16/03/2021

I.T. IN THE PLATINUM GROUP - March Update

Dear Team Members,

As you know from our communications recently, work continues apace with our review and upgrade work of the I.T. infrastructure across all sites with a view to keeping up to date with modern technological advances and offer future proofed possibilities in this (very) fast changing industry.

In the month or so since our previous update, there's been plenty of I.T. related activity, so here's a brief synopsis of the work that the I.T. Department are currently involved with, in conjunction with Tim Kidney who is working with us a consultant and project leader:

Network Infrastructure Upgrades

All contracts have now been signed, and equipment was subsequently ordered with Cisco which (thanks to Covid/Brexit related delays), arrived yesterday. Whippet Networks will then commence roll-out in Trowbridge with a view to having all sites running across the new Networking infrastructure as quickly as possible thereafter. We will then benefit from the expertise of Whippet for their Network support,  which should result in less downtime and once established, a faster working experience for all working devices.

Sophos Anti-Virus Software

The I.T. Department have now finished installing our new Virus protection software supplied by Sophos, a market leader in cyber-protection. This will ensure that all devices connected to our Network have first class virus, spam and malware protection with the ability for the I.T. Department to monitor and receive alerts as and when an issue arises.

Team Viewer

The roll-out for our new remote support software, Team Viewer, has now been completed in house by the I.T. Department. This now means we can "remote on" as soon as you request support without having to initiate a session by an email or web link.

PC Upgrades

We have recently conducted an inventory of all devices connected to the Platinum network and have identified the need to replace and upgrade some of the PC's around the group. We have now received quotes from suppliers and are now working on a project to replace these devices starting with the oldest first. The end goal is to have Windows 10 PC's for all users as well as the latest Office 365 applications for all.

Helpdesk

The I.T. Department are working in the background to setup a new Helpdesk system for the group, meaning we will have a central system for incidents to be logged. This will help the I.T. Department and affected team members to keep up to date with the call you have raised and the progress towards its completion. We will communicate more on this when we're ready to do so.

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We will seek to ensure that all of the above will be implemented with minimum disruption to your day, whilst attending to the "bigger picture" of making the Platinum Group a secure and safe environment to work in from an I.T. perspective, and ensuring that our customers data and use of the systems we provide is equally as safe and secure.

We will continue to update you on a regular basis (as often as monthly) so you are all aware of the journey we are undertaking this year.

If you have any questions relating to the above, or if you have any suggestions, please do get in touch.

Please share with your teams as appropriate.

Yours sincerely