One of Cambridge’s most successful BioMedTech entrepreneurs believes the cluster is fertile territory to produce globally game-changing medical treatments on the back of new drug discovery – potentially with more blockbuster drugs in the pipeline.

Professor Steve Jackson’s own company Mission Therapeutics is in pole position to lead the revolution from the front and his former business KuDOS Pharma – acquired by AstraZeneca – has already given birth to Lynparza, which is the thoroughbred in AZ’s potential blockbuster stable.

A blockbuster drug is one that generates annual sales of at least $1 billion. Technology developed by CAT (Cambridge Antibody Technology) was used to create adalimumab, the first fully human antibody blockbuster drug; CAT was also acquired by AstraZeneca.

Now Lynparza is heading in the same direction, Professor Jackson believes. AZ reported with its Q3 results this week that Lynparza US sales alone were up nine per cent in Q3. Lynparza achieved sales of $216 million in 2016.

In outlining its potential, Prof Jackson referenced July’s mega-deal where Merck agreed to pay AstraZeneca up to $8.5 billion as part of a global pact to co-develop and co-commercialise Lynparza™ (olaparib) for ovarian cancer and late-stage investigational MAPK/ERK kinase 1/2 (MEK 1/2) inhibitor selumetinib for multiple cancer indications.

The drug was approved by the FDA in 2014 as monotherapy for germline BRCA-mutated advanced ovarian cancer in patients who have previously received three or more lines of chemotherapy.

Prof. Jackson said: “Recently it has become clear that there is headroom for further cancer treatments harnessing Lynparza, other than ovarian cancer. The FDA recently fast-tracked its potential in the area of prostate cancer while its possible use to treat breast cancers also appears to be gaining pace.  

“While this may well make AstraZeneca a bit of money, more importantly it promises to extend a lot of people’s lives. Having met some sufferers recently it really brings home what it means to patients to have a potential cure on the horizon.”

AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot believes that the search for new blockbuster drugs will transform the business, not least by decreasing reliance on legacy plays that have been outstripped by a stream of fresh scientific discoveries – many emanating from Cambridge. Other Big Pharma players also have their eyes and coffers trained on Cambridge for the same reason.

Prof. Jackson says AstraZeneca, aided by its biologics division MedImmune, has a lot of excellent science in its wider locker in the small molecule arena, with DNA repair plays especially active.
Some of this science owes its roots to KuDOS and AstraZeneca has taken three or four significant plays forwards from that source to the cusp of clinical trials. “So there are several other shots on goal open to the company,” he says.

Prof. Jackson’s own company Mission Therapeutics is also at the heart of multiple activity as it advances development of first-in-class treatments targeting deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs). 

This group of proteins has been implicated in the development of various conditions including cancer, neurodegenerative syndromes, muscle wasting and infectious diseases. Parkinson’s is a prime target. Inflammation is another potential application area.

Last year Mission raised £60 million to invest in its drug discovery and development programme and the solution has already been described by world leading researchers as the ‘next kinase area’.

Prof. Jackson believes the cash will see Mission through to the clinic and stresses that the company already has 17 filed chemistry patents across a range of different DUBs.

He also revealed that Mission was talking to a number of major Pharma companies about potential collaborations to maximise the potential of its portfolio.

“We are trying to pick the lowest hanging fruit but it is not hanging particularly low; therefore, with so many areas of potential progress for our technology we think it best to work with significant partners to maximise the portfolio as a whole.

“I hope Mission will still be going as a standalone entity in 10 years time and grow into a world-leading player but it may be the board is tempted by an acquisition along the way.”

Prof. Jackson revealed that he had another business hatching in stealth of which more details should emerge in the New Year.

In general terms he felt Cambridge, with its globally renowned pedigree for scientific and medical discovery and its world-class talent pool, would remain a magnet for investment from global BioMedTech investors and Big Pharma. But he does not believe it is yet to reach its optimum potential.

“We have seen some incredible investment here in recent years by the Americans, Chinese and Japanese in hi-tech and MedTech but I believe there is a lot more to come for Cambridge. It is still undersubscribed in comparison to the East and West Coasts of America, for example.”

• PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: Professor Steve Jackson

Experienced technology observers in Cambridge believe that if Broadcom succeeds in its £139 billion bid for Qualcomm a third company in the UK cluster could be dragged into the fall-out – superchip architect Arm.

If Science Park-based Broadcom does hammer Cambridge Business Park-anchored Qualcomm into submission it is thought likely that Arm’s parent SoftBank of Japan would start seriously looking over its shoulder at Intel.

One of its strongest competitors in the processor market, Intel will become reinvigorated in order to combat a newly formed Broadcom-Qualcomm powerhouse with their Arm-based Snapdragon processors. 

Intel has already been sensitised by Qualcomm and Microsoft who have been gearing up to port Windows to Arm-based chips thus providing Intel with extra competition in the PC market.

San Diego based Qualcomm in 2015 acquired local hero CSR plc in a deal valued at $2.5bn and is now under offer from Broadcom – once CSR’s biggest competitor.  

Hock E Tan the president and CEO of Broadcom has been on a buying spree following the reversal of his Singaporean company Avago Technologies into Broadcom in a 2016 deal valued at $37bn and in which the Broadcom name replaced that of Avago Technologies.  

Tan has recognised that, in the current American corporate climate, it has become more difficult for overseas-based companies to acquire US-based companies. 

Qualcomm and Broadcom are independently among the top 10 providers of chips in the $300bn, rapidly consolidating semiconductor industry. Tan largely operates in the US where he was educated and has announced that he will move Broadcom’s headquarters to the States which will, of course, help his mission of purchasing further American-based companies. 

It is also likely that part of Tan’s thinking is that his proposed purchase of Qualcomm will defuse the current battle between Apple and Qualcomm and thus help his purchase of the larger company to be more attractive to investors.

Like Qualcomm, Broadcom sells Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips but is missing the chips that are required to power the new 4G and 5G networks. Following the purchase of CSR by Qualcomm, the dynamic duo – Broadcom and Qualcomm together – would have a near monopoly in the supply of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and cellular modem chips. 

Asked about the Broadcom-Qualcomm acquisition, Phil O’Donovan, former co-founder and managing director of CSR, commented that “once companies become publicly quoted it is difficult for them to remain masters of their own destiny.”

He has previously told Business Weekly that he felt CSR may have sold out too soon and too cheaply when it caved to Qualcomm in 2015. Set against the $139bn being mooted in the current deal – it would be the biggest in global technology history – his original reservations would appear well justified.

Cambridge-based staff at two US technology giants were placed on red alert as Broadcom tabled a $130 billion bid for Qualcomm, setting up the prospect of the biggest tech deal in history with the UK a key battleground.

Broadcom is based locally at Cambridge Science Park while Qualcomm already had a presence in the cluster before acquiring CSR and Nujira and consoliidating at Cambridge Business Park.

Inside track intel suggests Qualcomm will bat the bid away but that Broadcom could well go hostile.

Cambridge and US chip makers Arm and Intel also await developments with interest as Broadcom’s acquisition of Qualcomm would create the largest supplier of chips to the wireless industry.

With Broadcom set to redomicile and change the parent company of the corporate group from Singapore to a US corporation, the Qualcomm scalp is considered a key statement of intent. But Qualcomm will not go quietly.

Broadcom is offering $70 a share. Factored in is $25 billion of net debt, giving effect to Qualcomm’s pending acquisition of NXP on its currently disclosed terms.

Hock Tan, president and CEO of Broadcom said: “Broadcom’s proposal is compelling for stockholders and stakeholders in both companies. Our proposal provides Qualcomm stockholders with a substantial and immediate premium in cash for their shares, as well as the opportunity to participate in the upside potential of the combined company.

“This complementary transaction will position the combined company as a global communications leader with an impressive portfolio of technologies and products. 

“We would not make this offer if we were not confident that our common global customers would embrace the proposed combination. With greater scale and broader product diversification, the combined company will be positioned to deliver more advanced semiconductor solutions for our global customers and drive enhanced stockholder value.

“Following the combination, Qualcomm will be best positioned to build on its legacy of innovation and invention. Given the common strengths of our businesses and our shared heritage of, and continued focus on, technology innovation, we are confident we can quickly realise the benefits of this compelling transaction for all stakeholders.

“Importantly, we believe that Qualcomm and Broadcom employees will benefit from substantial opportunities for growth and development as part of a larger company.”

Qualcomm paid $2.4bn for CSR and $50m for Nujira in 2015.

• PHOTOGRAPH: Broadcom is based at Cambridge Science Park

Medical researchers in Cambridge UK and Malaysia have joined forces to investigate potential new cures for some of the deadliest and most debilitating diseases on the planet.

The Capella Building at the burgeoning Cambridge Biomedical Campus will be the UK focal point for the initiative. A kindred facility in Malaysia will be dedicated to the cross-border effort.

Partners in the venture are the University of Cambridge, Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Sunway Medical Centre in Malaysia.

The collaboration sees researchers and clinicians from the two countries working together across borders and disciplinary divides to tackle some of the world’s major health challenges.

The programme will enable the sharing of academic excellence through regular academic visits and exchanges, and offer scientific and clinical training opportunities at Cambridge for outstanding postgraduates from Sunway.

As part of the programme, Sunway Medical Centre will establish a clinical research centre that will become a regional site partner for the University of Cambridge, working with Cambridge on clinical research.

The clinical research centre at Bandar Sunway in Malaysia will enable the recruitment of patients to international trials led from Cambridge, and help develop an integrated approach to healthcare and clinical research in Malaysia.

At the heart of the collaboration will be the new Capella Building located on the rapidly expanding Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the centrepiece of the largest biotech cluster outside the United States.

Researchers in the building will work on some of the world’s most pressing health challenges including TB and HIV, rheumatoid arthritis and type-1 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis. This state of the art research space will drive biomedical research across stem cells, infectious disease and immunology that will help shape the future of medicine. 

The Capella Building will house three major research institutes: The Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Diseases, the Wellcome Trust-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and the Milner Therapeutics Institute.

The flagship new building, itself a collaboration between the Schools of Clinical Medicine and the Biological Sciences, will co-locate ground-breaking research already taking place in Cambridge across therapeutics, diagnostic and regenerative medicine, and enable interdisciplinary collaboration that will lead to breakthroughs in how diseases are diagnosed and treated.

This will include transforming our understanding of how infectious diseases including TB, HIV/Aids, human cytomegalovirus, and Zika interact with humans – and therefore how they can be better treated.

Alongside this, scientists in Capella will drive the development of new treatments in immune-related diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and type-1 diabetes.

Stem cell scientists will deliver new therapeutic approaches for leukaemia, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and degenerative conditions such as multiple sclerosis.

The partnership will also provide excellent opportunities for training, education and research in the field of cardiothoracic medicine and surgery, with leading clinicians from Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire set to collaborate with nurses and consultants based at the Sunway Medical Centre in Malaysia.

Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah was in Cambridge to mark the signing of the agreement between the University and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation
A long-standing supporter of Collegiate Cambridge, member of the University’s Guild of Benefactors, and Fellow Benefactor of Gonville & Caius College, Dr Cheah said: “This marks a very special moment in time for all of us at Sunway as we begin collaborations with the University of Cambridge and Papworth Hospital.

“It is a further testament to the increasingly close bonds between Sunway and Cambridge. Sunway and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation are committed to promoting excellence in sectors such as education and healthcare.

“We are determined to raise standards and provide the best possible to not just Malaysians, but the 625-million strong population of the ASEAN region.”

Professor Patrick Maxwell, Regius Professor of Physic and Head of the School of Clinical Medicine, added: “As the world of medicine changes more rapidly than perhaps ever before, it is clear that collaboration will be the key to success.

“For this reason, I am delighted that we are entering into a new collaboration with Sunway, an institution which shares our unswerving commitment to excellence in medicine and medical education.

“The new Capella will be at the centre point of this collaboration. The research in this exceptional new building – through the Stem Cell Institute, the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Diseases, and the Milner Therapeutics Institute – will have a real and profound effect on the health and lives of millions of people in the UK, Malaysia and around the world.”

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Professor Stephen Toope said: “The agreements we have signed with the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation and Sunway Medical Centre mark the beginning of a new stage in an exceptional partnership.

“Our collaboration reflects the fact that addressing the most pressing issues facing humanity today requires working across both borders and disciplinary boundaries.

“No single country, discipline, or institution can have exclusive purchase on how we attack today’s fundamental problems.

“Working together, Cambridge University, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation and Sunway Medical Centre are poised to make a signal contribution to some of the world’s major medical challenge.”

• Pictured above: A cgi of the Capella Building, courtesy Cambridge Biomedical Campus

Cutting edge innovation at Amazon’s new development centre in Cambridge  is accelerating hour by hour, day by day 24/7 across a broad range of technology areas, including drones, voice recognition and machine learning.

That’s why keeping up with customer demands is the obsession driving technicians and management at the Cambridge hothouse rather than fretting over what competitors are doing.

The ‘innovation first and foremost’ mantra was spelled out to guests at the official opening of the 60,000 sq ft centre over three floors of One Station Square by Amazon’s UK country manager Doug Gurr and Alexa Knowledge team manager David Hardcastle.

Gurr said: “We are constantly surprised by the pace of innovation demanded and expected by customers. It is clear that customer expectations keep rising and it is impossible to say how long that will continue to happen or how high they will go.

“That is why we don’t worry about competition; keeping pace with what our customers want will always be our obsession.”

Senior management told media and guests that Cambridge’s unique talent base made it the ideal location for the new centre. Gurr said it was a fabulous location for recruiting the top people although Amazon was casting its net globally.

“It’s a beautiful city with great history and when you add in the exceptional talent available here the whole package far outweighs the challenges presented by housing and infrastructure. All fast-growing clusters face such challenges.”

He said Amazon wanted to create an holistic tech community in Cambridge with an ecosystem embracing academia, startups, apprentices, STEM students and other synergistic players. 

“There has never been a better time to start a business anywhere in the world. If people have a great idea we can facilitate their scale-up and even host them under our Web Services offering. Cambridge is a great example of the perfect environment to scale any business.

“When we searched locations our prime objective was to find a facility which allowed for future expansion but also propagated flexible working; where people could bump into each other and share a coffee while swapping ideas. We have that here.”

Gurr revealed that Amazon refused to put a date on the launch of its proposed drones ‘package delivery in under 30 minutes’ service. He said the company was working with both the Civil Aviation Authority and Department for Transport on continuing trials of the technology to ensure not just speed and efficiency, but above all safety of service.

“They are looking over our shoulders and we all agree that when the regulation is ready the technology will be ready. There is no fixed date.”

The first trial was held at a location near Cambridge last December and more tests would be conducted “to see what the technology is capable of.”
 
The partners would meanwhile continue to work together to deliver a regulatory framework to guarantee safe flying, Gurr said.

With an eye to future recruitment of talent and the training of potential recruits, Gurr said that Amazon was sponsoring the Cambridge Launchpad scheme which encourages more youngsters to study STEM subjects.

Youngsters aged eight to 12 an insight into Amazon’s work on drones through its Prime Air drones delivery venture and Alexa, the ‘brain’ that powers devices such as Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Show. The objective was to nudge more youngsters of both sexes towards studying STEM subjects and grooming them for ultimate careers in science & technology. The company also has thriving apprenticeship programmes.

These are among a number of programmes UK-wide which Amazon is backing to generate more home-grown talent for the future, Gurr said. He said the ongoing process of gleaning customer feedback to existing technology offerings included consideration of what disadvantaged customers such as the visually impaired and the elderly required of certain devices. Amazon is working with the RNIB among other organisations in this regard.

It was also widening its talent brief to prepare staff for future roles stemming from AI and ML – including robotics technicians and managers.
David Hardcastle senior manager of the Alexa Knowledge team in Cambridge, said that other innovation areas being handled from here – often as part of worldwide teams – included Amazon Devices. These include Echo voice-controlled speakers and the recently announced Amazon Cloud Cam.

Also on the Cambridge agenda were core machine learning and retail systems designed to improve the shopping experience for Amazon customers.

So 10 years on from the launch of the Kindle e-reader – beating Cambridge’s own attempts by Plastic Logic to be first to market with QUE – Amazon is raising the bar ever higher, said Hardcastle.

“Here in Cambridge we are looking at something new hour by hour, day by day,” said Hardcastle. “A lot of observers see machine learning as something new but Amazon has been a pioneer in the market for several years.”

Amazon was now harnessing its constantly-evolving Cambridge capabilities, as part of international teams, to further refine its already-launched device offerings, making delivery of speech recognition sound ever more human and enhancing the services available to a wider audience on other devices it engineers.

Amazon’s aim is to have 500 people working on innovation from Cambridge – 400 of them at the city centre hub and another 100 at its Castle Park facility, which would be retained for additional Alexa teams.

Doug Gurr said Amazon planned further investment in its UK operations. It has already invested more than £6.4 billion in the UK in building and running its operations in the last six years or so. This year it has pledged to create 5,000 new permanent roles across the country, keeping it on track to bring its total workforce worldwide to 24,000.

Amazon’s development centres and Amazon Web Services mean that by the end of 2017, the company will have over 1,500 hi-tech roles in the UK working on technologies that benefit customers the length and breadth of the planet.

• PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: Doug Gurr, Amazon’s UK country manager – image courtesy of Amazon.

The new Amazon Cambridge Development Centre at One the Square opens tomorrow to signal another stunning uptick in the technology innovation  credibility of the cluster.

The 60,000 sq ft Amazon hub has space for 400 new highly skilled roles in the city  including machine learning scientists, knowledge engineers, data scientists, mathematical modellers, speech scientists and software engineers.

The company describes the move as “a significant boost to Amazon’s research and development capabilities in the UK.”

Guests at the opening will learn more about Amazon’s investments in the UK, hearing about how research conducted and technology developed in Cambridge – such as advanced machine learning and Alexa, Amazon’s voice recognition software – is benefiting hundreds of millions of Amazon customers around the world. 

Doug Gurr, Amazon UK Country Manager, will be on hand to expand on the company’s plans for the new centre.

Amazon has invested £6.4 billion in the UK since 2010 and by the end of this year will have 24,000 permanent employees in the country. Additionally, 74,000 people are employed by UK-based Marketplace sellers as a result of their business on Amazon.

Teams of experts working on devices such as Kindle, Fire tablet, Fire TV Stick, Echo, Echo Dot and the new Echo Look, as well as Alexa, will move to the new larger site this autumn. Amazon is currently recruiting extensively in Cambridge as part of its expansion plans in the city.

With the new site open, the current development centre building at Castle Hill will be used primarily for R & D for Prime Air, a delivery system from Amazon designed to safely get parcels to customers in 30 minutes or less using unmanned aerial vehicles, also called drones.

“We are constantly inventing on behalf of our customers, and our development centres in Cambridge, Edinburgh and London play a major role in Amazon’s global innovation story,” said Gurr.

“By the end of this year, we will have more than 1,500 innovation related roles here in Britain, working on everything from machine learning and drone technology to streaming video technology and Amazon Web Services.”

The companyannounced earlier this year an apprenticeship programme offering hundreds of opportunities in engineering, logistics and warehousing roles in fulfilment centres across the country, as well as Amazon Web Services re:Start, a free training and job placement programme for the UK to educate 1,000 young adults as well as military veterans, reservists, and their spouses, on the latest software development and cloud computing technologies.

• PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: A computer generated image of One The Square – home to Amazon’s Research & Development operation in Cambridge

What might Brexit mean for Local Government? Answers to the national Government on a postcard, writes Dominic Hopkins – head of Disputes and Litigation at Hewitsons Solicitors.

As has been widely rehearsed,  the progress of the draft European Union (Withdrawal) Bill  through Parliament has slowed to the pace of a lethargic snail – its gastropod shell collecting amendments by the shed load following its first and second readings. The Committee stage has yet to be scheduled, let alone stagger off its starting block. 

One of the principal controversies of course is the Government’s proposal to delegate primary law making powers away from the scrutinising gaze of Parliament, this, to be able to get the colossal job of uncoupling English law from the established European scheme done.Curiously, the challenge which the legislative task presents at a national level offers an opportunity for Local Government to stake some claims. 

Put simply, Local and devolved Regional Government might have an eye to a bit of a power grab here. The Commons Select Committee on Communities and Local Government has kicked off its ‘Brexit and Local Government Inquiry’ last month (17 October 2017) with its Chairman Clive Betts MP acknowledging what the process of withdrawal might mean for local authorities:”…The previous Secretary of State said last year that local government must be represented in the negotiations on the terms of the UK’s exit from the EU, but the role of local authorities post-Brexit is still unclear.
 
“We hope our inquiry will help to clarify what the best possible outcome of those talks for local government would look like.We will be investigating which powers local authorities could take as they are returned from Brussels and explore how our departure from the EU might affect investment, development, and economic funding affecting local authorities….”

So, hands up all you local authorities whose interests are piqued. The Select Committee is inviting written submissions.  For regional economies and their businesses  – our clients – a shift of investment and development decision making could be significant.

• Dominic Hopkins is head of Disputes and Litigation at Hewitsons and an Associate Member of the UK Constitutional Law Association. For more information please contact Dominic on 01604 233233 or dominichopkins [at] hewitsons.com (subject: Brexit) (click here) to email Dominic.

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by James Lawrence, a partner at Hewitsons and head of the law firm’s Corporate Finance team in Cambridge.

At the beginning of the year, I was reporting that the Hewitsons Corporate team had seen a marked increase over the preceding six months in the number of M & A transactions involving overseas buyers, both from Europe and North America.

The last six months or so have seen a reversal of that picture from our perspective. The transactions which the Hewitsons team has handled in that period have predominantly featured either UK-based purchasers or investors, or at least UK-based investment funds. 

There remain plentiful sources of funds looking for good investments and investment appetite has been good across a range of business sectors and deal structures. 

Examples of deals we have been involved in have included – on the public markets:–

• We acted on a reverse takeover of Levrett plc, which has a standard listing on the London Stock Exchange, by Cambridge pharmaceutical development company Nuformix, and an associated fundraising of £2.3 million. This complex transaction is due to complete imminently.
• Management buy-outs in the business services sector which have attracted UK bank and equity funding
• Sizeable buy outs in the housing and construction supply sector by UK private equity houses (albeit with some overseas funding), generating strong returns
• Acquisitions for clients in the professional services sector looking to consolidate their market position
• Large property joint venture projects, with shared funding obligations.

In the M & A field, our experience is that pricing of deals has generally been sensible, with buyers prepared to pay decent, if not generous, profit multiples. 

We have also found that, once a price has been agreed, buyers have tended to stick by their original offers and have not sought to re-negotiate the price as a result of due diligence findings in the course of the deal.

This demonstrates that the market is pretty balanced, with neither buyers nor sellers having any stronger bargaining position: Sellers have proved confident enough to walk away from a deal rather than accept a price which undervalues their businesses. 

Whilst there could be a case for saying that owners are underselling the attractions of their businesses, my view is that this is both positive and healthy.

As to the strength of international investment into the UK, whilst it is only a relatively short period in which to draw any clear judgments, it seems that the European corporate investors are focusing more on their own markets, whether in their local jurisdiction or elsewhere in Europe. 

In spite of the fact that sterling has declined against the euro over the first nine months of the year, the faltering Brexit negotiations no doubt bear some responsibility for this, generating greater business uncertainty as the prospects of any visibility on future trade deals weakens and encouraging a hardening of attitude towards the UK.

The same may be true for North American corporates where, for reasons more associated with their own political climate, the attention is more on their domestic arena and diluting their overseas ambitions. 

It is inevitable that in relation to overseas investment there will be a tendency for US corporates to look more carefully within countries which will provide access to the EU market for their products, particularly against a background of some improved economic indicators and political climate in some EU countries. 

With sterling up around 10 per cent from its low point at the beginning of the year, investment in the UK is not as good value as it was in the last half of 2016.

This paints an encouraging picture in terms of UK business confidence, especially if you are of the view that the sale to international buyers of so many strong UK businesses (including the slew of recent Cambridge companies) is unhealthy. Perhaps this is the sign of a greater dose of self-belief which will start to level that playing field.

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A company’s digital technology is no longer just the concern of IT staff – it has become an integral part of the employee experience. Jane Craven, Sales Director of Enterprise Solutions – UK & Ireland at Sennheiser, explains why it has become essential for IT and HR managers alike to cater to the demands of the modern day worker.

There is every chance that you are reading this article via a smartphone, perhaps on your way to work, or even hooked up to the local coffee shop’s WiFi. There is an equally strong likelihood that the majority of people sitting around you are also on their smartphone or tablet. We are all well aware of the impact mobile technology has had on the way people interact but it’s the adoption in the workplace which is more of an enigma, particularly as it becomes the norm for the modern day employee.  

In the past, it could be argued that tech wasn’t the highest priority in the office, and that you would just make do with what was there. That was until advancements in tech outside of the office walls grew expediently, smartphones made collaboration between users easier than ever with the use of apps such as WhatsApp and Slack, alongside the rise in sound quality from headsets and speakers manufactures, making calls possible even in nosiest of environments. As a result, running in tandem with these technological innovations, is the employee’s expectation of not only hardware in the workplace, but also the expectation of a flexible working environment. 

Staying agile in a static environment 

Research shows that giving staff the ability to be flexible in the workplace via mobile technology is becoming paramount to keeping staff productive and satisfied in their role. The ability to work in any location and at any time while collaborating effectively is the most crucial factor behind loyalty to a company. In what feels like a flash, a strategic and flexible digital workplace has moved from being a simple perk for employees to an expectation that has a direct impact on the level of engagement in their roles. To understand their needs requires, in part, a solid understanding of the company’s tech and an audit into how employees prefer to work together.

Enter the rise of the ‘huddle meetings’ – today’s employees are now more agile in their working styles than ever before, preferring to get the job done quicker, rather than sticking to formal and often slower processes e.g. having to book a meeting room at a time that doesn’t suit all participants. Needs differ – whether connecting mobile devices to a solitary mobile speaker unit for a conference call on the move, or to take a call from the other side of the building via a Bluetooth headset – it’s all dependent on the needs of the individual. Understanding these needs are crucial and the ground work of IT departments which build and implement digital technologies is the key link to cater for this ‘always available, anywhere’ mentality, engrained in nearly all modern day employees as a result of today’s mobile technology offerings outside of the office. 

Future proofing your company

One example of a company that has implemented this ‘start up mentality’ is Knight Frank, they wanted to bring a flexible way of working to 2000 of their employees in the UK. In this case, it was through the implementation of wireless headsets. This change helped improve employee efficiency and comfort levels, allowing staff to communicate professionally and effortlessly across a wide range of platforms, including integration with Skype for Business – all actioned without the need to be tied to their desks.

By combining the ability to work remotely in the office, with the ability to collaborate internally via mobile apps or hardware that breeds a ‘pop up meeting’ culture – you are streamlining efficiencies, and increasing the output of your business. It’s these working environments that not only attracts new talent to the office, but retains it – creating an infrastructure where employees are more responsive to the outside world, as well as having the ability to collaborate more efficiently internally, creating a knock on effect to productivity, job satisfaction and ultimately, ROI. 

In short, it is about positively impacting the bottom line of a business – something the IT departments have a real opportunity with in today’s business landscape.  

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The use of social media has exploded over the past decade, writes Georgina Perrott, Solicitor at Birketts LLP. Social networks have become an important tool for businesses, offering an increasingly useful way of communicating with customers or simply monitoring their activity. 

The ease of posting on social media, the limitless lifespan of each post and its ability to go viral as contrasted with traditional types of media means privacy and data protection are key concerns. 

With the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) approaching, now is a good time to review use of social networks and the associated privacy issues in relation to both members of the public and employees.

Despite being seemingly willing to share personal information on social media, users remain concerned about their privacy and the use of such information.

The processing of personal data is likely to occur when using social networks, meaning privacy and data protection laws are engaged. To respond to users’ concerns, and to comply with the GDPR, organisations should be open about their use of shared information and ensure they have any required consents in place. In addition to a privacy policy, it is worth considering using other ways to communicate key information to users. 

The conditions for obtaining user consent, where it is required, are stricter under the GDPR. To rely on a user’s consent, it must be specific, informed, unambiguous and freely given; organisations should make it clear what exactly users are consenting to and inform them of their right to withdraw consent at any time.

Where possible, users should have a choice as to how their information is used. Maintaining users’ trust is key, and to that end, security should also be made a priority.

Individuals have enhanced rights under the GDPR. Of these, one of the most relevant to social media is the strengthened ‘right to be forgotten’ which aims to assist an individual to remove personal information from the online environment. 

To prevent it becoming a ‘super right’ the right to erasure is qualified by certain exemptions, one of which is freedom of expression. If, for example, an organisation receives a request from an individual for its personal data to be deleted but one of the places where such personal data appears is in a news article protected by freedom of expression, then that article does not have to be deleted. 

The strengthening of this right and the need to consider any relevant exemptions will make compliance more complex for organisations. 

As well as considering the privacy of members of the public, thought needs to be given to employees and future employees. In June, the Article 29 Working Party published a new opinion on the monitoring of employees which includes commentary on social media vetting during recruitment and in-employment screening. 

Whilst the policy does not have direct legal effect it is likely to be relied on by regulators. It states that, merely because information about a candidate is publically available on his or her social media profile, employers should not assume they are allowed to process that data for their own purposes. 

A legal ground, such as legitimate interest, is required for such processing. The information must be necessary and relevant to the job in question and candidates must be informed that social media vetting is to take place.  

Whether the social media profile is related to business or private purposes is a relevant consideration. 

In respect of employees, the screening of employees’ social media profiles should not be taken on a generalised basis.

The use of social media will be impacted by the imminent GDPR and this article highlights some of the areas to review in respect of privacy and data protection ahead of its implementation.

 In addition to privacy issues, businesses using social media should consider other relevant legal issues such as managing employees’ use of social media and ownership social media accounts. 

• You can call Georgina Perrott on 01223 326635 or email her at georgina-perrott [at] birketts.co.uk

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