With the new financial year ahead, now is a great time to think about the year ahead, and budgeting for IT costs and hardware replacement etc. Having a solid plan and budget for your IT is crucial to the smooth running of your business. In this article we cover: Budgeting for IT advice from local
How it all began… IT Centre have looked after the Sidekick Wanaka office for many years, from way back when a couple of Wanaka likely lads owned the business that was then called Findlay and Co. When Sidekick CA bought Findlay and Co they started hearing about the fantastic IT services being provided by the
Microsoft has recently announced a new Teams add-on license called Microsoft Teams Premium. Teams Premium adds on number of features to enhance the Teams experience in areas such as: The add-on is available to purchase for users with an Office 365 or Microsoft 365 subscription with Teams. Teams Premium is now generally available, with intelligent
Imagine a world where you could get blogs automatically written for you, social media content generated effortlessly, as well as automate customer service chatbots. More than that, imagine a world where you can communicate with your computer and the whole Internet by simply asking detailed or complicated real-world questions. And where it will come back
Following on from our blog last month of ‘Getting IT right from the Start’, (read here), we are now sharing the basic security minimums that we would recommend for our clients. This gives a broad scope of the security required in todays landscape. Why Cybersecurity? Cyber criminals are in business, and like any ‘business’ person,
Do you have a plan for an Internet Outage? Think about the country of Canada. Earlier this year, business ground to a halt in an instant. A botched maintenance update by a large internet service provider (ISP) created chaos for more than 10 million customers. If your internet goes down, what is your plan? In most
Setting up a new business is exciting and sometimes overwhelming! There are so many things to think about, that technology often gets left in the ‘we will sort it out later’ category. As D.I.Y Kiwis we pride ourselves on our ability to do it ourselves. What a lot of businesses don’t realise is that it
The start of the year is a great time to review your Business Continuity Plan, or if you don’t have one, to take the time to create this highly important document. Firstly, what is a Business Continuity Plan? A business continuity plan (BCP) is a living breathing document that consists of the critical information an
It is no secret that technology consumes huge resources globally. This is not only because hardware is replaced every few years, but also because everything is backed up online, and sits in a data centre. These data centres use a huge amount of electricity and resources in the process. The good news is, that we
2023 is predicted to be another year of fast movement with technology. The past few years with the pandemic have seen rapid changes in how we work, and the technology that we use. IT trends in business will continue to reshape the future of commerce and industries. Not all Central Otago businesses will be impacted by
Purchasing a new computer is a big decision. Before you rush out to the Boxing Day sales and buy that computer recommended by that enthusiastic sales assistant, it is worth doing your research. Buying a new computer is an investment. So, it’s natural to want that investment to last as long as possible. You don’t
Christmas is the perfect breeding ground for Cybercriminals. Mix a dose of stress with some last minute Christmas buying, and voila, you have a recipe that serves the Cybercriminal well. Take for example that pair of lemon coloured Crocs you’ve been desperate to find for your child. You’ve searched high and low, but they are
Teams and Channels, Channels and Teams. These buzzy buzz words may be leaving you scratching your head. Here we break down what Teams and Channels are, along with a basic how to for setting teams up. We are used to helping clients set up teams and channels, so please do not hesitate to contact us.
2022 was another big year for IT in New Zealand. The IT Alliance, which is a group of IT companies throughout New Zealand, and which the IT Centre is a part of, have put together their thoughts on the biggest trends they have seen for IT in New Zealand this year. The IT Alliance members
What is monitoring? Monitoring is the practice of routinely monitoring all the components within an organization’s network to track, measure, and troubleshoot performance issues, failures, or deficiencies. The advantage of automated monitoring software is that it speeds up the very time-consuming areas of network monitoring. These tools help uncover what might be overlooked with manual
A data breach involves any unauthorized access to confidential, sensitive, or protected information, and it can happen to anyone. Internationally well known companies such as Apple, Meta, Twitter, and Samsung have all disclosed cybersecurity attacks this year. In the most recent quarter, CERT NZ responded to 2,001 incident reports about individuals and businesses from all
What is the Cloud? Good question! The term ‘cloud’ can cause some confusion as it can make us believe that data is stored somewhere in the sky. The truth is that data is still physically stored by companies who offer cloud storage. The cloud is basically “a large computer somewhere else.” Cloud storage warehouses are huge
Why do you need to create a Cyber Security policy for your business? If you own a business, it is important to have a cyber security policy. This is not only a guide and reference to be used internally with your employees, but also as a reference point to deal with any external data from
The costs of owning a website are complex, and a lot of people are surprised by the number of hidden costs. Let’s break it down: 1) Hosting: this can be either a monthly or annual fee. 2) Regular maintenance, security and updates: A service provided by your IT partner to help stop your site failing,
What should I be doing to secure my business? One of the first things about Security is realizing that security is much more than stopping people “hacking in”. It is fundamental to any business to have a business continuity plan (BCP). If you plan for a power outage what happens? Your IT systems will be
Given the recent spate of storm events, and the weather experts saying we’re going to get more in the future, now is the time to check your IT equipment is protected from weather events. New research from NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) has shown that extreme events have occurred four to five times more
Cyber Security is a very real issue for businesses in New Zealand these days. Here we look at Cyber Insurance, what it is, what the laws are, and why you need it. Why do you need Cyber Insurance? Cyber attacks on businesses in New Zealand are increasing in both sophistication and frequency. High profile companies
Nothing is more true than the fact that IT moves quickly these days! Part of keeping up with IT, and the rapid changes is making sure that your business has the right equipment to do the task. In this article we will be providing a few ideas for how to make a plan/budget for new
So it didn’t work with your newest employee, in fact it didn’t work out would be an understatement…they left under quite a cloud! A recent Symantec study states that “half of the employees who left or lost their jobs in the last 12 months kept confidential corporate data and 40 percent plan to use it
Passwords made simple! Let’s be honest. Remembering passwords on top of the million other things to do in any given day is a lot. Are your team’s passwords fairly similar across multiple online accounts? It’s okay, you are not the only business. Most people reuse their passwords over many different applications, and have one or
How a Managed Service provider can help your business In IT we love to use fancy jargon, and Managed Service provider or MSP is no exception. In this article we will break down what an MSP is, how it can help your business, and use some real-life examples of businesses, like you, who have made
A number of our clients have been asking us about Microsoft 11. “Should I upgrade?” “Should I wait?”. It’s new and everyone wants the latest and greatest right. In this case, however, it may be best to WAIT With most upgrades, updates are something to install as a matter of course. The manufacturer, after all,
How Microsoft 365 Exchange has revolutionized and simplified communications for a Kapiti Kitchen company. Meet Orchard Joinery Meet Orchard Joinery. A family-owned business from the Kapiti Coast, that has crafted bespoke kitchens, bathrooms, windows, doors, stairs and furniture for over 20 years! Whilst they really know their stuff, they were struggling with their customer communications,
We have seen an explosion in the ways we communicate, and, in the ways, we use these forms of communication. The last few years have seen people that would have rather picked up their land line now reaching for their laptop or tablet to make a video call. Our original and oldest form of distant
More then just that flashing box, lighting up like a disco in the corner of the room, routers play a particularly important role in keeping your business safe, and your data secure, as well as creating efficient, and safe remote working conditions. Here we look at the role of the router, and what you can
Watch our recent webinar here and find out how Northland Kindergarten Association used teams to manage their remote working conditions during a tricky time, and how it may also be able to help your business. Click here to watch the webinar If you have any problems downloading this webinar please reach out to us.
With the increased need for security, and rising Cyber Security threats, it is imperative that all businesses have a strong password management system. 80% of data breaches are caused by weak, reused or stolen passwords A password management system is able to store encrypted passwords online making digital security accessible and simple for businesses to manage the
What is Microsoft Planner and how can it help your business? Many businesses in Wanaka use Microsoft Planner. Planner is a tool within the Office 365 suite. Planner is an easy way to organize teamwork with intuitive, collaborative, and visual task management. Planner is simple, easy to use for new users, and included in the
This is part one of our four part series in the “Empower Series” of webinars. Here Quality Foods share how they streamlined their systems. You can watch the webinar here Meet Quality Food Southland Meet Quality Food Southland or QFS for short. What started as a humble bakery and Café in the 1900’s by Annie
Avoid document disaster The environment in which we operate has significantly changed. Businesses in New Zealand have been driven to embrace remote working. Every good business is constantly on the hunt for new ways to improve their efficiency, keep their costs down, and increase productivity and profit and decrease risk. What if we told you that
Meet Northland Kindergarten Association: The Northland Kindergarten Association or NKA, has 25 kindergartens between Kaitaia in the Far North, to Ruawai in the heart of Kaipara. NKA were concerned about their IT setup, so they approached an IT Alliance member with the below key issues: They were running out of space on their server. Their
The Regional Business Partners Network has more funding available for tourism related businesses in the Queenstown Lakes district. If you are a tourism business or supply a tourism business you could be eligible for upto $5000 funding for advice and support plus another $5000 for implementation of that business advice. Have you heard about the
A cheat sheet to help you make the most of your subscription Written by: Peter Marshall, Voicecom Technologies If you have Microsoft 365 for business, we want to make sure you’re making the most of it. You’re already paying for the subscription so why not take advantage of a whole suite of integrated applications that
Protecting your business with ESET Security Written by: Andrew Fergus, IT Alliance Now, more than ever, it is important to secure your data. Cybersecurity threats to your organisation, your staff and your clients are becoming a regular occurrence here in Otago. As these cybersecurity threats become more significant, it’s really important to understand what they
How a proactive approach can save you money and mitigate riskWritten by: Phil Strang – Technology Partners Do you find yourself so caught up in other areas of your business that you tend to only manage your IT when things go wrong or it becomes an absolute must? This is called reactive IT Management. With
Security issues you need to be aware of before considering VoIPBy Jim Carroll Times used to be simpler when phone lines were just that, but today there are more and more companies moving to the more complicated VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) system for their phone lines. This is in part due to advances in
Big-business quality IT for SME’sBy Delia Gill The IT Alliance are a group of nationwide partners that banded together to offer businesses high-quality, flexible support with a local touch. They are small enough to feel part of your team but backed by a bigger organisation and network of support. It doesn’t matter if you’re located
July 2020 How to Make the Most Out of Working From Home!Written by: Delia Gill Due to recent world events, most people have now had the opportunity to try out working remotely in one way or another, especially those who work from Central Otago. It’s also been an opportunity to test out our IT systems
There are plenty of options available for video conferencing at the moment, which has been extremely useful with many people working from home in the current environment. Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams are some of the big names available – but did you know that Teams can also do much more than just video conferencing?
The simple why and how of passwords for Kiwi SMEs. Small to medium size kiwi businesses are increasingly being targeted by unscrupulous hackers, and cyber-criminals which often leads to loss of confidential data, intellectual property and can result in considerable business disruption. Poor password security is one of the key methods these cyber-criminals use to
Let’s Pivot to remote work! But wait… how? The environment in which we operate has significantly changed over the last few months. Businesses have been driven to embrace remote working. There has been no better time to question the efficiency of your workflows and systems. A business simply needs to have online functionality and the ability
Why back up your Microsoft 365 data It’s fair to say that within the Central Otago business community, COVID-19 has really pushed our business into the cloud. Whilst Microsoft provides powerful services within Microsoft 365, it is important to note that comprehensive backup of your Microsoft 365 data is not one of them. Of over
We are pleased to announce HP’s latest End-User Cashback available from 1st May – 31st July 2020. Buy any of the following computers and then claim your Cashback from HP. To read the full terms and conditions please visit hp.co.nz/cashback Call Us Now for pricing and availability 03 443 5499 How to redeem your cashback
COVID-19 has created an abrupt shift to remote work, putting pressure on the IT infrastructure of many businesses. Although technology has allowed organisations to adapt quickly, usually this shift would require in-depth planning and risk analysis. The quick change to a virtual environment means potential weaknesses have encouraged cyber-criminals to see this as an opportunity to be out
Free Contact Tracking Form Updated Friday 8th May This Contact Tracking form is made possible by the power of Microsoft Forms which is part of Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365). You can do similar things with Google forms. Call us on 03 443 5499, or contact us here, if you want to know what else