LIMA Elevate 2026 brought together IT leaders and LIMA partners including Microsoft and security specialists CYSIAM for a day of insights and honest conversation about AI adoption.

Here are the six things that stood out.

1. Most businesses are still in experimentation mode

Less than 5% of UK mid-market businesses are truly “frontier” firms, with widespread AI adoption. Most have tried things, seen some results, but haven’t made it past the pilot stage. That’s simply where most companies are right now. The important thing is understanding why, and what it takes to move forward.

2. The foundations matter more than the tools

This came up from every speaker independently. If your data is messy, your processes aren’t documented, or your security posture isn’t solid, an AI project will struggle regardless of which tools you choose. Getting the basics right isn’t the exciting part, but it’s the part that determines whether this works.

3. This is a business transformation, not an IT project

Perhaps the clearest message of the day. AI adoption affects your people, your processes and your customers. It needs executive buy-in, HR involvement, and clear communication with staff about what’s changing. Businesses that treat it as purely a technology decision tend to find that the technology never gets properly adopted.

4. The threat landscape is evolving fast

Dave Allen from CYSIAM made the case that attackers are already using AI to make phishing more convincing, automate reconnaissance, and move faster through compromised networks. Supply chain remains the most overlooked risk. The software vendor, the outsourced contractor, the cheap piece of hardware bought outside of IT. Becoming more digital and becoming more secure need to happen together.

5. Start with the problem, not the tool

The businesses getting the most from AI right now started by identifying areas of friction in their operations. It might be processes that take too long, the tasks that happen on repeat or handovers that regularly break down. They then asked whether AI could help. The ones struggling tend to have done it the other way around.

6. The workforce question doesn’t have a neat answer yet

One of the big talking points of the day was about talent development and pipeline. If AI takes on first-line work, where does the next generation of experienced people come from – whether that’s in an MSP or in a law firm?

Every panellist acknowledged this as a real concern. Nobody had a complete answer. It’s worth thinking about how your organisation will approach it now, rather than later.

Want to continue the conversation?

If you were at LIMA Elevate 2026 and want to pick up where we left off – or if you missed it and want to talk about the next steps on your AI adoption journey – we’d love to hear from you.

Learn more about LIMA’s Agentic AI workshop offer.

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

The Cyber Essentials criteria are reviewed every year. IASME and the NCSC take on board feedback from assessors, learnings from breach investigations and findings from their own audit programme, and update the requirements accordingly. Most years the changes are relatively minor. The 2026 update is different.

The five core controls haven’t changed. But the marking criteria, scope rules, assessment process and several supporting requirements all have.

Some of the changes carry real consequences if you’re not prepared. They apply to all assessment accounts created after 27th April 2026.

Here’s what you need to know.

MFA on cloud services is now an auto-fail requirement

Multi-factor authentication for cloud service accounts has moved from a recommendation to a hard requirement. From April 2026, if MFA is available on any cloud service in scope and you haven’t enabled it, your assessment fails automatically.

This applies to all users and all cloud services, regardless of whether MFA is a free feature or requires a paid add-on. If it’s available, it’s required. No exceptions.

Two patch management questions are now auto-fail

Patch management has always been at the heart of Cyber Essentials. But two specific questions are now set to auto-fail status:

• Are all high-risk or critical security updates and vulnerability fixes for operating systems, router and firewall firmware installed within 14 days of release?
• Are all high-risk or critical security updates and vulnerability fixes for applications (including associated files and extensions) installed within 14 days of release?

Previously, failing these questions meant a failed assessment that could be remediated and resubmitted. As of April 2026, failing either question triggers an immediate automatic failure and resets the assessment clock entirely.

This is the kind of pressure that makes the case for a managed approach to vulnerability remediation – ensuring patches are automatically applied for you within CE+ timelines as a matter of course, rather than scrambling to meet them.

“Point in time” now means the date your certificate is issued

Cyber Essentials has always been described as a point-in-time assessment, but what that point means in practice has been open to interpretation. The point in time is now formally defined as the date the certificate is issued, not the date you complete or submit your questionnaire.

This means every device and system in scope must be fully supported and compliant on the day your certificate comes through. If something becomes unsupported between submission and issue, your certification may not hold. An important change for anyone whose assessment process spans several weeks.

Closing the selective patching loophole

Recent audits uncovered a pattern of organisations applying updates only to the specific devices included in the CE+ test sample, rather than rolling them out across their entire in-scope environment. Technically they passed the assessment. In practice, vulnerabilities remained.

The assessment process for update management has been tightened as a result. If an organisation fails the initial test of a random device sample, they can remediate and request a retest – but the retest will pull a new random sample from the wider environment.

A second failure results in revocation of the verified self-assessment certificate.

You can no longer adjust your self-assessment once the audit begins

From April 2026, organisations will not be permitted to go back and amend their verified self-assessment responses based on what the CE+ audit reveals. The self-assessment must be completed, finalised and locked before testing commences.

Previously there was some flexibility here. Now your self-assessment needs to accurately reflect your actual environment before the audit starts, not be adjusted afterwards to align with the results.

It’s a change that rewards organisations who approach Cyber Essentials as an ongoing standard rather than something to be tidied up when an audit is imminent.

The director’s declaration now covers ongoing compliance

The declaration signed by a director or board member as part of the verified self-assessment has been updated. It now includes an explicit acknowledgment that the organisation is responsible for maintaining Cyber Essentials compliance throughout the certification period, not just on the day of assessment.

In one sense this formalises what has always been best practice. Cyber Essentials certification shouldn’t be a once-a-year exercise that gets forgotten about the moment the certificate lands. It should reflect a continuous, maintained security posture. The updated declaration makes that expectation official.

What this means for your organisation

If you’re already Cyber Essentials certified, these changes apply to your next renewal if your assessment account is created after 27th April 2026. If you’re working towards certification for the first time, they apply now.

The direction of travel is clear: Cyber Essentials is moving towards a model where continuous compliance matters as much as the annual assessment. Organisations that treat it as a point-in-time, tick-box exercise are going to find the requirements increasingly difficult to meet.

Need support with Cyber Essentials compliance?

If you’d like to talk through what these changes mean for your security approach, or if you want to understand how LIMA’s Vulnerability Detection and Remediation service can help you meet Cyber Essentials patching requirements automatically, get in touch with the team.

Learn more about VDR

Read our latest blog about vulnerability management

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

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2026 Global Cybersecurity Outlook, 64% of organisations consider geopolitically motivated attacks a top consideration in their cyber risk strategy.

This volatile environment has become a breeding ground for:

• Supercharged ransomware attacks
• Sophisticated social engineering attacks executed quickly and at scale
• Disrupted supply chains
• Greater exploitation of software vulnerabilities

IBM’s 2025 Cost of a Data Breach study revealed that the average detection and containment of a data breach takes 241 days, with 50% of breaches caused by malicious activities and 23% by IT failure. Phishing and supply chain compromises are among the most vulnerable vectors, highlighting the need for organisations to tighten up both their data-sharing and vulnerability management efforts.

Between December 2024 and January 2026 alone, LIMA’s Vulnerability Detection and Remediation (VDR) revealed and remediated 11.7 million vulnerabilities in customer environments. The vast number of vulnerabilities identified emphasises both the scale of the challenge and the necessity of a strong solution to the problem.

Compromised supply chains because of worsening cyber inequity are a growing cause for concern in 2026. Interconnected organisations are exposed to an onslaught of vulnerabilities when there is a disparity between those with robust cybersecurity resources, and those without.

Cyber inequity highlights two major challenges in the 2026 cyber security landscape:

1. A need for greater collaboration across organisations, supply chains and even nations
2. The call for a level playing field for small-medium sized businesses (SMBs), whose IT teams are struggling against a swelling tide of vulnerabilities while continuing to manage day-to-day IT requirements

The pressure is on for internal IT teams to do more, with less time and fewer resources.

What are the top cyber security threats in 2026?

According to DeepStrike, by mid-2025 a jaw-dropping 21,500 vulnerabilities and exposures had been reported; an increase of 16-18% vs. 2024. But why are there so many vulnerabilities open to exploitation, now?

Let’s dive into the top three cyber security threats fueling this increasingly complex environment:

1. AI vs AI – The 2026 cyber security arms race

AI tooling has been integrated with what we might describe as reckless abandon, leaving technology and processes unchecked. Attackers are using AI to scout out and exploit the ample vulnerabilities, faster than IT teams can patch them.

2. More devices, more problems – The IoT threat to cyber security

We have more internet connected devices than ever. From phones and tablets to watches and headphones, we are all interconnected by a vast infrastructure of gadgets that lack adequate security protection and are vulnerable to attack. When compromised devices are connected to corporate networks without IT authorisation, it quickly becomes a problem for the entire business.  

3. You’re only as strong as your weakest link – Securing your supply chain

Just as the breaching of one IoT device puts all interconnected devices at risk, the same is true for the supply chain. Smaller businesses, with IT teams that are underfunded and under-resourced, become easy targets for attackers with their eyes on a bigger prize.    

Meeting Cyber Essentials Plus requirements

The challenges facing this already precarious ecosystem are compounded for organisations that lack the in-house cybersecurity expertise, or whose IT teams are already overburdened by endless patching to meet regulatory standards such as Cyber Essentials Plus.

This is an all-too-familiar tale for many IT teams whose responsibilities have evolved and expanded well beyond the team’s original remit and skill set, without the investment in both people and technology to support the changing requirements.

It’s simply not sustainable. The IT team needs investment in the right support, now.

The hidden risk inside your network: initial access and privilege escalation

Most organisations focus their security investment on keeping attackers out. Firewalls, endpoint protection, SOC services, MFA – all essential tools for defending the perimeter. But perimeter defences alone are not enough.

Once an attacker gets inside your network – whether through a compromised account, a phishing link, or a purchased credential – the question is no longer, where did they get it? But how much damage they can do once they’re there? That’s where unpatched software vulnerabilities become even more dangerous.

Known software vulnerabilities don’t just provide a route in, they provide a route through. A vulnerability in a browser, an application, or a network component can give an attacker the foothold they need to move laterally across your systems. Jumping from one asset to another, the attacker escalates their privileges, gaining access to sensitive data, financial systems or critical infrastructure that would otherwise be out of reach.

The stats back this up. 74% of data breaches involve the abuse of privileged credentials, and 46.6% of incidents now involve some form of privilege escalation.

A real-world example: a vulnerability in a widely-used browser could give an attacker an initial foothold on a standard user’s device. Low risk in isolation. But with the right unpatched vulnerabilities in place, that same attacker can move laterally across the network, reach higher-value systems and escalate their access, turning a minor breach into a major incident.

This is what LIMA’s VDR service is specifically designed to address. By continuously identifying and remediating known vulnerabilities across your entire environment, VDR takes away opportunities for attackers to move, escalate and cause maximum damage if they to get through, or bypass, your outer defences.

Do I need a strategic IT partner?

When it comes to detecting and remediating vulnerabilities, SMBs need their IT function to behave just as effectively as their enterprise counterparts if the interconnected ecosystem is to survive. We have to eliminate cyber inequity by seeking out partnerships that level the playing field, creating secure environments regardless of the size of a business’s IT team.

Steve Cook, Infrastructure and Security Manager at Broadacres said: “The current security landscape is terrifying. It’s constantly evolving and it’s getting much worse. Threat actors are using AI tools to make it even harder for us.

“There has been a rise in targeted attacks against social housing providers, and an uptick in ransomware attempts to exploit vulnerabilities in housing management systems.”

For Broadacres, handling vulnerability management alongside its ongoing digital transformation efforts had become too much and it was time to work with a dedicated, strategic IT partner.

Richard Peck, IT Manager for APEM Group said: “VDR gives awareness of the importance of security to the Executive Team, and all the way down through the business. In the first month, VDR discovered and remediated many vulnerabilities.

“We’ve grown globally, so quickly, so it was important for us to use a service that tackles these challenges and issues as they arise. We’re in a position, utilising LIMA, that we can remedy the risks before they impact the business, which helps the IT team and the board to sleep at night!”

Expect better and do more, with LIMA

Vulnerability Detection and Remediation is an end-to-end solution covering the entire IT environment across 500+ technologies. Our team of experienced security experts review every aspect, from your software and third-party applications to networks and applications, so that we can provide continuous, in-depth monitoring and reveal hidden vulnerabilities.

Between December 2024 and January 2026, LIMA’s VDR revealed and remediated 11.7 million vulnerabilities in customer environments. While many of the remediations utilise automated tooling, the most critical vulnerabilities need the hands-on, eyes-on expertise of our engineers who intervene to manually patch and resolve the issue.

VDR doesn’t just reduce the risk of an attacker getting in. It reduces the damage they can cause if they do. By closing the vulnerabilities that attackers use to move laterally and escalate privileges, VDR shrinks your attack surface from the inside, complementing your existing perimeter defences and SOC capabilities with a layer of protection that many organisations are missing.

With comprehensive coverage across your internal and external facing technologies, and SLAs aligned with Cyber Essentials Plus, you can trust LIMA to resolve the vulnerabilities and keep your business secure.

Talk to a LIMA about VDR at enquiries@lima.co.uk, or sign up for your free VDR Proof of Value today.

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

The Alternative Events summits are among our favourite in the tech calendar.

The format is part conference, part group therapy, part social occasion. The calibre of the people in the room is consistently high, the conversations are honest, and the energy is infectious. AccTech2026 was no different.

LIMA was there again, this time with a rather competitive game of whack-a-vulnerability, and a simple question on the banner: does your MSP empower you to innovate, grow and stay secure? Across two days of keynotes, roundtables and corridor conversations, that question felt more relevant than ever.

1. AI is raising the stakes for data quality

The keynote talks we watched set an ambitious vision: AI that can query entire audit datasets in natural language, surface insights that would previously have taken days, and democratise access to data right across the business. It’s a compelling picture. But it only works if your data is in good shape.

That’s a real challenge for lots of practices. Many are still managing fragmented data across 60 or 70 different applications – SaaS, legacy, on-premise – with all the duplication, inconsistency and governance headaches that come with it. AI doesn’t fix that problem, it makes it worse. Garbage in, garbage out has never been truer than when a confident AI is presenting your garbage as insight.

Getting your data environment sorted is essential to make everything else possible.

2. The firms pulling ahead have their foundations in order

The conversations we had on the stand, and the ones happening across the room, kept coming back to the same theme.

The accountancy practices that are growing, innovating, and adapting fastest aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets or the most advanced tools.

They’re the ones with the right foundations: a stable, secure platform; clean, well-managed data; and people who know how to use the technology in front of them.

That’s where a good MSP is worth its weight in gold. Not simply reacting to problems, but providing the proactive support that lets a practice focus on what it’s there to do.

3. Efficiency vs effectiveness

One of the sharpest points from the keynote was the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness. AI that helps you do the same things faster is useful. The real goal is AI that changes what’s possible, freeing your best people from routine work so they can focus on driving value for clients.

The firms that are furthest along on the journey are the ones stopping to ask: how do we want to deliver services in three years’ time? What does our workforce look like? What are we building towards?

That kind of strategic thinking requires a technology partner, not just a technology supplier. Someone who helps you plan, not just someone who keeps the lights on.

4. Cyber resilience needs to keep pace

Accountancy practices handle some of the most sensitive financial data in existence. That makes them a target. And as the attack surface expands; with more applications, more integrations and more users accessing systems remotely; the challenge of keeping that data secure gets harder.

Our whack-a-vulnerability game was a light-hearted way into a serious conversation. Every mole that pops up is a known vulnerability sitting unpatched in your environment, an open door that a malicious actor could walk through. LIMA’s Vulnerability Detection and Remediation service identifies and closes those doors continuously, so your team isn’t spending evenings and weekends managing patch cycles manually.

“LIMA’s managed vulnerability remediation service is a game changer.”

Ethan Cameron, IT Operations Manager at BKL, said it better than we could.

5. Leading change in accountancy IT

Another of the key talking points from Alternative Accountancy: the IT leaders making the biggest difference at their firms are helping their organisations navigate real transformation – making the case for investment, guiding AI adoption, managing risk, and building the kind of technology culture that attracts and retains good people.

That’s a big job. And it’s one that’s a lot harder if your managed service partner is firefighting, rather than genuinely supporting your roadmap.

The question on our banner wasn’t rhetorical: does your MSP empower you to innovate and evolve, accelerate growth, maximise productivity, and strengthen cyber resilience?

Want to continue the conversation?

If you were at AccTech2026 and want to pick up where we left off – or if you missed it and want to talk about what great managed IT services looks like for your practice – we’d love to hear from you.

Find out more about how LIMA helps accountancy practices.

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

Among the most significant changes is the explosion of data. Today, firms hold vast amounts of information, but without the right strategy and tools, that data remains an untapped resource.

Your data should power intelligent decision-making, driving better outcomes for clients and employees. But having lots of data is meaningless without a clear strategy to standardise, analyse and secure it.

Start with the ‘Why’

Before embarking on a data strategy, firms must ask:

• Why do we want to use data?
• What outcomes are we aiming for?

Once the purpose is clear, the next step is understanding:

• What data you have
• Where it resides
• How it’s used
• Who accesses it
• How governance and compliance are managed

Taking time to map your data landscape is critical before stitching together your technology architecture and building a strong data culture.

Unifying data for smarter decisions

Increasingly, firms are turning to platforms like Microsoft Fabric to consolidate data from multiple applications and present a unified view. This enables data-led decision-making and unlocks insights that were previously hidden in silos.

Analytics tools within Fabric transform raw data into actionable intelligence. For small and medium-sized law firms, this means identifying what’s profitable, what’s inefficient, and how to better serve clients.

Laying the groundwork for AI

Your data strategy is the foundation for successful AI adoption. AI tools are only as effective as the quality of the data they analyse. Without clean, well-structured data, even the most advanced AI solutions will fall short.

Driving AI adoption in the legal sector

AI promises huge benefits, but there’s still a gap between expectation and reality in legal services. Tools like Microsoft Copilot can boost productivity and creativity across the Microsoft 365 suite, but effective deployment requires preparation.

To maximise ROI, firms must:

• Ensure data readiness
• Engage stakeholders early
• Roll out AI tolls with a clear adoption plan

At LIMA, we’ve developed an AI Adoption Framework based on our own journey. It includes assessments, a methodology for identifying use cases and strategies to drive engagement across your workforce.

Ready to take the next step?

Discover how LIMA can help your firm build a robust data strategy and prepare for AI adoption.

Explore our AI Adoption Framework

LIMA specialises in delivering IT services to legal organisations, helping them put technology and security at the centre of their business strategy.  

Read LIMA’s new whitepaper, outlining our full blueprint for driving greater efficiency in legal organisations: Whitepaper: The law firm of the future – LIMA – Insight-led IT services

Contact the team at0345 345 1110 or enquiries@lima.co.uk

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.

LIMA’s recent Elevate event welcomed more than 20 IT professionals to the National Football Museum for a day of discovery and discussion on AI, Copilot and Power Platform.

Our Head of Product, Ollie Potts, unpacked lessons from our own journey to Copilot, and our partners at Westcoast Cloud demonstrated some of the latest Copilot functionality, including how Copilot now integrates with elements of Power Platform.

If you missed out on the day, or you want a recap, we’ve pulled together five big takeaways from the event.

1. AI is already here, and 75% of people are already using AI at work

Perhaps the important point to note from these stats is that 78% of people already using AI at work are bringing their own tools to the table, rather than using systems managed and secured by their IT team.

Using an unmanaged AI product like Chat GPT within a business can pose risks. Without proper oversight, these systems could expose your business to data leaks, and generate inaccurate or inappropriate content, leading to potential reputational damage or legal issues.

Unmanaged AI may also not integrate seamlessly with existing business processes and tools, resulting in inefficiency and disruption.

It’s a safe bet that your end users are already using AI, so it’s important for your organisation to make a proactive decision about how and where they want their employees to use AI. By providing the guardrails of a managed system, aligned to approved documentation and information within your business, you can deliver an AI assistant that’s reliable, secure, and integrated with the approved tools you want your end-users to work with.

2. Preparedness is critical

When beginning your Copilot (or any AI) activation, laying the groundwork in advance is critical.

There is a lot to think about, and a lot of work to be done, but the ROI is potentially huge.

Here are some of the steps you need to take ahead of activation, if you’re considering Copilot:

1. Establish use cases and goals
2. Conduct a thorough risk assessment and establish mitigation measures
3. Review existing licensing arrangements
4. Review your existing M365 configuration
5. Review your existing data and folder structure
6. Appoint a team to support the wider rollout > it’s not just an IT effort

At LIMA, we’ve been through this exact process ourselves and have developed a Copilot Activation Assessment based on our learnings with Copilot, and our vast experience at deploying new software and hardware solutions. You can benefit from our experience today, with a free Copilot Activation Assessment.

Register your interest for a free Copilot Activation Assessment from LIMA

3. The features of Copilot are astounding, and they’re only getting better

Imagine having a complex report, showing it to Copilot, and asking it to pull out the important insights into an email or one pager ready to edit and share onwards. Copilot does it.

Imagine missing a Teams call and asking Copilot to summarise the elements of the discussion that you need to know about. For example, “renewing your MSP’s contract”. Copilot does it.

Imagine telling Copilot exactly what you want to do with some data in Excel, and Copilot not only creates the formula and pulls the data into the relevant columns, but also creates pivot tables and provides visualised insights from within the data.

Imagine creating a sales proposal for a new customer based on the data and templates you already have in your organisation, bringing in all of the context and experience your business has within its document library and systems. Copilot does it.

4. Power Apps is being underused by the SMB market

At LIMA we are incredibly excited about the opportunities Copilot offers to supercharge your organisation’s efficiency, but there is groundwork and internal education required to deliver Copilot securely.

Your organisation generates huge amounts of content and data, which Copilot could make much more valuable. But with great power comes great responsibility, and without proper management in the age of AI, this data can suddenly be opened up to loss or misuse.

Incorrect setup or configuration of AI systems can lead to data being improperly stored or transmitted, increasing the risk of data loss. What’s more, AI systems that continuously learn and update their models could overwrite existing data, leading to loss of historical data if not properly backed up.

Here are some important questions to start thinking about before you hand over the Copilot keys to enthusiastic employees!

5. Feedback from early adopters has been excellent!

Of Copilot early adopters surveyed, 75% said the service made them more productive, and 68% said it improved the quality of their work. Some users are already saving more than 10 hours a month, and on average users said it made them 30% faster at writing documents and creating presentations.

Is your organisation prepared to realise the opportunity of AI?

Copilot is Microsoft’s AI-powered assistant, designed to transform the way we work.

It helps users navigate complex tasks, streamline workflows, and enhance overall productivity. By integrating seamlessly with Microsoft 365, Copilot brings a new level of intelligence to familiar tools like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and Outlook.

With the right approach, you and your team will soon be automating routine tasks and receiving intelligent suggestions that make you more efficient and creative.

But first it’s important to lay the groundwork ahead of Copilot activation, and a recent admin change made by Microsoft could be a bump in your road to AI adoption before you’ve even begun!

Recent admin changes to Copilot

Microsoft recently made changes it to its Microsoft 365 service allowing end users to purchase the Copilot service (self-serve) on an individual user basis. This self-serve setting is now enabled by default, so unless you’ve turned it off users can now enable Copilot within your organisation’s 365 platform.

LIMA experts recommend that admins disable self-serve purchasing immediately. We’ve already made this recommendation to all of our customers directly, as a responsible Managed Service Provider.

Without proper management, users could inadvertently open up data privacy and security issues by connecting Copilot to your organisation’s entire 365 environment without sufficient safeguards in place.

How to disable self-serve in your 365 environment

Your Global Administrator can use the Microsoft 365 admin centre to manage self-service purchases and trials for users in your organisation.

1. In the Microsoft 365 admin centre, go to the Settings > Org settings page.
2. On the Services tab of the Org settings page, select Self-service trials and purchases.
3. The Self-service trials and purchases page lists the products that are eligible for self-service, and shows their current self-service setting.
4. To manage the settings for a specific product, select the product name. A panel opens and shows the current setting for the product you selected.
5. To change the setting for the product, select Allow, Allow for trials only, or Do not allow.
6. Select Save changes.

What are the risks of enabling Copilot without doing the groundwork?

At LIMA we are incredibly excited about the opportunities Copilot offers to supercharge your organisation’s efficiency, but there is groundwork and internal education required to deliver Copilot securely.

Your organisation generates huge amounts of content and data, which Copilot could make much more valuable. But with great power comes great responsibility, and without proper management in the age of AI, this data can suddenly be opened up to loss or misuse.

Incorrect setup or configuration of AI systems can lead to data being improperly stored or transmitted, increasing the risk of data loss. What’s more, AI systems that continuously learn and update their models could overwrite existing data, leading to loss of historical data if not properly backed up.

Here are some important questions to start thinking about before you hand over the Copilot keys to enthusiastic employees!

1. Data Management

Is your existing data and documentation well labelled and organised so that only relevant, approved documents appear as results in Copilot?

Have you reviewed what data is in scope for Copilot? Have you removed or anonymised confidential or sensitive information?

How do you control and review security permissions for data within SharePoint? Do you have role-based access across all documents?  

What are your data loss prevention policies?

2. Organisational Readiness

What is your business strategy for Copilot? Who in the organisation will use it and what for?

Have you got the policies in place internally to ensure the safe consumption of Copilot by your end users?

Have you considered what training you might put in place to ensure your users are using Copilot safely, while maximising its benefits?

Have you got the skills in house to securely manage Copilot? Research from Kaspersky shows that four-in-ten cybersecurity teams are understaffed, and recruitment lead times are long, with just 6% of vacant senior security roles filled within three months of advertisement. If you don’t have the skills or resources in house, consider working with a partner who can protect and manage your environment for you, giving you peace of mind.  

3. Monitoring

Have you got a plan in place for monitoring the use of Copilot in your organisation? Having robust monitoring can help you to land Copilot effectively and securely.

Performance tracking: Performance monitoring helps you track how well Copilot is performing. This includes response times, accuracy, and user satisfaction. By keeping an eye on these metrics, you can ensure Copilot is meeting your organisation’s expectations and identify areas for improvement.

Issue detection: Early detection of issues such as bugs, errors, or unexpected behaviour is vital. Monitoring allows you to catch these problems quickly, minimising downtime and ensuring a smooth user experience.

Security: Security monitoring helps in identifying any potential security threats or breaches. By looking out for unusual activity, you can protect sensitive data and maintain the integrity of your systems.

Compliance: Many industries have strict compliance requirements. Monitoring ensures that your use of Copilot adheres to these regulations, helping you avoid legal issues and maintain trust with your stakeholders.

Resource management: Effective monitoring helps you to manage resources efficiently. You can track usage patterns and allocate resources where they are needed most, optimising performance and cost-effectiveness.

Need help getting your organisation AI ready?

Join us in Manchester on Thursday 14^th November for Elevate. At this FREE event, experts from LIMA and Microsoft partner Westcoast will unpack Copilot and its benefits, and the team from LIMA will share lessons from our own AI adoption journey.

Find out more and register

How it may affect you and how to address the challenges it presents

The Forbes IT Skills Gap Report 2023 shines a spotlight on tech skills in the UK workforce. It reveals an urgent and growing need among businesses for tech expertise, but shows that for a variety of reasons there is currently a shortfall in meeting it. A notable 35% of businesses say competition in the jobs market is a major challenge. The scarcity of skilled candidates and the number of opportunities in these sectors make recruitment and retention of staff a demanding task.
(Forbes IT Skills Gap Report, 2023). 

Tech staff are in high demand, with 93% of UK businesses saying there is an IT skills gap. Recruitment is becoming more and more difficult, and high paying sectors are pulling skilled staff away from other businesses. In this blog, we look at how this skills gap may affect you, how can you bridge it – and how you can ensure that you’re getting the best security for, and business value from, your IT systems, team and services.

The background

The Forbes report highlights some of the key aspects of the skills gap challenge: why it’s occurring, and which specific areas it impacts the most:

• Many aspects of technology, from artificial intelligence (AI) to data analytics and cloud computing, are rapidly evolving, contributing to the challenge.

• While AI is by far the most in-demand skill for businesses, it is closely followed by two other valuable technology skills: IT support and troubleshooting and cyber security. 

• The growing threat of cybercrime and the constant need for IT support means that professionals equipped with these skills are likely to find themselves in high demand among employers.

These findings reflect a growing concern for many businesses and organisations. Holding on to your IT staff, let alone recruiting the right new people, is a major priority. And that means there are several additional factors to consider:

• What are the key skills of your current team – and are they fully optimising those skills for best value to your business? What do you want them to be focussing on?

• What skills and solutions is your business lacking – and how can you fill that gap?

• Do you have the necessary skills and capacity to address the growing problem of cybercrime vulnerability detection and remediation – and to ensure that your IT systems are not just robust and secure, but also fully compliant with regulatory requirements?

• Is filling the skills gap best done in-house,  do you outsource specialist skills – or operate on a hybrid model?

As the Forbes report reminds us, recruiting the right IT people is a costly exercise in today’s environment. Time-consuming too.  So it’s essential that you optimise the value of your IT team, and enable them to focus on your main priorities.

For many organisations, their key targets are operational: to ensure that their IT systems deliver what the business wants and needs, to make the most of their digital investment, and also – where appropriate – to embrace emerging technologies like AI and Cloud, in order to enhance those systems and grow the business. IT staff are likely to have been recruited with general and specific skill sets to fulfil these functions, as opposed to being specialists in, for instance, IT security or troubleshooting.

Let’s now look at the implications in two areas Forbes has identified as being substantial – indeed, business-critical challenges….

1. Cyber-security and compliance

When it comes to cyber security and the growing threat of cyber-crime and attacks, a range of specialist skills, knowledge and capabilities are required which most in-house IT teams are highly unlikely to have. Here’s a telling truth to underline the importance of that:

In 2023, 90% of successful cyberattacks involved the exploitation of unpatched software vulnerabilities.

Systems need to be constantly monitored for vulnerabilities which leave them open to attack. Yes, there are software packages and apps to do that – but those vulnerabilities also need to be resolved.  Failure to address vulnerabilities can have a vastly damaging impact, financially and operationally: cybercrime costs UK businesses £billions as well as causing organisational and reputational damage. Maintaining robust cyber security is essential for IT compliance, too. Without which, the whole business, and its insurance, is compromised.

It’s a minefield, which is why IT security compliance professionals are so much in demand. So what do you do? Expensively recruit for your own in-house team or look for cost-effective external solutions?

Vulnerability Detection & Remediation

VDR, exclusively from LIMA, answers that question in one. It doesn’t just detect vulnerabilities across your entire IT environment, it remediates them, swiftly and accurately. And it does so constantly, addressing risks and evolving dangers as they arise, across 500+ technologies.

VDR is backed by 25 years of specialist experience and expertise, and keeps your software, hardware, third parties, networks and apps secure – and compliant. It comes with an outstanding SLA ensuring all compliance requirements are met, for cyber-insurance, CE+, ISO 25001 and similar frameworks. In fact, it easily outperforms CE+, with KPIs of 3 days for Windows  – compared to the required 3 – and 7 days for infrastructure, compared to 14.

IT Security – Compliance as a Service

VDR takes all the pressure of IT security compliance off ‘regular’ compliance staff who are not security trained, qualified or focused. It’s an ‘out of the box’ solution which bridges that significant skills gap efficiently and cost-effectively, as it means you don’t need to recruit for a specialist team or system – or have any concerns about retaining them. IT security and guaranteed compliance are taken care of, with simple, agreed and transparent costing which enables you to budget with confidence.

Is your IT system right for you?

Before we move on to the second of the challenges identified by Forbes, let’s consider a fundamental digital skill. Choosing and implementing the right technology in the first place. Is yours going to deliver the best results for you, now and into the future?

At LIMA, the pre-sales team work with customers to understand their business challenges, then translate that into which technologies will solve them and establish what outcome the use of those technologies will drive.

It’s an insight-driven part of the LIMA process, not a separate or charged-for system design service. LIMA’s expertise and uniquely personalised approach – the human face of digital skills, if you like – can make all the difference, delivering advice and solutions before your investment in IT is made. Given the cost of systems, and the potential wastage caused by over specification, under specification or even incorrect specification, that’s crucial both to the success of your IT systems, and the future of your business – so it could well be worth having a dialogue with LIMA.

2. IT support and troubleshooting

Whatever systems you put in place, or already have, support and troubleshooting are essential day to day IT functions too, of course, and you can expect a certain level of capability in these areas from a typical skill set. However, you may also prefer to entrust the management of your IT infrastructure to a proven provider like LIMA, with a choice of options to suit your needs.

End-user Support

LIMA’s end-user support function provides streamlined IT experiences for your business and end users, taking care of your whole IT infrastructure end to end: telephony, networking, connectivity and foundation security, with built-in governance and standardisation. It relieves the pressure – and costs – of running your own first-line support, enables you to budget predictably and frees your IT talent up for business-critical functions.

ProActive Support

With  ProActive support, the LIMA service delivery Team has complete, round-the-clock visibility of your infrastructure and carries out ongoing maintenance to boost availability and performance and reduce risk. It’s flexible, too: you can easily change the assets LIMA manage, while establishing a tailored schedule of alerts, thresholds and notifications. And costs are clear and transparent, with an agreed annual fee.

Active Support

if you already have an in-house team, you can call on LIMA’s expert Active Support when needed – 24/7 –  to enable your people to focus on other tasks. This round-the-clock support covers rapid incident management, maintaining a seamless service to your end users, along with third-party vendor management for any assets LIMA manage on your behalf. Again, for an agreed fee. It’s a hybrid solution where your team are supported in key areas.

Conclusions

The digital skills gap represents a substantial ongoing challenge for UK businesses and organisations. But by turning to smart solutions and support from a specialist provider like LIMA, you can effectively and cost-efficiently address two key areas identified by the Forbes report, cyber security and IT support and troubleshooting – whilst also enabling your IT team to use their own digital skills where they add the most value.

Our digital knowledge and insight-led understanding can help you optimise your IT investment in every way…and as for the AI and Cloud expertise Forbes identify as the skills most in demand, a conversation with LIMA could be the best starting point too….

To find out more, and to discuss how LIMA can help you address the challenges of the digital skills gap, 0345 3451 110 or email enquiries@lima.co.uk.