Summary: Guest Wi-Fi should provide internet access while blocking connections to your internal business network. A different Wi-Fi name and password do not confirm that the networks are separated. The router, access points, and firewall must also be configured to prevent guest devices from reaching internal systems. Offering Wi-Fi to customers, contractors, and visitors is…
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[glossary_exclude] Dave Lane on why putting off spending on IT costs more (2 minutes) If you run a business with a team, budget about £125 a month for each member of staff for IT support in 2027, with the Microsoft 365 licence included. That pays for help with everyday problems, cyber security including training your…
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Summary: Before canceling a cloud service, export your data and confirm that the files can be opened or imported. Move any connected applications and sign-ins, then check the provider’s current rules for access, billing, retention, and deletion. A cloud service may hold years of customer records, documents, emails, invoices, project history, or staff activity. If…
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[glossary_exclude] Dave Lane on writing down a process people will use (10 minutes) If you run a business, most of how the work gets done lives in a few people’s heads, and the documents meant to capture it are too long, out of date or never opened. The fix is to write each process for…
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Summary: Allow personal devices only for approved work, through approved apps, and when the device meets your security requirements. Use company-owned devices for administration, sensitive work, or jobs that require large amounts of data to be stored locally. Employees often use personal devices for work before the business has made a decision about it. They…
DetailsYes, and the thing that makes it work is called MCP, model context protocol. It’s one of the AI terms you’ll start hearing, so here’s what it is and why you should care, in under a minute. What is MCP, in plain English? Model context protocol is basically what enables artificial intelligence to talk to…
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Summary: Employees should use standard accounts for email, web browsing, and everyday work. Administrator access should be limited to approved IT tasks and protected with a separate account. Administrator access often starts with one request. An employee needs to install a printer, update a specialist program, or change a setting on their computer. Giving them…
DetailsUsually because someone dragged them. If your business runs on Microsoft 365, your team probably opens SharePoint through the synced folder on their PC, the one that looks just like any other Windows folder. Drag a file out of it to “copy” it, and it can move instead. It leaves the shared library, everyone else…
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Summary: Most IT problems don’t appear out of nowhere. Backups quietly stop running, updates sit unfinished for weeks, and old staff accounts stay switched on for months. A short check once a month catches these while they’re still cheap to fix. This post covers the six things to look at. Most owners only look at…
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Summary: The tools that run your business, like Microsoft 365, your accounting app, or your booking system, are reliable most of the time, but they do go down. When one does, work can stop for hours, and you often can’t do anything but wait for the provider to fix it. A simple plan keeps your…
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