There is no denying that every business, regardless of size or sector has a challenging year ahead of them, looking to balance growth through investment with rising costs.

In the past few weeks, we’ve been speaking with many of our customers and the industry and despite the gloomy headlines and unstable predictions, the general feeling for most businesses is that they are cautiously optimistic.  Most are looking to grow and ‘kick on’ in 2023 but are wary of the last couple of years and want to make sure they don’t do this too quickly or unsustainably.

In this article we discuss what opportunities and challenges 2023 might bring, and the integral role technology will play.

Taking control of cost

“This year cost reduction is not a greenfield site.  Many of the quick wins and tactical moves have been made and businesses must now commit to longer term and more complex strategies and unpause investments to progress.” KPMG

By far the biggest challenge is that of managing and better controlling their costs, with every single customer that we spoke to stating this is as their main area of focus.  The reality of a shrinking economy coupled with skyrocketing inflation, means that every business is looking at all costs that are within their control and making savings wherever possible.

“Our goal for 2023 is to continue to professionalise and offer a good quality of service to residents of Chipping Norton. The biggest challenge in the next 12 months will be meeting these needs with rising costs. Technology can help us be more efficient and effective in our role – enabling us to focus our time on public services and communications.” Chipping Norton Town Council.

Many are looking for finance models, such as subscription-based pricing, that are not only driving efficiencies, but also provide cost management predictability, which will eliminate any uncertainty, encourage growth and allow them to better manage and control their costs, whilst also offering the scalability and flexibility that every business needs.

“2023 is all about making the business efficient in how it uses technology; using it in a way that allows us to do more with less, regardless of what the resource is. We want to reduce inefficiencies, not by working our people harder, but by working smarter. This means using technology in a way that supports us and the work we do.” Connection Support.

High performing workplace

Remote, hybrid or office based, it’s apparent from many of our conversations and industry analysis, that 2023 is the year that the workplace must become more efficient.  With higher employee turnover and more burned-out employees that ever before, it seems the exponential changes over the last few years to how work gets done, isn’t sustainable as a model.

Businesses across the board all stated that they were looking for a more stable way of operating in today’s hybrid workplace, combining employee productivity with well-being and creating a more future-proofed, technology enabled model.  For many this involves focusing on optimising previous investments in technology and ensuring they have the right tools for the job, as well as providing a stable culture and work environment that both drives efficiencies, attracts talent and delivers the now expected work-life balance.

“It’s important to us to use the technology we have already invested in, such as Microsoft 365, more effectively so that we get a better return from our investment, allow our people to work the same from anywhere, as well as save on costs.”  Endpoint Ltd

Pursuing sustainability

Demonstrating sustainability and being environmentally accountable remains a priority for many businesses we talked to, with many reviewing their entire eco-system to build and implement tangible sustainability plans.

“Being in an industry that was heavily impacted by the COVID pandemic, and following a period of stabilising, we are now looking forward with plans to grow sustainably in 2023. This comes in a challenging environment with our business costs increasing, competition intensifying and price becoming such a key factor.” Aston & James

Driven in part by its relevance in the buying process, with preferable decisions being taken for those who are able to demonstrate it, for many they are also reaping the cost benefits of being more sustainable by using technology such as virtual collaboration tools.

Taking cyber seriously

It’s easy when trying to keep costs down, to think that the likelihood of a cyber attack happening to your business is low.  Despite every business digitally transforming over the last few years, unfortunately this is still the misconception of many businesses, with very few investing in keeping their data and systems secure.

“43% of cyber-attacks are aimed at small businesses, but only 14% have taken the necessary measures to defend themselves.” Forbes

It should come as no surprise that cyber criminals are taking advantage of this, resulting in a significant and continued rise in targeted ransomware and cyber-attacks.   Many businesses we spoke to stated that this in part is due to a lack of knowledge in this area, finding it an overwhelming and highly complex area to budget for and manage.  It is an area that requires expert help and if left unattended could have severe consequences.

Final words

It’s apparent that for every business, 2023 will be a period spent closely managing spend vs return and reviewing every aspect of the eco-system to see where adjustments and investments can be made to increase efficiencies and drive growth.

In today’s modern workplace, businesses need to be agile, flexible, scalable and secure.  Any solution or required investment must be able to offer this.

“Like every other business, we understand the pressures of managing costs whilst driving business growth.  We’re all working in unpredictable times and as a result it’s important to provide our customers with solutions that are fully flexible, agile and cost effective.” Saul Branch – Operations Director STL

The integral role of technology in helping achieve these goals is undeniable, whether that’s to collaborate better with people and customers, secure data, monitor and drive productivity, deliver a seamless customer experience or ensure you’re always connected.  Achieving this whilst reducing costs, increasing efficiency and future-proofing your business? Even better.

STL, part of Focus Group delivers all your essential business technology in one place.

As we look to emerge from the global pandemic that is Covid-19 plenty has changed in the last twelve months and much of it, especially flexible working, is for the greater good of our welfare and of course the environment.  Who really needs to be commuting endless hours every day when some balance and a low cost technology refresh could be the key to increased productivity and a happier workforce?

Cloud computing was invented by Joseph Licklider way back in the 1960’s and cloud telephony, otherwise known as hosted voice or VOIP, was patented by Alon Cohen in 1995…some 25 years ago.  And yet, the tipping point for adoption of these cloud and hosted services only happened relatively recently and now we are seeing the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ in terms of businesses that have made the migration from traditional on-premise voice and data solutions to the ‘as a service’ variant made possible by the cloud.

The benefits of the cloud are various and are both operational and commercial.  Operationally cloud services offer much more flexibility in terms of user modus operandi and the cloud can be rapidly deployed, efficiently managed and is easily scaled by the expanding (or contracting) business because you only pay for what you need when you need it.  Additionally, this functionality delivered ‘as a service’ tends to be as operational expenditure where you pay as you go rather than capital expenditure and this has appeal to any business trying to protect some cash in these times of uncertainty.

So, the benefits of cloud computing and hosted telephony are beyond compelling, but why has cloud technology taken so long to become the mainstream?  This is actually for a number of reasons including the good old ‘if it aint broke don’t fix it’, but Covid-19 has changed this and created a perfect storm whereby the pressing need to re-deploy staff to work from home in Lockdown 1.0 coupled with the arrival of enhanced cloud services such as Microsoft TEAMS and reliable hosted telephony platforms means that the superior flexibility and fixed monthly costs are a must have for any progressive business.

The ‘haves’ run agile businesses where employees can work from home, the office, on the move or a combination of all three – often with just a laptop, headset and occasionally an app on a mobile phone.  Whilst the ‘have nots’ are still stifled by ageing and inflexible technology incapable of being deployed anywhere but the office and it’s probably costing more to run than the cloud based alternative!

STL – connecting business, connecting people.

We’re in challenging times with Covid-19 and it’s affected every business and worker regardless of sector and size.

If like us you have suddenly gone from running your business from an office to running your business from your team’s sofas, kitchen and homes – it’s safe to say you’re probably happy if you just managed to get everyone up, running and connected.

But have you thought about how secure you are?  It doesn’t matter if you are working in the office or at home – your business is still exposed to the same security issues

There is a general misconception that only big companies get hacked or held to ransom but with members of your team downloading Zoom and House party to stay in touch and using any connection or tools available to them – it does raise the question as to just how secure your business is.

For a small business, even the smallest threat can prove fatal. It is why cybersecurity is no longer a problem you can ignore.

Unfortunately, on average only 10 percent of small businesses have invested enough in cybersecurity. Most of them do not have a single IT staff member and many don’t even use third-party services and solutions.

The question is ….. why do small businesses underestimate the risk and do not prioritise cybersecurity?

Many small businesses are oblivious of the threats that may be just an email away from them. 

So what are the most common threats to your business.

Your data held hostage

Ransomware attacks are the most common cyber attacks and they are constantly on the rise. By the end of this year, the total hit caused by ransomware attacks will reach 11.5 billion. It is predicted that there will be a new ransomware attack every 14 seconds. You can be the next victim.

Ransomware attacks do exactly what it sounds like. The attackers access your data and hold it hostage until you pay a ransom. Sadly, those attackers love small businesses for two reasons. First, they have poor security. Second, they are more likely to pay the ransom as compared to larger corporations.

Whether you pay the heavy ransom or bear the loss of data, ransomware attacks can kill your small business.

Opening the door to a stranger

Phishing scams stand neck to neck with ransomware. The malware can access your network through spear phishing emails. Once any user clicks on the email, the attackers can access the network and all the data stored on it. This includes sensitive information such as user IDs and passwords.

There are around 400 phishing attacks every day, and nearly 30% of them are successful. Small businesses make for the majority of the victims. By that calculation, a business is likely to receive around nine malicious emails in a month. What’s worse is that similar attacks are now using different channels such as text messages and phone.

Just because you can BYOD.

BYOD is a trend that offers flexibility to businesses and employees alike. Small businesses are more likely to embrace the trend as it helps them save cost and time. However, when employees bring their own devices and connect them to the network, they expose the network to any virus or malware lurking on their devices.

It’s estimated that 7.4 million applications will be installed in the corporate world by 2020 (Gartner).  There are millions of apps on the app stores and not all of them are as secure as you believe. When installed, these apps can access a lot of personal data. Attackers create a fraudulent app to breach the network through mobile phones connected to the network.

It’s vital to secure your business whether you’re working out of the office or working at home. Talk to STL and find out how we can help your IT Security.

STL – connecting business, connecting people.

A safe pair of hands – ISO/IEC 27001

We are pleased to announce that we are now ISO/IEC 27001 certified! 

ISO 27001 is one of the most rigorous and internationally accepted information security standards. It identifies the requirements and specifications for a robust and comprehensive information security management system (ISMS), defining how a business should securely manage and treat information.

After the successful completion of a series of audits, which we are proud to have managed and completed remotely during Covid-19, our ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security Management System has been certified by BSI under certificate number is 9315-ISN-001.

Head of Operations, Saul Branch commented:

The journey to becoming an ISO 27001 compliant organisation has involved every part of the business, from core IT infrastructure to financing.  It has given us the opportunity to assess in detail every aspect of the business to ensure that we’re carrying out our work in not only a secure way, but in a way that means we’re continually evaluating and improving the business not only for the benefit of our clients but for our colleagues and suppliers as well.

Our commitment to the ISO 27001 standard helps demonstrate the importance we attach to information security within STL.  We’re proud of the trusted relationships we’ve always held with customers and partners, and of the solid reputation we’ve built for delivering excellent service.  Gaining this certification adds recognition that not only can STL be relied upon to deliver great results, our clients can also be assured we’re working in a safe environment with information security at the forefront of our approach.

Achievement of ISO27001 completes a trio of ISO accreditations for STL together with the ISO9001 (Quality Management Systems) and ISO 4001 (Environmental Management Systems).

Talk to us today and find out how we can help with IT Security

STL – connecting business, connecting people.