Archive for March 2012
HTML5: The Future is Here!
Think making websites is difficult? Think they can be expensive? You think this leaves you little option but to do without? Well, that’s been true for many small businesses until now; until HTML5, the webs new gift and [arguably] the future of the intent.
HTML5 is the updated version of the online code used to build websites. HTML5 adds many new syntactical features, including the new <video>, <audio> and <canvas> elements, as well as the integration of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) content that replaces the uses of generic <object> tags. Or in layman’s terms, these new features are designed to make it significantly easier for the average person to include and handle multimedia and graphical content, without the need for complex code, plug-ins or APIs.
UK workers unhappy with their employers and bosses for having ‘More money than sense’
Financial reservations are not resigned to The City as a surprising number of UK employees demand a shakeup concerning the way corporate money is spent.
A recent survey by Powwownow highlights almost a third of UK workers feel dismayed by their companies’ overspending. Furthermore, the same new figures reveal employees are equally critical of their boss’s personal spending habits and would rather see the money spent on directors’ salaries reinvested by their company in to more staff and training.
A cross section of 1,000 UK employees were asked the question, ‘How they perceived the spending habits of the company you work for?’ to which a disagreeable 30% of respondents indicated “too much” or “excessive”.
Small Business Loans Just Got A Lot Simpler
Powwownow: one of the first three companies in the country to benefit from new Government Scheme.
Last night saw the launch of Chancellor George Osborne’s new Government Scheme which aims to make it simpler and cheaper for businesses to borrow money. The National Loan Guarantee Scheme (NLGS) allows businesses to access loans with an interest rate one per cent point lower than those available outside the initiative; and having experienced the process first hand, leading Conference Call provider Powwownow says this can only signal a positive step in the right direction.
George Oborne and Powwownow Co-Founders discuss new scheme
Personalisation: The Starbucks way.
We don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Starbucks, in a very American way of personalising their customer service in the UK, have now started wanting to call you by your name. This ordinarily wouldn’t be a problem; here at Powwownow we’re all for personalisation, but in this instance, it all seems a little insincere.
Apparently some customers have been having a little laugh at Starbucks’ expense by calling out names such as ‘Carol Singers’ or ‘Ben Dover’. And as amusing as that is, it’s probably detrimental to the way the general public change the way they perceive the coffee giant. Furthermore, if that specific problem escalates, we honestly think it could produce negative effects much larger than even they [Starbucks] might imagine.
Starbucks
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Are you ready for UC?
Unified Communications shouldn’t just be another buzz phrase you don’t fully understand; instead, it should be in your business strategy, spoken about in the board room, and appreciated for what it really is – arguably the most revolutionary development in the way we work and converse this side of 2012.
Due to the fact at Powwownow we are currently combining our web and audio conferencing capabilities with a new video conferencing offer, we thought it great timing to take you through some interesting facts and figures regarding all things UC.
Speaking ahead of London’s Unified Communications Expo in March, event organiser Hugh Keeble said that by investing in UC systems, businesses can take advantage of synergised communications systems that boost efficiency. “Unified communications allows organisations to do business wherever they are, by bringing fixed, mobile and desktop communications together,” he said. “This is particularly important in the current economic climate”, he added, “with many companies looking to invest in systems that facilitate new working practices to improve cost-effectiveness”
Unified Communications
© Sqback| Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos
New survey reveals the truth about flexible working perceptions
A new survey commissioned by Microsoft Corp and conducted by Vanson Bourne shows that the majority of business leaders across 15 Western European countries are very optimistic about the business and employee benefits of flexible working practices but have yet to implement a strategy for making new ways of working a reality. Although businesses increasingly grant employees flexibility about when and where to work, the biggest barriers for employees include the right technology access and managerial guidance. Full flexible working is a reality for only a minority of knowledge workers in European businesses.