Blog - Page 6 of 13 - DNA IT Solutions
News

Why is Technology so Important to a Business?

Posted on by Sean Lucas
Why technology is important DNA IT Solutions
12
Nov

Regardless of your business sector, we live in times when technology cannot be disregarded anymore. If you plan on making your company successful and survive in today’s market for as long as possible, you will depend on technology.

Of course, not every kind of technology is necessary. You need to find precisely that type of technology that can bring the biggest number of advantages for your business. Luckily, technology has advanced so much in the past years that it is easy to find a solution tailored according to your company’s needs. You just have to be willing to be open-minded when it comes to tech solutions and embrace them as soon as possible.

Why we depend on technology

If you’re still not sure about the importance of technology for your business and why you should use it, there are several strong points that you simply cannot ignore:

It will enhance and facilitate communication with your customers

Both your employees and customers will benefit from the improved communication channels technology offers. If you want things to be done in a fast and effective manner, your employees must be able to communicate in real time whenever they need. Also, you should give your clients the chance to contact you in case they have any questions, with the help of a website and social media profiles. The availability of platforms that allow virtual meetings and communications makes the world a smaller place.  This is how you set the base of proper customer care services.

The workflow will become more effective

Using technology will make all processes run smoother and help complete tasks in a shorter period. Just think about the things you can achieve by simply using the software you already have, then imagine what else is possible.

Your business will enjoy more protection

Security is a must and technology has all the answers. From securing the perimeter of your offices and company headquarters, to surveillance systems in your warehouse, and security solutions for your business’s sensitive data, everything helps you establish a good level of safety. That same level of security is needed across all your systems and platforms to protect against cyber-attack.

It allows employees and team members to stay in touch at all times

The best part about using advanced tech solutions is that it allows your employees to stay in touch no matter where they are. Advanced sharing platforms that allow the team to access and share data in a secure fashion will improve efficiency and protect information.

It opens the doors to new markets

Old technology can hold your business back.  When you are ready to launch into new markets or offer new services you need to know your IT will support your efforts.  Investing in the right systems can help take your company to another level.

It might be the right time to take a look at your technology and have a discussion to see if it is fit for purpose, both for today and the future.   You can always contact the expert team at DNA IT Solutions for a consultation.

News

Security Made Simple for Retail

Posted on by Sean Lucas
Security Made Simple For Retail DNA IT Solutions
05
Nov

Sophos – A complete security solution for traditional and online retail

Your entire company, starting with your employees, those in charge of the distribution, collaborators and business partners can all benefit from the presence of Sophos. Besides creating the best connectivity environment and increasing POS security, Sophos makes sure that everything is extremely safe.

POS network that is secure together with protected databases

Sophos is a solution that offers a high degree of security for every aspect of your business, by practicing prevention methods. Your server, endpoint, and the network will all benefit from the preventative measures of Sophos, so even the newest developed threats won’t be able to produce any harm or damage. The Sophos Security Heartbeat™, a feature that can be provided only by Sophos, keeps malware at bay by detecting and isolating threats as soon as they are noticed, with the help of health status and telemetry measures.

Security for retail businesses of all types

You can easily develop your retail company with the help of Sophos, opening up new headquarters, creating new branches, increasing your number of stores, as this solution will continue offering the same degree of protection. To make sure that the new extensions are under the safe armor of Sophos,  just make the necessary changes to customise it according to your needs.

All threats can be blocked right away

It doesn’t matter what kind of threat you are dealing with, whether you know what it is or not, with Sophos you can block it before it has the chance to cause any damage. This complete solution offers a powerful XG Firewall and APTs to keep everything in control at all times. Thus, you can forget all about worms, hacks, ill-intended bots, and more. You will also have the possibility to keep an eye on the potential threats by monitoring and analysing the status of your networks around the clock. This way, you will be able to take proper measures in a timely manner.

Safe Wi-Fi services for guests

We all know that offering Wi-Fi services for free to potential clients is recommended. But free Wi-Fi services are often seen as not secure, so you need to rise to the expectancy of your store’s visitors and enhance their experiences in a secure manner. With the help of a Sophos firewall, visitors and customers will enjoy better connectivity and security, regardless of the devices they will use.

To find out more about Sophos and protecting your retail business you should speak to the expert team at DNA IT Solutions.  We work with Sophos to keep our clients protected at all times.

News

Switching to Cloud

Posted on by Sean Lucas
Switching to the cloud DNA IT Solutions
30
Oct

Switching to cloud technology is a fast-growing business trend, and it’s not hard to see why.

Approximately 75% of all businesses in Ireland use cloud technology, whether it’s in a public, private, or hybrid. Cloud technology is basically computing based on the internet rather than running applications from a physical server, meaning companies using cloud technology save on costs associated with server maintenance and expansion.

Efficiency for Business  

Cloud technology is also more efficient, since it’s easy to scale. Often businesses will need more or less bandwidth depending on which applications they need to run at any given time, and it’s easier to modify cloud technology to suit these purposes than it is to upgrade a server. Cloud technology also updates automatically, so there’s not as much IT costs involved in keeping it up to date. It’s also easier to back up files with cloud technology rather than resorting to using additional in-house resources.

Another important advantage of cloud technology is that employees often have an easier time logging in to company software remotely – which means that employees are able to be more mobile when they need to be, allowing businesses to offer flexibility that may not have been possible before. Additionally, if there’s a work emergency or projects that need to get done, being away from the office isn’t an issue for more senior staff members who might otherwise feel helpless in a time-sensitive work crisis.

The Challenges

However, along with the perks come some challenges, particularly in the setup phase. If a business is already storing everything on servers, moving everything over can seem like a daunting task. It’s a long project and can require a lot of additional IT work on top of regular everyday maintenance, meaning there are short term costs for the longer term payoff. If a business has the resources and a strategy to jump this hurdle, they still have to make sure that they have selected the right type of cloud platform. Should it be public, private, or a hybrid of both? Public cloud programs are more accessible but don’t have the security that private ones do. What features do you need?

Coping with new processes means encountering resistance to change, but as long as you have a good strategy in place, you’ll be able to overcome it. Knowing why you’re making the move to the cloud and defining your objectives is key to a successful transition. Is it better for performance? Are you aiming to reduce costs? Being able to explain precisely why cloud technology will help the business will also help employees feel invested in putting in the extra work to make it happen.

Changing to cloud technology takes time through the planning and implementation phase, and since time is money, you’ll want to invest it wisely. Still, cloud technology can be a huge benefit to any business hoping to save money in the long run.

News

Be Password Clever

Posted on by Sean Lucas
Be password clever DNA IT Solutions
21
Oct

A password is not just a string of letters and numbers, it is the key to gaining access to a valuable place.  Passwords allow access to bank accounts, email accounts and more.  In the wrong hands, access to your accounts can result in disaster.

Online each day 

We access so many tools and accounts online each day. Our phones and a few codes allow us to be on social media, monitor our banking and send emails.  We are fortunate to have all this technology literally at our fingertips.  However, with this easy access comes the cyber criminal always trying to make some money.

Password Terms

Hackers try to gain access to accounts by a some common methods.  ‘Brute force’ tries the most common passwords against the account until it figures it out.  You can reduce the chances of getting hit with this by having a limiter on the account, this is a good security layer.

‘Password spraying’ is trying to figure out the same common password over many accounts.  This operates at a slower rate so they won’t be noticed.   We can tend to use the same password over several accounts so we can remember it easily, that is not such a good idea.  If one is compromised, then it can be used to access other accounts.

Here are some simple tips to help keep you password safe:  

  • Remember longer is stronger. Passwords need to be a minimum of eight characters long.
  • Passwords should contain a mixture of upper case and lower case letters, numbers and symbols.
  • Don’t use personal information in your password such as date of birth, pet’s name or your favourite football team. That’s too easy to guess.
  • Use a different password for each account.
  • Do not write your passwords down or store them on your mobile or PC.
  • To store them, use an up-to-date digital password vault. This encrypts them and provides you with an access code.
  • Remember to change your passwords regularly.
  • Do not use the default password that comes with software installation. Change it immediately.
  • Beware of shoulder surfers, when keying in passwords.

By following those simple steps, you could save yourself from having your online accounts compromised.  Human error is often the cause of data breaches so be password clever to help avoid it.   For more advice on staying safe on line you can speak to the expert team at DNA IT Solutions.

News

Why Azure for Financial Services Sector?

Posted on by Sean Lucas
Azure for Financial Services DNA IT Solutions
15
Oct

Whatever sector of the financial services industry your business is in, you will have specific requirements around security, compliance and activities.  Azure could be the cloud for your business allowing it to move to the next level.

Opt for top-notch cloud solutions provided by Azure and make sure that your clients and partners get only the best. Utilising the power of cloud services will open the door to unlimited opportunities for development while minimising risks.

A platform that will not disappoint

The matter of security is a stringent one and should not be disregarded by any business. Investing in this sector will make sure that you respect the latest standards and become a reliable company in the eyes of your customers. How to achieve this? Azure is a platform that will provide all the resources and tools you need to meet all expectations.

The power of machine learning and AI

Wouldn’t it be great for some processes to unroll on their own, so you can use your time on driving your company toward success? With analytics based on cloud, you will have everything you need to see how things unroll starting with back-end processes and going to the end customer.

Opportunity to expand your service portfolio

Never say no to a client, as Azure is a complex hybrid platform that will allow you to expand and adapt the services you offer based on the requirements of your clients. It doesn’t matter how much your workload fluctuates, as you will always have everything you need here and support the costs of only what you end up using.

These days, customers appreciate services that are tailored to their needs. Turn this in your favour and make sure they enjoy superior experiences each time they are doing business with your company. With software-as-a-service and analytics offered by Azure, together with machine learning and AI, you will have the power to access detailed solutions that will speak to each client according to their needs.

Outstanding customer services

With this platform, your employees will have all the necessary means to be pro-active. Thus, enjoy the possibility to make predictions and determine what the best next step is for every client in your portfolio. Offer them outstanding customer services and increase the reputation and effectiveness of your business. When taping into an application based on Saas, you will be able to provide the best offer to your clients, just when they need it.

Software in the cloud

It is well known that cloud services are fast, secure, and offer unlimited storage space. So, the best thing you can do is to opt for financial services backed in the clouds. This way, you will be able to reduce costs spent on traditional IT services and invest in what helps your business grow. Cloud services will always grant you access to the latest tools and mechanism to protect your databases against malicious attacks and threats. This way, it will be easier to meet all demands concerning superior security for sensitive data.

Security and Compliance

Depend on data centers and cloud services designed from the ground up to meet the highest security and regulatory standards. Get the tools and resources you need to block malicious activity, identify vulnerabilities, and respond rapidly to evolving threats. Meet changing regulatory standards more easily and simplify your approach to compliance.

For more information on Azure Cloud and your transition to the cloud you should speak with the expert team at DNA IT Solutions.  We work with financial services businesses just like yours to enable a smooth transition to the cloud.

 

 

News

Sharing Internal Data Securely

Posted on by Sean Lucas
Sharing Internal Data Securely DNA IT Solutions
08
Oct

Every business should be able to share internal data among its employees.  This type of data is always sensitive so it is easy to understand the necessity of having a secure method to do so. You need a solution that is made especially to suit this purpose and serve your needs to share internal data in complete safety.

Autotask Workplace – a complete and complex solution for businesses

Autotask Workplace is a system that will allow data synchronisation and sharing within the structure of your enterprise. Made to suit the needs of businesses, it doesn’t matter what kind of devices you choose to use and how many people will have access to the system. You will enjoy complete control of the entire system and file database.

Extremely simple to use

Even if you never used such systems before, Autotask Workplace is made to be user-friendly, so you’ll find your way around it in no time. But, don’t be fooled by its simple appearance, as it is an extremely secure solution that will protect the sensitive data of your company at all times.

Improves collaboration

It does not matter if one user is on the computer and the other on a mobile device because Autotask Workplace will do its job right each time. Users can share any kind of file they need when they need it; this is how you make the workflow in your company more effective and improve the collaboration between your team.

Highly flexible and secure

Security is important for every business, regardless of sector, so you can’t make any compromises at this sector. Luckily, Autotask Workplace is a solution that will offer 99.9% security so you can focus on the things that matter the most for your business.  You can easily keep an eye on the unrolling processes, storage status, your own teams, and customers with a management system and configuration that will make data centralisation an easy task.

Data privacy certifications

There are situations when a company will work with various collaborators on its road toward success. But, since collaborators represent persons outside the company and the partnership may be periodical, it is not advisable to grant them access to all the data of your enterprise. So, you can set boundaries and share only the type of files they need, with the help of data privacy certifications. You will have complete control over how the system is used.

Viruses attack and other unfortunate events may happen, which can lead to your files getting lost or compromised. This solution allows you to be prepared no matter what, with features that give you the chance to recover and restore files when the situation requires.

Features offered by Autotask Workplace:

Workplace Online: Use the power of the internet to keep all team members and collaborators connected no matter where they are.

Workplace Mobile: Get things done and stay in touch with your team even when you’re on the move, with the help of this app that is suitable both for Android and iOS.

Workplace Desktop: This is the ideal feature for taking care of business at the office, as it will connect the local drives with cloud storage solutions and have them both synchronised at all times.

Workplace Manager: If you need to provide products to your clients, check on the storage and inventory of both your enterprise and your customers’, and collaborate with your own teams and the teams of your clients, this complete solution will give you all the means to be a successful manager.

Workplace Server: This feature will allow you to store and centralise your data in one place while making it available through the Local Area Network and always in synchronisation with the database of your workplace.

For more information on this great product you can speak with the team at DNA IT Solutions.  We always ensure we have the right product to suit our client when they need it.

News

How can Cloud technology reduce risks for business?

Posted on by Sean Lucas
cloud Technology reduces Risk DNA IT Solutions
01
Oct

While many businesses may prefer to view their IT as a ‘set it and forget it’ necessity, the reality is that outlay and maintenance costs can have a huge impact on most operations. From IT consultancy and auditing to risk management and real-time maintenance issues, IT can easily become a major business headache.

Switching from in-house to cloud technologies

One very real solution that will work towards resolving many of these issues is switching from in-house to cloud technologies. In particular, such a change is likely to impact mostly on issues related to IT risk and data security.

1. SaaS – Software as a service

One of the more easily implemented routes open to all types of small to medium-sized operations is by utilising cloud technology through SaaS (Software as a Service). From DTP and email handling to accounting and even total supply chain management, SaaS has been keeping the IT of all types of business safe and secure for many years now. Apart from the implications relating to disaster recovery and handling the “hot potato” of self-owned software programs, security alone is likely to make SaaS an attractive option for businesses looking to reduce IT risks.

2. Protecting your data

Operators of cloud technologies have already proven their worth as IT data protectors. It’s likely that more than a few CEOs have already saved their expensive shirts from sweat damage by being able to retrieve their otherwise corrupted data from the cloud. With the ability to replicate all of a business’s data, critical operations can still run from anywhere in the event of local issues – including anything from power outages to flooding or fire.

3. Less reliance on third party suppliers and agencies

Because many small and medium-sized businesses have limited in-house IT management, they tend to rely more on third-party suppliers who have no vested interest in their business apart from a cheque at the end of every month. Further, even in environments that utilise the company’s own key IT personnel, sickness and other issues will still impact on operations. Cloud-based IT options will limit these issues along with further reducing the number of individuals who have sight of and access to your data, and that can only be good news.

4. Going ‘all the way’ with managed cloud services

A fully managed cloud services system will remove the burden of running an IT department from IT managers’ shoulders altogether! There are plenty of options out there that operate ongoing pay-for-use packages that virtually remove all the risk of the “halfway house” self-serving options. If these aren’t attractive enough reasons for a business to consider managed cloud services, perhaps the huge savings in staff, training, and updating will be.

5. Choosing what works best for your business

While cloud technology certainly doesn’t come neatly packaged in a one-size-fits-all format, a diligent review of any business’s IT security risks is more than likely to reveal areas that would benefit. Choosing the best options for a business’s specific and unique IT needs is, therefore, surely going to be the best way to proceed.

 

News

Security is Vital for Better Business Success

Posted on by Sean Lucas
Security vital for business success DNA IT Solutions
24
Sep

When you are building a business you will have a series of goals to meet that, for you, will measure your success.  On your journey to success you will no doubt change and adapt to whatever challenges you meet.  Digital transformation will be part of that journey.

Security and Trust

As you grow, your reputation will be one of the key factors in your success.  When it comes to brands, having the trust of the customers will aid growth through confidence.  Once that trust is broken in any way, not only is it a PR disaster but it will start to affect sales almost immediately and into the future.

Security Plan

Having a robust security plan in place for your business should be a priority.  Doing a full audit of the current situation and identifying what areas need to be looked at is the first step.  Seeing what data you have and how and where it is stored will be valuable.  Ensuring systems and platforms are as secure as you can make them is the next priority.  Having your team aware of cyber security and giving them the tools to protect themselves so they in turn can protect your business is key.

Mobile Security

Increasing use of mobile devices both within the business and by customers’ needs to be reviewed.  The security of WiFi within the organisation building but also the use of it by remote staff needs to be addressed.  Security of email and protocols should be in place to prevent phishing and ransomware attacks.  There are so many areas for attention which may include risks of hacking of any new technology such as chatbots or IoT products.  Alot centers around the concerns of your customer personal data being vulnerable.

Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery will be on the agenda when it comes to security.  Deciding on where in the cloud information is stored and backed up and having a plan around business continuity should an attack occur.  All these security concerns need to be addressed for ultimate business success.

Planning what you need to do and implementing it is the goal.  Knowing that there is not just one solution that fits all is a start.  Planning a set of different layers with different priorities that build up to a robust protective cloak will keep your business safe.  Plan your security strategy today and plan for business success.

News

Come on a Digital Journey with IBM Cloud

Posted on by Sean Lucas
A Digital Journey with IBM Cloud DNA IT Solutions
12
Sep

DNA IT Solutions recently hosted a breakfast seminar, in conjunction with IBM (last Thursday 6th September) – I thought I would share some thoughts and insights from the day.

IBM ThinkSpace

Not with-standing the rain and a shunt on the M50, we welcomed over 50 guests to the Innovation centre at IBM Damastown. For those visiting the IBM Campus for the first time it was very much a case of “Who Knew?” Damastown is an impressive campus employing over 600 people, playing host to the European Cloud team, and clearly one of Dublin’s best kept secrets!

We heard first from IBM with an overview of their expansive cloud offerings, suitable for all sizes of organisation. There is a perception out there that the IBM Cloud offering remains big cloud for big business. We need to remove that myth.

DNA IT & IBM Relationship

The reason DNA IT have this relationship with IBM is to take enterprise grade IT Cloud Services to our customers – regardless of their size. Our heritage has always been a very business lead mindset where first and foremost we must spend the time educating clients on their strategic options and then planning real execution. We put the time and effort on the ground with clients to help them understand their needs.

The reality is that all business expectations have dramatically changed in recent years with an ‘always on’ mentality, flexibility of working, access to real time data and intelligence, emphasis on security etc.etc. … these are the things that are driving business and this demand is what is driving an appetite to leverage innovative cloud facilities and applications.

What DNA IT do is to assist organisations to access these key technologies in an innovative way to deliver on their business objectives. As you can see the options available are enormous and this brings its own challenges. So, we start with the business need, understand the objectives and then we bring in the experts to architect the desired result.

Blue Insurance

David Moore, CTO, Blue Insurance, then took us through his own Journey to the Cloud and his experience of working with DNA IT Solutions as his partner to get there.

His authentic story of how IT has progressed since the early days of Blue Insurance to the cloud-based service it utilises today resonated extremely well with the audience. He needed to show that IT could deliver on an aggressive business plan, be able to scale quickly as the business grew and all this whilst minimising risk and becoming increasingly security focused. They are still on this Journey but confident of success with a trusted partner onboard.

Strategic Overview

Both were then followed with a strategic overview from DNA’s own Principal Cloud Solutions Director, Declan Hussey, who talked about the value of finding the right technology partner.

There’s an old adage…. If you don’t know where you’re going any road will take you there.

Our advice to clients is to always start out with the end in mind. This is a statement that you will hear engineers say over and over, but now business leaders need to listen. Like never before, the demand is massive in areas of security, properly designed IT systems, resilience and overall excellence. A comprehensive plan is fundamental to delivering on business expectations.

DNA IT Solutions put huge stock in the first phase of the journey being all about the business, understanding the needs, the challenges and so on and getting all key stakeholders bought in. Then we can deliver innovation, acceleration and excellence.

We have clients come to us regularly migrations gone wrong (Not just cloud!). The key failures are easy to identify, and it boils down to a lack of planning and poor execution. This can be avoided if the right partner is selected in the 1st instance and a proven model of deployment is followed.

As I reflect I can say I took three main messages away from the day;

1.     IBM, the best kept secret in the Cloud space in Ireland – have an excellent, comprehensive cloud offering in the market, suitable for business of all sizes

2.     Moving to the Cloud is a journey not and event, cloud can bring significant benefits to business but its not a case of simply migrating everything in a big bang approach

3.     Find a partner that takes time to understand your business and who can then provide the best advice to deliver the solution your business demands

If you would like to hear further insights and support for your journey to the cloud, we would love to hear from you.

Neil Mullaney, DNA IT Solutions

News

Planning for Digital Transformation

Posted on by Sean Lucas
Planning for Digital Transformation DNA IT Solutions
09
Sep

Digital transformation happens when an organisation takes advantage of the technology available to change their activities in order to grow their business.  Keeping up with technological advances can be the lifeline to any business. With so many changes happening so quickly in the world today, a strategic decision to future proof a business should be high on the agenda.

Knowledge

Knowing what is happening around you is the first step and figuring out what you need is the next one.   You need to find out what is driving the change not only in your industry but in your customer’s world and how that will affect your business.  Your customers are increasingly reliant on technology in their day to day lives.  With social media, the use of messing apps and smartphones the way we are all communicating has changed dramatically over recent years.  Businesses that don’t offer the communication methods that are demanded will not survive long.  Having the technology in place to do business in the way your customers want could mean having the advantage over a competitor.

Adapting to Change

Your business needs the right tools and support to operate in this highly digital world.  Apps that are interactive and intuitive, systems that have predictive tools for planning and so much more are all available to you.  Being relevant in today’s changing world is the way to survive.

There has never been so much data being produced, your customers are increasingly concerned about their data and the way it is shared.  As a business you must ensure its safety as they interact with you online via bots or just doing transactions without speaking to a human.  Confidence in how an organisation keeps their customer data secure is vital.

With an educated audience, the expectations of the customer are high around security of mobile devices and encryption.

Expectations

How your data stored and where it lives will be of concern if there is an outage or attack.  Getting back up and running with such a high reliance on IT and data can cause nightmares.  With digital transformation these concerns can be changed to reassurance.

In order to survive in business today we must adapt and digital transformation will keep us relevant to our customer base.  Having the right strategy to get us there and keep us on top is priority.  For a look at your options you can speak with the DNA IT Solutions team.