Have you missed us?

Well it has been a busy time and whilst we feel terribly guilty not to have given you the pleasure of your regular blog we can now provide a rounded update on what we have been doing. We'd also love to hear from you at any time.

Over the past 8 weeks the world has continued to turn and we have not been standing still. We have now launched version 1.1 of our on line portal giving even more real time information to our users. We have agreed supplier contracts with new suppliers and expanded the extent of what we can offer, always referring back to our core principles of delivering the best service with the best partners at the best cost. We have agreed the principle of 'Simplicity at Home' which will deliver these same revolutionary services to Landlords of Residential property and we have looked at the best suppliers to support this. We have also been looking at Apps for mobile devices that will allow us to provide the benefits of the portal on the move.

Lots done, still lots to do. There is no room for standing still if you want to be a revolutionary market leader, the pack is always snapping at your heels. We have noted with interest that some of the very large FM providers are developing similar systems to our own. This is deeply flattering. However we are not overly concerned by this as they will only ever be targeting the largest of contracts. No one, apart from Simplicity, sees that it is possible to provide these services in a cost effective manner to the smaller customer.

Just because you do not have an FM spend of £2million, hell just because you don't have an FM spend of £10k doesn't mean that you should not benefit from the same price point and the same service levels as the big boys. We are flattening the market allowing all of our customers to benefit from reduced cost, improved service and better management information, because...you're worth it!

We will be keeping ourselves busy, working on behalf of all our customers to improve what we can offer, but we hope to provide more regular blogs over the coming months.

Contact us to find out more about the services we offer and how you could benefit:

info@simplicityatwork.co.uk

0844 225 2555

Simplicity

I'm a Barbie Girl

I had a retro moment today when my 2 year old daughter discovered the classic Aqua track 'Barbie Girl' with such poigniant lyrics as 'Life in Plastic, it's fantastic' and who could forget 'Kiss me here, touch me there Hanky Panky'.

The reason that Barbie became the world wide phenomenon that she did was not solely due to the idealised feminine form and her extraordinary maliability but rather to the fact that one could accessorise her endlessly. Although looking at her 'idealised form' it is interesting to note that if she were made life size (Using her head as a gauge) her vital statistics would be 39-29-33, and she would be 7ft 2inches tall! Barbie wasn't just Barbie, she was 'Jungle Barbie', 'Swimming Pool Barbie', 'GI Barbie' and really, was your like complete without the pink car, the dressing table and that ultimate accessory Ken (BTW Barbie was named after her creators daughter, and in a strange and incestuous move Ken was named after their son).

So looking at it, Mattel developed a doll in 1959, based on a German original called Lilli, then decided that they could build from that. In 2009 Simplicity developed a portal for delivering basic services to Landlords and the portal was good. We realised then that we could 'accessorise' this basic offering and that by doing so we could extend the market reach and the customer retention of the basic product, over the past year we have layered additional services onto this platform.

We are deeply mindful of what our role is in this scenario, we are not the Jack of all trades, we do not presume to offer every service, but through strong and abiding partnerships we can deliver the highest level of service, leveraging our portal to deliver real time and historical management information between supplier and user. We do not build power stations or wind farms, we work with our Utilities partner to provide this. We do not employ 2,200 maintenance engineers in vans in every postcode in the UK, we work with our maintenance contractor to do that etc. etc.

So if you are looking at how to streamline your business processes and allow you to focus on your core activities it is worth looking at Simplicity at Work.

Call us on 0844 2252555

email info@simplicityatwork.co.uk

Web Simplicity at Work

Spotting the Perfect Partner

Arranged marriages last longer than 'love' matches. When wise heads come together to decide on the best match for their progeny many things are taken into account, the status of the families, the character of the individuals, the prospects available to them. Looking at it dispassionately one can see why this would work. Yes it depends on both parties being honest and up front, but given that they are, the results tend to be positive in the round. When done well the individuals are consulted in detail and have a veto on any decision, this is not about forcing people against their will, but rather is about finding a match that suits all parties.

Why should business be any different? Rather than bumbling on through life, hooking up with partners because they look pretty in the right light, because they satisfy a need in the moment, business should stand back and assess the status, character and prospects of a potential partner and make a commitment to them. Not quite 'for better for worse, for richer for poorer' but certainly a commitment made in knowledge of all the facts.

At Simplicity we have spent as much of our time looking for, vetting and testing our partners to ensure that they share our passion and dedication as we have on any other role. Our partners define us, as they do in life, our partners dictate the level of service we can deliver and the manner in which it is delivered and most importantly our partners support our day to day relationships with clients on the ground.

Of course the strength of any relationship is only seen when it is tried and tested in the real world. I saw a lovely aphorism the other day 'A woman is like a tea bag; you only find out how strong she is when she is in hot water' and I would say that this is also true of most relationships. How we respond to difficulties, how we respond when the chips are down is the best test of the strength of the partnership.

Over the past 6 months we have faced challenges over delivery, we have had to work incredibly hard to step up and meet the expectations of our customers and through this we have found that our partners are the best people to be working with. Every call is answered promptly, every email is responded to and every SLA is honoured, but more than that our analysis of the shared passion has proved to be the best foundation, our partners support us in our goals and are open and honest in the way in which they interact with us.

Behind every business is a strong partner!

Contact us to find out more about our partners and the services that we can deliver.

info@simplicityatwork.co.uk

0844 2252555

www.simplicityatwork.co.uk

The Oneness of Being: Building Communities

Communities, more than any other aspect of life define who we are. They define your moral compass, your opportunities, your aspirations, your ability and even, to some extent, your lifespan.

So surely building new communities, being conscious of ensuring that these communities serve themselves and the wider environment can only be a good thing?

Sadly this is not always the case, a community is an organic thing, an organism that acquires self determination before it leaves the creators palm and a fundamentally uncontrollable thing.

What communities do you belong to? Local Community, Church Community, Work, Family, Friends, Facebook, NSPCC, AA, WWF. The one thing above all others that has helped to spawn new and expand traditional communities is the Internet. Over the past 10 years our ability to communicate with people of like mind irrespective of geography has enabled us to build these new communities. As with any tool, the internet can be used equally for positive things as it can for negative things, whilst on the one hand the support for the victims of the Haitan earthquake will receive almost instant funding through on line donations, on the other hand paedophiles build communities to share images and information.

The point is, I hope, that the internet is just a tool that we can use to build communities of common interest around the world and around your locality. At Simplicity we have been involved in piloting a project for large residential developments where we can provide an instant on line community for the residents, this may sound like nothing more than whimsy but in reality is a significant force for community cohesion. We can provide not only a forum for discussion but also a virtual concierge, dry cleaning services, bus timetables, updates on traffic in the area, cleaning services and much much more. So the moment a resident moves in to the area they have IPTV on demand, 10Mb plus internet connection provided as a part of the building and access to local information and a forum to communicate with other residents. A slight improvement on the notice board in the foyer!

In addition to this specific project we at Simplicity try our very best to make the most of this technological tool to make life simple for our customers, and our suppliers. Our Secure on line portal means that all relevant information including present and historical bills, faults, orders and other product specific management information such as carbon foot print tracking, is available 24 hours a day 365 days a year, backed by a UK based support desk to take your call. Suppliers bill us electronically, cutting down on administration, paper usage and hassle and we ensure that they receive the highest level of integration with our systems to ensure that suppliers become partners and we all share the same values and aspirations, this is what builds a community. Commonality of purpose, mutual benefit and shared aspirations.

We have the tools, now let's build something!!

To find out more contact us:

info@simplicityatwork.co.uk

0844 225 2555

www.simplicityatwork.co.uk

The Fear of Fear is the thing to fear

As we face forward into the teenies what is our assesment of the terrorist threat that we face?

On the one hand the reality of terrorist attacks in the west over the past 10 years is well below the fevour pitch that the media manages to maintain. Of course one attack, one life lost, one family torn apart is too much, but when set against the average murder rate over a 10 year period a little ray of reality and contextualisation peeps through.

On the other hand we have a continued military engagement with nations who sponsor terrorism in an attempt to give them the stability and the backbone to pursue political means of reform. The fear here is that we are in fact just pushing the would be terrorist from one place to another with safe havens in Yemen and Pakistan opening their arms wide to the radical Islamists.

On the third hand (?) we have active terrorist plots being executed throughout the non western world, daily body counts in Afganistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran, Palastine, etc etc.

So, sitting in our ivory tower in the west, what should we make of it and what do the next 10 years hold for us?

I agree that we have so far been largely unaffected on the home front by terorism (Which in itself allows some to make the argument that it isn't so bad and that we should dissengage from Afganistan and Iraq, pull the troops out and save money and lives), however this is largely, if not solely, down to the work of the allied armed forces in the crucible of the middle east. We need to get the job done, quickly, pragmatically but thoroughly. Winning is not a word we can use, but not loosing is critical, doing half a job is the worst possible scenario leaving the people of the invaded country worse off, leaving the terrorist and would be terrorist with a meaningful grudge and stregthening the case against the west.

Over the next 10 years we will doubtless continue to wage this guerilla war on all fronts which will be costly but vital to homeland security. By all fronts I do of course mean also the political and diplomatic fronts as well as the military and security fronts. The availability of Oil and Water will add fuel to the fires of the wars alledged fought on ideological grounds. The potential for climate change to reduce the availability of food in areas of the world could lead to further issues. There are none so desperate as those who have nothing to loose and as the noose tightens around the world with the population continuing to grow and the production of food and availability of water not keeping pace there will be hordes of dispossesed, with nothing whatsoever to loose.

But what does this mean to us, sure these things may happen, but we need to keep a focus on doing what we do, opening new markets, spotting areas where we can deliver services and developing in the context of the world as we find it. There isn't an awful lot that we as companies or as individuals can contribute to this debate, we can vote and we can be vocal but beyond that our responsibility is to ensure that the fear of fear does not paralyse the business community.

At Simplicity we have understood the need to prepare for the worst but hope for the best and we provide services that allow our customers to continue to operate under any circumstances. By providing hosted voice and data services (Cloud Computing) which are available from anywhere in the world and which are backed up and mirrored to ensure the integrity of your information assets, we can ensure that irrespective of the conditions on the ground (Flu pandemic, terrorist attack, flood, fire, snow.......) your staff can work productively and effectively and you can continue to serve your customers with business as usual.

So look forward positively, hope for the best but prepare for the worst as we have nothing to fear but fear itself.

Get in touch to find out more

info@simplicityatwork.co.uk

0844 225 2555

www.simplicityatwork.co.uk

Is the end just a begining in disguise?

Unable to avoid the blindingly obvious, I shall resort to drawing up lists and pontificating on what the future holds.

As we look forward to the next decade it is incumbent on us to reflect on what we the past 10 years have brought us. But looking back is nothing more than self gratification unless you are willing to learn the lessons and take them forward. I would suggest that there are three core pieces of learning that we can focus on and use our foundation for the things we aspire to as we progress. Today we looking at:

1) The Environment. 10 years ago what would the phrase 'Climate Change' have meant to you? Probably nothing more than the transition of summer to winter. And yet at Copenhagen the great and the good gathered to discuss what they can do about it. OK they failed to achieve what many would want, but the very fact of their attendance was unthinkable even 5 years before.

So promises (Non binding, but promises non the less) were made, targets were agreed in principle. All well and good, but the impact of those promises and the legal framework that will doubtless come over time to support them, has yet to be seen. Green taxes will start to bite as politicians start to leverage their environmental credentials in order to fill the coffers and support the climb back from the economic downturn in the West. Legislation will ramp up on any 'dirty' industries providing work for environmental officers, lawyers and the courts, however this will filter down to effect the smaller businesses in not so small ways. Is your office environmentally friendly? Do you even know what this means in real terms? How should you measure it? What level qualifies as 'friendly'? Is today's measure valid tomorrow? All you can be certain of is uncertainty.

At Simplicity we have tried to work with this environmental concern at our heart. Not because we are holier than thou, not because we are Green lobbyists but because our customers are vitally important to us and we think that being 'Green' can only be a good thing. The three things we have actively targeted to support our customers are:

- Carbon tracking technology provided with our utilities partner and available on line through our secure portal for review at any time with Smart meters provided as standard. For more detail have a look at Technology as a Tool

- Support for remote working through cloud computing and hosted telephony for our customers allowing for more work to be done remotely and client meetings to be handled without the need to be face to face every time. This has the added benefit of providing built in disaster recovery and business continuity which will probably crop up again when we look at the impact of terrorism.

- Environmental surveys and consultancy to provide you with the details you need in order to make the changes that will have the most impact and ensure that you can reduce your costs and keep you in line with current and proposed legislation.

So if we can all learn a little from the past and make that learning count for the future then together we can each make the small changes that improve our businesses and help reduce our impact on the environment, who knows the future may yet not be so bleak.

To find out more contact us:

info@simplicityatwork.co.uk

0844 2252555

www.simplicityatwork.co.uk

Technology as a Tool?

Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, give him a fishing rod and he'll eat for life (Unless he lives in the desert in which case he may struggle to work out what the hell you're talking about). Give me a hammer and I can turn it to a thousand uses, give a fish a hammer and he'll struggle. Give me an electroscopic nuclear resolution reader and I'll look at you funny.

The point, if you have bothered to read this far, is that a tool is only useful in context. Technology companies have been guilty in the past of a certain level of naval gazing, developing software and services.....because they can. However these self gratifying developments have spun out tools that commercially aware companies have been able to put to use to the benefit of their customers.

At Simplicity we have looked at the tools available to us, reviewed the way in which the market functions and brought the best tools to bear on revolutionising the market. Individually there is very little new about what we are doing. We are taking proven and tested services delivered every day in, say the utilities market, and channeling them through our on line secure portal to allow our customers access to more, and more relevant information. This isn't rocket science, it isn't bleeding edge it is just a way of using the technology as a tool to improve the market.

Another example is our current work with the Carbon Trust, we are aiming to allow our customers to have access to the carbon footprint calculator that the Carbon Trust have developed in liason with the UK government. This would mean that, as we install Smart Meters for all our new customers and these are linked back electronically to the secure portal, a company is able to track the carbon foot print they produce over time. I would suggest that the benefits of this are fiscally pragmatic, legislatively compliant and environmentally responsible. You can reduce your costs by having a better understanding of the spend, prove compliance with legislation as it comes along and underpin your green credentials.

And as a final example; At the core of what Simplicity at Work do is the fact that you can converge the provision of multiple services through a single bill, single contract and single point of contact whilst, through the appropriate use of technology improving your reporting and reducing your costs.

So cast your line where you will, you'll not find any fish half as clever as Simplicity!

Contact us on:

info@simplicityatwork.co.uk

0844 2252555

www.simplicityatwork.co.uk