Like many businesses, we have always given small gifts to clients at Christmas time as a thank you for their custom. This year, when we were compiling the list of recipients and the budget, we asked ourselves whether we could do something better with the money.

Did you know that every two minutes someone faces losing their home? Recent figures show that the levels of homelessness in the UK have risen by 17% in 12 months. No one should have to endure having their lives torn apart by homelessness, especially at Christmas time, and in these uncertain economic times it’s all the more important that we do what we can to help.

Managed Networks decided to make a difference and help those in need this Christmas. We took our gift budget, doubled it, and donated the whole amount – £2,000 – to Shelter, a charity that works to combat homelessness and bad housing. Instead of gifts, our clients will be receiving an insert in their Christmas cards letting them know how they’ve helped alleviate homelessness in the UK.

Tracy Griffin, Shelter’s director of fundraising, said: “We are thrilled that Managed Networks has chosen to support Shelter this Christmas. Every two minutes someone faces the nightmare of losing their home. All the money raised will go towards ensuring that Shelter can reach more people who need our help to stay in their homes this Christmas.”

Ben Rapp (CEO) and Nick Caplan (Chairman) handed over our cheque for £2,000 to Shelter on the 8^th of December 2011. Our donation will prevent twenty families from being unlawfully evicted from their homes. We would like to inspire other small and medium-sized companies to follow our example. We may not have the impressive budget of a big corporate, but we can certainly do something significant this Christmas.

“We wanted to find a way to make a difference and set an example. Homelessness is a real and pressing issue where charity can have an immediate and lasting impact” – Ben Rapp, CEO, Managed Networks.

Phishing emails attempt to gain personal information such as bank account details or personal login information.They are designed to look like a genuine email sent by a well-known business like your bank, a delivery service or social networking site. The company logo and layout may be very convincing.

Characteristics

1. Asks for personal information
   Most companies never ask their customers to submit confidential data through email.
2. Urgent or threatening
   Lots of phishing emails demand immediate action and threaten account closure if the demand is not met. Legitimate companies would not take this approach.
3. Generic salutation
   Phishing emails often start with ‘Dear Customer’ instead of your name.
4. Attachments
   Malicious software is often disguised as an innocent attachment. Do not open unexpected attachments from suspicious or unknown senders.
5. Fake links
   Links to a website included in a phishing email may show a legitimate address but then take you somewhere different. You can see the actual address by hovering your mouse over the link but do not click.
6. Bad spelling or grammar
   Email scammers are often sent from abroad and may contain poor English or unusual phrases.

What can you do?

 Do not click on a link in an email that asks for personal information.

 Do not open attachments from unexpected senders.

 If an email seems suspicious, phone the company to verify or log onto your account from their website in your normal manner

Phishing email example:

You can now download PDF with our top tips to your computer- Top tips to avoid phishing scam

Microsoft and Google are among technology companies backing the ‘Next Generations Skills’ campaign which launches today in a bid to get computer science onto the curriculum in UK schools. The technology giants are calling on the Government to make changes to the education system to provide better IT skills.

Peter Barron, director of external relations at Google EMEA, said: “Google is a company built on, and still driven by, engineering. As we see increasing potential for growth in the creative, digital and hi-tech industries, we need to ensure that we are equipping the next generation with the skills they need to keep Britain at the cutting edge of technological and scientific innovation.” In August, Google chairman Eric Schmidt criticised primary and secondary education system in the UK, saying that it would “hold back” the country’s agenda to boost the economy through growth in digital media.

Steve Beswick, director of education for Microsoft UK, said: “Microsoft strongly supports the introduction of computer science as a rigorous school subject at every level from primary onwards. We need a step change that re-establishes computer science as a high-status school subject, valuable both educationally and economically.”

 Ed Vaizey, minister for culture, communications and creative industries, has said earlier this month that the internet economy will contribute to 10% of UK GDP by 2015.

Riots, protests and inclement weather are just some of the recent business risks we’ve all faced, on top of the usual concerns about fire, flood, theft and employee malfeasance. If you don’t put appropriate protections in place, your business is at real risk. Did you know:

• 93% of companies that lost their data centre for 10 days or more due to a disaster, filed for bankruptcy within one year of the disaster. 50% of businesses that found themselves without data management for this same time period filed for bankruptcy immediately. (National Archives & Records Administration in Washington)
• 94% of companies suffering from a catastrophic data loss do not survive – 43% never reopen and 51% close within two years. (University of Texas)
• 30% of all businesses that have a major fire go out of business within a year and 70% fail within five years. (Home Office Computing Magazine)
• 7 out of 10 small firms that experience a major data loss go out of business within a year. (DTI/Price waterhouse Coopers)

You may think that having a backup solution addresses this risk. However:

• 77% of those companies who do test their tape backups found back-up failures. (Boston Computing Network, Data Loss Statistics)
• 50% of all tape backups fail to restore. (Gartner)

Backup is only the beginning of a proper business continuity plan; and then only if its working and tested properly.

The Seminar

Managed Networks invites you to a free seminar covering:

• the difference between business continuity, disaster recovery and backup
• how to assess your requirements and weigh up your risks
• how to design and implement a business continuity plan that’s appropriate and affordable
• how to balance cost, risk and responsibility – including where the Cloud fits in

The Presenter

The seminar will be run by Ben Rapp FBCS CITP CISSP. Ben is a seasoned technology veteran with many years of experience advising clients on IT matters including business continuity and disaster recovery issues. He is CEO of a business in the SME sector and a board member of Intellect, the UK technology trade body.

Date and location

14^th December 2011; 3pm- 5.30pm

Intellect Offices
Russell Square House
10-12 Russell Square
London WC1B 5EE

To reserve your place at the seminar email enquiries[at]mn.co.uk
As places are limited, we advise you to respond as early as possible.

Acer’s founder, Stan Shih, has given a sharp warning to Google, saying that the benefits from Android’s success should be shared throughout “value chain” of its suppliers. Shih complained that both, Microsoft and Intel have gathered too much of the profit from the success of Windows.

Shih’s remarks indicate that some enterprises value too much their own interest and ignore the profitability of their suppliers, partners and clients. Companies making Android systems are afraid of being cornered in the way businesses making Windows hardware have been, where operating margins on hardware can be less than 5% whilst Microsoft and Intel enjoy monopoly profits on software and processor.

Google’s chairman Eric Schmidt insisted that the resources will be shared among the members of Android “ecosystem”. However, Schmidt declined to say whether Google would launch own-branded handsets, using its acquisition of Motorola.

There is also a question mark over the future of Google’s Chromebooks due to lower that expected demand for Chrome-OS based devices. In June 2011, Acer and Samsung launched their Chromebooks ahead of other PC brand vendors but by the end of July, Acer had reportedly only sold 5,000 units and Samsung was said to have had even lower sales than Acer.

Poor sales of Chromebooks might have been caused by the slow sales of computers generally or by it limited functionality- Chromebooks require connection to the internet to function effectively.

Stan Shih’s comment is reflecting the sentiments of a number of Android systems builders who have so far failed to benefit from Google’s efforts outside the smartphone business.

Multitouch has already been disruptive in the smartphone market and this disruption will spread to other parts of the consumer electronics segment- the recent research by Gartner reveals. Multitouch technology has rapidly moved to become the consumer experience on high-end smartphones. The behaviour associated with multitouch is extending to additional devices, such as tablets, digital media players or portable navigation devices.

The success of Apple’s iPhone has significantly disrupted the smartphone industry and has resulted in most high-end smartphones adopting touchscreens. Some of the smartphones have implemented multitouch, while others have chosen single-touch solutions. Consumers have moved towards smartphones with touch implementations, with one exception- smartphones that have heavy messaging as their central value proposition. Some users opted for physical keyboard for long emails and text messages.

When Apple launched the iPhone, there were very few touchscreen handsets in the market. Within a matter of months, the number of touchscreen phones had increased dramatically. Multitouch has already caused a disruption in product introductions for multiple industries and has the potential to change well-established consumer’s behaviours. It will also continue to disrupt the market in the PC and tablet segment as it has the potential to disrupt the entrenched mouse controls that the PC industry has relied on for years. Multitouch could redefine the PC form factor over time.

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has launched Lumia 800 and Lumia 710- two new smartphones based on Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.5 operating system. It marks the beginning of Nokia’s fightback against Apple’s iPhone and competitors using Google’s Android software. Nokia’s CEO said that the launched marked the “rebirth” of Nokia.

The flagship Lumia 800 (codenamed “Sea Ray”) gets the bold look of N9 while the Lumia 710 (aka “Sabre”) is the budget Nokia wit the the same perks as 800. The Lumia 800 is priced at 420 Euro, while the Lumia 710 is much more affordable at 270 Euro. To distinguish itself from other Windows phone makers Nokia is betting on  a range of services. Lumia 800 and 710 users will get to enjoy free apps and services out-of-box: the voice assisted navigational service Nokia Drive, Nokia Music’s MixRadio streaming app to discover local music around the world, and the ESPN Sports Hub for the latest news. Both phones will also include 25 GB of free SkyDrive cloud-based storage from Windows.

Software giant Microsoft has been struggling for years to break into the mobile phone market. The Lumia launch, with 35 network operators, will be accompanied by a campaign called “The Amazing Everyday” involving viral marketing stunts. Microsoft is reportedly supporting both Nokia with tens of millions of dollars to advertise new Windows Phones in the market.

The latest study by sourcing advisory group TPI  reveals that the investment in outsourced IT services is growing. The retail, manufacturing, media and telecoms sectors in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) have spent more money on outsourcing during the first nine months of this year than in the whole of 2010.

The manufacturing  sector spent €5.8bn in the first three quarters of this year, compared with €5.6bn in all of 2010. The retail industry’s investment in outsourced IT so far this year reached €1.4bn compared with €0.8bn in 2010. The telecoms sector has spent €4bn so far in 2011 compared with €2.8bn in he full 12 months last year.

Meanwhile, the financial services sector has slowed its spending on outsourced IT services. After the first three quarters of 2011 the sector’s spending accounts for 48% of its total for 2010. Financial sector was not alone in reducing spending. The energy, healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors also experienced falls.

Martyn Hart, chairman of the National Outsourcing Association commented: “Outsourcing in the Emea retail sector has risen 600% on last quarter, and 75% year-on-year. This is due to major retail players seeking competitive advantage by adopting high-tech IT solutions and infrastructure upgrades. They are turning to outsourcing providers as a low-risk route to superior technology.”

Reasons for outsourcing IT services

• Outsourcing reduces capital and operating costs.
• It saves time and provides relief from the administrative tasks involved in employee-related responsibilities. The company can then focus on growth strategies.
• In 95% of cases proactive IT support service is better than having internal IT team
• Even companies which have internal IT provision often need some extra assistance
• Internal IT team may need additional skills or simply more engineering time to implement a new project
• IT requires a vast range of skills and internal IT people may not possess all the necessary skills.
• Outsourcing IT support services means that the company can concentrate on its core business.

Managed Networks is supporting Jeans for Genes charity to raise money for children with genetic disorder. Jeans for Genes Day is an annual fundraising and this year it takes place on Friday 7th October. It’s very simple- all you have to do is ask people to come to work in their jeans and donate £2.

The idea of Jeans for Genes Day originated in Dorset in the early 1990s. Now Jeans for Genes is a national UK campaign which raises money to change the world for children with all types of genetic disorders. The charity’s main fundraising event is Jeans for Genes Day which takes place annually on the first Friday of October. Hundreds of thousands of people across the UK make a donation to wear their jeans to work or school.  The money they raise helps to fund the care that children need now and the research that could change their lives in the future.

Genetic disorders are caused by an alteration in DNA. This may mean that either a gene or several genes are missing, repeated or in the wrong order. Altered genes can affect a child’s senses, movement, ability to learn or appearance.

For more information visit www.jeansforgenesday.com
You can make a difference simply by wearing jeans.

Microsoft has come under fire after it turned out that Bill Gates’ firm paid £1m to silence Natalie Ayres, a female executive who was unfairly overlooked for the UK managing director role.

Natalie Ayes served Microsoft for 15 years, rising to become general manager of software giant’s Small-Medium Enterprises and Partners Group. Ayes was tipped to success Alistair Baker as Microsoft UK managing director in the summer of 2006. Instead the job was handed to Gordon Frazer, a general manager at Microsoft South Africa, allegedly before Natalie Ayres had completed the interview process. She then left the company with a ‘compromise agreement’ that ran into seven figures, sources at Microsoft revealed.

Mr Frazer, who succeeded Alistair Baker as MD of Microsoft UK, said at the time that Microsoft would miss her ‘dedication and intelligence’ but respected her ‘personal decision to move on’. Mrs Ayres’ departure was said to have angered the firm’s employees who felt that management stopped women from reaching more senior jobs. ‘It’s a boys’ club, the only way to progress beyond a certain point is to become a male in female clothing. They management do not follow procedure enough and if your face doesn’t fit, you suffer,’ said a source.

Mrs Ayres has said in the past that Microsoft was a good company was a good place for women to work: ‘Women can be more susceptible to self-doubt, but I’ve always found a natural place at the table for me at Microsoft at every level.’ A spokesman for Microsoft said: ‘As is standard practice for any responsible company, Microsoft does not comment about individual employees – current or former.  However, Microsoft places great importance on our core values of diversity and inclusion which is just one of many reasons why we are consistently ranked as one of the top 50 best workplaces in the UK.’