ExaGrid’s EX13000E Disk Backup System Named Storage Magazine 2011 Product of the Year Finalist

February 7th, 2012

London — February 7, 2012 — ExaGrid® Systems, Inc., the leader in cost-effective and scalable disk-based backup solutions with data deduplication, today announced that its EX13000E disk backup appliance has been selected as a finalist in the Backup Hardware category of Storage Magazine/SearchStorage.com’s 2011 Product of the Year Awards.

ExaGrid’s EX13000E disk backup system utilizes a scalable GRID-based architecture that combines 10 appliances in a GRID to store a 130TB full backup, plus weeks or months of retention. As the most recent addition to ExaGrid’s disk backup product line, the EX13000E offers customers the highest performance midrange backup appliance in the industry and the highest performance/TB for a fully-loaded disk backup with deduplication system. It is also the only disk backup system that enables instant recovery and running of a virtual machine (VM) from the disk backup system when the primary VM is unavailable.

With other disk backup solutions that use front-end server architecture and add disk shelves as data grows, customers experience longer backups over time and eventually must replace the front end server, which is a costly forklift upgrade. In contrast, ExaGrid’s scalable GRID-based approach adds full servers—including memory, processor, disk and bandwidth—to maintain consistently fast backup performance and a fixed length backup window as data increases. This approach allows customers to confidently purchase a system that will expand to handle future data growth, keep the backup window static and avoid forklift upgrades associated with the front-end server/disk shelf architecture. Like all ExaGrid appliances, the EX13000E can be seamlessly added to any existing ExaGrid deployment and be mixed and matched with older appliances of any size, thereby eliminating obsolescence.

ExaGrid’s EX13000E’s backup performance of 24TB/hour for a 130TB GRID is more than double the backup performance per TB of any other disk backup with deduplication system. Each EX13000E has 16 2TB disks, 16GB of memory and two CPUs in a 19-inch rackmount chassis.

ExaGrid’s EX13000E was one of the select few data storage products in six categories chosen from nearly 200 entries by Storage Magazine and SearchStorage.com as a finalist for the 2011 Product of the Year Awards. The finalists in each category were selected by a panel of judges, with the Backup Hardware category covering tape libraries, tape drives for backup, media, disk backup targets, virtual tape libraries (VTL), deduplication devices and gateways appliances for cloud backup.

Important Features and Benefits of the ExaGrid EX Series Appliance

ExaGrid’s unique approach to disk-based backup delivers unparalleled performance and scalability without requiring costly forklift upgrades as data grows. ExaGrid customers achieve the fastest backup times because data is written directly to disk, data deduplication is performed post-process after the data is stored but most importantly ExaGrid adds full servers which include processor, memory, disk and bandwidth versus just adding disk.

ExaGrid’s disk backup system with data deduplication supports the industry’s leading backup applications and utilities, including CA ARCserve, CommVault Simpana, EMC NetWorker, HP Data Protector, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager, Idera SQsafe, Linux/Unix File System Data Dumps, LiteSpeed for SQL Server, Microsoft SQL dump, Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN), Quest vRanger, Red Gate SQL Backup, Symantec Backup Exec and NetBackup, Veeam Backup & Replication, and VMware Backup.

About ExaGrid Systems, Inc.:
ExaGrid offers the only disk-based backup appliance with data deduplication purpose-built for backup that leverages a unique architecture optimised for performance, scalability and price. ExaGrid is the only solution that combines compute with capacity and a unique landing zone to permanently shorten backup windows, eliminate expensive forklift upgrades, achieve the fastest full system restores and tape copies, and rapidly restore files, VMs and objects in minutes. With offices and distribution worldwide, ExaGrid has more than 6,500 systems installed at more than 1,700 customers, and more than 320 published customer success stories.

For more information, contact ExaGrid at 800-868-6985 or visit www.exagrid.com. Visit “ExaGrid’s Eye on Deduplication” blog: http://blog.exagrid.com/.

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ExaGrid is a registered trademark of ExaGrid Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

 

 

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CallMiner Partners with Ultracomms to Add Its Market-Leading Interaction Analytics Solutions to Ultracomms PCI Compliant Cloud Contact Centre

April 25th, 2016

ULTRACOMMS-logoLogo

 

 

  • Enables contact centres to improve agent productivity and performance to deliver a better customer experience
  • Delivers unrivalled compliance solution to financial services contact centres and collection agencies

London, UK – April 25th – CallMiner, Inc., rated first in customer satisfaction for customer engagement analytics and, Ultracomms, Europe’s first cloud contact centre services provider, today announced a new partnership to provide contact centres across the UK with advanced cloud-based Interaction Analytics solutions. Under the partnership, Ultracomms customers will now have access to a uniquely powerful integrated cloud contact centre solution that simultaneously enhances compliance and supports agent productivity and performance improvements.

 

Integrated solution delivers significant customer benefits
This announcement follows the news earlier this month that Ultracomms achieved the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) v3.1, (PCI DSS) Level 1 accredited service provider status for its entire platform. By adding CallMiner’s Eureka interaction analytics solution, Ultracomms customers can capture and analyse 100% of customer interactions across all communication channels, including calls, chats, emails and social media. This delivers a number of powerful benefits, including:

  • Helping organisations improve contact centre performance by analysing all interactions for all agents, rather than basing decisions on a small sample of calls
  • Making full FCA compliance very simple by providing access to all interactions
  • Identifying best practice and agent strengths so that not only can the skills of individual agents be matched to tasks but also the performance of the whole team can be raised
  • Introducing a competitive spirit amongst agents by providing each agent with their own dashboard that anonymously compares their performance with best-performing agents
  • Identifying the optimal path for customer interactions so that best practice can be shared across the team
  • Enabling contact centre managers to become more effective by switching their time from listening to a small sample of calls to identifying and delivering more targeted and intelligent coaching based on all interactions.

Simplicity of integration supports rapid deployment
Because it is very easy to integrate Eureka with Ultracomms’ cloud platform, clients will be able to deploy and experience the benefits in a matter of weeks.

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New membership organisation launches to drive the professional development of Employee Engagement

February 10th, 2016

London – February 10, 2016 – The world of employee engagement welcomes a new champion today with the launch of the Employee Engagement Alliance (EEA). The EEA is a new membership organisation that is designed to represent the interests of employee engagement professionals and encourage the development of world-class employee engagement programmes.

The EEA plans to work with its members to identify and capture best practice and irrefutable proof of the business value that employee engagement delivers to an organisation.

The EEA has eight core goals:

  1. To provide a voice for employee engagement professionals
  2. To provide access to training which is specifically designed to meet the professional development needs of employee engagement professionals
  3. To run events that assist learning through exposure to best practice and inspirational speakers
  4. To gather proof of the business and human value of employee engagement
  5. To crystallise best practice based on member contributions
  6. To share knowledge between our members
  7. To provide access to tools that aid the delivery of employee engagement programmes
  8. To provide members the opportunity to benchmark the impact of their employee engagement programme against businesses of the same size and in the same sector.

Membership offers
Membership is open to both individuals and organisations. Full details on membership can be seen on the EEA’s website www.the-eea.com. Individuals who register by the end of February will pay just half of the first year’s subscription of £62.50 plus VAT – by quoting the code LAUNCH50 (expires 28th February*). Companies who register before the end of February will pay just £1950 plus VAT – a saving of £550 plus VAT. Charities will access all the company membership benefits for just £1000 plus VAT.

Access to range of benefits
In addition to the ability to access and add to a knowledge base on employee engagement, and the opportunity to collaborate and share best practice with peers, Members will have access to a range of other benefits. These include discounted Learning events, discounted training, access to technology and tools and access to a unique benchmarking service.

First learning Event
The first Learning event will be in London on Wednesday 2nd March. It is the Employee Engagement Awards Best Practice Showcase. This unique event captures in just half a day the most powerful learnings from the latest award-winning Employee Engagement Programmes. 11 short and sharp best practice presentations and a panel discussion will provide attendees a checklist for action and the pitfalls to avoid. Demonstrating the EEA’s commitment to giving its members the best possible value, it will cost just £50 plus VAT to attend this great event – which includes networking drinks for the first 150 to register for the Showcase.

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*Note: Discount codes must be entered in CAPS while registering to ensure the code is recognised.

 

About the Employee Engagement Alliance
The EEA is the world’s first membership organisation to focus exclusively on employee engagement. Its goal is to champion the professional development of the discipline and to prove the significant business value that effective employee engagement brings to an organisation.

Headquartered in the UK and led by a former Chairman of the PRCA, the EEA will represent employee engagement professionals worldwide. Membership is open to both individuals and organisations.

The EEA has eight core goals: To provide a voice for employee engagement professionals; To provide access to training which is specifically designed to meet the professional development needs of employee engagement professionals; To run events that assist learning; To gather proof of the value of employee engagement; To crystallise best practice based on member contributions; To share knowledge between our members; To provide access to tools that aid the delivery of employee engagement and, to provide members the opportunity to benchmark the impact of their employee engagement programme against businesses of the same size and in the same sector. www.the-eea.com

Follow the EEA on Twitter or connect with us on LinkedIn.

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New CallMiner Eureka Platform Improves the User Experience and Speeds Time to Customer Insights

November 19th, 2015

London, UK – Nov 19, 2015 – CallMiner, rated first in customer satisfaction for interaction analytics, announced today the latest release of its flagship product, Eureka. The Eureka Fall 2015 release includes enhancements in user experience design, customer journey visualisation, root cause analysis and agent performance management workflows. New and improved capabilities of Eureka Fall 2015 will further accelerate the speed at which organisations can gain the intelligence required to boost contact centre performance and deliver better customer experiences, leading to increased revenue, compliance and efficiencies.

Eureka Fall 2015 has a significantly enhanced user interface, with a focus on ease of use and a responsive design optimised for a broader range of devices. The new application represents CallMiner’s platform for future development and will allow for an increased speed to market as CallMiner continues to evolve and expand its product line to support the changing demands of customer engagement centres and omni-channel customer journey analytics.

Eureka Fall 2015 includes several functional enhancements.

Search & Interaction Analytics
Improved search suggestions reduce effort to find contacts of interest. Specialised tools for the categorisation of interactions further simplify the creation of solutions that target specific business objectives. New views in automated topic discovery improve root cause analysis.

Agent Performance Management
More intuitive automated quality monitoring forms simplify the creation of agent scorecards. Scorecards are present for every interaction and an improved interaction details view, or call player, expedites performance review. Manual tagging features, commenting and manual score adjustments support quality monitoring and agent coaching workflows.

Customer Journey Analysis
Customer engagement professionals and quality analysts can view and measure various key performance indicators across the entire omni-channel customer journey through a new intuitive visualisation.

Data Interoperability
A more powerful Application Programmable Interface (API) with an improved Software Development Kit (SDK) enables customer and third party solution providers to easily extract interaction analytics data for greater flexibility and speed in developing custom workflows to solve specific business challenges.

Fast-Track™ & Improved Administration
New administration tools give customers greater control over the configuration of CallMiner Eureka, further reducing dependency on professional services. Fast-Track, CallMiner’s accelerated delivery model, gets customers up and running within days or hours.

About CallMiner
CallMiner believes that resolution is the fundamental driver of positive customer experiences. When contact centre agents and others responsible for customer engagement are enabled by insight and feedback in real-time, they can dramatically improve the rate and speed of positive outcomes. With the tagline “Listen to Your Customers, Improve Your Business” our goal is to help companies automate the overwhelming process of extracting insight from phone calls, chats, emails and social media to dramatically improve customer service and sales, reduce the cost of service delivery, mitigate risk, and identify areas for process and product improvement. Highlighted by multiple customer achievement awards, CallMiner has consistently ranked number one in customer satisfaction, including surveys conducted by DMG Consulting and Ovum. For more information, please contact CallMiner at (781) 547-5666, or visit www.callminer.com.

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Worldcom Public Relations Group Adds New Capabilities in US, Europe, Africa and Asia; Five Leading Agencies Added To Global Roster

November 10th, 2015

London, UK – November 10, 2015 – Worldcom Public Relations Group, the leading global partnership of public relations firms, today announced new capabilities in the UK, United States, Africa and Latin America via the addition of five leading firms to its worldwide roster.

The new partner agencies were elected during the recent Worldcom Americas Region Meeting in Atlanta and EMEA/Asia Pacific Region meeting in Stresa, Italy, where partners from the U.S., Canada, Latin America, EMEA and Asia Pacific convened for strategic planning and best practices sessions on overall group business growth and initiatives.

“These firms are a reflection of the Worldcom Public Relations Group and our changing industry – diverse, expert, focused and deeply embedded in respective geographies and sectors,” said Todd Lynch, Managing Director, Worldcom Public Relations Group. “As existing clients and prospective brands continue to look to Worldcom firms – individually or collaboratively – for compelling solutions, we’re focused on building a partnership of firms that can deliver innovative, current and measurable solutions.”

New partners added to Worldcom:

Onva Consulting, United Kingdom

  • Onva helps companies grow more effectively by ensuring every communications action is optimized to deliver a key business outcome. Onva focuses on creating propositions and messages that are compelling to audiences; runs campaigns that use content to build a following that can be nurtured and makes employees more effective so that every interaction delivers a better return. Onva is led by Crispin Manners a former chairman of the Public Relations Consultants Association in the UK and winner of the UK’s Innovative Company of the Year Award. Core skills span word of mouth marketing, social media and digital lead generation. onva.co.uk

Meropa Communications, South Africa

  • Meropa is South Africa’s leading empowered communications and PR company. Meropa is the country’s only PR agency to be ranked in the top 200 globally and are unique in having wholly-owned offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth. The firm offers full-service public relations and communications strategy programs to about 60 clients. Meropa can reach into 17 African countries through our AfricaOne network offers dedicated PR outlets throughout East, Central and West Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. http://www.meropa.co.za

Beutler Ink, Washington, DC, United States

  • Beutler Ink is a digital agency. The agency works with global brands like Google, Verizon, Uber, Amazon and more to tell and share stories online. Distributed across all four major U.S. time zones, Beutler is the specialist marketers call in to tackle their biggest challenges—whether it’s breaking through the noise with a mind-blowing infographic, making a booth the most talked-about stop at an industry event, or solving a complicated social media challenge. Beutler are also industry leaders in Wikipedia strategy. beutlerink.com

Intrepid, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

  • Intrepid employs a hybrid communications model that allows the firm to maximize its strategy and messaging expertise to provide clients with the most effective marketing communications options. Intrepid provides a full suite of services including public relations, crisis communications, public involvement, public affairs, branding, advertising and digital. The firm services a diversity of clients in consumer, healthcare, transportation, construction and technology. http://intrepidagency.com

LatinMedia Comunicaciones, Santiago, Chile

  • LatinMedia Comunicaciones, founded in Santiago, Chile, has broad experience in generating and implementing communication strategies for businesses and institutions. With a powerful strategic vision, a deep commitment to their clients, LatinMedia’s professional team reacts to challenges and is passionate in achieving the expected results. The company formed by communicators with more than 15 years’ experience, advises local and foreign companies in the industrial, mining, retail, financial, consultancy, services, legal, technological, automotive, pharmaceutical, educational and gastronomic sectors. We develop tailored strategies for our clients according to their needs and with a teamwork approach based on building personalized, close and goal-oriented relationships. http://www.latinmedia.cl

About Worldcom Public Relations Group

Worldcom Public Relations Group is the world’s leading partnership of independently owned public relations firms, with 143 offices employing some 2,000 staff in 115 cities across six continents. In total, Worldcom partners reported combined revenue of US$288 million last year from 3,034 clients. Established in 1988, the group was formed so that the strongest, most capable independent firms could deliver immediate impact and sustained value through the intelligent use of communications – wherever in the world a client needs support. Partners serve national, international and multinational clients, while retaining the flexibility and client-service focus inherent in independent agencies. Through Worldcom, clients have on-demand access to in-depth communications expertise from professionals who understand the language, culture and customs of the geographic areas in which they operate.  www.worldcomgroup.com

Connect with Worldcom PR Group on Facebook and LinkedIn

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Cantel Medical partners with FingerPrint Medical to deliver P2P PROTECT™ Endoscopy Traceability Solution

October 15th, 2015
  • Advanced endoscopy tracking and machine data integration
  • Provides full visibility of the endoscope decontamination process
  • Enables better capacity planning and compliance with standard operating procedures
  • Helps to reduce non-conformance and target staff training to improve productivity
  • Helps to reduce the risk of hospital acquired infections

October 15, 2015 – CANTEL MEDICAL (UK) LIMITED (Cantel Medical) today announced that it has partnered with FingerPrint Medical Limited (FingerPrint) to deliver continuous improvement in endoscope decontamination processes for hospitals. It will achieve this by integrating FingerPrint’s advanced equipment lifecycle management software with its medical device reprocessing systems.

The partnership will enable hospitals and sterile services departments to eradicate manual data entry through the endoscope decontamination process. This will safeguard patient safety and provide staff with more time to focus on quality assurance checks.

Called P2P PROTECT Endoscopy Traceability Solution, the new integrated system captures machine, process and operator data by using the latest RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology in the reprocessing of flexible endoscopes through its MEDIVATORS® RAPIDAER® Endoscope Reprocessor.

The partnership enables a wide variety of process and usage data to be gathered and reported, delivering departmental managers with the visibility they need to effectively plan resources, ensure equipment availability and drive efficiencies. Furthermore, it will enable hospitals to demonstrate compliance with decontamination processes to help them target the reduction of hospital acquired infections.

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Jorden Salata team joins Avison Young in London, U.K.

October 13th, 2015

New team to focus on upgrading sub-par property

London, U.K. – October 13, 2015 – Nick Cook, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company’s U.K. operations, announced today that leading commercial real estate industry professional Anthony Salata and his team, including Richard Dennis-Smith and Dana Genis, have joined the firm in its London West End office.

The team will continue to specialise in helping  its clients enhance problem property assets and realise value from distressed portfolios.

The team will focus on working with Avison Young’s banking and funding clients to advise on valuations for new lending and also to review existing portfolios where lenders may have concerns. In addition, the team will work with Avison Young’s global asset management professionals to advise global occupier clients in order to offer a due diligence service on behalf of purchasers of debt portfolios.

Anthony Salata

Jorden Salata team joins Avison Young in London, U.K.

Salata offers 33 years of industry experience in the fields of valuation, investment and development appraisal. Salata is a former chair of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) dispute resolution practice panel, while Dennis-Smith is a chartered surveyor with more than 20 years of experience, and a member of the Investment Property Forum and RICS regeneration forum.

 

 


About Avison Young
Avison Young is the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 2,000 real estate professionals in 71 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

Over the past six and a half years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 71 offices and from 300 to more than 2,000 real estate professionals across Canada, the U.S. and in Europe. Avison Young launched its European presence in April 2014 when the firm acquired NAI Haywards and opened new offices in London’s West End and the Thames Valley in the U.K. Since then, the company has expanded its European operations by opening offices in Frankfurt in 2014, as well as Munich, Dusseldorf and Hamburg in 2015.

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World’s first mouthwash for smokers launches in the UK

August 14th, 2015
  • Developed to improve oral health and hygiene for smokers
  • Helps eliminate smokers’ breath
  • Unique composition of NICORINSE® reduces the presence of nicotine and other damaging chemicals left in the mouth after smoking
  • FREE (250ml) bottle of NICORINSE mouthwash, worth £11.95 for first 100 VIP Advisers http://www.nicorinse.co.uk/nicorinse-vip
  • Just £3 plus post & packing for next 1000 VIPs

London – August 14th, 2015 – UK smokers now have a powerful new aid to improving their oral health and hygiene, thanks to today’s launch of NICORINSE. It is the first mouthwash specifically developed to target the damage to teeth, gums and soft tissues in the mouth suffered by smokers.

Nicorinse Smokers Mouthwash

It works by reducing the absorption of addictive nicotine, and other damaging chemicals found in tobacco smoke, in two ways. Swishing with NICORINSE before smoking leaves a fine coating inside the mouth that reduces absorption, and, swishing after smoking washes away nicotine and toxins left in the mouth.

 

Helps to eliminate smokers’ breath and targets smokers’ common oral health and hygiene issues Created in North America by a practising dentist, Dr John Nesbitt DDS, in partnership with a respected chemist, Dr William Farone, NICORINSE is designed to:

  • Reduce the absorption of nicotine and harmful toxins found in tobacco smoke
  • Completely eliminate ‘smokers’ breath’
  • Reduce the risk of yellowing teeth
  • Promote healthier teeth and gums.

Smokers (and non-smokers) in the UK can follow the NICORINSE Healthy Mouth Regime to achieve the best results.

Generous launch deals available from the Online Store
The two flavours of NICORINSE cost £11.95 per 250ml bottle and are now available for purchase via the NICORINSE Online Shop.

The first 100 smokers to sign up to the VIP Adviser Group will be able to guide NICORINSE actions and will receive a full-size 250ml bottle of the mouthwash worth £11.95, completely free. The next 1000 VIPs will be able to try the product for just £3 plus post and packing. Any smokers who want to benefit from these launch discounts should register here.

Helps in addressing ‘Dry Mouth’
Because it is free from alcohol, it is very gentle on the mouth and helpful in addressing ‘Dry Mouth’ associated with smoking or harsh medical treatments such as chemotherapy.

Free from nicotine
As NICORINSE is specifically designed to gently reduce the absorption of nicotine, it can even help smokers cut down or quit. By reducing the amount of nicotine absorbed, NICORINSE helps to cut back on the cravings for the next cigarette.  In addition to delivering oral health benefits, the NICORINSE Quit Smoking Regime is designed to help smokers cut down or quit completely.

NICORINSE mouthwash is manufactured in the UK and is EU safety certified.

Dentists who are interested in trying or stocking NICORINSE should contact sales@nicorinse.co.uk.

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About NICORINSE
NICORINSE is the world’s first mouthwash developed especially to improve the oral health and hygiene of smokers and other tobacco users by reducing the presence of nicotine and other damaging chemicals left in the mouth after smoking.
http://nicorinse.co.uk/

About NICORINSE VIP
NICORINSE wants to be guided by consumers and has set up the NICORINSE VIP community to receive advice on a regular basis. Consumers who register as VIPs will be given the opportunity to try the products and provide their feedback. On top of that, anyone who signs up will be provided with an exclusive inside track to the brand’s plans and have the opportunity to guide its next steps – via short monthly adviser surveys. All VIPs will also have access to exclusive discounts, information, promotions and prizes.
http://nicorinse.co.uk/nicorinse-vip/

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New research shows people now more important than cost when it comes to workplace strategies

July 30th, 2015
  • Employee productivity seen as almost three times as important as reducing cost
  • Employee engagement metrics are seen as more important than cost metrics
  • The use of non-owned space is on the rise and now part of the strategy
  • Over three quarters believe that employees should be treated like guests or customers with services that enable them to be more productive
  • Boards split into three groups from early adopters to laggards when it comes to workplace thinking

London, July 30th, 2015 – New research from the Property Directors Forum confirms that the historical focus on cost – and in particular cost reduction – has been replaced by priorities that are all people oriented.  The number one priority is now greater employee productivity for 40% of property directors.  The number two priority (28%) is attracting and retaining the best talent.

As a result of this new focus on people, ‘soft metrics’ such as employee engagement, satisfaction and retention are now preferred by 61% of property directors for measuring the performance of workplace strategies.  Traditional space and furniture or business agility metrics take the last two places in the ranking.

Infographic: Workplace Strategy and its Implications for Property Directors (1200x5134px)

While productivity is a high priority, ‘wellness’ is not
82% of property directors believe an effective workplace strategy needs to cater for the different needs of each generation of employee.  However, despite the priority given to attracting the best talent and achieving improved productivity, employee wellness is still not being given much importance in the workplace (5%).  This suggest that organisations may need expert help in developing a joined-up approach to creating a people-centred workplace strategy.

Use of non-owned space up dramatically and now part of the strategy
Half of property directors (50%) reported an increase in the use of non-owned space like coffee shops or short-term meeting rooms.  In fact, the future for the likes of Starbucks looks rosy as 86% of property directors think that the use of non-owned space should be planned for in advance when drawing up a workplace strategy.

In addition, members expressed the need for workplace strategies to have a more holistic approach that goes beyond the confines of the owned building to include the quality of the local facilities in the public realm.  It is thought that the quality of both office (82%) and non-owned (68%) space are very important to the ability to attract and retain the best staff.  69% of members agree that the right mix of open space, enclosed/quiet space, collaboration/concentration space and social space is needed to create a truly successful working environment.

Early adopters will attract the best people
The research shows that Boards are split into three ‘generations: early adopters who see workplace strategy as vital to success (27%); the ‘majority’ who think it is important but haven’t actioned it yet (45%) and, the ‘laggards’ for whom workplace isn’t on the agenda at all (23%).

The research followed a Forum event on June 18th and includes contributions from some of the UK’s most significant occupiers with combined revenues of over £600bn.  

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About Property Directors Forum
The Property Directors Forum (PDF) is an exclusive, invitation-only community that was created to provide Occupier Property Directors with a stronger VOICE in the market. The Forum now has over 120 active members of its LinkedIn Group and over 230 who have attended events. Forum members manage over 60,000 properties, employ more than 2million people in the UK and have a combined revenue total of over £600bn per annum. http://www.propertydirectorsforum.com/

 

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Chairman of RICS Management Consultancy Group joins Avison Young in London, U.K.

July 13th, 2015

Graham Halkyard is the latest addition to rapidly growing client services team

London, U.K. – July 13, 2015 — Nick Cook, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company’s U.K. operations, announced today that Graham Halkyard has joined Avison Young as Director of Global Occupier Solutions in London.

GrahamHalkyard joins Avison Young

Graham Halkyard joins Avison Young as Director of Global Occupier Solutions in London

Halkyard is the latest addition to Avison Young’s rapidly growing senior consulting team. Effective immediately, he will focus on helping clients deliver business transformations by using the built environment in a more innovative way. In addition, he will be consulting on major change initiatives, efficiency improvements, cost saving, supplier selection and real estate strategy, as the company increases its capabilities for clients with an international platform. Collaborating with his U.S. and Canadian colleagues, he will also help further raise Avison Young’s profile as a real estate solutions provider to clients with international portfolios.

Halkyard brings more than 20 years of real estate industry and management consultancy experience to Avison Young, most recently as a director of Selsby Consulting, a niche property and facilities management consultancy.  He continues to chair the board of the RICS Management Consultancy Professional Group.

Prior to joining Selsby Consulting, Halkyard served as a property business partner and estate management director of Barclays Bank. Before that, he was a partner at Donaldsons LLP where he was responsible for a team delivering multi-discipline services to key corporate clients.

During his career as a strategic adviser and subject matter expert, Halkyard developed a track record for delivering complex organisational transformation and operational change projects on behalf of a mix of corporate organisations across the U.K. and Central Europe.

At Avison Young, Halkyard will work alongside Andy Hammond, who was recently appointed Director of Workplace and Occupier Solutions; and Duncan Hamilton, Director of Global Client Services who, in recent years, has managed corporate projects comprising more than 2 million square metres across the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions.

Avison Young launched its European presence in April 2014 when the firm acquired NAI Haywards and opened new offices in London and Thames Valley, U.K.

Over the past six years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 67 offices and from 300 to more than 1,900 real estate professionals across Canada, the U.S. and in Europe.

Avison Young is the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 1,900 real estate professionals in 67 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

Avison Young was a winner of Canada’s Best Managed Companies program in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and has demonstrated its commitment to the program and successfully reapplied for the designation as a Gold Standard winner in 2014. 

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Andy Hammond joins Avison Young workplace consultancy and global occupier solutions team

June 26th, 2015

London, June 29, 2015 — Andy Hammond has joined Avison Young in London as Director of Occupier Solutions and Workplace.

Andy Hammond has joined Avison Young in London as Director of Occupier Solutions and Workplace

Hammond will lead Avison Young’s U.K. workplace consultancy practice and serve as part of the firm’s global occupier solutions team. The focus of this multi-skilled team is to develop intelligent solutions that increase staff well-being and performance whilst ensuring the real estate burden remains aligned with the client’s business metrics.

Hammond brings 25 years of real estate industry experience to Avison Young, most recently as Head of Programme Management/Principal Consultant at EC Harris, a global built asset consultancy.

During his career, Hammond has advised and led a number of high-profile business change programmes on behalf of a mix of corporate organisations across the U.K. and Central Europe.

Recent notable projects include: property restructuring at Travelex which resulted in a rent reduction of £500,000 for 2015 and Opex saving of £200,000 per annum in the U.K.; the major refurbishment of Ladbrokes’ headquarters building of 10,000 square meters; the relocation and refurbishment of Rolls-Royce Plc’s offices in major Central European locations, which included Brussels, Krakow and Prague, and the refurbishment of the automobile firm’s group headquarters in London; and the master planning of a 6.8-acre mixed office and manufacturing location near Berlin.

At Avison Young, Hammond will work alongside Director of Global Client Services Duncan Hamilton, another highly experienced real estate manager who, in recent years, has managed corporate projects comprising more than 2 million square meters across the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions.

Avison Young launched its European presence in April 2014 when the firm acquired NAI Haywards and opened new offices in London and Thames Valley, U.K.

Over the past six years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 67 offices and from 300 to more than 1,900 real estate professionals across Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

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Avison Young is the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 1,900 real estate professionals in 67 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

 

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