Need a new laptop? You might be weighing up the differences between buying and leasing and wondering what’s best for you.

Leasing is a great way to get the kit you need now and spread the cost out over a period of time. It can be ideal for businesses and their cash flow as less money is initially laid out for equipment. Businesses need to ensure they’re getting the most affordable price for thir kit, so how much does it cost to lease a laptop and what are the benefits?

We have looked at some of the most popular laptops, as priced in April 2018. All of our costs exclude VAT and based on a lease over a three-year period. There are other leasing options available such as Hardsoft Flexi-Lease, which enables you to renew your kit after two years. read more

Who is the Weakest Link?

Sophos attacked our network, here’s what we learned:

Sophos Phish Threat simulates a real-time virtual phishing attack against your company, this is a brilliant new tool from Sophos that allows you to better understand and secure your network, giving you valuable information pointing out exactly where and how your network might be best exploited by future hacking attempts via phishing e-mails.

Scott Harrington the Technical Director at HardSoft ran this check internally so we could find out first-hand just how effective our IT network and end users are at defending against an attack. read more

No design kit is complete without Wacom

This year Wacom has launched a new or updated range of products. The new Intuos Pro Paper and an updated Intuos Pro are already available and the Cintiq Pro is expected to arrive later this year! Leasing your Wacom makes sense because it makes access to the latest products much easier, without impacting on your cash flow. Here we take a look at the Wacom range and help you find the right one to lease.

Wacom Intuos Pro

This is a great option if you work in creative applications. Perfect for precision work and offering improved resolution and sensitivity than the original Intuos, as well as tilt recognition and ExpressKeys. The new Intuos Pro comes with the new Pro Pen 2, is x4 more accurate than the previous generation of Pro Pen and with 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity it offers a more natural and responsive drawing experience. Just 8mm thick, it is thinner and more compact than its predecessors while keeping the same size active area. Both models come with a Touch Ring, 8 customisable ExpressKeys and on-pen slider switches so that you can have your favourite shortcuts right at your fingertips. read more

.. I get asked this question most of the time…..  But before I can answer this (and firstly Don’t Panic) , perhaps we should dispel some myths:

NEW LAW – not really!  GDPR is an extension of the Data Protection Act 1998 and brings into law some aspects currently considered “best practice” – such as “Privacy by Design” (more on this later).

The GDPR becomes law in the UK (and the rest of the European Economic Area) on 25^th May 2018.  The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) hopes that the new Act will be ready at the same time!  Together they will form data protection legislation in the UK and beyond Brexit. read more

You can have a new Surface Book 2 on trial FREE for 48 hours!

A brand new Microsoft Surface Book 2 15-inch will be couriered to your office for 48 hours. Use it as you please, in the comfort of your own office, and download whatever software you like to see exactly how good it could be for you – don’t worry, when we collect it after 48 hours we’ll make sure it’s wiped securely so none of your data will be left behind.

Trial the Surface Book 2 for FREE

This is a great opportunity for any business to trial the Surface Book 2 in your own daily working conditions. With HardSoft taking care of all the delivery and collection logistics – free of charge, at a date to suit you. This offer is subject to limited availability and is only available for office(s) in London or the home counties, subject to the completion and approval of our application form please e-mail: Andrew@hardsoft.co.uk to take part, or for more information. NB: A credit card pre-authorisation will be required. read more

Can a Surface Hub improve and streamline your office? Microsoft think so!

The Hub is here! A new, especially exciting product from the now revered Microsoft Surface range.

The Surface range managed to manifest something that Microsoft had previously failed to produce for years. It added a brand which offered a suite of mid to high spec PC alternatives capable of doing battle with Apple for their, until now, relatively uncontested portion of the professional Laptop/Tablet market.

Following Microsoft’s release of the new 15” Surface Book 2 and a reboot of the Surface Pro the biggest member of the Surface family has ironically managed to go relatively undetected; The Surface Hub. The Surface’s unique architecture and customisable spec made it a popular draw for personal consumers, but the Hub is fighting for an entirely different market. read more

It can be daunting for a new businesses to apply for finance, but here at HardSoft we actively support and encourage new and startup businesses to lease from us. We offer the same terms and conditions to new or startup businesses that we do to long standing businesses, be they limited companies or sole traders.

New businesses can find it hard to establish a credit history, particularly with traditional financing methods such as banks often placing a ‘charge’ on your home as part of their finance deals. As an official Corporate Partner of Start Up Loans – the Government’s Start Up Loans programme which provides finance and support for new businesses – we can provide lease finance from £1,000 to £15,000 for both hardware and software and often with an instant decision with no requirements to provide any bank statements or supporting info. read more

Global estimates are that a device linked to a business will fall victim to a Ransomware attack every 40 seconds. Fighting off malicious attacks has become bread and butter for businesses in the 21st century, last year the number of Ransomware attacks on businesses tripled for Mac and Windows users alike.

The End of Mac Ransomware? Possibly, with Sophos & Avast Protection for Mac.

But be not afeared! Companies like Sophos and Avast are on hand battling these malicious attacks with their own brands of software specifically designed to: identify, isolate and stop a whole variety of attacks, including Ransomware. Over the last few months, Anti-Ransomware specific software has finally been developed for Mac users where none had been seen before! read more

When you think of IT and computer companies, we bet you think of a business filled with geeks, don’t you? Well the HardSoft team aren’t particularly geeky when it comes to computers – but they are pretty geeky when it comes to other stuff, so we thought it would be fun to do a geek-o-meter to show you just how geeky we can be. By the way, not all staff chose to complete our quick survey, so there may be even more geeks out there! 

“Being a geek means never having to play it cool about how much you like something.” – Simon Pegg read more

HardSoft and Microsoft invite our existing customers to come along to the ME Hotel London, for an introduction the Microsoft Surface devices including the new Surface Hub.

Surface Hub- come along to the ME Hotel, London

As approved Microsoft resellers, we are attending a specialist training event at the ME hotel London on Tuesday 8th May 2018 between 4 and 6pm. Each of our Account Managers are able to invite 2 of their customers to come along after the training event where they will then be able to experience a unique opportunity to get up close to the Surface Hub. HardSoft have only just taken this product on and we need to understand if its going to work for our customers. read more