Monthly Archives: October 2021

News

#facebookDOWN in numbers

After the total global crash of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, the platforms are running as usual again.

Three of the world’s most widely used social networks were offline for six hours. The reason is said to have been an error in the reconfiguration of routers, as Facebook announced. Normally, the platforms run 24/7 and around the globe at full speed.

Research by the Berlin-based marketing agency ABCD Agency shows the impact that the six-hour, unplanned break had in numbers…

 

  • 25 billion WhatsApp messages und 54 million Facebook messages have not been sent
  • 3.75 billion fewer minutes were called via WhatsApp
  • 125 million Instagram stories have not been posted
  • 3.6 billion minutes used for something else that would otherwise have been spent on Instagram
  • 53 million photos were not uploaded to Facebook

 

Methodology: The calculation is based on data on the daily use of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The data was then calculated for a six-hour period. Sources used: TechCrunch, WhatsApp, Domo Data never sleeps report, Digital 2021: Global Overview Report.

About ABCD Agency: ABCD is a content marketing & performance PR Agency that supports brands with increasing their organic reach through content marketing and press exposure. ABCD Agency was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany.

 

Midlands News, News

Q strengthens team with promotion for Josh

A leading Midlands commercial finance company has strengthened its team with the appointment of a new partner. 

Q Commercial Finance, which has bases in Wellington and Shrewsbury, has promoted Josh Timbrell to the role just three years after he first joined the company. 

Director Steve Parry said the promotion reflected the hugely important role Josh had played with Q and the company’s ambition for the future. 

“In three years Josh has established himself as a critical part of Q Commercial Finance and someone who will help shape the future of the company for years to come. He joined us from college and has quickly become both a highly-respected member of our team and someone our clients respect and trust. 

“We are delighted to have been able to make Josh a partner and look forward to watching him develop and flourish for years to come.” 

Josh, aged 21, joined Q as a commercial executive in August 2018 before being promoted to senior commercial executive two years later, and also completed a qualification in business banking and conduct last year. 

He said: “I am extremely grateful to Q for the chance they have given me.  I was given a huge opportunity at a young age to learn from Steve, who has been working in the industry for 20 years, and progress in an industry where the majority of my peers have decades of banking experience. 

“Q is a great place to work with great mentorship and career opportunities, but also a supportive team which takes a pride in enjoying its work and supporting each other. I could not have achieved this promotion without that.” 

Away from work, Josh enjoys fitness training and has achieved his third Dan blackbelt in kickboxing, in which he has competed at national championships. 

Q Commercial Finance is part of the Q Financial Services group, one of the leading and fastest-growing companies in the sector across the Midlands. 

For more information on Q visit https://www.qfinancialservices.co.uk/ 

News, Technology

TWC IT Solutions signs a three-year partnership with Barnet FC to become the Club’s Official IT Partner

TWC IT Solutions, one of London’s leading IT service providers, has proudly partnered with Barnet FC, combining world-class, strategic leadership with Barnet’s ethos to work with and become the heart of the community and help both local people and businesses.

TWC IT Solutions and the Club has recognised that over the last two years it has become increasingly important to care for local communities and reunite the nation. TWC hopes that their support will further provide opportunities for the development of Barnet FC and the players.

Paolo Sartori, Managing Director of TWC IT Solutions said: 

“This is a really exciting partnership for TWC IT Solutions. It offers us the opportunity to help the local community, define and establish our footprint in football by supporting young footballers’ development. By entering into this strategic alliance, we believe it will enable us to demonstrate some of our core principles, namely delivering first class support with integrity at all times.”

 

Anthony Kleanthous, Barnet’s FC Chairman said:

“Barnet FC is proud to add TWC to its prestigious stable of Club partners. The Hive Stadium utilises cutting edge systems for networking, CCTV and data technology, and these systems have to be operative 24/7. The appointment of TWC is acknowledgement of their proven track record in maintaining these systems, so that we are able to deliver the quality service both customers of The Hive and supporters of the Club deserve. We would like to welcome Paolo and his team to the fold and look forward to a long and successful association.”

 

You can read more about TWC’s IT partnership with Barnet FC here.

About TWC IT Solutions
Headquartered in Hertfordshire, UK and globally from the US (New Jersey) and Asia (Hong Kong), over the last decade, TWC IT Solutions  has offered managed IT Support, Cybersecurity, Disaster Recovery, Contact Centre and Business Connectivity services to more than 300+ clients, across 24 countries. More specifically, 200 of them come from the UK and the South East region, with a 30-minute Greater London on-site bike response team. Additionally, TWC IT Solutions is among a small number of IT companies offering industry-leading 10 minute SLA’s and an excellent NPS score.

TWC IT Solutions is accredited by some of the world’s leading vendors, namely as a Microsoft Gold Partner, a Cisco Systems Inc Premium Partner and a BT (EE) preferred partner. This enables TWC to deliver the highest level of business capability and innovation to its customers.

About Barnet Football Club:

Barnet Football Club is a professional football club competing in the National League. Barnet FC is one of the football teams with the highest number of championship titles within the National League.

 

News

TALL Security Print Achieve Investors in People Accreditation 

TALL Security Print, the UK leader in the provision of secure printed documents, has successfully maintained its Investors in People (IIP) accreditation, demonstrating the company’s commitment to ensure that principles and practices around supporting people are paramount within the group.

The TALL Group have been providing clients with secure printed documents and electronic payment solutions for over 30 years.  In order to continue to provide world class customer service they have committed to invest in their staff and understand the importance of a better, more productive workplace.  The TALL Security Print team have been working closely with IIP to maintain this accreditation, ensuring that every employee has access to the training and support they need throughout their career.

This news comes as TALL is recruiting three new positions in Runcorn – one press operator and two apprentices.

Debbie Dowler, Quality & Compliance Director, commented: “Our people are amongst the best in the industry and we are extremely proud of each and every one of them.  The IIP accreditation demonstrates our continued commitment to invest in our people and make the TALL Group a place where they can thrive and enjoy coming to work.

She added, “Thanks again to all our Runcorn staff who without their valuable feedback, we couldn’t make this happen.”

“TALL is ten weeks into an internal communications campaign encouraging staff to share their good news, whether business or personal, and have recently celebrated the fine work that staff do by holding lunches at the three TALL Group sites by way of a thank you. Feedback from the IIP has been extremely positive with regard to our communication initiative and have made suggestions as to how we can expand and develop the activities we are undertaking.”

Martin Ruda, TALL Group Managing Director said, “We are fortunate to have a dedicated workforce that has succeeded in maintaining our operations throughout the recent pandemic. As we make our way along the road to recovery from COVID-19, we acknowledge their contribution and look forward to using the IIP accreditation to reinforce our company values.”

 

 

Cybersecurity, Midlands News, News

Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust adopts cyber security solution to protect patient data

Birmingham’s Community Healthcare NHS Trust (BCHC) has invested in a full suite of cyber security services to keep its patients’ data and personal details safe from any would-be cyber-attacks, criminals and hackers.

BCHC provides over 100 community-based clinical and specialist services, via community hospitals, health centres, clinics, community centres, schools, care homes and dentists, to patients living in and around Birmingham.

With thousands of employees working in over one hundred sites, BCHC’s previous IT landscape made cyber security difficult to implement effectively for the disparate workforce, using the Trust’s own internal, stretched resources alone. As each NHS Trust’s security responsibility is theirs alone, BCHC recognised its need for additional security, which would offer value for money and not exceed public sector budgetary constraints.

Kidderminster-based CyberGuard Technologies is one regional IT security services provider that has taken responsibility for ensuring NHS Trusts like BCHC are kept safe from would-be attackers.

BCHC’s Head of IT, Gerard Kilgallon: “The Trust’s IT team has an unwavering priority to deliver IT services that enable its clinicians to provide patient care, meaning cyber security was being reluctantly de-prioritised across the Trust. This sizeable challenge was in the shadow of the infamous WannaCry ransomware attack that brought other NHS Trusts across the UK to a standstill in 2017. Ever since there’s been widespread acknowledgement that the NHS was suffering something of a cyber security crisis, being at serious risk of another attack.”

Initially Gerard planned to recruit his own cyber specialists but it quickly became apparent that employing a knowledgeable cyber security team would be a challenge in itself. Due to a skills shortage in the UK, salaries for efficient security experts are currently beyond BCHC’s recruitment budget.

CyberGuard spent time assessing BCHC’s security requirements via an audit and running a ‘proof of concept’ for the Trust for a number of weeks, which allowed the Trust to see CyberGuard Technologies’ security service and teams in action and was integrated into the NHS’ complex infrastructure to ensure visibility. CyberGuard also set up a Critical Incident Response Service to proactively protect the Trust’s systems and date, which saw CyberGuard’s Security Operations Centre (SOC) investigate, react to and remediate any threats at source.

Soon after, BCHC expanded CyberGuard Technologies’ scope with the implementation of its SIEM solution (Security Information & Event Management) to transform the communication between all of the Trust’s existing security products, which provided a clear picture of any threats to the Trust, along with possible attack vectors, so CyberGuard could escalate and respond to protect the strict patient data protocols and keep sensitive data safe.

Sean Tickle, Head of CyberGuard Technologies, concluded: “Taking our skills and expertise into the public sector has been thoroughly rewarding for CyberGuard, particularly at a time when the NHS has suffered unprecedented pressure due to the pandemic. The NHS is a precious public service and we’re proud to be working in partnership to keep BCHC’s network and highly sensitive data protected from cyber threats.”

Events, News

RESHAPE 21 Examines Customer Experience, Leadership, and Technology in “A Conversation with President Barack Obama and Hande Cilingir, Insider Co-founder and CEO”

RESHAPE by Insider, is an annual two-day leadership and experience virtual summit hosted for CMOs, CX pioneers, senior executives, and industry leaders to discuss how to reshape the future. Topics discussed included principles of leadership, customer experience, and sustainability, as well as the need for diversity, equity, and inclusion. This year, Insider’s Co-founder and CEO Hande Cilingir interviewed President Barack Obama on leadership, the power of purpose, and his advice for the next generation.

“During a time of rapid change and uncertainty, RESHAPE gave the brightest and most emotionally intelligent minds in leadership, technology, diversity, and sustainability a platform to discuss the common threads that affect all of us. These discussions culminated in my conversation with President Barack Obama where he offered insights into staying grounded in high-pressure situations, the value of diverse perspectives, the importance of hope plus action, and the urgency around climate change,” said Hande Cilingir, Co-founder and CEO, Insider.

C-level executives, marketers behind the growth of top global brands, and changemakers from around the world spoke at the event.

Of the 220+ speakers, notable participants included Sir Martin Sorrell, Executive Chairman at S4 Capital; Gillians Tans, Chairwoman at Booking.com; Patrice Conxicouer, CEO Singapore at HSBC Global Asset Management; Deepak Subramaniam, VP Homecare at Unilever; Carolina Garcia, Global Digitalisation Manager at IKEA; Kirat Khara, Head of eCommerce, Australia at Lenovo; Zoltan Venczel Global Head of EV of Energy at Nissan; Brandon Proctor CMO at Madeira Madeira; Bryan Koh, Div. Vice President E-Commerce and Distribution at Singapore Airlines, and Vasiliy Mishin, Head of Ecommerce SEA at PUMA.

“President Barack Obama embodied the spirit of the event, captured in the RESHAPE vision, on how business and technology need to work together to disrupt and invest in what matters to the future of humanity,” said Cilingir. “He described hope as the engine of progress. Rather than blind optimism, he emphasized identifying challenges and collaborating with others to solve them. Young generations are at the center of innovation and transformation. As a leader, you must create a proactive organization where diversity is welcomed, where the culture is one that supports and values each member of a team,” added Cilingir.

President Barack Obama also suggested setting long-term goals and staying focused, reiterating how easy it is for leaders today to get caught up in the mundane daily details and remain short sighted. He advised them to look ahead, as opposed to getting locked in the past or mired in the present.

President Obama said what gives him pleasure, purpose, and meaning—what gets him out of bed—is the feeling that he can make a positive impact on the world. In some fashion, we can make things a little bit better, improve lives, and create a better world for the next generation. President Obama’s purpose—the thing that drives him—is the same energy and mission that drives the engine of RESHAPE.

The next evolution of commerce will look to integrate key performance metrics from other disciplines and create deeper collaboration between marketers, business leaders, and consumers.

Marketing leaders have awareness of the relationship between customer experience and technology, but as we reshape the future it will become vital to navigate diversity, sustainability, and other paradigms, to assure authentic success.

Delivering a great product or service is no longer enough. Today’s consumers hold brands to a higher standard and will assess them through their actions (or inactions) around climate change, diversity, and sustainability. Successful brands realize the concerns of their customers need to be their concerns as well.

RESHAPE brought together over two hundred speakers and a 14,000 strong community of changemakers to drive impact by seeing the world through multiple lenses.

News, Property

The skills you need to be a successful property developer

By Ritchie Clapson CEng MIStructE, propertyCEO

A property developer requires skills used by many people in various industries, day in, day out. They are the skills of a CEO.

I’ve lost count of the number of students I teach whose initial ambition was to become their own Project Manager. This is not the way to go. Instead, you want to be the CEO who hires a Project Manager to manage your projects for you. The PM will then be your eyes and ears on the project and will report back to you.

At a high level, your job breaks down into several key roles:

  1. You’ll need to establish your business, strategy, and brand, and decide what type of development you’re going to tackle.
  2. You’ll have to recruit your team of professionals, including architects, solicitors, project managers, structural engineers, etc.
  3. You’ll need to be able to find a supply of good quality, profitable deals. These will need to be analysed to sort the wheat from the chaff and decide which ones are worth pursuing.
  4. You’ll be arranging the finance for your first project, working with both commercial lenders and private investors.

I’ve been training and working with developers for nearly 40 years, and here are the essential skills that you need to do the job well.

  1. Organisational skills

Your property development business won’t happen unless you are highly organised. You also need to be systemised and make sure you establish processes for each part of your business. They take effort and foresight to set up, but they pay big dividends and stop your business from degenerating into a shambles.

  1. People skills

Development is fundamentally a people business. Not only will you be working with a team of professionals, but you’ll also be wooing estate agents, lenders, and private investors. This requires the ability to create and build rapport. And, of course, development projects always have a few bumps in the road, so you’ll need to be able to make sure you get to the end with all of your critical relationships intact, ready to go again.

  1. Management Skills

Property development is a business, and you need to operate it as such. This means deploying management skills to run your business and being highly disciplined. You’ll also need to stay on top of cash flow, as even profitable deals could fall into the red on their journey unless you manage things effectively.

  1. Decision-making skills

Any decision is often better than no decision, and in development, you’ll have a team of professionals to advise you. The problem can arise where the developer needs to make a difficult call, and they dither, hoping some silver bullet solution might suddenly arrive. This dallying has scuppered many a project, frustrating the contractor who can’t get on with things until a decision is made. So when the ball is in your court, make a decision quickly and move on. In development, time is usually money.

  1. Hard work

Once you’re up and running, development can be a job you do in your spare time. But you’ll need to put in some hard graft to get started. You’ll also need to be persistent. Great deals don’t grow on trees, and there’s no guarantee you’ll find one quickly. The good news is that this frightens off most of the competition, so if you know what you’re doing and you stick with it, you’re likely to be successful.

  1. Determination

It’s easy to get disheartened. Great deals can be difficult to find, and projects rarely go entirely as planned. The spoils go to the developer who keeps going. But your first project will inevitably be your most challenging, and the journey gets easier as you build your experience and reputation.

  1. Education

Your property development education is the glue that holds all of the above together. Can you avoid making any expensive mistakes without getting training? It’s theoretically possible, but then it’s also possible to jump out of a plane without training. The other thing that education gives you is the ability to see opportunities that other developers can’t see. And you’ll want that edge so you can get the best possible deals.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ritchie Clapson CEng MIStructE is a veteran property developer of almost 40 years and co-founder of propertyCEO, a nationwide property development and training company that helps people create a successful property development business in their spare time. It makes use of students’ existing life skills while teaching them the property, business, and mindset knowledge they need to undertake small scale developments successfully, with the emphasis on utilising existing permitted development rights to minimize risk and maximize returns.

https://propertyceo.co.uk/

News

AML create bold campaign for the venture capital firm that does things differently

Launched in 2018 by Jasper Smith whose previous ventures include Play Jam, Playstack and Hutch – VALA is a new breed of venture capital firm on a mission to back, build and embolden start-ups with the potential to impact on markets and on society.

The Venture Builders – a brand idea and creative campaign created by AML Group has been designed to launch two key VALA portfolios: Sustainable Growth EIS and New British Ventures EIS – targeting Advisers and High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI).

Featuring ‘early stage’ business imagery captured in a series of building blocks with a vibrant colour palette and punchy copy – the initial four executions will feature online and in a variety of print titles including the FT, Times, Telegraph, and specialist financial and adviser trade titles.

“This is a hugely exciting creative opportunity for a bold and entrepreneurial venture capital firm who want to stand out and punch above their weight.” says Hugo Bone, Executive Creative Director at AML “We have taken a complex sector and devised a big, yet simple creative idea with unlimited application and potential.”

The campaign will run for the next six months with media planned and bought through Ptarmigan media and social activity through J2.

Commenting on the campaign and brand idea Elizabeth Netti, Head of Marketing at Vala Capital says: “AML have managed to encapsulate our personality and entrepreneurial spirit beautifully in this new campaign. They have created a simple idea that clearly articulates the Vala DNA both visually and tonally as well as emphasising our point of difference in the market.”

Marketing, PR and SEO, News

When it comes to social media, any old image will NOT do

By Emeka Ikechi, Director, Vanity Studios

Your use of imagery on social media platforms is not just an expression of who you are but an illustration of how you communicate. If you are a freelancer, own a business, or are simply looking to level up your job prospects, a social media presence is a way to gain new business and grow your network. But you don’t want to make a bad first impression.

So, what types of images do you need to grow your social following?

Headshots

The most important image you will need on your social media profiles is a good headshot. When people can see your face, they gain an impression of who you are, which makes communication feel much more personal.

Unfortunately, many people have terrible or unsuitable headshots for their profile: serious professionals do not have low resolution holiday snaps on their LinkedIn. It may sound obvious, but it is a common big mistake. And that means good news for you. A high-quality headshot will help you stand out in a crowd of terrible photos and make you appear much more professional.

However, while the image needs to be professional, it doesn’t need to be serious and boring. Bring your headshots to life by experimenting with different poses and styles. Perhaps your LinkedIn headshot is stylish, but your Facebook headshot is a bit more playful. Try out different outfits to fit the mood of the image. See what gets the best response.

It is also a good idea to keep your headshot regularly updated. If you change your look (haircut, makeup, facial hair), change your headshot. For example, at Vanity Studios we dress headshots to fit the season, demonstrating that you are active and engaged on your social media: throw on a Christmas jumper to celebrate the festive season, but make sure to swap out for a summer t-shirt once the seasons change.

Product shots

If you are promoting products, having some product shots clearly visible on your social media is essential. People visiting your profile or business page will want to see what you are selling, how it works, and where it might fit into their lifestyle.

Rather than shooting the product against a plain background, consider showing the product in-situ to bring it to life. Your handmade earrings may look great against a black background, but a stylish shot of someone wearing them will feel a lot more real and relatable.

Even if your ‘product’ is more abstract—perhaps an experience, such as a holiday or an entertainment—showing it being lived will help people imagine what it would be like to experience it for themselves. Remember, imagination is a powerful tool in promoting any product.

People also aspire to live fun, enjoyable and stylish lives. Showing your product being a part of that aspirational lifestyle helps cement that idea, making them feel more stylish and fun simply by owning or experiencing the product.

I often suggest to my clients that they model the product themselves, doubling as both headshot and product shot. It also shows that you personally use the product: it’s not abstract or a money-grab, it’s a product you believe in and use yourself!

Action shots

To bring even more personality to your profile, consider doing some action shots. These could be more professional and demonstrate what you do, such as images showing you delivering a presentation, or they could be more fun and demonstrate who you are.

Do you love movies? Get some shots of you dressed up as your favourite superhero. Work as a chef? Let’s get you preparing some food. Put on medieval experience days? Don your suit of armour and get into the studio!

The trick with action shots is to make them fun yet classy. It can be very easy for them to look awkward and cringe-worthy if they aren’t done well. A professional photographer is essential if you want them to look good. A reputable studio will also be able to provide a range of quality props to complete the look.

Whatever images you decide to include on your social profiles, the key thing is to make them high quality. This doesn’t just mean higher resolution; I have seen some terrible photos in spectacularly high resolution. Also bear in mind that most social platforms will limit file/image size or scale down the resolution to fit.

Starting with a high resolution image gives you a lot more options, but merely having more pixels is rarely enough. Images need to shout quality, and this is achieved through good composition, utilising techniques—like depth of field—and setting up lighting to show your best side. Processing images with a few Photoshop touch-ups or effects can also help transform them, making them jump off the screen.

Remember that people regularly check LinkedIn and Twitter profiles to get a sense of who someone is before reaching out to connect or offering a job. Bear than in mind if you find yourself quickly cropping a pixelated wedding snap and imagine how differently you’ll be viewed if instead you upload high-quality photos captured by a professional.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emeka Ikechi is Director of Vanity Studios, a contemporary studio for photoshoots in the centre of Shoreditch in London. Since 2009 Vanity Studios has been providing clients with high quality professional photos and an excellent photoshoot experience. The team of photographers and make-up artists ensure each client receives bespoke photography that meets their requirements.

Web:               https://vanitystudios.co.uk/

 

News, Retail & E-commerce

Half of Retailers Paralysed by Fear of Failure

A fear of failure is crippling UK retailers, with 53% avoiding making decisions due to the possible consequences. According to research conducted by Opinium and LiveArea, a Merkel Company, business leaders are stuck in a period of stasis, unwilling to innovate or develop new features, products or services because of fear they may fail.

Retail innovation is clearly a priority in UK retail, with 81% of decision-makers stating these have become more important as a result of the pandemic. However, over two thirds (70%) believe they are not investing enough to innovate and transform their businesses to meet customer needs. This is borne out by the fact that a quarter (25%) have no process in place for discussing new ideas for products, solutions or features, while a further one in ten (12%) do not know if such a process exists within their business.

As well a lack of business structure, technology and culture are seen as central blockers to business development. Legacy technology (37%) company culture (33%), and lack of time (22%), were seen as the biggest barriers to business innovation.

“Covid-19 has changed UK retail forever. Those that have been able to rapidly innovate, test and implement are surviving and, in some cases, thriving, leaving others by the wayside. Many of the high street stalwarts that have failed have done so because they failed to grasp the importance of agility and innovation,” Samantha Mansfield, Head of Strategy EMEA at LiveArea, a Merkel company.

“No retailer can accurately predict consumer behaviour, so they must build a platform that can adapt quickly. Fundamentally, that means shifting to a digital, speed-first approach – developing technology and a culture to inspire innovation,” Samantha continued.