Managed.IT - issue 58

BULLETIN 11 www.managedITmag.co.uk Always at your side With remote work becoming the new normal, Realism Labs has brought out an ‘always on’ device designed to provide the spontaneous, frictionless communication that team members would have been used to in the office. Instead of having to schedule a meeting, Sidekick provides an always-on video and audio connection between colleagues in remote locations, enabling users to bounce ideas off each other and have informal conversations just as if they were all in the same office, with no app management or window switching to interrupt the flow. Realism Labs claims that because Sidekick is a separate, dedicated device rather than another app on a PC it is easier to use and more effective than an ‘always on’ call in Zoom, for example. It is instantly accessible and not buried under other windows. It is not a distraction in the way that a sticky mode window is when working on other applications. It sits right next to your laptop and when you want to talk to your teammate you just look over and talk — just like in real life. In trials, users were keeping Sidekick on for an average of six hours a day, entering their team room first thing in the morning by tapping the ‘Join Room’ button and leaving it at the end of the day by pressing the ‘Leave Room’ button. Audio is muted by default to minimise distractions. When you want to speak to a team member, simply tap Sidekick to unmute the audio. Sidekick boasts a number of useful features, including a multi-player whiteboard; notifications when team members join the room; a meeting mode that allows someone to stay in the room while taking a meeting on their laptop; and calendar integration. Conversations are encrypted and no video or audio is recorded. Sidekick is currently being offered in the US on a subscription basis, at a list price of $50 per user, per month. https://sidekick.video/# Testing times Draxxon’s DX-1000 Advanced Virology Testing Platform (AVTP) is a self-contained mobile testing truck designed to provide an instant response during COVID-19 and similar outbreaks/ events. The AVTP features two Yamaha CS-700 devices integrated with the Draxxon DX-INTERCHANGE System, which provides video and audio communication between personnel. One is installed inside the truck; the other is integrated into the vehicle’s rear DX-Outdoor Work Station used by medical personnel interacting with the public. Draxxon Director of Business Development Tyler Ackerman says the CS-700 was chosen because it met the requirement for simple, one-button operation. He said: “The CS-700 fit this objective perfectly. It delivers great audio and video quality in an all-in-one design that eliminates the configuration and operation of separate webcams, speakers and microphones.” uc.yamaha.com UK organisations resilient despite challenge of supporting remote workers Following the events of the first six months of 2020, almost nine out of 10 IT decision-makers in the UK feel confident in their organisation’s ability to withstand another unanticipated crisis, with 59% feeling ‘somewhat confident’ and 28% feeling ‘very confident’, according to the new Evolution of IT report from LogicMonitor. The cloud-based provider of IT infrastructure monitoring surveyed 500 IT decision- makers in the UK, North America and Australia/New Zealand to find out how IT departments around the world were impacted by – and have responded to – the coronavirus pandemic. Its findings show that 54% of IT leaders globally initially experienced IT disruptions or outages to software, productivity and collaboration tools as they shifted to remote work in the first half of 2020. More than two thirds have since found the new remote working model challenging: n 70% find it hard to support a remote workforce; n 70% find it challenging to keep data secure as their organisation increasingly relies on the cloud; and n 69% find it challenging to ensure there is enough network bandwidth available to avoid service disruptions. Based on what they have learnt during the current Covid-19 pandemic, IT decision-makers are investing in productivity tools and expanding their use of cloud-based solutions and platforms to maintain business continuity. By 2025, UK IT leaders expect 79% of their workload to be in the cloud, compared to 62% prior to COVID-19. The corresponding global figures are 78% and 65%. In addition, 94% of respondents globally expect there to be more focus on automation. While UK IT departments also expect greater IT automation, they appear to lag behind counterparts in the US/Canada and Australia/ New Zealand. Only 47% of IT leaders in the UK expect ‘a great deal’ of focus on automation in the next three years, compared to 63% in both the US/Canada and Australia/New Zealand. Similarly, just 40% of UK IT decision-makers ‘strongly agree’ with the statement that automation allows IT leaders and their teams to focus on more strategic tasks and initiatives, compared to 52% in the US/Canada and 51% in Australia/New Zealand. https://www.logicmonitor . com/resource/evolution-of -it 2020 REPORT Evolution of IT Research Report Howglobal ITdepartmentsare adapting in theeraof remotework Home working security risk Nearly two thirds (65%) of UK businesses are anticipating an increase in phishing and breach attempts, as half (48%) admit that their current cyber security policies are not fit for a 100% home- working model. In the survey of 200 senior decision-makers commissioned by privileged access management specialist Centrify, 75% said they had provided employees with formal guidance or training on the security risks of working from home; 59% say they now treat outsourced IT and other third parties as an equal cyber security risk as 100% remote working employees. Half are planning to hire new IT staff or security experts to improve their security processes.