Another month has flown by and we’re approaching end of May … with another Bank Holiday as a reward ! Let’s hope the nice weather returns for the coming weekend and we all get an extra day of downtime in the sun.
In the meantime, here’s a selection of news stories, updates, and IT titbits.
Speed Up Your Sheets
If you use Excel online and are concerned that your intra-company spreadsheets are getting too large and clunky, slowing down the business as a result, you’re probably right ! Spreadsheets can pick up a lot of unnecessary formatting over the years, and can benefit from a back-to-basics refresh every now and then.
Luckily there is a handy way of doing this without deleting and starting again – the ‘Check Performance’ feature:
Click the ‘Performance’ button in the ‘Review’ tab, and you’ll get suggestions on how to speed it up… and then if you approve of them they’ll be done for you when you click ‘Optimize’ (yes, American spelling)
June Is Business Continuity Month
Over the rest of the year we will be highlighting areas of IT that can literally “save your business’ bacon”, starting in June by focusing on Business Continuity services, one-half of the industry term known as BCDR. Guess what July will be..?
Regulation For Bad Passwords
It’s been a long time coming, but finally the “Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 (PSTI Act)” has come into force, with aims to enforce minimum security standards by which all device manufacturers must abide.
Of the three main requirements all smart devices must adhere to, shipping devices with easily crackable default passwords is arguably the headliner. Default passwords are allowed, but if they’re easily discoverable online, then it will fall foul of the Act.
To coincide the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a leaflet (here) for people looking to bolster their device’s security posture.
- Change the default password
- Turn on automatic updates
- Use two-factor authentication on anything you can
Microsoft 365 License Management
If you have either of the following and want to hear how we can help, drop me a line:
- Microsoft 365 licenses coming up for renewal with another provider
- Licenses scattered over multiple providers
We can put together a competitive renewal price, or move your other licenses onto your current pricing scheme with us to collate them all in one place.
Or if you just want a chat to see if there are better licenses for the business that the ones you have, I am more than happy to walk you through what’s out there in Microsoft world.
8 Signs You Need a New Laptop
Laptops don’t last for ever, so when is the point in time to switch to something newer..?
Here’s some pointers:
- Your Device No Longer Serves the Intended Purpose
- Your Laptop Doesn’t Support Software Updates
- Your Laptop Remains Overheated
- You See Graphics Glitches and Hear Loud Fan Noises
- Long Boot-Up and Shutdown Times
- Costly Repairs or Replacement
- Can’t Upgrade Because of Bottlenecks
- Future-proofing for Business Changes
Any of the above will be ‘business affecting’, although you may not get to hear about the implications for your users. If you’re hearing murmurs from staff though, best to listen and collate.
Full article here.
Microsoft Dynamics Price Rise
If you’re one of the companies that use this service for your CRM or ERP processes, then hopefully you’ve already been informed by Microsoft that your prices will be increasing from October 2024.
To be fair, this is the first price rise on this service in 5 years, but still, they are fairly substantial.
Full pricing table here.
Feel free to connect with us on our LinkedIn page as we post other articles there on a regular basis too:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/alchemy-systems-international-limited
If we don’t speak in the meantime though, have a great Bank Holiday weekend !
Kind regards, Richard.
