A Wave of Change: The Trafalgar Saints Surf Club in South Africa
Naaz Bax
Funds donated by Cambridge MC supplied some new equipment, including new boards.
Surf for Lives
Royden Bryson, ex professional surfer on the WCT, supported by Mary-Lou Pasquier and Sue-Anne Pearson, has founded a non-profit company dedicated to supporting children in underprivileged communities in South Africa, called Surf for Lives.
The initiative starts with passionate young surfers and culminates in independent adults with sustainable careers.
The mission of Surf for Lives is to provide these children with a safe and nurturing environment where they can enjoy surfing during their youth, while guiding them as they transition into adulthood and explore career opportunities enabled by their ocean-based skills. Surf for Lives continually collaborates with local authorities and organisations to identify diverse pathways to success. These opportunities may include, but are not limited to, lifeguarding, working with the Sharks Board, or joining the South African Marines. The associations unwavering dedication to these children reflects a long-term commitment to fostering positive change. One of the clubs supported by Surf for Lives is the Trafalgar Saints Surf Club, helping children in the Bhokodisa Community, South Africa. We look at the important life-changing activities run by the club and the incredible social impact it creates.
The Trafalgar Saints Surf Club: A Lifeline for Children in the Bhokodisa Community
The Trafalgar Saints Surf Club embodies the profound impact of community and the transformative power of sport. This remarkable charity and surf club serves as a lifeline for approximately 20 to 30 children from the impoverished Bhokodisa community in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Situated about 150 kilometres south of Durban, near the picturesque main beach of Trafalgar, the club offers far more than just surfing lessons; it provides a sanctuary, mentorship, and pathways to a brighter future. For the past few years the club has been successfully guiding and supporting local children to take part in provincial surfing trials and developing mentorship programmes to assist them in joining the South African Navy. The club's unwavering dedication to these children reflects a long-term commitment to fostering positive change.
Catching a Break
The Trafalgar Saints Surf Club operates as a refuge for the children of the Bhokodisa community, recognised as one of the most impoverished areas along the lower South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal. The children who participate in the club hail from a community beset by violence, substance abuse, and pervasive social challenges.
For these young individuals, the club transcends the role of a mere surf school; it stands as a beacon of hope, a place to learn important skills, build self-confidence and escape the harsh realities of their daily lives.
The club's core mission is to provide comprehensive support through:
- Swimming and Surfing Instruction: The club imparts essential swimming and surfing skills, fostering a vital connection to the ocean and enhancing the children's confidence.
- Mentorship and Guidance: The club offers mentorship on educational aspirations and critical life choices, steering the children towards positive futures.
- Safe and Supportive Environment: The club ensures a secure space where children can spend their time, free from the negative influences that permeate their community.
- Skill Development and Confidence Building: Through various activities, participants cultivate valuable skills and a robust sense of self-worth.
- Creating New Opportunities: The club actively seeks to inspire children to envision and pursue futures that extend beyond their current circumstances.
Maxing out the Impact
The Trafalgar Saints Surf Club profoundly enhances the lives of the children it serves, offering a myriad of opportunities and positive impacts. These include:
- Escape from Adverse Conditions: The club provides a reprieve from the challenges of their impoverished community, offering a day at the beach, away from violence and substance abuse.
- Development of Essential Life Skills: Children learn to swim and surf, gaining confidence and resilience in the ocean while acquiring vital life skills.
- Mentorship and Positive Role Models: Through guidance, children receive support in developing life skills and educational goals, paving the way for a brighter future.
- Pathways to Sustainable Employment: The club encourages members to pursue careers as professional lifesavers, enabling them to support their families and uplift their communities. This opportunity can empower many children to become the primary earners for their households.
- Competitive Surfing Opportunities: The club facilitates participation in provincial surfing trials, instilling goals and a sense of achievement that motivates children to strive for excellence.
- Support to Join the South African Navy: The club assists children in exploring opportunities within the South African Navy, offering further avenues for a promising future. This pathway represents a significant chance for these children to escape seemingly hopeless situations and embrace a new world of opportunity.
Fighting the Tide
Despite its noble mission, the club grapples with substantial challenges, primarily stemming from the severe poverty and scarcity of resources within the Bhokodisa community:
- Limited Access to Resources: The club continually struggles to secure sufficient equipment and surfing accessories for the children, who must make do with what is available.
- Unmet Basic Needs: Many children trek barefoot for 10 to 12 kilometres to reach the beach each weekend, often surfing with minimal food. The club faces ongoing challenges in addressing these basic needs.
- Financial Constraints: Relying on donations and funding, the club must navigate various financial hurdles to sustain its operations and support the children effectively.
Carving Out a Future
The Trafalgar Saints Surf Club collaborates closely with Surf For Lives, a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting its mission. Additionally, a separate NPO has been established by Royden Bryson, Mary-Lou Pasquier, and Sue-Anne Pearson to raise funds and bolster the club's efforts. There are several meaningful ways for the public to make a tangible difference in the lives of these children.
We list here several ways you can help out today. Please get in touch using the contact form below if you would like to make a donation or find out more.
- Donations for Equipment and Supplies: Urgent funds are needed to purchase surfboards, wetsuits, and other essential gear. Contributions can also help provide basic necessities like food for the children during their time at the beach.
- Long-Term Financial Support: The NPO seeks sustained financial contributions to ensure the club's viability for future generations. Donations can assist with operational costs, including transportation, coaching, and mentoring programmes.
- Awareness Campaigns: Help raise awareness for the club through social media and at the PTC 2025 conference, sharing the stories of these children and the impactful work of the Trafalgar Saints Surf Club.
- Mentorship and Skill Sharing: If you possess relevant experience or skills, consider offering mentorship or training to the children and the club organisers.
Surfs Up
The South African Junior Surfing Championships at Jeffreys Bay
The Trafalgar Saints Surf Club recently participated in the South African Junior Surfing Championships held in Jeffreys Bay from September 24-29th 2024. The competition showcased the talents of young surfers from across the nation, and the club's representatives delivered commendable performances, embracing the competition with gratitude, respect, and enthusiasm.
As the championships concluded, a significant swell arrived on the final evening, prompting the decision to extend their stay. This allowed the boys to experience the renowned waves of Jeffreys Bay during one of the year's best swells—a memorable opportunity that will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression on them.
The success of this trip was made possible through the unwavering support of the Cambridge MC community, whose collective efforts helped create invaluable experiences for the aspiring surfers of the Trafalgar Saints Surf Club.
Thando Sashi (left), Kwanele Sashi (middle), and Okuhle Ngcungama (right) wait for their lift and then make a 12-hour drive to the competition.
Amkela Mgcina (left), Thando Sashi (middle) and Kwanele Sashi (right) get ready to hit the surf.
Thando Sashi (front) and Thando Sashi (back).
Staying in the Pocket
The long-term vision for the Trafalgar Saints Surf Club is to establish a self-sustaining entity capable of supporting children from the Bhokodisa community for generations to come.
The club's strategic plan includes:
- Sustainable Funding: Securing consistent financial support is crucial for the club's ongoing operations and its ability to provide for the children. This includes raising funds to cover equipment costs and basic needs.
- Developing a Robust Mentoring Programme: The club aims to create a structure that provides continuous mentorship and guidance to the children, helping them navigate positive life choices.
- Expanding Employment Pathways: The club seeks to build upon its efforts in encouraging children to become lifesavers and join the South African Navy, thereby broadening their future possibilities.
- Empowering the Community: The club aspires to empower both the children and their community, instilling a belief in their potential to effect positive change in their lives.
The Trafalgar Saints Surf Club stands as a inspiring example of how a community-based initiative can engender lasting change. By supporting this club, Cambridge Management Consulting pledges to help these children realise their potential and forge a brighter future for themselves and their families.
If you would like to support Surf for Lives, you can use this donation link: https://www.givengain.com/campaign/surfforlives
You can follow the Trafalgar Saints Surf Club on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/trafalgarsaintssurfteam/
A major aim in 2025 is to get these six boys their lifesaving qualification
Kwanele Sashi made it to quarter finals U14 SA Championships in 2024. This board will enable him to train and work towards participating again this year and who knows, maybe even win.
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What Problem do Too Many SaaS Providers Have in Common? Many SaaS security providers have a history of treating important safety and security features as something to upsell. This raises the important question of whether a software vendor has a moral responsibility for the secure operation of their solution. In this article, we explore the implications of treating important security and safety features as an upsell, using Boeing as a test case of where this can go wrong. The Case of Boeing and the Aviation Industry The case against Boeing is emblematic of a more systemic issue across the aviation industry, and many other industries. The public became aware of this issue under tragic circumstances when the Lion Air and Ethiopian Air Boeing 737 Max airliners crashed in 2018 and 2019 respectively. According to the widely quoted New York Times article , the crash could have been avoided if the pilots had access to two safety features that were sold by Boeing as optional extras. According to the incident reports, at the root of the incident were the angle-of-attack sensors. These mechanical sensors operate in a similar fashion to a weathervane to measure whether the aircraft’s nose is pointing above or below the direction of airflow. Being mechanical, they may be prone to malfunction, perhaps jamming after having been installed incorrectly — as was believed to be the case for the Lion Air aircraft . The system that led to the aircraft’s demise, which identifies the risk of the aircraft stalling, only listened to one of the sensors. A difference in the signal being sent by the two sensors was not recognised by the anti-stall system; and the instruments that would have alerted the pilots to the conflicting signals were upsell items. This wasn’t a fancy, nice-to-have bell or whistle that makes the flight more comfortable, efficient, or profitable. It is an underlying safety feature of the aircraft. If there was no safety requirement for the redundancy of two sensors, it is difficult to see why there would ever be more than one. Boeing has now addressed the issue, and the anti-stall system listens to both sensors, responding safely in the event of conflicting signals. It should also be noted that the investigation identified pilot error and deficiencies in the training that contributed to the disasters (and this will be relevant to our points regarding many SaaS product decisions as well). The SaaS Parallels Cloud-delivered Software as a Service (SaaS) has revolutionised the tech industry, and catalysed a phenomenal level of innovation and growth. It has enabled new software capabilities to be brought to market faster than ever before, and facilitated the ability to reach a scale with costs defrayed across multiple customers that would have been unimaginable 30 years ago. However, the benefits of being able to access a service from anywhere, at any time, by anyone also presents significant risks. The ‘anyone’ can be a malicious party operating outside of the reach of law enforcement or extradition. As a result, there are clear commercial responsibilities placed on SaaS providers to secure their infrastructure from attack, and those that do not are unlikely to last long in the marketplace. But just like the aviation industry, there are different flavours of security, and different perceptions of what is considered essential. Taking due care and applying due diligence to ensure that the platform itself is adequately secured from a direct attack is clearly the vendor’s responsibility – but what about those elements of security that relate to risk owned by their customers? One key element of customer risk relates to the security of a user’s password. It is their responsibility to make sure they choose a long and random string drawn from upper case, lower case, numerical, and special characters (if allowed). It is also their responsibility to ensure that they do not ever use the same password for multiple applications or services. But, we know that compromised credentials is a common failure mode. Just because it is the user’s responsibility to mitigate this risk, this doesn’t mean that system developers do not also have some mutual responsibility to make it easier for the user to exercise that responsibility; controls have been developed specifically for that purpose. The most obvious ones are Multi Factor Authentication (MFA, or 2FA), and Single Sign On (SSO). With MFA, we improve the security of the credentials by also verifying that the user is in possession of their trusted device before we trust them at sign in. With SSO, we minimise the number of credentials and accounts to manage by federating with a single corporate account; we can then concentrate our effort to secure that corporate account rather than spreading our resources thinly. Both are relatively easily implemented these days, particularly in the case of SSO where the OAuth protocols are widely offered by Identity Providers. Once implemented, both are essentially free to operate, particularly if MFA uses an Authenticator app rather than SMS text messages. SaaS providers recognise that this security is important, and they will frequently implement MFA and SSO controls into their applications to meet that customer demand. But, too frequently, we see them only offered as part of the more expensive subscription options. This element of security is not enhancing the vendor’s core proposition; it is not making their offering more functional, better looking, or more efficient for their users. It is just making it more secure, and therefore to treat it as an item to upsell comes across as price-gouging rather than the responsible application of good security practice. It is almost as though these vendors have run out of innovative bells and whistles that their clients would value in their core product, so they have had to resort to undermining the security of their cheaper options in order to encourage their customers to pay for their more expensive ones. It is equivalent to a bank only using the CSC code on a card to secure transactions for customers who pay for their premium banking services, because, after all, it is the customer’s responsibility to protect their card details. Conclusion What we have described here is not universal, and probably is not even representative of the majority of SaaS providers. But, when you are reviewing a new service, we urge you to take a closer look at what security your provider is charging extra for. If low cost, high value security controls are being upsold, then you may want to consider what other security good practices are not being considered essential. For more information about our cyber security consulting services and Secure by Design principles in action, please contact Tom Burton, Partner for Cyber Security, using the form below.
As the UK's ageing copper landline network becomes increasingly unstable, Cambridge Management Consulting reports that BT is urging Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) providers to expedite their transition from analogue to digital voice. With the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) nearing the end of its life, organisations face significant risks if they delay planning and execution for this essential upgrade. Recent data indicates that 60% of CNI providers in the UK still lack a strategic plan to migrate from the legacy analogue network. This statistic underscores an urgent need for action to safeguard essential public services, such as healthcare, water, energy, emergency services, and government operations. The transition is not merely a technological upgrade; it is a once-in-a-generation programme to future-proof communications and improve service reliability. The PSTN, our communications backbone for over a century, is becoming increasingly prone to faults and difficult to maintain, with recent reports showing a 45% increase in significant resilience incidents. The impact of this transition is wide-reaching, affecting critical systems such as telemetry monitoring sensors, emergency phone lines, telecare alarms in hospitals and care homes, CCTV, intruder and fire alarms and older EPOS machines. As the below graphic shows, a broad spectrum of devices and services will be affected by the analogue switch off, including ISDN, ASDL and Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) broadband services. The majority of organisations are almost certainly in the dark when it comes to common knowledge of all of the devices affected, lacking the internal expertise and records to identify and audit complex, interrelated legacy systems.
Well Intended Guidance Leaves more Questions than Answers The UK Government Digital Services – part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology – has recently published guidance for how the public sector should adopt a multi-region approach to cloud technology. At first sight this appears encouraging. Any unnecessary constraints on hosting arrangements (or any other non-functional requirements) reduce the available market of providers, constrain competition, and therefore inevitably reduce value for money. If parts of Government, whether central, regional or local, have felt that everything must be hosted in the UK then it makes sense to produce guidance that clarifies this perception and helps to open their options up. But for guidance to be useful it should guide. It should make it easier for people to take actions that they previously would have discounted. The guidance in this case, which at 1420 words is almost as short as this article, probably leaves the reader with more questions than answers. It may reveal some unknowns, but without increasing certainty. The Guidance in a Nutshell A summary of the guidance is as follows: Look wider than UK: Many cloud solutions may not offer UK hosting, particularly new innovative solutions that haven’t scaled up yet. Irrespective, their staff are likely to be distributed around the world if the service is supported 24/7. There may also be other benefits in looking wider than UK hosting, such as enabling better business continuity and disaster recovery options if the vendor only has one UK site. Get legal advice: Before you even consider a non-UK option you need to seek advice from your own legal advisors and your Data Protection Officer (DPO). Ensure compliance with ICO guidance: Before you even consider a non-UK option you need to check and make sure that any international transfer of personal data will be compliant with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance, and you should get further guidance from your own legal advice and DPO. Do a full review of vendor security: Before you even consider a non-UK option you need to make sure the vendor and solution are compliant with your own security policies. In a nutshell, it says: 'you should consider options outside of the UK but only if you have checked everything is legal and secure'. This seems to be verging on a statement of the obvious; the real difficulty in going offshore is covering all of the legal, regulatory and security compliance aspects. Adequacy is a Moment in Time On point 3, the guidance points out data protection compliance is easier if the country in question is considered by the ICO to be adequate – having equivalent regulations for data protection to the UK. Sound advice. But even this is not that simple. For instance, the USA is not considered adequate unless it is under an extension of the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. This framework is dependent on an Executive Order that the Biden administration put in place, and it is entirely possible that it will be revoked by the current administration. If such an action was taken, or if for any other reason the EU decides that adequacy is no longer met (also not unlikely given Herr Schrems has achieved this twice already and has stated he plans to challenge the DPF), then the vendor will no longer be considered compliant. Consideration is Far Wider than Residency Security is far wider than data residency though. This is where point 4 both states the obvious and understates the complexity. Managing risk in the supply chain is inherently difficult. Cloud providers, and particularly SaaS solutions, aggravate this challenge by an order of magnitude. By their nature they are solutions designed for a broad and varied range of customers. This means they will always involve compromise. If they tried to meet the most demanding requirements, they would price themselves out of the scale marketplace. If they went for the lowest common denominator, they would be unable to meet the requirements of the majority. An individual customer can rarely dictate a specific security requirement for themselves. They are also highly opaque. The vendor presents their service as a black box. The features delivered to the customer are defined, but much of the underlying design and the means the vendor uses to manage it in operation are hidden. This makes assessing the risk far more of a judgement call than when the design and delivery is conducted under your control. Depending on the supplier, and the leverage that the customer has over them, it may be possible to get some information and assurances; but the right questions need to be asked, and the answers need to be interpreted correctly. Third party certifications and audits, such as the ISO27000 series of standards or the SOC1, SOC2 and SOC3 reports, can also provide some additional assurances. But only the customer will be able to decide the extent to which they can mitigate the risk, and the confidence they have in the supplier to manage their own. This is a business decision informed by the specifics and nuances of the risks being considered. Summary It is important to minimise the non-functional requirements and keep an open mind about potential solutions and vendors. This includes looking wider than just the UK when national security requirements are not paramount. But this is not something that can be distilled onto a single sheet of A4 in any meaningful way. Yes, there are legal and regulatory issues that need to be reviewed. And geopolitical risk needs to be factored in, considering how you would respond to future external changes that are outside of the UK’s control. But from experience, the greatest challenge is getting comfortable that the vendor’s organisation and their solution have adequate security – this applies equally whether the solution is hosted in the UK or overseas. The SaaS world is opaque, and balances priorities across a broad and varied customer base. The public sector needs to increase its adoption of cloud and SaaS solutions to remain efficient and relevant, in the same way that the private sector has had to. But the route to responsible adoption is more nuanced, requiring candid conversations with suppliers, and ultimately an informed but subjective judgement by the customer’s leadership. Sources/Links: DSIT Guidance for Multi-region cloud and software-as-a-service ↩︎ ICO Guide to International Transfers ↩︎ Executive Order (E.O.)14086 of October 7, 2022, on Enhancing Safeguards for United States Signals Intelligence Activities ↩︎ Note: This article originally appeared on Tom Burton's personal blog at https://digility.net/insights/
The Digital Communities All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) shared the ‘Care to connect: Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) Migration’ report with key parliamentarians on Monday at a launch meeting on Parliament Street. This report highlights key recommendations for managing the ongoing Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) migration, focusing on protecting vulnerable residents and ensuring effective solutions. Here are the major takeaways for local government and communication providers: Data-Sharing Agreements (DSAs) DSAs between communication providers (CPs), local authorities, and telecare providers are crucial for identifying vulnerable residents during the migration. Challenges include inconsistent responses from local authorities and fragmented approaches across CPs. The APPG recommends all local authorities and housing associations sign DSAs, regardless of progress in digital switchover, to promote uniformity and resident safety. Telecare Devices The sale of analogue telecare devices must end, as these can leave residents unsupported during the transition. The government, in collaboration with the TEC Services Association (TSA), should enforce higher standards (TEC Quality’s Quality Standards Framework) across the telecare industry to achieve robust digital migration practices. Financial support for local councils is critical to replace outdated telecare devices and prevent double costs. Battery Backup Solutions Existing guidance from Ofcom, requiring one-hour resilience for power cuts, is insufficient. The APPG recommends increasing power backup requirements to at least 4 hours in homes and 6 hours for fixed networks. Communication and energy providers must jointly create resilient power solutions, particularly for vulnerable residents reliant on telecare devices. A multi-sector priority service register should integrate communications and energy service protection for those at risk. Sunset of 2G and 3G Networks UK mobile network operators plan to stop supporting 2G and 3G networks by 2033, with some networks already switched off. There are cases where local authorities and residents have purchased telecare devices using 2G/3G SIM cards, as a lower-cost, interim solution — these devices will need to be replaced again, posing double replacement costs for local authorities and additional risks to residents. The government should stop the sale of analogue devices and accelerate efforts to prevent the redeployment of outdated telecare alarms. Summary We welcome these recommendations alongside the December 2023 PSTN Charter, the Telecare National Action Plan and the PSTN Non-voluntary Migration Checklist. The conclusions make it clear that coordination between local and central government, industry regulators (such as Ofcom and Ofgem), and communication providers (CPs), as well as significant investment in digital teams at a local level, are essential goals to ensure a safe and inclusive digital switchover for all vulnerable residents and telecare users. Read the full report here: https://digitalcommunities.inparliament.uk/care-to-connect-public-switch-telephone-network-migration-report About the APPG The Digital Communities APPG is a cross-party group of parliamentarians, with the aim to promote the delivery of digitally equipped places that support and foster a connected, healthy, and productive community. This includes the creation and maintenance of sustainable digital infrastructure, as well as providing residents with equal opportunity to thrive in a digital world. The LGA provides the secretariat to the APPG. Cambridge Management Consulting Our Public Sector and PSTN teams can help local councils and other public bodies by providing strategy, financial planning, procurement, and project management services to ensure that you have a comprehensive transition strategy and accurate financial costing for the PSTN switch-off. We can help you follow the recommendations in this report by completing a full audit, signing DSAs with CPs and most importantly, protecting vulnerable service users. Get in touch with Craig Cheney, Managing Partner and lead for Public & Education, to discuss a range of services which might suit your needs: ccheney@cambridgemc.com (or use the form below). Act now, before time and resources run out.
What Do Your Scope 3 Emissions Have to Do with Inflation? Scope 3 emissions cover everything outside your direct operations —the carbon footprint of your supply chain, purchased goods, logistics, business travel, and more. The higher your Scope 3 emissions, the more energy-intensive your supply chain is. And the more energy-intensive your supply chain, the more vulnerable you are to rising costs. Think of it this way: High Production Costs- If your suppliers are heavily dependent on fossil fuels, their production costs are rising fast Price Volatility- If your supply chain lacks efficiency and resilience, price volatility will hit you harder Locking in High Costs- If you’re not actively engaging with suppliers to reduce emissions, you’re locking in long-term cost increases that could have been avoided Without accurate Scope 3 data and a clear engagement strategy , businesses are leaving themselves open to higher prices, lower margins, and greater financial risk . Why Businesses Struggle with Scope 3 A major challenge is that Procurement and Sustainability teams often operate in silos: Procurement teams focus on cost and supplier relationships but often lack deep sustainability expertise Sustainability teams focus on compliance and decarbonisation but aren’t typically measured on financial performance This disconnect means emissions reduction is rarely treated as a financial opportunity —when in reality, cutting carbon from your supply chain is also one of the most effective ways to reduce exposure to cost inflation. The Businesses That Get This Right Will Lower their Costs Leading organisations are already taking action. They are: Gathering detailed Scope 3 emissions data to map out cost risks in their supply chain Engaging suppliers to drive efficiency, reduce emissions, and lower costs Building resilience by shifting towards lower-carbon, more cost-stable alternatives The result? Lower long-term costs, reduced financial risk, and a competitive edge over those stuck with inefficient supply chains. This is not just about sustainability compliance —it’s about smart financial decision-making. If You’re Not Taking Action, You’re Losing Money Every business will feel the impact of rising supply chain costs—but not every business will be prepared for them. If you don’t have accurate Scope 3 emissions data and an effective engagement strategy, you are: Paying more than you need to for essential goods and services Exposing your business to long-term cost inflation Missing out on opportunities to build a stronger, more resilient supply chain The sooner you act, the better the outcome for your bottom line and the planet. Is your business ready to take control of its costs? Get in touch with Cambridge Management Consulting and edenseven today. About edenseven edenseven is the sustainability-focussed sister-company of Cambridge Management Consulting. We work with businesses across all sectors in multiple regions to deliver robust and deliverable net-zero strategies. The success of any strategy relies on its awareness of how changes in policy and subsidies can create both risks and opportunities for a business. If you are a business trying to enter a new market or evolving in an existing market and would like to learn more about how edenseven can support you, please get in touch with the team at edenseven at info@edenseven.co.uk or use the contact form below. Find out more about edenseven on their website: edenseven.co.uk
Peter Drucker wrote in his book The Practice of Management (1954) that ‘it is the customer who determines what a business is’. This sentiment still firmly holds true today, as consumers increasingly expect personalised shopping experiences from aspirational businesses that desire to have a positive impact on the community, country, or world in some way. Across this series of articles, Daniel Fitzsimmons explores the role of customer-centricity as a mechanism to support the delivery of superior customer experience and business profitability. In the first two articles in this Customer Centricity series, Daniel has established the foundations of what makes a truly customer-centric organisation, and how a business can be tailored towards ensured customer satisfaction. In the final article in the series, he takes this further to discuss how technological innovation can amplify these goals. Digital Transformation – Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) Technology is typically the most common interaction point for customers engaging with products, and is especially critical to the service industry. The banking industry has pioneered the digitalisation of services (Dube and Helkkula, 2015), with digital payment services and blockchain solutions. In a fiercely competitive environment, the creation of superior value requires increased insight into how customers experience value (Medberg and Heinonen, 2014). Value can be typically defined as the ‘consumers’ overall assessment of the utility of a product based on perceptions of what is received and what is given’ (Zeithma, 1988). This concept can be extended to a value definition in the following forms: Total Monetary Value – The amount a customer is prepared to pay for a product Perceived Use Value – Defined by a customer’s perception (utility) Exchange Value – Realised when the product is sold Value can be enhanced through digital capabilities, marking technology solutions, and digital marketing strategies to support user acceptance. Securing User Acceptance One compelling approach to understanding how users may engage with a new technology is the TAM model. The TAM model suggests that Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of USE (PEOU), define how a user will interact with a new product or service, i.e. if the product usefulness and ease of use can be communication, barriers to adoption can be mitigated. When developing new customer solutions, mobilisation of the TAM model is the engagement of consumers in product development, and inclusion of then construct of ‘user intent’ to inform product ideation. Venkatesh et al. formulated the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). This model was found to outperform other models (Adjusted R square of 69 percent), and is worthy of further investigation in terms of its ability to predict user acceptance of new technology solutions. Experimentation Technology should function as an enabling mechanism to support experimentation in the creation of products and services, and increased alignment with prospective customers. Experimentation, which from an engineering perspective represents ‘continuous improvement’, allows businesses to see what does and doesn’t resonate with target personas, iterating towards a value proposition that will drive superior customer engagement and subsequently an increased % of the customer wallet. Booking.com runs more than 1,000 tests simultaneously to fine tune its offering specific to a user profile, behaviours, and characteristics. Experimentation and the subsequent data generated provides a meaningful base from which to make decisions, thereby negating ‘strong opinions or the HiPPO mentality, which is often pervasive in organisations. For experimentation to be successful, leadership needs to create a culture of curiosity in the business, supported by organisational design and the psychological safety to try and fail. Digital continuity provides an exciting opportunity to enhance the customer voice in product development. Real time data availability provides instant insight into consumer preference, which can be used to support product development and increasingly personalised product offers. Through the experimentation cycle, digital prototypes can be rolled out quickly to support the product innovation cycle. For experimentation to be successful, customer requirements should be integrated into business operations to create an industry-aligned value proposition (Ohmae, 1988). Conclusion Throughout this three-part series, I have demonstrated the importance of customer-centricity as a critical way to ensure success. In this article specifically, I have covered how to leverage technology – a power that is already prevalent and constantly evolving – to best support this venture. Building upon the TAM model, technology can be used to facilitate enhanced customer satisfaction, consequently spurring innovation and growth.
At Cambridge Management Consulting, we pride ourselves on building a consultancy practice that goes beyond traditional consulting. Our team is composed of specialist practitioners who have reached the pinnacle of their industries, bringing years—often decades—of hands-on experience to guide others in achieving exceptional results. This approach has established Cambridge MC as a consultancy powered by a network of diverse, proven expertise, consistently recognised for its impact and innovation. Our consultants and their work have been honoured with numerous accolades, reflecting the value we bring to our clients and industries. For example, Zoë Webster, an expert in AI, Digital & Innovation, was named one of AI Magazine’s Top 10 AI Leaders in the UK & Europe, celebrated as a pioneer reshaping industries and societies. Similarly, Craig Cheney, Managing Partner, Marvin Rees, Board Advisor, and David White, Associate, were recognised with a World Economic Forum Award for Public Private Collaboration for their contributions to the Bristol City Leap project. Craig Cheney was made an Alderman of the City of Bristol, acknowledging his eminent services to the city; and just recently, Marvin Rees OBE was introduced into the House of Lords. These achievements were further complemented by our success at the Consultancy Awards, where Cambridge MC proudly received awards in every category we were nominated for. The Consultancy Awards The Consultancy Awards, hosted annually by The Consultancy Growth Network, celebrate hard work, commitment, and innovation across the consultancy sector. Cambridge MC was honoured to receive three awards in recent years, recognising our contributions across key areas: Digital Transformation: For our project management of a multinational oil and gas company, coordinating the development of a portfolio of high-priority EV charging hub sites in major cities. Productivity Improvement / Cost Reduction: For delivering £10m in savings for a large UK online retailer in just 13 weeks, leveraging our expertise in procurement, contract, and vendor management. Fastest Growing: Celebrating our 30% growth in revenue, 100% increase in geographies, and doubling the profit we donate to charity to 12%. These awards are a testament to our commitment to delivering exceptional results for our clients while contributing to the industries we serve. Celebrating Industry Excellence While receiving accolades is always an honour, the opportunity to give back to the industries that shaped us is equally rewarding. Cambridge MC has been privileged to sponsor and judge several prestigious awards, recognising the talent and innovation that drive progress across telecommunications, technology, and connectivity. ITP Telecoms Awards As Platinum Sponsors of the ITP Telecoms Awards, hosted by the Institute of Telecommunications Professionals, we celebrated the achievements of individuals and organisations making significant contributions to the digital industry. Tim Passingham, Founder & Chairman of Cambridge MC, presented the Engineer of the Year award to Mike Mawson, Head of Fibre Innovation at Hyperoptic, recognising his exceptional work in advancing telecommunications. Global Connectivity Awards The Global Connectivity Awards, held at the O2 in London, marked its 20th year of honouring innovation across 40 categories, from technology breakthroughs to regional achievements. Cambridge MC’s Managing Partner, Charles Orsel des Sagets, joined the panel of 30 impartial judges, bringing over 30 years of expertise in fintech, cybersecurity, and connectivity to evaluate the finalists. This event highlighted the ingenuity shaping the connectivity industry and provided a platform to celebrate its brightest minds. World Communication Awards The World Communication Awards, now in its 25th year, continues to recognise excellence across telecommunications. Naaz Bax, Senior Partner and Chief of Staff at Cambridge MC, served as a judge and presented the prestigious Woman in Telecoms Award. This category celebrated the achievements of brilliant women in the industry, with the award going to Josephine Sarouk, Managing Director of Bayobab Group, for her invaluable contributions to telecommunications. DCD>Global Awards The DCD>Global Awards, held at Grosvenor House in London, celebrated talent and achievement in the data centre and telecommunications industries. Duncan Clubb, Senior Partner for Data Centres, Edge & Cloud, brought his expertise to the judging panel, evaluating finalists in categories such as the Edge Data Center Project of the Year. This event showcased the transformative impact of innovation in data centre infrastructure and edge computing. A Legacy of Ingenuity The awards, events, and individuals highlighted here reflect the wealth of expertise, innovation, and achievement that define the consulting, telecommunications, and technology industries. At Cambridge MC, we are privileged to contribute to these industries, whether by delivering impactful projects, receiving accolades, or celebrating the achievements of others. As we look ahead, we remain committed to supporting and shaping the industries we serve, continuing to drive progress and innovation in the years to come.
In my discussions with building owners and occupiers about property technology, the conversation often centres on leveraging new technologies and existing data to enhance compliance, reduce costs and carbon emissions, and improve workplace experience. Many people in the property sector share a common concern around the quality of data currently held on their buildings. This gap in record-keeping could pose significant challenges as the UK's Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is retired in early 2027. PSTN is the analogue telephone network that carries voice and data over copper wires. This legacy infrastructure is becoming increasingly costly and difficult to maintain, and it is unable to handle the data demands of modern telecommunications. As a result, BT and other UK phone companies intend to withdraw PSTN services by the end of January 2027. Although records may not show it, many buildings rely on PSTN lines for critical services such as lift emergency calls, fire alarms, security systems, door entry monitoring and building management systems. Once PSTN is decommissioned, these services will cease to function without warning, potentially leading to safety compliance and security risks. To mitigate these risks, building owners should proactively assess their exposure before PSTN services are discontinued. Identifying and replacing existing PSTN connections with future-proofed, and potentially more cost-effective, digital solutions is essential for business continuity. Building occupiers should also seek assurances from their landlords regarding these transitions. At the Connected Britain Conference last year, the Minister of State for Data Protection and Telecoms, Sir Chris Bryant MP, highlighted the vital importance of digital infrastructure and cited the PSTN switch-off as a significant concern. BT recommends that its business customers act before the end of 2025. The transition to digital alternatives including testing and commissioning could take 6-9 months. A critical first step is to carry out an audit to identify systems that rely on PSTN. This audit should identify all devices connected to the PSTN, their locations, their functions, and upgrade options. I have been urging property owners and operators to develop and implement a programme of discovery and rectification as a priority. Without early and rigorous planning, the risks to safety, business continuity, and occupier experience are high. Also, as the switch-off date approaches, the costs of this work are very likely to increase significantly. Cambridge Management Consulting has a team of PSTN experts, who can identify existing PSTN-based systems, procure replacement solutions and migrate your services, as well as identifying and implementing cost reduction strategies that become possible through the transition to digital solutions. We can also ensure your organisation avoids the risks to compliance, security and occupier experience when PSTN services are withdrawn as well as reaping the long-term benefits of going digital.
At Cambridge Management Consulting, we place just as much emphasis on the growth and development of our in-house industry experts and professionals, as the businesses and organisations that they work with. We do not hire consultants; we hire genuine practitioners with hands-on, demonstrable real-world experience – but we also make sure that doesn’t stop at the door. We ensure that our consultants get as much out of our partnerships and business ventures as our customers do. One of our consultants who has experienced this growth and progression first hand is Darren Sheppard, recently made a Senior Partner for Contract Management & Digital Transformation. In this article, we are shining a spotlight on Darren’s numerous career highlights with Cambridge Management Consulting, including the delivery of multiple successful projects and award-winning cost saving programmes. Darren Sheppard With nearly 30 years of experience, Darren began his career as a collections agent, underwriter, and later a Credit Risk and Collections Manager for 20th Century Fox. Since then, Darren has occupied numerous senior consulting and senior management roles across Finance, Operations, Sales/Business Development and Commercial/Contract Management for major telecommunications companies such as T-Mobile, EE and BT. After establishing his own consultancy business, he was engaged by Sovereign Business Integration Group as Group Director of Operations. Darren joined Cambridge MC in 2021 as a Partner to lead our Digital Contract & Service Management practice. Since then, he has delivered multiple complex and successful programmes for numerous high-profile clients and customers. Throughout his career, his positions have seen him responsible for setting and delivering the strategy of each organisation, be it driving partner growth, managing stakeholder relationships, coordinating go-to-market, operations, and commercial management. Contract Management, FTSE250 Financial Services Provider In 2021, Darren began a programme with a FTSE250 financial services provider specialising in trading solutions to support the transition of two of their financial derivatives trading platform businesses. Throughout this, Darren was responsible for reviewing the TSA document and all associated Vendor Contracts, negotiating with the vendors on a continuation and/or transfer of agreement post-closure and throughout the term of the TSA. Due to his proficiency, Darren and the team were able to deliver this TSA programme six months early and significantly under budget. You can read more about this project here . Following the success of Darren’s work, this financial services provider continued to engage Cambridge MC to support their Strategic Partnerships & Commercial Management. In reviewing their current processes and modernising as appropriate, together with assessing strategic supplier contracts to align their KPIs with business goals, Darren helped to establish a set of processes to help his client reach their business goals. Deputy COO, Management Consultancy Between the summers of 2022 and 2023, Darren occupied the role of Deputy Chief Operating Officer for a management consultancy, overseeing strategic planning, project management, and operational efficiency initiatives. During this time, Darren designed and implemented a lifecycle workflow for managing engagements, ensured effective contracting, and successfully delivered the implementation of ISO 27001 standards. COO, Environmental Air Quality Monitoring Alongside the above interim role, Darren was engaged to occupy the role of COO for IKNAIA, an environmental air quality monitoring organisation, of which the CEO was originally forced to occupy both C-Suite positions. In this role, Darren managed day-to-day operations, elevated the leadership team, and oversaw all operational aspects of company strategy. Throughout this time, Darren has helped them to overcome limited capital, streamline operational efficiency, and re-prioritise their pipeline. Finally, he supported the successful divestment of the company, carefully balancing the interests of stakeholders, he ensured that the deal structure was both fair and beneficial, delivering long-term value to the acquiring organisation while safeguarding the interests of the employees, investors, and clients. Ultimately, his efforts achieved a transaction that positioned the company for continued success under new ownership. You can read more about this work here . Cost Reduction, Online Retailer In early 2023, Darren supported a large UK online retailer through a downsizing exercise and the changes in demand and expenditure which came with it. By performing a deep dive on all vendor contracts, establishing priority saving areas and engaging in supplier negotiations, Darren and the team were able to deliver £10m of savings on an addressable budget of £85m, in just thirteen weeks. This programme was later nominated for and won an award at the Consultancy Awards 2024 in their Productivity Improvement/Cost Reduction category. Due Diligence, Wholesale Networks Provider Darren’s next programme involved conducting commercial due diligence for a wholesale networks provider, working with their investors to review the feasibility of investing in a company specialising in telecoms software. This saw him evaluate their business model, examine the software’s features to identify any intellectual property and patents, and assess the business’ risk register to ensure that it was future-proofed. Darren’s due diligence work and focus led to the successful acquisition of the company. Vendor Performance Management, Russell-Group University For a prestigious academic institution, Darren conducted Vendor Performance Management and Service Performance Management, assessing their current performance delivery in order to identify areas where improvement was needed. During this time, Darren was responsible for all of the Vendor Performance for their three Modern Network Vendors, analysing data to identify areas for improvement, developing a communication plan, and presenting a negotiation strategy to the university. Get in Touch Across all of these projects and programmes, Darren has leveraged his commercial, contract management and vendor negotiation capabilities to streamline and strengthen each organisation he has supported. For more information on how Darren can optimise your business, contact him using the form below.
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