Kieran Roberts, Founder and Director at one of our partners, Fortifi Cyber Security, provides tips on getting the scope of a Penetration Test right, specifically how to plan ahead with what to test, in what order, and why. Read on to find out how to genuinely improve your security.

Most organisations know they should run a penetration test, but far fewer stop to ask what the test is actually meant to achieve.

Each year, a renewal date appears, last year's scope gets dusted off, the same systems get tested again, and a near-identical report lands in someone's inbox. A box is ticked, and nobody is much safer than they were twelve months ago.

That is the problem we want to talk about.

Not whether you should test, but what you should test, in what order, and why, because if you get the scope right, a penetration test becomes a genuine improvement to your security. Get it wrong, and you have bought yourself a very expensive piece of paper.

Data is critical to the day-to-day operation of most businesses. If that data is not secure and protected, the business is vulnerable.

Oxfordshire-based msolv required a reliable solution to safeguard its information and prevent any potential data loss.

msolv is a UK company with a rich history of laser materials processing and inkjet materials deposition. msolv now focuses on the semiconductor packaging market, providing equipment and processes for large-area electronics, such as sensors and solar energy. It is part of the Hong Kong based CN-Innovations group.

The custom-engineering firm partnered with OX IT Solutions and Proximitum to enhance their storage, network and protection.

July is when most offices start to empty out. Desks sit unused for a week or two at a time, out of office replies go up, and the usual rhythm of who's around and who isn't gets a lot less predictable. For cyber criminals, that's exactly the kind of gap they're looking for.

It's easy to think of summer as a quieter time for the business, but from a security point of view, it can actually be one of the riskier periods of the year. Here's what's worth thinking about before your team heads off.

The summer holidays might be edging closer, but for anyone responsible for a school's IT infrastructure, September has a habit of arriving even quicker.

New students, new staff, updated systems and a fresh wave of devices all landing at once can be a lot to manage. And with cyber threats against the education sector on the rise, getting your technology in order before the new academic year begins is no longer something you can leave until the last minute.

At OX IT Solutions, we appreciate this is a busy time of year for school ICT and network teams. We work with organisations across the UK to make sure their IT is secure, well-managed and ready to perform when it matters. Here is what every school should be thinking about before the start of term.

Our customers John McMillan, Associate Director of IT and Josh Capon, IT Operations Manager, from ASSET Education in Suffolk talk about the benefits of using OX IT's Managed Service for Data Protection, which is powered by Acronis Cyber Protect. They also talk about their IT priorities as a Google-based environment in order to support the school curriculum for 16 Primary Schools.

You'll also get a useful overview of the Cyber Protect solution and how it enables regulatory and insurance industry compliance in Education, from Acronis expert Kieron Moore, Enterprise Sales Manager - Cloud.

Watch Associate Director of IT, John McMillan (pictured), Josh Capon, IT Operations Manager and Rob Penn, Cybersecurity Administrator, from our customer ASSET Education Trust, talk about the challenges they face in a busy multi-academy trust, specifically what they are using OX IT’s Managed Service for Backup, DR and Cybersecurity to do, to protect the trust’s data, pupils and staff 24/7. John and his team highlight why they chose our Managed Service, powered by Acronis, and also what they like most about working with us.

Listen to OX IT Director & Account Manager Paul Streeter explaining what Penetration Testing is, why it is worth doing and how testing your defences for vulnerable points means you'll always be able to stay ahead of the latest cyber threats out there - resulting in greater peace of mind.

For a small expense, you'll avert disaster, stay open for business and be glad you did it!

Watch Shaun Roe, Technical Director from our customer and partner Proximitum, talk about the unique way we work together to deliver IT solutions and managed IT services to some of our shared customers. Shaun gives examples of customers we have helped recently with our managed IT services, which include backup, disaster recovery, cybersecurity solutions and data protection. Shaun also highlights why he chose to work with OX IT Solutions and also what he likes most about working with us.

In our recent webinar looking at cybersafety in the education sector, we heard from David Fuller, Director of Operations at The MILL Academy, alongside Martin Lethbridge, Principal Sales Engineer from WatchGuard Technologies. The conversation focused on the realities of managing IT in education and the practical steps schools can take to strengthen their cyber resilience.

Here are our five key takeaways from the webinar…

Watch this video and you’ll meet our customer, David Fuller, Operations Director at MILL Academy, Witney, talking about his IT plans and specific Cybersecurity challenges for this multi-academy trust. David explains what it is like working with OX IT Solutions, as an extension of his IT team. He also gives his reasons for using Acronis for back up and disaster recovery and WatchGuard for firewalls, and the benefits he's seeing from using both solutions.

To avoid any cyber breach to your university, school, academy trust, college or nursery, it is always safer to ensure you get the right balance of cybersecurity protection for your timescales and budget. The technology and expertise do exist to counter these threats. So, where AI is the attacker, cybersecurity technology has advanced so that AI is the defence. A preventative approach is key.

Come and listen to one of our Education customers talk about their IT priorities in a multi-academy trust for the year ahead, including what they are using their cyber threat protection to do and the delivery of services in a busy IT department to support the curriculum goals for 2026.

You'll also hear about the latest threat types and trends in the Education cyber landscape, plus the way to address them, from an industry expert at one of our top technology partners, WatchGuard.

Cybersecurity in 2026 is changing fast. But the solution is not about fear. It’s about control. Resilience. And knowing your business is prepared for whatever comes next.

Find out more about the key trends that OX IT Solutions foresees as being important for UK organisations in 2026.