Akamai Technologies has revealed that DDoS attacks greater than 100 Gbps (Gigabits per second) have increased by 138% on a Global scale over the past year. For those of you who are unaware of what a DDoS attack is, it is the process in which a website is flooded with traffic from different sources in order to deny users access and to make the targeted website unavailable. When the site becomes overwhelmed by this traffic it goes down for a period of time. There are different types of DDoS attacks which include: Traffic Attacks which stop legitimate traffic reaching a site Attacks on bandwidth which result in a loss of network bandwidth Application attacks which render the targeted systems services unavailable The explanation above describes an intentional attack on a system. However there are also unintentional denials of service which can be caused by a surge in traffic caused by the boost in popularity of a website. For example if tickets have gone on sale for a particular artist, what sometimes happens is the website will freeze, crash or suddenly have a 404 error message stating to come back later. This will have the same impact as a DDoS attack. The following things can indicate a DDoS attack: A notably slow network performance Inaccessibility to a certain website A disconnection of wired internet connection (or wireless). An unusual increase in spam emails which is known as an “e-mail bomb” How to defend against DDoS attacks: Preventive measures of DDoS attacks normally require a combination of traffic analysis, attack detection and response tools and the aim of these are to identify whether traffic is legal or illegal and to only allow the legal traffic to pass through. Fortunately enough there are plenty of these: Firewalls: A firewall can have rules added to it to block traffic which is deemed malicious. The traffic is identified through the ports or IP address they are coming from. However in the case of more elaborate attacks using these rules does not completely block all the incoming traffic sent during the attack and attempting to do this on a larger scale could possibly prevent authentic traffic from reaching your server. Blackholing and Sinkholing: This method misleads malicious traffic into revealing their host names and IP addresses. This information can be redirected to an analysing machine which can identify and reject bad packets and detect attack patterns made through these IPs or host names. Application front end hardware: This hardware is positioned on the network before oncoming traffic reaches the server. The hardware evaluates the data packets as they enter the system and then classifies them as valid, invalid or malicious. There are plenty of tools, hardware and software which can help aid you in preventing and reducing the affects of a DDoS attack but it is becoming more and more important that you can identify the symptoms of a DDoS attack. If you need help with this process or would like some advice on which hardware or software will help you, get in contact with us on +44 (0) 800 319 6032 or email us at info@northernstar.co.uk.
Office 365 Enterprise E3 Licence
Microsoft offer several different licencing plans for their products and services. We’re going to focus on Office Enterprise E3, a licence similar to Enterprise E1- both of which come with Exchange online, SharePoint, instant message with Skype and Outlook on both desktop and web browser. Enterprise E3 however, has the following advanced capabilities: Self-service Business Intelligence to discover, analyse and visualise data in Excel and Compliance Solutions to support archiving, auditing and eDiscovery. The licence also comes with the added bonus of having the option to choose between either the entire Office 2016 suite or the entire Office 2013 suite when installing Office onto your device. And with this licence you can install this version of Office across 5 PCs or Macs, 5 tablets and 5 phones. When downloading Office onto your desktop you should follow these steps: Step 1: Log onto your Office 365 homepage. Click on the Settings symbol situated in the top right hand corner. The menu will drop down and you click Office 365 as shown in the image above by the red arrow. Step 2: In account settings click on Install Status (which allows you to view all devices which have office installed, covered by the E3 Licence). In the sub section that appears, click Install desktop applications as indicated by the red arrow in the image above. Step 3: Click Install N.B. Before clicking Install, if you select the option to ‘review system requirements’, you should get redirected to a page which recommends the version of Office to install on your device for maximum functionality. Step 4: Once Office has download and you follow the instructions in the pop up above you should have Office (2013 or 2016) installed in no time! If you have any trouble during this process or would like to know anymore information feel free to get in contact with one of our engineers for advice.
Top Features of PowerPivot for Excel
PowerPivot is a Microsoft Excel add-in which can be used to incorporate Business Intelligence (BI) into an excel environment. Data is imported into PowerPivot as tables and these tables are shown as separate sheets in the PowerPivot window, similar to worksheets in an Excel workbook. PowerPivot provides significantly different functionality from what is available in an Excel worksheet. You can create calculated columns and measures using formulas, build PivotTables and PivotCharts, and perform advanced data analysis. Microsoft have updated the features for PowerPivot in your Office 365 subscription, these updates include: Save relationship diagram view as a picture In Excel 2016, the data model diagram view can be saved as a high resolution image- once the data model diagram is saved in this format it can then be used for printing or analyses of the data model. To do this, in the PowerPivot add-in, click File and then select Save View as Picture. Enhanced Edit Relationship dialog With PowerPivot, users can manually add or edit a table relationship while simultaneously looking at a sample of the data (which can have up to five rows of data in a selected table). By doing this you can create faster and more accurate relationships without needing to go back and forth to the data view every time you want to edit a table relationship. Multi-core processor and extensive support of data sources. You can use the multi-core processor and gigabytes of memory for fast processing of calculations and to process millions of rows of data in the time it would normally take to do thousands. With really efficient compression algorithms you can also load large data sets into memory. Moreover, PowerPivot allows you to import and combine source data from any location for extensive data analysis on the desktop- including but not limited to cloud services, Excel files and data feeds. Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) DAX is a new formula language that extends the data manipulation capabilities of Excel to enable more sophisticated and complex grouping, calculation, and analysis. The syntax of DAX formulas is very similar to that of Excel formulas. You can now work with large data sets and perform advanced analytics in Excel. Security and Management PowerPivot’s Management Dashboard enables IT administrators to monitor and manage your shared applications to ensure security, high availability, and performance. These are just a few of the cool features Microsoft have incorporated into this add-in. Microsoft have offered various tutorials for PowerPivot and have also provided instructions on how to install the add-in and explore more of the features in full.
Setting up Office 365 Mail on Android
Last week we walked you through setting up Office 365 mail on iOS- now we’re going to do the same for those of you who use Android products. Unfortunately for you, this process may be slightly longer if you cannot set it up the easy way. On the bright side by the end of all this you will be able to catch those emails from your boss asking for those pesky TPS reports. Now onto setting up Office 365 mail on Android: As we explained in our previous post the quickest and easiest way to do this is to download the Outlook Mobile App on Google Play: >Open up the app, after the introduction, enter your email address. The app will search and verify what type of account the email is associated with before it will ask for a password. When it finds the email provider for your account, enter your password (you may need to enter your email address again), and you’re all set. If this doesn’t work for you here’s the more complex method: 1. Tap Settings> Accounts > Add account > Email. 2. Type your full email address, for example tony@contoso.com, type your password, and then tap Next. 3. Select the Exchange 4. Depending how the Office 365 administrator in your organisation set up your account, you might receive a message about additional security features. Select OK to continue. 5. Once the device verifies the server settings, the Account Options page opens. Accept the defaults or select the options for how you want to receive and send your mail, and then tap Next. (You may need to scroll down to see Next.) 6. On the Set up email page you can change the name of your account. When you’re finished tap Done. If you synced your calendar and contacts in step 5 you can go to those apps on your phone to view any items that might be there. If you synced tasks as well, you should see them in the calendar app on your device. It might take a few minutes for everything to sync. If your device can’t connect make sure you typed your email address and password correctly and try again. If you still can’t connect try setting it up manually following the steps below. Manual set up 1. Tap Settings> Accounts > Add account > Email. 2. Type your full email address, for example tony@contoso.com, type your password, and then tap Next. 3. Select Manual. 4. Review the settings on the Exchange server settings page and update if necessary. 5. Make sure of the following: Email- Make sure your full email address is in this box, for example, tony@contoso.com. Domain\Username- Type your full email address in this box, for example, tony@contoso.com. If Domain and Username are separate text boxes in your version of Android, leave the Domain box empty, and type your full email address in the Username Password- Use the password that you use to access your account. Exchange Server The server name for Office 365 for business is outlook.office365.com. Make sure the Use secure connections (SSL) box is checked. 6. Tap Done. 7. Depending how the Office 365 administrator in your organization set up your account, you might receive a message about additional security features. Select OK or Activate to continue. 8. Accept the defaults or make changes for how you want your account to sync on your device. When you’re finished, swipe to the bottom and tap Next. 9. On the Set up email page you can change the name of your account. When you’re finished tap Done. As mentioned above, if you synced your calendar and contacts in step 7 you can go to those apps on your phone to view any items that might be there. If you synced tasks as well, you should see them in the calendar app on your device. It might take a few minutes for everything to sync. A few things to watch out for: Similarly to setting up Office 365 mail on iOS If you’re unable to set up email on your device try the following. Double-check your username and password are typed correctly. Even one small typo will prevent your account from connecting. If you added incoming and outgoing server settings, double-check you typed the names correctly. If you’re not sure of the server settings for your email, contact your email provider. Try accessing your email from another computer or device to make sure it’s working okay. If it’s not working on the other device, contact your email provider or your email administrator. If your device stops syncing, try removing the sync partnership. For work or school account using Office 365 for business, and some Exchange-based or Outlook.com accounts, see Fix email sync issues or remove a device from your Outlook on the web mailbox. If you’re setting up an Outlook.com account and you have two-step verification turned on, see the section I sync my Outlook.com email on an Android phone in App passwords and two-step verification. And if you have any other issues, don’t hesitate to get in contact with one of our engineers either by telephone or email.
Setting up Office 365 Mail on iOS
Setting up Office 365 Mail on your iPhone or iPad should be straightforward, but it is worth doing it properly. Your email is not just where messages arrive. It is where meeting invites, client updates, shared files, password resets, approval requests and day-to-day business decisions often begin. If your Microsoft 365 account is not set up correctly on iOS, you may find that emails do not sync, calendars are missing, contacts do not appear, or your device keeps asking you to sign in again. For business users, that can quickly become frustrating. This guide explains how to set up Office 365 Mail on iOS using the built-in Apple Mail app, what to check before you start, and what to do if something does not work as expected. If your business needs wider support with Microsoft 365, user accounts or mobile device access, Northern Star’s Cloud Services / Office 365 support can help keep your systems running smoothly. Before you start Before adding your Office 365 Mail account to your iPhone or iPad, make sure you have a few details ready. You will usually need: Your full Microsoft 365 email address Your account password Access to your multi-factor authentication method, such as the Microsoft Authenticator app A working internet connection Your device passcode, if your organisation requires device security Permission from your IT team, if your account is managed by your employer It is also sensible to check that your iPhone or iPad is running a supported version of iOS. Older devices may still work, but they can create avoidable problems with security, app compatibility and modern sign-in methods. If your business has multiple users on mixed devices, Northern Star’s Hardware and Software support can help you keep devices and applications better managed. Option 1: Set up Office 365 Mail using the Apple Mail app The built-in Apple Mail app is a popular choice because it works neatly with the iPhone and iPad. It can also sync your mail, calendar, contacts and reminders, depending on your account settings. To add your Office 365 account: Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad. Scroll down and tap Apps. Tap Mail. Tap Mail Accounts. Tap Add Account. Choose Microsoft Exchange. Enter your Microsoft 365 email address. Add a description, such as “Work Email” or your company name. Tap Next. Choose Sign In when asked. Enter your Microsoft 365 password. Complete any multi-factor authentication prompt. Choose what you want to sync, such as Mail, Contacts, Calendars and Reminders. Tap Save. Once saved, open the Mail app and allow a few moments for your mailbox to begin syncing. If you have a large mailbox, it may take longer for older emails and folders to appear. Option 2: Use the Microsoft Outlook app Some businesses prefer users to access Office 365 Mail through the Microsoft Outlook app rather than the native Apple Mail app. This can be useful if your organisation wants a more consistent Microsoft 365 experience across email, calendar, Teams meetings and shared mailboxes. To set it up: Open the App Store. Search for Microsoft Outlook. Download and open the app. Tap Add Account. Enter your Microsoft 365 email address. Follow the sign-in steps. Complete multi-factor authentication if prompted. Allow notifications if you want email alerts. The Outlook app is often a good option if you use shared mailboxes, Microsoft Teams meetings, focused inbox, or company-managed security policies. If your team needs help deciding how Microsoft 365 should be configured across devices, Northern Star’s IT Consulting service can help you make those choices in a practical way. Which app should you use? There is no single answer for every business. Apple Mail is simple, familiar and built into iOS. Outlook is more closely aligned with Microsoft 365 and can give users a more consistent experience across desktop and mobile. For a small team, Apple Mail may be perfectly suitable. For a larger business, Outlook may make more sense because it can sit more neatly alongside Microsoft 365 policies, shared mailboxes and security settings. The important thing is consistency. If different users are setting up accounts in different ways, your IT team may find it harder to support issues when they happen. This is where a managed approach to IT Support and Management can save time, reduce confusion and keep users productive. Check your sync settings After your account has been added, check what is syncing to your device. In iOS, go to: Settings > Apps > Mail > Mail Accounts Then tap your Office 365 or Exchange account. You should be able to see which services are enabled, such as Mail, Contacts and Calendars. If your emails are appearing but your calendar is missing, check that Calendars is switched on. If your contacts are not showing, check that Contacts is enabled. Small settings like this can make a big difference to how usable your mobile email setup feels. You may also want to check how many days of mail are being synced. Some users only need recent emails on their device, while others may need a longer history. If you work with large attachments or travel frequently, this setting can affect storage and performance. Common Office 365 Mail setup problems on iOS Most setup problems are caused by sign-in, security or account policy issues rather than the phone itself. Common issues include: The password has recently changed Multi-factor authentication has not been completed The device is not compliant with company security rules The account is locked The wrong account type has been selected The mailbox has not been licensed correctly Older iOS software is causing compatibility problems The user has no mobile access permission If your iPhone keeps asking for a password, do not keep trying the same details repeatedly. This can lock the account and create more work. Instead, confirm that the password is correct, complete any authentication prompt, and check whether your organisation has changed sign-in or security policies. If several users are affected at the same time, the issue may sit with Microsoft 365 configuration, conditional access,
How To Protect Yourself From Malvertising
Malvertising is an abbreviated term for ‘Malicious Advertising’, through this hacker’s use online advertising to spread malware. Cryptolocker Malvertising is extremely effective and is on the rise and large popular sites such as msn.com, nytimes.com, bbc.com and aol.com, are being used to deliver these ad served malware to countless machines. The malware is able to access the advertisements through vulnerabilities in software such as Adobe Flash. This method eliminates the need to coerce you into downloading the malicious content because the attack forces your computer to do this involuntarily. Ad Blockers are the most utilised defence against malvertising but we’re going to discuss a few other tips on how to counteract these attacks: Up-to-date software: The second biggest defence against malvertising after ad blockers is having the most up-to-date software. As we mentioned above, the exploiter kits’ aim is to find flaws in software (JavaScript, Adobe etc.) installed on your system in order to spread the malware. Therefore making sure that all of your software has the latest security patches and having the most up-to-date operating system can improve the security of your system and decrease the chances of malware finding an access point onto your system. Back up data regularly: Constantly backing up your data stops you from spending tedious amounts of time recreating your corrupted files. To prevent your backup from being corrupted, you should always have an external backup solution, this way if malicious software is downloaded onto your system you can restore your files after your computer is cleaned. Click-to-Play: If you set your browser settings to ‘Click-to-Play’- when you visit a website containing a Flash object it won’t automatically run until you choose to click it. Most malvertising campaigns use this method so doing this should protect you from most attacks, relying on security patches alone won’t do the trick as nothing is full proof. Besides that, you can disable or uninstall plug-ins that you don’t use to limit your attack surface. Antivirus Solution: Having the most recent version of an advanced antivirus solution can aid you in recognising exploit kits and stop most malware from installing on your system. Some antivirus’ can also remove malware that may have bypassed its primary defence. Also, running regular scans of your computer to catch malware is a good procedure to prevent it from spreading. Flag Malicious Content: Setting your browser to flag malicious content on a web page can inform you of when you’re at risk of downloading malware. For example, Google Chrome can detect phishing and malware: In the top right, click the Chrome menu . Click Settings > Show advanced settings. Under “Privacy”, tick the box “Protect you and your device from dangerous sites. Create Multiple User Accounts: You could create multiple computer user accounts, with different privileges, on each computer. Give one account administrative rights to install and modify software, and use it only for those purposes. For Web browsing and other online activities, use limited accounts that can’t install software; Doing this can help prevent malware from getting installed on your computer and making system-wide changes. Malvertising has become a somewhat more sophisticated method of spreading malware and the overall problem with malicious ads is not just the ads themselves but the vulnerability of the software on your system. So even though ad blockers are the most ardent defence against malvertising attacks, using these other methods in conjunction with them could markedly reduce your chances of becoming a victim to said attack.
5 Things you should know about Office 365 Planner
Office 365 Planner is a planning application produced by Microsoft. This visual approach to organising allows you to create plans, assign tasks, share files and receive updates. Although Office 365 Planner is only available to those on the first release program, those using Office 365 Business Essentials and Office 365 Business premium (plus a few others) should be eligible to use the product when it is publicly released. We’re going to examine elements of Office 365 Planner which make it an ace tool. INTEGRATION Integrating Office 365 Planner with other 365 services is what separates it from other project management tools. It integrates with services such as Office 365 Groups and SharePoint. A new Office 365 Group is automatically set up when a new plan is produced. Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents can be attached to cards and will automatically be saved to SharePoint Online. You can then edit documents offline and apply compliance and security policies etc. OneNote is also incorporated into Office 365 Planner – a new Notebook is generated for each plan you create. This means that team members can easily share and record ideas with each other. BOARDS Microsoft are really emphasising the visual aspect of their product. Each plan you create has its own ‘board’ and within each board, each task is manifested into a card which can include deadlines, conversations, attachments and categories associated with it. So that you can identify a card straight away, each card can automatically have a rich image preview once pictures or documents are attached to it. BUCKETS Buckets are customisable containers in which cards are organised into, you can place as many cards as you like into a buckets and these can be ordered and tagged with coloured labels. You can also have as many buckets as you want within a plan as well. THE HUB The hub component in Office 365 Planner lets you track the overall progress of all of your plans and the ‘My tasks’ element lets you filter down to see just what you need to do across every plan. CHARTS VIEW The Charts feature includes, an array of interactive charts designed to show people’s progress against deadlines. The red section on the charts show which part of a plan are behind time. The Board can then be used to rebalance work across the team. A simple glimpse of the charts view will tell you all you need to know about how tasks are progressing- so everyone can remain on the same page. Office 365 Planner is a highly versatile gadget, its expansive tool belt will give project management tools such as Trello and Basecamp a run for their money. Office 365 Planner is not intended to be heavy-duty like Microsoft Project, which is still the ideal tool to use for large or complex projects. But it is designed to be a powerful organisational tool and once all of the tweaks have been made after customer feedback has been given- the functionality of this tool could become quite impressive.
Microsoft Edge VS Google Chrome: Battle of the Browser
Google Chrome is the most used internet browser worldwide- it is fast, reliable and secure, not to mention it comes with tons of features and add ons. This doesn’t mean that no one can conquer against Chrome. In fact Microsoft Edge has been launched to go head to head with the dominant browser. We’re going to compare some components of these internet browsers which make them popular choices. ROUND ONE: Speed Chrome is faster at rendering loading pages than Edge and surpassed it in many other benchmarking tests. But Edge still held its own, coming in narrowly behind Chrome. Victor: Google Chrome still holds the title for the speediest web browser with Edge creeping up behind- although it can be said that Edge will slow down once Microsoft comes out with extensions for it. ROUND TWO: Bandwidth Consumption Chrome is known for using a lot of RAM- this is said to establish more secure browsing with reduced amounts of crashes affecting user experiences. Moreover, once multiple extensions are added the amount of RAM consumed increases noticeably. Unexpectedly, Edge can consume enough memory to exceed Chrome’s 64-bit version. Victor: Surprisingly, Google Chrome wins this round as it consumes around only half the memory that Edge does when the same tabs are opened. ROUND THREE: Features Chrome’s evolution, rich content and regularly updated features allow it to stay current. Plugins, extensions and various web apps increase the browsers functionality which is why it’s so widely used. There are a copious amount more of Chrome features that put and keep this browser on top. Edge comes with some unique and cool features such as its integration with Cortana, the option to doodle straight onto a web page and reading mode. Victor: Google Chrome is a veteran, its feature rich browser keeps it considerably ahead of Edge. Although Edge lacks a few features right now- its next upgrade could bring it closer to being on par with Chrome. ROUND FOUR: User Experience Chrome’s fast browser times and minimalist user interface make it a user favourite. The interface is simplistic with the address/search bar along with the back, forward and refresh options along the top and the bookmarks bar which reveals several more options. Microsoft seem to be getting the hint. Unlike the cluttered Internet Explorer, Edge features a streamlined addressed/search bar similar to that of Chrome’s and has a modern looking web experience that puts its prehistoric predecessor to shame. The incorporation of Cortana into the browser also enhances the user’s experience. Victor: Microsoft Edge’s neoteric design and responsive user interface pushes Chrome off the top spot for browser with the best user experience. Reading view, Cortana and hub are just a few of the features that make this browser interesting. ROUND FIVE: Compatibility Chrome supports; Android, Windows, OS x, iOS and Chrome OS whereas as Edge only supports Windows 10 and Windows 10 mobile. Victor: Google Chrome is the winner here: supporting almost all operating systems, allows Chrome to sync data across multiple devices. ROUND SIX: Security Google Chrome is a secure browser. Chrome uses software such as Safe Browsing, sandboxing and auto-updates to help protect you against phishing and malware attacks. Despite having a less than stellar reputation for creating secure internet browsers, Microsoft has pushed through and made Edge a very secure web browser. Edge features ‘protected mode’ which is Microsoft’s variation of sandboxing. There’s also SmartScreen, which executes a check on dubious websites to block them from downloading malicious content to your device. Victor: Microsoft Edge is the winner here, as it comes with an array of new high quality security features. ROUND SEVEN: Web Standards Google Chrome will invariably be up-to-speed with the most recent web standards as Google is a co-chair of W3C Web Performance Working group. Despite Chrome having an advantage, Edge has been built to support modern web standards but not enough to surpass Chrome in performance tests. Victor: Google Chrome wins here and it’s no shock to us, considering Edge is just a baby- it will take a while before it can compete with Google Chrome on the web standards front. By all means these results do not suggest that Chrome cannot be outperformed. Microsoft Edge is a worthy adversary of Google Chrome but it has not developed enough to dethrone Chrome but that’s not a big deal for Microsoft as Edge is still an infant- so Google should definitely watch their back! For the meantime Google Chrome is still the King of web browsers!
8 Valuable SharePoint Pointers
SharePoint can do far more than store files. When it is set up properly, it can help your team find documents faster, reduce email clutter, manage projects more clearly and keep better control over your company data. The problem is that many businesses only use the basics. You create a few folders, upload documents and hope everyone knows where things go. That works for a while, but as your team grows, it becomes messy very quickly. With more UK teams working across offices, homes and different locations, this matters. The Office for National Statistics reported that 28% of working adults in Great Britain hybrid worked between January and March 2025. That means your document system needs to work wherever your people are. If you already use Microsoft 365, SharePoint can become one of the most useful tools in your business. It just needs a bit of structure. Northern Star’s cloud services and Office 365 support can help you get more value from the platform without making it overcomplicated. 1. Set up alerts so you do not have to keep checking manually SharePoint alerts are simple, but they can save a lot of time. You can set alerts for a document, folder or library so you know when something changes. This is useful when you are waiting for a contract update, a project document, a proposal or a policy change. Instead of asking “Has anyone updated this yet?” you can let SharePoint tell you. It also helps stop people working from old information. In a busy business, that alone can prevent awkward mistakes. 2. Use calendars to bring important dates together If your team has separate calendars for projects, meetings, deadlines and internal tasks, it is easy for things to get missed. SharePoint calendars can help you bring key dates into one place. You can use them for staff rotas, project milestones, planned maintenance, training sessions or client deadlines. This works especially well when paired with wider IT support and management because your systems, users and processes can be set up in a more joined-up way. The aim is not to create another calendar that nobody checks. The aim is to make useful information easier to see. 3. Create project dashboards for quicker visibility A SharePoint project dashboard can help your team see what is happening without digging through folders and emails. You might include project documents, task lists, deadlines, risks, useful links and contact details. This gives everyone a clearer view of progress. It also makes it easier to repeat successful projects because the structure is already there. For example, if you run the same type of client onboarding process each month, a dashboard can stop your team rebuilding the process from scratch every time. If you are not sure how SharePoint should fit into your wider systems, IT consulting can help you plan the structure before you build it. 4. Use search properly, not just folders Folders are familiar, but they are not always the best way to find information. SharePoint search can look at document titles, content and metadata. That means your team can search by client name, project type, department, date, document owner or other useful labels. The better your metadata, the better your search results. This is where many businesses go wrong. They move files into SharePoint but keep the same messy filing habits. If you are moving from older systems, IT migration services can help you plan the move properly rather than simply shifting clutter into the cloud. 5. Turn on version history so mistakes are easier to fix Version history is one of SharePoint’s most useful features. It lets you see previous versions of a document, check who made changes and restore an older version if needed. This is much better than saving documents as “final”, “final version 2” and “final final approved”. We have all seen that happen. Version history also helps when several people are working on the same document. Instead of worrying that someone has overwritten important content, you can check the history and roll back if required. Think about the cost of wasted admin time. If 20 staff each lose just 30 minutes a week trying to find or fix documents, at £20 per hour that is around £10,400 a year in lost time. Good document control is not just tidy. It can save real money. 6. Use SharePoint pages for updates instead of unnecessary meetings Not every update needs a meeting. Sometimes your team simply needs one place to read the latest information. A SharePoint news page or internal update area can be used for announcements, process changes, project notes, HR updates or IT guidance. This can reduce long email chains and help staff find information later. It also supports hybrid teams. People can catch up when they are available instead of relying on being in the same room at the same time. If users need better devices, software or licences to work effectively with SharePoint, hardware and software support can help make sure the tools match how your team actually works. 7. Control permissions carefully SharePoint gives you useful control over who can view, edit, upload or manage documents. This matters because not everyone needs access to everything. You might want one team to read a policy, another team to edit it and only managers to approve changes. You might allow staff to upload their own documents but not edit other people’s files. This is not about making work difficult. It is about reducing avoidable risk. The latest UK Government Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026 reported that 43% of businesses identified a cyber breach or attack, with phishing experienced by 38% of businesses. Permissions, access control and user awareness all matter more than ever. SharePoint should sit inside a wider protection plan that may include security services, anti phishing support and dark web monitoring where exposed credentials are a concern. 8. Use SharePoint lists to manage structured information SharePoint lists are useful when you need to manage information that would otherwise sit in spreadsheets. You can use them for assets, contacts, issues,
Northern Star Support Arrives in New York
This week is a very special milestone in Northern Star’s incredible 19 year history and we’re ecstatic to finally be able to share some exciting news with everyone: As of 1st February 2016 Northern Star has a fully operational support and technical office, based in Manhattan NYC. Our website for the USA is www.northernstar.nyc, so feel free to take a look or get in touch. This expansion was driven by requests from several of our customers for Northern Star to provide IT support for their offices in New York and other East Coast states. Not only are we now able to support them directly in this time zone with a skilled team of local engineers, but we also have seamlessly integrated the support desk so that you can deal with the support team as a single entity, using a single system on a single phone number. What does this mean for you? Aside from noticing a few different accents when you call in, you will be able to get help much later in the UK and much earlier in the US. But most importantly, you now have a dedicated resource in New York to help you set up your team without a hitch, while integrating seamlessly with the UK, using the team you trust, at a great price. So if you are one of our existing customers and are thinking of branching out to New York, or you already have a team out there, but feel they aren’t fully looked after, give your account manager a call and we would be more than happy to schedule a free-of-charge call with one of our senior consultants. This will help you save money, save time and help both sides of the pond feel like a single unit. If you wish to connect with Northern Star either in London or New York. Contact our Account Managers by email (support@northernstar.co.uk / support@northernstar.co.uk) or by telephone (+44 (0) 800 319 6032 / +1 800 274 9047).
