A Midlands-based firm of accountants has invested over £60,000 in upgrading its IT infrastructure - to combat cyber threats and protect client data.
Howards Chartered Certified Accountants, which employs almost 40 people at its office in Stafford, has installed a site-wide 'secure and connected solution' as part of efforts to defend against the most aggressive cyber threats and ensure sensitive data remains confidential.
The installation - which was carried out by Uttoxeter-based Infinity IT Solutions - was completed in stages over four months.
Matt Bailey, managing director at Howards, said: “The Ƶ is now the most targeted nation for cyber-attacks and as a professional services firm handling payroll, pension and taxation and dealing with mergers and acquisitions as well as litigation matters, we hold a lot of sensitive data.
"We have always made client confidentiality our priority, but with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) coming into force in May last year, data privacy was taken to an entirely new level. We have embraced this change and are using it to fuel strategic advancement in our business.”
Matt added that the upgrade means all Howards' staff use the same technology - with the latest updates - on a system that is faster, smarter and accessible from anywhere, providing quicker and more accurate information than ever before.
Simon McAlpine, sales and marketing director of Infinity IT solutions, added: "We’d been working with Howards for around four years and had already installed network and server upgrades as well as bringing them to a fully outsourced IT service provision with 24/7 coverage and faster response times.
"Early this year, we completed the major upgrade to the private cloud solution. The team now have immediate and responsive access to their workspace from any device anywhere, with total security.”
