Bob Scott, a board member of The Operational Research Society, shares his insights on why SME business leaders should consider OR as a vital tool for problem-solving. With an extensive career in OR at organisations like Cap Gemini and PwC, Bob has seen the value of OR in action. In today’s data-driven world, where the buzz around AI and analytics dominates boardroom discussions, there is a forgotten hero quietly transforming business decision-making. SME business leaders may not have discovered it yet, but operational research (OR) has the potential to be a true game-changer. What is Operational Research? Operational research is…
Author: sme-admin
Online cloud experts at TelephoneSystems.Cloud are urging business owners to verify their email lists and take proactive steps to prevent spam sign-ups from affecting their marketing campaigns. False data entered through sign-up forms can significantly distort analytics and harm campaign performance. This misleading information can lead to incorrect optimisation strategies and generate false leads. Sending marketing materials to spambots not only undermines the effectiveness of a campaign but can also damage the credibility of email marketing efforts, making them appear poorly received by customers. Juliet Moran, a digital tech expert from TelephoneSystems.Cloud, explains: “Spam sign-ups are a real problem for…
As UK businesses brace for a challenging autumn budget, experts have revealed how several industries, already facing significant investment declines, are likely to struggle even further. Securing funding is crucial for startups in any sector to launch and scale a business, and with the autumn budget just weeks away, access to finance tops the list of priorities for SMEs. The money.co.uk business loans team has analysed government data to reveal which sectors receive the least investment and offered their insights on the importance of securing funding. The industries that have seen the largest decrease in investment: Rank Industry* Funds Raised Through EIS or…
Paul Tarne, partner at national law firm Weightmans, offers essential insights on the changes in Martyn’s Law since its recent introduction to Parliament. He provides actionable guidance for SMEs on ensuring compliance, drawing from his experience representing Greater Manchester Combined Authority during the public inquiry into the Manchester Arena terror attack. Martyn’s Law, named in memory of Martyn Hett, who tragically lost his life in the Manchester Arena bombing, is moving towards becoming one of the UK’s most significant pieces of counterterrorism legislation. First introduced in early 2023, the law has undergone several stages of parliamentary scrutiny and is now…
Analysis of the Department of Health & Social Care’s latest Health Trends data for England highlights record prevalence of serious health conditions. The analysis from Broadstone, a leading independent consultancy, shows that cancerous issues have become significantly more common, with the proportion of patients with cancer (excluding non-melanotic skin cancers) more than doubling in just over a decade. When records began in 2009/10, 1.4% of people in England – or 776,000 – had diagnosed cancer (excluding non-melanotic skin cancers) according to practice disease registers. This doubled to 3% in 2018/19 and has subsequently increased to 3.6% or 2.3 million in…
Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank, has today launched a new, free, interactive resource for aspiring business owners, called the ‘Essential Guide to Starting a Business’. The guide has been developed to provide useful and jargon-free guidance to help small business owners navigate the current small business landscape. The resource contains a step-by-step guide for launching a business and covers 10 key topics in a simple and easily digestible format. There’s also a jargon-busting glossary for business owners to reference. The topics include: researching your idea, business strategy and plan, company structure explained, incorporating your business, business…
Can Businesses Really Put a Price on Prevention? Frank Horenberg, Zivver’s Head of IT, and Simon Newman, Co-Founder of Cyber London, do a deep dive on the issue of investment in cybersecurity tools How do you measure what you cannot see? This is the conundrum facing countless businesses as they grapple with the current cybersecurity landscape. Too often the real value of a cybersecurity tool isn’t realised until a business becomes the victim of a data leak or breach. A successful cyberattack is also the moment when many businesses finally realise that their cybersecurity solutions aren’t up to par, or that…
As of July 2024, Meta has implemented its “AI Studio” tool on Instagram, allowing creators to develop AI chatbot versions of themselves or on behalf of their companies. The development, which is predicted to become the most used AI assistant in the world by the end of 2024, aims to enable businesses, influencers, and creators to interact with their followers on a more enhanced scale. Christoph C. Cemper, an AI expert on behalf of AIPRM, provided his insight on how AI chatbots can boost your brands engagement, customer interaction, and strengthen your social media presence. Enhance customer interaction 64% of business owners believe AI has the potential to improve customer…
New research commissioned by innovation incentives specialist, ForrestBrown, highlights that UK businesses are eager to invest in innovation, but a range of barriers are holding them back. 19% of businesses surveyed point to a shortage of skilled personnel—a concern reinforced by the Learning and Work Institute’s prediction of a 2.5 million shortfall in highly skilled workers by 2030, which is projected to cost the UK £120 billion. Regulatory and financial constraints also pose challenges. One in five business leaders (20%) report difficulties in securing funds or accessing external finance as key hurdles to innovation investment, while 23% cite regulatory barriers. 18% identified insufficient financial…
GDPR non-compliance can be very costly for both large and small businesses, and while penalties haven’t yet reached the magnitude of 2023, Amazon France Logistique have already received a €32m fine, and TikTok a €1.8m fine. While SMEs won’t face the same fines received by these larger companies, penalties scale based on the size of the business so remain a costly mistake to make. Interested in this, application SaaS company Indusface have investigated the most common GDPR violations, and which have cost European businesses the most. Non-compliance with general data processing principles – €2,410,164,550 (617 fines) Falling under the higher tier of fines under GDPR violations, the above qualifies as a serious…