Four ways your IT Service provider can help with your ESG goals

As a Small or Midsize Enterprise (SME) business owner, you may have heard of the term ESG – Environmental, Social, and Governance. ESG is a framework that organisations are using to evaluate their impact on society and the environment. 

It’s crucial not to overlook the significance of technology in achieving ESG objectives. A diligent and forward-thinking IT service provider will help you find ways to minimise your environmental impact, making them an indispensable part of any successful sustainability strategy. Don’t underestimate their role. 

Here are four ways your IT service provider should be helping with your ESG goals: 

Energy Efficiency: they should be working with you to help optimize your IT infrastructure to reduce energy utilization. For example, this could be achieved by using consumption-based cloud computing and energy-efficient hardware. Technology such as smart plugs can be used to monitor and control energy consumption across your entire business. By reducing your energy usage, you can lower your carbon footprint and contribute to a more sustainable future. 

Data Security: they should be helping you identify cyber risks and implement effective security measures to protect your business assets against threats, and they should be reporting how effective these measures are. The surge in cyberattacks, both in magnitude and frequency, is causing significant harm to SME’s. The repercussions are far-reaching and often result in a loss of customer trust, damage to reputation, as well as the possibility of regulatory action or even legal proceedings. 

Workforce Efficiency: they should be helping you transition to more efficient ways of working. For example, this can be achieved through cloud-based technology and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams. By embracing more efficient ways of working, you can reduce your carbon footprint, reduce costs, and improve employee satisfaction. 

Technology Transformation: they can help you look at ways of digitising your operations. This includes implementing tools that improve efficiency and automation. By helping you to understand how technology underpins your business processes, your IT service provider can help streamline your operations, reduce waste, and improve your overall ESG performance. 

To sum up, IT service providers are crucial in aiding SME’s to attain their ESG objectives. Collaborating with a provider that has innovative ideas will not only boost your profits but also contribute towards creating a sustainable future. 

CYAN joins the Techies Go Green Movement

CYAN Solutions Ltd, today announces that it has joined Techies Go Green, a movement of IT and tech-oriented companies who are committed to decarbonising their businesses.


CYAN
 joins the community of organisations who are aiming to become carbon-neutral by 2030 at the latest. Techies Go Green enables each member to purposefully improve their energy efficiency by collaborating and sharing practical know-how.

Started by IT distributor DataSolutions, more than 200 companies have signed up to the initiative to date.

Glyn Cheesman, IT Security & Operations Director of CYAN, said: “I’m delighted that CYAN are a signatory of Techies Go Green and part of the movement of tech-oriented companies who are committed to decarbonising their businesses”.

“The Techies Go Green movement aligns perfectly with CYAN Sustainability Pledge™ which demonstrates our commitment on the way we operate as a business, the due diligence we carry out on selecting the underlying technologies we use, and the systems and processes we have in place for protecting the environment.”


Michael O’Hara, Techies Go Green co-founder said: “We are delighted that CYAN has joined Techies Go Green – an important initiative which aims to benefit companies, people and the planet.


“It is vital that every business takes responsibility, sets targets and reduces their environmental impact on the earth. Techies Go Green is designed to support this, share ideas and make a sustainable difference.” To learn more about or become a signatory with Techies Go Green, visit Techies Go Green.

  
Find out how your technology can impact your business growth and deliver success


Take our complimentary Technology Assessment Scorecard to find out how your IT and Business Technology are performing and get an expert professional perspective on how you can improve it to better support both your current business performance and your future business growth potential.
 
 

A Year in Review

In the 12 months of 2022 CYAN gave to you...

January

CYAN begins its journey to join an elite group of IT service providers around the world who are ISO/IEC 20000 accredited, the International Standard for IT Service Management.

 

George, our apprentice, joins #teamCYAN. Look out for an update on George and his first year at CYAN coming soon!

February

CYAN were delighted to announce Glyn Cheesman as our Director of IT Security & Operations.

 

#teamCYAN completed a virtual walking challenge from Lands End to John O’Groats, a total of 1,215 miles!

 

CYAN starts COWS (CYAN Open Water Swimmers); Open water swimming improves mood, increases positivity and importantly maintains wellbeing and happiness! We have some very happy COWS!

March

It was a busy month here at CYAN; a big shout out to #teamCYAN for passing their exams and accreditations!

 

Alex – Microsoft Azure Administrator (AZ-104)

Jon – Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)

John – MS-100 Microsoft 365 Identity and Services

Tom – Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900).

Amy – AAT Final Accounts Preparation (Towards the Advanced Diploma in Accounting).

Andy – Management Essentials

Toby – Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)

April

CYAN Sustainability Pledge – CYAN partners with Ecologi to make regular contributions to help tackle the climate crisis!

May

It was that time of year again when #teamCYAN, with their 4 legged furiends, took part in the Muddy Dog Challenge raising funds for Battersea Cats & Dogs Home!

June

Here at CYAN we were delighted to announce we once again passed our ISO27001 accreditation with flying colours.

 

CYAN became an accredited Living Wage Employer.

 

We recoginsed a CYANniversary, our Business Support Manager, Clare Bond celebrated a decade @teamCYAN!

July

CYAN celebrated its 18th Birthday, Happy Birthday CYAN!

 

It also saw #teamCYAN finally let their hair down and enjoy a slightly delayed 2021 Christmas party!

August

CYAN becomes a Techies Go Green Signatory – a movement of IT and tech-oriented companies who are committed to decarbonising their businesses.

September

Our MD, Simon Bond, was invited to speak at the Entrepreneur Club Business Owners Event at St. James’s Place in London! Topics included exloring options to grow your business, breaking through the barriers that constrain your business, gaining access to funding and selling your business for the greatest possible value.

 

September saw the launch of our new website! New website. Same amazing team. Same unmatched service! If you haven’t already, please go and take a look… we are rather pleased with the new look CYAN!

 

October

CYAN achieves IASME Certification demonstating our committment to information and cyber security.

 

CYAN successfully passes its first of two external surveillance audits for achieving ISO/IEC 20000 – IT Service Management accreditation.

November

CYAN sucessfully renews its Cyber Essentials Plus certification for the fourth year running!

December

When CYAN first embarked on helping tackle the climate crisis…we set targets we felt we wanted to achieve in our first year. Its only 9 months since partnering with Ecologi and we are really proud to announce we’ve already hit those targets!

From all of us here at CYAN, we’d like to say thank you for your continued loyalty and support! It has been a pleasure to support you this year.


We’d like to wish you and your family a very happy hoiliday season, and we hope 2023 is full of joy and success for you.

cyan solutions

New website. Same amazing team. Same unmatched service.

Welcome to our first blog on our brand-new website!

As with any successful business, we never rest on our laurels and whilst we have continued to be flat out delivering “top, friendly, professional” service to our clients (their words, not ours!), we did decide it was time to revamp and refresh some aspects of our marketing and messaging.

Like all businesses, we’ve probably learnt more about the value of resilience and adaptability over the last two years than we have in the preceding decade.

However, we are fortunate to operate in a sector that lent itself to coping with the restrictions of the pandemic better than many others.

What became apparent was that many client businesses utilised some of their enforced downtime to invest in their IT and business technology to be better prepared for when their own customer base was allowed to return to normal business.

Most successful, forward-looking businesses realise it is no longer sufficient to have “adequate” business technology. If they want to get ahead of their competitors and offer their best possible service to their customers, they need secure, robust, seamless systems that have the headroom to cope with expansion.

They need uninterrupted scalability, not to mention the ability to switch smoothly to a quality IT service provider in the first place.

We find that most businesses who come to us, do so because they are experiencing one or more of the following issues:

PRODUCTIVITY

Their workforce was spending too much time trying to resolve – or waiting for their IT support people to resolve- a technology issue that was preventing them from doing their core job effectively. This results not just in wasted productivity, but also damages morale and focus and seriously reduces job satisfaction.

TRANSFORMATION

A lot of companies do not have sufficient clarity to know which business technologies they should be adopting, let alone how to integrate them efficiently into their existing work practices or how to train their personnel to utilise them. These companies are allowing their more technically savvy competitors to gain an advantage., e.g., through enabling effective hybrid working etc.

SECURITY

Cyber Security has steadily risen to the top of the agenda for many companies as the industrialisation of cyber-crime has grown inexorably. What is now simply a normal part of organised crime has become an unfortunate daily reality for millions of businesses across the world. Hacking and ransomware attacks are ubiquitous and unfortunately, many businesses approach us after they’ve experienced a security breach, whereas we would much rather they were already clients and had been protected from that breach occurring.

We don’t need to tell you that there are tens of thousands of IT consultancies out there, all vying for your business.

However, we wanted to use our updated messaging to try to crystallise and convey what makes us stand out, at least in the opinion of the hundreds of clients we’ve delighted and satisfied since 2004.

So here are some of the key differentiators that have attracted and kept so many happy clients over the years:

  • We are a certified Microsoft Gold Partner across multiple competencies. This puts us in the Top 1% of Microsoft Partners worldwide
  • We are a dedicated team of 23 in-house professionals with a vast collective experience across the full spectrum of IT and Business Technology services.
  • We are a real, physical company of people, many of whom have worked together for many years, not a disparate group of remote workers
  • As can be seen from our accreditations, we pride ourselves on keeping our training up to date and to the highest standards, an essential aspect of any successful company in our always rapidly evolving sector
  • Crucially, we have carefully honed and developed our proprietary CYAN Technology Program™ over the years to consistently provide the ultimate in thorough, efficient, and excellent professional IT and business technology support. It is a tried, tested and proven program, always tailored to each client
  • We make Sustainability a core value. Of ever-increasing importance in the modern business world, we ensure all our services are delivered with sustainability at the top of the agenda.
  • We guarantee that moving from your existing service provider to CYAN will be a simple and painless process with limited to no disruption to the operations of your business with The CYAN Easy Switch Promise™

So, please take a few minutes to browse through our new website and then if you like the sound of a team of technology experts who are driven by a passion for empowering business with the best that IT can deliver, get in touch.

Believe us when we say six months from now, you’ll wish you’d taken this approach years ago, as so many clients have told us!

IT KPI’s to track and measure

IT is an enabler. Technology can empower your business to perform better and achieve more.

With the right IT services, you can improve:

  • Efficiency (doing more with what you have)
  • Effectiveness (doing more)
  • Economy (adding greater value at less cost)
  • Experience (making the journey smoother)

But, how do you know your IT services are working the way you need them to?

As with any business function, it’s important to monitor performance. And, you need to implement IT KPI’s to track and measure, to help you decide which services are having a positive impact on your business, and which ones need to change.

Download the PDF here

 

Here are the IT KPI’s to track and measure this year.

IT Strategy Template 2021

This IT Strategy template will help you address:

  • What IT support your business requires for your services, devices, and people
  • Where you could apply Cyber Security measures to protect your business and people from cyber threats
  • How you can enable your people to work productively and efficiently.

Download Now

To reach your goals and grow your business, it’s important your IT strategy is up to par. Use this IT Strategy Template to make sure you’ve addressed all aspects of your business’ technology. This free template will help you implement a strategy that supports your systems and technology, protects your business against cyber threats, and enables your people to work productively.

Build your IT strategy by focusing on what services your business needs and which devices your employees use. It’s important to address how you’ll protect your business from cyber threats because a cyber attack could be detrimental to your business. Finally, your technology needs to empower your employees to work productively and efficiently by giving your people all the tools they need to work smarter.

Download Your IT Strategy Template Here

You can read about why your business needs an IT strategy to help you understand the impact on your business.

How Strong Is My Password?

Here’s how you can create a strong password

In the digital era, the strength of your password can be the thin line between security and vulnerability. At CYAN Solutions, we understand the importance of robust passwords and are here to guide you through creating one that’s both strong and memorable.

What is a strong password?

A strong password need not be a complex maze of characters. In fact, a lengthier password often trumps complexity. We recommend crafting a password that’s a mix of familiarity and unpredictability. Think about using phrases or combinations of words that are significant to you but would be obscure to others.

Our Top Suggestions for Crafting a Strong Password:

  • Combine your favourite book, food, and colour. For example, “GatsbySushiBlue.”
  • Use a line from a song or a movie quote that resonates with you.
  • Pick a motivational quote that inspires you.
  • Blend the names of TV shows, apps, or brands you love.
  • Mix different animal breeds, cities, or counties.
  • Create a string of three completely random words.

Enhance these combinations by inserting numbers or symbols between the words, adding an extra layer of security.

Assessing Password Security

A password might be weak if it is:

  • A single, common word.
  • An easily guessable name or date of birth.
  • Simple numeric sequences or phone numbers.
  • Basic word-number combinations.
  • Only lowercase letters or using the bare minimum length required.

Avoid using easily deduced details like your name, business name, or simplistic words on their own.

Remember, passwords such as “Password” and “123456” are alarmingly common and vulnerable.

So, to make your password more secure, avoid using your name, anyone else’s name, your house number, phone number, business name or simple words on their own.

Using strong passwords isn’t the only step you can take to keep your information safe. There are other cyber threats that you can protect yourself against. See how you can avoid falling victim to a phishing attack, and find out what other simple steps you can take to protect yourself.

Why Your Business Needs an IT Strategy

An effective IT strategy is crucial in boosting staff productivity, enhancing task and staff management, and elevating overall efficiency across your business.

What is an IT Strategy? The Key Components

Every business’s IT strategy varies, reflecting its unique needs. Nevertheless, certain core elements are integral to any IT solution. These include:

  • Business Objectives:

    • Task: Identify and document your short-term and long-term business goals.
    • Action: Conduct a technology audit to assess how your current IT setup or provider supports these goals.
    • Implementation: Create a roadmap aligning technology upgrades or acquisitions with these objectives, ensuring scalability for future growth.
  • Finances:

    • Task: Determine your IT budget based on current financial status and future projections.
    • Action: Analyse the costs versus benefits of potential technology investments.
    • Implementation: Allocate resources for essential IT upgrades, maintenance, and potential expansions, including contingency funds for unforeseen IT challenges.
  • Business Needs:

    • Task: Assess the technology needs of each department.
    • Action: Gather input from department heads about their current technology challenges and needs.
    • Implementation: Develop a plan that addresses these needs while exploring opportunities for technology integration across departments to enhance collaboration and efficiency.
  • Continuity Plans and Data Backup:

    • Task: Prepare for unforeseen events and data loss.
    • Action: Develop a comprehensive business continuity plan, including regular data backup protocols.
    • Implementation: Regularly test and update these plans to ensure effectiveness in various scenarios, including cyber-attacks, natural disasters, or other disruptions.

The Benefits of a Robust IT Strategy

  • Improved Productivity & Efficiency: Utilising IT solutions can significantly boost business productivity and efficiency. Automation and user-friendly software streamline processes, freeing up time and resources. Keeping abreast of the latest technological advancements is vital. Outsourcing IT solution design, support, and maintenance can further enhance your infrastructure, ensuring seamless remote connectivity and communication, and fostering productivity, efficiency, and quality of work.
  • Better Security & Resilience: A comprehensive cyber security strategy is essential, particularly for remote working setups. Outsourcing Cyber Security Management for a thorough assessment helps identify vulnerabilities and reduce risks, safeguarding your business, employees, and sensitive data.
  • More Competitive Advantages: Leveraging technology can significantly enhance your competitive edge. Whether it’s digitalising operations or eliminating inefficiencies, innovative technology opens up a realm of possibilities for business growth and competitive advantage. Integrating technology strategy with your overall business strategy is key in today’s tech-driven market.

A well-planned IT strategy is vital for achieving business goals and maintaining market competitiveness. By aligning technology with your business objectives, managing finances, understanding departmental needs, and ensuring robust security and data backup plans, your business can realise substantial benefits in productivity, efficiency, and market positioning.

How CYAN Solutions Can Elevate Your IT Strategy

At CYAN Solutions, we offer a comprehensive range of services to enhance your IT strategy. Our fully managed IT support encompasses an all-in-one solution, using top-of-the-range tools tailored to your unique business needs. We provide unlimited support, including site visits and remote assistance, ensuring that every IT challenge your business faces is addressed promptly and effectively. Our skilled team is committed to working in close collaboration with your team and we will craft a strategic IT roadmap that’s specifically tailored to your needs. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we are in the top 1% of Microsoft partners worldwide, giving you access to unparalleled technical expertise and support.

Our approach to cyber security is robust, employing industry-leading tools to create a secure environment that empowers your team to work without boundaries. We cover all aspects of IT support, from equipment and devices to backup and business continuity, ensuring no aspect of your IT needs is overlooked. With CYAN Solutions, transitioning to innovative IT solutions is seamless and hassle-free, thanks to our CYAN Easy Switch Promise™. Embrace superior support and experience the peace of mind that comes with knowing your IT strategy is in capable hands.

Interested in working with us? Pop us an email at [email protected] or give us a call on 02392 333 365!

Industry News Roundup December 2020

Wrapping up the year, we’ve got: a new study showing working from home cybersecurity vulnerabilities; spreading awareness of a nasty malware campaign targeting browsers; and announcements from Microsoft Teams. 

Cybersecurity Risks Threaten 2 in 5 Brits Working From Home 

Coronavirus forced many businesses into remote working during the pandemic, but how are UK businesses handling cybersecurity risks?  

new survey from Internet Service Provider and web-host Fasthosts reveals that 2 in 5 Brits are at risk of cyber-attacks while working from home due to a lack of cybersecurity knowledge, over half of Brits dont use a VPN, and a quarter of Brits have had household members come into contact with confidential data.  

This data highlights the importance of taking cybersecurity measures with work-from-home employees and protecting personal and company data through the use of VPNs, awareness of scams, data backups, virus protection software, and security best practices 

Read the full report over on Fasthosts’ blog. 

Persistent Malware Campaign” Targets Major Browsers  

Data from the Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team revealed a widespread malware campaign that can affect multiple browsers. The browser modifiers, dubbed Adrozek,”  inject harmful ads into search results, add browser extensions, and change browser settings against the users will. 

Affected browsers include Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Yandex Browser. The multi-browser reach indicates a level of sophistication different from previous browser-modifier malware campaigns which typically target a single browser. Microsoft urges personal and business users to defend against malware infections and stay informed, alert, and cautious.  

For an in-depth look at the malwares problems and Microsofts tips for preventing infection, visit the Microsoft blog. 

Microsoft Teams Outlook Integration

Microsoft has announced that in March 2021, Teams will receive an update enabling Outlook integration. Outlook on the web and for Windows will allow sharing email conversations and attachments to Teams, and Outlook for iOS and Android will allow starting a chat in Team with email recipients.  

The feature, which should be useful for business users, especially when conducting internal meetings, should help to provide a productivity and efficiency boost amid remote working. 

Head to Microsofts website to view the Microsoft 365 Roadmap.