Smith Bellerby

Not all Utility Suppliers are bad news!

2011-09-28T15:51:00.001+01:00

Just when you thought that Utility Suppliers should be cast out to sea in a boat without oars and lifejackets! One comes along and surprises you - lately, here at Smith Bellerby Ltd, we are full of praise for team members in relation to gas and electricity meter installations

Well done for great service!!

Leo Jones of easyJet receives his new BlackBerry smartphone

2011-06-07T13:33:00.001+01:00

Leo Jones, the public face of easyJet from ITV series Airline, received his new BlackBerry smartphone from the Newport based SmithBellerby team last week at Luton Airport. Leo commented “I’m really pleased to be swapping my old device for a BlackBerry, as I already use one for my personal phone and know how well they work”. Steve Bellerby, one of the Directors of SmithBellerby, added “We’ve been working with easyJet for 8 years now, and managing their mobile telephone fleet throughout the UK and Europe for the past year, and we believe that the move to BlackBerry will really improve the user’s experience.”

BlackBerry World 2011

2011-05-11T15:32:00.000+01:00

I have just returned to the office after a week in Orlando, Florida having attended the 2011 BlackBerry World Conference and I have to tell you IT WAS FANTASTIC! During his opening address on Tuesday morning, Mike Lazaridis, CEO of RIM, announced that everyone attending the conference (all 6,000) would receive the new BlackBerry PlayBook before the conference finished. Whilst this may have cost RIM a cool $3,000,000 at retail prices, it did at least guarantee that he received a great round of applause at the end of his address!

Other highlights of the conference were:

BlackBerry Bold 9900 announced, "the best BlackBerry ever", with Liquid Graphics touchscreen, 1.2GHz processor and a new sculpted keyboard - this is the one that every executive will want.
NFC (near field communications) on all new BlackBerry devices. NFC will be used for wave-and-pay-by-phone for relatively small value purchases.
BlackBerry Balance, which allows corporate organisations to segregate business and personal content on the same device, so users will be able to access their Social Media (Facebook, Twitter etc) without compromising corporate secutity, and without having to carry two devices.
BES to be able to manage other platforms. BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) will soon be able to manage iOS and Android based phones in the same way that it manages BlackBerry devices.

Finally, despite some of the negative comments I've seen recently about the PlayBook, I can confirm that it is an absolutely brilliant device. It has the best full HD screen I've ever seen on a mobile device, it is awesome for browsing the internet (with full Flash compatibility - unlike the i-Pad) and it deals with mail, calendar and contacts in an ideal form factor. One of my female colleagues also pointed out that it will fit comfortably into most handbags, which you can't do with an i-Pad! I guess that when all the Android Apps are available on PlayBook in a few weeks time (also announced at the conference) it will be THE tablet to own. In BlackBerry's own marketing words "amateur night is over" - a slightly pointed dig at Apple?

Apple iPad 2 launch and features

2011-01-28T14:28:00.000Z

There is plenty of speculation at the moment regarding the imminent launch of the iPad 2. It seems likely to be unveiled on 1st February and may go on sale in the US sometime in early April (rumours suggest between 2nd and 9th), with the device probably finding its way into UK stores 3 months later.

Whilst there is little tangible detail about specification and features, a few items have been leaked or have escaped:

the tablet will probably ship with an SD slot but still no USB port;
the display resolution is likely to remain 1024 x 768 (as iPad 1), despite rumours of and upgrade to 2048 x 1536; and
the iPad will probably include front and rear facing cameras to make the most of Apple's WiFi video calling application, FaceTime.

Prices are expected to stay pretty much as they are at present.

Blackberry update for 2011

2011-01-28T09:11:00.002Z

Looking down the latest posts on our blog, you could be forgiven for thinking that all we were interested in was Blackberry. I have to admit that I am never without mine, and 2011 looks set to be a particularly busy year for Research in Motion (RiM) who manufacture them. I thought that it might be of interest to some of our readers if I ran through a few of the highlights. Please bear in mind though, that RiM keep their cards very close to their chest, and some of these may be delayed:

OS6.1 will include API for Blackberry Messenger (BBM)
Hardware improvements will include Accelerometer & Magnetometer (compass) on some new models
The Blackberry Playbook is to be launched in February/March in the US and in March/April in the UK, although there have been a few rumours in the technical press of delays due to the new operating system "eating" battery life. No doubt RiM are working feverishly to fix this rumoured problem...
March/April will also see the launch of multi-coloured 9300’s (for those amongst us that can't cope with black and shiny)
Q2/Q3 should see the launch of four new devices (I've used the RiM development names, as model numbers are not yet published):
Monza – 9520 replacement

Full Touch screen
800 x480 resolution
14.4mb HSDPA
OS 6.1

Jennings – Torch Mk2

Touch & Textpad, Accelerometer & Magnetometer
3.2” screen,
640 x 480 resolution
1.2 GHz Processor
4gb on board storage (+32 micro sd)
768mb RAM

Dakota – Thinnest BB Ever!

Bold 9000 form factorish, but thin!
2.8” display
4Gb RAM
3G Hotspot capability

Apollo – Curve 9300 replacement

OS6.1
480 x 360 display
Curve Back (‘pebble feel’)

The current 8520 is planned to be sold for another 6 months and the view is that eventually the price on the 9300 will drop and then that will become the natural successor to 8520, as the 8520 won't run OS6

Blackberry PlayBook

2010-10-19T16:47:00.000+01:00

Rumour has it that the BB PlayBook will launch at somewhere between £350 and £440 next year, making it a very attractive proposition compared to the iPad and some of the other contenders.

Blackberry PlayBook

2010-09-29T06:51:00.001+01:00

Research in Motion (RIM), manufacturers of ubiquitous Blackberry, are set to launch a rival to Apple's iPad early in 2011 in the US and probably in Q2 2011 in Europe.

The device, dubbed the BlackPad by some, will not launch with 3G wireless connectivity, but will link and be able to display content from a "tethered" Blackberry using Bluetooth connectivity. The OS and software capability of the PlayBook seems to be firmly aimed at the business/enterprise markets where Blackberry is particularly well established.

For the techies here are the key features and specifications of the BlackBerry PlayBook, which include:

7″ LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support
BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
1 GHz dual-core processor
1 GB RAM
Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording
Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
HDMI video output
Wi-Fi – 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, charging contacts
Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java
Ultra thin and portable:

Measures 5.1″x7.6″x0.4″ (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)

Additional features and specifications of the BlackBerry PlayBook will be shared on or before the date this product is launched in retail outlets.

RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future.
No indications yet of likely pricing, but don't be too surprised if it ships at a similar price to the iPad.

CRC Independence workshops

2010-08-13T09:02:00.000+01:00

Jenny Smith will be presenting at a series of forthcoming workshops on the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme. The workshops, which are sponsored by the British Standards Institute (BSI), are being organised by CRC Independence - a union of independent experts with a mission to ensure that the CRC EES is a success for all participants.

Workshops will be held during August and September in Coventry, Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol, Leeds and London.

If you wish to register for the workshops, please visit http://www.crcindependence.co.uk/

Mobile roaming charges capped by EU

2010-07-31T10:24:00.000+01:00

As of 1st July 2010, the EU has legislated that mobile phone charges whilst roaming within EU boundaries should be capped to avoid users being presented with massive bills upon their return from holiday.
Under the new system, the maximum permitted charge for making a mobile call while in another EU state will be capped at 32p a minute and the rate for receiving calls at 12.5p a minute. Similarly, mobile data charges while roaming have been capped at €50 per month. SMS text charges remain at 9p per message.

It should be noted that this new EU regulation only applies whilst users are within the EU.

Are Your Appliances Wasting Money On Standby?

2010-06-18T15:46:00.002+01:00

Not long ago, I remember watching an advert in which we were being encouraged to save energy. It mentioned that if you were to unplug your TV at night, instead of leaving it on standby, you could save about £40 per annum. I was amazed that it could cost so much. Electricity companies must have had a huge increase in consumption with the introduction of "standby" mode, which was never an option when I was little. The TV then would be on or off and – egad! – there was no such thing as a remote! It was tough in those days, having to get up to change the channel …

If unplugging the TV can save £40 a year, it made me wonder how many other electrical appliances our family leaves on unnecessarily, which were costing us needlessly. A quick Google brought up many interesting articles, in one of which an enterprising individual had compiled a helpful chart, showing electricity costs for a variety of items. You can find this information here.

Meanwhile, I have been inspired to go in search of a watt meter, the better to educate members of our household to unplug, unplug, unplug. I wonder how much can be saved by the end of the year?

Energy Bill confirmed in Queen's Speech

2010-06-15T09:00:00.000+01:00

Legislation will be introduced to improve energy efficiency in British homes and businesses, to promote low carbon energy production, and to secure the UK’s energy supplies, it was announced today as part of the Queen’s Speech.

For the full article click http://bit.ly/cE29Hj

"Tab-Napping" - New Internet Security Threat

2010-06-11T11:04:00.004+01:00

Most people using the Internet these days are aware of fraudulent emails, purporting to be from their bank, credit card company or similar, and have learnt to ignore the dubious log in links which may be contained therein. However, there is a new, more alarming security threat which has now come to light.

Say, for example, you open a tab and go to your bank's website, but then decide to check another website in another tab, leaving the bank tab inactive. While you are on the other tab, the scammers may replace the bank page with malicious code, though it looks just like the web page you originally opened. When you return to this inactive tab and log in to your bank, your security details are actually sent to the fraudster. The scammer may customise the attack by checking the user's browser history.

There are ways to prevent this from happening, such as always checking the URL before entering any of your security details, ensuring that https appears, together with the padlock. Otherwise, re-enter the URL to be certain or open each web page in a new window, rather than a new tab.

Click here for more details.

Brentwood Borough Council Appoint Smith Bellerby

2010-06-07T11:38:00.005+01:00

Brentwood Borough Council have appointed Smith Bellerby to manage their mobile telephone fleet and to help to deliver efficiency measures and cost savings for the Council. Further details here.

Water Saving Facts and Tips

2010-06-04T10:55:00.004+01:00

Whilst browsing the Internet recently for ways in which to save energy, I came across a website – www.efficientenergysaving.co.uk - which pointed out these interesting facts:

Saving water facts

Less than 1% of water on the earth is available for drinking.
Each person on average uses 150 litres per day.
A dripping tap can waste up to 4 litres a day.
Most of our water is used in the bathroom at home.
One flush of the toilet can use between 3.5 and 9.5 litres.
A shower may use only 30 litres compared to a bath of 110 litres, but a power shower can use up to 60 litres per minute.

When there were water shortages during the summer months when I was little, I can recall my mother putting a brick in the toilet cistern to reduce the water used per flush. Now I see that you can purchase an item known as a Hippo bag, made from heavy gauge Polyethylene, which does a similar job. It is placed in the water underneath the large cistern float to lessen the volume of water used each time the toilet is flushed. At www.waterwise.org.uk, they tell us that toilets account for about 30% of total water usage in the home and offer an interesting and considerable array of products to reduce water used when flushing!

Having let these thoughts percolate for a while, I now find that I'm thinking about water usage around the home much more. When brushing my teeth, I no longer leave the tap running; the washing up water is recycled; I try to take shorter showers and if someone leaves the tap running, I'm there like a shot, switching it off.

Now I'm off to look for some electricity savings!

Everything Everywhere - the new name for Orange/T-Mobile

2010-05-12T14:10:00.000+01:00

Combined and improved Orange/T-Mobile network infrastructure will be best in UK market, and underpin the 'Everything Everywhere' message, says chief. Everything Everywhere, the UK joint venture between Orange and T-Mobile, will put rival firms' network infrastructure in the shade, reckons chief executive Tom Alexander.

Asked if their combined network operation would settle the argument over network quality, with customers of both brands roaming across all shared infrastructure by the end of the year, Alexander said:

"Definitely. I think every operator has a need to improve 3G coverage. We already have a huge advantage, and T-Mobile has a very mature 3G network also. Put those together and the step-change in terms of geographic coverage means we've got a really superior network. It is a huge advantage.

For the full article, published in Mobile News, visit: http://bit.ly/c2N4rB

iPad available from 28 May in UK (from £429......)

2010-05-07T16:38:00.000+01:00

The Apple iPad will be available from £429 when it is released in the UK on May 28, with the most expensive model costing £699.
The 16GB Wi-Fi model is priced the lowest, with other Wi-Fi models - 32GB and 64GB - costing £499 and £599 respectively. The Wi-Fi + 3G iPads - 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models - will cost £529, £599 and £699 respectively.

The iPad will be available for pre-order in the UK on 10th May. The iPad will be available through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Autorised Resellers. For the UK, O2, Vodafone and Orange have announced dedicated iPad plans upon its release.

iPad unboxed

2010-05-06T09:51:00.000+01:00

Those of you who can't wait to see what is in the iPad packaging can find out here: http://bit.ly/c3Mt9D

Training (and aching) for Snowdon

2010-04-27T09:09:00.000+01:00

I'm not moving a quickly today after a fairly full day walking the Malvern Hills at the weekend trying to get my pitiful body ready for Snowdon on 26th June, when I will "help" my good friend Dave Bradley lead a group of the nurses that helped him recover from leukaemia to the summit. The event will raise money for the Shropshire Blood Research charity and will take place is 10 months after Dave's bone marrow transplant and 13 months since he was first diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.

Please donate to this extremely good cause by visiting:

http://www.justgiving.com/Dave-Bradley

BlackBerry WES 2010

2010-04-23T13:56:00.000+01:00

Anyone who values a face-to-face conversation, with a healthy dollop of eye contact, should probably avoid Orlando, Florida during the 27-29 April 2010 (even if you could guarantee to be able to fly there and back) when 5,000 BlackBerry users will get together to stare at their small screens. The event starts with a party on the 27th, when Joss Stone and Bedouin Soundclash will be trying to get their attention. For those who, like me, are constantly being asked to 'put the damn thing down and talk to me!' you may wish to check out http://www.attendwes.com/event

Which mobile operating system is best for your business?

2010-04-22T13:36:00.002+01:00

Thanks in part to the success of the iPhone, smartphones are now big business with a growing number of hardware and software platforms from which to choose.

But for enterprise the emphasis has always been less on crowd-pleasing features, and more on data security and integrity, device management and compatibility with existing company systems.

Let’s see how the main five contenders - Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Symbian and Windows Mobile / Windows Phone measure up. http://bit.ly/Mobile_OS

Snowdon summit or bust for Leukemia Research

2010-04-10T16:54:00.000+01:00

I've just been "cajoled" into helping a group of nurses climb Snowdon by my best mate Major Dave Bradley, who was diagnosed with leucemia last June, after his teeth started bleeding on the way down Snowdon, during a day out with his wife Debbie. Dave, who is the fittest and most single minded bloke I have ever known, is currently in full remission and has decided to raise money for Leukemia Research by taking the nurses that helped him back to health to the summit of Snowdon without using the train. Dave has already raised £3,000+ in sponsorship from friends, but I am now looking for help from the business community to raise at least the same again. Please pledge generously to encourage this fat old bloke with dodgey knees (me!) on his quest to help a really worthwhile cause.

Carbon Management: take off your engineering anorak

2010-04-09T15:56:00.002+01:00

My good friend Richard Hipkiss, Sales and Marketing Director for i-Prophets is due to address the CIBSE National Conference on 28th April. Richard's talks, which usually focus on the practical aspects of energy compliance and carbon reduction, are always lively, informative and very thought provoking and this one is definitely a must for anyone involved in delivering carbon reductions for their organisation or dealing with energy compliance.

To book your place at the conference please visit http://bit.ly/i-prophets

Mobile operators target fixed line business

2010-04-09T15:40:00.000+01:00

Telefonica O2 have recently launched an aggressive fixed line offer via their main dealer network aimed at luring additional revenue from its existing business mobile clients. The tariffs, with fixed line to mobile charges as low as 6p per minute and free fixed line calls to O2 mobiles, are yet another clear sign that the mobile networks are desperate to find ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors in an increasingly "commoditised" market, where there is little to choose between them in terms of handset models, tariffs, network coverage, data services or value for money.

The O2 fixed line tariff is certainly worth considering, particularly for those organisations that operate O2 mobile fleets, and it will be interesting to see which of the mobile networks is next to launch a fixed line offering.

iPad goes on sale today in US

2010-04-03T10:03:00.000+01:00

The Apple iPad goes on sale today in the US and should be available in the UK in about 4 weeks time. This new "must have" device will be able to access more than 150,000 applications already available for the iPhone.

British Gas and Vodafone join on smart metering - a partnership made in.....?

2010-04-01T19:06:00.000+01:00

British Gas has just announced a multi-million pound deal with mobile operator Vodafone in the UK, to create a “smart metering” system for gas.

A traditional gas meter is just a dial that tells you how much gas you’ve used. The meter reader comes and reads the meter every once in a while (if you are really, really lucky), and you get charge based on your consumption since the last reading, or the supplier makes a wild over-estimate of your usage and send you a bill that makes even the UK national debt look pathetic! A Smart Meter, on the other hand, incorporates mobile phone technology to pass your meter reading to the gas supplier every half hour, rather than once every blue moon. All of your actual usage is recorded and you should then be billed accurately by the supplier.

This trial will initially involve one million smart meters delivering their data to British Gas via Vodafone's GPRS data network. Hopefully, scope for a massive improvement in gas billing accuracy that will benefit the customer and also the supplier, who will not need to spend money reading meters. One wonders what effect this may have on short term cash flow for BG, as their interest from excessive estimates may soon disappear completely......

Orange and T-Mobile joined at the hip

2010-04-01T17:11:00.001+01:00

In a letter today from Robert Ainger, Director of Corporate Marketing for Orange, we finally received confirmation that the "orange and pink" are now joined at the hip:

"Orange and T-Mobile have now officially joined forces to create the UK’s number one communications company, and deliver an unrivalled experience for our customers.

Both Orange and T-Mobile have individually led the industry with many firsts for the British market. From per-second billing to the first tailored mobile tariff for SME and corporate customers, to the world’s first Windows powered smartphone. Now, together, our brands will operate within the same company – a company that has the same ambition, the same beliefs and the same vision – to deliver a brilliant service to you, our customer.

With almost 30 million customers our ambition is to offer our business customers an experience that surpasses all others in the market - the biggest UK network with the best coverage, a technical expertise driven by the best engineers in the business, a wider choice of the latest handsets and devices, and the most comprehensive service support structure for our customers.

I want to assure you that while we bring our organisations together, it’s business as usual for you. Nothing changes with your service, your contacts or the way we work with you for now. Our business customers are a key focus and we are fully committed to providing you with the best service, account management and access to the best network in the UK.

We are very excited about the potential of our joint venture and what it will offer to our customers and we’re working hard to ensure that you will soon be able to take advantage of these benefits. We’ll be in touch with more information about what the joint venture will bring to you."

A lot of it is clearly marketing spin, with little firm detail of what the "merger" will actually mean for clients in real terms, although we hope that the way is now clear for the integration of both physical networks on both GSM and 3G platforms that will deliver significantly better coverage for both sets of customers.

Mobile phone thefts on the rise

2010-03-28T09:25:00.000+01:00

In this article by David Neal, published by tech review website V3.co.uk, it was revealed that 228 handsets stolen every hour in the UK.
UK citizens are being urged to keep their mobile phones safe, following the revelation that some three million handset owners have been victims of theft.

Research from life assistance company CPP shows which parts of the UK are the worst for phone thefts. Some 11 per cent of residents in Sheffield have had their phones stolen, followed by Edinburgh at nine per cent and London at eight per cent.
The most common way of losing a phone is theft from a pocket, at 25 per cent of victims, but 20 per cent had phones stolen from a pub or restaurant table, 10 per cent had been mugged, and five per cent had suffered a theft while at work.
However, despite this 'epidemic', few users insure their handsets, according to CPP, which said that almost two-thirds of Brits choose to opt out of such services.
"Mobile phones are an integral part of our day-to-day lives, and many would be lost without them," said Danny Harrison, head of mobile at CPP.
"It's no wonder that thieves target phones, especially with the increasing amount of personal and sensitive information held on them to access social networking sites and mobile banking services."

Vodafone and O2 at odds over O2 data network

2010-03-20T13:42:00.002Z

Vodafone has recently criticised O2's data network following an interview for Mobile Magazine by O2's Chief Technical Officer, Derek McManus. In the interview McManus acknowledged that their network had "issues" resulting from the increased use of smartphones.

Mairead Cullen, Head of Network for Vodafone in the UK, took this frank admission as a opportunity to have a pop at one of their reducing number of rivals in the UK.

No comment yet from anyone at T'Orange Mobile (probably too busy becoming a joined-up network). One hopes that their new brand won't feature a mix of their current corporate colours - orange and pink - yuk!

Blackberry Enterprise Server Express

2010-03-20T09:37:00.000Z

Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) software has been a "must have" application for organisations wishing to manage and control the security of their Blackberry fleet. The software has typically been charged at £2,500 (including 20 or 30 Client Access Licenses (CALs) - one needed for each Blackberry), with additional CALs costing £50 a time. The BES software allows the Blackberry fleet manager to impose just over 400 different security rules which determine what users can and can't do.

Research in Motion (RIM), who developed Blackberry have recently launched BES Express, which as the name implies, is a cut down version of its big brother with only 35 security rules - the ones that most organisations would want to use anyway. The really major difference between BES and BES Express though is in the cost. BES Express is a totally FREE download (http://bit.ly/BES_Express) from the RIM website, and CALs are also free!

Freedom of Information (FOI)

2010-03-16T09:16:00.001Z

I've just spent three hours compiling data in response to an FOI request from a newspaper reporter wanting mobile phone costs and details going back to 2006 for a couple of my local government clients, and no doubt there will be more today from other clients in the same geographic area. Now whilst I would be amongst the first to man the barricades if the freedom of the press was threatened, could I please ask for a bit of forethought from the reporters who submit these FOI requests, which can cause huge amounts of "wasted" effort for local govenment officers who are, in most cases, strapped for time as it is?

Whilst you could actually argue that news reporters are only doing their job, the FOI requests that really make my blood boil are those from suppliers who are too bloody idle to do their own market research and get their potential clients to do it for them under the auspices of FOI requests. Do they really think that local government officers are so stupid that they won't recognise this sort of FOI request for what it is, and do they think that all the extra effort that gets expended will make them think kindly of such a supplier? Perhaps it's time that the Freedom of Information Act 2000 was amended to stop it from being misused in this way? Rant over.

Degree Days explained

2010-03-12T16:20:00.002Z

If you have ever stuggled to understand the concept of Degree Days, the following extract from industry expert Vilnis Vesma may shed some much needed light (but unfortunately no heat!):

"When you use fuel or electricity for space heating, demand will tend to vary according to how cold the weather is. This of course is what makes the consumption seasonally variable to such an extent; and the erratic nature of the weather, even averaged over a month, is what makes fuel consumption so hard to manage. In the UK, for example, it is possible for one November to be twice as cold as another, and hence for heating fuel demand to vary by a factor of two between corresponding months. But can we really say that one month is 'twice as cold' as another? Does it mean anything?

Yes, it does. When the outside air is above a certain temperature your building won't need heating. This is what we will call the 'base temperature'; in the UK it's common to assume a value of 15.5 Celsius, but this is just a historical convention. If the average outside air temperature on a given day is below this base temperature, you will need heat; and your heat requirement that day will be in proportion to the temperature deficit in degrees. Add up the daily temperature deficits over a month, and you get cumulative degree-days (degrees multiplied by days, do you see?). And these cumulative degree days are, by definition, proportional to cumulative heat requirements over the same period. Thus a month in which 360 degree-days are clocked up is 'twice as cold' as one with a total of 180 degree-days."

ScottishPower to cut gas prices by 8 per cent

2010-03-12T16:00:00.000Z

ScottishPower has announced retail gas price cuts, the last of the "big six" to do so. The company will reduce prices by an average of 8 per cent from 31 March, which equate to average customer savings £66 per annum. According to the firm some of its dual fuel customers could make savings of up to £382 by changing the way they pay and managing their account online. Approximately 60,000 vulnerable customers who use electricity to heat their homes will also receive a £50 winter rebate by the end of March, the company claimed.

Recycling household food waste - the low carbon approach

2010-03-10T14:31:00.000Z

Food waste presents a new challenge for local authorities for two reasons: firstly, food waste makes up about 25% of household waste and is 100% biodegradable; secondly, alternate weekly collections of bins containing food waste is not popular with householders. There is an emerging solution to this challenge which has the enticing benefit that it also involves low-carbon technology.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a natural biological process (like composting) which recycles organic materials into biofertiliser. The key differences between AD and composting are: first, AD is sealed from the air; second, AD is suited to high-moisture materials (such as food waste); and third, AD produces renewable energy in the form of biogas. To read the full article please click here Recycling household food waste

Apple iPad to launch in UK in April 2010

2010-03-09T09:45:00.000Z

The Apple iPad will go on sale in the UK at the end of next month, only a matter of weeks after its launch in the US on 03 April. There will be WiFi and 3G variants available in each of three sizes; 16Gb, 32Gb and 64Gb, with prices ranging in the US from $499 (£332) to $829 (£550).

It's probably going to become the next "must have" gadget for the fashion conscious (and those just trying to hand on to the last vestiges of their distant youth) but one wonders how much value it will have in the business community? There will undoubtedly be thousands of apps for the device almost as soon as it is launched, but anyone in the public sector wanting to connect to secure corporate networks will likely encounter similar problems to those who wanted to connect the iPhone and fell foul of the CoCo regulations.

OfCom "The Business Customer Experience" report

2010-03-08T18:56:00.000Z

OfCom, the regulator for communications, has published the results of their research into the state of the business telecommunications market, where they asked businesses what they thought of their providers of mobile, fixed line voice and data telecommunications services. The full report, which would make heavy reading even for a statistician, can be accessed by clicking this link: The Business Customer Experience

However, the results of the research into Customer Service was very revealing:

"We found that poor customer service is one of the most important reasons for dissatisfaction among business consumers. Businesses who said they were dissatisfied with an aspect of their service most commonly cited customer service as the cause of dissatisfaction. Those who were dissatisfied with customer services most often mentioned the failure to address a problem immediately (including being passed around numerous people before a problem is tackled). Where customers had dedicated account managers, there were also complaints about availability of the relevant account manager."

We would welcome your views, because we can certainly endorse the general experience of poor customer service cited above. Let us know what your experiences have been.

Need to get involved in the CRC Efficiency Scheme?

2010-03-06T14:36:00.000Z

Are "experts" telling you that you will affected by the CRC Efficiency Scheme (formerly called the Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme)? If you need to know for sure the Carbon Trust have published an informative article here: http://bit.ly/CRC_Efficiency

Which Blackberry service do we need?

2010-03-02T15:59:00.000Z

For those of you confused about the difference between the four ways of managing your Blackberry fleet, Research in Motion (RIM), the manufacturers of Blackberry, have published a comparison chart that shows in fairly simple terms the differences between the different services. See http://bit.ly/8X5kG1

Even Microsoft are talking about Smith Bellerby!

2010-03-02T15:46:00.000Z

I've just discovered an article on Microsoft's web site featuring Donna Joyce, our Business Development Manager. The article (about flexible mobile working) is slightly out of date, as we are quite a bit bigger than when it was written, but the technology solutions for remote working are still in use. http://bit.ly/bR7pPJ

T-Mobile boss Richard Moat runs through his time in charge

2010-03-01T16:30:00.000Z

Aspects of T-Mobile’s recent performance stand out, and show parent Deutsche Telekom hired a skilled ‘hatchet man’ when it drafted in Richard Moat from Orange Romania as T-Mobile UK managing director in June last year.
The month before Moat joined, the Deutsche Telekom board had just written off €1.8 billion from the value of its UK business, and reportedly invited bids for the unit. Certainly Moat’s punchy brief was to sort it out, whether that meant by organic means in the first instance or by some third-party arrangement.

For the full article read: http://bit.ly/cVLFYh

T-Mobile and Orange merger cleared by EC

2010-03-01T16:16:00.002Z

The European Commission has given approval for the proposed merger in the UK between Orange (owned by France Telecom) and T-Mobile (owned by Deutsche Telekom). The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has withdrawn any opposition to the deal after both networks agreed to relinquish 25% of their 1800MHz network in the UK. The merger will give the new joint entity a combined 37% share of the UK market.

Nework managed vs independently managed mobile fleets

2010-02-27T16:33:00.004Z

As the management of mobile phone fleets becomes increasingly complex and very much more time consuming, many organisations are considering outsourcing the management of their mobile phone fleets to third parties. At the same time, the mobile networks are faced with the inevitable problem that their standard voice and data offering has become "commoditised", with little to choose between any of the networks when it comes to price, handsets, customer service (?), billing and "free" add-ons. All the networks are really trying to identify something that will set them apart from their competitors, and what better way than to offer a "fully managed" and outsourced solution?

However, if you are considering a fully (or partially) outsourced management solution, before accepting the glossy sales hype, it may be worth asking yourself (and your potential provider) as few straightforward questions.......

For the full article please visit: http://bit.ly/mobile_fleet_management

Controlling your mobile smartphone magnetically?

2010-02-27T11:44:00.000Z

Deutsche Telecom (DT), who market themselves as T-Mobile in the UK, are currently working on an application for mobile phones that will allow the user to "interface" with the device without actually touching it. A user can turn the pages of an on-screen document simply by moving their hand right to left above the handset. The application, called MagiTact, is being developed to overcome the difficulties of human interaction with smart devices that are becoming ever smaller. Which of us has not struggled with big fingers and ever smaller keys?

The application, which only works on devices containing compass sensors (most modern handsets), works by identifying changes in the magnetic field surrounding the handset, whilst the user is wearing a magnetised ring. In testing, the prototype software recognised hand gestures 90% of the time.

This new application was presented at the International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces in Hong Kong which ran from 7-10 February 2010.

The future of high speed wireless?

2010-02-27T09:49:00.000Z

Wi-Fi as we know it is reaching the limits of its usefulness. It just can't keep up with our appetite for services, such as new video formats, that gobble up bandwidth. So what's next in the world of blistering fast wireless technology? The article published in New Scientist gives an insight http://bit.ly/Gi-Fi

Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PQQs)

2010-02-25T19:50:00.000Z

I'm looking for some feedback from other professional services organisations working, or seeking to work, in the Public Sector in the UK. How difficult do you find it to qualify for public sector procurement?

We have been working very successfully with Local Government authorities for the past nine years and have recently been trying to build on our experience. I would be the first to applaud any initiative that sought to weed out the cowboys. However, collectively we have spent 26 hours THIS WEEK ALONE filling in three separate pre-qualification questionnaires for a police authority, a publicly funded business support organisation and a group of Councils in the North East. Please bear in mind that this isn't submitting the Tender itself, this is just trying to jump through enough hoops to be considered to get on the tender list. The police authority questionnaire alone took 16 hours to complete, and this to qualify just to be considered to be allowed to submit a price for a three month audit contract worth a few thousand pounds. This same police authority insisted on professional liability insurance of £2,000,000!

Now, two years ago we registered for the Select Accredit scheme (at a cost of £80 per year), which should provide access to public sector purchasing organisations, but clearly this isn't the case. The three questionnaires we completed this week all asked for very similar information (insurance certificates, audited accounts for the past three years, "elfin" safety policy, etc etc etc), all of which we have in spades and have alredy submitted to the Select Accredit people. All the questionnaires were "free" to submit, although one insisted that you needed to be "CHAS" registered to be considered (another £160 fee required).

We are continually being told that all public sector organisations are seeking to engage with SMEs, so that we can properly participate in supplying those organisations that we pay for with our taxes, but I wonder when someone will start applying a bit of "joined up" common sense regarding "qualification"?

I would welcome any comments.

Social Media

2010-02-21T18:52:00.000Z

As someone relatively new to so called "social media", I have been attempting to understand the ways of integrating this new route to market into an existing, old fashioned marketing plan. The upshot seems to be that whilst you will clearly save money using the new media, it needs to be balanced against the huge amount of additional time that you will undoubtedly end up ploughing in.

I have just about got my head round LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com) and I am starting to understand Twitter (http://www.twitter.com), and today I was made aware of Hootsuite (http://www.hootsuite.com) for managing business tweets, and Bit.ly (http://bit.ly) for creating nice short URLs. For folks wanting to get more from Twitter, I can recommend The Twitter Book by Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein (ISBN: 978-0-596-80281-3).

Doing more with Blackberry

2010-02-14T11:42:00.000Z

Those organisations that have deployed Blackberry, quickly recognise that their staff get more done, as the Blackberry allows email to be dealt with whilst the user is away from their PC, it enables appointments to be made whilst away from the office, and it also extends the working week - I have a couple of local government managers who regularly emails questions to me after 9.00pm on a Saturday evening - and I reply!

However, once the initial PIM (personal information management) benefit of Blackberry has been realised, many organisations want to know how else they can "work their asset" to further improve efficiency.

We have been working with a few clients to explore Blackberry based mobile applications that can deliver real improvements. One of these "apps" enables companies to distribute tasks remotely to a mobile workforce; monitor progress of the tasks, and even automatically capture workforce timesheets and vehicle mileage records. Another application enables the Blackberry user to fill in a purpose-made order form whilst they are with a customer and have the data transmitted back to the office before they have left the customer's premises. These purpose-made forms can be created by the user in about 30 minutes, after a couple of hours of initial practice.

PIR urinal controllers

2010-02-14T10:48:00.000Z

Many organisations know that it makes sense to fit passive infra red (PIR) motion sensors in washrooms to reduce the flush frequency of urinal cisterns. Unfortunately, these same organisations frequently forget that these devices need to be maintained, usually at least once a year, even if that is only to change the batteries. The graph shown below illustrates what happens to water consumption when PIR sensors are not maintained.

The cost of personal calls made on business mobiles

2010-02-14T10:23:00.000Z

Most organisations allow employees to make personal calls on business mobiles, and most employees are happy to take advantage of this facility, as the tariffs available to businesses are generally much better than those available on the High Street. However, our ongoing benchmarking exercises have shown that the cost of personal calls can account for up to 25% of the total cost of ownership of a mobile phone fleet. In the first of a series of articles (link below) we explore some of the mechanisms for recovering these costs with the minimum of additional administrative activity.

http://www.smithbellerby.co.uk/newsarticle/personal-calls-on-business-mobiles---getting-your-money-back-part-1/988.html

Community centres and places of worship

2010-02-13T09:45:00.000Z

If you are responsible for paying the water bills for a community centre or a place of worship you may wish to check what you are paying for water and sewerage charges. We have recently delivered thousands of pounds worth of savings for clients with these types of property.

Telephone call rate "tricks"

2010-02-11T17:20:00.000Z

Fixed line telecoms companies frequently quote extremely attractive pence per minute rates for telephone calls, but just as frequently fail to mention the fact that they have a minimum call charge. So for example, they may quote a rate for national calls of 0.7p per minute, leading you quite naturally to believe that a 2 minute call will cost 1.4p, but fail to tell you that they have a 3.0p minimum call charge. They also fail to mention that they may charge a "connection" charge for every call of, say, 2p which is incurred as soon as your call is connected. A 30 second call could therefore cost you 5.0 pence, when you were expecting it to be less than half a penny! It pays to ask some detailed questions before you sign anything.

Energy saving initiatives

2010-02-11T17:12:00.000Z

If your company or organisation is thinking of introducing energy saving initiatives, measure how much you are currently using before you start "tinkering".

Unless you know what you are using and what it is costing you, you won't know what impact the changes that you implement have made. Measurements can be as simple as just reading the existing meter for a long enough period to be able to see what the normal usage trend is, or it can be as complicated as replacing the existing meter with a smart meter (don't try and do this yourself!) which automatically delivers the usage data to your email address.

The data graphed here shows that almost half way through the measurement period some action (hopefully intentional!) caused a definite reduction in the amount of energy being used at all times, known as the base load. If we hadn't measured energy usage before the energy saving initiative had been implemented, we couldn't have quantified the saving that had been made.