Plans to convert offices may undermine innovation and growth

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Legal news, Property, Public Sector, Workplace design

Whatever they might think, Governments don’t have a natural propensity for joined up thinking. Nor do they have a natural affinity with small businesses, especially those that emerge in non-traditional sectors. Governments may like to claim they can display both of these noble values, but experience tells us different. One thing they are prone to, however, is a frequent ability to fall victim to unfortunate juxtapositions of complex events that throw their inherent weaknesses into sharp relief.

January 22, 2013

French stick: Parisians favour USB’s to filch corporate data

by Sara Bean • News, Technology, Workplace

Paris_-_Eiffelturm_und_Marsfeld2

Parisians are more likely to take corporate data than their UK counterparts, an “Insider Threat Survey,” by Imperva, supplier of data theft, insider abuse, and fraud solutions reveals. When those, questioned across a number of business sectors about their view on confidentiality were asked if they would personally take corporate data, 78% of respondents in Paris admitted they had, with 63% in London also confessing to the same practice. While the Parisian respondents prefer to use a USB stick (23%), in London, smart phones the favoured method (41%).
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January 9, 2013

All right? Manchester property outperforms other UK regions

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Property

The idea that the UK is essentially a closely bound federation of city states, each with their own culture and economy is given added credence by new research from CBRE into regional variations in the commercial property market. London does things its own way, of course, but the top regional city is Manchester – the only one of eight centres that showed any evidence of rental growth during 2012, even though it was a modest increase from £29.50 per sq ft to £30 per sq ft. The full report can be viewed here. More →

January 4, 2013

Chance to visit London landmark The Crystal

by Sara Bean • Environment, News

The Crystal, which was built by Siemens to showcase sustainable design and construction, is the venue for a couple of major events in February. Achieving BREEAM Outstanding, the Crystal opened at Royal Victoria Docks in London last September to provide a hub for discussions and dialogues about how to create a sustainable urban future. The Crystal will also be home to the Workplace Futures 2013 conference, organised by i-fm.net on the 12 February, and will include an opportunity for delegates to attend the building’s interactive sustainable exhibition prior to an evening networking session. More →