Business Info - issue 135

01732 759725 magazine 33 PRINTING microphone enable two-way interaction with software and voice control of Sharp Big Pad displays and MFPs; a 360-degree camera supports video communications and facial recognition for automatic log-in; and automatic cloud connectivity provides access to smart cloud services. Initially, Sharp will make the Sharp Digital Assistant available as a component of the Sharp Meeting System concept – an eco-system of meeting services designed to remove the frustrations of meeting scheduling, equipment set-up and connectivity and to provide greater insight into meeting activity and the automatic generation of meeting notes and action points through AI and voice- to-text conversion. In the future, Sharp plans to integrate the Digital Assistant with additional subscription services. To facilitate this expansion, it is developing a smart services platform in Europe that will link Sharp devices to meeting services like Webex and leading applications from companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google. 8K Studio Another highlighted example of Sharp innovation was the 8K Studio, which brings together an 8K camcorder and 8K display to capture and display life-like images in incredible detail (Sharp has already launched 8K TVs in China and Japan ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which are due to be broadcast in 8K). Sid Stanley, General Manager Europe – Visual Solutions, said: “8K is a classic leadership statement: ‘This is where we will be in the 2020s, but let’s become brilliant at it now while it’s an emerging technology’. There’s a big cost and we are not going to get our money back for a long time, but being a leader in 8K, I think, is the basis and foundation for a lot of future success.” The extra detail and clarity provided by 8K technology is not just a big advance in broadcasting; it also supports the current digitisation agenda. For example, 8K would make it easier for a doctor to view images broadcast from an operating theatre and conduct operating procedures remotely; for security staff to view footage of a crowd scene and zoom in on a single individual with no loss of detail; and for building maintenance operatives to view the smallest details, such as a malfunctioning sprinkler nozzle, from video footage capture with a drone- mounted 8K camera. In the meantime, Sharp will continue to develop its core product range, using the manufacturing resources of Foxconn, which invested $3.8 billion in the company in 2016, to bring out new MFPs (see box on page 31) and display products more often and more quickly. Whether they are used on their own, integrated with other solutions or even built into furniture like the Sharp Plug and Meet solution for huddle rooms or the Collaboration Station for small teams, Sharp’s solutions can help customers work more smartly. www.sharp.co.uk ...continued Vodafone puts its money where its mouth is Vodafone is offering fibre broadband customers money off their bill if speeds fall below guaranteed levels Vodafone is targeting small businesses with new speed guarantees designed to give fibre broadband customers clarity and peace of mind. The new products guarantee speeds of 25 Megabits per second for Fibre 38 customers and 55 Megabits per second for Fibre 76 customers. Should speeds dip below this level Vodafone will knock 15% off the customer’s bill until guaranteed speed levels resume. Customers can check speeds at any time by opening the Vodafone broadband app and clicking the speed test button. If the minimum speed isn’t met, Vodafone will automatically apply the discount to the customer’s next bill. Stuart Rowley, Head of Vodafone Small Business, told Business Info that Vodafone was introducing the Superfast 1 and Superfast 2 speed guarantees because reliable broadband is now critical to the success of small businesses. He said: “Broadband is the lifeblood of how many small businesses are trading, whether it’s running a website with their shop window to the world or videoconferencing with their customers and suppliers.” Rowley added that Vodafone research conducted last year suggests that too many small businesses are not getting the quality they need to carry out such activities, with 49% of respondents complaining of slow connectivity. “That’s at the heart of why we are doing this.We want to be really clear about what people can get when they purchase the product from us. I think concern about speed and reliability is high in customers’ minds. That is one of the reasons we are putting our money where our mouth is,” he said. Rowley said the success of offers on the mobile side of the business, like Rapid, where Vodafone guarantees to provide a replacement mobile device within four hours or give £10 to the customer for every hour it is overdue, shows the importance of providing customers with peace of mind. “Mobile customers have responded really, really well to guarantees like Rapid.We think that broadband is now so fundamental to businesses that it is appropriate to offer the same levels of clarity and peace of mind to broadband customers,” he said. Vodafone has been offering business broadband to small business customers for 18 months and is currently the fastest growing broadband provider in Europe. Rowley is confident that the launch of Superfast 1 and Superfast 2 will help it attract even more subscribers, especially amongst existing mobile customers. He said: “We have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of customers who take their mobile from us in the small business space.We are now trying to offer those customers a broadband deal as well. The offer to our existing customers is cheaper than to new customers to reward their loyalty.” www.vodafone.co.uk Stuart Rowley