Monthly Archives: August 2023

News, Tech Thought Leadership, Technology

Looking back and facing forward – what the rest of the year ahead holds

Written by Prashant Ketkar, Chief Technology & Product Officer at Alludo 

So far this year has taught us that we cannot always predict and prepare for every eventuality. We often find ourselves somewhere different to where we thought we would be. Although businesses are often thrown curveballs, we can also put measures in place for what the rest of the year ahead is likely to hold. Forward-thinking is what so often sets successful businesses and their leaders apart from those who fall behind. The first quarter and a half saw a lot of change across all businesses, but particularly in the technology sector.

For the UK, one of the biggest economic curveballs reared its ugly head in the form of a recession. With businesses’ purse strings being tightened more than ever, key decision-makers have no choice but to re-evaluate where they need to curb costs and what areas they need to focus on the most. With the continued talent skills gap and tech skills shortages, businesses are left with smaller talent pools than usual. With all these macroeconomic conditions and pressure from employees and third parties to adopt more sustainable business practices, what do the next two-quarters of 2023 hold in store?

 

Making more with less 

Businesses, particularly in the technology sector, are facing a smaller pool of resources from skills shortages to budget cuts. In the UK, the recession is at the forefront of business leaders’ minds as to how to make do with less.

With slashed budgets, ROI will be more important than ever. Firstly, businesses should take a look at current processes and strategies in place and assess if there are areas that are not seeing a high ROI. This will then establish whether these particular processes need some adaptations or if they need a total overhaul.

Businesses shouldn’t stop innovation in these tough times but, they need to be selective. Again, ROI is of the utmost importance and valuable time and money shouldn’t be wasted innovating technology that will have very little ROI. Aligning innovation with clear goals will ensure IT and technology teams to have strong areas of focus.

 

Filling the skills gap

The technology industry has seen significant skills gaps in the last few years. According to techUK’s recent Digital Economy Monitor, 57% of UK IT firms find the present talent shortage and access to skills among the biggest barrier for their companies. Businesses are struggling to fill roles that require specialist digital and technological skills.

As a result, companies are having to adapt tasks and processes in the absence of this essential talent. Augmenting and automating repeatable and repetitive tasks is one of the key ways we will see businesses altering their processes. Additionally, in the wake of a short supply of talent and a hugely competitive job market, we will undoubtedly see an uptick in upskilling and up-scaling existing talent. Without this new and valuable talent, businesses need to turn inwards and focus on educating, nurturing and building up their existing workforces.

Businesses should also look to support talent that is yet to enter the workforce, such as students. This long-term investment will allow for future talent to blossom and ease the skills gap burden in years to come. At the moment this isn’t always happening enough early on, with 22% of UK employees admitting a lack of digital skills was affecting their ability to hit targets. Businesses need to think carefully to create considered plans to overcome these digital skills gaps in the coming year.

 

Successful sustainability solutions

Despite the economic crisis we are currently facing, ESG should not fall by the wayside. There are no two ways about it: sustainability must be at the forefront of business agendas. With the threat of a global energy crisis as well as a recession continuing to become more prevalent, enterprises will become more mindful of their carbon footprint. This will be a universal trend, not just sector-specific, although we will particularly see the mid-to higher-end enterprises significantly speed up their investments into more sustainable technology.

One of the main areas of IT investment will be in cloud adoption. According to Gartner, worldwide public cloud end-user spending is expected to reach nearly $600 billion by the end of this year. Cloud will be a key element of the move to Green IT with its ability to securely and efficiently manage both modern and legacy applications. Although the cloud isn’t perfect when it comes to sustainability there is no doubt that it is more eco-friendly than traditional data centres.

As well as this, while more companies migrate their workloads to the cloud, we will see cloud providers continue to invest in renewable energy sources. This will enable more environmentally friendly-native applications. Green computing will be the way forward for creating a sustainable future.

 

Cloud optimisation surge

With many businesses rushing to the cloud in the wake of the pandemic, enterprises have finally had the time to take a step back and evaluate how they can optimise their cloud applications and migration. This process of cloud optimisation involves eliminating cloud resource waste by provisioning and selecting the resources you spend on a specific cloud feature to ensure you have the right model for your cloud usage.

With this will come less wasted funds and as a result, the rest of this year and the years to come will see true hybrid cloud come to fruition. This will mean that businesses will start to integrate cloud services with legacy infrastructure teams in the most efficient way possible.

However, as touched upon earlier, there is no escaping the impact that skills shortages will have on cloud migrations, particularly successful ones. Finding those who have the skills to build such complex serverless and cloud-native infrastructures is like finding a needle in a haystack – it’s rare. And finding them is only half the problem; convincing them to leave their current position is often met with a hefty salary request. Despite these obstacles, the hybrid cloud will continue to grow and dominate the cloud space.

 

So, what’s next?

The exciting aspect of looking forward to the year ahead is the prospect of new technology and processes. I think we are going to see some really big shifts within the technology sector this second half of the year, largely led by external influences and pressures. All three of these areas will look different by the end of 2023 and I’m excited to see where we are by the time we reach the end of 2023.

 

News, Software, Tech

PaperCut ranked number 1 for third-year running in Worldwide and U.S. Device and Print Management 2022 market shares

For the third year running, IDC has ranked PaperCut Software at number 1 for Worldwide and U.S. Device and Print Management market share in its recently published, IDC Worldwide and U.S. Device and Print Management Market Shares, 2022 (doc #US49326323, June 2023) report. While navigating the hybrid working era and the uptake of cloud solutions, PaperCut gained share in the device and print management software market in 2022, retaining the number 1 position as top vendor in the market for the third year in a row.

Whereas 2021 experienced a decline in industry revenues, 2022 was marked by a slight modest recovery. With COVID-19 as a global health crisis coming to an end, businesses worldwide started returning to the office. As a result, most vendors experienced growth in 2022. This delivered a 3.1% increase from 2021 in worldwide device and print management document solution software market sales. PaperCut remained in the top spot with $83.9 million at 12.9% market share.

IDC’s report states that PaperCut is driving the move to the cloud with public or private cloud suitable solutions. Its built-for-cloud products, PaperCut Hive and PaperCut Pocket, launched in 2021, continue to deliver on customers’ needs to save costs, simplify print enablement, and reduce waste.

Commenting on the report, Steve Holmes, Head of Global Sales & Channels, PaperCut, stated: “In the middle of traversing the daily-evolving new normal, PaperCut is grateful to retain the position as the world’s number one print management solution by market share for the third year in a row. This consistency reflects that our customers and our channel share our passion for sustainability, and it reflects the strength of our product portfolio in the face of a high demand for mobile, secure, and cloud-ready print management solutions.”

He added: “PaperCut’s success is our channel partners’ success. Our Authorised Solution Centers, OEM partnerships, and Reseller network are in tune with customer needs and the state of printing in the world today. Their dedication, discipline, and expertise is a vital component of PaperCut being ranked the market share leader by IDC three years running. We look forward to the year to come, and maintain belief that PaperCut and our channel partners will keep thriving by continuing to put customers first.”

Read more on the PaperCut website.

Cardiff, News, Sport

Harding Evans Renews Support for Whitchurch Heath Cricket Club

LEADING Welsh law firm Harding Evans is supporting Whitchurch Heath Cricket Club for the second year running as a lead sponsor.

The firm, which offers a range of legal services to both businesses and individuals, is helping the club with financial support to fund day-to-day expenses such as ground maintenance and equipment. Harding Evans has a number of offices across south Wales, including Whitchurch itself.

Whitchurch Heath has four senior league sides and a thriving youth section that runs teams at ages under nine, 11, 13 and 15. They are dedicated to playing competitive cricket in a welcoming, inclusive and social atmosphere in the North Cardiff suburb.

Peter Bryon, Whitchurch Heath Chair, said: “We’re so grateful to see the team at Harding Evans back for another season following its generous support last year which helped us recover post-pandemic. The support of local businesses in our community is vital to the club, and we are truly thankful.”

Ken Thomas, Harding Evans Chairman and Partner, said: “We are extremely pleased to renew as lead sponsors for Whitchurch Heath this year and have enjoyed seeing the boys in action this year.

“As a firm with a long standing heritage in Wales, we are committed to supporting community causes, and Whitchurch Heath Cricket Club is a perfect example of this.”

Whitchurch Heath Cricket Club is always interested in connecting with businesses that share its values and can help it deliver on its five-year plan for the future of the club. Find out more at https://whitchurch-heath.play-cricket.com/home.

Employee Benefits, News

Vivup Awarded a Place on ESPO Framework Staff Benefits (319)

Vivup today announces that it has been awarded a place on ESPO Framework 319 commencing from 7 August 2023 and running until 31 July 2025.

ESPO is a public sector owned professional buying organisation (PBO), specialising in providing a wide range of goods and services to the public sector for over 40 years.

Vivup will provide the following employee benefits through the framework:

  • Managed Services Platform for Benefit Schemes
  • Cycle to Work Salary Sacrifice Schemes
  • Financial Well-Being Support Scheme
  • Technology Products Schemes
  • Leisure and Retail Discount Schemes
  • Car Leasing Schemes
  • Childcare Voucher Salary Sacrifice Schemes
  • Reward and Recognition Scheme

Since 2005, Vivup has been proudly partnering with over 750 organisations, supplying its cost-free platform to the public sector and supporting more than 2 million employees with essential wellbeing and employee benefits.

Simon Moyle, Vivup CEO, commented: “We are very much looking forward to delivering quality and value benefits to the public sector for the next three years. The public sector plays a vital role in our nation and this appointment demonstrates the high level of service, innovation and trust that Vivup delivers.”

Customer Service, News, Telecoms

Moneypenny’s New Bespoke Service Gives UK Businesses Tailored Support To Get Ahead

Leading outsourced communications provider Moneypenny has launched a new bespoke service for businesses, which sees its award-winning employees working as a full outsourced customer service team operating within their clients’ systems, as if sitting within their office. With *research showing customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than companies that don’t focus on customers, this new service from Moneypenny will help businesses excel at customer experience and shape their client journey.

Developed to help businesses achieve new operational efficiencies and address recruitment challenges, Moneypenny’s teams can support in-house resources, or be fully outsourced.  The service is completely bespoke depending on the clients’ requirements, and services include everything from responding to inbound queries, proactively engaging with enquiries and customers, booking appointments, managing social media accounts, overseeing reviews platforms, as well as payment handling, ID verification and order processing.  The Moneypenny team can also record activity directly into client’s lead management and CRM systems to save time and ensure a seamless approach to data management.

Businesses across all sectors including engineering, luxury retail, healthcare, commercial real estate and B2C services will benefit from Moneypenny’s highly trained customer service professionals and industry-leading technology so there’s no need for a business to purchase additional technology, introduce additional training, take on extra office space, or recruit temporary staff.

Mark Finlay, Chief Commercial Officer from Moneypenny explains: “Businesses are under pressure like never before and with research showing that brands with superior customer experience bring in five to seven times more revenue than competitors that lag in customer experience,* it is more important than ever to deliver a consistently high customer experience to valued customers.

“We’ve always been a ‘right-hand man’ to businesses with our call and live chat handling, but this new service sees us going even further. We’re offering flexible and comprehensive support that’s tailored to clients’ specific needs and will ensure they’re delivering a consistently high customer experience to valued customers.”

—

Research From Deloitte report

 

About Moneypenny

Moneypenny is a global leader providing phone answering, receptionist teams, live chat and customer contact solutions and is a trusted partner to large and small businesses. Moneypenny has an award-winning culture and over 1,200 employees across the US and UK. It handles over 20 million calls and chats for thousands of businesses blending awesome people superpowered by leading-edge tech solutions to deliver seamless customer engagement outcomes.

Moneypenny is proud to have been part of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ seven times and be recognised as a Great Place To Work (GPTW)

For more information, visit www.moneypenny.com

Marketing, PR and SEO, Social Media

Our Spending Habits – How Influencers Are Changing the Way We Shop

Social media has had an undeniable impact on society as a whole. In 2023, the United Kingdom saw 57.1 million active social media users. This translates to 84.4 per cent of the entire population in the country. With such a massive penetration rate, it’s no wonder that this would result in an equally inescapable shift in habits.

Its power as a factor for shopping is largely why social media campaigns for businesses have become a major presence. The popular framework being used in social media marketing is to focus 80 per cent of content strategy on entertainment and engagement, leading the remaining 20 per cent to sell products or services.

The biggest phenomenon in this avenue is influencer marketing, which makes use of individuals with major followings and engagements to drive sales. Here’s how this affects the way we shop today.

1. The Power of FOMO and Trends

The main reason businesses tap into influencers is that they are essentially the tastemakers of the internet. They naturally get into trends, create demand, and sway consumer preference in an aspirational yet distinctly relatable way. It also doesn’t hurt that they are able to farm a community that will feel the need to keep up with their habits thanks to a fear of missing out (FOMO).

Studies on how social media impacts spending habits reveal that 74% of people use social media to discover products and make purchasing decisions. It’s also worth noting that users tend to trust influencers more than they do traditional celebrities. Just look at the UK’s highest-earning social media influencer, Zoe Sugg. One of her main types of content while growing her channel was shopping hauls, with every item getting an affiliate link that users could immediately use to buy whatever “Zoella” would put her stamp on.

2. Branding and Direct Platform Selling

These days, major influencers have no problem connecting directly to brands that also have social media pages. Because of the social media algorithm, you don’t even need to follow a specific influencer to get their content on your feed. This increases the chances of people seeing a product or service they are more likely to spend on because they are shown things that they would seemingly take an interest in based on their own activity.

Even as organic marketing has taken a slide in recent years, brands are still able to permeate any regular feed thanks to sponsored posts. Influencers also get their own posts boosted, so users basically get ads without it having to look like a blatant piece of advertising. To seal the deal, these posts include direct in-platform selling links so you don’t have to leave the app to buy something. We see the rise of such tactics on huge platforms like TikTok, where sellers can go live and show products that people can immediately add to their cart.

3. Brand Perception

We live in an age where people show support with their money. Bad brand perception causes boycotts, and the opposite sees more sales. Influencers build communities, especially when they are still growing their reach. This links them up with other consumers who stay engaged because of shared values and a sense of connection. The trust and positive association with anything related to said influencers is why businesses utilize social media for brand promotion.

If you look at Arun Maini, known on the internet as ‘mrwhosetheboss’, you can see how an influencer impacts brand perception and, in turn, sales. With 15.8 million subscribers on YouTube and 1.4 million followers on Instagram, he has built a name as one of the most trusted tech influencers in the UK and beyond. In 2022, he released a video criticizing Samsung for its bloated batteries heating up. Though far from being the sole reason for it, this viral video would be a contributing factor to the brand seeing plunging profits. In Q4 of the same year, Samsung reported a 70 per cent nosedive in profit due to low smartphone sales.

4. Reviews and Relatability

Influencers that have brand partnerships bank on the tendency for people to trust individuals that they find “real” and “relatable”. Recent studies on how online reviews affect purchase decisions also show that people react more or pay more attention when looking at positive reviews. Hence, the perfect package is a relatable and engaging influencer who posts about a product or service that they claim to love.

This becomes even more effective when using impactful narratives that grab the attention of followers. A good example of this is the Cabinet Office’s campaign to raise awareness of pubs and safety during the pandemic that resulted in a UK lockdown. The brand partnered up with medical doctor and health influencer Dr Alex George, also popular for his appearance on the reality show Love Island, to spread brand awareness while tying it to a cause that felt relevant.

Food & Drink, News

Rising Costs for Pubs and Drinkers – Just 1 in 10 Brits say a pint is still affordable

New research commissioned by consumer organisation CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) reveals that only one in 10 Brits believes a pint is still affordable.

Despite some variation, the figures paint a grim picture across the whole of Britain. Drinkers in Scotland felt the most out of pocket at the bar, with just 6% saying a pint was affordable. Despite having some of the steepest prices in the UK, a high of 15% of Londoners said they found a pint affordable.

CAMRA has long called on government to level the playing field between regulated, community venues like pubs and social clubs, and off-license venues like supermarkets, which face far lower levels of regulation and tax. Additionally, the beer tie and other exclusive purchasing agreements mean many publicans are locked into contracts that mean they must buy beer and cider at higher than market prices, further increasing prices at the bar.

The Campaign celebrated lobbying success with the introduction of a new draught duty rate on 1 August. Under this new system, beer and cider sold on draught pays a lower rate of tax, which recognises the social and community value of the on-trade in the alcohol duty system for the first time.

Despite this, the price of a pint has continued to rise as the cost-of-business crisis has hit pubs and brewers, forcing them to increase prices. At the same time, the cost-of-living crisis has meant that many consumers can’t afford to spend as much supporting local pubs, clubs, brewers and cider makers.

Commenting, CAMRA National Chairman Nik Antona said: “This data shows how vital it is that government takes action this autumn and use their planned fiscal event to reassess the huge financial burden they place on the trade.

“A pint down the pub with friends is one of life’s simple pleasures, as well as being a unique part of our cultural heritage. It’s devastating that so few of us feel that this is affordable.

“Our campaigning priorities over the next few months will be calling for a shakeup of the punishing Business Rates systems, action to address energy costs, seeing the draught duty rate refined to work better for pubs, and working to secure increased access to market for small UK brewers.”

Appointments, Manchester, News, Technology

FourNet appoints Capita’s former Innovations Director to new role

Digital transformation and customer experience specialists, FourNet, have appointed Capita’s former Director of Innovation, Alan Linter, as the fast-growing technology firm’s new Group Consulting Director.

Alan Linter joins FourNet after nearly 20 years at Capita plc where, as the company’s highly regarded Director of Innovations and Solutions, he led a team of innovation leads and solutions directors delivering successful digital transformation outcomes for some of the biggest global brands.

Alan Linter

Linter broke new ground for the international business process outsourcing and professional services company in 2020 by delivering the first Open AI based Conversational AI solution, and real-time AI-powered agent assist technology a year later.

Award-winning FourNet is one of the fastest-growing privately owned technology companies in the UK and has recently created a new sector-leading CX function.

 

Richard Pennington, Chief Executive at FourNet, said: “Alan Linter’s expertise and background speaks for itself. He is one of the most highly regarded leaders in the industry. He’s worked across almost every sector and helped to deliver CX transformation for some of the biggest brands around.

“We are delighted to welcome Alan to the FourNet family, where he will help us design, develop, and deliver CX transformation for our customers through our newly created, genuinely unique CX function which is already delivering rapid results for our customers.”

 

Linter has already helped design and launch a new shared housing sector service for FourNet, unveiled last month, which will cut the cost for housing organisations to buy, install, use and manage sector-specific AI-powered tools.

 

Alan Linter, Group Consulting Director at FourNet, said: “FourNet is one of the most highly respected and innovative technology businesses in the UK, which is making great strides in the CX marketplace with a highly experienced, sector-leading team who’ve worked across all industries and have delivered phenomenal results already.

“I’m incredibly excited about the future with FourNet. We are a small, dynamic, rapidly growing business with an outstanding reputation among partners and customers as an agile, entrepreneurial, data-driven and outcome focused business which gets speedy results. We are CX led and not technology led, which for me is crucial, and we are taking on the biggest and best providers and beating them on cost and delivery.”

 

Over the past two decades, Linter has worked across financial services, water, energy, insurance, retail, telco, broadband, public sector and the charity sector.

FourNet’s new vendor-agnostic CX specialist consultancy function is comprised entirely of highly skilled contact centre customer experience experts – from data scientists and business analysts to service designers and technologists – who have worked across the private and public sector, for some of the biggest names in the corporate world.

FourNet uses a 10-day rapid-scan, outcome focused, data-driven diagnosis with a unique in-house 100-point best practice benchmarking exercise which delivers pre-determined value for customers in weeks, not months, and enables FourNet to find or build the best tailor-made solutions to solve that organisation’s problems.

 

Linter adds: “I’ve worked with all of the best big technology vendors, and I also know about the new technology being developed, and the startups that FourNet is, or may, work with in future.”

 

Based in Manchester, with offices in London and Derby, FourNet is one of the UK’s leading privately owned tech companies, with around 150 employees and revenues in 2022 of £37 million.

FourNet works with some of the most secure, critical and commercially driven customers in the UK, including more than 30 UK Government departments and agencies, as well as emergency services, housing associations, and local authorities.

Carmarthenshire, Construction, Construction News, News, West Wales

New project for Welsh fabricator focuses on health and wellbeing

WELSH fabricator Dudley’s Aluminium has secured a new project in Llanelli which aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people across the region.

Dudley’s is working with Bouygues UK on the Pentre Awel development for Carmarthenshire County Council, the largest ever regeneration project of its size in south west Wales.

As well as supporting the region’s health and wellbeing, Pentre Awel will create over 1,800 jobs, training and apprenticeship opportunities and is expected to boost the local economy by £467m over 15 years.

Pentre Awel will be developed in four zones and the fabricator is supporting the construction of zone one which includes research and development spaces for businesses, a clinical delivery and research centre, education and training facilities and a state-of-the-art leisure centre featuring gyms, studios, swimming and hydrotherapy pools.

Dudley’s will install Kawneer capped curtain walling, windows and doors in addition to an automatic curved sliding door, automatic sliding doors and mechanical louvres to the build.

Future zones of the project are set to include social and affordable housing, a range of assisted living accommodation, a hotel and business expansion space.

Colin Shorney, Managing Director at Dudley’s Aluminium, said: “We are excited to be working with Bouygues on zone one of Pentre Awel. From providing access to modern leisure facilities to having dedicated spaces for medical research and training, this project will transform and benefit the health and wellbeing of local people.”

Since 1993, Dudley’s Aluminium has offered clients full in-house design and production facilities, completing many successful and prestigious projects within the education, health, commercial, retail, residential and defence sectors throughout the UK and Channel Islands.

Dudley’s reputation for quality has been recognised with several industry-related accreditations. The company is CHAS accredited, Constructionline registered and BM Trada certified to manufacture enhanced security products to align with PAS24:2016 and BS 4873.

 

News

Outdoor advertising company shows signs of growth across Wales

A MEDIA company has shown further signs of growth across Wales.

Route Media – part of Dragon Group – has expanded its footprint with new partnerships including a West Wales bus network, which serves passengers in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.

The contract will see 10 vehicles installed with streetliner and rear signage viewed by motorists and pedestrians in the popular tourist areas, which are visited by up to 10million people a year.

Also going live this month are a new portrait mega-6 digital screen on Newport Road in Cardiff, and a landmark large format D48 digital screen on the M4 at Newport.

Route’s network of smaller format digital signage also sees two new D6 digital screens installed in Bayview Shopping Centre in Colwyn Bay, and Newport bus station.

The business has a presence in towns and cities all over the country and borders, from Bangor to Bridgend.

Sales and Marketing Director Dean Jones said more and more organisations are turning to digital ‘out-of-home advertising’ to get their message across to a wider audience.

“We are really pleased to be working alongside Taf Valley coaches to bring a great new offering to the market,” he said.

“The region is a hotspot for tourists and these adverts will be viewed by thousands of eyeballs each week, an attractive proposition for potential advertisers.”

Dean added: “To increase our portfolio across Wales is a key strategy for our growth.

“Businesses in particular are seeing just how valuable it is to share their product or service with a captive audience via this high-quality visual medium, and that looks set to continue as we grow even further in the months ahead.”

Route Media has also installed digital screens at Eagles Meadow in Wrexham and others in Rhyl, Llandudno, Bangor, Swansea and more sites in Wales.

The new locations join its network of more than 700 advertising sites across the country.

These latest developments come after the business became advertising sales partner for Transport for Wales and its vast media estate, spanning both the rail and road portfolio in a bid to switch from static to sustainable digital assets and eventually lower its carbon footprint nationwide.

For more information on Route Media, email sales@routemedia.co.uk or visit the website: www.routemedia.co.uk. Use the hashtag #RightRoute on social media.

For more news and information from Dragon Group, visit www.dragon-group.co.uk