10 Questions to Ask About Your IT Service Provider in 2020

Whether you’re a small business or a large one, how you spend your budget with the help of your IT service provider is important.

Not only do you want value for money, you also need to cover the bases when it comes to security as well general and specialist IT support, including cloud services.

Ideally, you want an IT service provider that is looking ahead with you and has a plan for your business as you move towards 2020.

Here are 10 important questions to ask your current provider:

1. Can your IT service provider meet your 2020 business needs?

IT budgeting of any kind doesn’t work unless you have a road map ahead; a plan of what you want to achieve and how you’re going to get there.

While your business might have a clear idea of what it wants to do in 2020, it also needs to do this against a backdrop of IT that can deliver against business objectives, and strong cyber security. You’re IT service provider should have an implicit understanding of your business goals and have in place a strategy that tailors with your needs.

2. Is some of your technology holding your business back?

Most businesses that have adequate technology in place will tend to hang onto it until the last possible moment. That’s largely because they have invested significant time in training their staff and spent money to implement the system in the first place.

There comes a moment, however, when that legacy system is going to start holding your business back and may even contribute to a failure to reach future goals. Your IT service provider should have a clear understanding of what function your systems perform and be able to offer solutions should you need to change or upgrade.

3. What tech will your business need to replace or upgrade as you head into 2020?

This is a key IT budgeting theme for businesses that are looking to grow. They must look at the cost of moving to a new system as well as the impact of any delay in delivering their services while it beds in and the time and effort involved in training staff.

It means being sure you are making changes that are needed and will be profitable rather than jumping onto the latest tech trend or investing in systems purely to solve an operational pain without fully understanding the wider business impact.

4. What new technology is on the horizon and will it benefit your business?

There’s no doubt that the rate of development in IT services has grown considerably over the last few years. Picking the right one for your business is a major challenge.

These systems will need to be integrated to work across all areas of your business and that will take time and planning. Your IT service provider should have a handle on all the options available, what it takes to implement each and the impact on your business.

5. What is the cost of migrating to the cloud for your business?

One of the biggest changes in recent years is the availability and power of cloud services. These have offered digital transformation on a grand scale for many businesses – employees can work on the move, collaborate remotely and have instant access to updates. In addition, sales teams can get hold of vital data on their laptops or smartphones, working from home with access to the right tools is not only viable but desirable as overall productivity will improve.

But swapping to the cloud and migrating all your services takes time and money to achieve. Your IT service provider should be able to recommend a range of options to ensure the best fit for your needs at a cost you can afford.

6. Are your disaster recovery solutions fit for purpose?

No business likes to think that their systems will crash, or data might be lost. In our highly technological world, however, it remains a real risk. The disaster recovery solutions that your IT service provider has in place may not be required right now but they are an imperative part of your business you cannot afford to ignore.

You need to be confident, however, that your IT company has all the right processes in place and can get your business back up and running quickly if something happens. Your business continuity plan should be tested regularly and your IT service provider should evidence this.

7. What cyber security risks will businesses face in 2020?

That brings us to one of the incontrovertible challenges of our digital age. Any business that operates online faces numerous cyber security risks. It’s important your IT service provider has a solid finger on the pulse of cyber security and understands the threats businesses face as we go into the next decade.

One common risk is ransomware, malware that can take over your IT system and then be used to extort money from your business. Your IT service provider should be able to work with you to make sure that you have the best cyber security policies, procedures and software in place.

8. Do you have access to a cyber security expert who can tailor solutions for your business?

Cyber security for businesses is not a one size fits all solution and many different sectors have their own particular challenges. Your IT service provider needs to have the expertise on board that can deliver real solutions that protect your business. If they do not, your systems and data may be at risk.

9. Where does your IT service provider source its top talent?

There is currently a tech talent shortage and finding the top performers that will support your business is challenging. It’s important to look at how your IT service provider sources its employees, what training they provide and what sort of staff turnover they have.

One way to do this is to explore their culture and how they treat their staff. It’s a general rule that when employees feel valued and are paid appropriately, have a decent work-life balance and opportunity to progress, they are more likely to stick around than go work for someone else. Ultimately you need confidence in the team supporting your IT, and if members of that team change frequently, this will have a detrimental impact on support.

10. What other technology will help drive your business forward in 2020?

Technology takes many forms and your business will need to integrate many types into your growth model as time progresses. It could be something as simple as:

  • Moving to new, high tech premises if you are a software company.
  • Implementing a brand new sales app that employees can use on the move if you have a large sales force that is out on the road.
  • Bringing third-party suppliers in from outside and working with their technology and processes.

Your IT service provider should fully understand your current provision and objectives before they can suggest ways to help improve business processes or develop and integrate robust solutions when you need to adapt.

All these factors should help you determine how you will spend your IT budget in 2020 and what your priorities are going to be. Your IT service provider should be able to work with you to produce a road map and help you implement the changes that may be needed to achieve your goals. It’s important to ask the right questions though.

If you’re not 100% confident you’re partnered with the right IT service provider to take you in to 2020, it’s not too late to change. Contact the team at Cyan Solutions today for an informal chat about your needs.

Remote and Fully Managed IT Support Tailored To Your Needs

Cyan remove the burden of IT management and proactively monitor and maintain your technology to keep your systems online, your data secure, and your people productive.

From supporting end users to managing software licenses, monitoring backups to updating applications, it’s all taken care of. Plus, our helpdesk speedily resolves any queries or issues that do crop up, ensuring business continuity.

And, because every aspect of maintenance and management is handled by the same team of experts, we’ll always be on the lookout for new ways to improve your technology. So, we won’t just keep your IT working – we’ll do everything we can to make it work even harder.

 

Guaranteed Service Levels

For the long-term, we guarantee the highest service levels with a robust set of agreements. You can expect fast, responsive support from a team that’s always ready to help. And while more than 95% of calls handled are resolved within just 15 minutes, we’ll work with you to agree Key Performance Indicators and regularly provide performance reports. As a result, you’ll get exceptional service whenever you need it, as well as complete transparency on our performance.

End User and Computer IT Support

Our Helpdesk team delivers immediate assistance whenever needed. We offer support and guidance over the phone and can connect to computers remotely to fix problems, carry out maintenance work, or assist users whenever they have questions. Additionally, if we can’t resolve an issue remotely we will immediately despatch an engineer to your site.

Network and Server IT Support and Maintenance

Cyan engineers work around the clock to manage and monitor your IT infrastructure to ensure your business remains operational and secure. We make sure your network is protected and your systems are online and up-to-date. Whether in the cloud or onsite, we’ll manage your entire IT estate.

IT Security

Cyan manage cyber security across all systems and devices under our control and combine industry-leading tools to deliver a safe environment for your team to work. We protect email, web browsing and cloud applications, we secure Internet gateways from the threats of hacking and intrusion, and we shield your systems with award winning anti-virus and malware defence. Our team monitor security across all areas of your business and analyse and remove any potential threats as they occur.

Backup and Disaster Recovery

We safeguard your business against outages, fire, flood, theft, human error, ransomware, and even hardware failure, by automating and managing the entire backup process. We ensure your data, applications and databases are protected and out of harm’s way. From a single file, a failed server, or site loss, we have the tools to recover your business from complete disaster within hours.

Performance Monitoring

We proactively monitor your computers, servers, network and Cloud services and take immediate action to identify and fix smaller issues before they develop into bigger problems or downtime. More importantly, we can ensure that system performance is always optimal.

Reporting

Having insight and visibility in to your technology, with all its related statistics and performance measurements, is key to justifying future direction or making important business decisions. Our reporting tools are designed to extract valuable information about your systems, your users, IT efficiencies, productivity and security.

IT Purchasing and Digital Transformation

Having in-depth technical knowledge of your business puts us in the perfect position to make recommendations based on the true needs of your organisation. We deliver competitive advantage by helping you plan ahead and get the most out of technology. We can integrate Cloud platforms, design a more efficient network, or introduce better ways of working. Whatever the need, you can rest assured that the technology will be tailored to your needs, goals and budget.

What is a Typical IT Budget for a Small or Midsize Business?

Small and medium sized businesses (SMB’s) can struggle to put a figure on their IT budget. There are a lot of factors involved in developing a solution that works, not least the industry or sector, the amount of data and how it is currently controlled, as well as the various types of technology being used.

Most SMB’s have to weigh the benefits of including new technology, the potential risks to their growth if the right measures are not implemented and even their position in the marketplace.

If you are an e-commerce business, your IT requirements are going to be different from an insurance company. A business with 3 or 4 staff will have considerably less IT costs than one with a 50 or 60 or more.

How Much Should You Spend?

A lot is going to depend on the context of your IT supply and what you want from it. The first thing to say is that you should treat IT as an investment not simply the need to have set of tools to keep you safe or enable communication.

Effective IT can have numerous benefits, including:

  • Helping to streamline your business operation, including in some cases automating tasks. Boosting your agility means you are able to respond to challenges in your sector as well as give yourself the best chance of growing.
  • The latest cloud packages allow staff to operate remotely. That means you have more flexibility in your workforce. This in turn means you can encourage greater productivity as well as strengthen your networks.
  • Improved cybersecurity will ensure that you keep data and other important information safe. It will also benefit your reputation with consumers.

For a business that has no internal IT department but has about 40 employees who all rely on IT, you will be looking at an average monthly spend of £2,000-£3,000. This can actually purchase you a good deal of tech support in today’s competitive IT environment.

On the whole across all sectors, the average SMB will spend about 6-7% of its revenue on IT. There are some important areas where you should be concentrating your IT budget:

1. Replacing Old Software

Many businesses stick with the same old software way past the time it has outlived its usefulness. This is generally a false economy especially when it comes to collaborative packages that allow your staff to work more productively. Picking the right time to switch to an upgraded version of a software package or try something new entirely is a huge challenge for SMB’s.

2. Old Hardware and Old Operating Systems

Another decision that can have an impact on your business is the age of the hardware systems that you have in place. Old desktops that no longer update can present a risk not only to that particular machine but your entire network. Vulnerabilities in older operating systems such as Windows 7, which will have support terminated in 2020, can present immediate danger to your business if the hardware is not updated.

3. Cloud Computing

The cloud seems all the rage nowadays and for good reason. Cloud services have changed the way many SMB’s do business. They facilitate more efficient collaboration and access to data which can greatly improve productivity. If your business uses remote employees who work from home or you have sales staff that need access to information on the road, cloud computing is indispensable.

4. Outsourced IT Support

With the advent of cloud services, we’ve seen a substantial rise in remote IT support solutions that are specifically designed for SMB’s. Not only has this allowed the typical IT budget to come down, it’s given many businesses a more level playing field on which to compete.

The good news is that outsourced IT support is a lot cheaper than employing staff on site and can deliver a wide range of expertise. It can also be tailored to your needs at any particular moment, scalable whether you want to grow or if you need to shrink your business model and your IT.

Tips for Controlling Your IT Budget

Compared to larger corporations, SMB’s have to do a lot of work to keep their IT support costs under control while still delivering on their needs. It’s important to make sure that you have the right components in place.

  • Have a regular audit to highlight where your IT can be improved or even rolled back.
  • Be prepared to embrace new tech if it can help reduce your running costs in the long term.
  • Think of IT as an investment not a drain on resources.

At Cyan Solutions, we work with SMB’s across all sectors and industries. If you want to make better use of your IT budget in the future and really deliver transformational results, contact our team today.

Does Outsourcing Mean IT Cost Reduction

Any business worth its salt will have a close eye on reducing costs at all times. One area that presents a particular challenge here is IT. Keeping data and infrastructure safe is important but so is having the appropriate software and services in place to help your business work productively and safely.

But is outsourcing the answer to all your worries and does it deliver an IT cost reduction?

At Cyan Solutions, we take a closer look.

What is IT Outsourcing?

Back in the old days, any business setting up would need to get an IT infrastructure in place, usually on site. Large corporations spent millions developing IT support services that could handle everything from computer setup to internal server issues.

Gradually, over the last ten years, third party suppliers of IT services have become increasingly popular. These have developed mainly as a result of our improved connectivity. It means you can set up a remote IT service element which operates separately from your business but delivers all the expertise and technical support that you need on a day to day basis.

The Benefits of IT Outsourcing

There are numerous advantages of using a third-party IT support service. The first is that you get the expertise you need on demand. If you were employing an in-house IT team it could cost you thousands of pounds a year just for one person. Not only that, you might not get the full expertise that your business really needs.

Outsourced IT companies provide services to many different clients which means they are able to take on a wide range of experts to help solve particular problems.

If you have a small to medium size business and are looking to grow, developing a plan for your IT to meet your needs can be a huge challenge. Outsourcing enables you to scale up and down as and when you need it. As long as you find a flexible and responsive partner, you can quickly alter your service and tailor it closely to your requirements.

The truth is that we live in a fast-paced world when it comes to technology. It was only about 15 years ago when most people connected to the internet via a clumsy dial-up connection and just over 10 years since the first smartphone hit the shops and broadband started to become such an indispensable thing in our lives.

When you think about how much has changed, and how much we take our connectivity for granted, you begin to see the developments that could come in the next few years. It’s important to keep up and ensure your business has the IT support it needs. This can often only be delivered through effective outsourcing nowadays.

IT Cost Reduction: What It Means for Your Business

Businesses require much more IT support than someone with a simple home broadband connection. Speed, for example, may well be a priority for your business. Your cybersecurity needs are going to be of a higher level and your access to software will essentially determine how productive you are able to be.

IT cost reductions and savings come from a number of areas when using outsourcing:

  • You can tailor your IT provision to suit your needs, depending on the budget you have.
  • You can use money saved in employing in-house IT experts to further develop your business.
  • You can scale your IT support to suit your needs, improving it as your customer base and business grows.
  • You get to rent the top talent you need only when you need it. If there’s a specific problem with your IT infrastructure or a challenge ahead, you hire the expertise you require for a specific time at a fraction of the cost.
  • Outsourcing your IT service will also lead to cost reductions because your business is better protected. Your IT support will ensure you remain on top of the latest threats, reducing the risk of your systems being compromised. That in turn should boost your reputation as a safe company to deal with.
  • An outsourced IT service can also help you improve productivity by making sure you have the appropriate software in place for your business needs.

Finding the Right IT Partner

Of course, the big challenge here is finding the IT support service that not only delivers on your current business needs but helps you plan for the future. At Cyan Solutions, we have the experts onboard who can make a real difference to your growth and future security.

Whether it’s cybersecurity, IT support, a virtual CIO or cloud services, we ensure your business stays connected, safe and productive at a cost you can afford. Contact our expert team today to find out how we can help transform your business.

Tips for Finding the Best IT Consulting Solutions

It can be difficult staying up-to-date with the latest advances in technology or understanding how these can benefit your business if they are implemented. Most business owners don’t completely understand what a managed IT solution can provide or how it fits in with the way their company currently runs.

There are also plenty of companies offering IT consulting solutions ‘tailored’ to your needs out there, each promising the earth. But which one should you chose? How do you separate the worthwhile IT consultants from the ones that are likely to hold your business back?

Your IT partner can make a huge difference to the success or failure of your business and how competitive it is. Here are our tips for finding the right company:

1. Understand What You Need

You need to be able to match the services on offer to complement your business activities. Take a look at your short and long term goals and then find out what IT consulting solutions are going to benefit these.

You might want high levels of security because of the kind of data you handle, or services that constantly monitor your threat status and automatically provide solutions. You may want to introduce new cloud services so that your staff are able to perform more productively.

2. Take Your Time

Finding the best IT consultant to work with can take time. There are lots of options online and you shouldn’t rush, or allow yourself to be rushed, into picking this company or that company. It’s better to take some extra time, including having a cooling off period before you finally decide, to ensure you get the best partner for the future development of your business.

3. Look for Expertise

The best IT consulting solutions are the ones that have a range of expertise available. You rarely get this from one person businesses – they can be stretched for time and certainly won’t have the level of knowledge you are looking for. You should check not only the number of staff they have on board but what their specialisations are.

It’s important to interview your prospective IT consultancy and find out all you can about them. Check for online reviews and ask for referrals.

4. Does It Fit Your Needs

If you’ve made a list of what you are looking for as a business, done your due diligence and matched up the various services you require, the final thing you need to decide is whether the IT service meets your needs and ticks all the right boxes. Some extra areas to consider are how long they have been operating and whether they are able to respond to your changing needs.

IT Consulting Solutions: Why Choose Cyan?

At Cyan we pride ourselves in being a flexible, high tech solution for today’s modern businesses. We offer a range of different services that can be tailored to your needs. If you want to start small and cover just a few areas of IT support, we can certainly help with that. The good news is that our provision is scalable – which means, as your requirements change, so can our service.

We work closely with our customers to identify the areas where they need support. Here are just some of the things we can help your business with:

Managed IT Support: For many businesses, IT can take up much more time than they have to offer internally. A managed IT solution basically takes the weight off your shoulders and provides the full service and maintenance you need at a cost you can afford.

Cyber Security: Safety of data is probably the biggest worry that businesses have nowadays. Your success depends on having a secure eco-system, protecting your from both financial and reputational damage. At Cyan, our expert team helps put in all the processes that protect your business, including managed firewalls and anti-virus software that is fit for purpose.

Cloud Services: More and more businesses are using the cloud to deliver flexibility and agility for their employees. Our subscription-based services mean that you can keep control of the costs and give your staff the tools they need to achieve your goals.

Virtual CIO Consultancy Services: Most businesses don’t have the finances to employ a Chief Information Officer on site. Our virtual service means that you can access the latest advice and technology to drive your business forward at a fraction of the cost.

IT consulting solutions can be complicated and are challenging to get right. If your business is looking for a partner that can deliver tailored services and grow and scale as you develop, contact the team at Cyan today.

Key Technology Trends Impacting the Energy Sector

The energy sector has been evolving rapidly in recent years thanks to new and upcoming technologies. 2018 is looking to be a milestone year for the energy industry, with the introduction of many new technology trends that are set to be revolutionary in the sector.

The rise of digital has affected many businesses over the years, and the electricity industry is no exception. With everything from artificial intelligence through to increased technological demands in the home, there are a number of technology trends set to impact the energy sector over the coming months and years.

Growing Cybercrime Threat

Cyber-attacks are increasing in every industry across the globe, and the energy sector is no different. Earlier this year the United States Department of Energy announced it was planning on setting up its own Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response to tackle the upcoming security challenges. There is also evidence that hackers have been targeting the energy and nuclear facilities for the last couple of years.

Cybersecurity concerns are one of the most pressing issues within the energy sector, and as companies introduce more complex technology systems, the risk and potential for an attack are increased. Many utilities are upgrading systems to provide a higher level of grid intelligence and better communication with customers devices, opening themselves up to more potential security threats.

The Rise in Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has evolved rapidly in recent years and provided the energy sector with a variety of new capabilities such as machine learning, cognitive analytics, deep learning and robotics process automation. These advances in technology have led to powerful systems that can automate increasingly complex workloads and develop cognitive agents that can simulate human thinking and engagement.

AI can be used in the energy sector to streamline, automate and eliminate processes within customer interactions, taking customer experience to the next level. As well as customer service benefits, AI can also be an excellent tool for customer engagement by giving companies the ability to compute a customer’s smart metre data to develop invaluable insights into their consumption habits.

Blockchain

Blockchain has been on the cards for quite some time and is slowly growing in popularity across a variety of industries. While it is currently limited within the energy sector, the potential of this technology should definitely not be ruled out, in fact, it may end up being invaluable in the industry in coming years.

Blockchain offers a permanent and transparent solution that is entirely digital making it really easy to work with. Within the energy sector, blockchain could potentially be used for easily recording transactions and contacts in a transparent and searchable form. The energy sector involves a considerable amount of customer paperwork and blockchain could provide some significant operational benefits such as easily locating records, detecting fraud and clarifying bill disputes.

3D Printing and Smart Materials

In recent years there have been significant steps forward in 3D printing, particularly with print metals becoming significantly cheaper. This will likely be used widely in the energy sector for the creation and maintaining of equipment and systems.

An increased use of smart materials would also have a significant impact on the energy market, and the use of materials that can self-heal could potentially change the industry altogether.

Digital Transformation in Homes

It is no surprise that there is an increased demand for energy in homes across the world. With technology coming on in leaps and bounds in recent years, the amount of electricity being consumed today is very different from that of a few years ago. The introduction of smart technologies such as smart lightbulbs and smart metres has transformed the way consumers use their energy within their homes, and this is only set to become more complex and readily available in the coming years.

The uptake of smart energy products by consumers has been relatively minimal so far, and according to recent research, 72% of people are unlikely to introduce any form of smart home technology in the next five years. However, the individuals who already make use of smart devices have noticed a significant impact on the day to day running of their homes. Many believe the uptake has been slow as consumers are still sceptical of smart energy products, but the market is expected to accelerate rapidly once the popularity of the technology increases.

The energy sector is set for a rapid transformation for the rest of 2018 and the following years, and those within the industry should be preparing themselves or the upcoming changes and opportunities that these technology trends are sure to bring. Not embracing these new technologies will leave your business at risk of being left behind the curve. At Cyan we have experience of providing transformational technology infrastructures for growing businesses the energy sector. Talk to us today to see how we can help your business.

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.

What support should you expect from your IT provider

With so many things that can go wrong in IT, from hardware not working to lost files to data security breaches, what should you be looking for when choosing a service provider? There is a wide range of support available and not all suppliers are the same, even though the terms they use may be. How do you choose between them and ensure your solution matches what you need within your budget?

Here are some of the essential services you should demand from your managed services;

User Support

You should expect your Helpdesk team to deliver immediate assistance whenever needed. At Cyan Solutions, we provide unlimited help and guidance over the phone or can connect to systems remotely to fix problems, carry out maintenance work, or assist users when they have questions. Additionally, if we can’t resolve an issue remotely we will despatch an engineer to your site at no extra charge.

Infrastructure Support and Maintenance

Our engineers will manage and support your entire IT infrastructure and ensure your business is operational and compliant. We’ll keep your network secure, and your systems up-to-date. From servers to software licenses, whether in the cloud or onsite, we’ll maintain your entire IT estate and make sure it delivers exactly what you need.

IT Security

We manage security across all systems and devices under our control and combine industry-leading tools to deliver a unified security suite. We’ll keep users safe by protecting email, web browsing and cloud applications, we’ll secure Internet gateways from the threats of hacking and intrusion, and we’ll shield your systems with award winning anti-virus and malware defence. Our team will monitor security across all areas of your business and analyse and remove any potential threats as they occur.

Backup and Disaster Recovery

We safeguard your business against outages, fire, flood, theft, human error, ransomware and even hardware failure. We manage the entire backup process ensuring your important data, applications and databases are kept safe and secure. From a single file to an entire failed server, we have the tools to recover your business from complete disaster within hours.

IT Purchasing

Having in-depth technical knowledge of your business puts us in the perfect position to make important recommendations based on the true needs of your organisation. For example, we can supply and install new systems and software, we can design and build a more efficient network; or provision and integrate emerging Cloud technology.

Performance Monitoring

We proactively monitor your computers, servers, network and Cloud services and take immediate action to identify and fix smaller issues before they have time to develop into bigger problems or downtime. More importantly, we can ensure that system performance is optimal at all times.

IT Reporting

Having insight and visibility in to your technology, with all its related statistics and performance measurements, is key to justifying future direction or making important business decisions. Our reporting tools are designed to extract valuable information about your systems, your users, IT efficiencies, productivity and security

As an absolute minimum, these are the service levels you should expect from any provider. However, the real benefits come from working in partnership with your supplier, so your technology infrastructure becomes fully integrated with your business plans and is developed to meet your growth ambitions.

At Cyan Solutions we become an integral part of your team, planning your technology capability in line with your organisational strategy, creating the right solution for you and ensuring it is maintained ongoing. Contact us today to discuss your IT support needs.

How your customers benefit from using a smart meter

The evolution of smart meters

Around 7 million smart meters have been installed in homes in the UK since they were introduced in 2009, primarily to simplify the billing process.

The government hope that these will help to create a more efficient, low-carbon, and reliable energy grid. They originally stated that every home would have a smart meter installed by 2020, but they have now changed this to say that every home will be offered a smart meter by 2020, giving consumers back the choice.

 

How do smart meters work?

Smart meters automatically send gas and electricity readings digitally from the customer’s house directly to their energy provider. They do this using radio waves like those used by mobile phones and televisions, meaning an internet connection is not needed to send and receive data.

The customer has an in-home display screen showing how much energy they are using, and the meter is installed for them by an engineer so there is no need for DIY.

 

What are the benefits of smart meters?

The main benefit of having a smart meter is that the consumer no longer needs to send meter readings to their energy supplier, or let their representatives into their homes, to receive accurate bills. This also saves costs for utility companies not having to employ teams to read the meters.

In addition to this, consumers can track their energy usage using the in-home display screen and see exactly how much energy they are using and how much it is costing them to do so. This can also be monitored via an online account and will display figures in almost real-time.

Most smart meters will allow the customer to see how much energy has been used within the last hour, week, or month, which means that they can see how this differs over time and gain understanding about how they might be able to cut down their energy usage and save money.

It has been estimated that the average household will save around £26 per year by 2020 after having a smart meter installed, and this will rise to a saving of £43 per year by 2030 due to rising energy costs. The display itself is very low energy and only uses around £1 of electricity to run per year.

In addition, data can be gathered about how much energy is being used at which parts of the day which can be used to create more accurate tariffs that will help customers to save money and use energy more efficiently.

This is also good for the utility companies as a better understanding of their customers enables them to develop more targeted products and services.

 

As there are so many benefits of using smart meters for utility companies, consumers, and the environment, we believe they are a great innovation and adoption will continue to increase rapidly.