Weekly tech roundup on what’s been happening

June 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

To Sunday 26th June 2011.

So we are starting this weekly roundup of the tech news which we have tweeted over the week as well as some other interesting (we think) tech related news.

It’s in no specific order and this is the first one so they will get increasingly better.

We’d be delighted to hear your views via the comment section at the bottom of the page.

Google Chrome laptop – what will I use it for?

Not a lot except web browsing and email – Not for me at present I’m afraid.

Doesn’t provide me with the tools I’d need on a day to day basis to complete business or personal tasks.

The difference in cost between it and a reasonably well specified laptop or tablet is negligible.

Like many things however, it’s the first real iteration and I believe it’s likely to change over the coming year or two in to something more useful than it currently is.

Firefox 5 – launched, is it worth the upgrade?

No real change to the User Interface, many bug fixes and some real additions below – it’s not going to change your life from version 4.

  • Added support for CSS animations
  • The Do-Not-Track header preference has been moved to increase discoverability
  • Improved canvas, JavaScript, memory, and networking performance
  • Improved standards support for HTML5, XHR, MathML, SMIL, and canvas
  • Improved spell checking for some locales
  • Improved desktop environment integration for Linux users
  • WebGL content can no longer load cross-domain textures
  • Background tabs have setTimeout and setInterval clamped to 1000ms to improve performance
  • The Firefox development channel switcher introduced in previous Firefox Beta updates has been removed

Microsoft

Microsoft working with and approving people Jailbreaking their Windows7 phones!

ChevronWP7 Labs have been approved by Microsoft to release an app which will allow users to officially install non-approved apps!

This is a complete opposite strategy to the other players in the industry and Microsoft will gain a level of kudos for this.

Microsoft have already done a similar thing with their Kinect product which has turned out to be the fastest selling consumer electronics device ever!  I wonder how much of a difference this will make to the Windows7 phone?

RIM – Blackberry

Shares prices and market value have dropped considerably for the Canadian company.

Shares sat at circa $64 per share in late March this year and has now dropped to under $29 per share at close of trading on June 24th.

New handsets have been delayed and the Playbook tablet is not likely to make any real difference.

Their Playbook tablet is not a real contender in my eyes – partly because I don’t believe the 7” form factor is particularly useful and there is a real lack of useful apps on the device.  Time will tell though, however it’s a real uphill battle as the iPAD has over 95% share of the market in 12 out of 13 countries in this report.

Other bits of news:

HP

HP Touchpad tablet is due to land around the 1st of July and looks like a good piece of kit.

Some of the technical specifications:

  • 9.7″ screen, 1024×768 resolution
  • 1.3mp front facing camera for video calls
  • 16 or 32gb £399 and £479 respectively
  • Dual core CPU
  • Dimensions Width: 190mm (7.48 inches)
  • Height: 240mm (9.45 inches)
  • Thickness: 13.7mm (0.54 inches)
  • Weight Approximately 740 grams (1.6 pounds)

Some features include those below:

  • Touch to share looks like a cool feature.
  • Touchstone wireless charging
  • built in access to many social media channels
  • Notification system looks good
  • Beta support for Adobe flash 10.3 built in.

One of the huge plus points for the Apple iPad is the maturity and usefulness of the apps.  If HP can get close to that, it looks like they will have a real winner on their hands.

Check out the link below for 7 videos showing what the Touchpad can do.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/13/hp-rolls-out-the-youtube-carpet-for-touchpad-slate-prices-acces/

Until next week…

Filed Under: Blog

Further Addition to the team

March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Introduction by Kevin Ashcroft, Managing Director of OCD, IT Support and Solutions.

I am delighted to announce that as part of our continued expansion, Bill Grier has joined OCD as the Head of Business Development.

Bill’s remit is to build the existing sales team and Client base further as well as the manage the existing Clients at OCD.

He has many years experience in business development and is a key appointment in the company’s progress.

Bill has provided a short BIO below, welcome aboard Bill, we’re delighted to have you back:

“It all started with an engineering apprenticeship. From there I taught engineering and developed that to teaching computer skills. They say that, if you can’t do it; teach it, and if you can’t teach it; sell it, and coincidentally I moved into a sales position in the late ‘80s where I sold Computer Aided Design solutions for 8 years before moving into the, then embryonic, Telecommunications sector where I worked with some major operators.

I returned to the IT world in 2003 and this was my first experience of OCD. I had a split role as Operations Manager and Sales Executive which was an interesting mix. I moved on in 2005 since when I’ve been involved with some large Systems Integrators, even spent some quality time with a specialist in Information Security and Governance.

I like to say my engineering background gives me an ordered mind but there are those who would suggest I’m more of an obsessive compulsive so I suppose the return to OCD isn’t really to be surprised at.

In all of the millennia I’ve been around the Scottish market I’ve been ably supported by Jean, my wife of nearly 40 years; we have two daughters both running their own companies and I have a granddaughter, Hannah, who is the light that illuminates my soul, and not forgetting Bailey our Cocker Spaniel who is of the opinion, rightly, that he comes before me in the pecking order.

When I met Kevin a few weeks ago for dinner and we discussed the plans he has for OCD, I was excited by the potential and wanted to be a part of the future at OCD.  We have plans to take the company to even greater heights so the sky’s the limit right now. It’s great to be back at OCD, Watch this space!”

Filed Under: Blog

Recycle your IT via a Social Enterprise Organisation

March 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
As one of Scotland’s premier IT Support and Solutions specialists we need to dispose of or help recyle IT equipment for our Clients.

 

What better way to do this than to partner with a Social Enterprise Organisation who employ disabled and disadvantaged adults?

 

I recently met Ewan Fisher, Sales Manager for Haven Recycle and asked him to provide more detail on their service, you can read his introduction below:

 

“Haven Recycle is a social enterprise based in Glasgow which runs a Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling and asset recovery operation. We are part of the Rehab Recycle group, servicing a number of large public and private sector organisations including Dell, Microsoft and Fujitsu.
The services we offer include: 

  • Removal and disposal of all waste electrical equipment
  • Secure data destruction
  • Office clearouts
  • Single PC uplifts
  • Logistics

All work undertaken is fully compliant with all relevant legislation.

While operating as a business, we are also a social enterprise; our unique attribute being that the majority of our highly skilled and comprehensively trained workforce comprises of disabled and disadvantaged adults. We carry out ongoing programmes of training and integration to ensure that all our work is carried out to the highest possible standards demanded by the market, and our impressive client list is a testament to this. As such our customers can contribute significantly to their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) simply by engaging Haven Recycle as a supplier.”

Contact:
Ewan Fisher, Sales Manager
Tel: 0141 882 5752
e-mail: ewan.fisher@havenproducts.co.uk
Website: www.havenrecycle.co.uk

Filed Under: Blog

Building an IT service and support that suits our Clients needs, not our own.

March 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

IT just needs to work.

Like most businesses Hadden Construction relies on IT to help run the business effectively. With no dedicated in house IT resource, the company is also completely reliant on external providers.

Based in rural Perthshire with a turnover of circa £20m, Hadden is more than just a construction company, it also provides architectural, planning and surveying in house. Consequently when the company was let down badly by its IT provider, they knew they had to find someone who would deliver the service they required consistently.

Obsessed with Service

At OCD we have always been driven by our customers’ business requirements and the desire to ensure that we deliver what they need.  Hadden Construction is no exception. It was clear from our conversations with Hadden that the company just wanted reliable systems that work.

After resolving some legacy systems issues that we inherited from Hadden Construction’s previous provider, we introduced two core services to provide support and ensure systems reliability for the company –

  • Proactive Management – We visit Hadden Construction every two weeks to proactively manage the systems and ensure that they are working properly and within the tolerances we have agreed.
  • Support – The provision of reactive support both remotely to resolve problems and when required onsite visits to resolve more complex problems.

The combination of these two services provides a real backbone for Hadden Construction delivering reliable, well maintained systems that work, which is after all what the company wants, systems that work and enable the business to develop and grow.

Has IT worked for Hadden Construction?

Unlike the company’s previous situation, Hadden Construction can now rely on its systems and on OCD to make sure they are well maintained. In the event that something does go wrong the company can also rely on OCD to fix it quickly and with no fuss.

In summing up, Anne Nicol, Director of Finance comments, “Our experience of OCD has been very positive. We now feel that our systems are in genuinely safe hands”.

If OCD sounds like the kind of company you want to look after one of your most important business tools, give us a call – we’ll be happy to help.

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It’s great when companies stick to their promise…

February 8, 2011 By 1 Comment

Moving to a new future

Brown + Wallace offer a full range of professional construction consultancy services across a diverse range of market sectors. Each client receives a bespoke response based on their particular requirements and our wide and varied experience allows us to develop innovative solutions to meet our Clients’ goals and aspirations.

“Whilst we were generally happy with our previous provider and there is the overriding belief that it’s best to stick with the company that knows your systems, we decided to make a change after moving office in 2009,” comments Ian Macleod of Brown + Wallace .

The service from OCD is definitely pro-active as promised.

“We find the majority of our competitors are very reactive in operation, even when they promote themselves as pro-active, the reality is that means they simply check an email report from your server once per day.  Our systems continually check the status of your network throughout the course of the day and automatically issue alert emails to the helpdesk in addition to voice alerts which the support team hear in real-time and can act on immediately.  The result of this is that, on many occasions, the first time a Client knows there is an issue is when our team call to tell them we are actively working on a call for them”, comments Kevin Ashcroft, Managing Director of OCD.

This is backed up by Ian Macleod who says, “I was checking for updates and completing maintenance tasks myself as my previous provider would normally charge for these.  I really like the pro-active monitoring and the advice OCD provide off the back of this service.  It makes a real difference to the time I need to spend worrying or dealing with IT related issues allowing me to concentrate on my core role in the business.

I like how there is never any quibble whether a task is included in the service agreement which makes my life simpler and easier.  The team at OCD are very knowledgeable and efficient”.

The OCD effect

Ian Macleod comments, “OCD is definitely more monitoring-oriented which can only be a good thing.  That combined with their knowledge and efficiency definitely makes a difference to us.  OCD is a pro-active, forward-thinking company that views their customer’s business as important as their own.”

If you need your IT taken care of properly so you can concentrate on growing your business, then get in touch and find out why organisations like Brown + Wallace choose to work with us.

Download the full PDF here.

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You don’t need to go on an adventure to find peace of mind IT support

January 26, 2011 By 1 Comment

The right service is closer than you think.

MACS Adventure specialises in self-guided walking and active holidays in the UK and Europe.

“Running our own IT systems and dealing with all  the problems was taking up an increasing amount of my time.  I was becoming increasingly concerned about data backup, security and network issues and knew that only an IT firm could handle these problems.” comments Neil Lapping, Managing Director of MACS Adventure.

You don’t need to go on an adventure to find peace of mind IT support.

Like many growing businesses, MACS Adventure relied on one key member of the team to deal with their IT issues.

However, after a moment of clarity, Managing Director Neil Lapping realised this was harming the growth potential of his business.  He was being dragged in to situations which were not his core skillset or interest, to the detriment of the company.

Neil decided to speak with a number of IT organisations who had been referred to him via contacts and his business growth adviser at Business Gateway.

“From my initial contact, OCD were completely transparent on pricing, service and issues, offering me a range of solutions which met our needs.  They are a pleasure to deal with, offer small company customer service combined with big company expertise, advice and skills.  OCD have brought peace of mind, I know the team will sort any issues out quickly and efficiently, because of this I have recommended them on many occasions,” comments Neil Lapping.

The OCD effect.

Neil Lapping comments, “OCDhave been a pleasure to deal with.  Kevin should be proud of the great team he has built at OCD.  They are friendly, professional and really know their stuff.”

If you need your IT taken care of properly so you can concentrate on growing your business, then get in touch and find out why organisations  like  MACS Adventure choose to work with us.

Download the full PDF here.

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OCD Newsletter for November 2010

November 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Read our latest newsletter here.

This month’s topics include:

Cheaper IT support is rarely better

Featured case study -  The Tullochan Trust

Our usual helpful selection of IT top tips

Happy reading…..

Filed Under: Blog

Cheaper IT support is rarely better

October 27, 2010 By 4 Comments

There is an old adage “when a deal appears to good to be true, it generally is too good to be true”.

We had a recent example where a Client moved to a new supplier to provide their IT support in Glasgow.

Several weeks into their new agreement, they have had a server failure and now need to perform a disaster recovery procedure.

Astonishingly the new provider never requested any information relating to the backup and disaster recovery solution in place when they took over the site.

Given how important this is to businesses, it’s a real clanger and in my view, shows a lack of care and appreciation for the good of the Client.

At OCD, we pride ourselves on our proactive service which cuts unscheduled downtime by almost 80% over most other IT providers.

It’s very likely that the money they felt they would “save” on this cheaper deal, has now been eaten up due to the failure, which, from a conservative point of view, equates to circa £750 per person per day in lost productivity.

Therefore if you have 10 staff, you have potentially lost a significant amount of money if your server is down for one day.

Anyway, it’s really something we should all bear in mind, if a deal seems to good to be true, it generally is, be wary!

There is a responsibility on the service provider to price their service appropriately for the service they promise they will deliver.

There is also a responsibility on the Client to look at a proper ROI and proof that the provider is capable of and will do what they promise.

We are seeing the same situation more and more at present given the economic conditions – companies are buying the business – reducing their costs by 50 – 60% to win business which can be fine, but not if you are promising the same level of service as you used to – it’s simply not common sense and doesn’t work.

The problem is you can’t ultimately provide a good level of service if you’ve priced it at 2 bob and a baloon!

We all have to be very, very careful if we are going for the cheapest possible deal, it’s likely we’ll get a level of service which equates to what we’ve paid and that will cost more in the long run in frustration and dissapointment, or worse still, potential damage to your business and your brand.

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Peace of mind is more important than anything else – IT Support for RFPG in Glasgow

October 21, 2010 By 1 Comment

Every week or two we’ll post a blog with one of our case studies to give you a feel for why our Clients partner with us and the value they get from our relationship.

Serving Solicitors since 1668

The Royal Faculty has been representing and helping solicitors in the west of Scotland for almost 350 years. It is not a large organisation, but it plays a key role in the legal profession delivering CPD, an extensive library, an audit function and representing solicitors.

Consequently it holds a lot of confidential and extremely important data on its systems that just cannot be lost or corrupted.

The organisation had been working with an internal IT function but found it did not deliver what the organisation needed.

Peace of mind is more important than anything else.

“We know from experience that trying to manage a small in house IT function is more expensive and difficult than it’s worth, so finding a reliable, external provider like OCD was the right answer for us,” adds John McKenzie.

Like many small organisations, RFPG relies on its IT systems to enable the business to operate, but at the same time, the organisation does not have a specialist IT function in house. So they have to rely on an external party to act as their IT department. This is what OCD does for the RFPG.

“When we started working with OCD, there was the usual nervousness about how effective they would be as a team. Our nervousness was replaced very quickly with peace of mind,” comments John McKenzie.

Our proactive and planned approach to IT support meant that we quickly put a plan in place which we agreed with RFPG to provide a planned support and maintenance programme. Their systems are now much less prone to unscheduled outages or failure, which keeps the team focussed on their vital work they do for solicitors in Glasgow and around Scotland.

Focused on what we need.

“We know we can rely on OCD and we know they will be there when we need them. This is the kind of support our organisation needs to make sure we can do what our members need us to, when they need it,” states John McKenzie.

Asked to comment on the service and relationship John McKenzie says, “Peace of mind is the phrase that best describes our impression of using OCD for our IT support.”

The services we provide the RFPG are no different to those we provide to other organisations nor is the level of service. So if you need an IT support company that you can rely on, get in touch and we’ll be happy to examine your needs and provide the service you deserve.

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Well done to our infrastructure partners Zen and Qnap

October 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

We partner with a select set of IT infrastructure partners which helps us deliver the best possible service to our Clients.

It’s good to give credit where credit is due and to that end we’d like to congratulate QNAP and Zen for winning the top awards in their categories from PC Pro magazine this month.

It’s important for OCD to partner with the best companies as this helps us deliver the best products and solutions for you.

It’s also important for you to know that we select the best to partner with in a very crowded marketplace.

Many of our competitors simply select the cheapest, the latest fad or the best deal for them. Rest assured, at OCD we only look to partner with the companies which will be the best for you.

Well done Zen and QNAP, keep up the good work.

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