How Cyan Solutions Helped Toto Energy drive rapid Growth

About Toto Energy

Founded in 2016, Toto Energy is a UK utilities supplier with a mission to make gas and electricity more affordable.

From the start, the company had plans to grow rapidly. After just one year, Toto Energy supplied more than 55,000 domestic properties nationwide.

Finding a partner for launch – and growth

Before the business was launched Toto Energy considered its IT and the infrastructure that would be needed to power its day-to-day operations.

“We had a good idea of the challenges we would face,” says Jonathan Corbishley, Head of IT at Toto Energy. “We were looking for someone to host a remote desktop platform for us, consolidating everything into one place so we could expand and grow across multiple sites. We knew our growth would be fast-paced and we needed a partner that could keep up.”

To compare suppliers, Toto Energy put out a tender and conducted a detailed comparison of both pricing and service. “Cyan was deemed to be both cost-effective and offer the quality of service we expect as a fast growth business”.

Plan
A partner for the earliest IT discussions

We became involved in Toto Energy’s IT at its earliest stages of planning and design.

This included integrations with a wide range of applications and services, including a specialist billing platform and customer relationship management (CRM) system for the utilities sector.

“Early on we were in discussions with industry-specific software suppliers, so we could handle different types of data flow in billing,” says Jonathan. “It was key that these suppliers were well-integrated with our wider IT, so Cyan came in on the discussions soon after.”

“We got a lot of input from Cyan on whether key supplier services could be hosted in a virtual environment, which had never been done before. Cyan were confident it could be done and, consequently, it has been done. That was a hugely important factor for us.”

We were also involved in discussions about how to best implement a hosted cloud desktop platform, including key considerations like load balancing and scaling.

Create
A proactive approach to IT design

After successfully designing and testing a way to include key supplier services in the hosted platform, we implemented Toto Energy’s full IT infrastructure smoothly and seamlessly.

“There’s always a lot to be done to make sure that everything can talk to everything else,” says Jonathan. “In IT there are so many small things you may not consider when building a list of requirements, but Cyan are always one step ahead. The team’s proactive approach helped us get up-and-running quickly.”

“Cyan go the extra mile to make sure everything is working and functioning before signing anything off. They don’t stop until you’re completely happy and that’s one of the many ways they’re so good to work with.”

Following robust testing, our team delivered a bespoke cloud architecture that gives users the same experience and access to business applications wherever they are located. New users can be added with a few clicks, making it easy to meet the demands of growth. This is all hosted in a tier 4 data centre with the highest levels of resilience and data capacity.

Maintain
A lasting partnership of support and strategy

Following the launch of Toto Energy, we have continued to provide ongoing support and maintenance – both at a helpdesk and management level.

“With our platform, we can adapt very quickly if we have a big influx of staff, for example into the call centre. Cyan can add new servers quickly and we can grow as fast as we want to, without being limited by our IT.”

“Cyan have played an integral role in our success by supporting our IT estate and strategy, at all levels. It’s not a supplier/customer relationship, it’s more of a partnership.”

Empowering Toto Energy’s rapid growth

Toto Energy continues to achieve its ambitious targets for growth through acquiring customers and rolling out smart meters. Jonathan identifies our IT services as an important part of this growth.

“The extent of Cyan’s support and the flexibility of the platform has allowed us to grow very quickly. They’re positive to work with, they’re engaging, and, above all, they’re invested in us – and that won’t change as we grow, which is excellent.”

 

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How technology innovation can improve efficiencies for charities

Technology innovations help charities deliver critical services, engage new supporters and raise money faster than has ever been possible before. Through leveraging the range of options available, non-profit organisations can increase their effectiveness and agility, whilst future-proofing the technology investment. In particular, utilising the cloud can make the day to day running of a charity so much easier and is extremely cost-effective.

Here are our top 5 ways that such organisations can benefit from migrating their systems to the cloud.

1. Discounted Licences

Microsoft strives to make its software donation programme as accessible as possible to charitable organisations around the world. Globally, they give away £1.5 million worth of software every day. Office 365 Business Essentials (which comprises of Exchange email, OneDrive and browser versions of Office applications) can be free for eligible not-for-profit organisations. There are a range of subscription models available, so even if you are benefitting already it is worth having an expert review your licenses as you may be able to realise even greater cost savings.

2. Equipment Savings

By migrating your IT infrastructure and applications to the cloud you can significantly reduce the hefty hardware costs associated with maintaining or replacing your physical servers. Desktops can be repurposed instead of replaced. Plus, staff can take advantage of using their own devices to connect to the apps and data they need.

3. Improved Security

Cyber security is becoming a critical issue for all organisations. For charities who may be handling sensitive data, such as patient or supporter records and financial information linked to donations, security will be very high on their list of priorities. It’s therefore important to know that your valuable data is being protected. Having your data residing in a datacentre with high levels of security, governance and data protection, is a much better option than using on-site servers.

4. Greater Accessibility

Many charities rely heavily on remote and mobile workers or volunteers, as opposed to centrally based office teams. By migrating to cloud based technology services there is no limit as to what can be shared by the entire organisation. All files and applications can be shared with all users, ensuring consistent and timely communications.

5. Growth and Flexibility

If you are taking on more staff or a group of volunteers for a single campaign, then with a good cloud strategy it can be easy and quick to get them up and running with access to the data and applications they need. It’s also easy to close their accounts once the campaign is over.

We offer free licensing audits for all charities and can review where cost savings and operational efficiencies could be made. Contact our expert team today to find out more.

How internet of things is shaping the workplace of the future

Internet of things, or IoT, is one of the most prominent technologies in recent and emerging products by tech giants. Projections show that it could be worth in excess of hundreds of billions of dollars in the near future. But with all that data flying around in the cloud, just how is Internet of Things going to shape the workplace of the future?

IoT is going to have a big impact on how the day-to-day running of businesses up and down the country in the future. We need only look at the popularity of products that harness IoT in the home to realise that it is here to stay. And in this century, things that stay don’t just stay – they grow.

Both Google Home and Amazon Echo, the two main competitors in the AI-powered home voice-assistant market, have gained considerable traction throughout 2016 and 17. But if we look even further back we can see the beginnings of the IoT takeover way before that. Cloud-based technology offered an attractive way for businesses to back up and access data with speed and efficiency. Now IoT offers data on a herculean scale.

So just how will Internet of Things shape the workplace of the future?

Remote working

Working outside of a traditional office has seen a huge increase over the past couple of years. It is an attractive way for workers to conduct their tasks autonomously. Now IoT is making remote working a plausible option for businesses and industries that would never have thought them possible. Intelligent networking solutions could allow employees to connect to central databases and technologies in the office/factory floor from as far away as possible.

Efficiency and productivity

IoT developments are always made with the goal of improving productivity and enabling growth. A great deal of these technologies will improve workplace efficiency and productivity by allowing easy access to data and enabling quick and intelligent analysis. These also empower management to understand their workforce in detail and make smart choices in order to make operations more easily scalable.

Data-powered… pretty much everything

Possibly the biggest way IoT will effect the workplace surrounds data. Data-powered advertising and marketing is already a must, enabling smart connections between businesses and consumers. The access to valuable data that IoT provides will enable businesses to better understand their customers and take advantage of that knowledge.

Administration empowered

Administrative tasks will be able to be undertaken with a far greater level of ease, due to intelligent database designs. Companies will be able to keep track of their inventory at a molecular level, tracking the products from materials through manufacturing all the way to the point of sale. This frees up staff for more important tasks and allowing a higher production rate.

Does a lack of cloud computing standards compromise its use?

Cloud computing is now utilised by a large number of SMEs to the benefit of their respective organisations. We believe that every business should be benefiting from the cloud. However, many of the most common issues that new businesses have in utilising cloud-based technologies comes from misinformation.

In this article we look at one of the most commonly cited cloud computing myths.

Overcoming misconceptions about the cloud can be a big challenge when launching new projects. Understanding how cloud technologies work and what they can deliver can be difficult enough without the facts being distorted.

With misinformation comes false expectations. With false expectations comes false understanding. And false understanding can lead to projects being started with an incorrect direction. As with any new technology, it is of paramount importance to understand exactly what can be expected before you launch.

As cloud computing is in it’s (relative) infancy, it’s understandable that we have seen a fair share of myths and misinformation. These can distort your planning stages and, as a result, jeopardise projects. In order for you to better make an informed decision about what cloud services are right for your organisation, we want to look at one of the biggest cloud computing myths…

“A lack of cloud computing standards compromises its use.”

We have heard the above statement made on multiple occasions by a variety of different professionals from different backgrounds. At its heart is a very understandable concern. What these professionals all want to be sure of is that standards are in place that won’t jeopardise the viability of their project further down the line. But a lack of centralised cloud computing standards is unlikely to be as much of an issue as thought.

While it is right so suggest that with new technologies comes a lack of standards across the board, this doesn’t necessarily correlate to a compromisation of usage. For the majority of SMEs, the lack of cloud computing standards shouldn’t be viewed as a barrier. The reason is simple – each cloud provider has their own specific tools that allows users to handle a portion of their platform.

At this point, when the user has access to a single cloud provider, adherence to standards doesn’t and shouldn’t matter.  What matters is that the user is able to use their cloud provider’s own management tools to handle, amongst other things, operating systems, hardware and application software.

Their may be some issues – but not so much that they can’t be overcome

It is important to note that a lack of cloud computing standards could become an issue for certain projects. In particular, if your project focuses on building applications that are tightly coordinated between your own personal data-centre and the cloud, or different cloud providers, you are going to need to tune your problem management practices for the cloud. But you’d need to do this if there were standards anyway.

Rather than dismiss the cloud on these grounds, it’s far better to weigh the potential pitfalls against the alternatives.

Some of the most innovative applications of VR by businesses we’ve seen so far

Over the past couple of years VR for business has seriously come to the fore. Although much of the technology itself has been around for decades, it was only really in 2016 when the public truly got their hands on it. As with any period of mass-scale adoption of technology by consumers, businesses have leapt at the chance of getting a slice of the virtual pie.

Since the Pokémon Go phenomenon we have seen some of the most innovative applications of VR by businesses to date.  The reason VR and augmented reality has been so successful is simple. Virtual reality offers users access to an immersive experience beyond the 2D reality of a smartphone or tablet screen. Businesses and companies are able to offer them more than just offer content – they can allow users themselves to become the content.

However, VR for business is not just a case of providing entertainment. Other companies have harnessed technology in order to provide a service or application that assists with day-to-day life – case and point, Google’s Nascent Tango.

We’ve collected together some of the most innovative applications of VR by companies to date.

Niantic
Pokémon Go

The VR app that really requires no introduction whatsoever. Niantic’s Pokémon Go caught on (pun intended) back in July 2016, eventually hitting 600 million total downloads. Pokémon Go was actually an evolution of a location-based augmented reality game called Ingress, created in partnership with Nintendo. The results are well known – thousands upon thousands of gamers suddenly finding themselves wandering around the real world.

Snap
The original AR filters

Snap is the technology company behind social networking app Snapchat, providing ephemeral visual messaging for a primarily younger audience. The original innovative application of VR here is in the host of augmented reality filters for photos and videos. Theses features have proved so successful that they have been assimilated by other social networks, such as Facebook and Instagram.

Google
Tango

When it comes to popular technology, you can bet Google won’t be far behind, and the same is true with VR. In 2016 it’s hardware operations fiercely launched into the AR/VR world with Daydream View VR headset and Google Home smart speaker. But one project that is really innovative is Tango which plans on being able to measure physical space without the need for external signals; this would allow positional AR in a revolutionary way. For example it would be able to see how rooms would look with or without a specific decor or furniture.

Osterhout Design Group
R-7 AR and VR System

As far as business use of VR goes, this one really takes the biscuit. The R-7 VR systems requires no wires, connections or batteries and has been used by companies across the world for instruction and learning. Industries include automotive, mining, aerospace, healthcare and energy.

NextVR
Live VR Event Broadcasts

One other type of technology that has seen a return to popularity in recent years it is live streaming. It’s no wonder that one or two companies have thought to combine these two things. NextVR are the leading provider of live VR broadcasts of all types of events, such as sports tournaments and concerts.

Common places where SMEs slip-up when using the cloud

When moving their systems over to the cloud, many SMEs make important decisions about how they are and aren’t going to utilise their new technologies. It’s at this point that many slip up. While on the face of it some decisions may seem like a no-brainer, get down to the nitty-gritty and you’ll soon find that this is not the case at all.

We all make mistakes from time to time, especially when it comes to altering our business systems. After all, when work has been conducted in a particular way for a long period of time, it’s the least we can expect. However, some mistakes, no matter how well-founded they seem, can have dire consequences.

In order to help you avoid slipping up and making mistakes that could potentially be damaging to your organisation, we’ve collected some of the most common places where SMEs slip up when using the cloud.

Throwing all their eggs in the cloud-based-basket in one go

It’s all too common for medium sized enterprises to want to migrate to the cloud all in one go. It’s an understandable mistake to make; people want to avoid seeing their expenses rise and potentially losing money during the transition. However, immediately sacking off your traditional legacy systems when migrating can have some serious consequences.

It’s important to be realistic. In the case of cloud migrations, it’s not uncommon for these to last up to a year or more. In order to see your business run smoothly throughout this time, you are absolutely going to need to keep hold of your legacy systems, and the professionals who you pay to run them for the interim.

Throughout the migration process you will also see more clearly just how much you are going to be able to rely on cloud-based technology for your own applications. Bear in mind that there is likely to be one or two applications that you will need to retain on your traditional systems for a little longer, whether for economics sake or for limitations in those technologies.

Utilising the cloud for computing but avoiding putting your data on there

Utilising the cloud for compute and data center space but keeping your data on traditional systems often has a detrimental effect on your data as a whole. For one thing, this kind of process will often end up making your data even more vulnerable as you have to ensure security across the board yourself. It will also result in a large amount of latency and your processes will suffer.

Many cloud-based services are far more secure than you would first think. It has been shown that it’s not geographical location but ease of access that results in the biggest risks. For this reason, traditional systems are actually often more at risk than many cloud-services.

Expecting too much too soon from cloud based computing

As with anything, you’ve got to be realistic. If you overestimate just how beneficial migrating to the cloud will be in terms of ROI in the short-term, you are simply setting yourself up to fail. At Cyan Solutions, we ensure that we understand your exact needs before we suggest which services are right for you.

Tips to be more mobile friendly

Being mobile-friendly isn’t a choice any more. More people than ever are choosing to use mobile – and that figure is only going to get bigger. So a strong mobile strategy is key to ensuring you don’t get left behind. Let’s look at a few ways you can be more mobile friendly this year…

Between 2013 and 2016 time spent on digital media grew by 53 percent  – an exponential rate compare to previous periods. Of that growth, 80 percent was accounted for by mobile apps.

Mobile usage is at an all time high. Search engines are aware of this and have now altered their algorithms to take this into account. This is a worthy cause – they want to be sure that they provide users with the best possible SERPs, and if that means mobile-friendly content then they will certainly champion that.

Of course, this means that in order to avoid being penalised current businesses need to analyse their current strategy, and assess where and how they are focussing on mobile. Not only that, but content needs to be accessible where users spent most of their time.

What does a mobile strategy look like?

At it’s heart, a mobile strategy needs to be focussed on gaining – and retaining – audience attention. Optimisation is of course vital, but mobile use is fast paced and users are likely to move on quickly if content doesn’t appear to work for them. A good mobile strategy ensures that your content is accessible on the widest range of devices.

The likelihood is that you have already addressed the “mobile friendly” concept. It has been a big focus of digital strategies for quite some time now. But in order to stay relevant, we can all benefit from assessing how our efforts can be furthered. Here are a few tips to be more mobile friendly:

Ensure your content is optimised for mobile reading

Mobile is very different to desktop when it comes to content. Whereas you can create a great downloadable resource or document on these devices, often they are unsuitable for mobile. The good thing about mobile is that it actually compliments text. Just be sure that your content is formatted for readability and is skimmable in order to keep reader attention. Your mobile site should be void of unsightly widgets and excess buttons that take up the screen and distract readers.

Ensure you don’t scrimp on pixel density for images

Most mobile devices have high quality or HD screens. You content needs to look good on all screens, so you need to have high quality images for crisp viewing on 1080p and 4K screens. Focus on responsive design to ensure the ideal image size is show on mobile.

Ensure file sizes aren’t affecting load times

Load times are big business – especially on mobile. Try to keep file sizes as small as possible while retaining the best crisp visuals possible in order to ensure users don’t get bored and give up on your site. There are many tools that can allow you to reduce file sizes while retaining quality such as (obviously) Photoshop, but also some web apps.

Cyan delivers sustainable solutions and increases confidence in IT at Sands

About Sands

The Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society provides bereavement support services to anyone affected by the death of a baby, as well as working closely with health care professionals to improve the quality of bereavement care and promoting research to reduce infant deaths.

Sands’ operations are multi-layered, and the charity’s strategic objectives are delivered by a team of full-time and part-time employees who are based across multiple locations, as well as a large network of volunteers.

Transforming perceptions of Sands’ IT

On joining the charity in 2015, Danyanne Quemper, Director of Finance and Resources at Sands, was challenged with improving the IT infrastructure

“60% of our staff work outside of London, many of whom work directly with our Group network of 106 local groups across the country” she says. “There was absolutely no confidence in our ability to drive IT centrally and frustrations had led to a lot of people losing faith in the technology. It was considered average to have downtime of at least 30 minutes a day.”

Danyanne contacted the Charity IT Association (CITA), a network of volunteers to help not-for-profit organisations improve their IT.

“They helped us run our procurement process and the approach from Cyan stood out in terms of value for money, coupled with a perfect fit for the careful, understanding approach we needed.”

Plan

Expert IT guidance with charity-specific knowledge

After reviewing the plethora of existing vendors and uptime issues, we began planning a more efficient, centralised solution that would increase control and resilience of the charity’s IT estate. We also secured software licensing discounts available for the charity sector which Sands had not previously been aware of.

“There were immediate cost-savings in the model that Cyan proposed,” says Danyanne. “It was clear that the team understood the industry and how charities work. By replacing our IT as an integrated piece of work, Cyan delivered real synergy.”

A series of meetings and observations with Sands’ staff ensured the team felt listened to – an important first step in rebuilding damaged confidence in technology.

“From the start Cyan took a measured approach to delivering an integrated IT solution for Sands; they instilled confidence in the process and the team was great at communicating with us to find the very best solution to every problem.” adds Danyanne

Create

Bringing disjointed IT into a centralised platform

We developed a bespoke cloud desktop solution for Sands, centralising all the information and applications needed – accessible from anywhere at any time. Using this cloud platform, the team at Sands could consistently access up-to-date information and tools.

“The solution does exactly what we need it to and the feedback from our staff has been fantastic,” says Danyanne. “We were also impressed by how effectively everything was implemented. Within 4 months of starting to look for ways to improve our IT we were up-and-running with a more flexible, secure and resilient system.”

We also helped Sands transform its telephony infrastructure – an area where technology was also fragmented and inefficient.

“We had a designated helpline, but it wasn’t connected to any other phones,” says Danyanne. “This sometimes resulted in staff having to redirect bereaved callers which undermined the wonderful work of our staff team. Cyan provided a new hosted infrastructure for our telephony, as well as the training and support our people needed to use it.”

Maintain

Knowledgeable support at every level

We have continued to support Sands with day-to-day helpdesk services as well as more complex projects, including an office relocation and migration to a new datacentre.

“What makes Cyan unique is how kind, patient and knowledgeable people are at every level of the business. I’ve had experiences where the further you walk into an organisation, the less you see of the quality and skill that is evident at CEO level. Every member of the team at Cyan talks and walks the same consistent customer values.”

Our role in technical support provides a diverse network of employees and volunteers with a single point of contact.

A partnership built on trust

Sands continues to work to achieve its aims with its former myriad of complex IT structures now streamlined through a bespoke cloud platform supported by our expert team.

“I would absolutely recommend Cyan. At Sands, we have this thing about ‘feeling like you’re being held within a process’ – that level of safety and reassurance. That’s how Cyan has made us feel.  It gives us added confidence when we face new challenges, like GDPR compliance, to know that we’re with a truly supportive team who understand our organisation.”

 

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Will AI ever completely replace human customer service?

Artificial intelligence (AI) has had more than its fair share of news lately. From good news stories about some of the most innovative applications of AI in schools and business, right down to concerning stories about the ‘rise of the machines’. But just how much will it affect jobs – will AI ever completely replace human customer service?

It’s important to note before we go on that mature AI technologies are still relatively in their infancy. Therefore, when we write anything like this there is always going to be a certain amount of speculation involved. However, with something like customer service, we can already look at the great deal of automation that is already in place.

Automation has helped and hindered in a number of different ways. It is now utilised across a vast range of different sectors to help with production and manufacturing. According to PwC, up to 46.4% of manufacturing jobs could be automated by the early 2030s. On the flip side, this will help could help boost production and increase jobs in the development sectors.

How does AI work?

Before we ask whether or not AI could ever replace human interaction, we have to look at how AI works. WI requires what is called machine learning, which requires a bunch (a whole bunch) of data. Data driven applications are everywhere, not least on the internet. The most obvious would be something like a search engine.

AI and data within CRM

In the realm of customer management, data-driven technology has seriously helped boost the way that businesses work. Beforehand, legacy CRM was useful only as a tool that could be used to look back at past successes – now, with AI and data-driven technology, it can be used to enable the highest levels of productivity in the future.

Our speculation – you can’t fake the human touch

While it is undoubtable that AI and automation will completely revolutionise how business is conducted, and indeed replace certain jobs, AI simple is not human. AI is being developed to enable humans to do the best that they can – not that computers can. Automation can take control of mundane, everyday, simple tasks. This allows humans to do the human things.

Most importantly, when it comes to customer service, you simply cannot fake the human touch. When we look at AI for customer service we are particularly focussing on things like chatbots and AI for customer interactions where FAQs are around. However, people will still want to deal with people where large sums of money are concerned.

Our prediction is that while AI will continually shake-up customer service, it will primarily complement it rather than replace it all together.

10 basic (but essential) business tech security tips

Being aware of basic IT security isn’t just the first step towards a safer network for your business, it is essential knowledge. Hacking is both lucrative and more common than we know.

For any professional serious about protecting their tech, we’ve put together 10 basic, but essential, security tips:

1. Leverage Cloud technologies

The cloud is an incredibly useful tool for small and medium sized enterprises as it allows easy-access to a secure data centre. By utilising cloud-based computing, you can rest easy in the knowledge that the protection of your important data has been outsourced to a larger company with heightened security capabilities. For this reason, be sure you know all the facts before signing up to any service, especially where their data centres are stored.

2. Use a good Firewall

Firewall’s may seem like a bit of a no-brainer, but really they are the epitome of frontline protection against network intrusions. Rather than opting for free software, it is very much recommended that medium-sized businesses invest what they can into a good Firewall to ensure the best protection.

3. Keep it clean and tidy

Clean and tidy is the way! In order to ensure that your computer isn’t at risk of security breaches through old software exploits, keep all of your primary software updated and remove any unused applications. This has the added bonus of keeping your systems running at optimum speed for longer.

4. Have your webmaster enable HTTPs on your website

This sounds over-complicated but with a little Google search you’ll soon see that it’s really not. The benefit is that HTTPs websites have an SSL/TLS Certificate installed onto their servers. This encrypts all data transmitted from browser to server. They also have the added bonus of tying your brand identity to your web presence, which encourages visitors to engage with your site safe in the knowledge that it isn’t a phishing attempt.

5. Keep passwords strong and secure

Passwords are very valuable to hackers. To ensure they don’t get yours, create longer passwords with more variety of numbers and special characters, and never use the same one twice.

6. Create level-specific user accounts for your network

Whenever you create a new user account for your business network, bare in mind what that person will need access to and limit their privileges. Admin privileges should be reserved only for IT administrators and the like. Alongside this, create a limited account for guest access for those who don’t work with you.

7. Understand what data is most important – and lucrative

Perhaps one of the best ways to ensure tech security for your business is to get better and understanding what data of your is the most lucrative. Once you understand this, you can work on ensuring that it is well protected.

8. Create social media guidelines for employees

Social media sites can be something of a cornucopia of information. Using social media advocacy can be a great way to increase your brand’s marketing reach. Ensure you create social media guidelines for your employees to ensure that they know what they can – and can’t – share.

9. Hide your business Wi-Fi network

Hiding your Wi-Fi network is a simple way of reducing hacking attempts. This can be done by editing the SSID display options on your router settings.

10. Train your team on identifying phishing

Finally, nothing beats training to ensure the best practice by your team. Alongside password and basic cybersecurity training, ensure that they are able to identify and know how to report email and web phishing attempts.