Herding Cats, but with a plan!

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, efficient project management is crucial for delivering IT solutions that are on time, within budget, and aligned with business objectives. I’m excited to share that I recently earned the APM Project Fundamentals qualification, which deepens my understanding of project management principles and adds value to the IT services I provide.

Alongside this qualification, I bring hands-on experience managing small-scale IT projects, from system upgrades to software rollouts. This background has taught me how to balance the demands of business-as-usual support with the specific needs of project work, ensuring that each project runs smoothly and delivers measurable results.

Here’s how my project management expertise benefits your company:

1. Streamlined Execution: By applying APM standards to each project, I reduce delays and keep projects on track, whether it’s an infrastructure update or a new software deployment.

2. Effective Communication: My project management training equips me to keep stakeholders informed and engaged, fostering alignment with your business goals.

3. Risk Management: I have the tools to identify and address potential risks early, which can help avoid costly setbacks and keep projects running smoothly.

   
   

With my combined IT experience, project management skills, and a track record of successfully managing small-scale IT projects, I’m here to help your company navigate IT challenges and drive successful outcomes. Reach out to learn how I can support your business with a structured and strategic approach to IT solutions.

Impending changes to landline telephones

The UK's analogue landlines are being upgraded to digital. The changeover starts soon and will be completed by December 2025. Will you be impacted?

Analogue phone

The BT digital switchover starts in the Summer of 2023 and will roll out on a region by region basis. Other companies relying on the BT analogue network, such as other internet providers, will also start rolling out digital systems.

When will I be switched over?

The phone company will get in touch with you when they want you to make the change. However, they aren't currently switching certain groups, including:

• people aged 70 and over

• people with additional needs

• people who only have a landline (and not broadband)

• people with telecare alarms

• people with no mobile signal at home.

What happens?

For most people the change will be straightforward. If you have broadband already you may just need to plug your phone into the internet router or you will be sent an adapter that will connect your phone to the router. If your phone is very old, you may need to change it. In most cases you will be able to keep your current phone number.

Will anything else be affected?

The switchover may affect telecare devices, personal alarms and security alarms if connected to your phone line. When contacted about the switchover let them know about these devices. Also speak to the supplier of equipment to see what they recommend.

Power cuts!

Unlike analogue phones, a digital phone will not work in a power cut. If this happens phone companies are advising people to use mobile phones as a backup. If you don't have a mobile phone or live somewhere with a poor signal, then your provider must offer a "resilience solution" to make calls during a power cut.

Further Info

Further information can be found on the Local Government Website & BT:

Digital switchover hub | Local Government Association

Your Switch Over Day: everything you need to know about your move from copper to fibre broadband | BT Help

First rule of internet safety....

Yep, make sure the the ISP (Internet Service Provider) web filtering service is enabled.

A Ofcom report from last year found that 61% of parents are aware of the existing network-level internet filtering (Parental Control) tools provided by big UK broadband ISPs, yet only 27% have actually chosen to use them!!

So basically only a quarter of UK parents use content filters from Broadband ISPs. For those who want to know more here is a quick refresher on web filtering.

What are Web Filters?

A web filter is network level filter managed by the ISP to block access to harmful internet content. As blocking occurs at the network level it does not require any additional software or hardware. So any device connected to your home network will be filtered by the connection to the ISP. So no need to worry about configuring settings or creating different accounts etc.

What gets blocked?

Typically, the following categories get blocked

• Drugs

• Alcohol

• Tobacco

• Pornography and nudity

• Terrorism

• Suicide and self-harm

• Hate speech

• Violence and gore

• Gambling

• Social networking

• File sharing

• Anonymising services

• Dating

• Hacking

• Bullying

How to control your ISP web filter

Normally this is controlled via your ISP account controls (see links below). In addition to a straightforward off/on switch, ISPs offer different controls you can customise such as Timer, Homework mode, Category Controls and Manual website blocking.

The Big Four ISPs

At this time not all ISPs offer filtering as its not legal requirement yet. Below are the links to big four internet providers which cover the majority of the population. When you log in you should see a section for parental controls, child safe filter etc. Here you can customise the filter.

• BT

• Virgin Media

• Sky Broadband

• TalkTalk

Not bulletproof

According to Ofcom 6% of children have circumvented parental controls and 5% used a proxy server to avoid them. Bless them! At this point it maybe worth considering further parental controls to keep them safe online. Options include internet routers with built in parental controls such as the excellent Netgear smart parental controls or apps such as Bark and Google Family links.

If you need further advice or help setting up parental controls you can message me using the contact form on the home page. Stay safe!