SMEs waste money purchasing IT

Too many small and medium firms rush into making hasty purchasing decisions when procuring IT, claims a report from Brother. This means SMEs are making poor choices by failing to consider vital factors that could have 'massive cost implications', says the firm.

"Buying cheapest isn't necessarily best. Small business owners really need to consider a wide range of factors, including lifecycle costs, reliability, and support. Failing to do so could be costing them hundreds of pounds every year," warns Phil Jones, sales and marketing director, Brother UK.

The tech journalists, bloggers, and analysts quizzed for the report rated 'planning issues' (93 per cent) above 'costs/budget constraints' (68 per cent), with issues such as a lack of skills or understanding and knowledge of IT adversely affecting procurement.

The core recommendation is that SMEs should do their research, talk to suppliers in depth about the technology they offer together with what the long-term running costs will be, and then build a purchasing strategy timeline.

Top 10 most anticipated smart phones http://ping.fm/DEf1s

Kevin Turner announces IE9 Beta release set for September plus his opinion on Azure and SQL http://ping.fm/kQe5c

Powerpoint 3 tips:
1) Make consistent style changes on all slides.
2) Include a date or slide number.
3) Use hyperlinks within slides

Office 2010 Admin templates http://ping.fm/27ybr

Another Browser update - Apple issues critical Safari security updates http://ping.fm/lJZpa

Went to Muesli Mafia in Maidstone this morning. Best network meeting as always

Download Microsoft Malware protection from Trojans, Worms etc http://ping.fm/NNQM5

Test your connection for download speed & monitor your bandwidth http://ping.fm/LAFQp

Are you a Student? Want Windows 7? Windows 7 for students - £30 http://ping.fm/m2jJY

Download Windows XP Mode for compatibility http://ping.fm/hm5Zk

Themepacks for Windows 7 personal library http://ping.fm/kaV35

Users urged to download Firefox 3.6.8 and Chrome 5.0.375.125 immediately http://ping.fm/8Sboz

Download the Colours of India Windows 7 theme pack for your personal library. 'Awesome pictures from around India http://ping.fm/HWZst

This'll annoy Apple a lot. US Copyright Office approves handset jail-breaking. http://ping.fm/TpgGo

UK broadband firms dramatically overstating speeds
Customers paying for 24Mbit/s DSL only getting a quarter of that speed in reality http://ping.fm/a4g3D

Why charities should back up their data!

We recently addressed all of Hillingdon Carers’ IT Support needs – the Hillingdon borough-based charity supports carers in the region, and maintains a diverse IT database containing information relating to hospitals, GP practices, care homes, welfare departments and of course individual carers. Much of the information is confidential, so when the charity’s files were accidentally deleted by human error, it could have been a catastrophe – however, the Hillingdon Carers team had had the foresight to back up their data remotely with us, meaning the deleted information could be retrieved.

The Nova IT Solutions team also manages Hillingdon Carers’ wider IT Support needs, including email filtering for efficient staff communications. Using a pre-pay support system, the organisation now has peace of mind that any problems with their IT systems will resolved efficiently, with the minimum of fuss - as it’s all pre-paid, there are no unexpected invoices effecting front line budgets; very important for charities.

www.nova-itsolutions.com

Would you like to join our vets survey? http://ping.fm/7hIAf Thanks, Heather

Looking for IT information from vets. Would you like to join our survey? Please follow the link http://ping.fm/dq9ii

More woes for Apple and iPhone 4. Not signal strength this time. http://ping.fm/xo8sy

Are you and accidental spammer? Call us for help UK re-enters spam relaying 'Dirty Dozen' http://ping.fm/HjxZr

Zero Day Flaw in XP SP2 upgrade to SP3 now urge Microsoft. http://ping.fm/l9D3d

NEWS - BT working with local communities to maximise fibre-based broadband roll out

Did you know that only three percent of homes and businesses in the Greater London area currently have access to fibre broadband? However, BT has announced that this figure will increase to 87 percent by the spring of 2011. This is part of BT's investment of £2.5 billion to deliver fibre-based broadband to two thirds of the UK by 2015.

This is great news for people who live in urban areas, but a third of homes - which are likely to be in rural areas - will miss out. Access to fibre broadband for these communities will only be possible if they receive public investment to pay for extensions from nearby areas that are due be upgraded.

The Kent village of Iwade was one community that did not feature in BT’s fibre roll-out plans, so the parish council formed a 'Broadband Committee' and is working in partnership with BT to bring high-speed broadband to local people and businesses.

The committee obtained a grant from Kent County Council, which in turn released further investment from BT, to pay for an extension from nearby Sittingbourne. Now the village will have access to broadband speeds of up 40Mbps by autumn of this year......

Remember - Nova IT Solutions can organise, advise and setup business class reliable and robust internet connections whatever your size, be it ADSL SDSL or Leased Lines through our partnership with award winning ISPs. Tweet us @NovaITSolutions, email us at info@nova-itsolutions.com or call us free on 0800 019 4525.

Careful with Facebook, Spam alert again. Nearly 300,000 users fall prey to 'texting' scam http://ping.fm/fh96H

Mozilla release first Beta of Firefox 4 http://ping.fm/giDqJ

Oooops reception issues still plague the new iphone http://ping.fm/As8jQ

If you haven't upgraded to XP SP3 yet, you really should. Only a week to go until end of support for SP2 of Microsoft's popular OS http://ping.fm/gw9Oy

Government freezes iPhone application development Report reveals that up to £40,000 was spent on developing a single app http://ping.fm/3o1cX

Latest Opera browser '50 per cent faster'
Norwegian firm reveals slew of enhancements in version 10.6 http://ping.fm/Xs8hy

Would your business benefit from remote access?

The increased availability of high-speed internet access allows businesses to offer remote working to their employees. This means that staff can connect to their employer’s network from any computer that has internet access, so they can work when they’re away from their desks, in a meeting, travelling or from home.

Remote access can result in a number of benefits, including:

• staff can work from anywhere where there is an internet connection and it is easy to for them to access their email and documents

• there’s no need to carry a laptop at all times or to synchronise files between a laptop and desktop PC

• being able to respond more quickly means improved customer service

• the flexibility of being able to work from home enables staff to enjoy a more harmonious work/life balance

• jobs that offer flexible working practices tend to be considered more desirable by prospective employees - and a happier employee is likely to be more productive

In order to reap these benefits, employers need to ensure that the necessary technology is in place. Tweet us @NovaITSolutions, email us at info@nova-itsolutions.com or call us free on 0800 019 4525 to see how we can help your business work remotely.

Are you getting the best deal from your mobile provider?

With so many different options available, it can be hard to tell which mobile provider offers the best deals for business users. Here are our top tips for making sure you have the best tariff:

• Analyse your usage, taking into account the minutes, texts and data that are included in your current tariff – is it working for you?
• Look at whether you’re getting value for money; a different tariff could be more suitable for your needs, and you could, for example, benefit from changing from a personal to business package.
• Consider insurance – if you have multiple handsets, this could benefit your company and give you and your staff peace of mind.
• Speak to an expert - through our partnership with Connect It, Nova IT Solutions can deal direct with providers on your behalf and manage all your mobile needs, whether you decide to stay with your current provider or switch to a new one.

Tweet us @NovaITSolutions, email us at info@nova-itsolutions.com or call us free on 0800 019 4525 to see how we can help you optimise your mobile service.