Author: Alan Ible, Managing Director, Digitel In today’s highly competitive business landscape where SMEs account for 99.9% of the UK business population, local small business owners face increased pressure to stand out and capture the attention of their target customers. Consumers are increasing their reliance on search engines to discover local products and services that fit their needs. Latest reports show that 78% of consumers are using the internet to find information about businesses in their area more than once a week. So, mastering local SEO has become essential for small businesses looking to gain a competitive edge. Nailing the…
Author: sme-admin
Berkshire based Filestream is a provider of document management solutions to organisations of all sizes, ensuring enhanced efficiency, encrypted security and protection against hacking, ransomware and phishing attacks – on premise or Cloud. The need for this type of support has come to the fore in recent weeks following the news that several brands have suffered alleged data leaks including Tesla, Samsung, Toyota, Capita, Revolut and even the Irish police force. Yet these data leaks are simply those which make the news. The problem of cyber attack is monumental. According to the Independent there’s a hacker attack every 39 seconds. IBM…
Author: Elliot Fry, Managing Associate in the commercial team at Cripps. The Irish Data Protection Authority recently imposed a record fine of €1.2bn for Meta (the owner of Facebook and Instagram) due to Meta’s transfers of personal data to the USA. Background The GDPR requires anyone transferring personal data outside of the EU to ensure that personal data is subject to adequate protection. The EU has decided that certain countries (like the UK) offer an adequate level of protection, allowing for unrestricted transfers. That is not the case for transfers to the US, and so exporting personal data to the USA…
The field of Cybersecurity currently has a global workforce gap of between two and three million available jobs, depending on the information source. In the United States alone, there are over 600,000 of those jobs waiting to be filled by qualified individuals, yet they remain vacant. This gap continues to grow each year and so does the criminal activities that created the need for these jobs in the first place. So, what does it really take to have a great career in Cybersecurity and contribute to closing this workforce gap? Let’s discuss 5 very specific things you need to consider…
In this edition of Connected Thinking with Virgin Media O2 Business, data security experts Anton Davies and Stephanie Nisbet explore the risks of poor security investment, and the steps to ensure your data is safe and secure, wherever it needs to go. As medium-sized businesses continue to implement the latest tech to keep up with employee expectations and increasing customer demands, their data needs to do more, in more places. Employees accessing information from different devices and locations has allowed for more seamless and agile work. But it has also opened businesses up to very real risks. In our recent…
UK-based PR agency Lem-uhn announces its Work From Anywhere scheme becoming the first PR agency in the UK to announce a scheme. The feel-good PR agency’s policy allows employees to work outside the United Kingdom for 45 days per year. Employees are permitted to work in any country where the United Kingdom has a double taxation agreement. The appetite for working abroad has shot up in recent months as many companies have cut back remote-working freedoms. Searches for ‘work from anywhere’ peaked at the highest in the past five years in August 2023 with a 669% increase compared to the same period…
Kim Fournais, CEO and Founder of Saxo Bank, offers comment on how he believes that the financial industry needs to pass on the benefits of central bank rate hikes to clients. In the labyrinthine world of banking and investing, where opacity tends to masquerade as tradition, few are aware that amidst the ebb and flow of financial markets, a significant number of banks and brokers choose to retain the benefits of central bank rate hikes, rather than passing them on to their clients. This practice, while not immediately visible, has significant implications for all people, and it’s time we shed…
Every employer has a duty of care to their employees, which means that they have a legal responsibility to assess and anticipate risks that workers may face, and to take whatever action is necessary to mitigate and reduce the chances that an accident could occur. Businesses that fail to uphold this responsibility can face serious consequences, but with a clear understanding of health and safety regulations in your industry, a thorough approach to risk assessments, and an effort to monitor compliance on an ongoing basis, you can keep accidents to a minimum. Some workplaces are naturally more dangerous than others…
If you’re working as a tradesperson or courier and take pride in your van and the tools within, the last thing you want to deal with is the stress of someone breaking into your vehicle, especially when your van is a lifeline for everyday work. Van theft isn’t uncommon. In fact, recent research reveals that there were over 40,000 cases of tool theft in 2022. And with the cost of living affecting an increasing number of households, rates of theft may begin to rise too. To help tradespeople and couriers protect their tools and their vehicles, the insurance experts from Toolbox by Admiral have offered…
As a business owner, it’s in your interests to make sure that all contracts that you enter into on behalf of your business are legally binding and enforceable. However, you may never have assessed ‘what actually constitutes a legally binding contract’. As this is such a fundamental matter, it’s worth taking the time some time to consider this question. In this article, we’ll be discussing the constitution of a contract and the key role that the concept of consideration in contract law plays. What are the key elements of a contract? A contract requires five elements which must all be…