Business Info - Issue 140

magazine 09 Mobile Comms 5G TO FIRE START-UP BOOM Vodafone claims that 5G could pave the way for a start-up boom, after 60% of start-ups surveyed by the company said the technology would help them compete with larger, more established rivals. Released to coincide with the opening of the Vodafone Digital Innovation Hub at MediaCityUK, Salford, the survey shows that most businesses expect 5G to enhance their competitiveness (58%) and change the way they operate (56%). As if that wasn’t attraction enough, Vodafone also expects 5G to double the size of the mobile gaming industry thanks to its low latency and speeds up to ten times faster than 4G. www.vodafone.co.uk/business/5g Data Security GDPR IS NOT JUST ABOUT DIGITAL One year on from the introduction of GDPR, UK businesses continue to play fast and loose with sensitive customer and employee data. A survey of 300 office workers by Office Depot reveals that one in five (21%) UK companies still stores physical documents containing personal data either on or under their desks; 12% tear up confidential papers by hand; and 34% use a strip-shredder, which is not a secure way to destroy printed documents (see our feature on page 16). Despite the risk of laptop theft, only half of businesses provide laptop users with a lock to secure their assets. In light of these findings, Office Depot has produced a free guide highlighting four products it says should be part of any GDPR compliant business – archive boxes, laptop locks, cross-cut shredders and privacy filters. www.whyofficedepot.co.uk/gdpr Office Design LET’S SLEEP ON IT Almost three out of 10 UK employees (29%) would make use of a sleep pod, like this one from Gym Shark, were one available in their office, claims office design and build company Oktra. Its survey of 2,000 British employees also reveals that nearly a quarter (24%) of office workers believe that poor workplace technology and equipment affects their wellbeing. www.oktra.co.uk HR EUROPE’S SHORTESTWORKINGWEEK As UK workers continue to feel the effects of a long working hours culture, with heightened levels of stress and a growing presenteeism problem, flexible workspace listings platform Instant Offices has drawn up a list of the 10 European countries with the shortest working week. Region Average hours National Holidays Annual leave worked weekly in 2017 in 2017 1. Germany 26.37 11 30 2. Netherlands 27.29 7 20 3. Norway 27.38 10 21 4. Denmark 28.02 11 25 5. France 28.50 11 30 6. Luxembourg 28.98 10 25 7. Belgium 29.63 10 20 8. Switzerland 30.58 5 20 9. Sweden 31.00 14 25 10. Austria 31.25 13 25 www.instantoffices.com BULLETIN Retail THE EVOLUTION OF THE POP-UP First there were shops, then pop-ups and now micro-pop-ups. This new type of temporary retail space can be as small as a single drawer in a store, a countertop box or even just one berth in a wine merchant’s bottle rack. Examples highlighted by Direct Line for Business in its new study of the phenomenon include a single clothing rail in a pizza restaurant, a shelf in a phone box and the basket on a baker’s bicycle.With prices starting from as little as £1 per day, micro-pop- ups are a lot cheaper than the average pop-up retail unit (£342 per day) and a lot smaller than the typical unit, which measures 110 square metres.Why the interest from Direct Line for Business? In short, insurance. It is advising pop-up retailers to protect themselves by taking out both public liability and product liability cover. www.directlineforbusiness.co.uk 3D Print WORLD’S LARGEST GROUPING OF 3D PRINT EXPERTS HP Inc. has created one of the world’s leading 3D printing R&D facilities in Barcelona, Spain. The three-acre 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing Center of Excellence houses the world’s largest community of additive manufacturing specialists in one location, including experts in systems engineering, data intelligence, software, materials science, design and 3D printing and digital manufacturing applications. www.hp.com/go/3DPrint 01732 759725 YouTuber Tom Cassell (Syndicate) and friends test-run a number of cloud-based games, streamed over Vodafone’s 5G network. THEIR DATA. YOUR RISK: GDPR ONE YEAR ON Four reasonswhy yourbusiness is still failing tocomplywithGDPR and theofficeproducts thatcan helpyou tode-risk