Southern Communications Limited

Named after Martyn Hett, a victim of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, Martyn’s Law mandates stronger protective measures for public spaces. Currently going through parliament, this law will have a significant impact on schools.

Implementing Martyn’s Law in schools helps to identify vulnerabilities and take proactive steps to mitigate risks, ultimately ensuring a safer environment. However, to ensure this outcome, there are multiple factors to consider. Our Education Product Specialist, Alice O’Shea, has put together the following guidance to highlight the areas that need to be addressed.

1. Enhanced security protocols

Schools will need to adopt comprehensive security measures to protect students, staff, and visitors from potential terrorist attacks.

This includes risk assessments, emergency planning, and the implementation of robust security infrastructure.

2. Mandatory risk assessments

Schools must conduct thorough risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities and areas requiring enhanced security measures.

This proactive approach aims to mitigate risks before they can be exploited by potential attackers.

3. Training and awareness

Staff should receive training to recognise and respond to threats, ensuring that they are both prepared and informed.

Students may also be educated on safety protocols, contributing to a culture of vigilance and readiness.

4. Emergency response preparedness

Schools will need to develop and regularly update emergency response plans to handle potential terrorist incidents effectively.

Regular drills and simulations ensure that everyone knows their roles and actions in case of an emergency. When running any form of live testing, consideration must be taken for those who have already experienced trauma, and for those with sensory or additional needs.

Mass communication methods should exist for lockdown, evacuation and broadcasting live announcements, adopting the ‘Guide, Shelter & Communicate’ principles laid out by the government.

5. Collaboration with law enforcement

Close collaboration with local police and emergency services is required to ensure that threats receive a coordinated and swift response.

Schools must be part of a broader security network, sharing information and resources with other institutions and authorities.

6. Community reassurance

Demonstrating a commitment to safety reassures parents, students and the community, enhancing trust and confidence in a school’s ability to provide a secure learning environment.

Transparent communication about safety measures and protocols can alleviate concerns and foster a sense of security.

7. Legal and regulatory compliance

Compliance with Martyn’s Law in schools ensures that they meet legal obligations, avoiding potential penalties and enhancing overall safety standards. Staying up to date with regulatory requirements will be essential for school administrators and governing bodies.

SCG is working in partnership with The Protect Alliance (UK), and recommend that all customers implementing Martyn’s Law adopt the below standards:

ISO 45001: this concerns health and safety, with a clause for emergency preparedness
ISO 22301: this concerns business continuity, with greater emphasis on the recovery phase

Both incorporate the need for legal compliance.

8. Enhanced infrastructure and technology

Schools need to invest in advanced security technologies such as surveillance systems, access controls and communication tools to detect and deter threats.

Physical infrastructure needs to be upgraded to include protective barriers and secure entry points.

SCG: Making your school safe, secure and compliant

We provide comprehensive solutions tailored to educational institutions, including secure networking, communication tools and management systems. Our expertise in school-specific technologies ensures reliable performance and compliance with safety regulations such as Martyn’s Law. In addition, our support and training services help schools maximise the effectiveness of their technology investments whilst prioritising student safety and wellbeing.

Martyn’s Law in schools is pivotal, mandating a structured and comprehensive approach to security ensuring that educational facilities are better positioned to prevent and respond to terrorist threats. Correct implementation creates safer environments for learning and growth, fostering a proactive culture of security and preparedness.

You can watch our video on Martyn’s Law here to discover how ready your school is.

If you’d like help to ensure that your school is prepared for Martyn’s Law, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 090 1965.

With the Big Switch Off already limiting businesses yet to upgrade, more than ever are moving to Cloud telephony and experiencing its many benefits. When speaking to those making the jump, the number one comment we hear is, ‘we don’t want our phones to go down if our internet goes down too’. This is a natural concern, but experienced telecoms suppliers will build multiple layers of resilience into their solutions to prevent this from happening. So, what should businesses be looking for to ensure their communications are protected when migrating voice to the Cloud?

In-built Cloud telephony resilience

The first point of resilience should lie with the Cloud telephony system itself. A robust solution should have the capability to cope with issues at both the end-user level, and at the data centres where it is hosted.

In the event of a local power cut or broadband failure, a Cloud telephony system should be able to detect this outage and activate failover functionality, such as automatically diverting all incoming calls to a pre-assigned mobile number. Softphone availability enables you to use an application to make and receive calls on a laptop, tablet or mobile device with an alternate internet connection (such as 4/5G). This means you can seamlessly switch to these devices, and if necessary, work remotely in an area unaffected by the connectivity outage.

When it comes to the data centres hosting your Cloud telephony solution, there are two specific factors to look at: one, that the service actively operates from multiple data centres (in the event of one going down), and two, that they have a high ‘tier’ rating. This tier system ranges from one to four, categorised in ascending order of seamless operation through elements such as security and redundancy. For the purpose of Cloud telephony, Tier 3 data centres ensure the required levels of business continuity.

Additional resilience measures

As these measures are intrinsic to a Cloud telephony solution, they would usually be included in the cost of a standard user licence. However, if your business requires further resilience, there are additional measures that a telecoms supplier should be able to put in place.

One option is to supply two circuits for your connectivity. These can be network diverse, carrier diverse, and exchange diverse; this gives you the highest degree of redundancy in the event of any kind of issue. It is worthwhile noting the difference between networks, carriers and exchanges here. Frequently, we’ve spoken to businesses who thought they had sufficient continuity in place by having connectivity through two different networks, only to discover that they both use the same carrier or exchange, creating potential vulnerabilities.

A diligent supplier will even look at providing these circuits through two different physical routes and points of entry into your premises. This means that in the result of nearby construction work severing a wire, you still have connectivity. A further step is to install a 4G/5G backup, which gives you a lights-on solution prioritising core business functions until regular connectivity is restored.

SCG’s Cloud telephony solution

As a complete telecoms solution provider, SCG offers all the above resilience options alongside the benefits of its own Cloud-hosted telephony solution, Evonex. Operational and synchronised across three Tier 3 UK data centres, Evonex increases productivity and flexibility across your business, with a simple and cost-effective licencing structure. Our industry-leading 4.9 Trustpilot rating reflects our approach to customers, working with them to understand their specific needs and ensuring we put the right level of resilience in place.

If you’d like to see how easy it is for your business to take advantage of robust and resilient Cloud telephony, contact us on 0800 090 1965 or sales@scgconnected.co.uk.

Evaluating new service providers within education is a very difficult and time-consuming process. With that in mind, our Education Product Specialist, Alice O’Shea, has put together some valuable insights for Trusts who are looking at procurement frameworks and tenders for VoIP (hosted telephony)/IT services.

Having spent a lot of time writing and responding to tenders within educational establishments myself, I want to highlight a few points of concern that need to be addressed and shared. Often when it comes to an overhaul of technical services, so many fundamental things are missed which then cost a great deal of time and money. Budgets are tight, and for most schools if the annual budget is not spent, you may get less the next year which isn’t ideal when you need to make the switch to VoIP.

So, how should your Trust ‘Be More Prepared’ for going out to tender?

The importance of site surveys

Site surveys are vital! Imagine going through the tender process and realising that all your requirements are wrong when you have already agreed on a cost model. Pricing discounts agreed with suppliers are based on the quantities authorised. If there is a decrease, the rates per handset/extension will increase. I often see handset requirements that are wildly inaccurate; this is because the right questions haven’t been flagged internally. Sometimes schools require less handsets or bigger quantities, so you need to consider the following:

1. Do I have a budget for additional cabling and data points to be installed?

2. What is my current solution, and how many handsets do I currently have vs how many do I actually need?

3. Do I have a senior leadership/head office team that need to be contactable at all times who require softphone capabilities?

4. Do I have a dedicated emergency plan that is linked to my communications platform? If so, how does it work, and can I enact a lockdown/invacuation externally from the playground/sports hall etc (why pay between £10,000 to £20,000 towards tannoy systems when you can receive this dedicated service through a VoIP Platform, unless there is a requirement to split it)? Can this be used in the event of a lockdown, and can it support children on EHCP care plans should there be a medical emergency?

Contract expiry dates

Make sure you are aware of when your contracts expire. I’ve seen so many commitments made via schools who are not aware they are still in contract, and as a result have hefty termination fees. Once you sign with a new supplier, you also have to adhere to their terms of service where live dates are agreed; I’ve seen a rise in double payments to two different suppliers because there was no due diligence in the first place. I have also seen a rise in company bases being acquired by bigger outfits and issuing a new contract whilst the schools remain oblivious. Don’t be afraid to have those conversations with Ofcom if your existing suppliers are playing hardball!

1. Tell your existing supplier that you will be going out to tender.

2. Find out what your termination dates are, and if all those services line up. All too often you will quickly see that if you have added additional lines or extensions over the years, this will have extended your contract term.

3. Always ask for access to your portal with a supplier when you are looking at a multisite solution. This enables you to compare your existing lines and services, and what’s being billed vs what is live. You may have extensions, services for alarms or lift lines that you have already migrated but are still being charged for.

The next steps

Once you have completed the above, it’s time to ask yourself these further questions.

1. What are your main points of focus for communication? These could include:

Risk reduction.
Policy compliance and support.
Emergency planning and lockdown procedures.
Time management and efficiency improvement.
Accessibility and productivity enhancement.
Support for the welfare of children and staff.
Alarms and safety measures.
Safeguarding children & staff.

2. What features do I need to include, and is the solution built with what matters most to my School? Potential features include:

Security lockdown for intruder alerts.
Paging alerts for emergencies and public announcements.
Dedicated support lines for students/welfare support line for families.
Automated and detailed call reporting to ensure all unreturned missed calls are picked up.
Night mode for optimised functionality (it’s as simple as pressing a button on your handset).
Conference calls with PIN codes for secure communication with children on EHCP (Education & Health Care Plans).
Calls recorded – do they automatically link with a parent/child’s folder so they can be downloaded immediately at the click of a button? Consider how this is linked to your MIS platform.

3. What policies should I align this with for compliancy? These could include:

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
DfE (2018) ‘Health and safety: responsibilities and duties for schools’.
DfE (2015) ‘Emergency planning and response’.
DfE (2019) ‘School and college security’.
National Counter Terrorism Security Office (2015) ‘Developing Dynamic Lockdown Procedures’, soon to be supported by ‘Martyn’s Law’.

The final element

The last part is establishing what you want the training to look like. This could include a basic overview for how to make and receive calls, through to transferring, and larger elements such as live broadcasting of announcements and lockdown training. Ask all your staff questions on things they enjoy vs improvements that need to be made.

Knowledge is power, and as I get frequent requests and see the same mistakes made, I know how important it is to ensure consistency, particularly when your Trust is paying a company to write the tender and consider all the above.

If you need help and are unsure of what to include for your Trust, please do not hesitate to reach out on 0800 652 5612.

Technology is constantly evolving, and nowhere is this more evident than within the telecommunications industry.

Traditional analogue copper cable services are outdated and no longer efficient to the point where they have reached the end of their serviceable life. They are to be switched off by the end of 2027, being replaced with a digital solution known as internet telephony.

As the deadline draws ever closer, it is crucially important for businesses to understand what internet telephony is, how to utilise it, and the clear benefits it brings.

What is internet telephony?

Internet telephony is a communications technology where all types of telephony services, calls and data, are sent digitally over the internet using the Internet Protocol (IP), rather than being transmitted over traditional analogue landlines.

This includes voice calls, fax, voicemail, video calls and other forms of communication exchange.

How does it work?

Audio streams (your voice) transmitted through a microphone and video streams transmitted through a camera, are converted into digital format data, compressed, and split into small packetswhich are transmitted to the recipient over the internet.

These packets are then re-assembled when they reach their destination and converted back into audio / video streams on the other party’s device.

What is VoIP?

VoIP is an acronym for Voice over Internet Protocol and sits as an element within internet telephony. Whereas internet telephony is a broader term for the transmission of any kind of information over the internet, VoIP is an open standards technology purely for the transfer of voice calls.

What hardware do you need for internet telephony?

At the most basic level, you will need a suitable internet connection with associated modem and router (generally a single combined device these days), plus a device to make and receive calls with.

This device could be a laptop, PC, Mac, tablet or mobile running a softphone client with an optional headset or earpiece, or many users still prefer a desktop phone. These look visually like ordinary traditional phones but have many more features and greater functionality.

Why do you need to switch?

There are several obvious benefits of switching to internet telephony, such as cost savings, improved reliability, advanced functionality, greater flexibility, and scalability. However, the most pressing reason is that the telecoms industry has announced that it will retire the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) by January 2027. This is referred to as The Big Switch Off.

Don’t leave it until the last minute; start exploring the options and alternatives today. The sooner you switch, the sooner your business can start enjoying the benefits of internet telephony.

What are the advantages of internet telephony?

As it is no longer shackled to the limitations of traditional phone lines, internet telephony offers many advantages over analogue telephony.

Flexibility – Internet telephony gives you the ability to make and receive calls on multiple devices such as smartphones and desk phones, without any impact to customer experience. Although you can divert calls on traditional phonelines, it’s often a much more cumbersome process where you need to contact your telephony provider and wait for them to activate these changes.

Scalability – Whether it’s to cope with the growth of your business, or seasonal spikes in call volumes, internet telephony can easily adjust to meet your needs. Not only is the purchase of additional telecoms hardware unnecessary, but you can also add or remove devices and numbers with ease, much faster than on a traditional phone system.

Cost-efficiency – Far cheaper than landline and mobile telephony, internet telephony enables you to save money through VoIP calls, and it requires no capital outlay. Inclusive features such as voicemail, call-forwarding, conferencingand auto-attendants remove the need for previously expensive bolt-ons.

Voice quality – With a stable and fast internet connection, sound is usually clearer using internet telephony than through analogue phonelines. There will be fewer dropped calls and less chance for delays or interruptions.

Business continuity – With communication services moved offsite, running from secure and resilient datacentres, you will not be impacted by local power outages. You can make and receive calls from other branch offices, remote / home workers, and in fact anywhere with an internet connection.

How does SCG offer internet telephony?

SCG offers internet telephony through Evonex, its own unique Cloud-based telephony solution.

SCG can also equip your business premises and home workers with high-speed internet connections.

How does Evonex differ from other internet telephony or VoIP solutions?

We understood very early on that internet telephony would become the communications solution for the future, and we needed to be at the forefront of the sector. We recognised that if we wanted to deliver industry-leading hosted telephony, we had to be the ones in full control of the products and services we offered.

From owning the intellectual property and patented technology, to highly scalable and resilient infrastructure architecture, to the in-house development, operations, and support teams, Evonex is our answer.

Evonex enables you to connect with staff, customers, and prospects, by giving you the power to Be More in Control of your business communications. We have the capability and resources to continually develop and evolve it, being both pro-active and responsive to the needs of our customers, and industry trends and regulations.

Customer experience and business performance are often intrinsically linked to call handling; Evonex enables you to improve this whole process, starting with a simple cost per user per month for a single telephone number which can be across multiple devices simultaneously.

With cross-platform compatibility and feature synchronisation, plus a common user interface across web browsers, Windows and Mac clients, and iOS and Android mobile apps, it gives you greater colleague visibility, so you can see who’s available to take calls, who answers and when.

Easy administration empowers you to adjust personal and group call routing, queuing, messaging, and announcements on the fly, allowing you to adapt in real time to match changes in business circumstances.

With basic call recording storage and Insights Reporting included as standard, Evonex enables you to monitor and improve productivity through comprehensive statistical reports with a choice of formats, frequency, and automated email delivery options.

MS Teams compatibility, voicemail transcription, Click-to-Dial, integration with leading CRM systems, and local breakout in multiple international locations are just some of the other benefits available.

In addition to great functionality, Evonex also stands out from the crowd with its exceptional reputation for stability, and long history of unsurpassed reliability in the UK Cloud telephony market.This is all supplemented with Anti DDoS protection / mitigation and MFA protected account logins.

What advantages does SCG offer as an internet telephony provider?

At SCG, we understand that there’s no such thing as off-the-shelf business communications. We don’t just sell products; we take the time to understand the current and future needs of our customers, delivering bespoke solutions designed to solve the issues that they face in the evolving world of business; our goal is to develop long-term relationships where we are a trusted partner.

SCG gives you More. Not only can you come to us for all your communications needs, providing just one easy point of contact for all your requirements, but all our core solutions have the option of our comprehensive Service Assured wrapper. This provides that extra level of peace of mind and business continuity, avoiding issues such as customers ever receiving the busy or unavailable tone, and averting the potentially crippling costs of call fraud.

Customer experience is at the heart of everything we do, backed up by our outstanding service record. Not only do we have over 50 years’ experience, but we believe in the human approach; our customers know they can reach us within five seconds of calling. This is why we maintain an industry-leading 4.9-star Trustpilot rating after receiving more than 2,500 customer reviews.

The future of telephony

In addition to internet telephony being a cost-effective and futureproof solution to the retirement of traditional copper-based services, it also offers a much-improved business communications experience. Don’t get left behind by the progression of technology. Contact us today on 0800 090 1965 or sales@scgconnected.co.uk to see how easy it is to deploy Evonex across your business so you can Be More Connected.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 releases on 31^st January 2024. With the new Samsung range available through SCG’s Mobile offering, we’re excited to bring this new device to your business. But what makes this phone so different to its predecessors? Why will it enhance your business mobile operations and allow you to Be More Connected? We will run through some of the new, ground-breaking features of the S24 and its model variations to assist your decision-making when it comes to upgrading your mobile devices.

The S24 is available in three models: the Samsung S24, Samsung S24 Plus & Samsung S24 Ultra.

The S24 range comes with an array of native AI-powered tools, all of which run on Google’s Gemini foundational models. These AI capabilities will be deployed to the S23 lineup, Z Flip 5, and Z Fold 5 by summer 2024. New features include the Circle to Search feature, which enables you to search on Google by searching for anything you circle without changing apps. This has been extensively tested to the point where it can differentiate between real and fake plants.

Samsung also showcased several new communication-related tools, including Live Translate, which translates texts and even two-way phone calls in real-time into 13 different languages, allowing you to Be More Connected than ever!

The S24 range promises users seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates. That matches the support period of Google and its Pixel 8 range, nearly doubling the S23’s offering of four generations of Android version updates and five years of security updates.

Let’s look at the technical specifications of this new range of Samsung phones and how they differ from the S23 Models.

Display:

The S24 will sport a 6.2-inch OLED display, which is 0.1 inches larger than the S23 model of the Galaxy range. Similarly, the S24 Plus is also 0.1 inches larger than the S23 Plus, whereas the S24 Ultra and the S23 Ultra share the same screen size at 6.8 Inches.

The S24 matches the resolution of its predecessor at 2340 x 1080. The S24 Plus, on the other hand, features an enhanced resolution of up to 3120 x 1440 over the S23 Plus’s 2340 x 1080 resolution. Similarly, the S24 Ultra has an increased resolution of 3120 x 1440 compared to the S23 Ultra’s 3088 x 1440. All these resolutions utilise a 120Hz refresh rate, to ensure seamless viewing.

Camera:

The camera on the S24 and the S24 Plus have stayed the same as their predecessor. The only difference is with the S24 Ultra model, which introduces a 50MP telephoto lens to replace the S23 Ultra’s 10MP telephoto lens.

SCG gives customers the power of choice, with the ability to pick the devices, airtime providers and plans which best suit their business and budget. If you’d like to empower your workforce with the very latest from the Samsung S24 range, contact us now on 0800 090 1965 or sales@scgconnected.co.uk.

Get your Samsung S24 Today!

Whether you are a small company without any IT resources, or a larger business that just needs some additional support, a Managed IT Services solution is the perfect answer: an outsourced, fully managed IT department with the ability to scale with your requirements.

This form of IT support offers many benefits, including an increased level of security and assurance. As the festive season always brings with it a rise in cyberattacks, this peace of mind is even more valuable at this time of year.

SMEs might consider themselves safe from cybercrime, thinking that they aren’t a big enough target, but this is a common misconception. In fact, since they often lack sufficient security, they are both very popular and often very easy prey. Recent figures in Vodafone’s ‘The Business of Cyber Security’ report show that more than half of UK SMEs were the subject of a cyberattack in 2022, up from 39% in 2020. Considering that almost one in five still admit to having no cybersecurity whatsoever, this isn’t surprising.

The financial ramifications of such an attack hit smaller businesses harder too; the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2023, published by gov.uk, estimates the average cost to businesses of a non-phishing cyberattack at over £15,000. Some SMEs would certainly struggle to recover from losing such an amount, especially during the cost-of-living crisis. Managed IT Services represent a cost-efficient yet highly effective cybersecurity solution.

Proactive cybersecurity

As cybercriminals have become increasingly skilled, so have the methods to detect and repel their attacks. It’s no longer enough to rely on passive anti-virus software to protect your valuable business data. Our Managed IT Services solution comes with 24/7/365 proactive monitoring from a live threat team of humans. Advanced techniques such as ransomware canaries (decoy files which sit on your system purely to detect any attempt to encrypt them as part of ransomware attacks) pick up intrusions before they reach truly valuable data.

We also utilise persistent foothold detection. A persistent foothold occurs when a cybercriminal has initially evaded your security methods and established a virtual presence on your system. From here, they can launch further malicious activities which will continue to run even after you log off or reboot your PC. This form of cyberattack can be especially difficult to counter, as it’s like trying to protect your house from a burglar when you don’t realise that they have your front door key. We will detect and eliminate these threats, keeping your business safe.

Complete peace of mind

Our Managed IT Services solution brings the reassurance that whatever happens, you have unlimited access to our IT help desk. If you have any issues or questions, we are always just a phone call away and in the worst-case scenario, we provide disaster recovery and rapid restore. Every minute your critical systems and data are unavailable will financially impact your business, and we give you that additional safety net.

We also increase the visibility of your networked devices through reporting, so you can get an easy overview of their security status, and even their patch update progress. Ensuring your devices have the latest software installed is another way to defend against cyberattacks.

Whereas traditional IT resources can be costly and inflexible, our Managed IT Services solution comes with cost scalability, so it can adapt to both your business size and requirements. With a competitive per-user model, it often works out as a far more cost-effective alternative than having to increase any existing IT resource.

If you’d like complete peace of mind this Winter with a safe and reliable fully managed IT solution, contact us now on 0800 090 1965 or sales@scgconnected.co.uk to discuss your requirements.

Our SMT event is a microcosm of our organisation. As the Group continues to grow, it has expanded to two events a year, with the November event growing into a two-day learning and networking extravaganza. SCG’s rapid rate of evolution has created the need for more collaboration across the business than ever, and this was hugely present at our latest SMT instalment.

Our May SMT focused on empowerment, highlighting its importance in the process of further improving both customer and employee experience. For this latest event, the theme of Targeting Empowerment took us to the next stage. This was achieved by listening to our people at the May SMT, and then targeting each of the key areas they highlighted for change that would have the greatest impact. In the November SMT, we also focused on harnessing the capabilities of the Group so that we can become empowered together. We heard reports on multiple projects, all fostering cooperation to bring us closer as an organisation to achieving high level outcomes.

This is one of SCG’s core strengths. As we acquire business units, their own key strengths and identities are maintained, whilst they gain the support and resources of a larger business. Meanwhile, this new injection of acumen is shared widely across the Group.

Perhaps our biggest Group project focuses on customer experience. Following an engaging session in our previous SMT, we knew that we wanted to increase our efforts, even with our existing 4.9 Trustpilot rating. This led to a multi-disciplinary group of stakeholders in five business units evaluating all elements of the customer journey, resulting in an enhanced Customer Experience Maturity Model. This ongoing project has already led to improvements in customer communication, and even higher volumes of Trustpilot reviews.

The evolution of our CRM system is a similarly transformative project. By again utilising multiple stakeholders across the Group, this is enabling us to refine processes in all departments, from our customer experience account management teams through to provisioning, support and accounts. All of this translates into further tangible improvements for our customers.

Through the guidance of our seven stream leaders, SCG’s CSR and ESG programme, Ours, also continues to develop. Impacting the whole organisation, the programme supports our simple three step commitment to our People, Environment and Reach throughout our supply chain. Some of the most recent initiatives include creating a new centralised induction process, and empowerment training such as the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which is rolling out to all business units.

With the SMT acting as a cultural touchpoint for the wider organisation, highlighting the results of these Group-wide projects at the event demonstrates the value of this approach to the whole business. It illustrates that this collaboration produces high level outcomes which drive us further into elevated customer experience; the first successes of many for Targeting Empowerment.

There’s no doubt that workforce mobility has increased dramatically over the past few years, with technology evolving alongside to support it. This has caused the very preconception of what is and isn’t possible whilst on the move to change; there’s an understanding now that you don’t need to be in the office, or even have a laptop with you, to undertake critical business functions.

The rise of Cloud applications, and the increase in power of mobile devices themselves, opens up a whole new world of possibilities. With Apple becoming a master of the iterative upgrade though, does the latest iPhone 15 range really enable your workforce to Be More Mobile?

The chipset

Although modern smartphones are far faster than their earlier counterparts, we all know how frustrating it can be when we’re trying to do something, and waiting for the device to catch up. Each new iPhone release represents an upgrade in chipset technology to improve speed, and this year is no different.

The iPhone 15 and Plus feature the A16 Bionic processor, whilst the Pro and Pro Max models feature the A17 Pro. Arguably overkill for some businesses, the A17 Pro is potentially the best smartphone processor currently available. The A16 has already been field-tested in last year’s iPhone 14 Pro but still remains one of the fastest.

Equipping your staff with this technology means that they get the very best mobile experience available, no matter what they need to do whilst working remotely.

The Dynamic Island

Another feature previously available on the iPhone 14 Pro, the Dynamic Island is now available across all iPhone 15 models. Here, Apple has decided to go in another direction than rival smartphone manufacturers; instead of trying to camouflage a front camera using hardware solutions, they have hidden it in plain sight by blending it into a more kinetic interface.

As you might expect from the name, this new display element changes shape dynamically depending on its current function. Not only does it provide more visibility for Apple alerts, but it enables simultaneous functionality with a raft of apps running in the background. With smartphones now used for longer, continuous periods rather than just to quickly check email or voice messages, these benefits are even more valuable. Remote workers now have a better tool to keep track of upcoming appointments and tasks, and improved multitasking capabilities.

USB-C charging

Apple has been slow to switch over to the standard USB-C port for device charging but has finally made the change following the EU ruling. Regardless of the motivations, this will undoubtedly make things easier for users; now there’s no more desperate searching for a colleague with a Lightning charging cable when your device is on the brink of battery death.

Although batteries improve with each iPhone version, the constant push for better user experience can result in apps with increased battery drain; this is why in real terms, battery life improvements often seem minimal. Utilising a more universal charging technology gives your employees more freedom to use their mobile devices without as much fear of the dreaded zero percent.

SCG give customers the power of choice, with the ability to pick the devices, airtime providers and plans which best suit their business and budget. If you’d like to empower your workforce with the very latest iPhone 15 range, contact us now on 0800 090 1965 or sales@scgconnected.co.uk.

Our Product Director for Mobile, Ian Boyce, explains what Mobile Device Management is, and why it’s important for every business utilising mobile devices.

Why Mobile Device Management?

Developments in mobile technology, combined with changes in work patterns following COVID, have resulted in more businesses embracing remote working and deploying mobile devices to employees.

However, as organisations increasingly rely on mobiles, the ability to secure data held on these devices and protect the access they provide to company networks becomes essential. No business would consider deploying a PC or laptop to a member of staff before installing anti-virus software and securing it behind a firewall; the same should be true for mobile devices as they are equally vulnerable to cyber threats and data theft.

What is Mobile Device Management?

Mobile Device Management (MDM) is any type of software that allows IT Departments to automate, control and secure administrative policies on laptops, smartphones, tablets, or any other device connected to an organisation’s network.

Alongside device enrolment, typical functionality includes the ability to control device configuration, protect data, monitor the status and compliance of devices, and manage enterprise-approved apps, all across multiple platforms and operating systems.

Organisations looking to obtain Cyber Essentials Certification will require their mobile devices to be managed via MDM.

Which Mobile Device Management?

Following the recognition that an MDM solution is required, the first important decision is which solution to use. Like any piece of software, solutions will range in price and feature set, so a business will first need to establish what their requirements are and the budget available.

Some key suppliers include Samsung Knox Manage (compatible with Android and IOS), SOTI, Microsoft Intune, MaaS 360 and Manage Engine. These all provide a strong, feature-rich solution, although some are more basic than others. To help provide a better understanding, we’ve included an overview of some of these solutions below.

Microsoft InTune is a part of the overall management suite. It is the least feature-rich and has the most complex configuration as it deals with the entire Microsoft estate and all managed devices. Unlike other solutions, Intune does not have remote management access to devices, location tracking and other advanced features, as MDM is a by-product of the solution. The benefit of using Intune is that the licence is often included in the Microsoft suite, which means there is no need for additional licensing costs beyond what has already been invested.

SOTI is an established Premium MDM solution, offering a full suite of features included for more complex requirements, such as detailed location tracking and excellent functionality to manage usage when abroad.

Samsung Knox Manage, although built and provided by Samsung, is compatible with Apple devices making it the most inclusive solution for your mobile fleet. Features include Geo-fencing, remote wipe and remote support. Knox is the most cost-effective and a wide selection of useful management features meaning it offers great value.

Setting up

After selecting a preferred solution, the setup process becomes the next challenge. If there is no in-house knowledge or resource available internally, setting up and maintaining all devices to ensure proper management can become time-consuming. If not managed correctly, you run the risk of a security breach or loss of service across your fleet of devices. If your company is operating a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, there is also the risk of potential disruption to the employee’s personal handset.

How can we help?

SCG are experts in the design and deployment of a range of MDM solutions to suit all business requirements. If you would like to discuss deploying Mobile Device Management and securing your devices, please contact us on 0800 090 1965 or sales@scgconnected.co.uk.