Blog
Reduce the Risk of Cyber Threats in the Workplace
Cybersecurity in the workplace should be a priority for everyone within a business. However, no matter how many security protocols and guidelines a business has implemented to avoid cyber threats, unless your team are actively engaged with them your business...
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5 Ways Microsoft Azure Can Benefit Your Business
Despite more and more businesses embracing cloud computing, some businesses still have concerns about moving to the cloud. Generally, worries about network security, downtime, etc can often cause businesses to continue to work with their existing and often outdated...
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Phishing Attacks Pose Cyber Threat To Businesses
Just over half (54%) of more than 900 IT directors surveyed in Western Europe said that they had identified instances of employees replying to unsolicited emails or clicking the links contained within them, revealed a recent survey. The study revealed that larger...
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Create engaging reports and gain valuable business insights with Power BI
Traditionally, Microsoft Excel has been the ‘go-to’ reporting tool for businesses around the world, however, Power BI offers businesses even more powerful analytics and reporting features. Power Bi offers businesses faster experimentations with...
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What will happen to your Windows 7 devices after the 2020 End of Support Deadline?
January 14th, 2020 is a date for your diaries. This is the date Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 7, marking the end of over a decade of service from the operating system, which has become a favourite of users around the world. Who is still using Windows 7?...
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Don’t be an April Fool – Protect your Cloud from Cyber Attacks and Data Loss!
Don’t be an April Fool when it comes to securing your cloud from cyber attacks! Cloud computing is one of the key drivers for a business reaching its organisational goals, because of this, cloud computing has become the new norm for many businesses. Due to this,...
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It’s World Backup Day- Here’s Why You Should Backup Your Data!
Did you know that Sunday, March 31st is World Backup Day? With that in mind, we want to help you understand why you should always be prepared and backup your data! What is a backup? A backup is a copy of all essential data, e.g. documents, emails, files, etc. Instead...
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Windows 7 Users Will Begin To Receive Update Notifications Before Windows 7 End of Support
Microsoft will begin to send users push notifications warning them about the upcoming Windows 7 End of Support deadline. From January 14th, 2020, Windows 7 will no longer be supported by Microsoft. Notifications will begin being sent to users in April. This...
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Move Files and Folders Between OneDrive and SharePoint
When you want to share files with a different team of people, or even give other teams ownership of certain files and folders, you can move (or copy) files between OneDrive for Business and SharePoint. You can move (or copy) files and folders from OneDrive to...
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Why Your Business Needs A Custom Software Development
In today’s competitive world where businesses are continuously seeking to improve their processes, a custom software development is a productive and efficient way to help your company stand out from the crowd and get ahead of your competition. What is Custom...
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Get Set Up on Skype for Business
Skype for Business is a useful tool for businesses who want to enable their team members to communicate and collaborate with each other. Skype for Business allows you to share content, hold meetings and stay in touch with team members using instant messages. The key...
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Be Prepared for Windows 7 End of Support
Microsoft has announced the date for Windows 7 End of Support, this date is January 14th, 2020. From this date, Microsoft will no longer update or provide support for Windows 7. While Windows 7 is now many years old (it launched in 2009), it is still one of the most...
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5 Benefits of Bespoke Software Developments
Many businesses use off-the-shelf applications on a daily basis. These applications may fulfil an immediate functionality requirement, however, they often lack certain features that would benefit your business’ processes. Stock software often has many...
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Discover in SharePoint Online
Discover on SharePoint Online allows you to access content quickly and easily. Using a variety of methods you can find the content that you require using SharePoint Online’s many discover features. Search for something 1.Type into the Search box in the top left...
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5G May Cause an Increase in Cyber Crime, Experts Say
With 5G set to be rolled out next year, cyber security experts have urged users to do more to protect themselves from cyber threats explaining that many devices could be hacked due to this new technology. Representatives from McAfee said that users were still making...
read moreSurge In The Number of Data Breaches Reported To Commission In 2018
The number of data breaches reported to the Data Protection Commission soared by 70% last year, as new data protection legislation was introduced across Europe. In total, the watchdog was notified of 4,470 breaches during 2018, with 3,542 of those lodged in the seven...
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Collaborate in SharePoint Online
Help your team collaborate, communicate and share content with Microsoft SharePoint Online. Learn how to use SharePoint to its full potential with the helpful tips below on how teams can collaborate. With Microsoft SharePoint you can work as part of a team from any...
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Protect Your Data From Cyber-Crime With These Best Practices
Ransomware, botnets and phishing scams were at an all-time high in 2018 and attackers are taking every opportunity to steal data for their own gain. In 2018, Microsoft found that “More than 75% of phishing mails include malicious URLs to phishing sites. Other...
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All Good Things Come To An End- Are You Prepared For Windows 7 End Of Support?
Windows 7 is one of the most successful operating systems developed by Microsoft. Through its many years, millions of organisations have adopted this operating system. However, with Windows 7’s end of support quickly approaching, many businesses are now...
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Employees Can Be The ‘Weak Link’ In Cyber Security – Survey Says
A new survey has found that two out of every five employees in Ireland have experienced phishing, hacking, cyber fraud or other cyber attacks. The research, which was carried out by Amarach, on behalf of Microsoft, also revealed that employees can often be a weak...
read moreGet Organised With Outlook – How Flags and Colour Categories can help your team work better!
Try it for yourself! Set a Follow Up flag 1.Select the email message. 2.Select the Flag Icon. The flag will turn red and a follow up message will appear in the header of the email message. Note: Follow Up flags are used for actionable items only. View all Follow Up...
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Data Loss Prevention – Human Error, Threats & More
Do you remember the first or last time you found a user had shared sensitive information with the wrong people? Companies dedicate large amounts of resources and money towards establishing an air tight DLP policy to detect and protect company data and prevent it from...
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Wow At Your Next Presentation – Add Music To Your Slides!
There are several ways to improve your next presentation using PowerPoint. Adding objects, customising styles, and themes can all improve how well people engage with your presentation. In addition to all of these, you can also add music to your presentation slides....
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Almost 60,000 Data Breaches Reported Under GDPR
Just over 59,000 data breaches have been reported across Europe in the eight months since GDPR has come into force. GDPR came into effect on May 25th 2018, this set out the new rules on how businesses, organisations and government bodies can collect and handle data....
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British MPs’ Phone and Email Contacts Have Been Hacked in Phishing Attempt.
Authorities within the British Parliment are investigating after MPs were targeted by an attempt to hack their email and phone contact lists on Monday. Deputy chief whip Christopher Pincher warned colleagues in an email to ignore text messages and emails asking them...
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Why Your Business Should Adopt Multi-Factor Authentication
The password is arguably the most popular and most common security measure available and most of the time it is also the most vulnerable. In the case of a data breach, many companies simply have their employees change their passwords. However, the password has a lot...
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Shake Up Your Signature On Outlook
In Outlook, you can create one or more personalised signatures for your emails. Your signatures can include text, images, your electronic business card, a logo, or even an image of your handwritten signature! You can organise your Outlook account to ensure signatures...
read moreKeep Control Of Your Cloud: Mitigating the Risk Of Office 365 Account Hijacking
Office 365 – the online, subscription-based version of Microsoft’s office application suite – is one of the most popular and widely used enterprise cloud applications/services, which makes it the preferred target of hackers trying to gain access to...
read more5 Common Causes Of Data Loss
Data loss is a serious problem for businesses of all sizes, losing essential files means having to redirect your efforts from your business’ core focus, to recovering data. Data loss can happen when data is accidentally deleted or something causes files to...
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Security Risks All Businesses Should be Aware Of In 2019
Over the past few years, we have seen a distinct rise in the number of cyber attacks happening to businesses in all industries around the world. These cyberattacks have not only grown in frequency, but also in complexity. Cybercriminals are continuously evolving in...
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Did you lock the back door? Discover you network risks with External Vulnerability Testing
Your business is very much like a house whereby windows and doors are locked to keep intruders out. But sometimes, a stranger can get through an unlocked back door, and rummage through your property, perhaps take items without your knowledge. This scenario can easy...
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We are hiring – Digital Marketing Manager
Digital Marketing Manager We are looking for a Digital Marketing Manager to support our growth plans in the Irish market. This is a new role and therefore provides a great opportunity for a suitably qualified person to put their own stamp on the role. HCS will...
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Keep your business talking – Is it time to upgrade your business phone system?
There are common parallels to be found between the longevity of a business and its ability to evolve in the modern world. Without adapting and evolving businesses can easily fall behind their competitors. While keeping up to date with general technology is key to a...
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We are hiring – IT Support Technician
IT Support Technician wanted for our Waterford based IT Service Desk in Cleaboy Business Park. Salary range €22-28K PA depending on experience and qualifications. HCS are seeking an IT Support Technician to join our service desk team which supports our growing...
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GDPR e-learning course – Training your staff is key to compliancy
GDPR has been a hot topic for us all over the past few months but despite the deadline coming and going, many organisations are still unprepared for the legislation. We here at HCS Business Solutions understand that getting to grips with the new regulations has been a...
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Storm Emma – Get DR Ready
It’s 14:12pm on 2nd March and the HCS offices in Dublin and Waterford are still closed. However our countrywide staff have all sent on their latest photo’s. One employee who lost internet connection tried to row their way to work in a home made wheel...
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Remote working at it’s best!
It’s 14:20 on 1st March 2018 and the HCS offices are closed since yesterday morning when the first of the snow hit, but that doesn’t mean our business was closed. Using the technology at our disposal all our staff have been working from home for the last...
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We are hiring – Office Administrator (Sales Team)
HCS Business Solutions are now looking for an Office Administrator to join our sales team. Based in Waterford this is a fantastic opportunity to work in a fast paced and rapidly growing company within the IT sector. Responsibilities: •Receive and respond to customer...
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GDPR – Let HCS protect you.
The IT industry has latched onto GDPR over the past 12 months and HCS have deliberated about it’s position in regard to this topic. We have finally found our niche. As Microsoft Gold Partners HCS have aligned to Microsoft’s thinking on how to...
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Email threats – How to spot the most common forms
Phishing…Pharming…Viruses and Worms…OH GOSH! These cyber security terms might not mean much to you now but, if your business is faced with potential threats, you will no doubt want to know what’s what and, more importantly the most effective ways of protecting...
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Latest Cyber Attacks Update from HCS Business Solutions
We believe that there’s a huge positive to come from the recent global ransomware and cyber attacks. This may sound perverse, however the huge media attention given to cybercrime and its consequences has placed the topic of IT Security at the forefront of everyone’s...
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Protect your email against sophisticated cyber attacks
Keeping your data protected from constantly evolving, aggressive malware threats is a worry for companies of all sizes these days. Email has become so critical to day-to-day business that hackers cleverly and frequently infiltrate internal networks via email,...
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Prevention is always better than a cure
“Prevention is better than the cure” that’s why protecting your IT Systems against cybercrime, disasters, malicious intent is always better than having to face the pain of a cure when the damage is done. While no one can guarantee 100% protection for your IT Systems,...
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We are looking for another .net developer
The HCS Software Division is a growing team of currently 6 software developers who specialise in delivering custom applications on behalf of a number of national and multinational customers. We place a strong emphasis on cloud and mobility and therefore work with the...
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How to create a human firewall against cybercrime in your organisation!
In a previous blog entitled “How Can You Protect Yourself and Your Business from Potentially Costly Ransomware Attacks?” I discussed three ways in which you can protect your organisation. I broke it down into 3 steps that need to be taken to mitigate against the risk...
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PSTN Conferencing with Skype for Business
Whether they are a massive blessing or the annoyance of your working day, conference calls with your customers or far-flung colleagues are an essential part of doing business these days. You want this part to go as easily and smoothly as possible, for sure, HCS know...
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Leave the file server!
Well hello there! For users of a file server, I am delighted to say that the time has finally come whereby I can now happily recommend for you to leave the file server and instead, use SharePoint Online! The main reason that you should do this, is that on 1st March...
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We are hiring a Helpdesk Support Technician
Helpdesk Support Engineer required for a position on our busy IT Helpdesk based in Waterford. This is an excellent opportunity to join a successful and growing IT provider with customers and projects nationwide with fantastic career opportunities for dedicated IT...
read moreMicrosoft Office 2016 VS. Office 365 – The Differences
Looking for information on the differences between Microsoft Office 365 and Office 2016? Are you a regular business person and not an IT- trained specialist? Is Google your best friend? Are you sick and tired of trawling through various websites on your quest to find...
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Windows 10 Should I upgrade or not?
Windows 10 FREE upgrade from Windows 7, 8.0 and 8.1 is available until 29th July 2016. After this date you will have to pay for the upgrade (price unknown as of yet) or the alternative is to buy a new PC/laptop with Windows 10 pre-installed. So should you upgrade or...
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We’re hiring a .Net Developer
The HCS Software Division is a growing team of software developers who specialise in delivering custom applications on behalf of a number of national and multinational customers. We place a strong emphasis on cloud and mobility and therefore work with the latest in...
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New Business Phone System – Hosted or On-Premise? How can you be sure of selecting the right one?
Written by Dan Hegarty, Managed Telecommunications Expert, Director, HCS Business Solutions. E: dhegarty@hcs.ie | Dan’s LinkedIn | Dan’s Twitter Introduction Thinking about a new phone system for your business? I’ve been working with SME’s for the past 20...
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OneDrive, OneDrive for Business or SharePoint Libraries where should I store my documents?
OneDrive, OneDrive for Business or SharePoint Libraries, where should I store my documents? This is a question that I am asked regularly and I hope to explain in a manner that makes sense. This blog is not intended to be a training manual but it will give you an idea...
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How Can You Protect Your Business From Potentially Costly Ransomware Attacks?
This article entitled “How Can You Protect Your Business From Potentially Costly Ransomware Attacks?” was written by Sean Hegarty who is Operations Director at HCS Business Solutions. Sean holds a BSc in Law with Business, an MSc in Technology Management and has been...
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What are you missing? OneDrive for Business
In a recent blog on “What are you missing from Office 365 and Azure”, I mentioned a number of products and benefits that businesses should consider. I plan to delve into a number of these over the coming weeks and months, today I am concentrating on...
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What are you missing from Office365 and Azure?
What are you missing from Office365 and Azure? The cloud was on the ground in Waterford last week and my sense of humour got the better of me and I couldn’t help but tweet some humour for a change on the cloud!...
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Online Data Backup – Why you need it?
This blog post entitled “Online Data Backup – Why you need it?” was written by Neil Phelan, Director at HCS Business Solutions. E: nphelan@hcs.ie. Neil’s LinkedIn ac. Neil’s Twitter ac. Introduction In a recent blog post by Sean Hegarty, he described...
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We’re Hiring
Position: Sales Support/Administration What we are looking for: We are looking for someone who can add value to our existing Sales Team in order to further develop and grow in a very competitive market. In order to succeed you will need to: • Be customer focused &...
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Data Backup Strategies for SMB’s .
This article entitled “Data Backup Strategies for SMB’s” was written by Sean Hegarty who is Operations Director at HCS Business Solutions. Sean holds a BSc in Law with Business, an MSc in Technology Management and has been working in the field of IT Service Management...
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Will Eircode Benefit Your Business?
Ireland recently became one of the last countries in the developed world to introduce postcodes. Known as Eircode, the new postcode is different to that of most countries, in that it identifies individual buildings, but not general areas or landmarks that do not...
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