The new Promethean ActivPanel Ver 4 is here !!

GDK are Ireland’s No. 1 Supplier of Promethean products.
We are pleased to announce the New Promethean ActivPanel Version 4 that provides large, vibrant, high-definition displays supports multi-touch interaction where up to ten students can collaborate and learn together.
Have a look at the video to see the panel in operation --->

Promethean ActivPanel Version 4 at a glance:

•  State of the art projectorless technology
•  Brand New on board upgradeable Android Operating System independent of Laptop/PC
•  Magnetic stylus or touch interaction creates exceptionally smooth, responsive and precise interactivity whether writing or using multi-touch gestures.
•  Supports a full range of learning settings, including whole-class, individual, duo, small-team and multi-team.
• Sleek design, superior image quality and durable construction ensure years of captivating learning experiences.
• Available in four sizes that can be wall-mounted or used with an optional mobile stand for added flexibility. 
• Uses award-winning Promethean Activ Inspire Software

=> Click here to send your Request for a demonstration or further information & prices

Promethean ActivPanel Version 4 ENQUIRY

Why ActivPanel Touch?    

• Excellent visibility and stereo sound in any room. Keeps all learners engaged Award winning Activ Inspire Software - taught as standard in all teacher training colleges in Ireland
• Easily connect mobile devices using the dual network capability.  Teachers can take advantage of the wireless mirroring to share their content from anywhere in the room.
• ActivGlideTM surface technology reduces finger burn and eye tiredness
• Precise interaction for any task. Exceptionally smooth and responsive interactivity whether you are writing, pinching, zooming or swiping the edge of the ActivPanel Touch screen.
• Reduce the technology learning curve. The multi-touch functionality is simple and intuitive for both learners and teachers, digital pen also supplied
• Enjoy a long life of worry-free use. Its long-lasting LED interactive touch screen, durable construction and comprehensive warranty ensure a long life of reliable service.
• Works seamlessly with all Promethean solutions, it's also flexible enough to complement most educational technologies.

IT Systems Failing to Scale with Business Growth

This is a most interesting article from eWeek that summarises a lot that we in GDK experience on a regular basis. 

• If IT systems can’t scale for growth, the pain the business will feel is significant and would potentially impact their customer relationships directly, in addition to putting stress on internal operations.
• To support business growth, and better prepare for its challenges, 79 percent of businesses believe that an effective and integrated IT infrastructure is essential.
• Business growth puts excessive pressure on operations, damaging quality and customer satisfaction and business IT systems may prove unable to cope with managing a larger, more complex, business model.
• A secure flexible and scalable working environment whereby staff can easily interact with Clients, Suppliers and fellow colleagues is absolutely essential for business growth.

Please call me or send me an emailif you wish to discuss your business and IT requirement further.

David O'Driscoll    email: dod@gdk.ie

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eWeek: IT Systems Failing to Scale with Business Growth    By Nathan Eddy  |  Posted 2016-03-17

The research, which was commissioned by Epicor, surveyed more than 1,800 business leaders from 12 countries across the globe. The vast majority (89 percent) of organizations worldwide have experienced growth that hasn’t gone exactly according to plan, resulting in a significant level of anxiety among top business leaders about their company’s ability to succeed in the face of growth and change. The research, which was conducted by Morar Consulting and commissioned by Epicor, surveyed more than 1,800 business leaders from 12 countries across the globe.

Of those surveyed, 58 percent reported growth in 2015 and nearly 70 percent said they expect to grow in 2016, however only 11 percent experienced growth totally in line with their plans in 2015.

"The implications of an IT system that fails to scale are tremendous. Today’s IT systems are managing more than internal operations for a company," Celia Fleischaker, Epicor’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, told eWEEK. "In many cases, IT systems are directly involved in managing interactions with customers. Survey respondents actually ranked the potential loss of customer intimacy or damage to the customer relationship as the No.1potential negative impact of growth."

Fleischaker said if IT systems can’t scale for growth, the pain the business will feel is significant and would potentially impact their customer relationships directly, in addition to putting stress on internal operations.

The top concern cited by CEOs was the perceived loss of customer intimacy that may come about as a result of growth.

Globally, significant levels of unplanned growth were more likely to be experienced by mid-sized businesses with 100-999 employees (37 percent), than larger enterprises with more than 1,000 employees (29 percent).
Growth was most likely to be described as painful (in as many as one in 10 cases) by smaller mid-sized businesses (100-249 staff) as they make the difficult transition from small to mid-sized enterprises.

To support business growth, and better prepare for its challenges, 79 percent of businesses believe that an effective and integrated IT infrastructure is essential.

The business leaders surveyed admitted they often fear the consequences of growth, citing a number of negative impacts when growth is not planned for effectively.

Around half (48 percent) said they worry that business growth puts excessive pressure on operations, damaging quality and customer satisfaction.

More than four in 10 (42 percent) said they were also concerned that their business IT systems may prove unable to cope with managing a larger, more complex, business model.

"In general, businesses need to look at solutions that provide them with an opportunity to better manage their touch points--with customers, with employees, and with suppliers," Fleischaker said. "Systems that support mobility and e-commerce while also providing support for their operations are critical. Selecting a cloud-based enterprise solution is also something to be considered as cloud can help reduce the complexity associated with an enterprise solution."

IT Disaster!!! How will your business cope ? Are you Prepared?

• Will your business keep working in the event of an IT Disaster ? How prepared are you?
• Have you the peace of mind that your IT Business Continuity practices are fully operational?
• Are you confident your Data Recovery is resilient?
• Is your business going through change?
• When did you last have a system check-up?
• Is your data secure?
• How long does it take to recover?
• When did you last test your restore procedures?
• Are your Backup system procedures documented?

With the recent adverse weather conditions coupled with the impending Christmas Holidays, it is prudent to ensure that the offsite element of your Backup Systems is working efficiently. Please contact us if you have any concerns about your existing practices or if you want any further information regarding the GDK Hybrid Cloud Backup Solution.  

Please click here to check out our GDK Hybrid Cloud Disaster Recovery solution

How to prevent Cyber Attacks on your Computers?

Cyber-criminals are constantly evolving their tactics. They employ several complex techniques to avoid detection as they sneak quietly into computer networks to steal valuable information.
How secure is your network?  Explore the four primary strategies cyber-criminals employ to infiltrate your network and learn how to apply best practices and discover what your firewall needs to do to counter the cyber-attacks.

Counter-attack #1
Protect your network every minute of every day. Insist on a firewall that leverages the power of the cloud for real-time countermeasures to the latest malware threats. An effective firewall needs to be continuously updated, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Cyber-attack strategy #1
Bombard networks with malware around the clock. Cyber-criminals work 24/7 to exploit your weaknesses especially out of date anti-malware technology.

Counter-attack #2
Ensure that your network is protected against all types of malware. To stay ahead of threats, consider multiple layers of protection against malware that provides continuous and timely updates to safeguard networks around the clock from millions of new malware variants as soon as they are discovered.

Cyber-attack strategy #2
Infect networks with different forms of malware. Cyber-criminals use different types of malware such as Viruses, Worms, Trojans, Spyware and Adware to catch you off guard. Trojans are designed specifically to extract sensitive data from the network.

Counter-attack #3
Choose a firewall that offers superior threat protection and high performance that has been independently tested and certified for network-based malware protection by ICSA Labs.

Cyber-attack strategy #3
Find and compromise the weakest networks. Cyber-criminals often target their victims based on the network weaknesses they discover

Counter-attack #4
Choose a firewall that protects against global threats. To block the latest global threats, invest in a security solution with global reach.

Cyber-attack strategy #4
Morph frequently and attack globally. New threats are popping up every hour on all continents.

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Conclusion and Recommendations

Cyber-attacks are on the rise and firewall vulnerabilities are creating tangible business risks for your organization today.
GDK can assist you in a variety of ways to protect your computer systems:

1) Review the role of your Firewall:

1. GDK can review your existing configurations and ensure that you have the correct configuration in place to avoid any security exposures.
2. GDK will ensure that that your firewall is maximising the performance of your broadband configuration eg: e-fibre from Eir.
3. GDK will review the Unified Threat Management software included in your firewall which needs to be kept up to date annually

2) Include GDK’s Web Protection as part of your Security Suite as well:

1. Keep your business safe and your end-users protected by securing against websites pushing malware, phishing, proxies, spyware, adware, botnets and spam
2. Apply time-based browsing rules and web content filtering policies across a robust range of website categories
3. Manage bandwidth usage with alerts when devices exceed thresholds - enabling quick remediation to avoid unwanted costs or a throttled network.
   

 3) Implement GDK’s Email Security and Business Continuity Mail Solution as part of your configuration:

1. Provides an additional layer of security for Office 365, blocking threats before they reach a company’s mail, even if, as with Office 365, that email server is cloud-based.
2. Mail-Protection provides a unique combination of technologies to secure your customers' networks against email-borne threats, including zero-hour antivirus defence, virtualization-based malware detection technology and traditional signature-based antivirus engines.
3. Provides improved Spam Protection engines
4. Provides Business Continuity for your email system and secure easy access to archived mail.

If you have any security concerns regarding Internet threats and protecting your business from Cyber Attacks please contact us and we can provide a free consultancy review.  Ring us now or click here to Fill in the Contact Form. 
We are here to assist you.

You can read more on the Cyber Attacks in this eBook