The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 10: Winter 2018/19 | Page 15
BUSINESS REVIEW OF THE YEAR
Tech/IT: Peter Boucher, CEO of Excalibur Communications
How was 2018?
“In the past 12
months, our
support team has
been incredibly
busy with the
significant
increase in cyber
attacks on clients”
Excalibur has had a good year and we are particularly
proud of achieving Investors In People with Gold
Accreditation and being recognised as a Sunday Times
100 Best Small Companies To Work For 2018. Building
our presence in the education sector with the acquisition
of Techs4Education brought real scale, expertise into our
existing education offering.
In terms of lows, there’s the unnecessary price increase
of high tier handsets and the ongoing price inflation of
hardware with very little technological advancements that
justify the hike.
GDPR was also an issue - we believe in data security,
but the rules set out by the Government were open to
misinterpretation, particularly for business. GDPR was
over-hyped and companies got to it too late.
Also in the past 12 months, our support team has been
incredibly busy with the significant increase in cyber
attacks on clients.
And it remains a challenge to find good, well-trained
staff. As a sector, we need to encourage young people into
the industry at college level.
Looking ahead to 2019....
We’re upbeat about getting clear of Brexit when
businesses will start being able to plan properly and
make decisions. The British are very good at dealing with
change - we just need to know what to adapt to.
The step-change in connectivity and cloud connectivity
is really starting to offer exciting opportunities for
customers. There are now thousands of software options
out there, Artificial Intelligence, reliable real-time
video-conferencing etc. We are rolling out a dedicated
fibre network for our customers in Swindon which will
transform how they work.
Commercial Property: Philip Marshall, partner, Carter Jonas Bath
How was 2018?
We’ve seen increasing demand for office
space from tech and media companies over
the last 12 months and it is extremely exciting
to see the organic growth of this sector in the
region. Another positive is the number of US
companies that are choosing to have an office
here. Whilst the retail market is having to evolve,
predominantly due to the rise in popularity of
online shopping, it is encouraging to see that
demand for retail space has remained strong
and more independent retailers entering
the market.
Other than the B-word and resulting
uncertainty, commercial occupiers are
struggling to find appropriate space - Bath in
particular is suffering from a chronic supply
shortage.
Good infrastructure and access to talent
pools are key considerations for many occupiers
and I fear the region is still somewhat behind
other UK business and industrial hubs in its
efforts to attract investment into these areas.
Looking ahead to 2019....
We’re quietly optimistic. Bath Quays, which
is undeniably one of the most exciting South
West development opportunities to come to
the market in recent years, is set to progress
and once developed, will go some way towards
meeting the demand for space. Elsewhere, the
Bath and Somer Valley designated Enterprise
Zone status is really a once in a generation
opportunity for these areas.
Insurance: Ian Sandham, branch director, Jelf Bath
“As a business we
have rebranded
and have worked
hard in introducing
our new brand to
the market place”
How was 2018? Looking ahead to 2019....
It’s has been an eventful and challenging year. As a
business we have rebranded and have worked hard in
introducing our new brand into the market place. We are
now in a great position to move the business forward with
exciting new products coming to the market. Our aim is
to become the go-to trusted broker for all commercial
clients. It should be a good year for Jelf. Having moved through
our rebrand and with exciting new products available for
us to discuss with existing and new clients we remain very
positive that our business will see a steady growth.
As far as Brexit is concerned, it is a wait and see game
but we will be ready and able to adapt when needed. We
hope for a buoyant economy leading to new business
start-ups and growth of existing business.
Legal: Steven Treharne, managing partner, Mogers Drewett Solicitors
How was 2018?
It’s been a special year for us. We
pride ourselves on being a law firm
that looks after our people and
lets them successfully balance or
integrate work and life and this year
we saw the real benefits of this. The
flexible working arrangement that we
have with our trainee solicitor Eboni
Usoro-Brown, who plays netball for
England, enables her to successfully
juggle her professional sporting and
law careers.
A trend that we’ve been seeing more
of in the sector is the growth of
online/remote legal service in certain
areas. We know from experience that
these often prove frustrating and
unresponsive for people, underlining
that it’s all about the quality of the
lawyer and their relationship with the
client.
Looking ahead to 2019....
It’s a competitive industry with no
shortage of choice for both corporate
clients and private individuals and
this only looks set to continue. In
order stay on the front foot, we need
to invest in technology, which we
believe holds the potential to drive
significant benefits. As part of this
focus, we have been testing robotic
technology to see how it could assist
our lawyers to make processes
faster and more efficient. Intelligent
software, for example, could enhance
the service we provide to our clients
by scanning long documents quickly
for key information.
Protecting against the ever-
increasing risk of cyber threats
continues to be a priority. We take
our data security very seriously to
ensure that our client’s information
is kept safe.
“We have been
testing robotic
technology to see
how it could assist
our lawyers to
make processes
faster and more
efficient”
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2018
15