Business
HOW CITY FIRMS CAN SUCCESSFULLY ADOPT HYBRID WORKING

Source Finance Derivative
Robin Dey, Regional Principal for Client Relations
Hybrid working in practice has quickly become a mainstay topic of the conversations surrounding the future of work, especially as employers look to understand how their businesses will be impacted. Recently, accountancy firm EY announced plans for its 17,000 staff to move to a ‘hybrid working model’ that will give them the ability to work from home two days each week. Two of its big four rivals, PwC and KPMG, have also signalled their intentions to make similar switches to their traditional working patterns.
Unispace’s most recent Workplace Market study, which surveyed real estate decision makers from 150 companies with global office footprints, found more than half (52%) of those surveyed anticipate a “return to a new normal” by the end of Q3 2021. However, more than one third (35%) of respondents within the same sample feel that devising a strategy for the future workplace – which is likely to include some element of hybrid working – could be the most significant barrier to realising this flexible new reality. So, what could a hybrid working City look like?
The hybrid working challenge
It’s important to note that – even in the quieter summer months – the return to the office was well underway. In the week of the 16th of July (which marked ‘Freedom Day’ in the UK) workplaces in the City of London were the busiest they’ve been for 16 months after the government dropped coronavirus restrictions in England. City-working attendance was around 50% of pre-pandemic levels according to data compiled by Google.
The City and Canary Wharf benefit from their clustered natures. Culturally and historically, financial institutions have built their businesses around the idea of working together in close proximity, sharing knowledge frequently and leveraging the power of the group. Investment banking is driven by ideas that spring from in-person brainstorming and collaboration; bringing people together. This powerhouse approach looks to deliver value via its model to both clients and employees.
Financial services firms focus on knowledge sharing – and that was traditionally seen to be done most effectively face-to-face. This is in contrast to many of the retail banks which have historically embraced remote and hybrid more enthusiastically. This is due to the rapid consumer-led digital shift over the past decade, and to support the retailer’s ability to draw top talent from the technology industry (an early-hybrid working adopter) to support their growth. Moves to introduce hybrid working across the City will seek to accommodate these engrained preferences in order to be effective.
Evolving to exceed colleagues’ expectations
A survey from Accenture found that almost a quarter of the UK’s financial services workforce “would prefer to work entirely from home once a full return to office is possible” in a post-Covid world. In the same survey, 69% said they wanted to work two days or less in the office. However, the financial services industry is particularly client-led and many firms have publicly stated their focus on office-based working. While there will invariably be some activities which employees can access remotely, the overall mood music from the sector is one of an industry that is keen to put down a marker for its clients by going back to the office, expanding service lines, and returning to the pre-Covid buzz of collaboration in the workplace. That said, major banks and City institutions also want to remain competitive in terms of attracting and retaining the best talent. Companies need to balance their strategic imperative to reunite the workforce in physical environments with the employee-led demand for flexible ways of working.
Overcoming cultural and generational challenges
The approach to hybrid working differs across geographies. For example, in France and Italy, there’s a demand from some trade unions for financial sector employees to be given the opportunity to work from home at least two days a week as a minimum, which – if it came to pass – would require employers to adopt a hybrid working model. In the UK, by contrast, government guidance has placed the responsibility (and the choice of workplace strategy) firmly in the hands of private employers.
The talent war adds a layer of complexity to the hybrid working challenge for financial services firms. In a sector that some potential employees might perceive to be relatively homogenous, firms that elect to offer some degree of flexibility in working patterns and practices may well be seen as more attractive options for people looking to switch jobs. Indeed, while more senior members of the workforce may be comfortable working from home, the younger generation may not have the space to do so effectively. For younger investment bankers looking to build their networks and contacts, face-to-face interactions are going to be essential – that’s how the industry operates and it’s not really possible to develop the same consistent, and warm types of relationships remotely. As such, the workplace needs to be a space to collaborate, to meet and to grow, a space where culture is created and reinforced and where relationships can be forged and strengthened. So, what does the future hold and how can City firms develop a robust workplace strategy?
A ‘Propeller Framework’ for workplace evolution
The shift to hybrid working will change the rhythm of when employees choose to work from the office – which in turn makes City firms’ workplace strategies that much more important to get right. The office needs to evolve to meet the needs of your employees, assessing their personalities and activities and what is needed to accommodate their preferences. For financial institutions, everyday engagement across teams is vital, while client engagement is all about extracting information, discovering and meeting needs. That’s exactly what a ‘Propeller Framework’ can provide; the opportunity to understand how a company and its people truly want to engage with their workspace and what drives productivity, before implementing ways of maximising space and improving workplace efficiency.
Work is no longer simply a place. Businesses across the globe are looking for workplace solutions that improve employee retention, inspire collaboration and knowledge sharing, and normalise the true definition of flexible working. Focus less on the regimentation of individual desks and more on finding focus space with workplaces designed for collaboration, hospitality and socialising that have the flexibility to expand and contract in line with future needs. It’s not about utilising a one-size-fits-all approach but delivering an individually tailored environment.
Finding a balance between business productivity and meeting the needs of clients requires different perspectives. The old workplace model still has relevance but to move forward it’s important to consult with multiple stakeholders to understand the day-to-day needs of the firm and how a business could achieve its goals more effectively. Businesses may have been forced into change by the pandemic, or because of the cultural alignment driven by globalisation, but there’s now a real opportunity to explore how operating models and workspaces actually function – and the ways in which they can be refined to deliver better outcomes and productivity.
Building flexibility into design
Building flexibility into strategic planning and design will be critical to navigating a successful path towards a hybrid working model and to bring the workforce back into the office in a meaningful and safe way. Businesses may need to pivot quickly as space utilisation needs change. A Pilot scheme is a great option to test new strategies and models, repurposing spaces and collecting the activity data to confirm efficacy and inform future workspaces.
Change management will be vital to the success of any workplace programme. Key will be consistent communications, giving people confidence about expectations, working patterns, environments – whether that’s from a health and safety perspective or a needs and activity perspective – and tying in new technology to enhance employee experiences, and drive organisational culture.
While hybrid working can challenge how financial organisations have traditionally worked, it also presents an opportunity to evolve the workplace to better meet colleagues’ current and future needs. Businesses can balance these new needs and simultaneously create a centre of activity for collaboration, employee development, and client engagement, functioning alongside employees’ preferences for hybrid working rather than in opposition.
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Business
‘Tis the Season to be Wary: How to Protect Your Business from Holiday Season Hacking

The holiday season will soon be in full swing, but cybercriminals aren’t known for their holiday spirit. While consumers have traditionally been the prime targets for cybercriminals during the holiday season – lost in a frenzy of last-minute online shopping and unrelenting ads – companies are increasingly falling victim to calculated cyber attacks.
Against this backdrop of relaxed vigilance and festive distractions, cybercriminals are set to deploy everything from ransomware to phishing scams, all designed to capitalise on the holiday haze. Businesses that fail to prioritise their cybersecurity could end up embracing not so much “tidings of comfort and joy” as unwanted data breaches and service outages well into 2024.
Threat Landscape
With the usual winter disruptions about to kick into overdrive, opportunistic hackers are aiming to exploit organisational turmoil this holiday season. Industry research consistently indicates a substantial spike in cyber attacks targeting businesses during holidays, particularly when coupled with the following factors:
- Employee Burnout: Employee burnout is rife around the holidays. Trying to complete major projects or hit targets before the end of the year can require long hours and intense workweeks. Overwrought schedules combined with the seasonal stressors of Christmas shopping, family politics, travel expenses, hosting duties etc., can lead to a less effective and exhausted workforce.
- Vacation Days: The holiday season is a popular time for employees to use up their vacation days and paid time off. This means offices are often emptier than usual during late December and early January. With fewer people working on-site, critical security tasks are neglected and gaps in security widen.
- Network Strain: The holidays also mark a period of network strain due to increased traffic and network requests. Staff shortages also reduce organisational response capacity if systems are compromised. The result is company networks that are understaffed and overwhelmed.
Seasonal Cyber Attacks
There are many ways bad actors look to exploit system vulnerabilities and human errors to breach defences this time of year. But rather than relying solely on sophisticated hacking techniques, most holiday-fueled cyber attacks succeed through tried and true threat vectors:
- Holiday-Themed Phishing and Smishing Campaigns: Emails and texts impersonating parcel carriers with tracking notifications contain fraudulent links, deploying malware or capturing account credentials once clicked by unwitting recipients trying to track deliveries. A momentary slip-up is all it takes to unleash malware payloads granting complete network access.
- Fake Charity Schemes: Malicious links masquerading as holiday philanthropy efforts compromise business accounts when donated to.
- Remote Access Exploits: External connectivity to internal networks comes with the territory of the season. However, poorly configured cloud apps and public Wi-Fi access points create openings for criminals to intercept company data from inadequately protected employee devices off-site.
- Ransomware Presents: Empty offices combined with delayed threat detection gives innovative extortion malware time to wrap itself around entire company systems and customer data before unveiling a not so jolly ransom note on Christmas morning.
Without proper precautions, the impact from misdirected clicks or downloads can quickly spiral across business servers over the holidays, leading to widespread data breaches and stolen customer credentials.
Essential Steps to Safeguard Systems
While eliminating all risks remains unlikely and tight budgets preclude launching entirely new security initiatives this holiday season, businesses can deter threats and address seasonal shortcomings through several key actions:
Prioritise Core Software Updates
Hardening network infrastructure is the first line of defence this holiday season. With many software products reaching end-of-life in December, it is critical to upgrade network architectures and prioritise core software updates to eliminate known vulnerabilities. Segmenting internal networks and proactively patching software can cut off preferred access routes for bad actors, confining potential breaches when hacking attacks surge.
Cultivate a Culture of Cybersecurity Awareness
Cybersecurity awareness training makes employees more resilient to rising social engineering campaigns and phishing links that increase during the holidays. Refreshing employees on spotting suspicious emails can thwart emerging hacking techniques. With more distractions and time out of the office this season, vigilance is more important than ever! Train your staff to “never” directly click a link from an email or text. Even if they are expecting a delivery they should still go directly to the known trusted source.
Manage Remote Access Proactively
Criminals aggressively pursue any vulnerabilities exposed during the holiday period to intercept financial and customer data while defences lie dormant. Therefore, businesses should properly configure cloud apps and remote networks before the holiday season hits. This will minimise pathways for data compromise when employees eventually disconnect devices from company systems over the holidays.
Mandate Multifactor Authentication (MFA)
Most successful attacks stem from compromised user credentials. By universally mandating MFA across all access points this season, retailers add critical layers of identity verification to secure systems. With MFA fatigue setting in over holidays, have backup verification methods ready to deter credential stuffing.
Prepare to Respond, Not Just Prevent
Despite precautions, holiday disasters can and do occur. Businesses need response plans for periods of disruption and reduced capacity. Have emergency communications prepared for customers and partners in case an attack disrupts operations. The time to prepare is before vacation schedules complicate incident response. It’s important to know how and when to bring in the right expertise if a crisis emerges.
By following best practices to prevent cybersecurity standards slipping before peak winter months, companies can enjoy the holidays without becoming victims of calculated cyber attacks. With swift and decisive action there is still time for businesses to prepare defences against holiday season hacks.
Business
Transforming unified comms to future-proof your business

By Jonathan Wright, Director of Products and Operations at GCX
Telephony is not usually the first thing SMBs think about when it comes to their digital transformation. However, push and pull factors are bringing it up the priority list and leading them to rethink their approach.
Indeed, it is just one year until PSTN (the copper-based telephone network) will be switched off by BT Openreach. With a recent survey showing that as many as 88% of UK businesses rely on PSTN, many organisations’ hands are being forced to review their communications ahead of the deadline.
But even if this change for some is being forced upon them, the benefits of building a more future-proofed unified communications strategy far outweigh the associated challenges. Nearly three-quarters of employees in UK SMEs now work partly or fully remotely, indeed the highest percentage of any G7 country. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone systems are much better suited to distributed workforces as the phone line is assigned on a user basis, rather than to a fixed location.
And with more companies now integrating AI capabilities to augment their products and services – like Microsoft Teams Pro which leverages OpenAI for improved transcription, automated notes generation and recommended actions – the productivity-boosting benefits for users are only improving.
Making the right choice
For those companies that are seizing the opportunity to change their unified comms in 2024, what should they consider when making their decision?
- Choose platforms that will boost user adoption – User adoption will make or break the rollout of a new IT project. So due consideration should be given to what products or services will have the path of least resistance with employees. Choosing a service or graphical user interface (GUI) users are already used to, like Zoom or MS Teams, is likely to result in a higher adoption rate than a net new service.
- Embrace innovation with AI capabilities – While some of the services leveraging AI and Large Language Model (LLM) to enhance their capabilities are more expensive than traditional VoIP, the productivity gains could offer an attractive return on investment for many small businesses. Claiming back the time spent typing up meeting notes, or improving the response time to customer calls with automatically-generated actions, will both have tangible benefits to the business. That said, companies should consider what level of service makes sense to their business; they may not need the version with all the bells and whistles to make significant efficiency gains.
- Bring multiple services under a single platform – The proliferation of IT tools is becoming an increasing challenge in many businesses; it creates silos that hamper collaboration, leaves employees feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of communications channels to manage, and leads to mounting costs on the business. Expanding the use of existing platforms, or retiring multiple solutions by bringing their features together in one new platform, benefits the business and user experience alike.
- Automate onboarding to reduce the burden on IT – Any changes to unified comms should aim to benefit all of the different stakeholders – and that includes the IT team tasked with implementing and managing it. Choosing platforms which support automated onboarding and activation, for example, will reduce the burden on IT when provisioning new tenants, as well as with the ongoing policy management. What’s more, it reduces the risk of human error when configuring the setup to improve the overall security. Or, in the case of Microsoft Teams, even negates the need for Microsoft PowerShell.
- Consider where you work – Employees are not only working between home and the office more. Since the pandemic, more people are embracing the digital nomad lifestyle, while others are embracing the opportunity to work more closely with clients on-site or at their offices. This should be considered in unified comms planning as those companies with employees working outside the UK will need to choose a geo-agnostic service.
- Stay secure – Don’t let security and data protection be an afterthought. Opt for platforms leveraging authentication protocols, strong encryption, and security measures to safeguard sensitive information and support compliance.
Making the right switch
As many small businesses start planning for changes in their telephony in 2024 as the PSTN switch-off approaches, it is important that take the time to explore how the particular requirements of their organisations and how the changes to their communications could better support their new working practices and boost productivity.
Business
Will your network let down your AI strategy?

Rob Quickenden, CTO at Cisilion
As companies start to evaluate how they can use AI effectively, there is a clear need to ensure your network is up to the challenges of AI first. AI applications are going to require your data to be easily accessible and your network will need to be able to handle the huge compute needs of these new applications. It will also need to be secure enough at all points of access for the different applications to end users’ different devices. If your network isn’t reliable, readily available and secure it is likely going to fail.
In Cisco’s 2023 Networking Report 41% of networking professional across 2,500 global companies said that providing secure access to applications distributed across multiple cloud platforms is their key challenge, followed by gaining end-to-end visibility into network performance and security (37%).
So, what can you do to make your network AI ready?
First, you need to see AI as part of your digital transformation, then you need to look at where you need it and where you don’t. Jumping on the bandwagon and implementing AI for the sake of it isn’t the way forward. You need to have a clear strategy in place about where and how you are going to use AI. Setting up an AI taskforce to look at all aspects of your AI strategy is a good first step. They need to be able to identify how AI can help transform your business processes and free up time to focus on your core business. At the same time, they need to make sure your infrastructure can handle your AI needs.
Enterprise networks and IT landscapes are growing more intricate every day. The demand for seamless connectivity has skyrocketed as businesses expand their digital footprint and hybrid working continues. The rise of cloud services, the Internet of Things (IoT), and data-intensive applications have placed immense pressure on traditional network infrastructures and AI will only increase this burden. AI requires much higher levels of compute power too. The challenge lies in ensuring consistent performance, security, and reliability across a dispersed network environment.
Use hybrid and multi-cloud to de-silo operations
According to Gartner’s predictions, by 2025, 51% of IT spending will shift to the cloud. Underscoring the importance of having a robust and adaptable network infrastructure that can seamlessly integrate with cloud services. This is even more important with AI as it needs to access data from different locations and sources across your business to be successful. For example, AI often requires data from different sources to train models and make predictions. A company that wants to develop an AI system to predict customer churn may need to access data from multiple sources such as customer demographics, purchase history and social media activity.
IT teams need to make sure that they are using hybrid cloud and multi-cloud to de-silo operations to bring together network and security controls and visibility and allow for easy access to data. Where businesses use multiple cloud providers or have some data on-premise, they need to be reviewing how that data will be used and so how to access it across departments.
Install the best security and network monitoring
It’s clear that as we develop AI for good, there is also a darker side weaponizing AI to create more sophisticated cyber-attacks. Businesses need end-to-end visibility into their network performance and security and to be able to provide secure access to applications distributed across multiple cloud platforms. This means having effective monitoring tools in place and the right layers of security – not only at the end user level but also across your network at all access points.
Being able to review and test the performance of your SaaS based applications will also be key to the success of your AI solutions. AI requires apps to work harder and faster so tasting their speed, scalability and stability, and ensuring they are up to the job and can perform well under varying workloads is important.
Secure Access Service Edge
The best way to ensure your network security is as good as it can be is to simplify your tools and create consistency by using Secure Access Service Edge (SASE). This is an architecture that delivers converged network and security as service capabilities including SD-WAN and cloud native security functions such as secure web gateways, cloud access security brokers, firewall as-a-service, and zero-trust network access. SASE delivers wide area network and security controls as a cloud computing service directly to the source of connection rather than at the data centre which will protect your network and users more effectively.
SD-WAN connectivity
If you haven’t already, extending your SD-WAN connectivity consistently across multiple clouds to automate cloud-agnostic connectivity and optimise the application experience is a must. It will enable your organisation to securely connect users, applications and data across multiple locations while providing improved performance, reliability and scalability. SD-WAN also simplifies the management of WANs by providing centralised control and visibility over the entire network.
As we head towards the new era of AI, cloud is the new data centre, Internet is the new network, and cloud offerings will dominate applications. By making sure your network is AI ready, by adopting a cloud-centric operating model, having a view of global Internet health and the performance of top SaaS applications, IT teams will be able to implement their company’s AI strategy successfully.

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