Harness More Value From Technology for Profit – Some Tech Solutions to Look Into

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In the previous article we looked at how there were ways to save money in a business that prominently uses technology. As we found out, there was a lot of products available to make things more streamlined and that ended up costing less.

In this article we are going to have a look at some of the best profit friendly solutions which require little upfront commitment, yet offer great cost-saving, revenue-increasing potential.

Microsoft 365

Microsoft Office has been a go to collection of tools for businesses for just over a decade now and it is easy to see why. You can get so many useful tools like the tried and tested office apps, the saviour of communication over the pandemics, Microsoft Teams and even business automation tools all from one place.

SharePoint: Is an easy way to share documents to a whole team of people at once and keep them all organised, and it links so well to

Microsoft Teams: The app that has been the frontrunner for business communication, giving you the ability to do video and voice calls, schedule meetings, direct message and have chats with the whole team.

Outlook: The Microsoft email service.

Microsoft 365 is a prime example of a SaaS (software as a service) product. It has subscription packages available to suit any business and you per monthly in accordance with how many users you have.

Cloud Hosting

Traditionally you would have had to host and email server, website or application yourself in office which would have cost you on maintenance and electricity. However, in this day and age there are cloud providers that can provide all of this for a much cheaper cost. Because these cloud service providers have their services in bulk, they can provide them to you for an affordable price.

Managed Security

Managing data security can be very time consuming and your time is worth a lot of money, therefore offloading this job to an experienced managed security provider is an excellent solution. A managed security provider can back up all of your data, make a continuity strategy, and ensure your endpoints are protected. All things you would have to do yourself so, outsourcing this is definitely the most cost efficient option.

In the previous article we talked about the financial risks of data breaches and cyber attacks so, having all of this taken care of by a professional and reduce the likelihood of a financially crippling cyber attack.

Cloud Hosted VoIP

With the recent development that the UK are going to be decommissioning the ISDN telephone structure, businesses need to look to the future for a different way to run their phone systems. Cloud hosted VoIP is one of the most affordable solutions and requires almost no hardware making it one of, if not the, best solutions.

Another great reason to have VoIP is that you can make calls from anywhere with an internet connection. The systems also come packed with features such as auto attendants, call queues, call recording, voicemail-to-email and much more. Call bundles make it much more affordable especially when calling overseas.

We’re 4TC Managed IT Services

4TC can support you with all the services you need to run your business effectively, from email and domain hosting to fully managing your whole IT infrastructure.

Setting up a great IT infrastructure is just the first step.  Keeping it up to date, safe and performing at its peak requires consistent attention.

So we can act as either your IT department or to supplement an existing IT department. We pride ourselves in developing long term relationships that add value to your business with high quality managed support, expert strategic advice, and professional project management.

Harness More Value From Technology for Profit – What to Look For

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Currently, in the UK, we are in a challenging time economically. This means the pressure is on for SMEs to find new, innovative ways to reduce costs and increase revenue in order to remain competitive. For any businesses looking to make some savings on their technology, performing a tech strategy review can really help. Technology changes fast and reviewing it can reveal that much more efficient and cost effective versions might be available granting you an easy way to save money and increase profit margin.

There are some common qualities shared by the most profit friendly I.T solutions that you should look out for. Here are some of the most important ones:

Adaptability/Scalability

In recent years cloud computing has taken over businesses and has allowed for the infrastructure you once had to manage to be managed by a cloud service provider. This gives you access to more resources and is more cost efficient.

Remote capabilities

Having a lot of your company on cloud services not only makes sure that you don’t lose any work if hardware breaks but it also means you can access it from almost anywhere with an internet connection. You may be wondering how remote capabilities could save you money? The ability to work remotely can save money on everything, commuting costs, hardware costs, office space, utility bills for that office space and more. All if you do want to have an office space still it can be significantly more affordable as instead of having a desk setup up for every member of your team, you could just have a few hot desks instead.

Little to no physical infrastructure needed

Infrastructure in I.T is becoming obsolete. Cloud hosted services and VoIP solutions and the ability to develop custom apps perfectly suited to your business, reinventing your businesses I.T is no longer dependent on physical hardware or money. Having a cloud service provider means that the cost for the maintenance of the hardware falls onto the service provider and not you.

Automation

Many cloud services provide software tools that allow you to automate the time consuming menial tasks like accounting, time keeping, payroll and recruitment. This frees up members of your team to complete the more important tasks and therefore increase the overall yield of your business.

Security

The GDPR requires any data handlers, i.e. cloud service providers, to have effective security in place to ensure that the personal data they are storing is secure. With data breaches also costing UK firms on average £1200, it is very important to make sure you have effective security in place as it will end up saving you the money it costs to deal with data breaches or cyber attacks.

We’re 4TC Managed IT Services

4TC can support you with all the services you need to run your business effectively, from email and domain hosting to fully managing your whole IT infrastructure.

Setting up a great IT infrastructure is just the first step.  Keeping it up to date, safe and performing at its peak requires consistent attention.

So we can act as either your IT department or to supplement an existing IT department. We pride ourselves in developing long term relationships that add value to your business with high quality managed support, expert strategic advice, and professional project management.

Meta Quest Pro VR headset may, with Microsoft’s help, be super productive

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Several of Microsoft’s work and productivity tools are coming to the metaverse.

Microsoft is bringing some of its most popular remote working software to the metaverse, announcing during the recent Meta Connect 2022 event that it is entering a new productivity-focused VR and AR partnership.

In a blog post, Microsoft highlighted that as workplace environments evolve in the aftermath of the pandemic, it’s important to adapt with the times. The company points to recent data it collected showing “50 percent of Gen Z and millennials [envision] doing some of their work in the metaverse [within] the next two years.” 

It’s in this context that Microsoft is expanding beyond its own HoloLens/mixed-reality efforts to help Meta establish a foothold in productivity-oriented VR and AR.

Remote work support

Within the “coming months”, four of Microsoft’s “work and productivity tools” will be making their way to both the Quest 2 VR headset and the newly announced Meta Quest Pro (the official name for the long-awaited Project Cambria). Some of the tools include integration with Microsoft Teams as well as support for a variety of work apps.

To be more precise, the companies are adding Microsoft Mesh to the Quest headsets. This feature will allow people to join Teams meetings being held in Horizon Workrooms, which are virtual boardrooms. You’ll be able to interact with others through Meta Avatars and brainstorm ideas via virtual tools.

It appears the Quest devices will support all the apps from the Microsoft 365 suite. The announcement specifically mentions support for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and SharePoint, but nothing for OneDrive or OneNote. There are also reports stating the apps won’t be special VR versions. Rather, the apps will be a direct port of the desktop version done through Progressive Web App (PWA) technology. Windows 365 will be supported on Quest headsets, too, allowing users to stream a Cloud PC complete with personalized settings. 

Security is also being taken into consideration. Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory will support the Quest headsets, allowing IT professionals to protect the devices “with a Quest for Business subscription.” Put more simply, Intune helps manage hardware to protect company data while Active Directory protects software against cyberattacks.

Outside of the remote work integrations, both companies briefly mentioned a plan to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming over to the Meta Quest Store. A giant screen will be projected inside the headset giving you access to Xbox Game Pass and whatever titles you have, but it doesn’t cover the whole view. Think of a movie screen at a theater.

It’s unknown if services like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will be supported. We reached out to Microsoft so we can learn more. This story will be updated if we hear back

Potential end of Hololens

After going through the reveal, we were left with one question: what will happen to Hololens?

Hololens is Microsoft’s own take on mixed reality headsets, but it never really took off. The current state of this tech is a bit of a mystery. Earlier this year, reports came out that Microsoft scrapped all work on the HoloLens 3 in the middle of development. But then the company said those claims were exaggerated and that Hololens was being repurposed for the US Army. Sure enough, the company revealed IVAS (Integrated Visual Augmented System) for the US military in early September.

So, when it comes to virtual reality for consumers and businesses, Microsoft looks like it’s more interested in providing support via software over hardware. Hololens may truly be gone now, outside of niche uses.

Source: Meta Quest Pro VR headset may, with Microsoft’s help, be super productive | TechRadar

Court win for man fired for not keeping webcam on

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A telemarketer who was fired after refusing to keep his webcam on while working had his rights breached, a Dutch court has ruled.

The employee of US-based IT company Chetu was awarded approximately 75,000 euro (£65,700) by the court.

In August, the man, in the Netherlands, was told to share his screen and leave his camera on while working.

After he declined, he was fired for “refusal to work” and “insubordination”.

Chetu did not provide a statement to the court, nor did the company appear at the court hearing, the judgement says.

The court ruled on the case in September, but its findings were published this month and reported by the Netherlands Times.

The BBC has approached Florida-based Chetu, which has a branch in the Netherlands, for comment.

Increased monitoring

Earlier this year, the TUC, which represents unions in England and Wales, warned use of workplace surveillance tech – including the use of AI to monitor workers – had taken off during the pandemic and was “spiralling out of control”.

Methods included monitoring emails and files, webcams on work computers, tracking when and how much a worker is typing, calls made and movements made by the worker, through use of CCTV and trackable devices.

It called for stronger regulation of to protect workers.

Max Winthrop, a partner at law firm Sintons LLP, said surveillance of employees had increased massively as the necessary tech became more accessible and as employers sought to keep tabs on employees working from home.

But he said there was not a simple answer to whether any particular monitoring infringed on an employee’s privacy in the UK.

“It depends. A legitimate reason to monitor, such as the prevention of theft, or physical harm to employees, is likely to be considered favourably by a court or tribunal,” said Mr Winthrop, a member of the Law Society’s Employment Law Committee.

“Merely imposing an intrusive monitoring regime for no good reason, especially if monitoring takes place in areas or the workspace where employees could have a reasonable expectation of privacy, is not”.

‘I don’t feel comfortable’

The employee in the case in the Netherlands had been working for Chetu since 2019, when in August he was asked to participate in a “Corrective Action Program (“CAP”) – Virtual Classroom” during which his webcam was to be kept on.

According to the court record the employee refused, saying: “I don’t feel comfortable being monitored for nine hours a day by a camera. This is an invasion of my privacy and makes me feel really uncomfortable. That is the reason why my camera is not on. You can already monitor all activities on my laptop, and I am sharing my screen.”

In response to the employee’s objections, Chetu argued that this was no different from an employee being observed in an office environment.

But the court disagreed, citing a European Court of Human Rights ruling which, it said, stated that, “video surveillance of an employee in the workplace, be it covert or not, must be considered as a considerable intrusion into the employee’s private life”.

The court found that the there was no sufficient justification for the monitoring by Chetu, and it had therefore violated the employee’s privacy rights.

Source: Court win for man fired for not keeping webcam on – BBC News