Get a grip on your IT
Idiom (Get a grip) : To have a newfound understanding of a topic or concept.
What’s with the name?
FiveNines IT Consultancy LTD was set up in part due to our frustration with poorly performing IT and the negative effect it can have on businesses. Based in Cardiff but working across the UK, we bring over 20 years of strategic board level IT experience to the party. Our name comes from our belief that every business should aspire to an IT function that provides Five Nine levels of reliability (99.999%) We firmly believe that we can help you on the road to Five Nines Nirvana, and ensure the IT function is focused on supporting rather than hindering your business’ growth objectives.
Our Virtual IT Director service provides a senior, experienced technology expert to serve as a strategic IT advisor to your organisation (typically one day a week, fortnight, or month). You gain all the benefits of years of experience gained in diverse IT environments at a fraction of the cost of a full time Head of IT or IT Director.
Our in-depth knowledge of the general IT marketplace and emerging technologies allows us to help your organisation design a medium to long term strategic IT roadmap. Once that’s in place, we know just the people to help you make it a reality!
Is the adoption of digital technology by an organisation to increase efficiency, gain a competitive advantage and deliver better value to customers. We have years’ worth of experience in delivering transformative IT systems. Let us do the same for you!
We can be your strategic partner and provide expert advice on any technology challenges that fall outside your ‘business as usual’ IT. We can be an asset in your IT toolkit that can help you achieve your business goals.
At its simplest, business continuity is about having a plan to deal with major issues, so your organisation can continue to function with as little disruption as possible. No matter how large or small, you need to know how you can keep going under any circumstances. We can assess and advise on how well prepared you are for those highly disruptive events.
Selecting a new IT System is often a stressful and baffling process. Let us help you write and run an end-to-end selection process that gives you confidence that the new system will stand up to board level scrutiny in terms of budget and expected business outcomes.
We have managed hundreds of 3rd party IT suppliers over the years, covering areas such as IT support, telecoms, networking, security, and systems. That means we are in a great position to assess whether you are getting value from these providers, and if not put that right!
“I’m as proud of many of the things we haven’t done as the things we have done. Innovation is saying no to a thousand things.”
— Steve Jobs, Apple
“Be bold. Always keep learning. You stop doing useful things if you don’t learn.”
— Satya Nadella, Microsoft
Blogs
You may (or may not) remember Dusty Bin, who was a character in a hugely popular 80’s game show titled ‘3-2-1’. As well as being immensely popular with audience figures of 12 million and upwards, the host Ted Rogers and Dusty Bin were also ahead of their time in terms of promoting backup methodologies.
With cyber-crime and ransomware attacks becoming more and more prevalent, you might think as a business owner it would be prudent to take out specific cyber cover with an insurance provider, but be aware that not all cyber policies are the same.
Whilst playing Golf with my father in Cardigan over the beautiful summer bank holiday, it struck me that a business’ view of their Information Systems often echoes my father’s view of his Golf clubs (bear with me here).
Think of it as the desktop version of Netflix, this means that you can use any device (e.g. Windows, Macbook, iPad) to stream a Windows desktop and all your important business applications over the internet.
Then it’s time you reviewed your disaster recovery and business continuity plan so you know your business can keep going under any circumstances.