1 SECURITY Premium food brand beefs up security at its two UK sites PAGE 26 AV With Chris Gore, co-founder of SPOR Group PAGE 14 ACCESSORIES Logitech is addressing the diverse needs of today’s workers PAGE 21 WWW.BUSINESSINFOMAG.UK ISSUE 163 Acertainty AI-Powered Business Laptops Built for the Modern Workforce. acertainty MAKE IT CERTAIN The AI Revolution Discover the TravelMate Series featuring Intel Core™ Ultra & Copilot+ PC. Cloud-First Security Streamlined fleet management with Acer Chromebook Plus & Chrome Enterprise. Built for Scale Tailored solutions, volume pricing, and deployment support for 5+ devices. Equip the modern workforce. Get a business quote today. uk-offers.acer.com/acertainty/
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01732 759725 magazine 04 Bulletin Amazon Business launches AI‑powered tools for Prime Business members 10 What’s New A selection of the latest and greatest solutions for the modern workplace 12 Data Centres Winning over the doubters 14 AV Meeting expectations 16 Cover Story Make it certain: why 50 years of engineering heritage is powering Acer’s Fleet Reliability Guarantee 18 Review ScanSnap iX2500 – scanner for the modern home office 20 Scanners PFU EMEA introduces scanner- free scanning as its ScanSnap brand turns 25 21 Accessories Comfort at your fingertips 22 PCs NVIDIA and Microsoft reinvent Windows PCs for the era of personal AI 24 AI From better troubleshooting to no troubleshooting 26 Security SEiNG is believing 28 Monitors Monitors are evolving into workstation hubs 30 Q&A With Jan-Jaap (JJ) Jager, CEO of Acronis 33 Data Protection Are you compliant with the new data protection rules? 34 Recycling Micro businesses at risk of leaving Simpler Recycling preparations too late 35 Review Business Info take the impressive HP Envy 16 x360 through its paces 03 IN THIS ISSUE: 163 – Q2 Editor: James Goulding 0780 308 7228 · [email protected] Publishing Director, Social Media & Web Editor: Neil Trim 01732 759725 · [email protected] Advertising Director: Ethan White 01732 759725 · [email protected] Advertising Executive: James Trim 01732 759725 · [email protected] Designer: Brian Cloke 07484 288189 · [email protected] Business Info is a controlled circulation magazine. Applications for free copies will be considered upon receipt of a completed and signed reader info card or online form. Business Info is available on subscription @ £40 p.a. to UK companies or residents and @ £75 p.a. for non-UK subscribers. The opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the publishers who cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions. No part of Business Info magazine can be reproduced without the prior permission of the publisher. © Copyright 2026 Kingswood Media Ltd. ISSN 1464-8814 FOR THE LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS VISIT: WWW.BUSINESSINFOMAG.UK Kingswood Media Ltd., 7 Amherst House, 22 London Road, Sevenoaks TN13 2BT · Tel: 01732 759725 • Email: [email protected] BUSINESS INFO GET YOUR FREE COPY To make sure you get every issue FREE, as soon as it is published, just visit www.businessinfomag.uk, click the ‘FREE Registration’ button and add your details to our mailing list. @BinfoMag facebook.com/ BinfoMag If you no longer wish to receive Business Info magazine please email your details to [email protected]
businessinfomag.uk magazine software, is a founding partner in a UK Government initiative to give 10 million workers essential AI and tech skills over the next five years. As part of the Plan for Change and the forthcoming Industrial Strategy, it will provide free training materials and access to AI experts. https://www.sas.com/en_gb/insights/ articles/analytics/sas-ai-citiesindex-2026.html … Two-thirds of UK businesses want to switch cloud providers British businesses are paying a costly ‘sovereignty tax’ due to their reliance on US cloud giants but are unable to escape their clutches due to a combination of technical lock-in, migration complexity, contractual barriers and financial friction. So says UK sovereign cloud and AI platform Civo in the 2026 edition of The Digital Sovereignty Revolution based on a survey of 1,000 UK IT leaders. It points out that remaining locked into foreign-owned infrastructure subjects UK firms to a dangerous loss of autonomy, which it likens to handing that will not only maintain but exceed what is already happening.” Examples include the roll-out of ‘MEGA hubs’ by IN4 Group and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to give 3,000 secondary school pupils in Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside and Wigan access to technology and AI learning; and the Future of Work Alliance, a five-year, £5 million initiative offering academic programmes, postgraduate internships and AI-focused scholarships to explore the human-led digital transformation of data-intensive organisations in the AI era. Other feathers in Manchester’s cap include the City Council’s £1 billion-plus budget for infrastructure, development and long-term growth initiatives and the launch of University of Manchester’s Unit M Deep Tech Accelerator to help researchers and founders turn AI and science innovation into commercial businesses. SAS, a global leader in AI and analytics BULLETIN Manchester named UK’s most AI-ready city Manchester has been crowned the UK’s most AI-ready city for the third year in a row, beating Bristol, Glasgow, Oxford and Birmingham to top spot in the SAS AI Cities 2026 Index. Compiled by data and AI company SAS, the annual index (now in its fifth year) evaluates cities outside London across eight criteria such as number of AI businesses, job opportunities, innovation funding, educational opportunities and broadband speed. As well as having the highest number of AI businesses in the index (655), Manchester has one of the highest levels of AI employment outside London, second only to Salford, home to Media City. There is also significant InnovateUK investment in the city, with AI and Data Economy grants averaging more than £279,000 per business. Glyn Townsend, Senior Director of Education Services for EMEA at SAS, said: “Manchester’s retention of the top spot for the third consecutive year is testament to the strength of its AI ecosystem. Our previous research affirmed Manchester as a great place for AI businesses to plant their flags, but moving into 2026, it is clear that the city is actively working to grow its AI offerings and ensure that future and existing talent is educated to a standard 04 Amazon Business launches AI-powered tools for Prime Business members Amazon Business is bringing purchasing insights and AIpowered automation to Prime Business members with the launch of new AI-powered features and enhanced spend management tools. These include an AI assistant, available to Prime Business members at a 20% discount, new look Spend Visibility dashboards and enhancements to the company’s Spend Anomaly Monitoring feature. The Amazon Quick AI assistant connects to thousands of apps and data sources, including local files, Slack and Microsoft Outlook, enabling it to automate manual tasks, conduct deep research in minutes and produce finished deliverables such as spreadsheets and presentations. Prime Business members looking to pressure-test a pricing strategy can leverage Quick to research competitors, pull in relevant cost data and highlight risks that may not have been considered. For those seeking a second opinion on a vendor proposal, Quick will analyse terms against historical agreements and flag areas for negotiation. Céline Vuillequez, VP of Amazon Business Europe, said: “The organisations getting ahead in procurement aren’t just buying more efficiently, they’re buying more intelligently. They’re using data to anticipate demand, AI to eliminate repetitive tasks and analytics to drive smarter spending. That’s the standard we’re building to, giving Prime Business members, regardless of size, the tools to focus less on process and more on the decisions that move their organisation forward.” Prime Business members can also look forward to expanded access to Amazon Business’s Spend Visibility analytics tool which, through ready-to-use dashboards, helps users to visualise purchasing patterns, track savings, evaluate spend with small and local suppliers and compare purchases against company policy, and its Spend Anomaly Monitoring tool, which analyses an account’s purchasing patterns and alerts administrators to unusual purchases, split purchases, abnormal repurchases, non-standard shipping addresses and excessive daily spend. Céline Vuillequez SAS top 10 AI cities 2026 1 Manchester 6 Southampton 2 Bristol 7 Edinburgh 3 Glasgow 8 Leeds 4 Oxford 9 Liverpool 5 Birmingham 10 Cambridge
01732 759725 magazine a thoughtful, proactive approach are much more likely to truly benefit from the strengths neurodifferent employees bring. The launch of neurohub for business gives HR and People leaders a practical, scalable way to build workplaces where neurodivergent employees can prosper, while improving business culture, engagement and performance for everyone.” https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vK_fK0 … Email most trusted New research from Exclaimer, a global leader in email signature management, shows that adults in the UK and US are now managing communications across six or more channels – or should that be ‘barely managing’, as 22% say they have missed important information because it was sent on a platform they rarely check. The same proportion have struggled to find an important message because it was sent using the ‘wrong’ platform for the type of information in question; 18% have lost an important message because a communication platform deleted it, an account was closed or they switched to a new device. The research highlights the doubleedged impact of AI. While 58% admit to using it to help them communicate, AI’s ability to create polished, professional content at scale has caused 41% of those responsibility and a strategic business opportunity. However, building neuroinclusive workplaces has traditionally been complex, fragmented and difficult to sustain. neurohub by neurobox guides HR teams, EDI managers and employees through every stage of the journey, from first assessments to ongoing workplace adjustments, coaching, awareness training and measurable impact reporting. It embeds inclusivity at scale, drives measurable change and saves valuable time by reducing the manual management of staff support initiatives. Jason De Turris, COO of neurobox, said: “Every organisation already employs neurodifferent people, whether they realise it or not. Those that take over a theoretical ‘kill switch’ that enables external jurisdictions to compromise domestic operations, while also exposing them to provider infrastructure failures, unpredictable costs, restricted portability, incomplete data visibility, legal exposure and the practical difficulty of extracting from providers subject to foreign jurisdiction. Almost three quarters (73%) of UK organisations now consider sovereignty a strategic priority (a 12-point rise since last year); 64% believe continued reliance on a small pool of global cloud providers is unsustainable; and 66% say they would consider switching cloud provider to regain control of their data and infrastructure. Civo points out that the desire for change is becoming more acute as AI adoption accelerates, with 58% of UK IT leaders expressing concern about their AI provider’s legal jurisdiction and 43% saying AI workloads must be within UK jurisdiction. Nonetheless, successful migrations to a domestic alternative have stalled at 15% and only one in four UK firms believes they could exit a major US provider entirely. The number of respondents expecting to become more deeply entrenched in US hyperscaler systems has more than doubled over the past year, rising from 12% to 28%. Mark Boost, CEO of Civo, said: “UK leaders clearly want to break free from Big Tech dependency, but find themselves trapped by an ever-tightening web. This is not a proactive investment or deliberate strategy. It is a symptom of organisations becoming increasingly ensnared in the same hyperscaler ecosystems they acknowledge to be a significant long-term risk…When organisations cannot easily move workloads, fully see where their data is governed or predict the cost of exit, cloud dependency becomes a board-level risk.” … neurohub platform for businesses will help create more neurodiversity-friendly workplaces Cambridge-based workplace inclusion specialist neurobox is helping organisations attract, retain and empower diverse talent with the launch of a digital support platform for the one in five employees with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia and other neurodivergent profiles. Organisations increasingly recognise neuro-inclusion as a workplace BULLETIN 05 continued... ANS pledges £3m to boost AI adoption in Greater Manchester Digital transformation specialist ANS has pledged £3 million to support AI adoption across Greater Manchester and reinforce the city’s status as a centre for AI innovation. CEO Richard Thompson announced the commitment at the city’s Science and Industry Museum where ANS was hosting Manchester: The UK’s AI Powerhouse. Attracting leaders from business, academia, government and technology, the event featured keynote addresses from Darren Hardman (CEO of Microsoft UK &I), Liz Scott (CEO of Turing Innovation Catalyst and a strategic advisor to Greater Manchester Combined Authority on AI ecosystem growth and development) and Richard Thompson (CEO of ANS). There was also a panel discussion featuring Sue Daley (Director of Technology and Innovation at techUK). Greater Manchester is home to the UK’s largest AI cluster outside the Golden Triangle (Cambridge-LondonOxford), with more than 300 AI-first startups and scaleups and over 13,500 people working in AI-related roles. ANS’s AI Adoption Fund will initially provide support to organisations looking to assess their readiness for AI, identify high-value opportunities and implement technologies securely and responsibly. https://www.ans.co.uk/data-ai/ ai-powerhouse/
businessinfomag.uk magazine Time for a universal digital mailbox? The proliferation of apps and digital platforms can make it hard to keep track of essential communications across multiple inboxes and increase the risk of identity theft and fraud. How much simpler to have a universal digital mailbox that replicates the single point of entry provided by a physical letterbox. In a new policy white paper, The Case for a Universal Postal Digital Mailbox, e-Boks Group, a global provider of secure platforms and digital postboxes, warns that the shift from physical to digital mail has created a fragmented landscape that makes it more likely vital communications will be missed and which may be incompatible with rising digital identity and cybersecurity requirements. available to businesses, public sector partners and other organisations across the region, creating a potential new revenue stream for the councils from the same infrastructure investment. The network is already enabling councils to deploy multiple smart services, including footfall counters in libraries and public spaces, occupancy and damp monitoring in buildings, flood and temperature sensors, bin monitoring, carbon monoxide detection, Legionella compliance monitoring, and vehicle and people counting. Dr. Dean Al-Sened, Head of Public Sector and Enterprise at Abzorb, said: “This project is a blueprint for how IoT infrastructure should be delivered across the public sector. We believe this model works and we want every council in the UK to benefit from it. Our focus is on delivering digital transformation through shared infrastructure, intelligent design and a genuine commitment to the customer’s long-term goals.” https://www.abzorb.co.uk/ surveyed to question the trustworthiness of the messages they receive. Even so, email is the preferred channel for communications that matter, with 56% choosing it when they need to keep or refer back to information. More than one third (39%) have deliberately chosen email over another platform to create a permanent record. Jenny Herbison, SVP of Global Marketing at Exclaimer, said: “When something is important, people still turn to email because it carries a level of trust and legitimacy they don’t always associate with other channels. Part of that is the fact that email provides a lasting record of communication that people can refer back to when they need to verify information or confirm what was said. In a world of constant notifications and competing platforms, that combination of trust, accountability and permanence is becoming increasingly important.” https://exclaimer.com/blog/howpeople-really-communicate/ … Abzorb’s Essex IoT network a ‘blueprint’ for public sector Network solutions provider Abzorb has created ‘a blueprint for how IoT infrastructure should be delivered across the public sector’ by designing a resilient LoRaWAN network for the councils of Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point, Rochford, Southend-on-Sea, Thurrock and Essex County – and delivering it £40,000 under budget. With comprehensive coverage across 98% of the region, the network gives the six councils and county a shared, regional platform for deploying Internet of Things (IoT) services quickly and cost-effectively. The councils recognised the potential of IoT technologies to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs and provide better visibility of public assets and services, but realised that deploying IoT projects in isolation was hard to justify financially because each new initiative would require its own dedicated network infrastructure. By working with Abzorb to build a unified LoRaWAN network leveraging their existing dark fibre investment, the councils have created a long-term digital foundation that lowers the barrier to innovation. Designed as an open platform, the network allows councils to procure and deploy sensors from any supplier, further reducing costs and preventing vendor lock-in. The solution includes a second LoRaWAN network that can be made BULLETIN 06 continued... …continued Blenheim Palace changing how we listen to wildlife Blenheim Palace is providing schools, citizen scientists, ecologists and researchers around the world with free access to an open source wildlife monitoring platform developed by the Innovation team at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to the Dukes of Marlborough since 1705. The BioAcoustic Stream Engine (BASE) wildlife monitoring system can identify birdsong, the calls of bats, the hum of bees, even the sounds of life beneath the soil picked up by strategically placed microphones, feeding live data into a public dashboard that anyone can access and explore. The project is part of Blenheim Palace’s wider innovation programme, which uses the 12,000-acre estate as a testbed for technology in heritage, sustainability and land management. BASE unites several tools in a single engine that anyone can run, including BirdNET from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Chemnitz University of Technology; BatDetect2 from researchers at UCL; BuzzDetect; and Blenheim Palace’s own models trained on grasshopper and bush cricket recordings shared by ecology groups. David Green, Head of Innovation at Blenheim Palace, said: “We didn’t build the science from scratch; we stood on the shoulders of brilliant researchers around the world and combined their work into something anyone can run. That is exactly why it is open and free, because the most valuable thing we can do now is share it.” He added: “What excites me most is what comes next: schools turning their playing fields into living biodiversity labs, citizen scientists and ecology groups picking this up, training their own models, and together building the kind of large-scale picture of British nature that can show us how species are shifting and how the climate is reshaping the world around us.” https://blenheiminnovation.github.io/
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businessinfomag.uk magazine The Rt Hon Anna Turley MP for Redcar, who opened the facility with Tees Valley Mayor Lord Ben Houchen, said: “Critical metals are essential to Britain’s manufacturing, energy, technology and national security, yet too much valuable metal-bearing waste is still exported for processing overseas. That means the UK loses materials, economic value and control over strategically important supply chains. DEScycle’s plant in Redcar is an important step towards changing that.” DEScycle developed its recycling technology using a novel class of chemistry discovered by the University of Leicester, working with the UK Catapult CPI (Centre for Process Innovation) to scale from the lab to pilot. Leo Howden, CEO at DEScycle, added: “This facility is the first operational blueprint for DEScycle’s distributed metals processing model. It allows us to prove the platform in an industrial environment, generate the data needed for commercial deployment and show how modular processing capacity can be replicated across industrial clusters in the UK, US, Europe and Japan. At a time when critical minerals are urgently needed for AI, electrification and advanced manufacturing, we believe the UK has an opportunity to lead in a new model of metals processing.” descycle.com First-of-its-kind critical minerals processing plant opened on Teesside DEScycle, a British start-up building next-generation metals processing infrastructure, has deployed the first operational example of its distributed metals processing system at a newly opened demonstration plant at Wilton Centre in Teesside. The facility, where Chris McDonald MP, Minister for Industry, recently announced a £50m investment for the domestic production of critical minerals, will demonstrate how critical and precious metals can be recovered from complex electronic waste closer to where materials are generated, rather than being exported and processed overseas. The UK Government’s Critical Minerals Strategy has a target for recycling to meet 20% of annual UK critical mineral demand by 2035. The plant is capable of processing 50-100 tonnes of material annually during the demonstration phase and will support DEScycle’s transition from pilot operations to repeatable commercial deployment. Initial operations will focus on processing printed circuit boards and other complex electronic feedstocks and recovering gold, copper, silver and palladium. DEScycle is also developing recovery capabilities for tin, iron and aluminium. It argues that the time has come for governments to ensure every citizen and business has access to a single, secure, universal digital inbox, which it likens to essential public infrastructure such as a postal address or national ID. To support the development of a universal digital mailbox, the white paper outlines five policy recommendations: Develop a digitalisation strategy centred on a single universal mailbox. Strengthen trust through security, identity verification and privacy by design. Consider a clear government mandate for postal operators to provide digital mailbox services where market incentives are insufficient. Promote digital inclusion by using physical channels as onboarding and support points. Prevent vendor lock-in through data portability and common standards. The Case for a Universal Postal Digital Mailbox can be downloaded from https://tinyurl.com/39bbs2xj … ITVET calls for unused laptops as school demand outstrips supply ITVET, a Bishop’s Stortford-based technology solutions provider that also refurbishes donated corporate hardware and distributes it free of charge to schools, charities and community organisations across the UK, is calling on businesses to donate unwanted devices to its Laptops for Schools programme. Launched in 2020, during the pandemic, the programme has already donated more than 3,000 refurbished laptops and PCs to schools and charities and, in doing so, has prevented an estimated 2 tonnes of electronic waste from entering landfill. It currently has a waiting list of around 30 organisations in need of equipment for children and/or staff supporting vulnerable groups. Over the last six years, the programme has evolved from relying on public donations to sourcing devices through corporate clients, particularly businesses nearing the end of three-year lease agreements and/or IT refresh cycles. ITVET manages and funds the full refurbishment process, including free data wiping and certified data destruction, a service typically valued at around £50 per device. www.itvet.co.uk/about/ laptops-for-schools BULLETIN 08 …continued Fasthosts supporting Gloucester with Town & City gift cards UK web hosting company Fasthosts is supporting its home city of Gloucester by replacing Amazon vouchers for star employees with a local gift card that can be spent with registered shops, restaurants, salons, attractions and services, thus benefiting the local economy. The Gloucester Gift Card was introduced by Gloucester Business Improvement District (BID) in November 2019 to encourage local shopping and keep spend locked into the area. Over 170 businesses in Gloucester accept the card, including big brands and independent businesses. Founded in 1998, Fasthosts is one of the largest employers in Gloucester with 250 staff across Fasthosts and its parent company IONOS.
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businessinfomag.uk magazine 10 INNOVATION Maximum impact Global audio brand EPOS has upgraded its IMPACT 1000 headset series with EPOS AI advanced voice pickup technology. This uses machine learning to scan surrounding environments 32,000 times per second helping to suppress disruptive noise while isolating and enhancing the user’s natural voice. This results in exceptionally clear audio and a word accuracy rate higher than 99 out of 100 when the IMPACT 1000 is used to provide voice input for AI assistants and prompts. In addition to EPOS AI-driven noise cancellation, the headset incorporates EPOS BrainAdapt technology which protects users from listening fatigue and boosts concentration by supporting the brain’s natural way of processing sound. Søren Holm Printz, VP of Strategy & Product Management at EPOS, said: “As we enter an era where we work alongside AI, the IMPACT 1000 serves as the vital link, ensuring that every word is captured with the scientific accuracy needed for both human understanding and AI execution.” https://www.eposaudio.com/ products/impact-1000 Safety first As Governments legislate to protect children from the worst aspects of social media, a Barcelona start-up has created a product-based solution to hyperconnectivity. Unlike conventional smartphones that rely on optional restrictions or parental-control systems, the Balance Phone permanently blocks social media, gaming, gambling, adult content and other digital platforms associated with addictive usage patterns, limiting users to essential functions such as calls, messaging, banking apps, maps, transport tools and music. According to the company’s own data, after switching to Balance Phone users reduce their average daily smartphone consumption from more than five hours to approximately 97 minutes. Balance Phone has already sold more than 11,000 devices in 50 countries, around half in the UK. Over 50% of Balance Phone customers are families looking for a safer first smartphone for children and teenagers. www.thebalancephone.com Dash for DaaS Vodafone Business has launched a Device as a Service (DaaS) solution for smartphones and tablets from leading manufacturers including Apple, Samsung and Google. Designed specifically for mid-sized organisations with 250 to 1,000 employees, the flexible leasing and management service consolidates devices and lifecycle services into a single, comprehensive package, replacing large upfront device purchases with more predictable, monthly payments. It is available with flexible terms of 12, 24 or 36 months and includes the option to connect devices to the VodafoneThree network. https://www.vodafone.co.uk/business/ device-as-a-service Both sides now Philips is bringing new possibilities to customer-facing environments and space constrained workplaces with the launch of a dual-sided business monitor. The 24B2D5300 has two Full HD 23.8in screens, one on each side. Each can be connected to its own independent device via USB-C or HDMI, allowing two users to work simultaneously on separate input sources. Alternatively – and this is particularly useful in customer-facing environments – the screens can show material from the same input source, either via DualView, which mirrors or extends the primary display, or via SmartView, which allows content to be split into two virtual sections from a single device input. Both options give users full control over who sees what. In a customer-facing application, for example, the business side might show confidential or sensitive information, while the customer-facing screen presents purchase details. A built-in 180-degree swivel in the base makes it possible to easily share either screen at any time. The Philips 24B2D5300 has an MSRP of £359.99. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=bl346XX89Hc
01732 759725 magazine 11 INNOVATION First of many Xerox has launched its first new devices under the unified Xerox brand and refreshed logo, following the company’s integration with Lexmark. Built on the combined resources of both companies, the A4 colour printers and MFPs (the Xerox C240/C245, C255a and C300/C303a/C305ae) are aimed at the fast-growing small workgroup segment. They combine easy set-up and deployment with advanced features like built-in security to help protect devices, documents and network access and integrated post-quantum cryptography (PQC) support for future-ready protection against evolving cyber threats. xerox.com Collector PCs With a shared tradition of creating luxury British products in small numbers, PC-maker Chillblast and Aston Martin have unveiled the first fruits of their creative partnership – a collection of gaming PCs designed and hand-finished in the UK. There are three models in the collection: the Chillblast x Aston Martin RTX 5070 PC (from £3,749); the Chillblast x Aston Martin Limited Edition RTX 5090 PC (from £8,499); and the water-cooled Chillblast x Aston Martin Signature Edition (from £15,999). Both the RTX 5090 PC, limited to 20 pieces, and the built-to-order Signature Edition are real collector pieces. All three models combine Chillblast’s heritage in custom computing with Aston Martin’s distinctive design features, from its bespoke badging and satin Iridescent Emerald finish – a contemporary expression of British Racing Green – to black leather and wooden accents and detailing. Chillblast CEO Scott Brenchley said: “After 25 years of hand-building PCs, this is the project we have been waiting for. Aston Martin’s obsession with material and finish matches our own, and this collaboration lets us bring their paint, pattern and interior design language into an entirely new category.” chillblast.com Carbon-balanced paper Antalis has launched U:create multifunctional paper, a bright white everyday office paper designed to deliver consistent print performance while supporting measurable environmental action. As well as being PEFC and EU Ecolabel-certified and supplied in PE‑free packaging, the 75gsm A4 paper is part of the Carbon Balanced Paper programme, meaning every order contributes to the work of World Land Trust, an established conservation organisation that acquires and protects threatened habitats in biodiversity hotspots around the world. Antalis Category Manager Paul Savill said: “U:create multifunctional paper proves that high-performance office paper and meaningful environmental impact can go hand in hand. Organisations and consumers can simply change the paper they order, so everyday printing is contributing to carbon balancing and global conservation efforts.” www.antalis.co.uk Bureau de change With its new Signature Series 2.0 range, Bureau, the soundproof workspace company, is offering greater flexibility for focused work, meetings and collaboration. The Signature Series 2.0 retains five core booth sizes but introduces eleven interior configurations, giving businesses far greater flexibility in how pods are used across an office, from a simple standing setup for quick calls to fully furnished workspaces designed for longer meetings or focused work. Other enhancements include a quieter ventilation system that replaces the previous single high-output unit with four lower-power fans, creating balanced airflow that keeps the space fresh; enhanced lighting, with adjustable colour temperature ranges from 3000K to 6000K (warm for calls, cool for focus), which activates automatically on occupancy and switches off when the booth empties; soft self-closing hinges; integrated power blocks; pre-wired interiors; fabric-wrapped acoustic panels; and a redesigned door profile with dual compression seals for enhanced soundproofing. In April, Bureau announced a £74 million contract with WeWork to provide WeWork Go pods for airports, convention centres and other public spaces, followed by the opening of its first London showroom in May. www.withbureau.com
businessinfomag.uk magazine 12 Amidst mounting concern about the environmental impact and viability of datacentre developments, the Data Centre Alliance (DCA) is fighting back with the release of research suggesting that public opposition to a new generation of giant AI factories is based on ignorance and prejudice. The DCA commissioned consultancy firm SEC Newgate to conduct separate surveys into the attitudes of 1,500 members of the public and almost 500 councillors who sit on local authority planning committees, many of whom will be responsible for deciding future data centre developments. While their findings highlight widespread concern about datacentre power consumption and the pressure on water resources, they also reveal ‘a knowledge gap’, with 89% of the public admitting they know little or nothing about data centres and only 22% of planning committee councillors being familiar with data centre development applications. Venessa Moffat, Managing Director of the Data Centre Alliance, believes that addressing this gap can help the data centre industry combat local and national opposition to developments at a time when public attitudes towards data centres are still being formed. When SEC Newgate provided respondents with ‘factual information’ explaining what data centres do, how they operate and why they are needed, positive sentiment almost doubled from 35% to 61%, support for building new data centres increased from 54% to 73%, and more than three quarters (79%) backed the government’s decision to classify data centres as Critical National Infrastructure. Moffat said: “Attitudes become significantly more positive when people are engaged early, given clear information and can see how developments will deliver meaningful local benefits. As demand for digital infrastructure grows, trust, transparency and genuine community engagement will be essential to securing long-term public confidence and planning support.” Significant opposition For the time being, there remains significant opposition to data centres that may be competing for space and resources with other essential developments such as affordable housing. Two thirds (67%) believe data centres use too much power, 55% are concerned about pressure on water resources and 66% worry about cyber-security risks. Many question the value of large facilities that generate relatively few local jobs once operational, highlighting the tension between national digital needs and local community impacts. While 60% say they would accept more data centres being built in their local area because they recognise that the UK needs them to support economic growth, digital services and data security, a large minority (40%) wouldn’t, even when the national benefits are made explicit. SEC Newgate suggests that negative perceptions of data centres might be because they have become closely linked in the public mind with artificial intelligence. Three quarters of respondents believe data centres are expanding because of excessive demand from AI, and those who feel most negative about data centres are far more likely also to be deeply concerned about the growth of AI. For Leyla Hart-Svensson, Managing Director, Insight & Intelligence at SEC Newgate, the survey findings and associated report, Does Not Compute: What the UK public really thinks about data centres, highlight the need to build a shared public understanding of why data centres matter and how they fit into everyday life. “What we are seeing is not a public that is opposed to data centres,” she said, “but a public whose views are still forming, and increasingly shaped by, wider anxieties about technology and artificial intelligence. Data centres are no longer invisible infrastructure, as they sit at the intersection of debates about energy, trust and the future of the digital economy. How those debates are framed now will shape acceptance for years to come.” www.secnewgate.com Demonstrating local benefits key to data centre acceptance, suggests new report Winning over the doubters DATA CENTRES Pulsant completes £2m UK data centre refresh Pulsant, the UK data centre and digital infrastructure platform, has completed a two-year, £2 million refresh and modernisation of sites in Croydon, Edinburgh, Maidenhead, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Reading and Rotherham. The Data Centre Experience programme was undertaken to give staff and the 500-plus businesses that house their own servers and IT infrastructure in Pulsant facilities a better on-site experience. Improvements include streamlined security processes; better signage; dedicated breakout spaces for calls, meetings and downtime; meeting rooms equipped with AV and guest Wi‑Fi; EV charging spaces; and dedicated build bays that enable equipment to be configured away from the data hall and then installed. Upgrades are now in progress at Pulsant’s Birmingham and Fareham sites acquired last year from SCC. Venessa Moffat
businessinfomag.uk magazine 14 AV Why do so many office moves fail to achieve the desired results and what can you do to make sure yours is a success? Chris Gore, co-founder of SPOR Group, tells James Goulding it’s all about the process years based on mistakes made and lessons learned when the two started out. “I have a military background, so my mind is very process-driven. I like everything to happen in order, and if something happens and there isn’t a process that sits underneath it, we create one because my goal is to achieve success by following a repeatable model,” he explains. “We started out installing screens and early on recognised where we had challenges and what we needed to do to overcome them – ‘We didn’t design this properly, so before we integrate, we need to get the design right, so the integration becomes much easier’. That’s the ‘D’. Then, we found that clients sometimes complained that service response times were quite slow. ‘Is there a pattern to the callouts? Well, yes, the pattern is users haven’t been trained properly’. That’s the T. We need to train the users, and train for the lowest common denominator, an office manager who doesn’t know technology. That’s how DITAM evolved.” Evolving capabilities For this reason, DITAM also reflects how SPOR Group itself has changed and expanded its proposition and capabilities since 2019. “In our space, there’s really five big AV companies and they all tender for £3 million, £4 million, £5 million projects. We saw a gap in the market, where companies with a budget of £250,000 weren’t necessarily being looked at because the large AV companies were too busy doing £4 million projects. Down at that £250,000 level, companies were having to bring their requirements in-house, creating another job for their IT team. We created SPOR Group to target that market,” says Gore. “Our basic premise in 2019 was standard meeting rooms, doing projects of up to about £250,000 and rolling out standard meeting You’re in a boardroom squinting at a screen at the far end of a long table unable to see what’s being discussed; you’ve joined a meeting remotely, from home, but can’t hear what the CEO is saying; you have an important meeting with a potential client but the meeting room camera is broken; you need to finish your report but there’s nowhere quiet to work. If these scenarios sound familiar, it is because they are all too common – so much so that Chris Gore, co-founder of specialist AV integration business SPOR Group, has written a book on the subject called Work Isn’t Working. His thesis, spelled out in the first half of the 118-page book, is that major investments in meeting room technology and digital workplace solutions often fail to deliver the desired results because the providers and integrators of those solutions are not consulted early enough in the process, i.e. at the design stage, and are then not retained to monitor and manage the solutions once they have been deployed. Because AV experts are often brought in once the office floorplan has been defined, walls erected, lighting and cabling installed, furniture brought in, it can be too late to make the changes needed to get the best out of new meeting room technology, resulting in compromise and a sub-par user experience. In many instances, the outcome is not a collaborative, productive working environment, but unhappy employees, lost business and over‑burdened IT departments. DITAM framework In the second half of Work Isn’t Working, Gore explains how businesses can avoid these mistakes by adopting a DITAM framework. Standing for Design, Integrate, Train, Asset Manage and Monitor, this gives CIOs, IT directors, facilities managers and business leaders a practical model for improving technology adoption, strengthening accountability and ensuring workplace systems continue to deliver value long after installation. Chris Gore, who co-founded SPOR Group with business partner Christopher Spence in 2019, says DITAM has evolved over five or six Meeting expectations Chris Gore
01732 759725 magazine 15 AV solution?’. We retrofit everything for them, decommission everything, recommission everything and get rooms back up and running with brand new kit.” Gary in a van Quite often, clients will come to SPOR after a bad experience with a less capable provider. “With smaller projects, businesses can end up hiring a freelancer, a ‘Gary in a van’, who doesn’t have a project management overlay, doesn’t have an engineering stack to be able to put the engineering designs together. They’re essentially a freelancer who might buy a few screens and install them. The trouble is, once Gary’s installed those screens he’s gone, and when the display breaks he’s nowhere to be seen. He’s on to the next job. If you’ve ever tried to get back in touch with a freelance plumber, you’ll know the scenario.” Gore admits that in its earliest days, SPOR too was a ‘Gary and a van’ operation, before its prospects were transformed by DITAM. “Once we started deploying the DITAM model and we articulated that to our salespeople and we integrated it within the business, we were much more successful. Our message is: we will design, we will integrate, we will train. We’re now very well established as a design and build company for AV.” A design and build company with big ambitions. “One of the things we’re looking to do is acquire other companies that fit the individual letters in that DITAM model. I’m just about to sign off on our first acquisition that fits within the ‘D’. Then we might look to acquire companies covering the ‘I’, like HVAC, CCTV, access control, so that we can become a workplace group as opposed to just an AV company,” explains Gore. Watch this space. www.wearespor.com model for their business, whether that’s fully remote, a hybrid model or having everyone back in the office full-time. Whatever choice they make, they need to get the technology right. If you have a hybrid policy and you’re asking your staff to commute and spend £50 on the train, when it’s really hot and there’s no air conditioning on the tube, they’re already stressed when they arrive at work. If they then walk into their first meeting at two minutes to nine, press start on the camera and the camera doesn’t work, completely messing up their client meeting, pitch or interview, your hybrid policy will have failed. Your employee will walk out of that meeting thinking ‘I’ve just spent two hours on a train. I’m hot, I’m bothered and I’ve spent £50 of my own money when I could have started my meeting at home and it would have worked’. Proactive monitoring and maintenance is vital for hybrid working because it ensures the meeting room technology will work when your people come into the office.” Monitoring meeting room usage will also help organisations gauge the success of a hybrid working policy and identify areas where things aren’t working as well as they should. If Fred books the 12-person boardroom at 2 o’clock every Wednesday because he needs peace and quiet, you need to be able to measure that. Gore estimates that 70% of SPOR’s business is generated by office moves. “We work alongside our clients and design their office move technology stack. We provide all the equipment, we install it, and we onboard it onto our SPORTrack asset management and remote monitoring system. The other 30% is made up of retrofit installations when clients will essentially say ‘This stuff’s five years old. It’s starting to get a little bit glitchy. Can we consult with you on a proposed rooms with the same technology. That was our business plan. Since then, we’ve grown and become well respected for doing the full design and build of AV projects. We still do standard meeting rooms with video conferencing capabilities, but we also do boardrooms, we do large LED rollouts, we do experiential projects, we do auditoriums and town hall spaces. Whatever we do, the key is getting early engagement with clients and architects, doing the AV design alongside those people and doing the integration as the project progresses.” Service contracts Today, SPOR Group employs 30 people and has over 200 clients. Crucially, it also manages more than 1,500 meeting rooms across the world – the A (asset management) and M (monitoring) of DITAM. “In the early days, when we were just installing standard meeting rooms, we’d basically say to a client ‘If there’s any problem in your room, give us a call and we’ll come and fix it’. That was the service contract. We’ve now progressed and matured as a company and offer remote monitoring and management. We can onboard client’s devices onto our proprietary platform (SPORTrack) and see the status of each one, enabling us to proactively monitor those devices and make an intervention whenever (and wherever) an issue is detected.” Not all customers want proactive monitoring – some are nervous about third parties monitoring their devices – so SPOR also offers reactive service contracts with defined SLAs, putting the onus on the customer to call a helpdesk when they have a problem. Gore estimates that 99% of customers choose a service contract, with a 50:50 split between the two options. Hybrid working He adds that a service contract, in fact the whole DITAM model, has become more important with hybrid working, the success of which depends on seamless, easy, reliable collaboration. “A lot of leaders are trying to work out the optimum working Work Isn’t Working is available now in Kindle and paperback editions through The Endless Bookcase (https://theendlessbookcase.com/books/work-isntworking/) and Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/ dp/B0H2BRDVXC).
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