Well, it was a slightly scary time around the office, and beads of sweat could be seen forming on various foreheads, but the results are now in…

We have successfully passed our first annual audit from BSI for our accreditation to the ISO 9001:2008 quality standard with flying colours!

This means that, for another year, we will be able to display the much sought after BSI kitemark.  The great thing was that the auditors were genuinely impressed with how our quality processes work, and the way in which we have truly adopted the ISO 9001 framework to run our business.

The feedback we have had from customers was looked at carefully as part of our audit, and really proved the value of the system we have in place.  It isn’t about getting everything right first time – it’s about being able to identify and analyse if things do go wrong, and learning from those mistakes, so they don’t happen again.

It’s always nerve-wracking in the run up to an external audit and this one was no exception.  However, it quickly became clear that we were hitting the mark and my nerves started to subside.  In the end, the audit went extremely well and the report even comments on how we’re using our quality management system to improve the business, which is what it’s all about at the end of the day!

We see great value from using the ISO 9001 approach for all our processes – it is a major feature of our scope for the standard that we are accredited for everything that we do, not just a few of our processes.

Our customers are happy, BSI were impressed, and we are delighted.  We can’t wait until the next one, next year!

To learn more about how we use ISO 9001 to make our customers happy, just drop me a line from our Meet the Team page by clicking this link: Eximium Meet the Team Page

SMEs - Make your IT resources go further

Smaller businesses and organisations are having to move fast in order to keep up with and make the most of new technology opportunities. It has been suggested that 2009 will be ‘the tipping point’ where businesses start to switch over to the cloud, as they gain more understanding of it.

It is expected that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will suffer more than most in the current economic downturn. A combination of smaller cashflows, shrinking IT funds available for investment and a lack of internal resources are among the obstacles they all face.

The answer lies in the SMEs ability to be more adaptable and innovative than larger corporations and those who can find the best IT deals available will be heads above the rest. There are signs that this is exactly what SMEs are doing, by looking for new ways to gain technology without paying through the nose.

Tim Jackson, chairman of technology consultancy Inflector, has noticed that SMEs are moving more towards outsourcing their IT. He has seen the demand for web hosting rise dramatically. He says that, “This trend is likely to be replicated in other areas, with SMEs expected to start outsourcing services to other countries in much the same way as larger enterprises do now.” He also said that, “This move will be pushed by a number of elements including virtualisation, a reduction in computer costs, and the availability of faster network connections due to expanded broadband rollouts.”

BroadGroup, a consulting group has published a recent report suggesting that SMEs will increasingly turn to cloud computing and software-as-a-service (SaaS). Both models can help smaller businesses to deliver new products and services quicker and at a lower cost.

The SaaS model is gaining a lot of clout in the business world, with large software vendors and application service providers like HP, IBM and Microsoft, now offering business applications such as customer relationship management (CRM), databases, knowledge management and web development software as web-based utilities.

Analyst Gartner estimates that organisations are typically saving between 25 and 40 per cent by using SaaS-based CRM applications. The savings are made up of reduced application expense and lower implementation costs.

SaaS offers a pay-as-you-go approach, which is particularly appealing to SMEs as it allows them to only pay for the resources they need without the worry of installing, upgrading, maintaining or securing those systems. They avoid the expense of hardware, installation, maintenance fees, software licensing and the need for the dedicated internal IT resources needed to administer systems.

“Some of the earlier adopters [of SaaS] were SMEs, but it is down to cashflow and the fact that many organisations do not need to keep their own servers under the stairs,” says David Mitchell, senior vice president of IT research at Ovum.

“Driving down cost is the obvious reason for moving to SaaS/cloud computing, but there are two aspects to cost – ­ total cost of ownership and cashflow,” says Inflector’s Jackson. “If you save 20 per cent off the cost of the IT over five years, that is nice, but if doing it involves spending 80 per cent of the money right now, that has a more dramatic effect.”

Part of the appeal is the flexibility it affords its users. In the past, if a company wanted to offer a new service, it would need to build the technology infrastructure to support that and factor in the cost of paying the money upfront.

“With the cloud model, you can actually try it out without incurring significant capital costs,” says Jackson.

In future, suggests Jackson, some of the larger SMEs will start examining options that look more like cloud services, where they lease computer power to run intensive applications and storage space by the megabyte.

Up until now, the new cloud computing model has tended to focus more on the consumer market, with companies such as Google and Amazon offering simple and standard on-demand applications such as word processors or spreadsheets, coupled with online storage resources.

“Many executives are still very sceptical about the cloud,” says Jackson. “But there are millions of consumers already using it. It is gaining rapid and universal adoption – ­ 2009 will be the tipping point where a wider business community will start switching to the cloud as they come to understand it more.”

Other ways SMEs are avoiding the expense of software licensing include the use of open-source software, where firms pay maintenance and support costs but the software is free.

Nevertheless, the fees for commercial open-source packages such as those on offer from Red Hat, Novell or Ingres, can often equal the total cost of ownership of propriety software over time.

“It is difficult to move people onto open-source software on the desktop if they are used to Windows and Word environments,” says Ovum’s Mitchell. “Also, is it actually going to save them anything by moving to OpenOffice and Linux for instance? Because when it comes to replacing those assets in two or three years’ time, there might be an issue.”

For many SMEs, however, IT delivers sufficient business benefits to justify owning their own hardware and software. In such cases, SMEs lack the clout to establish direct relationships with technology vendors, and instead buy goods and services through the reseller channel.

This does not mean SMEs should expect lower levels of service, says Glenn Morrison, managing director of UK business-to-business reseller Upgrade Options. Resellers are better able to forge a close relationship with the user, he says, and have better insight into available inventory, ensuring they can deliver orders to schedule.

Eximium MD recognised as ‘Technology Entrepreneur of the Year’

Further to my previous posting about the Bright Sparc awards, I’m proud and honoured to announce that I was crowned ‘Technology Entrepreneur of the Year’ at the Bright Sparc awards evening at the Cranfield Management Research Institute, part of Cranfield University, on 13th May!!

This is the second award I’ve received so far this year, and represents a major achievement, particularly given the stiff competition I was up against. This is a reflection on the whole team at Eximium, and the quality of their abilities and approach, so I can’t take all the credit myself!!

My award was sponsored by The Open University, and so was presented by Brigid Heywood who is their Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise).

Here I am accepting the award.

I was given a free ticket and space to exhibit at Cranfield’s Venture Day on May 14th, which was an excellent event.  I was particularly inspired by terrific keynote speeches from Lord Karan Billimoria, CEO of Cobra Beer, and Mel Young, founder of the Big Issue in Scotland.

Cranfield University’s CMRI is a world class facility for the study of business management.

The Sparc Technology network is managed by the Milton Keynes Enterprise Hub and run by knowledge-based organisations for technology, who are seeking to develop face-to-face networking opportunities.  They run regular monthly events featuring high profile keynote speakers, an annual awards evening and competitive pitching for local technology led businesses.

Chris Dunkley, Sparc’s network director, said in their press release about my award: “The Bright Sparc Awards have provided an excellent opportunity to celebrate the achievements of some of the region’s most innovative entrepreneurs and technology-led businesses. Derrick Cameron has been instrumental in bringing the benefits of technology to businesses in the East of England. He has also enabled Eximium to both survive and thrive in the current economic climate through the adoption of the Procession tool.

“As a business Eximium is bringing the true power of IT within the reach and understanding of businesses throughout the region, by delivering its unique approach and the latest advancements in business software technology.”

I’m absolutely delighted to have been chosen for this prestigious award and I hope I can continue to live up to the standards that the judging panel felt I had set!

Bright Sparc Awards 2009

I’m extremely pleased to announce that I am a finalist for this year’s Bright Sparc ‘Technology Entrepreneur of the Year’ award.

The Bright Sparc awards are provided by the Sparc Technology and, this year, are in association with Cranfield University, Business Link and Bedford i-lab, among others.  The purpose of the awards is so that technology-led businesses and entrepreneurs from across the region have the opportunity to be recognised for innovative achievements and will honour those businesses or individuals who have truly excelled in their specialist field.

These are the second Bright Sparc Awards and are a great way for innovative companies in our region to showcase their work to an expert panel of judges and gain recognition for their achievements.  Milton Keynes and the surrounding regions are home to many technology companies all of whom are pushing the boundaries of their chosen specialism.  The awards were closely fought last year and gained significant recognition for the winners!

There are a total of 9 awards, in the following categories:

• Young Technology Entrepreneur of the Year 2009
• Technology Entrepreneur of the Year 2009
• Technology Led Business of the Year 2009
• Use of Sustainable Technology in a Business 2009
• Business Innovation Support Person of the Year 2009
• Best Interaction between an HEI and Business 2009
• The Best Use of Technology by a Business 2009
• Overall Bright Sparc Award 2009

The winners will be announced at an awards dinner on 13th May.  The evening starts at 6pm with drinks and the presentation of the awards at 6.30pm. There will be the chance to network over a glass of wine and a hot buffet until the end of the evening around 9pm. There are a limited number of additional tickets available, on a first come first served basis and can be purchased using a Ticket Request Form.

A great benefit of being a finalist for this award is that we will also have a free ticket to attend and exhibit at Cranfield University’s ‘Venture Day’ on the following day - 14th May.  Cranfield VentureDay 2009 is a one day conference and networking event for entrepreneurs and those interested in cutting-edge entrepreneurial performance. 

The event comprises keynote addresses by leading entrepreneurs, exposure to the latest research, exhibits by new enterprises and a networking zone.  The extensive range of workshops and plenary sessions will focus on business start-up, growth, finance and business strategy and will incorporate leading entrepreneurs, business angels, venture capitalists and academics.  Tickets for the event are £120 each.

I’m honoured and excited that we are part of this year’s awards and the Venture Day, and there is of course the possibility that I will actually win the award, which would be truly fantastic!!

Please do come and speak to me if you decide to attend either event.

Do Businesses trust workers out of the office?

The snow that crippled the country at the end of last year left many people unable to get to work. It raises the question, should businesses make it easier for people to work from home, therefore significantly reducing the cost to the business of employees not being able to make it to the office?  Many people say yes, though it has been suggested that managers still aren’t doing anything about it.

It would seem that managers are still reluctant to allow their employees to work remotely, as less than 1 in 10 businesses trust employees to work from home, according to new research released by BT and Nortel. This is surprising considering 42% of them were confident that their employees could do a better job at home!  Does this mean that many managers are stuck in the past, keeping outdated working models, rather than moving with the times and moving people away from their desks?

BT and Nortel results showed that some employees felt that they could be more productive on the road, working with customers if they had the right technology.  However, 58% of them didn’t feel confident of being able to do a better job outside the office.  Perhaps this shows that employees are as uncomfortable with remote working as their managers.

The fact remains, however, that remote working would benefit business, as the snow-related problems demonstrated.  It is concerning that so few managers trusted their employees to work remotely.

“This boils down to a matter of trust,” said John Wright, chairman of small businesses in a statement. “In the current climate, small firms need to be operating at full stretch.”

According to BT and Nortel, the research pointed at outdated research practices such as ‘presenteeism’, where it was thought that if workers weren’t at their desks, they weren’t working.  BT claimed that business investment in unified communications could help solve the problem, as managers could check the productivity of their staff.

Eximium believe that remote working is a very powerful tool which should be utilised wherever appropriate. Our consultants work on site, with clients, and from home - so remote working is certainly a day-to-day occurrence here.  As with everything, you need to have the right tools for the job, but as long as you are properly equipped, there should be no stopping you getting the benefits of flexible remote working in your organisation.

Eximium Building Awarded ‘Excellent’ BREEAM Environmental Rating

We take environmental issues very seriously at Eximium, and we are always looking for ways to reduce the impact our work has on our planet.

A key part of our environmental strategy included an objective to house our operation in a ‘green’ building, and we achieved this in 2008 when we moved to the Basepoint Business & Innovation Centre in Luton. 

We’re now delighted to announce that the centre has been awarded an ‘Excellent’ rating and four stars on the international BREEAM standard, in clear recognition of the achievement this building represents.  The BREEAM standard, recognised worldwide, measures a building against 10 key environmental criteria:

• Energy: operational energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2)
• Management: management policy, commissioning, site management and procurement
• Health and Wellbeing:  indoor and external issues (noise, light, air quality etc)
• Transport: transport-related CO2 and location related factors
• Water: consumption and efficiency inside and out
• Materials: impacts of building materials, including lifecycle impacts like carbon dioxide
• Waste: construction resource efficiency and operational waste management and minimisation
• Land Use: type of site and building footprint
• Pollution: external air and water pollution
• Ecology: ecological value, conservation and enhancement of the site

As you can see, the criteria are comprehensive and consider many factors in addition to the building’s design and facilities, including many management measures.

This is an excellent accolade and proves the strong, ongoing commitment of the Basepoint management team to sustainability and conservation.  It also reflects extremely well on our own approach to the environment and to sustainability, and we congratulate the Basepoint team, Luton Borough Council and EEDA on their achievement!

Our next environmental goal is to become Carbon Neutral, which we are currently working towards.  We’ll let you know how we get on!

Strength of convergence shown by growth of business IP phone

Research by In-Stat, showing that 31 million voice-centric business IP phones will have shipped by 2012, demonstrates the popularity of  converged networks that carry both voice and data traffic.

Converged networks offer firms of all sizes great benefits in terms of streamlined network efficiency and reduced maintenance and operational costs as companies need only be acquainted with one, not many, network topologies.

The uptake of IP phones in the business sector is so pronounced  that among voice-centric IP phones, businesses will outpace consumers more than 10 to 1 according to the In-Stat report.

In-Stat analyst Norm Bogen said, “IP-based communications in general are rapidly replacing tradtional networks at a steady pace in the workplace, but adoption is slow among consumers. Within the business market, corded IP phones remain the standard, and will continue to dominate the enterprise IP phone market through 2012. However, WLAN and IP DECT phones continue to grow, especially within some specific vertical and geographical markets.”

In-Stat also found that Wi-Fi integration in cellular phones is growing rapidly even if the majority of Wi-Fi/cellular phones are not designed for VoIP. Cisco, Avaya, and Nortel are leading the market for enterprise IP phones.

Our New Partners - Procession plc

We are extremely pleased to announce that we have created an exciting and important new partnership with an innovative software company based in Chesham - Procession plc.

Procession plc are the creators of a fantastic software tool, known simply as Procession, which has revolutionised the capabilities of businesses software.  Procession has been developed over the last 20 years and is capable of both computerising and automating any aspect of business process - and it does this in a quick, flexible, and highly cost-effective way.

We will be selling, developing and supporting Procession implementations, using our IT skills and our experience in helping business owners, directors and managers benefit from using IT in their business.  The nature of Procession means that it can benefit any organisation, of any size, and in any sector - and can be used to computerise and/or automate as little or as much of their business processes as required.  It works extremely well when allowed to grow organically in line with the business needs, rather than having to do everything all at once.  The first place to use it is where the most pain exists, and then expand things from there.  The great thing about Procession is that the business themselves can take ownership of their business logic, and can make changes, without technical assistance.

UK Sport have made excellent use of Procession over the last 7 years, to computerise and automate their complex grant management processes for Athletes, and they are delighted with the efficiency, control and flexibility that Procession gives them.  However, there are literally hundreds of other applications that Procession can be used in - there is no limit to the ways in which this tool can be used to benefit businesses.

A major benefit of Procession is the graphical tool that allows processes to be mapped out in a visual environment, using building blocks, which business people can understand and comment on.  Once that is done, and the relevant business people are happy with the process, then the application is ready and can be tried out straight away - there is no coding required to make the process work, so what you see is what you get!  This makes the process quick and easy, provides a permanent view of exactly what has been deployed, means that there is no room for misinterpretation, and even makes ongoing changes and improvements to the process possible simply by changing the picture!  This is an incredible acheivement that has to be seen to be believed.

We are looking at applications for Procession with our smaller customers (one of them is a one man band), both medium sized and large organisations (including a multi-million pound international corporation), and even into public sector tenders.

Procession represents the ideal mixture of the benefits of packaged software (i.e. the work to develop the framework has already been done) with the flexibility of custom-built software (i.e. you can have it reflect exactly the way your business works) but without the drawbacks of either.

This is an important partnership for us, because Procession is exactly the type of tool business owners and managers need to unlock the benefits of using IT to help them run their businesses.  It is a business tool, created by business people, and aimed at business people.  Given these values are absolutely at the core of our business, there is a perfect fit between us and Procession!

There is much work for us to do now, to integrate Procession into our other product and service offerings, and to produce marketing materials, etc. so we can start to spread the word about this fantastic tool.

In the meantime, if you would like a demo, please just drop me a line from our contact us page.

Further Dates for Business Link Seminars

As previously announced, I have been asked by Business Link East to run a course of 6 workshops called ‘Growing IT in Your Business’.

In addition to this, I’m pleased to confirm another 6 dates for my original Business Link Seminar ‘Getting Maximum Benefit From Your IT Systems’, as follows:

 5th Jun 09 - Chelmsford, Pontins Park
10th Sep 09 - Hatfield, Homestead Hall Hotel
16th Oct 09 - Bedford, Wyboston Lakes
24th Nov 09 - Ipswich, Holiday Inn Orwell
3rd Feb 10 - Cambridge, Villiers Park Educational Trust
30th Mar 10 - Norwich, The Forum Trust

Both of these seminars are part of Business Link East’s ‘Growing Business’ events programme. You can book onto any of the events within this programme online through their Events Booking Service.

Also, I’m delighted to say that Business Link have recently produced the video shown below, to introduce the type of briefings they offer, which features footage from one of my seminars.  As well as showing me waving my arms very enthusiastically, the video shows a general flavour of the events and includes some customer testimonials.

These briefings are really excellent and are all led by expert speakers.  I heartily recommend finding out what events are on in your area, and I hope to see you at one of my seminars soon!

Mobile computing a necessity despite recession

The Nielsen Company has conducted research in the five larger Western European countries and the United States for Tellabs, which shows that the global economic downturn will not hamper the use of mobile computing platforms to access the Internet.

Findings show that more than half of the approximately 200 million mobile data users in those countries expect to increase use in the next two years and mobile computing will flourish as professionals intend to ‘dramatically’ increase use of mobile data services with significant growth over the course of the next twelve months. More than a quarter of those who do not use mobile data services today intend to start using them within a short period of time.

Even though they expressed concerns about cost, speed and quality of service, up to 71% of consumers in the survey anticipate daily use of services such as mobile Internet.

There will be strong growth in network traffic from around 175 million consumers for services such as mobile Internet, E-mail and multimedia services, according to Tellabs.

“Mobile data services are not a luxury, but a necessity that consumers plan to purchase despite economic conditions,” explained Pat Dolan, vice president, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Tellabs. “By planning urgent and strategic network upgrades, operators can quickly and cost-efficiently address users’ issues and meet increasing demands on networks.”

The detailed breakdown of the top five services that non-users intend to start using shows that anticipated demand is not evenly split. Around half of U.S. non-users of the mobile Internet intend to use it in the next two years, compared with a third of non-users in Europe: U.S. consumers will drive more new mobile Internet use than Europeans.

Here at Eximium we would be lost without our mobile computing. We do a lot of our work off site at client’s sites, so we need to be mobile, but also efficient. Derrick has written two articles about the benefits he gets from his Nokia E61 Smart phone, which he uses for his emails and jotting down important thoughts, which can come to you at the strangest of times. It helps you to make the most of your time when you can use the odd five minutes here and there in the day, which would usually be wasted waiting around, doing something useful to you.

Read Derrick’s full articles, Diary of a Nokia E61 User - Making time for creative thinking and Mobile Internet - now this is more like it.

Eximium MD Wins Award at Business For Breakfast Annual Awards Ceremony

We are pleased to announce that Derrick Cameron, MD here at Eximium, won the ‘Executive Host of the Year’ award at the Business for Breakfast Annual Awards held on 27th March.  Derrick represents Eximium at the Luton Advantage B4B forum, which meets at The Brache every other Tuesday, and has been the Executive Host of that group for the last 8 months.

The awards evening was a glamorous black tie event and had a James Bond 007 theme.  It was held at the Lancashire County Cricket Club in Manchester and was a fundraising event for Macmillan Cancer Support.  The entertainment was excellent, with a pay per play casino, music provided by Simply Soul and was presented by celebrity Zilpah Hartley, travel and property writer best known for fronting Channel 4’s highly successful series ‘A Place in the Sun’.

There were 9 award categories altogether:

• Referral Master
• Member of the Year
• Venue of the Year
• Moderator of the Year
• Coordinator of the Year
• Executive Host of the Year
• Executive Team of the Year
• Best New Member
• Best New Team
• Franchisee of the Year

We are delighted to say that as well as Derrick winning the ‘Executive Host of the Year’ award, this was only 1 of a total of 3 awards won by groups led by Ryan Tobias, who owns and manages the B4B groups in the Beds, Bucks and Herts areas.  Ryan’s Bedford group won the ‘Executive Team of the Year’ Award and Ryan himself won the coveted ‘Franchisee of the Year’ award, so it was a bumper night for Ryan and his excellent breakfast groups!

Commenting on his award Derrick said, “I’m thrilled to have won the ‘Executive Host of The Year’ award, particularly given the stiff competition - it feels great to receive this recognition from the members, simply for participating in the group in a way I’ve enjoyed so much.  It’s also the perfect end to my term in the role!”

If you are interested in going along to one of Ryan’s productive and friendly breakfast networking groups, or simply to learn how your business can benefit, contact Ryan at ryan@bforb.co.uk

Here is a photo of all the winners and runners-up from the evening, showing Derrick on the front row on the far left:

Also, here is our proud franchise owner, Ryan Tobias receiving his Franchisee of the Year award:

Here is Derrick receiving his Executive Host of the Year award:

Google Earth dives into the deep

Google announced its new release of Google Earth version 5.0 in February, with a map of the ocean floor allowing users to dive beneath the water surface and explore a 3D underwater terrain, making the world’s largest habitat less of a mystery.

In the newest version of Google Earth has the ocean feature is on by default. Users can zoom in on the ocean and will see a dynamic water surface, which they can dive beneath to navigate 3D sea floor terrain.

It also introduces an Historical Imagery feature. This enables users to virtually travel back in time through archival satellite and aerial imagery. It is simple to create a narrated tour in Google Earth using ‘Touring’ and this is shared Google Mars 3D, which features hi-res imagery and terrain of the red planet.

It also contains information contributed by the world’s leading scientists, researchers, and ocean explorers in 20 content layers. These include an “Explore the Ocean” layer containing photos and videos about ocean hot spots around the world contributed by over 80 individuals and organisations; a National Geographic Magazine geo-quiz and overlays from their new Atlas of the Ocean; and videos from the archives of Jacques Cousteau, featuring never-before-seen footage of historic ocean expeditions.

Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO, said: “In discussions about climate change, the world’s oceans are often overlooked despite being an integral part of the issue”, during the launch at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

“About one-third of the carbon dioxide that we emit into the atmosphere ends up in the oceans. Furthermore, biodiversity loss in our oceans in the next 20-30 years will be roughly equivalent to losing an entire Amazon rainforest, but this goes unnoticed because we can’t see it. This is why today’s launch of Google Earth 5.0 is so important - it gives us an opportunity to change everyone’s perspective.”

As the saying goes, ‘knowledge is power’ and we at Eximium think that the use of technology in such a powerful and positive way, which opens up a wealth of information and a capacity for learning by exploration, has to be applauded.

Visit Google Earth today to see for yourself.

Twitter is fastest-growing website 2008/09

According to research by Hitwise UK, Twitter is the fastest growing website of the year. Traffic to the micro-blogging site has increased ten-fold (947%) from January 2008 to mid-January 2009.

The site, www.twitter.com, is the 23rd most popular social networking site in the UK and has risen from being the 2,953rd most-visited website to the 291st most-visited.

Hitwise’s Research Director, Robin Goad, said: “If anything, the service is even more popular than our numbers imply, as we are only measuring traffic to the main Twitter website. If the people accessing their Twitter accounts via mobile phones and third party applications (such as Twitterrific, Twitterfeed and Tweetdeck) were included, the numbers would be even higher.”

“Many people seem to find Twitter addictive: the average amount of time that people spend on Twitter.com has more than trebled from less than 10 minutes a year ago to half an hour now.”

The most-followed celebrity on the site is currently Barack Obama, who has over 647,853 followers. UK celebrities are also popular – Stephen Fry has more than 362,797 followers, John Cleese has 124,064, while Jonathan Ross has 180,114, even used the site to communicate to fans during his suspension from the BBC.

The BBC has also fared well from Twitter’s success as around 10% of Twitter’s traffic goes to news and media websites. BBC News currently ranks as the 7th most popular site visited after Twitter.

However, Facebook remains the most popular social networking site overall with a 37% market share – on Christmas day 2008 the site received 1 in every 22 UK internet visits – far out-performing You Tube, the next most popular site with a 17% market share.

Facebook celebrates fifth birthday

Popular social networking site Facebook celebrated its fifth birthday on the 4th of February this year by giving users each a free virtual gift.

Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 and currently boasts over 150 million users. It has overtaken MySpace, which has around 130 million users, as the world’s favourite internet social networking website in recent years.

In his blog, Zuckerberg thanked Facebook users: “While we at Facebook make products that enable people to share information efficiently, Facebook is mostly the product of the people who use it.

“Without you and the connections you make to others, the products we create wouldn’t have much meaning.”

The blog also shares images from the website that show the development of Facebook from its humble beginnings in a Harvard dorm room to the multinational and multilingual social network it is today.

As a thank you to users, Facebook is offering each user a virtual gift free of charge, which is available from the Facebook Gift Shop.

Zuckerberg also commented on the state of Facebook and the internet today: “The culture of the Internet has […] changed pretty dramatically over the past five years.

“Before, most people wouldn’t consider sharing their real identities online. But Facebook has offered a safe and trusted environment for people to interact online, which has made millions of people comfortable expressing more about themselves.”

Millions of people use Facebook everyday to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.

Derrick Cameron, MD of Eximium Limited said “Social networking has become a massive phenomenon in recent years and studies have shown that it can sometimes be as valuable as business networking. So much in business is about who you know and where you make these contacts is irrelevant.”

The Queen’s new website

The British Monarchy launched a revamped version of its website on Thursday the 12th of February.  The Queen attended a reception in the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, to mark the occasion.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee OM, KBE, inventor of the World Wide Web, travelled from the US for the launch, and said a few words about the history of the web. He then introduced a short film featuring students at Kingsbury High School where the Queen launched the first version of the Monarchy website in 1997.

The Queen, 82, who visited Google last year, is keen to make her website, Royal.gov.uk, more user-friendly and relevant to modern-day society – it is visited by approximately 250,000 users from around the world each week.

The new website has a more accessible design and utilises a number of new technological features, such as Google maps integration with the Royal Diary of Engagements, integration with the Royal Channel on YouTube, a password protected Media Centre, a new Personnel module to allow job applicants to apply online, and a new search function.

It also features a wealth of new content including expanded information on the Commonwealth Realms and a new section on Royal animals – such as her infamous pet Corgis and Dorgis.

Rarely seen video and documents from the Royal Archives will also become accessible, including the original recording of the Queen’s first public speech (as Princess Elizabeth) on 13 October, 1940, with a radio address to the children of the Commonwealth.

 “It is important to move with the times and keep your websites up to date with new technologies and as user friendly as possible”, said Derrick Cameron of Eximium Ltd.  “It must draw people to it and keep them interested once there”.

As I get older, I find that I am more and more aware of my own mortality.  As with everyone, I am finding people close to me are passing away and more often than not, from cancer.  I give more to cancer charities than any other now, because it is something close to my heart.

I have two teenage daughters who I rarely get to see these days. We pass in the hall way like flat mates as one or other of us dashes off to a work commitment, while the other is off to socialise with friends.  I am finding more and more now that I have to arrange and schedule quality family time otherwise it just never happens.

I was thinking about both of these a month or so ago, when it struck me that we could do the Race for Life together.  They were both very good cross country runners when they were at school and it’s something that I’ve been thinking about doing for a while.  We can train and do the race together, which means regular quality time together and we can raise money for a very worthy cause at the same time.  Both the girls agreed to run the race with me, so I signed us up for the 5k in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire on the 14th of June. 

If you have daughters and you would be interested in raising money for Cancer Research together then why not go to the Race for Life website and see where your nearest race is.

http://www.raceforlife.org/

If you do not wish to participate, but would be interested in sponsoring me, please click the link below:

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/jackieeggleton

Debenhams’ IT investment pays dividends

With daily statements from retailers reporting poor sales figures, Debenhams has bucked the trend by recording positive financial figures for the Christmas period, based on store trading and boosted by a strong e-commerce performance

Debenhams Direct, the online branch of the well known department store registered a growth in yearly visitor numbers and sales up 39.2 per cent and 37.4 per cent respectively. Despite posting a 3.3 per cent drop in like-for-like sales for the 12 week period since 21 October, the retailer reported an increase in profit from last year’s figures, with a ‘creditable’ festive season.

“Our increase in profit is pleasing and reflects our stated intention to invest gross margin gains in strategic promotions as needed but overall to run the business focusing on cash profit rather than just sales,” said Debenhams’ Chief Executive Rob Templeman.

The organisation has spent in excess of £30 million since 2007 on upgrading its IT systems in both the front and back offices. Measures have included the implementation of a programme to use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to record in-store stock levels, as well as a data conductor to gather sales data from stores across the UK.

“In these times of economic recession, it is good to hear that a high street name like Debenhams is trading profitably,” comments Derrick Cameron of IT business specialist, Eximium. “We work with many clients from the retail sector, and having efficient software in place which is able to give you the information that you need is an essential part of running a retail organisation. Having a wealth of information at your fingertips also enables a business to analyse how they are performing and what they can do to improve. It seems likely that the investment that Debenhams has made in upgrading its IT systems will have had a major impact on performance.”

Security spending takes larger slice of the IT budget

Protecting systems takes bigger slice of shrinking budgets according to reports from Forrester Research. The reports show that spending on security is increasing in proportion to IT budgets – that is, the spending is remaining constant, whilst IT budgets are reducing. It is predicted that this trend will continue as security becomes an increasingly important issue.

“Even during challenging economic conditions, IT security remains an integral part of business operations as firms look to maintain their current environment as well as plan for the implementation of new initiatives,” explains Jonathan Penn, Forrester Business Data Services Analyst.

The two studies found that businesses have similar security concerns irrespective of the size of their organisation and that these businesses felt there was a growing need for improved data security. It was felt that the need for specialised skill sets and more attention to the budget have led to a growth in managed security services.

However, the day to day practicalities of handing data security were dealt with differently at larger organisations where IT staff regularly report directly to chief executives or company presidents on security matters. In SMEs, IT workers cite a lack of dependable security systems and difficulties in convincing executives to invest in more sophisticated security systems.

Derrick Cameron of Eximium, who advise businesses on a range of IT issues including data security, is not surprised by the reports conclusions. “In the UK, there have been several worrying security breaches which have heightened everyone’s awareness of the issue. One of the more positive side effects of these embarrassing lapses is the fact that they have made businesses more security conscious. These organisations now need to ensure that they have the right software in place and that they are using it correctly to safeguard against mishaps.”

Terrorist database sparks privacy fears

The Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has revealed possible plans to compile an extensive database as part of the war on terrorism. It has also been suggested that a private company may be used administer the database, including recording details of telephone calls, emails and internet use. Under the current system, information has to be specifically requested from communications companies and internet service providers, but is not always readily available.

Ms Smith said that access to such data was an instrumental part in fighting terrorism and that the UK must adapt to technological changes if it is to deal with terrorism and organised crime effectively. “It is a difficult and sensitive area, which is why we will consult on a range of options. But I think doing nothing is not an option here if we are going to see our ability to deal with serious crime and terrorism actually eroded in the future.”

The proposed consultation has prompted concern from civil liberties groups and critics of the scheme fear that the idea raises serious privacy issues. Former Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Ken Macdonald told the Guardian newspaper that he was not convinced by the Home Secretary’s assurances. “All history tells us that reassurances like these are worthless in the long run. In the first security crisis the locks would loosen.”

Derrick Cameron, MD of IT business specialists Eximium, acknowledges the importance of having access to potentially sensitive data, but recognises concerns that opposition groups have. ”This would be a massive undertaking for any private company. The database will be enormous and will need some serious software to ensure that security is tight. We have seen too many security breaches by public departments recently: people are naturally cautious and apprehensive about how secure the data will be and what it will be used for. However, it is an essential part of the fight against serious crime and terrorism that the appropriate organisations have access to this type of data. Whatever the outcome, the Government will need to have a thorough consultation to ensure they get the processes right.”

Leap year causes problems for early Zune players

As many people were saying goodbye to 2008, Microsoft was dealing with a bug that affected many of the older versions of the Zune music player. Many owners of 30GB Zune players found that their machine froze up at midnight Pacific Standard Time on 31st December, as the devices automatically rebooted then froze during the process.

Microsoft reported that the problem has been dealt with and that the players should function properly once they have been fully charged and switched on again. However, some Zune owners assert that they are still having problems with their machines, suggesting some lingering glitches.

The problem is thought to have been caused by the fact that 2008 was a leap year. Microsoft has stated that there was a problem with the internal clock driver and the way that the device handled a leap year. Microsoft spokesman Brian Eskridge explained that fully charging the Zune player then turning it on should restore the device. “It worked for me and it seems like it’s working for customers. From the limited time I’ve looked on the forums, it seems customers have had good success with it.”

“This goes to show how easily IT systems can be disrupted by something as simple as a leap year,” comments Eximium’s MD Derrick Cameron. “This is something that the industry needs to ensure that it has ironed out. In this case, it caused frustration for customers which may have some financial implications for Microsoft in the long term. In business, such deceptively simple glitches can cost a company thousands of pounds if the software isn’t designed to take care of issues like this.”

Broadband for all

Lord Carter’s Digital Britain interim report has suggested that super-fast broadband should be available for the whole of the UK. The scheme hopes to provide access to at least 2Mbps broadband for every UK citizen by 2012.

The report recommends that the BBC play a lead role in promoting it and that the government reduces the amount of red tape that companies encounter if they want to build networks on the same scale as Virgin Media’s 50Mbps service. The government is also considering handing out financial incentives to companies who invest in the overhaul of the existing communications infrastructure and will use the full digital report in June to decide. The report will also contribute to the formation of a government led strategy group which will decide the best way to proceed.

The recommendations are as follows:

• Broadband for all: “We will develop plans for a digital Universal Service Commitment to be effective by 2012, delivered by a mixture of fixed and mobile, wired and wireless means. Subject to further study of the costs and benefits, we will set out our plans for the level of service which we believe should be universal. We anticipate this consideration will include options up to 2Mbps.”

• Recommendations to be made on who funds broadband Britain: “We will develop detailed proposals for the design and operation of a new, more broadly-based scheme to fund the Universal Service Commitment for the fully digital age – including who should contribute and its governance and accountability structures.”

• Development of public service champions to encourage people to get online: “We will encourage the development of public service champions of universal take-up. The Digital Inclusion Action Plan recommended the appointment of a Digital Inclusion Champion and expert taskforce to drive the government’s work on digital inclusion.”

• The BBC’s services should make people want to pay for their broadband: “We are inviting the BBC to play a leading role, just as it has in digital broadcast, through marketing, cross-promotion and provision of content to drive interest in taking up broadband. With other public service organisations, the BBC can drive the development of platforms with open standards available to all content providers and device manufacturers alike.”

The interim recommendations were;

• Create a strategy group to identify changes needed: “This strategy group will, by the time of the final Digital Britain report, assess the case for how far market-led investment by Virgin Media, BT Group plc and new network enterprises will take the UK in terms of roll-out and likely take-up; and whether any contingency measures… are necessary.”

• Make it easier for companies to roll out super-fast broadband legislation: “The government will, while recognising existing investments in infrastructure, work with the main operators and others to remove barriers to the development of a wider wholesale market in access to ducts and other primary infrastructure.”

• Consider offering incentives for companies to roll-out broadband networks: “We will, by the time of the final Digital Britain report, have considered the value for money case for whether public incentives have a part to play in enabling further next generation broadband deployment, beyond current market-led initiatives.”

• Set up an advisory body for community networks: “The government will help implement the Community Broadband Network’s proposals for an umbrella body to bring together all the local and community networks and provide them with technical and advisory support.”

Age ratings a possibility on the internet

The issue of safeguarding young people against explicit images on the internet has again been raised with the suggestion of applying age ratings to websites. Culture Secretary Andy Burnham revealed that the Government was looking at a range of measures to ensure that children are protected from seeing offensive material. This includes a planned liaison with the US over international rules for English language sites.

In an interview with the BBC, Burnham explained the reasoning behind the proposals. “I think we do need to have a debate now about clearer signposting and labelling online because it can be quite a confusing world, particularly for parents who are trying to ensure their children are only accessing appropriate stuff.” The move is likely to win support with parents, many of whom are unsure how to safeguard their children from some of the violent and explicit material that they can access to on the internet.

Several children’s charities have already expressed concerns over the issue with the NSPCC calling for computer manufacturers and retailers to install security to stop children finding violent or sexual content on the net. A poll carried out by the children’s charity in October suggested three out of four children had been disturbed by images they had come across whilst surfing the net.

“There’s no doubt that some will see Mr Burham’s suggestions as an infringement of  civil liberties but it is an issue that needs to be addressed,” comments Derrick Cameron, MD of IT trouble-shooters Eximium. “Parents are right to be worried by what their children can see on the internet, and many people would advocate the need for guidance. However, we have no one body in the UK capable of administering internet classifications and it is an issue with huge practical implications. I look forward to seeing the Government’s proposals in more detail with clear guidelines on how the classification system could work. In the meantime, parents must remain aware of what their children are viewing on the web.”

Eximium shortlisted for The Ixion Challenge!

I’m delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for a remarkable competition being run in the East of England - The Ixion Challenge, created by Ixion Holdings Ltd.

Ixion Holdings Ltd is a successful non-profit making business support organisation which wants to help other businesses in the region be equally successful. They already play a significant role in helping businesses to grow and thrive, and are offering SME businesses within the East of England the chance to receive a package worth up to £32k.

Including ourselves, there were 68 entries for stage 1 of the competition, many of which were apparently ‘of a very high standard’.  8 of these have been selected to go forward to the next stage, which involves submitting a ‘survive and thrive’ business plan. 

We are thrilled to have been chosen by the judging panel as one of the 8 businesses to move forward to stage 2 of this competition.  We’re currently putting together our business plan for the next stage in the hopes of becoming one of the 4 businesses chosen for stage 3, which will involve pitching our business plan to the judging panel at a visit to our offices!

Watch this space for further news of our progress!!

For further information about this competition and Ixion Holdings Ltd please use the following link to their website: 

The Ixion Challenge

British man in final legal challenge to avoid US extradition

The case of a British man who has been fighting extradition to the US on hacking charges for the past three years is due for judicial review.

The review is Gary McKinnon’s last chance of avoiding extradition after the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith disregarded his recent diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome as having any bearing on the case.  McKinnon hopes to persuade the judge that this decision was unfair. With the failure of appeals to the House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights earlier in 2008, McKinnon is resting his hopes on the oral review in chambers.

McKinnon, a Scot based in London, faces seven counts of hacking into 97 US Government, NASA and military systems during 2001 and 2002.  When arrested in 2002, McKinnon quickly confessed his actions, but denies causing any damage, estimated by the US at $700,000.  Whilst US prosecutors have suggested that McKinnon was mounting the ‘biggest military hack ever’, McKinnon himself maintains he was hunting for evidence about UFO encounters and harvested technology.

Derrick Cameron, Managing Director of IT business advisers Eximium has been following the case. “This is definitely McKinnon’s last stand,” he comments. “As his appeals so far have all failed, it doesn’t look good for the Scot. However, if the case does go to trial, the prosecution will have to prove that he had more sinister intentions – which could be difficult.”

If the review fails and McKinnon stands trial in the US, he faces a likely sentence of around 10 years imprisonment.

Gary McKinnon – Will he be extradited?

There seems that there may be some light at the end of the tunnel for Garry McKinnon, as the saga of whether he will be extradited to the US to face charges of computer hacking continues.

McKinnon has repeatedly resisted attempts to extradite him on the grounds that the offence was committed in the UK and his lawyer, Karen Todner has written to Keir Starmer QC, who is the recently appointed director of public prosecutions, requesting that he be charged under the Misuse of Computers Act. Ms Todner said that her client would plead guilty to the offence, to which he acknowledged his guilt and that proceedings against him could now be brought because there is clear evidence of a crime having been committed.

McKinnon, who is 42, fears for his chances of a fair trial in the US. He is accused of hacking into the US defence and NASA systems in 2001 and 2002 and causing an estimated £525,000 worth of damage. McKinnon denies causing any damage, but admits to hacking into the systems and leaving messages saying “your security is crap”. He lost his appeal against extradition in the House of Lords last year.

McKinnon has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and in a letter to the DPP, his mother, Janis Sharp wrote; “Many people with Asperger’s have a heightened sense of justice and have obsessions, which can sometimes get them into trouble. Gary’s obsession was computers.” The National Autistic Society (NAS) has offered to provide evidence about the diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome, in order to support McKinnon.

McKinnon’s mother said that there were precedents for British based computer hackers to be tried in this country and they have the political support of about 80 MP’s who have signed an early day motion tabled by McKinnon’s MP, David Burrowes.

‘Fight the Credit Crunch with IT’

As many of you will already know, we created and delivered a series of 6 workshops for EEDA in November, as a key part of their TakeITon development programme.  These FREE seminars were aimed at SME business owners and managers and entitled ‘Fight the Credit Crunch with IT’.  I’m delighted to say that these events went extremely well and the feedback received was very positive

I thoroughly enjoyed delivering these workshops and was greatly encouraged by the fact that 141 delegates attended in total.  98% of the attendees were satisfied with the overall event, which is excellent news.

Due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback received, I’m pleased to announce that EEDA have asked us to run a further 6 dates for this FREE workshop, in other areas of the region.  We are planning the dates at the moment so I will post those once they are confirmed.

Also, I’m delighted to confirm that they have also asked us to develop and present a further 6 FREE workshops as a follow-up to this session, based on the feedback that was provided by delegates.  We are planning the content and dates with them at present and I will announce further details once they are confirmed.

In the meantime, I am running the ‘Fight the Credit Crunch with IT’ workshop at the Basepoint Business & Innovation Centre in Luton, where our office is based, on Thursday 29th January.  If you would like further information, or to book a place on ths FREE seminar, please contact me at the following link:

 http://www.eximium.net/contactus.asp

Alternatively, you can contact the Business Development Manager at the Centre, Heather Pedder, on the following email address: heatherpedder@basepoint.co.uk

Staff web 2.0 skills are a boost for productivity

Companies should make the most of employee Web 2.0 knowledge so that they can take full advantage of the technology, according to a report by the Butler Group.

With more consumers than ever involved with social networking and user-generated content such as blogs, businesses should be using their employees’ Web 2.0 skills to make the workforce more productive. 

Richard Edwards from the Butler Group comments “Staff have a life outside of work in which we’re interacting with [other people] and we’re sort of bringing those ideas into the workplace. Bosses need to recognise what’s actually happening - what are those changes - and examine the possibility of utilising some of this to bring about positive change within the business.”

The Butler Group report adds that businesses will risk losing out if they fail to formalise the use of Web 2.0 within the organisation. Edwards said “The workforce itself is starting to make use of Web 2.0 to do some of their daily tasks. And these are being undertaken without any real form of governance or control from the organisation.”

But in order to get the best out of Web 2.0 savvy staff, bosses will need to listen to their workers.  IT firm Eximium’s Derrick Cameron points out “No one would argue against staff contributing more ideas and skills for the good of the workplace. However, it is essential that companies have a very clear policy in place that can be adhered to by all staff.”

IT spending reaches a new record high – up 8%

Despite the gloom over the world economy and credit issues facing banks and consumers, worldwide IT spending will pass the $3.4tr mark this year, up eight per cent from last year, according to analyst Gartner.

Services, not products, now dominate spending, with IT and telecoms services making up 70 per cent of IT budgets – with telecoms alone accounting for almost $2tr of that.

Gartner VP Jim Tully said in the report “The US-led economic downturn shows no sign of causing a recession in IT spending. Emerging regions, replacement of obsolete systems and some technology shifts are driving growth. Organisations are switching from company-owned hardware and software assets to per-use service based models. The projected shift to cloud computing, for example, will result in dramatic growth in IT products in some areas, and in significant reductions in other areas.”

The report shows that software spending is on course for the strongest growth rate in 2008 at more than 10 per cent, while services spending will surpass 9.4 per cent growth.

Derrick Cameron MD of IT firm Eximium comments “Many companies are in the process of upgrading their old software systems.  It is a constant process, in a similar way to staff training.  You are never ‘done’ as there is always more to do.”

The main area of hardware growth activity is PCs, which accounts for 60 per cent of total hardware spending, increasing significantly in Asia-Pacific and Western Europe.

A strong shift towards mobile PCs is also occurring, boosting the overall market, as the higher prices of these products results in increasing revenue per unit.

On This Day in History

On this day 40 years ago a man named Douglas Englebart first unveiled the ‘mouse’, at a 90 minute presentation to around 1000 people at Brooks Hall Convention Centre in San Francisco.

I found an article by Bobbie Johnson, who is the Guardian’s technology correspondent, about it today. Englebart is quoted as saying “You have a pointing device called a mouse, I don’t know why we call it a mouse – sometimes I apologise for it. It started that way and we never did change it.”

It really is a very interesting read and I thoroughly recommend it.

To read the full article by Bobbie Johnson, click the following link;

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/dec/09/mouse-40

Wireless broadband on its way across Europe

European politicians have backed measures which will create a wireless broadband service to be used across Europe.

The EU parliament backed a package of telecoms measures designed to simplify the roll out of EU-wide services, such as wireless internet and mobile TV. This will be done using the spectrum previously taken up by analogue TV and radio broadcasts.

The parliament voted to adopt a report saying that states should reserve the same parts of the spectrum for the same types of services to ensure they work across the continent.

They have also ruled that the national regulators should be allowed to impose functional separation.  The parliament added that regulators should only countenance such a measure if it is the only way to ensure fair competition.

This follows calls by the European Commission yesterday to cut mobile data roaming charges in Europe.

Derrick Cameron from IT firm Eximium comments “This should be great news for businesses across Europe and just the sort of thing that the EU should be doing to ensure cross-border co-operation.” 

If it gets its way, the Commission will also set up a new European wide telecommunications regulator called the Body of European Regulators in Telecommunication.  Its function will be to help ensure fair competition and high-quality services but is not intended to take over tasks related to network and information security.

Google reveal their ‘Android’ phone

In America T-Mobile and Google have unveiled their first ‘Android’ phone.  Whilst it may not win any beauty contests, the smart phone’s software and advanced web browsing is likely to impress.  Its functionality is more impressive than even the current crop of smart phones, including the iPhone.

The handset, previously code-named the HTC Dream, is now officially called the T-Mobile G1. It goes on sale on October 22nd in the US only on the T-Mobile network.

Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile USA’s parent company, will also be selling the device from November in the UK through its T-Mobile service. The phone will be available throughout the rest of Europe with a roll out starting during the first quarter of 2009.

From a hardware perspective, the G1 won’t re-write the rules in the way the iPhone did. The device uses a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out from a touch-screen exterior, which looks similar to other devices on the market.  But inside, the Google Android software significantly improves the mobile web experience for users making it a serious competitor to the iPhone - and a hands-down winner when compared with other smart phones like the BlackBerry or phones running Microsoft Windows mobile operating system.

For now, G1 is targeted at the consumer market, a fact Cole Brodman, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer for T-Mobile USA, acknowledged openly during the launch event.

Still, T-Mobile executives and Google’s top mobile executives, Andy Rubin and Rich Miner, said that because the operating system is open, third-party developers could easily create an application to hook into corporate email. Eventually, G1 users could download the application from the Android Market on their devices.

Derrick Cameron, MD of IT firm Eximium comments “It strikes me that when it comes to web surfing, Google has created a user experience far better than what’s on offer from other smart phones around today.  It will be interesting to see if it is able to create anything like the interest in the phone that Apple did.  Google is a very well respected brand and it I look forward to seeing if they can transfer some of their brand loyalty away from the PC to the mobile phone market.”

To see our other article about the G1 phone, click the following link;

http://www.eximium.net/blog/index.php/2008/11/business-advice-luton-29/