ict-direct

We took place in the virtual event in 2021, the leads were poorly arranged for us - it was a free test event, however, it was disappointing. We were asked to subscribe to the Hosted Leaders this year, but decided not to do it due to our experience the previous year. We booked our stand a few months ago, a couple of weeks ago we received an addendum invoice for Connect @ BETT for 2023. I wrote back to say that we weren't happy being invoiced for something that we hadn't agreed to do. I had a meeting with our relationship manager and said how disappointed we were with their pushy methods. The ever-increasing costs and perceived lower value for money are other points of contention for us. This feedback was going to be sent to their management. She did say that next years Connect @ BETT is being contracted to a specialist company (personatech.com) that offers a better solution than in previous years. They say there will be dual opt-in for the supplier and customer - I think we'd to see a demo of the system. We are waiting for their response.

Hi, I'll try our trade team, I've passed the specs onto them to look at. I'll come back when to you when I hear from them.

http://www.ict-direct.co.uk/media/edugeek/ITSurvey.jpg Schools have been through the wringer over the last decade. With budget cuts, larger class sizes, ever-increasing demands on technological resources and topped off by a global pandemic. It’s been a turbulent time and our educational institutions have been forced to adapt to changing needs more often than limited budgets allow. ICT Direct have always tried to help. Providing schools with affordable tools no matter the situation. Now, ahead of the BETT show in January, we’re looking at how we can do something a little different. Therefore, we’re proud to launch our Great School IT Survey for 2022! By inviting our thousands of UK educational customers, the wonderful members of Edugeek.net, our website visitors and those people we meet at BETT - Our aim is to build an accurate picture of the current state of IT in schools across the UK. With your help we’ll be able to show you how your school’s IT provision compares to similar schools both locally and in different regions. If you’re worried about under-investment in your school, you’ll be able to see how schools of a similar size are faring. You may even be able to use the data to reinforce the case for essential funds to your leadership team. Submissions will be anonymous, and we plan to make the results freely available via our website, mailing list and blog. We encourage you to take part by visiting this link: https://tinyurl.com/GreatITSurvey

Hi @JonnyAlpha - I've just sent you a message. Regards John

Soldier goes up a river in a hot country looking for a bald headed bloke.

Tales about more than 6 superb cowboys.

Two blokes in a tall building with a light, that warns ships from rocks, argue a lot and things happen.

Cockney chaps go to southern Europe, nick a few shiny blocks and drive in small cars - its a real cliffhanger.

Bloke runs a long way whilst growing a beard.

Gorilla climbs building then falls off.

EduGeekers, Many thanks for your patience, the judging has been hard and often strenuous. The diversity of the entries has been superb! The quality of talent out there is insane, many of you have chosen the wrong career path. There were several entries outside the closing date that were equally as good. Before I announce the winners, I’d like to give a shout out to Mewdewgooboofoo, for dedicating a week’s League tournament name to Tim, with all player profile icons being Tim’s various heads. [Drum roll, if you please] Without further ado, I'd like to announce the winners..... In 1st place, TriggerHappyUK, for the portrait of Tim the happy Prince. Our runners up are Garacesh (the athletic portrait of ‘Tim’ Henman) and Bald_Pig (for Groovy Baby! Tim) Please could the winners please email us at [email protected] and we can arrange for prizes to be sent out.

Full size version of Teletubby John is concerning.

, thats brilliant.

Which was better NEIPA or the West Coast Pale IPA?

Brew Day on Saturday - New England IPA. I'm really looking forward to having a go at this - its one of my favourites. Got Pale Ale malt, Munich malt, Crystal malt and Oats. Hops - Citra, Simcoe, Centennial, Mosaic. Anybody had a go at a NEIPA? Any tips?

@StevieM posted http://www.edugeek.net/forums/windows/210364-competition-time-come-up-name-john-gs-homebrew-ale.html#post1796962 An update for all: The 1st fermenter had a Citra dry hop addition in the last 4 days of fermentation The 2nd fermenter had a Mosaic dry hop addition in the last two days of fermentation I took samples and both were cloudy. After two days on adding finings, I opened the fermenter - the Citra had cleared up, however the citra/mosaic was pretty cloudy. They both tasted good. OG: 1044, FG: 1010 - working out at 4.4% ABV Bottling made 10 bottles and a 2 litre growler of Citra; 10 bottles and a 5 litre mini keg of the Mosaic/Citra. Set both of these to bottle condition, the keg was pressurised. Had the first tasting of the mini keg with my brewing partner last Friday - the pressure valve must have had a leak as there was only a tiny amount of gas - serves my right for a buying cheap import. It was cloudy, but tasted great, after drinking the 5 litres, I'd have to say that it felt stronger 4.4% (hic). Good news though - no hangover and no dodgy guts. Bottles need another 5 days I reckon.

I used the first brew to test a couple of fermentations. So the hop I used to boil was Citra and I've dry hopped on Sunday night, one fermenter with Citra, the other with Mosaic. Here's how it looked after a week of fermenting: So far....ok. Dry hops come out and gravity reading tonight. I'll drop in some finings to help clear it up - taste test Sunday (..nervous)

Mobberley Brewhouse do a Tap Night - the first Tuesday of the month, 6.30pm to 10pm £10 - for all you can drink!!

@StevieM @bald_pig @pubgrub277 - I'm going to have to ramp up production.

Thanks for that, I was amazed how aggressive the fermentation was in the 36 hours - blowing water out of the airlock. It has settled a lot since then.

Is anybody a home brewer? Over the last couple of years, my eyes have been opened to the tastes and aromas of the American hopped ales. My favourite microbrewery, Mobberley Brewhouse, offered me a discounted 25Kg bag of Pale Ale Malt – hmm, I thought, I fancy having a go it this – what could possibly go wrong? I set out on a mission of brewing wonderful Citra’s and New England IPA’s. Garage was cleared out, equipment bought and hops ordered. Countless YouTube brewing videos later – I was ready as I would ever be. The first attempt took place 9 days ago – a Citra Pale Ale. I mashed the malt; boiled, sparged and chilled the wort; then finally set it to ferment. Many errors were made and loads of lessons learned. Now I wait patiently as the bubbles percolate frantically. Has anybody got any brewing stories or tips to share? Johnnie G

An exciting opportunity to join a successful growing company in the refurbished IT industry. We are looking for a talented and driven IT hardware sales professional to join our vibrant and enthusiastic team. You will be responsible for maximising sales and managing relationships with customers, primarily from the educational sector, but also expanding into local authorities, health trusts and other public service providers. Our product range consists solely of refurbished business class IT hardware from desktop PC’s, laptops and servers to workstations and associated components. As such, you should have both a strong knowledge and a passion for working with hardware. Exceptional customer care is what differentiates us from our competition. Improving our customer experience is a top priority. We expect you to be a customer service champion, going the extra mile when needed. Duties & Responsibilities • Provide technically accurate PC, laptop, server, workstation and storage configurations from available inventory to meet customer requirements. • Maximise sales opportunities through up-selling of compatible options such as laptop trolleys and extended warranties. • Preparing quotations for both new and existing customers. • Develop sales leads into repeat business, account managed customers. • Promote business within forum sites and other media as directed, reporting on feedback and trends. • Engage open communication channels through the internal business, external supplier and customers (Head Teachers, School Business Managers, ICT Network Managers, ICT Co-ordinators). • Investigate and develop new potential Public Sector channels and opportunities. • Provide front line support for warranty issues ensuring that customer needs are met and are satisfied with outcomes. • Meet and exceed revenue targets and customer service goals. Skills & Experience • Personable, engaging, enthusiastic and non-pushy sales manner suited to a technical environment. • A background knowledge and genuine interest in IT hardware (Ideally with Server/Enterprise exposure). • Strong knowledge of Public Sector markets and requirements • Proven customer relationship building and management skills • Strong business and commercial acumen • Highly proficient in the use of MS Office applications (particularly excel), email and the internet • 2 years of direct sales experience preferable Complimentary Skills & Experience • ERP System user experience (MS Dynamics NAV, AX, SAP or similar) • CRM Sales Systems Experience (Dynamics CRM, Salesforce or similar) • BSc Degree in business, communications, finance marketing economics or similar • Social media and forum management experience especially within the Public Sector • Public Sector background Details • Salary: Competitive salary package + profit share incentive scheme, negotiable depending on skills and experience. • Additional/Bonus: Profit share incentive scheme available after successful probation period • Benefits: Cycle to works scheme, kiddie vouchers scheme, free eye tests, regular team events, fully equipped canteen with espresso machine, length of service rewards and an environment that encourages learning and initiative with the offering of progression. • Payment Frequency: Monthly • Pension: NEST pension scheme • Working hours: 8:30am – 5:00pm • Annual Holidays: 30 Days (inc public holidays) • Location: Ribchester, Preston, Lancashire • Transport: Rideshare options available, limited public transport • Reporting to: Head of Department Job Type: Full-time Experience: • IT Hardware: 1 year (Preferred) • Sales: 2 years (Preferred) Location: • Preston PR3 (Preferred) For more information and details of how to apply: https://www.indeed.co.uk/jobs?q=1st%20technologies&l=pr3%203xl&vjk=7d2d82beb0eabc07

I'm very sorry Martin Jones - our resident, long suffering Man United fan. http://www.ict-direct.co.uk/media/edugeek/citeh.JPG

"Finally, we have Martin. Our current finance maestro & resident Manchester Utd fanatic. He has a fierce rivalry with ICT Direct's own John Graham who supports Man City." Its fair to say that Martin hasn't faired well recently with regards to our rivalry.

Good morning Edugeek! This week is an important week in the development of ICT direct and 1st Technologies group as a whole. I thought I would take five minutes to let you know what we've been up to and what is still in the pipeline. For the past ten years our entire company setup has been managed using a combination of Sage Accounts and many many Google spreadsheets. This for years was all we needed as we were a small outfit with less than 10 employees. Now we are a group of three leading brands and over 40 employees. Our continued growth has, over time, exposed the need for an improved and scalable system. Some of you may already know from our conversations that we took the decision to move everything over to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP system. It’s taken over two years to finalise and many long hours of development in order to create a self-contained system tailored to the needs of the business. There are many benefits, which will help the business and our customer service. Initially, we’ll be able to look up our entire inventory to a component level, with many of these components broken down to part number level. Our quotes and invoices will now offer an increased level of detail, again down to component level. In the near future, the system will provide improved options to our website as our entire live inventory will be mapped to Magento, enabling you to build from the chassis upwards for all our configure to order products. Like all new systems it’ll take need a little bedding in. Over the next few days we’ll be adjusting to the new environment and picking our way through any niggles that may have slipped our testing process. As a result, requests for pdf quotations may take slightly longer than usual. Our website has current pricing and you can also email or call us as usual (01254 820980). John