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Winter is on the way... but will your business be ready?

With winter well and truly on the way, we've been chatting to Director Lee Irving about how businesses can best prepare for the season. Will your business be ready for the weather, or will your customers be left out in the cold?

'When preparing for winter, businesses need to think about how both their employees and their customers will be affected,' says Lee. 'Our clients depend on us for IT support and web development, and need to know that we're only ever a phone call away - regardless of what's going on with the weather. Our customers don't stop, so neither can we.'

'Unfortunately that presents a few problems for us in winter, because sometimes people in our support and development teams may struggle to get to the office. If the snow has been heavy, getting out of your driveway can be a challenge. Some of our team ride motorcycles through winter, but if roads are particularly icy then this can be pretty dangerous.' 

'Everyone at Transcendit has the ability to work from home when necessary, but during winter it becomes even more important that this works as it should. Before the bad weather hits, every person in our team takes their laptop home to try connecting from a location outside the office, so we can find out if there are any problems.'

'We've used this bad weather plan since Transcendit's inception,' says Lee. 'It means that everyone can sign in, get their work done and help our customers without battling a snow storm or risking the roads. I'd encourage every business to come up with a plan that works for their team - it's always better to be over prepared.'

How to establish your bad weather plan

1. Sort out the tech

To work from home, everyone needs access to their own laptop, so they can get to all their documents, files and programs. If you need your team to access central systems, you'll also need to set up a VPN (Virtual Private Network).

Customers also need to be able to get in touch with your team, so we use a VOIP phone system  (Voice Over Internet Protocol) which allows users to load up a virtual handset when they're away from the desk. 

2. Make sure it works (before you need it to)

Once you've got the tech in place, you need to make sure everything works as it should. Encourage everyone in your team to test out their laptops and phones, so you can be sure that when the weather turns bad, everyone can access everything they need remotely. 

If you find that things aren't working, or people are running into problems, get your IT support team on it. 

3. Keep your kit with you!

There's no use setting all this up if your team aren't taking their kit home. Make sure everyone takes their laptop home with them each evening, just in case the weather gets bad overnight. Then if the roads look particularly treacherous, your staff don't need to risk it.

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The Transcendit Way

Transcendit understand that when you choose to work with us, whether we're taking care of your IT, app or web development, you're trusting us with part of your business. So whether we're looking after your computers, phone systems or servers we always do things 'the Transcendit way'.

The whole of our team adhere to the same values, beliefs and policies - the principles that were written when Transcendit first formed in 2000. Whether you come to us for cloud services or recovery backup you can be confident that you'll always receive the same excellent service.

The Transcendit way outlines how we do business; following the same straightforward principles with every client and customer, regardless of how big or small they may be.

That means we get to know you and your business. We offer you a friendly, professional and efficient service, and we'll always be honest with you.
We understand that not everybody speaks fluent IT, so we try to explain things in a way that is simple and clear. We always spend as much time as is necessary explaining things to you.
If you need to talk to us about something, no matter how insignificant, we are only ever a phone call away – and we’re never too busy to make you a cup of tea and have a sit down with you in person.
We understand how frustrating it can be when things are late. When we schedule an appointment with you, we are there when you’re expecting us. If something prevents us from getting there, we always call you in advance to let you know.
Sometimes things can go wrong, but we never lie to you or try to cover something up. If things go askew we tell you what’s happened and how we plan to prevent it affecting your business.
We want you to continuously benefit from working with us. We regularly discuss your business and make suggestions for improving systems and processes wherever we can – but we never try to push you into a purchase.
When we quote a fixed price, that's always the amount we charge – you won’t find any nasty surprises on a bill from us. If you are paying by time and materials, we inform you if our approximations could change.
We understand the importance of privacy for your business and your customers. We respect the confidentiality of your data, and we will never pass on your information to third parties.
We appreciate it when you take the time to give us feedback. A system called CustomerSure records our client's responses, so you can trust that our reviews are from real people.
Find out what they're saying here.
The usual 1st class service that I've come expect as the norm! Dave Wales, Chirmarn

Based on 11207 reviews our customers rate us 9.8/10. Reviews and ratings by Customersure. 17-January-2024

Transcendit are proud sponsors of CHUF, the Children's Heart Unit Fund.

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