What lessons can be learnt by business owners from the events at Terminal 5?

Implementing a major change in your business can be a daunting time, and rightly so.  A lot more than your hopes for the future are pinned on it. The reputation of your business is also often at its mercy.
There are some key steps that you can take, particularly where any kind of technological change is concerned, to stop this kind of disaster occurring:

1. Planning is the glue that will hold everything together. Think carefully about how things are going to work and allow time to make sure everyone’s plans are going to be effective. It’s impossible to think of everything but too much change surfacing later on due to bad planning will cripple your project.

2. Good project management is the key, so find yourself an effective and creative project manager. Someone who will get their hands dirty and work with the team to sort things out when issues come up, not just collate everyone else’s actual effort and report it back to you once a week. And don’t believe them if they tell you they’ve brought every project they’ve done in on time and to budget, because general opinion is that over 95% of all business change projects have gone over on both, so they won’t be telling you the truth, and that’s a bad start to the arrangement. Better to find out what they did when things went wrong, and what strategies they employ to get back on track.

3. In these days of business reliance on computers, don’t forget that most business process changes mean you will need IT system changes, and vice versa. They go hand in hand and you need to ensure that they are dealt with as a concerted effort. If they don’t work together succesfully, your project will be doomed to failure.

4. Don’t set dates too aggressively. Most things usually takes longer than we expect them to and your project won’t be any different, so leave yourself some contingency to fix your unexpected issues - somewhere between 20 and 30 percent is normally a good place to start. Equally, costs normally overrun, because all those unexpected things will cost more, so allow plenty of contingency in your budget.

5. make sure you know the real story about how things are going. People don’t like giving bad news so no-one will want to tell you if it’s not looking good for your launch date. Often, it becomes exactly like the story of the emporer’s new clothes. You need to find a way to get to the truth, by showing them you really want to know what’s going on, won’t sack them if you hear bad news, and are prepared to do something about it. Also, try and find a key informer in the team, who you trust to give you the scoop, and keep in touch with them.

6. Use your team. Between them, they will have a lot of experience and knowledge, so put it to the best use by listening to what they have to say. If they think something might be wrong, you should pay attention and not ignore it, because they’re probably right.

7. Make sure you have a regular meeting with the key team members to review progress and any major risks and issues. Try and create an atmosphere of straight talk only, because that will help you get to the bottom of what problems might hold you back.

8. Equally, nothing can kill a project quicker than poor communication. Get an effective communications strategy in place early on, so that information can flow around the project team, and to you and your management team and back, with ease. As with everything, if everyone knows what they’re doing and why, you’ll have a greater chance of success.

9. A key part to any change project is controlled and thorough testing.  changes to your processes and your systems need to be put through their paces at all the various points along the way, and by various people at each stage. Don’t skimp on testing because it is essential to understanding whether your changes are going to work, and what unanticipated issues there are hiding away.  Your business people should be involved in their own phase of testing, called User Acceptance Testing or UAT, where they confirm that the system and business processes are fit for purpose.

To get the maximum benefit, testing must be done in a controlled way (i.e. like a scientific experiment, with controlled inputs and pre-determined outputs). A lot of people say they are testing when they are just ‘trying it out’, which simply can’t prove it will work in all the key scenarios for your business.

Also, you must make sure that, as well as testing parts of your process and system changes in isolation, they are also going to be tested altogether, in an end-to-end way. That’s often when the really important and surprising results come out.

So check the testing strategy carefully to confirm that the testing is going to be controlled and thorough.

10. Once problems have been found in testing, make sure you and your senior business people are involved in making decisions on which ones need to be fixed and which could be ‘lived with’. Research suggests that it can cost up to 20 times more to fix problems after launch than if you fix them during the development process, so you need to think carefully before putting things off.

Equally, having too many workarounds can really hamper a business, and won’t help you sell the benefits of the change to your staff, suppliers or customers.

11. When you get right up against your launch date, have a thorough review of the situation. Get everyone in a room, tell them you want straight talk only, and find out if the project is ready or not. Get to the truth and pay attention to any concerns people have.

If it doesn’t sound like everything is ready, then put it off. But not for a week - nothing can be done in a week. Put it off for at least a month, longer if necessary. If it’s not ready, don’t be tempted to rush it in and ’see what happens’. Headlines are made out of those decisions, when it all comes crashing down, and it won’t be good PR for you. People won’t forget it easily, either, because anything negative sticks in people’s minds.

12. Don’t cut corners and compromise on quality. The best things take time and money to get right. If you skimp, you’ll get what you paid for, and you’ll simply pay the price later on sorting it out.

13. Allow for extra support cover when your project launches, as there will be problems. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Put procedures in place that will help you identify, analyse and fix problems as soon as possible. And don’t be shy about admitting you might have some teething problems to your customers. They’ll appreciate your honesty and give you some leaway. But, if you keep them in the dark, they’ll be spitting blood if things go bad for them.

14. Contract staff are great - we use them all the time. But don’t rely on them too heavily for your project. They’ll disappear when it’s all over, and the knowledge of what went on and why will disappear with them, so keep a healthy balance of permanent staff on the team - a 60/40 split in favour of your own people is the minimum I would recommend.

Change is always a difficult beast to manage, but if these internal procedures are in place, by the time you come to launch in public you should appear reliable, professional and in control. As BA may discover to their cost, getting it wrong in the outside world is an expensive business.

Derrick Cameron is Managing Director of Eximium Ltd, who specialise in helping businesses use their IT to solve their business headaches. He has been in the IT industry for 20 years. For further information or advice on the use of IT in your business, please see www.eximium.net or call 01582 635 078.

Businesses could be forced to fund new e-crime unit - MAR 2008

The Home Office is currently thinking about whether business will be expected to fund a new e-crime unit that is under consideration by the Home Office. Not surprisingly, the private sector has said that the core funding for such a police unit to combat e-crime must come from the government.

The proposal stems from a suggestion that the Policing Central E-crime Unit, as proposed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Metropolitan Police Service, would be jointly funded by the Home Office, ACPO and businesses.

Derrick Cameron of Eximium comments, “It’s pretty obvious that e-crime is a problem for everyone in society and affects businesses as well as consumers. Whilst it is in the interests of companies who sell online that it is properly policed, it seems unreasonable that they should be expected to pick up the tab. The funds should come from general taxation.”

Derrick goes on to add, “As an economy, we should be encouraging business owners to do more online not asking them to pay more if they want to trade on the web.”

The unit would be aimed at stopping hackers who can often be found tapping into the profits of ever more businesses. Although for many it is ‘something fun’ to pass the time, it is taking its toll on company profits. In fact, many hackers have spent time creating a business model that is nearly as sophisticated as that of legal software providers.

“Cyber crime is no longer something that affects only big businesses — it affects small businesses just as much; in fact, there are few aspects of the economy not affected by it. Let’s hope the e-crime unit is up to the significant task ahead of it,” adds Cameron.

Businesses leave valuable data untouched - MAR 2008

Almost every business already has valuable information about its customers at its disposal. With recent technological advances in printing making personalised direct mail campaigns affordable, there has never been a better time to apply the data mining techniques used by direct marketers to predict customer behavior.

Business to business or b-to-b marketing is one of the more challenging areas. B-to-b marketers have been slower to adopt database marketing best practices. They tend not to have the in-house expertise to leverage the historical information from their customers, which might help segment their customer base and make the most use of customer data.

Working with a combination of in-house transactional data as well as overlay business “firmographic” information, companies can target their current customers and also understand where to find new clients that resemble their best customers. Studies show that an existing customer is 7 times more likely to buy from you as a stranger.

Many companies don’t track the amount of money their customers spend, making a ‘lifetime value’ figure for the average customer impossible to price. This makes it very difficult to accurately gauge how much to spend on marketing. That process can be as simple as tracking total sales or as complex as completely analysing their transactional history and corresponding profitability. Most business owners tend to think of a customer based on the current transaction; they tend to be more transaction- than customer-focused, not looking at the bigger lifetime picture.

Derrick Cameron from Eximium comments, “What was once very difficult to track and monitor can now be simplified through the intelligent use of IT. Once the systems are in place, monitoring this type of essential information becomes quite straightforward.”

Here are Derrick’s three key tips for getting more out of your existing customer data:

1) Be clear what you want. Data mining techniques are useless if you don’t know what you want to achieve. You don’t want to data mine for its own sake. You want to make sure that the information you retrieve can be applied to winning or converting more clients or up selling to existing clients. Focus your data mining on areas where you are producing results that can be implemented into tactical initiatives. Use the information to achieve your marketing objectives. It’s all about planning and preparation.

2) How current and reliable is your customer data? Perhaps it’s time to conduct a data audit. Find out how accurate it is and assess the information based on its origins. Did the information come from the customer directly, during the point of sale, or from a third-party source? Look to your marketing objectives to determine what information is required. Track all transactional history back to the customer mapping. A common issue is the use of different versions of a company name in your database. One day the order might be placed using ‘Ideal Marketing’ as the customer name. The next time, you might use ‘The Ideal Marketing Company’ or even an acronym such as ‘IMC’. You need to make sure those purchases are being linked to that same customer to ensure the accuracy of your analysis.

3) Keep it clean. It’s worth doing a final manual check to spot potential errors, undefined fields or duplication. The follow through from the data audit is to make sure you capture all the information you can on a customer, and to make sure you can match those transactions.

CRM finally seems to have come of age - MAR 2008

There is no doubt that, after being hailed as the ultimate in 21st century business tools, with a rapid return on investment, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) failed to live up to its promises, and sales of the technology lost pace. Now this formerly much-hyped technology is finally coming of age.

CRM software is simplifying many business processes and becoming more user-friendly. The result being CRM is actually starting to live up to its early promise.

Derrick Cameron of IT firm Eximium comments, “In its early days, the first and second generation CRM technology was supposed to propel businesses into a new customer centered mindset. In truth, the technology wasn’t where it should have been. It was too complex and difficult to use effectively. Instead of making the lives of sales people and customer service personnel easier and their jobs more efficient, it tended to make processes and tasks harder and less efficient.

“The result was that early adopters found few real benefits. In effect, CRM became regarded as good in theory with few practical business applications. The expense, effort and time required in implementing a CRM solution and to train people, rarely worked out for anyone,” adds Derrick.

But the signs are that 2008 will be a different story. “Interest in CRM is picking up again because users are coming to realise that what they had in place was over-complicated. There is no need to have-it-all and do-it-all to benefit from CRM,” Derrick adds.

Derrick’s main three ‘must have’ points to remember about CRM are:

1. Incident Management - know when and what complaints customers have logged with your company.

2. Sales Management - know what a customer has bought, enquired about and their credit record.

3. Market Segmentation - know what location and sector the customer operates in and the types of products other people in that sector have previously bought.

CRM products have matured to the point where users can quickly and easily make use of the functionality of the CRM application that best suits their needs. “Get these 3 processes right and the CRM package is likely to quickly pay for itself,” adds Derrick.

Britain tops poll for social networking sites - DEC 2007

It seems that the UK has topped the poll for at least one area in Europe – we are the keenest users of social networking in Europe, spending more time on them than anyone else across the continent.

In fact, 4 out of 10 adults in the UK regularly visited social networking sites during 2006 - more than anywhere else in Europe - according to OFCOM figures published this month.

Last year, users spent on average 5.3 hours per month on the sites and returned to them 23 times during each month. The UK led the way in a number of other areas, with slightly more than half of all UK households having a broadband connection by the end of 2006 - edging ahead of the US.

“These finding have an impact on 2 important areas for British businesses” says Derrick Cameron. “First of all, how much time is spent on these sites during work hours, and what are companies doing to monitor the situation. Secondly, what are companies doing to make the most of the popularity of these sites – in terms of a presence” he concludes.

Security vendors team up for better product testing - DEC 2007

Specialist antivirus companies hope to devise a new methodology to enable users to compare their software. The group of leading IT security vendors have teamed up to devise a new standard for testing the effectiveness of their products.

Panda, AV-Test, Symantec, Kaspersky and F-Secure have formed the Anti-malware Testing Taskforce to help users of their software to better compare one system with another. The new methodology will be based on behavioural analysis, which replicates how a PC would deal with a threat.

At the moment, most comparisons of security software look at the signature databases – the information used to recognise viruses and other malware from their “signature” or identifiable characteristics. Behavioural analysis is believed to provide a better evaluation of the product’s effectiveness, according to Panda.

“This sounds like a good industry initiative which involves many respected names” comments Eximium’s Derrick Cameron. “Anything that either raises the profile of security or makes it easier for business to identify the best product for them has got to be welcomed” he adds.

The formation of the group follows several low profile meetings in Vienna Iceland and Seoul. The initial proposal for testing is due to be published by the end of this year. It is believed that other organisations have been invited to join, and a management team will be put together next month to design a testing template which allows a clear standard for testing.

Learn your lesson from Revenue and Customs to avoid a security meltdown

There have been shouts of ridicule at the recent security failings of Revenue and Customs (HMRC) which enabled the sensitive details of millions of child benefit recipients to get ‘lost’ somewhere within their postal service. But there is actually an important lesson to be learnt here. It’s easy to point the finger of blame with the benefit of hindsight, but it’s an episode which business owners would do well to view as a warning and learn from. Data is a valuable resource which can be easily lost or stolen if stringent security measures aren’t in place and actively enforced. The responsibility for making sure that this happens starts right at the top of your organisation, with you, explain’s Derrick Cameron, Managing Director of Eximium.

Businesses across the UK and the world have spent a lot of time and money ensuring that data is well secured within the virtual world of their computer systems with limited access, passwords, encryption etc. Organisations such as HMRC no doubt have rigorous procedures to protect the data while it is inside their computers – but information exists to be used, which automatically puts its security at risk. So what procedures do you have in place to ensure the protection of your data once the information leaves the security of its virtual world?

Protecting data on the move

Start by identifying all the potential ways that sensitive information could find its way out of your systems and your organisation, and make sure you have strict policies and safeguards to address any areas of risk. Ideally, different organisations’ systems should be able to talk to each other, so that passing data between them using an insecure medium such as CDs or flash drives is unnecessary. But for many companies, this is still some way in the future, so if this isn’t possible, at the very least you need to ensure that security procedures for the physical world are at least as stringent as those for the virtual world inside your computers.

When data is transferred between parties, it is at its most vulnerable, so look at ways of making the transfer process as safe as it can possibly be. Electronic transmission methods, such as secure FTP (File Transfer Protocol), or a secure site to site connection using a leased line or a VPN (Virtual Private Network) over the Internet are both preferable options that ensure the data cannot be seen by unauthorised personnel.

If you have no choice but to resort to using CDs or other ‘removal media’ for the transfer of sensitive information, don’t choose to use couriers or postal services unless absolutely necessary. It’s far more secure for an employee to hand deliver the media, making sure that it has reached the correct personnel at its destination. You also need to have a policy on what happens to the media once it has been used - ideally it should be returned to the source to be destroyed. Whilst this isn’t a foolproof method, it does enable you to track your data and ensure its safe return.

Don’t let your staff be your Achilles Heel

As appears to be the case with HMRC, many security breaches are committed by the people who work for you – often unwittingly. Equally, hacking and other deliberate attempts to access secure information often begin as an approach from someone trying to get sensitive information from an employee, using a confidence trick – known as social engineering. A social engineer may well pretend to work for your company and get an unsuspecting member of staff to reveal confidential information. For example, by pretending they work for your company’s IT section and asking for your employee’s password to confirm their login details are working. From here, the skilled social engineer may then be able to access your sensitive data however they want to, whenever they like – and all that information is now at risk.
However, there is something you can do to help prevent this happening in your organisation, and it is really quite simple: communication. It is often easy to assume that everyone who works within your company has the same understanding of data security as you do – but this is rarely the case. As the manager, owner or director of an organisation, it is your responsibility to ensure that those who work for you understand the what, why and how of data security.

Making policy practice

Your starting point should be a clear and practical data security policy which everyone is aware of, has read, understood and signed – even the cleaning staff. Put policy into practice and communicate the gravity of data security by making any violation a dismissible offence. Your Staff must know which data is sensitive, why, and how to protect it. After all, if this isn’t made clear to your people, how can they be expected to ensure its security?

First and foremost, your staff need to understand why they must never give sensitive information out to anyone unless the proper procedure has been followed – unfortunately employees at HMRC have learnt this the hard way. In addition, if a third party does need access to data, make sure they only receive the information they need, and that any sensitive data is either encrypted, removed or disguised. In this case at Revenue and Customs, the National Audit Office didn’t actually need most of the sensitive information on the disks - like bank details - so this information was exposed to unnecessary risk. Further errors of judgment and common sense were revealed in the subsequent story of KPMG receiving copies of similar disks. In this instance, they requested only a fraction (1500 or so) of 25 million records that they were actually sent!

Keeping control over what people can access is vital: if someone needs to retrieve sensitive information, the safest choice is to give them a user id and password which enables them to access the system directly. You can then control exactly what information they are able to see and what they can do with it. Similarly, if analysis of data is required, it is better for someone in your organisation to create a report that carries out the analysis, and send this to the third party rather than all the detailed information in the source database. The golden rule is to limit access to data so that people see only the information that they need – never expose sensitive data unless absolutely necessary.

The faults in security at HMRC were many, and perhaps the most serious security breach was the fact that a junior member of staff was allowed access to extract a complete database of sensitive information, coupled with the fact that they were then allowed to put that unencrypted information in a packet and post it without any need for authorisation from a senior member of staff. Whether it was HMRC policy or practice at fault, or most likely a combination of both, the repercussions of this massive security breach will be felt for a long time to come. So learn from the mistakes of these embarrassed officials and make sure that you address these issues within your own organisation – or you could be next.

Derrick Cameron is Managing Director of Eximium Ltd, who specialise in helping businesses use their IT to solve their business headaches. He has been in the IT industry for 20 years. For further information or advice on the use of IT in your business, please see www.eximium.net or call 01582 635 078.

Internet facing ‘meltdown’ by 2010 - NOV 2007

It has been claimed that the internet is running too much data on too little infrastructure. As a result there could be a dramatic slowdown by 2010 as the sheer scale of data exceeds the ability of the networks to cope.

The conclusions come from the Nemertes Research Group who have spent the past year analysing data flows over the internet and the core infrastructure that carries that information. Their conclusion is that that serious bottlenecks will occur in three to five years.

“Our findings indicate that core fibre and switching/routing resources will scale nicely to support virtually any conceivable user demand. However internet access infrastructure will cease to be adequate for supporting demand within the next three to five years.” Say the reports authors.

“I don’t think that the report’s authors are suggesting that the entire internet will collapse by 2010, but business owners are ever more reliant on broadband technology” comments Derrick Cameron MD of IT firm Eximium. “If access times and bandwidth constraints fall to the levels predicted it is bound to have an effect on innovation”

E-commerce will also be hit hard as access times will be erratic, and customers will be turned off and less able to make purchases. “As business owners and as consumers we have quickly become used to all the advantages the internet can offer. As a result it has become an integral part of most business models and the future of the economy. If the reports findings are accurate, then action needs to be taken sooner rather than later” adds Cameron.

Firms should think about email leaks - NOV 2007

Around half of all employees have sent emails to the wrong person. In a month dominated with news headlines over missing data on disc, a new report shows that misfiring e-mails can cause serious problems for leaked data. Businesses are increasingly concerned about sensitive company information being leaked by email.

Research conducted by IT security firm Sophos has highlighted the problem and concludes that half of all employees have admitted to sending an embarrassing or sensitive email to the wrong person. The potential level of trouble for a company is high because as much as 80 per cent of a company’s business records are contained in emails.

“As more and more business and personal interaction is conducted via work email, the risk of clicking send without double-checking the recipient’s details is growing,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

“I think most people have experienced that heart-stopping moment when they realise that their message is heading towards the wrong person. I received an e-mail last week revealing an MD of a company has serious mental issues verging on a breakdown. The e-mail was rapidly recalled but by that time I had read it and the damage could have been serious” says Derrick Cameron MD of IT firm Eximium “Technology can make human error faster and more damaging”

There is now technology which scans messages for sensitive data and keywords, and that uses encryption to ensure that business critical emails are sent securely. “Most data leakage on email is accidental and not malicious. Companies should put a solid security policy in place, and educate employees on how to use email with care. Whilst this won’t eliminate the problem, it will reduce the number of red faces experienced in 2008” says Cameron.

Security experts forecast stormy 2008 - NOV 2007

Malware is set for record year as internet users are likely to see continued attacks in 2008. The Storm malware started attacking users in January 2007 and the code has now been released in many variations. The fear is that the team behind it will carry out further attacks, and that its success will prompt others to try and cash in.

“2007 was the year of prolific cyber-crime, and certain gangs became famous within the security industry,” said Mark Sunner, chief security analyst at MessageLabs. “Their notoriety encourages an influx of new players wanting their slice of success, and the threat market is set to be even larger in 2008.”

“I hope it doesn’t happen, but an increase will also reflect in the techniques adopted by the bad guys. The main weakness of cyber-crime is predictability so repeat attacks will be avoided at all costs” comments Derrick Cameron from IT firm Eximium.

So far instant messaging spam, which was predicted to rise sharply this year, has so far failed to become a serious problem. However, this is likely to change in 2008 as spammers send out messages in blocks of a few hundred, waiting to see if a response is made, and then repeating as necessary.

“Spammers will need to try new tactics because spam effectiveness rates are falling due to better filtering and user education. Sadly this a trend likely to emerge in 2008” comments Cameron.

Smaller firms suffer from “silo working”, survey says - OCT 2007

New technology is creating a worrying form of “silo working” at small firms, where information is not freely available to the whole organisation. A survey of 100 small firms employing up to 250 people has found that “do it yourself” IT is causing the problem.

The survey, commissioned by Apple database firm FileMaker, says the increasing IT skills of the office worker, coupled with the ease of use of modern technology, is creating new and worrying “micro-silos” of data at UK SME businesses.

This is putting productivity, compliance and profits at risk. Although the technology available to UK businesses has never been better, end-users are taking IT policies into their own hands.

In doing so, they are creating dangerous micro-silos of data within their organisations, typified by crucial documents being locked away on individual PCs and in e-mail accounts, creating “a wilderness of data outside existing policies and processes”, comments Derrick Cameron.

The survey found that 64% of IT managers questioned believed their business suffered from a micro-silo mentality when it came to company information, with almost half (45%) believing this is a result of poor IT management.

“IT free-styling” is now much more prevalent, with 77% thinking it is easier to create/customise critical business applications than three years ago, resulting in essential data residing with single users. “Whilst it is important that staff have a level of freedom over what they use and introduce” comment Derrick Cameron from Eximium “it is important that central data is stored centrally. Otherwise confusion will reign and important work will be replicated or at worst lost forever”.

CIOs must ‘reassess role of IT function’ - OCT 2007

IT directors and CIOs need to reassess the role of the IT department as tech-savvy end-user departments buy their own systems and make use of web collaboration tools.

The respected analyst group Gartner said at its Symposium conference last week in Orlando that since users can now buy what they need via the web, businesses must re-evaluate the IT function.

Gartner said that the IT department should define what it is really good at, and for other activities play the role of advisor and facilitator. Derrick Cameron from Eximium comments that “It used to be the case that the IT team would assume all responsibility for such matters within the organization. Now they should no longer assume responsibility for supporting and managing all IT systems that workers use. Instead, users must take personal responsibility for experimenting with new software and communities”.

Whilst this would have seemed unthinkable a few years ago, because of the pace of change it has now become inevitable “Technologies such as Web 2.0 and software as a service will give business units and selected users more independence to set their own IT direction” added Cameron.

Small Firms unaware of Data Protection issues - OCT 2007

Small businesses have a much lower awareness of the principles of the Data Protection Act than larger organisations, according to a new research commissioned by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Whilst over half of small businesses recognise the importance of keeping customers’ personal information secure, only 22 per cent are aware that the Data Protection Act requires them to keep all customer information accurate and up to date.

In an age when the risk of identity fraud is increasing, these findings are a worry and a potential risk to smaller firms. Derrick Cameron of Eximium comments “Whilst individuals are regularly urged to protect their personal information, companies of all sizes also have a responsibility to be certain that customer data is secure and accurate. This is a serious issue that can easily come back to haunt companies - ignorance is no defence in law”.

Full information on the law is provided in the Good Practice Notes published by The Information Commissioner’s Office.

IT adds value to UK economy - JUL 2007

The development of software has become an investment rather than a cost to the UK economy.

The first official measurement of the value of in-house software development has shown an addition of £8.3bn to the UK economy.

The Office of National Statistics showed a 0.6 per cent increase in 2006 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that can be attributed to the long-term economic potential of software developed by IT departments.

The figures have arisen as a result of measuring bespoke applications as an investment instead of a cost – previously only packaged software was recorded this way.

“Proper IT systems should always be viewed as an investment rather than a cost,” comments Derrick Cameron from business IT specialist Eximium. “Our clients tell us that a return on investment can be rapidly achieved. There really is no other way to look at software development – it can be one of the best investments a company makes.”
Professor of Economics at Queen Mary College, Jonathan Haskel, says the new calculations could have a knock-on effect for the economy. “If there is more capacity in the economy resulting from greater investment than previously thought, the Bank of England can run the economy at a faster rate without worrying about inflation”, he says.

This is the first time that the added value to the economy that IT development represents has been officially acknowledged within Government statistics.

Eximium becomes a McAfee partner - JUL 2007

Business IT specialists Eximium have announced a new partnership agreement with international security software provider McAfee.

The Luton based firm are already a registered Microsoft partner and believe that this new relationship with one of the world’s biggest IT security software companies will have a number of benefits for their customers.

“There are a huge number of products on the market and we carefully evaluate anything before we consider re-selling. After extensive testing we were very impressed with the McAfee products ability to cope with viruses and spam, its flexibility, and the fact that it allows us to install and update the product on our clients’ computers quickly and without leaving the office. This means we can offer a faster service but for less money” comments Eximium’s Technical Director, Derrick Cameron.

Small firms lagging behind in IT race - JUL 2007

IT can help drive business growth, but Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are missing out, according to new research.

New research from Cisco suggests that UK businesses that embrace new technologies grow faster and hold on to their employees for longer.

The study showed that smaller businesses still lag behind their larger counterparts in adopting technology.

In particular, wireless network adoption (41 per cent compared to 64 per cent) and remote or home working technology capabilities (46 per cent compared to 67 per cent) were lower in SMEs than in larger businesses.

“With British companies competing for business against a global market, every aspect of their offering is important to ensure they are competitive” comments Derrick Cameron, from business IT specialist Eximium. “Margins are increasingly tight and, with key labour shortages at home, companies are turning to technology to give them the edge they require. However, it is also important to consider carefully what you really want from your systems, and look at how you can achieve your objectives by improving and adapting them – just bringing new technology in is rarely the right answer”.

Business managers’ top concern was finding and retaining the most talented staff, according to the study.

Home working ranked as the lowest influencing factor on IT managers’ technology investment priorities over the next 12 to 18 months.

The survey polled more than 600 business and IT directors across the UK in companies ranging from 20 to 1,000 employees, split into firms with 20-249 employees and larger companies with over 250 employees.

Eximium joins the Chamber of Commerce for Bedfordshire and Luton - JUL 2007

Eximium announced today that it is to join the Chamber of Commerce for Bedfordshire and Luton.

The Chamber exists to promote the interests of local firms and encourage investment into the local economy. Derrick Cameron, Technical Director of Eximium comments “As we are based in the local community it makes sense to join an organisation that helps to promote the area. As well as enjoying the benefits of membership, we are looking forward to working with local firms in the area and being able to put something back into the business community”

Eximium specialise in helping companies resolve their IT problems and also helping firms make the most of their business through the best use of their IT. “We are offering our £500 fact find service free to all Chamber members and we are confident that they will gain a lot from it” adds Cameron.

Survey reveals IT is secret behind UK business success - JUN 2007

Recent survey finds that good IT was instrumental to businesses achieving the 7 identified attributes of successful businesses.

A recent report carried out by Henley Management College, and sponsored by Hewlett Packard, identified 7 key attributes of successful companies, including staying focussed and having big ideas. It was shown that all 7 of the attributes were supported in some way by IT.

The survey found that IT helped companies achieve their goals and remain innovative, among other key success factors.

Richard Wright, HP’s vice president personal systems group for the UK and Ireland said, “IT is the hidden eighth. It is key to business and helps enable the rest of the habits.”

Derrick Cameron from business IT specialist Eximium comments “IT can be a great asset to a company but it can also be its worst enemy. The key to great IT, and clearly to business success, is to make sure that your IT delivers what your business needs from it and not just what it can manage with.”

For more information about how to harness the power of your IT, contact Eximium for a free IT Fact Find worth £500.

Research shows poor planning is cause of IT failures - JUN 2007

New research shows that planning is the most important factor behind successful IT projects.
Poor system specifications in the design and preparation stages of IT projects are the reason that more that 66% of new initiatives fail. The lack of clear and properly planned technical and business requirements combined with poor design criteria and descriptions are derailing 2 out of 3 IT projects.

Research conducted by Coleman Parkes for vendor Avanade says inadequate business understanding, badly thought out selection and lack of funds also contribute to the problems.
“Businesses tend to blame the IT team when an IT project fails. But this research shows that often it goes back to the old saying – when you fail to plan you plan to fail. In this case, technical staff are being blamed for a lack of focus on essential planning tasks needed by senior business management. It is important that business management take ownership and get more ‘hands-on’ with the IT team, to ensure that they are going to get what the business needs from the project” says Eximium’s Technical Director, Derrick Cameron.

Eximium registers with BSI for ISO 9001 & 20000 accreditation - MAY 2007

Eximium has always put quality first and this month has registered with BSI for accreditation to the ISO quality standards of ISO 9001 (Quality Management) and IS0 20000 (IT Service Management).

This means that over the next 12 months, the company will be working closely with BSI to ensure that processes meet the stringent requirements.

Derrick Cameron, Technical Director of Eximium comments “Our accreditation with BSI to these standards will prove to our customers and suppliers alike that we view quality as a highly important aspect of our relationship with them”.

For more details about how Eximium is striving to meet high standards in all aspects of its business, contact them directly.

Eximium expands into new offices to accommodate growth - JAN 2007

Business IT specialists Eximium have completed their move into their new office space at Regus Business Centre, Capability Green, Luton.

The decision to leave their current premises was largely down to space and the desire to have more flexibility in their accommodation.

“Our new offices offer a wide range of meeting rooms of various sizes. This means that we can meet up with clients, and offer training and workshops sessions, no matter how big the number. It’s also just off the M1 and close to Luton Airport so we can be in London, Birmingham or Glasgow for that matter, in just over an hour” comments Paula Wheatcroft, Eximium’s Operations Director.

The new office is situated in the Capability Green business development, which is the premier business park of the east of England, according to the Bedfordshire & Luton Economic Development Partnership. It is close to the M1, M25, mainline trains into Kings Cross, London and Luton Airport. Eximium will share the site with companies such as Ernst & Young, Siemens plc, Bae Systems, Anritsu & Astra Zeneca.