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Getting AI Ready

Adopting AI can seem complex, but it doesn’t have to be. The secret to successfully implementing AI is putting the right foundations in place.

Find out how

What we do

Getting AI Ready

Adopting AI can seem complex, but it doesn’t have to be. The secret to successfully implementing AI is putting the right foundations in place.

Find out how

Explore

In reaction to the recent unprecedented need for all business to try and function as usual while their workforce is home-based, we’ve updated our Azure Windows Virtual Desktop service for rapid deployment. In a nutshell, this fast-deployed package allows specific employees or departments to access the applications or operating systems they need to do their job by implementing a secure virtual desktop environment while they work from home. Better yet if you already use Microsoft 365 or Windows 10 Enterprise you already have the licenses! Azure Windows Virtual Desktop: Rapid Deployment enables you to:

Access business-critical applications at home, just as if you’re in the office

Now more than ever business continuity is critical. Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) gives your employees’ access to your bespoke applications hosted on-site without any technical restrictions, in the safety if their home whilst still taking advantage of Microsoft’s enterprise-level security.

Utilise existing hardware or personal devices

Even if your teams don’t have a laptop and you can’t justify the expenditure, or you simply can’t manage the logistics required, WVD can be accessed from any personal device. Saving investment in hardware you’ll only need for a few months.

Access, deploy and rollout within four days

Our new remote rapid deployment service can be deployed in just four days, instantly building redundancy and resilience into your business. All of which, of course, be done remotely.

If you’d like to find out more about our new Azure Windows Virtual Desktop: Rapid Deployment service fill in the contact form below or give us a call on 0800 0315 966.

You may have already heard the term Azure Lighthouse but what does it mean? And why is it important? We sat down with our Cloud Practice Manager, John Riseam, to find out more about Azure Lighthouse and discuss how Cloud Direct is utilising this recently released Microsoft technology to centralise and optimise our Azure operations.

First off, can you explain what Azure Lighthouse is?

Azure Lighthouse has been designed by Microsoft for service providers, like Cloud Direct, as a single dashboard to view and manage Azure subscriptions centrally and securely. Before Microsoft developed this tech there was a huge administrative overhead required to connect MSP’s with their customer tenants and challenging security access. But now Azure Lighthouse is an Azure Resource Manager (ARM) that lets customers delegate permissions to their MSP to perform management operations on their behalf.

So, how is Cloud Direct using this new technology?

Azure Lighthouse lets us securely and seamlessly access our customer environments and is now our default management plane for all our customers, whether they’re using CSP, EA or PAYG Azure subscriptions. The key benefit to us is the visibility of all our customer tenants in one central portal with the increased management tools which allow our teams to simultaneously monitor and optimise our customers Azure networks more efficiently.

What’s the benefit for Cloud Direct’s customers?

We’re able to further enhance the security we offer customers using technologies such as Microsoft 2 factor authentication, Conditional Access and Advanced Threat protection. Azure Lighthouse also allows us to have a centralised set of security policies that we can apply to all our customers at the same time. So, any patches or new best practice policies can be quickly and efficiently applied.

In addition to these optimisation and security benefits, Azure Lighthouse has also enabled us to develop new managed service offerings, to give our customers even more opportunities to optimise and scale their Azure environments.

Where can people find out more about this and other Azure technologies?

As an Azure Expert MSP, we have an extremely close relationship with Microsoft and pride ourselves on being at the forefront of new Azure technologies and management best practice. All of which we share with our customers to develop and optimise the managed services. Just ask your account manager or take a look at the resources available on our website.

My team of Azure Experts also host regular workshops and events for our current and prospective customers, where they share their best practice top tips and delve into the latest Azure tech. This month we have our Azure landing zone webinar on 30th January, then on the 12th March, we’ll be at Microsoft London Paddington for our thirteenth Azure Roadshow workshop.

Find out more about all our upcoming events here.

Whether you already use Azure or haven’t migrated anything yet, you will leave with the knowledge to achieve more.

What do M&S, Heathrow and RAC have in common?

The obvious answer is, of course, that they are household names in the retail, airport and automotive sectors in which they operate.

Less obvious is the fact that today each of these venerable old businesses with such a pedigree of serving their customers well in the past, are putting cloud IT at the heart of their business to make sure they are able to do so in the future.

Prepare for a digital future

To be clear, we’re not simply talking about updating day-to-day productivity tools or replacing servers. What these companies are doing is using cloud IT to fundamentally change the way they do business.

The RAC is using data from telematics boxes to predict when vehicles break down. Heathrow uses real-time data on everything from weather to cancelled flights to manage its workforce and passenger experience. M&S is bringing data together from every part of the business to change the way it operates.

Each business is creating a new digital business model.

Get an unfair advantage

If you operate away from the consumer frontline in business or professional services, it’s easy to think you don’t have much in common with such big companies.

The truth is that whatever your sector or size if you aren’t thinking about how technology can help you collaborate more effectively, interrogate data or automate tasks, a competitor will soon do so and start scooping up your clients.

Just as M&S has to face down competition from born-digital companies like ASOS – as well as the rest of the high street – so will you.

The good news is that the unfair advantage that disruptive digital companies enjoy is one that you can take advantage of too.

Whether you are a long-established name in your sector or a relatively new kid on the block, a small business or one with a national or international footprint, you can use cloud IT as a platform for growth and competitiveness.

Free up resources to grow

The business case works out on a number of levels. The first is that by moving to cloud IT such as Azure, you put your IT infrastructure in the hands of experts who can keep your business secure and running.

At the same time, you can think about how the people who were previously tied up in ‘keeping the lights on’ can do more productive, strategic work for the business.

Finally, you can ensure that you have the tools and resources you need to compete effectively when you need them.

Get it right, first time

 At Cloud Direct we’re an Azure Expert MSP. This means we are one of only a handful of the 30,000 Microsoft Gold Partners globally with the right experience to set-up and migrate you safely and securely to the cloud.

Whether you have built your business case for the cloud and are ready-to-go or need some help planning your move, we are the people to help you.

You can take one step closer by calling us today or download our guide to understand how businesses like yours are using the Azure cloud to grow.

Download whitepaper

Unlocking Business Growth with Microsoft Azure –

Every business is now a digital business, whether you like it or not. Find out how to adapt your business to the speed that modern technology and market changes require by downloading our whitepaper.

This guide explains how your business can use Microsoft Azure to enable business growth and stay ahead, including:

  • Benefits Azure can unlock for your business
  • 5-step plan to ready your business for a move to the cloud
  • Real Azure business growth case studies

Everyone knows what Office 365 is, but are you aware of all the benefits of having it in place? Office 365 is more than just Word on the go. It’s a full suite of cloud-based applications to help you increase productivity and collaboration within your business.

Businesses that operate in the cloud will typically see a 33% increase in revenue. Discover how as we explore eight benefits of Office 365.

1. Over 150% ROI

Everyone likes to see a return on investment, right? According to Forrester’s, businesses that implement Office 365 are likely to see more than 150% ROI. Office 365 can provide your business with the ability to save on technology, mobility, compliance costs by eliminating hardware. Say goodbye to servers and you’ll see an instant decrease on energy and the server cost. Whilst moving to the cloud costs money, you’ll see a much higher ROI. There’s never been a better time to move your office online.

2. Have all the tools your business needs to work more efficiently

Office 365 sets your business up with the tools it needs to achieve fearless growth.

Some of the tools included:

  • Office suite. This compiles of some of the best Microsoft applications, including Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Skype for Business and OneNote.
  • Exchange online. This will include your email and calendar.
  • SharePoint. An online web portal for your business to store, share and collaborate on documents within different teams.
  • Yammer is your one-stop-shop for company social networking.
  • OneDrive is a cloud file storage solution for your business.
  • Power BI is a business intelligence tool that will provide you with new insights to make smart decisions.

3. Access your office anywhere, anytime

You can now take your office with you wherever you go, when you’re on the move, out of the office or at home. Office 365 lets you log in and connect to your office anywhere. Microsoft Office 365 is completely cloud-based, meaning you can access your files, email and Office programmes on your mobile, laptop or desktop wherever you like. You’ll have the ability to edit your documents from any location on any device with employees that are out the office or with a client that’s halfway across the world. With current workplace changes taking place, such as remote and flexible working, it’s never been easier to collaborate.

4. Easily scalable

Office 365 applications gives you the opportunity to scale your business. You can create custom solutions for different departments within the business to help maximise productivity. But what about when the company grows and you employ more staff? No need to worry, you can easily add and remove licenses with a couple of admin clicks.

5. Cross-collaboration has never been easier

Does your team work together on tasks or documents? Office 365 comes with plenty of features that will allow you to work better, together.

One of Microsofts growing collaboration tools, that’s on track to be the number one business chat application by 2020, is Microsoft Teams. Microsoft Teams is your hub for business collaboration with it’s calling features, file storage system and instant messenger. Plus, many more. You’ll be able to carry out your daily huddles, department meetings and work with your colleagues on documents from any location. Sounds good, right? But there’s more.

SharePoint is your one-stop shop for sharing documents with colleagues. Within SharePoint you can store any files you want to share with the rest of your organisation, for example, brand guidelines, process templates or your latest team project. SharePoint is accessible from any device, meaning your employees will be able to access their files anywhere, on any device.

Microsoft has now made it easier than ever for you to collaborate with your colleagues. Within Word, Excel and PowerPoint you’ll have the ability to share documents and edit them in real time with other employees or even external people such as partners.

6. Stay updated

Do you get FOMO? No fear with Office 365, as Microsoft will always keep you up to date with the latest product optimisations and security patches. Because Office 365 is in the cloud, you’ll benefit from always be on the latest version. At no extra cost. Microsoft automatically rolls upgrades to all users – meaning your business can avoid any compatibility issues as all employees will be on the latest version.

7. You’ll always be secure in Office 365

Many people still have the impression that the cloud isn’t secure. But this isn’t the case. If anything, it’s more secure, if your cloud environment is built correctly. It’s all about how you use the features available and what security measures you put in place. Some of the security features you can benefit from in Office 365 are:

  • Message encryption, which enables you to send encrypted emails that will not allow anyone other than the recipient to open them.
  • Advanced Threat Analytics will allow you to identify any suspicious activity in real time, reducing the risk of any damage. This will empower your business to quickly detect any threats, reduce false positive fatigue and easily plan your next steps to protect your business from any suspicious activity.
  • Mobile Device Management allows you to manage Office 365 on your employees’ mobile devices. Within this feature, you can manage device security policies, view device reports and can remotely wipe a device if it’s ever stolen.
  • Data Loss Prevention helps prevent any sensitive information from leaving your organisation. DLP will help you identify, monitor and protect any sensitive information in your Office 365. When DLP is enabled it will scan for sensitive information e.g. credit card details, passport information or social security numbers.

8. Have the flexibility to mix and match

Office 365 has a variety of plans available for you to find the one best suited for your business needs. What’s best is you’ll have the flexibility to change your plans and users with ease. Meaning you only pay for what you use. If you purchase your Office 365 licenses through a CSP, you’ll have the ability to increase or decrease licenses as required due to its flexible model. What’s best is there’s no multi-year commitment. We’re leading the cloud industry with our PROVIDE portal that allows your business to manage your Office 365 subscriptions in a few clicks.

We’re proud to be a Microsoft CSP, and if you would like to find out more about our flexible Office 365 licenses, then our team would love to provide you with further information.
Want to find out more about the benefits of Office 365, and what your business could achieve in an online office? Get in contact with one of our experts to discover more.


Cloud Direct are proud to have achieved G-cloud status for the seventh year, with all services submitted and accepted across all three cloud categories – hosting, software and support.

The 11th iteration of the UK government’s Digital Marketplace went live this week to continue to drive digital transformation in the public sector. This cloud procurement framework has been established to prove best practice and accredited suppliers, to give customers confidence in developing their public cloud adoption.

With almost a decade of experience as one of the earliest adopters of G-cloud, our 21 technologies, consultancy and support services have been expertly designed to support local and regional governments.

Organisations that benefit from G-Cloud 11 include central and local government, health services, education services, devolved administrations, emergency services, defence and not-for-profit organisations. They can now buy the following cloud services from Cloud Direct, under our legal name On Direct Business Services Limited:

Technologies

Azure with Cloud Direct’s cost management tool MyAzure
Citrix On Azure
Backup via SkyKick
Managed Backup
Disaster Recovery as a Service via Azure Site Recovery
Cloud Anti-virus via Webroot
Enterprise Mobility and Security (EMS)
Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise
Office 365
Skype for Business as a Service

Consultancy

Azure Consultancy
Digital Transformation Consultancy – Business and Adoption Workshops
Azure Data Centre Modernisation

Support

Azure Migration Service
Azure Managed and Support Services
Cloud Backup Reporting Service (RaaS)
Cloud Direct Server Support
Desktop Support
Email Migration to Office 365
Microsoft 365 Support Services
Office 365 Support Services

Brett Raynes, CEO of Cloud Direct, says:

“We work with several government organisations who enjoy the increased level of security and accreditation G-Cloud 11 awards us. Our business and the services we provide are all about enabling transformation and as we expect to grow, we plan to increase our customer base amongst public sector organisations. The stringent G-Cloud framework shows our continued commitment to provide first class service and support to our clients.”

Cloud Direct is proud to be recognised as a Microsoft Azure Expert Managed Service Provider (MSP) for the second year running. Cloud Direct has not only passed its second annual audit but is one of the first Azure Experts to successfully re-audit.

The Azure Expert MSP programme was set up in 2018 by Microsoft to promote only the most capable and experienced partners. Among the 30,000 partners delivering Microsoft solutions worldwide fewer than 50 have achieved this standard. So being one of them is a huge achievement. In fact, it puts us in the top 0.07% of Microsoft partners globally.

Brett Raynes, Cloud Direct Chief Executive Officer, says:

“The Microsoft Azure Expert MSP program is one we are immensely proud to be part of. For our customers, it provides the confidence that Microsoft has done the due-diligence for them. By working with a Microsoft Azure Expert MSP, that is independently audited and accredited by Microsoft, they know they are working with a partner that provides the security, governance and optimisation required for a successful Azure project.”

In June, the Cloud Direct team spent time with an external auditor as part of the vigorous annual audit. This is a chance for Cloud Direct to show how it’s meeting the ongoing requirements to keep up with the ever-evolving technology standards. But it didn’t stop there. Cloud Direct had to demonstrate their skills, customer successes and the ability to deliver Microsoft Azure managed service offerings at scale. This includes skills to migrate and support infrastructure, data and applications in Microsoft Azure.

But what does being an Azure Expert MSP mean for our customers?

We’ve always been about empowering businesses to achieve ‘Fearless Growth’. We want to help ambitious organisations adopt the cloud and reap all its benefits. As an Azure Expert MSP, we can do so much more for you.

  • Better service. It’s simple, really: when you work with an expert, you get expert-level service. Microsoft has made it easier to verify the best partners by awarding this rigorous accreditation to a select few top performing partners. Every service that we offer, every customer interaction, is held to a higher standard. We love raising the bar because it makes us up our game and hop right over it.
  • Broader offerings. Whatever your business needs, we can deliver it. Keen on IaaS, PaaS or SaaS? We can advise you. Ready to adopt mobile working or the Internet of Things? We know all about it. Need help with app migration, security or compliance? We have experts in all areas.
  • Closer partnerships. Being one of the few Azure Expert MSPs in the UK brings us much closer to Microsoft. Our already close partnership is now much stronger, and all the benefits that come our way get passed directly on to you, our customers. Picture this: Microsoft’s capabilities and software paired with our expertise and skills, all working to better your business. The possibilities are endless.

Gavriella Schuster, Corporate Vice President, One Commercial Partner at Microsoft Corp, says:

“We are pleased to recognize Cloud Direct as an Azure Expert MSP. This new recognition offers our customers certainty that an organization provides excellent services on Azure.”

Cloud Direct is focused on helping businesses achieve their growth goals through the adoption and optimisation of the Microsoft Cloud. Leading the industry as one of the first Azure Expert MSPs to pass the annual audit for the second year running. This is key to helping our customers have the confidence that they can achieve their business objectives with us.

If you want to know more about how Microsoft Azure can help your business innovate get in contact with one of our experts.

After 9th July SQL Server 2008 is no longer be supported by Microsoft, with Windows Server 2008 soon to follow. This means no more security updates, performance updates or patches from Microsoft, unless you take action now to extend support and continue to protect your business.