Wednesday, April 7, 2010

HARBOUR IT – 2009 IN REVIEW

Harbour IT's Managing Director, Craig Bishop, reflects on the good and the bad (but mostly the good) from 2009.

Well, what a busy year! It started with a lot of questions about the flagging international and local economies, all of which seem to be a distant memory now. Certainly some organisations are walking around with the odd black eye and abrasion but on the whole, from our perspective, the wheels are back on.

In many ways it has been the year of "cloud computing". Whilst it means something slightly different to each person, there is no doubt that the way applications can be delivered, how data is stored and what users expect is all changing fairly rapidly. Keep up to speed in this critical area with the first of our Techie Brekkys for 2010.

Our biggest task this year has been to share the technology changes that enable this cloud computing to happen in a controlled and secure way. This requires an understanding of what can and cannot be done and what changes need to occur in order to take advantage of the technology... exciting stuff!

Windows 7 is certainly a pleasure to work with... I'm not sad about seeing Vista gone from my notebook at all.

The other big thing for us this year was the expansion of our Service Desk, which now provides 24 x 7 support for our Service Desk customers. It has been much more popular than we expected and reflects the changing expectations of our users and their working habits.

On behalf of the Harbour IT team I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your custom and say that we really appreciate the opportunity to be of service to you. We wish you, your families and loved ones a very happy Christmas and New Year.

MAKE SURE YOUR SOFTWARE IS GENUINE

Harbour IT, along with Microsoft, recognises the significant risk that unlicensed software poses to customers. Each year, millions of consumers worldwide find themselves the victims of software piracy or licensing issues.

Counterfeit software is increasingly becoming a vehicle for the distribution of viruses and malware that can target unsuspecting users, potentially exposing them to identity theft and data corruption, or loss of personal or business data.

Unlicensed or counterfeit software also leaves organisations open to fines after vendor or industry body audits.

Staying in compliance helps to reduce the risk of system failures, security breaches and financial penalties. Microsoft offers a variety of Windows legalisation solutions. To find out more, please contact your Harbour IT Account Manager.

HARBOUR IT RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS HP AWARD!


We are proud to announce that we were the 2009 recipients of the Australian Fastest Revenue Growth achievement award at the HP Premier Partner Principal Awards Night.
This National Award is hotly contested by many resellers, and we believe our maturity and growth history was a huge asset in winning the award. We thank our clients for their contribution to our continuing success as a business.

(Belinda Ross of HP congratulates Sean Bishop of Harbour IT)



HARBOUR IT GOES GREEN

Harbour IT is proud to announce that we have recently invested in REDD Carbon Credits.

A REDD Carbon Credit (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) is a carbon market mechanism created to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries. By investing in these credits, Harbour IT is doing their bit to save the planet from climate change, save the rainforests, protect the earth's rich biodiversity and empower some of the most impoverished communities in the world.
Just some of the things that REDD Carbon Credits assists with are as follows:

Rainforest20% of the world's Green House Gas emissions come from the destruction or our rainforests. We have already destroyed over 78% of our world's forests. If we are to be successful in stopping climate change we must save the world's rainforests. REDD Carbon Projects (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) are the vital key to saving these unique resources.

Biodiversity
The irreversible loss of Biodiversity through rainforest destruction is threatening our earth's ecology. The extinction of species is accelerating at a rate 1000 times anything seen before on this planet. We are losing 137 plant and animal species every single day. As the rainforests disappear, so do many possible cures for life-threatening diseases.

PeopleForests are essential to the well-being of the world's poorest societies. As our rainforests disappear at an alarming rate, so do the homes, sources of livelihood and the rich cultures of millions of the poorest people on earth. Funds from BR REDD credits must be invested to achieve positive social equity outcomes for these rainforest communities.

Harbour IT is rewarded with the knowledge that we are helping to reduce our carbon footprint in a way that is not only environmentally responsible, but which provides assistance to the poorest people of the world.