The Rainbow Centre selects Allied Office Machines as their office technology supplier

Martyn Pegram from Allied and the children from The Rainbow CentreBased in Fareham, The Rainbow Centre is a charity supporting children and adults with neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s, MS and stroke and their families.

The Rainbow Centre has awarded their copier contract to Allied Office Machines.

Inigo Churchill, Operations Director at The Rainbow Centre explained: “We were signed up to a long term contract which was expensive and difficult to terminate. Our main requirements were to maintain the same level of printing and scanning capabilities for less money and have a transparent and flexible contract. We went out to the market and selected Allied Office Machines. Dealing with them was very simple and easy. We liked the fact they were a small local company who provide a premium service.”

Steve Drayson, MD at Allied Office Machines added: “Allied Office Machines are an ethical family-run business where we pride ourselves on providing the best advice and solutions to all our customers. Our initial recommendation after reviewing the exiting contract was to  leave it to run a little longer, as there was a significant cost associated with terminating it. However, we are now delighted we can provide The Rainbow Centre the technology support they need so they can concentrate on helping their clients. Our consultant Martyn has even signed up to run the London marathon to raise funds for the Centre.”

Photo – Martyn Pegram from Allied Office Machines and the children from The Rainbow Centre

Allied Office Machines help WRES to automate their scanning process

Dorset based WRES is a privately owned company with a heritage spanning more than fifty years. They combine the established traditions of value, service and workmanship with today’s latest technologies to manufacture precision fabrications and sheet metal components.

 In the manufacturing process, hundreds of work orders and delivery notes are generated every week. In line with their ISO certification, these documents need to be signed by the operators on the shop floor during production and stored within their business system. This was a manual, labour intensive task where all documents had to be individually scanned and manually linked to a customer record on the system.

There was a team of people storing the paperwork using small scanners on their desks. This had to be completed as well as their other day to day duties which often lead to backlogs, at times up to three months’ worth.

 After a review, ControlSuite from Kofax together with a Ricoh IMC4500 multifunctional copier was proposed as a solution.

Westley Hamar, Director at WRES, commented: ” Prior to installing ControlSuite software our finance team spent hours each day scanning in signed work orders and delivery notes. Now the whole task takes minutes. They just scan the documents in a batch, the software reads the barcodes and stores it into our system. The team is delighted they no longer need to complete the old labourious manual process.”

 

Steve Drayson, MD at Allied Office Machines, added: ” At Allied, we always try to add value for our customers and offer a solution that really fits their needs and ultimately improve the efficiency of the way they work. After our consultant visited WRES it became clear that we would be able to automate part of their scanning routine, saving the company time and money whilst making their work order process more effective. We are very pleased with the result.”

Photo – Westley Hamar from WRES and Steve Drayson from Allied Office Machines

Six ways to defend your company against a ransomware attack

Ransomware criminalRansomware – cyber extortion that occurs when malicious software infiltrates your computer systems and encrypts your data, holding it hostage until the victim pays a ransom. Failing to pay the ransom will result in the data being published online and extensive downtime. The likelihood of ransomware attacks can be reduced using a plan covering these actions:

1. Conduct risk assessments and penetration tests to determine the attack surface and current state of security resilience and preparedness in terms of tools, processes and skills.

2. Establish processes and compliance procedures that involve key decision makers in the organisation, even before preparing for the technical response to a ransomware attack.

3. Conduct frequent exercises and drills to ensure that systems are always able to detect the attacks.

4. Back up not only the data but also every non-standard application and its supporting IT infrastructure. Maintain frequent and reliable backup and recovery capabilities. If online backups are used, ensure they cannot become encrypted by ransomware.

5. Restrict permissions and deny unauthorised access to devices. Remove local administrator rights from end users and block application installation by standard users, replacing this with a centrally managed software distribution facility.

6. Research government and regional authorities that have provided guidelines on how organisations can fortify their IT infrastructure against ransomware.

Another layer of protection would be to implement anti-ransomware software RC from Bullwall. It is an innovative, last line of defence software which protects your confidential data against ransomware attacks from any user on any device. It provides a complete 24/7 containment solution.

Contact Martyn to book a demo on 01794 526088 or email  m.pegram@aomltd.co.uk

Source: ‘6 Ways to Defend Against a Ransomware Attack’, Gartner

Allied Office Machines have been supporting Southampton Special Purpose Workshop for the last ten years

Southampton Special Purpose Workshop (SSPW, www.sspw.co.uk) is the longest established private and independent day service provider for adults with special needs in Southampton. It was founded in 1993 by Jim Parker as an alternative to the traditional day services. The main workshop in Portswood is divided into four areas: woodwork, garage, craft and a canteen. The group also includes a farm in Durley and a shop in Woolston. 

SSPW always tries to find meaningful, useful and enriching activities for their clients. To help with one of these activities, Allied Office Machines donate all their old photocopiers to SSPW. The clients take part in the whole process where they come and collect the copiers, load them onto a trailer and take them back to their workshop. Here the equipment is stripped down and all metal components are prepared for recycling while the clients learn about the different types of metal and copier parts. Once completed, all the metal parts are sold to a scrap yard. 

This generates an income for the recreational fund, which is used to fund trips to museums and other fun activities chosen by the service users.  

Sean Parker, Service Manager at Southampton Special Purpose Workshop, commented: “We have been proud to provide the day service for the last twenty-five years and many clients rely on us. It was very difficult with Covid where we had to close our doors. We still offered doorstep visits, phone calls and activity packs as our service is vital for some of our vulnerable clients. It is great to be fully open again and provide the full range of services which enhance our clients’ lives.” 

Steve Drayson, MD at Allied Office Machines, added: “We are very happy to donate our old equipment to SSPW. It’s reassuring to know that the old upgraded equipment is not only put to good use but is also fully recycled and helps to fund the worthwhile activities for the clients of SSPW.” 

Photo – Jamie Paulton from Allied Office Machines and SSPW team

Window Warehouse boosts their cybersecurity and protects their business from ransomware

Based in Portsmouth, Window Warehouse is the south coast’s leading manufacturer of quality uPVC and aluminium windows and doors to the domestic and commercial sectors.

Many large corporations spend millions on cybersecurity and still get attacked by cyber criminals, their private data encrypted, stolen and used for ransom. Experts agree that it is no longer a question of if, but when you get targeted. A business needs to take every precaution they can in building strong perimeter and end point defences, however, they also need to plan for when there is a breach and how to manage it. 

Andy Bulcock, IT Manager at Window Warehouse explained: “We are always looking at ways in which we can strengthen our cybersecurity defences. Since ransomware attacks have become more frequent across all business sectors, we knew we needed to invest in an effective solution which would neutralise this specific threat. As a business we have grown in size in the last few years and now have more users to protect. After extensive research we have selected RansomCare which was implemented by our technology partner Allied Office Machines.” 

RansomCare(RC) is a cost effective and easy to install solution from BullWall. It is an innovative, last line of defence software which protects your confidential data against ransomware attacks from any user on any device. It provides a complete 24/7 containment solution. 

Steve Drayson, MD at Allied Office Machines added: “Allied Office Machines have been working closely with Window Warehouse for the last ten years in supplying and maintaining their printers and copiers. We view our relationship with all our clients as a long-term partnership to understand the business and add value. Supplying another layer of protection to their cybersecurity will help to safeguard their company for the future.” 

Photo – Remi Cake from Window Warehouse and Martyn Pegram from Allied Office Machines 

How much time do you have to react to a ransomware attack?  

Not very long at all.

Ransomware attacks are becoming faster and more sophisticated. In this latest attack referenced below, it only took 3 hours and 44 minutes from the initial infection until all the files on all devices were encrypted. 

3h and 44min does not provide a large window for network and security admins to detect and respond to the attack and implement counter measures – considering they rely on manual human intervention and that many attacks occur at night.

An automated solution which reacts in seconds and stops the encryption instantly can improve your response times, prevent downtime, disruption and loss of revenue.

Would you like to know more?

Contact Martyn to book a demo on 01794 526088 or email  m.pegram@aomltd.co.uk

Read the full article here:

Quantum ransomware seen deployed in rapid network attacks 

Is it time to check the facts about the supply of copiers and copier parts? 

We have found there is a little misinformation out there and we seek to clarify it. 
 
Statement 
We cannot supply the upgrade for your current brand of copier due to the global chip problem. We would prefer for you to take an alternative brand. 
 
Fact checked 
The global chip shortage has affected all manufacturers that produce a product with a computer interface. So in fact all manufacturers of copiers or MFP’s are suffering with the same issues. This does not mean you don’t have a choice. 
 
Statement 
We couldn’t get to service your equipment today as there are supply problems with the parts required to fix it. 
 
Fact checked 
Although there are delays on the supply of certain equipment models across all manufacturers, there are no such issues with parts and consumables supplies. Most parts and consumables are readily available from most independent dealers, including ourselves. 
 
Statement 
Currently we are only able to service your equipment using “compatible” non OEM parts and consumables due to global supply problems. 
 
Fact checked 
99% of all genuine OEM parts and consumables are readily available from most independent dealers. 

For more information contact Martyn on 01794 526088 or info@aomltd.co.uk