Our aim is always to help and support businesses and their operation, so they can thrive, grow and develop and take advantage of market opportunities, diversifying where necessary to meet the challenges of the current climate.
We know a solid, safe and enabling IT infrastructure is one of the best ways to support businesses right now. And, as IT experts, we advise businesses and organisations all the time on the best tech for their business, to help meet the challenges and serve their customers.
In 2022, we were full of advice!
In 2022, we had lots of advice to give here in our IT Academy.
We watched developments, assessed market risks and worked out solutions to problems businesses and our customers commonly face. Since a lot of the advice we gave in 2022 very much applies going forward into 2023, this article is a handy round-up of 2022’s advice and themes.
IT security is everyone’s business
We always emphasise the need for safe and secure operating as the risks, if encountered, are severely detrimental to the security and wellbeing of both businesses and people.
We talked a lot about IT security in 2022, and how it’s ‘everyone’s business’ with a particular emphasis on organisations owning cybersecurity, not taking it as a tick-box exercise but putting real measures in place to interrogate their business model, assess the risks and put mitigations place.
Staff still a weakness in business security
In 2023, employees will continue to pose one of the biggest risks to businesses. Staff training in cybersecurity and being alert to phishing and spoof emails is as relevant and in need as ever.
We also talked about how small businesses should guard against cybercrime just as much as larger businesses, due to the trend for smaller, less well-known targets prioritised by cybercriminals.
Security-enlightening posts
Guarding against ransomware, explaining how some of the new cybercrime trends may come as a surprise, and how to implement security-first BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) rules in the workplace, were all under our watchful view last year. As well as an insightful dive into the motivations of a hacker, and why hackers hack to enlighten businesses as to some of the reasons behind hacking and why a proactive approach to cybersafety is so essential.
We would always businesses to start with Cyber Essentials as a starting point for their security, and we stick by that for 2023.
Advice on second-hand devices
As we go forward into 2023, the need for safe and secure operations is going nowhere. And, if you’re watching budgets closely, check out our post on advice for if you’re buying second-hand devices and equipment.
Cloud was big in 2022 – still is
Cloud was a big theme in 2023 as hybrid working stayed from the COVID-19 fallout, with many businesses struggling to implement it successfully. Workplace trends saw the need for positive workplaces, hybrid working demands and the need to monitor employees’ productivity.
We’ve always been advocates of cloud, and for many businesses, it was adopted early to cope with the sudden requirement for remote and homeworking.
Benefits of cloud
Throughout 2022 we’ve been talking about the benefits of cloud, which aren’t going anywhere in 2023. If more so, there will be a pressing need for businesses to utilise cloud more effectively.
From the four big benefits of moving to the cloud: reduced costs, scalability, security and functionality, to mitigating the costs of cloud and ensuring costs don’t spiral unnecessarily and Microsoft’s own recommendation that businesses move from on-premise servers to the cloud.
Helping you understand IT
We also know how fraught our industry is with technical terms, so we provided a handy glossary of tech terms, to bring some familiarity and confidence to those encountering confusing ‘tech talk’.
We’ll be full of advice in 2023
The world of tech for organisations, large and small, never stops and we’re sure there’ll be plenty of new developments in the coming year.
Rest assured that for 2023, as in 2022, Cultrix will be here with plenty of advice, debunking and information to help.
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