Industry news

How AI is Revolutionising Phishing Attack Prevention in 2024: A Cybersecurity Expert’s Perspective

Phishing attacks have become one of the most pressing cybersecurity challenges for businesses worldwide. In 2024, phishing attacks were not only more frequent but also more […]

Exploring Microsoft Copilot: Transforming the way we work

As businesses continue to embrace AI-driven tools, Microsoft’s latest Copilot updates are set to make waves in productivity and collaboration. At Ultima, we’re always excited to […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – August 2024

In this issue: Intune for Frontline Workers Effective August 1, 2024, Microsoft has expanded its Microsoft Intune offerings to include Frontline Worker products within the Microsoft […]

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Price Changes Coming Soon

What you need to know about the upcoming price increases for Dynamics 365 products. Introduction Hello all, following the last update around Microsoft Teams, there is […]

Navigating Microsoft Licensing: Teams Exclusion in Cloud Suites

Hello and welcome to my Microsoft licensing blog, where I share my insights and tips on Microsoft licensing for businesses. Today I want to talk about […]

Kroll Awards Ultima EMEA Partner of The Year

Ultima, the AI-powered cloud, security, and digital managed service provider, has today been awarded EMEA Partner of the Year by Kroll, a leading independent provider of […]

Understanding the changes to Citrix Licensing From our Workspace Solution Specialist 

Citrix is a leader in providing workspace solutions that enable people to work securely and efficiently from anywhere, using any device.   On 4th March 2024 Citrix […]

How to help customers navigate changes to VMWare with Broadcom

On December 11, 2023, VMWare officially announced the discontinuation oftheir Perpetual Licenses and SnS Support contract renewals. Going forward, VMWare will exclusively offer subscription licenses for […]

Employee-Friendly Ways to Make a Positive Impact on the Planet

As employees, we play a crucial role in creating a positive impact on the planet, not just within the confines of our workplace, but also in […]

Embracing the Sharing Economy: A Path to Sustainable Living

The sharing economy emerges is a new concept that redefines ownership, fosters community, and contributes to a more sustainable future. From car clubs to resource libraries, […]

Crafting a Strong Response: Cyber Security Survival Guide

As the festive season creeps away, you are bored of turkey and the constant repeats on TV. Our focus shifts to the new year and what […]

The 12 Day of Christmas Security Tips

Hello, it’s Ben here, bringing you a quick 12 essential tips during the festive holiday season. As we get into the holiday spirit and “The 12 […]

Navigating the Future: A Comprehensive Guide to NIS2 Compliance 

I recently received a request to anticipate upcoming technology trends for 2024, set to be featured in our UiQ Edition 5 publication in January of that […]

Navigating the Impact of DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act)

I was recently asked to make some predictions about technology trends for 2024 which will be released in our UiQ Edition 5 publication in January 2024 […]

“Is it AI or IA? What’s the difference?”

While artificial intelligence (AI) has become even more prevalent with the rise of large language models and computer vision capabilities, the question that is often asked […]

IA-Connect for Power Automate version 9.4 released

Hi everyone! Chris here from the Ultima Labs team. We’re pleased to announce that we’ve hit a new major release milestone with our IA-Connect product for […]

Ultima Expands Global Presence with new office in South Africa

Ultima, a new generation AI powered managed services provider across Cloud, Security and Digital Workspace has announced the establishment of a new office in South Africa. […]

Andre Prins Appointed as Country Manager for Ultima SA

Ultima, a new generation AI powered managed services provider across Cloud, Security and Digital Workspace announces the appointment of Andre Prins as Country Manager for Ultima, […]

Understanding the Anatomy of QR Phishing

QR codes have revolutionised the way we engage with technology, streamlining a lot of processes that were once thought to be a faff. Whether it be […]

Elevating Cybersecurity: Ultima’s Enhanced Partnership with Fortinet

In today’s digital landscape, robust cybersecurity is no longer a luxury but a necessity for organisations across all industries. With cyber threats becoming more sophisticated and […]

Microsoft Inspire 2023 Announcements

Microsoft Inspire 2023 was held between July 17th to July 20th and these are the main updates from a Microsoft licensing, products and commercial stance. A […]

Veeam Back & Replication v12: 3 Things I Love

There have been many exciting new features and announcements with v12.  Here are three things I love with the new release, what are your thoughts? 1) […]

Can ransomware end my business, if so what can I do?

Those who have cybersecurity insurance should investigate the details of cover and terms against cyber breeches and ransomware attacks.  Strict conditions and rule changes are speculated […]

5 Ways Businesses Can Rethink Technology Strategies to Achieve Sustainability Goals

As the world faces growing sustainability challenges, businesses are under increasing pressure to rethink their technology strategies in order to support their sustainability goals. In this […]

EDR-as-a-Service: A Comprehensive Approach to Cybersecurity

Endpoint detection and response (EDR) is a critical component of any cyber security strategy. It involves continuously monitoring your network and endpoint devices for signs of […]

Maximize efficiency and flexibility with a hybrid cloud solution

In today’s digital landscape, businesses of all sizes are turning to cloud computing as a way to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and scale their operations. While […]

Automating repeatable business processes keeps your talent happy

We’re all having to do more with less, at the same time as trying to nurture our employees to prevent talent leakage. So how can automation […]

Managed Workspace Improves Employee Satisfaction

Successful businesses create a culture that places a positive employee experience at the heart of their workspace strategy. They attract the best talent and deliver a […]

6 Perfect Applications for Hyperconverged Infrastructure

As hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) continues to mature, living up to its undoubted transformative potential, companies of all sizes are considering how best to use it to […]

Define and Build your Azure API App with Swagger-OpenAPI

Microsoft Azure provides the API App as part of its App Service offering. This supports companies or individuals exposing data and business processes over the web as an […]

Ultima’s Patching as a Service Capabilities

Is there anything in the world more dull than Magnolia Paint…. The answer is yes, yes there is, Patching, yet it keeps many of us up […]

Citrix on Azure Virtual Desktop

Why do we still need Citrix when Azure Virtual Desktop is “free”? There are many potential answers to this, and most will depend on your particular […]

Azure Virtual Desktop with Infrastructure as Code

All reputable Buzzword Bingo cards will have entries for “Cloud”, “CI/CD” and “DevOps” on them, and here we will be using all with astounding frequency. I […]

How Diversity Can Drive Innovation

At Ultima, we strive to be an inclusive community along with the support of our valuable workers. Our talented employees operate in close partnerships with businesses […]

Tech: why it might be your kryptonite

Today, the disconnect between business expectation and IT delivery is wider than ever. In this blog, we’ll look at why the technology that enables your business […]

Defend against the most targeted platform in the world

The most targeted platform in the world demands the best email security. The challenge Email is the most universal communication tool for businesses and more than […]

How technology can help you contribute to a more sustainable future

With the increasing threat of climate change, it’s never been more important to do everything we can to work towards a more sustainable future. However, it […]

Making PCs Cloudy with Windows 365

On Monday 2nd August, Microsoft made Windows 365 Generally Available, bringing around the next iteration of Microsoft’s vision for delivering Windows from the cloud. Windows 365 has […]

Challenging the status quo; the emergence of a new type of business

When we think back to the start of 2020 when we had to almost restructure our businesses overnight, the main thing which comes to mind is […]

Building Cyber Resilience with Zero Trust

Whether caused by malicious code deployed by sophisticated cybercriminals, weak passwords or simply user error, security breaches are on the rise and threatening businesses across the […]

Transforming the modern workplace with virtual desktop solutions

Escalating demands for high performance and seamless connectivity in any location and on any device have driven a transformation of the modern workplace. However, these increasing […]

Third party maintainers – marriage material?

As organisations approach the end of the vendor warranty on business-critical IT hardware, they may choose to consider using third party maintenance provision from the established […]

Advanced Optimisation with IA-Cloud Just Got Better – Introducing Cost Analyser

One piece of feedback we’ve had over time is while the advanced optimisation tool is a great feature, it would be even better if cost analysis […]

The importance of collaboration at Ultima

86 percent of employees believe that a lack of collaboration in the workplace can lead to workplace failures. Have you experienced the same? Collaboration quite simply […]

International Programmers’ Day

Computers, technology and software make the modern world go around – but for every piece of clever software, there’s a programmer (and often a team of […]

Achieving enterprise mobility & security for financial services organisations

Employee mobility is now the norm, with the proliferation of SaaS applications empowering the workforce to work on any device and from any location, whilst enabling […]

Learn why financial services rely on Citrix on Azure

Business agility is mission-critical for financial services organisations. Market dynamics place a premium on the ability to adapt to changes such as M&A, add new locations […]

Centralising and streamlining IT operations & infrastructure in manufacturing

​Manufacturing organisations face a variety of challenges when it comes to their IT environment. They need to be able to provide geographically dispersed R&D, plant floor […]

Remote working- a ticking time bomb for security?

Over the past 18 months, organisations were forced to rapidly transform in order to maintain business continuity. However alongside this, cybercrime was also on the rise, […]

Helping the retail industry to thrive

Whether operating from physical stores, e-commerce sites, or a mixture of both, retailers have faced many challenges over the last few months to continue generating sales, […]

Ultima become an accredited Living Wage Employer

We are delighted to announce that Ultima is now an accredited Living Wage Employer! This means that every member of staff working for us will earn […]

National Techies Day – David Heath

National Techies Day is celebrated on October 3rd. This day was founded by Techies.com and CNET back in 1998, to promote tech jobs and allow members […]

National Techies Day – Simon Bond

Techies Day was originally developed for the purpose of helping high school students become educated about careers in technology. It was first established in 1998 by […]

Protect your Azure connections & SaaS apps across the globe

With over 22 billion records exposed to data breaches in 2020 (Tenable), ensuring a robust security policy has never been more important. The increase in cloud migrations […]

Enabling Digital Transformation through Intelligent Automation

The term ‘Digital Transformation’ has become synonymous with large enterprise businesses and niche digital disruptors who are driving a paradigm shift within their industry group. However, organisations […]

Securing the work-from-anywhere-world

With millions of employees working remotely and increasingly using home devices to connect to the corporate network, cyberattacks have increased exponentially over the past couple of […]

Simplify and accelerate hybrid & multi-cloud deployments

End User Computing (EUC) implementations have increased dramatically over the past 18 months, however the need for rapid deployment may have resulted in misalignment with your […]

A Next-Generation Powerhouse – the PowerEdge T550

In today’s rapidly evolving business world, keeping up with the pace of change is critical for continued business success – regular server refresh is now an […]

Automation Trends for 2022

Automation is on everyone’s agenda at the moment, and this has only been amplified by the events of the past 18 months. As the impact of […]

COP26 Climate Conference: climate challenges & digital solutions

Last week the Ultima ESG (environment, social & governance) team attended the COP26 climate conference, visiting the Green Zone. It was a tense final week as […]

Has the push to public cloud made your organisation ‘unconsciously hybrid’?

Agile, scalable and flexible infrastructure is crucial in the current environment, enabling your business to respond quickly to fluctuating demand and market conditions. This requirement caused […]

Critical Vulnerability: Apache Log4j/LogJam

Ultima have been made aware of a critical vulnerability which affects Log4j and is designated a 10 on the CVS vulnerability scale, the highest that a […]

Critical Vulnerability found in Linux – Polkit Privilege Escalation (CVE-2021-4034)

We’ve been made aware of a critical vulnerability on the pkexec process that can be found in a large amount of major Linux distributions. This vulnerability has been […]

Increasing security with automated JML

Welcome to the first in a series of blogs discussing the challenges of onboarding and offboarding employees from your organisation – otherwise affectionately known as JML […]

Cloud Security: A potential management nightmare?

Talking to one my industry colleagues over a virtual beer during one of the lockdown phases, we got onto the subject of security; specifically, when you’re […]

Safer Internet Day: The rise of Software Supply Chain Attacks

Software supply chain attacks infamously made it to mainstream media back in December 2020 due to the now well-known SolarWinds attack which infected close to 18,000 […]

Breaking The Bias with Ultima’s CFO Tamsin Ashmore

It’s interesting… I hear people say – isn’t gender diversity done? Haven’t we been doing this for a while now? Isn’t the problem solved? Unfortunately – […]

The benefits of using Citrix on Azure Virtual Desktop and why you should keep both solutions

There are a whole host of workspace solutions out there for customers, but it’s well documented that Citrix and Microsoft have proved to be well-established leaders […]

How Ultima saves its customers 20% on their Azure bill

Moving to the cloud seemed to promise so much – from longer-term savings to increases in efficiency and productivity. However, we’ve found that customers who migrate […]

How IA-Connect: JML Edition Supports Your Identity Access Management Solutions

Traditional onboarding solutions such as Identity and Access Management systems help us to manage our Joiners, Movers and Leavers using policies. These rely heavily on target […]

Predictive Analytics At Your Fingertips

In today’s workforce environment, employees are widely distributed, as are their PCs. Making sure devices stay up and running is more critical and challenging than ever […]

How to reduce your carbon footprint while working from home

We have seen two growing trends in 2022 – climate change and working from home. The move to flexible home-working reveals just how much electricity an […]

Data Platform Updates and Trends from the SQL Bits Data Conference

From the 8th to the 12th of March, SQL Bits held its annual data conference.  SQL Bits is Europe’s biggest Microsoft data platform conference providing training and showcase […]

End of Life for SQL Server 2012: The countdown has begun!

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 will go end of life in July 2022, meaning there is now less than a year to migrate or update existing legacy […]

Bridging The Rising Volume of Security Breaches

Is there anything in the world more dull than Magnolia Paint…. The answer is yes, yes there is, Patching, yet it keeps many of us up […]

Is your IT service delivery future ready?

Application and cloud strategies are inextricably linked. IT organisations are modernising application portfolios to meet digital business needs. They’re also rethinking IT infrastructure to support the […]

Securing your network with Zero Trust

In today’s digital age, cyber threats are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated. Traditional perimeter-based security approaches are no longer enough to protect your network from […]

Secure, automated migration to the cloud with IA-Cloud Build

Here at Ultima Labs, we are constantly striving for innovation to help our customers get the best value and services possible, especially when it comes to […]

The importance of converging physical & cyber security for true threat protection

As the proliferation of IoT devices increases and the threat landscape becomes increasingly complex, organisations need to re-evaluate their strategies. Although cybersecurity is top of many […]

The Biggest Innovations of 2021

Ultima – Scott Dodds, CEOFor over 30 years Ultima has built its business on the constant flow of innovation from our key technology partners. These so-called […]

Ultima & JAM’s Innovation Spotlight

At Ultima we recognise that innovation is vital in the workplace which is why we have named July as our Innovation Month for our internal communications […]

Vendor news

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – September

In this issue: Microsoft 365 Copilot Phase 2 Microsoft have announced the latest feature updates and increased functionality for Microsoft 365 Copilot. Please see the full […]

Exploring Microsoft Copilot: Transforming the way we work

As businesses continue to embrace AI-driven tools, Microsoft’s latest Copilot updates are set to make waves in productivity and collaboration. At Ultima, we’re always excited to […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – July 2024

In this issue: Expanded availability for Copilot for Microsoft 365 Microsoft have once more expanded the qualifying pre-requisite plans for Copilot for Microsoft 365. The new […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – June 2024

In this Issue: Extended Support End Date: SQL Server 2014 SQL 2014 is approaching its end of extended support on July 9, 2024. There are options […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – May 2024

In this Issue: Dynamics 365 price increases Microsoft announce that there will be price increases to the Dynamics products from 1st October, 2024 affecting both cloud […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – April 2024

In this Issue: Global Licensing Changes to M365, O365 and Teams Microsoft announced Global licensing changes to M365, O365 and Teams following on from the previous […]

Kroll Awards Ultima EMEA Partner of The Year

Ultima, the AI-powered cloud, security, and digital managed service provider, has today been awarded EMEA Partner of the Year by Kroll, a leading independent provider of […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – March 2024

In this Issue: Changes to From SA Licenses The “From SA” discount from Microsoft, which facilitated the transition from on-premises software assurance to cloud subscriptions, has […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter: February 2024

Changes to From SA licences Microsoft have announced changes to the availability of From SA licences. Microsoft introduced this discounted sku in August 2014 as a […]

A Comprehensive Guide to Network Access Control and Security Policy Management

Cisco’s Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Network Access Control (NAC) are at the forefront of addressing these challenges, offering robust security solutions. This blog post will […]

Commvault Cloud – Reducing OPEX in 2024 whilst increasing Data & Backup Cyber Resilience

In 2023 we witnessed the frequent use of native services in Public Cloud with little consideration shown to third-party services that provide more advantageous features at […]

To IOT or NOT IOT management could be a problem?

As we venture deeper into the digital age, the Internet of Things (IoT) is reshaping our world. From smart homes to intelligent business operations, IoT devices […]

Microsoft CoPilot – CSP availability and significant change in qualification criteria

Microsoft first launched M365 Copilot in November 2023 with the intent to bring the power of generative AI to businesses of all sizes across every industry. […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter: January 2024

Microsoft CoPilot Microsoft has recently unveiled an exciting update in its repertoire with the renaming of Bing Chat Enterprise to the more streamlined “Co-Pilot.” This hotly […]

Maximising the Potential of Microsoft M365 Copilot: A User’s Guide

Microsoft M365 Copilot is a powerful tool designed to enhance productivity and streamline workflows. However, to truly unlock its potential, users need to have a solid […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter: October 2023

Copilot Essentials: The Business Case for Microsoft CopilotAs business leaders, none of us can ignore the change and potential power of AI to every aspect of […]

Canalys 2023: Highlights Blog

October is well underway and as Autumn approaches we once again found ourselves descending upon Barcelona for the Canalys Forums! This is an annual event during […]

Hybrid Cloud simplified, leaner and greener

Public Cloud adoption for many organisations has not been a smooth ride. Many decisions aimed at reducing complexity and cost have had the opposite effect often […]

The Critical Link Between Copilot and E5 Licenses Protecting Your Data in Today’s Corporate Landscape

Protecting Your Data in Today’s Corporate Landscape In today’s data-centric corporate landscape, safeguarding sensitive information is paramount, especially within the confines of your organisation. Picture a […]

Navigating Datacentre Storage Challenges

Organisations today need to confront the ever-expanding challenge of managing their datacentre storage efficiently. For many, the problems of capacity constraints and the looming threat of […]

Microsoft Copilot: Release Announcement

Microsoft is ushering in a new era of AI that promises to reshape our digital experiences. Last week they announced their vision for Microsoft Copilot at […]

Introducing Microsoft Tech for Social Impact

Microsoft TSI TSI, which stands for Tech for Social Impact, represents a crucial initiative in the realm of technology. At the forefront of modern business and […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter: September 2023

Microsoft Teams changes in Europe After the EU probe into Microsoft’s practice of bundling Teams with Office 365 and just four or so weeks later, Microsoft […]

Elevating Cybersecurity: Ultima’s Enhanced Partnership with Fortinet

In today’s digital landscape, robust cybersecurity is no longer a luxury but a necessity for organisations across all industries. With cyber threats becoming more sophisticated and […]

Microsoft 365 Copilot: What we know so far

Five months ago, Microsoft announced the launch of the very aptly named M365 “Copilot”, an AI-driven tool that leverages large language models (LLMs) to serve as […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter: August 2023

Register for our next Microsoft Webinar: Demystifying Microsoft Licensing – Navigating the Essentials for Business Success Join our monthly Microsoft Licensing webinar on September 13th hosted […]

Microsoft Inspire 2023 Announcements

Microsoft Inspire 2023 was held between July 17th to July 20th and these are the main updates from a Microsoft licensing, products and commercial stance. A […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter: June 2023

Register for our next Microsoft Webinar Join us in our upcoming Microsoft webinar with Ian Gerrard on July 12th at 10am – 11am to gain insights […]

Microsoft Announces Fabric – a Unified Data and Analytics Platform

Last week, Microsoft announced Fabric, their new data and analytics platform.  This is pitched as being a unified service bringing together multiple features and capabilities to […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter: May 2023

Register for our next Microsoft Webinar During our upcoming Microsoft webinar on June 14th at 11am-12pm with Ian Gerrard, you will have the opportunity to hear […]

HP’s Viewpoint on E-Waste: Why Customers Should Choose HP with Confidence

As technology continues to advance and become an integral part of our lives, electronic waste (e-waste) has become a growing concern. E-waste is the accumulation of […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter: April 2023

Return of Ultima’s Microsoft Webinar Series! There are two large market influencers for Microsoft licensing customers currently, and they are impacting most decisions being made by […]

How to deploy a multi-layered data protection and recovery solution with CommVault

Reducing cybersecurity risk and ensuring data availability through secure backup is a priority to any organisation.  NIST have defined a Security framework which guides customers in the […]

Important Pricing Changes for Citrix Customers

Citrix has announced an 8% price increase for all relevant Citrix products due to current inflation and rising costs. The price update will occur on April […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter: March 2023

InTune Suite Back in October 2022, Microsoft confirmed that InTune would become a wider suite and effectively a new ‘family’ of products. This has meant the […]

Introducing Microsoft Copilot

If, like me, you’ve been watching the rapid development of ChatGPT and wondering “what’s next”, Microsoft’s announcement of Co-Pilot last Thursday is a turning point in […]

Microsoft Monthly Webinar: Crucial Announcements and Updates

Join our virtual event 'Microsoft Monthly Webinar: Crucial Announcements and Updates with Ian Gerrard, Microsoft Licensing Consultant for the Ultima Group on Thursday 5th April 2023. There are […]

How does Ransomware impact my VMware environment?

The recent ransomware known as “VMware ESXiArgs” have been reported to be targeting out of date ESXi servers globally.  The ransomware infects virtual machines, encrypting all of […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter: February 2023

Microsoft 365 Basic Microsoft announced that the OneDrive Standalone plan became Microsoft 365 Basic on 30 January, 2023 and includes the same 100GB of cloud storage […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter: January 2023

Price Changes on 1st April 2023 Microsoft confirmed a 9% price increase to impact cloud services on 1st April 2023. Please contact us to learn more […]

Boost Collaboration and Productivity with the Latest Microsoft 365 Updates

Microsoft 365 is constantly evolving and introducing new features to help businesses and individuals stay productive and connected. In this blog post, we’ll highlight some of […]

Dell’s Q3 Profits Skyrocket Due to High Demand for Servers and Network Equipment

Dell Technologies Inc posted a 68 percent rise in quarterly operating profit last week, as demand for servers and network equipment softened the blow of weak PC […]

Ultima and Mimecast offer seven ways to protect your organisation from credential theft

Organisations must start prioritising their credential theft protection. With most data breaches now linked to stolen credentials, this common and hard to detect threat, is further […]

Cisco Launches Two New Switches

Cisco has launched two new switches; Nexus 9232E and Cisco 8111. The Nexus-branded appliance runs Cisco’s in-house network operating system, while the latter is designed for […]

New Security Features for Azure/Office 365

Security Defaults are being enabled by Microsoft for some existing customers. What does this mean for your business? In the summer of 2022, Microsoft announced the […]

Microsoft increases prices for SQL Server Licensing

Microsoft has announced that they are increasing their SQL Server Licenses by 10% from 1st January 2023. This follows the launch of the SQL Server 2022 […]

HPE GreenLake Moves from Incubation to the Heart of Everything

Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s GreenLake Cloud Services Commercial Business is being fully integrated into the core operations of the organisation. The HPE GreenLake platform continues to be […]

Key Product Updates from Microsoft Ignite Conference

This year’s Microsoft Ignite was focused on how Microsoft Cloud is helping customers do more with less.  The conference showcased the best of what’s next for […]

Mimecast’s Email Security, Cloud Integrated Solution Provides Improved Cyber Security Resilience

The challengeMicrosoft 365 cloud-delivered email has become core to more than two-thirds of the world’s email communications infrastructure. Despite native security and resilience capabilities included within […]

SQL Server Software Assurance Benefits Improvements

New changes for SQL Server High Availability and Disaster Recovery: Microsoft recently announced changes to the benefits available for organisations who purchase Software Assurance (SA) with […]

Canalys Forum, Highlights Blog

I’m going to open this blog with possibly the least original statement ever – we’re living in a time of immense change. Politics, economics, pandemics, sustainability, […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – October 2022

General Availability of Teams Phone Mobile Microsoft announce the General Availability of Teams Phone Mobile, previously known as Operator Connect Mobile, which gives users a single, […]

Microsoft Azure Trends in 2021

The world we live in is vastly different from the start of 2020, both economically and socially. The challenges of the pandemic have been felt across […]

HPE Discover 2021: The future is edge to cloud

Last month, HPE brought together thousands of business leaders and technologists from across the globe to prepare for the next wave of digital transformation, powered by […]

Ultima achieves Microsoft Advanced Specialisation in Windows Server and SQL Server Migration

Following a comprehensive audit process, we’re delighted to announce that we’ve been awarded the Microsoft Advanced Specialisation in Windows Server and SQL Server Migration (part of […]

Microsoft Announcement – Important M365 Pricing Update

On the 19th August 2021, Microsoft announced an update to their commercial pricing for Microsoft 365. This change will go into effect on 1st March 2022. […]

Critical Vulnerability: Windows (CVE-2021-40444)

We’ve been made aware of a critical vulnerability which would allow an attacker to gain control of a PC via a user visiting a compromised site […]

Improving the customer experience with Microsoft Azure & IA-Cloud

Sheffield City Trust are a not-for-profit organisation who operate sport, leisure and entertainment venues on behalf of the council, ensuring these are affordable and accessible, and […]

How does VMware NSX-T work?

An NSX-T network starts with a meshed network of dedicated appliance VMs, distributed in a redundant fashion across hypervisors in your data centre(s) and cloud-based VDCs […]

Microsoft Newsletter – October

Read below for all the latest news and updates from Microsoft this month. Important Price Increases On 1st March 2022 Microsoft is due to implement the […]

Ultima Sign Microsoft Partner Pledge

At Ultima, we recognise the impact of transformative technologies and support making a positive societal impact and we are proud to demonstrate our commitment by signing […]

Key Azure Announcements From Microsoft Ignite

At this week’s Ignite conference, Microsoft released some key Azure Infrastructure announcements and in this blog, we look at the top 10 key takeaways:  Azure Virtual […]

Citrix Service Provider (CSP) Model

Through the Citrix Service Provider (CSP) model, Ultima can help deliver a cloud-enabled workspace that’s easy to deploy, infinitely scalable with Citrix Cloud, and available with […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – December

Read below for all the latest news and updates from Microsoft this month. Microsoft Price Increases Coming March 2022Starting 1st March 2022, Microsoft are increasing the […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – January 2022

Read below for all the latest news and updates from Microsoft this month. Microsoft Price Increases Coming March 2022Starting 1st March 2022, Microsoft are increasing the […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – February 2022

Read below for all the latest news and updates from Microsoft this month. Microsoft Price Increases Coming March 2022Starting 1st March 2022, Microsoft are increasing the […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – March 2022

Read below for all the latest news and updates from Microsoft this month. Microsoft Price Changes From 1 March, 2022: • Office 365 El (up to […]

New Citrix Packaging adds value for Customers

Citrix loves a re-brand. Fact. For those of you who have been down this road one or more (long live XenApp) times before, you might be […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – May 2022

Read below for all the latest news and updates from Microsoft this month. Microsoft Defender for Business  This is Microsoft Defender specifically for organisations under 300 […]

Our Hitachi Partnership

As a business that was founded on the back of selling memory some 32 years ago now, it’s fair to say we know a thing or […]

Critical Windows Vulnerability that uses the inbuilt support tool

Ultima have been made aware about the Microsoft Zero-Day Vulnerability –   Microsoft Windows Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2022-30190)  CVE-2022-30190 – Security Update […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – September 2022

Read below for all the latest news and updates from Microsoft this month. New Microsoft Teams Licensing On 1st September 2022, Microsoft retried Teams Room Standard […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – June 2022

Read below for all the latest news and updates from Microsoft this month. New Product – VIVA Sales Microsoft are introducing Viva Sales, a new seller […]

Key Announcements From Microsoft Inspire 2022

Businesses are making great progress in becoming technologically advanced, with their focus turning to the “digital imperative”- that is, delivering integrated technology that helps them differentiate […]

5 Benefits of Choosing a Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider: Save Money and Streamline Your IT Infrastructure

As a business owner, you are always looking for ways to save money and reduce costs. One area where you may be able to save is […]

Microsoft FastTrack: Facilitating your seamless migration to the cloud

Having worked in the industry previously in a Cloud Marketing role, I recently joined Ultima as a new Cloud Success Specialist, following my desire to work in […]

Microsoft Monthly Newsletter – July

Read below for all the latest news and updates from Microsoft this month. Windows 365 is Announced Microsoft has finally unveiled Windows 365, its new PC-as-a-service […]

Ultima news

Keeping Calm and Carrying On: Your Business Continuity Cheat Sheet (because zombies are not the only threat)

Michael Minarik, Head of Business Consulting, Ultima Right, let’s be honest. When you hear “business continuity,” you probably picture a meteor strike, a rogue AI takeover, […]

Cyber Essentials Plus: Your Path to Enhanced Cybersecurity with Ultima

In December 2023 Ultima was pleased to be announced as a certifying body for the IASME Cyber Essentials scheme. This means that we are able to certify […]

Navigating Microsoft Licensing: Teams Exclusion in Cloud Suites

Hello and welcome to my Microsoft licensing blog, where I share my insights and tips on Microsoft licensing for businesses. Today I want to talk about […]

Kroll Awards Ultima EMEA Partner of The Year

Ultima, the AI-powered cloud, security, and digital managed service provider, has today been awarded EMEA Partner of the Year by Kroll, a leading independent provider of […]

“Is it AI or IA? What’s the difference?”

While artificial intelligence (AI) has become even more prevalent with the rise of large language models and computer vision capabilities, the question that is often asked […]

IA-Connect for Power Automate version 9.4 released

Hi everyone! Chris here from the Ultima Labs team. We’re pleased to announce that we’ve hit a new major release milestone with our IA-Connect product for […]

Ultima Expands Global Presence with new office in South Africa

Ultima, a new generation AI powered managed services provider across Cloud, Security and Digital Workspace has announced the establishment of a new office in South Africa. […]

Andre Prins Appointed as Country Manager for Ultima SA

Ultima, a new generation AI powered managed services provider across Cloud, Security and Digital Workspace announces the appointment of Andre Prins as Country Manager for Ultima, […]

Press Release: Ultima named as supplier on Crown Commercial Service’s TePAS 2 framework

Ultima, a recognised expert in cloud, security, digital workspace, data, and AI solutions and managed services, has been confirmed as an official supplier on all 8 […]

Defend, Detect and Respond for Free: Resiliency Techniques on a Budget

Let’s tackle the elephant in the room—money. Finances are a frequent topic of conversation, and the world of cyber security is no exception. As someone from […]

Automating the JML Process in a Remote Working World with IA-Connect

The “Joiners, Movers, and Leavers” (JML) process is an integral part of human resources and IT management in any organisation. Traditionally, the process was manual and […]

Schools Out: The Impact of Cyber Attacks on Society

Businesses are not the only Targets… Over the last 12-18 months, many sectors of society, specifically the public sector have found themselves vulnerable to significant disruption […]

Effective Outsourced IT Resourcing: Six Top Tips for Maximising Success

The ever-evolving technological landscape is posing significant challenges for UK organisations across various sectors, with the surging demand for IT talent driving an increasing reliance on […]

What are RPO’s and RTO’s?

In today’s digital landscape, businesses rely heavily on IT systems across on-premises and the cloud; ensuring a robust disaster recovery strategy is paramount.  Unforeseen events such […]

International Women’s Day 2023: Embracing Equity

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global event celebrated annually on March 8th to recognise the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day […]

Automate your JML Process to Improve Security and Minimise Human Error

By nature, human error is normal. We’re not made to perform repetitive tasks at volume. On average, it’s usual to experience 10 to 30 errors per […]

ESG Blog Series 5: Our Commitment to Good Governance

At Ultima, we believe that good ethics are the foundation of good business. Unethical behaviour can severely damage the trust stakeholders place in an organisation and […]

ESG Blog Series 4: Our Commitment to Social Sustainabaility

Alongside generations of product experience held throughout our teams, we invest in our people so that they can continue to provide the latest advice, technical support, […]

ESG Blog Series 3: Our Commitment to the Environment

Our Services We’re working with our customers to help them achieve their sustainability goals by reducing their reliance on physical services and transitioning them onto the […]

ESG Blog Series 2: Our Commitment to Sustainability

At Ultima, we see sustainability and humanity’s response to climate change as one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime. We must plan for a cleaner, […]

ESG Blog Series 1: Tamsin Ashmore Statement

As Chief Financial Officer, I see the rise of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reflecting changing attitudes that Ultima must consider. From how our actions affect […]

Good Infrastructure Maintenance Drives Down Costs

With the hybrid workforce and ‘working anywhere’ here to stay, coupled with an explosion in data growth, the daily demands upon an organisation’s infrastructure have never […]

Ultima’s Volunteering Month and partnership with Million Mile Clean

September was Ultima’s volunteering month and with that we are excited to launch a new partnership with the Million Mile Clean. Suffers Against Sewage created their […]

Ultima and Mind Charity Partnership

At Ultima we are passionate about doing our part to support the community. This year we are delighted to be supporting Mind who provide advice and support to […]

Ultima combats climate change in partnership with Ecologi

Climate change is affecting our planet dramatically with CO2 in the atmosphere reaching record levels in May 2020, hitting 417 parts per million. The last time […]

The importance of maintaining work relationships

To coincide with international friendship day, we take a look at the importance of building relationships in the workplace. People are social creatures by nature and […]

Ultima announced as finalist in the 2021 SaaS Awards!

We are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for the 2021 SaaS Awards Program for the Best SaaS Newcomer. Now in its sixth year […]

The value of supporting early in careers

At Ultima we are passionate about supporting early in careers and upskilling our workforce. Apprenticeship programmes are an important part of this, providing a learning structure […]

Ultima’s Innovation Hackathon

As part of Ultima’s Innovation Month throughout July, we were delighted to run our very first Hackathon. With innovation at the heart of our industry and […]

Ultima named as Finalists at the CRN Channel Awards 2021

We’re delighted to announce that Ultima has been named as a finalist in the ‘Cloud Services Provider of the Year’ category at the CRN Channel Awards 2021 for the second […]

Ultima Partner Pulse – August

We’re pleased to share with you the Ultima Partner Pulse, bringing together the latest updates from some of the key partners we work with. If you […]

Partner Pulse – September

We’re pleased to share with you the Ultima Partner Pulse, bringing together the latest updates from some of the key partners we work with. If you […]

International Week of Happiness at Work

International Week of Happiness at Work (23rd – 27th September) is a new initiative originating from the Netherlands, which was created to encourage employers to make […]

Partner Pulse – October

We’re pleased to share with you the Ultima Partner Pulse, bringing together the latest updates from some of the key partners we work with. If you […]

Making a Difference

At Ultima we are committed to doing our part to support the local community as well as the wider environment. To coincide with Make a Difference […]

100 Miles in October for Mind

100 Miles in October is a fundraising challenge for Mind. Participants could complete their miles however they liked – running, walking, or a bit of both! […]

Ultima Support STEM Day

Ultima are proud to be supporting STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Day on 8th November. In a industry driven by rapidly changing technology, it’s more […]

Thanksgiving with Ultima’s Women in Tech group

We have entered the holiday season with a popular annual holiday upon us—Thanksgiving. Christmas songs try to say otherwise, but it just doesn’t get better than […]

Partner Pulse – December

We’re pleased to share with you the Ultima Partner Pulse, bringing together the latest updates from some of the key partners we work with. If you […]

2021… Reasons to celebrate and be grateful

2021… The year we have left behind us. What words immediately spring to mind when we think of 2021? For me – I’ll start with celebration […]

Partner Pulse – February 2022

We’re pleased to share with you the Ultima Partner Pulse, bringing together the latest updates from some of the key partners we work with. If you […]

Gainsborough House Renovation: Sustainability & Wellbeing

At Ultima we are commitment to supporting a positive work-life balanced for our employees so, like many other companies we moved to a hybrid way of […]

International Women’s Day with #TeamUltima

Ultima are proud to be supporting International Women’s Day on 8th March 2022. Creating a diverse workforce and encouraging women in technology is instrumental in driving […]

Ultima earn Azure Virtual Desktop Advanced Specialization

We’re proud to announce that we’ve just achieved Microsoft’s Azure Virtual Desktop Advanced Specialization partner status. This Advanced Specialization requires that partners exhibit “deep knowledge, extensive […]

Ultima’s ESG HIT

Last year we were delighted to launch our High Impact Teams (HIT). These teams cover a variety of different topics and enable employees across the business […]

SQL Server 2022

Preview Feature Announcements At the recent Ignite conference, Microsoft announced some new details for the upcoming release of SQL Server 2022. In a video with Microsoft’s Bob Ward, […]

Partner Pulse – April 22

We’re pleased to share with you the Ultima Partner Pulse, bringing together the latest updates from some of the key partners we work with. If you […]

Global Business Collaboration For Better Workplace Mental Health

Now more then ever poor mental health is on the rise.   Despite some progress over the past years, there remains significant workplace stigma and bias […]

Ultima’s Charity Partnerships – Reading Samaritans & BWA

At Ultima we are passionate about supporting both the local community and those topics that are close to our employees’ hearts. This year we are delighted […]

Mental Health & Wellbeing Month with Ultima Group

This month is our wellbeing and mental health month in the Ultima Group. A theme which is so important and resonates to many of us. In […]

What Ultima has done to make Workplace Diversity and Inclusion matter

The business world is constantly talking about the importance of diversity and inclusion. But what does that actually mean? Diversity refers to the variety of people […]

Ultima acquires social engineering specialists The AntiSocial Engineer

Cloud, security and digital service provider, Ultima Business Solutions Limited, owned by Apse Capital Limited, has today acquired The AntiSocial Engineer Limited, an ethical social engineering company that helps […]

Partner Pulse – May 22

We’re pleased to share with you the Ultima Partner Pulse, bringing together the latest updates from some of the key partners we work with. If you […]

Celebrating Pride Month in the Workplace: Why Diversity helps everyone succeed

Every June, Pride Month is celebrated all around the world to celebrate LGBTQIA+ individuals and their accomplishments, (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual plus Allies). In honour […]

Partner Pulse – July 22

Microsoft Microsoft’s flagship annual event Inspire took place predominantly virtually again this year from 19th – 21st July and, as always, the updates came thick and fast! In […]

Ultima’s Charity Month Fundraising Event

On Wednesday 6th July we are holding one of our quarterly events for all employees of Ultima Group. With lots of Team Ultima being hybrid or […]

Partner Pulse – June 22

We’re pleased to share with you the Ultima Partner Pulse, bringing together the latest updates from some of the key partners we work with. If you […]

1-Year Anniversary: Ultima & Ecologi Partnership

A year ago, we were delighted to launch our partnership with Ecologi as part of our commitment to taking care of the environment through sustainable practices. […]

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