There is a lot of scary business terms flying around right now and ‘workflow automation for small business’ is one of them. However, it shouldn’t be, because it could be one of your best business decisions of all time. In a recent survey by the US Council of Economic Advisors, it is estimated that 83% [...]
Memories, how are yours, good, bad or indifferent? I was out walking last night and as I was pounding the pavement, I noticed a conker shell that had been opened and it got me thinking about my childhood back in the 1970s. I don’t often get nostalgic but I do often think about the old [...]
Data is the new oil, how often have you heard that? That quote was written back in 2006 by Mathematician, Clive Humby. How true that has become. Back in 2006 it was estimated that the total worldwide data store was 160 exabytes. By 2023, it is estimated that 423 exabytes will be created daily! For [...]
A lightbulb moment, if you have never had one, it is a really great feeling. Especially when you are presenting and one of the people you are talking to, suddenly gets it! This happened to Unleashed last week. We have been working with a large client automating one of their work processes – turning a [...]
What is workflow automation, but more importantly what can it do for my business? For as long as I have been in business (and that is a long time!) We have had forms to fill in if we want something. These forms can be anything, Holiday requests, expenses, purchase orders, invoices, timesheets, Job offers, employee [...]
Workflow automation is the act of moving manual tasks to an automated process. We use workplace automation to improve the flow of information around your business. When data flows around your business in an efficient manner you suddenly become more productive, you get more done and you can concentrate on driving and building your business. [...]
I'm sure some of our long-standing customers will know our heritage is quite a few years older, but if we're to look at the official Companies House record I should have bought a few cakes this week... It's our 7th birthday!!! We are obviously too busy working on behalf of customers to celebrate! That's seven years of [...]
What is the cyber kill chain? To explain what this is, we first have to look at the whole process of the cyber-attack. To stop a cyber-attack, you first have to understand the process that the purveyor of the attack goes through. And, more importantly, know what the end goal of the attack is. There [...]
Do you have an “it won't happen to me” disaster recovery policy? If so, you may want to read this! Everybody thinks they are protected. That a disaster is not going to happen to them, correct? Well, what if a disaster that has nothing to do you happens, and stops you from doing business. I [...]
How many businesses have a data security strategy? My guess would be not many. Why? because not many people really understand how to protect their data against the three main data security risks: Security Risks: 1. Outsider – Malicious threat where someone will try to attack your business, normally to steal data for monetary gain. [...]
GDPR, Confused? Well everyone I have spoken to certainly is! In fact, it has taken me nearly 3 months to get to the bottom of what IT Directors/Managers have to do to ensure you are GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) compliant. In one sense it is quite funny that the search term GDPR, Confused? Gets [...]
It’s a little known fact that I have bragging rights that I conducted some of the UK’s first research into Shared Services. Now if you’re a small or medium business, then that’ll mean nothing to you and also negate any bragging rights I have about it. Indeed, but what I learnt during my time on [...]
Last week I blogged about the relationship between IT and the rest of the company getting to the point where in many organisations the IT function refers to the rest of the company as “the business”. Whilst there are myriad reasons for this – I personally blame ‘best practice’, ITIL and outsourcing as key drivers. [...]
I’ve had a few struggles with Dell lately, they’ve shifted my account to the same call centre that calls me up at night asking if I want insurance (okay, not quite, but nearly!). I closed my account and then received a phone call from our former account manager attempting to get me to talk to [...]
In my last blog I discussed the information security concerns about Microsoft’s end-of-life notice for Windows XP. Let’s not forget however, a key part of many people’s infrastructure is the Exchange 2003 mail server. Unleashed have been working on a number of upgrades for many companies that has really brought this to the top of [...]
At As I sit in the bar on a fine evening après-ski writing this article, I’m pretty much trying to convey the same attitude to a little unknown problem outside the world of IT as other business owners and managers are. I mean, I can literally close my eyes and absolutely not care what Microsoft’s [...]
I frequently tell people the answer to this question is a little bit geek, a little bit facilities manager, a little bit office manager, a little bit quality manager, a fair bit project manager and a lot perfectionist (when budgets permit). The best IT Managers are also highly adept business consultants, who know more about [...]
This week I finally did it. After years of looking at the green cabinet outside my home, I finally got Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) installed. I also finally, have gone with Zen Internet, after many years of recommending them to just about everybody – I finally switched from Eclipse who in my humble opinion [...]
It’s funny, no matter how educated you are, you can sometimes stumble onto something that you think was glaringly obvious and ask yourself some searching questions why you haven’t done it sooner. Over the past twelve months that’s happened to me… […]
Some of you may or may not know that business process is probably one of my pet topics, despite my leanings to IT Infrastructure I've always seen IT as an enabler to effectively manage a business and allow managers a better view of what's going on around the company. If IT can't accomplish these goals [...]
