Supporting grass roots sport

Lawrence Jones, February 26th 2008, 4:32PM

As a sportsman and a businessman, it is my pleasure to support local grass roots talent.

Sport and business go hand in hand. In both it takes talent and practice to get to the top of your game and in my opinion, some of the most motivated businessmen are keen sports players.

Sportspeople set goals and strive to achieve them. They relish a challenge and don’t shy away when things get tough. People who play sport have an ability to stay focused and find it easier to work as a team.

Apart from that, sport promotes a healthy body and a competitive mindset – which can be very useful in the business environment.

At UKFast we take a lot of note from the way great sportspeople train and use their techniques. The vast majority of the tasks we undertake are done routinely with a goal in sight.

As a supporter and sponsor of Sale Sharks rugby for many years, I’m proud to have been there to see the team grow from strength to strength.

By sponsoring local sports teams, you are able to play an active part in the community. At UKFast we’ve taken part in various rugby days for children so they can benefit from the sport too.

Additionally, with the sponsorship of the team we have been able to meet and build relationships with other Manchester businesses.

But it is not just established teams I like to be involved with. I am currently sponsoring two young tennis players, Naomi and Liam Broady.

The two have been highlighted as the nation’s freshest talent and by doing what we can to help them we offer the ability to further their careers in sport for as long as possible.

So in my opinion, sport is a wonderful way to motivate yourself and your team and of course it goes towards fulfilling your business’s corporate social responsibility.

Tags: sport, ukfast
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Protecting company data

Lawrence Jones, February 14th 2008, 2:16PM

The astute director makes absolutely sure his company databases are fortified. Your databases are your competitors marketing advantage, so protecting them is hugely important to your business.

In light of recent travesties such as 25million records disappearing from a government database in a day, it is no wonder data protection is a hot topic. With the storage of more online data than ever before, security worries are multiplying quickly.

There are several reasons for protecting your databases, including customer confidentiality, protecting your client base and keeping the secret to your business’s success.

Client records must be kept safe under the Data Protection Act, which states customer information must be: “kept secure with appropriate technical and organisational measures taken to protect the information”.

Trade secrets are your business’s foundations. CocaCola for example, is unlikely to give away the secret of its taste to new employees. Not only would competitors be able to make the drink themselves, but the company would lose the mystical brand image that has been cultivated for over a hundred years.

Similarly, with regards to my web development company, Text, if somebody was to gain access to our coding, we would lose the competitive advantages we gained through hard work and dedication. If other companies start to use our coding it makes all our hard work trivial.

As your company increases in size, you employ more new people who you have to grow to trust over time. If there are no restrictions on company computers just think what could be carried away on a USB drive or sent via web based email.

Employee access to personal applications at work is something which differs for every company, of course. But in my opinion it is something to be seriously considered in your business strategy. Think carefully. A company depends upon its databases. It is a director’s duty to protect them. By eliminating opportunity you can ease concern that your own data can be removed.

Businesses have several ways of protecting important information. Limiting access to specific drives, disabling USB ports and blocking web based email accounts are just a number of ways.

I know of several managing directors who take these strategies to the absolute pinnacle but I’m a believer that with some standard procedures in place you can be sure that your in-house databases are safe.

As managers you may worry about your company gaining a reputation for being dictatorial with such precautions, however there are compensations you can take on board to avoid this feeling. Installing computer terminals in the staff room that are not attached to the company network is just one of these. This can allow staff to view web based email accounts in their break times without the concern that they can attach and send company information. The history of their work email can be recorded and this is deterrent enough.

As is often the case, instilling a great work ethic within your team is the secret to success but it always pays to stay secure and reduce risk.

Tags: data protection, seo, text internet marketing
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An online education

Lawrence Jones, February 6th 2008, 2:25PM

Throughout the last month at UKFast we’ve welcomed a number of educational sites onto our network. This influx reminds us just how useful the internet is as a learning tool, and how many institutions are now beginning to realise this.

Typically, schools, colleges and universities have used the internet as a place to display achievements and attract new pupils. Universities in particular have to market their courses, and the internet is an obvious place to do this.

In recent years however, many learning institutions are modifying their online presence to include materials for study. Programmes are now in effect which offer direct access to lecture notes. And more and more, institutions use the internet to establish social networking sites for communications between pupils and teachers.

Due to the many different variations in content, online learning can be undertaken in many unique ways. Video clips, interactive features, PDFs, graphics, webinars and forums are backed by the fact that the internet is the largest publicly accessible store of information on the planet.

But is all this making our scholars more intelligent, or simply more lazy, as they know they’ll always have the answers at their fingertips.

In my opinion, the internet for scholars serves the same purpose as the calculator for mathematicians. Even a student with the greatest store of information possible cannot benefit from it if they don’t have the background knowledge to begin with. Just as with a top of the range calculator, if you don’t know the theories it doesn’t matter which buttons you press, you won’t get the correct answer.

What the internet does provide to learners is the possibility to do research and therefore complete work more quickly. And businesses can benefit too.

Online webinars by Google already play a large part in the training of the UKFast marketing team. Watching a live seminar on the web eliminates the need to travel to far flung locations (like London) and gives up to the minute information from expert speakers.

Basically it levels the playing-field of learning for businesses around the world. Unlike reading text online, you are also given the option to ask questions which are answered immediately.

I’m pleased to see that educational and business establishments are taking note of the internet as it is a valuable educational resource. Organisations are taking the internet very seriously by hosting sites on dedicated servers, helping them to provide a high level of service and cope with volumes of traffic.

Amazing revelations are taking place in educational online content already and I am very excited to find out where it will lead.

Tags: education, hosting, ukfast
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An eye for business

Lawrence Jones, February 1st 2008, 5:02PM

This week on my annual holiday, I’ve been thinking about how difficult it once was to remain aware of the office whilst taking time off.

Managers and directors often find it very difficult to leave the office even for a short while.

Keeping your eye on the business whilst going on holiday has, in the past, posed many problems but every year it definitely gets easier.

The fact that I am able to go away and leave the office for several weeks boils down to advanced technology and a quality company strategy.

Looking at my mobile phone, I contemplate the ease in which I can contact anyone in the office at any time of the working day.

We all work from home, on the train, or anywhere that has an internet connection or telephone line, these days.

Through the use of exchange servers, for example, Microsoft has made simple the accessing of emails, voicemails, contact lists and calendars from remote locations. This is particularly useful because of its familiarity. Whichever device the software renders on, it bears resemblance to Microsoft Office Outlook.

However, in addition to having reliable technology, before I go away I like to tie up loose ends and debrief my staff, making sure they’re all well equipped to deal with what may occur in my absence.

I always advise company managers or directors to consider taking time off throughout the year. Running a company is a difficult job and everyone needs time to recharge their batteries.

It gives you a chance a chance to refresh, renew and take the time to think about the business in a new light.

Plus wherever I am I the world, I can now guarantee that I am only one email or phone call away.

Tags: holiday, mobile technology, ukfast
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