5th January 2021
Think IT has been supporting businesses and individuals with a wide range of IT needs and issues for over 20 years, and we’ve built up not only a great deal of technical knowledge in this time, but also an understanding of how our clients work, and what IT solutions will be best for them, in terms of affordability as well as technology.
As another national lockdown commences, until mid-February 2021, IT can once again enable people to stay in touch with each other, and businesses to connect with customers and support staff to work.
Think IT will be available throughout the period to assist you with any IT needs or issues. There are some key points below that we’ve set out to help you, based on experiences during the last lockdown and the things we know can be challenges.
Equipment
During the first lockdown period, from 23 March 2020, numerous availability issues emerged as the global technology supply chain suffered from factory and distribution closures.
Devices like laptops, which of course are extremely useful to businesses needing to equip staff to work from home, have been particularly affected as demand has increased and supply has been impacted.
These ‘traditional’ devices (i.e. desktops/workstations and laptops/notebooks) saw global shipments increase by over 10% in the second quarter of 2020, evidencing strong work-from-home demand. HP, Lenovo and Dell command 65% market share combined, with Apple approaching 8% and Acer nearing 7%.
Much of Asia, where the vast majority of technology manufacturing takes place, is now less restricted than it was during the initial lockdown period in the UK, but the effects of the first lockdown are still being felt and lead times for items not in the UK already can be lengthy.
If you need any equipment, we’d advise you to let us know as soon as possible and we can check if there’s any stock available that’s already in the UK.
Many businesses continued with the work from home approach throughout much of last year, even when restrictions were lessened, and have seen productivity increases with things like dual monitors and stands, wireless keyboards and mice, and proper webcams and headsets.
Just get in touch with us if you want to talk about this.
Secure Remote Desktop Access
Insurer Hiscox estimated in 2018 that 65,000 cyber attacks are attempted against SMEs in the UK each day, and though only 7% (just over 4,500) are successful, that’s still about three every minute.
With more people working from home now, there are an additional set of security issues to consider. Many people that are working from home will be using a remote access technology to get access to their office devices.
Microsoft RDP is commonly used for this. Microsoft Windows desktop operating systems (like Windows 10) include a built-in ‘native’ client for this, and Windows Server operating systems include a built-in RDP server. The Microsoft Remote Desktop client is also available on the App Store for macOS X users.
RDP does support encryption, however numerous security issues have been discovered. We have produced a guide covering recommended security steps for RDP, which we can provide – just get in touch with us.
As an alternative to RDP, many organisations now seek straightforward, low-cost solutions that are more secure ‘out of the box’ (like LogMeIn and GoToMyPC). Whilst these are functional, they can be expensive.
Think IT is able to provide a remote access solution that is secure, cheaper than LogMeIn and GoToMyPC, compatible with Windows, macOS X, Android and iOS, and doesn’t need any hardware to be installed.
Again, just get in touch with us for more details about secure remote desktop access.
Technical Support
For many, 2020 brought into even sharper focus how critical IT support and technology generally is to how we work, and how we live. The pandemic moved organisations to a digital-first approach, and the reliance on technology means support for it becomes an even more important service.
IT issues can arise at the most inconvenient times! Our team supports hundreds of clients around Devon, the south west, and beyond. We can assist with a wide range of problems and we’re always happy to take a look at anything!
Throughout the lockdown period we’ll be available to help you if you need us:
Our standard support hours are 08.00 – 17.00, Monday to Friday.
If there’s anything you need, give us a call or drop us a line and we’ll do our very best to help.
