Month in Numbers
Five of the top ten highest paid CEOs
in the major European economies are
based in the UK, a study fromVlerick
Business School’s Executive Remuneration
Centre has found. In 2015, total UK CEO
remuneration increased 25% over the
previous year.
Eleven percent of the UK’s electricity was
generated by wind last year - up from
9.5% in 2014, claims wind and marine
energy trade body RenewableUK, based
on statistics from National Grid.Wind
provided enough electricity to meet
the annual needs of more than 8.25
million homes – more than 30% of UK
households.
The number of deals for small companies
increased by 12% last year, making
2015 the strongest year for mergers
and acquisitions in eight years. Experian
analysis shows there were 1,960 deals in
the £500,000 to £10 million segment, up
from 1,757 in 2014.
In light of the rising threat posed by
cyber criminals, employers are raising
salaries for IT and Cyber Security
specialists by 14% on average (source:
2016 Robert Walters Global Salary
Survey
). Salaries for Head of Cyber
Security and Security Analyst roles are
rising by 18%, while those for more
junior security support positions are
expected to increase by 7%.
Over 30% of all data traffic from mobile
phones is used by apps running in the
background e.g. email syncing and the
pre-fetching of ads, news articles or feeds
that happens when you are not actually
using an app. Analysis of app usage by
millions of Opera Max users shows that
Facebook Messenger and Gmail are the
worst offenders, with 73% of their total
data usage happening in the background.
Background data usage on Google Drive
andWhatsApp is also more than 50%.
Sergey Lossev, Product Manager at Opera
Software, said: “If you fetch background
data, it’s like throwing away $1 out of
every $3 you spend on your mobile data
plan. Most people are not aware of this
background data drain and may not have
authorised it. Nor do they know how to
stop it from happening.” To help resolve
the problem, Opera Max has launched
Smart Alerts in Opera Max.
Companies on average utilise only 39%
of their office space, claims Condeco
Software. The workplace technology
expert warns that, as a result, some
firms may be moving to bigger premises
before they need to.
More than a third of IT workers across
the UK (37%) share key personality traits
with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
These, claims recruitment and HR
services provider Randstad Technologies,
include being inquisitive, inventive, a
The Month in Numbers
risk-taker and ruthless in hiring and firing.
Just 5% of tech professionals act like
The Apprentice star Lord Sugar (single-
minded, bullish and confrontational).
Seven out of 10 (71%) UK employees feel
satisfied in their current job. According to
research by business psychologists OPP,
the UK’s most cheerful workers can be
found in Norwich (77%), Liverpool (76%)
and Birmingham (74%). Staff satisfaction
is lowest in Newcastle and Cardiff, where
64% of employees feel content at work,
followed by Glasgow (66%).
BT has announced that it will create
1,000 permanent UK jobs to help it meet
a commitment to answer more than 80%
of BT Consumer customer calls within
the UK by the end of 2016.
Almost a quarter of companies (24.6%)
would be willing to pay a ransom to
hackers to prevent a cyber attack. A study
by cloud security research body The
Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) found that
14% would pay more than $1 million.
British consumers are guilty of not wearing
one third of the items in their wardrobes.
Behavioural change charity Hubbub has
calculated that under-used items in our
wardrobes are collectively worth £30
billion. It says that by using our clothes
nine months longer, each item’s carbon,
waste and water footprint could be
reduced by 20-30%.
30 Billion
5
11
37
71
1 million
12
1,000
14
30
39
businessinfomag.uk
magazine
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