This month, it’s all about the small stuff
Not the big transformation projects. Not the five year strategy plans.
The little jobs. The bits and pieces that quietly eat into your day without you ever really noticing.
This month we’re looking at how tools like Microsoft Copilot can take a lot of that off your plate, a sneaky trick that lets hackers stay hidden in a hacked email account, a more convincing scam doing the rounds, and a bit of fun with our first ever Focus Tech Quiz.
Contents:
Those little jobs add up. Let AI take them off your plate
When people think about AI at work, they usually picture the big stuff. Writing reports. Digging through spreadsheets full of numbers. Answering tricky emails.
That’s all useful. But it’s rarely where your day actually goes.
Most of the time it’s the smaller jobs that slow things down. Chasing up after a meeting. Tidying a document before it goes out. Fixing a formula in a spreadsheet nobody wants to touch. Hunting for an email from three weeks ago.
None of it is difficult on its own. Add it up over a week, though, and it’s a lot of hours you’d rather spend elsewhere.
This is where tools like Microsoft Copilot are starting to earn their keep.
Take meetings as an example.
The real time cost usually isn’t the meeting itself, it’s everything that comes after. Checking notes, confirming who’s doing what, catching up anyone who missed it. Copilot in Teams can pull out the decisions and the actions, so you’re not starting from scratch every time.
Writing works the same way.
Most people aren’t staring at a blank page, they’re trying to fix something that already exists. A draft that’s too long, or a tone that’s not quite right for who’s reading it. Copilot can tighten that up without you rewriting the whole thing from scratch.
Spreadsheets are another common one.
You know what the end result should look like, you just can’t remember the formula. Instead of hunting through old tutorials, you can describe what you need in plain English and let it handle the heavy lifting.
Microsoft’s also getting better at joining things up, so notes, files and ideas don’t end up scattered across five different apps. And for the repetitive stuff that happens every week, like reminders or approvals, you can now set up a simple workflow just by describing what you want it to do.
None of this is about replacing anyone. It’s about clearing away the small stuff so your team can focus on the work that actually moves the business forward.
If you’d like a hand working out where AI could take the pressure off your team, get in touch.
The inbox trick hackers don't want you to know about
If someone got into your email account, you’d probably change your password straight away.
That’s the obvious fix. It doesn’t always solve the problem, though.
There’s a simple feature inside most inboxes that attackers use to stay hidden, even after you’ve locked them out. Inbox rules.
You’ve probably used them yourself. They’re the settings that move emails into folders, flag certain messages, or forward things on to someone else automatically. Handy for staying organised.
They’re also easy to misuse.
When someone gets into an account, one of the first things they often do is quietly set up their own rules. These can forward copies of emails to an outside address, hide certain messages, or mark things as read so you never spot them. In some cases this happens within seconds of the breach.
That gives them a head start. They can watch conversations, pick up sensitive information, and even hide the security alerts that would normally tip you off. If they’re targeting finance or leadership, they might be waiting for the right moment to impersonate someone or redirect a payment.
Change your password but leave those rules in place, and the attacker can still be watching everything that comes in.
The good news is it’s easy to check. Inbox rules have to be named, so anything unusual or meaningless is worth a second look. It’s worth reviewing them every so often, especially after any kind of security scare.
Modern attacks don’t always need clever hacking. Sometimes they just use the tools already sitting in your inbox.
If you’d like us to check how secure your business email really is, get in touch.
DID YOU KNOW...
AI is getting more low key in Windows 11
In Notepad, the Copilot branding has gone, replaced with a plainer “Writing tools” icon, even though the features underneath still work the same way.
In the Snipping Tool, the Copilot button has disappeared completely.
The tools haven’t gone anywhere. They’re just a bit less in your face if you’d rather not use them.
New to Microsoft
A new way to make your screen easier on the eyes
Windows 11 is testing a feature called Screen Tint. It gives you a range of colour filters for your display, including options aimed at reducing eye strain, making text easier to read, and helping with light sensitivity. You can adjust how strong the effect is or set your own custom tint.
It builds on the existing Night Light feature, just with a lot more control.
Technology Update
Cyber scams are getting better disguises
A fake Windows update page has been spotted doing the rounds. It’s a close copy of a genuine Microsoft support page, complete with official looking details and a download button for what looks like a normal Windows 11 update.
It isn’t an update. It’s malware designed to steal data.
What makes this one worth flagging is how convincing it is. It even uses some of the same tools legitimate software uses, which makes it harder for security tools to catch.
Fancy testing yourself? Our first ever Focus Tech Quiz
We thought we’d try something a bit different this month. Five quick questions, no prizes, just bragging rights around the office.
Focus Tech Quiz — July 2026
How many can you get right?
Question 1 of 5
We're halfway through the year. How's your tech holding up?
We’re already past the halfway point of 2026.
Six months in is a good moment to pause, not just on the business plan, but on the technology behind it too.
A few honest questions worth asking yourself:
- Has anything felt slower or more frustrating than it should this year?
- Have you added new tools or ways of working that your IT setup hasn’t quite kept up with?
- Is there a nagging IT job you keep meaning to sort but never quite get round to?
Most businesses don’t notice these things build up. They just get used to working around them.
The second half of the year is a good time to put that right. Not with a big overhaul, just a proper look at where things stand.
If it’s been a while since anyone reviewed your setup properly, now’s a sensible time to ask for one.
If you’d like a straightforward mid-year check on your IT, get in touch.
FAQs
How do I know if my business is protected from cyber attacks?
The only real way to know is to check. A regular review shows you where you’re covered and where the gaps are.
Are we using the cloud in the right way?
Not always. A lot of businesses use bits of the cloud without ever stepping back to look at the full picture. A quick review can often improve performance, security and cost all at once.
What's the easiest way to improve our IT setup?
Start with the basics. Strong passwords, multi factor authentication and keeping things updated make a bigger difference than most people expect.