MSPs: Your billing system should not be sitting at their own desk

Despite the economic setbacks shaped by the pandemic, demand for cloud communications services continues to grow. The remote “work-life” arrangement and increased displacement of face-to-face meetings by video conferences has managed service provider (MSP) leaders clamoring to take advantage.

On the downside, this heightened activity has exposed the flaws or outright failures of the billing processes for many MSPs. In fact, “processes” may be too technical a term for how...

29 September 2020 | Cloud

The need to become a next-generation data organisation – and leaving the silos behind

Data has always been there. Right back at the start of the last century, organisations of the age still ran their operations using log books, paper folios and hand-drawn accounts sheets. It was still data, but it was predominantly static, often duplicated or inaccurate, tough to search and only accessible to a few people. 

After the second and third industrial revolutions and the arrival of the PC, things finally changed. Software spreadsheets became ubiquitous and dedicated...

15 September 2020 | Big Data

Debunking three sunk cost fallacies in selecting enterprise software

Has your business ever avoided investing in key software systems simply because of perceived high costs? This inaction is an example of a sunk cost fallacy.

Both psychologists and behavioural economists have noted that humans have a stronger natural tendency to avoid losses than to pursue gains. However, a sunk cost needs to be addressed differently than a risk of future loss because the sunk cost has already been paid and should be considered independent of future decisions....

27 August 2020 | CIO

How to achieve business success in the midst of rapid workplace changes

Most large enterprises rely on a globally connected ecosystem of workforce, workplace, technology and other key resources for their business operations. Not surprisingly, they have very robust business continuity plans (BCP) in place to protect their human capital, technology and other critical resources. Their plans address many scenarios – from geopolitical to cybersecurity, connectivity, climate or natural calamity related issues. That’s not to mention issues with business partners,...

10 August 2020 | Applications

Managing the complexities of IT convergence: Exploring the future

Today, IT pros find themselves in a new reality, where IT roles have converged in response to the interconnected nature of modern environments. While a focus on cloud and hybrid IT architectures has been crucial in breaking down silos, it’s not without complexities. Ensuring uptime, availability, and performance of systems and applications, and greater collaboration with leadership to drive business success, is paramount. The global Covid-19 pandemic has amplified this, as organisations...

24 July 2020 | Applications

Move over BYOD: Meet BYOH – ‘bring your own home’

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced companies around the world to do something most of them were not ready to do – ask all their employees to work from home. A recent Gartner survey showed that 74% of chief financial officer respondents stated they planned to transition at least part of their workforces to permanent remote working. Much to their surprise, businesses are finding the transition to home more palatable that expected – in some cases, it has worked so well that measurable...

16 July 2020 | BYOD

Assessing network resiliency during the pandemic: How the telcos have held up

Think about what has become a common scenario: you’re at home working throughout the day, probably connected to the internet for long stretches. Because you’re working remotely, you’re asking more of the broadband capacity than usual, running video conferencing sessions with different parts of the world, screen sharing and sending large files.

Maybe your partner is in the same boat, and it would be understandable were you both to be grabbing more network bits by listening to...

14 July 2020 | CIO

How to keep software licence management under control: Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and more

It is hard to run and set up IT systems without solutions from large players. Their offerings are now industry standards and make financial sense, with system compatibility and employee skills the main reasons for their success. While there are many advantages for using solutions from Microsoft, IBM and the like, they come with many strings attached. Hundreds of pages of clauses and terms make their licences hard to manage. Most notably in large organisations, managing licenses requires...

8 July 2020 | CIO

Why cybersecurity remains a key problem across the business

Bottom line: Absolute’s 2020 Endpoint Resilience Report illustrates why the purpose of any cybersecurity program needs to be attaining a balance between protecting an organisation and the need to keep the business running, starting with secured endpoints. Enterprises who have taken a blank cheque approach in the past to spending on cybersecurity are facing the stark reality that all that spending may have made them more vulnerable to attacks. While cybersecurity spending grew at a Compound...

4 July 2020 | CIO

We’re at a turning point for legacy tech: Here are four ways to approach it

Usually, the word “legacy” evokes feelings of tradition, pride, and achievement. But when it comes to today’s business world, it’s not so simple. Legacy technology — computer systems and software from a previous era that are still in use — presents significant challenges to companies.

As technologies and marketplaces evolve, CIOs find it increasingly difficult to integrate new and old tech, yet legacy technology persists for various reasons. Many businesses subscribe...

11 June 2020 | CIO