Today is the last day of OCM Communications Limited's financal year. What do we need to deliver for our business and client organisations, through technology, over our next financial year?
Every businesses management has a responsibility to plan for the future of their organisation. In reality, this is a continual process. 3 or 5 year plans, strategic SWOT analysis and financial forecasts are common but predicting where your businesses technology will be in 12 months time should be part of the equation and for OCM Communications, a managed service provider ( MSP) like ourselves its fundamental. How important is it for you?
For OCM we have to consider the future on 2 levels. Firstly, what does our business need to thrive? Secondly, what do our clients need?
Of course these are intertwined but are distinct considerations when you reach a decision point.
What's on OCM's technology radar to be the best managed service provider we can be?
The end point is easy to identify. To deliver our clients, the services and solutions, they require to be successful. The sub plot for OCM is to do this in a way that is profitable and our charges remain fair so as to deliver value to our clients. So we fill be focused on :-
Completing the internal IT projects we started in our May 23 to April 24 year. Completed projects include :-
A complete IT infrastructure refresh from networking infrastructure, Desktops and laptops. Fully deployed ChromeOS to every user as their primary OS.
Deployment of passkeys to all our users.
We retired all Windows 10 machines and deployed Windows 11 to users that have a need as virtual machines. Deployed Microsoft Business Defender as our standard device security across Windows and mobile devices.
Renewed our ISO9001 certification and migrated to ISO27001:2022 certification .
Renewed our Cyber Essentials certifications and became Cyber Essentials Plus certified.
Undertook training on Gemini from Google and Copilot from Microsoft.
Launched a new website which will always be a work in progress for the reasons below.
Progressed our internal project to achieve a major cybersecurity certification which is scheduled to complete in August 2024. Watch this space!
2. AI. Its obvious that AI tools will continue to integrate into our technological lives. Google Gemini will be a focus for our Google Workspace clients. The launch in June 2024 of Google Vids will be on many customers radar. Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft users will be integrated into Windows 11 shortly and deeper integrations will happen across the entire Microsoft suite. ChatGPT is surely going to launch an upgraded model over the next 12 months.
3. Continue to upskill ourselves across the AI solutions our clients will deploy.
4. OCM believes there will be a significant shift in digital marketing. Search engine dominance for inbound marketing has already started to erode. Why? because asking AI for information is on the rise so if the AI does not know everything about your business then nor will potential customers! In short your website needs to be complete with as much information as possible not only on your products and services but also why you are the customers choice, this might include prices, stock levels, customer reviews, accreditations etc. The amount of visitors to your website will decrease if you do not give public AI tools data about your business or organisation.
5. Our cybersecurity solutions for customers are under constant review as the threats evolve. And the threats are only going to increase.
What's on OCM's technology radar for our clients?
Windows 10 end of life in October 2025. This should be dealt within the next 12 months.
BT turning off the PSTN ( traditional phone lines and ISDN ) by December 2025 impacting legacy phone systems, alarm systems and traditional broadband users. Don't forget your remote workers!
AI. Yes again! We have customers who are currently evaluating Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot. We expect deployments over the next 12 months with caution.
Cyber Essentials. We expect more clients to want to achieve Information Security accreditations and Cyber Essentials is the obvious starting point. Why? Organisations with Cyber Essentials are 80% less likely to make a claim against their cyber insurance.
Digital marketing for the reasons above.
Deployment of more cybersecurity solutions to combat rising attacks.
A hardening of the Cyber Insurance market. Organisations without accreditations for cybersecurity are going to be without insurance because of cost or refusal to insure.
A demand to upskill client employees on AI fundementals.
As 1 Gbs networks move towards "legacy" status, deployment of faster network infrastructure across switches (10 Gbps fibre), deployment of WiFi 7 ( upto 500 Gbs) access points for greater speed and some clients upgrading to 10 Gbs leaselines.
A general election in the UK. If there is a new government (as expected) the requirements on business will change. Possible wildcard.
Technology changes at an ever-increasing pace. Don't let your business or organisation get left behind. If any of the trends mentioned resonate with your concerns or ambitions, please get in touch! We're ready to be your technology partner , ensuring you harness these advancements to achieve your business goals.
The digital landscape will continue to shift, and new challenges and opportunities will emerge. OCM is committed to staying ahead of the curve. Our focus is to ensure that we always have the solutions to help our clients evolve as technology transforms their industries. We're excited for what the next year brings!