Active Digital – Digital Insights – February 2022
We have solutions to help your business. Let’s work together.
Looking to spread the cost of your Apple hardware over a fixed monthly cost? When it comes to business, leasing hardware is a fantastic option for organisations on a budget as you can have a monthly cost rather than one large upfront payment. This allows you the freedom to upgrade devices for employees who need up to date tech, but you don’t wish to burn through your 2022 IT budget in one swoop.
3 Reasons to Lease your iPhones and iPads
Conserve your IT budget – Leasing is an affordable and modern way to complete a tech rollout for your business. Furthermore, Active Digital are committed to working towards a sustainable future and if you have any older iPhones to trade in (any model), Active Digital can buy those back from you. We will value your old tech and give you a payment for them in return, or if they are unusable, we will recycle them in an accredited manner for you and give you a certificate of safe disposal and data removal.
- A scale up program – Your ‘Active Asset’ lease agreement grows with your business, so as you need to add more iPhones for new employees, you can easily scale up and add extra devices for a predicted monthly sum. We’ll help you configure and roll out devices where needed and can even provide onsite tech support if your team who require help in getting started.
- A uniform iOS estate– where possible, IT departments prefer that all employees can be on the same device; make and model. It can be more difficult to ensure every device is secure when you have a hybrid model of iOS and Android at the same time. Moving to a uniform IT estate, whereby all your users have the same operating software can be an easy way to make your estate easier to manage and reduces additional IT workload.
- Extend Apple Leasing to Family – At Active Digital, we have a customer referral program, so you can recommend our iPhone monthly payment plan to family members. This means that our fantastic services are not just exclusive to organisations but are agile enough to be adapted for families or for business professionals with one iPhone. And don’t forget, at the end of the lease, you can simply hand back your device for an upgrade and we can swap it for a newer model as part of an upgrade package.
The Big Switch Off 2025 – Are you Ready?
The big landline switch off is planned for 2025 which means landlines as we know them will be no longer. Now is the time to start thinking about switching to a cloud solution for your landlines. Active Digital transferred to a VoIP solution a few years back and its enabled us to be more mobile, more connected and ahead of the times.
It’s an important conversation for us to be having with our customers and with our bespoke VoIP solutions we have you covered. A VoIP solution will allow you to keep your existing landline number, Direct Dials and Voicemails but gives you the flexibility to answer calls ‘out of the office’ as well as in the office. With mobile apps and debt phones, you’ll never miss that important call!
Speak to your Account Manager or the Business Team to find out more on 01892 893000.
3 ideas to make your hybrid working a success
According to a recent report on flexible working, 47 of 50 of the UK’s largest employers told a BBC Survey that they would either be encouraging staff to work from home two or three days a week or keeping hybrid working under review.
The decisions in getting this strategy right will impact everything; from your culture, how you attract and retain talent, how you respond to change and how you innovate. Use data and your employee’s own engagement to gauge success. Learning and correcting as you go.
Here are three things to consider when making hybrid working a success in your organisation.
1. People
Over 70 percent of employees want flexible remote working to continue, while over 65 percent crave more in-person time with their teams. Hybrid working requires leaders to ensure employees have the flexibility to work when and where they want.
According to Microsoft, almost half of the global workforce is likely to consider leaving their current employer this year. This means to stay competitive you need to take a people-first approach to your hybrid working strategy. Therefore, consider employee wellbeing as a daily priority and consider what you can do to ensure your employees are finding a good work/life balance.
At Active Digital, our Get Active Digital program has been running successfully for over two years. This purpose-built app and program created by Active Digital and our sister company ILG Business, gives us the collaborative, digital tools to:
- instant messaging and chat groups
- monitor wellbeing stats
- fitness activity log
- podcast and news updates
- access the information they need. When they need it
2. CloudAs the cloud industry matures, it’s no longer a question of if you’re in the cloud, but how many clouds you’re in. Most businesses now understand that there isn’t a “one cloud fits all” solution and have shifted towards a hybrid or multi-cloud model.
For 2022, over 90% of businesses surveyed by analyst IDC say they intend to pursue the cloud more aggressively, relying on a mix of private clouds, multiple public clouds, and legacy platforms. The reasoning is to build business continuity in the wake of the pandemic, by adding greater resilience and financial liquidity into their operations.
Meanwhile, according to a report from Flexera, enterprises are broadly embracing a multi-cloud strategy, with an estimated 92% of companies adopting a multi-cloud approach. The research revealed that enterprises currently use an average of 2.6 public and 2.7 private clouds within their infrastructure, suggesting multi- and hybrid setups have become commonplace.
With Active Digital, we can help you with product choices as well as building you employee digital skills with deployment and training days. We are here to help your business to grow and thrive through investment in cloud-based technology. We are by your side to gently encourage innovation and nurture growth in your business overall.
3. Security
A Study of UK home workers found that one in five had received no training on cybersecurity, so the rise of hybrid working arguably necessitates greater investment in this area. Employees now need access to all their files in a cloud-based drive, so they can access files more safely and securely. As an Apple Reseller, Mac, iPad and iPhone from Active Digital all come with encryption technology that keeps your corporate data safe and sound for greater peace of mind.
Apple has a laser focused approach to privacy and security which makes them a brilliant choice for hybrid working. Active Digital can help you administer your entire Apple estate remotely, with zero touch deployment and the power to disable lost or stolen devices in just a few clicks. Apple’s strength when it comes to MDM is great news for secure hybrid working and that is what we do best.
In short, equip your employees with both digital skills and secure technology to give them the autonomy to solve challenges and reimagine traditional, outdated processes. When you automate processes and workflows, you can innovate manual work, reduce errors, and discover new insights to improve services.
Talk to us about how your organisation can embrace hybrid working for today and tomorrow.
2022 RPI rate announced
The UK mobile networks normally issue an annual RPI (Retail Price Index) price adjustment to mobile tariff prices for existing customers in the UK.
This year, O2 will also be applying RPI+3.9% to customers who have signed up or upgraded since 25 March 2021. The latest RPI rate was announced on 16 February 2022 as 7.8%. Here at Active Digital, wanted to ensure customers were aware of this change in advance of the increase from the April 2022 invoice.
If you would like to discuss this further, please do contact the support team on 01892 893000.
O2 are crediting International calls, text & data
(to and from Ukraine)
It is hard not to be concerned and upset by the current situation facing the people of Ukraine. O2 recognise that customers in Ukraine may incur unexpected roaming charges at this time.
In addition, customers in the UK trying to contact family or friends in Ukraine may also incur additional charges. To support customers, O2 will credit all international calls, texts & data from and to Ukraine for the period 21 Feb – 6 March 2022. This will include Consumer PAYM & PAYG customers and Business customers across O2, Virgin Media and giffgaff.