A Chat With: Donna Fielder and Sarah Cronk at Switchplane
Over the next couple of months, we’re focusing on sharing stories from our Eastbourne DigiFest sponsors - those who the event simply couldn’t happen without. First up, we spoke to Donna and Sarah at Switchplane, the custom software company behind Chalk Eastbourne and Eastbourne DigiFest, to find out a bit more.
Chalk: Tell us about your business - size, services, target audience?
Donna: “We’re a custom software development firm based in Eastbourne. Our goal is to create meaningful change for everyday people through software. Whether that’s freeing up time, selling more effectively, improving customer service, improving employee experiences, or even saving lives!
“There are 14 of us on the team and, since COVID, we’re hybrid workers with a small office based at FOUNDRY in Eastbourne town centre. Most of us are local to Eastbourne, but we work with companies across the south east and the whole of the UK - something that’s much easier since the pandemic thanks to the more generalised acceptance of video calls.”
Sarah: “We frequently work with company directors who want to delegate their work to a software system or application to get their time back and stay ahead of their competitors, and also with outsourcers, who are often tech or project leads within an organisation that’s highly regulated or has a complicated supply chain. Both tend to find they’re fast-growing - and that often takes off even further once they introduce custom software!
“Typically our clients are in sectors like construction, manufacturing, insurance, or ecommerce - but really the industry doesn’t matter much as we commonly see the same problems and challenges being faced across the board.”
What would you say sets you apart from other local competitors?
Donna: “We are all about custom-built software. Nothing we deliver is off-the-shelf. That means we aren’t the right solution for everyone. But when we find the right client, we are with them for the long haul, working from problem to problem. It’s never a case of ‘we’re done’, but instead it’s ‘what’s next’? That’s why we love what we do. We become an extension of our clients’ businesses and that can take us in loads of exciting directions.”
Sarah: “Yes, we’re always about finding the next problem to solve and helping businesses to improve existing processes and procedures. But when looking for the next problem, the next priority, we always have an eye on what’ll bring about the best return on investment for our clients. Often one little process can cause the biggest pain to customers or employees and fixing that can generate as much benefit as looking at a huge new feature. It’s about judging what’s right and prioritising correctly - something we can help with as we partner with and get to know our clients over a long period.”
What are you most excited about for the future?
Sarah: “From a software and tech perspective, I think the whole team is excited about the advancements in AI over the past few months and the public availability of this. We’re experimenting with it across the company and seeing where we can use it to make our processes more efficient, as well as looking at the commercial implementation of AI for our clients too. There’s so much potential, we’re only now at the tip of the iceberg.”
Donna: “There is great stuff happening on our business operations side too. Having just rebranded, and renewed our approach to marketing and sales, we are very excited to see how it’s all received. This is our 20th anniversary year and, having made strides in raising awareness of our brand, there are a lot of great activities and events in the pipeline.
What led to you organising Eastbourne Digifest?
Donna: “So we started a community called Chalk Eastbourne back in 2019 - which is a network for those working in digital locally. We did so in order to be able to address and tackle some of the key challenges we personally were facing, and that we knew others were experiencing too.
“Essentially our growth was being hindered by a lack of good talent. It’s an industry-wide problem we know, but this is also compounded by Eastbourne not exactly having a thriving reputation as somewhere people can have an exciting digital career.
“It made sense to hold an event that could start to dispel some of the myths about what it’s like to live and work here. We want to show people there are other more affordable options than London and Brighton, for example. We need to shout loud as an industry collective and get the town the attention it deserves.
“So we have set to work with some great support from other Chalk members and the Eastbourne Chamber.”
What are you hoping it will achieve for the town’s digital industry?
Sarah: “Since launching Chalk Eastbourne with the aims of changing the perception of Eastbourne, supporting local talent, and helping with recruitment, some of our colleagues over at Wired Sussex, Locate East Sussex, and Sussex Chamber have carried out research on the digital sector and confirmed our initial thoughts on these being key issues. So we know these challenges really are reflected across multiple companies.
“With the effects of the pandemic on the hospitality and tourism industries, we really see digital as being a third sector in the town to support economic growth. 3000 people already work “in digital” locally, although we know digital is part of almost everyone’s daily working lives.
“By boosting the profile of the digital sector in Eastbourne through initiatives such as Chalk Eastbourne and DigiFest, we believe that we can reach 10,000 digital jobs locally, providing career opportunities for local talented young people, those relocating, and those retraining. Eastbourne has such a great work-life balance and we want people to see that for themselves.”
Why do you choose to live and work in Eastbourne?
Donna: “I moved here having lived in Brighton for several years previously. I was ready for a change of lifestyle and pace and, as I later discovered, Eastbourne is a perfect place to raise a family. There are some very good school options and lots of attractions and facilities to keep the children entertained too. The Sovereign Centre hasn’t changed since I was a kid, but, you know, it has a wave machine so it’s not all bad! Gildredge Park, Knockhatch and the Miniature Railway are also firm favourites.
“Am I glad I moved here? Yes, indeed. Will I ever leave? Probably not, and even if we did it would only be to a more rural property on the outskirts of the town - we are spoilt with countryside!”
Sarah: “I grew up in Eastbourne after my family moved down from London when I was two. I guess to some extent, I’ve always been shaped to see Eastbourne in a positive light by my family, who had spent all their lives in a busy city. I did leave for 12 years for uni and work, but I missed the easy access to the sea and the countryside - and the affordability! So I came back.
“Right now, Eastbourne has everything I need. Friends love coming down from London to visit for the weekend - to see the sea, to eat out, to go for a nice drink at the harbour. I can meet up with friends with families and see how much their young kids love spending time outdoors in our parks, Treasure Island, or Knockhatch. I can get everywhere in 15 minutes. It’s about the simple pleasures, regaining space, and a feeling of freedom. Plus I have a job I enjoy - as well as events like Eastbourne DigiFest to organise! - so I feel really lucky to be here.”
You can find out more about Switchplane on their website, www.switchplane.com, and pick up your tickets for Eastbourne DigiFest at eastbournedigifest.com.
