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With so much of modern business taking ever bigger steps into the digital world, it is important to keep in mind important aspects of cyber-security; for advice to local SMEs on this topic, click here...
A related topic is phishing, so click here to get important advice too - for SME’s and even individuals.
For some hands-on IT skills for SMEs and also individuals seeking up-skilling, see Clarborough & Welham IT Group’s 2023 classes here...
[Update October 2021] Much of Clarborough & Welham now has fast broadband service although this does vary significantly depending on the exact location of the premises. Clarborough Village Hall, for instance, although located on Main Street (A620) ‘only’ has download speeds of around 38Mb/s and upload speeds around 10 Mb/s while private properties on the estate ‘behind’ the hall have speeds around 140Mb/s and 40Mb/s respectively.
Broadband coverage in East Bassetlaw is notoriously slow but all is not lost if you are a business either using the internet or one wanting to find out how to maximise your online presence.
Main routes, such as the A620 through Clarborough and Welham have seen upheavals over the past 12 months as BT and others have striven to lay optical-fibre technology underground and then roll-out improved internet services.
This, however, is only the start. Nottinghamshire County County along with various district Councils such as our own Bassetlaw D.C. have plans in place to enhance broadband access across the area with a particular focus on business users.
It has to be said that so far, our local experience has been less than overwhelming. Enquiries during Parish Council/IT Group plans to upgrade internet connections to our village hall (spring 2013) uncovered the fact that our area was excluded from the local upgrade plans! Too close to the recent BT optical fibre line along the A620?
The following is left on our site for reference purposes:
 For (6th February, 2013) overview of Nottinghamshire County Council’s plans, including seminars for business users, have a look at this document. To quote the document’s first paragraph:
‘Rural businesses looking to get to grips with the benefits of superfast broadband will be able to find out more through a series of hands-on, countywide workshops and activities. The workshops aim to equip businesses with a clear understanding of the opportunities super fast broadband offers, like e-commerce and digital trading, when new cabling and infrastructure is in place in just two years’ time.’
Need to contact Retford Business Forum? Click here.
Another issue, particularly for small businesses, is the cost of providing suites of office applications such as Microsoft Office.
Have you considered the savings that are possible if you decide to move away from such proprietory products with their up-front costs and possibly annual charges onwards. There are a whole raft of equivalent - and compatible - suites out there in the open-source world that cost nothing!
To get hands on experience of these resources why not enrol on one of Clarborough & Welham IT Group’s five-week courses. For details see their page here...
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