With the hope of the return to the ‘new normal’ this year, students will be preparing to return to schools, colleges and universities. But the lecture halls and classrooms are not the same ones they left behind. Factors such as social distancing and the huge growth in remote learning have changed dramatically, and perhaps permanently.
As students begin to make their careful return to their schools and universities, educational institutions have an unprecedented responsibility to ensure that studies in this new phase are effective and safe. Learning environments must support whatever degree of remote participation is required in the weeks, months and years ahead.
Today’s learning spaces need to be more flexible in terms of both the physical places students attend and the digital spaces where they connect to lectures and lessons and to educators and peers. What does this mean?
Logistical challenges of the ‘new normal’
Many educational institutions are now finding that more thought must go into scheduling. Because of the need for social distancing and other measures, a greater degree of planning and care has to be taken when determining which rooms are used for which lessons. In order to maintain the necessary distances between students (and educators), lecture hall or classroom capacities are reduced drastically. For instance, if every other seat in a lecture theatre is left empty, that cuts its capacity by half.
Decoupling purpose and technology from physical spaces
Here we come to the importance of flexibility. Modern technology has a key role in helping you use all your available space as effectively as you can to provide the best – and safest – education possible. That’s because unlike the digital whiteboards of previous times, firmly attached to a bracket on a wall of a specific room, today’s devices aren’t necessarily locked down to one space.
Modern, mobile and highly versatile solutions such as the Microsoft Surface Hub 2S can be easily moved to wherever they’re needed, set up quickly and used to bring together remote and on-site students and support the hybrid learning experiences they need. This agility will be a key characteristic of how education is delivered as we move forward. Spaces and their uses are becoming more fluid, quickly and easily shaped into fully equipped, connected, hybrid learning environments by flexible, powerful technology.
However, achieving more fluidity with your physical space is only part of the solution. Succeeding with hybrid learning also means breaking down the barriers between physical and digital learning spaces to unify and enhance student experiences.
Checklist: Can you support hybrid learning?
It’s time to talk about learning experiences. To make hybrid learning really work, educational institutions need to be able to answer these questions with a ‘yes’:
Is setting up and starting hybrid sessions simple for educators/technicians?
Can remote students connect to sessions quickly and with no hassle?
Are educators able to teach both remote and on-site students effectively?
Can you ensure learning experiences are clear, immersive, and engaging?
Is your technology platform familiar and accessible to students and staff?
Can remote students participate and contribute confidently and comfortably?
Are on-site and remote students able to interact and collaborate well together?
Ultimately, the success of a hybrid learning environment comes down to bringing everyone together in one learning space that unifies the digital and physical, where remote learning and teaching deliver results as good as on-site, and where students feel fully part of learning experiences however they participate. And the right technology is necessary to achieve that.
If you’d like to find out more about XMA Hybrid Learning solutions, contact us today.
For more information about the Surface Hub 2S, click here
Brexit Committee Update January 2021
Brexit Committee News Update – January 2021 Update
XMA welcome the news and certainty provided through the late trade deal between the UK and EU at the end of 2020. This has removed the unwelcome risk of tariffs on the products that could have occurred under WTO terms and allows for XMA and our customers to proceed into 2021 with confidence.
Whilst the trade deal removes additional adjustments, exiting the EU still provides changes in the way that products are imported into and exported from the UK, and XMA have ensured our compliance to all new trading requirements in 2021 to protect our customers from unnecessary delays.
What has changed?
Our customers in England, Wales and Scotland
There will be no change in process from XMA, but we have ensured all of our Suppliers are compliant with all new import requirements to maintain consistency in supply and minimise any unnecessary delays at border points.
Our customers in Northern Ireland
The UK and EU agreed and implemented a solution to minimise disruption regarding cross border
movements. XMA have gained the specific EORI number (XI) to maintain our ability to supply our customers in Northern Ireland and we are also recording the commodity codes and country of origin of products supplied. For all customers in Northern Ireland we will require their EORI number and all deliveries will operate on a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) basis under Incoterms as this remains a UK to UK relationship. Further information on the specific requirements for trading in Northern Ireland can be found here
Our customers in Europe
XMA have a UK EORI (Economic Operators Registration and Identification number) to facilitate the movement of goods into the EEA, which became a requirement in 2021. We also record the Full commodity codes and country of origin for all products supplied and now supply commercial invoices for all shipments. For all orders into Europe we will require our customers to provide their EORI number and all deliveries will operate on a Delivered at Place (DAP) basis under Incoterms.
The future
The biggest concern over Brexit was uncontrolled delays of products arriving into the UK or being delivered to Europe, and it does appear there are initial challenges whilst new processes are fully adopted by all stakeholder groups. Overall, XMA are confident we are providing our customers with correct and effective advice to minimise any delays. We will continue to monitor this situation and where any further risk of delays are identified, work with our customers to mitigate the risk or look at alternative solutions.
If you have any questions about how XMA can support your organisation post Brexit, please contact your Account Manager or direct enquiries to: approvals@xma.co.uk
How technology has supported change in 2020
No one can deny that 2020 has been a year of change. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced changes in working practises and re-invented our way of life across the world. Technology has emerged as the main contributor in supporting this change. We take a look back at how technology has supported change in 2020.
The growth of video conferencing
The growth of the video conferencing industry has touched the lives of most, whether it be for work video conferences, keeping in touch with your friends and family, or becoming quiz masters via. Zoom! Whilst many industries have sadly seen declining figures this year, the video conferencing industry is by no means in the same situation. In February, when the COVID-19 pandemic was in its infancy, one provider of video conferencing technology saw a surge of 15% of its stock price, and it is predicted by the time the pandemic settles, this provider could potentially double its value.
2020 is said to have been the ‘year of remote working’ with many businesses now making the decision to change their organisational structure to adopt a ‘flexible working’ policy, or some even moving to an entirely remote organisational structure. There are many benefits to this, especially for small businesses who can benefit both financially, and improve their ability to attract and retain talent to drive their businesses forward. Research has demonstrated that 57% of small business will continue to work at home after orders are relaxed by the government. Many of the world’s largest technology employers are also talking about introducing, or building on their remote working models, including Facebook, Twitter and Google. At first, this move feels daunting, however video conferencing technology has allowed organisations to prove that productivity is the same, if not higher when employees work remotely. This technology has provided organisations with the confidence to change and adapt.
In 2018, the global video conferencing market was valued at just over 3 billion dollars. This is estimated to more than double to 6.4 billion dollars by 2026. The use of video conferencing technology in 2020 has been the driver of transformative business decisions, which has already seen many short-term benefits, including productivity, collaboration, flexibility, mental health and well-being and sustainability.
Environmental impacts
Technology adopted during the pandemic has enabled organisations to make changes in their working structure. Not only does this have huge financial and productivity benefits mentioned, but the environment has also seen benefits as a result.
The productivity benefits of working from home centre around the loss of the need to commute. With the average person’s work commute at 60 minutes each way, this has saved on average a staggering 10 hours per week spent mostly in the car, on the train or bus. As a result of this, the European Environment Agency’s data confirms large decreases in air pollutant concentrations, of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations, largely due to reduced traffic and other activities, especially in major cities under lockdown measures.
The use of technology has demonstrated to employers that their employees can effectively work from anywhere, with best placed technology. In turn, organisations can now contribute to a greener and more sustainable future.
Cyber-security threat
Unfortunately, along with great innovation and change for the better we have seen across 2020, we have inevitably seen a rapid rise in cyber-attacks.
In September, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued an alert to Universities and the education sector after seeing a rapid rise in cyber-attacks throughout August. “The NCSC dealt with several ransomware attacks against education establishments in August, which caused varying levels of disruption, depending on the level of security establishments had in place.” A ransomware attack will usually involve the cyber criminals targeting your most valuable data, encrypting the data, and holding your data hostage while they attempt to extort money or information.
As an industry, we have moved on from treating ‘security’ as a single item or product. We must continue to critically examine our security capabilities end to end. Although the increased use of technology remotely may be a contributing factor to the increase in cyber-attacks , it can also be the solution to protect against them. To get advise on what you can do to minimise risk, please see our blog ‘Protection is Power’ .
Preparing for 2021, the year of the ‘New Normal’
It’s rare for businesses and institutions to face huge shifts in working practice. And, on those occasions when a firm chooses to change location, review working practices or update multiple offerings, leadership would usually demand a detailed plan of action and a period of time to execute it. Recent events have – for many businesses – forced unforeseen change. So, where contingency planning hasn’t provided all the answers for your business, how will you create the plan for your new way of working? Terry Chana, our XMA Workspace Solution Director has outlined 4 steps to ‘Navigate the New Normal’.
Having made bold steps into the future, organisations who strengthen their position and continue to ask questions will find their future opens up in a way they may previously have missed. The fact is that many organisations too scared to develop agile solutions in the past will have either leapt to make these changes in haste, or struggled to survive. Having taken those steps to change, now is the time to review, refocus and reinforce – to ensure these changes aren’t short-term fixes but strong, positive developments which will lead to future growth. It’s important we look to the future, and seek opportunities to collaborate with those who can support us going forward.
XMA support Crisis in their mission to end homelessness
This year has seen trials and tribulations no one ever expected, and not-for-profit organisations have taken a massive hit due to the cancellation of fundraising events and the financial difficulties resulting from the pandemic.
This Christmas, XMA employees from across multiple locations came together (virtually) to support Crisis in their mission to end homelessness.
Virtual fundraising saw staff raise £3,630. All funds raised will be donated to Crisis to help toward changing a life this Christmas. A gift of a Crisis Christmas will give someone who is homeless access to:
Friendship and support from volunteer befrienders
Essential food and festive treats
A place to stay over Christmas
Year-round support including training and education
We’d like to thank all our staff for their efforts in supporting our fundraising efforts this Christmas!
XMA’s Andrea Cairns named Business Manager of the Year at Lenovo Channel Awards
We are thrilled to confirm XMA’s Andrea Cairns has been named Business Manager of the Year at the Lenovo Annual Channel Partner Awards. The awards aim to acknowledge the outstanding collaborative business progress and innovation driven by channel partners throughout the year. Jane Ashworth, Channel Director at Lenovo was joined by Claudia Winkleman to present the awards virtually.
Andrea joined XMA in 2018 and is directly responsible for managing the Lenovo partnership at XMA. With over 25 years of experience in the commercial IT channel of managing vendors and selling solutions, Andrea has helped deliver the digital transformation solutions that set XMA apart from the competition.
On announcing her win, Lisa Ergun at Lenovo had this to say:
“Andrea has been a major contributor to the continued success of the partnership between XMA and Lenovo, owning the relationship at all levels and across all vertical markets. She offers continual support to the Lenovo team and easily manages a number of business critical engagements, advocating the importance of a closer working partnership, whilst also focusing on our joint priorities to drive the number and hit target. “
A huge congratulations Andrea!
XMA is Brexit ready
From 1st January 2021, regardless of the Brexit outcome there will be changes to how UK based organisations trade with Europe (EEA). XMA have developed solutions to meet all anticipated Brexit outcomes and specifically in the event of a trade deal not being agreed with the EEA.
Cloud Backup: Why is it important?
Why Office 365 customers need a backup solution
Many business owners using Office 365 believe that their data is totally secure. The reality, however, is a different story. Although Microsoft offers many benefits in productivity, efficiency, and collaboration with Office 365, the company doesn’t provide users with a comprehensive backup system for their underlying data.
Mechanical malfunctions and physical damage, hacking and theft, user error, and power outages all put user data at risk in the cloud. While companies do their best to prepare for these problems, no plan is foolproof, and stories of data loss are far from rare, with the average data breach costing small businesses £120,000. About 32% of companies get hit by data loss in the cloud, with the most common cause beingdeletion. Although nearly two-thirds of data loss is accidental, 20% is lost to malicious intent, including hackers.
Cloud Backup saves data, time, and money
Cloud backup can be the difference between a slight blip and a disaster, and it can offer end customers a way to mitigate these risks. Skykick recently had one customer that didn’t think it needed backup besides Office 365. That was until an employee inadvertently deleted 50,000 files in the accounting department’s SharePoint library.
The information was recoverable in the recycling bin, but this would have had to have been done file by file, which was going to take an estimated six days. Luckily, they had been backing up SharePoint files with SkyKick’s Cloud Backup. So the entire folder and all the files were restored within hours — a significant improvement in efficiency. After that, the customer requested backups for its entire Office 365 tenant as well!
Ransomware is another issue facing organisations across the globe. Although it has become more sophisticated, many schemes are still simple and catch users off guard. A Skykick customer was hit with ransomware in 2016, and the perpetrators wanted $6,000 for the key to unlock the data. Luckily, the customer had deployed Cloud Backup a few months before the attack. So instead of paying the ransom or wasting hours recreating 44,000 encrypted files, the service provider was able to restore all of the customer’s files, including every pre-attack version.
The fact is that having only one copy of important data is asking for trouble, whether it’s stored in the cloud or elsewhere. If your data isn’t backed up, you could be facing not only a loss of productivity as you scramble to rebuild, but also a loss in revenue and reputation.
Office 365 is an excellent service that gives you access to your data from virtually any place at any time — and across many devices. As a software-as-a-service (SaaS) built on the industry-leading Azure public cloud, Office 365 offers users high reliability, geographic redundancy, and secure connectivity.
“Service Availability. 6b. We strive to keep the Services up and running; however, all online services suffer occasional disruptions and outages, and Microsoft is not liable for any disruption or loss you may suffer as a result. In the event of an outage, you may not be able to retrieve Your Content or Data that you’ve stored. We recommend that you regularly backup Your Content and Data that you store on the Services or store using Third-Party Apps and Services.” (Microsoft, 2020)
Furthermore, Microsoft doesn’t protect data from common issues like file corruption or everyday human error. Nor does it offer a way to easily revert to older versions if something goes wrong beyond their normal data retention policy.
XMA can help you evaluate your options in addressing these shortcomings and specifically discuss how implementing a backup solution can be cost-effective and seamless and offer peace of mind.
SkyKick’s Cloud Backup is easy to use, and recovery is fast
Not all backups are created equal, however. When looking into a solution that can protect your data stored in the cloud, there are a few fundamental questions you should be asking your vendor:
What data is actually being backed up?
How is the backup data being stored and protected?
How often is data backed up, and how long is each backup version kept?
How easy is the data restoration process?
SkyKick Cloud Backup is a flexible, agile, and reliable solution that offers comprehensive data protection across the full Office 365 tenant, unlimited storage and retention of user data, and a hassle-free setup and run experience. And data recovery, when needed, happens fast, which gets your company up and running with minimum downtime.
With flexible per user per month licensing available on our CSP program including free 24×7 support, speak to us today about your Microsoft licensing estate and ensure your data and users are secure .
Microsoft (2020) Microsoft Services Agreement. Available at: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement
Why technology is only half the answer in education
I can show you things using technology that can amaze and astound you. Give me a laptop, a Chromebook or an iPad, and after an hour you’ll wish you had stuff like this when you were at school: augmented reality, cloud collaboration, coding, stop-frame animation, podcasting, video editing, music production, 3D modelling, endless paint and pixels, wow moments and a round of applause. Stick me in front of a class, and I can engage them with some of the most amazing tools on the market. They’ll be absorbed and busy, making stuff and developing skills and working together.
Which is great. When you see it all in action, you’ll think “This is what it’s all about”. But you’re missing something. A question that needs to be asked. One that can easily be forgotten when you see all the energy and technology in the classroom.
Did learning happen?
Just because children are engaged and busy does not always mean that learning has taken place. Don’t get me wrong, engagement and enjoyment help a great deal when trying to drive learning, but they do not equal learning. And learning is what children are expected to be doing in a classroom.
The people who know how learning happens are teachers. It bears repeating that tech doesn’t teach children, teachers teach children (It’s a mantra of mine. Forgive me if you’ve heard it before). So, when we introduce technology into school to “transform learning and teaching” we need to pay heed to the people that will make that happen. Devices in themselves are inert, full of possibilities, but powerless when being used by someone who doesn’t know how to use it for learning. The car a wonderful thing but unless you teach people how to drive it, and adequately, it’s about as much use as an inflatable dartboard.
What technology can do is elevate and accelerate some of the things that teachers do to make that learning happen. For example, one of the most potent things teachers do is to model a concept or an idea for children in a way that will help them understand more deeply what it is you are trying to teach them. You’ll remember the diagrams you had to copy in science or the drawings in textbooks showing you what an ox-bow lake is (I’ve still no idea, I was off that day). These are still valuable, but we can extend the range and quality of our modelling by utilising technology to do things which would be impossible 20 years ago. That could include virtual tours of museums, augmented reality objects in your gym hall, a Google Earth tour of dozens of real ox-bow lakes in your area or visiting a double helix in Minecraft – the possibilities are endless and cut across curricular areas. They just might be the thing that makes an idea “click” in a young person’s brain.
What we advocate across all of our transformation projects in education is to match the investment in technology with investment in teachers. Professional learning is so critical to the success here and teachers need to know how technology can support those things that make learning happen – feedback, modelling, guided instruction, creativity, mastery learning among a dozen others – they understand learning, they just need to learn how to integrate technology to drive that learning in ways which are meaningful, relevant and engaging to them and their students.
At XMA our digital learning team are entrenched in using technology for learning. As experienced teachers across primary and secondary, we know how to leverage technology to make learning happen for teachers and students. We have ways of supporting the teacher journey with technology for learning that will help realise the ambition of the school. We’ve delivered professional learning to thousands of teachers and leaders and we will continue to do that and we’ll continue to advocate that teachers lie at the heart of transformation in education. Teachers already deliver great outcomes for our young people but we’ll leave this post with a quote from George Couros, author of “ The Innovators Mindset:Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity”
“Technology will not replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational”
To meet our Digital Learning team and find out more about what they do visit here
Written by Michael Conlon, Education Transformation Consultant @ XMA
3 steps to take back control of your IT strategy
Creating a strategy for your organisation’s IT is – and always has been – a complex piece.
Back in March I was asking you to think about the ongoing needs of your business, including how to create agility within systems which are part of your legacy. So where were you on that journey? And how far have you moved from that course?
Innovation within any business will follow a certain direction and pace. Whether it’s incremental (using existing technology to develop new opportunities within your own market) or radical (developing new technologies for use in new markets), for innovation to be successful it needs a strategy. Once that path has been defined, however, unforeseen change can take you off your planned course – what is important is that you recognise the altered direction, knowing how to plot your next steps to return to those original goals.
Is it Transformation or Revolution?
It may be that your current position isn’t that far from your planned destination.
•Your workforce is more agile
•Your communications are happening online
•Your productivity levels have increased and
•Your controls are embracing new levels of flexibility.
But is that a fair picture?
What has been lost to achieve this dynamic change? Are you confident in your processes and security? Those things which were dictating your pace of change last year are likely still a concern and it’s essential your future position takes account of these risks.
Taking steps back to your Transformation Path
Whatever progress you’ve made towards your IT transformation goals, this hasn’t been lost. But to ensure you get the results you originally planned for, it may be necessary to revisit those plans.
Discovery
Review your current business and digital context. Take account of changes which have occurred since your transformation project first started – this is your new starting point. While your digital workspace and processes may have shifted, consider again the overall objectives of the wider IT strategy to ensure you stay in line with plans which will shape the future of the business.
This stage of your transformation needs to take account of those things which are fundamental to your organisation – the values and goals, drivers and objectives of the whole company. It’s essential to keep sight of this big picture to maintain relevance and keep everyone on board.
Definition
Once your ‘As Is’ has been identified, it is time to consider how you would like to shape the future.
Ensure you are working with the right people within your business to identify those areas between your current position and your goals. But don’t miss out on opportunities which will only be recognised by those able to look further afield, seeing potential growth in the future which those closer to the ground may be unable to see.
Only by recognising a broader vision for the future will you create new opportunities, alongside identifying the constraints you face, these are an essential part of defining your strategy.
Development
Having established the plans for your future digital workspace, the next step is to create your strategy.
You may have done this before, and that means you’re able to review and restart much of your previous plan. Recognising here – as you will have done in the previous steps – how far you have come from your original starting point, should provide some positive recognition for everyone involved.
While it may feel that your original IT strategy has been upturned and lost momentum, it is likely you have continued to make progress in the right direction despite changed circumstances. And if you can’t see the way back to your strategy without help, get in touch. It would be great to talk.
Written by Terry Chana, Workspace Solutions Director @ XMA.
Related pages: https://www.xma.co.uk/hybrid-workspace/
How apps can boost mental wellbeing when working from anywhere
Researchers have warned that the COVID-19 pandemic could have a profound impact on the mental health of people globally now and in years to come.
With the introduction of social distancing measures, many workplaces have had to make changes. Whether an organisation have employees working remotely or have taken new safety precautions on site, these adjustments and isolation have the potential to increase stress levels.
Here are some great apps to help boost your mental wellbeing whilst working from anywhere:
1) Headspace App
This award winning app has been designed to ‘Clear your mind’ with the choice of a range of common mental health concerns, the app gives you a bespoke solution based on what you need. With hundreds of meditations to choose from, it’s a helpful tool to quiet the internal chatter.
2) Microsoft Teams
Microsoft have recently introduced new features in Teams and Outlook in order to help boost people’s mental well being whilst working. They have teamed up with Headspace to incorporate a virtual commute experience for remote workers to plan in time to switch off and meditate before or after work, as well as schedule in breaks, walks or writing to-do lists for the next day. They will also launch tools to help colleagues connect more easily, schedule focus time or breaks and see insights and personalised patterns for the individual to have a holistic view of time spent working.
3) Lake App
Mindfulness is seen as an important part to helping mental health. Lake is an app to be used instead of a traditional colouring book. The app is a useful way to spend 5 or 10 minutes away from work, whilst helping decrease stress and anxiety levels.
4) Daylio App
Daylio is an app to help you analyse your day to day emotions and help you keep track of activities you’ve done to see if particular parts of your routine are impacting your overall mood.
If you are interested in discussing how technology can help support mental wellbeing for your workforce, get in touch below.
Monitoring by Hotjar