We were thrilled to be an exhibitor at this year’s Talking Technology, an annual event hosted by Norfolk Chamber focusing on ‘Unlocking Digital Growth’. Each year the event aims to develop the use of digital skills and innovative technologies in business to boost productivity and profitability. This year’s speakers were both national and local specialists on the subjects of Big Data, Cyber Security and Business Growth.
On the subject of Big Data we heard from John Fagan from Axon Vibe and Simon Thompson from BT. John covered the evolving mobile era and the way we socialise and maintain relationships. He also touched on The Internet of Things and Wearable Tech era advancing. Simon spoke about his expertise in leading a team of research scientists developing next generation approaches to Big Data infrastructures, Data Analytics for Big Data sets, Novel Test and Diagnosis and Social Physics.
Next up was the importance of Cyber security. Joe Cooksey worked alongside Barclay’s fraud team and utilised their findings to help customers understand the importance of Cyber Security and to identify the changes they needed to make to improve it. Joe challenged how many of us were actually secure and it was really surprising to see just how many of the audience use one of the top ten passwords and would click on an unknown link!
Paul Maskall was the cybercrime Security Advisor and Coordinator for both Norfolk and Suffolk Constabularies. He was in charge of the Prevent, Protect and Prepare agenda of the UK Serious and Organised Crime Strategy. He articulated that his primary objective was to engage with businesses and deliver cyber security advice to both them, the safeguarding community and the public.
The final subject was Business growth. We heard from Venetia Scott-Dalgleish telling the Airbnb story, how it started and how it had grown. Venitia was working particularly to grow and develop the host community outside urban areas in the UK.
Lastly was Tom Haczewski of The User Story. Tom gave a short exploration of UX principles and how they might help businesses see the light, using research and heuristics to develop an unbiased view of their services. Remember, Tom said, “Check yo self (and yo users) before you wreck yo self.”
As if we hadn’t learnt enough, there were further workshops. ‘Getting Seen Online’ by Jonathan White from Traded Network was the first of the day. Jonathon offered his expertise in helping businesses to gain a better online presence.
The second was ‘E-Commerce’ by Alex Tosh from Creative Sponge. Alex identified 10 practical ways to maximise sales online – all the way from engagement and the customer journey through to product promotion.
The third was ‘Website Analytics’ by Darren Lawes from Conversion House. Darren guided listeners through how to find problems on their website that may be slowing down the sales process. He also explained the biggest opportunities for improvement.
Lastly was ‘Building Mobile Apps and the Benefits an App Can Bring to your Business’ by Neil Garner from Thyngs. Neil and his team created the talking tech app that allowed attendees to scan the QR codes at each exhibitor’s stand and reveal a giveaway/prize with a scratchy reveal box. Doesn’t everyone love a scratchy reveal box?
Overall a fabulous day for seeing some old faces, making some new connections and learning more about a number of techy topics. I would also like to say congratulations to Charlotte Hubbard from Norwich Print Solutions for winning our luxury Norfolk hamper! Also well done to Aaron Fickling Director of Laszlo Creative, Neil Garner Director of Thyngs and Barnaby Greenfield, son of Sarah and Chris from Bright Yellow Marking in winning one of our signed Software Development Books. Thank you everybody for taking part.
Thank you to Jill at the Space and all staff at the Norfolk Chamber.
We better start getting ready for 2017!
