At LIMA, we are incredibly choosy about the partners we work with in the security space, and with good reason. Threats continue to grow and evolve, headline hacks are becoming more common, and it’s imperative for organisations to build a robust security strategy.  

One vendor that gets the LIMA stamp of approval is Hornetsecurity – a global expert for comprehensive Microsoft 365 protection, cloud-based email security, backup, compliance, and security awareness solutions, all delivered via a single platform.

As a result of our ever-strengthening relationship with Hornetsecurity, we are pleased to announce that we’ve achieved Hornetsecurity Gold Partner status! This milestone represents a significant step forward in our commitment to delivering top-tier cybersecurity services to our customers.

In addition to achieving Gold Partner status, LIMA was named Hornetsecurity’s Partner of the Year earlier this year.

Strengthening LIMA’s security offering

As cyber threats continue to evolve, businesses require advanced, reliable, and flexible security solutions.

Hornetsecurity’s portfolio offers powerful protection against a wide range of online threats, from spam and malware to ransomware and phishing attacks. By joining forces with Hornetsecurity, we enhance our ability to provide cutting-edge security solutions to our clients, ensuring they can operate with minimal risk in a secure environment.

What does this partnership mean for LIMA customers?

At LIMA, we’ve had great success in helping our customers – large and small businesses across a range of sectors – consolidate these important security services into a single package from a single supplier at a fantastic price point.

Becoming a Gold Partner enables us to unlock even greater resources, tools, and support from Hornetsecurity. This partnership provides us with enhanced access to training, technical support, and industry-leading products, all of which allow us to better serve our customers’ needs.

For our customers, this collaboration means an even more robust cybersecurity offering, that is built on trusted and proven technologies. Hornetsecurity’s solutions, which include cloud-based email security, web filtering and backup services, integrate seamlessly with our existing manged service portfolio, providing an all-encompassing approach to digital security.

LIMA CTO Martin Ingham said: 

“Achieving Gold Partner status is testament to our growing expertise in deploying Hornetsecurity’s solutions, and our ongoing dedication to providing our customers with the best in cybersecurity. Businesses want to protect their 365 environments and their wider infrastructure, but don’t want to deal with dozens of different service providers. LIMA and Hornetsecurity as a partnership provide a brilliant solution to this challenge.”

Irvin Shillingford, Regional Manager, Northern Europe at Hornetsecurity, added: 

“Congratulations to LIMA for achieving Gold Partner status. We are excited about the growth and development of our partnership with LIMA. Business will benefit from LIMA’s strong expertise in managing IT systems and implementing Hornetsecurity’s extensive range of next-generation, cloud-based security solutions. These include compliance, backup, and security awareness offerings, designed to support companies and organisations of all sizes globally.”

Are you feeling the sting of managing security requirements?

Contact one of our experts on 0345 345 1110 to discuss how we can help, or drop us an email: enquiries@lima.co.uk

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We are excited to announce that LIMA has achieved the status of Dell Gold Partner, marking a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to providing outstanding outcomes for our customers.

The latest development in LIMA’s partnership with Dell is testament to years of successful delivery of Dell technology across cloud, infrastructure and security projects.

What does this mean for LIMA customers?

Access to best-in-class technology

As a Gold Dell Partner, LIMA has direct access to Dell’s premium product range, including cutting-edge hardware, software and IT infrastructure solutions. This enables us to offer customers the latest tech, while ensuring optimal performance, scalability and security.

Enhanced support and expertise

With the Gold Partner status, LIMA can provide ever-more specialised and tailored strategic consultancy around Dell’s technologies. LIMA customers benefit from quicker response times, deeper technical insights and solutions that are designed to solve even the most complex business challenges.

Streamlined IT solutions for resilience and growth

Dell’s portfolio complements LIMA’s focus on resilience, optimisation, and growth. From cloud strategies to business continuity and cybersecurity, this partnership strengthens our ability to deliver integrated IT solutions that help organisations deliver on their strategic priorities.

LIMA CTO Martin Ingham commented:

“Our Gold Partnership with Dell ensures that our customers continue to get the very best in performance, security and scalability. We’re committed to building deep relationships with a broad range of technology partners to ensure that our customers have the right tools, whatever the job.”

At LIMA, our goal is to empower customers with the best tools and services to drive success. Our Dell Gold Partnership takes us one step closer to achieving that by enhancing the value we deliver and strengthening our position as a trusted IT partner.

Looking for an IT partner that help you go for gold?

Call us on 0345 345 1110 to discuss how we can help, or drop us an email to arrange a meeting: enquiries@lima.co.uk

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LIMA recently attended the Alternative Accountancy Technology Summit, where IT leaders from accountancy and audit firms got together to discuss the latest tech developments impacting the sector.

The trending topic at the event was – you guessed it – AI!

Speakers highlighted how adoption of AI in accountancy is already helping forward-thinking firms accelerate their operations and reduce internal costs. Which in turn reduces prices and increases demand for services.

Sprawling applications

Meanwhile, IT teams at many of the accountancy firms we spoke to at the event are battling with a huge number of applications for myriad different workflows and tasks. From onboarding clients, to running compliance checks to managing payroll – a typical practice uses 60 or 70 different apps within its day-to-day operations.

This app sprawl commonly includes SaaS, legacy and on-premise services. It throws up issues for IT teams around data duplication, security, credentials, permissions, training, technical complexity and cost.

Against the backdrop of this application sprawl, containing and controlling data becomes a greater challenge. With the introduction of AI tools to the mix, there is a risk that data could potentially be mishandled or inadvertently misused within AI systems, exposing your organisation to data leaks.

AI adoption

We’re not here to be the party poopers. AI is here and it’s having a massive impact in every sector. Those that refuse to adapt will be left behind. But there are ways to manage and control the use of AI in your organisation that doesn’t leave you exposed to major risk.

Here are just a few examples of how accountancy firms are adopting AI.

AI use cases in accountancy

Five ways to remain secure while adopting AI

1. Encrypt your data

Your systems process sensitive financial data. So it’s important that data is encrypted both at rest and in transit. This adds an extra layer of protection, preventing unauthorised access even if data is compromised. Using strong encryption protocols helps safeguard client information, especially in accounting.

2. Conduct regular system audits and risk assessments

AI systems should be continuously monitored to detect any potential vulnerabilities or breaches. Regular security audits and risk assessments can help identify and address weaknesses in security access, AI algorithms or integrations with other systems. By proactively assessing the risks, accountancy firms can mitigate the chances of data leaks or unauthorised access.

3. Adopt role-based access control (RBAC)

With AI systems processing vast amounts of sensitive data across multiple applications, it’s important to restrict access based on roles. Role-based access control ensures that only authorised employees can access or modify specific information. This helps prevent unauthorised viewing or manipulation of client data and ensures a clear trail of who accessed what data and when.

4. Prioritise compliance with data protection frameworks

Accountancy firms must comply with data protection regulations, and many choose to comply with frameworks like Cyber Essentials Plus to support their security and governance posture. When implementing AI, ensure the technology supports your compliance needs with these regulations, particularly in how personal and financial data is collected, stored and processed. There is great advice available from both the ICAEW and ACCA on this subject.

5. Train employees on data security best practices

Human error is often a leading cause of data breaches. It’s essential to train your staff on the importance of data security, particularly when using AI tools. Ensure they understand best practices, such as using strong passwords, recognising phishing attempts and understanding the risks and limitations of AI. Regular training can help employees be vigilant about security and reduce the risk of accidental data exposure.

Join our upcoming webinar, examining how IT teams in accountancy practices can revolutionise end user experience, strengthen security posture and help their organisations drive greater productivity and profitability.

Sign up here: WEBINAR: How are IT services driving better business outcomes for accountancy practices – LIMA – Insight-led IT services

LIMA offers a range of free assessments, including cyber resilience assessments and AI readiness assessments. We can help you on your journey to successful AI adoption.

With over 27 years’ experience supporting organisations with design and delivery of IT strategy, could LIMA be your perfect partner?

Contact the team at 0345 345 1110 or enquiries@lima.co.uk.

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LIMA teams up with UA92 to boost Linux skills

Managed IT service provider LIMA is teaming up with University Academy 92 (UA92) to deliver a 10-week Linux bootcamp for its service desk team.

The bootcamp is designed to upskill LIMA’s technical support team in Linux and cloud computing, building a wider range of tech specialisms into the provider’s managed services.

Linux powers around 96% of the world’s top 1 million web servers and over 90% of cloud infrastructure, but remains a relatively niche skillset, particularly in organisations without extensive in-house IT departments.

The investment in training through UA92 will arm LIMA with the tools to troubleshoot Linux issues for customers and offer advice to further support organisations without Linux skills in-house.

LIMA CTO Martin Ingham said: 

“Linux is often an underappreciated skill in the tech toolkit. When a customer picks up the phone with a Linux issue, we want our team to be able to provide advice and get the issue fixed first time. This investment in our people gives them valuable skills to carry forward in their career, while making our customers’ lives easier. One of our core service standards is being easy to do business with, and by having Linux skills available within our standard managed service, we’re doing just that.”

University Academy 92 (UA92) is a higher education institution co-founded by the Class of ‘92 and Lancaster University. UA92 prepares students for the world of work by offering a range of industry-led courses across the worlds of business, sport, media and digital, including apprenticeships in digital marketing, data analytics and DevOps.

Dan Havercroft, Digital Skills Trainer at UA92, commented:

“The course provides learners with essential Linux skills that are highly sought after in IT, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and DevOps. Through hands-on training, they will develop command-line expertise, manage virtual machines and work with key web technologies like containers and LAMP/LEMP stacks. These practical skills not only strengthen their technical capabilities but also foster professional growth and add value to LIMA’s customers.”

Aaron Saxton, Director of Disruptive Learning at UA92, added:

“At UA92, we’re passionate about equipping workforces with the digital skills they need to drive businesses forward. Partnering with LIMA to deliver a Linux Essentials short course is a fantastic example of how industry collaboration can drive real impact. With our deep industry expertise and hands-on approach, we’re ensuring that LIMA’s team gains valuable, practical skills that support their growth and innovation. It’s inspiring to see companies like LIMA investing in their people, and we’re proud to be part of their journey toward continuous learning and development.”

Want to work with a managed IT partner that’s easy to do business with?

Contact one of our experts on 0345 345 1110 to discuss how we can help, or drop us an email: enquiries@lima.co.uk

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At LIMA, we are incredibly choosy about the partners we work with in the security space, and with good reason. Threats continue to grow and evolve, making it ever-more critical for organisations to have a robust security strategy.

One vendor that gets the LIMA stamp of approval is Hornetsecurity – a global expert for comprehensive Microsoft 365 protection, cloud-based email security, backup, compliance, and security awareness solutions, all delivered via a single platform.

As a result of our ever-strengthening relationship with Hornetsecurity, we are pleased to announce that we’ve achieved Hornetsecurity Silver Partner status! This milestone represents a significant step forward in our commitment to delivering top-tier cybersecurity services to our customers.

Strengthening LIMA’s security offering

As cyber threats continue to evolve, businesses require advanced, reliable, and flexible security solutions.

Hornetsecurity’s portfolio offers powerful protection against a wide range of online threats, from spam and malware to ransomware and phishing attacks. By joining forces with Hornetsecurity, we enhance our ability to provide cutting-edge security solutions to our clients, ensuring they can operate with minimal risk in a secure environment.

What does this partnership mean for LIMA and its customers?

At LIMA, we’ve had great success in helping our customers – large and small businesses across a range of sectors – consolidate these important security services into a single package from a single supplier at a fantastic price point.

Becoming a Silver Partner enables us to unlock even greater resources, tools, and support from Hornetsecurity. This partnership provides us with enhanced access to training, technical support, and industry-leading products, all of which allow us to better serve our customers’ needs.

For our customers, this collaboration means an even more robust cybersecurity offering that is built on trusted and proven technologies. Hornetsecurity’s solutions, which include cloud-based email security, web filtering, and backup services, will be integrated seamlessly with our existing services, providing an all-encompassing approach to digital security.

LIMA CTO Martin Ingham said: 

“Achieving Silver Partner status is testament to our growing expertise in deploying Hornetsecurity’s solutions, and our ongoing dedication to providing our customers with the best in cybersecurity. Businesses want to protect their 365 environments and their wider infrastructure, but don’t want to deal with dozens of different service providers. LIMA and Hornetsecurity as a partnership provide a brilliant solution to this challenge.”

Irvin Shillingford, Regional Manager, Northern Europe at Hornetsecurity, added: 

“We are excited about the growth and development of our partnership with LIMA. Business will benefit from LIMA’s strong expertise in managing IT systems and implementing Hornetsecurity’s extensive range of next-generation, cloud-based security solutions. These include compliance, backup, and security awareness offerings, designed to support companies and organisations of all sizes globally.”

Are you feeling the sting of managing security requirements?

Contact one of our experts on 0345 345 1110 to discuss how we can help, or drop us an email: enquiries@lima.co.uk

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At LIMA, we place a huge importance on customer experience. It’s an area we invest heavily in to ensure our customers are happy and want to stay with us.

So, we’re incredibly proud to be recognised by our partners at Cisco with the prestigious Cisco Customer Experience Specialisation. The award underlines our commitment to delivering exceptional customer service and solutions that drive great outcomes for customers.

Achieving the specialisation is no small feat. It requires a deep understanding of Cisco products and services, as well as a proven track record of customer success. We demonstrated our credentials through a series of rigorous assessments and customer references, showcasing our ability to deliver for customers.  

The specialisation means Cisco recognises LIMA’s advanced ability in deploying and supporting Cisco solutions throughout their lifecycle. It all comes down to enhancing customer satisfaction and ensuring they achieve successful business outcomes.

What does this mean for LIMA’s customers?

With this specialisation, LIMA can offer even more value to its customers.

Benefits include:

• Enhanced Service Quality: LIMA’s Customer Success Managers (CSMs) have each undertaken specific Customer Experience training and exams to prove they have the understanding and skill to help customers achieve their goals, removing barriers and ensuring streamlined delivery.
• Increased Efficiency: With highly skilled and trained individuals supporting each stage of the lifecycle of Cisco products, LIMA reduces time-to-value, allowing clients to achieve business goals faster.
• Innovative Solutions: LIMA is now even better equipped to provide cutting-edge solutions tailored to the unique needs of each client, driving innovation and growth.

The specialisation takes us closer to achieving our aim of becoming a Cisco Gold Provider – one of just a handful in the UK.

LIMA CEO Danny Masters commented: 

“We’ve worked closely with Cisco for a number of years, using technology to deliver fantastic outcomes for our customers. As we continue to grow and develop as an organisation, it’s fantastic that Cisco have recognised LIMA with this outstanding specialisation. Thanks to the hard work of our customer-facing teams, and the most recent upskilling of our entire CSM team, we’re able to offer an even more comprehensive level of service and support to every LIMA customer.”  

Cisco Premier Partner

Cisco and LIMA are longstanding partners, and earlier in 2024 we picked up not one but three ‘Powered by Cisco’ Managed Service accreditations – which instantly upgraded LIMA’s Cisco Provider Partner status from Select to Premier.

LIMA is an end-to-end IT services provider, with 25 years’ experience of helping customers to modernise, secure and manage their technology. We offer managed services, infrastructure, cloud, security, BAAS and DRAAS, all supported by a highly qualified and accredited team.

To discuss how we can turn your MSP experience from frustrating to elevating, get in touch today on 03453451110 or email enquiries@lima.co.uk. 

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With LIMA’s announcement that highly experienced cloud and workspace specialist Craig Pickford has joined their Salford-based team, their already-impressive credentials in the healthcare and enterprise sectors are going from strength to strength….which is great news for clients and organisations looking to step up their digital transformation.

Craig, who is taking up a role as Senior Pre-Sales Architect, has delivered outstanding success for some of the biggest names in healthcare and elsewhere, with a skill set that’s built on the solid foundations of 20 years in the business – starting, in fact, at LIMA themselves, back in 2003.

Those skills span solution architecture, sales, commercial and marketing. It’s a breadth of expertise that, allied with meticulous attention to detail and the ability to develop strong, supportive partnerships with clients and their teams, has helped many organisations shape and execute their digital strategy with outstanding results.

Craig is committed to ‘creating award-winning solutions that surpass client expectations and deliver true business value’ – and that commitment, and the added value it brings, is reflected by respect and recognition across the industry. Winning VMWare EMEA Digital Transformation Story of the Year for the UK healthcare sector’s most significant and successful VDI project, for instance, and  Microsoft Partner Award nomination for a turnkey Primary Care Workspace service which played a crucial role during the pandemic, and continues to support the NHS in delivering new models of care. Craig’s unique combination of knowledge, experience and skills compliments and builds on LIMA’s proven prowess across key sectors  – and presents exciting new opportunities and possibilities for potential and existing clients as they advance their digital journeys.

If you’re interested in exploring what Craig and LIMA could deliver for you, call 03453451110 or email enquiries@lima.co.uk.  

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LIMA’s dedication to delivering outstanding service, product and support has been recognised yet again, with not one but three ‘Powered by Cisco’ Managed Service accreditations – which has instantly upgraded LIMA’s Cisco Provider Partner status from Select to Premier.

It’s a flying start to the New Year and a testament to all the hard work our teams have put into driving our service offering to new heights over the last 12 months.  A demanding in-depth audit by Cisco closely examined our technical competency, customer experience, service reporting and operational procedures…and LIMA came out brilliantly across the board.  

Remarkably – and almost unheard of in our sector – these three new accreditations were awarded with absolutely no improvement recommendations, non-conformances, or issues as conditions. Straight ‘A’s on all counts! 

Martin Ingham, Chief Technical Officer at LIMA said: 

“This rubber stamps what we have been hearing from our customers over the last 12 months – we are a credible and skilled services business which delivers for our customers.” 

Cisco Meraki – a flexible cloud platform for evolving business demands 

CISCO Meraki is a cloud network platform which adapts to the customer’s evolving IT needs – enabling them to work flexibly and respond rapidly and with agility to changes and growth in their business environment. Our new accreditations as a Cisco Meraki provider cover three key areas: 

• Cisco Powered Meraki SD-WAN – delivering automated, hybrid WAN services with a cloud-based, multitenant solution. 

• Cisco Powered Meraki Security – providing customers with powerful security using Meraki cloud. 

• Cisco Powered Meraki Access – delivering a managed LAN and/or WLAN service to connect users and devices 

Enabling customers to work smarter and achieve more 

There are some keywords there which define both the way we work at LIMA ourselves, and the way we enable customers to work: flexibility, agility and responsive.  They don’t just apply to our technologies but also to the way we approach customer service, as reflected in the fact our team were able to evidence such outstanding performance levels during the Cisco audit. Those are qualities that make such a difference with LIMA. 

We’re committed to a programme of constant improvement, and we’re excited about what our new status means in terms of providing extra support and services to our customers. But we’re not resting on our laurels. Far from it – we’re aiming to achieve Cisco Gold Provider Status this year: the very highest level, much sought after and rarely achieved in our sector.  

In the meantime, our new Premier status will see us rolling out some invaluable new services and support in SD-WAN, security and network access. Watch this space for details over the coming months – and if you’d like to discuss how our Cisco Meraki from LIMA can help you and your business please get in touch today at 03453451110 or email enquiries@lima.co.uk.  

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The post Free Cyber Assessments appeared first on Lima.

Key points:

• LIMA to front VMware’s latest zero trust security solutions at Infosecurity
• VMware launches new network and security virtualisation and cloud DR recovery platforms
• Personalised cyber assessments offer business leaders journey to zero-trust IT estates
• Infosecurity runs from 20^th June at Excel, London

LIMA has been selected to showcase VMware’s zero-trust security solutions at Europe’s largest cyber security conference, Infosecurity.

“We are delighted to showcase our market-leading software-defined stack alongside LIMA at InfoSec 2023. VMware to this day remain a disruptive, engineering-led software company. With NSX Security as the focal point of an expansive and growing Networking and Security portfolio, we aspire to continue to push boundaries, innovate, and most importantly, keep our customers secure.

LIMA and VMware have a long-standing and highly successful relationship. It makes the world of difference for us, and our customers when we are working in lockstep with trustworthy, dependable, and highly skilled partners such as LIMA,” commented Scott McKinnon, Field CISO, VMware.

Central to LIMA’s consultative approach is insight-led assessments, which enable organisations to better understand how to improve their security posture. We encourage businesses to take the assessments in advance, or visit stand L50, to discuss their security challenges with technical experts from both VMware and LIMA.

“We are thrilled to partner with VMware for this prestigious event. It’s a great testament to LIMA’s capabilities and credentials as a security-focused MSP, with services spanning cyber, cloud services and modern workplace,” says Danny Masters, CEO, LIMA.

At the show, LIMA will be offering cyber assessments and delivering demonstrations of VMware’s Gartner-acclaimed advanced security (NSX) and Ransomware Recovery as a Service (RRaaS) platforms.

LIMA/VMware will be available at stand L50 between the 20^th and 22nd of June, at ExCel, London.

Why LIMA?

We are the strategic IT partner for the most ambitious organisations, we deliver insight-led IT services that focus on delivering tangible business outcomes whilst overcoming Business and IT challenges at the same time focusing on Resilience, Growth and Optimisation. LIMA.co.uk

About VMware

VMware is a leading provider of multi-cloud services for all apps, enabling digital innovation with enterprise control.

At the heart of everything we do lies the responsibility and the opportunity to build a sustainable, equitable and more secure future for all.​  VMware.com

For more information, please contact: enquiries@lima.co.uk

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