Welcome to 2025!

We hope you’ve all had a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year. At Digital Incite and Matter Ltd we’re back for 2025 and ready to take on some fresh challenges.

Some of the IT trends we’re predicting and will be discussing in 2025:

The Role of Generative AI

Nobody can escape the discussion on the role that generative AI is playing out in the workplace. We may still not have the golden goal of general AI but generative AI has done enough to transform society already. Whilst we’re proud to say that all our blog posts to date are all human written we also need to be prepared for a future where AI can do significant things in place of a human.

There are a number of environmental and social issues to deal with here. We’re concerned about over-dependence on such technologies and the massive amounts of energy and hardware needed to make it work. We’re also looking closely about the impact generative AI may have on our society. It’ll be very difficult or even impossible to tell an AI generated story, image or even a video apart from a human made one very soon. With our social and democratic systems already tested to their limits we’ll be paying close attention to generative AI’s impact to balance massive potential with unforeseen dangers.

Who’s Prem is it Anyway?

We’ve noticed a trend whereby cloud contracts signed during the pandemic are being reviewed and considerable issues found with skyrocketing costs and under-delivered services. Frequently we are hearing about workloads being “repatriated” back to a private datacentre with significant cost savings, more reliable service and no issues with vendor lock-ins.

In 2025 we’ll be undoubtedly working with clients that will be carefully considering their choice of datacentre. To keep on premise, move to co-location or re-architect for cloud? Our goal for 2025 will be to make sure we help clients reach the right choice that balances security, environmental and cost efficiency whilst never compromising on data availability.

Continuing Full Fibre and 5G Rollout

It’s hard to believe it’s been around 25 years since BT first launched their “Openworld” ADSL service in the UK. Available to around 30% of UK households when initially launched for £39.99 per month way back in the year 2000. Inflation wise we think that would be around £74 per month in 2024! Subscribers could look forward to a 512 kbps download speed with 256 kbps upload. Often described as a whopping 10 times faster than the pinnacle that was 56k dial-up. Not to mention you didn’t clog the phone up when surfing the net.

25 years later and the market for broadband is now significantly different. Technologies such as XGS-PON that enable speeds of up to 10Gbps not just for businesses but also for households were unthinkable back at the turn of the millennium. Meanwhile mobile operators have been busy building 5G networks that enable low latency internet access of speeds nearing the gigabit mark.

We’re excited to see the applications of both “full fibre” and 5G products as enablers of the future workspace. Internet connections that are faster, far more reliable and consume less energy in operation will make doing business anywhere in the world no just possible but indeed the default. Gone is the world of centralised operations. Your office is truly anywhere. We’re also excited about the green aspect of such technologies which can reduce the need for travel as well as making digital distribution even more possible.

SQL Server 2025

Last but by no means the least is SQL Server 2025. The next iteration of Microsoft’s tried and tested RDBMS solution. We’ve already covered some of the main additions and changes we can expect from SQL Server 2025 in our earlier write up.

We’re looking forward to testing SQL Server 2025 out sometime soon. Upon its release we also will be supporting the business and charitable communities out with upgrades and new builds from day one.

If you choose to remain on an earlier version of SQL Server we’re also here to help. We can offer troubleshooting, health checking and maintenance on your existing SQL Server instances too.

What Else?

Of course we’re expecting some surprises throughout the year. Technology always has the ability to bring in unexpected twists and turns. Regardless of what 2025 brings Digital Incite and Matter Ltd are here to help you and your organisation in 2025.

For a free, no-obligation initial remote consultation please contact us today to discuss your requirements.

Please also feel free to drop us some ideas, questions or even points you disagree on the above in the comments section!

WFH…Is It Over?

This week video conferencing specialists Zoom announced that they expect employees back in the office at least for some of the week. At least if you are working within “commutable distance” of their offices.

It’s not just a Zoom – which strangely was the weapon of choice when we were all sent home for the COVID-19 pandemic – but also the likes of Amazon have decided that they will track and penalise employees working from home too much. And it’s not just them either. Over the past year the likes of BT Group, Apple and Twitter/X have also decided on some form of return to work.

So what’s the big fuss?

Work from home was a necessity during the pandemic for obvious reasons but now that’s in some kind of endemic phase it’s not really a barrier to bringing people back to the office any more. Top level management are seemingly intent on using that office space they’ve spent the cash on to reap the benefits of bringing teams back together. Or so the theory goes right?

I read different articles and different studies on the effect from working from home. Some in favour, some against. Personally I think it’s very much down to the individual and their circumstances. I do work from home but I don’t really like doing it as I feel there should be a separation of work and home space but also interacting with people face-to-face is critical important. I do live alone so that’s a big reason for the aforementioned mind

There are MANY different benefits to working from home polices in terms of environmental benefits (less cars on the road and/or stuck on the M62 might be nice for some), parental responsibilities, focus in busy environments (who on earth likes working in open offices?!) and countless others.

Despite the fact I personally wouldn’t work from home if I chose to I would still discourage an employer from withdrawing the facility. Fact is that it’s outdated to think that computerised work can only take place in one location and that location must be the company offices. Not everybody wants to work in an office and be closely supervised on work they can do easily at home. Just why am I working this hard just so that employers can decide working from a beach bar is a bad idea?

Winter Beckons

I’m at a busy time in consultancy!

The only recent professional development to share is that recently joined the British Computing Society which I’m currently on the induction phase. More on that story later but yet another shiny badge right here.

We’re fast approaching Christmas which means that winter is also looming for those in the northern hemisphere of planet Earth. Conditions in the UK are also becoming quite challenging. The cost of living crisis is making a real, human impact and we are also entering a period of economic recession. We’ve also got to adapt to Brexit whether we voted for it or not. With this in mind I’ve been making sure I’m as prepared for the winter months as best as possible to ensure I am mentally well.

I thought I’d share some tips for surviving work from home (WFH) during winter. These are written by an IT person so take and tweak accordingly.

Ensure you’re interacting with others and not just through glass – if you are like me and live alone this is not the greatest time of the year. It can get lonely and is very much a dehumanising experience. I attend Andy’s Man Club on a fortnightly basis to discuss my feelings and listen to other men doing the same in a mental health safe space. For women we signpost to Women’s Wellbeing Club as an equivalent.
Set aside your workspace – if you can make sure that your workspace is for work only, keep the door shut and talk to other inhabitants that live with you to set boundaries. This minimises the disruption and keeps your mind focused on work.
Maintain a line between work and home – on meetings ensure that you use a background, and also use a headset to ensure the conversation is kept private. At the end of the day shut down laptops & phones and then shut the door. You are done, you are human and it’s time to rest. Stick to set working hours and ensure you are setting time aside for self-care and rest. It’s not a guilty pleasure, procrastination or anything else. You need this time to reset.
Write your tasklist – write down everything you need to get done in a day. Prioritise the important things you need to do, delegate the tasks that you can to share the workload and plot the tasks that can wait for days when the load is lighter. Ensure that you ask for a deadline from colleagues and remember that “no” is not a bad word; it’s actually a good one! If there’s too much to handle you need to say it!
Exercise – get out the house daily for exercise whether that just be for a walk or for something more strenuous like a run. I’m indoor swimming now which helps.
Check in with Colleagues – keep communication constant even if that only starts with “Hello” on a morning and “Goodnight” in your team channel. Do share any big problems, unusual discoveries or even funny incidents you’ve had. This way you aren’t being forgotten about.
Journal – write down thoughts and feelings onto a suitable medium and keep a track of any persistent thought patterns. If you do identity anything that’s making you feel down make sure to act on it whether that being by raising it with your team, a manager or taking action yourself.
Get out for a day – contradicting a few points above but I’ve found it helpful to work from a coffee shop 1 day a week. I do have to provide mobile internet for security purposes but I’ve found that this breaks up the week and gives me something to look forward to

Please put a comment below to share your tips or just check in if you’re having a bad day. I’d love to hear from you.