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