Discover how these four tips can transform your year ahead.

Date: 10 January 2020 Categories: Blog, Collaboration, Cybersecurity

Did you know? The first people to make New Year’s resolutions were the Babylonians 4,000 years ago [i]. By pledging to the gods to pay off their debts and return borrowed goods – they were blessed with good fortune for the year. Read on to find out the four ways Nowcomm can help your business make its new year resolutions a reality in 2020.

Make the most of your collaboration tools

Make this the year you confidently request that colleagues don’t travel unless necessary. And instead, make the most of your technology in the office.

Webex Teams – using the whiteboard to share ideas and thoughts – is a memorable and interactive way to exchange information on joint projects. Let’s face facts, often a Webex call has more impact than a face-to-face meeting in a room of ten, with coffee and biscuits. Consider also the benefits to productivity, the environment, and to mental health. In a recent survey[ii], 33% of workers said that traveling to meetings disturbed their sleep and 24% said that early starts/late finishes caused by travel, ended up with an argument with their partner.

Perhaps you have too many channels or too many different collaboration tools? Maybe you use Yammer, Jabber, Microsoft Teams, or Webex Teams? Make 2020 the year you conduct an audit of what’s being used and what’s old. Also, take some time to update the contact lists and group members – and also ensure that the tools are updated with the latest functionality. For example: the ability to add files for working groups; adding links for all members in that group; and setting up whiteboard functionality in Webex boards. In other words, make them as useful as possible for your organisation. This isn’t purely an IT task – but a task for individuals and group members to discuss together and feedback on.

Take Cybersecurity seriously

Almost one in three businesses suffer a cyberattack or data breach. And when they do, the financial loss is on average between £4,180 and £22,700 – depending on the size of the organisation.[iii]

It’s shocking how many organisations believe they won’t suffer an attack. This is the classic ‘we’ve never been hacked, we’re safe’ mentality. Sadly, it can happen to any business, at any time.

Make 2020 the year you’re better protected from the cyber criminals who exist to sabotage your business and make financial gains. Recently, Travelex have had to shut down their entire operation due to hackers taking them to ransom. A ransomware gang called Sodinokibi has told the BBC that it’s behind the hack and is asking Travelex to pay $6m (£4.6m).[iv]

The gang, also known as REvil, claims to have gained access to the company’s computer network six months ago, downloading 5GB of sensitive, customer data.

There are many factors at play here that can contribute to network vulnerability. For example, companies expanding fast across the globe and localising their IT security, instead of looking at it holistically. Also, the rise of personal devices on the corporate network, facilitating easy entry for hackers. Lack of risk assessments and vulnerability checks can also make organisations open to attacks.

Nowcomm offers dark web consultations and reviews – from as little as £1 per user, per month. Talk to us today and find out how many of your employee passwords are on the dark web and therefore making your organisation vulnerable to an attack.

Did you know? Ninety-five per cent of cybersecurity breaches are expected to arise due to human error. [v]

To better protect yourself, change the behaviour of your employees when it comes to password management, and create a culture where they’re curious about what emails they open and what links they click – alongside investing in training for them.

Ask for help from the professionals

Very few organisations can operate effectively when their network infrastructure is either sub-optimal or impaired.

So, why not make this year, the year you ask for help from the professionals, by outsourcing your IT worries to a Managed Service Provider (MSP) such a Nowcomm?

You can significantly improve the effectiveness of your communications investments, bolster your cybersecurity and change the behaviours of your teams, strengthen your business continuity capabilities, reduce costs, and free up valuable IT resource.

Discuss migration to the Cloud

Research predicted that 83% of enterprise workloads would be in the cloud by 2020[vi].

There are huge cost and manageability benefits to migrating to the cloud. But ensuring you get a secure cloud option – with a robust platform supporting your access and retrieval of information – is paramount.

You can leverage the experience of Nowcomm’s engineering expertise as a Cisco Gold Partner – to see if the cloud is right for you. Often a hybrid solution is preferred by businesses, but with a clear migration path in place too.

Don’t just look at network performance when reviewing cloud-based working. If you have remote teams, consider also the impacts on collaboration, and how this will change for you in 2020 and beyond.

Nowcomm will help you to redeem all these resolutions

If any of these resolutions have ignited your interest in making some worthy commitments in 2020, then Nowcomm can help you to turn them into a reality.

As a global managed service provider (MSP) serving over 20 countries – Nowcomm specialises in: networks, collaboration, and cybersecurity. All the topics discussed in this article.

We can help you to exploit the technology you invest in, so it transforms how you work and the experience you offer to your own customers and employees.

One of only four UK Cisco Partners that simultaneously hold Cisco Gold Partner, Cisco Cloud and Managed Services Master Partner and Cisco Master Collaboration Specialised Partner certifications (in addition to many Cisco Advanced Partner Specialisations). Nowcomm is the trusted technology partner for many global brands, and is available via a 24/7/365 state-of-the-art network operations centre.

[i] https://www.history.com/news/the-history-of-new-years-resolutions

[ii] https://www.eventindustrynews.com/news/uk-workforce-struggles-as-cross-country-meetings-affects-mental-physical-health#

[iii]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/813599/Cyber_Security_Breaches_Survey_2019_-_Main_Report.pdf

[iv] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51017852

[v] https://www.expresscomputer.in/security/smartphones-face-high-hacking-risk-in-2020-report/44786/

[vi] https://hostingtribunal.com/blog/cloud-adoption-statistics/#gref