Latest News

      • Is Your Business Losing Money Because Employees Can’t Use Tech?

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      • Donna Aplin

      Shiny new tech can be exciting! It promises increased efficiency, happier employees, and a competitive edge. It’s also necessary to stay competitive in today’s technology-driven business world.

      But that promise can turn into a financial nightmare if you neglect two important things. These are employee training and change management. You can end up losing money simply because employees can’t use their technology.

      • Building a Culture of Cyber Awareness

        • 26
      • Donna Aplin

      Cyberattacks are a constant threat in today’s digital world. Phishing emails, malware downloads, and data breaches. They can cripple businesses and devastate personal lives.

      Employee error is the reason many threats get introduced to a business network. A lack of cybersecurity awareness is generally the culprit. People don’t know any better, so they accidentally click a phishing link. They also create weak passwords, easy for hackers to breach.

      • Guide to Improving Your Company’s Data Management

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      • Donna Aplin

      Data is the lifeblood of modern businesses. It fuels insights, drives decision-making, and ultimately shapes your company’s success. But in today’s information age, data can quickly become overwhelming.

      Scattered spreadsheets, siloed databases, and inconsistent formatting. All these create a data management nightmare. This hinders your ability to leverage this valuable asset.

      • Why You Shouldn’t Skip Vulnerability Assessments

        • 26
      • Donna Aplin

      Don’t Risk It!

      Cyber threats are a perpetual reality for business owners. Hackers are constantly innovating. They devise new ways to exploit vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks.

      For businesses of all sizes, a proactive approach to cybersecurity is essential. One of the most crucial elements of this approach is regular vulnerability assessments. A vulnerability assessment is a systematic process. It identifies and prioritises weaknesses in your IT infrastructure that attackers can exploit.

      • Introducing the New Microsoft Planner

        • 26
      • Donna Aplin

      (Everything You Need to Know)

      Calendars, task lists, and project planning are important business tools. Many people use Microsoft’s apps to power these processes. Including Planner, Microsoft To Do, and Project for the web.

      These tools help keep processes on track and enable task accountability. But they’re separate apps. Switching between apps can be cumbersome. It adds more complexity to a workflow.

      • Small Businesses Can Leverage Copilot for Microsoft 365

        • 26
      • Donna Aplin

      What are some of the key differentiators that can propel small businesses forward? They include efficiency, productivity, and innovation. Microsoft has expanded the availability of one of its most dynamic tools to SMBs. A tool that can be a real game-changer for growth.

      Copilot for Microsoft 365 is a powerful new addition to the M365 suite. It was first offered to enterprise customers only. But Copilot is now open to businesses of all sizes. As long as they have Microsoft 365 Business Standard or Business Premium.

      • Trouble with Your Wi-Fi?

        • 26
      • Sam Dack

      Let’s Fix That! A Simple Guide from Your Friendly IT Support Team

      Are you frustrated with your Wi-Fi acting sluggish? We get it – slow internet can be a real headache. But don’t worry, ESP Projects are here to help! As your trusty IT support squad, we’ve seen it all when it comes to Wi-Fi woes, and we’re ready to lend a hand. Here at ESP Projects, we receive calls often about users struggling to work due to slow Wi-Fi speeds; this article will hopefully outline some things that you can check to get your Wi-Fi behaving properly again.

      • How to Properly Deploy IoT on a Business Network

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      • Donna Aplin

      The Internet of Things (IoT) is no longer a futuristic concept. It’s rapidly transforming industries and reshaping how businesses operate. IoT is a blanket term to describe smart devices that are internet enabled. One example is smart sensors monitoring production lines. Connected thermostats optimising energy consumption is another.

      Experts project the number of connected devices worldwide to continue growing. It’s estimated to rise from about 15 billion in 2023 to 21 billion in 2026.

      • Why Businesses Need Email Authentication… Now

        • 26
      • Donna Aplin

      Have you been hearing more about email authentication lately? There is a reason for that. It’s the prevalence of phishing as a major security threat. Phishing continues as the main cause of data breaches and security incidents. This has been the case for many years.

      • Data Security Trends to Prepare for in 2024

        • 26
      • Donna Aplin

      With cyber threats evolving at an alarming pace, staying ahead of the curve is crucial. It’s a must for safeguarding sensitive information. Data security threats are becoming more sophisticated and prevalent. The landscape must change to keep up. In 2024, we can expect exciting developments alongside persistent challenges.

      Over 70% of business professionals say their data privacy efforts are worth it. And that their business receives “significant” or “very significant” benefits from those efforts.

      • Beware of Deepfakes! Learn How to Spot the Different Types

        • 26
      • Donna Aplin

      Have you ever seen a video of your favorite celebrity saying something outrageous? Then later, you find out it was completely fabricated? Or perhaps you’ve received an urgent email seemingly from your boss. But something felt off.

      Welcome to the world of deepfakes. This is a rapidly evolving technology that uses artificial intelligence (AI). It does this to create synthetic media, often in the form of videos or audio recordings. They can appear real but are actually manipulated.

      • Shortcut key your way to a tidy mailbox and task list

        • 26
      • Matthew James

      The email inbox, either it is your place of zen and an aid to you getting your work done, or it is a distracting mire of half finished conversations, adhoc “to dos” and interuptions, and this can escalate to a point at which that simple email folder can be your most hated work location.How can you change your attitude about your inbox from the latter to the former?

      • Most Common Smart Home Issues

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      • Donna Aplin

      Back when you were a kid, living in a “smart home” probably sounded futuristic. Something out of Back to the Future II or The Jetsons. Well, we don’t yet have flying cars, but we do have video telephones as well as smart refrigerators and voice-activated lights.

      But even the most advanced technology can have analog problems. Hackers can get past weak passwords. Bad connections can turn advanced into basic pretty quickly.

      • Annual Cybersecurity Attitudes and Behaviors Report

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      • Donna Aplin

      We are living in an era dominated by digital connectivity. You can’t overstate the importance of cybersecurity. As technology advances, so do the threats that lurk in the online world.

      Often, it’s our own actions that leave us most at risk of a cyberattack or online scam. Risky behaviors include weak passwords and lax security policies. As well as thinking “This won’t happen to me.” This is why human error is the cause of approximately 88% of data breaches.

      • ESP Projects Renews ISO Accreditations

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      • ESP Projects

      Since 2018, ESP Projects have been working heavily on our commitment to ISO (and other) accreditations, to show our commitment to our customers (and potential customers) to deliver Secure, Quality & Safe IT Services to our customers. Today, ESP renewed our ISO 27001 (Security), ISO 9001 (Quality) & ISO 45001 (Health and Safety) accreditations. Our Senior Leadership Team are delighted with this and the opportunities that this continues to provide for the business.  

      • Has your smart home device been hacked?

        • 26
      • Donna Aplin

      Smart home devices are becoming more popular and convenient. But they also pose some serious security risks. Hackers can target these devices to access your personal information. As well as spy on your activities or cause damage to your home.

      Often the dangers of smart home devices fall under the radar. Seventy-five percent of people feel some level of distrust about the use of their data. Yet most people are willing to use smart home technology.

      • What is a VLAN?

        • 52
      • Scott Bishop

      Here at ESP Projects our Support Team have exploring lots of different questions they get asked from our customers both new and existing. Today we explore “What is a VLAN?”. The short video below gives you chance to meet Scott Bishop from our support team who is going to explore this topic.

      A VLAN, or Virtual Local Area Network, is a technology that allows network administrators to create multiple distinct network segments (virtual networks) within a single physical network infrastructure. Essentially, VLANs enable you to partition a network without requiring additional physical routers or switches. Here’s a breakdown of why VLANs are useful and how they work:

      • Unveiling the Mysteries Behind a Slow Server

        • 26
      • Sam Dack

      Insights from an IT Company…

      In the digital age, where businesses rely heavily on technology to drive productivity and efficiency, a slow server can be a significant impediment to operations. As the backbone of an organisation’s IT infrastructure, a server plays a crucial role in storing, processing, and delivering data and applications to users.

      • Reducing Cloud Waste in Your Business

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      • Donna Aplin

      Cloud computing has revolutionised the way businesses operate. It offers scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency. But cloud services also come with a downside: cloud waste.

      Cloud waste is the unnecessary spending of resources and money on cloud services. These services are often not fully utilised or optimised. About 32% of cloud spending is wasted. This can lead to budget concerns as spending skyrockets.