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Every successful product is the fruit of hard work and this applies to every field of business. Intuition alone is not enough to create a product that people will love and use. You also need to do your research, thinking, planning, differentiating yourself and more. Write about some of the challenges you faced in designing this product and what steps you and your team took to overcome them.
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As unbelievable as it still seems, this weekend marks a year since our friend and founder, Lee Rogers, was reported missing en route to France. There is still a Lee-shaped hole in our world at Simplify Technology Group that no amount of time will truly repair. A great inspiration, a leader by example, an infectiously positive and generous spirit. As I write this, I can hear Lee's voice telling us to get on with it, as well as a politically incorrect jibe or two for good measure. Our shared commitment to getting on with Lee's vision is testament to his guidance, sound judgement and hard work. So that's what we're doing and doing well. I salute my colleagues for that. Anybody who knew Lee will have a great memory or 5 to make them smile. I'd ask you this weekend to remember Lee, raise a glass of something, and if you're able to, maybe share some of your fondest memories. Just days before that awful weekend, I had the honour of spending a day on Lee's boat with him. It was one of the best days of my life and certainly the best day of my working life. I told him so, and I'm glad I did. Miss you guv.
It hasn't even been a year since Lee Rogers set out to climb the 3 highest peaks in each nation of Great Britain, this to raise money to train a guide dog named 'Dannii' in honour of Lee's niece who had tragically passed away at a young age. And now we're mourning another tragic loss as we've lost Lee himself. It's not fair, it's incredibly cruel. After losing Dannii, Lee was quite clearly heartbroken but rather than retreat into darkness he took positive action. That was Lee all over - when life gives you Lemons, make Lemonade - and give it to the thirsty. So Matt Beacham, who accompanied Lee up the 3 peaks last year, decided to take them on again and this time in honour of Lee. Ever and strangely keen to tackle the arduous climbs and raise money for charity, Matt successfully completed the climbs on the weekend of the 30th July, kitted out with his all new Simplify IT sponsored walking shirt, which was very professionally prepared by Warwick printing company Pixel Studios who we'd like to thank for supporting this endeavour with speed and exceptional quality and service. They also donated the shirt itself once they heard it was for Lee. We thank Paul and team at Pixel and highly recommend them to anybody. Emblazoned on the shirt is what we hope will be the outcome of all this effort, the funding for at least one - and most likely more - Guide Dogs. Can you guess what the first one's name will be? A Guide Dog Named Lee... and maybe Roger? If you guessed Lee, you guessed right. Guide Dogs was a charity close to Lee's heart. His family would really appreciate it if you could show your support through charitable donation. Ideally they'd like to raise enough money in his memory to have a guide dog puppy named "Lee" - which his daughter Ellie reckons would obviously be the worst behaved pup of any litter & be unlikely to pass out! Well, we're sure he'll be trouble but if he's anything like his namesake he will absolutely smash it. Fundraising has been brilliant, and thanks to generosity of so many, not only is Lee the puppy going to happen, but a second (who may be name Roger) and more... In loving memory of Lee Some of you will be aware we had a celebration of Lee's life recently, and the family asked that instead of flowers anybody who wished to make a tribute did so by donating to Guide Dogs. We laughed, we cried, we shared so many amazing stories of Lee's adventures and we donated - And how! Simplify IT matched the many wonderful and generous donations on the day and so we're in a position to go beyond the original hopes of the fundraising initiative. Going above and beyond is what Lee was all about so what a fitting tribute. Lee the puppy, and hopefully Roger and however many others we can fund together, will follow Dannii into a wonderful cause. Thank you so much. If you have any stories, anecdotes or memories of Lee to share, no matter how dodgy (come on, we know who we're talking about here) please send them to StoriesOfLee@simplifyit.co.uk Thanks Matt Of course, all this is helped massively by the endeavours of Matt Beacham. A kind soul and a tireless fundraiser. Kate Bush may be running up that hill at the moment, but Matt chooses mountains and we salute him. It is no mean feat to climb so may metres (and descend them) in questionable conditions in so short a time - and to do so with a cheerful demeanour, with his sponsored walking shirt that would put most Formula 1 cars to shame - is admirable. Well done Matt. Please, if you can, give generously. You'll find details below of how you can donate. Thank you very, very much in advance.
Organisations should follow National Cyber Security Centre advice and act on improving their resilience with the cyber threat heightened, this comes after a major cyber attack is underway against Ukraine's Government Infrastructure. Websites belonging to a host of Ukrainian governmental bodies have been targeted in a massive cyber-attack, Reuters news agency has reported. Websites for the Ukrainian parliament (the Rada), the foreign ministry and the security services are among several services that have been affected by the attack. Following Russia’s further violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the National Cyber Security Centre has called on organisations in the UK to bolster their online defences. The NCSC – which is a part of GCHQ – has urged organisations to follow its guidance on steps to take when the cyber threat is heightened (as it is now). While the NCSC is not aware of any current specific threats to UK organisations in relation to events in and around Ukraine, there has been an historical pattern of cyber attacks on Ukraine with international consequences . The guidance encourages organisations to follow actionable steps that reduce the risk of falling victim to an attack. If you are understandably concerned by this news - and whilst we are not advocating panic, we do stress that your Cyber Security measures need to be more robust than ever - please get in touch so we can advise you and get you protected before it's too late. Please note: This is not a ghoulish attempt to do business on the back of a genuine crisis, this is a genuine commitment to assist in getting vulnerable businesses protected - because we're experts and we can help and therefore should. If you're not sure how vulnerable you are, get in touch. We can evaluate your security systems and options in very little time.
Simplify IT Solutions has been certified as a Cisco Premier Integrator in UK. This represents a levelling up from Premier Partner, in addition to our existing status as a Cisco Security Specialist. Cisco has bestowed this partnership status on us due to our increasing experience and excellent reputation with Cisco solutions. According to Cisco "Simplify IT has met all personnel, specialisation, support requirements and has demonstrated that it is qualified to sell, install and support Cisco solutions in UK." All this means that when it comes to supplying, installing and supporting Cisco Solutions, you can trust us to absolutely smash it. Not literally of course, we'd like to keep our status.
Last week, if you're not yet aware, a vulnerability was found in Log4j, an open-source logging library commonly used by apps and services across the internet. If left unfixed, attackers can break into systems, steal passwords and logins, extract data, and infect networks with malicious software. This library is being used in all kinds of enterprise and open-source software. In short, its something major that could take down huge portions of the internet and other connected networks and devices. Log4j is used worldwide across software applications and online services, and the vulnerability requires very little expertise to exploit. This makes Log4shell potentially the most severe computer vulnerability in years. This issue could allow hackers to take control of any Java-based web servers and launch remote-code execution attacks, which could give them control of the computer servers. That could open up a host of security-compromising possibilities. Patches were deployed quickly, however more vulnerabilities have since been found and so, even if you think you've responded to this already, the chances are there are more fixes to come, and more vulnerabilities discovered. Microsoft stated on Tuesday that international hacking groups have already been exploiting the vulnerabilities and that can only mean Ransomware attacks down the line. So the upshot is that you need to consider how this affects you and your estate. If you're a Simplify IT customer you will or already have received an alert asking you to get in touch so we can take action. If you're not a Simplify IT customer, now is a very good time to begin.
Simplify IT can now provide you with 5 free MT sensor licenses - in perpetuity. No action is required to receive the free licenses. They should automatically appear in dashboard and do not expire. The 5 free licenses - combined with the Meraki sensors 4 for 2 promotion (running through January 2022) make it easier than ever to get started with MT. Get in touch with us today to learn how MT sensors can transform any environment into a smart space and deliver significant business outcomes. We'll also explain below a little about what they do. The Cisco Meraki MT product family is a line of cloud-managed sensors that are exceptionally simple to configure and deploy due to its integration with the Meraki dashboard and the use of BLE technology. The MT family eliminates the complex and costly setup required by traditional solutions by removing the limitations of placement of these sensors. Let's look at what these Sensors do, and what they can do for your organisation...
Browne Jacobson is a major UK Nationwide law firm and are accredited experts across the private and public sectors. Browne Jacobson has true national reach, with offices in Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester, Exeter, and London. With hundreds of lawyers and partners, and a significantly expanding client base, Browne Jacobson are a company that needs significant technical assistance to support their rapid growth. Simplify IT has provided such assistance for over 9 years. Here's one recent example of that kind of support, which we're proud to say was another big success. So please, if you'll indulge us, let us explain what we did and how, and what the outcome was. Hopefully it will give you a feel for the kind of excellence we pride ourselves in.
The clock is ticking and it's time to get this sorted
The Super Deduction - Don't miss the chance
We recently informed you of a plan for three brave souls to tackle the three tallest mountains in England, Scotland & Wales as quickly as possible, do all the driving themselves, and sleep rough in a Simplify IT van - all to raise money for charity. Well, here now follows the account of those brave souls and their arduous travails... Thursday 7th October 2021. With noble intent and plenty of fundraising done, the 3 adventurers (Matt Beacham, Neil Reynolds and Lee Rogers) set out from the relative flatlands of Shakespeare's County on the long drive to Ben Nevis. Arriving at The Ben Nevis Inn at 10pm, and after a crafty pint, the team set up temporary beds in the back of the Simplify IT van and settled in for the night. Ben Nevis - The Tallest Mountain in the British Isles (4,413 feet) At daft o'clock - or if you like, the ungodly hour of 3am - the team woke, had a quick breakfast and at 0420 hrs began their ascent up Ben Nevis. The weather was really poor, it was dark and they were above the cloud layer for most of the day. At the summit, the very roof of Great Britain, visibility was less than 100 feet. The team made the ascent in 4 hours, which is a great effort and one the guys were delighted with. The descent took place in daylight and took 5.5 hours. During the descent, the team began to pick up some minor injuries, which naturally slowed them down. Scafell Pike - The Tallest Mountain in the England (3,209 feet) After much needed refreshment at The Ben Nevis Inn, the team set off on another long drive to Scafell Pike. Arriving in the dark, our intrepid trio once again booked into the one star accommodation of the Simplify IT van, nevertheless grateful for its temporary beds and rest. The Scafell Pike ascent begin in daylight, with the guys achieving the summit in 3 hours. Neil had injured his knee, but with sheer determination managed to complete the climb. Visibility at the summit was really poor, and they soon headed down, having to take numerous recovery stops. Snowdon - The Tallest Mountain in Wales (3,560 feet) As soon as the team completed their Scafell Pike descent they were on their way to Snowdon. Upon arrival at Snowdon the team were told they could not park as they had not pre-booked parking. This meant they had to park a further mile away and walk the 1 mile uphill to the start point. The journey up Snowdon began along the miners trail in pitch black conditions. Nevertheless, the team made great progress but unfortunately made a wrong turn at some point. It took another few hours before they found the peak but find it they did. They then got lost, met two other parties (also lost) and eventually had to scramble down a valley to get to back to the path. This was followed by a long walk back down the miners trail. The team were back to the start point, just under 48 hours from the beginning of the ascent up Ben Nevis. Mission Accomplished After deciding that Matt was in the best condition of the the 3, and that he should fetch the van, Matt set off. Unfortunately he got lost, and after two hours Lee and Neil went looking for him. Luckily enough, they bumped into each other soon after. After a quick snack, the long drive home began. This would be taxing normally but the guys hadn't slept much in 48 hours and were exhausted from the ascents and descents. Nevertheless, the team were euphoric that this arduous task was completed. It was mentally and physically challenging. Although all were suffering aches, pains and strains, it was Mission Accomplished. Not having a driver made a big difference, especially when you are made to park miles from the start point. Lots of fun, sweat and tears - but also lots of money raised for a great cause. The team hope to raise enough money for a guide dog named " Dannii " in memory of Neil’s partner and Lee's Niece. Please, if you can, give generously. You'll find details below of how you can donate. Thank you very, very much in advance.
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