Enterprises of all sizes have harnessed hybrid work models enabling employees to work both from the office and remotely, and research shows their IT networks are following suit by taking a hybrid approach to access.

According to a recent study, IT leaders are increasingly opting for hybrid SD-WAN connectivity, using both public and private access methodologies to make connecting to the network more flexible, reliable, and secure. Findings show that SD-WAN will reach a new peak due to today’s work-from-anywhere environment, with adoption rate expected to reach 92% and 58% of IT decision-makers predicted to use hybrid access over the next five years. This approach to connectivity will enable organisations to maintain business continuity, meet the demand for reliable cloud application performance, and provide enhanced communication and connectivity to the distributed workforce, all while maintaining security.

Another key discovery from the study illustrates that hybrid access d

Having the infrastructure to support and maintain increasing volumes of data is a key challenge facing businesses today. You need infrastructure that moves at the speed of your business, scales as you grow, and enables outcomes.

Enterprises are moving to HCI to take advantage of the simplicity and scalability it offers, yet many of those who invested in first-generation hyperconverged systems ran into complexities and have been left with data centres that are difficult to scale, optimise, and manage.

Through our partnership with Cisco, Paragon Micro UK has a solution.

Cisco HyperFlex is a purpose-built, high-performance, low-latency hyperconverged platform that powers apps and data everywhere. HyperFlex provides an end-to-end, software-defined infrastructure approach to transforming data centre management, and eliminates the compromises found in other hyperconverged products.

Any App, any Cloud, Anywhere

As a single,

The global shift to home working has seen organisations overhauling processes and adopting new technologies to support their distributed workforce. Many have thrived with the challenge, experiencing reduced operating expenses and increased employee productivity, and as we approach what feels like “normality” leaders are presented with a unique chance to completely reimagine the way their business operates.

Whilst the definitive future of the workplace remains unclear, it seems likely that most companies will continue allowing employees to work from home for at least some of the time after the pandemic subsides. Surveys have discovered that many people want to continue working from home as they feel more productive without office distractions and have a better work-life balance.

The age of hybrid work is upon us.

Empowering your employees with the choice to work from a centralised office, at home multiple days a week, or go remote ful

Working from home has been a reality for the majority of the global workforce for over a year, and although some businesses have started to welcome employees back into office spaces, a full return to work as we previously knew it is unlikely to happen any time soon. Home working has its benefits, but for many, remote work fatigue has set in and in some cases employees are experiencing complete burnout. Lack of time, space, and technology boundaries are resulting in people experiencing a feeling of “endless work”.

Fuze, a global provider of Unified Communications as a Service and trusted partner of Paragon Micro UK, is leading the way when it comes to setting boundaries for a good work/life balance. UCaaS platforms have played an integral part in keeping the distributed workforce connected, but how can you embrace remote technology while finding an appropriate balance between work and your personal life?

Not Every Meeting Needs to be a Vid

The Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider program is an increasingly popular alternative to the traditional Microsoft Enterprise Agreement, as businesses opt for dynamic solutions that can be scaled with ease to replace fixed contracts and upfront fees offering little flexibility. As a trusted advisor and CSP partner, Paragon Micro UK understands the many complexities and challenges businesses face as they adopt cloud.

Procuring your Microsoft cloud infrastructure through a CSP enables you to optimise IT expenditure, overcome operational challenges, and successfully migrate to the cloud with specialist support. Our team of experts tailor bespoke solutions that utilise dedicated in-product tools to directly provision, manage, and support you - wherever you are on your cloud journey.

What is the Microsoft CSP Program?

Microsoft launched CSP to offer customers the ability to consume cloud services on a consumption-based model. As a trusted

UK businesses have embraced new ways of working over the last 12 months, facing challenges and experiencing benefits as a result. As the country progresses on the roadmap out of lockdown, the journey from remote working to a fully functioning hybrid working environment will transition through multiple phases, requiring leaders to take advantage of technology tools to meet workers’ demands, and maintain not only their safety, but safety of their corporate data.

Creating a hybrid working environment and delivering a seamless, secure experience to your team, wherever they are, means re-evaluating and modernising your IT infrastructure.

Paragon Micro UK, through it’s partnership with Aruba, has solutions to not only help your business manage remote working conditions during these challenging and unprecedented times but also to ensure the hybrid working model is future-proofed and optimised for your tomorrow.

A successful hybrid workplace starts with your network, and

Microsoft Azure Cost Optimisation from Paragon Micro UK

Many organisations are failing to keep the cost of their Microsoft Azure estate within originally defined forecasts and budgets, presenting cloud cost as a key challenge for CIOs. With Gartner analysts estimating that as much as 70% of cloud costs are wasted, gaining awareness of factors that can contribute to cloud overspend is critical.

Did you opt for a one-size-fits-all approach, which is proving more expensive than planned? Are you lacking a defined strategy for your cloud journey and seeing misalignment with your overall business goals? Other factors that lead to cloud overspend include poor visibility of Microsoft Azure usage and entitlements, limited budget tracking and trending, over-provisioning and a lack of effective management processes.

Microsoft Azure Cost Optimisation

In partnership with Livingstone, the industry leaders in cloud contract optimisation,

Paragon Micro UK understands that in a time of unprecedented change and global disruption many business leaders are facing challenges with their current cloud strategy and technology roadmaps. If this sounds like you, your business lacks cloud speed, agility and a robust as-a-service model, irrespective of where your applications and data reside today, Paragon Micro UK is here to help.

Darren Brodrick, UK MD for Paragon Micro says, “with over 70% of applications still residing on premise, IT leaders are encouraged to work with us to identify if their current infrastructure supports the full benefits of digital transformation with one experience and one operating model. Wherever our customers are in their cloud journey, across single public or distributed cloud environments, having their applications and data at the edge, in colocations or in their own data centres, we have a solution. We pride ourselves in keeping things simple and delivering real value-added business outcomes f

If you’re a parent or teacher, how are you coping with the challenges of homeschooling during lockdown?

Education appears to be more successful this time around, with institutions embracing technology in order to reach students remotely and minimise disruption to learning, and both children and adults getting to grips with digital platforms to enable it.

Parents are trying their best to keep up with the demands of education, but no one can be expected to be an expert in everything. If your child is preparing for GCSEs it’s unlikely you’ll know the answer to their algebra homework, but equally teaching young children to read and tell the time requires a certain skill set that teachers have spent years developing.

The future of teaching and education is uncertain, but there are some brilliant tools and platforms available to help you navigate remote learning right now. We will explore ways to make homeschooling more effective, and outline technology tools that can b

Companies are taking advantage of Office 365 to increase their performance, but how much control do they have over their data? The common misconception is that Microsoft takes full responsibility of this, but in fact their primary focus is on managing the Office 365 infrastructure and maintaining uptime to users.

Office 365 is a productivity powerhouse but it is your data, you control it, therefore it is your responsibility to protect it.

It’s been almost a year since the Covid-19 pandemic made businesses go remote, with very little time to prepare. Now that the dust has settled, how is your remote work culture holding up? Although we are hoping to return to the office soon, we don’t know when or how it will happen.

Remote working has cemented itself as part of our lives and jobs, and even if your business intends on making a full return to the workplace it will be necessary to integrate the work from home culture. The key focus right now is future-proofing your setup, whether home working or office working.

Studies indicate that two-thirds of workers believe they are more productive while working remotely, and overall employees are more dedicated to companies that allow them the freedom to work from home. Paragon Micro has decades of experience in operating a decentralised workforce, and below we share some tips to help you get the most out of working remotely

SECURITY

Work from home. Return to work. Work from home. Repeat.

The ability to be flexible and agile has been essential for businesses over the past 10 months, as they responded to rapid changes presented by the coronavirus crisis.

Being able to quickly shift entire operations online while maintaining business continuity was a challenge that saw many companies embracing new technologies and platforms to enable remote working almost overnight.

But what about when we go back to the office?

When it’s time to return to our workplaces, inevitably things will be very different. The health and wellbeing of your employees is critical, and measures must be taken in order to ensure you are operating safely, while following government guidelines.

Technology is revolutionising the way we work, and making life easier and safer every day. Tools for implementing social distancing, advanced thermal screening solutions and sensors for measuring a