Pleased to be joining the team at Fedden USP
I’m very pleased to be joining the team at Fedden USP as Board Advisor.
Fedden USP specialises in helping businesses improve service levels and productivity.
Although the company cut its teeth in the manufacturing sector it has applied these prcatices in various other sectors including retail, logistics, horticulture and the health sector.
Personally it’s great to be working with former colleagues from the former EEF South Manufacturing Advisory Service team which has made such an impact on helping SMEs in the manufacturing sector in the South East & London.
http://www.businessmag.co.uk/david+seall+joins+fedden+usp+team
DMH Stallard move into Surrey
DMH Stallard Completes Merger with Callaghans Solicitors
DMH Stallard LLP, based in London and the South East, today announced the completion of its merger with Surrey based Callaghans. The new firm will be called DMH Stallard.
The merger of DMH Stallard and Callaghans supports DMH Stallard’s regional expansion plans and brings the total number of Partners at the firm to 50.
The team at Callaghans are particularly experienced in property, litigation and private client work These complement the existing specialisms of DMH Stallard, and ensure that a full range of services can be offered to clients from new offices in Guildford, as well as Callaghan’s existing premises in Farnham.
Tim Aspinall, Managing Partner at DMH Stallard, said:
“We are delighted to announce the merger with Callaghans which introduces talented new people to the firm with exceptional experience whilst fitting in with our core strategy. The merger provides an excellent opportunity to build on our success within the Surrey and North Hampshire regions. We already have a strong client base there and look forward to working with many more businesses, organisations and individuals located in this part of the South East”
Senior Partner Jerome O’Callaghan from Callaghans, said:
“Callaghans is known as a niche firm providing an in-depth, personal service to companies, directors and private individuals. We have been considering a merger for some time but it had to be the right fit. We are delighted to have merged with DMH Stallard, because of their excellent reputation and their commitment to building long term relationships with their clients, which is very important to me.”
Partners Jerome O’Callaghan, Belinda Butler-Smith and Stephen Izod will be joining DMH Stallard as Partners. Peter Sturgess and Nick Van Der Borgh will join as Consultants.
New partnership in Surrey
Surrey County Council & IoD set key partnership
I was very pleased to sign a new memorandum of understanding with Surrey County Council on behalf of the Surrey branch of IoD recently.
With economic growth stagnating it’s very important that the public and private sectors work closely together for the benefit of both businesses and local citizens. It’s essential that an “engine room” of the national economy such as Surrey does not rest on its laurels and strives to be competitive within the global economy.
We are committed to do all we can to improve economic conditions for local business, help set the skills agenda and tackle youth unemployment and work with SCC to help grow the size of Surrey’s economy.
(article sourced from the Farnham Herald)
Secure your data- Protect your business
I pleased to say that in my capacity as Strategic Advisor- Manufacturing to leading law firm DMH Stallard we have recently published the third in our series of thought leadership reports into the issues affecting Technology and Engineering businesses in the South East.
The report “Secure your data and protect your business” focuses on how businesses are coping with the so-called “Digital Explosion” and what measures they are taking to mitigate risk, prevent data leakage and improve productivity.
Working with my co-author Frank Jennings, we interviewed several businesses and investigated whether existing methodologies and processes were robust and if companies were embracing solutions that utilized “cloud computing”. We also explored whether companies were aware of the risks of data leakage and what processes they had in place to ensure that their data was secure.
The findings of the report discovered that risk adverse IT professionals within some companies were sticking with tried and tested solutions that were simply not up to the pressures of the modern increasingly digital age. As well as preventing productivity gains there were several instances of employees engaging in sophisticated “work arounds” to circumvent existing processes to enable them to work productively. These often involved using unauthorized or unsecure “cloud solutions”.
Several companies that were interviewed had tackled some of the issues head on and had practical solutions. Most importantly these organisations sifted data and catagorised it and stored it with varying degrees of security according to its risk of loss. The data was the restricted to a “need to know” basis. They also worked at reducing file sizes to enable data to be moved around efficiently. Additionally the report discovered varying accounts of how stored data was backed up and discovered some processes that were seriously flawed and ineffective.
As well as exploring best practice on use of the “cloud” the report investigated phenomena such as Social Media and “Bring your own device” where companies are freeing up employees to use the hardware that they choose and perhaps more importantly significantly reduce capital expenditure within the business.
In common with the previous reports on Intellectual Property and Business Ethics, the report concludes with practical advice gleaned from the experiences of real businesses and tips that businesses of all sectors and sizes can adopt.
A copy of the report can be downloaded at www.dmhstallard.com/data_security
Data security and the cloud
We are currently in the final editing stage of the DMH Stallard report concerned with data security and the use of “cloud computing”.
It’s been a very interesting study into how businesses manage their data and keep it secure when facing the exponential growth of data and what it is doing to their business. The risks of and penalties for losing data can be severe.
It’s been interesting to see how traditional systems are often seen to be struggling and whether the “cloud” can provide the solutions required.
The views of Terry Smith on the “occupy” movement
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the 25th Annual Tacitus Lecture held by the Worshipful Company of World Traders at the Guildhall in the City of London.
I have the honour of being a Liveryman of the company and I know that this lecture is one of the annual highlights of the City calendar.
Over 600 members of the company attended the event which was certainly stimulating and controversial. as the attached press article described http://tgr.ph/zQDN0t
Mr Smith was also asked onto the BBC Radio 4 “Today” programme where he again expressed his views succinctly http://www.terrysmithblog.com/
The conclusions of the lecture many will find surprising but perhaps the solutions are in keeping with the straight talking style of Mr Smith.
The video and transcript can be found here http://www.world-traders.co.uk/tacitus2012Public/index.php
In my opinion this was one of the best lectures we have had, particularly when one looks at the calibre and reputations of former lecturers.
Data security and the “cloud”
I’m currently working on my new research project with DMH Stallard. This time we are looking into the problems manufacturing, technology and engineering business face when dealing with the avalanche of data they have to handle as the economy becomes evermore digital.
Aspects we will be looking at include but will not be exclusive to:-
- Data security-
- Levels of security to protect data whether owned by the business, customer or supplier
- How is customer confidentiality protected and how do firms safeguard IP?
- What restricted and sensitive data to firms have? eg Design data, process information, software etc
- How do companies stop data moving around to unauthorised destinations?
- Data processing-
- The storage of data- is it kept on in-house servers or stored remotely or in the “cloud” and if so where? (UK, EU,ES or other?)
- If firms are using “cloud” or intend to what are the benefits and problems they foresee or have experienced?
- Handling and processing of data.
- How are mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones and tablets used? How do they securely remotely access data?
- What disaster recovery processes are used and is data stored off-site?
- Commercial & Contractual issues
- How do firms flow down contractual terms on data handling and deal with the requirements of customers?
- Are firms compliant with the requirements of the Information Commission?
- How do they deal with employees and social media? Who owns the business contacts?
- Do they work within ITAR regulations or other national security requirements for the UK and other countries?
- Are firms subject to foreign jurisdiction on the use of data?
- If data is stored off-site who owns it and how is it recovered?
I am working with my colleague Frank Jennings who is the technology lead for the firm and has been working as part of the Cloud Industry Forum.
The two reports on IP and Ethical business which I mentioned can be found here http://bit.ly/jDTYJH & http://bit.ly/uDWmoG.
Innovation through events
I’m really pleased that over the last few months our events at Iod Surrey seem to be hitting the mark and delivering value to members.
Of particular note I was enthused that over 75 members and guests braved the traffic to attend our “Business Risk” event in Croydon recently. It was particularly gratifying that so many of the members came up to me afterwards and told me how much they had enjoyed it and perhaps more importantly how much they had learned. This mirrored the feedback I received after the “Meet the economists” event we held back in the spring at Canon UK HQ in Reigate. The good news is that will be repeated this year on March 20th.
Meeting like minded people at these events has been proven to enhance business innovation. Both listening to our speakers and then discussing and sharing opinions over a drink or coffee should make us reflect on what we are doing in our day to day operations and perhaps change the way we do things. It can even open up a business opportunity or at least create some demand that wasn’t there before.
One thing seems to remain constant in the media for as long as I can care to remember these days and that is the economic circumstances we find ourselves in. The recent IoD Surrey breakfast briefing with the Bank of England confirmed that the prospects look gloomy for the foreseeable future, particularly for those businesses reliant on trading within the UK or in the EU region. Of course certain sectors will always buck the trend or work in different economic cycles to the mainstream of the economy but for the majority of companies 2012 looks very flat indeed. Incidentally these will now continue on a quarterly basis so check out the IoD Surrey website for further information.
Of course with all the doom and gloom around one can easily forget that not all the world is in recession or “zero growth”. Countries such as Brazil and India are ploughing ahead and even China is falling back on domestic demand to sustain itself. So as always the message has to be “follow the money”. There are lots of programmes around to support businesses with exporting- not just products and widgets but also business services and UKTI is doing a great job in helping businesses venture overseas. So as we start 2012 I urge all companies not exporting to at least give it some thought and see what possibilities may be out there.
Launch of the DMH Stallard report “Ethics and Compliance, How manufacturers are embracing the challenge and reducing their risk
After six months of interviewing manufacturing and engineering businesses both large and small across the South East of England with my colleague Simon Bellm, I’m pleased that we are now publishing the DMH Stallard report on “Ethics & Compliance”.
I would like to personally thank all of those that gave up their precious time to see us and help us create a document that should provide practical advice on the issue, arising from the great ideas and best practice that has been developed and implemented by the companies concerned.
With the ongoing activities at St Paul’s Cathedral and the unfortunate events at Olympus http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15632320 It’s undeniable that the issue of ethical business is becoming more important, both inside the Boardroom and in the eyes of the media and the public at large.
The report is especially pertinent as the nation challenges UK businesses to export outside of the EU and USA to more unfamiliar and perhaps hostile business environments.
I was delighted to be invited to the event today where the Prime Minister spoke about the need for businesses to export more to help us rebalance our economy. Speaking at the ‘Exporting for Growth’ conference in central London, David Cameron highlighted the apparent concerns about the Bribery Act but said, “now we’ve got it, let’s make an advantage of it.”
The Prime Minister continued, “Increasing the number of SMEs that sell overseas by 100,000 has the potential to add £30 billion to the UK economy.”
http://number10.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/engage/exportingforgrowth/
The Prime Minister’s comments are extremely pertinent with regard to the conclusions of the report.
A copy of the report can be downloaded here
If you have any comments on the report I would welcome them either personally or on this blog.
We are now finalising the plan for our next report which we will be announcing soon.
Patents are a Virtue
It is great to see that the DMH Stallard report concering how manufacturing companies manage their intellectual property, “Protect and prosper”, is still generating interest nearly six months after it was first published.
I was recently interviewed by the Wall Street Journal Europe on the findings of the study and the article can be found below. Also interviewed was Geoff Edwards VP of Bowers and Wilkins who had kindly helped us compile the report.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204226204576600462442044764.html
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