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London 2012 – A guide for our Customers

In preparation for the London 2012 Games, we have put together a download PDF guide for our customers.

The document provides useful information on the measures we have put in place to ensure potential problems are mitigated and also highlights different elements that you may want to consider in the run up to the Games.  Some of these include access to the ServiceDesk support, remote working and travel during the Games.

Click here to download ‘Preparing for London 2012 – A guide for our Customers’

Should you have any concerns or questions, please contact your account manager or contat us on 0207 397 7415 / servicedesk@sentronex.com – we are here to help.

 London 2012 - A Guide for Customers

Network Traffic Load during Olympics

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With only 150 days to go, excitement is building as we edge closer to the start of the London Games.  The recent and on-going success of the London Prepares series in the new Olympic facilities highlights the effort and planning that has gone into organising the Games.

Yet, what does this overwhelming interest in the Games have to do with network traffic loads within a financial organisation such as yourself?

You can almost be certain that during the Games, your staff will be using a combination of websites to stream video feeds (Youtube, iPlayer etc) and social media tools to stay on top of what is happening.

What this means to you is that there could be a significant impact to your network traffic load, which could potentially affect your critical business applications, particularly voice, trading platforms, market data and messaging services.

Several financial businesses like you who are particularly dependent on high speed networks to stay ahead of the competition and continue to succeed, require that their LAN and WAN is performing at its optimum.

The severity of how this could affect you would depend on your IT security policies and configuration of your network.  To ensure that your business critical applications get the network traffic they require and your employees still have freedom to watch the Games is a tough balance to strike.

We have therefore included five useful suggestions that businesses could consider as part of their internal planning and preparation for the Games to help provide that sense of balance:

  1. Common Room
    Have a common breakout area with a large TV where staff can catch-up and watch the Games.
  2. Infrastructure Assessment
    Assess current network traffic loads i.e. which applications/users are taking up most bandwidth and determine possible areas for improvement.
  3. Re-allocate Bandwidth
    Allocate sufficient bandwidth to your critical applications and should there be any additional bandwidth left this can be used by staff for streaming.  Alternatively you can make use of your MPLS WAN and direct core applications across this link and then use a backup Internet line as your main source for streaming.
  4. LAN Distribution
    Look to add a media server to stream only one video session and then distribute this internally via the LAN.  This will ensure that multiple sessions are not running concurrently and using up crucial bandwidth.
  5. Group Policy
    Implement group policies to block all content for user or computer accounts.  This allows you to centrally manage and configure what users can and cannot do on their desktops through Active Directory.

Have a question? Speak to one of our network engineers by contacting us on 0207 397 7400 or sales@sentronex.com

Google logs into live pricing with LSE

Google has signed a deal with the London Stock Exchange to become the first major website offering private punters real-time rather than delayed share prices.

Under the deal, Google Finance will publish live prices of any share on the London Stock Exchange and the Borsa Italiana.

Up until now most websites targeting private investors have opted to use 15-minute delayed share prices, which costs considerably less than real-time prices.

Neither Google nor the London Stock Exchange would reveal what the annual licence would cost the search engine.

Jarod Hillman, the head of real-time data at the LSE, said: “This partnership is great news for retail investors across the globe. For the first time Google users will have access to free, real-time last-trade prices, allowing them to make more informed investment decisions.

“LSE is committed to making the group’s markets as accessible as possible to the retail investor.”

Maxim Edelman, the head of strategic partnerships at Google, said: “Since the launch of Google Finance in 2006, we have worked hard to provide Google users with the best financial information.

“Real-time quotes from the London Stock Exchange and Borsa Italiana will enable our users to better monitor market changes, manage their portfolios and track developments in Europe.”

 

The Indepedent
22nd February 2012
Article available here

5 Reasons to dust off your BCP

Reasons to dust off your BCP

1. Keep going

Imagine your business is unable to operate from its current facility. Where do you go?

Your entire network is down and phone lines are unavailable. Your company is losing
money by the minute – how do you prevent your business from crumbling?

Identifying such risks and planning how your company is going to continue to operate
when faced with a major disruption is at the core of Business Continuity Planning (BCP).

2. Meet the regulations

Businesses regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) are now advised to fully
consider all risks that may prevent their company from trading. It also requires that one
documents this within an appropriate BCP, along with justified actions one would take
under distressing circumstances.

It will no longer be acceptable to idly prepare a BCP.  MiFID promotes a proactive
approach and insists all financial organisations prepare a BCP and provide evidence that
it is regularly revised, updated and tested.

3. Protect your investment

A BCP is designed to ensure companies can continue to serve their clients when a
disaster strikes without warning both during and after it has occurred.

Organisations that put the time in to plan a BCP are in the best position to recover quickly
and survive the risks of unplanned events.

Unless you are well prepared, you risk going out of business.

4. Flaunt it

Having a robust, tested and appropriate BCP is a selling tool to any business. Once you
have achieved it, be sure to make existing and potential customers aware of the security
you offer their supply chain.

5. Reputation is everything

It is possible to estimate how much of an impact system down time, flooding and even
terrorism will have on ones business financially through analysing lost sales. However, the
extent to which an event can tarnish a business reputation and integrity without idly being
prepared is not as easily quantifiable. Maintain your reputation!

Get in touch now to speak with one of our consultants – 0207 397 7400