Connecting Devon and Somerset - Get Up To speed. Talk given to Wellington Business Association

1. Superfast Broadband for Business
Lizzie Whitchurch

2. Business Benefits of
Superfast Broadband

3. 1. Cost savings
2. Increased flexibility
3. Increased reach
4. Easier disaster recovery
5. Improved opportunities for innovation

4. Cost savings
• More effective marketing
• More efficient use of resources
• Increased efficiency
• Improved employee mobility
• Freed current IT staff to be more innovative
• Reduced IT operating costs

5. Meadow Lakes Caravan
Christine Mottram – Marketing
Manager Oaktree Parks
‘I’ve had my budget cut from
budget cut from £90,000 to £30,000.
This was such a huge drop, so I
eliminated what wasn’t working,
which was magazine ads, expensive
memberships.
I then looked at was working and
continued with the FREE things like
Facebook and twitter.
I use Facebook boosts which I pay
between £18 and £30 to get to
20,000 viewers, this has raised our
profile immensely.
This approach has saved me £10,000
this year.
9 Residential retirement parks & owner occupied
holiday parks across South West
‘We now get about 45% of sales through
Facebook’

6. Reduction in capital investment
• Cloud based systems change cost model from
capital to revenue systems
• Don’t have to buy software
• Reduction in office space - no need for offices?
• No need for server infrastructure?
• No heavy investment in private networks LANs and
WANs
• Revenue driven, flexible and always up to date

7. Pick and mix approach…..
http://www.xero.com/uk/add-ons/

8. Cloud example
• Environmental consultancy based in Devon and Manchester (7 staff)
• Needed to move to server architecture
• Shared access to files, emails etc
• Cost for 5 years
o Traditional £10,400
o Cloud (365) £8,400
• Didn’t need IT support to set it up or maintain it
• Didn’t have to find the capital up front - £250

9. 2. Increased Flexibility
• Flexible location, flexible communication
o True anywhere, anytime working
o One number for landline & mobile
o Robust VOIP systems enable working at home on work
phone system

10. Cloud
Flexible up and down resources

11. Flexible approach to staffing
• More options for partnerships & collaboration
o Flexible staff – anywhere in the world
o Freelancers – crowdsourcing
o File sharing
o Collaboration space and rooms
o Less face to face needs
o Uploading of large files so much easier, no need for
private networks

13. McLaren – Unified
comms becomes a
reality
• 1500 employees across the world,
based in Surrey
• Lack of integration between static
systems and
• mobile devices
• Calls are be routed to mobile,
fixed-line and soft phones
simultaneously, with messages
stored in a single voicemail box.
• presence information showing
who is available &instant
messaging and simple to use
video conferencing.
‘Call costs reduced by 15% & staff are
always in contact’
Ian Robinson, IT Director, McLaren Group.

14. 3. Increase geographic reach
• Able to set up new offices in locations without
expensive networks in place
• More superfast connections – demand for more
interactive websites & more interactive experiences
• Includes new richer features like
o Web chat, increases conversion (10 -25%)
o Video increases spend and time on site (M&S customers
stay twice a long and boost basket by 25%)

15. #journorequest

16. Who are your influencers?

17. 4. Improved reliability, security and DR
• Cloud as a backup to PCs /server/data
• Levels of redundancy in place
• Security of data – not held locally on laptops
• Less reliance on local infrastructure and fire, floods,
theft

18. Beverly Clarke – CARE – White
goods repair service
Working on spreadsheets, on one
computer and had to work in the
office.
A simple CRM system was the best
approach and Dad can update it
when he is with a client.
And cloud back up of systems in
place and remote access to files.

19. River Cottage

20. 5. Innovation
• Quicker, easier start-up
• More innovative with funds - don’t need offices or
capital costs
• Easier to grow
• Easier to take risks and change direction
• Don’t need to move to City
• Don’t need to be big innovations…

21. Innovation
The Western Inn, St Austell
Malcolm Putko
Customers free wifi
Back office – stock control,
Suppliers Skyping from US,
Backed up through Cloud
Malcolm says: "Superfast broadband has
given us the confidence to introduce some
more exciting innovations, giving our
customers of all ages an even better
experience - we are now offering free
superfast Wi-Fi access and live music events
are streamed onto the website and used for
marketing purposes.”

22. Do you want to Get up to Speed?
‘Get up to Speed’ is a support service designed to help
businesses and communities improve their IT skills and
knowledge, as well as encourage the take up of the
new faster broadband service as it rolls out across the
counties.
• Showcase new technologies
• Hands-on Workshops
• Gadget shows
• Seminars
• Briefings
• Taster sessions
• Signposting to other services

23. Can you help?
• Organising an event?
• Run a newsletter?
• Run a website?
• Like us to come along to your village hall, business
group, hobby group?
• kate@cosmic.org.uk
• Caroline.angas@peninsula-enterprise.org.uk

24. Contact us
www.get-up-to-speed.co.uk
info@get-up-to-speed.co.uk