Our latest article in our popular website design series is out. “The Bigfork Guide to Competitive Website Analysis” tells you why you need to analyse your competitors websites and how to do it. If you want to see our past articles please let us know.
Bigfork Ltd – we make websites stand out
Tel:01603 513080
Email: dine@bigfork.co.uk
Microsoft Office 365 is the natural cloud based progression for PC based Microsoft Office applications. The current MS Office product provides customers with a powerful set of tools that supports the entire spectrum of productivity scenarios, from the most basic to the more advanced. More and more businesses are choosing Microsoft Office 365 over Google Apps. The reason? Simple really, they can’t afford to compromise, and with Office 365, they don’t have to. They get the familiarity of MS Office, the capabilities they need, plus a cloud service they can trust.
I’ve recently been involved in setting up a local business with MS Office 365. The business, a property and development consultancy require the powerful toolset provided by MS Office with the flexibility of working on the fly when away from the office, which in their line of work, is a regular occurrence.
Using a single sign on function, I was able to install and configure Office 365 with ease providing the customer with the following,
• A unified shared document library via an online SharePoint Team Site – providing simultaneous document collaboration
• Instant communications capability through Lync (including chat, desktop sharing and document transfer)
• SharePoint file synchronization between computers, mobile devices and the cloud via SharePoint WorkSpace (2010) and most recently SkyDrive Pro (after recent upgrade to Office 2013)
• Outlook collaboration – Shared Contacts, Calendars and Tasks
As with all cloud based solutions, security of information will always be at the forefront for any business. MS Office 365 transfers data across the internet using the highest encryption methods in the industry, which, alongside their proactive monitoring of the Office 365 platform, monitors, records and investigates any attempted intrusions or suspicious activities.
Office 365 is maintained and patched regularly to protect its customers from existing and emerging security threats, which provides much needed reassurance that valuable confidential company data isn’t compromised.
One of the most common methods used to breach security is through email. Office 365 takes care of this by scanning all emails for malware, viruses and spam mail to quarantine malicious programs and junk mail in real time.
Another feature of Office 365 I like is the ability to customize the retention schedule for company emails. This feature provides a flexible and robust function to archive messages which may need to be retained for legal compliance or otherwise.
How about document retention? Documents stored within SharePoint are protected against accidental deletion by the virtual recycle bin feature, meaning any documents deleted in error can be restored within 31 days with the click of button!
In terms of reliability, Office 365 is second to none. MS offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee for Office 365 which coupled with an online accessible service health dashboard gives system administrators peace of mind that their systems will be available when they need them. This dashboard also details any planned maintenance or fixes to the 365 system.
We at Breakwater IT have been using Office 365 extensively in our day to day roles and I personally have been really impressed with the functionality it provides. I would definitely recommend it to other clients as an extension to their current MS Office installation. Every client is different and there are many solutions and migration paths available why not give us a call and find out what we and Microsoft Office 365 can do for you.
Call Kelly Hemingway or Mark Poole on 01603 709300.
Check Out Our Latest News Update On Our Website And Find Out How Uclan Race Engineering Are Getting On With Their Car On The Run Up To Formula Student 2013!!! Almost Time For Silverstone! https://www.emkayplastics.co.uk/news
Half Term Holidays… UK City Breaks, Norwich isthe perfect escape!
With the little ones of school again so many people are at a loss and stuck for things to do!
We have just reduced the rates for the last of our rooms for you to come and take a trip to Norwich for a quick City Break, the chance to get away and entertain the kiddies without breaking the bank…
Norwich has so much to offer with the Norfolk Broads, Norwich City Centre for the shopping, museums, restaurants and more, bowling, cinema, skating or nature walks all within easy reach of the Brook, Norwich by car or by bus.
Check out the deals on our website and make sure you tell your friends, you wouldn’t want them to miss out on the chance to come and stay for a little break away!www.brookhotel.co.uk
We are getting ready for a busy Bank Holiday weekend here at the Hotel with all the rooms undergoing deep cleans, the ordering is all being done for the restaurant and bar, managers are meeting to look at what’s going on so we are all prepared and the gardener is due to arrive this afternoon for a spruce up!
It is fairly quiet here this evening accommodation wise s most people checked out today to get back to make their plans and set off for their weekends away so if you need a Hotel this evening, we are here for you…
CHECK OUT THIS MONTH’S NEWS!
STM Packaging Group appointed Bigfork to design 4 new websites for each group company (STM Group, Sefton Transmail, The Polythene Company, Shirplass). STM manufacture polythene packaging and mailing products and wanted the websites to have a strong visual impact. You can see to full story and websites on our website.
Bigfork – we make websites stand out
t:01603 513080
The education and development of engineering technicians is critical for the success of the UK.
Mott MacDonald Ltd in partnership with TEN Group invites you to an Advance Apprenticeship in Civil EngineeringLaunch Event to demonstrate the business case for a partnership approach as well as explaining the opportunities available, particularly to employers.
When: Tuesday 18th June 2013 10.30am – 12 noon.
Where: St Andrews House, St Andrews Street, Norwich. NR2 4TP.
Who should attend this meeting?
The meeting is being held specifically to inform the construction industry about how employing technical apprentices in Civil Engineering can be of benefit and how participation can be measured as a return on capital investment.
Reasons to attend this meeting
Embedding the opportunity for a professional qualification in the academic course and supporting this through work-based learning will be shown to promote employee self-confidence and lead to motivated and productive employees who understand your business and ways of working.
Colleges are increasingly beginning to
understand why simply offering traditional courses no longer meets employer expectations. Case studies from successful employer consortia already established in England will illustrate how added value can be successfully integrated into course structures and how advent of the new Technical Apprenticeship in Civil Engineering, is an exciting initiative and how companies can benefit from Government funding to support training costs.
As an industry we have forgotten
that Technical Apprenticeship courses offer the possibility of leading to the highest levels of professional attainment and are a valid alternative to full-time university education. This conference will enable you to give advice on the choices, based on robust evidence and will show how the Institute of Civil Engineers has acted as a catalyst for change and can be a major contributor to the relevance and quality of vocational courses.
As the construction market is rapidly changing through commercial and technical developments, for example BIM, the Technicians will be at the forefront of this change, allowing your companies to be aware of new developments and enabling your existing staff to learn through these young and enthusiastic construction students.
To book your free place or for more information contact:
Laura Howes
Marketing and Business Development Co-ordinator
Mott MacDonald Ltd
T: +44(0)1603 226703
Food Safety Week is an annual event organised by the Food Standards Agency – its starts on the 10th June and the theme this year is the Kitchen Check ( a copy of the leaflet is attached to this post)
RedCat will be blooging throughout the week- but we have devised a quiz which will be posted at www.redcat.gb.comon Monday and will be open to all to enter until the end of Friday 14th June
The prize is to win a ‘Food Safety Inspector’ type visit to your premises; one of the RedCat team will come along with our swabbing machine and check the cleanliness of your kitchen
But some Food Safety tips- linking to the key themes of Food Safety Week are
Cleaning Hands are one of the main ways germs are spread. Wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before preparing and handling food, cooking and after touching the bin, going to the toilet, handling pets or handling raw food. Wash or change dish cloths, tea towels, sponges and oven gloves regularly and let them dry before you use them again. Dirty, damp cloths are the perfect place for bacteria to breed.
Our kit will be able to tell how clean your surfaces are; we also use an Ultra Violet Kit on our training courses to see just how good hand washing is
Avoiding Cross Contamination • Cross contamination occurs when harmful germs/bacteria are spread between food, surfaces and equipment. You can help to prevent this by removing clutter that you don’t need and cleaning worktops before and after food preparation. • Always use a chopping board. Wash the board and other utensils in hot, soapy water when you’ve finished using them and in between preparing raw food (meat, poultry, eggs, fish and raw vegetables) and ready-to-eat food. Better still, use a separate chopping board for each type of food.
Chilling • Make sure your fridge is set between 0 and 5 degrees, you can use a a fridge thermometer to check. This is to prevent harmful bacteria from multiplying to dangerous levels • Don’t overfill your fridge. This allows air to circulate and maintains the set temperature. • Store raw meat and poultry at the bottom of the fridge and properly wrap or cover it to avoid raw juices contaminating other foods.
Cooking food thoroughly • Cook food thoroughly until it is steaming hot in the middle. This will kill any harmful bacteria that may be present. You do not need a probe for this- check that the juices are clear and that there has been a colour change
This is particularly important with BBQ’s!
Understanding ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates • ‘Use by’ dates are typically found on perishable products (dairy, meat and fish) and are based on scientific testing to determine how long these foods will stay safe. After that date, food could be unsafe to eat even if it is correctly stored and looks and smells fine. • ‘Best before’ dates are used on foods that have a longer shelf life and tell us how long the food will be at its best. After that date it may be safe to eat, but its flavour and texture might have deteriorated. • The exception to this rule is eggs which have a ‘best before’ rather than a ‘use by’ date. Providing the eggs are cooked thoroughly, they can be eaten a day or two after their ‘best before’ date but not longer than this. • Check the ‘use by’ dates on the food in your fridge on a regular basis and be sure to use (eat, cook or freeze) food before its ‘use by’ to help you avoid throwing food away unnecessarily. • Once food with a ‘use-by’ date has been opened, follow any storage instructions such as ‘eat within two days of opening’.
Using leftovers safely Using up leftovers can be a good way of making a meal go further. • If you are going to store leftovers in the fridge, cool leftovers as quickly as possible (ideally within 90 minutes) cover them well, get them in the fridge and eat them up within two days. • If you are going to freeze them, cool them before putting them in your freezer, to minimise temperature fluctuation in the freezer. Once foods are in the freezer, they can be safely stored there forever – but the quality will deteriorate so it’s best to eat them within three months. • Make sure you defrost leftovers properly first. Defrost them in the fridge, or in the microwave if you intend to cook them straightaway. • Eat leftovers within 24 hours of defrosting and do not refreeze. The only exception to this is if you are defrosting raw food, such as meat or poultry, once you have cooked this it can be refrozen. • Cook leftovers until steaming hot throughout. • Don’t reheat leftovers more than once.
If you would like to enter our quiz or if you have any Food Safety Questions- then do please contact us
Rapidly-evolving energy production technology services company Proserv has secured two major contract wins worth in excess of £15 million for work in the North Sea, further strengthening the company’s market-leading position in the subsea controls and communications field.
The first deal is with TAQA for the control of subsea wells approximately 16.5km from the Tern platform in the Cladhan field. Proserv will implement a system to control three subsea wells as part of a significant development project for the company. Using Proserv’s proprietary Open Communications Controller (OCC) technology, the system will provide a high-speed network capable of communication speeds up to 1.3Mbps.
The second contract award is with another leading operator and also involves work to control the subsea wells. Proserv will use a cutting-edge system, which will control a number of wells and manifolds. This features a fibre-optic communications system using Proserv’s Open Communications Hub (OCH) technology for fully transparent communications and high-speed data monitoring from the subsea multi-phase flow meters and control modules.
Proserv’s facility in Great Yarmouth will be the focal point for both contracts with all the manufacturing work taking place in the Norfolk town.
Commenting on the recent award wins, David Lamont, Proserv’s chief executive officer, said: “Both contract wins reflect Proserv’s industry-leading position and strong track record for delivering high-value integrated technology systems on time and within budget.
“Proserv’s fast-growing suite of technologies have been developed based on the company’s ‘ingeniously simple’ philosophy and are underpinned by the company’s international talent pool of technical and engineering expertise which has expanded considerably through organic growth and strategic acquisition.
“As a result, Proserv continues to expand both globally and particularly in the North Sea where our strong and expanding client base is testament to our levels of technology and service. We look forward to working with two leading operators in the region.”
In 2012, Proserv made two high-profile acquisitions which not only bolstered its capabilities but saw its global headcount increase by more than 600 people to over 1,600.
Proserv specialises in exploration & production, drilling, and infrastructure technical solutions and services to the global energy industry. The company operates worldwide from 30 sites in 6 geographical regions namely North UK & Africa, South UK & Europe, Scandinavia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa and the Far East & Australia.
A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to spend 7 days being dazzled by the bright lights of New York City. In between eating hamburgers the size of your head, learning the less than straight forward subway system, and slowly cooking in the 35 degree heat, I was able to squeeze in a brief visit to the Google offices. Now, I am not sure you can just turn up at Google, knock on the door and wander in, it’s probably a bit more complicated than that, but due to my girlfriend’s brother being gainfully employed by the internet behemoth, I was allowed to be a brief, but very impressed, guest.
The building was fairly dignified, without any over the top trumpeting about the big G being in residence, no flashing HD video screens announced that it was present, we are still some way off of Bladerunner it seems. The registration process to enter was fairly relaxed but emphasised that security was definitely taking place, as we submitted to being photographed and signed in, as far as I am aware they did not take any DNA for provision to PRISM, but who knows… After a short wait our host arrived and whisked us off into the cavernous confines of #76, 9th Avenue. Google only occupy a couple of floors of this enormous site, but that appears to be plenty. We were guided up through an area where employees children can lounge around, write on the walls and play with lego, and then into the main office itself. Everything was very spacious and bright, mostly in open plan with only a few specific offices laid out. It was at this point that we got to see first-hand just how nice Google is to employees, and the fairly informal basis on which teams worked together. Everyone was friendly and laid back. It seemed a bit quiet though. It was about lunch time and our host started to lead us up to the canteen. On the way through we saw that employees had free reign to decorate their work areas, and that there were special rooms where people could take a break. People would wander up and say hi and be delightfully polite. There was a top quality collection of board games dotted around, seemingly for people to just grab and play when not fixing bugs in the latest version of Google Docs. Heaven!
And then we arrived in the canteen. It was quite the thing, a vast arena with hordes of cooks and serving staff, open plan and with several types of cuisine on offer, from the IT nerd friendly cheese burger or pizza slice to the Japanese cuisine there to suit those sophisticated New Yorkers with more complex palates. I had a cheese burger. All the food was free, and the room was bursting, I suppose that was why it was so quiet downstairs. We sat with a few employees and learned a little about how life was at Google. After lunch our time was drawing to a close and we were showed a few other rooms, including a library with a quiet room hidden behind a bookshelf that you had to rotate to get access to, and some bizarre themed meeting rooms, one featuring a bath full of foam toys. No water though. Perhaps some of this was a bit over the top and, frankly, loopy, but plenty of it was endearing and you could certainly see why people are falling over themselves to work there.
And so we descended in the lift and wandered out into the noisy real world again, with exploring to do. Well worth the visit!
Andy Malcolm is a Level 2 Service Desk Professional at Breakwater IT. Breakwater provide IT Support, IT Consultancy and Business Telecoms Solutions to the East Anglia region.
Call now on 01603 709300
Cozens-Hardy LLP is pleased to announce that Caroline Linsdell has joined its business team as an Associate, specialising in commercial property law.
Mrs Linsdell, who was educated locally and attended the UEA, has over 25 years commercial property experience. She has dealt with all aspects of property-based transactions, including secured lending, site acquisitions, commercial development and commercial leases (acting for both landlord and tenant). Mrs Linsdell is on the Ethical Property Foundation Register of Property Professionals.
Said Mrs Linsdell:
“I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to join Cozens-Hardy’s business team. The firm has a longstanding reputation for high quality work and I am pleased to be able to bring to the firm my property experience gained from working for a wide variety of clients, ranging from PLCs and Local Authorities to developers and private individuals. Throughout my career I have always believed that the need to provide pro-active advice is of paramount importance and this echoes the ethos of Cozens-Hardy.”
Added Chris Groves, Senior Partner:
“Property work has long been a core of Cozens-Hardy’s legal services to local businesses, so we are very pleased that Caroline has joined us, bringing her extensive local knowledge and specialist skills. Caroline is a great addition to our team and benefit to our business clients.”
– Ends –
For further information please contact: Clare Haylett ph: 07764 270570 and clare@clarehaylett.net