Monthly Archives: July 2021

News, Tech Thought Leadership

Why do 70% of digital transformations miss the mark?

By Phill Bolland, co-founder, at YaYa

Covid-19 has accelerated the need for companies to embrace changing consumer and employee behaviour, which is why it’s essential for organisations to succeed with new digital technology to stay ahead.

But why do almost three-quarters of digital transformation fall short and what is the knock-on effect of this failure on businesses?

The impact on people

If your tools are for internal use, getting your digital strategy wrong can have a dire effect on your people. Yaya research found that half of employees surveyed would leave their current positions due to bad digital products, and a further 58% said the tools they’re provided at work were a poor second to the apps they use at home.

Failing to involve employees during the design process was a key reason for lack of adoption: only 10% of those surveyed said they or their fellow workers were consulted at this stage. Perhaps most surprising of all was that half of workers stated that the new tools they used at work made no difference or harmed their jobs.

It doesn’t matter whether employees are being paid to use technology as part of their job, or whether customers are paying a company to use a product, the same principles apply, and no business will thrive by disengaging one of its most vital assets: its users.

Building a house

So how can a business produce digital tools that will delight users? The answer is to take a people-centered approach. This kind of mindset is a bit like building a house. Housebuilders might ask how many bedrooms are required or what kind of material is needed. Alternatively, they might ask who will live in the house and where they see themselves in five years’ time. Taking such a people-centric approach will result in a home the owners love that facilitates and supports their goals.

The companies that succeed in developing digital tools aren’t obsessed with technology, they’re obsessed with human behaviour. It’s no great surprise that digital products miss the mark if we don’t seek to understand the behaviours, motivations and needs of our audiences.

Whether it’s empathy mapping, user testing or field studies, remember to walk a mile in your audience’s shoes and understand how a product can fit into their lives before attempting the solution.

Challenging your mindset

Although no one has a crystal ball that can predict the future, producing a product that’s slightly better than a previous version or a bit superior to competitors isn’t enough. This approach doesn’t move the business into a place where it has a differentiated or compelling enough offering to increase commercial advantage, it just means it’s scrapping away in a congested space.

But where should businesses start with a people-centric approach?

There are various research approaches that can help to build an empathetic picture of an audience, with the researchers immersing themselves to understand how audiences are shaped by their customs, habits or mutual differences. This approach, combined with other data we have available to reveal how an audience behaves, means companies can build a detailed view of the people it wants to engage from the offset.

For example, if you’re looking to develop a new sports app, putting on your trainers and sweating it out in fitness classes to understand what drives people will align your business strategy with the needs of users. From research to strategy, through to design and delivery, this kind of human-centered insight challenges any pre-conceptions and instead builds a product that people will love.

Aligning your business strategy

Crucially, starting with the needs and desires of your users means businesses avoid the expensive embarrassment of failed products created in isolation. Strategy isn’t delivered in a boardroom, so it’s vital to think about how to connect with the people who actually make it happen. In fact, companies enjoy 32% higher revenue[1] when taking this approach than traditional businesses.

Further still, fixing a problem in development costs 10 times as much as fixing it in design, and 100 times as much when the tool has been released[2]. With a people-centered approach, your business strategy is molded to your audience, lowering risk, and ensuring scalability.

So, the solution is clear: building successful digital tools starts with people – not technology.

To read the full report from YaYa: People centered design at work: how to design digital tools your employees love, click here.

Construction, FInance, Finance News, Property News

New research by Avamore Capital has highlighted that SME developers are continuing to face major challenges in relation to sites stalling for financial reasons.

A year on from the 2020 FMB House Builders’ survey, which found 33% of respondents said that lending options had deteriorated YOY, and a staggering 42% stated that they were involved in sites that were stalled for financial reasons,  Avamore Capital is reporting that this situation is the same, if not worse, and that demand for Finish & Exit funding is higher than ever.

A leader in principal development and bridging, Avamore has seen a 62 per cent year-on-year rise in completions of its Finish and Exit product, designed for part-built development projects; moreover, it claims indicators are that it show no signs of slowing, as the long term impact of multiple UK lockdowns remains clear.

Further research has highlighted four key reasons that are the most prevalent, or have had long lasting effects, which have resulted in the high number of projects arresting. These include: workforce instability and skill shortages, increased material costs, forced delays impacting agreed payback periods and likelihood of exit through sales.

“Whilst the property market has been fairly resilient through the pandemic, supported by government support packages, a number of factors have meant that many developers, although they were permitted to actually build, did not have the resources available to do so,” says Philip Gould from Avamore Capital.

“Various issues driven by COVID in the last 16 months have seen many projects fall behind and hit funding challenges – meaning they can’t meet market demand. Some developers found that they had to close sites completely with set-ups not allowing for appropriate social distancing measures, others were facing increased costs and most faced shortages of material supply. This combination meant that the number of developers obtaining cash out of their projects through sales is falling.

“Therefore, when planning for projects – and particularly as the pandemic wages on – it is important to pre-empt these intensified financing factors, which may impact timeframes, costs and ultimately profitability, and plan differently. We advise these steps:

 

Managing Workforce Stability – to reduce chance of running over term

The Q1 2021 Federation of Master Builders State of Trade survey highlighted that builders have reported increased difficulties in recruiting almost all the key trades in the first quarter of 2021. 38% reported bricklayer shortages, up from 22% in Q4 2020, and 34% are struggling to hire carpenters/joiners, up from 23%. The report attributes this to a lack of quality skilled entrants to the industry and increased loyalty to current employers. 

“This means that projects could take much longer to recruit for than ever before and so, we may see more developers starting all of their processes earlier in order to ensure a strong construction team” says Gould.

“Around 10% of the part-built schemes Avamore has funded in 2021 have reported that difficulties arose directly from being unable to secure a strong workforce upfront. Therefore from a financing side, the danger of not setting up the correct infrastructure means that projects could take longer than planned and so, the developer could run over term.”

 

Review current material costs – so financing forecasts are based on real time pricing 

According to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) the overall cost of materials for new housing was 6.7% higher in January 2021 than in the same month in 2020. Another example is from the Timber Trade Federation (TTF) which found that a range of ongoing logistical and administrative difficulties related to Brexit have led to supply problems and price rises.

Gould advises: “With supply chain issues and costs creeping upwards, it increasingly difficult for developers to effectively plan their cash flow schedules.

“14% of part-built projects Avamore supported in Q2 2021 required specialist structures to maximise funds available as soon as the loan completed; this was for the developer to cover the cost of urgent materials on site. In development finance, a contingency is always added to the loan (a pot designed for unknown costs which developers might face), but it is advisable it should be avoided or utilised as late into the project as possible. Fixed price contracts for future materials or using suppliers who offer the certainty of delivery has become more important than ever. “

 

Consider delays and discuss loan extension options upfront

“With the impacts of delays and costs, developers may have either run out of their existing development finance facility or come to the end of their term. Any development loan is issued for a set amount of time and most lenders will be looking to be repaid as soon as that period has come to an end. It is therefore likely that most developers had to negotiate with their funding partners across 2020 to avoid a formal ‘default scenario’.

“Whilst the lending market may have been relatively lenient at the start of the pandemic, it’s unlikely that relying on short term funding flexibility will remain a prudent strategy. Developers need to stick to a timeframe but also factor in the potential that the pandemic and Brexit is likely to continue to have an impact on many industries.

“It is therefore important for developers to have conversations with funders upfront about the possible scenarios they could face over the life of a loan.”

Whilst Avamore Capital adopts a careful lending strategy, in the last four weeks it has extended £2,762,802 worth of loans for an average of seven months after developers faced COVID driven delays during the build and now need additional time to sell the units.

“Discussing options at the outset such as informal extensions, conditional extensions or reduced extension fees would be prudent to ensure that should the unexpected occur, developers are prepared to finish their project in a cost-effective way”, adds Gould.

 

Secure an exit – determining the stability of the end user is more important than ever

“A strong exit strategy has always been important but considering the volatility of the market and economic uncertainty, it is likely that circumstances at the end of projects are becoming increasingly less predictable. As the stamp duty reduction comes to an end the market is likely to be impacted.

“In Q1 2021, the average price of a unit completed by an Avamore borrower was £426,258. With the stamp duty threshold at £500,000 the number of potential buyers for those same projects is likely to have reduced by September this year when the scheme closes completely.

“It is clear that the government has implemented measures to plug this potential shortfall at the lower end of the market, policies such as the 95% LTV mortgages will continue to make house buying attractive but, it is almost impossible to determine whether these measures, which involve borrowing more, will have the same impact as significant cost savings.

“Understanding the end user and determining their stability is therefore more important than ever.”

Gould adds: “It’s important that everyone involved in the industry prepares for new challenges, including how projects can be financed and rescued should problems arise.”

Finance and Banking, Investor Advice, Thought Leadership

Investment insights from Tom Becket, Chief Investment Officer at Psigma Investment Management

Valuation Commentary

A strong quarter for markets

The second quarter of 2021 was an unequivocally positive period for global asset markets. In stark contrast to the first quarter of the year, when selectivity was key and there were divergent fortunes for various investments, pretty much everything went up in value. Some of the positivity made perfect sense, as investors continued to enjoy the support of three key pillars which we had suggested would underpin financial markets and lead to healthy gains through the early part of this year: the economy continued to heal, governments continued to spray money around like confetti and central banks allowed the printing presses to churn out billions of dollars, pounds, euros and yen to pay for the governments’ unchecked largesse.

 

Conflicts and a conundrum

But there were also more surprising moves in certain investments that traditionally benefit from falling inflation and lower expectations of future economic growth. The conundrum presented by the coordinated move higher in traditionally conflicting assets has led to a great deal of confusion, and while we can all enjoy the progress made by our portfolios in recent months, there are certainly  a number of questions we have to think about as we head in to the second half of the year.

 

The economy booms back

The biggest factor we need to analyse is how strong the economic growth of the world will be as we progress deeper in to 2021 and the start of 2022. Every economic data point that we assess in the Western world is currently very strong. Consumer demand is high, companies are starting to invest in their businesses, confidence in most sectors is booming and housing markets are buoyant. There are clearly greater worries in certain emerging market economies, where the medical situations remain alarming and economic activity is often restricted due to vaccination rates that are lagging behind the developed Western economies. One area where we are having to devote a great deal of our attention is China, whose stellar economic performance led the global recovery from the COVID Crisis last year, but has started to slow noticeably, partly due to the fact that the government there is trying to clamp down on many of the excesses created by the fiscal and financial responses to the pandemic last year.

 

Global economy and cruising altitude

In its simplest form, we liken the global economy to a four-engine jumbo jet, with the four engines being the US, China, Europe (including the UK) and the Emerging World. Right now, the US is firing on all cylinders, aided by insanely generous handouts from the government, China is operating solidly, Europe and the UK are finally healing, and the Emerging World should recover quickly as 2021 progresses. We therefore expect growth rates for the remainder of this year and the start of 2022 to be very impressive by comparison with the last few decades.

 

Not all plain sailing

There are economic uncertainties further out in the next few years that concern us. Were China to lose control of its current balancing act between economic progress and debt management, we would have to take a less progressive economic view. In addition, there are plenty of extremely optimistic projections (that have become the consensus expectations) where investors assume that the US government can keep on giving away free money with no consequences. Finally, for economies like the UK and Europe, where economic potential is low, due in no small part to our enormous debt piles and stultifying demographics, we find the current views around a “roaring twenties” economic scenario bizarre. Even if we will not know definitive answers to each of these questions for some years to come, what we know for sure is that we will have to keep very open minds on these and a range of other factors, and be prepared to change our views and adapt portfolio positioning if we are wrong.

 

Lean on me

We remain constant in our view from the start of 2021 that the economic pillar should continue to support further gains in certain asset markets as we travel further through this uncertain year. In a similar vein, we have not adjusted our expectations for central bank activity; all major central banks will remain in supportive mode, by keeping interest rates at 0% (or lower in the case of Japan and Europe) and will continue to aggressively finance government spending through the financial alchemy that is quantitative easing (printing money to buy government bonds). Central banks will actively seek out excuses to persist with these policies (once they are done with the economic recovery, they will cite climate change and economic inequality as their next missions). Any excuses are just smokescreens for the reality obvious to anyone seeking out the truth: governments are out of cash and rapidly exhausting willing counterparties to finance their unchecked spending plans. To us, this dynamic seems unlikely to change any time soon. The days of austerity are banished to history; there is now pressure on governments everywhere to spend more rather than less, and ultimately somebody needs to finance this debt. The central banks are the only people who can perform this necessary but potentially destabilising function without causing massive economic and financial market disruption.

 

Inflation? Anyone?

Whilst markets have been hinting in recent weeks that inflationary pressures should abate quite quickly, we are less sure that “sticky” inflation will not be the biggest problem ahead for central bankers and their intended indefinite loose monetary policies. Central bankers are all singing from the same hymn sheet: they believe (or claim to believe) that inflation is “transitory” and will pass quite quickly when a full economic “reopening” has occurred and the distortions in global supply chains have been straightened out. They could be right, and we do believe that the high inflation rates we will experience will subside as the year closes out. However, we are far less relaxed about inflation further out, as inflationary thoughts are seemingly gaining traction in consumers and corporate managers’ minds alike, which could well lead to persistently rising prices. Pressure points in the labour market are building, and we can all see clear evidence that the prices of everything we pay for are going up. Certainly, on the other side of the equation, structural disinflationary forces such as debt, demographics and technological advances pose obstacles to rising prices, which is why we believe that “inflation uncertainty” will continue to be a theme in the decade ahead. In basic terms, we can find sympathy in both the deflationist and the inflationist arguments, but we believe that inflation rates will be higher this decade than they were in the last.

 

Portfolio positioning

Inflation continues to be the dominant factor that we think about when constructing our client portfolios. In very simple terms, we believe that the risk and reward potential of positioning our portfolios for inflation risks remains positive. Should inflation become entrenched, there will be few places to hide in financial markets, but we are embracing those investments that should be able to generate inflation-plus returns. These investments include inflation-linked bonds, gold mining shares, commodities, asset-backed securities and certain companies that would benefit from rising inflationary pressures. However, we are not putting all of our “eggs in one basket”; in the last three months, some of the better returns from our selected investments have come from those investments that do well when inflationary fears are low, such as “growth” companies and some of our higher quality fixed interest investments. 2021 has already clearly demonstrated the need for diversification in our investment strategies and we will persist with our balanced approach.

 

Conclusion

2021 has so far played out close to the forecasts that we outlined at the start of the year. The global economy is reopening, and COVID-19 is hopefully becoming a backward-looking issue, even if certain fears and restrictions still linger longer than any of us hoped for or expected. Global asset markets have responded positively to the growth backdrop and investors have been rewarded for taking risk in their portfolios. Central bankers continue to help finance governments’ extraordinary spending plans and have demonstrated a willingness to look through rising inflationary pressures and focus on doing all they can to help the global economy heal. Such policies have been justifiable while the economy was suffering, but now economic activity is so obviously recovering they are playing with inflationary fire by keeping their emergency policies in place.

Inflation remains the central pivot of our investment philosophy, process and current positioning, but 2021 has shown that being entirely wedded to one view could lead to disappointment. We persist with our balanced and diversified approach, but recognise that the best way to help our clients meet their investment aims and aspirations is to find ways to protect against rising inflationary pulses. We know that the future is perilously hard to predict at the best of times, but in today’s situation it seems harder than ever. However, we remain confident in our investment strategies and are prepared for the battles ahead. Given that football has been so in vogue over the last month, we thought the words of the world’s best ever footballer Pelé were particularly relevant at this time: “The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning”. Enjoy your summers and thank you for your support.

 

Tom Becket

Chief Investment Officer, Psigma Investment Management

 

Cybersecurity, News

What Makes a Security Analyst Successful? Investigative Thinking

Written by Anthony Perridge VP International at ThreatQuotient

The new SANS 2021 Report: Top Skills Analysts Need to Master analyses the need for organisations to invest in improving their security operations and identifies the skills analysts must master to support this initiative. Characterising an analyst as essentially an investigator, the SANS report breaks the investigative process down into two primary areas: Investigative Tasks and Investigative Thinking.

One of the most important sources of intelligence to also bring into the process is human intelligence that comes from critical thinking. After all, what better way is there for organisations to validate data and findings and then determine the right action to take within their own environment than through their own people? As the SANS report points out, empowering humans so they have more time to engage in investigative or critical thinking is vital to effective and efficient detection and response. According to SANS, best practices for critical thinking include:

  • Asking questions to gather additional context and scope when facing a situation of uncertainty during an investigation.
  • Reasoning backward by using tools like MITRE ATT&CK to hypothesise what must have happened to arrive at the alert that is displaying on a security console.
  • Considering multiple plausible pathways instead of thinking linearly to detect and respond to new threats.
  • Remaining curious, flexible and agile within a highly dynamic environment such as a security operations centre (SOC).

This is where collaboration comes in, both passive and active collaboration. A security operation platform like the ThreatQ Platform serves as a central repository that includes internal threat and event data, augmented and enriched with global threat data. This central repository is at the heart of passive collaboration, or information sharing. When individual team members and different security teams can access the central repository for the intelligence they need to do their jobs as part of their workflow, passive collaboration just happens. As they use the repository and update it with observations, learnings and documentation of investigations, they get consistent threat intelligence. The repository can serve as a centralised memory to facilitate future investigations. Everyone can operate from a single source of truth, instantaneously sharing knowledge and using their tools of choice to improve security posture and the investigation process.

Active collaboration involves engaging with another person to accomplish a shared goal through tasking and coordination. It is what typically comes to mind when we think of collaboration, but traditional, siloed environments have made this extremely difficult and time-consuming for security professionals to do. The challenge is that most security operations or investigations are rife with chaos as teams act independently and inefficiently with limited visibility into the tasks other teams or team members are performing. With different people or teams working on independent tasks, key commonalities are missed so investigations take longer, hit a dead-end, or key information just falls through the cracks.

Likewise, a cybersecurity situation room, fuses together threat data, evidence and users to break down these barriers. All team members involved in the investigation process can collaborate. Rather than working in parallel, they can automatically see how the work of others impacts and further benefits their own work, and they can share and benefit from the human intelligence they each bring to the table. Validating data and sharing their collective insights and understanding fosters critical thinking that drives successful investigations.

Furthermore, managers of all the security teams can use ThreatQ Investigations to see the analysis unfolding, which allows them to act when and how they need to, coordinating tasks between teams and monitoring timelines and results. Embedding collaboration into the investigation process ensures that teams work together to take the right actions faster.

At ThreatQuotient, we have always believed that to accelerate and improve security operations we must empower the human element with tools that enable them to identify the right data, share information and actively collaborate efficiently and effectively. That is why the ThreatQ Platform and ThreatQ Investigations are exactly what organisations need to help security analysts excel in the role of investigator.  If you are interested, why not download the SANS 2021 Report: Top Skills Analysts Need to Master for more details on the skills required.

 

News

Spotlight on: After the Rain

Different cultures throughout history have always celebrated the invigorating, life-giving properties of rain, and what better way to celebrate this Rain Day – Thursday 29th August – than with ARRAN Sense of Scotland’s gorgeous signature bath, body and home collection, After the Rain.  

A timeless floral and citrus fragrance containing a burst of lime, a hint of rose and warming notes of sandalwood along with greenery, herbal shrubs, cedar wood and moss, After the Rain was crafted by the brand’s expert perfumers to emulate the unique fragrance of an Arran garden after a rain shower.

After the Rain Handcare Set

Create a long-lasting impression by mixing and matching products in the collection to build up lasting layers of scent.

Indulgently foaming After the Rain hand wash is gently formulated to deeply cleanse. Follow up with ARRAN’s naturally nourishing hand cream, formulated with vitamin E and shea butter to leave skin feeling soft, smooth and delicately scented.

After the Rain Hand Care Set – £30.00
https://arran.com/collections/after-the-rain/products/after-the-rain-hand-care-gift-set 

 

After the Rain Bath and Shower Gel

Cleanse and rejuvenate mind, body and soul with ARRAN’s After the Rain bath & shower gel, enriched with skin-soothing magnesium and enlivening essential oil. The non-greasy, decadent body lotion contains shea butter and beeswax to keep skin soft and supple.

After the Rain Bath & Shower Gel and Body Lotion – both £16.00
https://arran.com/collections/body-care-megamenu/products/after-the-rain-bath-shower-gel
https://arran.com/collections/after-the-rain-body-care/products/after-the-rain-body-lotion

They say after the rain, comes the sun and that’s so true of ARRAN’s shampoo and conditioner ranges. Containing Pro-Vitamin B5 they will help to lock in moisture, nourish the scalp and leave hair feeling bright, shiny and positively glowing.

 

After the Rain Shampoo and Conditioner

After the Rain Shampoo and Conditioner – both £16.00
https://arran.com/collections/after-the-rain-hair-care 

After the Rain – a Beautiful Fragrance

Finish off with a generous spritz of After the Rain fragrance; perfectly balanced for everyday wear with notes of citrus fruits paired with musky florals and earthier tones of sandalwood. Available in both Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette.

After the Rain Eau de Parfum 50ml – £55, After the Rain Eau de Toilette 100ml – £42.50
https://arran.com/collections/after-the-rain/products/after-the-rain-eau-de-parfum  
https://arran.com/collections/fragrance/products/after-the-rain-eau-de-toilette 

After the Rain – when travelling

After the Rain bath and shower products are also available in travel-sized miniatures so that you can take a little piece of ARRAN with you wherever you go. The handbag sized hydrating hand cream, rollerball fragrance and miniature Eau de Parfum are perfect for weekend getaways, whilst the Discovery set contains miniature bath & shower gel, shampoo, body lotion and soap.

            

After the Rain Fragrance Rollerball – £15.00
https://arran.com/products/after-the-rain-fragrance-roller-ball 
After the Rain Hydrating Hand Cream – £12.00
https://arran.com/collections/after-the-rain-hand-care-scents 
After the Rain Discovery Set – £10.00
https://arran.com/collections/after-the-rain/products/after-the-rain-discovery-set 

After the Rain – Bring The Outdoors, Indoors

Reconnect with nature and bring the outdoors in with After the Rain home fragrances. Infused with essential oils of rose and sandalwood which are renowned for their de-stressing properties, After the Rain scented candle, reed diffuser and room spray seamlessly infuse scent into any corner of the home.

After the Rain Scented Candle – £33.00
https://arran.com/collections/after-the-rain/products/after-the-rain-35cl-candle 
After the Rain Reed Diffuser – £33.00
https://arran.com/collections/after-the-rain/products/after-the-rain-reed-diffuser 
After the Rain Room Spray – £20.00
https://arran.com/collections/after-the-rain/products/after-the-rain-room-spray 
Andrew Russell, Sales & Marketing Director at ARRAN Sense of Scotland said:

“After the Rain has been our best-selling fragrance for many years. It has built up a loyal following since it was launched over two decades ago and has become synonomous with our brand. Our customers always comment on how unique and recognisable After the Rain is, unlike anything else they can find! And it really does embody that refreshing feeling you get from being out in nature after a rain shower. “

Passport to Arran Competition:

Place an order online before 22nd August 2021 for the chance to win an all-expenses paid, luxury getaway for two to the Isle of Arran worth over £1,200. The prize also includes an amazing selection of island treats including over £100 worth of ARRAN Sense of Scotland products. Customers will receive a Passport to Arran with their order – simply scan the QR code on the to discover if you’re one of 2 lucky winners.

 

 

News

Avoiding the Big Bang Data Migration

Written by Gary Blower, Solutions Architect, Clearvision

Data migrations are by their very nature high risk initiatives and, if not planned effectively, they can create a significant headache for both the IT team and the organisation. That’s because modern technology transfers are massively complex undertakings. However, data migration problems can often be traced back to confusion and disorganisation surrounding the migration plan (if one is in place) and a failure to adequately prepare for the move.

Additionally, every company’s data landscape is unique. It may encompass everything from legacy systems to homegrown one-off databases, each with its own level of support. Documentation may be non-existent, institutional knowledge may be limited, and key staff may have left. This makes the task much more complex to undertake.

Other issues IT teams fear, or challenges they come up against, are loss of data, compatibility issues and hardware challenges. In fact, according to analyst firm Gartner, 83% of data migrations either fail outright or exceed their allotted budgets and implementation schedules.

Adopting an alternative approach 

But do data migrations need to adopt such a ‘Big-Bang’ approach? Does all the data need to be transferred at once, especially if there is so much inherent risk with migrations? Could a lower risk, iterative and agile alternative be adopted?

There are some key points to consider when moving data. For example, does it make sense to migrate all legacy data and has the organisation considered what data will be reused? Likewise, what changes to data are required to accomplish the migration?

Here at Clearvision we partner with Atlassian, implementing and supporting applications like Jira, Jira Service Management, and Confluence. Therefore, when I talk about data migrations, I am going to do so with an Atlassian focus.

Understanding what data you need to transfer

The quality of the data that an organisation has within Atlassian applications significantly influences the risk and effort associated with migrating to another platform. Complex applications with history and bespoke hidden scripting can be a minefield. To mitigate this risk, it is vital for the IT team to consider how much history they are going to transfer to the new system. Without a thorough understanding of what data they are going to transfer from the source to the target system the negative impact of inaccurate, inconsistent and irrelevant data is amplified.

Therefore, it is important to ensure that data that populates the new system is fit for purpose and delivers quantifiable improvements on the previous system.

Starting afresh with the minimum viable data affords the opportunity to focus on data and workflows that offer the most business value and that deliver efficiency and productivity improvements.

Only move the valuable data

Looking at the big bang data migration approach, this is about moving the entire dataset from the legacy to the target system. This is typically carried out over a weekend and, in order to mitigate as much risk as possible, there are often several test migrations conducted which increase cost and take significant effort to complete. For example, a Jira migration can take up to 30 days of effort and, when considering the risk, cost and effort involved, a more agile, iterative and pragmatic approach makes a lot of sense.

An iterative data migration means that you only move the valuable data, and this is all managed in smaller increments. However, this presents two key challenges: how do you keep both target and source systems data operable until the migration is complete, and how do you coordinate the migration of distinct elements of the business users and functionality without breaking overall business continuity.

Taking a step-by-step approach 

For an iterative data migration to succeed, the two systems need to run in tandem for the transition period without impacting each other. Therefore, IT teams should move business units or departments one by one, starting with new teams and projects on the new system and decommissioning old data on the legacy system.

This iterative strategy and migrating just inflight or minimum data allows effort, that would otherwise be spent on migrating a ‘Big Bang’ approach, to be put toward delivering tangible business value. Often, we find that up to 70 to 80% of the data that has not been migrated can be archived or decommissioned.

For many years, we have managed Atlassian migrations between platforms such as Server to Atlassian Cloud and know first-hand that there can be extended downtime and significant complexity and effort associated with migrating large volumes of data, not to mention the time and cost to clean up unwanted legacy data. The iterative migration process not only delivers significant benefits at a lower cost, but it also significantly lowers the impact and risk to the business.

If you are interested in understanding more about iterative Atlassian migrations, why not download our guide: “Avoiding the Big-Bang.”

News

Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire visits Exclaimer’s headquarters in Farnborough to present its Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2020

Exclaimer Group welcomed Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire, Nigel Atkinson to its company headquarters in Farnborough today. The Lord-Lieutenant visited the business to officially award Exclaimer with its 2020 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category.

Exclaimer was awarded this prestigious accolade in April last year in recognition of its outstanding short-term growth in global sales over three years relative to its business size and sector.

Presentation ceremonies are usually conducted at the winners’ premises, by the Lord-Lieutenant of the County as Her Majesty the Queen’s representative, and with representatives from the winning company invited to attend a special reception at Buckingham Palace with H.M. The Queen herself. Unfortunately, all in-person events in 2020 were unable to take place due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, as these are now lifting, Exclaimer was finally able to receive the award in a small ceremony at its Farnborough headquarters.

The UK Queen’s Award for Enterprise is the most renowned British business award, celebrating outstanding company achievements. Only a select number of businesses are chosen due to their exceptional success in categories like International Trade, Innovation, and Sustainable Developments. The annual award winners are selected by the Prime Minister’s office and approved by H.M. the Queen each year on 21 April, her official birthday.

Today, Exclaimer has onboarded over 45,000 customers worldwide (with the vast majority being international). These companies use its suite of email signature management solutions for Microsoft 365, Microsoft Exchange and Google Workspace.

Speaking about Exclaimer’s win, CEO, Heath Davies commented:

“Winning the Queen’s Award was a huge achievement for Exclaimer. This is a public testimony to all the hard work of the Exclaimer team and our partners. We pride ourselves on our software solutions and the support we offer global customers; I’m delighted we’ve officially been recognised with this esteemed award. It was an honour to be formally presented with our Grant of Appointment scroll and our commemorative crystal bowl by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire.”

Winning companies also receive the privilege of using the Queen’s Award Emblem in advertising, marketing and on packaging for five years as a sign of their contribution to business excellence and success.

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Learning creative skills can improve workers’ mental health and job satisfaction

Employers who encourage staff to pursue creative passions can see a significant boost in staff morale, confidence and job satisfaction. These were some of the key findings of a new survey by Skillshare, the largest online learning community for creativity, revealed today.

The research uncovers the extent to which learning-hungry workers are keen to improve their creative skills, and the benefits this can bring in terms of performance at work and mental health. The survey of 1,500 adults carried out by Perspectus Global, reveals that being encouraged to pursue a creative passion outside of work has a host of morale-boosting benefits. 60% of respondents said it improved their mental health. 49% said it made them feel more relaxed, and 47% said it made them feel more fulfilled. 36% reported that pursuing a creative passion outside work helped with a work/life balance, and 30% said it improved job satisfaction.

85% of those polled said they would find an employer more attractive to work for if they supported their personal passions – beyond standard benefits like gym memberships. Meanwhile 62% said learning a new creative skill gave them ‘more confidence’ in the workplace. This rises to an astonishing 78% of 16-29 year olds.

​​“This research paints a fascinating picture of how the simple act of creating can be a force for good in people’s lives,” said Liana Douillet Guzmán, Skillshare CMO. “Creativity is an often overlooked part of day-to-day work life that can help employees thrive. Making creativity a priority isn’t just good for morale and productivity — it’s good for the bottom line. Encouraging employees to explore passion projects enables outside-the-box thinking and collaboration, sparking innovation. Google’s 20% time and LinkedIn’s [in]cubator program are great examples of how companies can encourage free ‘think time’ and generate outcomes that move the needle for their business.”

The survey also revealed that the people have gained an average of two new skills in the past 18 months during the pandemic. 57% of respondents have been more likely to attend an online creative course as a result of the pandemic. 88% would like to learn a new skill, and 95% agree it is important to keep learning skills whatever their age to stay happy and fulfilled.

The survey also looked at the extent to which people make money from different skills. 51% of entrepreneurial workers now have a ‘side hustle,’ with at least one way of making money outside of their day job. An astonishing 70% of 16-29 year olds report having a ‘side hustle,’ with nearly a third having a few different ways to make money outside of their day job.

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Social media entrepreneur Tim Hyde lands Leaders Council podcast alongside Sir Geoff Hurst

The Leaders Council of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is currently in the process of talking to leadership figures from across the nation in an attempt to understand this universal trait and what it means in Britain and Northern Ireland today.

Manchester local Tim Hyde, Founder and Director of Social Media Marketing Agency, TWH Media, was recently invited onto an episode of the podcast, which also included an interview with Sir Geoff Hurst, MBE. Host Scott Challinor asked both guests a series of questions about leadership and the role it has played in their careers to date.

Delighted to be featured alongside one of his heroes, Tim Hyde said, “From a business leaders perspective, I am flattered to have been selected to be involved in this podcast and we hope it is listened to as widely as possible. From a personal perspective, to have my name in the same sentence at the legendary Sir Geoff Hurst is beyond flattering and a complete privilege for me.”

Scott Challinor commented, ‘Hosting a show like this, where you speak to genuine leaders who have been there and done it, either on a national stage or within a crucial industry sector, is an absolute honour.’

Lord Blunkett, chairman of The Leaders Council of Great Britain and Northern Ireland said, ‘I think the most informative element of each episode is the first part, where Scott Challinor is able to sit down with someone who really gets how their industry works and knows how to make their organisation tick. Someone who’s there day in day out working hard and inspiring others. That’s what leadership is all about.’

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Local Manufacturer Celebrates Record-Breaking Safety Success

Employees at JELD-WEN Stairs in Melton Mowbray have celebrated a record-breaking safety milestone, after reaching 2,650 days without a lost working day.

JELD-WEN Stairs employs 86 members of staff, and has been manufacturing solid timber staircases in Melton Mowbray since 1900. The current safety record, at over seven years without a serious incident, is the highest across JELD-WEN’s European production sites.

Phil Chimento, General Manager at JELD-WEN Melton Operations comments, “We’re incredibly proud of reaching this important milestone. As a global team, our core value is to build businesses ethically and safely, and our success here in Melton Mowbray is a testament to the absolute focus on safety that is engrained across the entire business, and every one of our sites.

“Our record of 2,650 days equates to 1.2m working hours, with over 362,000 staircases produced in that period. Factor in the additional Covid safety measures that have been introduced since March last year, and a significant increase in demand and production, and that makes the team’s achievement even more significant.”

Nigel Dilks, VP Operation JELD-WEN Europe added, “It’s fantastic to be able to celebrate the achievement of the whole team at JELD-WEN Stairs. All of our production sites share best practice to ensure that safety remains our number one priority, from JELD-WEN’s global environment, health and safety management system to weekly on-site audits and walking the floor.

“To achieve such an impressive record here in Melton Mowbray is a true reflection of our teams putting safety at the heart of everything they do.”

JELD-WEN is the UK’s largest manufacturer of high-quality timber interior and exterior doors, windows and stairs, with five sites across Melton Mowbray, Sheffield and Penrith. Globally, JELD-WEN operates 117 manufacturing facilities across 24 countries.