IT Strategy articles

Did you know that last week, cybercriminals hacked a small family-owned builder?[1] Or a small car dealership was attacked due to poor passwords?[2] It's easy to think that cyber threats only exist for large companies like Subway or Dymocks. However, cybersecurity is a critical foundation on which businesses, no matter their size, must rely. The implications of cyberattacks can have far-reaching and long-term consequences that may include significant financial losses, reputational damage, and the compromise ...

"ANZ kills cash…" screams the media as the headline is splashed across news sites and your feed. "Why you soon won't be able to withdraw cash…" Is this the end of cash? Are we all expected to now pay contactless with our smartphones or watches? Well, the move to a cashless society continues to gain pace - with only 27% of all transactions completed by cash post-pandemic.  Aside from the convenience of not carrying physical ...

What is Essential 8? The inception of the Essential 8 aimed to foster robust security and operational protocols among Australian government bodies, departments, local councils, and other entities operating in the public domain. Many private enterprises consider the Essential Eight an advantageous starting point for evaluating security measures and establishing a fundamental groundwork for cybersecurity. The custodianship of the Essential Eight is under the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) purview. What are the eight mitigation ...

As organisations want to understand their businesses better, more and more conversations are around Business Intelligence or BI. The more meetings we have around BI, the more we realise that outside a specific scope of existing reports and data, owners and management aren't really sure what other insights they need. So inevitably, the question of how we use Power BI or Google Looker in our business is asked. Here is one way we use Business ...

Looking back at any TV show or film from 15 to 20 years ago, it is plain to see how advanced our technology has become. For many businesses and companies, the rapid increase in digital tools has created a need to understand an array of systems, software and apps to complete their core function - selling goods and services. So whether you're an accounting firm in Blackburn or a cafe in Richmond, your business relies ...

You know what it's like when you have a new neighbour move in.  Questions you ask yourself. Do they have young kids? Any pets? Will you all get along? And like most people, you want to respect each other's right to privacy. But if you live in the outskirts of Melbourne, that can be easier said than done. With Melbourne's rapidly growing population and housing estates bursting at the seams, land availability continues to be ...

Every six months, we email our clients a business survey. We do this to ensure our IT recommendations align with their business goals. One of the critical questions on that survey is in the format of finish this sentence. I could do my job better if I knew... I love this question. It makes everyone pause and consider this carefully. We're so busy doing our day-to-day tasks, we forget to step back and consider how ...

“Um…well…that’s interesting. The room falls silent. Shock. Did that happen? You thought it was the most wonderful time of the year. Or it was when you walked into the room. But there is always one joker in your team that thinks their gift is hilarious.  While everyone around you is opening up thoughtful gifts like the latest Jamie Oliver cookbook… a pair of scotch glasses, or some Happy Socks…. you're staring at some tea towels. ...

"There." You reach back and hand your 5-year-old daughter your iPhone. "Listen, just put on ABC Kids and watch Bluey…so I can…concentrate…this traffic is horrendous." The local council had filled the potholes, only for them to fall apart again. But truthfully, the roads are hidden obstacle courses currently. And peak hour is your new nightmare with traffic back to pre-pandemic levels.  Just navigating in the wild, wet weather and bumper-to-bumper crawl along Dandenong Road, you ...

"C'mon, let's go into the City for the day…" Those words rang in your ears as you watched your mother shuffle along the queue. She was slowly moving the trays forward. The china plates rattle as if they are destined to smash. And the smell of lunch drifting through the air. The mouth-watering food selection...roast of the day, sandwiches and cakes.  And the highlight was a frog in the pond. Red jelly, of course.  The ...