Downtime is a money drain. And now it’s more expensive than ever, with a recent ITIC study indicating that hourly downtime costs exceed around £730,000 to more than £3.5 million. That doesn’t include any legal fees, fines, or penalties, either. In the same study, 91 percent of organizations said that a single hour of downtime that takes mission-critical server hardware and applications offline costs more than $300,000 due to lost business, productivity, and remediation efforts alone. Compromised credentials caused the most breaches—20 percent—at an average approximate cost of more than £3 million per breach. These downtime costs make a clear…

The surge in cybercrime during the pandemic should have been a wake-up call for any business who couldn’t confidently say whether their devices and data were adequately protected. Displacement from the traditional office space made everyone more vulnerable – 30bn data records stolen in 2020, more than the previous 15 years combined. While these sorts of headlines should have pushed SMEs to review their security capabilities, many are still under the misconception that they’re either too small or not interesting enough to be targeted. The problem with this thinking is that it assumes every type of attack is like a…

Sage, the market leader for cloud business management solutions, today announces the availability of Zapier, the workflow automation platform for business, on the Sage Marketplace in the UK, Ireland, US and Canada. This partnership enables small businesses and accountants across all four countries to elevate their work and automate workflows by seamlessly connecting Sage Accounting with 4,000 apps. In today’s digital-first world, small businesses use an average of 72 different apps to streamline processes, eliminate errors and gain real-time insights on their business performance. These apps help SMBs to leverage technologies that were once only available to large organisations, but storing data…

Businesses across all sectors face uncertainty and challenges. Business resilience is all about being adaptable and showing the ability to maintain the status quo. It enables the company to continue moving in the right direction during uncertain times when events can move quickly and challenges can be make or break.  Alison Watson, Head of School of Leadership and Management at Arden University, provides some insights on the importance of business resilience and how businesses can work towards this in the current times, she looks some of the challenges businesses face and shares advice on useful strategies and actions. In this…

A new specialist advisory company has been launched in a bid to help develop, improve, and grow manufacturing within Yorkshire. Dubbed the Manufacturing Advisory Directorate (MAD) Yorkshire, its focus is on providing manufacturers with a single point of contact for a multitude of business services which can help drive growth, increase profitability, and prioritise efficiency.  Its team of experts will be able to help manufacturers identify the core areas to strengthen in relations to business compliance, finance and legal, sales and marketing, growth and business strategy, Logistics, IT, and Energy. MAD is made up of a board of highly experienced…

SMEs have faced many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic from supply chain delays and staff shortages to a lack of cashflow and being unable to pay creditors.  Quite early on, the Government recognised businesses would need financial breathing space (during the economic uncertainty created by the pandemic) particularly from potentially aggressive creditor action.   It therefore brought in temporary changes to the insolvency regime to help UK businesses maximise their chances of survival. One of the main changes within the insolvency regime was the moratorium on being able to rely on non-payment of a statutory demand as proof of a company’s…

The recent announcement that Facebook is changing its name to Meta might come as a surprise to many people. In this article, Alexa Greaves, CEO at AAG-IT.com provides an overview of the change, including why it happened and what it means for most people. Firstly, it’s worth clarifying that before this week ‘Facebook’ was really the name for two things: ‘Facebook’, the social media platform ‘Facebook Inc.’, the parent company which owns Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and more. The name change refers to the parent company, which will now be known as ‘Meta’.  Why has Facebook changed its name? There are…

Think hybrid working is a benefit?  Our data shows employees expect it and will leave if they don’t get it… As we finally begin the slow return to the office, there’s one burning issue taking up centre stage of boardrooms up and down the country: how do we make so-called hybrid working a success? Now the forced experiment of remote working is over, businesses everywhere are faced with a decision.  Do we ask our people to return to the office full-time?  Do we abandon the office altogether?  Or do we try to find some sort of middle ground?  And what…

Global fintech platform Airwallex today announced findings from a survey conducted on UK-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), revealing that more than three-quarters of SMEs in the UK have plans for geographical expansion next year, with more than two-thirds believing that digital adoption will be important to enable accelerated growth opportunities. The poll of 500 business decision makers considered the reality facing UK SMEs as they look to invest in, and grow, their operations in 2022. UK SMEs push ahead with international expansion Widespread UK SME global expansion is planned for 2022, with 77% of those polled having said they plan to expand their…

Over the last 10 years we’ve gone from being a £500 startup with myself and my wife trading from our spare bedroom at home, to a business worth hundreds of millions, employing nearly a hundred people globally and having one of the bestselling chocolate bars in the UK. Founder and CEO of Grenade, Alan Barratt, provides some top tips on how to build a stand out, disruptive brand. 1.Use impactful messaging to connect with customers  We have a very limited amount of customer attention nowadays because consumers are getting bombarded from all angles. We’re seeing tens of thousands of adverts a day.…

More than 80 exhibitors and over 1,000 delegates are expected to gather at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Swindon to make contacts and do business as the South West Business Expo returns following the pandemic lockdowns. After an 18 months gap, the South West Business Expo run by The Great British Expos is back on November 11th.It is taking place at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Swindon and offers networking and a spotlight for businesses to promote their brand. Attendance is completely free with attendees just needing to pre-register their attendance.There will be more than 80 exhibitors as well as guest…

Stress is normal and, to some extent, a very necessary part of life. In fact, often a small amount of stress can drive us to get things done, as long as it is harnessed in the right way. Katy James, EAP Clinical Lead at Vita Health Group explains how to use mindfulness to combat stress.      However, what happens when we’re no longer able to harness stress to our advantage? What happens when that feeling of stress becomes all-encompassing; when we simply can’t think about anything else; what happens when that stress feels out of control? That’s the time…

 AWS launches Startup Loft Accelerator, a 10-week, virtual, equity-free acceleration program for early-stage startups in EMEA. Participants will have tailored personal training with access to experienced advisors, subject matter experts, investors, and some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, who have built their businesses on AWS. They can also join a large community of entrepreneurs to share knowledge, experience and advice. They will be eligible to join the AWS Activate program, which includes up to $25K in Activate credits to spend on AWS services, a one-year free AWS Business Support subscription for up to $5K, access to the pre-built infrastructure…

Lyreco, the European leader and third largest distributor of workplace products and services in the world, is offering a helping hand to microbusinesses in the UK and Ireland thanks to a new initiative dubbed the Lyreco Goodness Microbusiness Support Programme. The initiative aims to back ambitious microbusinesses that align with Lyreco’s CSR and environmental credentials and those that provide products and services in a similar field; namely PPE, hygiene, catering supplies, office furniture, IT and workplace technology and general office supplies. A total of ten successful applicants will be offered a bespoke page on Lyreco’s web-shop, marketing and communication support,…

Almost half of Brits’ finances have been significantly impacted by the pandemic – with those aged 50-64 affected the most, according to new research by leading health service company, Cigna Europe.  Over 1,000 Brits took part in the Cigna 360 Well-Being Survey, which reveals that 29% of Brits are unable to maintain their current standard of living, 24% are unable to pay their mortgage or housing – whilst almost 4 in 10 (39%) have no financial security if they are unable to work due to illness. The research also highlights only 22% of people have sufficient money for retirement, with those aged…

The tech sector has been among the few winners of the pandemic. According to Tech Nation, a new startup launched every half an hour in the UK between January and December of 2020, double the rate of the previous year. The entrepreneurial spirit and talent of British business owners, combined with record levels of funding has made the UK a competitive tech hotspot. So much so that the government has set up a fund to supercharge fast-growing tech firms to further foster tech innovation in the UK. Behind almost all tech startups, and one of the primary assets of businesses…