Business Info - Issue 140

businessinfomag.uk magazine 26 TECHNOLOGY IT managed services provider Cloudbox has launched an all-in-one, IT in a box solution for SMEs that includes the IT, security and support needed by a normal business for £49 per user, per month. Nick Goodenough, Cloudbox UK CEO, said: “Cloudbox incorporates email, 10 years of email archiving, sophisticated file sharing, full backup, antivirus and full endpoint security, even Office 365, into one simple package, taking the complexity out of IT.” IT resources and applications sourced from best-of-breed vendors are managed offsite in the cloud, so customers don’t have costly onsite servers to maintain; with no unexpected costs, budgets can be projected more accurately; and with only one set of licences to manage, customers have the flexibility to scale up or down as they require. Goodenough added: “The solution IT in a box for SMEs balances compliance and control with usability and functionality and ensures that your software is standardised throughout your company, with no licensing or other costs to consider." Cloudbox provides unlimited IT support for all devices (desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile), including change requests and new device configurations. Goodenough says small businesses especially struggle with budgeting for IT services, pointing out that Cloudbox’s unlimited support contract will protect them from unexpected costs, delays and disappointment. "Cloudbox unlimited support gives responsible small business owners complete control over their IT spend on a month-to-month basis so they know exactly what their costs are as they grow," he said. He believes the practice of charging separately for IT support leads to problems and is a legacy of the old break-fix model. “Properly specified and managed IT should not go wrong.We invest heavily in automated scheduled maintenance, security management (including patching) and constant monitoring to help ensure that our clients do not suffer IT downtime,” he said. Goodenough added: “Our emphasis on automated proactive support frees up our support guys to help our clients get the most out of Cloudbox software, from the latest Teams feature, which helps colleagues and external parties work together, to reminders on how to create an Excel graph. It’s little wonder that 86% of Cloudbox customers would recommend them, an enviable rate in the field of IT.” In addition to its core product, Cloudbox provides a range of supplementary services, including on-site infrastructure, Microsoft Azure hosting and low-cost IP Telephony. New all-in-one solution takes the complexity out of IT Light fantastic Signify (formerly Philips Lighting) has announced the commercial launch of a range of LiFi systems that deliver reliable, secure, high-speed wireless communication over a company’s lighting infrastructure. Instead of using radio signals (e.g.WiFi, 4G/5G, Bluetooth), LiFi uses light to send and receive data between optical wireless transceivers built into Philips luminaires and a USB- access key plugged into a laptop. It offers guaranteed speeds of up to 150 megabits per second – that’s fast enough to stream 30 1080p HDTV movies simultaneously – with seamless handover between light points, enabling employees to roam around the office and not lose connectivity. LiFi has a number of benefits over other wireless technologies: n its spectrum is more than 1,000 times the size of the radio spectrum, making it ideal for busy areas such as multi- tenancy buildings, stations, airports and public venues; n it can be used in areas where radio frequencies don’t work well or at all (e.g. underground) or where they are not permitted (e.g. in some schools or hospitals); n it is secure, thanks to AES 128 encryption, the need for a USB access key and because light waves cannot penetrate walls; and n there is no interference from other radio communication systems. The Trulifi by Signify range includes three systems: 1 the Trulifi 6001 (available since 2018), which uses visible light and delivers speeds of up to 30 Mbps; 2 the new Trulifi 6002 series, which uses infrared light and provides two-way wireless connectivity even when lights are off, at speeds of up to 150 Mbps; and 3 the Trulifi 6013, which acts like a wireless cable and delivers speeds of up to 250 Mbps between two fixed points. Belgian marketing agency Claerhout Communication Campus has retrofitted a Trulifi 6002 system to four Philips LED luminaires in a large meeting room at its office in Ghent. Its Business Development Manager Christoph Ruys said: “We wanted good quality, energy-efficient lighting and wireless connectivity capable of handling high resolution images, artwork and big data files.We’ve gone from offering our staff and clients 5 Mbps to a blistering 150 Mbps, and we can roam around freely as one light point hands off to another seamlessly. Trulifi adds an extra layer of security as light can’t pass through walls, so what’s in the room, stays in the room. This is truly game changing technology.” www.signify.com Nick Goodenough cloudboxtech.com 020-3761 8080 LiFi uses light to send and receive data between optical wireless transceivers built into Philips luminaires and a USB-access key plugged into a laptop

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