The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 47: Feb/March 2020 | Page 27

A NEW DECADE FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION What does the future hold for digital transformation? We put the spotlight on Swindon tech firm, Excalibur Communications, with Sales & Marketing Director Emma Carter giving us her insight. What does digital transformation look like as we enter a new decade? You are going to see a revolution in how businesses interact with their workforce and how employees interact with each other. Genuine flexible working will become the norm, with employees being able to work from anywhere on any device. At HQ, an Open Office Environment will emerge that promotes greater communication, collaboration and sharing between teams and individuals. When businesses have implemented these changes, they can then look at how to transform digitally for customers. What are the key considerations for business? Gigabit capable connectivity, proactive cyber security and finding a good technology partner to work with. How are you helping businesses become more efficient through the use of tech? Our main focus is on helping our customers and their employees work as efficiently as possible. We try and test all products we sell, so know what tech works, what doesn’t and what any limitations are. What technological innovations made the biggest impact on business in 2019? In 2019, the UK woke up to the fact that poor internet speeds hold business back. This year saw the roll-out of a gigabit capable infrastructure to reverse this trend. It will bring huge economic benefits to the country - an estimated £120 billion over 15 years. What are the key products to look out for in 2020? Microsoft Teams, in Office 365, is a great tool for businesses committed to changing the way they work. It provides a dynamic hub for teamwork, allowing people inside and outside an organisation to actively connect and collaborate in real time, in one place, using all of the 365 service offerings. We’ve been early adopters at Excalibur with fantastic results. How are you helping to protect clients from cyber threats? Educating customers on the current risks and what is known as Shadow IT. We also offer a Cyber Security Evaluation service for customers via CISCO Umbrella, a world leading cloud security platform. What have been Excalibur’s most recent successes? Launching CityFibre gigabit internet services in Swindon and a team of 18 Excalibur colleagues successfully completing the National Three Peaks Challenge within 24 Hours. Emma Carter, Excalibur Communications As a company, what are you looking forward to the most this year? It’s an exciting time for technology and business and we look forward to working with our customers to unleash the potential super faster broadband, the Cloud, 5G and IoT can bring them. Excalibur Communications provides managed IT & services to UK businesses and schools. Excalibur works with Vodafone, EE, Gamma, Microsoft and Dell to develop solutions that meet the mobile, fixed telephony, connectivity and IT demands of clients. For more info: www.excaliburcomms.co.uk Swindon Founders Meet-Ups Tech Swindon have launched a regular networking group, Swindon Founders, to connect Swindon & Wiltshire tech start-up founders and entrepreneurs. The idea is to link like-minded people together to create an informal support network. Lucy Paine, Tech Swindon’s Tech Connector, said, “Our focus is on scalable and disruptive tech businesses. We welcome entrepreneurs and tech investors with open arms, but discourage freelancers, consultants, lawyers and other service providers unless they have a genuine interest in founding or mentoring start-up businesses. “We have a strict ‘no selling’ rule at our events, but do get in touch if you would like to know more about the Tech Swindon community, as we might have other ways for you to engage. “The format of the meet-ups is very casual. Turn up, sign in and get a name badge, grab a drink and get to know fellow founders.” Swindon Founders events take place on the third Thursday of every month. To find out more email: [email protected] THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2020 27