Black Owl

Black Owl When tech fails, everything stops. We keep things running with straightforward IT support, hosting and domains. When your tech fails, everything stops.

From classrooms to boardrooms, we handle the technical side so you can focus on your day — no jargon, no drama, just properly managed tech. We’re here to keep the wheels turning with straightforward IT support, hosting, and domains. From classrooms to boardrooms, we handle the technical side so you can get on with your day—no jargon, no drama, just tech handled properly.

🌐 Not all broadband services are created equal.The physical line might be similar. The speed might look similar. The dif...
19/08/2026

🌐 Not all broadband services are created equal.

The physical line might be similar. The speed might look similar. The difference is often the service wrapped around it.

When your broadband stops working, do you want to navigate an automated system and explain the problem to a different person every time?

Or would you rather speak to a friendly team who already knows your organisation, understands your network and takes ownership of getting you back online?

With Black Owl, broadband is not simply a line and a monthly bill.

We can help with:
✅ Choosing the right connection
✅ Installation and configuration
✅ Wi-Fi and network equipment
✅ Monitoring and fault diagnosis
✅ Speaking to the underlying provider
✅ Backup connectivity and failover
✅ One familiar team for your wider IT

We cannot promise that a broadband line will never develop a fault - nobody honestly can. What we can promise is that you will have a friendly, knowledgeable team helping you when it does.

Because the real value of business broadband becomes clear when something goes wrong.

🌍 How is the Strait of Hormuz affecting the price of your next laptop?It sounds like a question for an oil company - not...
17/08/2026

🌍 How is the Strait of Hormuz affecting the price of your next laptop?

It sounds like a question for an oil company - not your IT supplier.

But disruption around one of the world’s most important shipping routes pushes up fuel, energy, insurance and transport costs. Those costs ripple through global manufacturing and eventually reach the technology supply chain.

At the same time, the rapid growth of AI is creating enormous demand for the same types of components used in everyday technology.

AI data centres need huge quantities of:
💾 RAM
💽 SSD storage
🖥️ High-performance processors
⚡ Power and cooling equipment

Manufacturers are directing more production towards this highly profitable market, leaving less capacity for conventional laptops, desktops and servers.

The result?
Hardware prices are rising, availability can change quickly and quotations may not remain valid for as long as they once did.

Your laptop probably didn't travel through the Strait of Hormuz - but the energy used to manufacture and transport it may have been affected by what happens there. Add unprecedented AI demand for memory and storage, and ordinary business IT becomes caught in a very global squeeze.

If you already know that equipment needs replacing, planning ahead could help you avoid an unwelcome surprise later.

☑️ “But we ticked the box…”The policy was written.The training video was watched.The cyber-security questionnaire was co...
14/08/2026

☑️ “But we ticked the box…”

The policy was written.
The training video was watched.
The cyber-security questionnaire was completed.
The box was officially ticked.
But are your systems actually any safer?

Compliance is important - but compliance for compliance's sake can create a false sense of security.

A policy nobody follows will not stop an attack. Annual training that nobody remembers will not prevent somebody clicking a convincing phishing email. A backup is not much use if nobody has tested whether it can be restored.

Good security is not about collecting green ticks. It is about turning those requirements into practical, everyday protection.

Because cyber criminals rarely stop and ask whether your paperwork is up to date.

📧 Are you still using a free personal email address for your business?An address such as yourbusiness@gmail.com may have...
11/08/2026

📧 Are you still using a free personal email address for your business?

An address such as [email protected] may have worked perfectly well when you started - but as your business grows, it can begin to hold you back.

Microsoft 365 gives you professional email using your own domain, such as [email protected], together with the tools needed to manage it properly.

✅ A more professional and recognisable email address
✅ Separate accounts for each member of your team
✅ Central control over access and security
✅ Shared calendars and mailboxes
✅ Business file storage through OneDrive and SharePoint
✅ Familiar Microsoft tools such as Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams

Most importantly, the accounts, emails and files belong to the business - not whichever person happened to create the original free account.

This is not about Gmail being bad. The problem is relying on a free personal account to hold important business emails, customer details, invoices and password resets.

Microsoft 365 turns email from a personal inbox into a properly managed business service.

Is your business still relying on an email account that was only meant to be temporary?

🌐 Who actually owns your domain name?Most organisations know their domain name - but far fewer know exactly where it is ...
07/08/2026

🌐 Who actually owns your domain name?

Most organisations know their domain name - but far fewer know exactly where it is registered, whose account controls it, or which email address receives the renewal notices.

That can become a serious problem when:
• A former employee registered it
• An old web designer still controls the account
• Renewal emails go to an unused inbox
• Nobody has the login details
• The registrant information is out of date

Your domain is more than just your website address. It may also control your email, online services and a large part of your organisation’s identity.

As a Nominet Accredited Channel Partner, Black Owl can help organisations properly manage and protect their UK domain names - including registrations, renewals, transfers and ownership checks.

A worthwhile question for today:
Could you log in and prove that your organisation controls its domain name?

⚠️ Do you take payments through WooCommerce?WooCommerce has issued an important security update for its Stripe payment p...
05/08/2026

⚠️ Do you take payments through WooCommerce?

WooCommerce has issued an important security update for its Stripe payment plugin, also known as WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway.

A critical security issue has now been patched, but online store owners should check that their website is running an updated version.

Even when automatic updates are enabled, it is worth confirming that the plugin has updated successfully:

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard
2. Go to Dashboard → Updates
3. Find WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway
4. Install any available update

The latest patched version is 10.8.5, with fixes also released for several older version branches.

Keeping WordPress, WooCommerce and payment plugins updated is essential. These systems handle sensitive customer and payment information, so an ignored update can quickly become a serious risk.

Black Owl website customers with managed updates and maintenance are already being checked as part of our normal service.

Not sure whether your website is protected? Get in touch and we can take a look.

💳 Are you still paying for software nobody uses?As organisations grow and change, software licences can quietly build up...
05/08/2026

💳 Are you still paying for software nobody uses?

As organisations grow and change, software licences can quietly build up in the background.

A member of staff leaves, but their licence remains active. A new tool replaces an old one, but both subscriptions continue. Extra accounts are added “just in case” and never reviewed again.

Individually, these costs may not seem significant. Across Microsoft 365, security tools, cloud storage, backups and other subscriptions, they can soon add up.

A regular licence review can help identify:
• Accounts that are no longer needed
• Licences assigned at the wrong level
• Duplicate or overlapping services
• Subscriptions that are no longer being used
• Access that should have been removed

It is not just about saving money. Removing unused accounts also reduces unnecessary access and helps keep systems secure.

When did you last check exactly what software your organisation is paying for?

Could you recover an email that was deleted six months ago? 📧It might have contained:- An important customer instruction...
03/08/2026

Could you recover an email that was deleted six months ago? 📧

It might have contained:
- An important customer instruction
- An old quotation or invoice
- A contract attachment
- Evidence needed for a dispute
- Information from a former employee

Many businesses assume that because their email is in Microsoft 365, everything is automatically backed up forever.

Unfortunately, being stored in the cloud is not the same as being properly backed up.

Deleted emails and files may only be recoverable for a limited period. By the time somebody realises they need them, they may already be gone.

A dedicated Microsoft 365 backup gives your business a separate, searchable copy of its emails, OneDrive files, SharePoint data and Teams content — helping you recover information long after it disappeared from the live account.

Not sure what would happen if an important email vanished today? Black Owl can review your current backup arrangements and help make sure your Microsoft 365 data is properly protected.

If your company password system is “ask Dave”, it is not really a system. 🔐Business passwords have a habit of ending up ...
30/07/2026

If your company password system is “ask Dave”, it is not really a system. 🔐

Business passwords have a habit of ending up in all sorts of places:
Saved in a browser
Written in a notebook
Stored in a spreadsheet
Shared over email
Or remembered by the one person who is currently on holiday

A proper password manager gives each person secure access to the accounts they need, without everybody having to know or reuse the same passwords.

It also makes it much easier to share access safely, create stronger passwords and remove access when someone leaves.

Your password manager should be boring.

It should quietly keep everything secure, organised and accessible to the right people — without relying on Dave’s memory.

Black Owl can help businesses put a simple, secure password management system in place.

Address

Office 7, The Forest Rock Offices, Leicester Road
Whitwick
LE675GQ

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm

Telephone

+443301224212

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