Do Your Employees Understand Your IT Business Strategy?

The majority of businesses today have some form of IT strategy in place. That plan normally goes beyond the standard use of security software and a nod towards threat management.

It includes the tools and apps that are used to manage daily work, training of staff to use industry-specific software, and developing protocols to ensure the safety of data and the way that is used throughout the business.

When it comes to IT business strategy, keeping up with the advances and challenges has become a lot more complicated in recent years. Not only are we subject to highly sophisticated attacks but employees are also using a range of devices, including their own smartphones and tablets, to deliver on their company’s needs via cloud-based services.

One question all businesses need to ask is how much employees understand about their IT strategy in the first place. How confident is each individual in implementing the processes that are in place?

Creating a Robust IT Business Strategy

The first step is to develop the right strategy that fits your business. This is all about aligning your IT services and systems so they support your business priorities. While this is not always easy to achieve, it allows you to:

  • Plan for future changes in your IT service
  • Stay in control of the costs of IT for your business
  • Ensure you have robust process in place that protect you, your employees and your customers, reducing the risk of disruption to your business

Make Your IT Business Strategy Available

Assuming that you have the best strategy in place, you need to make employees aware of what it is, how it fits into your wider business plan and what everyone’s responsibility is.

One of the big challenges business have is how to protect their data and processes from cyber attack, particularly in light of the new GDPR. Building awareness among employees should be a vital element of your IT business strategy, an ongoing, not a one-off, process.

Your IT strategy needs to be readily available to employees (both online and in hardcopy) and should be written in plain English so everyone understands what is expected of them. If staff don’t know how they are to implement the strategy, you will quickly find gaps in delivery that can eventually seriously damage the efficiency and even the safety of your company.

Ensure Staff Understand the Risks and Their Responsibility

An employee who opens an email link that carries a malware programme is one of the most common ways in which businesses are attacked. These kinds of threats generally succeed because of lack of understanding or knowledge on the part of the victim rather than any malicious intent.

There are greater challenges nowadays, particularly with many businesses using cloud-based services. On the one hand, these give companies much greater flexibility in how they communicate and improve productivity. On the other, cloud IT services also present a challenge to security. If an employee is using their smartphone to access business data, how secure is it? What does that employee need to be aware of when performing their job on a daily basis?

Have Regular Update and Training Sessions for Employees

It’s vital that employees understand what their responsibilities are when it comes to your IT business strategy. There are various ways in which this can be achieved but the onus is on business managers, CEOs and owners to ensure that these processes are implemented.

  • Effective onboarding for new staff: Every time someone new starts at your business, a priority needs to be given to providing information and training on IT services and the responsibilities involved
  • Available training materials: Staff should have access to relevant IT training either through organised group sessions, online courses or a mixture of both. More problems in businesses are caused by staff who don’t know how to use software or systems safely
  • Regular assessments for staff: It’s not enough to provide training and informational updates, business owners need to be sure their staff are taking the training onboard. Assessing staff competency and understanding when it comes to IT services should be a priority
  • Options for reporting: You should have the process in place that allows employees to raise concerns or report any potential breach

Most businesses, particularly new start-ups, understand that IT is important. Unfortunately, they either take it too much for granted or fail to put in the appropriate measures to ensure safety and security at all levels. In today’s online world, that can mean putting your business at risk of a cybersecurity breach.

Developing staff so that they are better informed about your IT business strategy should ensure they are equipped to handle today’s cybersecurity risks. That in turn, will keep your business safer.

Here at Cyan Solutions, we can assist with the development of an IT strategy for your business, as well as the implementation. If you would like to find out more and speak to one of our experts contact us today.

Digital Transformation Of Social Housing – Top Five Trends

It is necessary for every business in every industry to adapt and change their business model to accommodate their customer’s changing behaviours and expectations, and housing associations are no exception. Digital technology is not only about conversions, transactions and growing revenue; it is vital for streamlining processes, optimisation and improving the customer experience.

As digital technologies take the world by storm, embracing these is vital for a housing association to grow and thrive. Some have already begun to tackle this challenge by transforming their IT infrastructures to keep up the high demands of today’s digital world.

Social housing is a rapidly changing industry with many housing associations struggling because of funding cuts, rent freezes and reduced investments. When it comes digitalisation, the social housing sector is not as far advanced as other industries, with many housing associations sceptical of investing in a digital transformation or not having the budget to do so.

However, this is slowly beginning to change as more and more housing associations are starting to see the benefits of going digital. Here are the top five trends we expect to see a rise with the digital transformation of social housing:

Five Digital Trends For Social Housing

 

1. A Remote Workforce

With the rise of cloud technologies, it is now possible for housing association teams to work remotely, allowing them to focus their time and energy on being out among their tenants. Having a digitally enabled and mobile workforce reduces the need for physical office locations within neighbourhoods.

Remote working allows workers to be more connected with those that need help the most. Less time will be spent on the mundane transactions, and more focus can be made on what really matters; enabling the organisation to become more human with greater face to face interactions.

2. Online Processes

Embracing advances in technology can reduce the amount of paperwork and manual processes required. Customer applications can be moved online which will not only provide a seamless and easy experience for customers but also reduce costs and response times compared with manual, offline applications.

Removing paperwork will free up resources for employees to focus their time and effort on other areas of the business. Moving transaction processes online also offers excellent cost savings for housing associations, with online payments being 20 times cheaper than phone transactions and an incredible 50 times cheaper than face to face.

3. Better Connected

The Internet of Things (IoT), connected devices and smart metres offer a great opportunity for housing associations to diversify their offerings. Embracing these innovative technologies within social housing can detect how people are using their accommodation and allow providers to alter services, such as heating, in real-time.

When used effectively, this technology can help housing associations to anticipate and handle issues faster, as well as be more proactive and strategic in commissioning repairs or replacements quicker in order to minimise costs and disruption.

4. Enhanced Customer Service

One of the most significant benefits that digitalisation has in the social housing sector is that customers will receive a better all-round service. Advice and help can be made available 24 hours a day, seven days a week with the help of a knowledge base and online account information that is always accessible.

The digital transformation of the housing industry will allow most actions to be completed online, meaning customers have no restrictions on when they can resolve their issues or speak with the correct department. Housing association workers will also be able to provide a better service to customers by spending more time out in their neighbourhoods offering a face to face service as opposed to stuck behind their computer screens.

5. Data Analysis and Record Keeping

In a world of GDPR, there are some real benefits to those within the social housing sector making a move to keep all customer data and records online as opposed to offline. A well planned online infrastructure can provide greater security for keeping online records safe and secure.

Utilising digital technologies for customer data is also an excellent opportunity for better data analysis and upkeep. Maintaining customer records online allows them to access and edit them as required, providing housing associations with current information that is easy and simple to manage.

How to embrace these digital trends

Embracing the digital transformation of social housing will bring significant efficiencies, financial stability and customer engagement. Currently, the social housing sector is being squeezed by reduced investments, funding cuts and rent freezes. At the same time, there is a growing demand from increasingly vulnerable and diverse citizens. Those housing associations that want to thrive rather than simply survive should be utilising and embracing digital solutions to transform their organisation for the better.

To help your housing organisation transform, speak to our IT specialists at Cyan Solutions. We can help your team to implement a digital strategy that can cut costs and increase the service experience.

Top Benefits of Outsourcing Your IT Requirements

Top Five Benefits of Outsourcing Your IT Requirements

When running a growing business, it can feel like you’re a bit of a one-man band trying to balance various aspects of the businesses needs. In some areas of your business, it can be beneficial to keep the workload in-house, and even employ a specific team to handle it, but it just isn’t always practical to try and manage everything yourselves.

Outsourcing, or hiring an external company to manage specific areas of your business, is a familiar and popular option for many businesses, and thousands choose to outsource their IT requirements to seasoned professionals. There are a wide range of benefits to outsourcing your IT requirements.

Experienced and Certified Professionals

Information Technology is a complicated and challenging area to tackle, and without appropriate training and experience, it is impossible to get right. When it comes to hiring an in-house IT team, if you’re not IT trained yourself then how do you assure a potential employee is qualified? Certifications are great, but previous experience of managing a business’s IT requirements is invaluable.

By choosing to outsource your IT requirements to a professional company, you are guaranteed to get knowledge that an individual IT employee doesn’t have. IT service companies have a heap of experience in managing IT requirements for a business, and they often see related problems multiple times and will already know the best solutions and prevention techniques.

Controlled Costs

By outsourcing IT requirements, you are converting fixed IT costs into a variable cost that is much better for budgeting. You will only be paying for the services you use as and when you use them, as opposed to a fixed cost to the business every single month, even if no major IT changes have been made.

As well as reducing and controlling IT running costs, outsourcing can also result in considerable savings in labour costs. Recruiting and training IT staff can be costly, and with no guarantee as to how long an employee will stay with the business, it is a cost that you may have to pay every few years. Outsourcing allows you to focus your human resources efforts in other areas of the business where you need it the most.

Stay Ahead of the Game

When a business tries to manage all of their IT requirements in-house, it often takes a lot longer to get projects and developments completed. This is because there is a higher level of research, development and implementation time required compared with using an outsourced IT provider.

All of these things also increase the cost of new developments and slow down the whole process meaning your competitors might be making game-changing developments while you are still in the researching phase. A fully managed outsourced IT service will have the resources and knowledge to begin new projects immediately, compared with in-house where you may need to hire new staff, train them and provide the necessary support.

Increase Security and Reduce Risks

IT service providers will constantly be keeping up to date with specific industry knowledge, especially when it comes to security and compliance, that an in-house team simply might not be aware of. Outsourcing provides you with a reduced risk of coming across any issues, and an IT company will often have better expertise when deciding how to avoid certain risks to your business.

With the huge rises in cybercrime to businesses recently and the added pressure of GDPR, it is essential to keep your IT systems security as tight and secure as possible. Your in-house team may struggle to know the best practices and methods to keep your company and customers safe, but an outsourced IT team will be well aware of all PCI compliance standards and the best way to keep everything up to date and safe from attackers.

Strategic Planning

IT service providers have years of experience working with different clients and industries and will focus on keeping up to date with the latest technologies, making them the perfect team to help your business grow and expand. Many outsourced IT companies will be able to advise you on your business’s future IT requirements by evaluating your growth and planning how your IT infrastructure needs to support this.

At Cyan Solutions we work in partnership with our customers to support their technology ambitions. This allows us to deliver innovative solutions that meets your business’s specific needs now and in the future. With technology constantly changing, it is difficult to know yourself what IT requirements you will need in the future. But, by choosing to outsource to professionals, you will be getting expert guidance and support to help your business grow.

Switching over to Cyan is a simple, easy, seamless transition. It can seem overwhelming to make such a significant change to the way your business operates, but the benefits are clear, and successful growth often requires change. Call us today to see how we can help transform your business.

7 must-have apps and software that aid remote working

Remote working has enabled us to be more productive than ever. There are now a multitude of user-friendly web based applications which put the technological power at our fingertips, enabling us to be even more productive. Plus such apps make it easier to have more downtime instead of constantly scanning for new emails. So when you’re not in demand, you can schedule and organise your time more effectively.

Being office bound is no longer seen as the most effective mode of work. Remote working allows employees to work more efficiently and be more productive. It also increases well being among employees and gives businesses greater flexibility to work at their optimum level. We’ve put together some of our must have tools to help boost your employees remote working power.

Slack

Slack is the communication and messaging app made for teams, accessible from desktop and mobile devices. Amongst a whole host of integrations, it allows you to create channels to organise your team conversation on different topics and projects. These can be made private for private projects. You can also communicate one-on-one through direct messaging, launch video or voice calls, drag and drop to share files – which can also be linked through from services such as Google Drive or Dropbox. You’ll wonder how you ever survived without it!

Trello

Trello is an integrated communication platform which synchronises boards, notes, email, messenger. It helps stop endless email checking and cross referencing between different platforms. It consolidates all your channels in one place and is also great for team co-ordination and project management. Everyone knows where to go to get the information and this creates a high level of accessibility and transparency. There are unlimited ways to organise yourself and your team and keep on track of projects, events, decisions and attendees.

Asana

Asana is a web app that allows teams to manage and track projects from start to finish, right down to the smallest task. It allows you to easily see progress of each project, turn meetings into actionable task, and better understand and manage what each remote-worker is prioritising at each specific moment.

IDoneThis

If Asana isn’t for you, you may prefer the simplified IDoneThis. It allows for simple and easy daily status check-ins on particular tasks. Through it you can know what is done, in progress, or has stalled and why. Employees can work at their own pace and everyone has an overview of what tasks are being done, by whom and when they are complete. These status check-ins prevent managers having to micro manage and ask questions to find out about progress. Remote working requires a level of trust and IdoneThis does just that.

Facebook Workplace

Love it or hate it, Facebook has been around for a long time and Workplace has fast become one of the best pieces of software for connecting teams across an organisation. It allows all the things that Facebook does – instant messaging, live broadcasting, bot automation and groups – but specific to work. You can also integrate OneDrive and Dropbox, and it’s great at making announcements to everyone so the entire team are kept up to date. As a result, Workplace reduces complexity and saves time and money.

GitHub

GitHub was created by Linux creators and therefore is based on the same opensource principles which made Linux the power it is today. Geeks love Github because it provides a platform for software development teams to collaborate. It lets workers host their code and puts checks and balances in place to make version control a breeze. Software developers use the hub to share their software and network and receive feedback from likeminded coders. Great for geeks.

InVision

For design teams, InVision is a prototyping, collaboration and workflow platform that allows for the building and sharing of prototypes within a team. In addition it allows for a useful and intuitive feedback process via communication with clients and other team members.

Things to consider before choosing a cloud platform

Cloud based working has become the norm for many business over the past few years for a number of reasons. The implications for simplicity, enhanced productivity and accessibility are a given. But with such a range of providers and services, deciding on where to invest is no mean feat.

Opting to move your business operations to the cloud can do wonders for an organisation. It can help significantly reduce costs, remove the need for in-house IT experts and substantial hardware, and improve security. It can also dramatically enhance workflow due to better accessibility and collaboration between teams..

There is also the added benefit that it actually compliments remote working. In an era when geographical flexibility is become more and more feasible (and attractive), technology that facilitates it is a must. Cloud-based technology empowers remote workers. Cloud platforms allow for remote accessibility of key information and helps enable collaboration.

Why use a Cloud platform?

What makes cloud platforms so attractive for medium sized businesses is that they work to enable growth within an organisation by eliminating the need to focus on time consuming and potentially stressful concerns such as security, maintenance and backup. Cloud computing means that professionals can rest easy and concentrate on what matters, knowing that  IT support is ready and on hand when it is needed.

If you’re in the market for a cloud platform, there are a few things you should consider before investing:

Which cloud services are you likely to require in the long term?

Understanding which types of cloud services that they provide will obviously be important. But you shouldn’t just look at these services from the point of view of what you need right now. Consider what services you are likely to need further down the line when growth permits. You may be able to find a provider who offers these services as add-ons. For example, basic data storage is great but is there a chance you may require cloud computing services such as virtual networking infrastructure in the future?

How easy is setup for your needs and what level of customer service can be expected?

An easy setup process should be desirable for any cloud service. The ability to easily configure your account for your organisation is essential. Customer support should be first rate as you will be trusting a substantial amount of your data with the platform. Be sure to understand and acknowledge the level of technical support alongside the average response time for customer service.

Do they have a poor history of downtime?

Cloud outages are not only disruptive but they can also be very expensive. Cloud providers that repeatedly experience periods of inaccessibility should be avoided, so be sure you know the downtime history of each cloud provider you consider.

How is security monitored and measured?

Clearly security should be top priority for you, as it should also be for the cloud provider. Be sure you know where the data centre is and how safe and protected it is. Take time to read and understand the supplier’s security standards for customer access and privacy.

How do the company address potential data losses?

This is a worst case scenario, but you need to know how the issue of data losses will be rectified. What systems/agreements do they have in place that mitigate the risks of data loss and how would they compensate for data losses? Ensure you ask questions about what provisions are in place to mitigate against potential data loss as this has major implications for the ability of your business to continue trading should such a loss be incurred.

Reasons to consider remote working

More and more companies have workers who work remotely. Now more than ever, organisations are embracing the benefits of remote working for their employees and their company. It enables workers a greater level of control over how they work and increases their motivation and job satisfaction. This in turn leads to an exponential increase in productivity rates. However, many companies are still averse to offering employees the flexibility to carry out their tasks in flexible geographic locations. So, what are the reasons to consider remote working?

Remote working enables employees to be flexible about where they carry out their day to day duties. Whether employees decide to skype into the office from a remote desert island or their bedroom at home, it makes little difference so long as they have an active internet link and can access the files and applications which they require to do their job.

When we talk about remote working, it’s important to note that we are not necessarily talking about a finite thing. Sometimes remote working means being permanently away from an organisation’s headquarters, whereas in other cases it may just mean working from home once or twice a week.

Remote working is a big topic of conversation right now, because of the development of cloud based software enabling remote workers as much functionality at home as in the office. Moreover, project management and task tracking software also monitors key deliverables.

Encourages good communication

Remote working has been shown to actively encourage better communication between employees. Working remotely out of the office doesn’t mean that employees are not in contact with one another. On the contrary, remote workers often make a concerted effort to be available and are able to do so by connecting via phone, skype, email and other messenger options and chat apps. Such communication may not occur so naturally whilst in the office.

Results in happier workers

Choice, freedom and flexibility for workers to choose where and how they want to work results in happier workers. Being able to work flexibly is something that employees relish. Organising your own workflow and work-life balance is something which leads to higher productivity levels.

Reduces employee stress

Remote working gives employees more freedom to work to their own timetable, reducing stress levels by working at their own time and pace. This has a knock-on effect to the total business and by reducing stress and unhappiness in the office, it also leads to an overall improvement in office health and wellbeing.

Reduce office costs

Remote working also frees up office space and reduces energy usage. As a result, companies are free to invest this additional capital into other business activities, such as marketing and recruitment of new employees who can take advantage of the free desk space.

Cloud services are now a no-brainer. Our cloud solutions and managed IT support services are complemented by unrivalled customer care. We help you create an infrastructure where remote working across technology can be easily maintained.

Essential time-saving apps for SMEs

Running a medium-sized business efficiently can be a daunting task, especially where your position means you have to take on many different roles. Luckily there are vast numbers of productivity apps devoted to helping SME professionals optimise their time resource. If you’re struggling to co-ordinate your business tasks and would like some inside information about which time saving apps are best, read on!

Managing a business can be a very time-consuming commitment. It requires a lot of time and energy to ensure that crucial tasks are not forgotten. Being able to prioritise is not an easy ask when the buck stops with you and you have to deal with all the little details of running your business. Knowing the right tools to keep track of your work, tasks and finances can make a world of difference.

There are many productivity apps that can help here. The irony is that you probably don’t have the time to try them all out for yourself. So to make it easier, here is our run-down of essential time-saving apps for SMEs.

Asana

Developed by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and ex-engineer Justin Rosenstein this app focuses in on improving employee productivity using social networks.  Asana is a web and mobile application which allows teams to keep track their own tasks and those of their colleagues. At its heart is collaboration, allowing teams to create a custom workspace for different projects, each with separate tasks and due dates as well as a tick box function where users can follow, comment, tag and upload attachments and other resources.

Trello

Trello is a project management app that allows you to keep track team workflows. It uses “cards” which represent different tasks and shows their status. You can add users, attachments, comments, due dates and checklists as well as resources to these cards. It’s great for managers who want to manage but don’t want to pester their teams.

My Minutes

My Minutes is a real eye opener. This is a really simple app which brings transparency to what you do with your time and how you waste it. It helps you to take control of the amount of time you waste on other tasks when you should be focussed on something else. You can set simple, achievable goals in the shape of time-constraints, e.g. “research new prospecting techniques for 30 minutes”. A great tool for remote workers and freelancers who work alone and get distracted by tv or facebook!

Slack

Slack is the professional instant messaging platform that is used by teams across the globe. It is the ideal way to encourage communication between team members within your organisation, and allows you to organise conversations on certain points into public channels in one space. It also makes it much easier for team members to share files and images quickly and avoids having to check a load of other different apps and platforms for updates. Great for teams and remote workers alike.  Slack is one thing it’s not!

Pushover

Pushover is a great app for medium sized businesses who have multiple phones and devices to keep track of. It sends push notifications to a chosen smartphone that organises messages and notifications into one specific place. Great for those who are hotdesking and aren’t always in the office to keep in the loop.

RescueTime

RescueTime is ideal for SME professionals who find themselves getting distracted easily. It breaks down where you spend your overall time across applications and websites and holds you accountable. You can the set productivity goals and limits to the amount of time you spend on each of these. It’s great for remote workers and anyone who wants to get out the door at 4 as opposed to 5.30!