Knowledge from practice
We write about the subjects we work on every day: backup and recovery, security on the shop floor, POS systems and remote support. No theory, just what we come across on client sites.
Four subjects that keep coming back
Since 2019 we have worked for more than 150 clients, with teams in Amsterdam, Antwerp and Karaman. The questions that reach our desk most often are the ones we write down. That way you can read our approach before you speak to us.
- Backup and recoveryWhat a backup is really worth once you have to restore it, and how to stop ransomware taking your recovery points with it.
- Cybersecurity in retailSecurity on the shop floor differs from security in the office. We describe where the risks sit per location.
- Store IT and POS systemsFrom choosing a POS system to running it across several branches, including the integrations around it.
- Remote supportWhich support models exist, how they compare and what 24/7 cover asks of an organisation in practice.
Twenty-eight guides from our own engineers
Written for the decisions that come across our desk most often: which brand, which platform, what it costs and what to do first. Each one opens with a short answer and ends with the questions clients actually ask.
Which IT brands we work with, and when we pick which
Dell, HP, Lenovo, Cisco, Fortinet, Yealink, Veeam, Microsoft and more: what we deliver and manage in the Benelux, and why we pick each one.
Read the article →Business laptops: Dell, HP or Lenovo?
Dell Latitude, HP EliteBook or Lenovo ThinkPad: which fits which user, and what a workplace really costs over three years.
Read the article →Meeting room AV: which kit for which room
Which meeting room hardware fits which room size, why audio decides whether a room works, and how to hand over a finished Teams room.
Read the article →Wi-Fi site survey with Ekahau
A site survey with Ekahau replaces guesswork with a heatmap per floor. What we measure, and when a survey pays for itself.
Read the article →Immutable backup: a copy nobody can delete
Immutable backup with Veeam, Synology and Datto: the 3-2-1-1-0 rule in practice, and why the restore test is the only proof that counts.
Read the article →Firewall and endpoint: building a stack that reports into one place
Firewall, endpoint, identity and edge for a multi-site mid-market estate, and what NIS2 expects you to be able to show.
Read the article →Azure, AWS or stay where you are?
Which cloud platform fits a Benelux mid-market organisation, what the VMware licensing shift means, and how to keep cloud cost in check.
Read the article →Buy or rent IT hardware?
When renting laptops and meeting room kit is cheaper than buying, when it is not, and what a workplace costs per month all in.
Read the article →NIS2: what you must be able to show
What NIS2 asks of a mid-market organisation in the Benelux, which evidence an auditor or a customer will ask for, and the order we would put the measures in.
Read the article →Outsourcing your service desk
What an outsourced IT service desk costs per user, which tickets should stay in house, and how to keep quality from dropping in the handover.
Read the article →IT staffing or hiring?
When a seconded IT specialist beats a permanent hire, what an unfilled vacancy costs, and how to keep the knowledge in house.
Read the article →POS systems and branch connectivity
How to keep tills running on the busiest day of the year: network design per branch, what to do when the line drops, and which failures cost money on the spot.
Read the article →Warehouse IT: scanners, Wi-Fi and the WMS
Why a warehouse network fails where an office network does not, how racking and stock change coverage, and what to fix before adding hardware.
Read the article →A Microsoft 365 migration playbook
The order we migrate in, what always takes longer than planned, and the checks that stop a mailbox move from becoming a week of complaints.
Read the article →What 24/7 IT support really means
The difference between on-call and staffed cover, what a night response actually costs, and how to work out whether your organisation needs it at all.
Read the article →Device lifecycle: purchase to certified disposal
What happens to a laptop between the purchase order and the wipe certificate, why staging saves more than it costs, and what an auditor expects at the end.
Read the article →Healthcare IT: shared workstations and uptime
Why a care location needs a different IT design: shared logins, wireless that follows people between rooms, and no maintenance window.
Read the article →SLAs you can actually meet
Response time versus resolution time, priorities that survive a bad week, and what a monthly report needs to be worth reading.
Read the article →Phishing and the human layer
Why awareness training alone does not work, which three controls stop most credential attacks, and what to do in the first hour after somebody clicks.
Read the article →Keeping cloud cost under control
Why a cloud bill creeps up rather than explodes, the five line items that cause most of it, and a monthly routine that takes twenty minutes.
Read the article →Education IT: hundreds logging in at once
Why a school network fails at nine in the morning and not at eleven, how to plan capacity for a lecture hall, and why maintenance never happens in an exam week.
Read the article →Separating OT and IT in manufacturing
How to protect machine control systems that cannot be patched, why flat networks are the real risk on a production site, and where to start with segmentation.
Read the article →Hospitality IT: guest Wi-Fi and payments
Why guest Wi-Fi should never share a network with the till, how to plan capacity for a full venue, and what to fix before the busy season starts.
Read the article →Cabling and the server rack
The layer nobody looks at until it fails: how many outlets per workplace, when fibre is worth it, and why labelling saves more hours than any tool.
Read the article →Printing and document flows
Printing is boring until it is a security finding. What a multifunctional exposes, how scan to email breaks during a migration, and what print really costs.
Read the article →What should IT cost per employee?
A realistic monthly figure per employee for a Benelux mid-market organisation, what sits inside it, and which line items are usually missing from a budget.
Read the article →Changing IT supplier without damage
What you are entitled to when a contract ends, the order a transition should run in, and the five things to secure before you give notice.
Read the article →Standardising the Windows workplace
Why eight device variants cost more than the hardware saving, how zero-touch enrolment changes a rollout, and what to standardise first.
Read the article →From the archive
Four pieces we published before this blog existed. They still live at their original address and open in a new tab.
Immutable Backup Strategy
The English version on immutable backups and why they are your last line of defence during a ransomware incident.
Read the article ↗Retail Cybersecurity Store Risks
The English version on security risks on the shop floor and the measures you can take per branch.
Read the article ↗POS Systems for Dutch Retail
The English guide to POS systems for the Dutch market: selection, integrations, management and support.
Read the article ↗Retail IT: Omnichannel Peak
Omnichannel retail during peak periods and what that asks of your store and web environment.
Read the article ↗About this page. The eight guides above are published here; the four below are on itproposal.com and open in a new tab. Missing a subject? Let us know at info@itproposal.com and we will pick it up.
From article to approach
Recognise a subject from the articles above? These pages explain how we handle it in practice.
Rather have a conversation than an article
Running into one of these subjects in your own environment? Call 085 060 9347 or email info@itproposal.com. We are glad to talk it through with you.