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42 roundtable ... continued from previous page


remove the headache of people bringing in their own devices by enabling them to lean on our expertise and experience.“


Landew revealed that a recent Star survey, involving a sample of its customers, showed that more than 60% either already had policies in place to deal with BYOD or were developing them, and most were well aware of the trend. “It is recognised that people do want to bring their own devices to work and the view appears to be that businesses are aware and tackling the issue.“


Kenya, for example, has a huge mobile banking adoption rate in comparison to first-world countries like the UK.“


Huge costs for UK infrastructure improvement – an estimated £2 billion in 2013 alone – were the main hurdle to progress, suggested Atkinson. “First-world countries have invested so much in existing IT communications infrastructure already that what they have left for innovation is in real terms much less compared to the emerging countries.“


And several emerging countries were making quantum leaps in technology – missing out 3G and going direct to 4G, for example, Dreesden and Nice highlighted.


Nice noted that Apple had deleted any phrases mentioning 4G compatibility from UK advertising of the new iPad because the UK infrastructure would not be compatible with the Apple 4G implantation.


Evans explained that 4G in the UK was being delayed due to the spectrum auction going through, following the analogue bandwidth being opened up by the move to digital television. “I think the technology will follow demand. BT, for example, will put fibre in whatever part of the UK is required, if there is enough demand.“


David Landew


Nice: “Technological change is happening virtually every day it seems. Some of the products becoming available today are even startling us when it comes to their capabilities. There are now systems coming onto the market effectively doing video-conferencing within the cloud technologies.


“We could literally be having this meeting on laptops with up to 25 people viewable on each screen – all for a rental of about £40 per month. It‘s unbelievable, but it makes holding meetings from anywhere really easy. We actually see the Olympics, with its problems for people moving around London and the UK, opening up a market for video-conferencing products like this.“


Euros Evans


Embrace change, and keep up with other countries


Dreesden mentioned touch and interactive technologies. “Children are already using these technologies in their schools, yet they go on to universities where many are still using acetates and OHPs, and then they go into the workplace and struggle with their technologies. There is a lot of noise about new technologies, but still a lot of reluctance to change. Fortunately, what will happen is that our increasingly IT literate children will one day be the university professors and business leaders.“


Murray queried if wireless technologies and 4G were progressing well. “Aren‘t we behind the world on 4G?“


Atkinson: “The emerging economies are significantly ahead on 4G and wireless applications.


www.businessmag.co.uk


Staunton was concerned that this demand-led approach could disenfranchise certain remote and less populated parts of the UK.


Evans highlighted existing ‘not-spot‘ solutions that could resolve issues of remoteness, while accepting that Internet-links could greatly enhance commercial opportunities for rural businesses.


Better broadband, please


Getting broadband working better in the UK was the main demand to the Government from the Roundtable, not least to ensure ‘UK plc‘ commercial competitiveness with other international nations.


Atkinson: “Surely the Government has an obligation to significantly increase the infrastructure investment around the country. I


Philip James THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JULY/AUGUST 2012


Landew: “It‘s a no-brainer, it will be totally driven by demand and no-one wants to be in the slow lane.“


think it is a very narrow-minded view to imagine you can leave it to the private sector to leverage investment purely on a profit by profit basis.“ You only had to look at 3G coverage today, with its intermittent nationwide signal, to see the result of that model, he added.


“In other countries around Europe and in North America there is constant investment, and not just by the private sector, and as a result the UK will suffer in its ability to trade and compete internationally.“


Evans agreed that fibre broadband coverage in the North America and Europe was ‘worlds apart‘ in comparison to the UK.


Nice: “Following an infrastructure investment policy decision to assist national education, the Government and BT got high-quality broadband to our local school; but to our home a few hundred yards away the broadband service is still like a piece of wet string. How can that happen?“


Staunton: “It would need a quantum shift in government policy, because so many of our utilities have been privatised. For the Government to take a step back and say we will put in all the required infrastructure, it would have to set up an organisation to deal with it or combine with BT in some form of PFI relationship. Either way it becomes incredibly complex. It seems to me that they are hoping the problem will be solved by commercial viability and local communities, who incidentally may not be able to afford it.“


Evans: “The Scottish government has made it easier for companies to roll out radio broadband into Scotland. Some levies on putting up masts have been taken away. So, there are easy things that can be done to make things more attractive, less expensive to implement.“


Kingsland suggested any government‘s light touch on regulation would assist the development of the overall technology industry.


Dreesden stressed the ‘green‘ benefits of the online ‘virtual‘ business world – not least video- conferencing helping to reduce carbon miles – but agreed all IT needed to work robustly and consistently well 24/7.


Hearteningly, Landew suggested that technological innovation was happening so fast that many of the concerns raised at the Roundtable might very well be resolved in just a few years.


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