Ostratto - Blog | Ostratto #improvementOstratto - Blog | Ostratto #improvementhttps://www.ostratto.com/blogs/tag/improvementFri, 18 Sep 2026 14:04:01 +0200http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[Streamline Your Workflow with the 10 Best Zoho Apps]]>https://www.ostratto.com/blogs/post/streamline-your-workflow-with-zohoA useful guide that you can use to learn about Zoho, understand what software they have on offer, and find out how these products can be used to add value and streamline your business.]]>
A useful guide that you can use to learn about Zoho, understand what software they have on offer, and find out how these products can be used to add value and streamline your workflow. We've made things simple for you with access to a free trial for each product in the list.

What is Zoho? | Featured Products | Zoho CRM | Zoho Books | Zoho Expense | Zoho Inventory | Zoho People | Zoho Projects | Zoho Desk | Zoho Forms | Zoho Voice | Zoho Sign | Why Zoho? | Why Ostratto?


​​What is Zoho?


Zoho Corporation is a software company that offers a unique and powerful suite of tools that can help you transform the way you work. It was founded in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas in Pleasanton, California, and now operates across the world with offices in London, Austin, Beijing, Tokyo, and Chennai. They have developed a wide range of tools to make an impact on every aspect of your business, with products designed to be user-friendly and applicable for all.


Here at Ostratto, we love to use Zoho One, as it encompasses all of the cloud software available with Zoho on one platform. It helps us to manage business operations across the company, and streamline the way that we work. I’m writing this blog to offer you some more information about different Zoho products and outline the ten best apps that we use every day at Ostratto, to help you understand how they can be a helpful addition to your software suite.



​​Featured Products

#1: Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is an industry-leading tool, and has been for many years, with an extensive feature set offered at competitive pricing. It’s highly customisable, uses omnichannel communications, offers sales and marketing automations, uses artificial intelligence, and even has its own mobile app.


Learn More About Zoho CRM

#2: Zoho Books

Zoho Books is a comprehensive accounting platform that is designed for growing businesses, and it’s recognised by HMRC for its VAT integration. It has an extensive feature set that allows you to create quotes, invoices, sales orders, and bills with ease, and an advanced set of reporting measures to help you make the most of your finances. 


Learn More About Zoho Books

#3: Zoho Expense

Zoho Expense streamlines the expense management process with a mobile-first approach, understanding that most of its users will upload their information on-the-go. It’s fully customisable with many controls for administrators, which helps you to keep track of everyone’s expenses and ensure that they comply with company policy.


Learn More About Zoho Expense

#4: Zoho Inventory

Zoho Inventory helps you to track inventory across multiple warehouses, synchronise stock to sell across multiple channels, and manage order fulfilment with extensive shipping functions. It has many integrations to help you connect both sales and shipping platforms, and reporting functions that help you to stay on top of your operations.


Learn More About Zoho Inventory

#5: Zoho People

Zoho People is a Human Resource Management (HRM) software that has been designed to make managing your employees simple and efficient. It can help you to track the attendance, performance, and development of all your employees, with accessible enterprise-level functionality at an affordable price.


Learn More About Zoho People

#6: Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects has an extensive feature set, helping you to manage and coordinate complex projects with ease. You can view timescales on Gantt charts, track hours with timesheets, and automate tasks to streamline your workflow. You can even manage projects on the go with its mobile app!


Learn More About Zoho Projects

#7: Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk is a completely customisable service desk that will help you manage customer queries across your portfolio. It has many comprehensive integrations with communications platforms, including social media, and uses artificial intelligence to help you create responses quickly.


Learn More About Zoho Desk

#8: Zoho Forms

Zoho Forms can help you to create visually appealing forms with custom branding to efficiently collect and manage information. You can automate forms to send notifications once they're completed, and automatically link info with contacts in your CRM, saving you time.


Learn More About Zoho Forms

#9: Zoho Voice

Zoho Voice is an easy-to-use business telephony and call centre solution that integrates easily with CRM and Desk. You can use it to make and receive business calls on customisable phone numbers with excellent line quality and great mobile capabilities.


Learn More About Zoho Voice

#10: Zoho Sign

Zoho Sign can transform your paperwork with its digital signature solution, helping you to save time and money. You can create reusable templates with custom branding, bulk send documents and track their progress, and create workflows to automate document flow. 


Learn More About Zoho Sign

​​#1: Zoho CRM

What does Zoho CRM do?

Zoho CRM is an industry-leading tool, and has been for many years, with an extensive feature set offered at competitive pricing. It’s highly customisable, uses omnichannel communications, offers sales and marketing automations, uses artificial intelligence, and a mobile app.


Why do we like Zoho CRM?

Zoho CRM is an ideal solution for small-to-medium businesses looking to get their hands on enterprise-level software at an affordable price. It’s highly customisable with an extensive feature set, meaning that you can choose from a wide range of features and make it work for you.


Example: Leads Page from Zoho CRM
Example: Leads Page from Zoho CRM
Example: Kanban View in Zoho CRM
Example: Kanban View in Zoho CRM
Example: Lead Details in Zoho CRM
Example: Lead Details in Zoho CRM

As with most Zoho products, its CRM integrates well with other software and this can be very advantageous. If you connect your mailbox to Zoho CRM it will collect all the information you have on each lead and add it to their profile. You can send emails directly from the CRM, and their data will be tracked for you to review. It makes it easy to see how effective your marketing is, and track which leads are engaging with your content.


Streamlining your sales process has never been easier, with the ability to create workflow automations that start with lead creation and end with you closing the deal. You can set these up in any way you like, to ensure that you never leave a lead behind. It’s simple to import new leads, with a straightforward process and many integrations. You can also customise the way you view your sales process, with both list view and kanban options.


Zoho’s enterprise-level data security can help you to stay compliant with data regulation without any extra work. You can create departments and set rules to configure the view for each team member, ensuring that they remain focused on their work and only access to relevant information. Zoho CRM also has extensive analytics and reporting  to help you track the performance of your team, and see where you need to improve.


What are its Key Features?

✔ Highly Customisable Interface

✔ Omnichannel Communications In-App

✔ Comprehensive Workflow Automations

✔ Simple Lead Importing

✔ Enhanced Privacy Protections


How to get started with Zoho CRM

We’ve made life a little easier for you with this free trial. Every Zoho product starts with a free trial so you can see if you like it and go from there. If you have any questions, let us know!


Start Your Zoho CRM Free Trial

​​#2: Zoho Books

What does Zoho Books do?

Zoho Books is a comprehensive accounting platform that has been designed for growing businesses, with extensive features and advanced reporting capabilities. It is a HMRC recognised accounting software that can help you be compliant with the MTD (Making Tax Digital) initiative and save time with the ability to pay your VAT directly through Zoho Books. Its features include workflow automation, time tracking for projects, and inventory management. You can report on anything to do with your company’s finances, with an extensive set of preset reports and the ability to make your own custom ones too.


Why do we like Zoho Books?

Zoho Books is an excellent platform for making new sales, with simple access to all the forms that you need throughout the customer journey. You can share access to these directly with customers through Zoho Books, saving time and simplifying the process. We love the amount of currencies available, offering support for international transactions, and the expansive number of languages supported too. It has an expansive set of integrations, with the ability to work with over 50 external applications, meaning that Zoho Books can work around you, and communicate with most software.


Example: Dashboard View in Zoho Books
Example: Dashboard View in Zoho Books
Example: Estimates in Zoho Books
Example: Estimates in Zoho Books
Example: VAT Filing in Zoho Books
Example: VAT Filing in Zoho Books
Example: Reporting in Zoho Books
Example: Reporting in Zoho Books

What are its Key Features?

✔ HMRC Recognised Software
✔ Comprehensive Feature Set
✔ Customizable Records and Forms
✔ Multi-Currency and Multi-Language
✔ Expansive Integrations (50+)
✔ Access via Mobile App
✔ Customer Portal Included

How to get started with Zoho Books

We’ve made life a little easier for you with this free trial. Every Zoho product starts with a free trial so you can see if you like it and go from there. If you have any questions, let us know!


Start Your Zoho Books Free Trial

​​#3: Zoho Expense

What does Zoho Expense do?

Zoho Expense streamlines the expense management process with a mobile-first approach, understanding that most of its users will upload their information on-the-go from iOS, Android, and Windows devices. It’s fully customisable with many controls for administrators, which will help you to keep track of everyone’s expenses and ensure that they are compliant with your organisation's policies.


Why do we like Zoho Expense?

Zoho anticipated that most employees looking to be reimbursed for expenses will be looking to do so on their mobile devices, recording their expense receipts on the go. We love the ability to capture receipts using the Zoho Expense app. It also has a useful Chrome Extension that allows you to capture receipts on your webpage with a couple of clicks, streamlining the process for when you make new bookings.


Example: Dashboard in Zoho Expense
Example: Dashboard in Zoho Expense
Example: Trips in Zoho Expense
Example: Trips in Zoho Expense
Example: Receipt Scan in Zoho Expense
Example: Receipt Scan in Zoho Expense
Example: Analytics in Zoho Expense
Example: Analytics in Zoho Expense

What are its Key Features?

✔ Extensive Integrations

✔ Modern Mobile Application

✔ Company Card Integration

✔ Great Customisation

✔ Advanced Reporting


How to get started with Zoho Expense

We’ve made life a little easier for you with this free trial. Every Zoho product starts with a free trial so you can see if you like it and go from there. If you have any questions, let us know!


Start Your Zoho Expense Free Trial

​​#4: Zoho Inventory

What does Zoho Inventory do?

Zoho Inventory helps you track inventory across multiple warehouses, synchronise stock to sell across multiple channels, and manage order fulfilment with extensive shipping functions. It has integrations that help you to connect both sales and shipping platforms, and reporting functions that help you to stay on top of your operations.


Why do we like Zoho Inventory?

We like Zoho Inventory as it enables you to manage your stock across multiple websites, easily transfer stock between those warehouses, and ship orders from multiple warehouses in the same order. It supports multiple currencies and dropshipping, making it an asset for any organisation looking for a better way to manage their inventory.


Example: Dashboard in Zoho Inventory
Example: Dashboard in Zoho Inventory
Example: Sales Orders in Zoho Inventory
Example: Sales Orders in Zoho Inventory
Example: Packages in Zoho Inventory
Example: Packages in Zoho Inventory
Example: Reporting in Zoho Inventory
Example: Reporting in Zoho Inventory

What are its Key Features?

✔ Extensive Shipping Functions

✔ Supports e-Commerce

✔ Tracks Across Multiple Warehouses

✔ Manage Sales & Purchase Orders In-App

✔ Great Reporting Options


How to get started with Zoho Inventory

We’ve made life a little easier for you with this free trial. Every Zoho product starts with a free trial so you can see if you like it and go from there. If you have any questions, let us know!


Start Your Zoho Inventory Free Trial

​​#5: Zoho People

What does Zoho People do?

Zoho People is a Human Resource Management (HRM) software that has been designed to make managing your employees more simple and efficient. It can help you to track the attendance, performance, and development of all employees, with accessible enterprise-level functionality to streamline your management processes.


Why do we like Zoho People?

We love Zoho People for its expansive feature set and easy user interface. Its functions cover every possible use-case for HRMs, with efficient time tracking and management systems. It’s ideal for small businesses looking to streamline their expansion, and medium businesses who want a more complete picture of their workforce.


Example: Profile Page in Zoho People
Example: Profile Page in Zoho People
Example: Features in Zoho People
Example: Features in Zoho People
Example: Self-Service Portal in Zoho People
Example: Self-Service Portal in Zoho People
Example: News Feed in Zoho People
Example: News Feed in Zoho People

Managers who use Zoho People are able to set up the software to company specifications and then take a backseat on the HRM process, with easy-to-use self-service portals for employees doing most of the work for you. You can track attendance, time spent across projects, and annual leave seamlessly, allowing you to focus on reaching your business goals through the comprehensive performance management functions. You can schedule appraisals, create goals, and receive feedback easily.


Employees have complete control over their attendance, leave, and time tracking with Zoho People. They can change any personal information with its self-service functions, manage their calendar and workload across multiple Zoho apps, and view everything they need to know about their employment in a handy branded portal. Most of these functions can be done in the Zoho People mobile app too, allowing employees to update their information on-the-go with ease.


What are its Key Features?

✔ Employee Self-Service Portal

✔ Timesheets & Time Tracking

✔ Efficient Performance Management

✔ HR Process Automation

✔ Extensive Reporting & Analytics

✔ Mobile App for Employees


How to get started with Zoho People

We’ve made life a little easier for you with this free trial. Every Zoho product starts with a free trial so you can see if you like it and go from there. If you have any questions, let us know!


Start Your Zoho People Free Trial

​​#6: Zoho Projects

What does Zoho Projects do?

Zoho Projects has an extensive feature set for an affordable price, helping you to manage and coordinate projects across your company with ease. You can view timescales on Gantt charts, track hours worked with timesheets, and automate tasks to streamline your workflow.


Why do we like Zoho Projects?

We love Zoho Projects for its excellent feature set, such as Gantt charts, tasks, reporting, documents, and milestones. You’re able to track time against each task within a project, which can be attributed to your Zoho People & Books for time management and accurate project costing. 


Example: Gantt Chart in Zoho Projects
Example: Gantt Chart in Zoho Projects
Example: List View in Zoho Projects
Example: List View in Zoho Projects
Example: Calendar View in Zoho Projects
Example: Calendar View in Zoho Projects
Example: Feed View in Zoho Projects
Example: Feed View in Zoho Projects

What are its Key Features?

✔ Gantt Chart / Kanban / Task List Views

✔ Task Allocation & Time Tracking

✔ Mobile Application (iOS & Android)

✔ Collaboration Functions

✔ Reporting & Analytics


How to get started with Zoho Projects

We’ve made life a little easier for you with this free trial. Every Zoho product starts with a free trial so you can see if you like it and go from there. If you have any questions, let us know!


Start Your Zoho Projects Free Trial

​​#7: Zoho Desk

What does Zoho Desk do?

Zoho Desk is a completely customisable service desk that will help you manage customer queries across your organisation’s portfolio. It has comprehensive integrations with communications platforms, and uses artificial intelligence to help you create responses quickly.


Why do we like Zoho Desk?

We love Zoho Desk as it helps us to manage customer service tickets with ease, through convenient contextual support, AI assistance, and detailed analytics. It’s ideal for small businesses looking for enterprise-level customer service capabilities at an affordable price.


Example: Dashboard in Zoho Desk
Example: Dashboard in Zoho Desk
Example: Performance View in Zoho Desk
Example: Performance View in Zoho Desk
Example: Ticket View in Zoho Desk
Example: Ticket View in Zoho Desk

What are its Key Features?

✔ Customisable Performance Dashboards

✔ Self-Service Portal for Customers

✔ Knowledge Base for Customers

✔ Automatic Ticket Routing

✔ Mobile App Support


How to get started with Zoho Desk

We’ve made life a little easier for you with this free trial. Every Zoho product starts with a free trial so you can see if you like it and go from there. If you have any questions, let us know!


Start Your Zoho Desk Free Trial

​​#8: Zoho Forms

What does Zoho Forms do?

Zoho Forms can help you to create visually appealing forms with custom branding to efficiently collect and manage information. You can automate these forms to send notifications once completed, and automatically link information with contacts in your CRM.


Why do we like Zoho Forms?

We like Zoho Forms because it allows us to create highly functional branded forms with its easy to use no-code creator, with an array of fields to choose from, field validation to ensure accurate data is recorded, and full customizability to meet most business requirements.


Example: Customisation in Zoho Forms
Example: Customisation in Zoho Forms
Example: Entry Tracking in Zoho Forms
Example: Entry Tracking in Zoho Forms
Example: Settings in Zoho Forms
Example: Settings in Zoho Forms
Example: Sharing in Zoho Forms
Example: Sharing in Zoho Forms

What are its Key Features?

✔ Full Customisation & Branding

✔ No-Code Form Creation

✔ Secure Data Collection

✔ Comprehensive Integrations

✔ Reporting & Analytics


How to get started with Zoho Forms

We’ve made life a little easier for you with this free trial. Every Zoho product starts with a free trial so you can see if you like it and go from there. If you have any questions, let us know!


Start Your Zoho Forms Free Trial

​​#9: Zoho Voice

What does Zoho Voice do?

Zoho Voice is an easy-to-use business telephony and call centre solution that integrates seamlessly with CRM and Desk. You can use it to make and receive business calls on customisable phone numbers with excellent line quality and mobile capabilities. 


Why do we like Zoho Voice?

We love Zoho Voice for its integration with other Zoho products. It can communicate with Zoho CRM to identify and recognise phone numbers, record voicemail messages and important conversations, and create notifications to bring your attention to new inbound leads.


Example: Dashboard in Zoho Voice
Example: Dashboard in Zoho Voice
Example: Agents in Zoho Voice
Example: Agents in Zoho Voice
Example: Add-Ons in Zoho Voice
Example: Add-Ons in Zoho Voice

What are its Key Features?

✔ Inbound & Outbound Calls

✔ Call Queueing, Forwarding, Transfers

✔ Personal & Departmental Extensions

✔ Customizable Phone Numbers

✔ Call Centre Capabilities

✔ Simple Dialling System


How to get started with Zoho Voice

We’ve made life a little easier for you with this free trial. Every Zoho product starts with a free trial so you can see if you like it and go from there. If you have any questions, let us know!


Start Your Zoho CRM Free Trial

​​#10: Zoho Sign

What does Zoho Sign do?

Zoho Sign can transform your company’s paperwork with its digital signature solution, helping you to save time and money. You can create reusable templates with custom branding, bulk send documents and track their progress, and create workflows to automate document flow.  It's highly secure too, with comprehensive encryption technology.


Why do we like Zoho Sign?

We like Zoho Sign because it helps to streamline signature collection and document processing in a secure and reliable way. It helps you save time through template creation and workflow configuration, and you can track the progress for each document sent easily. It’s compliant with many e-signature laws across the world.


Example: Documents in Zoho Sign
Example: Documents in Zoho Sign
Example: Sending in Zoho Sign
Example: Sending in Zoho Sign
Example: Sharing Templates in Zoho Sign
Example: Sharing Templates in Zoho Sign

What are its Key Features?

✔ Leading Data Security

✔ Completely Custom Branding

✔ e-Signature Capabilities

✔ Bulk Document Sending

✔ Reusable Templates

✔ Tracking & Reporting


How to get started with Zoho Sign

We’ve made life a little easier for you with this free trial. Every Zoho product starts with a free trial so you can see if you like it and go from there. If you have any questions, let us know!


Start Your Zoho Sign Free Trial

​​Why Zoho?

Zoho is one of the most affordable software developers for small-to-medium sized businesses, with comprehensive features across all of their applications for a price that doesn’t break the bank. You won’t find another software suite that has the integrations, the features, and the price points that Zoho has to offer, and the great thing is that their pricing is flexible so you can start small and scale up to enterprise level with ease.


We use most Zoho applications for our daily tasks, and they have helped to streamline our business processes and workflow immensely. They integrate well with Google Workspace, communicate data across the company to improve efficiency, and keep our company data secure at all times. If you’re looking for any of the above products, we recommend that you take a look at starting a free trial and have a go! We’re here to help answer any questions if you have them.


​​Why Ostratto?

Ostratto is a team of technical professionals that are here to assist you and your business on a truly personal basis. We have the skills and expertise to deliver comprehensive, cost-effective solutions, and will work to integrate Zoho software into your business in a way that meets all of your needs. We’re here to help you to find the most suitable products, and provide you with ongoing support throughout your time with us.


We've been partnered with Zoho for over five years, and have worked with their teams to develop their products for the UK market. We work with businesses from a wide range of sectors from leisure through to manufacturing. We are proud to be a part of all of our customers' businesses, integrating ourselves as trusted advisors and measuring our success on theirs. Wherever your organisation is right now, and wherever it wants to be in the future, we can help you to streamline your workflows and make your work less work with the right software solution.


]]>Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:32:13 +0000<![CDATA[Ransomware Threat Update: 2024]]>https://www.ostratto.com/blogs/post/2024-ransomware-threat-updateAn explanation of how the threat of ransomware attacks on organisations has developed throughout 2024, drawing on data from the Sophos State of Ransomware survey and explaining how Intercept X can offer advanced defences against this prevalent threat.]]>

An explanation of how the threat of ransomware attacks on organisations has developed throughout 2024, drawing on data from the Sophos State of Ransomware survey and explaining how Intercept X can offer advanced defences against this prevalent threat.


What is Ransomware? | What's New In 2024? | Industries at High Risk | Actions to Protect Your Business | How Intercept X Protects Your Business | Ostratto: Your Security Provider | Book Your Free Discovery Call


​​What is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that, if installed, can stop you from gaining access to your systems and will then demand that you pay the perpetrator to regain access – in other words, it will hold your systems to ransom. Ransomware can come in many shapes and sizes, below are a few of the most common types that we outlined in 2023. Want to find out how to protect your company? Skip down to Protective Actions.


Types of Ransomware Attack

Computer locked by a ransomware attack.
Graphic by Pixabay

Crypto Ransomware, also known as "encryptors", is one of the most common and dangerous types. This kind encrypts files and data, rendering the material useless without the decryption key. Unlike the other types below, crypto ransomware may infiltrate your systems in several different ways. 


Phishing refers to one of the methods in which ransomware may make its way into your system. It occurs when a malicious email, which may  appear at first to be authentic, is opened and the links within are clicked on. Unfortunately, opening these all but friendly emails will allow the ransomware to be downloaded onto your device. Once in, the ransomware can exploit the security flaws in your device and take control of your systems.


Scareware may often appear as a security software pop-up, warning you that malware has been identified and that the only way to remove it is to pay. However, despite the name, there is often nothing to be afraid of as attackers are merely bluffing to coerce you into paying, meanwhile your files remain secure.


Doxware or Leakware refers to when an attacker threatens to release sensitive data online. Although the threat may not always be legitimate, most individuals panic and pay the requested ransom.


Lockers refers to when a pop-up emerges, requesting a ransom, and totally locks the user out of their computer. Most pop-ups make the user feel like they are in the wrong and will often display timers to pressure you into paying quickly without the opportunity to report or resolve the attack instead.


Impact of Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware can have an enormous impact on your company's operations and data security, and some organisations take up to one month to recover from an attack. Here are some key takeaways about the impact of ransomware from the Sophos State of Ransomware update in 2024.

59%

of companies attacked with ransomware in 2024

94%

report that their backups were targeted in attacks

32%

of victims had data stolen as well as encrypted

$2.0m

was the average ransom demand by attackers

​​What's New In 2024?

Focus on Critical Infrastructure

Ransomware continues to be the most impactful cybersecurity threat, with its high financial rewards and established business model making it an attractive extortion method. Criminals target a wide range of organisations, many of which don’t make the headlines, but those who do have historically been those with the highest reward potential.


For example, threat actors have attacked hospitals, schools, and government entities across the world, with local councils and the National Health Service (NHS) being some of the most public cases in the UK. Infrastructure companies such as these typically have outdated and unsupported legacy systems, and therefore are an easy target for threat actors looking to exploit vulnerabilities and enter their network. 


Ransomware-As-A-Service (RaaS)

Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) is an increasingly popular platform that criminals and threat actors can use to access ransomware with no upfront costs. Many platforms operate with a subscription model, which mirrors the successful models used by legitimate platforms, to offer access to ransomware variants, distribution channels, and support in exchange for a share of the profits.


Hackers can leverage RaaS platforms to perform the most efficient and effective assaults on any chosen company, with this increased accessibility to powerful malware products making the ransomware extortion method as the most profitable cyberattack on the market today. As these platforms continue to develop into 2025, there will be a significant increase in the threat of cybercrime on organisations.


Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is expected to have an enormous impact on the threat of ransomware. Criminals are already using AI to streamline cyberattacks, and it will almost certainly increase the volume and impact of attacks in the near future. It enables relatively unskilled threat actors to carry out sophisticated attacks, with improved targeting and more effective information-gathering than ever before.


There are reports that AI is helping criminals to develop malware that can avoid detection by security software, craft phishing emails that are extremely targeted and persuasive, and encrypt files at a startling rate. As this continues, it could have an unprecedented impact on businesses across the world, which is why it’s so important to take a proactive approach to your cybersecurity.




"Hackers can leverage RaaS platforms to perform the most efficient and effective assaults on any chosen company"



​​Industries at High Risk for Attack

Local Government & Public Services

Across the UK there has been an increasing number of attacks on local government organisations and public service companies. Recently, for example, we saw Synnovis, an NHS pathology services provider, experienced an attack that caused the cancellation of over 10,000 appointments and a significant data leak that immediately made the headlines. The extent of the attack meant that they had to rebuild their IT systems to continue to operate, which caused significant disruption to their operations.


In 2023, we saw Gloucester City Council fall victim to a ransomware attack for the second time in 10 years, where many of the council’s systems were encrypted and taken offline. It cost the council £1.1 million to remediate the damage caused by this attack. Hackers, in these instances, appear to be targeting large public organisations to perform extortion at the threat of an enormous data leak. Any company with a significant amount of public data should be concerned about the increasing threat of a ransomware attack.


Logistics & Transportation

Transportation has been brought back into the spotlight recently with the incident that occurred with Network Rail’s WiFi network this September. Attackers were able to use a vulnerability in their network and transmit extremist messages onto the devices of unaware service users, which caused considerable concern amongst the public and made headlines. In 2023, KNP Logistics Group was attacked by threat actors who caused irreparable damage to their systems in an incident that plunged the company into insolvency, making 730 people redundant. 


In these examples, the motivations of the threat actors appear to be mixed. In the Network Rail incident, it appears to be a case of ‘Hacktivism’, where the threat actors were politically motivated and were sending a message to service users. However, in the case of KNP Logistics, we can estimate that ransomware was used purely to extort the company. Similar transport organisations should be concerned about the latter example, as it highlights that cybercriminals do target private organisations more frequently than what we’re aware of, as many instances don’t make the headlines.


Manufacturing & Production

In recent years, the manufacturing industry became a prevalent target for security attacks due to legacy systems and unpatched applications. One of the more notable examples is Wiltshire Farm Foods who provide frozen ready meals to care homes, nurseries, hospitals, and schools in the South West. In 2022, they were attacked by threat actors who were able to significantly disrupt their operations and leave service users without meals.


Attackers were able to cause enough damage to mean that the company had to rebuild and replace most of their hardware and software, likely costing hundreds of thousands of pounds. In response to the increased threat of ransomware, we have seen companies like Castell Howell and AG Barr onboard with Sophos Intercept X to manage their cybersecurity.


​​Actions to Protect Your Business

Addressing an attack situation requires a straightforward three-step approach: implement a more scalable incident response process to accelerate response time; leverage adaptive defences to slow down adversaries; and create a virtuous cycle that improves protection and lowers cost.


Stopping advanced, persistent adversaries will require you to optimise your organisation’s defences, using context-sensitive technologies to elevate the level of protection in proportion to the situation. Crucially, these defences will buy you time to apply human expertise to address the root cause.



Optimise Prevention

Stop attacks at the earliest possible point to minimise impact.

Reduce Exposure

Minimize opportunities for adversaries to exploit weaknesses in security.

Disrupt Attackers

Buy time to respond in the event of an advanced human-led attack.
 

​​How Intercept X Protects Your Business

Sophos Intercept X is the industry-leading Endpoint Security solution that reduces the attack surface and prevents attacks from running. Combining anti-exploit, anti-ransomware, deep learning AI and control technology it stops attacks before they impact your systems. Intercept X uses a comprehensive, defense-in-depth approach to endpoint protection, rather than relying on one primary security technique.


Key Features of Intercept X

Sophos CryptoGuard Product Demonstration
CryptoGuard by Sophos
  • Informed by Deep Learning, a process that dissects unknown malware to detect new behaviours and stop unknown threats. SophosLabs work through 400,000 new instances of malware each day and use their findings to develop Intercept X, meaning that you're always protected from the latest threats.
  • CryptoGuard will analyse information in real-time and shut down any encryption processes automatically, reverting all files back to normal once the threat has been contained. It means that you'll never have to worry about paying ransom, as all of your files are protected.
  • Anti-Exploit recognises and blocks common malware delivery techniques, protecting endpoints from phishing attempts, malware downloads, and zero-day code vulnerabilities, providing you with comprehensive prevention against 99.98% of ransomware attack methods.
  • Simple Management with Sophos Central allows you to see the complete picture of alerts across all devices in your network, helping you to prioritise your time effectively and understand your cybersecurity posture.


 "Intercept X stops attacks before they enter your systems, using a comprehensive defence-in-depth approach"



​​Ostratto: Your Security Partner

Picture of Ostratto Director Helping Customer

With a team of technical professionals to assist your business on a truly personal basis, and diverse knowledge across some of the most advanced technology, Ostratto have the skills and expertise to deliver comprehensive, cost-effective solutions and fully-managed services. We’re here to help you to find the most suitable products for your business needs, and provide you with ongoing support across your time with us.


Founded in 2019, we have established ourselves as a forward-thinking technical consultancy both locally in the South West and further afield. We work with businesses from a wide range of sectors from leisure through to manufacturing. We are proud to be a part of all of our customers businesses, integrating ourselves as trusted advisors and measuring our success on theirs.

Wherever your organisation is right now, and where it wants to be in the future, we can help you to accelerate your defences and move ahead of today’s advanced adversaries. For more information, view our security products or speak with a security advisor today.



​​Book Your Free Discovery Call

If you think that your business could benefit from Intercept X, or if you'd like to find out more information about how we can improve your cyber defences, please book a free discovery call with one of our experts below. We'll be happy to help, in whatever way we can.

]]>Mon, 21 Oct 2024 11:00:05 +0000<![CDATA[COVID-19: Our Favourite Remote-working Tools ]]>https://www.ostratto.com/blogs/post/110420-covid-favourite-remote-working-toolsA quick run through of our favourite tools that will help you conduct your business from pretty much anywhere.]]>

Whether your business had already implemented remote-working ideologies or it's all very new to your business, it's definitely been a general-culture shock to the working world. Businesses that never thought they could work from home are now embracing wonderful and sometimes whacky ways to get their work done remotely, sometimes whilst even compromising security (yes Zoom we are talking about you).


Our partners are generally well equipped already. More than 80% of what Ostratto helps our partners' businesses with, resides on cloud technology. That's smart business solutions that are accessible from anywhere at anytime.


For the businesses that we don't yet have a relationship with, firstly; welcome(!) and secondly; this article is for you. It's a quick run through of our favourite tools that will help you conduct your business from pretty much anywhere.


We'll firstly break it down a bit into some sub-categories of the products we offer today. Select to jump to the sections:

​​


Communication       Collaboration       Productivity



Looks uncomfortable. Credit: unsplash

​​Communication​

Communication during these tricky times is absolutely vital. It's the difference between a happy and productive worker and a very unhappy unmotivated one. Here's some of our favourite communication tools.


Google Meet

Video meetings for your business. Meet takes the headaches out of joining a video call at work. Just set up a meeting and share a link. No worrying about whether teammates, clients, or customers have the right accounts or plug-ins. With a fast, lightweight interface and smart participant management, 100 + person video calls are a breeze.


Meet is perfect for keeping connected with your team and your customers from one product, and it comes included in the G Suite package as standard.

Google Chat

A messaging platform built for teams. Hangouts Chat makes it easy for teams to stay in contact with instant messaging. From direct messages to group conversations, Chat helps teams collaborate easily and efficiently. With dedicated, virtual rooms to house projects over time — plus threaded conversations — Chat makes it simple to track progress and follow up tasks. Chat currently supports 28 languages and each room can support up to 8,000 members.



RingCentral

RingCentral is our preferred cloud phone solution. Get an all-inclusive business phone system with online meetings, messaging, and more. Integrated perfectly into your business systems, you can expect big business benefits without the high cost and complexity. Your teams will have all the accessibility they need to seamlessly communicate and collaborate from anywhere, becoming more productive, effective, and efficient as a result. You can host video meetings with up to 1000 participants too - which is pretty cool.


We love it because it's super reliable and it provides a one-stop shop for all business communications.




Zoho Campaigns

Email marketing software that drives sales. Create, send, and track email campaigns that help you build a strong customer base. From beautiful email templates to an easy-to-use editor, and automation tools to real-time analytics, Zoho Campaigns has it covered.

We use this to keep in touch with all of our partners with ease, updating them on the current situation and also providing regular tips on staying productive.

Back to top


​​Collaboration

Even the most communicative team still need ways of collaborating effectively. If your team is still saying 'are you done with that spreadsheet as I need to make edits', then this category is for you. It's 2020 and things have changed now, you old-timer you.



Google Docs

Create and edit documents directly in your browser – no dedicated software required. Several people can work at the same time, and every change is saved automatically. Work on a single document with team members or people outside your company. See edits as others type, communicate through built-in chat and ask questions by including comments.


It really is powerful word editing, made simple and accessible with the power of the cloud. It comes with even the most basic version of G Suite.


Google Sheets

Collaborative, smart, secure spreadsheets for fast-moving organisations. Sheets was designed with the needs of agile organisations in mind. As Sheets is cloud-based, it enables you to collaborate with anyone, anytime, anywhere. It's built on top of Google’s infrastructure, which gives you the freedom to create, while helping to keep your information secure.

Again, no software to install and super simple to use.



Google Slides

Slides is Google's offering of a presentation tool. It allows you to create and edit polished presentations in your browser – no software required. Several people can work at the same time so that everyone always has the latest version. It helps you to make your ideas shine with a variety of presentation themes, hundreds of fonts, embedded video, animations, and more. All included in G Suite.

Back to top


​​Productivity

Productivity is often the measure of a successful migration to remote-working strategies. With recent developments in the technical industry it's still very possible to maintain a very high level of productivity. We've covered a few excellent communication products and we've also covered a selection of smart collaboration software.


G Suite

G Suite - our bread and butter. It provides all the tools a business needs to do business, in an extremely affordable package. An integrated suite of secure, cloud-native collaboration and productivity apps powered by Google AI. Includes Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, Meet and more, all in the same place accessible with the same login.


We use G Suite for our business email, communications and productivity needs. The prices start at £4.60 per user/month and there's no contract, so it's really ideal for new businesses who don't want to commit to anything serious in the early days.


What I think is pretty cool is that the likes of Netflix and Colgate are using exactly the same product as a start-up business of one user. It really is modern-day cloud computing, allowing the little guys play with the big guys with no capital required. Awesome!


Zoho Projects

When we do any commissioning work such as website design or a system setup, one of our most used products is Projects. It lets us track all ongoing tasks so that an overall project progress can be seen - and shared with clients if necessary. It can help you plan your work, track it efficiently, and collaborate with your team wherever they are.


The main features we use are the tasks, the activities, issues (at times a great tool to nudge clients if we're waiting on them) and also the integration with Google Drive so that we can share files securely within the project space without needing to upload anything.


A great tool for teams that still need to be working on projects from different places.



Zoho Bookings

We've noticed a large increase in online classes since the lockdown here in the UK. Classes for exercise and yoga type activities the most prevalent. Should you be needing to host this sort of event, you need a solid way of offering booking for your 'students' - Bookings has you covered. It syncs your calendars while letting students/customers self-schedule and pay for appointments. The user interface is completely customisable to fit your brand and there is an email function that sends emails to your customers automatically reminding them when an appointment is due.


This one is for personal trainers, coaches teachers, trainers and just about anybody else that needs a way to manage classes easily.


Back to top



So there you have it. They are our favourite tools because they are cost-effective, smart and they are generally awesome. They all also meet our principles.


If you need any help with working remotely during these very difficult times please just reach out. We will be happy to assist and if we can help your business in any way at no cost, we absolutely will.


Stay safe.


Help me work smarter
]]>Sun, 12 Apr 2020 13:02:41 +0000<![CDATA[2020: New Years Resolutions]]>https://www.ostratto.com/blogs/post/new-years-resolutions-2020It's a New Year. New or old business, we have you covered with some resolutions for 2020.]]>
The end of a decade! Can you believe it? Aren't we supposed to have flying cars by now? Or at least hoverboards? This year, and the past 10, have seen us through some pretty noteworthy stuff.

Let’s recall the launch of the first iPad and the inception of Instagram - yep, both happened in 2010!  There have been Royal Wedding(s), auditory surgery (looking at you, 'Gangnam Style'), and addictive apps (long live flappy birds). From the rise of AI and voice assistants to Beyonce’s twins and Tesla’s takeover, I think we can all agree - this decade has been kinda interesting. But with the end of another year, it’s time to say adieu to the 2010's and hello to our next ventures.


Letting bygones be bygones, we’re ready to drop into 2020 with a bang, starting with some goals. Forget hitting the gym more or writing a novel (although those are definitely worthwhile objectives). This year, we want you to commit to taking your business to the next level and actually reach your goal (with our help of course). 

Now is the perfect time to look ahead. Here are some ways you can resolve to grow your business in 2020.



A real life picture of me hovering into 2020

1. Build a Website 


The fact of the matter is, if you’re running a business in the 21st century, you need an online presence. Even if you have endless tasks on your business to-do list, prioritising the presence of your own web content is critical. Users (read: potential customers) need to be able to find and connect with you virtually - this is basic stuff fellow resolution-er.


Building a website to showcase your business doesn’t have to be a complicated or confusing task. And the how-to aspects of updating said website don’t have to keep you up at night.


Any business, small or large can, and should, have a website. Start with a game plan and determine your goals, then get in touch with us - we will get it sorted for you without breaking a sweat. And we will even show you how we did it (well at least the fun bits anyway) so that you can have a crack at updating it should you want to.


Want a blog that’s low maintenance (hey, we so get it - you have enough to do!)? We’ll help you keep things simple.

If you want some autonomy, but still would like a little hand-holding, you can get a simple but snazzy site up and running in a jiffy with our help. Or, you can be guided through the entire site-building process with our training services.

The choice is yours - power to you in 2020.


3. Get Serious about Email

Look. It's 2020 now, people are more savvy than they've ever been. In fact, 85% of adults think that a company’s website when viewed on a mobile device should be as good or better than its desktop website. That's quite a forward thinking view of website usage.

We've discussed this before. Your @live.co.uk or @gmail.com free email address is doing your business no favours. It looks unprofessional and you are going to be in a sticky one when you need to take on more staff who also need an email address.

Make 2020 the year you invest in a real business email system and set your business to scale freely. We will be happy to help you.






4. Try Out Some New Tools

A new year means new opportunities for trying things that are, well, new. The end of one year and the beginning of another can motivate you to run, skip, or hop out of your comfort zone and expand your range of skills and knowledge, in turn, empowering your business for growth. Start by experimenting with some new tools that help you build your business.

Here's a few 'out-there' ideas:

Looking for ways to make your business look more established? Get professional emails with G Suite and a professional phone system with RingCentral. We can get you set up today.

Looking for a way to best manage your business finances? Take a look at Zoho Books. We use it, love it and would be very keen to help you use it.

Want to build your own website? Check out Zoho Sites. It's super powerful yet still so simple, and we can help you from start to finish.

Want to boost your SEO in big ways? Easy. There are tons of tools for that and we can help you.

Want to open up your own e-shop? Let's chat Zoho Commerce, Zoho Subscriptions and Zoho Checkout. We’ll show you how.

Tying out new tools will help you become a more well-rounded and knowledgeable biz owner - an advantage that’s bound to help you build a better business in the new decade.






5. Improve Your Email Marketing

We've mentioned it many times before. We even just mentioned it, you know, about half a page up from here. Sure, it’s often overlooked if you’re not in a ‘90s Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks rom-com, but truth be told, email can be very powerful. How powerful? 

Well, a big 89% of marketers say that email is their primary channel for lead generation and email is still consistently ranked as the single-most-effective tactic for meeting their awareness, acquisition, conversion, and retention goals. This seemingly-archaic medium (which, FYI, was predicted to decline) is increasingly relevant for site owners looking to build customer relationships and augment sales.

And marketers aren’t the only ones with the hots for Email. 72% of consumers say email is their favorite method of communication with companies they do business with, and over 60% say they like to receive promotional emails every week from businesses.

So educate yourself: get smart on dodging the spam folder and providing valuable content that customers want to see enter their inboxes. Learn about the types of emails you should be sending your followers (like the increasingly prevalent email newsletter), set goals, work on building your ever-important email list, and start connecting with more of your customers in their inboxes. This is something we can even give you a hand with - just give us a holla.






6. Get Mobile-Friendly

OK, so maybe you are aware of this. But seriously, if you aren’t optimizing your site (and business generally) for use on mobile devices, you’re harming your presence.

Sixty-one percent of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing, and 40% will jump ship and visit a competitor’s site instead. What’s more, Google rewards mobile-friendly sites with better rankings. Ron Burgundy would say, "That’s kind of a big deal". sales, conversions, traffic, search engine placement, UX, responsiveness - all riding on mobile responsiveness.

Mobile rules e-commerce: during some parts of this past year, 79% of online shopping time is being consumed on smartphones, and that number is only predicted to increase. Not only are consumers using smartphones to search (more Google searches take place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries) and make purchases (69% of purchases were made by mobile users on one eCommerce platform), but they’re not letting mobile devices out of their sight: 55% of smartphone users admit they get anxious when they don't have their phone on them. There's even a name for the affliction: nomophobia, or "no mobile phone phobia."

Taking these numbers into account, you can see that mobile optimization affects nearly every aspect of your business, from brand building and traffic generating to establishing relationships with customers. Google will not be friendly in its rankings to sites that aren’t optimized for mobile, which harms your traffic-building efforts. You don’t want this. This is bad.





Having a website optimised for small screens is a 'thou-shalt' that simply has to be a part of your business commandments this year if you want a more successful business. The same goes for email formatting where over 66% of emails are read on mobile devices, your emails need to look great on a customers screen or they may just choose not to read them.

Start thinking mobile by taking a responsiveness test drive, working on improving your site’s load times, redesigning your site pop-ups, and making an app - if your business needs it of course.



7. Lose some (business) weight

Even the most successful companies have areas of their operations that can be streamlined. Staff, as we all know, is the highest cost to most businesses. Nothing beats the human touch in business but you'll be surprised which workflows can be automated by technology within your business. We are talking about the tasks nobody wants to do - the follow-up emails to leads, the monthly subscription payments you manually take, the backups of your data or even the VAT filing for your business finances. These are tasks that are easily automated...so why are you paying someone to do them?

Review your vendor pricing. There is no harm in shopping around to see if you can find goods and services at better prices – assuming that the quality and delivery are comparable. You'll often find that you aren't on the best deal compared to new customers (which makes no sense to us but we digress).

Let Ostratto do the heavy lifting - our partners have seen an average of over 40% savings in 2019 on their IT services. Your interests are our interests.


8. Remember to Breath

Running a business is no small feat. To give your best to your business, you need to resolve to achieve the a proper work/life balance. It can’t be all work and no play. You (or your employees) will burn out faster than those Christmas lights you still haven’t taken down.

When approaching the new year, set realistic goals, hustle hard to stretch yourself and make things happen, and then breathe. Taking care of yourself is crucial to the success of your business. Trust us.

Set boundaries for in and out-of-office hours and honor them. Automate any tasks you can, delegate responsibilities, and then unplug. Resist the temptation to 'just check' your inbox. Be intentional about stepping away from screens and/or your desk and engage in rejuvenating activities such as exercise. Make face-to-face connections and prioritize your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Remember: It’s OK to take off your business-owner hat and just have a good time. This doesn't necessarily mean a week break in Hawaii. A proper re-calibration of your priorities and work-life habits will help you be a better business owner and the small breaks you should take will pay you back. It's an investment.

At Ostratto, we love to succeed with you. In fact, we live for it. Whether your new year goals include boosting your bottom line, hiring a team, finding new customers or clients, or learning new entrepreneurial skills, we’re here to help you make them happen in 2020 and we would be honored to be part of your business success.

Here’s to a happy, healthy, and business-booming new year!

Let's Chat
]]>Wed, 08 Jan 2020 11:04:25 +0000