Like good health, most people don't appreciate good connectivity and internet security until they lose it. If these past few years have taught us anything, good connectivity is vital to stay productive and up to date with the rest of the world. No event in recent history has brought more disruption to people's personal and work lives across the globe than the COVID-19 pandemic.
As workplaces and schools closed down around the UK, the home became the new place to work, play, study, and live. A year after the first lockdown measures were enforced, the aggregated traffic volume increased by around 40%, which was well above the typical, expected annual growth.
It was a growth of digital products never seen before. Microsoft Teams had 44 million active daily users in March 2020, compared to 20 million in November 2019. Those users generated more than 900 million calling and meeting minutes in just one week. Webex, owned by Cisco, reported half a billion meeting participants generating 25 billion meeting minutes in April, more than triple average volumes.
WiFi networks saw a general increase of 36% increase in the amount of WiFi data used by mobile devices, usually using 4G. Not only did internet connectivity take a hit, but so did the security of the devices and the information they stored. There were twice as many daily attacks on users, and 87% of UK homes experienced some form of attack.
The average home has more than 14.5 devices that connect to the internet. Each device is a potential entry point for cyber-criminals. Typically, only the gateway or main router in a home has security on it, such as a firewall. The advent of repeaters makes this approach problematic because, with repeaters, traffic doesn't always pass through the gateway or the router. That means viruses and malware can move laterally between devices in the home, whether a device becomes infected while at home or elsewhere.
Is your organisation prepared for an attack caused by something as simple as an employee running outdated software on any piece of technology in their home?
The WannaCry ransomware attack that took down the National Health Service in 2017 served as a wake-up call to healthcare organisations worldwide—illuminating the urgent need for proactive investments in cybersecurity.
According to the NHS, the WannaCry ransomware affected at least 80 out of the 236 trusts across England. They were either infected by the ransomware or turned off their devices or systems as a precaution. A further 603 primary care and other NHS organisations were also infected, including 595 GP practices. Thousands of appointments and operations were cancelled. In five areas, patients had to travel further to accident and emergency departments.
What were the primary causes of this attack? Outdated software that hadn't been updated. How many of your business devices are running obsolete software. With people working from home, this is no longer the only concern. All technology within a home, including smart fridges and printers, act as a potential entry point. Get past the security of one of those devices, and you've got access to all devices on the same network. Most importantly, this includes devices used for work that hold sensitive information.
The NHS accepted that there are lessons to learn from WannaCry and took action. As a result of the attack, the NHS learned and implemented the following steps;
Develop a response plan setting out what the organisation should do in the event of a cyber attack and establish the roles and responsibilities of the staff within your company.
Ensure your software and anti-virus software is always up to date company-wide by sending out emails when updates are required.
Ensure essential communications are getting through during an attack and when systems are down.
Ensure that organisations, boards, and their staff take the cyber threat seriously and understand the immediate risks to services and the business.
The connectivity revolution has changed the way we communicate but brought with it new security concerns. Don't let your business be vulnerable due to outdated security measures and unreliable connectivity. Implementing connectivity solutions like video chat, remote VoIP, and mobile apps will help your employees feel more connected and work smarter. Utilise these connectivity tools so that your employees can be productive from anywhere!
Business owners know they need to connect with the right technology partner to practice connectivity solutions to get the best performance out of people. But how do you know what to invest in?
Introducing our power suit of smart working technologies
Staying at your desk for hours as you rush to meet deadlines can be draining and demoralising. Learn how these four technologies help make your work easier, freeing up time to get projects done more effectively.
Cloud
The cloud has helped organisations to think intelligently about their resources. Automated tasks and machines are freeing employees to work on jobs requiring human interaction, ultimately ensuring a more responsive workforce serves your customers.
You can drive new insights using analytics to give you a competitive edge with cloud technologies. Let modern innovations assist you in spotting market trends, helping you make informed decisions. And present business-critical ideas across a range of devices at any time.
Enable your organisation to be effective virtually anywhere while working with customers and meeting security and governance requirements. Your team will thank you for it.
High-speed connectivity
Your team can break their reliance on physical, fixed connections by migrating to a wireless network. This freedom will allow your employees to benefit from enterprise applications anywhere in the organisation from any internet-connected device. Empower them to collaborate more efficiently with colleagues at home or remotely located when you give them this freedom of mobility!
Connectivity is an asset that can generate new revenue streams and drive traffic to your location if used correctly. Utilise analytics tools such as heatmaps for more accurate marketing campaigns and identify the most lucrative times of day to maximise profits.
Connectivity with VoIP
The flexibility of phone, instant message, or high-definition video will make you more accessible to your customers and colleagues across any device. Stand out from the competition by providing key service indicators that improve customer satisfaction with systems easy for everyone in your company!
The added ability of powerful Integrations such as Webex and Microsoft teams means a solution is possible for any business type. An essential aspect of storing your information is your ability to access it and communicate it quickly and securely. We understand that an event may arise where quick and secure retrieval or deletion is needed. So we do our best to make sure all historical files are readily available at a touch: all while following government and legal requirements.
Microsoft 365 on your business computer systems
With Microsoft 365, you can be more productive by changing your applications to accommodate growing needs and support requirements. The productivity suite includes many apps that work together for a better workforce and office experience - and with reliable connectivity, you'll be good to go.
Across your devices, you can now collaborate with co-workers and share ideas in real-time through the features of Microsoft Office 365. With these new capabilities built into each individual's suite, there is no need for cumbersome email threads or clunky applications when creative tasks come up unexpectedly. You'll be able to seamlessly work together across different platforms while knowing your information is safe and secure.
We work to make sure your technology is an advantage.
In our 15 years of experience, we see all the time how our customers have struggled. Technology, while been a great enabler, can also be an organisation's biggest inhibitor when underutilised.
Understandably many organisations are struggling to keep up with change. This struggle often results in frustration and distraction for staff, ultimately impacting the productivity of your business's most valuable assets.
Many businesses have learned the hard way that it takes more than just buying the latest devices to make change happen. Your people need support from the top-down and practical solutions that help your business meet its objectives.
In response, our focus is on helping organisations communicate and become more productive through unified internet systems and flexible working technologies – enabling them to take advantage of new ways of working without compromising security or performance.
One of the downsides to working in an office is that it can be difficult for some roles to work remotely. Innovative new technology, such as remote access software and even virtual reality headsets, can solve this problem by allowing employees from different locations to collaborate on projects together.
Our 5G and fixed IP services are helping businesses stay secure and connected wherever they need to work.
Benefits of 5G
Devices running on 5G can now take advantage of this widespread connectivity rolled out across the UK in more places than ever before.
The adoption of 5G has been connecting businesses to opportunities such as:
Faster speeds - An increase in speed improves the whole mobile experience; no matter where you are, we can support you when you need to communicate with your team. Whether you're video chatting on a train or sending large files over email on the go, you will know that your network will not be what's holding you back.
More responsive - The lower latency of being 5G internet-connected means users can depend on their devices for critical business meetings and tasks. Even with demanding applications such as VR. It's a technological advancement that is genuinely making the world safer and smaller. Businesses of all kinds are finding ways to innovate, boosted by 5G.
Better capacity - With 5G, you can be part of the moment. By design, the technology can withstand thousands of people in the same place. As the world returns to normal, the demand will increase, and with 5G, you can keep the pace.
Benefits of Fixed IP
An IP address is an identifier giving you a location on the internet, and you will be assigned one each time you log on.
A static IP address means that instead of getting a different IP address each time you log on to the internet, your IP will stay the same.
A static IP is valuable if you run a server from within your home or set up remote access from another location to your home computer systems.
Additional benefits of a static IP:
Manage remote data - A Fixed IP address enables inbound connections for secure M2M remote management, monitoring, and control. Fixed-IP SIMs allow your business to take quick action.
Authenticate your access - The Fixed IP address can be a helpful identifier enabling access to applications protected behind a firewall.
Keep workers safer - With a reduced need to have engineering teams on-site monitoring technology and information, businesses can perform the same functions in potentially safer environments.
The technology you can trust
Choose 5G and Fixed IP to increase your peace of mind, knowing your business can trust its technology to stay safe and connected.Our 5G and fixed IP services are just one area where we can help your business get faster, more connected, and even save on costs.
Some brilliant technology has become commonplace in the office in recent years. Businesses have experienced transformations by taking advantage of new advances.
While technology such as 5G and IoT brings many advantages, we have also noticed an increasingly common internet connectivity complaint as the strain takes its toll. Bandwidth and latency problems are beginning to escalate until the whole existing network falls apart, causing businesses to use precious resources to get them back online.
Fortunately, we have been able to help plenty of customers overcome this problem by taking advantage of a system that, for many businesses, already exists on-site, connecting directly to their office space and even offering the ability to connect their multiple sites.
That technology is Dark Fibre.
Across the UK, telecom providers have been laying a development of vast fibre infrastructures. Since this is an expensive, disruptive, and time-consuming process, telecom companies have laid more cabling than is needed.
This unused 'dark' fibre cable is just waiting for activations. At The One Point, we have helped many businesses turbocharge their connectivity by taking advantage of the dark fibre already installed. These businesses have been able to lease strands within these cable connections.
Dark Fibre is more than just scalability.
There are far more advantages to dark fibre for businesses than just scalability and flexibility.
Part of the flexibility of dark fibre is its ability to take advantage of multiple wavelengths through a process called wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM). DWDM enables the transmission of multiple data streams along different light wavelengths. We can compare this to the way that airlines can travel the same route at the same time by travelling at different altitudes.
This technology opens up the benefits of dark fibre to businesses of all kinds, not just large service providers and enterprises which huge staff numbers. Smaller companies may lease a single wavelength within a strand, and larger organisations may want entire strands.
With dark fibre, your privacy receives top-level protection. That increased level of security connections for many businesses is a huge advantage. There can be no greater peace of mind when your network is dedicated physically to your business. Security and regulatory compliance are at the highest levels achievable for networks of this type.
Our team are waiting to take your call to support you take the needed steps to find connectivity that works for your business.
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