top 25 supercomputers in the world and will be six times faster than the current system. What’s more, it will be upgraded in around five years to be three times faster again.
Why do we need so much computer support?
Weather forecasting computers work by creating a simulation of the atmosphere. New data is fed into this simulation to see how it reacts, and so predict how the real atmosphere might react. The current UK weather supercomputer (which cost a bargain £97m) processes 200billion pieces of data a day from satellites, global weather stations and even ocean buoys, and at six times faster, the new system will significantly increase this processing power. The more data you put in, the more accurate the forecast you get out.
Why spend so much on weather forecasting?
Accurate weather forecasting means much more than just wearing the right coat or planning a barbecue at the weekend. Forecasts allow the authorities to prepare for extreme weather events, such as floods or droughts that risk wildfires. They also help the energy companies to prepare for increased demand during cold spells. In the longer term, accurate weather forecasts allow us to monitor climate change and proactively protect ourselves from the effects.
Is it worth £1.2bn?
The new supercomputer may be the biggest single investment ever by the Met Office, but it is well worth it. With extreme weather events becoming more commonplace, it is more important than ever to have accurate weather forecasts as far into the future as possible. One government estimate says that for every £1 spent on the new supercomputer, the economy will benefit by around £19 – so it’s pretty good value for money, even with such a huge price tag.
Helping the climate
As well as predicting the climate, the new supercomputer will support it too, as it will be powered entirely by renewable energy. Part of its work will be to support the UK in its goal of net zero emissions by 2050. As Professor Penny Endersby, Met Office Chief Executive explains: “This investment will ultimately provide the information needed to build a more resilient world in a changing climate and help support the transition to a low carbon economy across the UK. It will help the UK to continue to lead the field in weather and climate science.”
Computer support in Manchester and Preston
Of course, you don’t need to have 60petabytes of processing power to enjoy top class computer support for your business. AGT Computer Services are here to support the computer systems that support your business, with responsive, reliable service from our expert team available around the clock. We might not be able to tell you if it’s going to rain, but we can always help you with the cloud.
There is a semiconductor shortage right now, and it is affecting all of us.
Semiconductors, or computer chips as they are more widely known, are part of almost every element of our lives these days. Not only do they appear in our computers, smart phones and laptops, they are also fundamental to all kinds of other devices, from cars to toasters to washing machines. As technology becomes more sophisticated, with the internet of things, and more cars become electric, the number of chips required will only increase.
All eggs in one basket
Given the prevalence of computer chips in modern equipment and machinery, it is staggering to find that more than half of the world supply comes from just one company, TSMC, in Taiwan. With a further 20% made by Samsung in South Korea, the two companies together account for three-quarters of the world’s microchip production, or around 750bn chips per year.
A global shortage
The inflexibility of this set-up has been brought to a head by the global pandemic, with significant swings in global demand causing real problems in the supply chain. In the motor industry, a big drop in sales at the start of 2020 meant many car manufacturers cancelled their chip orders. When the market bounced back unexpectedly quickly later that year, many of these firms were left high and dry, without the crucial chips they needed to meet the sudden surge in demand. One estimate puts lost sales at $60bn, with many car firms having to mothball production plants for lack of chips.
Not just cars
At the other end of the scale, the pandemic has brought an unprecedented demand for consumer electronics. The change in lifestyle has seen a huge rise in sales of everything from Play Stations and XBoxes to entertain the locked-down masses, to PCs and laptops for homeworkers. With companies like Apple far bigger customers than the motor manufacturers, they are inevitably jumping the new queue, making the semiconductor shortage even worse.
Why can’t we just make more chips?
It isn’t as easy as just increasing production. A new chip manufacturing plant is a high-tech environment and can cost as much as $20bn to build. Creating the cleanrooms required also makes it a lengthy process. But that doesn’t mean that other countries aren’t trying. Europe has set an ambitious target for 20% of its chips to be manufactured in the EU by 2030 and President Biden has said that he is “directing senior officials in my administration to work with industry leaders to identify solutions to the semiconductor shortage”. Unfortunately, neither of these plans will help the immediate semiconductor shortage worldwide.
Geopolitical tensions
As if the limited manufacturing issues weren’t bad enough, the fact that 55% of world production is based in the disputed territory of Taiwan makes matters much worse. The simmering tensions between the US and China, and between China and Taiwan, make the global semiconductor market a stressful and secretive business. It is all far too complicated to go into here, but you can learn more about it by listening to the BBC Business Daily programme on BBC Sounds.
How long will the semiconductor shortage last?
Most estimates for the scale of the semiconductor shortage range from at least a few months up to the rest of this year and beyond. A recent fire at one of the big chip manufacturing plants has put many of these estimates back even further, and with continuing uncertainty over second and third waves of Covid across the world, no one can be really sure when the semiconductor shortage will finally resolve itself.
This makes it all the more important to maintain the equipment you have in the best possible condition by using expert computer support in Manchester, Preston and Blackpool from AGT. With uncertainty about where your next machines are coming from, your current IT system is more important to you than ever before. Contact our friendly team today to see how AGT can help your company to make its IT systems last longer.
Working from home may seem strange, but if you look back, you’ll be amazed at how many other ways the workplace has changed. New technology has radically altered the way we work, but most of these changes happened gradually, until the pandemic came along. Faced with tiers, lockdowns and movement restrictions, many people across the UK have found themselves working from home, often for the first time.
Most companies would never have considered a remote workforce as little as 18months ago. Now they run their entire operation from the spare bedrooms and kitchen tables of their staff. Some people have come to love the freedoms and the work life balance that working from home brings. Others have found that they miss the banter, the collaboration and what the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, describes as “people riffing off each other”.
So, is working from home here to stay, or is it a passing convenience that will fade as vaccinations and testing get the virus under control?
Industry opinion is split, with as many people predicting a permanent change as there are longing for a swift return to the office.
Working from home is the future
One strong advocate of the work from home model is Zoom, a name most of us had barely heard of last year. The video conferencing platform saw sales rise by 326% to $2.6bn in 2020 and predicts a further 40% rise in 2021. “The future is here with the rise of working from home,” says CEO Eric Yuan.
Many companies in the tech sector have also taken to the working from home model. Spotify, Facebook and Twitter have all announced that working from home as part of their future plans. Microsoft predicts working from home part of the time to be ‘standard for most roles’.
Working from home is a fad
In the opposing corner, there are many companies who feel that working from home has had a negative effect on their productivity. JP Morgan and Barclays are typical of the financial sector in opposing the concept. Goldman Sachs boss, David Solomon, even goes as far as to describe working from home as “an aberration that we are going to correct as soon as possible.”
Even the Chancellor himself has weighed in on the debate. In a piece in the Daily Telegraph, he warned that some staff may quit if companies force them to work from home. “You can’t beat the spontaneity, the team building, the culture that you create in a firm or an organisation from people actually spending physical time together,” he said.
Here to help however you are working
At AGT, we have been working on throughout the pandemic, helping to keep companies connected. Whether they are soldiering on in the office, or struggling with remote networks as part of working from home. Our team can help your company to create safe, secure networks to connect remote workers. This ensures that they can continue to provide the same high levels of customer service, and enjoy the same degree of creative interaction with colleagues. We can also help with on-site computer support for remote workers who no longer have the luxury of calling their own tech team to fix their computer problems.
As companies return to their traditional offices, AGT will be on hand to support staff as they reacquaint themselves with the office systems, helping companies to get the most out of their IT and their team.
Flexible support whatever the future holds
From Nationwide Building Society, who have said that they will not force anyone back into the office, to Amazon, who plan to “return to an office-centric culture as a baseline”, there is no clear picture of what the future workplace will look like post-pandemic. But whatever your company’s plans, it’s good to know you can count on AGT computer support in Manchester, Preston and the Fylde.
The cloud has revolutionised how we access and back-up our data, with files available on multiple machines, wherever and whenever we need them. You can create a document at work, check it on your train ride home, and make changes to it at home – then find the amended version waiting for you on your work computer the next morning. Better still, you can collaborate with colleagues around the country, or even around the world, and all have access to the latest version of the document.
The cloud is so useful and flexible that a lot of people think that they don’t have a business back-up service anymore. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The cloud is great for access, and for backing-up your main files, but it is not a substitute for a full, professional back-up service in the North West, such as the one provided by the Manchester computer support team at AGT.
Why cloud sync services are not back ups
There are a number of key differences that make cloud sync services, such as iCloud, Google Drive and Dropbox, and business back-up services two very different animals.
Limited storage – most people only use the free, entry level of their cloud sync service, or pay a small fee for the next level up. This is fine for your day to day files, but it is nowhere near large enough to provide a full back up.
Limited security – there have been a number of cases recently where a ransomware attack has not only encrypted the
host machine, but also the connected cloud back-up files.
Limited back-up – cloud sync services only back up files, not the software or other data stored on your computer.
This means you could have to re-install everything on your new machines and may even have to pay for your software a second time.
Unlimited vulnerability – the fact that any connected colleague can contribute to a cloud stored file, also means that any of them could accidentally delete it, permanently.
Unlimited restoration time – even if you do have a comprehensive back-up stored on your cloud sync service, restoring your files over the internet can take days and days, with your files constantly at risk of corruption or the back-up failing at any point.
Reliable business server back-up from AGT
While cloud sync services certainly have their place, they are no substitute for professional back-up services from AGT. We will take a full copy of your server and store it safely and separately, so that it is safe from hackers, natural disasters and any other risks, so you can rest assured that it will always be ready whenever you need it.
Our back-ups are done automatically, so you’ll never forget, and we’ll regularly monitor your back-up and fix any problems pro-actively without you ever knowing there was an issue. The whole thing happens behind the scenes, keeping your company data safe and giving you the peace of mind that even in the worst disaster, your company can bounce back fast with a fast and effective disaster recovery plan.
Back on track fast
Our expert team of Preston computer support engineers will help get your company back up and running in just 24hours, with access to all your files, software and data. There is no need to log on for days to download your files. Our team will reimage your data, software and files onto your new server straight away, so you can get back to business without missing a step. We can even help you set up secure remote access if your premises have been compromised, so your staff can keep working from home using their familiar desktops and software, and with access to all the data they need.
Don’t get lost with your head in the cloud. Find out more about reliable, affordable and simple computer back-up services in Preston, Manchester and across the Fylde by contacting AGT Computers today.
Aside from the obvious pandemic situation, we love taking a look back to reflect on what’s worked and what hasn’t over the past 12 months.
A time for IT based reflection if you will…
This year has undoubtedly been one of the strangest, most changeable, unsettled years of our lifetimes.
But, ever the optimists we are, we believe there’s a lot to learn from it all too!
What’s gone well for your business?
What hasn’t worked out so well?
And what do you want to do differently in 2021?
The unscheduled move to remote working has been a blessing in disguise for some businesses, after the initial upheaval of course, but many have found the new ‘normal’ works surprisingly well! Will your company be continuing to work remotely in the future post-pandemic world? Or will you be returning back to the ‘old normal’? Either way, it’s a good idea to plan what this means for your IT infrastructure (luckily, we’ve written a blog about that right here)
Other things we’ve noticed are that businesses have saved money, they’ve found innovative new ways to continue and succeed, plus they’ve been able to use their technology in new and productive ways. We’re proud to say we’ve had a hand in helping our existing clients navigate their way through those hazy months of lockdown and still come out the other side on top!
We’d love to hear your 2020 lookbacks, and we’d love to hear your 2021 plans even more. You know where to find us, and hopefully from reading our blogs, you’ll know what we can do for you! So, let’s talk… get in touch with our guys here.
Christmas IT support
PS: don’t forget we’re your 24/7 365 days a year IT support – we’ll be enjoying our turkey and trimmings, BUT we’re also on hand and right by the phone when you need us over the Christmas break. Merry Christmas all, have a fantastic one!
The Christmas trees are up (some even earlier than usual), the festive tunes are playing on the radio and it’s now socially acceptable to eat a mince pie for breakfast (it’s true, we double checked!) So, the final month of the year is upon us… and what a year it’s been!
So, whilst we ramp up on the calorific food intake, it’s also a time to get ahead on your 2021 planning, and more specifically, your IT strategy for the year ahead.
Whether you’ve outgrown your initial growth strategy OR this is the first time you’re tackling it, we’ve got all the info you need for a year of IT based success…
Outline your business goals – it’s incredibly important to consider how your IT infrastructure will accommodate your overall business plans for 2021. Your IT strategy should support and complement your goals so you’ll need to think about your sales pipeline and sales targets too. How can your infrastructure make achieving those goals realistic? What about any future partnerships you plan on making? Will you make any acquisitions or mergers along the way? How will your infrastructure support this kind of growth? You should also consider action plans for individual departments. Will some departments require additional IT tools or support? Will the whole business benefit from your plan, or will it need adapting for key people or departments?
Identify your key people – You no doubt already know who they are but are they the same people who are responsible for delivering your IT strategy? Do you have an internal IT dept OR does it make more sense to work with an external IT support partner? If you opt for external, then who is the person who’ll be your main liaison between the two? Once you know who they are, schedule in a chat to find out how they currently use the tech they have and if there are any elements they need to make the job easier for all?
Review your current IT infrastructure – It’s been a pretty strange year with many teams having to instantly adapt to remote working, a lot of which we’ve covered in our earlier blogs (you can find those here by the way), BUT does your current infrastructure do what you need it to do? As mentioned above, speak to your key people in each department to find out how they’re currently utilising their resources: • What improvements do they feel could be made? • What would make their job easier? • What is making things more difficult than they need to be?
Hit the IT Road…map – This might sound like the hardest step, but creating a roadmap for your new IT strategy is vital. It’s not as complicated as it sounds BUT this is probably where you could do with some help from a strategic IT partner, such as us (hey!). You’ll need to think about your overall technological architecture, which includes hardware, software, and other tools your people will be relying on. Your IT partner should be able to make the appropriate recommendations to fit your requirements, as well as suggest tools that will all work with each other seamlessly. Section your roadmap into departments, and the differing technologies they’ll require. This will help to give you an overview of how everything will fit together when the time comes for implementation.
Define the new metrics – last but by no means least, check whether your shiny new IT strategy is cost effective too! Break it all down by department again and double check those KPI’s match up too. If you’re making a big transition in your IT, remember it’s not always a quick fix, so you’ll need to allow for a short period of adjustment in the New Year. Creating and tracking a range of metrics will give you a fantastic insight into how well your new technology infrastructure is working for you. It’ll also allow you to be more proactive in identifying and solving minor issues as they arise. And importantly, before your team is impacted.
Or y’know, we could just take all of that off your hands, ready to get going on Jan 1st.
2020, we could say it’s been… emotional, but we’re ready for you 2021! Give us a bell here
PS: don’t forget we’re your 24/7 365 days a year IT support – we’ll be enjoying our turkey and trimmings, BUT we’re also on hand and right by the phone when you need us over the Christmas break. Merry Christmas all, have a fantastic one!
We’re going out on a limb here, and we’re going to assume that some companies find themselves wondering why they would spend money on hiring an external IT support company when they’ve got someone in house who knows a bit about data systems and tech support…
Ah, but IT support is so,so, SO much more than this.
It’s being there for you on Christmas Day when your systems have crashed and that Boxing day order is in peril.
It’s finding the problems and solving them before you even noticed they were an issue.
It’s staying on top of updates, like Windows 10 going out of fashion for example (check out the blog on that here).
It’s ensuring every single one of your team is working to full capacity at all times without anything technical slowing them down.
It’s making that big office move into a seamless transition… your team leaves the old office at 5pm on a Friday and returns to a brand new, ready to go office at 9am on Monday.
It’s quickly and easily moving your workforce onto secure remote working in the event of an ‘unprecedented’ pandemic (we’re looking at you Covid!)
It’s having a plan, and a back-up plan, and a back-up to your back-up plan just in case.
It’s zero downtime, it’s faster WiFi, it’s hacker-free, it’s security, it’s privacy, it’s everything you need to run a successful business.
