Comms Dealer

The pace of digital disruption has left 50 per cent of British businesses and public sector organisations surveyed fearful or worried that their organisations will not be able to keep up with what is still to come over the next five years, according to YouGov research for Vodafone UK.

This potentially means that millions of businesses are in danger of being left behind. However, with nine out of 10 business leaders believing digital technology is essential to a business's success, it is imperative that UK plc and the public sector is sufficiently prepared to take advantage of the opportunities presented by digital technology, now and in the future.
 
The research, which surveyed more than 1,100 decision makers across private businesses and the public sector in Britain, also uncovered the 'universal truths' of doing business.

These are the factors which senior decision makers believe have always been and continue to be true , and almost eight out of 10 businesses (78 per cent) confirm these fundamentals will still apply in 10 to 20 years.

The top five business truths, all of which can be positively impacted by the effective use of digital technology, were delivering quality customer service (74 per cent); providing quality products and services (72 per cent; providing value for money (65 per cent); controlling costs (65 per cent); and delivering profitability/ return for investors (53 per cent).
 
However, while a majority saw quality customer service as a universal business truth, it is clear that achieving this has become more difficult in today's digital economy with an overwhelming consensus that digital technology has changed customers' expectations.

Today's customer expects an almost immediate response to their enquiries (73 per cent); to be able to reach a company through a variety of different channels (such as telephone, retail store, email, web chat, social media, online forums, face-to-face etc); to purchase a product/ service (70 per cent) or ask for help (67 per cent); and to receive a consistent experience online or offline (53 per cent).
 
This will continue to be a challenge for businesses over the next five years with nearly 40 per cent of respondents anticipating that customers' growing expectations (such as around quality of service and responsiveness) will disrupt the organisation and how business is done.
 
"Digital technology has already broken down the old, familiar business models but the effect it will have on the future of organisations' operations remains significant. Britain's business leaders are rightly concerned about keeping up," said Phil Mottram, Enterprise Director of Vodafone UK.
 
"British businesses and the public sector are under constant pressure to meet customers' ever increasing expectations, to do more with less and still find ways to be competitive.

"While the onset of digital technology seems to have exacerbated this scenario for many, by placing pressure on IT departments, budgets and resources, it can also be the means to overcome the challenges businesses face today and tomorrow.

"When used to its full potential, digital technology can generate cost savings, improve operational agility, enable workplace flexibility and support the delivery of higher standards of customer service to meet the growing demands of consumers and the public.
 
"By seeing digital technology as an enabler of positive change rather than as something to fear, organisations will be better positioned to overcome some of their key challenges and continue to deliver on the universal truths that are seen to be fundamental to business success."

Independent financial advisor Herbert & Webster has streamlined how employees across the firm's different offices talk to each other by deploying a cloud-based unified communications platform.

The organisation has replaced its legacy phone system with a solution from VIA, the business telephony and communications specialist.

VIA Voice operates over the Internet and completely replaces the need to have a traditional phone network.

It allows employees to talk, instant message, email and video chat across a variety of devices, such as landlines, smartphones, PCs, and tablets, regardless of location.

VIA Voice has helped Herbert & Webster to improve internal communications while also solving the historic problem of not being able to efficiently transfer calls between the company's two offices in Oxfordshire.

Herbert & Webster has also benefitted from VIA Voice's conferencing facility and document sharing feature which allows employees to share information, financial documents and relevant charts with their clients more securely and effectively.

VIA Voice, which incorporates Microsoft's Skype for Business communication tool, also boasts a number of additional features that have been developed internally by VIA's team of experts.

This includes a real-time management portal which lets Herbert & Webster observe trends, evaluate the usage and productivity of its employees, plus monitor costs.

Adam Herbert, Managing Director, Herbert & Webster, said: "We went to the market looking for a solution that could not only replace our traditional phone system, but also would help the business to streamline its communications.

"VIA Voice has helped our organisation to achieve significant gains in efficiency. As the platform is powered by the Internet, it also removed any potential headache during a recent office move, and we were able to get up and running immediately."

Alex Tebbs, Director at VIA, added: "As VIA Voice is a cloud-based solution it really is the perfect choice for companies that are looking to upgrade their traditional telephone networks, especially when moving offices. Through our bespoke added functionality we have helped Hebert & Webster to modernise communications, while also providing value for money."

Headset maker Sennheiser has been chosen by the Environment Agency as sole provider of its headsets and speakerphone equipment in a major revision of its telephony systems.

A number of headsets and speakerphones are currently being rolled out across the agency to its office-based and mobile workforce as part of a refit of the organisation designed to improve quality and reduce costs.

Sennheiser was chosen due to a range of benefits including comfort, long-lasting operation and importantly its strong adherence to environmental factors.

The Environment Agency is in the process of replacing its telephony service as part of a move from traditional PSTN delivery to a VoIP Unified Communications solution. The basic need to communicate effectively and flexibly is of paramount importance, and there is a strong focus on finding a solution that provides quality, clarity and usability while remaining cost-effective.

"We knew that our endpoint devices were an important part of the service," said Ben Thomas, Project Manager for the Environment Agency. "This is a business process change facilitated by technology, so these devices had to be the same standard as the service we were creating."

The Environment Agency chose the Sennheiser SC 660 dual-sided headset, the PRESENCE handsfree Bluetooth headset and the Speakerphone SP20, a portable speakerphone designed to be used both in the fixed and mobile office.

Sennheiser was also judged on less obvious factors. "Due to the nature of our business we took a strong look at the environmental considerations each company takes with its products, including packaging, the materials that come with the device itself, fittings, the background of how the company operates and a number of other criteria," added Thomas.

Zayo Group Holdings, a provider of bandwidth infrastructure and network-neutral colocation and connectivity services, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Viatel's infrastructure and non-Irish enterprise businesses.

Viatel is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Digiweb Group, a service telecommunications and managed services operator based in Dublin, Ireland. The purchase price is approximately €95 million.

The all-cash transaction is expected to be funded with cash on hand and to close by the end of the calendar year, subject to customary closing conditions.

The Viatel acquisition will provide Zayo with Pan-European intercity and metro fibre capability via an 8,400 kilometre fibre network across eight countries.

The transaction will add 12 new metro networks, seven data centres and connectivity to 81 on-net buildings.

Two wholly-owned subsea cable systems will provide connectivity on two of Europe's busiest routes - London-Amsterdam and London-Paris.

The Viatel businesses to be acquired are highly aligned with Zayo's existing product and customer set, including a higher proportion of dark fibre revenue.

"Viatel's long-haul fibre network and colo assets combined with Zayo's existing national UK, France and US networks provides international, seamless connectivity for Zayo's existing and new customers," said Dan Caruso, Chairman and CEO of Zayo.

"Our Pan-European infrastructure capability addresses new growth opportunities, including connectivity to key subsea cable systems delivering traffic to and from high growth regions such as Asia and Africa."

Karl Maier, President of Zayo International, added: "This transformative acquisition positions Zayo to capture significant organic and inorganic growth in Europe and beyond."

Colm Piercy, CEO of Viatel, stated: "The combination of Zayo and Viatel will provide far greater network reach and growth potential for Viatel's customers."

A survey carried out by Echoworx, makers of OneWorld, the smart platform for message encryption, has found that a quarter of UK businesses do not have an email security solution in place, despite recent high profile email related data breaches like Sony and WHSmith.

The survey findings looked into employee usage of email security technologies for sharing sensitive corporate data.

Beyond the quarter admitting they had no email security solution in place, 57 per cent of respondents admitted that they found their current email security solutions cumbersome and difficult to use.

This increased even further among more mature employees within the workplace, with 63 per cent aged 45 and over finding their current email security solutions more challenging to navigate.

"It's certainly worrying that over a quarter of UK businesses are leaving their corporate emails totally unprotected," said Greg Aligiannis, Senior Director of Securityat Echoworx.

"It highlights a clear lack of awareness of email security and the potential implications that this could have on a business. For those companies that do have a secure email solution already in place, it's vital that it's transparent to the user. If security solutions are too complicated, employees will almost certainly find a less secure workaround.

"Security of sensitive information must be considered to be a priority for everyone regardless of whether you work in the public or private sector.

"Encryption applied to email and other data lets organisations stay one step ahead if and when a security lapse occurs. It automatically applies policy to stop data leaks before they start which is especially important now that cybercriminals are developing increasingly sophisticated tactics to infiltrate corporate networks."

The research, which polled 1,000 financial services professionals across the UK, was carried out by OnePoll on behalf of Echoworx.

Provider of cloud-based contact centre solutions Magnetic North has been acquired by US company West Corporation, a global provider of communication and network infrastructure solutions.

The technology that Magnetic North has developed will be used across both companies to provide clients with the capability to deliver seamless and contextual multi-channel consumer experiences.

David Ford, Managing Director of Magnetic North, said: "West Corporation has been dedicated to delivering and improving the way businesses and consumers collaborate and connect for over 30 years.

"With Magnetic North and West joining forces our customers will benefit from this industry experience."

Tom Barker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of West Corporation, added: "These highly strategic acquisitions enhance our solutions in growing markets and demonstrate our commitment to investing in leading technologies."

The Magnetic North team remains unchanged and the Magnetic North brand will continue. All the solutions and platforms that it's customers are using will also remain unchanged, said the firm in a statement.

Gamma pampered key channel partners at the Donnington Valley Hotel and Spa near Newbury, treating them to a choice of beauty treatments, lunch, champagne and full use of the spa facilities including the pool, Jacuzzi, steam room and sauna.

Claire Black, Channel Marketing Manager at Gamma, commented: "We know how hard our partners work and recognise that in the busy world of telecoms, taking some time out every now and then to recharge is a must.

"We were pleased to see such a good turnout at this year's spa day. In an industry full of golf days, car rallies and poker nights, we feel it's important to spend time with our partners in a more relaxing environment and help them unwind."

Helen Booker, Sales Director at TM Solutions, added: "We really enjoyed Gamma's spa day as it gave us a rare opportunity to spend some time relaxing and catching up with both Gamma and other partners from across the channel. We came away feeling relaxed and refreshed!"

Organisations that continue to rely on legacy operating systems should invest in application portfolio management analysis to shape their future business strategy and reduce IT security risks and maintenance costs, according to the findings of a new white paper commissioned by Advanced 365.

Many organisations including banks and financial services firms, retailers and government are grappling with legacy solutions that are outdated and expensive to maintain due to poor system design, quick fixes and changing compliance standards.

To reduce the financial burden, many are considering moving their solutions to the cloud but are restricted due to incomplete documentation for their existing applications in order to chart a new strategic direction.

Managing systems and data to support business planning and analysis, ongoing IT maintenance and modernisation is a continuous and time consuming process.

Analysts estimate that 30% to 50% of IT budgets are spent on Application Development and Maintenance (ADM). However only 56% of ADM projects are completed on time, with as little as 27% considered a complete success.

Neil Cross, Managing Director of Advanced 365, said: "Legacy applications, such as OpenVMS and IBM mainframes, are typically very complex and have been developed over 30 years ago. As well as presenting heightened security flaws, invariably the first generations of developers have moved on which leaves firms increasingly vulnerable.

"Whether organisations decide to remain on legacy systems, or seek to move the functionality to the cloud, it is critical that they improve their understanding of these applications to enable them to effectively analyse, maintain and enhance their current systems to evaluate the inherent risks within their existing portfolio."

IAPM solutions, such as Advanced's Application Analysis system, provide metrics to determine the state of an organisation's current IT investment and perform gap analysis to more easily predict future requirements and the potential impact of change.

The solution creates a searchable database of information relating to all legacy applications, boosting development and modernisation planning productivity by up to 40% through automating manual processes.

IAPM systems also assist developers to better understand language, source code and data structures, in addition to the relationships between connected technologies and platforms used to deliver applications.

By creating a complete inventory and relationship map of every application element within their portfolio, organisations can regain control of their core business processes through improved knowledge.

Cross added: "IAPM solutions cut IT project costs by 25% or more while significantly improving operational efficiency.

"By gaining increased visibility and understanding of their application portfolio at any time, organisations can transition to solutions that can be more easily supported by new IT staff and address potential security vulnerabilities which threaten their future existence."

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has announced plans to offer commercial cloud services from the UK.

Microsoft Azure and Office 365 will be generally available from local UK-based data centres in late 2016 with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online following shortly thereafter.

Microsoft also announced the completion of the latest phase of expansion for its data centre facilities in Ireland and the Netherlands, both of which serve as cloud computing hubs for European customers.

These new cloud offerings and expanded facilities will provide customers with more choice and increased opportunities to innovate more quickly, enabling growth for local economies.

"At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and organisation on the planet to achieve more," said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft. "By expanding our data centre regions in the UK, Netherlands and Ireland we aim to give local businesses and organisations of all sizes the transformative technology they need to seize new global growth."  
 
The new local Microsoft cloud regions will enable data residency for customers in the UK, allowing data to be replicated within the UK for backup and recovery, reduced network distance and lower latency.

Services delivered from these UK data centres will create new opportunities for innovation and local economic growth for Microsoft UK's 25,000-plus partners, said the firm.

Microsoft will also offer Azure ExpressRoute to provide customers with the option of a private connection to the cloud.

"With a cloud adoption rate of 84 per cent, the UK is a global leader in embracing the benefits of cloud-based solutions," said Michel Van der Bel, area vice president and general manager of Microsoft UK.

"Our commitment to offer Microsoft Azure, Dynamics CRM Online and Office 365 from local data centres will help meet such demand, especially for those organisations looking for solutions delivered from data centres based in the UK.

"This will open opportunity for customers and partners alike to innovate, compete and grow their business using the power of the cloud while adhering to strict standards and regulations like those found in banking, financial services and the public sector."

In addition, Microsoft announced the completion of the most recent expansion of its Ireland site and that its data centre facility in Middenmeer, the Netherlands, is now operational.

Both locations serve as hubs for Microsoft cloud services, including Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Dynamics CRM Online, and will provide additional capacity for customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Telstra has launched a new international app portfolio giving global businesses access to new digital tools that brings together a range of software as a service (SaaS) solutions.
 
Jim Clarke, Telstra's Head of International Products and Pricing, said organisations must spend time listening to their employees and customers in order to create a business environment suited to the way they work.
 
"Apps are central to many forms of customer and employee interaction today," he said.

"Recently, at Telstra we hit a tipping point with more than 50 per cent of all our consumer customer service transactions now being completed digitally, including through our customer service app, with online customer interactions for Telstra doubling in four years.

"We recognise that without adopting and innovating with the solutions we design, we cannot expect to inspire those who we want to work with.
 
"Networks remain the cornerstone on which applications are built, and our heritage in this area means we can
now maximise our technology offerings to empower our customers.

"This first release of apps is just the beginning and we look forward to announcing more developments in the coming months."
 
The first release of apps range from electronic content management and digitising transaction process to mobile identity and authentication; and will be made available for Telstra customers in selected geographic locations.