Managed IT is a solution third-party companies provide to oversee and handle the IT needs of other organisations. It allows the client company to focus more on their core business activities rather than managing IT tasks.

Managed IT services, like ours, can cover various functions depending on the business's needs and the MSP's offerings. Typical services include the following:

  1. Remote Monitoring, Proactive Monitoring and Management of Servers and Networks: Ensuring the IT infrastructure runs smoothly, efficiently, and securely.
  2. Cyber security Services: Providing comprehensive security measures, including firewalls, antivirus software, intrusion detection, and more, to protect against threats.
  3. Data Backup and Recovery: Setting up regular data backups and recovery plans helps keep the business running smoothly, even if data is lost.
  4. Cloud Services: Offering cloud computing solutions, including hosting, cloud storage, and cloud-based applications, to increase flexibility and scalability.
  5. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS): Providing access to applications over the internet, eliminating the need for installing and maintaining software on individual devices.
  6. Help Desk Support: Offering on-demand technical support to address IT-related issues and queries.
  7. Consulting and Strategy: Assisting with IT strategy planning, including technology roadmaps, digital transformation initiatives, and IT budget planning.

Managed IT services provide cost savings, expertise, advanced technology, and improved security. They also allow businesses to focus on their core procedures without being distracted by IT issues. In today's blog, we will explore proactive monitoring in more depth.

Proactive Monitoring

As companies increasingly depend on technology, the significance of proactive monitoring has grown. This approach employs techniques and tools to identify and address potential problems before they escalate into significant issues.

By adopting preventive monitoring strategies, you can enhance the reliability and efficiency of your technology ecosystem, whether it involves managing IT systems, applications, or infrastructure.

What is Proactive Monitoring?

Proactive monitoring includes continuously surveing computer systems, applications, and infrastructure to identify and rectify potential problems before they escalate into more significant issues. Proactive application monitoring aims to detect and resolve issues before they affect end users, clients, or business processes.

Various tools and methodologies collect and examine data, including system alerts, performance metrics, and event logs. This data is used to identify trends, patterns, and anomalies that could indicate a potential problem.

By doing this, companies can decrease downtime, enhance system performance and improve. In contrast, reactive monitoring waits to identify problems until they have caused substantial issues. This potentially can lead to costly downtime, data loss, and damage t

AT&T researchers discovered a clever phishing campaign. This campaign intercepted a Microsoft Teams chat group. It then sent DarkGate malware to the systems of unsuspecting victims. While many individuals are now somewhat familiar with the mechanics of phishing attacks, using a team chat as the delivery mechanism represents a novel and unexpected method.

Once the attackers had infiltrated the Teams chat, they utilised a domain ending in .onmicrosoft.com to send phishing emails. These emails tricked users into downloading a file that appeared legitimate but was, in fact, malicious.

How The Hack Worked

Researchers found attackers used a hacked domain to send 1,000 harmful invitations to Teams group chats. During the chat, the attackers tricked the invitees into downloading a file called 'Navigating Future Changes October 2023.pdf.msi'.

Accepting this file prompted the malware download, which subsequently connected to its command-and-control server at hgfdytrywq[.]com for further instructions.

The attack was successful because users had enabled External Access in Microsoft Teams. This feature allowed them to send messages to users in other groups. Researchers have stated this as the reason for the attack's success.

As we enter the digital age, it's unsurprising that the London Underground needed an upgrade for better connectivity. A rollout of high-speed mobile network coverage will be available in stations and tunnels within the London underground complex.

By spring 2024, approximately 40 stations will benefit from enhanced mobile coverage, including 4G and 5G, according to an announcement made by Transport for London (TFL)

The first stations to receive the network upgrade are Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road and the central lines between stations. Mobile coverage will have a new Emergency Services Network (ESN), allowing first responders to quickly access life-saving information.

What Is Safer Internet Day?

Safer Internet Day has never been more paramount in an era when our lives are increasingly intertwined with the digital world. Celebrated globally, this day reminds us of our collective responsibility to foster a safer online environment.

It's a day dedicated to promoting safer and more responsible use of online technology, including mobile phones, especially among children and young people worldwide. As we use the internet, businesses must join the conversation and protect their online presence.

The day pulls on three primary concepts to reflect on. These are as follows:

By embracing this approach, we aim to guide you towards safer, more informed online actions for yourself, your business, and your family.

The Significance of The Day

The internet plays a massive part in our lives today, making it crucial for everyone to understand how to stay safe online. This day encourages individuals, educators, and organisations to take part in creating a better internet for everyone. From cyberbullying and social networking to digital identity management, the scope of this day covers a broad spectrum of internet safety topics.

It's a call to action for everyone to play their part in creating a safer digital environment through education, discussion, and proactive measures.

The Role of Businesses in Promoting a Safer Internet

Regardless of size, businesses wield a considerable influence on the digital landscape. They are service providers and gatekeepers of vast amounts of personal data. In this context, businesses have a pivotal role in promoting internet safety. This includes implementing robust cyber security measures, ensuring data privacy, and fostering a culture of awareness and responsibility among employees and customers.

In the constantly changing business communication landscape, Voice over Internet Protocol remains a dependable and affordable option. In this blog, we'll take a closer look at the key trends expected to shape the future of business VoIP in 2024.

AI's involvement in Telephony

In the business world, AI is steadily becoming a fundamental element. As we approach the year 2024, we can anticipate the integration of AI-powered functionalities into VoIP systems.

These improvements will encompass virtual assistants for call management, instantaneous language translation, and the capability to assess customer interactions in terms of sentiment. The incorporation of AI is poised to enhance not only efficiency but also cultivate a communication experience that is more tailored and user-centric.

Enhancing Performance through 5G Integration

5G networks are poised to influence VoIP services. Thanks to faster, more reliable connectivity, businesses can expect improved call quality, reduced latency, and better performance overall.

VoIP service providers, including our company, will adapt their infrastructure to leverage the capabilities of 5G, offering businesses a smoother communication experience.

If your calendar doesn't mark January 28th as Data Privacy Day this Sunday, it's crucial to be aware. Recognising the significance of it is one aspect, but actively identifying potential privacy weaknesses and outlining actionable solutions is a different matter altogether.

What is Data Privacy?

Data privacy protects personal and sensitive data gathered, processed, stored, and shared digitally. It revolves around the right of individuals to have control over how their data is used by organisations, governments, or other entities.

Data privacy protects people's personal information by respecting their choices, keeping it confidential, and preventing unwarranted use or access.

There has never been this much data that exists now; only more will be created. It has been found that 54% of consumers say they would be willing to share their personal data to help improve AI products and decision-making. This means over half of consumers would give their information to better respond to AI.

With it seeming to be much easier to offer personal information, keeping private data safe is easier said than done in the digital age. With that said, here are some pointers that could help you and your business protect its sensitive information.

1. Regular Data Auditing and Monitoring

This proactive measure is essential for quickly detecting and addressing strange activities on your system logins or devices. Doing this allows you to block and change access and passwords to prevent breaches from reoccurring.

2. Data Encryption

Encryption is like a secret code for your data, making it unreadable to anyone without the 'key.' This is crucial when data is sent over the internet and stored on your devices or servers.

Strong encryption methods and secure key management are essential for keeping your data private. Data encryption makes information unreadable to unknown individuals. This means that even if someone discovers your storage, they will be unable to access your private information.

3. Two-factor Authentication (2FA)

Two-factor authentication (2FA) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) force users to present various types of identification before gaining entry to their accounts or data.

This may include a password, something they possess (such as a phone or token), or something that uniquely identifies them (like a fingerprint or facial recognition). Doing this puts an extra layer between your data and those trying to steal or replicate it.

4. Access control

Enforce stringent access regulations to restrict access to and alterations of sensitive data. Using Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and the principle of least privilege ensures that only approved individuals can access specific data resources. This involves carefully limiting access to data.

Doing so shields data by ensuring only individuals with the correct permissions can interact. This reduces the chance of data breaches.

Cyber security leaders confront an extensive landscape of threats, ever-expanding technology infrastructures, and limited budgets. As the new year starts, it's a chance to identify the major security risks and find ways to better protect ourselves.

Just like in other areas of business and technology, artificial intelligence (AI) will significantly change offence and defence. It will influence some, if not all, of the cybersecurity threat trends discussed here.

Trend 1: Evolution of Phishing Attacks

Social engineering attacks, which involve tricking users into giving unauthorised system access, are getting more sophisticated. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT enable attackers to use smarter, personalised methods, and deepfake attacks are becoming more frequent.

We need to boost awareness and education across organisations in 2024 and notice the importance of AI.

Trend 2: Have Less Than Zero Trust

The main idea of zero trust is to continually check and adjust as systems become more complex, making security a vital part of the business strategy. Zero trust challenges the assumption of a safe network perimeter.

As the threat landscape evolves, this idea extends to include remote workers, partner organisations, and IoT devices, not just the corporate network.

By 2024, zero trust will become more advanced and comprehensive with AI authentication and real-time monitoring.

Trend 3: Prioritise Cloud Security

The IT landscape continues to see cloud migration as a prominent trend.

As more businesses embrace a cloud-first approach, cybercriminals are actively looking for chances to attack hybrid and multi-cloud systems.

In 2023, Mandiant, an American cyber security company, observed that threat actors concentrated on cloud environments, aiming to maintain access and move within them, as mentioned in Google Cloud's Cyber security Forecast for 2024.

Generative AI, a subset of artificial intelligence, has recently been making waves in the tech world. This field creates algorithms and models for new content like text, images, music, or virtual worlds. In this blog post, we'll explore the latest exciting trends in GenAI, demonstrating how these innovations expand the possibilities of machine-produced creations.

1. GPT-3 and the Rise of Large Language Models

One of the most significant developments in generative AI has been the advent of large language models like GPT-3 (Pre-trained Transformer 3). Developed by OpenAI, GPT-3 boasts 175 billion parameters, allowing it to make human-like text on various topics. GPT-3 has found applications in content creation, chatbots, and creative writing, developing new possibilities for automated content creation and natural language understanding.

2. StyleGAN and the Art of Synthetic Imagery

StyleGAN, an extension of the Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) framework, has revolutionised computer-created imagery. StyleGAN allows for the creation of highly realistic and diverse synthetic images. Artists and designers leverage this technology to generate unique digital art, avatars, and hyper-realistic faces. This trend has implications not only for the creative industry but also for identity protection and privacy concerns.

3. Reinforcement Learning for Creativity

Generative AI models are imbued with creativity by employing reinforcement learning, a subset of machine learning. Researchers are training agents to perform creative tasks, such as composing music, by rewarding them based on human feedback. This approach enables AI systems to evolve and refine their creative outputs, aligning them with human preferences.

In a recent study commissioned by Vodafone UK and conducted by WPI Economics, a stark digital divide has been unveiled in one of the world's most developed nations. The report, aptly titled 'Connecting the Countryside,' highlights the glaring disparity in 5G accessibility between rural and urban areas in Britain. The findings are eye-opening, revealing a chasm that demands our attention and immediate action.

The Great 5G Divide

A profound gap in 5G connectivity lies at the heart of this issue. In rural deprived areas, a staggering 46 percent are mired in what the report terms "5G not-spots." In stark contrast, urban deprived communities fare significantly better, with just 2.7 percent facing similar connectivity challenges. This digital divide is not merely a statistic but a stark representation of inequality in the digital age.

Regions In Crisis

The study singles out five regions in Britain where the intersection of connectivity gaps and high deprivation levels paints a bleak picture. These areas are Scotland, Wales, East Anglia, Cumbria, and the South-West.

Take, for instance, rural constituencies in Wales, where more than half—53.8 percent—find themselves in total 5G not-spots. This leaves approximately 838,000 people in deprived rural areas without access to the transformative benefits that 5G technology could offer.

Impact On Communities

The implications of this digital disparity are profound. Those living in deprived rural areas miss out on the transformative benefits that 5G technology could bring to their lives. From enhanced access to healthcare to expanded educational opportunities, the absence of reliable connectivity stifles progress in these communities.

A Call For Investment and Empowerment

The report underscores the urgent need for investments in digital infrastructure. Ensuring equitable access to 5G technology is not just about the present but also about empowering these communities with essential digital skills for the future.

Healthcare and Emergency Response

One area where 5G can make a significant difference is healthcare. In remote and hard-to-reach areas, fast 5G infrastructure can facilitate pre-emptive and swift responses to health emergencies, potentially saving lives.

Also, 5G technology helps deliver medicines faster with Vodafone's Skyport drone service, reducing delivery time from 36 hours to 15 minutes.

Education and Agriculture

Access to 5G technology can open up new horizons in education. Virtual classrooms in rural areas could pave the way for distance learning opportunities and specialized qualifications, significantly broadening the horizons for residents.

In agricultural regions, 5G-enabled sensors can provide valuable data, leading to higher yields and improved crop quality, with up to 15 percent efficiency improvements. This not only benefits farmers but also contributes to food security and sustainability.

Understanding the new telephony system that will replace PSTN by December 2025 is essential because of the upcoming switch-off. BT Openreach is replacing copper wire lines with IP lines to transform communication to allow for seamless communication between your business and your customers.

This blog will explain VoIP and the advantages of switching to the new digital era of communication. 

What is VoIP?

Voice over Internet Protocol technology allows you to make and receive phone calls over a data line using a broadband or internet connection. The great thing about a VoIP phone system is that you are not bound to your desk, as you can call using any device as long as you have the app installed.

Other names for it include Virtual telephony, cloud-based phone systems, and more that you may know.

What Are The Benefits?

Many advantages to using VoIP outweigh using a traditional landline or phone system.

Flexibility

With an internet connection, employees can make and receive calls from anywhere, anytime. This allows your workforce to work remotely, allowing for increased.

Scalability

You are able to easily add or remove phone lines as and when needed. This offers added flexibility as a business can adapt and change as your industry evolves.

High-Quality Sound

Voice quality is noticeably better than traditional lines as it is not muffled or fuzzy, making a more professional call occur.

Advanced Features

VoIP offers advanced features such as video calls, SMS, voicemail-to-email transcription, call forwarding, and more, enhancing communication capabilities.

Integration

You can integrate VoIP with other software like CRM systems to allow seamless communication across your business and clients. This speeds up productivity because if a customer phones, their information can be pulled up automatically, saving time.

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