Jan O'Mahoney, Author at Quadratek

pCell: The Mobile Internet of the Future?

Jan O'Mahoney / April 23, 2014

Internet connection speeds have shot up in the past decade and many people now take for granted the almost instantaneous page loads that they enjoy. Add to this 3G and now 4G and we’re rapidly becoming a truly connected world.

However, not all of us in the UK can yet get 4G and the government’s plans to bring superfast broadband to every corner of the country has been beleaguered with one issue after another. As of last September, around 800,000 people still used dial up in the more remote areas of Britain and whilst BT removed its dial up service at that time, it’s thought that those without access to broadband could still connect through PlusNet, a subsidiary owned by BT.

All is not lost though, as a new technology has emerged in the States which promises to outdo 4G and superfast broadband speeds. Before you get too excited, it’s worth pointing out that it’s unlikely we’re going to see the technology on this side of the pond anytime soon.

That doesn’t make the technology any less exciting though, especially since in tests, it has reached speeds that allowed instantaneous streaming to 8 devices at once using a fraction of the spectrum that it intends to – the 2,000-2,020MHz and 2180-2,200MHz blocks. That essentially means that the technology could produce wireless internet speeds of up to 1000 times faster than 4G.

IT Support

How to Boost Your Wireless Signal

Jan O'Mahoney / April 22, 2014

Wi-Fi strength is important to ensure that your business is always connected to the internet. Cumbersome Ethernet wires snaking around your office merely get in the way and with wireless speeds becoming much quicker the advantages to a wired connection are dwindling.

It can however be infuriating to have a Wi-Fi network set up but be unable to connect at the speeds that you expect and require. If your wireless network is struggling to meet the demands of your network then there are some options to boost your wireless connectivity, without changing routers and providers.

Wireless networking technology is pushing more and more users away from wired options due to its convenience. Users however are also aware that a Wi-Fi connection can be frustrating and fickle. If you’re unfortunate enough to be a victim of a poorly functioning network, there’s no need to suffer in silence. Here are a number of tips to boost your wireless range, connectivity, and browsing speed.

Upgrade your network

Wireless-G (802.11g) is currently the most common Wi-Fi network but it’s not the fastest or even the most up to date. Wireless-N is the next step and for users that are able and willing, upgrading to this option is recommended.

IT Support

A Rough Guide to Choosing Antivirus Software

Jan O'Mahoney / April 15, 2014

If you’re a business working with any kind of private information – be it of your customers or your employees – then it’s essential that you have antivirus software installed on your business network. Digital crime is becoming increasingly sophisticated, and the very nature of the crime means that antivirus providers have to be reactive. Because of this, often the most important feature of antivirus software is that it updates regularly, ideally in real time.

There are plenty of antivirus options available to businesses, and it can be frustrating sorting through the pros and cons of each, so here’s a quick breakdown of some of our favourite antivirus software to make your decision easier.

What’s your budget?

The first decision that you have to make is whether you’re going to be able to pay for your antivirus or whether to go with a free package. Just because a product is free doesn’t mean it’s not secure – many of the free antivirus offers the same defence as paid alternatives – but it often means they only offer you defence. Paid options will often include other features such as password protection and file clean-up. So if you’re a small business or want to save money, quite often free antivirus may be enough for you. If you’re handling very sensitive information though, or have the money to splash out on more features, it’s worth considering the paid options as well.

IT Support

Social Media and Cyber Security

Jan O'Mahoney / April 14, 2014

Everyone who has any sort of online presence uses social media sites. This can be a useful way to promote content, increase exposure, and network with your peers. However, the increasing usage of sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, come with its own set of problems, namely: online security.

Many new employees in the global workforce feel that personal and private lives are increasing the security challenge for businesses. This is most evident in social media and this is often accompanied by a low regard, or even a total disregard for privacy concerns.

Nearly 91% of Generation Y students and workers believe that the age of privacy is gone and a third of that percentage are unconcerned about the data that is captured about them. This is according to the latest Cisco Connected World Technology Report.

“More Generation Y workers globally said they feel more comfortable sharing personal information with retail sites than with their own employers IT departments.”

Quadratek People

Reluctance to Hire Staff Holding Back Big Data

Jan O'Mahoney / April 10, 2014

Big Data is big news and many companies are embracing it whole-heartedly. It can provide an organisation with a good idea of whom its customers are and what they want from the services provided. It has promoted the idea of ‘value exchange’ and allowed companies a better means of communicating and understanding its customers.

So how can Big Data be utilised within marketing campaigns?

Infogroup Targeting Solutions recently published a study that revealed that the investment from business into Big Data marketing would increase hugely in 2014. This is due to new initiatives that allow a business to fully embrace the massive amount of data that its customers are relaying. However, the study also found that although the benefits of Big Data are clear, there are many companies that are not making the correct plans for data-related job positions.

According to David McRae, president of Infogroup Targeting Solutions:

“The survey findings also indicate that marketers are moving from the information-gathering stage to the analytics phase of Big Data adoption. But a downturn in hiring could stall Big Data implementation, as the need for human capital is greatest during the analysis and action stages.”

It seems that marketers already have the information they need and are now looking for the best application of that data through analytics tools. The problem facing most businesses is the implementation of Big Data policies as many are failing to hire the correct staff within this burgeoning sector.

IT Support

Making Office 365 work for you

Jan O'Mahoney / April 8, 2014

Microsoft’s latest move to the cloud has seen all of its Office programs make their way online. The software giants are also offering a not inconsiderable discount for students attending and going into university. This means that it will soon be in your interest to upgrade to Office 365, if you haven’t already, as your workforce begins to expect it.

This shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing however. This new offering comes with some very useful features and benefits that you can harness to your company’s advantage. First and foremost, the fact that Office is now running in the cloud means that Microsoft is now taking a lot of the burden for maintaining that software and, more importantly, security. This frees up your IT staff to do other, more essential, work and gives your administrators a deeper understanding of exactly what is going on with the software.

A quick warning, if you’re running Windows XP (and if you are, you need to think about updating), then you won’t be able to install the local files for Office 365 (Office 2013) and will have to rely on the web-based service.

Consulting

[Infographic] The State of Cloud Adoption

Jan O'Mahoney / April 4, 2014

A 2013 infographic by Aryaka, containing results based on a survey carried out by Rightscale, shows that cloud adoption is

IT Support

Increase your Productivity using Windows 8.1

Jan O'Mahoney / April 3, 2014

Windows 8.1 hasn’t exactly been met with acclaim, instead it has become one of the most maligned version of Windows and an OS that many are loathe to adopt. However, there are a number of new additions to the interface that, if used correctly, could make the jump to Windows 8.1 more appealing.

So for those of you who have the OS or for those who are interested in getting it, here are some tips to help increase productivity on Windows 8.1.

Search everything

The Windows 8.1 search tool doesn’t just scan your system, but instead it’s now integrated with Bing. This means that it delivers internet results and sometimes even Wikipedia inspired summaries of whatever you’re searching for straight to your desktop.

If you want to give it a go, launch the Charms bar and type in your keywords – this will bring up the search box on the right of the screen. Hit enter and you’ll see any matches in your own documents, media library links, and you’ll get online links to explore as well.

There’s more increased functionality and if you swipe left (or spin the mouse wheel) you’ll find even more pictures and links. Clicking any of these links will take you to the webpage. You can effectively use the charms bar as a Bing search bar.

Business

How to Choose the Right Cloud Vendor

Jan O'Mahoney / April 1, 2014

More and more now we are seeing businesses turn to the cloud to get an edge over their competitors. There are many advantages to moving your business into the cloud, including reduced hardware costs from bring your own device initiatives; more readily available talent through remote working and devices that pick up where you left off on another computer. These can all have positive impacts on your business and workflow.

Moving to the cloud also frees up your IT workers, as your chosen cloud vendor will take care of things like security, tech support, data backups and server maintenance. There is still a hesitation amongst some towards taking the leap to cloud however, as they don’t know what questions to ask when shopping around. So here’s a handy hotlist of questions to ask that’ll put your head firmly in the cloud.