What is co-working and would it work for you?

More and more businesses are moving away from owning their own premises and into the subscription style model of co-working offices. This isn’t a surprise to us, because this model fits with leasing cars, and of course our own business of leasing computers, but does co-working stack up? What are the positives and negatives, who uses them and do they work for everyone? We thought we’d do some research and share our findings with you here.

Who are Co-Working spaces aimed at?

An estimated 6% of the UK workforce are freelancers, that’s around 1.91 million people, and according to recent studies, this is set to escalate to approximately 50% by 2020. But it’s not just freelancers who are taking on co-working space, many larger organisations such as British Airways and KPMG are recognising the benefits of sharing working space with other businesses. Lloyd’s Bank allows 30% of its workforce to work flexibly to allow them a richer work/life balance, but this also reduces its overheads and the need for them to own large business premises. read more

Choose Apple iPad mini 2 or Apple iPad 4th Gen @ £109 plus VAT

Whilst stocks last we are offering refurbished Apple iPads to schools users (not individuals or students). Both are 16GB RAM with Wifi but no cellular connectivity- but then we dont think you’ll need that.

These were originally supplied by HardSoft about 2-3 years ago and all are with a full 12 months swap out warranty. Note Accidental damage and loss cover is not included.

All devices can be enrolled into an MDM solution such as Cisco Meraki and VM Ware Airwatch.

There is a minimum order. We do have limited quantities so once they are gone they are gone. If you wish to place an order please email sales@hardsoft.co.uk with the Quantity required and the Schools address and contact details. We will ship within 2-3 days and send an invoice on for payment, read more

Microsoft launches Minecraft Education Edition for the iPad this September. The Education Edition was previously available in schools only on Windows 10 devices as well as macOS, but this new iPad version begins rolling out to schools starting with the new term this September!

Photo credit: Mojang

Worldwide there are around 35 million teachers and students, across 115 countries who are licenced to use Minecraft: Education Edition. The Education Edition of this popular game comes with sample lesson plans such as “City Planning for Population Growth”, “Exploring Factors and Multiples” and “Effects of Deforestation”. Microsoft said “with Apple, we’re making it possible for schools using iPads to teach everything from math and chemistry to history and writing with Minecraft: Education Edition. Students can tap into the power of iPad and document their learning with the “Minecraft: Education Edition camera and portfolio.” read more

Printing is something that generally falls ‘under the radar’ in most offices.  You just expect to press print on your computer screen and that the printed paper will arrive on your desk within a matter of seconds. But how do we know which is the best printer for your business?

Simple Tablet style user interface

HardSoft offer a wide range of printers by various manufacturers on our typical Flexi-Lease.  The printers that HardSoft offer can range from day-to-day office printers and multifunction printers, all the way up to A1 and A0 large format printers. All are available on our 3-year Flexi-Lease with 3-year on-site warranty and telephone technical support. read more

A Mobile Workstation is a PC notebook computer which has high-end features which you wouldn’t usually find in a notebook. These high-end features include faster graphics processors, more powerful CPUs and additional memory, which enables the notebook to work as efficiently as a desktop workstation. Mobile workstations have often weighed slightly more than standard laptops but the latest models are becoming thinner and lighter than ever before. So if you need the

power and versatility that a desktop but need it to be portable and easy to carry around, a Mobile Workstation is the perfect solution. read more

We recently launched the HardSoft Creative Club, as a solution for our customers following numerous requests for the option of short-term hire of computer equipment. Leasing has numerous benefits for businesses, but sometimes you just need some kit to see you through a big project or an exhibition, and that’s where the Creative Club comes into its own.

Often clients commit to expensive computers with a specification they actually only need to use once in a blue moon. A typical example is taking an iMac Pro when its only needed to do the crunching twice a year. The Creative Club would allow a client to take a cheaper iMac 27″ i7, then get delivered the extra iMac Pro resource when it’s needed. read more

Being fully Apple Authorised, HardSoft are able to centrally register the Macs and iPads we lease to customers with Apple, which helps them with the management of their assets. Apple have recently relaunched their Device Enrolment Programme (DEP) as the new Apple Business Manager. This is, in essence, the enterprise version of Apple School Manager, which gives companies a web-based portal for IT managers to deploy and manage Apple devices across the workplace. Apple Business Manager lets you buy content and configure automatic device enrollment in your Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution. read more

What makes leasing from HardSoft so different from all the other leasing companies out there? We believe that it’s the holistic approach we take to our business, we care about our customers and the experience they have with us so we do our best to make sure that experience is a beneficial and helpful as possible. We also listen to our customers and try to develop new offerings that fit with what they’re looking for.

For example, we have recently launched our new HardSoft Creative Club. The Creative Club gives our customers access to a pool of kit for short-term hire. That’s the kit they need when they need it for short-term projects, for just £6 per week plus VAT. The kit in the pool has a daily points value and customers receive 350 points annually to use to hire the extra kit they need and at the time when they need it. All delivered and collected as part of their membership. It’s short-term computer hire that’s cheap and flexible, exactly what many of our customers have been asking for. read more

Previewing a new Apple OS is always fun, especially when there are 2!

Over the last week, I’ve been using nearly exclusively a MacBook Pro 15″ & iMac Pro with the new Mojave O/S installed and an iPhone 6 Plus with the new IOS 12 on the second Apple Public BETA (If you’re interested in signing up and giving them a go, you can enroll and set up your Apple products with either Mojave or IOS 12 here).

Dark Mode looks exceptional…Especially on anything Space Grey like the iMac Pro I was using.

The 2018 Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) was hardly breathtaking; The introduction of the new O/S Mojave was lacklustre apart from everyone getting hyped over ‘Dark Mode’ (which is, in all fairness, gorgeous) the conference really lacked the usual ‘sparkle’ we have come to expect from Apple. No big hardware reveals was the first disappointment, especially with some product lines, that are still being sold, being in such a dire need of an update… read more

For as long as we’ve been trading, we’ve worked alongside startup businesses. In the current economic climate, it’s increasingly unusual but we actively encourage and support new and startup businesses. We do this by offering the same terms and conditions as established businesses, whether you started trading yesterday or ten years ago, or are a sole trader or a limited company.

Startups Grow and Mature

Over the years we have worked with some startups that have grown into thriving businesses and even household names. Back in their early days we helped a new business called Not on the High Street get set up with their technology and who can say they haven’t at least browsed their website for an unusual gift for a friend or loved one, in fact, most of us will have bought at least a couple of gifts from them. read more