ESP Projects Limited

ESP Projects Limited ESP Projects is an IT Support Company based in Sheffield Welcome to ESP Projects! We work locally, regionally or even on a UK-wide basis.

Based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, we provide IT Support and other IT Services to small and medium sized businesses, charities and third sector organisations. ESP is committed to the concept of ethical IT, and will always seek to build long term relationships based on trust, value for money and high quality solutions that are sensitive to needs and budgets of our clients. Read on for more inform

ation on our services. IT Support

Whether you’re running a small business or a not-for-profit organisation, and whether you are based in Sheffield or not, our comprehensive IT Support contract has been designed to make it easy for you. For a fixed annual fee, you get access to your ‘very own IT department’ – who are passionate about the job they do and committed to supporting your organisation. Our IT support is delivered by Microsoft Certified engineers who have been handpicked for their approach to customer service. The core team comprises engineers, advisers and web-developers who collectively can provide integrated support services for every aspect if your IT systems. At ESP we like to get to know you – our contract is not just about fixing the day-to-day issues but also about working strategically and in partnership with you to help you understand and get the most from your technology over the long term. Take out a support contract with ESP and you will have access to a wealth of advice on every type of IT solution from Servers to Cloud technology, CRM systems to VOIP, all of it tailored to your organisations’ particular priorities. Check out our IT Services section to see some of the many projects we are involved in. Network Installation & Maintenance

ESP will help you plan, budget for and understand your network. Because we work closely with you, we are always on-hand to discuss your needs and talk through the different options available. ESP can source all of the hardware and software you require as well as install Network Cabling (CAT5e) or Wireless solutions. What's more, after implementation, you can take out our comprehensive Network Maintenance & Support contract - and we will act as your very own IT Department! PCs and Peripherals

With our links to distributors and suppliers, ESP can advise on and supply custom-built or branded PC's, Servers and peripherals at competitive prices. We can also supply software packages like Office and Antivirus systems with generous discounts for not-for-profit organisations. Website Design

ESP creates websites, portals and intranets to meet the needs of your target audience or your chosen functionalities. Whether you would like to maintain your website yourself, require training or would prefer ESP to update it for you, we have the solution for you. We are happy to meet with you and discuss your project on a no-fee basis and will explain hosting and website technology options in a clear and useful manner. Database Creation

ESP's expert programmers can develop small or large database applications to suit. Whether you require a database to help with your contacts, membership, funding and monitoring requirements or simply to help run the organisation, we will work with you to develop a solution that is reliable and easy-to-use. Database development need not be an expensive endeavour - call us to arrange an appointment! Email and Internet Systems

Using only well-established suppliers, ESP can help setup and install inexpensive and reliable ADS, FTTC, SDSL internet connections. We can also advise on email systems featuring Antivirus and Spam filtering as well as shared contacts and calendars.

Your salesperson stops at a coffee shop between meetings. They set up at a table, open their laptop, order a drink, and ...
03/09/2026

Your salesperson stops at a coffee shop between meetings. They set up at a table, open their laptop, order a drink, and walk back to the counter when their name is called. The laptop is unattended for 90 seconds. That's enough time for someone to ruin your business week.

The attacker doesn't need to be sophisticated. A $40 USB device called a "Rubber Ducky" plugs in and looks like a keyboard to the computer. It runs pre-loaded keystrokes faster than any human can type. In 90 seconds it can open a terminal, download a remote access tool, install it, and disable the screen lock notification, all without a click from your salesperson.

When your salesperson comes back to the table, the laptop looks the same as they left it. The next time they connect to your office network, the attacker has a path in.

This kind of attack has been demonstrated at every major security conference for the last 10 years. The hardware is cheaper now than it was then.

The defense is straightforward.

- Set every laptop to lock automatically after 30 seconds of inactivity, and train your team that any unattended laptop gets locked first.
- Disable USB device auto-execute across your fleet. On Windows, that's the "AutoPlay" setting plus USB device blocking in Group Policy or Intune.
- Use endpoint detection and response (EDR) software that flags new processes, persistence mechanisms, and suspicious network connections within seconds of installation.

Zero Trust: No longer just for the tech giants. 🛡️✨ Think Zero Trust is too complex for your team? Think again. You can ...
02/09/2026

Zero Trust: No longer just for the tech giants. 🛡️✨ Think Zero Trust is too complex for your team? Think again. You can transform your security posture with a few practical first steps:

✅ Audit who has access to your most critical data.
✅ Enable MFA on every account across the board.
✅ Segment your network to isolate sensitive systems.

https://youtu.be/MF3KijNMIeA

Achieving Zero Trust is a journey, not a one-time project. Ready to start yours?

When an employee leaves your business, the security gap is usually bigger than you'd guess.A typical 25-person business ...
02/09/2026

When an employee leaves your business, the security gap is usually bigger than you'd guess.

A typical 25-person business has dozens of cloud accounts per employee.

Email, payroll, file storage, CRM, accounting, internal tools, and third-party SaaS subscriptions.

When the employee leaves, every one of those accounts should be disabled, but in most businesses only the obvious ones (email, computer login) get touched.

The rest sit dormant for months or years, still with the employee's credentials, still accessible if those credentials were ever leaked in a breach.

That's how a fired employee from 18 months ago becomes the entry point for next year's breach.

The fix is a written offboarding checklist that includes every account, not just the obvious ones.

- Day of departure: disable email, computer login, VPN, and any single-sign-on (SSO) accounts that gate everything else.
- Within 48 hours: revoke access on every SaaS tool by checking the actual admin panel of each.
- Within 7 days: change shared credentials the employee knew
- Within 30 days: do a "did we miss anything" review with someone who worked closely with the employee.

Without a checklist, "what did this person have access to?" is impossible to answer in a few months.

The quarterly review with your IT provider is one of the most useful meetings on your calendar, but it's easy to let it ...
01/09/2026

The quarterly review with your IT provider is one of the most useful meetings on your calendar, but it's easy to let it run on autopilot. Walk in with six real questions and you turn it from a status update into a strategic check-in.

Six to ask at your next review:

1. What changed in our security posture since last quarter? Not "what did you do." What CHANGED. The answer should reference specific risks reduced.
2. Which CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities are still unpatched in our environment, and why?
3. When did we last test our backup restore on a real workload, and what did the test show?
4. How many user accounts have privileged or admin access, and is that list smaller than it was last quarter?
5. What incidents (security events, near-misses, alerts) did we have this quarter that I didn't hear about, and why didn't I hear about them?
6. If we were hit by ransomware tonight, what's our realistic Recovery Time Objective for the most important systems?

If your IT provider can answer all six with specifics, they're operating at the standard you're paying for. Hedging or "let me get back to you" on more than one is information worth acting on.

In May 2026, hackers breached Instructure, the company behind the Canvas learning platform used by thousands of schools ...
31/08/2026

In May 2026, hackers breached Instructure, the company behind the Canvas learning platform used by thousands of schools and universities. The attackers claimed data on 275 million users across more than 9,000 institutions.

That breach didn't just affect Instructure. Every one of those 9,000 institutions now has to deal with breach notification laws in every state where any of its affected users live. That means 50 different timelines, penalty structures, and disclosure requirements to track.

Your business probably isn't running Canvas. What happens to Instructure's customers, though, is the same thing that happens to your business when one of your vendors gets breached. You are responsible for notifying your customers under your state's law, often within 60 days, sometimes less. You don't get to wait for the vendor to handle it.

The work to do this week. Pull your list of SaaS vendors (the one you built from the SaaS audit). For each vendor that holds customer data, write down what data they hold and which state's law applies to each of your customers. Then call your cyber insurance broker and ask for the breach notification playbook your policy entitles you to. If they don't have one, that's worth knowing right now, not during an incident.

A vendor breach becomes your legal problem the day they tell you about it. The preparation has to happen earlier.

☀️ We are closed for the Summer Bank Holiday☀️Just a quick update to let our customers, partners, and friends know that ...
28/08/2026

☀️ We are closed for the Summer Bank Holiday☀️

Just a quick update to let our customers, partners, and friends know that ESP Projects will be closed from 5pm on Thursday 28th August.

✅ Reopening: Tuesday 1st September at 9am

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers for their continued support and wish everyone a fantastic few days ahead. We hope you get the chance to relax, recharge, and enjoy some sunshine! 🌞

We'll be back on 1st September, ready to help with all your IT support, cybersecurity, cloud, and technology needs. 💙

The old rules about strong passwords are out of date.For years the standard advice was eight characters, mix uppercase a...
28/08/2026

The old rules about strong passwords are out of date.

For years the standard advice was eight characters, mix uppercase and lowercase, throw in a number and a symbol. NIST, CISA, and Microsoft's own identity team all moved off that advice years ago. The current recommendation is simpler and stronger. Use long passwords or passphrases, and stop forcing your team to rotate them on a schedule.

The math is straightforward. Modern password-cracking hardware can guess a complex 8-character password in less than an hour. A 16-character passphrase made of common words takes centuries against the same hardware. Length wins because every extra character multiplies the work an attacker has to do, while complexity adds only modest barriers.

The policy update for your business is short. Set a minimum of 14 characters for general accounts and 16 or more for admin or sensitive ones. Mandatory rotation creates more weak passwords than it prevents, so stop forcing it. Required complexity rules tend to push people toward simpler, less secure patterns, so drop those too. Block any password that appears in known breach databases, and require MFA on every account that supports it.

If your business is still using 8-character passwords with quarterly rotation, you're following the rules from 2010. The new rules are easier on your team and harder on attackers.

In May 2026, Intuit announced it would lay off around 3,000 employees to refocus the company on AI.Intuit owns QuickBook...
27/08/2026

In May 2026, Intuit announced it would lay off around 3,000 employees to refocus the company on AI.

Intuit owns QuickBooks, TurboTax, Mailchimp, and Credit Karma. Most small businesses use at least one of these. The layoffs are part of a bigger pattern across the tech industry, where companies built around traditional software are rebuilding around AI products. Small business tools are next in line.

Four things to expect over the next 18 months:

1. Product changes. Familiar features get replaced or buried inside AI-first workflows. The QuickBooks you use in 2027 probably won't look like the one you use today.
2. Support friction. Fewer humans on the support line means longer queues and more chatbot-first triage. Get to know your account manager's direct line before you need it.
3. Pricing changes. AI features get bundled into higher tiers, and the base tier loses ground. Expect a renewal call where the rep asks "have you seen our new AI plan?"
4. Data going somewhere new. Your accounting, payroll, and marketing data is the fuel for the new AI features. Check the privacy and data-use settings on each Intuit product you use, and find out what's opted in by default.

Stay on Intuit if it works for you. Just spend the next 18 months auditing what you're paying for, where your data goes, and who answers your calls when something breaks.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/20/intuit-to-lay-off-over-3000-employees-to-refocus-on-ai/

Master the Art of Cloud Scaling 🚀📈 Agility shouldn't come with a bloated invoice. As you scale, "hidden" costs like unde...
26/08/2026

Master the Art of Cloud Scaling 🚀📈 Agility shouldn't come with a bloated invoice. As you scale, "hidden" costs like underused servers and abandoned project data can quietly double your bill. Our new blog explores how to implement FinOps strategies to ensure every dollar powers your goals. From scheduling "off-hours" for dev environments to smarter commitments with AWS and Azure, we'll show you how to scale without the waste.

https://youtu.be/p24fOX1-YJU

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Sheffield
S24ED

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Monday 8am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 5:30pm
Thursday 8am - 5:30pm
Friday 8am - 5:30pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

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0330 2020 118

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