Unitec IT Solutions

Costs of Data Roaming

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 22:07:31 +0000

Smartphones are great tools for keeping in touch on the move. Recently, one of our customers got a shock when using their Smartphone in the UK. After checking that data roaming was included within the Vodafone Passport option before leaving Ireland, by just accessing email and web pages, the account was credited with €2,000 of roaming data charges. The problem appears to be that Vodafone did not advise the internet access point required changing on the phone before travelling to use the contracted bundled data within the Perfect Choice Access Plan. Vodafone Ireland only allow access to the slower Vodafone Live service whilst aboard, fine for email and basic web use but unsuitable for VoIP and internet video. Before you or your employees travel outside the country with your Smartphone, it is best to ensure you contact the network operator and ensure you have all the correct settings for the country you are visiting.

Windows 7 more popular than Vista

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 09:59:07 +0000

Fears about changing from Windows XP can now be dismissed, as adoption of Windows 7 is gathering pace and now has more market share than Windows Vista. Windows 7, with increased security and improvements in performance is hitting the mark with consumers and businesses alike. Microsoft has announced continued growing sales of Windows 7, and most importantly, businesses are adopting the new operating system. "Importantly, customer satisfaction for Windows 7 is incredibly high at 94 percent and businesses are deploying Window 7 in the enterprise," Bill Koefoed, Microsoft Director of Investor Relations Windows 7 desktop deployment also opens the opportunity to deploy a virtual desktop environment utilizing Citrix’s Xendesktop. Companies can benefit from increased security, faster performance and manageability for all office, remote and mobile employees. Support costs decrease due to a centrally managed system where installation of security patches, new programs, printers or access rights can be managed with a click of a button. Ensure you deploy the best Microsoft Windows solution for your business by contacting the Unitec Sales Team on 052 6146001

Why to outsource your IT

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 09:50:26 +0000

From small local businesses to large multi-nationals, the benefits of outsourcing your IT System support requirements can provide major benefits for a company and their staff. It would be easy to pin-point the reduced costs as a main benefit of outsourcing to a business. Outsourcing is more cost efficient than employing your own IT department. Outsourcing also removes the ongoing cost of staff training, sick leave, specialised skill sets etc. Reducing costs, whilst important, should not be the main driver to outsourcing. Partnering with an IT company can open a wide range of business and technology benefits. Outsourcing provides access to a wider range of specialist solutions including example server and desktop virtualization projects or network security auditing. Freeing in-house IT departments to focus on core objectives and allowing SME’s to benefit from new technology. IT companies that deploy managed services such as Network management Systems (real-time monitoring) can detect issues before affecting the users, increasing productivity and reducing downtime. Add these benefits, with fully qualified IT engineers, within a few miles of your premises, outsourced IT can provide real benefits to businesses. Pros of Outsourced IT • Access to highly skilled technicians • Reliable, efficient IT systems • Access to latest technology advice • Fast response times to outrages • Remote Proactive Monitoring of critical systems • Reduced Staffing Costs & Training Costs • Dedicated Account Management

Catching Internet Pirate’s

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 06:37:39 +0000

Eicom, Irelands largest broadband provider with over 750,000 subscribers, will start to indentify and punish illegal file sharers from this month. In an out of court settlement deal reached with EMI Records, Ors and the Irish Recorded Music Industry (IRMA), Eircom will identify customers who have infringed copyright by downloading files from the Internet. The account holder will be contacted by Eircom to warn of the infringement, a third warning will result in the ultimate sanction of termination of the internet account. IRMA research claims that for every legally purchased online music track, twenty more are downloaded illegally. Along with illegal downloads of films, computer games and software, copyright holders are under financial pressures to achieve the maximum return on their investment. However, non-technical home and business owners could be caught up in the action, due to a lack of understanding of the technology and internet security. The account holders could be punished without ever downloading any illegal files, with the real culprits, family members or employees being exempt as they are not the account holder. “It's surprising how many companies don't place automated controls upon their Internet connection to either monitor staff or to remove access to file-sharing technologies” said Luis Marques, Technical Director at Clonmel's Premier Information, Communication and Technology specialists Unitec IT Solutions. “Even the most basic of broadband internet modems have a built in firewall that when configured correctly, will stop all users on the account accessing file sharing sites, stopping the download of copyright material”. “More complex solutions are also available to monitor each employees Internet access, enabling a company to provide different levels of Internet access based upon seniority or job need”. The effects upon a business of losing their web connection, disabling access to email, telecommunications and most importantly customers could devastate local businesses.

Data & Hacker Safeguard = Safe Computing

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:28:35 +0000

From sole traders working at home to multi-nationals, protecting your equipment, data and passwords is essential. Best security practices take a multi-layered approach including polices, security products and the computer end user. Anti-Virus When a Doctor prescribes a drug, they do so knowing the medicine will work better than a free sugar pill. The same applies to Anti-Virus protection. Free Anti-Virus products are produced to try and up-sell the user to the paid product. These free products aren't regularly updated, and can be up to four weeks out of date. The best solution is a product that is a high performance Anti-Virus scanner with a centralised management console, ensuring updates are rolled out to each machine in the business. Anti-Spam 81% of email messages are spam. In 2009, there was over 200 billion spam email messages sent per day. That's a lot of deleting of messages - a complete waste of time, not to mention the additional load on your server and Internet connection processing all these emails. An effective spam filtering system not only reduces your inbox, but also saves you time. Firewall Firewalls perform two very important tasks. Firstly they stop unauthorised users accessing your company network, causing damage and stealing information, secondly they restrict unsuitable Internet content, protecting employees. In an office environment, it is the business owner’s duty to protect all employees - this also applies to content on the Internet. By installing a Firewall with a web filtering service, you can manage the content your employees can access at work, limiting access to extreme websites, gambling and pornography. Data Encryption and Passwords Four thousand laptops are lost per year in European Airports. For many companies, the lost of sensitive customer and company data is more embarrassing and costly than replacing the lost hardware. Encrypting laptops hard drive protects yours and your customer’s data, rendering the hard drive useless to a criminal or competitor. And maybe the easiest security measure of all, ensure you change the default password for all your programs and services, replacing with a strong password containing numbers and special characters. If your IT investment and company data is important to you, contact us today on 052 6146001 to arrange a free assessment of your company’s security.

Unitec Shortlisted for nation ICT Awards

Wed, 19 May 2010 13:32:59 +0000

Unitec IT Solutions, based in Clonmel, County Tipperary, are celebrating receiving an award nomination for the IT industry prestigious ICT Excellence Awards, in the same week as their first anniversary in business. The annual awards honour the best products and solutions from the likes of Microsoft, Dell, HP, Cisco, VMware and Irish Life cross the private and public sector. Unitec’s nomination within the IT Project of the Year (SME) category, for their Waterford Theatre Royal project, represents County Tipperary against long established Dublin and other national companies. “Being nominated by your industry peers, recognising the forward thinking, cutting edge worldwide solutions being deployed by a young, energetic company shows the economy, recovery and most importantly local businesses will benefit from companies like Unitec IT Solutions”, commented Ian Power, Managing Director of Unitec IT Solutions. Unitec’s successful IT proposal to fit-out Waterford City’s Theatre Royal, selected above stiff competition from national established IT companies, has impressed many in the technology industry. Unitec handled the complete installation of the IT Hardware, E-mail, Wireless Networks, Security and Telephone Systems on-time and budget. Unitec also successfully investigated and implemented a modern seat ticketing system, enabling e-ticketing and text messaging service for the theatres customers. Above all, the Theatre Royal valued the truly premier-class personalised service provided by Unitec, supporting the management of the theatre during the complicated rebuilding process. Mary Boland, Manager of the Theatre Royal praised Unitec, saying “Unitec delivered a first class IT and phone service meeting all our requirements. The sales and service have both been friendly and reliable, we are glad we chose Unitec”.

Unitec Support Local School

Sun, 09 May 2010 21:17:38 +0000

The Premier County’s Information, Communication and Technology specialists Unitec IT Solutions, have proudly sponsored a fundraising night in aid of local school C.B.S High School Clonmel. A sponsor’s banner by the finishing post at the Powerstown Park track welcomed home the riders throughout the evenings racing. The event was attended by Directors Ian Power, Miguel Marques and Aiden Ryan and a large number of the local community, was a great success, with much needed funds raised for the school. “It’s important as the premier ICT solutions provider in County Tipperary that Unitec IT Solutions are supporting the local community to develop the people of tomorrow that will make Tipperary and the South-East in general a stronger region” said Miguel Marques.

Losing a laptop is not the greatest loss

Thu, 06 May 2010 13:45:06 +0000

Each week, over 4,000 laptops and Smartphone’s are lost in European Airports! Whilst losing time and money replacing the hardware is frustrating for effected business owners, the greater risk to a company is the loss of sensitive information and potential costs and liabilities of a data breach. The loss of data is more valuable to any business – competitive fear, sensitive company details or the designs for a new product are priceless in the wrong hands. So how can a business reliably ensure that the data their mobile workers need is secured? Remote workers should be encouraged to use a secure VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection to the office to work on files and read emails. Working this way ensures that sensitive company data stays behind the company firewall, safe from outside sources. SSL VPN such as Juniper Networks SA range of solutions remove the requirement for client VPN software allowing users to securely and easily connect from any remote location. USB flash drives—with their small form factors, large storage capacities, and high transfer rates—have revolutionized mobile data storage. An increasingly mobile workforce relies on these devices to transport files when they travel to customer sites, share data with partners and co-workers, use more than one computer, and work from home. USB flash drives also make it easy for workers who are travelling to back up business files. The challenge for enterprise IT and security professionals becomes one of balancing the enormous productivity benefits of flash drives with the threats they pose to the organization. Easily lost or stolen, flash drives pose a risk of data loss and leakage, which carries with it the potential costs and liabilities of a data breach. In addition to allowing data to leave the organization, flash drives can also allow malicious code to enter, infecting corporate PCs and networks with dangerous malware and crimeware programs. Unitec have partnered with Cryptzone to address these issues. Cryptzone’s Secured eUSB for example makes it possible to convert a regular USB flash drive into a secured USB flash drive with strong security that your users can safely travel with, without worrying about leaking information. This is a centrally managed solution which tracks and logs all USB Stick activity on your network and allows for remote deactivation of the device if it is lost or misplaced. Windows Mobile Smartphone have a kill switch that can be remotely activated to remove all data from a lost device. Cryptzone have also launched a new product that secures the data upon Apple’s increasingly popular iPhone. If a loss occurs, the worst thing for the employee to do is panic and not to report the loss straight away. Immediate notification of the loss allows the IT administrator to activate the loss device policy, securing data and ensure no further data is sent to the device. The most important thing is to plan for mobile working. Unitec are specialist in mobile working, and with our suite of affordable solutions, can ensure you remove the headache of data loss, whilst enjoying all the benefits of embracing mobility solutions.

Password Security Still Neglected

Thu, 06 May 2010 13:43:22 +0000

As we access more and more online services, Internet banking and social networking sites, the strength of our Internet passwords is being highlighted. Whilst your password to access the corporate network is set by default to change at a predetermined time, it is very rare for changes to be requested to the password of online or cloud services, hence the security of your password is essential. A lack of password security with online services highlights dangers of easily crackable passwords, as personal banking, networking and documents are now accessed over the Internet. A report by Security firm Imperva has identified the top 10 worse passwords used by computer users. If you are using any of the passwords below, or anything similar, you should change it immediately. • 123456 • 12345 • 123456789 • Password • iloveyou • princess • rockyou • 1234567 • 12345678 • abc123 To ensure you have a strong password, to protecting your financial, personal data and networking information, follow these tips • Your password should contain at least eight characters (30% of users use passwords containing six letters or less) • Your password should contain a mix of four different types of characters (i.e: upper case, lower case, numbers, symbols) • Your password should not be a name, word, or contain any part of your name or email address By increasing your password strength, your data will be more secure online, enabling you to enjoy the services and time-saving benefits of the web.

Unitec welcome Aiden Ryan

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:06:49 +0000

It is with great pleasure that we welcome Aiden Ryan to Unitec IT Solutions. Aiden is and industry accredited IT Engineer with over ten years of IT experience, including Microsoft qualifications across multiple disciplines and accreditation as a Citrix Certified Administrator. "My experiences have enabled me to become an expert in remote access and communication solutions including multi-site Citrix implementations, Microsoft Exchange Server roll-outs and remote connectivity “work from anywhere solutions” Aiden’s skill set, dedication and passion for information technology is a welcome addition to our existing team and allows us to maintain and sustain solid growth, this growth in turn adds value to our clients and their businesses. Welcome aboard!

Unitec Resell Interactive Whiteboards

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 09:18:31 +0000

Unitec IT Solutions are proud to announce that they have become official resellers of the SMART-TECH Interactive Whiteboards. Originally created for the educational industry, these technology advanced boards can also be successfully deployed with businesses to bring meetings to life and create engaging training sessions. • Display spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and pdf files • Play training videos • Display AutoCAD drawing • Make notes on the screen on-top of screen display and save the complete image For more information, contact Unitec IT Solutions on 052 744 7012

2010 is the year of the SmartPhone

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:40:10 +0000

2009 was the year of the Netbook, small low powered computers enabling us to communicate on the move with extended battery life. 2010 will be the year of the SmartPhone, building upon the success of the iPhone and Windows Mobile, handsets makers are producing more feature rich business phones, at lower costs. Phones with real or onscreen keyboards enabling fast response to customer emails, along with a better, more usable Internet experience. View and edit documents on the move, and integration with the office phone system, ensuring your customers can contact you when they need you. Email to the phone is a real necessity for any size of business, and with a QWERTY keyboard to return your thoughts, responding to email is both fast and productive. A real cost saving can be gained by installing an Internet Phone account on the mobile phone, using the company account to route calls over the phones internet connection, saving money. To ensure you order the right device, ask some simple questions :- Keyboard or on-screen keyboard? Do you need to run a CRM, Field Application or other applications on a specific device platform? Are you a heavy user requiring a second battery? Do you have a need for a good camera? Your company’s choice of preferred mobile phone network will also dictate the models available. Unitec IT Solutions are not aligned to any one mobile phone network, so for independent advice, contact sales@unitec.ie Vodafone’s Phones - http://www.vodafone.ie/df/paymonthly/new/index.jsp O2’s Phones - http://www.o2online.ie/ Three Mobile’s Phones - http://three.ie/business/index.htm Meteor’s Phones - https://phones.meteor.ie/phones/

Unitec welcome Michelle kearns

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:57:44 +0000

Unitec welcomes Michelle Kearns to the team. Michelle's key experience managing a busy support desk will ensure that Unitec will continue to provide superior customer services to all of our clients. Unitec - Your Premier ICT Partner

Unitec secure with Cryptzone

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:45:38 +0000

Unitec IT Solutions, based in Clonmel and Waterford City, have chosen Cryptzone as their preferred data encryption and security partner. “We evaluated many solutions, to find the combination of security and ease of use, providing business value at a justifiable cost”, commented Ian Power, Sales Director after confirming their reseller status. “We particularly liked the integration with the user’s server login credentials to encrypt on a per user basis and to manage file access during the pre-boot authentication stage. Management can utilise an easy to use encrypted email function to ensure sensitive business information is not leaked”. For more information, contact Unitec IT Solutions on 052 744 7012 or visit http://www.unitec.ie

Unitec sponsors “Net Benefit" night

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:21:29 +0000

Unitec IT Solutions proudly sponsored the Clonmel Chamber of Commerce “Net Benefit” event on Wednesday 2nd December 2009. The evening, arranged to promote using emerging internet technologies to promote local businesses, was well attended by the local business community. Speakers demonstrated how online shopping, blogging, tweetering and other social media marketing tools can create a community engaging with the business and other customers. Unitec IT Services was on hand to help businesses understand the technologies and tools, such as laptops, netbooks, smartphones, push-mail and mobile internet connection technologies that can be used to access online services to promote business as events happens.

The cloud has a silver lining

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:01:37 +0000

We have been asked by many of our customers about Cloud Computing. What is “Cloud Computing”, and how it can benefit their business? The underlying aim is to somehow reduce business IT costs by transferring daily computing tasks to the Internet. To use free or lower cost services to run their business. Looking at the downside of cloud computing, many services seem to be free or low cost services, offering savings too good to be true. Of course, if a business does not make money, it will close, and with the closure comes the loss of your company’s data. Recovering from data loss of any kind is extremely expensive and would remove any savings made by using these services. Above all, there will no gains for a business if there connectivity to the internet is not reliable. So, if the cloud is full of risk, why is “Cloud Computing” such a buzz term offering productivity and cost benefits? A business needs a more secure environment – an internal cloud. An environment accessible only by your own trusted employees when they away from the office, needing company information to keep them productive. A safe internal cloud/environment can offer the following productivity benefits. Email – Access your email from anywhere, either using a mobile phone or by logging onto your mail server using a secure connection from any computer connected to the internet. Documents – Synchronise your documents to a secure website, so you can access from anywhere to make changes or to present from any location. Collaborate with employees and contributors in one master document to quickly produce reports and action plans, knowing that the document will synchronise back to your company server for back-up and availability in the office. IP Telephony – Integrate your company phone system into your mobile phone, or configure a softphone on a laptop computer. Gain call cost savings and seamless availability to your customers from your office number. Back-up – If you don’t have multiply copies of a file, then you have no back-up. Implement an online back-up schedule into your back-up procedure and ensure you have access to your files to restore from any location. Desktop Access – Use Virtual Private Networks (VPN’s) to access a computer in the office from a remote location. And the best thing of all about all the above productivity savings is that they have already been purchased or require only a small licence fee to deploy. So to enjoy the real business benefits of cloud computing, with traditional business programs you know and trust, talk to Unitec IT Solutions today to implement these solutions and become more productive throughout the day, no matter where you are.

Buy Windows 7 with confidence

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:43:58 +0000

Three years on from the launch of Windows Vista, this month sees the release of Windows 7, Microsoft newest operating system for desktop, laptop and netbook computers. So why is Microsoft launching their new operating system now? Are they releasing Windows 7 because Vista is so bad? Microsoft are releasing now because a new operating system is due as Vista has completed its three year lifecycle. Windows Vista wasn’t bad, it was over ambitious. It tried to be more secure, but tighter security brings less usability. But most of the problems with Windows Vista where related to slow performance and incapability, and both of these issues could of been avoided if the purchaser understands the history of Microsoft Windows. When buying new hardware, buying the minimum specification for the operating system / main software will reduce the lifespan of the machine. Microsoft Windows and other business software programs are living products, they are amended throughout their life, with additional features, plug-ins and security updates. Each update takes more resources, rendering the minimum specification machine old and slow quickly. For example, Windows XP when released in 2001, required a minimum memory requirement of 64Mbs. Current Microsoft Windows XP machines being sold by Unitec IT Solutions have a recommended minimum memory of 2Gbs (2048Mbs) To understand this, think about buying a car. You need a car, and buy a small one litre engine car. It’s fine for getting around town like you intended. Over the next few months, your partner comes with you in the car, and you take longer journeys. Now the car feels slow because it doesn’t like the upgrade to motorways. A few months later, children occupy the back seats, and the car is cramped, noisy and slow with all the extra people. Going back to computers, if you purchase a well specified machine, will lots of additional power for all your computing needs of today and in the future, then you will receive a long return on your investment and a satisfaction with your purchase. If this machine was a car, you brought a good sized hatchback with a strong engine. Incompatibility also dogged Windows Vista, but this wasn’t Microsoft’s fault. Microsoft makes available the code for its new operating system in advance for other manufactures to ensure that their products have the correct “drivers” to work with the operating system. Windows 7 has been available to test for 12 months, so only the third-party manufacturers can be blamed if a printer or camera does not work with Windows 7. To help with identifying which products are not compatible with Windows 7, Microsoft have maybe available a free system compatibility tool, which can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx There are two major questions to be asked when investing in your new Windows 7 desktop, laptop or netbook. What is the specification I should I be buying for long term use? Should I be thinking of a 64-bit system? For many businesses, these may be questions where the answer could mean very little, thankfully, Unitec IT Solutions are here to help. With every release of a new Microsoft Windows operating system, there will be a pining for the previous system. Windows 7 is the future, and with Unitec IT Solutions, together we will ensure your next IT purchases are an investment for you to be proud of.

Enterprise Week

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:58:44 +0000

Unitec IT Solutions had great success at the recent Waterford Enterprise event in Waterford city hall on Tuesday night (13/10/2009). The turn out was fantastic and it was exciting to see the number of people interested in starting up new businesses. It just goes to show that although the current recession is still effecting people, there is still positivity in the market place. Pictured here is Ian Power, Sales Director of Unitec IT Solutions and Deputy Mayor of Waterford Cllr. Tom Cunningham

Free Techincal Audit

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:08:55 +0000

Although the popular tech check service which was provided by local enterprise boards has ceased Unitec IT Solutions are delighted to announce that they will be providing free technical audits for the remainder of August and September 2009. This service will provide business owners and SME's the opportunity to: Determing the status of their current systems Ensuring key tasks are being carried out (Backups, Anti-Virus updates etc) Discuss the beneifts of the latest IT trends such as Vitualization and VoIP Determine an ongoing IT strategy to meet future challenges For further information please contact Unitec on 052 7447012

New Website Launched!

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:53:36 +0000

Unitec IT Solutions new web site has been launched. This site will continue to change over the next number of weeks as we finalise our content so stay tuned!!