Cutting IT projects during a downturn is a bad idea

It is a major misconception that during a downturn companies should stop investing in their current IT projects. During tough times IT project spending is often cut which can be a huge mistake. It will mean that the company will not achieve the productivity gains that it first set out to with the project. If you continue to spend on your IT investments it will mean that after the downturn has passed you will be far more efficient and productive than your competitors. If you have already spent a lot of money on the project it would be a mistake to simply cut the project halfway through as the company would have wasted all of the money on the project.

So if you currently have an IT project underway continue the project and you will be better for it in the long run. If you need any assistance with an IT project please feel free to contact us and we will be more than happy to assist you.

Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista released this week

A select group of testers will get there hands on Windows Vista service pack 2 this week. As part of the development and testing for the service pack Microsoft are allowing a small group of testers access to Service Pack 2 so that they can evaluate the package. There is no final release date for Service Pack 2 as it will be based on quality and will only be released when Microsoft thinks it is right to do so. The pack will look to address specific reliability, compatibility and performance issues.

Lets hope that there is not the same issues that arose when the service pack for XP came out and caused many people chaos with there system.

Major patch released for critical windows vulnerability

Microsoft has issued a warning in advance that it is to release a “critical” windows patch. It is expected that there is a serious vulnerability involved as there is a lack of information about the patch for Windows 2000, XP and server 2003.

The update has been released by Microsoft and it is highly advisable that organisations and individuals update their system. It is over a year since Microsoft last released an emergency patch ahead of its scheduled security updates on the second Tuesday of every month.

There have been reports by analysts saying that Microsoft must consider the issue to be serious for the company to rush out with this type of update. Ensure you update your computer now!

Is the credit crunch affecting your IT?

As the credit crunch kicks in more and more businesses are looking to save money instead of spending it. Are you finding that this is effecting the organisation you work for? Are there conflicting views as to whether investing money now on your IT systems could save you money in the future or is your company looking at short term plans? Let us know your views.

Here at BACK consulting we can help you invest your money wisely in your IT systems but at competitive prices. We are here to help your business grow and are vendor neutral meaning that we will always find the most cost-effective solution for you.

Another poor case of information loss

After yesterdays story about the importance of IT security and having policies in place today’s story highlights the issue. The Ministry of Defence has lost a hard drive which contains armed forces data. One of the few organisations you would expect to have the most stringent security in place to ensure something like this does not happen.

The drive could potentially contain 100,000 records for members of the armed forces and 600,000 recruits according to reports. The hard drive was used in the testing of one of the armed forces administration systems and they do not know if any of the information was on the hard drive.

The drive went missing from a “Secure location” in Hampshire and the armed forces can not say whether or not the drive was encrypted. This seems like a very basic mistake and you would not expect this from such an important party.

This illustrates that it’s more important than ever to ensure you have a stringent security and data leak policy in place. If you would like to discuss your needs please give us a call and we will be more than happy to assist you.

Security more important as fraudsters target bank accounts

It is more important than ever to ensure you have a security policy in place as fraudsters target bank accounts. As credit is now harder to acquire due to the economic crisis fraudsters are targeting existing bank accounts. As there are more restrictions on credit due to the credit crunch it is a lot harder for crooks to open new accounts using fake identities.
According to the all-party parliamentary group there has been a fall in the number of traditional forms of identity theft where crooks use stolen or false documents to open up an account. However, the group have said that there has been a sharp rise in cybercrime where crooks use the internet and email to try and access people’s accounts.

Currently there is a bogus email that is going around from HMRC asking for peoples bank account details so that they can process the tax rebate that they were promised. This is a scam and any recipients should ignore this email.

If you would like to discuss your personal or company IT security give us a call and we would be more than happy to discuss this with you. IT security is vital so ensure that you have it in place.

People don’t have confidence in companies keeping personal data

You will remember one of my recent blogs whereby I was talking about the security of personal data and how companies treat your information. Well a story today has revealed that 90% of people in the UK do not believe that their information is safe with companies. Over half of people also revealed that they do not think banks and retailers do enough to protect them. The firm RSA are have carried out the survey as a background for national identity fraud prevention week which started this week.

56% of people surveyed have suggested that they are more concerned about identity fraud and security than they were six months ago. A far more scary fact is that was revealed is that 850,000 people have lost work documents or laptops. This is an extremely worrying revelation and would indicate that companies must consider their security of personal data. Organisations should consider a data leak policy and there is no better place to look than BACK consulting. Give us a call today.

Economic crisis sees job losses in some of the worlds biggest firms

It seems that even some of the world’s biggest IT firms are being affected by the current economic crisis. Accenture, a management consultancy firm, has announced that they are going to have to cut hundreds of jobs. Days after they announced major rises in there annual sales they have announced that job losses are going to have to be made. It has said the cuts are to balance the skills of the workforce.

Another major ecommerce business, eBay, is cutting 10% of its workforce because of slowing sales rates. They are axing around 1,000 jobs to save around £85m in costs a year, although they are spending £740m on three acquisitions. The company is to announce its third quarter results next week and it has already warned analysts and the market that they should prepare for the worst.