In the Thick of IT

In our brand promotion video, we share our excitement about launching Concia in the UK and the unique approach we're building. As a team, we discuss how we’re innovating to deliver secure, scalable IT solutions while maintaining deep client trust and sector relevance. Our focus isn't just on technology but on outcomes that empower organisations like the NHS and universities to achieve their goals. We’re passionate about being more than providers—becoming trusted partners who ensure smooth operations and lasting impact. With a foundation of expertise and a global network, we’re driving progress, transforming industries, and creating new possibilities for clients and employees alike.

Conscia's Wayne Martin and Laura Powell are joined by Tim Ormrod, owner and director of Splash Access, to talk through the ongoing challenges that universities face when providing simple, secure, effective student Wi-Fi. Topics discussed include the complexities of coverage in halls of residence, effectively managing the increasing number of student devices running on university networks, and ensuring that the student onboarding experience is as smooth and simple as they’re used to at home. We also look at how modern network design can enable smart campus technologies that – alongside providing great student Wi-Fi – can also enable additional capabilities that can offset or supplement a tight networking budget.

In this episode, Elena, our Collaboration Practice Lead, is joined Jason Newbury-Smith and Joe Pratten to explore how healthcare clinicians are regularly tasked with engaging in patient conversions on some of the most serious and challenging topics, multiple times a day. Our latest podcast focuses on healthcare call centres, and discusses how Cisco Contact Center can be used to track staff welfare in real time, helping to ensure that both staff members and patients get the support and care they need, when they need it.

In this episode, Elena, our Collaboration Practice Lead, is joined by representatives from Portsmouth University to explore the university clearing process. They discuss the challenges Portsmouth faced during clearing, how proper planning has helped them navigate these hurdles year after year, and the role technology and the right partnerships play in creating a smooth and efficient clearing experience. Whether you're part of a university team or simply curious about how clearing works, this episode offers valuable insights and practical solutions.

Investments in smart building technologies are increasingly being seen as a way to find energy savings within public sector organisations, while continuing to drive critical sustainability goals. With the majority of energy use within businesses stemming from the use of air conditioning, heating, and lighting, automating these services through smart building technologies can deliver substantial savings to an organisation - helping with the initial investment in the technology and beyond. We discuss both the quick, easy wins an organisation can expect to see from investment, as well as the longer term ability to analyse energy consumption and identify further potential savings based on building occupancy and utilisation.

As organisations continue to develop and expand their digital operations, the amount of services and licences that need to be managed and utilised is also steadily increasing. Whether due to a lack of time, resource, or a combination of the two, we’ve identified that many organisations are struggling to optimise their Microsoft licensing to best enhance their organisational security. To help our clients achieve the best possible security posture, Conscia has developed a new Microsoft 365 Security Maturity Assessment solution, which includes a robust evaluation of up to 170 different controls within a variety of Microsoft portals.

Zero Trust is becoming a core pillar of cyber security for many organisations – and with good reason. We break down the concept into its simplest parts, and step through exactly how it differs from the more traditional approaches that came before it. We’ll review how its adoption in the public sector has helped protect critical systems and data, as well as how it can help insulate organisations from risks such as those posed by third-party suppliers and endpoint devices. We take a high-level view of how to get started with Zero Trust, before ending on the potential user impacts that implementation can have, and how to mitigate any suboptimal user experiences.

With traditional preventative methods increasingly being bypassed by modern threats, we take a look at how Managed Detection & Response can take a proactive approach to reducing your cyber risk. We’ll examine the decisions that need to be made when choosing between these approaches, and discuss how important response times are in a world where organisations typically measure responses in weeks and months, while bad actors work on a timescale of hours. With organisations themselves only identifying roughly one in three breaches, can MDR effectively plug this detection hole? Our security experts will cover exactly how MDR is placed to solve these challenges, and provide advice on how it can support an organisation’s compliance obligations.

In this episode, we delve into the evolving landscape of public sector security, particularly regarding the protection of critical infrastructure. We'll unpack the three key challenges in Sec ops and discuss the significant impacts of skills shortages, offering realistic solutions for organisations. We also explore the risks around visibility across the estate, breach response preparation, offset options for smaller public sector organisations, and advice for protecting end point devices amidst remote working. Lastly, we'll provide tips on leveraging existing infrastructure.National Cyber Security Centre: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/incident-management/cyber-incident-response-processes