Kick-starting 2021!

This month Triangle, for the first time, joined the UK’s most impactful channel providers on the shortlist for the Comms Business Awards, a prestigious event in the communications channel calendar. What a start to 2021!

It was a real honour to be recognised alongside some great operators in the distributor of the year category, and that we are building towards a leading position within the industry.

Triangle’s innovative approach is a breath of fresh air for many, who want more support from their provider, which includes joint marketing campaigns and demand building. Demand mapping that helps Triangle extend the reach of its key partner provider, CityFibre.

If you’d have told me this time last year, what was about to unfold I simply wouldn't have believed you. While we may not have picked up the top prize this week - I couldn't be more proud of my team. For their results and most importantly their efforts, during what has been an immensely difficult year.

You all might have seen a little less of Bob Irwin in person over the last 12 months, but let's face it, a pandemic isn't going to slow a man like Bob down. His enthusiasm is contagious (the good kind) and he’s instilled this belief and enthusiasm across the entire sales force.

Jamie and Dan have been forging new partnerships in an entirely virtual ecosystem. Opening up new parts of the country to the potential of gigabit connection and the full fibre revolution. Helen has been making herself known in and around Leicester and we recently brought on Josh who’ll be the face of Triangle in Exeter. Exciting times ahead!

As for this coming year we’ve got some hugely exciting and really ground-breaking projects in the pipeline which you’ll all be finding out about very soon. New cities, new services and new opportunities for a new way of working and living.

Now onto Feb...

Our thoughts: Putting the power back into your hands

Turn it off, turn it back on. The tried and true way to fix any connectivity problem... But when that doesn’t work, what’s next?

The internet and all of the apps that we use within it have always been a bit ambiguous, haven’t they? A complete God-send when they’re working and a total mine-field when they’re not.

Often, when something is wrong with your business’s digital services, the first point of blame has to be the internet connection itself. An employee gets on the phone to IT managers or the internet service provider and asks them why their email, Google Drive or Microsoft Teams accounts are down. And, when they say there is no problem with the internet connection itself, the next step always seems a bit unclear. 

A big problem here is that, all too often, big name companies are too quick to pass the buck when it comes to connectivity problems. They may say a problem is elsewhere, but in truth it’s their problem… they’re just not being transparent about it.

Understanding our connectivity needs and the issues that can come of them should not be this difficult and we, as the providers of these services, need to lift the veil for our customers, bringing transparency into the heart of what we do.

Being on the phone trying to sort out an issue costs money. But being on the phone, trying to sort out the wrong issue, is just wasteful. It’s a waste of time and resources for both provider and customer alike.

So, with the help of our partners at SeeThru Networks, we’re allowing our customers to understand the status of all of their digital providers, including internet connectivity so they can have a better understanding of the digital services they use and how to fix the issues that are bound to come up.

At Triangle Networks, we truly believe that the customer should be in control of every aspect of their business, including their internet connectivity needs and issues.

We believe the customer should hold the provider accountable, while feeling confident and empowered enough to demand us to be better, should we be performing otherwise. They should be able to do that with all of the digital services we don’t supply either; Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Drive for example.

Our new SeeThru app puts status indicators for all of these services into the palms of our customers’ hands, streamlining their troubleshooting process and holding everyone accountable to provide better service.

We’ve always done things a little bit differently, we’re relationship builders first, internet providers second. We understand the communities we build in and are rooting for our customers to accelerate their businesses and we want to put the power into their hands, to give them an honest view of their services and the means to demand for the best from us, and we promise, we will rise to the challenge.

Our thoughts: It's time for us all to own our digital transformation choices...

Paul Anslow, managing director at Triangle Networks, explains that when it comes to bringing digital integration to the workplace, success cannot be achieved without commitment and total ownership from within your organisation.

Digital transformation and with it change readiness are two pandemic hot topics right now, but frankly we’ve talked so much about covid this last few months it's all becoming a bit repetitive. The truth is, businesses have needed to digitally adapt since way before covid hit.

Those who succeeded in adopting digitisation did so because they took ownership of the matter from the outset. By contrast, many others didn’t enjoy the benefits because they tried to shift the responsibility to the feet of others.

On a fundamental level, digital integration is simple. You must first build the foundations of solid connectivity before the shiny edifices on top.  There’s no point in investing in state-of-the-art cloud systems if you haven't the connectivity to cope with it.

The lack of these foundations is something I see all too often. But what is even more staggering to me is business leaders and heads of industry, effectively burying their heads in the sand, refusing to acknowledge that their digital misgivings are caused by their own indecision.

One of the most common arguments I hear day-to-day is that full fibre is some great unattainable goal.  I hear all kinds of reasons; ‘we can’t get full fibre because there are no grants’, or ‘there’s no existing infrastructure’ or ‘our building manager makes connectivity decisions so it’s out of our hands’.

But none of this is true.

Starting with grants, they exist, and they have done for a while now. Even if you need help finding them, ask me or one of my team and we’ll lead you right to them!

Triangle Networks is an infrastructure demand builder. We bring connectivity to the places that don't have it. We can build a network anywhere your business needs it and we can do it quickly, too.

If you’re in a position where you’re in an FM governed business park, then collaborate and get together with fellow businesses. Doorstep, have meetings and do what you need to do to lobby for it… it’s up to you to make it happen.

Anyone who’s had a long conversation with me, has more than likely heard me use the phrase ‘join the full fibre revolution.’ See, the word revolution is the most important word in there, because it can only happen when people make the decision to actively change something. 

A business revolution is no different to a societal one. If you want to affect change, only you can do that.

So, what I’m saying is if you want full fibre connectivity and all of the rewards of digital integration it brings with it…  the only thing stopping you from getting it is you!

Our thoughts: New office expectations - are you ready for the new normal?

After three months in lockdown, restrictions are loosening and we’re seeing glimpses of normality for the first time since March. But as we approach the ‘new normal’ we need to consider what the next phase will look like. The phase that comes before normal will be a deciding factor in a business’s success with leaders needing a mix of complete focus, clear direction and extreme flexibility.

Over the course of the lockdown period, one thing has remained: businesses of all sizes have shared a desire to improve. Specifically, businesses have shown a willingness to digitise their operations. Video calls replaced meetings, cloud-based apps have replaced storage on a server and colleagues are more connected than they ever were working within the same four walls.

Businesses have gone through a ‘digital transformation’ without even knowing it. Working with agility and resilience, they’ve looked at new processes and marketing tools and adjusted the interface that they have with their customers. Small firms have taken their business online, increased their social media presence and have collaborated with other businesses to make these tools viable.

The question now is: as some employees return and some remain remote, can your office handle the increased digital load that you’ve worked so hard to adopt?

One of the essential workers which we’ve overlooked during lockdown is the South West’s IT businesses, who have been more in demand than ever. They have helped businesses to adopt new tools and now there is a new challenge on the horizon: get businesses ready to operate with the tools they now use and the bandwidth that’s now required to support flexible working. With better broadband, businesses will avoid reverting back to a life limited by poor internet connection. 

The South West is lucky. It’s been gigabit enabled for years now and so the opportunity is there for businesses to be up and running in 6 weeks with world-class connectivity. The opportunity is there to enable businesses to maintain their innovations as more people return to the office. However, thousands are now going to experience an insufficient broadband network to operate in the new world.

So now, leaders need to move as a collective of businesses to demand more from our internet connectivity. It’s now much cheaper than even two years ago to have dedicated leased lines for businesses and even more so on the huge CityFibre network. However, the behemoths of digital connectivity don’t want you to know that or for us all to demand better connectivity - at a better price and across all the areas of the country.

While the country returns to normal, it’s time to work together to integrate the efficiencies which businesses have adopted while working remotely back into the office and now is the time to do it. Better broadband connectivity is the way to ensure success as we work to welcome the new normal.

To learn more about setting your business up for success in the new normal, reach out or visit: www.trianglenetworks.co.uk.