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We’re well aware that unbeatable customer care is key to maintaining a happy client base. Our Research Consultant Harper James is currently carrying out investigations into the best ways to further improve our support services. We’re determined that while we expand as a company our relations with you remain personal and efficient. We will of course be there for you over this festive season. Dedicated server clients will be able to call the 24/7 support line, other customers will be able to e-mail support@ukfast.net as usual. Thanks to everyone who sent their festive wishes this year. Later on in the newsletter we’ll reveal the card that made us all laugh the most.  UKFast crowned Best Business ISP 2004 It was the realisation of 5 years hard work as UKFast led the likes of Google, Apple and the BBC up to the podium at the 2004 Future UK Internet Awards. Winning placed us ahead of key-players such as Pipex and PlusNet. Shortlisted by industry professionals, we then faced the scrutiny of the public. With more than 30,000 web users voting, the title of Best Business ISP has not been taken lightly by anyone at the team. The accolade reflects an exciting period of growth for us, as we have seen our turnover increase by 95 per cent in the last year. Paul Douglas, Editor of .net magazine said: “In this first category we were looking for an Internet Service Provider that gave its business customers excellent connectivity at an attractive price, while offering top-notch after-sales service and an attractive range of additional services. Voters agreed that UKFast fulfilled all these criteria.” Lawrence Jones relishes what the award represents: “we strive to offer a premium service at affordable prices and winning this award reaffirms what we work so hard to achieve. It’s a tremendous pat on the back from both UK web users and industry professionals alike.” He adds: “To win the top category and displace last years winner, Pipex who are a well-established outfit, is a credit to the team here at UKFast. After all, what better way to celebrate our 5th Birthday, than with a convincing victory as leaders in our field! McMillan-Scott and the Chamber of Spam The excitement of late November’s Chamber of Commerce spamming incident may feel like a distant memory now. However at the time you’d have been forgiven for thinking that ‘dark magic’ of the JK Rowling kind had shot it’s way into reality via the Internet! Companies clocked in to find their mailboxes crippled when publishing company McMillan-Scott was unable to stop an unprecedented flow of Spam into 22,500 inboxes in the North West alone. The virtual barrage blocked business accounts for days as the e-mails were sent to Chamber members again and again. Joel Rush, Managing Director of web design agency As One remembers: “My inbox alone received over 4,000 e-mails straight away. We had to stop incoming mail for the rest of the day until the servers were back on track. Worse though, we had 150 potentially affected clients with around 10 e-mail accounts each. The scope was enormous and for days we were busy taking care of our clients.” UKFast were also affected and Lawrence Jones remembers: “We were on the phone from 8.30 in the morning because clients were unable to receive or send mail. Our ‘counteracting spell’ was to block their IP address and set up Spam tagging to prevent blocked inboxes. Without doubt, it greatly affected productivity of all businesses involved. McMillan-Scott quickly apologised for the mistake and we thought it was only polite that we offer to handle their e-mail distribution in the future.” After investigation, McMillan-Scott discovered they were victims of forces out of their control. Adrian Dunleavy, Chief Executive of the publishing company wrote to all businesses affected revealing that the fault lay with a piece of Microsoft software on the systems of members called Small Business Server 2000 or 2003 (“SBS 2000+”). They have now set up a link to help those affected install a patch that will avoid problems in the future. McMillan-Scott is in the process of moving its email systems to UKFast. ADSL- API and online ordering Maintaining our vantage point at the forefront of technological developments, we have introduced ADSL online order tracking, which gives you access to view the status of your orders. Customers placing ADSL orders now receive an e-mail notification stating the approximate live date. The information is then immediately available online. One of our newer clients DeltaComtech are testing the system and Operations Director Geoff Barratt enthuses that the system streamlines the process enabling him to concentrate on the companies service and product range. He says: “Order tracking via the net improves the service we provide to our own clients. By having all the data on the screen, we are able to make sure that we receive precise information. The new system irradiates errors that can happen in a more traditional ordering process.” For anyone wanting to integrate their websites or internal systems with the new ADSL order tool, we have written an API which allows you to submit your order without manually logging into your control panel. |
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 Shopping Web Sites
The top ten shopping websites by Hitwise may not come as much of a surprise to those savvy shoppers who have spent an estimated 70 million pounds online this year. 1. E-bay - 25.5%  Travel sites champion Europe to online victory over US It’s estimated that European online sales this holiday season will have outpaced the US by €3bn, according to Forrester Research. European sales online are thought to be over a record €13bn, with the UK making up 36 per cent of the total (€4.3bn). And leisure travel is our market leader with a mighty 21 percent. New Year getaways have never been easier to organise. Why languish at home after Christmas when more and more people are jumping online and booking tickets to adventurous climes without a second thought. Katherine Beacon of the BBC says “four years ago I would never have trusted the Internet with my credit card details – but this year, I logged on to CheapestFlights.co.uk and it could not have been easier. The price I paid online was significantly cheaper than if I’d used a travel agent. Travel giants Expedia have been at the forefront of the online explosion this year, but we’ve also seen a massive growth in competing forces. CSI Media have relied upon UKFast’s infrastructure to service many prominent online travel clients. Sales Director Richard Nash says “for big brands such as cheapestflights.co.uk and Air Scotland, speed of service and 100 per cent availability is everything, downtime just isn’t an option.” This fail-safe hosting standard has helped such companies chart record results this year. However, evidence suggests that travellers to the more exotic destinations use the web as an information highway, but still prefer to book face to face. Nigel Schofield, MD of The Cheshire Travel Centre and gateways.co.uk comments; “People look online, but rarely book online. They do lots of research on our sites, but will then ring up or pop in to complete the deal. We’re busier than ever this Christmas.” But with increasingly impressive packages online you have to wonder how long it will be until the high street shop concedes to its virtual counterpart. Our Favourite Christmas card of the year And here’s that winning Christmas card from Caunce O’Hara Insurance Brokers. For more information on the range of UKFast products and services go to http://www.ukfast.net/site/index.php 
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