Activ Technology has announced the appointment of Wes Clough who joins the team to handle the marketing and communication function of the business.

Wes, from Wallsend, joins with over 16 years’ experience as a brand marketer and graphic designer.

His arrival is the first of what is expected to be a number of appointments, as the company bolsters its business development and administrative teams.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, Activ Technology has also recently achieved Silver Partner Status with global market leader in enterprise communications, Mitel and has become a Microsoft Gold-Certified Partner.

Wes said: “I have a long-standing relationship with Ian Gillespie, managing director at Activ Technology, as I began my professional career working for him at Fone Logistics many years ago. When the opportunity arose for me to work with him again, I jumped at it.

“Since my early days with Ian, I have built up great expertise in marketing and design working for a number of well-known brands such as DFDS, Dawson & Sanderson and, most recently, as head of creative at a design agency based in Durham.

“My role will primarily focus on e-mail marketing and supporting the sales team as well as creative design and brand management. However, my first major task has been the design and build of the new Activ Technology website.”

Managing director at Activ Technology, Ian Gillespie, said: “We warmly welcome Wes to the team and I have no doubt that his creative marketing skills will greatly enhance our customer offering. “Despite being in the midst of a global pandemic, our customers remain our top priority and as well as a raft of new appointments that we will announce in the coming months, our Silver Partner Status with Mitel and becoming a Microsoft Gold-Certified Partner is down to the exceptional level of sales, technical training and business engagement delivered in record time. We look forward to building on our relationship with Mitel and Microsoft and offering the best support to our loyal customers.”

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Hot on the heels of the achievement of Mitel Silver Partner status, Activ Technology is pleased to announce that it is now a Microsoft Gold-Certified partner, as all key members of its IT team have now passed their final qualifying exams.

This builds on Activ’s commitment to collaborate and establish close working relationships with its industry leading partners, with all team members striving to meet and excel the standards these partners demand.

Microsoft describes its Gold-Certified partner program as:

“Microsoft Gold-Certified partner status validates IT professional and developer technical expertise through rigorous, industry-proven, and industry-recognized exams. Exams cover a wide range of Microsoft products, technologies, and solutions.”

Achieving such a status means Microsoft has declared that Activ Technology has successfully committed itself to evolving Microsoft technologies for the interests of its own needs as well as those of its clients.

Activ’s Head of Technology Leon Hughes – who himself brings a string of high-profile vendor certifications including Microsoft says:

“I am extremely proud of the hard work put in by my entire team to achieve our new Gold-Certified status. It’s not just the hard work put in towards passing the qualifying exams, it’s also the consistently high level of service that has to be maintained throughout as customer referrals are taken into account alongside these exams”

Everyone at Activ  echoes this statement, as Leon and his team have epitomised our vision to continually look at ways of making our working environment more efficient and  to ensure less stress on resources, while still remaining scalable, and all whilst doing the very same for our customers.

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Activ Technology is pleased to announce that it has been awarded Silver Partner status by global market leader in enterprise communications, Mitel. This accolade has also been achieved in what we believe is a record time of only 14 months since Activ commenced its relationship with Mitel. This award recognises Activ’s expertise across the full suite of Mitel’s products, as well as its ability to deliver an exceptional level of service, technical capability and sales.  

Activ’s new status as a Silver Partner is thanks to the exceptional level of sales, technical training and business engagement spearheaded by our Head of Comms Andy Shannon.

Activ Technology Managing Director Ian Gillespie is pleased to share:

“Andy has worked tirelessly to secure Activ’s new Silver Partner Status in such a record time. It’s an amazing achievement for both Andy and Activ and we are really looking forward to continuing to build upon our relationship with Mitel, and continuing to offer the very best support to all our customers”    

Mitel is one of the world’s most trusted business communications providers, powering more than two billion business connections and serving more than 60 million business users. Mitel’s Partner Program is designed to ensure that any Mitel Channel Partner selling and servicing its solutions is certified on its latest products and releases, so as to provide customers with a seamless experience of both knowledge and service.

Mitel delivers not only an exceptional communications solution tailored to each business, but also the support and services that make an initial investment in communications pay long-term returns. This mirrors Activ’s own commitment to offer the best solutions with the best value, and with the full support of the tech industry’s leading partners.

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As we slowly and cautiously begin moving out of COVID-19 lockdown, we are seeing signs that some employers are looking to rotate between home working and office working.

This can present a number of challenges since companies may not have the technology in place to seamlessly transition between the two. For example, many organisations made provision for home working by relocating equipment that would usually be slung under office desks.  Staff PCs found their way into private residences but given the circumstances, this approach worked as a satisfactory solution, albeit a temporary one.  Implementation of this however, was often convoluted and time consuming.  In order to maintain social distancing, many organisations have come to realise they may have to run offices at half capacity (or less) causing the temporary PC solution to become very impractical.  This would be particularly prevalent if staff are likely to attend the office on a rotational basis.

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis and prior to it, we’ve advised customers to invest in cloud technology.  From a business continuity standpoint it can make a lot of sense since any Cloud design would, by its very nature, have remote working inherent in its capability.  We’re also big advocates when it comes to the latest advances in desktop virtualisation. This allows seamless office-based or remote working to the point that working location often becomes unimportant.  Coupled with cloud technology, desktop virtualisation can provide a scalable, high performance, secure and reliable infrastructure on which to conduct business.

As a company Activ has invested heavily in this area and have the inhouse knowledge to transition any sized organisation to an environment allowing a single point of administration when it comes to updating applications whilst ensuring a seamless, consistent experience for users.

Organisations that have common technology needs across multiple locations or several remote workers, will also benefit greatly.

We’ve found that cyber security considerations only amplify over time and COVID-19 has certainly been testament to this.  Implementing the right mix of foundational features sooner rather than later mean organisations can grasp these challenges and help ensure security vulnerabilities are diminished.

COVID-19 has brought about various changes in peoples’ working habits.  This has made organisations more vulnerable.  An example might be where staff have had no choice but to download corporate information on to household computers.  Appropriate anti-virus may not be in place and uncontrolled non-corporate software can lead to major security issues leading to infection, loss or unintended distribution of company data.

We have also seen several phishing incidents whereby emails purportrating to be from reputable companies induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card details.  Office 365 data can be exposed due to this or because users recycle their Office 365 passwords on unrelated websites that end up being compromised.  Automated bots try logging into office 365 using compromised credentials and when successful, company data is often stolen or misused.

Overall, new ways of working and collaborating require new approaches to managing risk. Organisations need the balance of providing workers with flexibility whilst ensuring security and data compliance needs are met.

We live in a digital era whereby organisations must contend with multiple device types such as tablets and smartphones. Using traditional security methods is simply no longer enough.

Activ Technology work with a number of key vendors. Our level of accreditation and experience means we can sell and support the top tier solutions available.  We can look at introducing Cloud technologies including Microsoft Azure and Citrix Cloud into an environment, but ultimately our advice is always driven by business need.  Certain technologies can make a lot of sense regardless, however, we are strong believers in ensuring our solutions fit the business rather than selling whatever product is flavour of the month.  The vendors we work with are chosen based on our experience and rigorous selection.  Rather than migrating everything to cloud, we often find a hybrid on premis / cloud solution is the best fit. 

Organisations often find it useful investing in technology that attracts a monthly fee rather than a capital expenditure.  Our pricing models allow organisations to start on the cloud from as little as £25 per user per month.  This would, of course, be subject to a contractual arrangement and is dependent on individual needs and professional services fees.

To learn more about this, please contact: Leon Hughes. Email: leon.Hughes@helloactiv.co.uk

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At Activ Technology we are in our 10^th week of working from home and from a mobile point of view little has changed, it is very much business as usual.

Morale within the team is high and from the onset of the pandemic our IT colleagues worked hard to ensure that we all had the correct equipment in place to work from home and to also guarantee the seamless transition to home working for all our customers.

The mobile team is not in the office together and I do miss seeing them in person. However, we regularly face-time and have video meetings over Zoom and Microsoft Teams to discuss client activity and it is amazing how such activity has almost instantly become part of daily business life. There is a revolution taking place in terms of video conferencing and if we all get the balance right between face-to-face and video meetings, then there are going to be some very positive outcomes, not least the benefits to the environment of less travel.

I frequently talk to customers and sometimes it is just a case of a friendly chat for half an hour as communication at this time is key.

From a personal point of view I am spending less time travelling and although I miss seeing customers face-to-face a bonus of not being in the car is that I get a greater opportunity to think, plan and prepare for the months ahead.

Alongside mobile account manager, Marie Lunt, I am continuing with my studies. We have one year left of our 18 month ILM Level 3 Diploma for Managers. We are motivating each other and I find that particularly valuable at this time, as the lockdown does impact on the routines I used to keep and as such studying is one of those areas you could let slip.

I have regular contact with my tutors at Northern Skills in Newcastle and Marie is doing the same with her online studying via Middlesbrough College.

We are able to share advice and tips and our assessor calls us once a week to ensure that we are on top of our learning. Working from home has enabled me to dedicate more hours to my studying which will really benefit my knowledge and my skill set.

Like everyone else we are closely monitoring the working environment and I am really looking forward to seeing my customers in person in the months ahead.

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I’ve encountered many challenges throughout my career and thought I had witnessed more than most. Everything ranging from technical, logistical, commercial and political issues. It is, however, safe to say that the events of the last few weeks have no parallel. Some of the things I have witnessed have been simply staggering.

Activ Technology is now into its sixth week of working from home. To safeguard the wellbeing of our own staff, we made a business decision to work remotely two weeks prior to the UK lockdown. Our agility was key to this being a success. Staff were informed on Friday and by the Monday morning our entire workforce including the support desk became home based. To some this seemed like quite an ask, but the disaster recovery strategy we had in place meant we were ready. On Monday morning Activ was taking calls, providing support and deploying solutions remotely and on Cloud infrastructure transparently to customers. We access our systems securely using Citrix technology and communicate using both Microsoft Teams and our Mitel telephony solution that can be used from anywhere.

Working in IT, adaptability and customer care is key. Every client is different and many have bespoke needs. During this crisis we have had to arrange out of hours support for the social care sector and deployed technology to clients that had not previously had any need to work remotely. Some customers have had infrastructure with capacity to handle the extra burden while others have extended into Cloud infrastructure, allowing new ways of working without any need for Activ to attend site.

Many organisations have taken advantage of Microsoft Office 365. This offers cloud-based software as a service and products such as Exchange online, Teams and SharePoint amongst others. Smaller organisations have been able to work using this technology exclusively. Others have leveraged it with supporting technologies and other Cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure and Citrix Cloud.

As a Citrix Service provider and Citrix Silver Solutions Advisor, Activ is able to offer the full complement of Citrix Cloud and on-premis products. For our smaller customers this ‘Thin Client’ centric technology has helped enable users’ access to their office PCs remotely. For larger customers we’ve transformed remote working capability, providing solutions that perform exactly as they would when in the office.

Prior to joining Activ, I designed and built environments supporting thousands of users with this technology for both onsite and remote use. Scaling things down to support SMEs has proven particularly beneficial. Even more so during the challenges we are now facing.

For organisations who need a secure way to protect sensitive information with almost any application or requirement whilst working remotely, we can help ensure a consistent high-performance experience. The right mix of design choices can however be critical, particularly for those working towards compliance for Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus.

Our experienced technical team has the knowledge required to deploy these technologies in key verticals such as legal, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, retail, hospitality and education. As with most things, badly implemented infrastructure won’t perform or work as it should. Citrix is certainly no exception and appropriate experience with the technology is paramount.

As an organisation, we really have worked tirelessly and around the clock during what has certainly been a very challenging time. I am extremely proud of what the team here at Activ have achieved. Many of our staff have gone beyond the call of duty and without question. Everyone has embraced the challenges at hand to ensure we have been able to operate seamlessly during these historical times. This wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our most important asset – our people.

Image from left to right: Managing Director, Ian Gillespie, Head of Technology, Leon Hughes, Finance Director, Michael Hearns

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The Dumfries office of Activ Technology has built on its commitment to become an integral part of the communities in which it operates.

Activ Technology, for the second year, has provided IT support services for the much-loved Big Burns Supper Festival which takes place in the town each year and attracts thousands of visitors.

To further strengthen its relationship within the business sector, the company has become a member of the Dumfries and Galloway Chamber of Commerce and is sponsoring the after-show entertainment at the DGBusiness Awards, which has been rescheduled for later this year.

Activ Techology, which employs over 30 people, is a managed service provider for IT and telecommunications, with offices in Newcastle and Dumfries.

Dean Cowens, sales manager at Activ Technology, said: “We have had another tremendous start to the year and we want to reinvest this back into the local communities. We have been made very welcome since opening the office in November 2018 and it is important to us that we repay this by playing a role in the community, providing customers with an exceptional service and, where we can, by creating high quality jobs.

“I am growing my sales team and with this comes the desire to really develop our presence and develop strong business and community networks not just in Dumfries but across the Carlisle-Glasgow corridor, where our recently appointed business development manager, Carol Logan, is making a real impact.

“We are looking forward to supporting the DGBusiness Awards later this year, a ceremony that recognises the best in Scottish business and we will also donate promethean interactive boards which will be on display throughout the night.”

Lee Medd, host of the 2020 DGBusiness Awards, said: “We are so excited to be working with Activ Technology, it has really been making a name for itself since opening an office in Dumfries and with their expertise in IT can help businesses and organisations that may need to be away from their usual place of work for some time. Any businesses that need IT support during this time should give Activ Technology a call and see how they can assist.”

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To keep the team motivated, we held a ‘Team Activ’ company wide Microsoft Teams call on Wednesday and today we are all having a Dominos Team Lunch, in the comfort of our own homes, via Teams.

Each member of the Activ team, wherever they may be based, were given money for their lunch so we could all join in and have a catch-up, just like we would in the kitchen at Activ HQ.

 We wish every one of our customers the very best as they tackle the challenges that are ahead of us. We can all get through this if we work together and support each other in these difficult times.

If there is anything we can do to help, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of the team!

 Team Activ

The post It’s Day 5 of ‘Working from home’ for Team Activ and what can we say! appeared first on Activ Technology.

#safetyfirst #businesscontinuity #technology

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Our company policies & procedures with respect to the Coronavirus are attached.

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