Pensar IT Management

Pensar and the Apple Consultants Network

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:59:05 +0000

Pensar is delighted to announce that we are one of the first members of the newly established Apple Consultants Network.

Mark Williams started Pensar as a consultancy and Mac Support service in 1996 having prevously been involved in the Apple sector since 1985. So our involvement with Apple and especially Mac technologies goes back to the beginning. Some 20% of our current clients are users of Mac users and, with the advent of iPhones and now iPads, this percentage is on the increase.

We provide support and advice for all Macs, MacBooks, Apple servers, Mac OS X, iPhones and iPads and ensure that they integrate effectively with your Windows networks. Our Apple skills are available as part of a managed services agreement or a Remote IT Support arrangement.

This new accreditation strengthens our relationship with Apple and our certified ACSP (Apple Certified Support Professional) and ACTC (Apple Certified Technical Coordinator) staff provide further peace of mind to our client base.

Phone Line “Upgrade” Scam

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:06:09 +0000

We have had reports of clients receiving calls from companies purporting to be calling on behalf of BT. They say that BT is upgrading its network to the “21st Century Network” (which is true) and your lines and system will need to be upgraded otherwise they won’t work (which is absolutely NOT TRUE). They will try and press you to sign a lease for thousands of pounds worth of equipment or lines that you simply don’t need.

See one such recent story here.

Please don’t become a victim. If in any doubt, please check with us by email.

(Thanks for our friends at Green Telecom for alerting us to this scam)

PAT Testing for Small Businesses

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:20:24 +0000

Attention Small Business Owners!
As you may know Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) is a legal requirement and all electrical appliances should be tested annually in order to comply with Health and Safety Regulations.
Pensar now offers competitively priced PAT Testing as part of its IT Support service portfolio. We can test your PCs, Macs, laptops, printers as well as all other electrical items. All devices will be labelled and recorded. Prices start from as low as 75p per device.
This service can be incorporated into a manged services agreement or handled as a separate annual project.
Please email pat.testing@pensar.co.uk or speak to Hiten Patel on 0845 402 6797 for more details and an estimate.

Pensar partners with ESET

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:18:27 +0000

Pensar is now partnered with leading security software company ESET – http://www.eset.co.uk.

ESET’s product lines are award winning and industry leading and Pensar is able to offer the whole range including Smart Security and NOD32 Antivirus. These products not only get rave technical reviews but are also extremely competitively priced.

Please email sales@pensar.co.uk for a quote, or ask us for a technical comparison against your existing security product.

Scam Warning – Supplier Details Update

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:04:49 +0000

There have been reports of businesses suffering substantial losses as a result of a very sophisticated fraud involving bogus requests for supplier bank details to be changed. The fraudsters contact businesses posing as an existing supplier and request that the business change the payment details for this supplier. If you change these payment details you can end up paying the fraudsters instead of your genuine supplier.

The fraudsters:
> use email addresses and telephone numbers that are similar to that of the genuine company
> may have previously called your company or the supplier to find out the contact name for payments and supplier numbers, so that the correct details appears on correspondence
> use director/company secretary signatures from the actual business which have been copied from annual reports

Please closely scrutinise request and make checks using the historic contact details of your suppliers. There are reports that this scam is targeting housing and construction related businesses, but all businesses should be vigilant.

ThinkGrid Partner Case Study

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:58:50 +0000

A growth area for Pensar is the provision of Hosted Services.

We needed a strong business partner to help deliver such Hosted Services to our client base. The services need to be reliable, secure yet reasonably priced and well supported.

Why did we choose to partner with ThinkGrid for this requirement? Read the Case Study here:

http://www.pensar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ThinkGrid-Partner-Case-Study-Pensar.pdf

Should you have any queries about ThinkGrid services available through Pensar, please email thinkgrid@pensar.co.uk.

Zen Partner Case Study

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:49:13 +0000

One of Pensar’s main partner relationships is with Zen Internet.

Zen’s broadband, domain and hosting services are all widely deployed by Pensar on behalf of its clients.

Why did we choose to partner with Zen? Read the Case Study here:

http://www.pensar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Zen-Partner-Case-Study-Pensar.pdf

Should you have any queries about Zen services available through Pensar, please email zen@pensar.co.uk.

Considerations for building a successful cloud offering

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:40:21 +0000

This article by Mark Williams appeared in Microscope on 24th May 2010.

Online version:

http://www.microscope.co.uk/managing-business/supplier-relationships/considerations-for-building-a-successful-cloud-offering/

PDF version:

http://www.pensar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Microscope-Article-Considerations-for-building-a-successful-cloud-offering-May-2010.pdf

Pensar is on the move

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:28:44 +0000

Due to continued expansion, we are moving office. Our new premises provide double the amount of space in more comfortable surroundings, and are handily located just 5 minutes from our previous location.
Our new address is 71 Gloucester Place, London, W1U 8JW.

Small Businesses – Are you utilising your AIA? (Updated 8th March)

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:06:04 +0000

“What on earth is an AIA?”, I hear you ask!

AIA stands for Annual Investment Allowance and is effectively a 100% tax allowance for business expenditure on almost all plant or machinery, excluding cars – but including IT equipment. It is capped at £50,000 a year.

So, cash flow permitting, it’s sensible to make any qualifying capital expenditure up to the £50k limit before the end of the tax year – now only 6 weeks away. If your servers are struggling or your laptops are on their last legs, then this is the time to invest in new IT equipment that will take your business forward in the new financial year. If you need advice on what equipment it is wise to replace at this time, please contact us and we’d be happy to help.

The official HMRC blurb is at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/camanual/CA23081.htm. Obviously, it is also advisable to check with your accountant to establish your individual position.

Update – 8th March 2010:

Conservative Party to scrap AIA?

The Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne was interviewed by Andrew Marr on BBC 1 on Sunday 28 February.

Amongst other pronouncements, he stated that the reductions in the rate of corporation tax would be paid for by the “abolition of some complex reliefs”. More specifically, he stated that an investment relief predominantly available to small businesses would be abolished to “simplify tax” and allow smaller businesses more choice.

This indicates the potential end of the AIA if the Tories are elected.

So, even more reason to take advantage NOW!