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UK Internet Service Provider FreeClix is celebrating its tenth anniversary of Data Centre operations at its Norwich facility.

The FreeClix Data Centre was founded in 2006 and was the first facility of its kind in the region. Considerable investment has been made in the last two years to upgrade the Data Centre. It is now provided with a fully N+1 redundant infrastructure, dual-fed substation with UPS autonomous power delivering 99.999% uptime since installation. It offers highly resilient Connectivity & Internet Transit from multiple carriers with separate points of entry. Its diversely routed BGP carrier network can provide internet transit speeds up to 1Gb. The growing number of digital services used by UK businesses and local government has boosted demand for secure spaces for them to host their physical infrastructure including servers and storage equipment that run application servers and data virtualisation.

Managing Director Pete Freeman said “Businesses are increasingly recognising the need to guard against their data loss risk as part of their business continuity and disaster recovery planning. Using a data centre enables organisations to not only deliver their IT strategy into the future, by delivering the server and storage space needed but also reducing risk and improving energy efficiency strategies.”

The seemingly unstoppable rise in cloud based services which reduces the need for businesses’ own physical storage needs has not curbed the requirement for data centre space however. Pete explains “We’re actually seeing an increase in enquiries from organisations that need off-site disaster recovery or physical data centre space for legacy systems and services that can’t be migrated to the cloud.”

“It’s a fantastic milestone to have reached and we’re looking forward to the coming months in which we shall be launching our new self-managed hosting platform.”

The FreeClix Tier 2 Data Centre is securely located in central Norwich for easy access 24 x 7 x 365. Secure, resilient data centre solutions include colocation and hosting services, internet transit, secure data storage, virtual dedicated servers and network solutions.

FreeClix is offering free installation up to the end of August 2016 to all new colocation customers (up to half a rack).

ESE Direct’s Social Media & Web Content Co-ordinator, Laura Holland, takes a look through how social media began.

Social Media is still a very young platform only gaining traction in the last 4-5 years but it can trace its roots back as long ago as 1994 when GeoCities launched (for those, like me, who are old enough to remember) it allowed users to create their own websites and visit others (I had a Sailor Moon and Buffy page…er, anyway), it grew up to have 38 million users until it was shut down in 2009 (although it still exists in Japan as a hosting company).

August 4th 1997 human decisions are removed from strategic defence. Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate…wait, wrong article…

OK so Skynet didn’t happen in 1997, but, the web started to grow, it had one million sites online and signalled the birth of blogging, it was also the start of instant messaging (AOL anyone?). Moving onto 1998 (the year of the Hamster Dance) and Google opens up as an internet search engine and index and in 1999 Friends Reunited was the very first social network to take off, reconnecting people with their old school and university friends.

Fast forward to the early noughties and in 2003 you had the launch of MySpace.com and LinkedIn. It was also the year that Apple introduced iTunes, as mp3 players gained in popularity. Podcasting would begin a year later in 2004 (the same year Facebook was created for students at Harvard).

A few years later, in 2006 and you had the launch of Twitter which was a social networking and microblogging site, allowing users to send and receive 140 character messages or tweets. YouTube had launched and MySpace was the most popular social networking site (maybe it was the dilemma of arranging your top 8 friends?) and Facebook expanded its membership to anyone over the age of 13.

Jumping to 2010 and Facebook now has over 400 million users while MySpace users have withered down to 57million (Poor Tom!) and the amount of people using the internet is 1.97 billion, that’s around 30% of the global population. It was also this year that more people got news from the internet than the traditional method of newspapers (OMG I need to tweet this!).

In 2011 social media was accessible for pretty much everywhere with apps available for smart phones and the recently launched iPad and other tablets on the market, more and more people were spending time online connecting with others. Because of this social commerce was on the climb, as was the concern over privacy with more people being more open about their lives, it flagged up issues regarding identity theft and private information available to all. 2011 was also the year that Google+ launched.

The next couple of years the rise of social media and the popularity of the smartphone and tablets have gone hand in hand, making social media accessible 24/7. Facebook now boasts over 1 billion users, Twitter over 500million closely followed by YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn.

It is no wonder that companies are now taking it seriously; it’s a great way of engaging with your customers and more importantly potential customers. It has only been very recently that companies are investing in Social Media teams but as the social media community continues to grow and evolve it is a worthwhile investment.

With low employee engagement costing the UK £340bn a year, a Norfolk Business Coach has launched a brand new initiative helping to improve employee productivity across East Anglia.

Roger Pemberton is one of only seven UK businesses coaches – and the only qualified coach in East Anglia – who was trained by the founder of the ‘Engage & Grow’ programme in Australia. This new twelve week coaching programme helps employees and business owners increase engagement and communication with staff and customers, improves team unity and boosts productivity.

According to an annual *Deloitte report, employee engagement is the most important business essential to be successful. With the *Hay Group recently revealing that low employee engagement is costing the UK £340bn per year.

Whilst traditional training methods are the least desirable way people want to learn, ‘Engage & Grow’ impacts teams through twelve one hour sessions, with employees and leaders given tasks to increase engagement with key stakeholders.

All courses are individually designed to suit the requirements of the business, with the programme proving extremely effective across 13 countries.

Roger Pemberton, who is part of Action Coach, hopes the engagement programme will take off in the East Anglia area, as it is critical to business success.

“Businesses are facing a time of extreme economic uncertainty and this programme will help employers navigate their way to boost productivity and improve communication with customers. I’m looking forward to improving employee engagement and team unity through this unique programme.”

Richard Maloney, the pioneer of ‘Engage & Grow’, is delighted to announce the expansion of the programme in the UK:

“Data tells us that 7 out of 10 people in the work force right now are disengaged, this creates a mountain of issues which impacts companies profitability, productivity and culture. So this simply says traditional training is not working.”

Take this quick survey to see how many people are fully engaged in your organisation – here.

Visit www.actioncoach.com/rogerpemberton for more information.

Lost leads aren’t failures; they’re free research. Capture the data, identify the drop-off, fix the funnel, and run the tests that actually move the needle. If you want fewer leaks and more customers, start with a free site audit.

On 6th July 16, Peter from Human Capital Department was invited to speak at Kings Lynn Innovation Centre “Inkub8” event.

At the event Peter outlined (1) what human capital department do, (2) discussed business growth, and (3) how “Inkub8” helps:

“Human Capital” is the new term for HR [Human Resources], although with more emphasis on data and analytics relating to people management and development, such as data relating to recruitment and retention of staff and using this to predict trends and support business objectives.

“Department” as we want to been seen by clients as part of their business, not an external consultancy

Buying Signals

A client might approach us with a “problem employee” or “problem supervisor” – something has gone wrong and it needs to be resolved. Alternatively, organizations may want to check that their processes are complaint and adhere to the law and best practice – we can audit their HR processes and procedures and make recommendations for improvements. On the other hand, larger organizations may need what I call “HR Project” support. For example, HR Re-Structuring, Recruitment, Performance Management, Redundancy and so on.

What we offer:

For smaller companies [SME’s] we offer a retained service – providing on-going support and advice on all aspects of HR and Training & Development for a small monthly fee.

For larger companies we offer HR Project Support or any aspect of HR or Training and Development – providing extra resource and expertise to to meet the needs of HR departments. Our partnership with “Bright HR” means that we can offer low cost HR software [HRIS] enabling organizations to track, monitor and report on People Management matters, such as leave, and absence management.

Business Growth:

Initially its was not about growth but business survival; sales needed to be balanced with cost constraint.

Key Initiates are:

Bringing in co-director Rod Lee was necessary when the company won a major project in Oman. Purchase of a CRM [Client Relationship Management] tool, enabled us to track contacts and opportunities, and get a good sense of our business pipeline and potential sales. We hope to partner with other companies to enable us to improve our client offering – for example “PRINT” offer a psychometric tool for development of employees, and “Hoopla-HR” provide standard HR documentation, such as employee handbook, saving time in re-inventing the wheel.

Marketing Plan:

Networking: Word of mouth and referral marketing is the main form of Marketing for the business. We use BNI [British Networking Institute] and attend a breakfast networking meeting once a week. In addition, we attend Chamber of Commerce meetings held locally. I am also a member of the CIPD Anglia Committee, which is a voluntary group which organizes bi-monthly HR related talks and events. Social Media: As well as our own website www.humancapitaldept.com we have a company Facebook page, regularly Twitter [@hcdept], and Directors and Associates have their own up to date Linked-In profile. Press Relations: We have had a couple of articles published in People Management Middle East, as well as an article published in a Business Magazine in Qatar, and People Management [UK] edition. More locally wee have has a couple of press releases published in the local press [Lynn News]. Speaker about HR at Conferences: Recently I have spoken at several conferences [ATD Conference, Dubai – 30th May 16, Get Energy MENA, Abu Dhabi – 8th Dec 15, Oil and Gas Council, London – 17th Nov 15]. This are a great way to get our name out there and position as subject matter expert.

How Inkub8 helps?

Having the Inkub8 service (or virtual office) really helps us:

We have our telephone answered in a professional way and in our company name – we are busy providing consultancy advice to clients or talking to potential clients, so having someone to field calls and take messages really helps us and ensures we never miss an enquiry. I’m amazed when a call up small business people locally and no one answers the phone – how many enquiries are they missing out on? We use the prestigious Kings Lynn Innovation Centre as our office address – this is impressive. We can use the meeting and training rooms as needed We have had a lot of help and advice from our NWES Business Advisor – Sergio. The Inkub8 also provides a route to expansion – in time we hope to recruit an apprentice who we can train and develop, so that we can grow our business. At that point we will want to take a small office in the KLIC.

For further information, please contact us:

E: info@humancapitaldept.com

T: 01553 609968

Follow us on Twitter @hcdept

Roisin Froud has being employed as an apprentice since August 2014 & has completed the ‘Warehousing & Storage L2 NVQ’. Roisin completed this within the first year & went onto study ‘Business Administration L3 NVQ’ which she also completed in a year, meaning that three & a half years of education were completed within two years. Roisin was nominated by her tutor at Poultec for the ‘Business Administration & IT Award’ & for the ‘Apprenticeship Award’. Out of the 3,500 Poultec learners this year Roisin was in the top 1.3%. We are extremely proud of Roisin & look forward to seeing her career progress at KLMUKE over the next few years.

Suzy Pettican, managing director of Reflection PR, has been offered a prestigious opportunity of judging this year’s UK Financial Services Experience Awards in London.

After setting up Reflection PR in 2009, Suzy launched Reflection PR Awards, an awards writing division, one year ago which now partners with national awards company – Awards International.

With extensive experience of writing award entries over the past 10 years, Suzy is now on the other side of the awards process – judging entries from across the country.

The UK Financial Services Experience Awards takes place on Thursday 14th July at the Park Plaza Hotel, London. It’s here when the finalists get the opportunity to present their award entries in front of a judging panel followed by an awards ceremony.

Finalists include Capita, Visa Europe and theDirect Line Group.

Suzy is delighted to have been asked to be part of the judging process, adding:

“This is a great opportunity for both myself and Reflection PR. It’s been fascinating being part of the judging panel and reviewing customer experience strategies from the UK’s leading brands.

This experience has re-emphasised the importance of writing strong award entries and what makes them stand out, along with clearly understanding the judging process. I hope to be able to put into practice what I’ve learnt when helping clients enter both regional and national awards.”

For more information on the UK Financial Services Experience Awards and to see the finalists visit: www.f-x-a.co.uk

Reflection PR Awards is East Anglia’s only dedicated awards writing division. Using our vast experience, over 60% of all entries written by Reflection PR get through to the finals and beyond.

To discuss our award writing or editing packages, visit www.awardsagency.co.uk or call 01603 219191 to arrange a free consultation.

Poultec Training’s annual Learner Awards ceremony was held yesterday afternoon at their headquarters at South Green Park Mattishall. Jason Doyle, Speedway Grand Prix rider presented certificates to all 67 nominees, who had been selected from over 3,000 learners who had completed qualifications with Poultec over the last 12-months. Nominees were nominated by tutors where learners had excelled in their learning or overcome barriers in order to achieve their qualification. Glass trophies were presented to the winners of each category by Jason, who congratulated each learner. Jason shared with the audience made up of nominees, their employers, parents and guests, the journey he has made in his speedway career; highlighting what can be achieved if you persevere.

Katie Adams of the Henderson Trust won the Young Apprentice of the Year Award, an award selected by the panel of judges from all nominated Apprentices under 24 years old. Edward Bales, Managing Director of Poultec said on presenting the award ‘The judges were impressed by the quality of work produced by Katie, which was of an exceptional level, way above what was required for the qualification’.

Lizzie Neale of the Princes Trust also spoke at the ceremony of the long standing relationship that the Princes Trust has with Poultec, delivering Traineeship programmes together, to assist young people in their search for employment.

Two new awards were presented at this year’s awards ceremony by Edward Bales; the Apprentice Progression Award which celebrated former Apprentices who have progressed through their career and became ambassadors for training and development, which was won by Andrew Bumfrey of Bernard Matthews. Andrew since completing his Apprenticeship has progressed to farm manager and is now running the company’s trial house. The second was a special recognition award – this award was presented to Peter Clears who was recognised for the additional contribution he has made to training, supporting the organisation during open days and events and attending school careers evenings to promote the courses that Poultec delivers.

The ceremony, held in a marquee in the grounds of South Green Park was attended by over 130 guests who also enjoyed afternoon tea prepared by South Green Park and assisted by Poultec’s own catering students.

Edward closed the ceremony by congratulating all the learners who had been nominated.

Over the last few years the subject of apprenticeships has been regularly popping up in the press and even been a topic of discussion at No. 10. Did you know that the likes of Jamie Oliver, Alexander McQueen, Sir Alex Ferguson and even the King himself (well, the king of rock ‘n’ roll) Elvis Presley started out as apprentices?

I’ve sat down with Naked Element’s very own apprentice Lewis Leeds, to see what he’s learnt over his time as an apprentice in tech.

1. How long have you been with Naked Element?

I’ve been with Naked Element since 18th of August 2015, so almost 10 months.

2. Why did you choose an apprenticeship?

I chose an apprenticeship because, to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t the most academic person in school and I didn’t feel that university would benefit me. I was always better with a more hands-on approach, learning as I went, and it seemed that an apprenticeship was built around this way of learning.

3. What are some of the most useful skills you’ve learnt since starting your apprentice?

In terms of skills I’ve learnt things across a range of areas. There is the obvious such as learning how to develop software, but there are also the business skills and ‘soft skills’ as they are called. Just being able to talk to clients and prospects and know how to react to certain situations, ones I wouldn’t have been fortunate to have experienced less than a year ago. One of the skills I’ve learnt that has been interesting to play around with is DISC profiling. It allows you to see certain characteristics about people and fit them into a personality category. Something very useful in terms of selling and managing how you sell to someone, but it’s also just a fun thing to do.

4. What has been your favourite project you’ve worked on and why?

My favourite project so far has been creating a time management system. It allows project managers to plan out employee’s weeks and assign them to different projects for a certain amount of time. It also calculates an estimate of the profit the client makes on each project by taking into account the project fee and then subtracting all the employee’s daily rates.

I enjoyed working on this because I got to use multiple programming languages and learnt a lot of lessons along the way, as well as being able to say I completed my first project within 6 months of starting out.

5. What support does Naked Element offer you as part of your apprenticeship?

I’m offered a multitude of support. Paul has been a great mentor and is always willing to help, he’s always suggesting things for me to check out and read. As Naked Element’s Managing Director he isn’t always able to lend a hand as he’s working on projects himself, which are always time consuming, but this gives me a chance to focus on problem solving skills and finding a way around things by myself, so even that is helping me in the long run. He’s always on hand if I get stuck and is happy to explain things to me to help me really understand.

6. Would you recommend an apprenticeship to other young people and why?

It depends on the job you want. Some jobs require you to have degrees and require you to go to university or some kind of higher learning. For the vast majority of jobs, however, an apprenticeship is a great way to get your foot in the door of an industry, gain some excellent skills and first-hand experience in a job you may want to turn into a career. The main reason I would recommend an apprenticeship is for the experience. In software development especially, you need to be able to hit the ground running when you start a job, a task that people graduating university might not be able to complete, so having the practical experience that being an apprentice offers is a huge bonus to have and gives you an advantage over other candidates in such a competitive industry.

7. Where do you see your career in 5 years?

I’m hoping to be in the US in 5 years time, working for a large company over there. I’m not sure where exactly just yet as I try not to plan things too far ahead, but I see myself working and living over there by then.

So what does Paul think?

I also asked Paul how he thinks Lewis has been getting on and why he chose to offer an apprenticeship, “When Matt and I discussed getting an apprentice, we knew it was a huge risk for Naked Element. We’d only worked with experienced software developers before, but we wanted to teach someone who didn’t already have lots of bad habits. Lewis joined Naked Element at a time when Naked Element was going through a fairly significant transition. From the off he’s had a fantastic attitude to working and learning. Lewis is always keen to get involved in every aspect of the business, from software development and hardware setup to administration, networking and sales. Based on our experience with Lewis, Naked Element is looking to take on another apprentice over the coming weeks. I believe that apprentices are an excellent way for the predominantly small tech companies in the TechEast region to grow and a way to help fill the skills gap we have here.”

Digital Marketing agency, Bigfork were appointed by Abel Homes to build their new website, with help from Naked Marketing in regards to design input. Abel Homes wanted a website that was responsive as a large percentage of their wesite visitors use smartphones. Theyalso wanted the website to be easier to navigate and to increase online enquiries. Call to actions were put in place to help users know where to go to contact Abel Homes. Head on over to Abel Homes to have a look at their new website!

Bigfork – we make websites stand out

t: 01603 513080

www.bigfork.co.uk

After a period of restructuring, we are proud to reveal our brand new website! We’ve also made our glossy black brochures even better (with even more kids strapped to rockets or pulling silly faces).

We’d love to know what you think of our efforts, so please head over toNakedElement.co.uk and take a look at our shiny new home!

Our blog section is crammed with tech articles, event reviews and musings from our apprentice Lewis, our brochures are all available online (naturally) and you can also find us on all the usual social media platforms –facebook,twitterandLinkedIn.

You’ve no excuse not to check us out!