With Q4 hitting us squarely in the face next week, and it starting to feel very much like Autumn, I hope business is thriving your end and your IT woes are minimal !
OneDrive – Core Functionalities
Microsoft’s file storage & sharing facility – OneDrive – has been around for many years now, and like-it-or-loath-it, it’s very much here to stay. Giving you storage space in the cloud, rather than on your PC, OneDrive delivers many advantages over local storage:
- Data loss – You don’t lose files if you lose or break your computer
- Backup – you can automatically duplicate other files on your computer and save into OneDrive
- Synchronisation – the same files are available on all your devices connected to OneDrive
- Changes – because of something called ‘version history’, certain file changes can be reversed
- Windows Integration – OneDrive acts just like another Drive in Windows Explorer on your computer.
- Extra Space – newer computers are coming with smaller hard drives, so an extra 1TB can more than quadruple the storage space you already have
- Folder shortcuts – sync folders from your Corporate intranet (Sharepoint) into your own OneDrive and have regularly accessed files immediately available.
- File Sharing – very flexible on this front with several options available for how much control you want the receiver to have over the file.
It’s not perfect though – large files constantly syncing can jam up a low-speed internet connection in the office for example – but it is certainly still improving with time. Couldn’t live without it here !
Portable Keyboards
Always a useful accessory to have in your kit bag when you’re out and about, or for when in meetings & presentations, or just for connecting to a mobile or tablet and using a bigger keyboard when you have much to type.
I run the popular Logitech K400 with built-in trackpad:
There are many levels of style and cost though. From this at over £130 with built-in hidden touchpad:
… to this mini game-like keyboard at under a tenner:
… or ones that fold up into smaller packages:
There’s just so many options now as their popularity rises and people become more and more mobile in the daily lives.
Windows 10 update
Microsoft is seeing an increase in flaws being exploited, leading to a flurry of patches being released before the Operating System goes formally End-Of-Support in Oct 2025. This is clearly anticipated, so Microsoft is working hard to leave W10 in a decent state once support expires, but at the same time is keen for users to migrate onto newer Microsoft operating Systems.
We would also encourage this and are happy to discuss small or large scale OS migration projects.
For August 2024, the stats service ‘Statcounter’ recorded a month-on-month sub-one percent uptick for Windows 11, to 31.63 percent. Windows 10’s share dropped by a similar amount to 64.14 percent.
There’s a clear trend, but it will need to accelerate if Windows 11 is to overhaul Windows 10 by October 2025, when Microsoft pulls support for the venerable OS.
Cloud Uptake Slowing Down
Has ‘the cloud’ lost its traction and is starting to falter..?
An admission by Amazon certainly goes a long way to indicating that. Cloud behemoth AWS says “it is facing stiff competition from on-premises infrastructure”, which is a turnaround from its once-proud boast that all workloads would eventually move to the cloud.
In reality though, what they are responding to is a surge in clients going down ‘hybrid’ routes, mixing the best of both cloud-hosted and on-premise facilities. The industry is also starting to see price hikes causing the inevitable vendor-switching, as organisations become so comfortable with pricing models that they can easily compare like for like.
As a private cloud and multi-vendor public cloud provider ourselves, the ability to deliver solutions over multiple vendors is one facility that we are particularly proud of. We are continually looking at how we develop this for our entire client base going forwards, so that we continue to provide ‘the best of all worlds’ for our customers.
Cyber Security
With every day bringing a new story of a household brand being ‘hacked’ and their data frozen – this week’s victim being high-end department store Harvey Nichols – it is likely that most of us will soon either have been affected, or know someone who has been affected, by a serious breach in security.
Businesses can protect themselves with 3 core services:
- Email security scanning & filtering services
- Multi-factor authentication, wherever possible
- Staff security training.
It is important to remember that what we know as ‘hacking’ usually isn’t anything of the sort – it is logging in correctly using credentials that have been obtained incorrectly. Anything that minimises those credentials being disclosed – by systems or personnel – will reduce any risk to your business dramatically.
As usual, here if you need us.
