However, I thought a recent piece of literature from one of our alliance partners  summarises nicely why organisations should consider document management.

1. 80% of companies whose documents are damages by fire or other disasters can effectively go out of business within one year!
2. You can end up spending thousands and thousands managing paper documents, without eliminating them. These paper documents are often duplicated on average 15 times during their life cycle!
3. A four drawer filing cabinet costs approximately £16000 to fill and £1400pa to maintain! Is this extra cash your organisation could put to better use?
4. The average professional spends 5%-15% of their time reading information. But UP TO 50% searching for it!
5. The cost of office space has increased 19% in the last year and is set to increase in the current economic climate! Are you ready to embrace it?
6. PriceWaterhouseCoopers have estimated Paper Documents are growing at a rate of 22% per year. Is your organisation growing? If so that rate could be even faster!
7. 7.5% of documents get lost. Approximately 3% of the remainder will get misfiled.

Ancar B in conjunction with an alliance partner has sourced a document management solution that can be 1) hosted in the cloud (therefore there is no hardware investment needed) and 2) which can be paid for on a monthly basis (so its very cost effective). 3) And it is also really easy to use!

The product is ideal for IFAs, Accountants and Solicitors – in fact any business that generates a lot of paperfiles – but the beauty of it is that it can be paid for on a monthly basis to fit in with a client’s budget. So you no longer need to risk capital expenditure to feel the benefit.

For more information or the system and to arrange a demo, please contact Richard on 0845 077 8883.

But keeping costs down is obviously a key consideration for any business in the current economic climate and if the power usage of your IT infrastructure is efficient – cloud computing offers a win-win solution i.e. you pay on a monthly basis for the use of apps supplied via the cloud and the power to run them is minimised.

However, have you ever stopped to think about the actual cost of powering the IT in your business. Many businesses view the cost of electricity as a given, but imagine if you could cut the cost of your power as well as the cost of your computing solutions.

I recently met with a business associate who offers a utilities price assessment and supply service targeted specifically at business. I know we (and you probably) get hassled by utilities companies regularly saying ‘we offer the cheapest tariff’, but this service involves a full assessment of your power usage and then a professional report detailing where improvements could be made based on fact. It is well worth a look when you consider the savings made on electricity could be used to put towards the monthly fee made on cloud computing e.g. hosting your Sage Accounting Sofware.

For information on this service and to be put in touch with a professional utilities consultancy, please contact Richard on 0845 077 8883.

Technical terms like Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption (MTPOD), Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) are often used, but what do they really mean? In practical terms, Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is the duration until a business can return to normal after the failure of a server or key computer site, and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is the place in the transaction flow where the business resumes.

For business owners we would urge decision makers to consider the following three questions seriously:

• Recovery Time Objective (RTO) – How long can your business afford to be down?
• Recovery Point Objective (RPO) – How often do you backup? How much data can you business afford to lose in the event of a disaster?
• Level of Service (LOS) – What are the business’ critical servers and essential units that cannot be disrupted?

Implementing a disaster recovery plan includes documenting the process to bring a server or group of servers back online in the event of failure. An overlooked step in the process often flows from the assumption that an IT expert is always readily available. Due to the typical unpredictability of a disaster, in-house IT staff (if you have any atl all) may take time to find and start action. Ancar B can help develop a disaster recovery plan and, through an IT Support contract, support the recovery process so that systems and processes are restored as efficiently as possible.

How long can you afford to be down?

Ancar B consultants can help you in reviewing your disaster recovery and business continuity plan and define a realistic picture of expectations. We can provide clarity on what may be costly backup alternatives to cover aspects of daily operations that may not be critical and help you focus on the level of protection necessary to cover the RTO, RPO and LSO. In summary, defining the aspects of your company’s business that must stay operational.

For advice on business continuity and disaster recovery, please do not hesitate to call Ancar B on 0845 077 8883.

So what is consumerisation in the context of IT? The consumerisation of IT is a trend that has gathered momentum in recent years and refers to ways in which the consumer sector and business sector are converging. It is used as an umbrella term covering many things, including allowing employees to buy or bring to the workplace devices of their choice. This will sometimes replace being given designated computers or other devices, but it can also supplement the traditional model. The IT consumerisation tag can also be used to refer to the way in which some companies (or individuals) use consumer software and services such as Facebook and Twitter to accomplish business tasks.

Indeed, the boundaries between professional and personal lives are being redefined. Users no longer work within their offices (thanks to Cloud Computing/SaaS), but often check email late at night and update personal web pages during the day. Users are demanding freedom and IT needs to figure out ways in which to help them maintain a balance between work and personal time.

Those in favour of consumerisation of IT see it as a way of liberating their employees, increasing creativity and loyalty, and as a tactic for restoring work/life balance and enabling the recruitment of the brightest new talent. Opponents, however believe it leads to inconsistency, manageability issues and information security risks.

Here are some factors to address if you are considering consumerisation for your company/organisation.

• Assess your users – Assess what consumer grade applications and devices your employees are using at work today. It will also be useful to create a profile of your end-users and the typical scenario they encounter. Depending on the individual user’s impact on the business and their needs, you will be able to form an opinion on whether consumerisation is right for them and you.

• Understand content and information security – Some users may deal with confidential legal issues, whereas others may deal with information that is intended for public readership. Similarly, some information, such as sales contracts, is highly sensitive while other data, such as marketing brochures, can be shared using consumer technologies such as Windows Live SkyDrive without risk. Access to areas should be strictly limited by role and credentials.

• Recognise device types and application needs – Individual devices are not good for all tasks and one size does not fit all. Devices without keyboards may be inadequate for data creation and PCs generally provide the best environment for data creation and manipulation tasks. The challenge is to match work profiles with the right device.

• Define the criteria for a successful solution – Consider what benefits there will be and how these benefits will be measured. Plan to protect sensitive data, allow data access and sharing, provide tools for application delivery and access, and deliver a centrally managed environment through technologies such as cloud-based applications and services and desktop virtualisation.

• Update your organisational policies – Your policies should reflect your solution, requiring collaboration beyond IT. Areas such as data classification will require legal counsel and finance departments will need to tackle the tax issues of benefits in kind and issuing cash allowances when users select their own devices or bring their own devices to work. Occasionally, consumerisation is driven by the HR department which has an interest in providing a modern, dynamic environment to attract the best talent in the industry.

• Provide implementation and development resources – Ensure you provide sufficient assistance to support and develop the delivery of applications and data across multiple platforms. This will affect the likely cost and timescales for the successful implementation of a consumerisation project. Be aware that adopting a consumerisation strategy or implementing a ‘bring your own’ device model will not cost the enterprise less. Invariably it will cost more and increase complexity and risk. If the only driver is cost reduction, you are almost certainly making a bad move.

• Pilot your solution and plan for continuous improvements – Use highly motivated volunteers who are keen to create a consumerisation strategy. Do not pilot just a single device because it is unlikely to suit all users. The programme should not be a way for particular users to get ‘cool stuff’. Roll out the programme to all employees or to those you have identified as most likely to benefit.

The consumerisation of IT is a very real trend that is being adopted by many organisations, particularly those going through a period of change. Positive outcomes may include employees who are more engaged, productive and creative and a powerful aid to recruitment. However it should not be viewed as a cost saving exercise and like any change management programme, strict governance and measurements must be put in place to gauge success.

Thanks

Richard

While the desktop computer is not set for extinction any time soon, research says that by 2020, most people will not do their work with software running on a general-purpose PC. Instead they will work in internet based applications and in applications run from smartphones. Cloud computing will continue to expand and come to dominate information transactions because it offers many advantages, allowing users to have easy, instant and individualised access to tools and information they need wherever they are, locatable from any networked device.

The generation entering the workplace today have never known a world without computers in their living rooms, internet on their mobile phones and networking without using social media. And in order to entice this generation, 68% of those surveyed believe companies will have to offer the very latest in technology and flexible workspaces to attract and retain the brightest workforce – and cloud computing is a fundamental foundation for this.

Synonymous with this new generation is their behaviour within the workplace – as companies seek to become ever more innovative, to drive new ideas and new services and products, employee collaboration will be instrumental, using, sharing and changing documents and ideas together using cloud computing as a tool.

Ultimately technology and the onset of cloud computing will change the way we all work in the future, ensuring anywhere, anytime access to the information and the people we need in order to get things done and drive business growth.

A recent report from IDC, IDC Predictions 2011 highlights that cloud use by SMEs (that’s SMALL and Medium Size Enterprises) is expected to surge in 2011, with the adoption of some cloud resources topping 33 per cent by year’s end.

Even though more small businesses are starting to adopt cloud computing, it’s clear that many are still unsure of what it is, how it relates to their specific business sector and most importantly how it can benefit them.

Why small businesses should look to the cloud

A major challenge for small businesses, especially start-ups, is the upfront cost of IT infrastructure and the huge costs incurred managing IT, when they could be saving money and investing it in other core business areas. Cloud computing reduces the need for costly infrastructure associated with on-premise software and the additional management overheads required.

These benefits can be categorised as follows:

Cost: Unlike traditional IT systems, cloud applications require no more infrastructure than an internet connection and can even work wirelessly on mobile devices. This reduces upfront capital expense and slashes maintenance costs.

Mobility: Having access to email, documents, contacts and calendars while out and about can help your staff keep in touch with customers and remain productive when they are not in the office.

Speed: IT departments don’t have to go through the lengthy process of building IT infrastructure and deploying software to multiple computers when using cloud services. Instead, they subscribe to services and receive them.

Reliability: The cloud computing provider is responsible for maintaining and upgrading the infrastructure. This means greater security and higher levels of uptime, leaving your staff free to focus on more important core business processes.

Scalability: You only have to pay for the resources you use. Instead of buying hardware, software and consultants to set up and run applications, businesses can pay a cloud-based provider i.e. Ancar B on a per-user per-month basis. So as your company grows , your IT systems can grow with you, with very little hassle or cost.

Innovation: Small businesses can now get the very latest versions of software they need at all times, with no refresh cycles, so they are always working on the very latest technology to help drive their business forward.

Cloud objections

Data security and privacy is often cited for wariness of going the Cloud route. Sceptics argue that once your data exists out in the cloud, you are hard-pressed to ensure no one else has access to it or to get it back if you want to change providers. This also includes the issue of uptime i.e. how your service provider ensures the internet doesn’t ‘go down’ and what guarantees are there for this. This issue may be causing more than a few firms to delay adoption of the cloud, but needn’t be an insurmountable problem. In fact, when it comes to securing your information in the cloud, top tier cloud providers have such stringent security protocols and security service level agreements, the data is often seen as more secure than many small businesses would provide for themselves.

In conclusion

Technology has to be seen for what it is – an enabler of business processes – and cloud computing is no exception. Technology was on the cusp of becoming a hindrance to many small businesses because of cost, unreliability and complexity. Looking to the cloud to offload technical services, such as patching and upgrades and security and uptime, whilst only paying for IT you actually use, puts IT back at the heart of business, but not dictating business.

There has never been a better time for SMEs to make the switch to cloud computing. The technology is low-cost, scalable, easy to implement and use. For SMEs, life in the cloud is too compelling a prospect to ignore.

However, a recent survey conducted by The Register revealed some interesting findings and conclusions on the current state of productivity in predominantly UK companies, which I thought would be worth sharing.

Productivity improvement is desirable but elusive

The survey showed that when it comes to supporting, never mind maximising individual and team productivity, the right tools and information are not available to the people who need them, and considerable amounts of time continue to be wasted as a result.

Information access is the biggest problem

Having access to the right information at the right time was singled out as the most important element of productivity. It was also a significant problem when it actually comes to providing it: the majority of companies aren’t doing it well, and there is much room for improvement when it comes to supporting individual workers with collaboration tools and access to business intelligence.

Changing work patterns are making the issue more acute

Most companies today have distributed workforces, and many office-based employees don’t exclusively work from home anymore. Mobile working is on the increase, as are nomadic and home working. Team structures are becoming more fluid, with temporary teams forming and disbanding, often in different locations, and across different time zones. Issues arising from lack of the right tools to support tasks as well as collaboration are magnified, and even more time is wasted.

There is little direct support for productivity improvement

Few companies take any structured (in the shape of training) or unstructured (in the guise of mentoring or coaching) measures to improve individual productivity. There is also a strong sense that many organisations aren’t aware of what can – and should – be done to improve productivity.

The role of technology to support productivity could be greater

Comparatively little use is made of many of the technologies that can help people work better as individuals and as teams, and uncertainty remains regarding the value of particular technologies. Whether or not they are planning to make improvements, most companies could benefit from taking a more structured approach to assessing the role of technology in the context of productivity.

The role of people and process could be greater

Several of the respondents recognised that technology on its own can’t improve productivity: people and process have equal parts to play – if people don’t know how to use the technology, feel demotivated, or work in an environment that’s not conducive to productive working, then the value of the technology is instantly reduced, potentially even to zero. Equally if processes aren’t right – and that can mean too few or too many processes, as well as simply inappropriate ones – no supporting technology can compensate for the resulting loss of productivity.

Sounds gloomy doesn’t it?

Well it does, but the conclusions of the survey provide some chinks of light and indicate ways forward.

First of all it’s necessary to take an all-encompassing view of productivity, that is ‘business productivity’ as a whole. Business productivity is made up of two key elements: the efficiency and effectiveness of individuals and teams; and the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes that are in place.

From an individual and team perspective, it’s essential that they have the right tools and information to hand, and that they know how to use them. From a business perspective, it’s not only important to ensure that the tools, information and generic training are made available, but also crucial that:

• The right tools are selected in the first place
• An assessment is made of how the tools and information should be used to best effect
• Training and guidelines are tailored accordingly

But this is the aspect that’s typically neglected, because to a large extent, the impact on productivity of tool and information deficiencies, as well as lack of expertise, is a hidden cost, borne in the first instance by the employee, but ultimately by the business itself.

What do we mean be hidden cost?  To give a few examples: Managers and colleagues may not be aware that it takes a particular employee ten mouse clicks for something that could be done in one, or ten minutes for a task that could be accomplished in two, because the person doesn’t know how best to use the tools they’re working with. The resulting waste of time is not apparent as a loss of productivity, simply because the individuals in question will most likely be working long hours to complete their work – but the impact on the business of a tired stressed worker will sooner or later be felt as will the consequences of errors.

Similarly, it’s expected that employees simply get used to new or upgraded software; and even in organisations that actively support the concept of a super user who is trained to support colleagues, it is often taken for granted that those super users complete their usual workload even at times when their support is needed almost one hundred per cent of their time.

So that’s an area that companies need to pay more attention to if they are serious about improving productivity: 1) gaining a true understanding of what a tool or application does, 2) developing best practice for it use, and 3) providing appropriate training and guidance to ensure employees can use it to best effect.  It also means understanding how long a particular task or process should be taking, and what information is required to complete it; only then can it be assessed how much that time could be reduced, and mistakes avoided, if employees are given better tools.

If you’d like some advice or improving productivity in your business using IT and processes and training, please give Ancar B a call.

Thanks
Richard

As well as hosted Sage applications, we are now seeing a number of customers hosting SAP, Maximiser and Microsoft Dynamics systems to benefit from our managed solution and increase the availability of their most important applications.

With our virtual solutions still being offered at a fantastic price, and with bundled management taking care of the system management, backup to our robust Storage Area Network and live replication to ensure constant availability, the customers keep rolling in.

If you are considering moving your key systems to a hosted solution then get in touch using the contact form to the right, and one of our consultants will happily discuss your requirements and offer a solution to match your requirement.

Ancar B was invited to present to the audience on Cloud Computing with particular reference to Sage 200. Whilst ‘Cloud’ is a subject with which many of us in the technology industry are familiar, not a single delegate – approximately 20 attended the event – had had any experience of ‘Cloud’ or working using Software As A Service. Why is this so?

Well in many instances I believe that most of the attendees had not considered ‘Cloud’ as an option, because of all of the technical terms surrounding it that makes it sound complicated to the layman e.g. Virtualisation, Software As A Service, Infrastructure As A Service, Platform As A Service, SPLA, VMWare, Hypervisor. In addition, I believe some companies are terrified of hosting their data in a location away from their business due to perceived security issues and the negative press attention some security breaches have received.

In terms of both of these stumbling blocks, understanding ‘Cloud’ and allaying potential customer’s fears about hosting their applications and data elsewhere can be negated. Despite all the definitions about cloud e.g. Cloud computing is the next stage in the Internet’s evolution, providing the means through which everything – from computing power to computing infrastructure, applications, business processes to personal collaboration – can be delivered to you as a service wherever and whenever you need, I found the following graphic pretty much ‘nailed it’ for the audience in understanding what can be stored/accessed/used in the cloud and via what means e.g. PC, Laptop, Smartphone etc.

Then we get onto the prickly issue of security. The irony with storing your data elsewhere – in the ‘Cloud’ – is that many companies are already doing this as part of their disaster recovery strategy i.e. storing data offsite at a data centre via remote backup in case their server is stolen or goes up in flames. So why would they be so reluctant to use an offsite resource for their day to day operations therefore? The other irony is that Data Centres have far superior access controls, firewalls and security procedures than many companies who keep their data on-site. The following cartoon made me chuckle in this respect:-

Anyway, I felt we really managed to grab the audience’s attention when we explained how ‘Cloud Computing’ removes many of the constraints from traditional computing environments including space, time, power and cost. For example, imagine a company wanting to deploy a Sage 200 system for 5 Users. Traditionally this would have been done with an On-Premise solution i.e. a server on the customer’s site. This would incur significant cost in terms of Server and PC Upgrades, New Operating Systems, SQL Database Licenses, Installation Costs and also ongoing Maintenance:-

Gulp! For many businesses this can be a real deal breaker. Having secured £20k from the Finance Director for the Sage 200 software itself, the extra £5k+ to deploy the solution on the appropriate hardware is ‘a bridge too far’.

However, ‘Cloud Computing’ can overcome this financial impasse by offering resources and licenses which customers can ‘rent’ on a monthly basis in order to deploy a much needed line of business application e.g. Sage 200. Moreover as a ‘Cloud’ solution is paid for on a monthly basis it falls into the operational budget of many companies and becomes no more burdensome than paying the monthly mobile bill e.g.

Great! That’s much more manageable!

Cloud is the future, but don’t just take my word for it. According to a recent survey by IDC cloud computing revenue will not only increase during the next few years, but the way organisations use the technology will change. In addition, it is anticipated cloud computing spending will account for 25% of annual IT expenditure growth by 2012 and nearly a third of the growth the following year.

The underlying reasons for this were even more revealing. In a related survey:-

• 70% agreed ‘Using the Cloud’ had Simplified IT Management Processes
• 72% agreed ‘Using the Cloud’ had Improved End User Experience
• 63% agreed ‘Using the Cloud’ had Decreased IT Performance Challenges
• 73% agreed ‘Using the Cloud’ had Reduced the Cost of Infrastructure
• 74% agreed ‘Using the Cloud’ had Alleviated Internal Resource Pressures

Speak soon

Richard

* Prices discussed in this article are estimates as of May 2011.  Please call for updated pricing.

In June we secured the business of a small local tool and plant hire business of over 30 years standing, who required a centralized server solution to allow them to store documents safely, send email and backup data securely. We deployed a Small Business Server 2008 solution that they feel has enhanced business productivity, data management and customer service.

Conversely, in July we secured the business of a large international door fittings business with an HQ in Germany and UK offices in Gillingham, Birmingham, Swansea and Glasgow. Each of these offices were connected via a Cisco based VPN and connected to Germany using their Citrix thin client solution. In addition, we secured the IT Support for this company (some 80 Users in the UK) to make sure that lines of communication, which are critical to their business, remain in service at all times.

In August, we upgraded an award winning painting and decorating business, who had expanded five fold and outgrown the Small Business Server 2003 solution we had sold them back in 2006. The company now has numerous staff who work remotely, for which a more powerful server running Small Business Server 2008 and incorporating Blackberry Enterprise Server provided the ideal solution.

Finally, we have recently secured the business of two companies requiring a virtual platform to run 1) Sage 50, Sage ACT and Office 2010 and 2) Sage 200 respectively. In both instances, the companies recognised the significant cost savings to be made by essentially ‘renting’ resources from our virtual platform in order to run their line of business software. This negated the need for them to purchase new hardware to run their new accounting software – kept capital expenditure down – and allows them to allocate the monthly cost to run their software into their operational expenditure, which they can easily budget for.

We look forward to reporting more account wins in the very near future…

All the best

Richard