Don’t Let The Weather Affect Your Business!
How many members of your staff were able to make it to work through the snow that we experienced on 6 January 2010? Nearly 50% of the UK work force didn’t! With dangerous driving conditions and other disruptions causing closures to hundreds of schools and businesses, it is estimated that this cost the UK £690m per day in an already recession-hit economy. With a remote working solution in place and available to your staff , your productivity might not have been too badly affected and they could have carried on working, even from home.
Over the past few years, more and more companies have found an increased need for their employee’s to be able to work from home, whether it be due to the demands of having a young family or the type of adverse weather conditions that have been experienced lately. The question to ask is “can your company afford to ignore these needs for much longer?”
Even in the most adverse weather conditions, when you cannot open your offices, you can keep your business running and minimise your downtime and financial impact by having a remote working solution implemented in order to enable your staff to work from any broadband computer.
With the ability to work from home as if they were in the office, employers have the ability to offer their staff more flexibility, achieving more of a balance between modern family and business needs. It is reported that members of staff report less stress as important deadlines are able to be met more easily and their work-life becomes more manageable.
So, what next? We can offer remote working solutions to business’s of any size and you would be surprised at how quickly it can be implemented into your current I.T Infrastructure and with very little downtime. Once implemented, we will show you how the product works and offer training to your staff so that they can get the most out of the system put in place.
To discuss how these improvements could be made to your I.T systems, call us on 01794 521100
Windows 7 – New & Improved or The Same Old Story?
Following on from what quite frankly was a bit of a disaster with Windows Vista, it appears that Microsoft has now listened to what their customers have reported and released an operating system that actually seems to do what it was designed to – work! Yes Windows 7 seems to be pretty good, using far less system resources and a much enhanced user interface, the successor to Vista is a vast improvement.
Whilst the best way of installing does still appear to be from ’scratch’, the upgrade version works quite well and the majority of device drivers are automatically installed by the new system.
What we are left with is a faster and more responsive operating system that is more enjoyable to use and makes you realize just how clunky and frustrating it’s pre-decessor could be. Enough has changed to make us appreciate the difference, but not so much that it stops us getting on with what we need to do because we don’t know where anything is.
One note of caution however is that Microsoft’s standard e-mail application no longer exists within Windows 7 and so you either need to download Windows Live (free) and import saved contacts & messages into it, or choose an alternative mail client.
Personally the editor of this post downloaded Mozilla’s tried and tested ‘Thunderbird’ mail program (also free) and whilst importing old messages requires a bit of work, found the move relatively painless.
All in all, making the move to Windows 7 is definitely worth it and if Vista got a 4/10 rating from this user, then Windows 7 gets at least a point more than it’s own name might suggest!
If you think the time has come to upgrade your system why not give us a call – we can provide you with a licensed copy of Windows 7, save your data and install the new version for you, ensuring a worry free and seamless transition to Microsoft’s new operating software.
Widenet in Winning Form – Chamber of Commerce Golf Championship 2009
Friday 8th May 2009 saw a team from Widenet enter and win the the first combined Hampshire Chambers of Commerce Golf Championship held at the Botley Park Golf & Country Club near Southampton.
The hotel stands in 176 acres of landscaped gardens and is surrounded by the rolling hills of the Hampshire countryside.
The 18 hole Championship golf course fulfils every requirement of the modern golfer and at 6,000 yards offers a superb balance of challenge and playability.
- Winning Team Photo
Fortified by an early breakfast of bacon rolls and hot drinks, the teams braved the early morning rain to make their way to their designated tee, ready for a 9am shot gun start.
Making a strong start and keeping the momentum going for eighteen holes is never easy but the team was able to dig deep and with the sun coming out midway through the round, things became much more enjoyable.
The Fair Oak Suite was the setting for a 3 course late lunch and following the meal, excitement mounted when Mark White, Botely Park’s Golf Pro joined the gathering to announce the prize winners.
The winning team were announced as Widenet Computer Services with the trophy awarded to Managing Director Nigel Powell (far right) and the rest of his team consisting of Kevin Morris, Mike Whittaker and Lloyd Winters.
Congratulations were extended to all the teams involved and especially to Widenet who, in addition to winning the overall team trophy also scooped the best individual (Mike Whittaker) and individual runner up (Lloyd Winters) prizes.
Having won the competition in 2006 followed by a 3rd place in 2007 and runner up position last year, Nigel Powell was pleased that his team was able to take the top slot once again.
Asked about the event, Nigel was quick to point out how his team had looked forward to the day and what the win had meant to them.
“We really wanted to win the first Hampshire wide tournament – the key was teamwork and tactics, ensuring that when someone had a bad hole, the other players did not attempt impossible or high risk shots.
The golf challenge is a great way to meet other firms in a relaxed setting and we were impressed by the organisation and quality of the day which everyone enjoyed taking part in”
New Staff Member – Stuart joins the Business Support Team!
Welcome to Stuart Berry who joined the Business Support Team in April – Stuart brings a breadth of additional server and network knowledge to the company as well as being able to diagnose and repair all kinds of hardware and software problems with home user systems – and yes he likes Macs as well!