Piers Daniell

On the 15^th September a number of staff from Fluidata will be running in aid of Action Against Hunger International; a global humanitarian organisation committed to ending world hunger via long term solutions, working towards preventing, detecting and treating malnutrition. Currently they are providing relief work in areas hit by conflict and natural disasters, such as Pakistan.

So it isn’t a marathon that is being run (it is only 10K) but for a group of terminally un-athletic IT professionals it amounts to the same effort. If you would like to show your support please feel free to donate personally or on behalf of your company.

Good luck chaps!

I have been to visit my brother in New York a few times this year who emigrated with work last year. I enjoy going to the ‘Big Apple’ and being part of the hustle and bustle. However I am going for a holiday so it is interesting to see New York through the eyes of my brother who certainly doesn’t see it as a jolly. With programs such as The City on MTV following some airhead through her ‘career’, the city looks like a great place to work with its diverse culture and interesting skyline. The reality, at least according to my brother, is rather different.

Firstly you need to live somewhere. If you choose to live on the island, like my brother, rents are ridiculously high. More so than anywhere in London and at a level that just wouldn’t be acceptable to most. Second issue is eating, while I cook most nights at home you don’t get Sainsbury’s, Tesco or M&S a few minutes from your office or home so most make do with fast food or eat in restaurants. Boiling a kettle is apparently near impossible because of their low voltage. Probably why we fell out over tea in the first place…

Then you have their tube system which is a joke, and near impossible to navigate. When my brother said he takes taxis most places, I thought he was just wasting money, but having had a go it makes no sense. The only good part is their idea of express tubes so you can miss off a load of the smaller stops which would be a great initiative in London. It is also a very class driven system, so you wouldn’t see someone going to a party in a DJ on a tube in NY like you do in London.

Then you have the American style of working which is early, most make it into the office for 7 am, to then sit in cubicles which are too high to talk to anyone else. Which can make working life rather soulless. Obviously London can be grim with everyone here moaning about the weather but try winters where snow is measured in meters rather than inches and summers where humidity and temperature is so high you absolutely need aircon in your flat.

So while you may look out onto a bleak and grey London dreaming of the day when you can emigrate to the ‘land of the free’, remember that it isn’t all so bad.

I had my mother on the phone the other day with a technical problem. For some reason the DVD player had stopped working and was refusing to play the film she had just bought. So after a few minutes trying to diagnose the issue the fateful works ‘Blue-Ray’ were uttered and I fell about laughing. “No mother, you aren’t going to be able to make a Blue-Ray disc work on a DVD player, they are different technologies”.

Now for some, like me, this sort of mistake just shouldn’t happen, it is obvious surely? But having to explain the differences between a CD, DVD and Blue-Ray it got me wondering as to how confusing it actually is, especially to someone who doesn’t care about technology as much as I do. To be fair all three technologies use exactly the same looking disc so why they are in fact different products probably confuses more people than just my mother.

Back in the day every leap in technology would mean a different medium from 8-track to cassette, CD and then MP3 for example. One would not work with the other, and importantly didn’t look the same. This at least kept it simple and separate but to now put Blue-Ray discs right next to DVDs in the shops in similar packaging has probably caught a few people out. Maybe it is in fact a clever marketing initiative to help seed the market with useless discs forcing people to upgrade their player, once they work out what the problem is.

I will try to be a bit more understanding and realise that actually for manufacturers to be successful in the consumer space (which thank god I am not competing in at the moment) your mother needs to comprehend it.

For those of you who visited Goodwood Festival of Speed on Sunday a few weeks back you would have been greeted by an awesome sight. No, not the new McLaren MP4-12C or the Rolls Royce Ghost, but actually a relic from the golden years when ‘can’t’ wasn’t in the vocabulary of the British engineer. It was the Avro Vulcan, or Vulcan Bomber as it is commonly known. A machine so advance that it was our nuclear deterrent during the Cold War and saw service during the war in the Falklands.

What makes this machine so outstanding was that it pretty much was a first for so many technologies. The fact that the delta wing design and the engines went onto form, what became, the most advance passenger aircraft ever, Concorde. It was a very humbling experience to stand beneath this plane as it roared through the sky above Goodwood.

It got me thinking on the abilities of our country and the skills we once had. However I was buoyed by a new program on Sunday evenings straight after Top Gear which looks at key pieces of technology we have developed in Britain. By far the most interesting was the one on Rolls-Royce which detailed the building and design of their Trent jet engines. For us British, Rolls-Royce appears to be a sizable global company, but in reality I hadn’t realised how fragile and small it is compared to its competitors such as General Electric.

We have the abilities in this country to engineer some incredible technology, lets hope there is more to come and Britian isn’t only known for wacky vacuum cleaners.

Another holiday, another BA strike. For those who are familiar with my holiday plans they always involve some kind of issue. Whether it be a strike, queue on M25, volcano, war or anything equally bothersome I am sure to have my plans affected by something. But to date I have always managed to go and find a way around the problem. BA for one always seem to find a plane and fly, even if it is some god awful Portuguese ageing 767 with seats so small you wondered if there was a comedian designed the plane.

It got me wondering as to how much the flight really matters, as long as you get there. I was just grateful the flight was going and was able to make the most of BA’s excellent T5 executive lounge. Also no insurance argument would ensue in trying to get back missed days at the hotel. The problem was that I had saved up my air miles for Club and this plane certainly had never ever catered for such a service, even economy customers were laughing at the ‘service’. The little ‘Club’ napkins on the headrests didn’t improve matters and certainly didn’t counter the distain of my fellow passengers. But we were going and I would have my holiday.

Ironically I think BA would have had less of headache on its hands of disgruntled passengers if it had actually just cancelled the flight and blamed it on the crew striking. The problem by flying was that it put hope into customers minds and they very quickly forgot about all the strike issues when faced with a 1920’s 767 (I know by the way that Boeing hadn’t made a 767 in the 1920s, just making my point…). I, for one, have decided against complaining as I had my holiday and certainly made the most of the glorious service on my return. A reminder, if you needed one, that while BA may have its issues it is still the best carrier out there. And Portugal should be ashamed of itself!

I have written before about the virtues of a good work/life balance, well last week saw the introduction of a new toy to our London office. The question was what to do with space put aside for future expansion. Should we invest in another sofa that never gets sat on or go for something a bit more team focused. Something that could settle arguments, bring teams together and make important business decisions over.

The foosball table was a favourite but with a Fluidata five a side team already established it was felt something more inclusive should be considered. Table tennis would have been nice and so would have been a pool table, both of which however required a lot of space. Difficult to justify when paying London rates in the centre of the city, however we finally came up with a solution, Air Hockey!

We moved into our new offices at the beginning of the month and last week held our launch party. It was attended by key suppliers, customers and investors and gave us a chance to outline the business plans over the coming year. Top of which is carrying out some acquisitions to help the business move into new markets and even into other countries.

I think everyone was suitably impressed with our new office, right on the Thames between Tower Bridge and London Bridge, right next to City Hall. So not only do we have an enviable view of the river but can also keep an eye on our Mayor as he goes about his daily duties. With over 30,000 people a day walking through the site (called More London) and regular festivals taking place it is a great place from which to base a business. I feel like you get the benefits of being close to the city but also more space and a stone’s throw from the Isle of Dogs.

The new office will allow for further expansion, which we are currently focused on, and also demonstrating products and services to new potential clients. Exciting times.

I am overdue to do a piece on our new office; however with our launch party tomorrow I thought it best to give a little bit of a surprise. In the meantime I will use the opportunity to show off the view from my office this morning as a large passenger ship edged out of London (I know backwards).

It has to be one of the best views in the city and one that has had all our visitors excited about. Hopefully the view wont be too much of a distraction from our technology…

I have been a bit busy over the past few weeks with our office move (more to follow on that) but with polling day upon us I thought it necessary acknowledge it. I am just hoping for a record turnout this time because I feel with such a low turnout and voter apathy we never seem to get a true picture of how Britain wants to be run.

People are obviously quick to slate the government on this or that, but as far as I am concerned by not voting they can’t have an opinion. I was really surprised at how many people didn’t vote at the last general election. At least with the TV debates it has made the topic far more appealing if a little like the TV program, Big Brother. Hopefully tonight people will look at the parties rather than the leaders and vote on the policies and not the catchy sound bites. I vote Conservative (can’t you tell from all the blue on the page!), a boy who fondly remembers the John Major years before the branded Blair years. I believe in a small government and that new businesses will help to propel the country into prosperity once again.

Ironically my business, Fluidata, started and grew under Labour but I feel it was more with one hand behind my back rather than supporting the company. We didn’t get any special relief or support, just a lot of red tape and now tax for making it a success. What the existing government doesn’t seem to understand is that when the percentage of tax goes down the income generated from tax actually increases. I think because people will accept fair tax rates and will be less likely to avoid them. But red tape is a massive problem; I think we have one of the most complicated tax regimes in the world, with uncertainty on HMRC’s viewpoint prevalent. A simpler scheme would make a big difference to new enterprise.

Another point I feel that has been lost in this election is transport and, more importantly, the 20 million or so car owners who continue to be spanked in the name of the environment. Cars are becoming ever cleaner and will, one day; offer the pollution free motoring so to continue to tax so highly seems very short-sighted.

I spent an enjoyable weekend at the new cookery school at Daylesford the other week. Daylesford is the brain child of Lady Bamford (wife to Sir Anthony Bamford, chap in charge of JCB), and provides the perfect backdrop to the new school. With a focus on organic and no expense spared, this school, headed up by Vladimir Nixa (ex senior tutor at Raymond Blanc Cookery School), is perfect for all foodies looking to learn more about their craft.

It isn’t just for experts either with Vladimir helping anyone interested in food, but never ventured into the kitchen, an opportunity to find out what it is all about. I thoroughly enjoyed my day there and the amount of food you eat is mindboggling as you eat everything you cook. I did the course on nutrition which was highly informative and put a few old wives tales to bed on what is good and bad for you. Key message is everything in moderation with a focus on quality rather than quantity.

If you ever find yourself up in the Cotswolds it is a great day out.