I was at a TalkTalk partner event the other week and they put great emphasis back on hosting, IaaS and PaaS – all of which are correct terminologies for the telecoms industry where we rarely get involved in the applications that sit on these platforms. We are the building blocks of where a cloud product may sit but it is in the software level that the real magic happens and there seems to be a plethora of new and existing businesses opening up in this space.

We have been running hosted desktops and servers for a few years now and I have been delighted with how it performs and the measurable benefits it gives our business. But my recent excitement has been around the development of online storage and namely Dropbox’s excellent solution. For a while I have been looking for a solution that would backup all my home documents, music and videos but also sync them with my office PC and give me the ability to view them from my iPhone or iPad. Dropbox does just that and has meant that my iPhone which has 16GB of storage can now access and view over 50 GB of data wherever I am. Yes it requires a reasonable internet connection to the make the most of it, otherwise just leaving it ticking over in the background seems to do the trick, even on a rural ‘broadband’ line.

I only came across Dropbox in relation to some research following the announcement that Google and Microsoft were entering the market place with their storage solutions; Google Drive and SkyDrive respectively. Both of which I wasn’t particularly enamoured by, Google because of its insistence to make it part of the Google platform and utilising Google Docs (and probably going through my personal files for ‘advertising purposes’). And SkyDrive because I would have to get to grips with my Windows Live login which drives me nuts and not being compatible on as many platforms as Dropbox.

So here you have a great example of a true cloud based application. Unlike remote backup it is continuously syncing all my files between multiple devices simultaneously while giving me a number of platforms on which to view my information. Pricing seems to be competitive, ok a little bit more expensive than Google or Microsoft, but the service is flawless and delivers that seamless functionality that makes you wonder how you survived without it.

Ok this might be just one of the many examples of how the new generation of internet products are responding for the demand for cloud applications and I can’t wait to see how this develops over the coming years.

Problems only got worse when BT introduced their flat charging scheme for tails with the introduction of ADSLmax (ADSL2 technology) which meant customers paid the same price for a 1 Mb/s line using that technology as another customer who might achieve 7 Mb/s. I think customers today would be much more forgiving if they paid less because technically they couldn’t receive the faster service.

What I don’t understand is that in this day and age with customer service taking such priority that you still have businesses selling products that are being obviously missed sold. What do you achieve apart from an upset customer who is only going to jump on every forum and bad mouth your company?

It is one of the reasons that when entering this industry we put integrity as one of our key values and focused on advising customers as much as possible as to what could be achieved. We also made sure that where service was still way below expectations that we did whatever we could to improve it or let the customer cancel. We also focused on using short contract terms (as little as 1-month for some products) to ensure that an unhappy customer could move away should they wish without penalisation.

I don’t believe that this approach would be damaging to the likes of TalkTalk or BT as I am sure the cost in losing a new customer is a lot less than the cost of supporting them in the future or dealing with their complaints. And for businesses that spend so much on marketing surely keeping negative press like this to a minimum also has a financial reward.

As part of our service exchange platform we have to talk to a number of BTs systems and to enable some of the functionality we have to actively place test circuits to demonstrate the system works end to end. So with the recent FTTP service we identified two members of our technical team who could get the service at their homes (100 Mb/s down and 40 Mb/s up) and proceeded to place some orders. What was most fascinating about these installs was the use of fibre over poles to deliver the cable to the homes. So instead of digging up the drive and installing the fibre, as you would expect, it is suspended from the local BT pole to the side of the home and then through the wall.

On the wall on the inside sits the BT termination router and backup battery which all looks very well thought out and professional – if a little more obvious than the BT master socket it replaces. Obviously it would have been nice to work straight away but with the installs failing it looks like there are still a number of bugs to iron out with the physical installation process. But it all looks very promising and a product I am sure will be very successful if widely rolled out. From a personal perspective I will be interested to see what support issues are raised and how external factors, such as the UK weather, will impact the quality of the service.

However delve a little deeper and maybe the value Facebook put on them is quite understandable, even if the technology is not unique or can be relatively easily replicated. Because when you are a business that is about to float against a backdrop of huge media hype for an estimated value of $100bn, $1bn seems like small change. Especially when Instagram was signing millions of new users to their already significant base of 27 million users, it looked for a moment at least that this company was the new darling of the internet. A position Facebook was obviously keen to protect and ensure maximum value of their IPO.

It is an expensive exercise acquiring businesses to stay at the forefront but hopefully Facebook have done enough to be able to float at a stable price and not just a short term boost. Interesting times.

Back in December I put my order down for one of the new Range Rover Evoques after deciding I needed a more practical car that could tow the Atom and pick up friends from the train station.

I liked the look of the Evoque and thought the petrol version would fit my lifestyle, and while not as quick as the TT-S I thought it would be just the job. My only reservations were going from a dual clutch gearbox back to an auto and Landover’s legendry build quality (or lack of it). With regards to the latter it looks like it is a bit hit and miss on the forums as to how the car is put together.

However with the potential launch of a Q3 in RS specification (and in Fluidata blue) I am now in a bit of a quandary. I am a petrol head at heart and having a five cylinder 350 Bhp engine in the package I need is making me think if I should cancel the Evoque order and go for the Q3? Apparently it is estimated to be as quick as the TT to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds and not run out of puff until 160 mph. That coupled with the excellent S-Tronic gearbox, ability to carry five people and tow it has all the benefits of my current car with few downsides.

It would be nice to go down the Evoque route but unless they release a performance version soon it might be another Germanic purchase.

Apparently as part of Ofcom allowing Royal Mail to run more like a private business, and hence introduce a 40% price hike, it has opened up the market to a number of competitors. First of which is TNT which are targeting, in Royal Mail’s words ‘the most profitable part of their business’ while not having to adhere to the Royal Mail’s remit to deliver a universal service, and price, to the whole country.

It is the first time, I understand, that any business will completely bypass any of Royal Mail’s infrastructure in delivering standard day to day post from collection all the way through to delivery to residential recipients. Understandably the Royal Mail are a bit miffed and don’t quite know how to respond to this new threat to their business especially as their constraint in delivering a universal service.

From my perspective however we have been there before in the likes of BOAC/British Airways and British Telecom. Both of which appear to have survived the onslaught of competition and appear to continue to thrive. BT is a good example as it too has the universal commitment that the Royal Mail has, but it has managed to continue to control most of the telecom services in the UK. While I am not advocating this is the best solution for the consumer, it does show that a business such as Royal Mail can survive and even thrive with increased levels of competition.

Maybe they will go down the LLU route like BT and allow the likes of TNT Post to use their depots under a wholesale agreement. Some would have predicted it was the beginning of the end for BT when they allowed other suppliers access to their exchanges but if anything BT is stronger now in the world of data because of it.

First I had to carry out some checks on fluids just to make sure nothing had evaporated over the winter and ensure everything else was in order. A battery conditioner ensured it started first time, as well as regular starts during the winter, making the whole issue of looking after the car during the winter pretty easy. What obviously hadn’t improved was my driving ability so I took the day pretty easy to ensure I returned in one piece. Just finding some fuel was my only challenge.

So now my thoughts are turning towards what trips I should be planning this year with the car. One idea was to take it down to Le Mans along with about twenty other Atoms on their annual pilgrimage but with the prospect of sleeping under canvas that idea took to the back burner (see Atom forum). I have however signed up for a special Atom only Prescott Hill Climb which is near my home so hopefully will be lucky with the weather. It is meant to be quite a short run but hopefully get me used to some track driving. The course is surprisingly owned by the Bugatti Owners Club – I wouldn’t have thought there would be that many members in the UK?

But for the rest of the year I am not so sure. One idea was to drive down to Montenegro and visit my father and his business but the prospect of a 2,500 mile journey and nineteen fuel stops doesn’t quite fill me excitement. Well nice problem to have I suppose, let’s just hope fuel protests and snow reports abate to allow for more Atom days.

http://www.justgiving.com/bandwidth-bandits

I am able to record with GPS accuracy my routes, time, pace, altitude and so forth. I can share my runs on Facebook and keep a record of how far I have gone in total. All of which has weirdly made running quite fun and now I find myself talking about running with my fellow Bandwidth Bandits over a cup of tea in the office kitchen.

But this technology doesn’t just stop at running, I have also found on iTunes SkiTrack and BikeTrack which both now reside on my iPhone and regularly record any skiing trip or mountain bike journey. If you are planning on doing some more exercise I would recommend looking for an app because you will push harder, especially if you are planning on sharing your achievements with your friends on Facebook!

The next big part of the project will be to complete the fit out which I am sure will continue over a number of years. A priority will probably be the hotel which will be needed for the Olympics but I believe most of that is near the top of the tower so difficult to start that until the tower is complete.

Another tower to the right of the Shard has started to take shape, this one ‘The London Bridge Quarter‘ is all office space and offers a more conventional area for companies. Part of the same development it is probably going to make the project more profitable having a significant increase in sellable floor space. The problem with the Shard is the lower amounts of floor space as the tower gets smaller near the top compared to the size of the core. Next update when it is complete…