Public sector organisations can now be supported by the Scottish Government with their digital transformation
Scottish Procurement aims to help Public Sector organisations deliver improved collaborative procurement which will drive cost savings and value for money for these organisations.
As such Scottish Procurement has established a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for Telephony and Communication Services. The DPS commenced on 27 April 2022 and is due to expire on 28 March 2025 with an option to extend for an additional 12 months.
Who can access the DPS:
Central government
Health
Local authorities
Universities and colleges
Third Sector (voluntary organisations and charities registered in Scotland)
Other public bodies
What can you procure via the DPS:
Within the scope of the DPS organisation can procure a number of Telephony services, which are broken out into two lots:
Lot 1 – telephony and communication services
Lot 2 – enterprise bundled services (includes all services available through Lot 1 and mobile voice and data services) *
*more than one telephony service will need to be purchased to qualify as a bundled services.
Working with the DPS
DB Comms are an accredited supplier to the Scottish Government as such we can provide the services listed on Lot 1 and Lot 2 of the is Telephony and
Communications DPS. By purchasing through the DPS you organisation can benefit in a number of ways:
Access to a full range of services
Supporting your digital transformation and the move towards the PSTN Switch Off in 2025
A fully electronic procurement process to reduce your buying costs
A range of pre vetted suppliers to give you peace of mind
How can a pet help my mental health?
As the pandemic hit, many people across Scotland and the UK began working from home and we got the opportunity to meet our colleague's human family members and their pets as well. With every guest appearance at virtual meetings, everyone in attendance couldn’t help but smile.
According to an article in the Guardian, more than 3.2 million households in the UK acquired a pet since the start of lockdown and many have reported an improvement in their mental health as a result. Whether it be to provide companionship or to help get fit, we all know our furry (and sometimes not-so furry) creatures can always cheer us up.
While our pets never fail to make us smile, many people aren’t aware of why they make us smile and the ways pets can support our mental health. Over time, our pets become attuned to our behaviours & emotions, they help to create & maintain a structured daily routine and provide companionship.
When our mental health is negatively impacted, pets can help to ease unwanted feelings by providing comfort or a judgment-free ear to listen. Spending time with your pet playing, cuddling, or stroking them can provide almost instant relief from stress and anxiety through the release of oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine (feel-good chemicals in your brain). An Israeli study showed that holding an animal helps to reduce stress levels in adults and that the type of animal made no significant impact. The same response was seen with a tortoise as with a rabbit, so fluffiness isn’t always a necessity!
Pets rely on us to provide them with food, love, and entertainment. This can help bring structure to our days, and routine benefits both you and your pet. A routine can help keep you feeling grounded and give a sense of purpose to your day. Part of a good routine is regular exercise through walks or play sessions. These help build a bond with our pets but can improve physical & mental health too. Walks or play sessions are great fun, but can also provide social interactions. Most dogs can’t walk past each other without the obligatory sniff to say hello and as a result, owners are more likely to engage and socialise.
And most important of all, pets provide us with unconditional love. They don’t care if you have the latest gadgets or if the house is messy or that you don’t feel your best, all they want is to feel like part of the pack and for the pack to be safe and happy.
So during Mental Health Awareness week, spend some time with an animal. Cuddle your pets, take them on an extra big walk in the sunshine or spend some time playing in the garden. If you don’t have a pet of your own go walking with a friend and their dog, offer to pet sit for a few hours or find a local Pet Café and enjoy some snuggles with a coffee!
As we get closer and closer to the 2025 deadline for the ’Big Switch Off’, it’s vital that your business is aware of what products and services are available to accommodate the coming changes.
This switch-off does not just affect your phone lines and traditional phone systems, it also affects traditional broadband too. – More Info
The direct replacement for your traditional Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) Broadband, is called SoGEA… which stands for Single order Generic Ethernet Access if you must know!
Like traditional broadband, SoGEA is still delivered into your home or office using the copper line plant, however, this new SoGEA Line is a “data only” service and is ordered as a single product, i.e. no separate line rental.
DB Comms have been early adopters of the SoGEA and almost 80% of broadband orders have been future-proofed connectivity in the last 12 months.
SoGEA is the product for the future and will mitigate the risk to your business of losing its connectivity after the UK PSTN Switch Off in 2025. DB Comms can supply a full range of “future proof connectivity” inc FTTP, SoGEA, and dedicated Leased Lines. These services can be wires only or fully managed and can have an optional suite of mobile or fixed-line automatic failovers.
No one size fits all, we have a range of products, solutions, and service wrap to fit your requirements and budgets, please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.
How can mobile influence your business?
Over the past decade, mobile phones have seen an astronomical rise in popularity. It’s reported that there were 62.86 million mobile users in 2021, with this number expected to surpass 65 million by 2025. Most people can’t go the day (or minute in some cases) without checking their notifications or catching up on social media. With changes coming to ISDN/PSTN network, it’s no wonder people are considering a mobile approach.
As a business, mobility opens a more diverse way of working, something that’s advantageous in today’s changing world. It allows you and your employees to be contacted, wherever and however they need to be. Like always, there are options and it is vital that choose the right solution for you, your employees, and your business.
1. Tariffs can range from PAYG, Standard, Shared, or Aggregated
2. Network – Some networks have different perks or bundles that might fit your way of working better, so it's important to figure these out to make sure you have the most rounded solution.
3. Coverage – There are 4 main network operators in the UK, O2, Vodafone, EE, and Three, luckily, we can offer service on all 4 networks, and we can mix and match the account to make sure you have the right coverage in the right areas – when you need it most.
We are completely network agnostic and can even move you between networks mid-contract. We aim to work with you to find the right solution. Whether that’s an individual plan for each employee or a shared plan where users can all tap into a pot of data, we will find out what works for you and suits the needs of your business and its most valuable asset – its employees.
One thing we find when businesses opt for the mobile approach is that still want to have a “main number” or a Landline number so that they have still have that professional appearance, luckily we can integrate any mobile extension (via an app) into our Cloud Voice solutions, meaning you can have a mixture of office and mobile-based used across your company all using the same phone system to communicate.
Paul Farrell, DB Comms Account Manager, is happy to take some time to review your current plans and make sure you have the best available tariffs or indeed talk to you about any new connections/or integrating with your phone system. Please feel free to use this link to book a meeting and we can start the conversation.
Zenergi can now help support customers in Scotland
We are delighted to be able to announce that DB Group (Europe) Ltd has joined the Zenergi family.
The acquisition of the business is great news for DB Group and Zenergi. With shared customer service cultures and values, we believe the acquisition will enable customers to benefit from the increased capability of the enhanced group.
DB Group will continue to trade under its own brand as part of the Zenergi Group for the immediate future, with more news to follow as we move into the next phase of this journey to assess how each organisation can benefit from this great opportunity.
Martin Brown, Managing Director of DB Group is staying on to oversee the integration into the wider group, and said;
“We’re delighted that DB Group are joining the Zen family. Both of our organisations share a great passion for our customers and our teams, something that was so important for me in finding a home for DB Group that would enable fantastic opportunities and a continuation of the values we cherish.
Our team has worked very hard over many years to establish DB Group as a trusted advisor to our customers so I’m looking forward to working with the Zenergi team to integrate DB Group with the rest of the group and the positive results this will deliver.”
Graham Cooke, Zenergi CEO commented;
“This represents a superb opportunity for Zenergi to benefit from the addition of an award-winning and very likeminded business, with similar values, ethos, and a real focus on customer service that we hold in such high regard.
The team have clearly been delivering on their promises and the commitment to the Race to Zero, as well the accredited supplier status with the Carbon Trust, which are great examples of how aligned we are. We are all looking forward to welcoming the team, nurturing our first presence in Scotland, and seeing what we can achieve together.
We look forward to welcoming Martin and the team into the Zen family.”
About Zenergi Group Ltd
Zenergi is an energy and environmental consultancy aiming to make a positive difference in the world of energy, and to do so in a manner that is simple, sustainable and achievable. Making a difference to over 4,000 educational facilities and organisations across the United Kingdom, Zenergi is built on the belief that there is a better, brighter way forward for the energy industry. Our long-term ambition for the future of energy is to help customers reach their vision of energy freedom and to invest in building a future that supports those organisations through the transition to Net Zero and tackling the largest challenge of our generation head-on – responding to a changing climate. For more details, please visit https://zenergi.co.uk
DB Comms boosts Connecting Scotland pilot project during pandemic
Our Head of DB Comms Liam Bonthron interviewed David McNeil, Director of Digital at SCVO on their Connecting Scotland Project, set up in March 2020.
Could you tell us a little about the history of the Connecting Scotland Project, when did it start and what were the main drivers?
The origins of Connecting Scotland began before the first lockdown in March 2020. There was a realisation that digitally excluded people needing to self-isolate would be cut off from the world and need additional support.
On 19th March 2020 SCVO, the Scottish Government, and ScotlandIS jointly issued a call to action for volunteers to help tackle the issue. We talked about mobilising an emergency response to find, equip, train, and support everyone in the country who lacked access to digital services.
Who was the project intended to help?
By April, the scale of the challenge became clear and the Scottish Government recognised the need to invest to support digitally excluded people during the lockdown.
Working through partner organisations from across the public and voluntary sector, Connecting Scotland provided digital devices, connectivity, and support to develop digital skills for people who were digitally excluded and on low incomes.
The first phase focused on those who were at risk of isolation due to coronavirus because they were shielding. Subsequent phases targeted families with children, young care leavers, older people, people with disabilities, and residents in care homes.
What were the initial challenges faced by SCVO and its partners?
There were lots of challenges in the early stages, including:
The ability to secure devices, with very high global demand
Rolling out internet connections quickly
The ability to reach people in need while services were not running and people were working from home
How were these challenges faced?
We working with partners across the public, private and voluntary sectors, we managed to:
Get priority allocation of devices, liaising directly with manufacturers and distributors
Secure mobile internet (MiFi) and data packages to get internet connections to people quickly
Encourage organisations that already worked with vulnerable people to get involved in delivering devices and support to people they knew
It’s not just about giving someone a device and internet connection, but recognising that digital exclusion and social exclusion go hand-in-hand… and those vulnerable people need support to develop skills and confidence online, and that support is best provided within the context of the issues they faced and what their own personal motivations and aspirations were.
What was the initial target for Connecting Scotland and how has this changed during the course of the project? How many people have benefitted from this project?
Connecting Scotland started with a pilot with 55 devices. The first major investment from the Scottish Government allowed us to reach 9,000 digitally excluded households and we’re on track to reach 60,000 households by the end of 2021.
What sort of benefits does being ‘connected’ bring?
There are a huge number of benefits of being online! Our recent Impact Report sets out how the project has supported people to stay connected with family and friends, participate in learning, secure jobs, engage with health and care services, and much more.
It’s hard to imagine how someone could cope without the internet in a modern world. But that was, and remains, a reality for too many people in Scotland.
What does the future of ‘Connecting Scotland’ look like? Where do you go from here?
The ultimate aim is to help get every citizen in Scotland online. The Scottish Government has committed to reaching 300,000 people with support over the next few years.
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