News

Discover Evolve’s latest news and trending topics as well as  keeping up to date with what is going on in the telecoms industry.

Evolve Appoints New Finance Director

Evolve is excited to announce the appointment of their new Finance Director, Michelle Horan.  Michelle joins Evolve from Giacom, a top cloud and IT services provider, where she was responsible for managing accounts, statutory accounts, and group consolidation for several entities. Before this, she worked at Vercity in senior finance roles in the asset management and renewables divisions, where she developed a wealth of knowledge in overseeing intricate financial processes. Michelle began her new position in November, and her first priorities will be to learn about Evolve’s financial situation, establish connections, and lay the groundwork for future plans. Commenting on her appointment, Michelle said, “I look forward to working closely with the leadership team and leveraging my experience to enhance financial strategies that support Evolve’s long-term vision. I have always enjoyed working with and influencing senior stakeholders, both within and outside the finance function, and together, we can drive sustainable growth, ensure financial resilience, and create value for all stakeholders.” With more than 15 years of experience in finance and accounting, Michelle is a commercially focused accountant with a passion for delivering high-quality financial reporting and analysis. Alan Stephenson-Brown, CEO at Evolve, said: “Michelle has a proven track record of improving processes and driving change, and I’m confident she will be a valuable addition to the team. She joins Evolve during an exciting phase of growth and has the skills needed to lead the business towards achieving our strategic financial goals.” The announcement follows the appointments of Caroline Oxley as the new Head of People and Martyn Yih as the Head of IT services, and it is part of a long-term plan to strengthen Evolve’s leadership team and reaffirm the company’s commitment to being an employer of choice. To learn more about Evolve’s award winning Executive leadership team, visit their website: https://www.evolvebg.co.uk/our-leadership/ End About Evolve Business Group and Evolve Evolve Business Group is an independently owned company that specialises in providing end-to-end IT and managed network solutions to a range of businesses. Evolve is helping businesses to reduce costs and simplify the management of services and give business owners and their teams more time to do what they do best. Founded in 2005, it has worked with a variety of customers across different industries around the world, building a team of highly experienced specialists to help create effective and efficient packages using any combination of different offerings. It keeps a range of cross-sector networks protected and connected.

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Black friday Guest Wi-Fi

Staying Secure Online and Offline This Black Friday

Black Friday offers incredible deals, but it’s also a prime time for scammers, both online and offline. Protect your shopping experience with these essential tips: Watch Out for Phishing Emails and ScamsCybercriminals often send fake emails or create fraudulent websites to trick shoppers into sharing personal information. How to Avoid Them:Ignore emails promising deals that seem too good to be true, especially from unknown senders. Always type the store’s URL directly into your browser instead of clicking on links. Look for https:// and a padlock symbol in the website’s address bar before entering payment information. Use Secure Payment MethodsPayment security is crucial when shopping online. Best Practices:Use credit cards instead of debit cards for better fraud protection. Opt for digital wallets like PayPal, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, which add an extra layer of encryption. Avoid saving payment details on retail websites. Shop on Secure NetworksPublic Wi-Fi can expose your data to hackers. Secure networks are essential for both shoppers and retailers. How to Stay Protected: Avoid entering sensitive information, like credit card numbers, on public Wi-Fi. Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) if you must shop on an open network. Shop at home or on a trusted network whenever possible. For retailers: Ensure your Guest Wi-Fi is secure and separate from your main network. Consider a PCI-compliant solution like EvolveODM for reliable and secure connectivity. Be Cautious with Payment CardsSkimmers and other card fraud devices remain a common threat for both consumers and retailers. How to Minimise Risk:For retailers: Choose a PCI-certified Managed Network Provider, like Evolve, to keep your payment infrastructure secure. For consumers: Use contactless payments whenever possible to reduce card exposure. Inspect card readers for anything unusual before inserting your card. General Tips for Both Shoppers and Retailers Monitor your bank accounts frequently for unauthorised transactions. Enable two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of protection to your accounts. Use a PCI-certified Managed Network Solution, like Evolve, to ensure a secure shopping experience. Black Friday is a fantastic time to save, but staying secure is just as important as finding the best deals. By staying alert and following these precautions, you can enjoy a safe and stress-free shopping experience, both online and offline. End About Evolve Business Group and Evolve Evolve Business Group is an independently owned company that specialises in providing end-to-end IT and managed network solutions to a range of businesses. Evolve is helping businesses to reduce costs and simplify the management of services and give business owners and their teams more time to do what they do best. Founded in 2005, it has worked with a variety of customers across different industries around the world, building a team of highly experienced specialists to help create effective and efficient packages using any combination of different offerings. It keeps a range of cross-sector networks protected and connected.

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Payment outages Data Centre Integrations

Avoid payment system outages with effortless integrations from Evolve

We’ve all seen the news recently, with some of the high street’s biggest retailers and fast-food chains suffering IT outages that have scared and infuriated their customers. Inevitably, such outages mean a loss of revenue and, more importantly, potentially irreparable damage to customer trust. Avoiding outages like these is essential, but in our interconnected world, where payments need to move at lightning speed, that means more businesses require integrations with third-party data centres. And that means gaining access to that third party’s most sensitive assets and data. Understandably, data centre owners want evidence of the strongest integration expertise to ensure no disruption to their systems and to protect customer and business data. The fact is that most companies typically won’t allow external companies into their data centres. Only a few select providers are trusted to handle such complex integrations completely. Evolve is one of them. That’s because it has been doing integrations for nearly 20 years and occupies a unique space, bridging the gap between IT companies with little payment experience and payment aggregators with little IT experience. Evolve was created in 2005 to help multi-site businesses, from retail, food-to-go, hospitality, transport, forecourts, construction, property, and smart cities, keep their payment processes protected and connected. The team’s experience with IT connectivity, hardware, and software installation means that no matter which customer Evolve serves, in whatever sector, it can work out their unique needs and what they need from a payment perspective, get them integrated quickly with third-party data centres, and pick up their payment network so they can accept and route payments without any hassle. Secure payment integrations built on deep trust Evolve has worked with some of the world’s biggest payment aggregators, like TNS, who have required access to thousands of banks and businesses and connections to payment providers around the world. Evolve is trusted to install physical hardware in the TNS Data Centre, which no other provider has ever been granted access to, a testament to the quality and security of our integrations. We’re also trusted by BT Cardway, another major payment aggregator that only works with verified partners subject to the strictest due diligence. So, with several integrations across two of the world’s biggest payment aggregators in multiple data centres, what that means from a payment perspective is that whatever payment provider you are using or want to use, Evolve can provide a direct integration into that payment provider. It can handle payment network migration and switches to different data centres, all underpinned by robust resilience and security so your operations are never disrupted. If for whatever reason one data centre stops working, your operations will instantly be mirrored and fall over to the next one, so your payments never stop working. This is a capability no other provider has. Let’s say your payment provider has an outage, you lose confidence in their ability, or you simply find a better deal elsewhere and you decide to put your payments through another provider. To do that, you now need to go through the process of negotiating agreements and contracts, get permission to enter the new provider’s data centre, and install new lease lines, circuits, switches, and hardware, along with all configuration and routing work. It’s incredibly complex, costly, and time-consuming to go through all these processes. But Evolve can move your payments to another provider instantly at the automatic flick of a switch because we have already done the hard integration work for you. Put simply, it taps into payment infrastructure that no other provider can get close to. Because of the trust Evolve has gained with various payment aggregators and the strength of our connectivity solutions, it is uniquely positioned to help companies avoid the damaging payment system outages that have afflicted various companies in recent months. Traditionally, companies rely on a single payment provider, but if that provider goes down, then the company can’t take payments and stops trading, leading to potentially catastrophic revenue losses. Because Evolve has links to so many different payment providers, we can advise companies on load balancing the amount of traffic they put through each provider. If for whatever reason one provider goes down, Evolve can help companies reroute payments through another provider. In-built resiliency like that helps to avoid the payment outage pitfalls we’ve all seen in the news recently. The importance of PCI compliance in data centre integrations Evolve boasts plenty of technical know-how, having done many data centre integrations globally. But trust lies at the heart of each of these integrations—in fact, the Evolve team is trusted by more than 60 gateways, platforms, and hosts to work directly within their data centres. A big reason for that is that Evolve is a Platinum Partner of network management company Mako Networks, which is certified to PCI DSS Level 1, the strongest payment data security standard in the world. PCI refers to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), a set of security standards designed to ensure that sensitive financial information is kept safe from theft, hacking, and other security threats. Data centre users or owners of the storage, processing, or transmission process must meet PCI requirements annually. Evolve combines best-in-class tech with the PCI-certified trust that data centre owners need to be assured that their payment data and operations will be secured and continue uninterrupted. What this all adds up to for Evolve’s customers is seamless integration—a one-stop-shop for secure network management that is fit for purpose for even the largest multi-site brands, including: · TNS: This connectivity and infrastructure-as-a-service leader trusts Evolve to connect to 250 different payment hosts across the world, such as WorldPay, First Data, and Euronet. · Home Bargains: A major UK retailer, Home Bargains trusts Evolve to support it to route payments from each of its sites to its data centre. · HTEC: This global consulting, engineering, and product development company trusts Evolve to integrate card and credit processing for fuel sites such as ESSO. · KFC: One of the world’s

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Introducing Mako Periscope | Evolve SD-WAN

Introducing Mako Periscope: Revolutionising Remote Device Management In a time when remote management capabilities are essential, Mako Periscope steps up to offer seamless, secure access to web-based services at remote sites. Mako designed Periscope as an enhancement to its Central Management System (CMS) to simplify operations and safeguard critical network assets. Key Benefits of Periscope Remote Accessibility: Periscope enables access to any web service on devices located behind a Mako firewall—covering POS systems, CCTV, DVRs, IoT devices, and even networked appliances like commercial coffee machines. Traditionally, many of these systems required onsite management, but Periscope changes that by allowing remote access from a single, secure interface. Security: Periscope is anchored in Mako’s PCI-certified security system, complete with multi-factor authentication (MFA) and 256-bit encryption. The CMS creates an encrypted VPN tunnel for each connection, generating a one-time-use URL to ensure maximum protection. Scalability: Enterprise templates allow for easy deployment and configuration across all sites, making it possible to implement changes in one place and propagate them network-wide with ease. Cost and Time Savings: By reducing the need for dedicated local equipment and minimising site visits, Periscope lowers operational costs while streamlining workflows. How Periscope Works Users select a web service within the CMS’s Periscope tab, which sets up a secure VPN tunnel to the device and generates a temporary URL. This URL grants controlled access to only the originating IP address and dissolves after use. All connections utilise HTTPS and the Mako VPN Cloud to ensure robust encryption from start to finish. Getting Started To activate Periscope, make sure your Mako security gateway is updated to firmware release CPE F6550 or later and that you have access to the Mako CMS with appropriate credentials. Mako Periscope is the next step in secure, scalable remote management, designed to streamline and protect your operations. Ready to transform the way you manage remote sites? Reach out today to learn more about Periscope and how it can benefit your network! As a Mako Platinum Partner, Evolve supports our specialised service with Mako’s hardware appliance, the SD-WAN system. Numerous of our high availability capabilities, such as Mako VPN cloud and quick failover, are included in the SD-WAN technology of the Mako System. The Mako SD-WAN system incorporates technologies including a stateful firewall, an intrusion prevention system, and a secure web gateway for advanced security, and it leverages centralised management to make network design and maintenance easier. Mako achieved the distinction of being the world’s first network management firm to become a PCI-certified Level 1 Service provider in 2009. Since then, the company has shown annual compliance. Mako Systems offers PCI Compliance and a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), which combines networking and security elements into a single cloud-delivered service to counteract evolving cybersecurity concerns End About Evolve Business Group and Evolve Evolve Business Group is an independently owned company that specialises in providing end-to-end IT and managed network solutions to a range of businesses. Evolve is helping businesses to reduce costs and simplify the management of services and give business owners and their teams more time to do what they do best. Founded in 2005, it has worked with a variety of customers across different industries around the world, building a team of highly experienced specialists to help create effective and efficient packages using any combination of different offerings. It keeps a range of cross-sector networks protected and connected.

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Evolve’s CEO Alan Stephenson-Brown to attend Comms Vision

Evolve’s CEO, Alan Stephenson-Brown, has been invited to join the prestigious Comms Vision event, an annual gathering that unites industry visionaries from across the UK to shape the future of the telecommunications and digital sectors. This exclusive event, held at the renowned Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, provides an iconic setting for thought leaders to engage in strategic discussions surrounding digital infrastructure, enterprise advancements, and the evolving landscape of communication services. Alan’s inclusion highlights Evolve’s recognised role as an innovative force within the telecommunications field. His attendance reflects not only Evolve’s active involvement in the industry but also its dedication to pioneering advancements that address both current and emerging challenges. The event will provide Alan with the chance to network with other C-level executives, decision makers, and industry stakeholders, fostering relationships that will support Evolve’s growth and enhance its offerings to meet the dynamic needs of its customers. This participation is a testament to Evolve’s longstanding partnership with Comms Dealer, a trusted industry facilitator known for hosting events that empower collaboration and growth across the telecommunications sector. Over the past year, Evolve has actively engaged in Comms Dealer’s events, including Channel Champions and the Comms National Awards, both of which have provided valuable opportunities to celebrate excellence within the industry. Evolve extends its gratitude to Comms Dealer for its consistent support and for creating platforms that help drive industry progress. With Alan at Comms Vision, Evolve reaffirms its dedication to staying at the forefront of technological innovation, ensuring that its customers continue to benefit from best-in-class communication solutions. To learn more about Evolve’s award-winning Executive Leadership Team, visit their website → https://www.evolvebg.co.uk/our-leadership/ End About Evolve Business Group and Evolve Evolve Business Group is an independently owned company that specialises in providing end-to-end IT and managed network solutions to a range of businesses. Evolve is helping businesses to reduce costs and simplify the management of services and give business owners and their teams more time to do what they do best. Founded in 2005, it has worked with a variety of customers across different industries around the world, building a team of highly experienced specialists to help create effective and efficient packages using any combination of different offerings. It keeps a range of cross-sector networks protected and connected. @evolvebg Visit Evolve’s LinkedIn

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SDI Award Finalists – Service Desk Team Leader of the Year

Evolve is excited to announce that their nominated Team Leader, Laura Drury has made it through to the finalists for the Service Desk Team Leader of the Year award 2024. The award is presented by The Service Desk Institute. After submitting a successful application that outlined all the outstanding work Laura has done since beginning her career as an IT Apprentice several years ago, once shortlisted, Laura then had to complete an interview and presentation to further demonstrate her abilities. This award is testament to Laura’s leadership style, management and motivation of the team as well as the wider business. Within her team, Laura constantly inspires and motivates, fostering a culture of continuous improvement as well as delivering excellent customer service. As previously mentioned, Laura began her journey at Evolve as an IT apprentice, working her way up to Team Leader and then Service Desk Manager, inspiring those around her along the way. Join us in congratulating Laura on becoming a finalist and fingers crossed for the results. To learn more about Evolve’s leadership team or IT Support function, visit our website: https://www.evolvebg.co.uk/ End About Evolve Business Group and Evolve Evolve Business Group is an independently owned company that specialises in providing end-to-end IT and managed network solutions to a range of businesses. Evolve is helping businesses to reduce costs and simplify the management of services and give business owners and their teams more time to do what they do best. Founded in 2005, it has worked with a variety of customers across different industries around the world, building a team of highly experienced specialists to help create effective and efficient packages using any combination of different offerings. It keeps a range of cross-sector networks protected and connected. @evolvebg Visit Evolve’s LinkedIn

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SDI Award Finalists – MSP Service Desk of the Year

Evolve is proud to announce that, in addition to being shortlisted for the prestigious Service Desk Team Leader of the Year award, they have also advanced to the final stages for the MSP Service Desk of the Year (Small-Medium) category, presented by the Service Desk Institute (SDI). These nominations are a testament to Evolve’s exceptional performance and commitment to service excellence within the Managed Service Provider (MSP) space. Evolve operates two in-house service desks that have been key to the company’s success: an IT Support Desk and a 24/7 Network Operations Centre (NOC). The IT Support Desk handles a range of customer issues, offering rapid response times and effective resolutions to technical queries, while the NOC ensures the seamless and continuous monitoring of customer networks, ensuring business continuity around the clock. The recognition from the SDI is a significant milestone for Evolve, validating the company’s dedication to customer-centric service delivery and the expert management of customer IT infrastructures. Evolve’s dual-service desk model is designed to provide tailored support, ensuring that customers receive comprehensive, proactive, and highly responsive IT and network management services. As they approach the final stages, Evolve is looking forward to further demonstrating their ability to deliver exceptional managed IT services, with hopes of taking home the win in both categories at the upcoming SDI awards ceremony. To learn more about Evolve’s IT Support, visit our website: https://www.evolvebg.co.uk/ End About Evolve Business Group and Evolve Evolve Business Group is an independently owned company that specialises in providing end-to-end IT and managed network solutions to a range of businesses. Evolve is helping businesses to reduce costs and simplify the management of services and give business owners and their teams more time to do what they do best. Founded in 2005, it has worked with a variety of customers across different industries around the world, building a team of highly experienced specialists to help create effective and efficient packages using any combination of different offerings. It keeps a range of cross-sector networks protected and connected. @evolvebg Visit Evolve’s LinkedIn

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Comms Dealer has named Evolve as a finalist in the upcoming Channel Champions Awards 2024.

Evolve are finalists for two awards at the upcoming Channel Champions event hosted by Comms Dealer. Evolve is thrilled to announce that they have been shortlisted for two prestigious awards in the following categories:  Service Provider Technical Support & Engineering Team Evolve provides a unique Technical Support & Engineer offering with their solutions, providing 24/7/365 proactive support via their in-house Network Operations Centre (NOC). Their NOC is fully manned and multilingual, ensuring they can provide the same quality of service across all 12 trading countries. This round-the-clock service is crucial for maintaining the high standards Evolve promises its customers, ensuring that no matter where their customers are located, they receive top-notch support. Evolve’s NOC works tirelessly to proactively monitor customer networks, with an impressive 86% of all calls being outbound. This means that in most cases, Evolve’s team identifies and resolves issues before the customer even becomes aware of them. This proactive approach not only minimizes downtime but also builds trust and reliability in Evolve’s services. Service Provider Marketing Team Despite being established only at the beginning of 2023, Evolve’s Marketing team has made significant strides in enhancing Evolve’s brand awareness and visibility within the industry. Their efforts have led to a remarkable 650% organic increase in LinkedIn followers. Additionally, the team spearheaded a comprehensive brand refresh, which included launching a new website and earning several industry-leading awards throughout the year. In 2023, Evolve received the award for Reseller Executive Leadership Team, a testament to their effective leadership and strategic vision. Looking Forward Being finalists for these awards is a testament to Evolve’s dedication to excellence in both technical support and marketing. The recognition from Channel Champions highlights the significant progress and impact Evolve has made within a short period. The company looks forward to continuing this trajectory, delivering exceptional service and innovative marketing strategies that set them apart in the industry. Evolve would like to thank their dedicated teams and loyal customers for their continuous support. They remain committed to driving growth, innovation, and customer satisfaction in all their endeavours. End About Evolve Business Group and Evolve Evolve Business Group is an independently owned company that specialises in providing end-to-end IT and managed network solutions to a range of businesses. Evolve is helping businesses to reduce costs and simplify the management of services and give business owners and their teams more time to do what they do best. Founded in 2005, it has worked with a variety of customers across different industries around the world, building a team of highly experienced specialists to help create effective and efficient packages using any combination of different offerings. It keeps a range of cross-sector networks protected and connected. @evolvebg Visit Evolve’s LinkedIn

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Join us at Hospitality Tech Expo – Stand I64

Join us at stand I64 on the 15th & 16th October at the ExCeL for the annual Hospitality Tech Expo! Evolve are looking forward to exhibiting at the upcoming Hospitality Tech Expo in London, this event is the joining of the industry’s leading hospitality brands, suppliers and consumers. The Evolve team are eager to discuss how a fully Managed Network solution can help Hospitality businesses, through proactive monitoring of the network to ensure minimal downtime, PCI Compliance and streamlined operations. Evolve’s 24/7/365 Network Operations Centre is equipped to support your network wherever you are, no matter the time. Their goal is to ensure that your business is always connected so that your business can continue to trade effectively. To learn more about how Evolve can help take your Hospitality business to the next level, visit here. Get your free ticket now → https://www.hospitalitytechexpo.co.uk/exhibitors/ End About Evolve Business Group and Evolve Evolve Business Group is an independently owned company that specialises in providing end-to-end IT and managed network solutions to a range of businesses. Evolve is helping businesses to reduce costs and simplify the management of services and give business owners and their teams more time to do what they do best. Founded in 2005, it has worked with a variety of customers across different industries around the world, building a team of highly experienced specialists to help create effective and efficient packages using any combination of different offerings. It keeps a range of cross-sector networks protected and connected. @evolvebg Visit Evolve’s LinkedIn

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Head of people

Evolve Appoints New Head of People and Talent, Caroline Oxley.

Evolve Appoints Caroline Oxley as Head of People and Talent. Evolve is eager to announce that they have appointed Caroline Oxley in a new Head of People and Talent role.  Caroline’s role is set to go beyond traditional HR functions, with a focus on developing Evolve’s people-first culture, ensuring it aligns with the business’s overall mission and values. Caroline will oversee Evolve’s apprenticeship and graduate schemes as well as employee engagement.  Caroline joins Evolve from Property Hub, where she spent three years as Head of People and Culture after her role as HR manager in businesses across a wide range of sectors.  Commenting on her appointment, Caroline said: “I feel very fortunate to have had a career that has spanned a number of sectors, and I am thrilled to be moving into Managed Network Solutions with Evolve. In such a fast-evolving industry, building and nurturing a talented, engaged, and diverse team is critical to success. My focus will be on fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous development to ensure that every employee feels valued and empowered to drive both individual and company-wide growth. I look forward to supporting Evolve in reaching new heights by putting people at the centre of our strategy.” Caroline is passionate about HR and people, bringing a wealth of experience in strategic HR management, employee relations, talent resourcing, and payroll management to Evolve. Alan Stephenson-Brown, CEO at Evolve, said, “Caroline joins the team at an exciting time of growth, and her leadership will be vital for creating an environment where our employees can thrive, ultimately enhancing productivity, retention, and overall company performance. She is a known advocate for people-centric approaches and shares Evolve’s dedication to enabling individuals to achieve their full potential.” Evolve joined The 5% Club earlier this year, an employer-led group that promotes more access to skill development and “earn and learn” employment possibilities. A further step towards achieving the 5% Club objective of increasing the number, calibre, and diversity of apprenticeships that Evolve offers is the hiring of Caroline as Head of People and Talent. This news also follows the appointment of Martyn Yih has Head of IT services and is part of a long-term goal to improve Evolve’s leadership team and underline its commitment to being an employer of choice. For more information, visit www.evolvebg.co.uk About Evolve Business Group and Evolve Evolve Business Group is an independently owned company that specialises in providing end-to-end IT and managed network solutions to a range of businesses. Evolve is helping businesses to reduce costs and simplify the management of services and give business owners and their teams more time to do what they do best. Founded in 2005, it has worked with a variety of customers across different industries around the world, building a team of highly experienced specialists to help create effective and efficient packages using any combination of different offerings. It keeps a range of cross-sector networks protected and connected. @evolvebg Visit Evolve’s LinkedIn

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