Holker have rewarded two new members of the team for being ‘the perfect example of how to start a new job.’ Ethan Warren and Haaris Irshad, who both joined the company in June, have been named joint winners of Holker IT’s Employee of the Quarter. The awards, which have been running for just over a...

Holker’s ‘man behind the scenes’, Andrew Stockton, has been awarded Employee of the Quarter. The Employee of the Quarter award is voted for by peers. His fellow colleagues said not only is Andrew fantastic in his day-to-day role, he also steps up to assist key business projects in moving these forward – including the upgrade...

We’d like to welcome Conner Drury, who has joined our growing team. Conner, 24, previously worked at another IT company for almost nine years after starting as an apprentice. He worked his way up to leading the technical support team. Conner, who has joined the team as a 3rd line engineer, has already completed Microsoft...

Senior Projects Engineer Ash Alom has been announced as the latest Employee of the Quarter at Holker IT. Matthew Phillipson, Head of Service at Holker, oversees the Employee of the Quarter, voted for by the employees. He said: said: “There were some fantastic nominations – which only confirms what great people we have. “Ash, as always, has completed some fantastic work, going above and beyond...

William Haythornthwaite, a first line apprentice at Holker, has been studying hard to pass the intensive certification. Will has demonstrated a solid understanding of core data concepts, such as relational data, nonrelational data, big data, and analytics. Plus, familiarity with the roles, tasks, and responsibilities in the world of data and data analytics to achieve...

In November, Holker teamed up with Allied Telesis and attended the coveted Education Forum. The two-day event, held at Whittlebury Park in Northampton, brought together education professionals and key industry solution providers. The format was quite different compared to typical conferences and exhibitions – with one-to-one business meetings, interactive seminars and valuable networking opportunities. Martin...

As a result of the company’s growth, Ryan Allen has been promoted to 2nd line engineer – dealing with more complex enquiries. Ryan explained: “Previously our customer help desk had first line engineers and then escalations. To ensure the customers have their enquiries dealt with in a timely manner, Holker have promoted me to 2nd...

Karl Brown continues to sail through his IT examinations. The Senior Service Desk Engineer has passed his MS365 Administrator qualification – which consists of three exams: MS100 identity and services; MS101 mobility and security; and SC300 identity and access administrator – all of which need to be passed to achieve the overall qualification. MS365 Administrator...

Holker’s staff proved they work hard and play hard – as the Burnley-based IT company held a celebratory event for all employees. Held within the grounds of Holker’s 15,447 sq ft Crown House on the Network 65 Business Park, the IT specialist arranged a pizza van, mobile bar and live entertainment for staff to enjoy...

Positive feedback and peer praise has bolstered spirits at Holker IT – since the introduction of their employee of the quarter initiative. Carl Smith-Wilkinson was crowned the first winner at the Burnley IT company after votes from the workforce were compiled. Carl, Senior Service Desk Engineer, was singled out for ‘going the extra mile’ with...

Staff at HOLKER have gone back to the classroom – after enrolling all our staff on additional training courses to keep their knowledge sharp and ahead of the competition.

HOLKER has sold 222 remanufactured laptops in partnership with Circular Computing. Our carbon neutral remanufactured HP, Dell and Lenovo laptops deliver up to 40% cost savings ...

Congratulations to Marcus Farran – who has passed his Integris exam less than two months after joining HOLKER. Integris is a software solution used by schools ...

Matthew Metcalfe and his family took part in the Race for Life Pretty Muddy event in Preston – raising over £630 for Cancer Research.

Holker has made three new appointments to strengthen its sales and support teams.

There was an example in the media recently about the world’s largest meat processing plant that had to stand down up to 7,000 workers in Australian abattoirs after a ransomware attack. We know what you’re thinking, it will never happen to you, right? You can bet that’s what they thought!

You’ve heard of the city that never sleeps… Holker are the IT company that never sleeps. We know how important it is for your IT to be operating at its full potential. We also understand the round-the-clock demands our customers put on their infrastructures.

Local authorities, academy trusts, schools, colleges, and further education institutions all have a legal duty of care to keep children and young people safe online. The Department for Education’s safeguarding software, which was installed on 2 million devices given out over the last 18 months, has now expired as of 30 September 2021. This means that you need to take control of your own devices by making sure you have your own remote management system.

“I think of Holker as superheroes in capes, stood in the wings looking for danger and ready to swoop in and help,” says Rachel Marsland. Rachel, Business Manager at Denton Community College, said the proactive company understand the pressures that schools are under. “I've got so many plates spinning so knowing that I don't need to check up on them or worry about the IT means that it’s one plate I need to spin. It has taken so much pressure off me when trying to manage the school’s business affairs.”

A thriving technology company has become the largest IT business in Burnley after relocating to new premises. Holker IT has just expanded into the 15,447 sq. ft Crown House on the Network 65 Business Park – the very place MD Matthew Metcalfe worked as an engineer. Matthew founded Holker IT in 2009 after spending more than 10 years learning his trade. Rated among the top 10 IT experts in the North West, Matthew has led the rapid development of a company founded on honest and outstanding client services and on a principle of working in partnership for the good of all.

“We are educationalists, not network managers,” says Katrina Brockbank, Strategic Lead of Tor View Teaching School Hub. And that’s why they have put their trust in IT specialist Holker IT. Katrina, formerly the business manager of the special school in Rossendale, rated Outstanding by Ofsted, said: “Our school has grown considerably, and the network and IT is something we just kept adding to like a game of Buckaroo.

Burnley-based HOLKER IT have been looking for sustainable and useful partnerships for our education clients, and we feel we now have the perfect trio of partnerships to roll out to our clients and new schools. HOLKER have launched an education bundle that ticks all the boxes in terms of environmental sustainability, cyber security, safeguarding and funding - all wrapped up with one point of contact, and one provider.

HOLKER are on a quest to align the business, and in the journey this means we have introduced a new number, that is non-geographic and compliments our growing client base, that are nationally located throughout the UK and in some cases truly global. HOLKER have grown in size throughout the pandemic, both physically (actual people that are employed by the business) and organically with clients, by gaining new contracts through new business activities and also by acquiring PC EduTech in the summer of 2020, with 13 staff and 75 schools to serve for IT support.

Cyber security is a concern for most organisations, including schools, and this can be a minefield without the correct tools and awareness in place to tackle the subject head on. The Holker Group would like to offer some practical guidance, in preparation for new legislation, The Age-Appropriate Design Code of Practice, planned to be enforced in September, in time for the new school year. There are many security threats that all schools should be aware of. We have outlined 5 of the most common below and how to practically tackle them:

This week, we have been presented with our 5th certification for Cyber Essentials. This means we are accredited for the next 12 months as a Cyber Secure IT company, and we can also assess our client’s security against the official Government-backed Cyber Essentials certification to help guard against the most common cyber threats and enhance their security. Initially, we only had a small number of clients who required Cyber Essentials certification and this was mainly due to the fact that they were concerned about the loss of financial data. However, with the increase in remote working over the past 12 months we are now finding that the requirement for the Cyber Essentials accreditation has increased dramatically.

Holker have an unmatched understanding of MIS for education packages; as well as providing technical support and the full wrap-around of services, expertise and advice that enables us to deliver schools and colleges exactly what they need in terms of IT. Schools and educational facilities all use Management Information Systems (MIS) that are specialised for the sector and to comply with FE regulations, they are needed to capture, report and assess key data.

Our Helpdesk in Burnley deals with calls from all over Europe, the USA and South Africa every day. Whilst these people are based overseas, they are treated in exactly the same way as our clients’ UK operations, making us a truly a global business.

The Holker Group are delighted to announce its latest partnership with The Data Protection People. Partnerships are core to Holker’s ethos of being able to provide the best IT solutions and services, from the experts themselves, straight to our clients. Data Protection People was an obvious partner for Holker, as they will enhance the current portfolio with specific compliance and legislative services that many clients have been requesting. Holker listened to client feedback, researched the market, and can now provide a full suite of data protection services.

The Holker team from PC EduTech manage and implement all this tech, with on-site engineers, backed up by the Holker/PC EduTech support desk. Recently the school census has taken up a lot of the helpdesk’s time with data required in the correct format to make sure all schools were making the deadline from the government. The school census is just one example of the various policies, commitments and data gathering knowledge and experience that our experts in the education industry can help with at your school.

These interactive displays for education power up in seconds, provide an intuitive user interface, and a natural writing experience, eliminating guesswork and frustration and allowing teachers to focus on the lesson delivery instead of the technology, Promethean interactive displays facilitate cloud-based lesson delivery, giving administrators and teachers time-saving tools. The Holker group will only partner...

The Directors of Holker, in Burnley, are excited to announce that this week marks the completion of the acquisition of PC EduTech, a Bury based IT Solutions and Support company with a strong focus in the Education sector. They bring with them a flawless reputation in consultancy, support, training and administration for educational establishments, that will further enhance Holker’s established team and industry experience. PC EduTech and Holker IT not only share a small corner of the North West, but they share a common company culture and business ethos that combines bespoke solutions for specialist clients with honesty, transparent advice and best value practices, regardless of the supplier used.

We have expanded our footprint across the North West towards Preston with a new office at the refurbished Cotton Court building near the city centre. With existing clients in and around Preston and stretching across to the Fylde coast, the new office hub will allow us to reduce travel and response times to site for...

Holker IT are please to welcome Karl Brown to our engineering support team In 2015 Karl completed a course in Electrical Installation at Burnley College and was delighted to land a job straight away in IT, which is where his real passion lies. Karl plays chess and football in his spare time and will now also...

Day one of the Cyber Security Conference 2016 got off to an interesting start when Ralph Langner, one of the main protagonists behind the analysis of the Stuxnet malware found to have infected most of the worlds nuclear reactors, announced to the audience that our nuclear power plants are still so vulnerable that a serious...

Steve Woods, MD of Nelson based water management systems, Detectronic was delighted to receive their Cyber Essentials (CE) accreditation this January. The accreditation was the culmination of 3 months work, working with Holker IT to update their internal IT controls and working practices, all focused on improving the security of their networks and data. Detectronic’s...

Encryption is a word you’ve likely seen, heard or read more frequently over the past few months than probably over the whole of your life. Like ‘cyber’ just a couple of years ago. A new word, a new topic has entered the conversation. But encryption is nothing new, it’s just become more relevant to more...

GCHQ has a 4p strategy for turning the UK into a world leader in the battle against cyber crime, but how does this relate to the majority of UK business’s who just want to get on and do what they do best? It you are a technology business, you’re likely already well entrenched in the...

£5000 Grant for Small Businesses Cyber Security Innovation Vouchers The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Innovate UK are jointly funding a special strand of Innovation Voucher to help UK businesses obtain cyber security advice and/or certification. The Innovation Vouchers provide up to £5,000 for SMEs to engage external experts to gain new knowledge...

We are excited to announce that two of our Directors, Matthew Metcalfe & James Dewhurst will be presenting to local businesses on 19th November from 2pm to 4pm at Colne Town Hall. Technology has had a huge impact on our daily lives and yet most business people understand so little about how IT really works, let...

Holker IT are please to announce that we have successfully renewed our Cisco Select Partner Status, which is thanks to the hard work of our engineers and our commitment to their continued professional development. Only through continuous learning can we guarantee to provide our customers with the latest technology solutions. Well done to all.

This is the title of our 2015 campaign, to educate our customers and the business users with the message ‘Think Before You Click’. Business’s today are facing increasing risks from cyber-attack, the consequences of which can be quite devastating, and often it comes down to a lack of awareness about the risks that ultimately leaves business’s exposed. Criminals...