Star Blog

Fibre to the Cabinet – Download speed isn’t everything

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:21:47 GMT

The deployment of FTTC has been fast and furious over the last year or so, with new green cabinets popping up all over the country. We are now at a point where coverage is much better and FTTC is available to many more locations. Those in charge o...

Design Principles

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:10:52 GMT

Christmas is a time for family, too much food and many other good things. One of these is these is, of course increasingly expensive electronic equipment to amuse the children. For me this year it was a pair of Nintendo 3DS for which I reluctantly...

Top 5 Tips to Rolling Out Unified Communications to End Users

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:29:10 GMT

Once you’ve made the decision about which UC provider to partner with you now face another task. End user engagement; essentially you now need to sell the idea of unified communications to your end users. So, with that in mind here are some top ti...

When IT goes Bad!

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:10:27 GMT

I was reading this morning that the FiReControl Plan (a universal panacea for the fire service) - estimated cost £120m, actual cost £470m value delivered £0 – had been abandoned! I was immediately worried that whoever named the project didn't know...

Top 5 Reasons to Choose Hosted Voice

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 10:07:31 GMT

UK businesses can finally replace their old phone systems and get a far more flexible phone solution for a fraction of the cost. But it’s not just replacing one phone system for another. With Hosted voice, you get the benefits of a fully managed...

Build vs. Buy; In-House vs. Cloud

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:17:33 GMT

Expansion into new markets. Business intelligence. Online and e-commerce development. Mergers and acquisitions activity. ERP and application integration. Compliance requirements. Network consolidation. Telephony and unified communications projects...

The Millstone That Is Your Email Inbox

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 11:34:05 GMT

Look around at your colleagues, can you see the weight that sits on their shoulders? Let’s be truthful we’re all suffering from email overload. Most employees within an organisation now have access to email and its uses are endless. The original...

The uncrossed-fingers approach to email continuity

Tue, 24 May 2011 09:26:05 GMT

With businesses becoming more and more reliant on their email systems it would seem obvious that resilient business email systems are a necessity, not a 'nice-to-have'. Email outages are costly, and not just for the obvious reasons. Yes, there wil...

5 Top Tips for Choosing a Voice Supplier

Mon, 16 May 2011 09:46:28 GMT

Telephony is no longer just an infrastructure conversation. Vendor consolidation and increased emphasis on software-based collaboration is transforming the way in which business consume telephony. Features on the whole have remained static...

Why did Microsoft buy Skype?

Wed, 11 May 2011 09:14:17 GMT

Microsoft’s $8bn (£5bn) acquisition of Skype on Tuesday certainly had the markets asking why the software blue-chip has paid so much cash for a loss making consumer service. As the markets closed Microsoft’s stock was slightly down, suggesting...

Bring Your Own PC

Wed, 04 May 2011 14:39:34 GMT

Last week I was sat in a meeting and noticed the plethora of devices which each individual summarily threw on the desk as the meeting started. iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, legacy handsets, tablets and laptops. The pre-meeting conversation...

Are you getting enough Fibre?

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:50:21 GMT

Over the last few months as we have been working towards the launch of Fibre Broadband , I have descended into the realms of super-geek. I have found myself becoming a 'cabinet spotter'! This started with my own cabinet and waiting in anticipation...

SIP - Cost reduction, yes. But more than meets the eye

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:32:38 GMT

ISDN is the long-time telephony technology of choice for medium sized business it has provided consistent service, but little flexibility. With the recent coming of age of SIP, telephony is changing for the better, businesses now have the choice t...

Should an IT manager have a corporate Ebay account?

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:22:33 GMT

I have been with a few customers over the last month or so who have had problems with their small key systems. We always joke about looking for spare parts on Ebay. It makes me wonder if the credit crunch meant organizations stopped replacing th...

Unified Communications and End User Adoption

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 11:14:42 GMT

So you've selected the technology, found an integrator, signed a licensing agreement and the project plan is in place. Your business is on the road to delivering unified communications and grasping all the associated benefits. But, how do you inte...

The Future of Corporate IT is Private Cloud Computing

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:08:52 GMT

Cloud computing has become a short hand for the complex process of virtualisation and application delivery. On the whole, most users of cloud computing use Public Cloud services such as Google Apps, Microsoft BPOS or SalesForce.com, all names that...

Security in the Private Cloud

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:00:41 GMT

The number one concern that prevents companies from moving services and data into the cloud is security. While the commercial benefits may be compelling for many businesses, the thought of relying on a third party to secure networks, applications...

Private Cloud Delivering Real Business Outcomes

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:54:22 GMT

There is growing acceptance that the cloud is a legitimate alternative to the traditional on-premise IT model and that it has the potential to afford significant business benefits. For midsized and small businesses the advantages include enhanced...

Searching for a New Year’s resolution

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 13:54:31 GMT

Searching for a New Year's resolution While e-discovery continues to be a hot topic, for most it conjures up images of forensically stamped electronic information used by large organisations in corporate legal proceedings. In most cases it's real...

Once it's gone it's gone

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 13:48:52 GMT

Once it's gone you never get it back As we all know time is precious and once it's gone you never get it back. So I find myself at the end of January wondering why I didn't get as much done as I wanted to. The reason is snow or rather the lack of...

Let’s face it: Cloud has Gone Mainstream

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 08:21:31 GMT

Cloud is now a mainstream solution. I don’t say this because every cloud pun has been uttered and written or because every IT business has a cloud strategy now; it is because in almost every tender document I look at there is reference to cloud...

It’s the network that counts!

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:38:46 GMT

I have been asked many times if it is safe to entrust a key communication tool to a hosted telephony platform. I have had a mantra that I use almost weekly since I joined Star. “It’s the network that makes the difference”. This is never truer...

Any Neutrals in the Net Neutrality argument?

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:35:43 GMT

I never sit on the fence. However, I am split by the net neutrality arguments. The reason for this is that there are really two arguments here: 1. Should providers block users from accessing content via their connection to the internet? 2...

Ask Your Communications Partner About their Product Roadmap

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 13:10:28 GMT

As product lead for the new hosted Office Communications Server (OCS 2007 R2) service WorkLife IM; I’ve been testing different mobile devices with the service. Being an iPhone user it was the first device I was keen to try out. I was surprised to...

Building on tried and trusted technologies

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 12:42:56 GMT

The way in which people communicate and collaborate has rapidly changed, with new demands and capabilities today that were hardly a consideration a few years ago. However, the broad base of tools available to deliver business communications has...

Presence is the dial tone for next generation communication

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 12:08:33 GMT

I remember attending a briefing by Frost and Sullivan in April 2006 that was called “Presence is the dial tone for next generation communication”. At the time I thought it was promising the impossible. They described how convergence of...

2Mbps – A truly un-ambitious target

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:43:44 GMT

I recently attended the Westminster eForum on Building 21st Century Broadband. A very well attended forum with industry and government all interested in how and when the UK can deliver a super fast broadband network. I went expecting a broad range...

DR or BC for the Winter Months

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 11:11:52 GMT

Recently, I have had a few cold and frosty starts to the day. While these mornings have their charms, it does remind me that winter is coming. I hate struggling through snow on my way to work, and last year it seemed to go on and on. It also cost ...

Conferencing is a tool and collaboration is a process

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:02:52 GMT

I read the above statement on an analyst’s website recently and it made me think about how this may be important for our customers. For me the idea of a conference is straight forward; 2 or more people come together at an appointed time to discuss...

Technology Decision? – Choose None of the Above.

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:55:46 GMT

The pace at which new technologies are introduced makes it increasingly difficult to know when to refresh existing hardware and software, and exactly what to refresh them with. Contrary to what common sense might tell us, the latest technology isn...

Breaking the cycle of PBX investment and upgrades.

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:50:21 GMT

The boundaries of businesses are becoming increasingly blurred as the number of distributed offices are increasing and more employees are working remotely or from home. Hardware based solutions become inflexible, offering poor return on investment...

A first class seat?

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 15:59:25 GMT

At the height of the MP's expenses scandal, Tory MP Nicholas Winterton was at the centre of a row surrounding first class rail travel. Whilst his comments were widely interpreted as a statement of class and privilege, there was a serious message...

Outsource, Managed Service or Cloud

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 15:55:20 GMT

One has to make a clear distinction between outsourcing, managed service and cloud. Outsourcing is all about wholesale transference of internal competencies, responsibilities and assets of a department or function to another party, these are almos...

The FSA makes the business case for encrypted storage & backup

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:15:59 GMT

I am sure it will not be news to you that you have a responsibility to your customers to keep their data secure. However, what diligence do you go through to ensure this is the case?< Yesterday, the FSA handed out a £3.25m penalty (reduced to...

Evolution not Revolution.

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:49:04 GMT

Are on-demand IT services really all that new? Are we really experiencing a revolution in the way businesses consume the IT services that support them? The way I see it, SMEs harnessed the benefits of Iaas & SaaS long before they were known by tho...

Presence leads to more effective decision making

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:57:17 GMT

I've been using Office Communicator for a number of months now and I have noticed how it's quickly become intertwined with the way in which I work. The real-time communication enabled by Communicator for instant messaging/audio or audio/video (PC...

The Google effect

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:17:54 GMT

I was recently involved in a tender bid with a business ready to make the leap from on premise email and collaboration to a cloud based solution. "The prospect is also considering Google" my co-worker heading up the bid told me. As I utilise Googl...

Just who is “waking up”?

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:07:45 GMT

I am sometimes asked whether SME's are "waking up" to the benefits of cloud computing . I see it the other way around; that they have been searching for answers to everyday business problems for many years, and the ways of accessing new...

Mind the Gap

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:41:08 GMT

I read with interest that the latest report from Ofcom has suggested the UK’s largest broadband providers were found to be advertising broadband speeds that could not be experienced by the vast majority of their customers. According to Ofcom, 97% ...

Network Resilience – Ensuring a correct fit.

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:59:28 GMT

Dependency on the network is growing. As businesses move to Cloud Computing , VoIP solutions and distributed workforces, it is more important than ever to ensure the network is fit for purpose. Reliance on a web connection or link to data centres...

Security - the importance of certification....

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:33:28 GMT

Many companies tell me that their biggest fear is keeping up with the changing landscape of internet threats. Often they lack the resources to cope with them or feel they have the inadequate in-house expertise to ensure best practice. It's no...

A look to the (not so distant) future

Mon, 17 May 2010 10:49:45 GMT

The needs of UK businesses are evolving at an unbelievable pace – a technology aware workforce, challenging economic climate and access to new technology advances almost every day are creating the perfect climate for progression. Out of all of the...

Why should I look at adopting Unified Communications?

Mon, 17 May 2010 09:59:43 GMT

The key to adopting any new technology is to be really clear about what you want to achieve as a business before you make any decisions around implementation. Most businesses I deal with share similar drivers, which largely tend to be common sense...

What is Unified Communications?

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:45:26 GMT

Over the next few weeks I will be looking at how best to approach Unified Communications to gain the maximum advantage for your business. I will consider specifically the what, why and how? - starting today with the what? Unified communications ca...

Addressing the green agenda with technology

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:23:22 GMT

As I start to think about budgeting for next year with the obvious restraints the current economic climate imposes I am also looking to technology to help provide environmental savings for the business. Whilst the carbon footprint of businesses in...

When should you question pay per month services?

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:15:00 GMT

Recently I’ve been exploring my options around backup solutions for my personal data and I came across a number of services that were aimed at personal, SME and large enterprise sized clients. It dawned on me that the personal SME focused services...

Buying services from the cloud

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:52:08 GMT

Last time I talked about the attractiveness of buying services more flexibly, on a user centric basis, and have been asked by a couple of people what types of services are best suited to this. My response to this is simple; it's not what you buy i...

Are the services you buy designed for the end user?

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:41:23 GMT

When you go to your telecoms provider what do you get? Lines, servers and appliances or do you get end to end services? As we deliver more and more functionality to our ever more demanding end users the work of the IT department involves increasin...

Remove the jargon to discover the benefits – continued

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:45:57 GMT

Unified communications (UC) have been around for 4 or 5 years. It is a concept that has been pushed hard by the hardware vendors into the enterprise sector but has meant little to medium sized business. I think this is for two reasons. Firstly the...

Cloud so what?

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:13:04 GMT

Many of our customers are looking at how to make the most of the newly created cloud services . Of course how to achieve this varies from business to business but to generalise there are some activities you can embark on which will help you make t...

Your cloud doesn’t have to be public

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:06:55 GMT

As companies move to SOA and cloud, concerns around security are being raised. You can understand why, the label ‘cloud’ conjures up a picture of publicly accessible services and applications, spread across multiple locations. The fact is that...

Snow Clouds

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 09:43:54 GMT

So we have a little snow (quite a lot actually). As expected the trains are disrupted, we have run out of grit, schools are closed and businesses are shutting down. So wouldn't it be great if you don't have to close your business down? By adopting...

ISV to SaaS to MSP?

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:02:27 GMT

So you are an ISV with a niche market - perhaps you run software for Estate Agents, Property Developers or Charities. You have standard software, perhaps for Workflow or Content Management and charge professional services for the "tweaks" for...

Remove the jargon to discover the benefits

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:22:02 GMT

Convergence, Cloud and Unified Communications are terms which have bandied around by technology companies for a few years now, but tend to mean little to the businesses I talk to. Over the next few weeks we will look at some of these terms and...

A decade for transformation?

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:12:12 GMT

I was recently reading some articles on the predictions for the growth of Augmented Reality – an industry that barely exists today that in just 4 years time will be worth just shy of $1bn dollars. It will create opportunities for software develope...

Where is my data?

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:32:04 GMT

I think it’s fair to say that we’re all comfortable with public content being served from public services that anyone can access. I think it’s also fair to say that given the choice, we would all choose low cost public services to store...

BPO, ITO, KPO, HRO...it’s all outsourcing!

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:02:41 GMT

Can Cloud make the breakthrough? There is so much talked about the pros and cons of outsourcing – whether this is being used for manual mundane tasks, like Insurance Claims Processing or the traditional Asset Take Over - Lease Back model that was...

My Top Ten Corporate Security Threats

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:38:48 GMT

Security threats are more than just a distraction. An attack directed at financial or personal records or business-critical applications is potentially devastating. But even indiscriminate attacks can result in the loss of valuable data, high repa...

A multi-layered approach to security works best

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:13:50 GMT

Security is a management problem with a technology solution. It isn’t a check-list of do’s and don’ts - it’s a discipline covering the business’ IT infrastructure. When it comes to security, a multi-layered approach works best. For instance, worms...

Agile software development meets the shopping list

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:43:49 GMT

Every software development project has a shopping list of tools and infrastructure and your list is typically sent to the internal IS team where they start to go through a purchase and provision process. You hope to be given an ETA so you can star...

Waiting until it is too late, costs more.

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:07:11 GMT

Security spending is a cost that’s notoriously difficult to justify in traditional cost/benefit terms: you spend a lot on security and in the best-case scenario nothing happens! But it’s important to remember that reactive security spending is...

Are you bailing out a leaking boat!

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:32:00 GMT

Over the years the threat to your data and network has changed and evolved though it still might feel a bit like bailing out a leaking boat. The threat no longer comes through a single point like the rogue USB, but from multiple points of entry to...

Avoiding Single Vendor Lock in with cloud computing

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:22:40 GMT

You have infrastructure in place right now; it’s built on a common Windows or UNIX platform and you’re either in-sourcing or outsourcing the hosting. As cloud computing matures your business has more and more options to move services to the cloud....