Category Archives: ISPs

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Increasing Number Of UK Businesses Appreciating The Benefits Of Outsourcing

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An increasing number of businesses in Britain are recognising how the financial benefits and specialist expertise linked to outsourcing can help their firms grow, according to the results of a new survey.

Research carried out by leading outsourcing marketplace OutsourceMyProject.com found that 72 per cent of businesses asked said they had either already outsourced services to specialist providers, or would consider doing so in the future.

In addition, two-thirds of respondents said in the current financial climate they were more likely to outsource specific projects or business functions as the need arose, rather than recruit a full-time member of staff.

OutsourceMyProject helps bring together businesses from all sectors and match them with a huge range of service providers, from freelance writers to freelance SEO experts. Co-founder Loren Holland said the recession has made many firms take stock and make positive moves to ensure their companies become more efficient and cut wastage, while retaining the experience and skills of valuable employees.

He said: “The results of the survey show that more companies now look to find a freelancer to outsourcing work to when those skills are not available in-house and this can lead to considerable cost savings. We expect to see a continuation of this trend as more firms look to rationalise their operations and increase efficiency.”

The majority of businesses that said they do not currently outsource work pointed to a lack of confidence in the skills, qualifications or experience of providers as the main reason for not doing so.

Loren added: “It’s completely understandable that companies want to know exactly who they are bringing onboard and that the professional they choose can be relied upon to complete the project on time and to an agreed standard. By going through OutsourceMyProject.com firms put themselves in a position to receive genuine tenders from experienced professionals.

“In addition, the website’s transparent feedback and rating system means both parties can draw on the experience of others before entering into an agreement.”

Via EPR Network
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Plusnet Reveals Half Of Customers Want Businesses To Provide Wi-Fi

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A Plusnet Business survey* has revealed that the average Brit spends ten hours a day being connected to the Internet. The study demonstrates how the demand for Internet access has increased, with almost a quarter (24%) of people saying that they need it to be able to update people should anything happen.

Small businesses need to take note that almost half (49%) of respondents said Internet access, provided by businesses, is needed in public areas. Over 40% of respondents in the North West, Northern Ireland, Scotland, London and Wales say that having access to Wi-Fi is a deal-breaker when deciding on a hotel, showing how much this can affect a business’ bottom line.

This study by Plusnet Business has uncovered how much of an impact a decent wireless internet connection for customer use can bring to many sectors, with almost a fifth saying they will purposely choose a restaurant (17%), bar (17%), pub (17%), and shopping centre (18%), over one without it.

For nearly a third of respondents (29%), regular access isn’t good enough, they have to be constantly connected and can’t even queue or take a short journey without entertaining themselves online. Well over a third (46%) of respondents in London admitted that they needed to be connected to the Internet all the time, to stop the boredom of having to queue.

Talking about the survey, Nick Silverwood, Head of Business, Plusnet said: “Through the Plusnet Business survey we can see that installing something as simple as free Wi-Fi for customers can help generate repeat custom and definition within a market. With increased competition in the hospitality and retail markets, it’s important for small businesses to understand how investing in customer broadband has the potential to really boost sales. With over one in ten (12%)** respondents estimating that 21-30% of their profit is down to a fast and reliable Internet connection, there is a clear benefit to getting online.”

Plusnet has been successfully delivering high-quality, well-supported business broadband and connectivity products for over 10 years. For more information call 0114 296 5182 or go to www.plus.net/business.

Via EPR Network
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Plusnet Log On As Four Nations Sponsors

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The RFL has agreed a deal with Plusnet, the telecommunications company, that will see the internet provider become the official broadband partner of the 2011 Gillette Four Nations.

The partnership will see leading England players feature in the UK broadband provider’s creative marketing campaign both before and during the tournament, which also involves Wales, Australia and world champions, New Zealand.

To mark its first international sporting partnership, the Sheffield-based company has offered new customers a pair of tickets to a Four Nations game of their choice, up to a value of £90, and a month’s free broadband when they sign-up to 12 months broadband and home phone. Further details can be found at www.plus.net/fournations.

“I am delighted to confirm that Plusnet has agreed to become a partner of the 2011 Gillette Four Nations and am looking forward to working closely with them Plusnet over the coming months,” said the RFL’s Commercial Director Paul Kimberley.

“Our partnership will see Plusnet’s branding feature prominently at all the Four Nations fixtures, including the eagerly-anticipated double-header at Wembley Stadium on Saturday November 5, and become heavily involved with some proactive promotion involving our England stars.

“Plusnet has quickly established itself as a company with clear customer-led focus making it a perfect fit with Rugby League’s own philosophies.”

Plusnet has recently been named a recommended provided by Which? magazine and won the uSwitch 2011 Best Customer Service Award. It is currently running a successful high profile television advertising campaign.

Nick Rawlings, Plusnet’s Commercial and Marketing Director, said: “This is a great opportunity for Plusnet to make its international debut in sporting sponsorship.

“We will be utilising the deal in a number of ways to reward both new and existing customers.”

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Plusnet is Recommended by Which?

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Plusnet, the broadband provider from Yorkshire, has been recommended by Which?, the UK’s largest independent consumer body.

Plusnet Value home broadband has been given a five star recommendation for “value for money” and a four star recommendation for connection speed, connection reliability, customer service and technical support.

Broadband providers must score well for customer service, ease of set up, connection speed, reliability and technical support and receive an overall score of 70% in their consumer survey. Over 750 Plusnet customers were questioned in the survey and gave on overall score of 72%.

Which? magazine this month states that today’s broadband services are – to many people – as vital as their electricity or water supplies. Plusnet will now have the opportunity to use the Which? Recommended logo across all marketing for the next six months.

Jamie Ford, Plusnet CEO said: “This is a landmark achievement for Plusnet. What is great about this award is that it is an independent survey with the findings fully dependent on the feedback of actual customers.”

To switch to Plusnet’s cheap broadband users simply visit www.plus.net/switch to choose a broadband package that suits them. They then enter their MAC (migration authorisation code) key when they sign up (available the customer’s current provider) and Plusnet will do the rest of the hard work.

As well as becoming “Which? Recommended Providers”, Plusnet has won seven awards and been highly commended 13 times across the industry for its product and services in 2011*. With 24/7 call centre support based entirely in Sheffield and free to call from a UK landline, all advisors are technically trained, do not work from scripts and look to resolve any problems first time.

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Outsourcing Can Help In Successfully Launching A New Business

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Entrepreneurs and small business should no longer fear accessing the professional skills required in getting a new venture off the ground.

That’s the message from OutsourceMyProject.com, a web based marketplace which allows small businesses to outsource work and business functions to specialists in the UK and aboard.

OutsourceMyProject launched at the start of 2011 and has already helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs find a freelancer or professional in service categories such as web design, e-commerce, graphic design, copywriting and administrative support.

Recent research carried out by OursourceMyProject.com illustrated the strong demand for its service as 74% of entrepreneurs claimed that they would have found it easier to launch their business if they had access to a network of experienced professionals to outsource specific functions to.

Managing director Loren Holland, said: “Entrepreneurs need access to a variety of professional skills in order to successful launch a business venture. OutsourceMyProject helps connect businesses with a network of professionals and freelancers across a wide range of service categories. Whatever your need, you can find the right expert on OutsourceMyProject”.

The research also found that the main factors in choosing to outsource were, i) access to specialist skills and resource (37%) ii) flexibility and choice of labour (24%) and iii) Price (18%). However, many (33%) struggled to find suitable suppliers and some (17%) are concerned that the level of skills, quality and experience may not be up to scratch.

Loren added, “It’s clear that entrepreneurs and small companies are aware that they need to access external specialist skills in order to succeed. OutsourceMyProject.com provides an online portal to not only find, but also evaluate and manage service providers and projects. Concerns over ability and experience of providers are mitigated by our comprehensive feedback and rating system.”

The research also focussed on attitudes to outsourcing work abroad, with 58% of those questioned admitting they have, or would consider, sending work abroad.

However, the main concerns from those who have not considered outsourcing abroad centred on sacrificing quality compared to UK providers (26%) and ability to meet the required standard (22%).

OutsourceMyProject.com helps smooth the process of finding the right professional or freelancer to outsource to, whether they are based in the UK or abroad. Of those surveyed 82% said that OutsourceMyProject was a service they will use in the future.

One early customer was Manchester based Edge Worldwide Logistics who posted a web design project.

Director Philip Edge said: “We posted our job on OutsourceMyProject and received over 20 offers to redevelop our company website from specialists in the UK, India and other offshore locations, all at a significantly lower price than I had budgeted for.”

Via EPR Network
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Plusnet Blows Its Own Trumpet in New TV Campaign

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Plusnet, the Yorkshire-based ISP, has announced it will return with a new TV advertising campaign in August.

To celebrate Yorkshire Day, the Sheffield-based home broadband provider will debut the first 30-second commercial during the ad-break of “Emmerdale” (ITV1) on Monday 1st August at approx. 19.15hrs. The campaign, planned and bought by Maxus, will again make use of Yorkshire values and will feature a straight-talking character named Joe. The new advert will also introduce Joe’s Dad who will enter the public’s TV consciousness on a ride-on lawn mower.

The campaign, which will run throughout the remainder of 2011, will promote the UK-based, 24/7 customer support from the broadband provider. With call centre support based entirely in the UK, Plusnet is one of few broadband and phone companies where all advisors are technically trained and do not work from scripts – a point of reverence that has seen Plusnet already pick up six awards and be highly commended 13 times across the industry for its product and services in 2011*. Later in the month, Plusnet will air a second advert in which audiences will be treated to a rendition of Kaiser Chiefs’ “Ruby” played by the Plusnet Brass Band. This 40-second commercial will run for four weeks promoting Plusnet’s great value.

Nick Rawlings, Commercial Director at Plusnet said: “We’ve always been proud of our Sheffield roots. Our customer feedback suggests the 24/7 availability of our UK operations is popular so, we wanted to convey our local and friendly approach in the new campaign.”

Shot on location in Ilkley and Ripon, the adverts have been created by Karmarama ad agency and directed by film and TV director, Steve Bendelack, whose work includes “The Royle Family”, “The League of Gentlemen”, “Little Britain” and “Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)”. Both Karmarama and Steve worked together when Plusnet made its TV advertising debut in 2010.

Sam Walker, the creative lead on the campaign at Karmarama said: “We have developed an ad that would best exemplify Plusnet’s key differential – a UK call centre that is free to call, from a landline, at any time.

“We chose to use a local theme and convey the emotional benefits of helpfulness and community that stem from this whilst keeping the character of Joe and the sense of Yorkshire we had created in our previous advertising. We have introduced his Dad after he worked well in radio executions back in the spring.”

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OutsourceMyProject.com’s Founders Divulge Top ten tips on Outsourcing

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As businesses attempt to cut costs in the new year, many small businesses are looking at outsourcing as a means to reduce outgoings, but how can SMEs and start-ups make a success of a practice traditionally reserved for big business?

ecently launched online portal OutsourceMyProject.com aims to open up the global outsourcing market to businesses of all sizes. Founders Loren Holland and Sumit Agrawal give their 10 top tips on how to make outsourcing pay.

1. Clearly define your project and set out what you want before opening it up to proposals. Poorly defined briefs tend to attract low quality proposals and can often end up as much larger, and so much more costly, projects than anticipated.
2. Don’t just go with the first offer. If possible get a selection of proposals from both the UK and overseas, and evaluate them.
3. Don’t just decide by cost, look at other factors including experience, references and communication amongst others.
4. Come up with a short-list and don’t be afraid to negotiate to get the best possible deal.
5. Get references from people who have used the supplier before, you can ask who they’ve worked for in the past and get in touch yourself. Don’t forget references provided by the supplier are only going to be positive so try dig around for more.
6. Once a supplier has been selected, make sure the full agreement and the payment terms are set out clearly in the contract, misunderstandings can prove costly and time consuming.
7. Negotiate potential copyright and ownership rights upfront and make sure anything that is produced becomes your property on payment. In the case of web design projects, make sure that final files and source codes are transferred onto your own server so you can control future changes.
8. Agree procedures from the outset in terms of communication, project management, delivery and feedback and ensure these are adhered to.
9. Be aware that deviating from the agreed contract once, be that by allowing late delivery of work or agreeing to early payment, is likely to result in accepted practice. Only make one off concessions if you are prepared for this to be acceptable in the future.
10. Finally, don’t forget to leave honest feedback, even if this is negative. Remember how valuable feedback was to you in choosing a supplier.

ENDS

OutsourceMyProject.com is a member of the National Outsourcing Association (NOA), the UK’s outsourcing centre of excellence.

Loren Holland is co-founder of OutsourceMyProject.com, a website which brings together providers of professional services with organisations and individuals looking to outsource business functions or projects.

Businesses which have a project they wish to outsource can visit the new website and upload details of the project and invite bids – free of charge. Potential providers each have their own unique online profile, including details of ratings and feedback for past projects and freelance jobs, to help customers decide who to award the contract to.

The site also includes web-based tools to ensure projects run smoothly. These include a payment platform, project management facility and messaging system to facilitate open, clear and safe communication between customers and suppliers.

Via EPR Network
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BT Openzone to enhance Internet services across Hilton Worldwide’s UK and Ireland hotels

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BT Openzone has entered into a strategic agreement with Hilton Worldwide to provide a fully-managed suite of Wi-Fi and Internet services across hotels in the U.K. and Ireland. The new technology will provide a tenfold increase in bandwidth and an even more consistent, high-quality online experience for guests at nearly 100 Hilton Worldwide properties beginning in Autumn 2011.

This agreement provides guests with BT Openzone Wi-Fi access, high-speed broadband, conference and event services in more than 17,000 bedrooms, public areas and meeting and conference spaces, including 24-hour customer support. The new Wi-Fi service will be available free of charge to all Gold and Diamond Hilton HHonors members and over five million BT Total broadband customers. BT Openzone users and customers from iPass, AT&T and other BT Openzone roaming partners can also use the super-fast broadband when visiting the hotels.

“We are committed to providing our guests with access to the very latest technology, complementing our world class hospitality, and are delighted to collaborate with BT Openzone to deliver an outstanding service in the U.K. and Ireland,” said Robert Webb, Chief Information Officer, Hilton Worldwide. “This deal builds on last year’s agreement with AT&T in the United States and Canada as we look to partner with the very best technology providers around the world.”

Chris Bruce, CEO, BT Openzone, said: “The growing number of travellers with mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones, means guests increasingly expect to be able to log on wherever they are and with a fast and reliable connection. BT currently has 2.8 million Wi-Fi hotspots across the U.K. and Ireland. By expanding our coverage at Hilton Worldwide’s portfolio of hotels, we are demonstrating our commitment in providing leading edge technology services to partners in a very demanding service environment.”

BT Openzone will use an ‘above property’, centralised cloud computing architecture, and will oversee network operations, guest Internet support, network engineering, software development and 24/7 network monitoring for Hilton Worldwide’s business Wi-Fi and Internet services.

Hilton Worldwide’s portfolio of six brands in the U.K. and Ireland includes Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, Doubletree by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton.

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commissum Sponsorship of Open University Student Prize

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commissum is proud to again be the sponsor of the prize for the Open University Post Graduate module for Information Security Management; the M886 module. This is the second year that commissum has sponsored this prize.

The winner of the prize this year is Canadian student Sara Maharaj, from Ontario. Sara took the Information Security Management module as a standalone course for her professional development. The Information Security Management module is very focused on taking a practice-based approach; this encourages the student to base what they do upon an organisation that they are familiar with.

The course provides the foundation knowledge, understanding, analysis and synthesis needed to develop a practical information security management system (ISMS), to the standard set by the ISO/IEC 27001:2005 and BS ISO/IEC 17799:2005. It also targets helping the students acquire the personal development skills that they need to keep abreast of important developments in the rapidly changing field of Information Security.

Sara, having successfully undertaken the course as the top student, said:

“The course provides valuable insights into how to strategically manage information security within the organization. The practical exercises force you to think through a methodical implementation of the ISO 27001 standard, which facilitates excellent learning.”

Managing Director at commissum, Martin Finch, is a keen advocate of this practical approach to learning. He said:

“When students are given the opportunity to apply what they learn during the course of the module, it not only reinforces the lesson and benefits them and their respective organisations, but also instils a sense of great satisfaction”.

Last year’s joint winners were Ian Knight and Sally Anderson. Ian Knight who graduated with a BA/BSc Open Degree took the Information Security Management course as the last step in his degree journey. Ian works for a major Telecoms provider, with responsibility for Information Assurance on large client contracts. He said:

“The course materials were some of the best that I have encountered in the OU and in other study; I found the course to be of immediate practical use in my work almost from the start of the first unit”.

Sally Anderson, who is Head of Web and IT in a leading University, also commented on the practical nature of the course, saying “I have directly applied the new knowledge and skills to my work already and have the confidence now to advise and manage information security on behalf of my organisation”.

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Plusnet Launches Plusnet Pro

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Plusnet has launched a new, additional bolt-on to its broadband packages called Plusnet Pro.

Plusnet Pro is now available to customers as a bolt-on to both Plusnet Value and Plusnet Extra broadband package for an additional £5 a month.

Plusnet Pro is a traffic prioritisation service perfect for gamers and home workers who want to make the best of their broadband experience. With Plusnet Pro, the user’s traffic is prioritised and maintains stable and reliable broadband at full speed across the entire day.

Having a prioritisation service means customers are guaranteed lower latency, so no matter how busy the network gets there will be no slowdown to their service, meaning customers can still experience uninterrupted downloads.

This is beneficial to those who game in real-time, utilise services such as Team Speak and interact with other players on-line using a fast broadband connection. Home workers using a company’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) can benefit from video conferencing with such services gaining precedence over the network.

This product development is unique to Plusnet and underlines the importance the ISP has always given to traffic management. Since 2007, Plusnet has carried detailed information on traffic management on its website. Following the recent call-to-action from the Broadband Stakeholder Group, Plusnet has committed to early adoption of the Key Facts Indicator and made this available to customers in April 2011.

Jamie Ford, CEO of Plusnet said: “Just like paying a little extra to do a fast check-in at the airport, Plusnet Pro is for users who want to ensure the best possible high performance internet experience even at busy times. With Fibre not yet available in many areas of the country this is the best service accessible to all the market to ensure lower latency and that you get the fastest speeds available to you regardless of when you’re online.

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commissum at Infosec Europe 2011

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Another Infosec Europe has come and gone. Once again, commissum had a strong presence; the company’s sixth year of exhibiting at this premier event.

Information Security experts commissum managed to make the even a great success, despite visitor numbers being reported as 15% down on the previous year owing to the timing falling immediately before the Easter and Royal Wedding holiday weekends. We had over 500 visitors to the commissum stand asking for information on the company and arranging follow-up meetings after the show.

The commissum stand this year will have been familiar to regular attendees of the event. Our corporate colour of deep yellow once again stood out with our smartly dressed stand staff in their white shirts and yellow ties. Our credentials as a CREST company and CLAS consultancy provider were once again prominent.

At this year’s show, as usual, members of the commissum team were on hand to discuss our visitors’ requirements, provide advice, and also explain the services we offer. This naturally covered our complete portfolio across security management, penetration testing, consultancy and technology services; however, this year we also put some emphasis on two areas; both attracting strong interest:

Project/software development lifecycle (SDLC) security; and Managing Governance Risk & Compliance (GRC) through true unified governance.

We were supported in the above areas by our partners DB3, who demonstrated the HiScout Unified Governance suite, and Checkmarx, one of the leading innovators in the field of static code security analysis. Both partners received a lot of attention with their industry leading tool suits.

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Risks Of Using Social Networking In Business

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Social Networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Youtube have gained popularity among the younger population. Sites such as LinkedIn, Plaxo and Xing have followed quickly in their footsteps to provide the business friendly social network opportunities.

More recently, companies large and small are exploring ways to use social network site to support and improve sales (Youtube), to find new employees and business partners (LinkedIn) or to monitor their performance and respond to critics (Yelp and increasingly Facebook and Twitter).

However, for information security experts commissum.com, businesses looking to embrace these social media channels and tools in their business need to understand and calculate the benefits and risks before engaging them.

To consider the risks of using social media for your business consider the following:

Be careful using social media for employment vetting purposes for the same reasons that employers should not ask about religion, preferences, age, race etc.

Once a business takes the step of using social media, they are opening up a channel that in most cases you have very limited control of; in fact almost handing over control to the public. How would the business deal with both fair and unfair criticisms and opinions expressed on social media websites and how could its reputation be affected?

Would your employees know what business information can be disclosed on social media websites and could the business therefore be at risk of involuntary information leakage?

Could information on the size, structure of the business and operational details such as IT infrastructure details be used for initial data gathering activities for targeted attacks?

Could the business IT infrastructure be vulnerable to malicious software downloaded from social network sites?

And lastly consider whether the business should monitor the activities of its employees to ensure that security is maintained and resources are not being wasted by social networking activities.

“The risks of using social media encompass all aspects of the business; legal, employment, technical, operational and reputation”, according to a commissum spokesperson.

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GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) is a recent acronym that has quickly spread among the senior management community around the world

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Initially this was sparked by the fallout from a number of major corporate governance scandals, including those affecting Enron, Tyco and WorldCom; all of which led to the enactment of the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the concept of a more holistic view of Governance, Risk and Compliance. Interest has also grown rapidly in the UK as legislation and compliance requirements have increased.

Traditionally, most organisations ensure compliance with legislation, regulations and standards by instructing each department to determine the requirements for compliance and specify actions and controls to achieve this. Organisations will therefore have a number of organisational departments for business continuity (possibly aligning with BS25999), for IT security (in many cases aligning with ISO27001), for quality management, etc.

They will certainly have risk management carried out by these various departments, all identifying risks and controls and also individually reporting on these. Managing all of this and pulling it all together into a coherent picture upon which business decisions can be made and priorities can be based in an efficient and effective way is a complex challenge.

commissum’s Principal Assurance Consultant André Coner noted that as the number of legislation, regulatory and compliance requirements increases, the number of departments involved also increases, each defining their own controls and measures. This silo approach causes each department to “re-invent the Wheel”, wasting valuable time and increasing costs while introducing duplication, redundancy and confusion.

commissum’s approach to Unified Governance, Risk management and Compliance creates a common source of information. It creates a common model of the organisation; a unified methodology for managing risk, controlling deficiencies and measurement.

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BT Business Direct Confirms Top Industry Names Ahead Of UC & IT Live Conference

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Communications specialist BT Business Direct has confirmed the line-up of keynote speakers for this year’s UC & IT Live conference, which includes a raft of industry-leading firms.

Top names from the communications sector will take part in the free, one-day event including unified communications specialists Cisco, Microsoft, BT and Tandberg.

Representatives from the companies will join together to deliver the event’s keynote seminar which is set to focus on all elements of unified communications and how they should work together to create a robust, reliable and cost effective solution.

The conference will also be attended by world-renowned IT vendors including HP, Toshiba and Microsoft. Representatives from these businesses will be available to discuss emerging technologies with delegates, along with their company’s product roadmaps. It is also possible to pre-book one-to-one sessions with your vendor of choice or with BT Business Direct, a leading supplier of voice and data solutions including laptops androuters, to discuss a specific project or IT challenge.

A spokesman for BT Business Direct said: “UC & IT Live is the latest in a series of events from BT Business Direct specifically geared to appeal to IT decision makers from UK businesses and public sector organisations.

“This free event will bring all the world’s leading IT vendors together under one roof, making maximum use of the time invested by delegates.”

The conference takes place on Friday, September 24 at Twickenham rugby ground. Delegates can choose to attend either the morning session which is being held between 9am and 12.30pm, or the afternoon session which takes place between 1pm and 4.30pm.

To finish off your visit to the home of English rugby, take a behind the scenes mini-tour of Twickenham, which will take in the England players’ dressing room, royal box, hospitality suites, medical room, players’ tunnel, president’s suite and include a pitch side walk and stunning views from the top of the stand.

To register as a delegate for this free BT Business Direct event visit:
http://www.businessdirect.bt.com/articles/…

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High Speed Broadband Necessary To Help Aid UK’s Economic Growth Claims SEO Company Queryclick.com

Following culture secretary Jeremy Hunt’s first major speech on the provision of internet in the UK, SEO experts QueryClick.com have welcomed plans for a superfast broadband network to be rolled out across the country.

High Speed Broadband Necessary To Help Aid UK's Economic Growth Claims SEO Company Queryclick.com

Branding the UK’s current internet availability as a “scandal” and “pitifully unambitious”, the Government aim to improve the availability and speed of the network in a bid to create one of the best broadband networks in the Europe, let alone the world.

Central to the Government’s ambitious reform of UK internet provision is the opportunity to create at least 60,000 new jobs and around £18bn to the country’s GDP; a welcome addition in light of growing unemployment and crippling public deficit that fuelled the global recession.

Search engine optimisation company Queryclick.com believes that the a more thorough broadband network would be greatly beneficial to online business. A spokesperson explained:

“Online business naturally relies on a fast and reliable internet connection. Currently some three million households do not have access to a basic 2Mbps connection.

“In our view, an added three million people potentially shopping online would greatly benefit the economy. There’s also going to be people amongst that number who have aspirations of starting their own business and in this day and age the internet is an integral part to the success of any start-up company.”

Although the Government were unable to give full details of how the superfast network would be achieved it is thought that gas, water and other utility companies would – by law – have to open their ducts to allow for improved fibre optic cabling.

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SmartFile Release Makes PC Backups Easy, Efficient, and Portable

SmartFile stands alone with its multifunctional platform, being the first online file storage company to offer a secure PC backup solution as part of its suite of online storage and file sharing software.

SmartFile Release Makes PC Backups Easy, Efficient, and Portable

SmartFile, a market leader in FTP, Online Storage, File Sharing, File Upload, and File Backup services, has strengthened its presence with the release of SmartBackup – an application designed to provide a secure, seamless, and efficient way to backup your PC files.

Offered at no additional cost with any SmartFile account, SmartBackup gives users full control over the backup process. Users control which files to backup, which files to ignore, and when the backups will occur. In addition, SmartBackup lives up to its name by running a sophisticated deduplication process, preventing users from inadvertently creating more than one copy of the same file. Even if you have multiple PC’s and external storage devices, SmartBackup allows you to select and schedule all of these for backup to a single SmartFile account. After a backup has been created, users can restore these files to any PC with an Internet connection.

For more information or to signup for a SmartBackup trial, please visit http://www.smartfile.com.

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BT Business Connects CAN Media With Schools And Surgeries Across The UK

BT Business and CAN Media have announced a new deal which means two million viewers in schools and GP surgeries across the UK will have access to a private TV information service. The three-year,£20 million+ contract will see BT take over the delivery, installation and operational management for the Life Channel Service from CAN Media.

The Life Channel Service, the UK’s largest private television network with over seven million viewers, is used by local government agencies to showcase and promote health and educational initiatives to the local community. Research* has shown the channel is more than twice as effective as posters and up to three times more than leaflets in communicating health and well-being messages.

Life Channel campaigns help schools improve their Ofsted ratings, and the NHS in achieving the national priorities set out by the Department of Health and measured by the Care Quality Commission. Independent research** has shown that 1 in 2 primary school and 1 in 3 secondary school pupils positively modify their behaviour as a result.

Working with partner Croft Technology plc, BT Business will take over the operational management of the existing Life Channel network. It will also install and manage the service in 5,000 schools and 4,000 GP surgeries, provide broadband, PCs and up to four large panel TV screens at each site.

Mike Darcy, chief operations officer, CAN Media, said: “We needed a supplier that would not only support our hardware, software and helpdesk requirements today but could also support us as we develop the service in the future. BT offered us a wealth of technical experience and expertise at a competitive price.”

Humphrey Penney, director custom solutions, BT Business said: “Communicating important information to local communities in this innovative way needs high bandwidth. As the market leader in digital out-of-home television, CAN Media were looking for a reliable supplier when taking the decision to outsource the delivery and management of their Life Channel Service.”

Via EPR Network
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B2b, B2C, Domain Names, E-mail, eCommerce, Events, Hosting, Internet, ISPs, Services, Web

BT Unveils Priority Business Class Fibre Broadband

BT Business has unveiled its new fibre broadband service, BT Business Total Broadband Fibre, offering download speeds of up to 40Mb/s, from £30 per month. The service gives business traffic priority at times of contention and the UK’s fastest upstream speeds of up to 10Mb/s*, allowing users to get more than ever before from the internet.

The new service allows businesses to run multiple VOIP, high-definition video conferencing and business-grade cloud applications plus download emails, web-pages and FTP files concurrently, to reach new customers and better market themselves. It will also make home working a reality, allowing staff to remain connected to the office at all times.

A dedicated broadband “fast lane” also puts business user traffic first at times of contention to help firms continue to work faster, do more, reduce operational costs and boost productivity.

Nigel Stagg, managing director, BT Business, said: “28% of businesses are already using faster broadband to expand their website capabilities, and another 25% are using it to drive more processes online and employ more bandwidth-hungry technology according to our research last year**. BT Business Total Broadband Fibre gives businesses capacity and reliability, with the reassurance of a priority service, to enjoy the best possible online experience. We are committed to rolling out higher speeds and additional coverage across the UK during 2010.”

Businesses in Muswell Hill, Whitchurch and Glasgow Halfway have already been enjoying the faster 40Mb/s broadband service through a BT trial. The service will now be made available to approximately 500,000 homes and businesses from 31-enabled exchanges by late February. A further two million homes and businesses will be able to access the services by late summer following the roll out of the technology by Openreach, BT’s local access division.

This announcement sees BT Retail confirm that it will make fibre-based broadband available to 40 per cent of the UK – or some 10 million premises – by summer 2012. 2.5 million premises in total will have access by late summer and four million by the end of 2010.

From 26 January, new and existing BT Business customers in an enabled exchange area will automatically be eligible for the fibre service. 50 per cent of UK businesses can currently also receive ADSL 2+ broadband speeds of up to 20Mb/s at no extra cost to copper services.

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B2b, Hosting, Internet, ISPs, Programming, SEM, SEO, Services, Web, Web Design & Development, Web Marketing

Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB Renews Association With Florida Web Developer

The Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau, the official tourism marketing agency for Collier County and the popular Paradise Coast area of southwest Florida, has renewed its vendor relationship with Web developer and marketer Sales & Marketing Technologies (SMT), Altamonte Springs, Fla., for Internet marketing, search engine optimization, and social media marketing strategies.

“SMT has been our Web site and digital marketing partner for several years. They have been enormously helpful in optimizing our website, keeping us ranked high with the major search engines and have efficiently managed our PPC efforts. We recommend them highly to anyone looking for ways to maximize their web presence,” said Jack Wert, executive director for the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau provides information assistance, visitors guides and travel planning tools for visitors, travel agents, tour operators, meeting planners, travel press and general news media. The bureau maintains the official travel and tourism Web site for Collier County. www.ParadiseCoast.com, which is operated with the assistance of SMT.

Sales & Marketing Technologies (SMT) is a leading full-service Web development and Internet marketing company. SMT creates, develops and markets custom Websites for businesses in the U.S., U.K., Caribbean, and South America. Additionally, SMT offers Internet marketing and lead generation programs, consulting Web hosting services, strategic planning and social media integration. More information: 800-434-0339.

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Child Safety, Entertainment, Internet, ISPs, Online, Social Networking

No More Playtime: Children Spend Their Free Time Staring at a Screen Instead

A new generation hooked on digital content is shunning traditional playtime in favour of watching TV and surfing the internet, according to new research from uSwitch.com, the independent comparison and switching service. The report also reveals a high proportion of children using the internet and watching TV unsupervised in their bedrooms after being sent to bed, while an alarming number of parents have yet to set up the necessary control measures to protect them from viewing unsuitable content.

In a typical day, outside of school hours children spend an average of 1.4 hours online and 1.6 hours watching television. Not only does this mean that they are spending 3 hours a day staring at a screen, but it suggests that surfing the internet is set to take over from watching TV as the most popular children’s recreational activity.

But where does this leave old fashioned playtime, and are we creating a new generation of internet addicts? Children today have a plethora of digital distractions whether they are in the form of games consoles such as the Wii, or social networking sites such as Bebo, with traditional playtime all but lost. Worryingly, 29% of children now have a computer in their bedroom and almost two thirds (63%) of these use it before going to sleep. Similarly, nearly half (49%) have a TV in their room and 64% regularly watch this in bed.

Despite nearly a third (30%) of parents worrying about information or images that they have found their child looking at on a website or on TV, just 41% of parents always supervise their children using the internet and 11% never do. Over half of parents (55%) leave it up to their children to decide which websites to visit, based on either guidelines they have set or common sense.

Taking the issue of parental control extremely seriously, all major broadband companies offer filtering facilities in their broadband packages, usually for free, enabling parents to have more control over the information and images viewed by their children. Yet over a third of parents (34%) have not set up any filters or blocks on their home internet: 22% believe that it’s too time consuming, and a further 21% simply haven’t got round to setting it up. A third of parents (32%) are unaware of the parental control features available with their service.

Jason Glynn, communications expert at uSwitch.com, says: “In an age where engaging content such as on-demand TV will only increase the amount of hours our children spend online, we urge parents to contact their internet providers to see what controls are available to them. Speed and price should take second place to safety – but with most broadband services including filtering software for free, there really is no excuse not to take action.

“We fully support the measures being laid out by companies to help families tackle this issue, such as TalkTalk’s plans to classify websites with U, PG, 14 and 18 certificates. Our research shows that 8 out of 10 parents would back such a system.”

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