DQ Issue 15 - This is Tomorrow Calling

#TMRWCONF15 Get insight on DQ’s field trip to the fantastic TMRW Conference 2015.

DIB APP Yes, You read correctly! DIB is now more mobile than ever.

WHAT WE LEARNT IN Q2

DQ

We take a look at the developments of the second quarter of 2015.

+ TOTALLY FRANK JUST JIM UPTOWN GIRL JUST JONAS ANDY BOUNDS TIPS

THIS IS TOMORROW CALLING...

DIGITAL ISSUE

ISSUE 15

THIS MAGAZINE IS WRITTEN, DESIGNED AND PRODUCED BY THE DOWNTOWN IN BUSINESS TEAM, AND PRINTED BY CALLPRINT © DOWNTOWN IN BUSINESS. Downtown in Business can accept no responsibility for the veracity of the claims made by the advertisers. The views expressed are not necessarily the views of the publisher (DIB)

IN THIS ISSUE

CONTENTS COLUMNS Totally Frank

6

Just Jim

9

Uptown Girl

10

Andy Bounds’ Quarterly Tip

13

Just Jonas

15

FEATURES This Is Tomorrow Calling

17

The Future Is TMRW

22

oneHR: What Is oneHR?

23

Wall of Fame

24

Desktop NW: Downtown has Moved

27

5 Things We Learned In Q2

28

Claire House Children’s Hospice

34

DIB App

36

Aabyss Computers

38

DOWNTIME Downtime

39

City of Leeds Business Awards 2015

40

DQ Cool List

44

Special Downtown Announcement

46

The Powerhouse Isn’t Just About the North

47

CONTACT

US

FOR ADVERT ENQUIRIES CONTACT US AT: enquiries@dqonline.co.uk or call us: 0151 556 1897

WEBSITE:

www.dqonline.co.uk

DQ

4

EDITOR’S WELCOME Two months on, and some people, particularly leading members of the Labour Party, are still coming to terms with the election result that saw the first majority Conservative government return to power since 1997.

It was a shock result that is reflected upon by a number of DQ contributors this issue, alongside the implications the Tory victory has on policy issues, most particularly devolution and the Northern Powerhouse.

Our main focus this edition, though, is the fastest paced and fastest growing sector of digital. Exciting to some, mystifying to many, but inescapably a central part of all businesses in the twenty-first century whether you like it or not, we have asked three industry experts to share their thoughts on the future; with an additional smattering of HR advice on social media BEST WISHES, JACK HUNTER DQ EDITOR

and techy ethics; and news of an innovative new software product that is about to hit the market – and that will be FREE to Downtown members.

All the usual favourites are here as well, with features on a very special charity Claire House; IT infrastructure experts Abyss, and the spectacular night that was the inaugural City of Leeds Business Awards.

We also look ahead to Downtown’s next big step, as the business club with attitude prepares to move beyond the boundaries of the north and into the West Midlands and the great city of Birmingham.

Enjoy DQ – and I’ll see you all at a Downtown event very soon.

@DIBJack_

CONTRIBUTORS @DowntownFrank

@JimHancockUK

@vbrownhpc

@RPJonas

Frank McKenna

Jim Hancock

Victoria Brown

Roger Jonas

The founder and chief executive of Downtown in Business, Frank was a politician for twelve years before setting up his own business. He was leader of the Northwest Regional Assembly, Deputy Leader of Lancashire County Council and a Parliamentary Assistant. He was also the chairman of economic development agency Lancashire Enterprises. He was described as the most influential politician in the region by Insider magazine in 1998; and he is now recognised as one of the best connected business leaders in the north of England. Frank is a member of the International Festival for Business Board. He has presented his own business radio programme on City Talk 105.9fm for five years.

Jim Hancock has held the top jobs in political journalism at Granada and BBC North West.

Now he’s working with some of the country’s top companies in hosting their conferences. Recent commissions include facilitating a national conference for HS2 Industry Leaders Group attended

by Lord Deighton and Sir David Higgins and hosting a conference of international companies which make up the consortium building the Mersey Gateway bridge. Ever versatile, he is soon to host a global conference on antibiotic resistance supported

by AstraZeneca and Redx Pharma. Other clients include the Information Commission and United Utilities.

DQ’s award winning Uptown Girl started her first business at just 17, sold her second business at 30 and is the Managing Director of the HR outsourcing company High Performance Consultancy which she established in 2007.

Entrepreneur Victoria is about to embark on her next business, OneHR, an innovative and comprehensive online HR and administrative system that has already secured users from major UK and international companies.

You would not be advised to play mind games with her anytime soon either – she has a degree in Psychology and a Masters in Occupational Psychology. Pity her husband!

Roger’s work life started in professional theatre with a sweeping brush! Following a 10 year stint in design and production management, he moved to Liverpool to open Easy Street Arts Centre in the city centre. Following this, Roger moved into teaching stagecraft to mature students before he was approached to design and manage the Masque Theatre in Seel Street, and has since managed a number of venues in the city. He joined Downtown in 2008 to support the development of our ambitious events programme throughout the North. He is passionate about working for a business that makes a difference and is recognised for its effectiveness in supporting local economies.

@cawilcox86

@DIB_Tom

Chris Wilcox

Tom Woolley

Chris permanently joined Downtown in 2008 after a successful placement year from John Moores University in 2007.

Initially responsible for updating the Downtown websites, Chris’ role now encompasses work in Graphic Design and Video Production along with various other IT related jobs, but his main focus is on the website and email marketing.

Tom Woolley is Head of Business Support for Downtown in Business, having previously been a member for over 7 years.

Outside of the office Chris enjoys watching movies/TV shows (Netflix is currently a household favourite), and playing the odd computer game (He is currently a more legendary manager than Sir Alex Ferguson in his Football Manager career).

Tom has worked developing the corporate side of the official charities of both the Liverpool Echo and Everton Football Club in recent years, generating many long standing partnerships for both charities through networks built up by Downtown.

This has given Tom the perfect insight into how members can best maximise the value of a Downtown membership, and he will work with every member to make sure that they achieve this return on investment.

A Special Thanks to

Andy Bounds, Tom Cheesewright, Scott Dylan and Tom Stables.

Design & Artwork Graphic Design: Jack Hunter Photography: David Longstaffe, Deana Kay Photography, Unsplash, LA Multimedia

FOLLOW US! @dq_online DQ Online dqonline

5

TOTALLY FRANK

Words by Frank McKenna

THE HONEYMOON PERIOD WILL SOON BE OVER 6

The General Election result on May 7th was a huge surprise to all the experts and commentators - and particularly the pollsters; and the outcome has been met largely with positivity and some relief by the majority of the business community.

Certainty of direction, a Tory government committed to lower tax rates, a devolution agenda that offers genuine opportunity to the big city regions outside of London, and the promise of an enterprise friendly agenda can only be good news for the private sector – but will David Cameron’s honeymoon last beyond this calendar year?

We have already seen him abandon his Manifesto commitment to opt out of the Human Right Act under pressure from his pro civil rights backbenchers. What will he do when his anti EU mob and Europhiles start kicking lumps out of one another in the run up to the in/ out EU referendum? And what will the fallout within the Conservative party be post that referendum, whatever the result?

The idea that David Cameron, with a majority of just a dozen, can breeze through his last five years as Prime Minister and smoothly hand over the reins of power to Boris, Teresa, George or an as yet unknown rising star is as fanciful as the suggestion that Sepp Blatter is the right man to clean up FIFA. Dave will have an increasing number of challenges to face down the nearer he comes to his farewell tour, and if mid-term blues see the usual crushing of Tory councils, the Conservatives perform poorly in the European elections (assuming we are still in the EU) and the Scottish Nationalists continue to seriously threaten the Union, then there is no guarantee that the men in grey suits from the 1922 committee won’t be knocking on Cameron’s door long before he is planning to bring down his final curtain.

EU VOTE OUTCOME FAR FROM CERTAIN Speaking of the EU, and once again the chattering classes and the political establishment appear to have been lulled into what I would suggest is a false sense of security over the outcome of the forthcoming in/out vote.

There is an assumption that warnings from business leaders, the fear of change and then the urging from our mainstream political leaders will have the electorate of Britain lining up in droves to vote ‘Yes’ to stay in the EU. This assumption is dangerous, because the one thing that is absolutely clear from 7th May is that we have a volatile electorate who don’t so much have a healthy cynicism towards politicians and big business, but more an absolute contempt.

To secure victory the ‘Yes’ camp needs more energy, excitement and connection than I am sensing at the moment.

I am not suggesting that the pro - Europeans recruit celebrity hippies or cross dressing comedians to promote their campaign – that approach failed miserably for Labour in May – but engagement with a business community that is ‘real’, an admission that many things within the EU do need to be challenged and changed, and a serious, mature debate about immigration is the very least people will expect.

If I was a betting man I would say the UK will remain a member of the EU – but it will be a much closer run thing than some are anticipating at the moment.

WWW.DQONLINE.CO.UK

TOTALLY FRANK

TURN LEFT AND LABOUR WILL C RA SH It never ceases to amaze me how little politicians, journalists and commentators learn from history.

Post the General Election we have heard ‘experts’ virtually declaring the death of the Labour Party and urging a realignment of the left, which would constitute some form of bizarre arrangement with the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and even the Scottish National Party.

We then have the group of ideological, infantile lefties suggesting that Labour’s loss was due to the fact that it wasn’t left wing enough!

Finally, a whole range of folk are suggesting that the UK is now Tory forever, and Labour faces a lifetime of opposition as the nation turns blue.

The ‘realignment’ argument isn’t new. Indeed it was one articulated by trendy London modernisers throughout the eighties and early nineties as we appeared to be in the middle of a nightmare scenario that would deliver us a Thatcher led administration for eternity.

Proportional Representation and deals with other antiTory parties seemed the only way back for Labour to this relatively influential group of individuals. Then along came Tony Blair, a landslide election victory and ironically many of these figures went off to become special advisers to New Labour Ministers.

Also worth noting, following Blair’s three, count them, three consecutive General Election victories, the same commentators who are writing Labour off today were writing obituaries for the Conservative Party.

The ‘not left wing enough’ claptrap was assigned to the dustbin after1983, a year when Labour presented a Manifesto that is now remembered as the longest suicide note in history. Michael Foot’s Labour Party was crushed.

The modernisation of the party, and the drive to drag it back to a centre was a long and arduous one. Labour WWW.DQONLINE.CO.UK

had nearly got there by 1992, but a combination of Neil Kinnock’s leadership and a ‘tax bombshell’ that was being offered by the then Shadow Chancellor John Smith, done for them.

Blair and New Labour reminded the party that it was in the business of politics to win, not to protest. It wasn’t anti enterprise or anti aspirational - indeed it needed to embrace the notion of celebrating entrepreneurs and wealth creators, for without creating wealth, how could you redistribute it?

New Labour also did the sums. From official and independent treasury figures it recognised that taxing people at 50% was gesture politics of the highest order.

From the day HMRC started to record tax collection figures they have proved positive that they take more revenue when the top rate of tax is 40% than when it is 50% or higher.

Huge investments in our schools, the NHS and other public services; the introduction of the minimum wage; Trade Union rights for workers at GCHQ; civil partnerships; an outward looking, pro – European stance; the regeneration of our major provincial cities; these are among a list of New Labour achievements that the ‘left’ prefer to ignore, as they associate Blair and his government with one issue and one only – Iraq. It is easy politics, but it’s lazy and not particularly clever either.

A lurch to the left is a sure fire way to make Labour impotent for another decade. The party needs to remember that ‘if you do what you’ve always done, you get what you always get’. Poor leadership, offering tax rises, and having a narrative that is perceived as left wing leads to election defeats. Fact. New Labour – played three, won three!

If advising Labour now I would not be advocating a total regurgitation of the five pledges, a New Labour offensive and a re-run of 1997. That would be nearly as daft as what the left is suggesting. But Labour needs to find a way that reconnects it with those that matter, the electorate. And it needs a leader that understands that too.

7

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JUST JIM

WILL LABOUR EVER TAKE POWER AGAIN?

Words by Jim Hancock

The Labour Party has been obliterated in Scotland. The south of England is a blue desert for them and even in the North, UKIP is taking blue collar votes.

How does Labour cope with the demand for radical policies north of the border whilst in the south the party will appeal will have to go easy on taxation and business in order to appeal to voters.

The 2015 General Election has given the Left big questions to answer but before we write them off, we should remember 1997. The Blair landslide had people saying he had captured the middle ground and left the Conservatives with a right wing rump. Things can change but the signs this summer aren't good.

There needed to be a debate between Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens to discuss the possibility of coming together either with a formal merger or a long term electoral pact. Instead there is a dash for leadership elections, Heresy will be the cry against the left uniting. Labour is a centrist organisation incapable of supporting the individualism of the true Liberal will be the contention. Only the Greens truly prioritise the environment would be the assertion of that party's leader Natalie Bennett.

My answer to all that tribalism is that you are not going to get voting reform under the Tories, so the likelihood is that the Left vote will remain split three ways. The Tories will laugh all the way to victory in 2020 and beyond under a first past the post system.

Really imaginative thinking is required by those opposed to the Conservatives and UKIP. It might even embrace the Scottish Nationalists. Do they really want full independence? Have you noticed them becoming cautious on a second referendum and even full fiscal autonomy. This is driven by the fall in the oil price and the on going need for English subsidy. Could the Scots be persuaded to buy into a federal Britain by a united party of the English Left?

Meanwhile business in the North is coming to terms with a full blown Conservative government. Although

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“The Tories will laugh all the way to victory in 2020 and beyond under a first past the post system.”

the majority is small, David Cameron is now seen as a winner by the Tory backbenchers who previously denied him full support because he had to do a deal with the Lib Dems. The Prime Minister is unlikely to face the scale of problems John Major had in the mid nineties.

So business has political stability at home.

As far as devolution for the North is concerned, there is a determination by the new Local Government Secretary of State, Greg Clark, to devolve power to the component parts of the Northern Powerhouse if they will embrace elected mayors.

Clark will have a powerful ally in Jim O'Neill. A northerner, he became a familiar figure behind early thinking on the Northern Powerhouse. As Lord O'Neill he will become Commercial Secretary in the Treasury and will have the chance to advance his ideas for a devolution commission to test the robustness of the stream of applications that will be coming from groups of councils in the North and Midlands for “Manchester style” deals.

Business has broadly welcomed Cameron's victory pointing to the economic improvement in his first term. The big downside for investment planning is the referendum on the European Union. The Tories may bring some common sense to economic recovery and deficit reduction but when it comes to risking our future in the world, that has been sacrificed to appease Euro sceptic backbenchers.

The negotiations will distract ministers for months on end, and whatever is negotiated will be widely denounced as a sell out. There is a real risk that the British people might well vote to come out in a spasm of anger against the government - always unpopular mid term.

9

UPTOWN GIRL

SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE WORKPLACE HAS BUSINESS EVOLVED ENOUGH?

Words by Victoria Brown

10 This year saw the twenty-sixth anniversary of the creation of the World Wide Web. The internet has transformed many aspects of our lives and, over the last decade, social networking sites have been at the heart of this. Why do we use Social Media in business? Social media connects millions of people across the world every day.

Businesses have recognised that the positive use of social media can be an effective tool for marketing and brand awareness. Social media is a more engaging platform than more traditional communications tools such as static intranets. Enterprise social networks also help organisations deliver better services over the longer term, being valuable tools for drawing on employee insight and experience to make improvements. As well as enabling ideas to be fed ‘upwards’, they provide forums for ideas.

‘Efficient’ and ‘Cost - effective’ – two of my favourite words.

If you don’t use Social Media to support your recruitment campaign, then you are missing out on a huge candidate pool. I have reduced recruitment fees for some businesses by 80% through the effective usage of Social Media. It costs nothing to tweet and even though there are costs associated to Linkedin, for some roles it has proven to be extremely successful.

The benefits of social media are undeniable, however it also presents employers with some new problems.

Employee use of social media, inside and outside of the workplace can expose employers to some serious risk.

It has been reported that the misuse of the internet and social media by employees costs the UK economy billions of pounds every year. Also, add to that mix that many employers are already grappling with issues like time theft, defamation, cyber bullying, freedom of speech and the invasion of privacy.

Learning and development is also an area that I have observed with excitement. While there will always be a place for face-to-face learning interventions, social media can transform many aspects of learning and development, being used to curate knowledge, locate experts and facilitate peer-to-peer support.

Despite all of this, I still strongly believe that all businesses should embrace social media within the workplace. You just need to be smart about it and get your ducks in a row.

WWW.DQONLINE.CO.UK

UPTOWN GIRL

Here are a few tips to enable you to utilise Social media within the workplace without having to fall foul of the law;

Developing a Policy Social Media Tips - DQ Magazine Employers need to decide what the boundaries within their workplace are. The policy needs to include what is and what is not acceptable for general behaviour in the use at work of the internet, emails, phones and social media; such as networking websites, blogs and tweets. Don’t forget to update other policies that relate to this also. For example, an organisation's policy on bullying should include references to 'cyber bullying'.

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Rules for Recruitment Social Media Tips - DQ Magazine It is advisable for an employer to provide guidance to managers and some rules to follow when using social media to recruit. In particular when recruiting, employers should be careful if assessing applicants by looking at their social networking pages - this can be discriminatory and unfair.

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Social Media Training

SPONSORED

Social Media Tips - DQ Magazine I am often surprised by the lack of awareness employees have of their own usage of social media. I always advise my clients to include social media within the induction process. Just by explaining to employees how to check their privacy settings on their social networking pages, can prevent so many problems. I have been involved in so many disciplinary hearings with employees that freely make disparaging comments about their place of work or boast about pulling a ‘sickie’. Self-awareness when using social media platforms is vital to all – would you place an advert in the local paper stating that you hate your boss?

No, so why do so many do it on facebook?

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Talk to Your Staff Social Media Tips - DQ Magazine Talk to your staff: Employers should inform and consult with their employees if planning to monitor social media activity affecting the workplace.

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Do you need help with your social media policy?

If you need any help in developing a social media policy then please contact the HPC team on 0844 8005932 or email victoria@ highperformanceconsultancy.com.

11

Welcome to Liverpool One Bridewell, the city’s best kept secret.

Offering some of the finest food and drink in the North West, Liverpool One Bridewell is a welcoming cultural oasis in the heart of the city. Set in a unique Grade II listed building, this 1850s former gaol and police station has been attracting high profile guests ever since Charles Dickens spent a day here while researching a novel back in 1860.

These days, loyal customers return time and time again for the friendly service and all their home comforts in the unusual setting of the historic cells.

However, if it’s al fresco dining you crave as we head into summer, Liverpool One Bridewell’s gorgeous walled garden is one of Liverpool’s hidden treasures, providing the perfect setting to eat and drink in the sunshine. With a new summer food and cocktail menu launching in May, and the best staff in town, Liverpool One Bridewell is the perfect place to enjoy the warmer nights.

And for life’s bigger celebrations, including weddings and private parties, Liverpool One Bridewell is available to hire.

Liverpool One Bridewell, 1 Campbell Square, Argyle Street, Liverpool, L1 5FB www.liverpoolonebridewell.com Tel: 0151 709 7000 Email: paul@liverpoolonebridewell.com Liverpool One Bridewell

@Lpool1Bridewell

ANDY BOUNDS

ANDY BOUNDS’ QUARTERLY TIP TWO

PHRASES

YOU

COMMONLY

HEAR:

‘I don’t feel comfortable making presentations’ ‘I use PowerPoint as a comfort blanket’ Which does beg the question: how good a comfort blanket can PowerPoint be, if people feel so uncomfortable using it?

And, even if you like PowerPoint, it’s your audiences – not you – that dictate whether your presentations are a success. So, your slides must be audience aids, not speaker prompts.

Audiences hate sitting through tedious, wordy slides.

Presenters hate delivering alongside them. So, here are five simple guidelines to using PowerPoint more effectively:

1

Start correctly: begin by thinking what you want your audience to do after your presentation – not what your content/slides should be. Let this ‘do’ govern your entire preparation. Go to PowerPoint last, not first: PowerPoint should be a tool to convey your thinking, not the way you think.

2

Less wordy: your slides should accompany – not duplicate – you. They must not tell the whole story, or there’s no point you being there. Only put key, simple, digestible words/visuals on your slides, for you to elaborate on.

3

Use the visual medium for visual things: PowerPoint is an excellent tool for communicating visual messages – graphics, charts, etc. But it’s a rubbish way to communicate full sentences and reasoned arguments. You – the presenter – are better at doing that. Either create visual, text-light presentations; or wordy, text-heavy documents. Don’t create something that tries to be both and, thus, is neither.

4

Use slide builds: if a slide has four points, your audience will be reading points 2-4 while you discuss point 1. This means they aren’t fully focused on any of them. Stop them reading ahead by clicking to bring up each new point.

5

And the best thing about PowerPoint? When you press ‘B’ on the keyboard, it blacks out the screen – perfect for when you want your audience 100% focused on you, not the slides.

ACTION PLAN Review a recent PowerPoint, and see how well you follow the five guidelines. Then, think of 1-2 simple ways to improve your next presentation.

WWW.DQONLINE.CO.UK

13

RICHMOND FEATURE

TRADITIONAL

CELEBRATIONS

WITH

ADDED

SPARKLE

A Classic Christmas at The Richmond Christmas Lunches, Dinners and Festive Afternoon Tea

Stylish & Sophisticated

Party Packages

Special Accommodation Deals

Bespoke Celebrations

Contact our Christmas Co-ordinators to discuss your plans: 0151 236 1220 info@richmondliverpool.com www.richmondliverpool.com

14

The Richmond Hotel Liverpool, 24 Hatton Garden Liverpool L3 2AN

@TheRichmond1 TheRichmondLiverpool

HAT-TRICK OF SUCCESS FOR RICHMOND HOTEL It’s just two years since The Richmond Hotel Liverpool opened its doors, and the venue has firmly established itself within the City Region’s thriving hospitality sector.

branding, reputation and networks.

The partnership comes into effect on 15 July and Richmond customers can look forward to a number of benefits as part of a new rewards programme.

In the last month, the Grade II Listed venue on Hatton Garden – located just a short walk from the city’s Commercial District – has achieved a hat-trick of successes.

The partnership follows the hotel being awarded a prestigious Certificate of Excellence from industry watchdog TripAdvisor.

It has been named as the first North West venue in a new partnership with Best Western Great Britain, specially selected as one of the first three hotels to join the new BW Premier Collection – just three months after the new brand was launched in the UK. The BW Premier Collection is the first new brand from Best Western in almost 70 years. It allows high quality hotels in city centre or destination locations to retain their identities through a soft-branded relationship.

The Richmond will continue to remain independent and retain its own identity and branding. The move is expected to further boost mid-week trade through Best Western’s overarching global

Behind the scenes, a new management company has been appointed. The introduction of Know Hotels Liverpool Limited (KHLL) is seen as a positive step to further strengthen the hotel’s position in the sector.

Steven Hesketh is the Managing Director of KHLL at The Richmond Hotel Liverpool. He has played a key role in the development of the hotel prior to opening and then beyond. He is also Treasurer of Liverpool Hoteliers Association.

Know Hotels Liverpool Limited (KHLL) forms part of the Know Collection, which consists of a number of citybased tourism/hospitality businesses.

This includes Know Hospitality Ltd; Know Property Services Ltd (KPS);

and Know Hotels & Know Restaurants.

Steven Hesketh, Managing Director of The Richmond Hotel Liverpool, commented: “We have come a very long way in a relatively short time, having only launched in May 2013 – and I am very proud of what we have so far achieved and strive to accomplish in the future.

“As part of the BW Premier Collection, we have the freedom to be independent and at the same time access the power and reach of a global brand without losing our own unique local identity.

This is a very exciting time as we look ahead to the next stages of growth at The Richmond in what is a very competitive hotel industry, both locally and nationally.

“Since opening, we have doubled our staff to a team of over 60. All play a vital role in the success of the hotel and our excellent standards of customer service are always praised by guests. We are fully committed to playing our part in boosting the Liverpool City Region Visitor Economy.”

WWW.DQONLINE.CO.UK

JUST JONAS

15

DOWNTOWN: PIONEERS OF INFLUENCE Words by Roger Jonas

At Downtown we use the word “Influence” a lot, and others use it about us and, on our behalf. The media have used the word recently, often to the point of overkill during the run up to the election, speculating on how each political party has swayed the voting public. The unexpected outcome of a Tory majority suggests that influence is complex to measure, and means very different things to different people.

The result of the election got me thinking about the diverse degrees of influence, and I guess, how easily influenced individuals can be, including myself. Over the years, there are certain compelling forces that have swayed my behaviour, my actions, and definitely my opinions. In the early years it was obviously parents, family, teachers and friends. Most refer to the early years as formative years, but I’m not so sure. Year on year, I have never stopped being influenced by other people, some younger, some older, some wiser, some not so. Now there is a call to action from all of us.

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During my 8 years at Downtown, I have met many people who are ambitious, forward thinking, resolute, and all with one thing in common, they don’t live in the past. Today, more than ever, these are the people (you), who can use your influence to steer the future on the North We now have an historic opportunity to influence how the North competes with the South. Even combined, the economy of the core cities in the North is still only a fraction of London’s. This is what the Northern Powerhouse must endeavour to change. The influence of many is far greater than the influence of one. I am looking forward to Downtown becoming an effective part of the compelling force that effects this much needed change. Together with the combined influence of our members, their acumen and ambition, we stand a good chance of becoming a real contender.

Long live the North! What part will you play?

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We’re delighted to have launched our website with AD at the start of our new concert season. As well as a fresh new look and structure, it’s the strategy, responsive design and full integration with our new box office system that really makes this project exciting for us as an organisation.

LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

THIS IS

TOMORROW CALLING

WWW.DQONLINE.CO.UK

17

SCOTT DYLAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR @ WE ARE AD

Scott Dylan, Managing Director at UK-wide strategic digital agency We are AD, gives his opinion on how digital is evolving and will impact your business in coming years.

18

Digital technology has completely transformed user behaviour and consumption, empowering our customers and presenting new challenges to us as businesses. With this shift, however, comes new opportunity. An opportunity to discover real-time, authentic insights into who our audiences are and what makes them tick, as well as developing far more efficient internal systems.

Blogs empower the everyday user to be authors and critics, smartphones mean everybody can be a photographer and filmmaker, and social media has provided a global platform for people to reach out to the world. Businesses no longer hold the reins, consumers are the main content creators. But this is not necessarily a negative, it is a new lease of creativity.

Digital is omnipresent - Connected devices are becoming more accessible to the regular consumer, with everything from fridges to

lighting and heating being controlled via apps in the household. What’s more, Audi has recently announced its new wirelessly charged electric car, which could revolutionise the automotive industry. With digital infiltrating into our everyday lives, the ‘Internet of everything’ is now a reality not just something from a sci-fi movie.

Smart businesses are taking heed. Digital is not just a nice to have or even part of your business strategy, digital should shape your business. It’s not just about your website or marketing channels, digital technology has the ability to completely transform your company - making your systems more intelligent and efficient, automating key processes, leveraging insightful data and making your teams more productive for years to come.

We’ve worked with start-ups through to massive blue chip companies, helping them to make the most of digital. Our recent digital transformation work with EDF Energy has seen us outline the B2B Digital Strategy for the next five years. It’s all about making digital do the work for you.

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TOM CHEESEWRIGHT, FOUNDER OF BOOK OF THE FUTURE

Tom Cheesewright, founder of Book of the Future and the hub of the network talks the future of digital.

Sitting on a panel at the SASCon digital marketing conference last week I asked the audience - a mixture of agencies, and in-house practitioners - whether they had experimented with Augmented Reality, or with the Internet of Things.

Just a few hands were raised, most of them tentatively.

This is a problem. Because the future of digital is clearly physical.

Examine the last fifty years of the digital revolution since Gordon Moore identified his famous law and you can map a number of things. In spirit if not in absolute detail, Moore's Law has remained true: every couple of years the bang for buck that computers deliver, doubles. They are getting smaller, cheaper and more powerful at an exponential rate. Parallel laws show that the speed of our interconnections and the amount of data we can store is plotting the same path.

But something else is on that curve too: computers are becoming more intuitive, more automatic. They are becoming more human.

Programming a computer back in 1965 was a very manual affair. Its primary inputs came entirely from a human but were carried in the computer's language, through the keyboard. Whatever you wanted it to do,

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you had to tell it to do in explicit detail.

Today I can bark a command in my own language at my phone and have it take action, whether that's find me train times, play a song or turn up the heating.

Other computers capture information from the world around them and act on that. It might be a wave from a human, a change in temperature, or a data feed carried over the web. The trend is the same: computers don't need us to speak their language any more. They can interpret and extrapolate information from a huge range of sources and then act on that information.

How they act is changing too. No longer is the output from a computer limited to the screen: they can control many aspects of our physical lives - heating and cooling, light and sound, cleaning and washing, shopping, and security. This is the beginning of the Internet of Things.

Through Augmented Reality computers can even create virtual objects in our physical worlds. Objects that will feel increasingly real to us as the technology improves and we interact with them more frequently.

The future of digital is a merging of the real and the virtual. Of technology being absorbed into the world around us making almost everything smart. And it's happening at an incredible rate.

Now is the time for experimentation.

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TOM STABLES, CREATIVE DIRECTOR @ 3MANFACTORY Tom is the Creative Director of 3ManFactory, a leading integrated marketing agency based the North West and lectures at the University of Central Lancashire in areas including digital marketing and online reputation management.

Let’s face it; social media has indubitably altered how and when we communicate with each other. It has created global communities and affected how we behave. But for many businesses, the big and loud digital frontier remains a quagmire of fear, apprehension and misunderstanding.

Understanding our customers – our audience - and their motivations is key to informing our decision of whether or not we ought to develop a presence on particular networks. In this article, we’ll be looking at the demographics of the major social networks and analyse how and why people are using them.

Before looking at network specifics, we should look at user behaviours: recent research by the Harris Interactive showed social media users in the UK, on average, regularly use 2.6 platforms; we don’t exclusively one or the other these days, we use what fulfils our requirements. Worth taking into consideration is the rise and rise of mobile usage – Facebook alone is accessed by mobile by 89% of its user base. More than ever before, our clients and customers are likely to talk about us in-situ, as-it-happens.

FACEBOOK Of the 1.44 billion global monthly active users, 24 million Brits log into Facebook every day and what’s more, they’re spending an average of 2 hours there each time.

Unsurprising then that Facebook enjoys the greatest share of voice (the level of content and conversations about your business or brand).

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With that in mind, consider your audience; consider that 27% of adults 18-29 years old have more than 500 friends in their network, while only 15% of 30-49 year olds do.

Consider the potential impact for your business to be referenced in their conversations.

Though research indicates that over 95% of teens are active on Facebook, only 13% noted it as their favourite network, lending credence to the fact that newer, emerging social networks are gaining traction.

LINKEDIN Seemingly more accessible is the professional network, LinkedIn. However, ask any of the 18 million active users in the UK why they are on there and the most typical response, is, ‘I don’t know.’ Its fallibility is in its definition of itself; it aims to ‘connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful,’ and it does this through profiles, pages, groups, ads, news, articles and analytics.

SNAPCHAT One such network gaining market share is Snapchat. With 100 million daily active users sending 400 million snaps (messages) each day, the phenomenal rise of this messaging app has been largely in part on the premise that users can send each other messages that self destruct, erasing any digital footprints that could be potentially embarrassing or incriminating. No surprise then that 71% of its users are under 25 – our research with schools in the North West indicated that it is the most popular network amongst millenials, with 100% claiming to use it.

Businesses are struggling with the ephemeral nature of the network, where creating lasting or enduring content is the very antithesis of Snapchat’s ethos. It’s a nut that marketers are eager crack, especially with Vodafone recently reporting that Snapchat accounts for 75% of data traffic in the UK.

For many this translates as a confusing experience comprised of connecting to people they have never met and being bombarded by email notifications from LinkedIn. However, for those who have a clear objective for using LinkedIn, at their disposal is a database of experience and information that can be used to benefit their career or their business. In fact, the fastest growing demographic of LinkedIn is students, which not only exemplifies the application of LinkedIn to discover, but hints towards a real opportunity to use LinkedIn as a devastatingly recruitment tool.

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TWITTER Despite Twitter’s growth being slower than they’d hoped, the 302 million monthly active users there have plenty to say, generating 500 million tweets (updates) every day. To the unfamiliar, this presents a barrage of distraction and irrelevant banality but with over 2 billion Twitter searches daily, there is evidence to suggest that more people are tapping into the tweets and conversations occurring there. It is a good reminder that social networks are becoming search engines – a place where people seek information and answers.

While 47% of 16-24 year olds are active Twitter users, that number drops rapidly with people aged 35+.

Regardless of age however, Twitter is also a place where visibility of content is often misconstrued, with inappropriate comments often leading to disciplinary or even legal action. Unless you have a Protected Account, assume that every piece of content you post there (other than Direct Messages) is visible.

INSTAGRAM Photo-sharing network, Instagram, which offers its users simple photo-editing tools grew by 50% between March and December 2014, exceeding the 300 million user mark and overtaking Twitter in the process.

With usage at 41% among those aged 16-24 and at 35% among 24-34s, users typically spend 21 minutes per day using Instagram. Research by SocialBakers reveals that when compared to Twitter, brands receive almost 50 times more engagement with consumers on Instagram, suggesting that users there are passionate about the businesses and brands they chose to connect with.

GOOGLE+ Despite 39% of the online population in the UK having a Google+ profile, there is plenty of debate as to its purpose, usefulness and indeed, of its shelf life. Launched 4 years ago as a direct competitor to the likes of Facebook, it has since evolved and even been partially dismantled with several of its features detached into standalone products.

The intent appears to have endured though: to make Google+ the fabric of your Google experience, with many other Google’s products woven in. Commenting on a YouTube video, for example, requires you to do so through your Google+ account. It’s this integration that skews the 540 million monthly active users that Google reported; in reality, almost half of those never actually visit Google+. Despite low user engagement, this is a network owned by the company that dominates search and is a cornerstone of the internet; it’s this fact that at the very least warrants having a page for your business there.

It would appear that engagement should play a key part in our objectives when deciding to develop a presence on a network.

Thankfully, ways of measuring engagement is becoming evermore sophisticated – Facebook have started to look at passive engagement to account for the times when we’re interested enough to read a post or update but don’t necessarily feel it requires a share, like or comment and will do this by measuring the time spent looking at these posts.

What next for social networks? The answer is short and sweet: video. Nearly all the noted networks have integrated the ability to upload video content and for good reason; for the first time in June 2014, Facebook (12.3 billion) played more videos than YouTube (11.3 billion). Furthermore, online video grew 33% in 2014, and is forecast to grow 29% year-on-year to 2017. At the heart of this appetite for video consumption is the need to capture our audiences’ attention – are you doing enough to do just that?

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#TMRWCONF15

Take the 15 second tour!

But then the moment most people were there for arrived.

THE FUTURE IS TMRW Words by Chris Wilcox

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DQ magazine doesn’t really do early mornings (coffee is an office essential). But there are times when you can make an exception. Wednesday 20th May 2015 was one of those times.

Arriving in Manchester Central for the TMRW Conference, we were greeted by the familiar cloudy Mancunian weather. Thankfully with a superb line-up of speakers, headlined by Professor Brian Cox “things could only get better”.

And get better they did.

DQ collected our conference pass, which also allowed us access to IPExpo Manchester, we passed through the main hall to listen to Sir Richard Leese welcome the gathered press and delegates in the Keynote theatre.

Following the Leader of Manchester City Council’s welcome our host for the day TV presenter Tim Lovejoy, introduced us to our first keynote speaker, the American Samy Kamkar.

The keynote from the Rock and Roll Physics professor.

The once keyboard player for D:Ream is pretty much now a household name thanks to his ability to convey Rocket Science into something that most people can understand.

For a moment or two DQ was convinced they could give up the print media business and get a job at CERN, but somehow we don’t think that will happen.

With spellbinding images to accompany his presentation Professor Cox took us on a journey to the far reaches of the Cosmos and even back to the Big Bang itself. To say our mind was blown would be an understatement, a thought that was echoed by many in the room.

But as Brian explained that the universe will one day end, so too did the TMRW conference.

All that was left was to indulge in a few post conference drinks and endure the long journey back to Liverpool Lime Street.

A massive well done to Tom Cheesewright and his staff who managed to pull off an extraordinary event, and DQ for one are already looking forward to returning next year.

And remember “Samy is my hero”!

To say Samy’s presentation was brilliant would be an understatement. He took us on a journey from his first experience of being hacked and culminated in a run in with the US Authorities. Him managing to hack MySpace so anyone who visited his profile would automatically add the words “Samy is my hero” to their profile, was a particular highlight in this fascinating story.

We could go on more about Samy but there was much more to see at the conference, including panel discussions on ‘The Digital Realm’ and ‘The Physical Realm’. A great and knowledgeable bunch of speakers and presenters hosted these discussion and everyone who attended would have been able to take something away.

22 DQ JUNE 2015

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AN EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR DOWNTOWN MEMBERS Downtown has teamed up with new software product oneHR, an easy-to-use webbased HR management solution for employers and their employees. It is designed specifically as a low cost fix to streamline HR administration for businesses – and Downtown has done a deal to be able to offer this innovative solution to our members FREE of charge.

WHAT IS ONEHR? The benefits of oneHR, used successfully by Downtown in Business for six months now, are significant and add efficiencies to your business: • •

Our online HR software makes life easier for companies.

Quick-to-learn HR software removes the hassles that paper based HR management brings, improving productivity and making the employee management more efficient.

Companies can ensure that they remain legally compliant.

Safe and secure with remote backup.

Excellent technical support provided.

• • •

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It is a self service solution, with users granted access dependant on their role in the Organisation. Each user has access to view and control information appropriate to their level.

Users can self manage staff holidays, contracts of employment, policies and procedures, induction, appraisal, performance, sickness and other absence.

The software has communication and task tracking features to ensure accountability within an organisation.

Why choose One HR?

oneHR provides an efficient way to manage your HR needs, backed by an excellent support service and technical infrastructure.

Interested in testing out OneHR for free?

Contact us by email contact@onehrsoftware.com or call us on 0843 509 6856 SCAN HE RE TO SP E AK TO O NE O F O UR O NHE HR E XP E RTS.

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DIGITAL WALL OF FAME

BRYAN ADAMS Author of Inbound Marketing book, ‘Getting Goosebumps’, speaker and CEO & founder of the award winning digital marketing agency, Ph.Creative. Bryan is a self-confessed social media addict and blogger with a passion for storytelling and digital strategy.

Bryan is an industry expert and commentator with over 10 years’ experience working with an impressive portfolio of clients, including: MasterCard, Dominos, Bupa, Virgin Media, Vodafone, Tesco, Dulux and Nationwide Building Society.

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Bryan has delivered keynote talks across Asia, the Americas and Europe and his writing has featured in various top ranking blogger lists including his own agency blog featured in the current top 100 UK marketing list. Bryan is one of the top influencers in the social and digital sphere.

TWITTER:

@BRYAN_PHC

JON CORNER

Jon Corner, CEO of The Landing has successfully positioned The Landing as a future driver of business collaboration at MediaCityUK, engaging a wide range of commercial stakeholders and clients.

He has created a unique business proposition for SMEs, enabling The Landing to attract global media organisations, including designers of interactive media, engineering, software specialists and content producers. In his role providing a strategic steer, he also ensures that The Landing complements and enhances the activities of major broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV at MediaCityUK.

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NIK MAGUIRE Nik Maguire is the founder of Deansgate Media Group a highly innovative video marketing and production company.

His background over the last 10 years has been with Mobile marketing having worked with companies such as Nectar, O2, Chelsea FC and Pizza Express on their mobile strategies.

In his early career Nik worked at Cisco Systems through the height of the dot com boom travelling extensively across Europe and America before leaving to set up a number of successful SMS and digital marketing businesses.

Nik is a well know character on the Manchester circuit christened as ‘Mr Deasnsgate’ he is know for his regular TV appearances, exclusive social parties and video blogs. His background is just as colourful having been a church pastor, glamour star manager and a death metal vocalist!

TWITTER:

@MR_DEANSGATE

MARK STRINGER Mark Stringer is the managing director of award winning branding and digital agency, AHOY, and has been since the agency’s inception back in 2008. Coming from a design background himself, Mark has led AHOY from strength to strength year after year, with the agency being shortlisted for a staggering 21 (and counting) awards. AHOY scooped up up the “Best Small Digital Agency” Prolific North Award and “Best Brand Strategy Under 40 Staff” RAR Award in a triumphant 2014, and kicked off 2015 by bringing home the “Best Content Team” Prolific North Award and winning the first ever Business Rocks Agency Pitch Off only a week later.

TWITTER:

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@AHOYMARK

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Office Furniture l Planning & Installation Office Stationery l Business Machines T: 01704 891 1155 F: 01704 891 1156 info@desktopnw.com www.desktopnw.com Martland Mill, Mart Lane, Burscough, L40 0SD

DOWNTOWN HAS MOVED Downtown in Business continues to be the fastest growing private sector lobbying organisation and networking club in the North of England. As our membership grows, our team grows too, and we are delighted to that we have moved to our new HQ! Downtown has moved into Bruntwood’s newly modernised Cotton Exchange. Our new office accesses the building’s roof terrace – perfect for some new summer event activities.

We will also be utilising the Great Room for a series of property forums, and the Downtown office itself has a bespoke boardroom, perfect for hosting Roundtable discussions and business support sessions.

All of the furniture in the office has been provided and installed by leading supplier Desktop NW, who have produced a range of stunning solid walnut desks, executive seating, bespoke sofas, kitchen furniture and boardroom table and chairs.

Downtown in Business’ Chief Executive Frank McKenna commented: “We are delighted with the exceptional level of service provided by Desktop NW in delivering a scheme of the highest quality for our new headquarters. The Desktop team have consistently gone above and beyond to provide an exceptional service and have surpassed our expectations with the quality of products delivered.”

We look forward to welcoming Downtown members in to receive the grand tour!

WHY NOT PAY US A VISIT? Suite 303, 3rd Floor Cotton Exchange Bixteth Street Liverpool, L3 9JR

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s G N i 5 Th wE

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TruSteD The election result was a huge shock on the 7th May, mostly because the pollsters had been telling us for months that we were certainly heading for a hung parliament. So, are polls something that we should simply ignore from now on?

Well, not necessarily. The results in Scotland, for a start, were completely in line with the pollsters predictions. They were suggesting an SNP landslide

I

– NOr IGnORED for some time. Also, the Liberal Democrat decimation was on their radar. And they had been telling us for years that Ed Miliband was a huge problem for Labour. Maybe they didn’t get the final result right – apparently people who vote Tory are reluctant to admit to it – but they got enough right to not be wholly dismissed in the future.

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It’S StILL The

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d I p U t S Y M O N ECo

The Labour Party have begun in earnest an analysis of what went wrong in what was a catastrophic General Election defeat for them. However, from the thousands of columns that will be published, hundreds of conferences held, and dozens of recommendations made, the main reason Labour lost is because they were not trusted on the economy. As Downtown’s chief executive Frank McKenna argued, no political party that has gone into an election campaign

promising tax hikes has ever won an election. Have those that keep the red flag flying here learnt that lesson? Only time will tell, but the current tepid leadership campaign suggests to us that they will sleep walk to another five years of opposition before waking up to the need for a radical change of approach.

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Before the election, Manchester stood as the only city region that had done a devolution deal with George Osborne, signing up to the idea of a Metro Mayor in the process. Without exception, other Labour led authorities resisted the Chancellors offer, in the forlorn hope that a change in government would see a change in direction. They wanted the powers and resources that Manchester have won, but without the reform and additional democratic accountability and scrutiny that was being demanded. Post- election, WWW.DQONLINE.CO.UK

and it is now crystal clear that a Metro Mayor is a central part of any devolution deal that can be secured.

The West Midlands look likely to sign up; Leeds city region are on course to do the same; Merseyside continues to prevaricate; and Lancashire is yet to seriously start the conversation.

The next quarter is crucial for this agenda. If you’re not with the Osborne programme, you’ll be left on the sidelines and the Northern Powerhouse bandwagon is rolling out without you.

4 n o R e CAm

is StiLl Not

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reSpected Despite securing the first Conservative parliamentary majority since 1992, many Conservatives still see David Cameron as a weak, not-to-betrusted Prime Minister who they want to see the back of long before he has decreed he will hand the keys over to Number Ten to his successor. Within weeks of re-entering Downing Street with a victory that to both he and his Chancellor was a massive surprise, Cameron has had to rewrite his Queen’s Speech following a threatened backbench revolt over the Human Rights Act; had a warning that even if the British people

by His

cH N u B XIT

BRE

vote to stay in the EU at the forthcoming referendum the lunatic fringe of his party will continue to campaign to exit; and he has faced demands from the same group to close down government in the four week run up to said referendum to comply with purdah regulations. Dave’s honeymoon didn’t last long, which makes his gloating performances at Prime Ministers Questions even more bizarre.

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DON’T MESS WITH THE

The footballing governing body FIFA has been under scrutiny over its management and behaviour for as long as anyone can remember. The Sunday Times ‘Insight’ team have been at the forefront of top class investigative journalism into the shenanigans surrounding this monolithic organisation and its activities for several years; in particular focussing on alleged corruption around the awarding the hosting of World Cup Finals to South Africa, Russia and Qatar. Despite this, and an almost global assumption that Sepp Blatter was leading an authority that was not fit for purpose, the likes of UEFA and senior

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5

U.S footballing personalities and commentators failed miserably in their attempts to get a change in leadership or direction.

Missing out on the World Cup Finals of 2022 seems to have upset the United States sufficiently enough to have motivated a major investigation by the FBI – and that has led to Blatter and Co.’s long overdue demise. Where this sorry saga will end, nobody yet knows. But what we do know is, if you’re going to f**k with America, be prepared to get f****d right back.

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CLAIRE HOUSE TOUR

Photography: Lee Carter, LA Multimedia, @lamultimedia

Downtown Liverpool in Business announce charity partnership with Claire House Children’s Hospice To celebrate this partnership, Downtown’s Tom Woolley, Chris McKenna, Chris Wilcox and Jack Hunter visited the facility for a tour of the incredible work carried out every single day.

LAUGHTER, POSITIVITY AND CARE IS WHAT CLAIRE HOUSE CHILDREN’S HOSPICE IS ALL ABOUT. 34

When the team at Claire House first invited Downtown into the centre, I’ll admit I accepted with some reservation.

As the father of a young daughter, the thought of even entering Claire House was the stuff of nightmares, and I entered with a real fear that I’d leave the tour with an overwhelming sense of sadness.

How wrong I was.

The first two words of this article, laughter and positivity perfectly sum up the experience of spending an afternoon in Claire House, and the absolute privilege of meeting the incredible staff, parents and young people that make the centre what it is.

Our tour took us through the main areas of the hospice, with services including specialist respite, palliative, end of life and bereavement care.

Words by Tom Woolley Head of Business Support Downtown In Business

them as individuals, but by providing support for the whole family, offering a tailored counselling service to suit the individual’s needs and counselling for parents and extended family for as long as it is needed during or after the young person’s life.

Many of the children and young people at Claire House live in the knowledge their time may be limited, but the hospice make every second precious through expert palliative care, as well as creating memories and experiences that last a lifetime, whether the young person is cared for within the centre, or within the family home through the expert Hospice to Home service.

It is for this reason that Downtown Liverpool in Business are committed to supporting Claire House, and we can’t urge you strongly enough to join us.

Whether it’s providing state of the art therapy or accommodation for parents and siblings to ensure that the entire family remains together, Claire House give the best quality of life possible to anyone affected by a life-limiting or lifeshortening condition.

The hospice’s complete focus is on enhancing the quality of life for their children, not only through caring for WWW.DQONLINE.CO.UK

www.claire-house.org.uk

How your business can benefit from supporting Claire House With ever increasing value placed on Corporate Social Responsibility by customers, employees and wider stakeholders alike, this is a vital consideration for businesses in a highly competitive environment.

The corporate benefits of engaging with charities and your local community are clear, not only does it help businesses to build successful customer relations, but it also directly increases revenue.

Charity of the Year Choosing Claire House as your Charity of the Year helps focus your team and gives a real purpose to their fundraising efforts. They can all come and experience the hospice through an organised tour, seeing first-hand the benefits delivered by their hard work.

Claire House will provide you with a dedicated team member who will inform, support and throw some fun in along the way

Get noticed and enhance your company’s brand Did you know that 59% of companies that support charities and their local communities benefit from increased profits?

Give your company a competitive edge by supporting Claire House Children’s Hospice!

Whether it’s through sponsorship, cause related marketing, press coverage or advertising, Claire House offer some great opportunities to help get your company’s brand out to your audience.

Be a part of THE 500 According to statistics, 89% of clients and customers believed businesses should support charities and give back to their local communities.

Giving back is often on the agenda of reputable companies, however the Claire House Corporate Fundraising Team understand that finding the time can be hard.

Becoming a member of their prestigious 500 Club means, through donating £500 a year over a three year partnership, you can help Claire House have an income that is predictable and sustainable.

In return you will benefit from the exclusivity of being a member and secure a link from their website to yours. No strings attached, just an easy way to give back that shows your customers what you’re all about.

Get in Touch!

To discuss any of these options in more detail, please contact Tony Langan, Corporate Fundraiser, via tony.langan@clairehouse.org.uk or 0151 227 4941.

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Our fully managed program is the ideal solution for an organisation like yours.

Total managed IT support and management for a fixed monthly price – it’s that simple. Aabyss Computers provide all of the benefits of an internal IT department for a fraction of the price of staffing one yourself. We reduce the business impact of IT failures by minimising their occurrence, and any unforeseen issues are dealt with as a top priority. All aspects of your network are covered: security, data protection applications and hardware.

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Outsourcing the management of your important IT resources to Aabyss means we look upon this as a partnership. Our comprehensive approach means we are your IT department. By optimising your network’s performance, it will work at the peak efficiency and reliability levels that your business demands, allowing you to focus on running your business, not your network.

Security, networking, data protection and user support – we handle it all for a single, predictable price.

24x7 Advanced Performance Monitoring Ensures all of the critical network devices that comprise your business network are healthy and functioning reliably and optimally.

Scheduled Preventative Maintenance Ensures that your servers, PCs and other vital network devices function optimally. This improves reliability and security.

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IT without interruption…

Aabyss Computers keeps businesses operational. Our clients range from small and medium businesses, through to multinational corporations. Most of the small businesses we look after do not have a permanent member of IT staff, but we also provide outsourced IT for companies who do. Working and monitoring and optimising systems remotely, we are either our clients’ IT department, or their IT department’s best friend.

Established in 1999, and with a team of highly trained engineers, we were originally a break/fix IT support company.

For many years, Aabyss Computers looked after the IT support needs of a wide range of businesses, providing a fast response in the event of equipment failure. And we were good at that. But we realised that we could do more, and better. In offering Managed Services and remote IT monitoring, we have systems and solutions in place to allow us to prevent many IT problems, fixing them before they break. Now, our clients don’t measure our performance by how quickly we respond when things go wrong, but by how infrequently they see us.

DOWNTIME 47 King Street West E: james@47kingstreetwest.co.uk W: www.47kingstreetwest.com ABode Manchester T: 0161 247 7744 E: reservationsmanchester@abodehotels.co.uk W: www.abodehotels.co.uk ACC Liverpool T: 0151 703 7268 E: kate.nolan@accliverpool.com W: www.accliverpool.com Aloft Hotel T: 0151 294 3970 E: danielle.garrigan@aloftliverpool.com W: www.aloftliverpool.com Atlantic Tower, Thistle Hotel T: 0871 376 9025 E: Scott.Montgomery@thistle.co.uk W: www.thistle.com Barton Grange T: 01772 867070 E: stay@bartongrangehotel.com W: www.bartongrangehotel.co.uk Baluga Bar Preston T: 01772 886 311 W: www.balugabar.co.uk Bierkeller T: 0845 533 3000 E: jademorris@burningnightgroup.com W: www.liverpool.thebierkeller.com Bridgestreet Apartments T: 0207 792 2222 W: www.bridgestreet.com/Liverpool.htm Chaophraya Manchester T: 0161 832 8342 E: manchester@chaophraya.co.uk W: www.chaophraya.co.uk Chaophraya Liverpool T: 01517076323 E: Rachael.clarke@chaophraya.co.uk Chaophraya Leeds T: 0113 244 9339 E: leeds@chaophraya.co.uk W: www.chaophraya.co.uk Crowne Plaza Liverpool T: 0151 243 8000 W: www.cpliverpool.com Cote Manchester T: 0161 834 0945 E: manchester@cote-restaurants.co.uk W: www.cote-restaurants.co.uk Dunkenhalgh T: 01254 426800 E: H6617@accor.com W: www.mercure.com EastZEast Liverpool T: 0151 707 9377 E: info@eastzeast.com W: www.eastzeast.com EastZEast Preston T: 01772 200084 E: info@eastzeast.com W: www.eastzeast.com EastZEast Riverside T: 0161 834 3500 E: info@eastzeast.com W: www.eastzeast.com Epstein Theatre T: 0151 709 4044 E: info@epsteinliverpool.co.uk W: www.epsteinliverpool.co.uk Everyman Playhouse T: 0151 706 9115 E: development@everymanplayhouse.com W: www.everymanplayhouse.com

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Everyman Cinema Leeds T: 0871 906 9060 E: ammie.stowell@everymangroup.com W: www.everymancinema.com

Manchester House T: 0161 835 2557 W: www.manchesterhouse.uk.com

Fazenda Liverpool T: 0151 227 2733 E: dayleohara@fazenda.co.uk W: www.fazenda.co.uk/liverpool/

Manzo T: 0151 203 8965 E: reservations@manzogrill.co.uk W: www.manzogrill.co.uk

Fazenda Manchester T: 0161 834 1219 W: www.fazenda.co.uk/manchester/

Malmaison Liverpool T: 0151 229 5000 E: ssimons@malmaison.com W: www.malmaison-liverpool.com

Fazenda Leeds T: 0113 247 1182 W: www.fazenda.co.uk/leeds/ Glovers Bar T: 01772 561410 W: www.gloversbar.com Grill on the Alley T: 0161 833 3465 W: www.blackhouse.uk.com Gusto T: 0151 708 6969 W: www.gustorestaurants.uk.com Hard Days Night Hotel T: 0151 236 1964 E: enquiries@harddaysnighthotel.com W: www.harddaysnighthotel.com Harvey Nichols T: 0161 828 8898 E: jamie.griffin@harveynichols.com W: www.harveynichols.com Hilton Liverpool T: 0151 708 4200 E: lauren.leonard@hilton.com W: www.hilton.co.uk/liverpool Hotel Indigo Liverpool T: 0151 559 0111 E: info@hotelindigoliverpool.com W: www.ihg.com Huntley’s Country Stores T: 01772 872 820 E: katherinesmith@huntleys.co.uk W: www.huntleys.co.uk Il Forno T: 0151 709 4002 E: info@ilforno.co.uk W: www.ilforno.co.uk James Martin Restaurant/Casino235 T: 0161 828 0345 W: www.jamesmartinrestaurant.co.uk John Street Liverpool T: 0161 831 3211 E: GMaitland@eclectichotels.com W: www.eclectichotels.com/great-john-street-hotel La Vina Liverpool T: 0151 255 1401 E: donna.davies@fiesta-nights.co.uk La Vina Manchester T: 0161 835 3144 E: emma.cottam@latasca.co.uk Liverpool Empire Theatre T: 0151 708 3200 E: JayneLloyd@theambassadors.com W: www.liverpoolempire.org.uk Lucha Libre T: 0161 850 0629 W: www.lucha-libre.co.uk Sapporo Teppanyaki T: 0161 831 9888 E: Manchester@sapporo.co.uk W: www.sapporo.co.uk Signature Living T: 0151 236 0166 E: info@signatureliving.co.uk W: www.signatureliving.co.uk

Marco Pierre White Liverpool T: 0151 559 0555 E: info@mpwsteakhouseliverpool.com W: www.mpwsteakhouseliverpool.co.uk Neighbourhood T: 0161 8326334.

W: www.neighbourhoodrestaurant.co.uk Novotel Liverpool T: 0151 702 5100 E: h6495-sl@accor.com W: www.novotel.com Palm Sugar Lounge T: 0151 707 6654 E:Rachael.clarke@chaophraya.co.uk Pertutti Manchester T: 0161 834 9741 E: info@pertutti.co.uk W:www.pertutti.co.uk Piccolinos T: 0161 835 9860 E: piccolino.manchester@piccolinorestaurants.co.uk W: www.piccolinorestaurants.co.uk Radisson BLU Leeds T: 0113 236 6000 E: natalie.boyne@radissonblu.com Radisson BLU Liverpool T: 0151 966 1500 E: info.liverpool@radissonblu.com W: www.radissonblu.co.uk/hotel-liverpool Restaurant Bar & Grill Leeds T: 0113 244 9625 E: rbg.leeds@therestaurantbarandgrill.co.uk W: www.individualrestaurants.com Restaurant Bar & Grill Liverpool T: 0151 236 6703 E: rbg.liverpool@therestaurantbarandgrill.co.uk W: www.therestaurantbarandgrill.co.uk Restaurant Bar & Grill Manchester T: 0161 8320082 E: Cherryl.Pinnington@ircplc.co.uk W: www.therestaurantbarandgrill.co.uk The Alchemist Leeds T: 0113 246 0540 E: trinitybdm@thealchemist.uk.com W:www.thealchemist.uk.com/trinity-leds The Grill on New York Street T: 0161 228 1444 W: www.blackhouse.uk.com The Milton Club T: 0161 850 2353 E: info@themiltonclub.co.uk W: www.themiltonclub.co.uk The Richmond T: 0151 702 5820 E: info@therichmondliverpool.com W: www.therichmondliverpool.com Atlantic Tower T: 0871 376 9025 W: www.thistle.com Tickled Trout Hotel T: 0844 879 9053 A: Preston New Road - PR5 OUJ

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The chief executive of Leeds City Council Tom Riordan, the chair of the Local Enterprise Partnership Roger Marsh and the chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire Gary Verity were among the 200 plus guests from the Leeds business community that gathered at Elland Road to celebrate the great and the good at the inaugural City of Leeds Business Awards 2015 on Thursday 4th June.

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Downtown Leeds in Business played host to this spectacular gala dinner, supported by Leeds City Council. Tom Riordan opened the proceedings with a buoyant speech, emphasising how the Leeds economy was going from strength to strength and discussing the potential of the Northern Powerhouse.

ITV’s own calendar girl, Christine Talbot kept the guests in order as the mistress of ceremonies, welcoming onto stage the winners of 20 awards throughout the evening. Gary Verity was honoured for his contribution to Leeds, in particular his work on the fantastic Tour de Yorkshire. thebigword took the Business of the Year accolade and Bruntwood won the Chief Executives award.

Highlights of the Evening included entertainment from Kenny Thompson (BBC’s The Voice) who had the entire room on their feet.

Downtown chief executive, Frank McKenna said “We are absolutely delighted at how Downtown has been received in Leeds, and tonight just goes to show that appetite for business is rife. We have every sector represented here this evening, and together with the support of Tom and his colleagues at the City Council, Leeds and its business community is destined for even greater achievements in the future.”

All the images from the evening can be seen on Downtowns website www.downtowninbusiness.com

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COLEba15 winners Male Sexy Networker Andrew Battey CMS Advertising Female Sexy Networker Anne McCartney PWC Employer of the Year Clarion Employee of the Year Debra Ware - Leeds United Football Club Best PA 2015 Gillian Lodge - Quod Best Customer Focussed Business Chaophraya Business Enabler of the Year Lady P Coaching Best Newcomer Freeths Best PR & Marketing Agency Bonner & Hindley Best Digital & Creative Business Twentysix Digital Best Legal Firm of the Year Addleshaw Goddard Best Business Bank Natwest Best Accountancy Business PWC Best Property Business Curtins Best Hospitality Venue Restauant Bar & Grill Best Hotel Radisson Best Social Media Presence Leeds Beckett University Business of the Year thebigword Chief Executives Award Bruntwood Contribution to Leeds Gary Verity

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Photography by LA Multimedia’s Lee Carter

congratulations!

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Did you have your picture taken by the North Star Team?

Dare you look? Of course! And if you like what you see then grab a copy or two for your mates… or your gran. Go crazy.

All images are now available to view at Northstar’s online gallery.

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www.northstarphoto.co.uk

a big thank you to our sponsors

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DQ

COOL LIST 1

FIRE LAKE GRILL HOUSE AND COCKTAIL BAR AT THE RADISSON BLU HOTEL

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The fast paced environment of the digital world is the focus of a major Downtown conference in the Autumn, as we present a half day of truly inspirational speakers who will be telling delegates what they should be getting from new technology now – and what will be the next ‘big things’ to look out for in the future. Preston’s College will play host to this exciting event on Friday 2nd October. See www.downtowninbusiness.com for further details.

Experience an unparalleled dining experience at Fire Lake Grill House and Cocktail Bar. The restaurant surroundings include a graffiti image of Iconic Yorkshire man, Peter O’toole, relaxing at Cannes Film Festival many moons ago. Guests can enjoy resting spaces, private event pockets and a new cocktail bar and chef's table where they experience rustic, yet refined, dining.

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GETTING GOOSEBUMPS Want to be better at marketing your business?

Could your business benefit from a more organised, effective marketing plan? Getting Goosebumps shows you how to tell your brand story in the internet age, giving your clients and customers that warm, fuzzy feeling that keeps them coming back time and again. How do you work out what to say on social media? What do your customers really want from your content marketing? And how does that translate into a strategic marketing plan, a following, and more business? This practical guide gives you all of the understanding, ideas and tools you need to develop a digital inbound marketing strategy that really works.

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It may have been but a few short weeks since Chelsea were confirmed as the Champions, but with the European Championships happening next summer, football’s pre -season is shorter than usual – and the Premier League fixtures have been released, getting all fans appetite quickly whetted again. It is the most watched football league in the world, viewed in over 200 countries, with an estimated TV audience of 4.7 billion people, and its back on Saturday 8th August.

Spectre will be the twenty fourth James Bond movie, with Daniel Craig making his fourth appearance as 007. The release date for this eagerly anticipated film is 6th November, but a taster trailer can already be viewed on YouTube.

AUSTRALASIA COMES TO LIVERPOOL A £6 million deal to bring two high quality restaurants to one of Liverpool’s ‘Three Graces’, the Cunard Building, has been agreed. Downtown award winner Living Ventures will house Australasia and a new fine dining concept, the aptly named Cunard House, which will be run by top chef Aiden Byrne.

The new facility will also boast a training academy, and will be open to the public in April 2016.

The famous Coors Light Ice Bar is coming to The Bierkeller Entertainment Complex's this Summer for a limited time only. Launched in June and bringing the cold to you!

THE PREMIER LEAGUE

BOND... JAMES BOND

Among the highlights to look out for, the Aston Martin DB10, a car designed especially for Spectre as a celebration of the company’s association with Bond.

BIERKELLER’S COORS LIGHT ICE BAR

Customers can book to enter the Ice Bar, where true to its name, everything bar the drinks and their containers are made of ice.

TTHIS I T L E IS TOMORROW CALLING

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BOOK OF THE FUTURE Book of the Future helps people and organisations to see a coherent vision of the future and share that vision with the people that matter. They then help them to respond with innovation, either to avert a future they don’t like, or take maximum advantage of one they do.

Their work with companies and organisations on a one-to-one basis, offering consultancy and problem-solving, utilising the talents of the UK’s smartest start-ups through Bootstrappers.

We can’t wait!

COOL LIST AVAILABLE ON PINTEREST You can check out all of the stuff that’s been in our DQ Cool List on Pinterest! www.pinterest.com/dqmagazine/dq-cool-list/

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Downtown Birmingham In Business

THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM IN BUSINESS

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WHEN: Thursday 24th September 2015, 6.00pm – 8.00pm

WHERE: Marco Pierre White Laurent Perrier Champagne Bar, 25th Floor, The Cube Building

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Mark Rogers, Chief Executive, Birmingham City Council FOR FURTHER DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT chris.mckenna@downtowninbusiness.com WWW.DQONLINE.CO.UK

THE

Words by Frank McKenna

POWERHOUSE

It is very easy for us folk ‘up North’ to get carried away with the notion that rebalancing the UK economy means simply focussing on closing the North-South divide, with Manchester in the vanguard of securing the type of devolution deal that will hopefully be rolled out across the region, parochial politicians permitting.

However, the idea of ‘powerhouses’ and big, influential Combined Authorities, is not simply exercising the minds of Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle et al. Everywhere located this side of the Watford gap are beating a track to Whitehall and shouting ‘Me too.’

No more so is this the case than the city that in modern times had managed to claim, and lose, the undisputed title of ‘second city’ – Birmingham.

Aesthetically, it is not the easiest on the eye, Brum. Indeed, you could go as far as to say that she is as ugly as she has ever been, as the city currently boasts a backdrop that could be happily used by Hollywood film makers for movies set in a war torn location of the Middle East.

However, there is good, and positive, reason for that. Birmingham is experiencing a long overdue facelift. A wholesale regeneration of the place is happening that will create a £2 billion plus ‘paradise’ project that cannot help but breathe new life into the economy, the night time economy in particular.

Additionally, the investment that has been confirmed by HSBC, the crucial role Birmingham will have in delivering HS2 and the fact that its city region takes in a population of 4 million people signals that this is a sleeping giant that has well and truly been awoken.

ISN’T JUST ABOUT THE NORTH Of course, like all modern UK cities, it faces challenges, none more so than the crushing austerity programme imposed on the city council by central government, that has seen exciting initiatives such as an iconic new library and community facility turned into an albatross around civic leader’s necks.

At some point I hope the chancellor recognises that great cities can only continue to thrive and grow if they are allowed to maintain a level of service provision and activity that is relevant to the 21st rather than the 19th Century. In the meantime, developing strong public-private sector partnerships has become a priority for council’s across the UK, not least Birmingham.

Despite these obvious challenges, Birmingham has so much else going for it that it is difficult to imagine that it is not approaching a period of huge renaissance.

I have spent the past eighteen months going down and up the M6 meeting a good number of Brummies’ businesses, entrepreneurs and decision makers to know that these guys and gals mean business.

Talk about energy – it is incredible.

Commitment – in abundance. Determination – as Ed might say – hell yeah!

Coupled with this vibrant business community, a pragmatic public sector leadership that is keen to engage with the new up and coming business leaders of the future, whilst maintaining a strong relationship with its traditional commercial sector, makes Birmingham more than a little bit interesting.

All of this leads me to one conclusion. A city with so much attitude needs a business club to match. Downtown Birmingham in Business?

We launch there in September, and I can’t wait.

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