Home working guarantees your business continuity in difficult circumstances. But is your business prepared for this? In this article, we are going to present you all the pros and cons of home working in a nutshell, and provide you with practical tips for organising this properly. 

Working from home: business continuity even in difficult circumstances

‘Remote working’ is a way of working that is gaining increasing traction. Your employees do not have to be physically present in their usual workplace in your business premises in order to perform their daily tasks.

As you are undoubtedly aware, the worldwide situation regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) is changing hour by hour. Apart from the impact on the health of the global population, there is also going to be an economic impact that is not currently predictable. Many companies are concerned about their own continuity and we understand that our customers may also have questions for Combell, as their provider of IT services.

No downtime anticipated

Are you looking for hosting on which to run Windows? If so, you are probably thinking about a Windows VPS. But working with OpenStack might be a better alternative. And why not also try a Linux VPS? Let us guide you through the various options available.

Take a look at our OpenStack solutions

Opting for a VPS: a lot of autonomy and control

Combell has a large variety of hosting options on offer - from predefined web hosting packages to managed hosting solutions tailored to your needs and OpenStack Cloud. The form of hosting that is the most suitable for you depends on your specific requirements.

It has become a lot more difficult for cybercriminals to register a .eu domain extension for their evil purposes thanks to a solution based on Artificial Intelligence. This immediately makes .eu domains much safer for users. How does this AI work?

Is your .eu domain still available?

Proactive selection thanks to Artificial Intelligence

It is unfortunate, but it appears to be very easy for crooks to get their way via the Internet. They register a domain name and then set about sending spam, distributing malware, etc. Or they use their domain name as an attack base from which to carry out other fraudulent practices such as phishing, scams, etc.

As the name implies, you will pay more for a premium domain name than for an ‘ordinary’ domain name. Why is that? And is it worthwhile to pay that price difference? 

A premium domain name: what is it?

In a nutshell, premium domain names are domain names for which you have to pay more on registration because they are understood to be very desirable from a marketing point of view. They usually involve short, easy to remember domain names – the shorter the better. Or a domain name that contains an obvious keyword, so that the website you link it to ranks higher in search engine results.

Have you opted for dedicated server hardware on account of security or performance? That is possible, of course. It actually used to be the standard in the small world of hosting. Nowadays, the cost price and limited flexibility are often a minus point. Thanks to virtualisation, matters can be better managed and are also more scalable and affordable. And a few years ago, technology took yet another step forwards: you can scale up in seconds in an almost unlimited way with containers.

Containers provide the building blocks for the age of the cloud.

Decovry, a platform for discovering new design products, opted for online working with Office 365 at Combell. This business in Ghent, which is enjoying rapid international growth, was primarily looking for a place in which its huge number of files would be accessible to all its collaborators.

Online working with Office 365

Daily quest for new design products

The Decovry website, a platform created in 2011 by Carole Meert, lives and breathes style. Its business concept revolves completely around design. A team of employees (aka design scouts) traverse the entire world on a daily basis to seek out new products.

The concept of cloud computing is on everyone’s lips. As is the idea of ‘as a Service’ services that are offered in the cloud: Software-, Application- and Infrastructure-as-a-Service. But what is it all about? And would it help you and your business to advance? Come with us on a journey to the cloud! 

The benefits of cloud computing

In ‘Cloud computing’, the ‘cloud’ stands for a network of servers. Put simply: instead of working on your own computer, you do your work via the Internet or another network on servers located somewhere else.

The setting: the Wild West. The people: enthusiastic, playful and eager to learn. The tutorials and talks: amusing, fascinating and innovative. Once again, there were lots and lots of ideas that could be picked up at the PHPBenelux Conference 2020. This is an impression of the event and an overview of the talks that made an impression on us.

PHPBenelux: elephants in the Wild West

For the 11th edition of PHPBenelux conference, which took place on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 January at the Ter Elst Hotel in Edegem, the attendees were immersed in a Wild West atmosphere.

At times, IT management is a bit like gardening as far as your organisation or business is concerned, with IT outsourcing being similar to hiring a gardener. Gardening is great. Anyone blessed with green fingers undoubtedly appreciates the benefits provided by the garden. And in due course, the result will be a lovely place. That is... providing you maintain it on a regular basis, and have the necessary gardening knowledge. If not, the results can also be somewhat disappointing.

It is exactly the same with your company’s IT infrastructure. With the right approach and regular maintenance, you can have a comfortable, digital environment.

The year 2019 will probably stay in the memory of Combell CEO Jonas Dhaenens for a long time. Earlier this year, he received awards from Computable and Vlerick Business School. And more recently, he also won the title of “Voka Legende 2019”, which is quite an honour!

A Voka award, following in the footsteps of illustrious predecessors

Voka is the Flemish network of companies that acts as the umbrella organisation for the eight regional chambers of commerce, representing more than 18,000 companies. It strives for a business-friendly working environment and protects the interests of companies.

Cultural centres also want to work more efficiently, and the ERP software Yesplan helps them achieve their digital automation goals. Yesplan chose Combell to host its software platform. Wouter Vermeylen and Johan Brichau from Yesplan explain why.

Yesplan: automated back office for cultural centres

Yesplan is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) ERP system that is specifically used in a particular sector, i.e. culture. The software platform was originally created for the Vooruit in Ghent, as a means of automating the back office of this cultural centre. But since then, it has grown into a platform that can be found in 9 European countries, where 250 theatres and pop venues are now using Yesplan.