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Last year there were almost double the amount of cybersecurity incidents in companies compared to in 2017, with 159,000 data breaches driven by ransomware or new attack methods.
And the global cost of cybercrime is expected to exceed $2 trillion by 2019.

Gartner recommend organisations with a focus on security adopt Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions to increase cyber-resilience with hardening, investigation, incident detection, and incident response.

However, in their 2018 “Endpoint Protection and Response” survey the SANS Institute highlight, that only 50 percent of organisations had next-gen antivirus, and 37 percent of these had not activated the advanced capabilities due to its complexities.

Organisations are finding it hard to strike the balance between deploying the best possible network protection without becoming overwhelmed by false alerts which need investigating or simply the complexity of administration.

Advanced cybersecurity systems produce massive amounts of data—much more than any number of people could sort through and analyse – in a relevant time frame.

This is why Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its subset Machine Learning (ML) are applied within EDR solutions, where the software learns to solve problems and think by itself in a way that’s similar to humans. These technologies are able to sift through the vast amount of network data turning it into security intelligence able to detect threat events, traditional antivirus products would miss.

By learning what normal network activity consists such as programs used, user activity and traffic patterns, deviations from these norms show a greater threat potential and can be highlighted and dealt with in a faster fashion.

However, it is here where the threat of alert fatigue can kick in with too many false alerts requiring investigation mean that only a small percentage can be adequately dealt with. Should the security solution require administrator intervention shutting the user or process out this can seriously impact operations.

The EDR solution must be advanced enough so the AI and ML technologies handle routine tasks and first level security analysis, leaving security analysts free to focus on more critical or complex threats.

While not a “philosophers stone” AI and ML are useful tools in your security arsenal to shift the approach from reactive defense to proactive real-time threat hunting and detection.

A new cybersecurity paradigm is born.

Panda Security realised back in 2010 that existing endpoint protection techniques were limited and started from the ground up building a new single platform which is today known as Panda Adaptive Defense 360 providing 100% process attestation, meaning no process is allowed to run until actively classified as good and Threat Hunting included as standard.

This approach was only made possible through the development of a cloud-based automated detection service to classify every new Portable Executable (PE) process and identify and block fileless malware and other threats which ‘live off the land’ utilising legitimate tools – such as RDP, powershell, macros etc – repurposed for their nefarious ends, moving laterally on the network stealing credentials, browsing history, and data.

This concept was further developed into Panda Security’s Threat Hunting and Investigation service, where fed by hypotheses from the experts at PandaLabs Security Operations Center, these technologies can gather and analyze data, trace threats, search for vulnerabilities, respond to breaches, and thus reduce the IT team’s workload. This way we can focus on the really dangerous attacks.

Panda Adaptive Defense 360, and its Advanced Reporting Tool, Data Control and Patch Management modules, help you to secure your network and comply with regulatory requirements such as GDPR.

For your free demonstration or trial of Panda Security solutions, contact your XMA Account Manager.

9,000 iPads to be handed out to all Scottish Borders Council children aged 11 to 17.

Through the newly approved digital education strategy, XMA are thrilled to be partnering with Apple and CGI to deliver every child aged 11 to 17 in the Scottish Borders Council an iPad.
This strategy has been named “The Inspire Learning Programme”.

During the early stages of this programme’s planning phases, XMA partnered with Apple to run a number of demos to councillors, SLT’s and teaching staff.
This was to demonstrate the huge impact digital learning is having in schools across the UK, and we worked closely with the Scottish Borders Council to build a digital education strategy that would change the face of education across the Borders.

East Berwickshire councillor Carol Hamilton, the authority’s executive member for children and young people, said: “The Inspire Learning programme is our game-changing opportunity to make a difference to both our young people and our teaching staff here in the Borders, empowering them to deliver forward-thinking, innovative learning to our young people.”.

It was widely recognised that this programme is not about handing iPads to children. With a new age of digital learning, and a future that is becoming more digitally orientated than every before, it is important to equip young people with the knowledge and skills they need to develop their future careers.

This program is also about investing in teachers and empowering them to use technology to positively change the way they deliver their lessons. Digital technology will allow them to maximise every student’s learning potential and opportunities, as well as contribute to their own professional development.

Carol Hamilton says “Not only does the programme open up the opportunity for pupils to learn in new and exciting ways, it also brings with it a raft of wider benefits including extra support and professional development opportunities for teachers, expansion of Wi-Fi to provide fast and reliable internet access in every school and the rollout of flexible audio visual learning spaces through equipping classrooms with wireless and efficient technology.”.

This is an incredibly rewarding program for XMA to be a part of, and XMA are playing a key role in deploying these iPads across the Borders.

Our Scotland Business Unit Director said, “It’s an exciting time to be a pupil or a teacher in the Borders and this project addresses the nationwide challenge of attainment, pupil equity and the digital skills gap. As the National Framework provider for Scottish Procurement, XMA are delighted to be partnering with CGI, Apple and SBC to help deliver this truly transformational project.”.

An estimated 6,500 iPads will be rolled out from this August to all high school pupils and then to 2,500 pupils in P6 and P7 next year.

In future years, iPads will be shared among 5,700 P1 to P5 pupils. XMA look forward to watching how young children’s education will thrive through the use of iPad.

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Apple technology is giving medical professionals the power to positively change the way they deliver healthcare. iOS devices come with a broad range of clinical apps that can support your day to day operations, and can ultimately change the way you engage with your patients, fellow clinicians and Trusts.

The App Store features over 40,000 apps that are changing the world of healthcare. Medical professionals can now use apps to provide faster, more personalised care both inside and outside of a hospital. Patients are also empowered to manage their own health outside the hospital with suggested apps, and medical researchers can now gather robust and meaningful data from larger, more varied populations.

We have listed some key apps which can help clinicians streamline their workload and provide more humanised patient care.

PatientTouch makes healthcare collaboration smart, mobile and simple with secure messaging, voice-over IP communications, and a consolidated view of alerts.

By connecting frontline clinicians to their patients and their care team, the PatientTouch app improves safety and efficiency, while reducing costs. Ultimately, the PatientTouch system allows you to spend more time on direct patient care.

Kainos is designed to give healthcare providers and carers secure access to patient information, regardless of the location. The app supports easy integration with other clinical systems using healthcare interoperability standards and is accessed using mobile apps that have been developed exclusively for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple Watch.

The new platform is available on-premise, hosted in the cloud and is designed to meet the requirements of an increasingly diverse healthcare market, from large hospitals through to community and emergency care providers.

Formerly known as Vitalpac, CareFlow Vitals is our market leading electronic observation and decision support system designed to improve patient safety and outcomes.

It monitors and analyses patient vital signs to identify deteriorating conditions and provide risk scores to trigger escalation pathways.

Custom apps are applications you create and tailor yourself using the FileMaker Platform. These apps are the perfect replacement for paper.
Organize contacts, track medicines and stock, record events, and much more. The same app works on your mobile device, computer, the web, and in the cloud.

Want to understand more about upgrading to a modern device?
Speak to our healthcare team today, and learn about how Apple devices can transform your healthcare environment.

Delivering better care with more powerful technology

 
Why upgrade to iPhone?

The security on iOS devices means that NHS have full protection over their staff devices.
The stable and secure design, combined with the periodic software updates, will enable hospitals to be protected against security threats.
 
NHS staff can also easily access documentation and reports in real time from their iOS device, which speeds up everyday tasks and frees up more time to spend on patients.

We have listed below some of the supporting functionalities of an iOS device, which can help to improve overall productivity and efficiency for healthcare clinicians.
 

iOS with Cisco Collaboration Cloud allow users with VoIP to connect to their company’s phone systems with the iPhone. This brings significant cost savings for organisations because they aren’t using the cellular network and reducing their roaming charges.

It will remove the need for many users to forward calls from their desk to mobile numbers, and leverage additional apps that allow connectivity to key features. It will also mean that healthcare organisations have compliant mobile policies.

• Productivity gains for clinical staff
• Improved connectivity and reliability
• Secure real-time collaboration

Office 365 empowers health teams to work together with the right tools and solutions, allowing healthcare workers to securely share ideas and improve quality of care.

Office 365 can increase the effectiveness of their improvement processes, coordination of treatment plans, and enable research projects.

• Streamline communication & collaboration
• Make information easier to find and share
• Strengthen privacy, security, compliance

Apple Financial Services (AFS)

Trusts can get 20% more with your capital budgets with Device as a Service using Apple Financial Services (AFS). This flexible leasing programme is stress free and can be tailored to any deployment requirements.

AFS enables clinicians to effectively manage their technology lifecycle plans and provides expert advice around how to extract the most value from used devices.

Want to understand more about upgrading to a modern device?
Speak to our healthcare team today, and learn about how Apple devices can transform your healthcare environment.   

Reduce your workload with a brand new classroom assistant

It is a commonality across schools that teacher workload is too high. Teachers are forced to spend too much time on administrative tasks around data management, rather than focusing on the most important element of the profession; teaching.

With only 40% of their time actually dedicated to lesson planning and delivery, schools are recognising a need for change.

Teachers need access to tools that can help them to streamline their workflow and reduce their overall workload. There are so many tools with iPad at a teachers disposal that can provide valuable insight into
student’s progress and seamlessly collaborate.

The tools can provide instant feedback on school work, guide students through a lesson and keep the class focused on the task, as well as share information and documents with pupils, staff and the parents across the school.

Technology now has the ability to transform the way schools can approach reducing teacher workload. Admin time can be significantly reduced for both teachers and other staff at the school by implementing and utilising education technology effectively.

With this in mind, we’ve pulled together a list of our favourite apps for you to use in the classroom to help reduce teacher workload, so more time can be focused on delivering lessons that students will never forget:

Classroom: Your new teaching assistant

Requires iOS 11.3 or later. Compatible with iPad

Classroom turns your iPad into your very own teaching assistant. Through the use of Classroom you can guide your students through a lesson as well as monitor their progress. This app also gives teachers the capability to launch the same app every students iPad. Alternatively, you can launch different apps across each iPad if your students are working in groups.

“How can I trust my pupils to focus on the task at hand, and not launch different apps on their iPad?”
There is a feature on the Classroom app called ‘Screen View’, which allows teachers to view what is on each students iPad screen. You also have the power to lock or pause all iPad screens if there is a need to refocus the class, or focus on one particular element. At the end of the lesson, there is a capability to log all students out of Shared iPad so they can begin focusing on their next task.

“I have lots of files to share with the class. How easy is it to transfer files to each student via iPad?”
It’s now easier than ever to share files with your pupils. With just one tap, you can Airdrop any file to any iPad in the classroom. Teachers can then ask students to Airdrop their files to them in order to present their work at the end of the lesson – no more worrying about losing students work or important files! They can now be stored in one central location.

Schoolwork: A new base for you and your students

Requires iOS 11.4 or later. Compatible with iPad

This app is designed to help reduce teachers workload, and maximise every student’s potential. You can collaborate and provide instant feedback, tailor instructions to suit student needs, and more effectively organise assignments to automatically appear on students iPad’s. You can also keep track of each student’s progress, which will allow you to tailor the teaching needs to suit them.

Within the Schoolwork app is a feature called Handouts, where you can share a homework assignment, present collaborative documents including web links and photos, and even a specific link to an activity app.

Need some help getting started? Take a look at Apple’s teacher’s guide to the Schoolwork app for iPad – you can get yourself set up and using the app in no time! (https://www.apple.com/uk/education/docs/ getting-started-with-classroom.pdf)

“What’s the difference between Schoolwork and Classroom?”
Classroom allows you to manage the pupils in the class, whereas Schoolwork allows teachers to view the progress of each pupil. Classroom allows teachers to see the capability and performance level of each pupil within the group, and Schoolwork compliments this feature by give teachers a live view of how students are performing and managing the group task as individual performers. Another way in which the two apps compliment each other, is that through Classroom you can lock students in to view a particular screen, and Schoolwork allows you to highlight the content you want students to focus on.

Showbie: The Paperless Classroom

Requires iOS 10.0 or later. Compatible with iPad and iPhone

The Showbie app is fast, easy and extremely effective for assignments and student feedback in your classroom. Through this app, you are able to assign, collect and review student work from thousands of compatible apps. You can even have your pupils complete assignments with Showbie’s built in tools. You can also mark classwork using an Apple Pencil directly onto PDF’s and images… record voice notes for verbal feedback or language exercises… and even create individual digital student portfolio’s to add their work to.

“The school parents love to see examples of their children’s work in the classroom. Can this app help me share classroom projects with them directly?”
The collaboration doesn’t end with the students; you can also extend it out to the parents as well. This app allows you to invite school parents to view their children’s work, and keep them up to date and informed of classroom activity and homework tasks.

Seesaw: The Learning Journal

Requires iOS 9.0 or later. Compatible with iPad and iPhone

Seesaw is a digital portfolio that inspires your students to do their best work and saves a lot of time in teacher workload. This app is used in over 200,00 classrooms, and 1 out of 2 schools in the US.

This is an evolution of what would have previously been a ‘scrapbook’, where work can easily be damaged or misplaced. By creating a digital portfolio with Seesaw, this can be a space where students have the ability to express themselves, reflect on their learning and develop something that they’re proud to show to their teachers, parents and classmates.

Teachers can also collect student responses to classroom tasks, which means they have less papers to carry home each evening, and translate their notes, comments and captions into over 50 different languages – perfect for international or placement students.

“How can I find out more about the Seesaw app?”
You can visit the developers website here: www.web.seesaw.me . You can sign up free, and get more of an insight as to how teachers are using SeeSaw in their classrooms.

 
Speak to a specialist

Speak to one of our Education Specialists today, and we will talk top you in more detail about how XMA can help to assist you and your school with reducing teacher workload.

Email: schools@xma.co.uk
Tel: 01727 201820

 
Discover more

Speak to one of our Education Specialists today, and we will talk to you in more detail about how XMA can help to assist you and your school with reducing teacher workload.

Want to find out more about how iPad’s are being used in classrooms across the world?

Watch Apple’s Real Classroom Stories here: https://www.apple.com/uk/education/real-stories/

Want to know about other ways you can introduce iPad into your curriculum?
Read our blog on Augmented Reality in the classroom

In recent years we have been seeing a rise in the use of 2-in-1 laptops or convertible notebooks, often referred to as detachable devices. There are many reasons for this growth, with the ‘detachable tablets’ being seen a fresh approach to the market and a more flexible and versatile device for working environments, as well as the added increase in the need for businesses and students to go portable.

Many buyers will be considering which device is best suited and why. Here we look at the newly launched Toshiba Portégé X30T which offers strong competition to this market.

The Portégé X30T uses a full-size port layout in a tablet-style freedom. Featuring Intel 8th Generation processors and ultra-fast SSD storage delivers the unthrottled performance you’d expect, making light work of heavy tasks. With proven physical security and durability meets military standards MIL STD 810G and has been tested to pass TUV HALT standards which simulate three years’ usage.

Other features include:

• Up to 15.5hr battery life
• Optional LTE to keep you online
• Full size port layout
• Bio-metric multi-factor authentication for added security
• Military Grade robustness

High performance creative tablet

Also able to be used as a high performance tablet with a 13.3″ touchscreen and kickstand, you can boost your creativity with best in class hand writing or drawing via the optional Toshiba Universal Stylus Pen with Wacom AES Pen Technology optimised for Windows Ink.

The Standard of Toshiba Portégé X30T

What is very interesting about the Toshiba Portégé X30T is that you do not need to purchase a keyboard dock, as it comes bundled as standard, still with a battery life of an astonishing 15.5 hours.

There are optional accessories, to enhance your mobile performance:

• Sleeve protector
• Travel keyboard
• Ultra slim keyed cable lock

The Portégé X30T is available to buy by speaking to our team
or you can buy online by visiting the XMA store

Edtech can play a vital role in enhancing and streamlining work related processes. Whilst at the same time, helping improve student learning outcomes and increasing effective and efficient classroom productivity for both teachers and students.

Our role as edtech specialists, perfectly positions us to support our customers in addressing this challenge, by always putting teaching first and championing the use of technology.

Here’s our thoughts on how technology can bring efficiency to some of the common teaching struggles.

Marking and Feedback

Google Forms
Relieve the pressure of marking tests by hand with self-marking tool such as Google forms where online assessments are easily built, and the task of marking multiple type answer questions can be automated.

Apple Schoolwork
Whether the feedback is in the classroom or in the next lesson, with Apple’s Schoolwork app on iPad, you can easily distribute, collect and feedback on assignments and collaborate with students 1:1 from anywhere – in real time. And when using Pages, Numbers or Keynote, you can instantly add written or verbal feedback directly to their work.

Microsoft Teams
Using Microsoft Teams, you can create, grade and feedback on assignments using familiar apps such as Class Notebook, and send back direct to each student.

Managing homework

Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams creates a digital hub that brings conversations, content, assignments, and apps together – all from a single experience in Office 365 Education.

Google Classroom
With Googles Classroom, you can manage assignments and communicate with students and their guardians from one convenient place and because Classroom integrates with other Google tools, you can instantly refresh curriculum with integrated education apps.

Handouts
Using Apples Handouts in the School Work app, you can send anything from announcements to assignments, in almost any format; including web links, PDFs or even links to activities within apps. Handouts can be sent to the entire class or one to one, ready for your students to instantly view and keep on track of actions they need to complete.

Collaboration

Microsoft Teams
Create a collaborative classroom with Microsoft Teams by keeping everything you need in one place with Class Notebook, Office apps and education apps, and engage students with rich conversations, video, and fun content. You can also streamline staff communication on school-wide initiatives using custom Staff Notebooks and bring teams together in any meeting with HD video, VoIP, and dial-in audio conferencing options.

G Suite for Education
G Suite for Education provides a suite of productivity tools to help students and teachers interact seamlessly and securely across devices. Teachers can easily create classes, distribute assignments and send feedback, anytime, anywhere and from any device with G Suite for Education.

Classroom
The Classroom app allows control over every iPad and Mac in class, so you can guide students through lessons and keep them engaged. You can also send and receive files with the entire class or one to one using AirDrop or present work on the big screen.

We are here to help you sail through your day

It’s not surprising that the stress of managing the teaching workload, is one of the main causes of high staff attrition rates and teacher shortages. Technology could help towards alleviating and streamlining some of these pressures.

Our team are experienced in consulting schools through these challenges. Get in touch today as we could help you find that work-life balance you’ve been hoping for!

Attending BETT 2019? We will be there in full force ready to help you along your digital transformation journey. For the opportunity to meet with one our specialists, or simply find out more around what we have on offer at the show see here. 

Book a meeting

The After School club

An exclusive event for school leaders, The After School Club is an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of how implementing technology and introducing it into your curriculum can be beneficial, cost effective and sustainable. If you plan on attending BETT and are interested in an Apple solution, this is the perfect opportunity to learn more. Find out more around the agenda and Register for your FREE place here.

Find out more

With many Schools, Universities and Education Establishments needing to provide fast, effective systems, there is pressure on the budgets to upgrade their technology. The good news is Intel have ‘broken the rules’ of previous system memory and introduced breakthrough technology  that allows users to take advantage of unprecedented responsiveness and amazing performance.

When used with HDD, Intel Optane memory offers SSD like PC experience that delivers high speed and responsiveness without compromising on storage capacity. The cost for Intel Optane starts from around £37 which means that you can add an accelerator to your system without the high expense of SSD, especially if you need high capacity storage. Optane is compatible with Intel 7th Gen technology motherboards/processors and later, with so many different types of users that can benefit from this.

What is Intel® Optane™?

Available in 16GB or 32GB modules which simply ‘slot’ into your motherboard, Intel Optane acts as an accelerator for your system. It works with a unique combination of 3D XPoint memory media with Intel’s advanced system memory controller, interface hardware, and software IP. What does this mean?  It means a smart and adaptable system accelerator that adjusts to your computing tasks — making everything you do faster, smoother, and easier. The intelligent software automatically learns your computing behaviours to accelerate frequent tasks and customise your computer experience, meaning faster searching, faster loading, and a faster system.

How does it benefit me?

Performance gains of upto 28% Faster overall system performance, upto 14x Faster hard drive access, and upto 2x faster everyday task responsiveness

Operational excellence with 3d XPoint Technology gives better endurance and faster than previous NAND Memory.

Predictability where Intel Optane learns to prioritise your files accessed regularly to have them available for you when you need them.

Fast SSD like transfer interface to rival SSD storage. Why not look at options to increase your storage capacity with HDD for lower cost than SSD.

How do I buy?

The best way to upgrade to Intel Optane is to speak to one of our specialists who can talk to you more about the benefits and explain the next steps. If however you want to buy Optane without speaking to our team you can make a purchase via the XMA store.

store.xma.co.uk

Contact us on 0115 846 4000 or use the contact form below to get in touch today

Apple Augmented Reality in your classroom

Mobile technology is providing new opportunities for learning in the classroom and teachers now have access to resources that can further enhance the learning experience. Alongside a teacher’s expertise in igniting curiosity and stimulating great questions, Augmented Reality (AR) can alter the learning environment and allow children to explore opportunities that weren’t previously possible.

Have you ever wondered what it was like to walk alongside dinosaurs?

Maybe you always struggled in science lessons when it came to learning about the human body?

Perhaps things would have been easier if you could have seen the human body in every detail, and see for yourself how all joints fit together.

AR in the classroom allows students to visualise what they cannot immediately see. Teachers now have the capability to bring this concept to life, and deliver some of the most inspiring lessons that pupils will ever experience.

XMA want to provide you with some inspiration for AR in the classroom, because there is a world out there ready to be explored – and it can all happen right there in the classroom!
 
Here are our favourite apps which can easily be incorporated into lesson plans:

Augmented Reality apps

My Very Hungry Caterpillar

Ideal for: early primary school
Requires: iOS 11.0 or later
This is a 3D interactive app, suited to early primary years. This is the perfect way to start introducing younger pupils to the world of AR and technology.
My Very Hungry Caterpillar teaches them the vital skills of responsibility; the children will need to nurture the caterpillar by feeding it and looking it after through every stage of growth until it turns into a butterfly.
This app will also teach them about evolution of growth; they will witness the caterpillar growing bigger and bigger until it turns into a beautiful butterfly.
 

Froggipedia

Ideal for: secondary school
Requires: iOS 11.0 or later
This apps provides new ways in bringing anatomy to life in your biology lessons, exploring intricate anatomical systems of a frog and its life cycle.
This app will help students to understand how a single celled egg can turn into a tadpole, then into a froglet and eventually to a full grown frog. By using this app, it means that there’s no need to physically dissect a frog in order to understand the full structure. This is interactive learning at its finest!

If you like this Augmented Reality app – try out ‘Brainapse’:
This is the same concept as Froggipedia, only this time with the human brain. Use this interactive app to engage your classroom in the functions of the human skull and brain. You can teach them about the different brain cells, experience how the brain communicates with the five senses and understand the timeline of the human brain evolution.
 

Complete Anatomy 2019

Ideal for: secondary school
Requires: iOS device
Used by 200 of the world’s top universities, this app is regarded as one of the worlds most accurate and advanced 3D anatomy apps.
This app includes a betting and dissectible human heart in 3D – there is no better way for your pupils to get up close and hands-on with the human anatomy. This app clearly explains and demonstrates pain and growth simulation and the different functions of the human body. Welcome to the future of science lessons.

Want to learn more about how to use iPad and apps in the classroom?
Get in touch with our team today

This additional investment was described as giving schools the extra budget for “the odd little piece of kit that they need*” – more specifically, “whiteboards and a couple of computers*”. This will be a one off capital payment direct to schools, averaging £10k per primary and £50k per secondary school.

The government have experienced a huge backlash across the country, with Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, saying “It is a sign of the government’s priorities that it is spending more on fixing potholes than on fixing the school funding crisis.”**

We agree that it is a small investment, and it certainly isn’t enough to help schools stretch to all the necessities they need. However, with our help we can make that additional budget go a lot further than just “a few little extras”. Our experience in doing more with less has supported schools in meeting their goals despite restricted budgets. Innovative technology solutions needn’t cost the earth. They just require careful planning, consideration and future proofing.

We pride ourselves in taking a consultative approach, by taking the time to understand your environment, challenges you currently face, and what your objectives are as a school.

Our specialist Schools team are ready to help you do a little extra with your “little extras”. Get in touch with us today so we can help your budget stretch further.

If you would like a member of our Schools team to contact you to discuss doing a little extra with “Little Extras”, please complete the fields below:

*The Guardian, 2018

** Schools Week, 2018