November 2022 – Direction Forward

Closing dates for Christmas and New Year 2022/23

This year, our office will be closed for the holidays from 12pm on Wednesday 21 December through to 9am on Thursday 5 January.

Our last day will be Wednesday 21 December 2022 (closing at midday), and we will be back on Thursday 5 January 2023.

Please note that during this time support is available for organisations with a contract and/or Support Agreement only.

For contracted support whilst we are closed, please raise a ticket at directionforward.com/support or email [email protected]. All other contact methods – including phone lines, other email inboxes and texts – will not be monitored during this time. Thank you for your understanding.

The team at Direction Forward wish you all happy holidays and a happy new year!

Microsoft are making changes to their pricing model, beginning in 2023, which will affect all user (e.g. Microsoft 365) and software (e.g. Office LTSC) licences.

Microsoft announced they will be aligning all licences to USD ($) pricing – for more consistency across all countries and regions – from next year.

For Microsoft customers based in countries outside of the United States, pricing will be linked to currency fluctuation rather than fixed for the local region. Prices may go up or down, depending on the relationship of the local currency with the price of the USD ($) product, when the adjustments are made. For the UK, this means pricing will fluctuate with the value of GBP (£) versus USD ($) rather than being a set price in GBP (£).

Going forwards, Microsoft will review all pricing on a semi-annual (six monthly) schedule to ensure consistency with USD pricing. This will mean more frequent changes to the list price of products outside the US, which could have an impact on budgets, estimates, and other financial processes.

Please note that pricing will be fixed and protected throughout a subscription term, meaning Microsoft cannot change pricing in the middle of your subscription(s) but pricing may fluctuate more when your subscription(s) renew. Microsoft subscriptions are annual by default (monthly subscriptions incur a surcharge) so it makes sense to stick to annual subscriptions wherever possible, in order to keep consistent pricing and predictability.

More information about the new strategy and regional prices will be shared by Microsoft at the beginning of 2023, and we will continue to keep you updated. Please note that we are waiting on an exact date for this change, but it could be as soon as January 2023.

EDIT:
Microsoft have since announced that GBP (£) pricing will increase by 9% from 1 April 2023.
The new pricing will be updated on our website here for Microsoft 365 and here for Exchange, once available.

Google Analytics 4 is replacing Universal Analytics in July 2023

All customers of Google Analytics should begin moving over to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) in advance of next summer.

By 1 July 2023, Google’s existing platform, called Universal Analytics, will stop processing new data, which means that your account will no longer provide insights or show traffic. Before this date, existing customers will need to move across to Google’s new platform – called Google Analytics 4.

The updated version offers improved machine learning and reporting, new direct integrations, and the ability to collect both website and app data. It is designed to adapt to the changes in both online privacy (offering cookieless measuring for the GDPR) and technology, as well as providing a better understanding of the customer’s journey across different platforms.

Although the final switch is over six months away, you should be planning the move soon: the earlier you migrate your data across, the more historical data and insights will be available in the new platform.

GA4 can be added alongside your existing set up. Until the beginning of July, this means that both Universal Analytics and Google Analytics will collect data, and you can take your time getting to know the different functions and ways of reporting in the new system. The two versions of analytics can be accessed using the “property selector” in your Google Analytics admin area.

If you need support migrating to GA4 or setting up a new Google Analytics account, please contact us.

UK to switch off all phone lines by end of 2025

From December 2022, the UK’s PSTN (Public Switch Telephone Network) will begin to be switched off, signifying an end to traditional landlines.

What is the PSTN and what does it mean?

In 2017, Openreach announced their intention to switch the old network off by December 2025. The UK’s copper wire telephone network has been in use since 1876 and is increasingly old fashioned and unable to keep up with the demands of new technology.

The PSTN switch off effectively means an end to traditional landlines. Therefore any analogue phone systems, as well as any broadband internet connections which use landlines, will need to be replaced before this date. This might also include alarms, CCTV, door entry systems and fax machines if they are also linked to PSTN or ISDN lines.

What do I need to do?

Everyone, both home users and organisations, will need to find a solution for their existing services and technology by this final date, although the exact timing of the switch off in your area will depend on their schedule as they move around the country as it is a phased approach. Salisbury will be the first town to have the PSTN switched off next month, and then the rest of the switch off will roll out across the UK over the next three years.

In simple terms, every phone line in the UK will need to become digital. This means that calls will be routed via IP (Internet Protocol) instead. You can move to a digital, cloud-based phone system and use your existing internet connection to transmit voice calls. This means that numbers and calls are accessible from any location, not just in an office or other specific site; you get all the advantages of a fully featured business class system without the need for phone lines, handsets or any hardware at all. This offers versatility and is particularly beneficial for hotdesking or flexible and remote working practices as employees. For more information on the benefits and costs, have a look at our Cloud Talk service here.

If you would prefer to continue to use physical handsets or desk phones, you can also choose a Hosted VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) solution. It is also flexible (the handsets work from any location with an internet connection) and no other hardware is required. We also offer a Hosted VoIP service.

In parallel to the switch off, Openreach are creating the infrastructure for a full fibre broadband network across the UK. This will allow both home and business users to upgrade their connection to robust, high-bandwidth one required for the new systems via a range of providers. The main concern at the moment is whether this will be fully deployed and ready by the switch-off date, especially in very rural areas.

For additional services such as CCTV and alarms, you might be able to switch the existing item over to an IP mode or upgrade to an IP equivalent. Alternatively, you could use an Analogue Telephone Adapter (ATA) device to convert the signal to a digital one. Some older models, however, will need replacing. Contact your provider regarding this to ask what they plan to do.

When to act

The first area to be switched off will be Salisbury in December 2022. Before the switch off in your area, there will be a national “stop sell” announcement, also on a phased basis across each region, which means that you won’t be able to purchase any new PSTN or ISBN services (or switch providers) in readiness.

The final stop sell date will be September 2023, although it will be enforced sooner than this in many areas in line with the switch off schedule.