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Password hell and email the bane of IT workers’ lives

~ Nasstar claims skilled staff are being wasted on the IT equivalent of vacuuming and washing the dishes ~

June 24, 2008

Password resets and email management are the top two bugbears for IT departments. End users in general and the support of remote and mobile workforces also feature high up the list of least popular chores, according to senior IT execs.

Based on a series of interviews with UK CIOs and senior IT professionals, desktop-on-demand specialist Nasstar found IT workers are still inundated with chores that sap their ability to work profitably and strategically for their employers.

Top irritations were:

1. Password resets
2. Email management
3. End-users in general
4. Fixing broken printer / photocopiers
5. Support of remote / mobile working
6. Upgrade cycles / applying patches

One UK CIO said he believed up to 70 per cent of his staff’s time was spent on non-strategic IT tasks – “just keeping the lights on”.

Charles Black, CEO of Nasstar, said: “It seems incredible that talented IT resource is still being spent on basic maintenance tasks.”

“I don't suppose for one minute the CEO of these companies runs around with a vacuum cleaner, while the CFO collects dirty plates and mugs from people's desks at the end of the day. So why are well-paid and well-skilled IT professionals still losing sleep over patching and upgrades, which should be pushed out centrally.”

“Choosing solutions, such as the hosted desktop, lift the burden from IT staff, allowing them to focus their skills on delivering competitive advantage to organisations.”

Chris Gulliver, IT Director at Howards Group, a Property Services Group, and a Nasstar customer, said: “We are a very mobile business with demanding customers so a lot of our communication is done ‘on the move’. The nature of our business is very high-pressure and we must work as efficiently as possible across a large geographical area.”

“We always have to be more responsive than our competitors, but this can’t be done without the highest system accessibility and mobility. With a hosted desktop, we can respond to emails on the move and access the company data share from any computer meaning we don't have to wait to get back to the office to provide that report or check the contract. This is driven by our IT team.”

“But the more time spent on IT chores, the less time there is available for innovation and delivering real strategic value to the business,” he concluded.

Executive quote

Charles Black, CEO of Nasstar, said: “It seems incredible that talented IT resource is still being spent on basic maintenance tasks.”

“I don't suppose for one minute the CEO of these companies runs around with a vacuum cleaner, while the CFO collects dirty plates and mugs from people's desks at the end of the day. So why are well-paid and well-skilled IT professionals still losing sleep over patching and upgrades, which should be pushed out centrally.”

“Choosing solutions, such as the hosted desktop, lift the burden from IT staff, allowing them to focus their skills on delivering competitive advantage to organisations.”

Customer quote

Chris Gulliver, IT Director at Howards Group, a Property Services Group, and a Nasstar customer, said: “We are a very mobile business with demanding customers so a lot of our communication is done ‘on the move’. The nature of our business is very high-pressure and we must work as efficiently as possible across a large geographical area.”

“We always have to be more responsive than our competitors, but this can’t be done without the highest system accessibility and mobility. With a hosted desktop, we can respond to emails on the move and access the company data share from any computer meaning we don't have to wait to get back to the office to provide that report or check the contract. This is driven by our IT team.”

“But the more time spent on IT chores, the less time there is available for innovation and delivering real strategic value to the business,” he concluded.

About the company

About Nasstar plc
Nasstar plc, an AIM-quoted company, makes computing a simple internet subscription service, enabling subscribers of its hosted desktop service to do all of their computing in the internet cloud rather than on a local computer. Nasstar's Hosted Desktop provides subscribers with access to their desktop, files, applications and email over the Internet providing a real alternative to traditional on-premise computing.

The company vision is that everyday computing is becoming a utility in the workplace - just like mobile phones - and should therefore be a simple subscription service. Nasstar's vision is to use the Internet to deliver everyday computing, removing the need for traditional on-premise IT.

Nasstar is fast establishing itself as a disruptive force within the IT industry, and customers who have already adopted this service approach to the desktop include Stelios’ easyGroup.

Nasstar was founded in 1998 by Charles Black. Nasstar plc was admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market in December 2005 (AIM: NASA).

Contact details

For further information about Nasstar, please contact:
Steven George or Laura Nettley at LEWIS
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7802 2626
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7802 2627
Email: nasstar@lewispr.com

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