Tag Archive for: Technology

Replace Your ISDN Telephony by 2025: Embracing the Future of Business Communication 

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At its inception in the 1980s, ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Framework) was a game-changer in the telephony industry. It enabled simultaneous voice and data transmission over digital lines, which is still a key function of telephony today, but since then, ISDN has become increasingly obsolete. In the UK, the ISDN and PSTN networks will be switched off entirely. Are you ready for the switch?  

Today, there are a range of more valuable and cost-efficient alternatives in the market. In this piece, we outline the reasons why your business should replace its ISDN telephony with modern cloud-based alternatives such as VoIP, focusing on the particular example of the Microsoft Teams Phone System.  

The Rise and Fall of ISDN 

When ISDN was introduced, it revolutionised business communication by offering faster, more reliable connections compared to traditional analogue telephony systems. It brought digital clarity to voice calls and provided data transfer capabilities that were essential for the usage of the internet in its early days. ISDN allowed businesses to access both voice and data services simultaneously, a groundbreaking concept at the time. However, as technology continued to advance, the limitations of ISDN became increasingly evident. 

Disadvantages of Keeping ISDN for Telephony: 

While ISDN served businesses well in its prime, the disadvantages of continuing to rely on it for telephony have become increasingly pronounced: 

  • Limited Bandwidth: ISDN offers limited bandwidth compared to modern broadband technologies, making it increasingly insufficient for supporting the data-intensive applications and multimedia communication of today’s world.  
  • High Costs: Maintaining ISDN systems involves high equipment expenses, line rental fees, and charges for long-distance calls. These costs are considerably higher than modern alternatives like VoIP. 
  • Complex Setup: Setting up and configuring ISDN systems can be complex and time-consuming, especially compared to the plug-and-play simplicity of modern solutions. 
  • Scalability Challenges: Expanding or modifying ISDN systems to accommodate changing business needs can be cumbersome and costly, hindering growth and adaptability. 
  • Lack of Advanced Features: ISDN lacks the advanced features that modern telephony solutions offer, such as call analytics, CRM integration, call forwarding, and voicemail-to-email transcription. 
  • Inflexibility for Remote Work: The rise of remote work demands flexible communication solutions that ISDN cannot provide, limiting the ability to support a dispersed workforce effectively. 
  • Incompatibility with Unified Communication: ISDN falls short in supporting unified communication platforms that integrate voice, video, chat, and collaboration tools for streamlined collaboration. These are being increasingly adopted today.  

A Path Forward From ISDN: VoIP and Microsoft Teams Phone System 

The path forward is clear: replace your ISDN telephony with modern alternatives that align with the demands of the digital age. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephony is one such solution, with a particular example being the Microsoft’s Teams Phone System.   

VoIP 

VoIP solutions enable telephony to be conducted via an internet connection. A VoIP solution is accessible and manageable via an app; it is seamless to add new users, phone lines, and call packages onto a VoIP solution. Not only this, but also VoIP can work on any internet-connected smart device that can download the VoIP solution provider’s app!  

The benefits of VoIP are vast, and they contrast with the disadvantages of ISDN. VoIP telephony can be scaled at the push of a button, it’s remote-work friendly, and it’s a great solution in an application-driven world. VoIP can integrate with other applications such as CRM systems and often has intelligent features such as voicemail to email, as well as call forwarding capabilities. It is also more cost-effective and flexible; with monthly pricing options, minimal hardware investment costs, and it releases the need to support it with physical infrastructure, barring an internet router. 

Teams Phone System  

For those leveraging the Microsoft 365 platform, the Teams Phone System is often an ideal choice! Like VoIP, it enables staff to make national and international calls over an internet connection, from most smart devices. It’s highly reliable and offers robust connectivity, while bringing the capabilities of an enterprise-grade phone system into a cloud-based and popular platform, Microsoft 365.  

The integration with Microsoft 365 enables a truly unified communication solution that brings calling, chats, emails, meeting and calendar management under the roof of one platform. It’s possible to easily add users, numbers and to select call plans, making for an easy to manage and seamless telephony experience for businesses.  

Conclusion: The Time is Now 

The world is becoming more innovative and connected. While ISDN has served a valuable purpose in offering a foundation for modern telephony and connectivity, there are now superior solutions on the market that can equip businesses with the cost-effective tools that they need to conduct calling seamlessly and efficiently.  

In our next piece, we will discuss the practicalities of making a transition from ISDN telephony to more modern alternatives. With modern internet connectivity becoming increasingly available in wired and wireless forms, it has never been a better time to make the change to a modern telephony solution.  

We Are 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. 

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. Get assistance with your IT challenges today by getting in touch, we’ll be glad to assist you!  

The Impact of Generative AI on the Future of Work: 5 Key Insights from the McKinsey Report

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The transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has already begun to reshape the job landscape, and according to the McKinsey report “The State of AI in 2023: Generative AI’s Breakout Year,” this trend is only set to accelerate. The report highlights key insights into the potential changes in the job market, emphasizing the need for adaptability and preparedness among workers and industries. In this article, we delve into these five crucial insights from the report, shedding light on the implications of Generative AI on the workforce.

1. Job Displacement on the Horizon:

McKinsey’s report predicts that by 2030, approximately 12 million people in the US will need to transition into new job roles as Generative AI advances. Automation, driven by generative AI technology, is expected to replace many routine and repetitive tasks across various industries. While this may lead to enhanced productivity and efficiency, it also challenges the workforce to adapt and reskill.

2. Shifting Job Patterns:

The report highlights a significant trend in recent job changes in the US. Over half of the 8.6 million job transitions observed were people moving away from roles in food service, customer service, office support, and production. These roles are particularly susceptible to automation as they often involve repetitive and predictable tasks that can be efficiently performed by AI systems. The workforce’s response to these shifts will determine the pace of transformation in the job market.

3. Generative AI’s Potential to Automate Jobs:

Generative AI’s capabilities are poised to disrupt the job market significantly. The report suggests that by 2030, up to 30% of jobs could be automated by this technology. This automation is likely to impact various sectors, including manufacturing, finance, and customer service, among others. However, it’s important to note that automation doesn’t necessarily mean job elimination; instead, it might entail the transformation of job roles and the creation of new opportunities.

4. The Duality of Generative AI’s Impact:

While Generative AI can automate many jobs in fields like Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), healthcare, construction, and other professional domains, it also presents opportunities for growth in these industries. For instance, Generative AI can assist healthcare professionals in diagnostics and treatment planning, enhancing patient care. In construction, AI can optimize building designs and streamline project management, increasing efficiency.

The McKinsey report highlights the differing growth trajectories across industries. Healthcare, STEM, and construction sectors are experiencing job growth, driven by technological advancements and an aging population’s increasing demand for healthcare services. However, the report also reveals that office support and customer service jobs are declining, largely due to automation and digitalization.

The McKinsey report paints a comprehensive picture of the potential impact of Generative AI on the job market by 2030. While automation presents challenges for certain sectors, it also offers transformative opportunities for growth and efficiency. The future of work will undoubtedly be shaped by the adaptability of the workforce and the ability of industries to leverage AI technologies responsibly.

As we embrace the AI-driven future, it becomes crucial for workers to reskill and upskill themselves, ensuring they stay relevant and agile in a dynamic job market. Additionally, businesses and policymakers must collaboratively devise strategies to support workers through these transitions, enabling them to seize new opportunities in an AI-powered world.

Check out the Full Report. All Credit For This Research Goes To the Researchers on This Project.

Source: The Impact of Generative AI on the Future of Work: 5 Key Insights from the McKinsey Report – MarkTechPost

Microsoft yanks internal Windows 11 testing tool soon after release

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Microsoft yesterday released then quickly pulled an internal tool for enabling experimental Windows 11 features.

The StagingTool app was offered to Windows Insider fans in a Microsoft Bug Bash quest. These quests essentially invite users to try out specific features or functionality and see if they can hit a bug and report it, presumably so engineers can home in on the problem. This test program often precedes a major Windows release, such as the Windows 11 23H2 update that is scheduled to land sometime this autumn.

Indeed, on Wednesday, the IT giant kicked off another round of quests.

And as discovered by a netizen using the handle XenoPanther, a Windows Insider Canary participant, two of the latest Bug Bash quests included links to StagingTool and instructions to download the app and use it to enable certain features for testing.

So far so good. But then those links to StagingTool were torn down not long after XenoPanther’s discovery, they told The Register, and the download was removed from Microsoft’s website. There are now copies of the StagingTool executable floating around the internet, as one would expect, though we wouldn’t trust them.

StagingTool is a command-line application to list Windows functionality, enable/disable test features, and collect system telemetry. Armed with StagingTool, Windows Insiders can switch on stuff as they wish, and generally tinker with features that Microsoft is still developing.

For Windows bug hunters and ultra-early adopters, StagingTool may seem familiar. The internal application does much of the same things as third-party apps like ViVeTool, which were developed “for power users” who want to dig into the latest Windows features without waiting for a release – or for Microsoft to sneak out its own tool. 

As to the differences between StagingTool and ViVeTool, aside from using Microsoft’s official method of toggling Windows features on and off versus methods discovered by third-party developers, XenoPanther told us there are several.

“For the most part they do the same job,” XenoPanther said, but noted that StagingTool has flags for offline images, the ability to conduct real-time tracing for individual features, and includes links to mission control for features that show up when queried. 

“ViVeTool lacks those three features,” XenoPanther told us, “but ViVe has the ability to export/import IDs that are currently enabled on the system.”

Microsoft is well aware that third-party apps like ViVeTool exist. “Some of our more technical Insiders have discovered that some features are intentionally disabled in the builds we have flighted,” Windows Insider program director Amanda Langowski said in a blog post early last year.

“This is by design, and in those cases, we will only communicate about features that we are purposefully enabling for Insiders to try out and give feedback on.”

Microsoft didn’t immediately respond to our questions about the leak of the tool.

For those that want to try downloading a copy of StagingTool for themselves, XenoPanther said the SHA1 hash for the original executable is b1066e5aac4d4e39534d76a5636564f9b3f3c1f6 if you want to check that you have an original copy. Use at your own risk. And don’t forget: you can probably already do most of what you’d want to try with ViVeTool and similar third-party apps. ®

Source: Microsoft U-turns on internal Windows 11 testing tool • The Register

Cloud Computing – Understanding The Jargon Around Cloud Technology 

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In our last article we introduced the cloud and explored some of the myths that business owners have had about cloud computing. Much of the apprehension around it is misplaced, but we also stressed that choosing a dedicated provider that offers genuine post-sale support is important, as not all providers are serving equally, even if they offer the same service.  

In this piece we clear up some of the jargon that professionals use when they are referring to the cloud. After reading this, you will be savvy with cloud language, enabling you to navigate cloud solutions and to understand the value they can offer to your business.  

Explaining Cloud Terminology 

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) 

Your applications are running on an underlying infrastructure that stores, computes and allocates resources to them, whether it is on-premises, cloud-based, or a mixture of the two.  

Infrastructure-as-a-Service is a type of cloud computing framework which provides computer resources over the internet. Upon contracting an IaaS provider, they will supply and manage the infrastructure where your software will be hosted on a subscription basis; enabling a scalable, flexible and precise infrastructure solution for your apps.  

Infrastructure as a service is a complex service. Depending on your technical literacy, it is often best to involve a team of IT professionals to help you to plan, implement and maintain the infrastructure so that it runs like clockwork for your business. With expert help, you can smoothly leverage cloud infrastructure to deliver enhanced value and scale securely.  

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) 

Software as a Service delivers software services and data over an internet connection and web browser. Your provider will take full management and responsibility of both the security and back-up of your data, all within your agreed price.  

SaaS is certainly the most popular choice of Cloud service – some of the most popular SaaS offerings  include Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Xero Accounting amongst thousands of others. These services are also becoming more integrable, enabling more customised and streamlined workflows for businesses.  

SaaS takes the stress and arduous process of managing your software and hardware out of your hands, leaving it in the capable hands of your provider’s expert team. For non-technical business leaders seeking to leverage technology and gain a competitive edge, SaaS is something of a godsend, as it takes the complexity out of managing and maintaining software away from the service user.   

Cloud applications 

A Cloud Application is a software that you can access from any device that is connected to the internet, instead of installing it on each computer individually.  

Cloud storage 

Compared to saving data on a physical hard drive on your computer, cloud storage is when you save your data to the cloud, where it is stored on remote servers and can be accessed directly from there. This essentially means that you store the data physically elsewhere in a secure data warehouse, but you no longer need to manage the physical infrastructure (I.e. on-premises servers) for doing so.  

This takes us back to the point we made at the start of our first article, remote working is made possible with the cloud and cloud storage. Both your office and remote teams have seamless access to all the data that they need to fulfil their roles more efficiently and seamlessly.  

Virtualisation 

This is the process of creating a virtual representation, or virtual replica, of a physical resource, such as a server, storage device, or network. These are called virtual machines.  

Virtual machines behave like the physical resources they are based on; except they can now run multiple operating systems and applications at once. Imagine a computer being able to be broken down into mini virtual versions of itself and being able to operate across multiple physical computers (or in this case, servers) at once. This unlocks a great deal of flexibility and scalability for businesses, as virtualisation enables the consolidation and optimisation of hardware resources via cloud infrastructure.  

For the final part of this article, we’ll highlight some of the benefits of using cloud technology in your business.  

The benefits of the Cloud to your Business 

Collaboration 

The cloud enables the ability for businesses to work flexibly with remote working capabilities. This ability allows teams to work together across different distances and times coherently and seamlessly. The cloud has unlocked the ability for businesses to tap into talent across the globe and to form teams from a range of geographic locations.  

Operationally, teams can work on documents in real time, see version histories, including who is responsible for changes, as well as easily communicate via calls, video chats and messaging functionality. For developers and a business’s application infrastructure, the cloud liberates more scalable capacity for developing, deploying and hosting apps.  

In all, the cloud achieves the kind of collaboration that can be found in the office, with some additional benefits too such as the potential for enhanced focus. This said, the cloud is not a granted collaboration paradise; it also takes an organised and responsible approach to get the best from cloud collaboration technology.  

Backup and Business continuity 

As much as we try to avoid them, disasters do happen, and they can be business defining. You need to have an efficient way of accessing all of your vital business data rapidly should the worst happen, and the cloud offers exactly that. The cloud allows you to continue with business-as-usual even in unusual circumstances. If a business experiences a disaster or emergency, such as a gas leak, flood, or fire for instance, they would be able to continue working from other locations with an internet connection, access the cloud, and resume operations.  

Scalability 

A chief benefit to cloud computing is how flexible and scalable cloud solutions are, which often offer greater cost-efficiency as well. Whether a business is hosting its applications or servers in the cloud, or leverages SaaS solutions in its workflows, or uses VoIP technology, these can all be scaled easily and seamlessly to meet demand as the business scales up or down.  

Reduced cost  

Compared to traditional forms of IT, the initial capital investment into cloud computing is far lower than it was in the past. Businesses using cloud solutions get much closer to paying only for what they are using, as cloud resources are scalable, precise and flexible in their nature. For businesses seeking to get more value at a relatively lower cost, cloud technology is a great leverage point to invest in.   

We Are 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. 

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. 

Cloud Technology – What Is It and What Can It Do for Your Business?  

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Tech is transforming the planet at an increasingly swift rate, allowing teams around the world to achieve degrees of collaboration, communication, and productivity that were hard to imagine even as little as ten years ago. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, many businesses turned towards cloud technology to enable them to work from home, using solutions such as Microsoft 365.  

The Cloud is the element that makes remote working possible. When businesses consider adopting cloud technologies, they are aware of the potential benefits but can be daunted by the uncertainty or lack of knowledge about how it works and therefore how it could impact their business.  

In the first of two articles, we will walk you through cloud computing and the myths that surround its use that often discourage its adoption. In our next piece, we will simplify some of the key technical jargon that professionals use when referring to it, and elucidate the benefits that businesses can reap from their cloud technology, enabling you to understand cloud computing and how it can be implemented to benefit your business.  

What is the Cloud? 

Cloud computing is a series of platforms, services and infrastructure that enable digital services to be delivered via the internet, via data centres that host and process their information securely. A key potential of cloud computing is that it allows businesses to outsource IT functions, such as server capacity, to other providers without losing easy access to the data and services it’s hosting.  

In the past, businesses had to manage their IT resources as a solo enterprise, where they would purchase, support and manage their own IT hardware and software platforms on their premises. This could lead to downtimes, inefficiencies and an oftentimes complicated and fragmented IT infrastructure that disempowered businesses from streamlining and optimising their workflows and systems to create more value and growth. This could be an expensive, frustrating and time-consuming set up to operate from, but with the cloud, many of these problems are surmountable. 

By outsourcing servers and data storage to an outside provider specialising in offering this service, businesses save time and money on acquiring and maintaining hardware and pay for what they are using with the cloud server provider and scale it rapidly. In terms of applications, these can also be migrated securely to the cloud, and many software services are now offered via the cloud as Software as a Service (SaaS). With an internet connection, businesses can increasingly plug-in and play to the cloud to deliver their services, whilst outsourcing technical complexities in a highly cost-efficient way.  

So what myths about the cloud are discouraging its adoption by those who could benefit from it?  

Cloud myths – Debunked 

“Value isn’t guaranteed when using Cloud Computing, so why would I bother?” 

This myth could be true, insofar as the options and benefits have been examined in detail and have been left wanting.  

There are many providers out there that will helpfully get you onboard and be supportive in that process, who then lose interest when it comes to providing genuine ongoing support into the future. This is wrong, it is unfair to sell a solution to someone who cannot see its full-value potential, so the provider should make it clear where that potential for value is, how it can be realised, and give an estimate of the scope of quantifiable benefits on offer.  

A widely embraced cloud-based solution that offers clear value to many organisations, is the Microsoft 365 platform. It offers a range of familiar tools to businesses, with extended features such as live document collaboration, intelligent AI suggestions that speed up and enhance task completion, and an integrated interface that enables seamless switching between different tasks.  

The saved time, improved quality of work and collaboration, and smart-searching features, alongside its flexible and fast scalability, offers a clear enough case for many businesses to adopt it. The principle is clear though, your IT partner should take their time to give a tailored assessment for your organisation, outline the benefits clearly, answer your questions, and then make a smooth implementation plan and provide onboarding and ongoing support. With this process, deriving profitable value from the cloud is assured.  

“Is it important to back-up my data if we work in the Cloud?” 

Yes, but with the caveat that regardless of your technology solution, having backups and contingencies is important. In the cloud’s case, creating and accessing backups is made much easier, though we would stress having multiple regular backups elsewhere offers the only assured backup solution. Overall though, storing, backing up and recovering data is typically easier with cloud services providers.   

Cloud computing providers tend to provide protective measures as standard, such as robust data encryption and real time updating documents with recoverable version histories. There is not a particular reason to fear for your backups on the cloud, but it’s important to take fail-proof backup measures regardless of the platforms you are using to store your data.  

“My data is missing, and I don’t know where it has gone” 

It is very important to know where your data is being stored and thus to have control and oversight of it, as there can be legal, reputational and financial consequences to not protecting your data.  

Cloud hosting providers are well aware of this crucial requirement and are also subject to it themselves. Alongside providers implementing measures to keep their cloud platforms secure, you can ask also them where they are storing your data if you are in doubt or can’t seem to find it, and they should be able to find it for you.  

But, as we said earlier, not all Cloud providers are as they seem. Some aren’t interested in the value they can offer to you; they want your money and don’t care about your success. So it is important to ask about ongoing maintenance and support with potential providers, and to ensure these needs are enshrined in a contract to ensure peace of mind.  

Therefore, it is essential that you read your contract carefully, as some have clauses that allow your provider to scan your data and carry out all sorts of other actions, so it is best to be careful rather than sorry. 

We Are 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. 

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. 

Tips to use for successful remote meetings 

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Compared to in-person meetings, there are some additional factors to consider for your virtual meetings ahead of the call and in the meetings themselves. In this post, we provide tips for both hosts and participants about how to get the best from your remote meetings.   

Online meeting tips for meeting organisers 

Keep them structured 

Make sure an agenda is created and distributed in advance of the meeting, and that it can receive any relevant feedback from participants. Agendas are an important line of defence against digressions during remote meetings; with a concise list of discussion topics and action points you can keep discussions focused and on-topic. During the meeting as well, you should reiterate the agenda to shore up more alignment in the call. Allow for some time to discuss and explore questions and answers so that unanticipated points can be navigated.  

Plan ice breakers 

If your meeting involves engaging with strangers, organising an ice-breaker activity can be a great way to get a rapport going between participants with an activity that allows people to bring themselves out a little during the call. This can set a relaxed and conducive atmosphere to the meeting’s proceedings.  

Appoint a lead or moderator 

Like the orchestrator of a band, a meeting moderator or leader is a specific person who can direct the meeting in a harmonious and skilful way. A meeting leader can take charge of key tasks such as outlining the agenda, keeping discussions in line with a timetable, and ensuring the conversation remains on-topic.  

Provide access links and invitations in advance 

Ensure that instructions to join the meeting are clear and easy to navigate. For a more formal online meeting, issue calendar invitations to your team and create access links using your preferred conference platform. Make sure that everyone can access the platform before the call, it can also be helpful to send out reminders.  

Assign roles 

If there are several presenters and themes, it is a good idea to assign jobs prior to a remote meeting. Who will be the note-taker? Who oversees follow-up? What are the presenters’ names? To avoid any hiccups, be sure that these topics are discussed and actioned beforehand. 

Make sure your platform works properly before the call 

Before the call, test the platform with one or two persons to make sure they all function. When there are numerous callers, this is very crucial as unanticipated access issues can emerge in meetings.  

Stick to a time limit 

Just because everyone is at home doesn’t mean they will all be available after the allotted time. Just as you would do for in-person meetings, observe the hard stop time for virtual meetings to keep them focused, productive, and seamless for yourself and attendees.  

Invite the right people

Keep meeting invitations to those who it will be most relevant for. It’s conceivable that those who don’t take part in a call won’t need to be there later. But just in case, remember to take notes or record calls as records, and to modify your plan as necessary.  

After the meeting, share notes and to-dos. 

Remote meetings can be made more effective and lean by ensuring that actions and notes are well-defined, concise enough and are communicated to the team.  

Organise a central database of knowledge. 

A central database of knowledge can make assimilating and organising meeting materials a synch and can make for a useful one-stop shop for accessing and communicating project information in an agile way.  

Online meeting tips: the attendees 

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The effectiveness of an online meeting depends on who participates. Attendees of remote meetings can use the following advice to make sure they are making effective use of their time and contributing appropriately to the meeting: 

Don’t multitask. 

Give the discussion your full attention. It is not just an act of courtesy; a focused attention helps to absorb the meeting in full and to get a feeling for subjects under discussion and the situation.  

If you aren’t talking, put the microphone on mute. 

Whilst the sound of someone’s cat meowing in the background is a lovely thing, it also provokes comments like ‘what type of cat do you have, she’s lovely!’ and the discussion can end up veering off from these kinds of distractions. Take care to keep your mic muted when you are not speaking.  

Turn your camera on. 

Face-to-face communication is a key aspect to building relationships and encouraging effective teamwork. This is possible in large part because of the camera. Ensure that it is switched on! 

Make sure you have the right gear. 

To show oneself in the best possible way, spend money on a high-quality webcam and microphone. Webcams and microphones that come with laptops and PCs are usually functional but are not of the best quality. This can be money well spent, especially if you work with a remote focus.  

Prepare your workspace before the call. 

To concentrate on the conversation, it will help to have a clear and quiet setting. You can also prepare with other measures such as a notepad and pen.  

Keep your voice clear and slow. 

Video conferences frequently have interruptions including technical network glitches that can distort the sound and video quality of calls. If you talk slowly and deliberately, your voice will be heard and understood better. 

Be thorough and descriptive. 

As remote calls have the opportunities and limitations of screen sharing and audio, by being detail-conscious and aware of how your audience may be digesting what you’re presenting, you can tailor your communication to be more detailed and clearer to ensure that everyone is on the same page in the discussion.  

To illustrate your points, share your screen. 

If required, you can screen-share information and documents for more clarity. You’ll save time and screen sharing helps others and yourself to learn more, more quickly.  

Want to capitalise on the potential of your technology? Contact 4TC Today 

4TC take time to understand the daily challenges that your business faces. We then provide cost-effective tech solutions to these issues that will help you save time, protect vital data, and enable you and your staff to be more effective with your time management. Alongside our proactive IT support, we will ensure that your staff are using the technology at their disposal in a way that works for them, whilst making sure that they are educated on how to use it as productively as possible. The right Cloud solution has the power to revolutionise your business forever – utilising your IT to its full potential is essential to guaranteeing that you and your business can thrive and grow into the future. If you would like to find out more on how 4TC Services can provide affordable tech management for your business, drop us an email or call us now for a full demonstration. 

Get more value from Virtual Meetings 

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Remote meetings are becoming more frequent and appear to be here to stay in the modern working world. Despite the fears around issues such as home Wi-Fi going down, noises and the impromptu appearance of pets and children in meetings, overall, these fears have not materialised in a way that would make the office an obvious better choice; the office can also feature noise, distractions and technical issues after all. 

In all, it is increasingly clear that virtual meetings can be just as productive, if not more so, than in-person meetings. However, this new format does present new risks too, particularly in relation to preparation and attendance, technical issues and the risk of digressing from the topic at hand.  

This piece runs over the challenges of remote meetings and gives some guidelines for how to find a remote meeting provider that meets your needs. In our next piece, we’ll discuss how to hold effective remote meetings using specific tips and actions.  

The challenges of remote meetings 

Remote meetings can be lengthy internet conferences with participants from all around the world or brief 1:1 sessions. One of the clear benefits of remote meetings is that they facilitate live collaboration between staff members from across the world. Since there are no longer any geographical limitations, a wider spectrum of talent is now accessible. 

A remote meeting differs from an in-person meeting because it takes place virtually. Whilst an obvious difference, there are some unique challenges that arise as a result:  

  • They can affect our ability to read body language and emotion; virtual meetings have been associated with the idea of ‘zoom fatigue’, as it can take more energy to read these visual cues through a virtual interface. 
  • Issues with the audio and visuals, due to technical barriers or settings; ‘You’re on mute!’.  
  • Working together across different time zones and shifts 
  • Hardware and software dependencies creating differences in accessibility and experience 
  • Distractions and technical limitations in the home office  

Remote meetings tend to follow the same format and protocol as in-person meetings, despite the additional technical obstacles and geographic distance.  

How to choose the right tool for remote meetings 

When selecting a platform for remote meetings, several criteria should be considered. It is important to consider the elements that are unique to your team and organisation. For larger and smaller gathering and other requirements, different tools may be better suited than others.  

Consider the following elements when you consider your remote meeting options: 

  • Your team’s size 
  • Time zones and locations 
  • Sharing of screens and visuals  
  • Having the ability to schedule in advance 
  • Platform uptime and reliability 
  • Team hardware for accessing remote meetings 

How you run your meeting is just as important as selecting the finest platform to host it on. A productive online meeting requires careful planning, keeping track of ideas and activities, central information storage and ensuring remote access to the materials. 

Online tools have also emerged increasingly for managing meetings, including digital whiteboards, mind maps, and cloud-based note storage to take notes instantly. The tools to support the meetings, like the meeting software, may vary by requirements. For example, to document a project meeting, you may require a basic Word document or bring in project management software including Kanban boards to capture and organise the insights and actions of the meeting.  

It’s crucial to have a tool that facilitates clear decision-making for the team, collects fresh ideas and information, and stores it for future use. 

One such tool is Microsoft Teams 

Microsoft 365’s collaboration tool, Microsoft Teams, is a leading cloud office tool that encourages teamwork, video conferencing, document sharing and workplace collaboration. 

Teams was released in 2017 as a rival to Clack for online communications. Since its release it has grown quickly to become one of the world’s most popular collaboration tools, driven in no small part by the Covid-19 pandemic. It has been so successful, that Teams has been dubbed the company’s fastest-growing business app in its entire existence! 

Teams has emerged as one of Microsoft’s key workplace productivity and collaboration tools partly because of the necessity of remote working that emerged from the pandemic. Businesses scrambled to set up virtual meetings for remote employees. As businesses closed and sent employees home in March 2020, Microsoft observed a 1,000% spike in video meetings. Teams users also increased dramatically, from 32 million at the beginning of March to 75 million by the conclusion of the month. 

Microsoft quickly added new features to enhance remote working capabilities to take advantage of the fast changes in working habits, and to reduce the fatigue that became associated with video conferences. One of the key features, called ‘together mode’, produces a virtual environment, like a conference room for example, where participants’ video feeds are cropped and gathered in more natural settings to create a shared area that feels more suited to collaborative dialogue. 

It has many meeting-friendly features. distractions are lessened with the addition of real-time noise suppression. Deep learning techniques isolate the speech signal from undesired background noise. Basic video call features like custom backdrops, screen sharing, hand raising, recording, breakout rooms, and live captioning are also available within the Teams app to further enhance the meeting experience. 

How can you determine what is effective for you? We encourage getting clear on your criteria and scouting out the virtual meeting providers that can meet your needs. Even better, a meeting provider that can integrate its software with your other applications can offer additional benefits, such as automation, streamlining and enhanced communications across your organisation.  

Want to capitalise on the potential of your technology? Contact 4TC Today 

4TC take time to understand the daily challenges that your business faces. We then provide cost-effective tech solutions to these issues that will help you save time, protect vital data, and enable you and your staff to be more effective with your time management. Alongside our proactive IT support, we will ensure that your staff are using the technology at their disposal in a way that works for them, whilst making sure that they are educated on how to use it as productively as possible. The right Cloud solution has the power to revolutionise your business forever – utilising your IT to its full potential is essential to guaranteeing that you and your business can thrive and grow into the future. If you would like to find out more on how 4TC Services can provide affordable tech management for your business, drop us an email or call us now for a full demonstration. 

Quality Management with ISO 9001 – The 7 Key Principles

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In the last article we found out that ISO 9001 is the international standard that specifies requirements for a quality management system (QMS). And that most businesses use this standard to demonstrate the ability to consistently supply products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements.

In this article we are going to look at seven focus areas to help to businesses to keep these standards ISO 9001 has seven key principles that it pushes as important:

Engagement of people

Making sure the management system involves your team

Senior management aren’t the only people who ISO 9001 is for. Your whole organisation contribute towards it’s processes. If you wanted to fully benefit from your quality management ISO then you are going to need to openly discuss issues and share knowledge and experience with your team. It is paramount that everyone in your company understands their contribution to its success and feels valued for it. This will demonstrate your businesses commitment to improving quality and will help to achieve certification.

You could possibly want to consider some awareness training to help to raise awareness of ISO 9001 and the benefits it brings. There are plenty of online courses that could be very informative and useful for your business personnel.

Customer Focus

Focus on your customers and their needs

A really great way of showing your commitment to quality us developing a strong customer focus. So that you can strengthen your business and its performance even further it is very important to gather customer feedback good or bad. This can help you to spot non conformities and improve your processes.

Your company should take into account not only the interests of the consumers, but also those of other stakeholders, including owners, employees, suppliers, investors, and the general public.

Leadership

Develop s strong management team

Strong leadership entails having a distinct vision for the future of your business. Effectively communicating this vision will guarantee that every team member is working toward the same goals, providing your organisation a sense of unity. As a result, employee motivation and productivity may increase.

Process Approach

Create a process culture

The ISO 9001 Standard’s Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) principle will assist you in fostering a process-driven culture throughout your organisation. This is a tried-and-true method to guarantee that you efficiently plan, resource, and manage your processes and interactions.

You may align operations for improved efficiency and make it easier to reach your goals by managing the many sections of your organisation as a whole. You can find areas for improvement by measuring and analysing these interconnected processes.

Improvement

Drive continual improvement

The ISO 9001 quality management system depends on continuous improvement, which is why it should be your company’s main goal. You can uncover ways to enhance and strengthen your business by putting processes in place for identifying risks and opportunities, spotting and resolving non-conformities, and measuring and monitoring your efforts.

Evidence-Based Decision Making

Base your decisions on facts

Making informed judgments requires access to accurate and trustworthy data. For instance, you need the appropriate evidence to identify the underlying reason of a non-conformity. Ensure that individuals who require information can access it and maintain open lines of communication.

Relationship Management

Develop mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers

It’s possible for your suppliers to give you a competitive edge, but this demands a partnership based on trust. Long-term, mutually beneficial methods must be balanced with short-term financial rewards in order to forge such enduring partnerships with suppliers and other interested parties.

Benefits of the Quality Principles

During the ISO 9001 certification process, putting these seven quality concepts into practise can assist you in fulfilling important Standard requirements. As a result, you will be able to raise employee engagement and productivity, customer happiness and loyalty, and resource usage.

By putting these seven quality concepts into practise, you may help yourself meet crucial Standard requirements during the ISO 9001 certification process. You will be able to increase resource consumption, customer satisfaction and loyalty, employee engagement, and productivity as a result.

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.

Quality Management with ISO 9001 – What is it?

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The Quality Management Systems (QMS) creation worldwide standard, ISO 9001, was released by ISO (the International Organization for Standardization). The current standard is referred to as ISO 9001:2015 as it was most recently updated in 2015. For ISO 9001 to be produced and updated, it needed to be approved by the majority of member nations in order to be recognised as an international standard, which means it is accepted by most nations on the planet.

What are quality management systems? An ISO 9001 description would be that this standard provides the QMS requirements to be implemented for a business that wants to develop all of the policies, processes, and procedures required to offer products and services that fulfil customer and regulatory needs and enhance customer satisfaction. The cornerstone of quality assurance activities is quality management systems.

Why is ISO 9001 important?

As was already said, ISO 9001:2015 is a widely accepted standard for developing, implementing, and upholding a company’s quality management system. It can be utilised by any business and is intended for usage by organisations of any size and in any sector. Because it is an accepted international standard, many organisations demand this certification from their suppliers as the foundation for any business creating a system to guarantee customer happiness and progress.

Your consumers will feel more secure knowing that you have a Quality Management System in place that is based on the seven ISO 9001 quality management principles if you hold a SO 9001 certification. In fact, ISO 9001 is so important and prominent that it serves as the foundation for other industry standards to be developed by groupings of companies, such as AS9100 for the aerospace industry, ISO 13485 for the medical devices sector, and IATF 16949 for the automobile industry.

What is the current ISO 9001 standard?

The ISO 9001:2015 version of the standard is the most recent one. The previous revision, ISO 9001:2008, was replaced by the ISO 9001:2015 standard, which is also referred to as ISO 9001 revision 2015. Many of the procedures from the earlier iteration of the standard are included in this updated revision, which places more emphasis on risk-based thinking and an awareness of the organization’s context. A significant structural modification from the ISO 9001:2008 standard was made to enable this transition; the key clauses of the standard are different between the 2015 and 2008 iterations.

What is the purpose of ISO?

It is a very common question to ask what the purpose of ISO is. ISO is an international organisation that creates a commonly recognised set of requirements and guidelines to assist organisations around the globe to act more consistently. More than 22,450 standards are created, published, and maintained by the ISO organisation through technical committees made up of people from all around the world. These standards offer guidance on how to develop management systems, conduct certain testing, and design and construct products.

ISO does not go around assessing companies on these aforementioned standards. The ISO only participates in the maintenance of the standards; it leaves the evaluation of businesses in relation to the standards to outside certification organisations.

In the next article we will look in depth into the most important requirements of ISO and how to best implement them into your business.

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 – 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.