brightsolid are delighted to announce that our CEO, Chris van der Kuyl, has been nominated for the category of ‘CEO of the year’ at this year’s Digital Technology Awards in Glasgow.
G-Cloud iii
Posted by Katie Armstrong on Apr 30, 2013 .
brightsolid are delighted to announce that we have been selected to join the G-Cloud iii Framework, enabling us to deliver cost effective infrastructure-as-a-service and bespoke Data Centre services directly to Government, Health and Education in dynamic, innovative ways.
Calling all Digital Entrepreneurs
Posted by Katie Armstrong on Apr 30, 2013 .
brightsolid and parent company DC Thomson have partnered with Abertay and Dundee University to form a fresh and dynamic Scottish development programme, IDEAScotland. The initiative is designed to help build and support the booming technology economy in Scotland by giving digital entrepreneurs and start-up businesses of all backgrounds and capacities a platform to realise their business objectives.
Innovation & Collaboration in Education
Posted by Katie Armstrong on Apr 11, 2013 .
brightsolid were delighted to host a number of recent student visits that aimed to inspire and develop dynamic local talent while gaining fresh insight to how the ICT industry is perceived.
Tech Tips of the Week
Posted by Katie Armstrong on Apr 04, 2013 .
As Holyrood's Big Data Summit approaches, brightsolid summaries some of the technology trending topics dominating the big data debate this week.
Network Security: A Look Inside
Posted by Katie Armstrong on Mar 21, 2013 .
Recently, brightsolid have been collaborating with local universities and colleges to ensure that enthusiastic, dynamic students gain real insight into the world of enterprise technology. Thrilled with the positive feedback the students offered after visiting our offices and Tier 3+ Data Centre we are delighted to publish this network security blog written by Gary J Purves, HND Networking Student at Dundee College.
Tech Snippet Round Up
Posted by Katie Armstrong on Mar 04, 2013 .
We love technology news. Hopefully you do too. So here's the latest tech topics that have sparked debate in the office over the last week.
Top 5 Tech Snippets of the Week
Posted by Katie Armstrong on Feb 08, 2013 .
Our short and sweet summary of trending tech topics, tech news and industry updates.
Technology Trends 2013
Posted by Katie Armstrong on Jan 24, 2013 .
Last week Gartner released their Technology Trends for 2013. On the back of this, we thought it useful to give you the key take-aways from ‘Symposium on Information Security: Governance, Sharing, Security and Risk in a Digital Age’ and some opinion on why face to face events are still one of the best places to learn about industry debates, trends and developments.
Operating Systems 2013 Uncovered
Posted by Katie Armstrong on Jan 09, 2013 .
Focusing on the forthcoming Windows Surface Pro release and XBOX platform convergence, our Head of Emerging Technologies, Kenny Lowe speculates about what 2013 holds for operating systems. Kenny summaries last year developments, particularly Windows, and gives opinion on what the new year holds for computer software, new devices and multi-platform usability.
Microsoft Surface Review
Posted by Peter Telfer on Nov 06, 2012 .
I've been running a 64GB Surface RT with black touch cover for a few days now, and by far the most common thing people have asked me since receiving it is 'How is it? How does it compare with the iPad?' Every time I'm asked, my brain becomes so filled with gushing praise for the device that I fail to adequately communicate my thoughts, so here I'll try to lay them out more eloquently. It's not all praise, there are negatives, however if there's one takeaway from this random spiel, it's that this in my opinion is the way forward for compute devices for the next few years.
Q&A with Derek Roy, Data Centre Manager at brightsolid online technology
Posted by Peter Telfer on Jul 24, 2012 .
Derek Roy is data centre manager for brightsolid online technology in Dundee. Derek has spent his career delivering and operating systems that can't fail - for 26 years travelling the globe as a Regimental Sgt Major in the British Army and more recently in the less extreme environment, at brightsolid, where he plays a pivotel role in delivering reliability and rock-solid security at brightsolid's Tier 3+ facilities.
The Evolution of Enterprise Social Software
Posted by Peter Telfer on Jul 11, 2012 .
The Enterprise Social Software industry is growing rapidly and the infographic below maps its development over the past few years. Considered by many as a "Facebook for business", these networks or "Social Intranets" are being adopted by organisations of all sizes due to their ability to improve collaboration and productivity.
Technical Innovation - A simple solution to a common workplace problem
Posted by Peter Telfer on Apr 24, 2012 .
We recently opened a new office in the heart of Shoreditch. It was an old Church building that we gutted and renovated from the ground up. As part of this renovation we had the opportunity to put in a top of the line infrastructure, with a few little nonstandard extras.
Infosecurity: Interview with Graham McKay
Posted by Peter Telfer on Apr 18, 2012 .
Infosecurity recently interviewed Graham McKay, Chief Information Security Officer at DC Thomson, ahead of their summit at Earls Court in London. Graham is a keynote speaker at the event and will be discussing ‘Security vs. Corporate Comms: Just How Do You Make a Social Media Strategy Work?' Below is a video of his interview and a copy of the magazine article from Infosecurity Europe.
Windows 8 - Observations as an Early Adopter
Posted by Kenny Lowe on Apr 10, 2012 .
I’ve been running the Windows 8 consumer preview since the day it was available, both on my primary work machine and my home computers, and having seen both its highs and its lows, as well as actively probing its potential, I feel somewhat beholden to share my thoughts on the subject.
Merging the old with the new - brightsolid moves office
Posted by Natasha White on Apr 05, 2012 .
After 14 months of planning and building, we have now moved into our new ‘hip and trendy’ office in Shoreditch, London. You’ll possibly have noticed, but we’ve grown quite considerably in the past couple of years – from 27 employees to 220 at present. We decided it was the right time to move into a larger office in a location that will facilitate further business growth and position brightsolid as one of the pioneers in its industry. It was agreed that Silicon Roundabout was the perfect hub for our online publishing business and we felt our office design had to reflect our family history business roots in a modern and contemporary fashion. The new office is a converted chapel, spread over three levels, with an open and vibrant feel to it that not only harnesses collaboration and innovation, but is very functional too.
BYOD - The Landscape and Security Risks that a CIO should consider
Posted by Peter Telfer on Apr 02, 2012 .
Over the past couple of years, one of the biggest shifts that internal IT has experienced has been the move towards BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Nowadays society can't go more than five minutes without using their mobile devices to check emails, facebook or their favourite app. As a result, increasing numbers of employees are bringing their own smartphones and tablets to work and for internal IT, this provides many challenges.
Social Collaboration Tools in the Workplace: 7 Considerations for a CIO
Posted by Brian Davidson on Feb 20, 2012 .
Over the past few years the evolution of social collaboration tools has been very swift. We've had email for many years now but with the proliferation of public social networking, people are becoming increasingly adept and tech-savvy in using more collaborative tools. With the increasing numbers of "Generation Y" entering the workplace and an organisation's constant desire for efficiency, it's perhaps unsurprising that many CIO's are looking at implementing a social collaboration platform in the near future.
Techworld: Digitising the nation's memory
Posted by Peter Telfer on Feb 07, 2012 .
Consuming content in digital form has become the norm for many of us. We watch videos on smartphones, we skim the news on tablets, we share photos on social networks and we read books on e-readers. But in a world where digital rules, where does a traditional organisation like The British Library fit in?
A day in the life of....
Posted by Peter Telfer on Feb 03, 2012 .
Welcome to our latest blog post in the ‘A day in the life of...’ series. Today we feature Chris Rattray, Systems Architect for brightsolid online technology.
More businesses switching to Cloud Computing
Posted by Peter Telfer on Jan 26, 2012 .
According to new research by Gartner, almost one-third of organisations are planning to improve their Business Intelligence functions by implementing Cloud Computing services. The study indicated that the reduced costs associated with cloud make it a more attractive proposition than on-premises solutions that may be costly to run and difficult to maintain.
Behind the scenes of the British Library newspaper project
Posted by Peter Telfer on Jan 23, 2012 .
Online publisher brightsolid has worked with IBM to digitise four million pages of the British Library's historical newspaper collection for online access as part of a 10-year big data analytics project that could cost brightsolid millions of pounds.
The threat of Cyber-Attacks to global stability is real
Posted by Peter Telfer on Jan 19, 2012 .
Nowadays you don't have to look far to find news articles on cyber-attacks, small and large, public and private sector. Such attacks seem to have plagued resources like the Internet since their inception but of more concern is the proliferation of high-profile cyber-attacks that are being publicised on an almost daily basis. These attacks are becoming larger in scale and more ambitious in nature, with competition developing amongst hackers as to what group can claim the biggest and most debilitating attack.
A silver lining in the Clouds
Posted by Peter Telfer on Jan 13, 2012 .
Cloud Computing Services - remote online data storage, accessible from any terminal - are helping level the playing field for companies, as smaller firms can afford data storage to rival ones.
Technology - No longer just for the Technophiles!
Posted by Peter Telfer on Jan 09, 2012 .
What we see as being the main IT trends in 2012....
Leadership Values
Posted by Peter Telfer on Jan 06, 2012 .
At IBM's THINK Forum in New York City, Richard Higgs, Managing Director of brightsolid online technology, discusses how leaders can instill value in their companies and their employees. He advises that innovative leadership through collaboration and teamwork can instill values company-wide.
How Leaders Adapt to Change
Posted by Peter Telfer on Jan 06, 2012 .
At IBM's THINK Forum in New York City, Richard Higgs, Managing Director at brightsolid online technology, discusses the need for leaders to adapt in a changing world and the importance of embedding change in an organization.
Gartner Data Centre Conference 2011
Posted by Peter Telfer on Dec 23, 2011 .
brightsolid joined leading figures in the industry at Gartner's Data Centre conference earlier this month in the US. The event was a great chance to see how the trends we're seeing in the UK market match what is happening in other geographies - as organisations balance the benefits of moving to the Cloud with the need for security, availability and flexibility.
Cloud Computing has a positive impact on businesses
Posted by Peter Telfer on Dec 21, 2011 .
Recent research by BT Engage IT has found that cloud and virtualisation technology has had by far the biggest positive impact on businesses in 2011.
How we launched the British Newspaper Archive website
Posted by Peter Telfer on Dec 13, 2011 .
Tuesday 29th November was a milestone for brightsolid as we launched the first phase of the British Newspaper Archive - one of the UK's largest digitisation projects. The launch has been phenomenally successful with coverage on major US and UK television networks and over 400 news stories published around the world.
6 Considerations before moving to the Cloud
Posted by Default Admin User on Nov 28, 2011 .
One of the most common questions posed by individuals looking to use Cloud Computing is - How safe is my data? Naturally, it's a very important question that needs answered.
5 Ways Cloud Computing is transforming Business
Posted by Default Admin User on Nov 21, 2011 .
Cloud Computing - An unknown entity up until a few years ago. Today, it is well established as one of the fastest growing and most topical areas in IT. Far more than just a buzzword, this blog identifies 5 ways in which Cloud Computing is transforming business (And we had to cut it to five which wasn't easy).
Data Centre 2 Construction Complete
Posted by Default Admin User on Sep 19, 2011 .
Generators...Check, VESDA Fire Detection System...Check, Data Centre raised floor...Check. Construction - Complete!
Bad weather....but more progress!
Posted by Peter Telfer on Aug 15, 2011 .
Following on from our previous blog on the construction of our second data centre at our site in Dundee, we are pleased to confirm that in spite of the intervention of Zeus (The Greek God of the Sky & Rain), lots of progress has been made.
Construction starts on second Data Centre
Posted by Peter Telfer on Jul 20, 2011 .
Work started this month on the construction of our second data centre at our site in Dundee. After lots of hard work and anticipation from our employees, it has been fantastic to see the work starting.
