July 2023 Roundup: Exploring digital within two of Eastbourne’s businesses
By Sarah Cronk
Just 57 days to go until the biggest digital event for Eastbourne....ever!
We're kicking off this newsletter by showcasing two great businesses in the town, one in the digital sector and one not, to highlight some of the ways tech is so integral to Eastbourne.
As it's the summer holidays, we've featured a few "what's on" events in our social section this month. But if you're looking for a free activity to try with the family, have a go at our What3Words walking tour puzzle for some sightseeing around Eastbourne! The Eastbourne Rangers had a go to test their "map-reading with a difference" last month and raised £30 for St Wilfrid's Hospice in the process.
A Spotlight On: CloudConnX
We caught up with Lucy Bassett at CloudConnX, Eastbourne's longest-standing business broadband provider and main stage sponsors at Eastbourne DigiFest, to find out more about the company.
Tell us a bit about your company!
"Since our launch in 2011, we have helped many businesses in the town to overcome the challenges of slow connectivity offered by other providers. To achieve this, we have invested in our own network in Eastbourne and continue to enhance our offerings to help our customers maintain the competitive advantages they need. As well as broadband and connectivity, CloudConnX offer a range of cloud and hosting options for businesses as well as telephony and managed services.
"We're not just Eastbourne based. Our network and services serve customers across the UK and internationally. Our public WiFi offerings cover East Sussex, delivering free Internet access to over 1.5 million registered visitors and citizens alike. As well as commercial clients, IT companies and multinational network carriers we partner with we are proud to support a broad range of customers in local and central government, third sector, healthcare and emergency services."
What would you say sets you apart from other local competitors?
"CloudConnX is not your typical Internet service provider that simply resells connectivity solutions. Our ownership of our services allows us to provide tailored solutions, dedicated support, scalability, and competitive pricing, setting us apart from our competitors. We are experts in our field- our team have decades of experience working in the communications and computing industry.
"CloudConnX is solely a business services provider, meaning each of our services is developed specifically for the needs of fellow businesses rather than residential customers. We understand the importance of reliability and uptime in a business setting. Our customers can rely on prompt assistance and expert advice whenever they need it, ensuring a seamless experience and minimised downtime.
"We love to see fellow businesses thrive! This genuine care and exclusive focus on business services is what sets us apart from other providers."
Tell us what you love about Eastbourne and the surrounding area.
"Aside from Eastbourne’s beautiful coastline and countryside, we love the diversity in people, culture and skillsets that we believe will help Eastbourne to continue to thrive in the digital space."
And lastly, why have you chosen to support Eastbourne DigiFest?
"It is refreshing to see that DigiFest is taking place this year and bringing together local digital and technology businesses. As a high-tech business ourselves, we celebrate the prospect of engaging in positive dialogue and sharing knowledge with like-minded people, playing to each other’s strengths. We are looking forward to celebrating the digital skills and creativity within the town."
A Chat With: Paula Kemp and the team at the Birchwood Group
Rather than purely focusing inwardly on people working in companies within the digital sector, we're widening our outlook to shed some light on those working within digital in other industries in Eastbourne.
The Birchwood Group, who have Ford, Kia, and Skoda franchises at their Lottbridge Drove site in Eastbourne, are one of the sponsors of Eastbourne DigiFest:
"We really enjoy supporting local initiatives; it's a big part of our brand. I think it's fantastic you're working to make digital more accessible in Eastbourne. Creating new opportunities and showcasing the ones that people might not know about will help to retain local talent with digital skills. We'll definitely be needing people with those skills at Birchwood in the coming years."
We caught up with Paula Kemp and her team from Birchwood to learn more about their company and the application of technology within it.
Birchwood are currently advertising for a Marketing Executive. If you fancy joining the team, find out more here.
More top tech experts signed up to speak at Eastbourne DigiFest!
We're thrilled to announce two high-profile tech experts who'll be joining Eastbourne's wonderful lineup at DigiFest on 22nd September.
Amali de Alwis MBE - NED and Tech Startup Consultant
Amali will be featured in a fireside chat on building tech into early-stage businesses, in conversation with Josh Babarinde OBE.
Amali is a serial entrepreneur, and tech startup business leader. She is currently a portfolio NED and tech startup business consultant; and was most recently CEO at Subak, the world's first not-for-profit accelerator and data community that scales climate impact through data, policy and public behaviour. Prior to this she was UK Managing Director of Microsoft for Startups, and CEO of multi award-winning social enterprise Code First: Girls.
Outside of the day job, Amali is a Board member at the Raspberry Pi Foundation, the abrdn Charitable Foundation, and Ada National College for Digital Skills. She was a founding member at Tech Talent Charter, was named as 'The most Influential woman in UK IT' by Computer Weekly and was awarded an MBE in 2019 in the New Year's Honours list for Services to Diversity and Training in the Tech Industry.
Philip Fumey - Technology Strategist for the Professional Services Industry at Microsoft
Philip will be speaking on "Building Future Services - Digital Readiness from Cyber Security to AI".
Philip is a CTO and consulting lead for UK High Tech companies. With a track record of helping customers to accelerate digital transformation and modernisation programmes, he is passionate about how inclusive tech can transform businesses to offer sustainable and profitable services within their communities, and unlock growth opportunities.
More speakers still to be announced...
Getting social…
We share a few highlights from what's caught our eye about Eastbourne and digital recently...
From @eastbournealive on Twitter:
EBFringe takes place between 27th and 30th July at the Grove Theatre Eastbourne.
You can book your tickets here.
From @VisitEastbourne on Twitter:
Eastbourne Pride returns on 29th July! Kickstarting the day with a colourful parade leaving the pier at 11am, the party continues from 12pm at Princes Park with live music, drag acts and so much more!
From @HailshamTC on Twitter:
There is now a new bus service linking Hailsham, Hellingly, Laughton, Golden Cross Lower Dicker and Willingdon to Lewes, Brighton and Eastbourne. Concessionary bus passes are accepted and all single fares are £2 or less until the end of October.
From @victoriaplaceeastbourne on Instagram:
Another summer - another POP UP PARK! 6 weeks full of entertainment and alfresco dining in the sun for you, a great place to shop, relax and have fun! Run by local independent businesses with the help of Eastbourne BID and Visit Eastbourne... shop, eat, drink, and dance!
From @prgpublicity on Instagram:
Check out PRG's latest blog post featuring their amazing collaboration with "Tall Guy Coffee Co". Together, they've brought a burst of flavour and flair to Eastbourne! Read all about how they helped Tall Guy Coffee Co carve out its niche in the competitive coffee industry, through a vibrant rebranding launch!
From @Ditzymedia on Twitter:
Ditzy Media is celebrating 9 years of being in business! It's been a very enriching and rewarding 9 years.
From @WalkChalkSussex on Twitter:
It's getting closer! Two months to go until the celebration of the opening of the King Charles III England Coast Path. Walk The Chalk from 20 - 24 September.
One last thing...
This summer, why not try the 12A bus route from Eastbourne to Brighton? New research has named the route in the top five most eye-catching coastal bus journeys in the UK.
To gather data, Parkdean Resorts used eye-tracking technology on 150 participants and this popular route achieved a gaze count of 1034 and a fixation count of 95.
What's more, the route falls under the government's £2 price cap until October, so take a ride out during the holidays!
