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April Newsletter

Dear Newsletter Subscriber

Welcome to this month's newsletter.

One of our goals in 2007 has been to turn further attention to environmental issues and we’re proud to announce in April@UKFast that we have already made some great steps with power usage, that allow us to actually improve solutions whilst working harder to look after the environment. We’ve also got more news from the tech team regarding streamlined install times - more on that shortly.

Google makes a number of appearances in the newsletter this month, including some special client offers. We also have some great tips on searching for technical information and marketing a service. Our spotlight this month reaches South Wales highlighting our Web Functionality award winner – VRM Swansea and the hot topic looks at the effect the BBC’s giant website presence is having on some small businesses.

Please get in touch with any comments on this newsletter or suggestions for future editions.

April@UKFast

With all this year’s improvements to the network we are proud to announce huge steps towards our eco goals. Our longer term plans include the development of data centres powered by environmentally friendly energy and while we progress toward these, we have also looked at short term solutions for energy use.

MANOC now uses one of the most sophisticated UPS systems available offering us 91% efficiency, which when compared to standard UPS is like switching off fourteen 3KW electric fires that are running 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Our new dual core technology is also 40% more efficient than traditional chipsets, which not only saves on power but has the side effect of creating less heat, allowing us to reduce the level of air conditioning to the building.

It’s great to be able to achieve this and not compromise on the level of performance and service that we offer. In fact, the UKFast network has never functioned better and Neil Lathwood and his technical team are still making enhancements every day.

On this note, after a period of testing, we are now able to offer 24 hour install and configuration of any new standard dedicated servers for clients looking to increase the size of their solution. In addition we are committed to replacing hardware within one hour of diagnosing an issue on all standard server solutions. You can find out more in our SLA on the UKFast site.

Back in the office, we have confirmed a deal with Google to offer clients Adwords vouchers. The full details of this are to follow but if you’d like to receive vouchers towards your internet marketing then please email me and I will forward the full information in the next week or so, as we have it.

Because we have rolled out a selection of new technical contact numbers in the last year we are now in the process of decommissioning one of the original numbers. Please can all 24 hour support customers note that the number beginning 0702 will continue to work for another month or so but it is best to use the numbers indicated in your Client Area contact us section.

While all this has been going on, our R&D team has been responding to client demand by developing the multiple contacts facility within your Client Area. Between now and the next newsletter we will be in touch again to request that you check all details and add any necessary extra contacts into the system. In the meantime, let’s optimistically look forward to the start of a fantastic summer.

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Searching operating systems

When training new support staff, we advise them to find answers to various operating system queries by using the Special Topics search on Google.

Instead of trawling through all the pages the internet has to offer, special topic searches have been selected to help you filter down your search to websites that deal specifically with the topic in question. Google in its infinite wisdom has chosen to feature Microsoft, Linux, Unix and Apple Macintosh so that you can find relevant articles on closely related website.

Why not give it a try:

Microsoft: http://www.google.com/microsoft.html

Linux: http://www.google.com/linux

BSD: http://www.google.com/bsd for Unix

Mac: http://www.google.com/mac.html

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How to market a service

When marketing a product we focus on the 4 P’s; product, price, place and promotion. However, when marketing a service three extra factors come into consideration; people, process and physical evidence.

Product
Is the service you provide what the intended clients want?

Price
How much are clients willing to pay for your service?

Place
How accessible is your service?

Promotion
Are you using suitable promotions to make clients aware of your service?

People
Are you using appropriate staff and people? Clients make judgements and deliver perceptions of the service based on the employees they interact with. Aim to apply for the Investors In People accreditation, which tells clients that staff are taken care of by your company and they are trained to certain standards.

Process
Are you using well organised systems to assist in delivering the service? An efficient and structured flow of activities fosters consumer loyalty and confidence in your company.

Physical Evidence
Are you fulfilling customer expectations? Clients make perceptions based on their sight of the service provision and success depends on your ability to relay customer satisfaction to potential clients. You could do this through testimonials or case studies on your website.

You are in essence marketing yourself - your expertise and capabilities, your reliability and commitment to excellent service. So, to gain a competitive advantage and successfully market a service we recommend that your mix involves the 7 P’s.

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Serving it up on a plate

Having recently won Best Web Functionality in the UKFast Internet Awards, VRM Swansea is the ideal company to put under the spotlight this month. The company offers a comprehensive and convenient range of services for clients wishing to find and purchase or sell desirable vehicle number plates in the UK and Northern Ireland. The award winning website is www.plates4less.co.uk

VRM Swansea’s success is based on inviting enquiries from potential customers and putting as much helpful content on the web as possible. In addition to this, MD Francis Servini believes highly competitive pricing plus a unique range of products and services on offer contribute to the ongoing success.

“We present a wide range of inexpensive options with unrivalled free advice. For the same cost as a set of alloy wheels or a decent in-car sound system, customers can get their own personal registration plate which lets them stand out from the crowd and they even get to keep it when they sell the car,” he said.

Many visitors come to the site not knowing exactly what they want to buy, so it is VRM Swansea’s role to deliver expert advice, services and products to convert these visits into sales. The website employs clear navigation and a database of useful suggestions to help customers find what they are looking for and place an order.

To stay ahead of rivals, VRM Swansea is committed to sharply focussed sponsored links. The pay per click (PPC) campaign means that VRM Swansea is able to reach its target market and generate high quality sales leads.

Previously the Internet was dominated by larger companies focusing on the mass market but the emergence of niche companies online is a growing trend. Other niche companies hosted on the UKFast network include Rapier Star, (who sell screws and fixings) and 50cycles (who sell electric powered bicycles).

For more information visit: www.plates4less.co.uk

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The BBC and monopoly creation

The BBC is the strongest online voice the UK has and BBC Online is one of the largest websites in the world. A number of issues have recently provoked the question of whether the BBC is guilty of monopolising online areas to the detriment of British businesses and the public.

There are three issues in particular; the BBC’s iPlayer is currently being internally investigated by the BBC Trust; BBC Jam has now been suspended pending enquiry and CBBC World, a virtual world product is pegged for a summer release. As we have clients working in all three areas I thought this worth looking at.

The BBC’s iPlayer will provide on demand services, primarily allowing viewers to download programmes for seven days after initial broadcast. The controversy focuses on the BBC’s decision to deliver it using a Microsoft developed DRM strategy. This means that users will need XP or above to view it and Linux, Unix and Mac users will be left out in the cold for two years while the Corporation finds a way to integrate them into the system.

The monopoly here is not so much the BBC’s as Microsoft’s. The technology giant is already being investigated by the EU on monopoly charges and the BBC Trust is now investigating to make sure that the public service broadcaster is offering a fair service to its public.

Next in line is BBC Jam. The online learning resource has been suspended despite interest from 170,000 people. The £150m online resource was removed following complaints to the EU from smaller e-learning operators that they are being crowded out of the market.

I blogged about this earlier in the month because of conversations I’d had with clients within the industry. It struck me that the danger here came in relation to quality of teaching and understanding of how to reach different children. Is a single resource in the market, created by a broadcaster, less likely to cater for the needs of all children than a selection of options across the sector set up by entrepreneurs (many of them personal tutors) who understand first hand, the tutoring process and the needs of the students?

We shall have to see how this develops over the next few months. In the meantime, one of our own clients Ontuition is preparing to launch its online mathematics courses for 9-11 year olds and we wish them the very best of luck.

The final area of contention is also in children’s services and surrounds CBBC World. It appears to be virtual world for children up to the age of 12 and according to Michael Arrington of the very popular TechCrunch (http://www.techcrunch.com/) blog; it steps on the toes of a selection of promising projects being developed in the UK right now.

I’m interested in gaining a clearer picture of the landscape here. If you are aware of other areas where the BBC or another large organisation is stifling competition – perhaps in your own area of business, please email me and we can put together an online focus group on the subject.

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For more information on the range of UKFast products and services go to http://www.ukfast.net

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