As the vanguard of cloud technology solutions, Vapour’s industry-leading toolkit continues to spin tales of seamless integration, security, and scalability in the connectivity world — with the renewals of organisations from finance to design echoing the resounding success of our support. Here are some of the hottest services that made waves throughout our client base in Q2…

Both steadfast partners since 2014, telecommunications service provider Zest4 and leading construction firm Seddons increased their reliance on Vapour’s connectivity solutions this quarter. Tapping into Veeam’s private backup, the resilience of Zest4’s co-location facility further underpins its disaster recovery strategy and business continuity. Meanwhile Seddon’s renewal of WAN bolsters the firm’s TeamsLink-powered unified communications network, enabling streamlined communication for the growing, and increasingly flexible, workforce.

A creative force since 2016, design and printing specialist H. Charlesworth and Co Limited is empowered by Vapour’s primary and backup connectivity circuits — enhancing the reliability, performance, and resiliency of their network infrastructure. With the added reliability and flexibility of voice telephony, the organisation can foster seamless communication, enhance productivity, and deliver exceptional customer experiences too.

In the realm of call centres, UMI’s TeamsLink renewal bolsters the health of its communication ecosystem, enabling seamless collaboration, improving agent productivity, and enhancing customer experiences through features like MIFID II compliant call recording, advanced skills-based call routing, customised Power BI reporting and so much more.

Andrew Wright and Co Limited, an accountancy firm which is now three years into its partnership with Vapour, wholeheartedly entrusted our team with the auto-renewal of its phone channels and telephony service.

In the fast-paced space of retail, where every interaction shapes the customer's perception, a major UK fashion brand recognises the paramount importance of delivering a seamless customer experience. To achieve this, they have harnessed the power of Vapour's secure and scalable co-location infrastructure, providing a robust foundation to house their mission-critical applications, safeguard customer data, optimise their supply chain management, and elevate their online shopping experience to new heights of sophistication.

Keen to learn more about any of the technologies described here? Get in touch with one of our experts today.

For those who don’t know, ChatGPT is a state-of-the-art natural language processing tool, driven by AI technology, that has been making waves across a whole host of sectors recently. Now being leveraged as the brainpower behind Microsoft 365’s latest update, Copilot, the platform is set to have a greater number of applications, and more intuitive functionality, than ever.

So, what does this mean for the UK’s most ambitious organisations? Here, Vapour CEO Tim Mercer offers up some insight…

Give yourself five minutes on ChatGPT and you’ll instantly see how powerful the tool is. Integrate it into the world’s leading productivity cloud, and that impact will grow tenfold.

The architecture has been trained on an endless corpus of text data, making it an ideal solution for natural language processing and word-based tasks. Augmenting organisations’ existing Microsoft systems or able to be implemented as an entirely new solution, it’s a truly game-changing development for firms looking to stay ahead of the curve in terms of productivity and innovation.

Of course, being in its infancy, there are a handful of iterations to come before the service works seamlessly. But, more than simply embedding ChatGPT into Microsoft 365, here are three ways the enterprise-ready Copilot AI system is set to supercharge productivity…

Augmenting the customer experience

With features such as chatbots, virtual assistants, and automated support, leveraging the power of ChatGPT to enhance communication capabilities will take the customer experience to a whole new level — improving engagement by providing timely and accurate responses to enquiries.

Crucially, this won’t replace humans. Instead, it will free up teams for more complex, revenue-generating tasks — leaving manual, laborious work in the hands of capable technology, and maximising business efficiency across the board.

Straightforward integration

For businesses already using Microsoft 365, the integration of ChatGPT will be a straightforward process. Microsoft has announced that the technology will be merged into the platform's existing tools — including Teams, Word, and Outlook — meaning features will be available for use almost immediately.

For companies looking to implement the pairing as an entirely new solution, the process is equally simple. Microsoft's suite of tools is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, making it easy to get started with the platform. Plus, as a cloud-based solution, it’s ideal for geographically dispersed teams too — with applications able to be accessed from any location, at any time.

Unlocking seamless collaboration

This update is significant from an internal productivity perspective too. It means that you can finally say goodbye to clunky interfaces and hello to seamless collaboration. Imagine being able to ask Microsoft 365 a question in the same way you would ask a colleague, and getting an instant response that is accurate and helpful. 

And that's not all. ChatGPT is also capable of generating text — not just interpreting it — which means that Microsoft 365 can now help you write emails, reports, and even presentations, as well as summarise key points of an email thread or Teams meeting. No more staring at a blank page or struggling to remember details. Just tell Microsoft 365 what you want to achieve, and the AI will do the heavy lifting.

At Vapour, we believe that technology should be harnessed to empower businesses and individuals to achieve their full potential. If you are interested in learning more about how Vapour can help you provide a competitive edge with Microsoft 365, get in touch to discuss your custom solution, today.

Tech leaders from throughout the UK gathered at The Chambers in Leeds last month, for an invite-only forum exploring the innovations that will disrupt the market in 2022.

Vapour hosted the intimate event at the prestigious city venue, to bring together some of the most pioneering thought leaders from the communication and cloud tech spaces. And a hand-selected number of customers were also asked to attend for an exclusive insight into where the market is going, and the impact the innovations could have on their businesses.

Leading the line-up was Fortinet’s Steve Mulhearn exploring the advances in the SD-WAN environment, and the emergence of SD-WAN 3.1 for organisations who really want to future-proof the resilience of their security and networking infrastructure. 

Next up was Content Guru’s Edward Winfield and John Funning. They explored the paradigm shift in customer service – particularly since the onset of the pandemic – and the changes that savvy organisations must make if they’re to retain their reputation and market share. Ed shared industry data which evidences individuals’ falling tolerance for poor service levels, and some surprising statistics regarding the ever-evolving need for businesses to offer omnichannel options when communicating internally and externally.

Logic Monitor’s Samkit Shah and Antony Hawkins delved a little deeper into the technology behind Vapour’s much-talked-about new Application Monitoring as a Service solution. But rather than relying on a PowerPoint presentation, the duo shared a live demo of the platform in action – showing how organisations can use AMaaS to see more, know more, and do more.

Vapour’s very own head of transformation and operations Carol McGrotty also took to the ‘stage’, to encourage the audience to understand how the implementation of technology, processes and people, can liberate business growth. She spoke honestly about the journey we have been through and the lengths we are going to, to push for continuous improvement – however major or marginal the gains.

To conclude the afternoon, there was an impromptu showcase of some extremely hot technology – the world’s only bonded and truly mobile router, built here, in England. While the event was not designed to have a sales focus, the audience lapped up this product introduction, and showered the trio of surprise guests from Albeego with questions about the device – which relies on multiple encrypted connections to a network, so the user’s data is never exposed to the ‘raw’ wireless environment.

Commenting on the day, Vapour’s CEO Tim Mercer said: “We’re here to join the dots for our customers – and we believe in being straight-talking. We’ve also missed the opportunity to spend time, face to face, exploring how we can solve today’s – and tomorrow’s – business challenges, together.

“The timing therefore felt right for our latest innovation forum – it’s been a while. But we wanted it to be exclusive, rather than a mass gathering. The day ran like clockwork, and the level of conversation in the room was inspiring. So much so, we started planning the next event before we even got home.”

To discuss any of these topics in further detail please contact Vapour on 0333 200 1142 or complete our contact form to request more information.

To express an interest in attending Vapour’s next innovation forum in the summer, please email Greeta Sagris – gs@vapourcloud.com

Application Monitoring as a Service was one of the final additions to our toolkit, late last year. But demand for the solution – Logic Monitor – has been so high, it’s now the focus of our first online event for 2022.

Providing visibility across an organisation’s entire IT infrastructure – including on-premise, cloud and hybrid applications – this proactive surveillance tool brings enterprise-level performance optimisation technology to organisations of all sizes.

By uncovering the root causes of network underperformance – often way before issues actually arise – this more preventative approach to application management boosts business efficiency, IT resilience and employee productivity, while minimising downtime, security risks and avoidable tech costs.

So, our inaugural event for 2022 delves deeper into this solution, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how the technology works, the insight it offers, the real-time alerts it provides, and the recommendations it suggests to continually optimise IT ecosystems.

Hear from:

PLUS: See live demos of the technology in action and put your questions live to our speakers, on the day.

Tuesday 8th February at 2pm

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Everybody’s talking about Vapour’s Application Monitoring as a Service (AMaaS) solution – Logic Monitor – one of the hottest pieces of tech to emerge from our toolkit in the past 12 months. But what exactly is it, and why is its launch so well-timed? Here are the 10 key things you need to know about AMaaS, including why many businesses will be hugely dependent on it in 2022…

  1. Tech stacks have grown particularly complicated over the past couple of years, not least because of hybrid working practices. Understanding the true performance of these complex ecosystems is therefore tough enough – optimising them is even harder! Even the most technically astute CIOs are feeling the heat.
  2. Application monitoring provides a sharp pair of eyes across an organisation’s entire IT infrastructure – including on-premise, cloud and hybrid applications – for unparalleled visibility.
  3. Much like a proactive surveillance tool, it works by uncovering IT estate issues that may otherwise go unnoticed when IT teams only have so many pairs of hands. Detecting everything from broken processes and bandwidth drains, to significant network risks and non-compliance, it tells you what’s going on under the hood and the implications if no action is taken. Think preventative maintenance and performance optimisation, all rolled into one!
  4. Performance metrics and proactive alerts are accompanied by monthly recommendations from Vapour’s straight-talking tech team – if required – to help mitigate downtime before problems arise. For many customers, the human element of this service, is crucial.
  5. User productivity is safeguarded – if not boosted – which strengthens colleague job satisfaction too. We all know how draining it is when tech doesn’t work as it should!
  6. Happy, productive staff usually leads to greater customer satisfaction too, which is particularly important in competitive markets.
  7. In analysing and improving the efficiency of their networks and devices, businesses can often reduce the carbon impact of their tech – critical for organisations striving to leave no stone unturned when it comes to being greener.
  8. Traditionally, only large enterprises have been able to justify the cost of sophisticated application monitoring solutions. However, because AmaaS is available via an affordable monthly subscription fee, it delivers the ultimate in performance detection technology, irrespective of company size.
  9. It helps rectify potentially costly tech headaches before they arise and can arm IT teams with the data they need to validate or disprove the need for further investments. A slow network doesn’t necessarily mean a bandwidth issue for example – application monitoring delves deeper to protect tech spend. This is particularly important because, while many organisations’ tech budgets are increasing, so too are ROI expectations.
  10. To celebrate the launch of the AMaaS solution, Vapour is offering customers a 30-day free trial (T&Cs apply). Network performance audits are also available for non-Vapour customers.

To discover more about Vapour’s Application Monitoring as a Service solution, how it works, and the impact it could have on your business, contact our team.  

We have launched a new Application Monitoring as a Service (AMaaS) solution.

A proactive surveillance tool for an organisation’s entire IT infrastructure – across on-premise, cloud and hybrid applications – Logic Monitor brings enterprise-level performance detection technology to organisations irrespective of their size.

Providing ‘eyes’ across a company’s entire ecosystem, the enhanced visibility can identify a range of IT estate issues – including ‘broken’ processes, bandwidth drains, and potential network risks – before they become a real problem. Performance metrics, proactive alerts, and monthly recommendations will help to troubleshoot, mitigate downtime, and increase ROI from the technology, while reducing IT costs.

Logic Monitor will be integrated into all new customers’ Vapour networks, as standard, moving forward, with a monthly subscription service available according to the number of endpoint devices being monitored.

“This is the ultimate detection tool for network underperformance,” commented Vapour’s head of transformation Carol McGrotty. “Think the power of performance optimisation and preventative maintenance, rolled into one.

“For too long, application monitoring has been something only large corporates can afford. This is not OK, so we’ve devised a subscription service affordable for all.”

“IT environments are more complex than ever – not least because of the shift to hybrid working,” continued Carol. “Users are increasingly demanding more from their tech too, so if concealed network inefficiencies or security flaws can be identified, rectified and the performance enhanced, the bottom-line impact is vast.”

By analysing network traffic in granular detail, Vapour predicts the sustainability advantages of application monitoring will appeal to organisations with a strong CSR agenda too.

“We liken Logic Monitor to the ultimate fault finder,” added Carol. “It allows us to tell a customer – if you continue working like this, your server could fail in X days. But it also aids informed decision making when it comes to inefficient device usage and energy consumption, which drives clear environmental benefits as well.”

To celebrate the launch of the AMaaS solution, we are offering customers a 30-day free trial*. Network performance audits are also available for non-Vapour customers.

*T&Cs apply

Two disruptive cloud tech firms – both headquartered in Yorkshire – have announced an industry collaboration to supercharge the digital transformation solutions delivered to clients.

Managed IT specialist CloudCoCo, based in Leeds, will strengthen the cybersecurity offering provided by us here at Vapour. And in return, we will enhance CloudCoCo’s infrastructure with the addition of security-first SD-WAN connectivity – a cost-effective, scalable cloud technology that integrates network and user security, with ease, for high performance remote working.

The alliance signals the latest in a series of strategic partnerships for us – as an organisation that has never shied away from joining forces with the industry’s brightest talent, when approaching customers’ digital transformation projects.

“Organisations – certainly in the larger SME market and above – don’t expect or want a vendor to be a ‘jack of all trades’ anymore,” explained CEO Tim Mercer. “They seek to place their trust in a small number of proven experts who will listen carefully to the brief and deliver exactly what the business needs. Partnerships, in this environment, are therefore key. But they have to be carefully formed, between specialists whose technologies, standards, and cultures, are on a par, with no exceptions.”

With both companies closely aligned with enterprise cybersecurity giant Fortinet, the credibility of the two brands was clear when discussions to partner first began.

“We’re here to demystify cloud technologies to make the impossible, possible,” Tim added. “You can only do that by remaining straight-talking and customer focused at all times, and sometimes going against the grain. We’re not afraid to do that, and neither is CloudCoCo. I think both companies – and the teams within them – are respected for their honesty, so we’re a good fit when it comes to devising solutions, together.”

Like Tim, Mark Halpin’s cloud-first vision was also dismissed when he too left the corporate world to set up CloudCoCo. Fast forward three years, and the business now has more than 1,000 customers, £27m turnover, and has recently acquired managed service provider IDE Connect and Nimoveri IT Support.

“I was told I was cloud cuckoo for believing the managed IT sector had become slow, unresponsive, boring and broken, so in April 2018 I left my long-term job and built a company of agile, fiercely passionate, and supremely talented cloud, cybersecurity, connectivity, hardware and hosted voice professionals,” explained Mark.

“Tim and I share a similar back story and many values too – not least a passion for delighting customers with the help of progressive people and powerful technology that doesn’t have to be complicated. This partnership could mean great things for both our respective teams. CloudCoco has an unlimited ambition in terms of growth, so the future starts now.”

Vapour is also forecasting 25% revenue growth by the end of the financial year.

Here at Vapour, we've launched a new connectivity solution for organisations seeking the advantages of both a public and private cloud environment.

The newly unveiled Express Connect service offers customers the opportunity to route their data via Vapour’s ISO27001-accredited infrastructure, so that they can achieve a dedicated private connection to their public cloud service.

This means businesses benefit from the public cloud capabilities of AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google, for example, without their traffic going via the internet. The result is an optimum user experience in terms of bandwidth and speed, as well as complete peace of mind when it comes to security.

Express Connect also helps lower organisations’ network costs, boosts IT control, reduces jitter and latency, and enhances overall network performance. It is fully integrated by design – which means budget transparency – with the flexibility to scale up or down as business needs evolve.

This extension to our toolkit is a bold move having invested millions of pounds in our own private MPLS networks.

“Our goal has always been to provide customers with high-performance networks with resilience and security in-built as standard,” explained CEO Tim Mercer. “And, being cloud-only since day one, we were not satisfied with the industry’s readymade solutions, so we built our own private infrastructure.

“This will absolutely remain a critical part of many companies’ cloud architecture, as the public cloud is not right for every application. However, we’re taking the story on, by using that private network to power fast, secure and seamless connectivity with multiple public cloud service providers (CSPs).

“All too often, the market pushes what it wants to sell, rather than offering people choice. As hybrid cloud becomes increasingly popular, we want customers to explore what is truly right for them, without sacrificing resilience or performance.”

Express Connect is available direct to end customers, but we have also devised a reseller solution for channel partners too.

In our latest webinar ‘Unleash the UC capabilities of Microsoft Teams — Introducing TeamsLink’, we partnered with Wavenet to explore how organisations can make the most of this advanced, feature-packed tool, to take their use of Microsoft Teams to the next level.

Remote and hybrid working has dominated the news throughout the pandemic, and having accelerated the digital transformation of businesses globally, it’s here to stay. But collaborative working requires unified platforms that can meet the needs of organisations without the need to jump in and out of different channels like Slack, Zoom, email and the basic telephone.

So, while 200 million people now participate in Teams dialogue in a typical day, we know this game-changing platform could work even harder for your business.

In this 60-minute webinar, we therefore introduced TeamsLink. With one tool for messaging, video meetings, calling, file sharing, analytics and more, the intuitive online portal gives complete visual control over the management of users and call flows. It also offers the opportunity to uncover otherwise untapped business intelligence to analyse true workplace performance, service levels, engagement, and morale.

If you missed our virtual event, you can watch again to experience:

Who can TeamsLink help? Well to put it simply… everyone. Many companies are merely scratching the surface when it comes to their true collaboration, productivity, and reporting potential.

Watch the full webinar recording here.

Want to research a little further first? Check out our TeamsLink information hub.

Think Microsoft Teams has revolutionised your business? You haven’t met TeamsLink yet!

Cloud technology disruptor Vapour is taking Microsoft Teams to the next level with the introduction of TeamsLink – a powerful direct routing solution which enables efficient, compliant external voice calls from within Microsoft Teams.

In the knowledge that hybrid working is here to stay, and has accelerated the digital transformation of businesses globally, this solution is fully cloud-based and aims to supercharge the Unified Communication capabilities of companies large and small.

Microsoft is the leading vendor in the UC market. And with over 230 million active 365 users every month, and 500,000+ organisations using Teams, it’s time to make it work harder for your organisation, believes Vapour CEO Tim Mercer.

“We’ve all been wowed by the impact that Teams has had on our working lives,” he said. “And we’ve seen incredible adoption rates at an astounding pace. But so many companies are merely scratching the surface when it comes to their true collaboration, productivity and reporting potential. We’re here to address that.”

With one tool for messaging, video meetings, calling, file sharing and more, TeamsLink’s intuitive online portal gives complete visual control over the management of users and call flows. It also offers the opportunity to uncover otherwise untapped business intelligence to analyse true workplace performance, service levels, engagement and morale.

Want to know more?

The easiest way to understand how transformative tech can be is to see it in action. So, Vapour is offering a behind the scenes look at TeamsLink’s functionality, in an information-filled webinar on 20 July.

In this 50-minute session – ‘Unleash the UC capabilities of Microsoft Teams — Introducing TeamsLink’ – Vapour will be joined by Barry Ward, product director and TeamsLink specialist from Wavenet.

The straight—talking event will cover:

Interested – find out more and register your place.

Want to research a little further first? Check out our new TeamsLink information hub.

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