Tech Talk in assocation with virtualDCS
Tech Talk in association with virtualDCS
CHARTERED Accountants Haines Watts has launched a new mobile phone app containing the latest details on UK tax rates.
Tax partner Alan Moore said: “Time is money and anything that streamlines accountancy and makes things faster and more efficient is worth embracing.
“Rather than having to use the internet via a PC to find out relevant tax rates or keep a hard copy tax card to hand, the app will allow access to tax rates anywhere, at any point in time.”
The app will be available for free for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
Haines Watts is also considering developing further helps to support business owners.
:::
SHEFFIELD is the leading city for creative and digital industries in the UK according to a new report.
The Trends Business Research report suggests sector grew faster than the UK average and its five main competitors between 2003 and 2009.
James Wilson, investment manager for the creative and digital sector at Creativesheffield, said: “These fantastic results reinforce the fact that Sheffield excels in the creative and digital industries and is real testament to the hard work and commitment that the companies who operate in the city devote to their work.
“This growth is also reflected in the take up of office space within the innovative Sheffield Digital Campus. The latest high profile edition to Ventana House at the Digital Campus is the entertainment and communications giant Sky who is creating over 500 new jobs in the city. This has been a welcome boost to the city’s economy and the profile of the sector.”
The report found the digital sector in the Sheffield City Region to be made up of over 6,000 CDI firms, employing 20,900 people and creating a turnover of more than £1bn.
:::
IT hosting company virtualDCS is celebrating after being shortlisted for a key award in the Business Continuity Awards 2011, organised by leading trade title Continuity, Insurance & Risk (CIR) magazine.
Leeds-based virtualDCS’s business continuity and disaster recovery service – CloudCover – has been shortlisted in the ‘Most Innovative Solution of The Year’ category in the awards, which recognise excellence within the field of business continuity and operational risk management.
Instead of traditional tape-based back up, CloudCover works by continuously duplicating an organisation’s computer systems to off-site data centres – which clients can access remotely via a secure internet connection – and ensures that, in the event of a disaster occurring at the workplace, personnel can still access information and businesses can continue operating.
Richard May, director of virtualDCS said: “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for this award and for CloudCover’s service to be recognised in this way so soon after it was launched. It’s a real endorsement of the service and the value we believe it brings to companies keen to protect their business in a simple and cost-effective way.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony at London’s Park Lane Hilton Hotel on May 25.
::::
RTR has launched an iPhone app that allows members to access breakdown recovery services.
The app uses the GPS in the member’s phone to find where they have broken down and puts them through to a call centre operator who can despatch help.
Paul Hoylemanaging director of Huddersfield-based RTR, said: “When we introduced a breakdown recovery scheme that you only pay for when you need it, our competitors thought we were mad.
“We have now taken an innovative service and created an innovative way to access it through the app. We think it’s the future of breakdown cover.”
RTR members pay for recovery when they need it rather than on a monthly or annual basis.
:::
HULL telecom company The One Network has signed a new deal with mobile operator 3G.
The deal means the firm can now offer landline to mobile phone calls at a local rate using technology which allows it to embed a landline number onto a mobile phone SIM card.
Managing director Martin Lauer said: “This is a real game changer in terms of mobile technology. It spells the end of the expensive 07 numbers that most of us have nowadays.
“Businesses with large numbers of employees, armed with mobile phones, could cut thousands off their annual telephone bills, and parents who regularly call children or other family members on their mobiles could also make some big savings.
“It will revolutionise how people call each other.”
