3 simple ways to secure your new device

Maintaining the security of your devices is becoming an increasingly important concern in the face of a virtual onslaught of malware, spyware, viruses and other malicious files. But protecting your brand-new device from the evils of the internet isn’t as difficult as you may think.

What IT governance means for SMBs in the digital era

Governance is neither empty corporate jargon nor the sole domain of big businesses. It’s essential for having control over your IT systems and software and is just as relevant to SMBs looking to maximise ROI in a digital world.

Infographic: Top 10 ways to protect end-user data

Digital devices are an integral part of the modern workplace, helping users become more flexible, efficient and productive - with the ability to work whenever and wherever they need to.

The downside is that organisations must stay abreast of technology as well as all the associated risks the digital era brings. With users increasingly accessing critical business information on the go – via their smartphones, tablets and laptops – security concerns should be front of mind. The most obvious risks include using unsecured networks, having a device stolen or misplaced, and more aggressive threats like viruses and malware.

The line between our work lives and our home lives is blurring more than ever as we all negotiate the 24/7 demands of the global economy. At the same time, developing technology is empowering us to spend less face time in the office as a litany of mobile devices and cloud-based platforms allow us to take our work home with us.

That has led to many of us using the same devices at work and home, which begs the question: are you keeping your professional and personal information safe, secure and separate?

When you think of how the modern workplace is different to that of the past, what springs to mind?

Aside from cosmetic changes that would have blown minds in the 1980s – what's with the standing desks and open plans, and where's the ever-present cloud of cigarette smoke? – perhaps the main difference is the shift away from desktop computers.

The world is in the midst of what many are calling the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and digital technology is upending every sector of the economy.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in manufacturing, where everything from planning, design and pre-order to supply chain, sales and post-sales are benefiting from an extreme digital makeover. Here are four technologies that are disrupting manufacturing.

If you run a small or medium-sized business, you want to be up to speed with the latest tech, trends and best practices that enable your organisation to stay productive and grow, right?

This month we cover a range of bases, including security, the rise of chat apps, real-time banking payments and consumption-based IT – a pay-as-you-go model that promises SMBs greater flexibility in the way they access infrastructure, software and services.

For years, process control systems were secured with a combination of “security through obscurity” and wilful ignorance. Increased threats from malicious hackers, often sponsored by nation-states and criminal organisations, are demonstrating that neither of these approaches is sufficient.

If you are to have a hope of keeping your manufacturing processes safe, you have to lock them down.

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Still wondering if you should upgrade to Windows 10?

Microsoft's latest operating system is a solid product, with significant improvements under the hood that have made it the most secure and productive Windows ever. Business users have voted with their cash and adopted it faster than any previous version.

Modern manufacturing is all about innovating with digital prototyping and technologies like 3D printing – all of which require a high degree of raw computing power.

Workstations are ideal for providing this resource, where their large processing power can crunch complex formulas and graphics, while a screen provides a valuable visual interface for an engineer or operator.

Responses from 186 IT decision makers across Australia and New Zealand reflect confidence in 2019 with IT budgets increasing or maintaining in the coming year.

Critically, we explore the differences between successful businesses and unsuccessful businesses.

When household brands suffer data breaches, you’re on notice that your business could be the next potential target for cybercriminals.

This has the potential to impact your brand, reputation and worse. There are also regulatory and legal obligations in most jurisdictions that require you to safeguard and secure consumer data. Fail to do this and you risk exposing yourself to legal liability and even litigation from your partners, clients and customers.

The first of the big trade shows for 2019 kicked off at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas from 9–12 January, revealing the future of PC client hardware. We were not disappointed: here are our 10 favourite technology innovations from the show floor

SMBs typically watch every precious cent they spend, and IT hardware

And while it may be tempting to go for a cheap and cheerful model, the last thing you want is an underpowered laptop that doesn't have all the features you need, or is obsolete in a year or less. The key is to choose a machine that is durable, secure, powerful, lightweight and has all the features you need. does not come cheap – especially when it involves laptops. This makes choosing the right laptop for your business an important box to tick.

Cybersecurity outlook for 2019

We all know data is valuable, but too often we act as if it isn’t. Valuables are often secured – kept in safes, insured, treated with care. With valuable business and personal data moving around the internet all the time, criminals are always looking for new ways to steal, copy and subvert this precious new resource.

In the modern economy, companies that work in silos, with business units walled off from each other, incur needless costs and inefficiencies due to:

• duplication of effort or resources

• slower completion times

• lower staff engagement (because of frustration)

• reduced innovation

Every business needs a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery (DR) system in place to safeguard its digital assets. Statista estimates that server downtime costs nearly one-quarter of businesses (24%) lose up to half a million dollars per hour, while nearly one-sixth (14%) lose up to $5 million per hour. These are big numbers, but backup and recovery needn’t be a big problem.

Everybody needs a break. After working hard in your business it’s great to take a holiday, but all that good cheer and relaxation will go out the window in a moment if your business suffers an IT disaster while you’re away.

The industrial internet of things promises to be pivotal to the next industrial revolution in manufacturing. How? By harnessing all the power that digital technology offers through artificial intelligence and advanced machine learning.

Laptop computers are an increasingly popular workstation choice, especially as more and more workers and employers are taking advantage of the benefits offered by allowing staff to work from home. Thus, their portability becomes a great strength – but it can also be a weakness. But are they really the best choice for your PC fleet? Let's consider.

Interested in exploring how a manufacturing operation can become IoT-enabled and the potential benefits of this technology?

The internet of things (IoT) is revolutionising the way businesses operate, helping them work smarter and more efficiently. Access to data is the key to garnering insights that can help your operation increase efficiencies and streamline operations, but you need to know what data to track and which processes need to be improved.

Virtualising your IT environment makes it cheaper and easier to deploy new capabilities to your stakeholders. By concentrating your storage and compute on servers (often hosted by a cloud provider), and deploying virtual machines (VMs) to users, you can reduce the cost of your desktop machines, centralise management and deployment, simplify security and governance, and offer new capabilities faster.

Everybody loves cloud services for their utility and accessibility. How about their security? It remains a concern for private users, small businesses and global enterprises alike. Leviathan Security Group research has identified three key factors in the effectiveness of cloud security: availability, staffing and vulnerability management. Only by considering, and carefully managing, all three can you be confident that your business is as well-protected as possible. 1. Availability First, check with your cloud provider just where your data will be held. Leviathan...

We all love having the latest, newest and best technology but there’s one small problem: whatever you buy today will be obsolete tomorrow. And with technology’s accelerating rate of change, ‘tomorrow’ comes faster and faster every year.

Modern business is increasingly connected, both locally and globally, while IT environments are becoming more diverse, thanks to the proliferation of cloud services, startups and other disruptions. This calls for a rethink of how information and intellectual property is secured from potential attackers.