Comms Dealer

With less than six weeks until the UK referendum on EU membership only a third of IT and telco businesses have developed a clear plan for dealing with the impact of a 'leave vote', according to a snapshot survey commissioned by international law firm Pinsent Masons.

The poll of senior decision makers in over 150 businesses across Britain, France and Germany - commissioned by Pinsent Masons conducted by YouGov - found that more than half, 57%, said there had been no discussion at Board level about the potential impacts of Brexit.

Of the organisations which have undertaken board level discussions, 11% admit to having discussed or planned for the relocation of operations.

Pinsent Masons says that the figures reflect that, while many larger businesses have begun contingency planning for Brexit, a significant proportion have not yet contemplated the impact a vote to leave might have.

Guy Lougher, a Partner and Head of the Brexit Advisory Team at Pinsent Masons, stated: "If the UK vote is in favour of leaving the EU, there will be profound implications for all businesses irrespective of whether they operate or trade in - or with - the UK."

"A number of economists believe a vote in favour of Brexit would create a profound economic shock. Whether one accepts such predictions or not it is hard to imagine that - at the very least - exchange rates will not be impacted.

"The uncertainties in a Brexit scenario are so great that there may be a temptation to do nothing until the referendum result emerges. However, our advice to businesses is to start taking steps now. While one cannot protect against all risks, it is possible to identify the risk areas and start thinking about how these could be mitigated.

"Many businesses now admit to being in denial during the Scottish referendum about how close the vote would be. People are more switched on this time, but I think find the prospect of Brexit a little overwhelming."

Pinsent Masons says that there are a number of measures businesses can institute now in order to minimise the disruption of Brexit upon business, from assessing the number of workers likely to be impacted by freedom of movement rules to reviewing how and where customer data is held.

"There are some simple things that businesses can do. Foremost among those should be identifying any business-critical contracts and considering if they are future-proof.

"Any agreements which specifically reference the EU as the territory governed by the contract may lack clarity.

"It is likely to be easier to agree amendments to those agreements now, especially where contracts have not yet been signed, rather than after a vote when the people on the other side of the table will know that the clock is ticking.

"It's also surprising, given the potential for economic disruption, how few businesses have entered into discussions with investors and funders as to their attitudes to risk in the aftermath of a 'leave' vote. It would seem prudent to have those conversations now amid relatively benign conditions.

"Having said that, it is encouraging that some businesses have started to consider what commercial opportunities might arise from a vote to leave. While this emerged as being one of the top two steps most likely to have been taken by businesses in France and Germany, this was not the case in the UK."

IT services firm Agilitas has been recognised for the fast growth of its international sales by The Sunday Times.

The Sunday Times Heathrow SME Export Track 100 league table ranks the top 100 private, small & medium-sized companies with the fastest-growing international sales over the last two years.

Ranking number 45 in the UK, the recognition follows a successful year for Agilitas in which the company has seen significant growth in new business and continued expansion of export functions across European markets.

2015 saw Agilitas complete a management led buyout and a rebrand, whilst continuing to maintain international expansion.

Richard Eglon, Marketing Director at Agilitas commented: "To be recognised as one of the country's leading exporters is a fantastic achievement for Agilitas. It highlights the strength of our IT services proposition, dedicated team and quality of service across multiple markets.

"Over the last two years, the Agilitas business has gone from strength-to-strength. We've successfully replicated our comprehensive UK Inventory-as-a-service support model across mainland Europe, and this prestigious listing is a fantastic testament to these new capabilities and the Agilitas team delivering them day-in, day-out."

The SME Export Track 100 is compiled by Fast Track and published in The Sunday Times each May, with an awards event in June and regional dinners throughout the year.

Nimans has presented BT with a Product of the Year crystal decanter for development of the BT 8500 call blocking DECT device.

Erik Raphael, Director BT WiFi and Devices, collected the prize during a ceremony at BT's London head office.

Nimans' Group Sales & Business Development Director, Richard Carter, said: "The BT 8500 has been a roaring success for us as it combines high performance telephony with call blocking functionality."

Cloud-based contact centre specialist 8x8 has supplied EasyContactNow (ECN) to fast growing web design and SEO company Trendzer.

Trendzer started with one office but is rapidly opening premises in new areas.

With over 10,000 customers, Trendzer needed a telephony system to allow staff to answer calls quickly and effectively, and 8x8's ECN system automatically directs calls to the most appropriately skilled agent, based on specific industry knowledge.

There is no need to transfer customers between multiple agents which improves the customer experience and reduces call resolution time.

Trendzer now uses the system for outbound website and SEO remote access training, sales calls, and for inbound customer support.

Having access to analytics and reliable call recordings has helped Trendzer identify areas for improvement, track call volume and optimise its service.

The progressive dialing feature is also improving productivity by saving agents' time, as there is no need to manually dial numbers.

Richard Russell, Sales Manager at Trendzer commented: "The system from 8x8 has transformed our inbound and outbound calling, meeting our complex and diverse needs across multiple departments and offices."

Kevin Scott-Cowell, 8x8 UK MD, added: "We support fast growing companies such as Trendzer by ensuring their communications systems are a help, not a hindrance, to scale their business."

Hats off to NFON UK for winning ITSPA's Best Business ITSP (Corporate) award.

NFON UK MD Rami Houbby said: "We are absolutely chuffed to have won the award. It is a confirmation for the market that NFON has a scalable enterprise-grade proposition for seamless migration from old to new."

A coalition of comms industry leaders have presented an open letter to Ofcom CEO Sharon White outlining a 10-point plan to reform BT's Openreach subsidiary.

The coalition comprises Jeremy Darroch, Group CEO, Sky; Dido Harding, CEO, TalkTalk; Jeroen Hoencamp, CEO, Vodafone UK; Malcolm Corbett, CEO, Independent Networks Cooperative Association; and FCS CEO Chris Pateman.

Their plan focuses on three main areas - reforming Openreach's governance so that it can act independently; giving Openreach the tools it needs to function as a world-leading network operator; and creating an Openreach that delivers for all of its customers on an equal basis.

"We believe it's vital the people who decide what 'good' looks like should be Openreach's customers," said Chris Pateman.

"FCS was disappointed Ofcom's review of digital communications stopped short of recommending the complete structural separation of Openreach from the BT Group.

"Ofcom believes improvements can be delivered without the hassle and delays of a full separation, but our 10 point plan represents the industry's proposals on how this can be accomplished.

"Importantly, as our plan makes clear, we believe this can be accomplished swiftly and cost-effectively, using well-proven corporate governance principles.

"And it can be benchmarked against experience from other regulated utilities, both in the UK and overseas.

"We are throwing down a challenge, underpinned by sound research and experience. A challenge to Ofcom, Openreach and the industry to work together to shape the future for the good of all market players and all customers."

Dublin's Temple Street Children's University Hospital has been fitted out with free public Wi-Fi following a collaboration between wireless network provider Xirrus and Irish telco eir.

The Victorian hospital, which cares for 145,000 children per year, presented challenges during the implementation with due consideration given to the historical status of the building.

Shane Buckley, CEO of Xirrus, said: "There can be no higher priority for Xirrus than to provide reliable and safe Internet access to sick children and their parents in a hospital environment.

"In partnership with eir, we had the combined experience, technical expertise and Wi-Fi solution to connect patients and their families to a fast, reliable and secure Wi-Fi network."

The project included components such as a 200Mb ultrafast broadband connection and a content filtering solution.

The network installation includes Advantage Wi-Fi cloud management and application control to ensure that the Hospital can manage network accessibility, as well as content filtering, security and controls.

TalkTalk Telecom's full year results (12 months to 31st March 2016) saw EBITDA come in at £260m with TalkTalk Business revenues accounting for 30% of the Group, growing by over 5% year-on-year.

The on-net wholesale base, comprising the retail customers of businesses such as the Post Office and Utility Warehouse, grew year-on-year, as did TalkTalk Business' direct channel on-net base.

TalkTalk Business has also seen demand for data services continue to rise, with over 9,000 new high speed data lines connected and a strong pipeline of orders for the end of the year, up 23.7% year-on-year.

High speed data now accounts for 31% of the Group's corporate revenue, offsetting a decline in voice revenues (-16.2%).

TalkTalk Business MD Charles Bligh stated: "We expect to see this growth continue over the next year as we focus on strengthening our next generation network and delivering new services such as MyNet, SIP and unified communications to both our partners and direct customers."

VoIP Unlimited celebrated its 10th anniversary with 'petrol head partners' during a VIP day at Silverstone that included a behind the scene tour of Sahara Force India's F1 operations, a driving experience at Porsche's Silverstone track and a Porsche Cayenne off-road experience.

VoIP Unlimited MD Mark Pillow said: "It was a great opportunity to not only meet our partners face-to-face and gain a closer working relationship, but yo also say thank you for working with us."

Nimans has extended its own staff training programme and launched a Training Academy for resellers who want their staff to undertake a foundation course for telecoms.

The Basic Telephony course is designed for comms novices and includes information on telephony, mobile networking, IT services, convergence, UC and VoIP.

The first one-day session was attended by 12 people from seven reseller companies.

Nimans' Learning & Development Officer, Matthew Broadbent, stated: "Resellers found the course useful and it will be the first of many. We are looking to expand into other areas such as sales and management training."