StartUp Britain, A Nationwide Tour Designed To Inspire Would-Be Entrepreneurs

A national campaign that aims to inspire new start-up businesses has embarked on a tour of the North. 

StartUp Britain is a campaign by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, which harnesses the expertise of Britain’s leading businesspeople to celebrate, inspire and accelerate enterprise in the UK. 

The 1966 Routemaster bus will tour 25 locations around England, Wales and Scotland to offer advice from the country’s best business mentors, start-up experts, business IT support professionals and employees from headline sponsors Sage to aspiring entrepreneurs. 

Yesterday in Newcastle mentors from the North East’s Entrepreneurs’ Forum spoke with members of the public about business ideas and of their own experiences, which highlighted that connecting budding entrepreneurs to local organisations can help them to get started in the business world. 

According to the StartUp Britain website, the campaign was founded by eight entrepreneurs and launched on 28 March 2011 by the Prime Minister, with the full support of the Chancellor and HM Government, although it is completely funded by private-sector sponsors. The campaign is now run by the Centre for Entrepreneurs, the entrepreneurs' think tank, enabling them to communicate better policies for entrepreneurs to Government.

“We are truly passionate about promoting entrepreneurship and its benefits to our economy and we do this by highlighting the myriad of support that is available to those who wish to start or grow a business, galvanising support where we see a demand and by acting as a voice for small businesses to Government.”

We think this is an excellent event and we urge potential entrepreneurs from across the UK to attend, you’ll never know what valuable information you might receive! And if anything, it’s a good chance to network with some of the best business minds around.

360ict provides managed IT services and emergency IT support for SMEs in central London and the south-east, including Bromley and Croydon. For more advice on gaining competitive advantage as a mid-sized company, give us a call on 0208 663 4000 or head to our website.

End Of The Road for Windows Server 2003

Time has nearly run out for Windows Server 2003, in a few short months Microsoft is going to stop support. This means that the stream of security updates and bug fixes customers have received over the last 12 years will cease. 

People may wonder what all the fuss is about: Windows Server 2003 has been around for 12 years, surely it’s time for an update, right? However, businesses typically don’t replace critical servers and infrastructure often, definitely not in the same way consumers upgrade to the latest Apple products. 

Microsoft will pull support on July 14, and over the last week businesses have been discussing the effect impending support suspension will have on SMEs who haven’t upgraded their servers. Over the next few weeks these businesses will have some major decisions to make about the future of their server environments, and we're here to help with this awkward transition.  

A recent survey from Spiceworks revealed that companies across the US are allocating $60,000 for migration-related expenses on average, and that many of these migrations have already begun. For SMEs in the UK, if you haven’t started migrating to new servers, now is definitely the time to do so, because after July 14 2015 holdouts face a risky future. 

When it comes to security, Windows Server 2003 is certainly no Fort Knox, but continuing to use it post July 14 could have some serious security repercussions. 

Ade Foxall, CEO of application portfolio management firm Camwood, believes that “after the recent migration away from Windows XP, IT departments should be more aware than ever of the dangers of using an out-of-date platform. And yet, the lack of awareness surrounding Server 2003 is about to pose an unprecedented security threat to businesses all over the world.”

There is an upside to moving away from Windows Server 2003: businesses have the opportunity to modernise their environments, like moving to the cloud. In another survey conducted by Spiceworks, they found that 64% of business planned to migrate to Windows Server 2012 while the remainder would take their applications into the virtual space.

This is a critical time for SMEs and it’s important that the right decisions are made. Here at 360ict we can help businesses move away from Windows Server 2003 in a simple and affordable manner. If you have any questions, please get in touch!  

360ict provides managed IT services and support for SMEs in central London and the south-east, including London Victoria, Euston, Bromley and Croydon. For more advice on gaining competitive advantage as a mid-sized company, give us a call on 0208 663 4000 or head to our website.

Standard Chartered To Combat Cybercrime By Hiring Former UK Surveillance Chief

Image credit: Reuters

Standard Chartered has appointed Iain Lobban to its new financial crime committee to bolster its cyber defence strategy.

The former head of Britain’s security and intelligence body, GCHQ, will become a member and senior advisor to the committee. Lobban will be responsible for matters including anti-money laundering, sanctions compliance and prevention of corruption.

Lobban was director of the UK’s electronic intelligence gathering agency from mid-2008 to late 2014 and Standard Chartered said cybersecurity had been at the heart of Lobban's role in recent years.

Cyber criminals pose a rising threat to businesses across the UK. Businesses are being targeted by increasingly sophisticated criminals trying to steal money, client data or innovative ideas, score political points or to simply cause havoc. Many companies make the mistake of thinking their greatest risks are external ones like burglary or flooding — they underestimate the danger of internal failures in data security and data protection.

Standard Chartered announced the committee a day after U.S authorities extended monitoring of the bank, which follows the institution’s $667 million fine in 2012 over violations related to U.S sanctions.

As cyber attacks are becoming more frequent, it’s advised that businesses take precautions to combat these attacks. We offer SMEs across the UK industry-leading solutions designed to solve mainstream IT problems spanning over three distinct markets: data storage, data protection and disaster recovery. Our solutions combat crime and improve conduct and compliance capabilities.

To make sure your organisation is compliant with all data security and data protection regulations, have our experts carry out an on-site review. To talk to us about your options, call 0208 663 4000 or contact us via our website.

360ict provides managed IT services and support for SMEs in central London and the south-east, including London Victoria, Euston, Croydon and Bromley.