Blog - Business

I am sure you enjoy it when a project comes along that's a bit different to your day-to-day. It's an opportunity to use your existing skillset and likely to learn something new at the same time....

We’ve been aware of a price rise coming on Microsoft 365 subscriptions since last Autumn, but they have only now confirmed the details – less than a month before the new prices come...

At our BNI networking group we give a 45 second presentation each week on our company - yes, just 45 seconds! It used to be called an 'elevator pitch' (in the 1980's I think...) - the idea being...

Have you had an IT issue that affected your operations for days or even weeks? Maybe the internet is down, or  email, but the resultant effect that’s it had on business is tangible....

Two is better than one – if you’ve ever temporarily lost the use of a part of your body like an arm, leg or eye, then you can likely attest to that! At Control and Shift we’ve...

In any sector, when there are multiple suppliers involved problems can arise. Nowhere is that more true than your technology with internet providers, hardware manufacturers, software developers,...

Now for some companies, there can still be good reason to have your own server running, but in 2021 that’s an ever-decreasing list. The option to move your business onto the cloud is...

We have been involved with BNI networking groups since 2007 and they have been a valuable source of new business. Since June 2020 Control and Shift has been part of the Rainbow BNI group based in...

I got a call yesterday from a new client that things were not going smoothly with them giving notice to their current IT. They sent me all their current contracts and asked for advice. Looking...

We get a lot of compliments about our name, but a bit of confusion too: “Hello is that Shift + Delete” (nope) “Hi, is that Shift + Control” (getting closer) “Hi is...

It was a couple of years ago now, but I was shown a quote from another IT support provider to a company I was in talks with. Their solution involved a new server for this 10 person business...

When we speak to businesses who have somehow made it through to the year 2021 without any IT support, they often say “we’ll just need some help for a couple of months, until it settles...

We provide outsourced IT support services – which we feel can be an improvement on a number of fronts when compared to employing an in-house IT admin. Pricewise we compare very favourably...

Financial investors are often advised to ‘only invest what they are prepared to lose’ – and that’s a good adage for your company’s data too, only I would suggest...

I once stayed in a hotel in London owned by one of the big chains. In my room were stickers everywhere assuring me that the reason I had no coat hangers/drinks glasses/hand towels was because they...

How long is acceptable for your business to be without an internet connection or without access to email? With a 4G backup connection there is no need for you ever to be without a connection now,...

We’ve always been very open about our pricing. It’s on our website - £45.00 per user per month. And that’s because that’s exactly how our service works - once the...

When I worked for another IT business several years ago now, as engineers we were given a target to sales worth 50% of their annual contract value to each client. So a client with a £10k a...

A question to ask of any IT Support service is if issues with your technology – such as email, printers or internet down for a long period - have affected your customers. If it does then it...

One of my favourite films is Minority Report – others include Life of Brian and Planes, Trains & Automobiles – you like what you like, eh? Minority Report is a film set in the not...

If you look at the home screen of your phone, how many apps do you have on there? Dozens, hundreds? If it’s your own personal device then that’s one thing, but on a business phone you...

We provide IT support services at a fixed monthly fee – but as well as requests for day to day support we often get more complex problems and projects put our way. This week we had a client...

When I started out in IT disks were floppy, screens were as deep as they were wide and backups were saved onto tape cartridges that had to be either taken offsite or placed in a fireproof safe so...

Part of our standard service for customers with more than 20 machines is to asset label all of their IT kit and maintain an asset list for them. This means they know exactly what equipment they...

Imagine that every night a team of burglars arrives at your house, they spread out some testing the windows, others the doors, all looking for an entry point into which they can stream....

There are many, many quality marks in use across different industries, and the most useful ones are those that even those who are not in an industry would recognise the mark – a good example...

I read a newspaper article this week lamenting the death of the customer telephone helpline. If you call many companies now you simply get a recorded message noting that:     Due to...

If we had to name two words that have come into their own over the past 12 months, I would propose Zoom and Teams would be good suggestions. Zoom is a fantastic product, but Teams has an advantage...

Control and Shift are recruiting – it’s been on the horizon for some time, but we are now at a point where we have advertised a new IT Support Engineer position. We put the ad out on...

We had a busy Thursday afternoon recently – we gained three new clients after 13:00 that day. That hardly ever happens...OK, that never, ever happens! All three were word of mouth referrals...

How valuable is your time? It might be that you know an exact figure for that – an hourly rate – or you may just know that on the basis there’s never enough hours in the day,...

This week I visited a shop called Mr Pretzel with my daughter – have a guess as to what I was ordering? And guess what they had run out of? Yes Mr Pretzel… had run out of pretzels....

Control and Shift work with a number of teams of consultants who need to work closely together but are based at separate locations. It’s never been easier for teams to have a central...

Do you use more than one screen with your computer? If you do, maybe you have had the same experience as myself, which is that I can never go back to using just one screen! It genuinely seems that...

The security of our data has never been more important or more under attack – in recent years massive amounts of time and resource have gone into implementing systems to protect against...

When speaking to potential clients, they will often ask with a slightly heavy heart – do you do Macs? Their hesitation is because Apple Mac computers have long been a bit out of line with...

We met with a hotel manager last week and have quoted on their IT support. One aspect of our service which really came to the fore was our management of 3rd parties that are involved in a...

A question – is a good IT company one you never have to call, or one who you always seem to be calling? If your IT team are on top of your systems then it is entirely possible that...

Do you ever get an email from a contact and they’ve done a nice job of their email signature, with logos, company colour fonts and social media links all laid out professionally? But then you get...

Many businesses already subscribe to Microsoft 365 for their mail services, but the subscription provides access to much more than just email. As an example we have a client who previously...

Control and Shift's director Rob Savage was recently interviewed by ScaleUp Radio and the podcast is now available here. ScaleUp's Kevin Brent has a knack for drawing out his subjects and Rob...

An interesting call was received today - we currently look after the Head Office operation of a company that has a number of subsidiaries around the UK, all of which are looked after by a large IT...

Preceding Coronavirus by a number of years was the Wannacry virus of 2017. You may recall that was the computer virus that brought the NHS’ systems to a standstill. That caught a lot of...

As IT is having it’s moment in the sun currently, keeping many businesses connected to their systems while they have to work away from their normal office locations, it’s might seem odd...

Talking to a prospective client recently, they said “Ah I see, so your fixed monthly fee is basically an insurance policy!”. Well yes – and no – I said. Let's first...

On the website of the Plain English Campaign there is a list of companies that have been awarded their crystal mark for using language that is free of gobbledygook, jargon and misleading...

We meet with many smaller and micro businesses through our networking activities and there are cases when a business is operating without having registered their company's domain name. As a result,...

For some time now, businesses have been talking about 'going paperless'. It generally makes good business sense - cutting down on office overheads such as paper, printers, ink and physical...

During a recent meeting with a client, the subject of whether it would be better to move their IT support function in house or to continue to use us as an outsourced provider. Understandably, I do...