Business - Shutdown, Survive or Succeed
Monday 19th January 2009
Registration from 9:30
10.30 – 15.30
Ashford International Hotel, Simone Weil Avenue,
Ashford, Kent, TN24 8UX
10:30 Welcome and Introduction
10:45 FSB – Sandy Lovatt - Horses to Water
Sandy is a freelance management consultant with an intriguing background in information management, electronics and ICT.
11:00 BMG – Chris Owen – Research Presentation
Chris is account director of BMG and has led this benchmarking research.
Followed by Q & A session and the challenge from Dr Peter Waller
11:45 Tea/coffee break
12:15 IBM – Mark Batchelor - IBMs approach to SMEs
Mark is the South East Territory Director of IBM General Business
12:30 BT – Terry Hughes – ICT that SMEs cannot afford to ignore
Terry Hughes (Partnership Director BT Local Business)
12:45 Alcatel – speaker & title to be confirmed
Details to be confirmed
13:00 Lunch and surgeries if required (from 13:30)
14:00 Ashford’s Future - Tim Gainford – Making Sure ICT Pays
Tim is a development surveyor, specialising in telecommunications. He has provided consultancy services to all the UK mobile phone operators, leading regional and national programmes.
14:15 Learning & Skills Council – David Wylie – Flexing Funding and Frameworks to support SMEs
David is Skills Development Director for the LSC
14:30 Business Links – Dr John Richardson – Business Link ICT Support
John is the Regional Advisor and Innovation Manager
14:45 Tea/coffee break
15:00 Microsoft – Nicholas Davies – title to be confirmed
Nick is the Marketing and Development Manager for Microsoft
15:15 SEEDA – Arthur Butterfield - Transformational ICT
Arthur is the Regional ICT Development Manager, interested in driving forward the adoption and effective use of ICT by business, to improve business efficiency and innovation.
15:30 Q & A session to panel
15:45 Final remarks/closing comments
The event follows research done in 2008 about small business use of ICT. The event reports on and considers the future with a range of other organisations also being represented. Details of the research can be found here.
There is also a press release that helps to give the flavour of what we are about here.
Provisional itinerary is as above - MPs will be asked if they can come. There might also be display tables for speaker organisations.
The event should help to raise awareness of the steps that can be taken to improve staff skills and productivity, leading to such as improved business visibility online, customer loyalty, repeat business, and sales.
Did you know for instance that?
Small and medium sized enterprises in the region will be entitled to Innovation Vouchers that will enable them to take advantage of campus research and development facilities through buying support from knowledge base institutions to develop and exploit new ideas.
Work began 3 December on the £7.3m Canterbury Innovation Centre, funded by the SEEDA. This will provide a much needed high-tech incubation space and support for budding entrepreneurs. The Innovation Centre aims to be a magnet for local start-ups as well as those from further afield, including the USA, Israel, Singapore and Europe.
SEEDA has been working closely with the East Kent Spatial Development Company (EKSDC), University of Kent, Canterbury Enterprise Hub and Canterbury City Council on the project which is set to put Canterbury on the map for technology as well as tourism.
Bookings may be made to sarahsalihi@seeda.co.uk or by phoning 01483 470179.
Hope to see you there.
