Tell us about your role at Content Guru and the part you play in the tech sector.
As a business development manager, I’m responsible for account management and working closely with new clients, customers and partners. As a cloud communications provider, it’s also important to keep on top of industry trends, to understand the new and emerging challenges that organisations face and how technology can help.
What innovation was the turning point for your organisation, to get it to where you are now?
The cloud. Where would we be without it – especially since the pandemic?!
And where’s next for your business?
We’re currently expanding our global reach into the US which is very exciting!
The biggest misconception faced by the tech sector is…
That price should be a core deciding factor – organisations need to carefully consider requirements, alongside how providers/solutions can best meet the needs of the organisation and what value the solution or service is delivering above simply cost saving.
What do you think will be the biggest tech trend over the next 12 months?
The pandemic has led businesses to diversify their communication channels and has opened the door to an increase in self-service solutions to help address resource limitations. As we start to navigate out of the pandemic and adapt to a more permanent hybrid way of working, we’re likely to see more of this as an effort to support organisations.
What top tip would you give to an individual trying to excel in their tech career?
It’s really important to keep your eye on industry trends and to learn your products inside and out. The technology sector can be full of jargon and complex terminology, so knowing in detail what the products and services are capable of means you can add extra context for customers to break down those barriers.
The next purchase on my personal tech wishlist is…?
New PC parts – I’ve taken on the task of building my own computer!
And what is your earliest memory of tech in your life?
An Xbox!
What is one longstanding piece of tech that you are shocked is still used today?
A fixed home landline. You see them less and less in homes today, but there are still some around.
If you are without the internet for an hour, what would be the first activity you resort to, to pass the time?
Going for a drive. There is something about getting on the road that is just so relaxing.
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.
The hybrid world of work is here to stay and brings a raft of benefits with it. But we can’t forget the data security risks that come with being away from the usual corporate setting.
And, to celebrate the launch of our SD-WAN solution for hybrid workers, we decided to team up with One Minute Briefs in a bid to educate the nation around some of the cyber risks which lurk with remote work.
Enlisting the help of One Minute Brief’s 33k-strong online community (otherwise known as OMBLES), we set about creating posters which highlight the cyber risks associated with hybrid working – if organisations don’t better protect their colleagues’ devices.
Of course, we’d highly recommend using Vapour’s new hybrid working solution, which integrates endpoint and network security through state-of-the-art SD-WAN technologies, to reduce organisations’ exposure to cyber threats, regardless of where employees decide to work from one day to the next.
The OMBLES were inspired too, and not only did the campaign feature amongst Twitter’s ‘trending’ charts – alongside National Tea Day and The Queen’s 95th birthday – but it generated over 200 entries, 76.6k impressions, and reached around 6.6 million people.
The level of creativity was sky-high, and it took us a while to settle on a shortlist of just 20 – never mind our eventual winner. But do you agree with our selection? Find out more about our SD-WAN solution, here.
Cloud technology disruptor Vapour has launched an SD-WAN solution – powered by Gartner Magic Quadrant leader Fortinet – to integrate endpoint and network security for the hybrid workplace.
Deployed as a software licence – with three levels of support available on a ‘price per user per month’ basis – the solution facilitates endpoint visibility and management, secure remote access for employees irrespective of location, and automated threat intelligence and response.
Mindful that IT leaders are seeking zero-touch provisioning, this technology is even simpler to roll out, as no hardware installation is required. The service has been 12 months in the planning.
With transparent visibility to each endpoint, the solution gives IT teams full control over individual compliance, and ensures that endpoint-borne risks such as firewall weaknesses or unsecure home routers will not pose a threat to corporate networks.
Security workflows are automated for proactive ongoing management, and dynamic controls mean the SD-WAN technology ‘fixes itself’, based on colleagues’ security posture, and the speed, performance, and traffic on the network at a given point in time. Potential security threats are also raised, and incidents contained almost instantly.
Commenting on the timeliness of the launch, Vapour’s CEO Tim Mercer said: “We all know that the traditional 9-5 is long gone, with employees seeking increasing flexibility from their working day –especially when it comes to location. Many people are keen to remain at home, some are hungry to return to the workplace, and others want the fluidity to decide from one day to the next.
“Hybrid working is definitely the future, but this isn’t the easiest to manage from a network security perspective. This is exactly why we’ve launched this solution – it’s powerful technology designed to liberate businesses, as they move forward in a post-Covid world.”
Vapour’s market research revealed that most organisations are reliant on VPNs only, but the cost and time associated with managing this approach to network security means the solution is usually available for a limited number of senior colleagues alone.
Vapour’s senior network engineer Salim Ramzan added: “The beauty of our software-focused solution to secure hybrid working, is that it is technically brilliant, but operationally effortless. Even the ‘Lite’ version of the licence includes functionality that I predict 40% of IT leaders don’t currently have.
“That’s the benefit of investing in a security-first cloud architecture – security lies at the heart of it, rather than it being an afterthought. For example, a sandbox feature automatically identifies potentially malicious inbound content, sends it to Fortinet and explores its validity, in seconds, before allowing it to land in the recipient’s inbox. If the sandbox is dissatisfied with the outcome, the content is held and the IT director is alerted so that they can investigate it further, in a secure environment, if they wish.”
Further information on Vapour’s Lite, Premium and Pro licences, can be found at vapourcloud.com/SD-WAN-hybrid-working
