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<title>P2 Technologies News Feed</title>
<description>Latest News From P2 Technologies.</description>
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<copyright>Copyright 2008 P2 Technologies</copyright>
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<title>Crunching Your Costs</title>
<description><![CDATA[A year on from the start of the credit crunch in the financial sector and as the UK Business Confidence Monitor records confidence at a record low here is a view from inside IT.

Small and Medium businesses facing the credit crunch are in many cases seeking efficiencies and cost savings.  Prices are continuing to rise in many sectors and IT is also affected to some extent with transport, raw material and exchange rate costs filtering through from manufacturers to resellers and then to end users. 

On the positive side though, Yorkshire and Northern England more broadly continue to be the most optimistic in the latest UK Business Confidence Monitor survey.

So, as perhaps budgets need to be re-thought, what part then can IT play in supporting our businesses when times are tough?  Well, as perhaps is happening in other parts of your business focus can turn to getting the most from existing assets and consolidating costs where possible.

From companies seeking cost consolidation, convergence of IT and Telephone systems has and continues to receive significant interest and is indeed one of the most effective consolidation technologies.  Whilst perhaps a large investment at this time may not be ideal for some companies for those of you that can invest there are offers from vendors seeking to inject life into their sales cycle which represent good value. 

Because of the economic climate there are also some vendors offering 0% finance to help minimise the initial outlay for cash strapped firms.  Costs can be reduced by merging IT and telephony support fees, eliminating call costs between offices and reducing line rentals with VoIP based services.  As well as consolidating costs, connecting telephone and computer systems in this way enables significant process improvements positioning firms well for future growth.

We are also hearing reports of and seeing directly an increasing number of queries for more flexible IT support arrangements.  Maintaining a stable and secure system continues to be the top priority but the focus of other projects is shifting towards changing existing systems to support improvements in the business process.  Integrating your business systems with clients, suppliers and business partners can significantly reduce costs and speed up the flow of business from its initial entry as new business to invoicing and payment.

Look for repetitive tasks or form filling – these are instances where IT can return the biggest efficiencies.  Similarly to the convergence of smarter IT and Telephony this can also be an ideal preparation for firms looking forward to future growth.
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<pubDate>2008-09-18 13:57:36</pubDate>
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<title>Smarter IT Systems Keep Huddersfield Company one Step Ahead</title>
<description><![CDATA[Leading plumbing and heating specialist Millside Heating turned to P2 Technologies for expert advice when their growing company needed a review of their IT and Telephone systems.

Their existing IT system had been in place for some time and could no longer meet the demands of their growing business. P2 reviewed their systems and current business goals before recommending a number of clear improvements which could be applied to meet those goals in the most cost effective and efficient manner.

P2’s experienced and accredited team installed a Microsoft Small Business Server as a centralised platform for the customer database, emails and other electronic data.  Security of data is enhanced and full daily backups made possible whilst at the same time reducing day to day management and maintenance.

Integrating telephone and IT systems is a particularly good way to improve business process and reduce ongoing support costs.  With this in mind, P2 also installed an Avaya "Quick Edition" telephone system giving Millside Heating all the advantages of this new technology.  Calls are made over the internet via P2’s fully managed and extremely good value service.

"We know how much our own customers value our fast response and quality of service so we need the same level of support from our business partners like P2.  The level of ongoing support from Mark and the team has always been outstanding making them the natural choice for us.  Their experience and expert advice throughout the project is reassuring making the whole process seem a doddle", said Mark Antrobus, founder of Millside Heating Services.
Mark McManus of P2 Technologies added, "For businesses to really get the best cost savings and functionality from their technology, an integrated approach is essential.  Our new and existing customers are asking for this kind of solution and we have invested in considerable research and training to ensure that we can deliver exactly what they need with the minimum of fuss."

<strong>About Millside Heating Services</strong>

Millside Heating Services Limited is dedicated to providing swift and reliable heating services for domestic and commercial customers. Always dedicated to staying one step ahead of the industry and providing solutions and advice utilising current and alternative energy systems for the user that are both highly efficient and cost effective. 
For further information contact Millside Heating on 01484 687997 or <a href="info@millsideheating.co.uk">info@millsideheating.co.uk</a>.

<strong>About P2 Technologies</strong>

P2 Technologies are a specialist supplier of IT, Telephone and Software solutions to smart-thinking firms in the north of England.  Based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire the P2 team specialises in high quality, business focused support services at excellent value for money.
For further information contact P2 Technologies on 01484 779020 or email <a href="info@p2tech.co.uk">info@p2tech.co.uk</a>.]]></description>
<pubDate>2008-09-03 17:29:59</pubDate>
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<title>Facing Peer Pressure?</title>
<description><![CDATA[There is more good news on virtualisation this month but first, do you remember Feargal Sharkey...

As ISPs, government and the British music industry (represented by Mr Sharkey) try to work out who is to blame for illegal "peer to peer" file sharing and what to do about them is this really a problem for our businesses and what can we do about it.

I will leave the ideological debate of right and wrong doing to others in favour of some practical considerations.

Peer to Peer or “P2P” file sharing is the distribution of files across the internet between PCs, usually media files such as audio and video with mp3 files by far the most popular.  Any PC can become a file sharing source by the downloading and installation of a small, freely available application and a small amount of configuration.  This could affect your business in a number of ways.

In the first instance peer to peer file sharing is commonly an infringement of copyright so if files are being shared from within your company network using company equipment then this potentially opens the company to the risk of prosecution.

Also, more directly, this type of file sharing is a notorious consumer of large amounts of network and internet bandwidth – which you are paying for.  If this use is unsanctioned, not only is this a misuse of company property but it can also greatly reduce the performance of your key business applications such as e-mail, customer databases and other online services.

Finally, as the sources of file-sharing are on the whole unidentified individuals there is an increased risk of a virus infection or other network intrusion further risking your computer network.

So, my antivirus software will pick this up, right?  Not necessarily, whereas leading security vendors often offer some file sharing protection this is not always included by default and can be focussed only on preventing virus infection via file sharing which does not address the issues of misuse of company property or internet bandwidth consumption.  To be sure, check with your antivirus provider how it deals with file sharing.

It may be possible to block P2P traffic using your firewall but like viruses P2P applications can adapt and change to work around firewall configurations which are largely static.

To protect your bandwidth from misuse in this way a good compliment to antivirus is to include some network monitoring in your defence mechanism.  Why?  Similar to reviewing sales performance, service levels or other company resources, by periodically monitoring network performance you can identify when a network or interconnection is over utilised or misused, find out why and correct the problem.

And finally, those of you still looking at Virtualisation for Disaster Recovery or Server Consolidation will be interested to know that as Microsoft begins to bundle its virtual technology with new Windows Servers market leader VMware have responded by offering there competitive technology “ESXi” free of charge.  Take your pick and happy Virtualising.]]></description>
<pubDate>2008-08-18 18:32:55</pubDate>
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<title>Are Microsoft applications a secret of success or do you just need to work in Huddersfield?</title>
<description><![CDATA[Love em or loath em there is no doubting that Microsoft have changed the way we work and play and the recent departure of Bill Gates has not only received significant publicity but has caused many to consider what the future may hold for the Microsoft applications that we know (and love??)

So, what’s happening at Microsoft? Well on the one hand there are those who are warning that Bill Gates departure is the end of an era, but as Mr Gates will remain the Chairman and major shareholder at Microsoft is it really going to be all that different? Standing a little to one side, although perhaps not hitting all our desktops just yet, emerging 21st century technologies are continuing to be based more around the internet – a market which Microsoft has struggled to dominate; highlighted by the recent failed takeover of Yahoo and ongoing competition from Google.  Because of this, there are those, such as Lotus Guru Mitch Kapor, who would say that the comings and goings at Microsoft are perhaps irrelevant.

I wouldn’t be so sure – while keeping an eye on the future technologies and adopting when appropriate, many of our companies depend on Microsoft products so it is important to be informed on their developments.

As well as the personality changes at Microsoft there have been several major product announcements over the past month.

Firstly, and finally, after months of debate and several last minute postponements, Windows XP has finally ceased production ...... or has it.  Well, driven by demands from our businesses who prefer the known quantity of XP to the bells and whistles of Vista, major manufacturers are continuing for now at least to supply PCs with downgrade rights for Windows XP.

At the same time, we are also told to expect Windows 7 (the Vista successor) by the end of 2009 although many are expecting it to be 2010 or even 2011.  Perhaps this will be one of those opportunities to skip a generation and move straight to Windows 7.  Much of the hype surrounding new Windows 7 features is based on the touch style “surface” interface.  Will this be more bells and whistles or really useful?  I suspect this will depend on how applications are changed to make use of the new interface options.

Lastly and perhaps most relevant to today is the release to manufacture of Microsofts Virtualisation offering called “Hyper-V”.  As mentioned in a previous KBN, virtualisation has some real benefits today for firms seeking value for money, disaster recovery and energy savings.  The technology is most closely connected to the Operating System of our Servers and PCs and since this is in most cases Microsoft Windows, Hyper-V is almost guaranteed to become strong competition for the current virtualisation topdog VMWare.  Indeed, Microsoft are shipping Hyper-V with Windows 2008 – I’ll leave it to you to decide whether or not that is fair practise under European Law.

Just before you go, it may interest you to know that according to a team of economics experts Northern entrepreneurs are more successful than their Southern counterparts.  The study by St Andrew University, Hull University and the Cranfield School of Management highlights the entrepreneurial north-south divide based on the number of jobs created.  GOOD FOR YOU!]]></description>
<pubDate>2008-07-18 10:03:41</pubDate>
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<title>How much do you know about your business?</title>
<description><![CDATA[IT is short for INFORMATION Technology but whilst information can transform your business from good to great this benefit is often lost where too much emphasis is placed on the technology.  Eminent Philosopher and Scientist Sir Francis Bacon new that “Knowledge is Power” as early as the 16th century – and 400 years later it’s just as true today – if not more so. 
 
Using today’s email and internet technologies, accessing and distributing information is so easy and we’ve all played the “I can’t get anything done because of the 10, 100, 500 ... emails in my inbox” card.  But, information is not the same thing as knowledge: information can only contribute to knowledge if you can see the wood for the trees.  In this situation, the IT systems above can be your greatest ally or your worst enemy. 

Well designed and well managed IT systems are the solution. Information systems can help businesses identify and monitor the snippets of information (Key Performance Indicators) which indicate the health of a business.

Where do I start? By focussing on the handful of measures that encapsulate the day by day performance of the business. This is very often the difficult bit. For a retail operation that might be the number of shoppers, average value of purchases and percentage of repeat business. Once those measures are known, the next step is to determine how regularly these need to be monitored. The number of calls waiting at a call centre will vary minute by minute, whereas the value of unpaid bills for a professional services firm may only need reviewing once per month.

Having identified the key performance indicators, and how they should be monitored, IT systems can then do what they are good at: processing large volumes of information (data) to help provide knowledge:
<ul>
<li>Data – I had 2000 customers this month.</li>
<li>Knowledge – that’s a 5% increase on last month so that aspect of my business is improving.</li>
</ul>
Many businesses are now using virtual “Dashboards” to illustrate in a graphical form their key performance indicators. A car dashboard has simple dials and displays for the important information about the health of the car: it’s speed, oil pressure, miles to empty fuel tank, along with useful information for the driver (time, outside temperature, trip mileage). It also displays warnings if a problem is detected (windscreen washer empty) or certain action is required (18,000 mile service due).

In the same way a good business dashboard can provide the same information about company health: profit last month and year to date, cashflow, new sales today and this week. It can also provide useful “driver” information such as business news headlines and weather forecast. Warnings can be generated if, say bank balances reach pre-defined limits, or calls to the call centre are waiting more than one minute, and reminders can be generated for VAT returns or monthly sales reports.

Most businesses will have access to all of this information .... somewhere. Good use of IT can make these “special” trees stand out from the wood.
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<pubDate>2008-06-20 15:49:46</pubDate>
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<title>Leading Law Firm finds value in expert Legal IT Support</title>
<description><![CDATA[Value for money and service level were high on the agenda when law firm Banner Jones looked to P2 Technologies to support their IT systems.

Operating from 7 offices in North Derbyshire and South Yorkshire, Banner Jones are a leading law firm in the area whose success is based on their high quality of services.  When choosing P2 Technologies for IT support, Andrew Sharp, IT Manager looked for a support arrangement which fits around and complements their own internal processes and the support from other suppliers.

P2 have provided a flexible IT support plan with guaranteed service levels covering all networked IT systems at Banner Jones offices.

“Banner Jones success is built on our high quality of service so it is important to us that we can trust our key suppliers to support our own services.”, said Andrew Sharp. “Having known the directors at P2 Technologies for a number of years we value their ongoing advice and know that they deliver when we need them to.”

Roger Pearson of P2 Technologies added, “Our clients want IT systems which fit together and work the way they do.  We listen carefully, think and apply expert knowledge to give them exactly that.  Banner Jones will gain immediately from controlled costs and fast, decisive response to support issues.  They will continue to benefit from having an IT supplier with 20 years Legal Technology experience.”

<b>About Banner Jones Solicitors</b>

Our strength in depth may have been built over many years but at Banner Jones we are constantly striving to be at the forefront in the provision of legal services.
We are a full service Law Firm, working from offices across North Derbyshire and South Yorkshire, committed to providing specialist legal services tailored to the specific needs of our clients.
For further information contact Banner Jones on 01246 560560 or email info@bannerjones.co.uk.

<b>About P2 Technologies</b>

P2 Technologies are a specialist supplier of Legal IT, Telephony and Software solutions to smart-thinking firms in the north of England.  Based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire the P2 team have spent almost 20 years developing and supporting Legal and Financial IT software and services.
For further information contact P2 Technologies on 01484 779020 or email info@p2tech.co.uk.
]]></description>
<pubDate>2008-06-05 16:08:31</pubDate>
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<title>Searching for Profit</title>
<description><![CDATA[For a small business, a website can be a valuable and potentially profitable route to market.  Did you know that research shows that 85% of business buyers go online during the purchasing process and that 83 percent found the vendor from which they bought online.

So, you could gain significant business from a website, but, after spending a pretty penny on a shiny new site it’s not quite as simple as sitting back and waiting for the customers to start beating down the door.

While existing customers may find your site without too much effort, the trick is getting people who have never heard of you to find you and get in touch. 

If you intend to invest in online advertising, make sure that you consider exactly what you want to achieve.  It is important to think about who you are trying to reach and what they are likely to be looking for.  A good way to start is by getting on Google yourself and searching for your product or services (e.g. 'my service' in Huddersfield).

If your company comes up in the search results – thats great, but as with any market, conditions change and you need to keep checking and honing to get the best from your online marketing.

Getting good search result positions on sites like Google and Yahoo! is almost an art form in itself, and, while there is no guaranteed way to achieve a #1 search ranking on any search engine, there are a number of strategies to give you a fighting chance.

Firstly, “Pay Per Click” advertising is where you bid in an auction to get your advert on the search engine and pay each time your link is clicked by a visitor.

Secondly, you can re-design your website content intelligently so that it is more likely to appear when potential customers are looking for your products.  This is often termed “organic” searching.

A good SEO consultant will be able to help you identify an online marketing strategy in line with the aims of your business and recommend an appropriate mix of “pay per click” advertising and “organic” optimisation.  Significant commercial and technical acumen is needed to achieve the best results so make sure you check on track record and references.

A good SEO strategy is about more than just increasing the number of visitors to your site – once they are there you have to keep their interest so they stick around and get in touch. A website should be easy to navigate, with clear and obvious links on every page for people to follow. If a visitor to your site can’t find what they are looking for quickly, they will soon go somewhere else.

By keeping your website up to date with regular fresh content in the form of news pages, blogs or interactive forums you can keep the site fresh and interesting, and give people and search engines alike something to keep coming back for.

SEO is not a simple quick fix, but a long term strategy that, planned carefully and carried out successfully, can pay big dividends for your business.
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<pubDate>2008-05-20 12:53:27</pubDate>
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<title>Legal Firms drive new Business with Smarter IT Technology</title>
<description><![CDATA[Legal and Financial Firms looking to attract new business and save time can achieve both by making smarter use of IT systems.  Improving response times and increasing lead conversion rates for clients, Huddersfield based firm BNH Associates has implemented an electronic instruction and status update system from Legal IT specialist P2 Technologies.

BNH Associates provide legal and investigative support services to solicitors, insurance companies and the finance industry throughout the UK.  Responding to changing client needs they realised that if their clients could send electronic instructions directly into the BNH system, they could reduce paperwork, improve turnaround times for their clients and also provide faster and higher quality electronic feedback, which would keep the client informed of every action and change regarding each of their cases.

P2 Technologies has provided, through its LegalSpeed technology, a direct online link between the case management systems of BNH and their clients including Manchester-based solicitors Pannone LLP.  LegalSpeed is flexible and secure promoting faster communication between firms and driving new business from lead generation through to completion.  The innovative interface enables firms of all sizes to benefit from the same smart technology.

Roger Hinchliffe of BNH commented “BNH are always striving to improve the quality of our client service and the P2 LegalSpeed system is a significant enhancement to the service we offer to our clients.  P2 Technologies thorough understanding of Legal IT systems combined with technical expertise make them an ideal business partner for BNH.”

Graham Moore of P2 Technologies added, “For firms responding to legal services reforms those who can extract the very best from their Practice Management and Case Management systems will move ahead in the face of increasing competition.  P2 LegalSpeed makes firms more agile and profitable by enabling smarter working and faster communication in key practise areas.”  

<strong>About BNH Associates.....</strong>
BNH Associates provide a comprehensive range of legal and investigative support services to solicitors, insurance companies and the finance industry throughout the UK. We are skilled in the areas of investigation, statement taking, document service, customer sign-up and document collection.

Based in Huddersfield, BNH Associates operate across the UK. For more information please phone us on 01484 467 790 or read more about the specific services we provide at www.bnhassociates.com.

<strong>About P2 Technologies...</strong>
P2 Technologies are a specialist supplier of Legal IT, Telephony and Software solutions to smart-thinking firms in the north of England.  Based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire the P2 team have spent almost 20 years developing and supporting Legal IT software and services.

For further information contact P2 Technologies on 01484 779020 or email <a href="&#x6d;&#00097;&#x69;&#108;&#000116;&#x6f;&#x3a;&#x69;&#110;&#102;&#x6f;&#x40;&#x70;&#x32;&#000116;&#x65;&#99;&#104;&#46;&#x63;&#111;&#x2e;&#x75;&#x6b;">&#105;&#x6e;&#000102;&#x6f;&#00064;&#112;&#50;&#000116;&#x65;&#x63;&#x68;&#x2e;&#x63;&#000111;&#x2e;&#000117;&#000107;</a>.

<strong>About P2 LegalSpeed...</strong>
P2 LegalSpeed provides a layer of technology on top of existing line of business applications, providing integration with other internal systems and those of partners. P2 LegalSpeed has been designed to help businesses communicate faster, more flexibly and smarter.
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<pubDate>2008-05-08 16:12:33</pubDate>
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<title>Another Milestone for P2</title>
<description><![CDATA[P2 Technologies has passed another milestone in the company’s relatively short lifetime. Having only been trading for 9 months, P2 has now signed up its 50th client for IT and Telephony solutions.

Director Martin Page comments: “We are building a strong professional sector customer base and this achievement is testament to the quality-driven expertise of the staff behind P2 and our fresh, unobtrusive approach to technology.

It is our belief that technology is straightforward and we want our customers to share that view:  solutions based around an understanding of their business needs work better and offer a higher return on investment.

We are continuing to push forward with new products and services based on listening to our customers, and we have more exciting developments to come.”
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<pubDate>2008-05-08 16:24:58</pubDate>
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<title>Smarter use of Web Technology drives down business costs</title>
<description><![CDATA[For financial services firms looking to drive down operational costs, working with smarter web technology can bring significant benefits.

Dronfield-based Credit Collections (UK) Ltd has discovered that self-service is the key to reducing administrative overheads and providing a more efficient service to their clients.

Established in 1985, Credit Collections (UK) Ltd is a leading debt collection agency & provider of outsourced credit control services. The firm has always sought to make best use of technology in order to deliver its commitment to providing the best quality debt collection services.

In this latest phase of service improvement, Kevin Wright, Legal Department Manager, was seeking to enable debtors to be able to make payments against their debts online.

This required integration of the business’s back-office systems with the firm’s website and payment processing systems. Having failed to get this implemented with their previous supplier, Credit Collections (UK) Ltd turned to Huddersfield-based P2 Technologies.

P2 implemented a new web site and provided all the integration services necessary to deliver this solution. “We have known the key staff at P2 Technologies for many years and when they said they could deliver this solution we knew they would” commented Kevin Wight. “Not only have we gained the time & efficiency savings we anticipated, but the project has also delivered the unanticipated benefit of being able to use the online payment system ourselves.”

Graham Moore of P2 Technologies added, “Most businesses now have IT solutions in place for their key business processes, but these are often islands of information. Firms that can appreciate the additional benefits of joining up these islands will be able to increase their competitive advantage.”

<strong>About Credit Collections (UK) Ltd</strong>
Established in 1985, Credit Collections (UK) Ltd is a leading debt collection agency & provider of outsourced credit control services. As an established debt collection agency, Credit Collections (UK) Ltd provides both UK debt collection & global debt recovery. We are totally committed to providing the best quality debt collection services by utilising the skills of our highly experienced debt collectors & by using the latest debt recovery computer technology. 
 For further information contact Credit Collections (UK) on 01246 411931 by email at peter@creditcollections.co.uk or visit their website <a href="http://www.creditcollections.co.uk" target="_blank">here</a>.

<strong>About P2 Technologies</strong>
P2 Technologies are a specialist supplier of Legal IT, Telephony and Software solutions to smart-thinking firms in the north of England.  Based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire the P2 team have spent almost 20 years developing and supporting Legal and Financial IT software and services.
For further information contact P2 Technologies on 01484 779020 or email info@p2tech.co.uk.
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<pubDate>2008-05-04 19:53:07</pubDate>
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