Cobweb

External Audit - Fantastic Result!

Last week Cobweb underwent their tri-annual recertification external audit.  A team of 2 external auditors spent 3 days each auditing our ISO9001, ISO14001 and ISO27001 systems.

We are very pleased to announce that not only did we pass that audit but we did so with no discrepancies and a glowing report from the auditors on the efficiency of our systems.

Over the past year we have made lots of improvements, which include automating processes to eliminate the possibility of human error and allow tracking of responsibilities and actions taken throughout the process.

Cobweb is always looking for new ways to continually improve our systems, and share those successes with our customers.

If you would like more information with regards to the audit, or how we achieved this great result then you can contact me:

Louise.Cookson@cobweb.com

Mobile Twitter – Twikini out now

I’m hooked on Windows Mobile and Twitter, the mobile browser interface wasn’t working well for me so I started looking at the mobile apps available. The best app for me has been Twikini. It’s clean, simple and best of all it makes a bird tweet noise when new updates are received.

Try it free, http://www.trinketsoftware.com/Twikini.

It integrates with Twitpic and services like TinyURL. You can add location information using GPS, or by entering a place name. I added my location to tweets the other week and so far I haven’t noticed any new stalkers.

I’m undecided whether to use “Tweet song info” about songs playing in Windows Media, it could generate a lot of updates and be a bit embarrassing when I’m listening Kylie.

If you update multiple Twitter accounts there is a “Switch account” option, which is proving pretty handy especially if you have personal and company accounts to update.

Try it for free from http://www.trinketsoftware.com/Twikini and follow me from your Windows Mobile.

Daniel
http://twitter.com/dannoakes

Technorati Tags: Windows Mobile,Twikini,Twitter,Trinket Software

Parallels Summit 2009

For those who would like to see or hear Dan taking at the Conference, we will post the session here - as soon as we can.

The Parallels Operation Automation provisioning and billing solution is central to our services strategy and roadmap

Dan in Vegas

Dan presenting at the Parallels Summit 2009

Go Dan

Pub club - nov 2008

Cobweb held another successful Pub Club in London last night with a fresh gathering of Cobweb customers and colleagues.

ISO Standards and their value

Well it's been a while since I posted something and after the success that we had with our Green Day and the involvement of the other businesses we were very pleased with the involvement and participation of people here at Cobweb and the other businesses. If you were involved then please accept my gratitude, I hope you got something out of it too.

One of the things I've been looking at recently was what customers perceptions are of ISO standards and I got a very broad spectrum of responses ranging from 'they are fundamental to the success of a business' to 'they are a complete waste of time'. Obviously they can be viewed as worthless paper chases if you view them as a rigid structure that you must abide to strictly but that isn't the case. Yes, you do need to meet the requirements of the standards but not to the detriment of the business or the customer experience.

The thing that surprised me the most was that people's perceptions were that having Microsoft Gold Partnership, they felt gave them more value as a customer than ISO27001. Is having a system that fundamentally is in place to ensure their data is protected wherever possible really not that well valued? One of the things that has become clear is that maybe we need to promote the benefits of the 27001 system more so people understand what it gives us as a business and gives them as customers.

If you want more information on the standards that we hold then it is available on our website here

If you have any opinions on the value of ISO standards then I'd love to hear them.

Mark

Funday Friday - Beachwear day

Hello all - we try and relax a bit on Friday at Cobweb... still lots to do but we have some fun while we're at it.   Today's been particularly good with a Beachwear day - shorts and sunnies all round despite the somewhat overcast weather!   

 

More losses of data

These sorts of things seem to be in the news almost daily now but when are things going to get to a point where it becomes a legal requirement to actively have a system in place to protect customer data? It almost seems now it's become accepted that peoples private data is going to be lost at some point and that is inevitable. Obviously some government departments are as guilty (if not more so) than private firms so maybe that is what is holding up the need for this legistlation?

Here's some more stories that have been appearing in the news that you may have missed!

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/20/virgin_media_banking_loss/

http://www.epolitix.com/latestnews/article-detail/newsarticle/government-accused-over-new-data-loss/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/08/hsbc_hk_data_loss_snafu/

http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/stuart_king/2008/05/data-loss-epidemic.html  (interesting read)

And something a bit closer to home which is something that could potentially happen to anyone :-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7461409.stm

Mark

ISO14001 - Complete

I thought I'd be the first one to share the news before the marketing team get hold of it but we've now attained accreditation in ISO14001! This is an environmental standard that demonstrates a companies commitment to reducing waste and helping the environment in general.

It's a great achievement by all involved and if you think about doing something similar within your own company then I can recommend getting a team of people across the business from all levels that can help you achieve this. Without the team we've had here I don't think it would have been possible and I'm so proud to have worked together with them.

Mark

The end of the beginning?

Well what a week it is! It's been quite a while since I blogged and thought I should update you as to where we are. Today is the second day of our environmental audit for ISO14001 (which I'm feeling fairly confident about after the first yesterday) and then tomorrow is my last lot of exams at University. A very busy week! (Although going to Rome for a few days break on Friday is making me feel better about it)

The environmental standard is a very important achievement for Cobweb. It's not down to saving the planet but it's important for businesses to give something back to either their local community or even the marketplace as a whole. I truly believe that a company that is purely profit driven in it's strategic direction in most cases is destined to fail. With us having this standard in place it will enable us to monitor and measure many things that affect the environment. It will also ensure that we reduce our own waste and recycle equipment to some worthwhile causes. I'll be happy when we've achieved these aims.

And so, the end of my second year at university. The final exams are tomorrow and then that just leaves some consultancy for a company in Europe and then the dissertation for April next year, no problem! I've had a fantastic time doing the degree (I know it sounds masochistic!) but I've learnt a lot from it and met some great people. I think the adage you're never too old to start learning holds very true here and I can't wait to start something new once it's finished.

Mark