Insights
Technical Guidance
Implementation detail for IT managers, administrators and technical decision-makers.
20 articles
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Windows Server 2016 support ends on 12 January 2027: planning the exitTechnical Guidance
Security updates for Windows Server 2016 stop on 12 January 2027. Here's how to find out what you're running, choose between upgrading, rebuilding, moving to Azure and paid extended updates, and handle the server that can't move in time.
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Keeping a bespoke tool maintainable: documentation, tests and handoverTechnical Guidance
A script, a spreadsheet process or a small internal app that one person built works until that person isn't there. Here is what to write down, test and hand over so someone else can keep it running.
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SQL Server 2016 reaches the end of extended support in July: your optionsTechnical Guidance
If a business application of yours runs on SQL Server 2016, its security updates stop in July unless you arrange otherwise. Here are the realistic routes and the questions that decide between them.
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Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7: what changes for an office networkTechnical Guidance
A new access point can advertise 6 GHz and Wi-Fi 7, but your laptops, the UK rules and your cabling decide how much of it you'll use. A planning guide for an office refresh.
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Secure Boot certificates issued in 2011 begin to expire in June 2026: what to checkTechnical Guidance
Microsoft lists three Secure Boot certificate expiries between June and October 2026. Here's what they cover, how to find out which of your physical and virtual machines are affected, and how to pilot the update.
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Network segmentation in practice: VLANs, guest access and what goes whereTechnical Guidance
A VLAN keeps traffic apart on the wire, but the rules between segments are what decide who can reach what. A practical way to choose segments, handle guest Wi-Fi, DHCP and DNS, and roll it out without breaking printing.
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Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 reach the end of support in October: what a hybrid estate has to decideTechnical Guidance
Support for Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 ends on 14 October 2025, and in a hybrid estate the server is only part of the question. Here is what Microsoft had documented by late July 2025 about the routes open to you.
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Disaster recovery that has been rehearsed: a runbook outlineTechnical Guidance
A green backup report tells you copies exist, not that anyone could rebuild the business from them. Here's what a recovery runbook should hold, the order to restore things in, and how to rehearse it until it's true.
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Phishing-resistant sign-in with passkeys in Microsoft Entra ID: what to planTechnical Guidance
Push approvals and codes can still be handed to an attacker by a convincing fake page. Settle these things before moving administrators and high-risk users to passkeys in Microsoft Entra ID.
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Wireless point-to-point links between buildings: planning and pitfallsTechnical Guidance
A wireless link can join two buildings without digging up a car park, but it needs a clear path, careful mounting, tidy security and a plan for the day it fails. Here is what to check before you buy.