Can you believe it, 2021 is over and what an unusual year it has been! Here at Exa we’ve looked back on the past year, at all the fantastic things we achieved as well as news from the connectivity industry!
Q1
January usually sees us exhibit at The Bett Show, one of our biggest events, however due to the ongoing pandemic and the national lockdown that was implemented on January 4 it was unfortunately cancelled.
If you’re planning to attend in 2022, it’s worth knowing that due to the current uncertainty the January show, which takes place at the Excel in London, has been postponed and rescheduled for 23-25th March. We hope to see you there!
In January, we also introduced our new VoIP packages, which were specifically designed to suit the requirements of schools and businesses and included unlimited UK minutes and more app integration for devices.
In February, some of our team members participated in the ‘Million Steps for One in A Million’ event, completing 500 miles in 100 days either by walking, running, cycling or trekking. to raise money to support One in a Million Charity to help children and young people living in disadvantaged communities in Bradford. Our team completed an amazing total of 6.9 million steps and raised £500 which was used to support children and young people living in disadvantaged communities in Bradford.
In March, the Exa Foundation’s Alan O’Donohoe, created his own Cardboard Museum of Computing at home, which was featured on BBC click, you can view the clip here. Can you remember the names of some of the hardware he created?
Q2
In April, one of the largest Academy Trusts in London was the victim of a ransomware attack which shut down the IT systems, mail servers and telephone lines at all of its primary and secondary schools. This prompted the National Cyber Security Centre to send out an alert to all organisations in the education sector warning them about the increased threat of ransomware attacks and providing practical advice about how to protect their networks.
In the same month, 533 million Facebook users’ phone numbers and personal data were leaked in a hacking forum. This affected users from 106 different countries and 11 million people in the UK.
This brought to the fore the importance of having stringent cybersecurity measures in place including firewalls and antivirus software, as well as encouraging staff and students to carry out tasks using best practice.
Q3
In July, covid restrictions were lifted and our team returned to the office after more than a year of working from home. It was great to be able to see each other in person rather than on Zoom!
We were shortlisted for five ISPA Awards for Social Impact Award, Best Cyber Security, Best Hosted Service, Best Partnership and Best Customer Service. We were also fortunate to be shortlisted for Tech Company of the Year, Employer of the Year and Social Mobility Awards in Bradford Means Business Awards 2021. You can find out how we fared further down the article!
Did you know that in July the internet speed world record was broken by engineers in Japan? They hit 319 terabits per second without any drop in speed over a distance of 1,865 miles, with the previous record achieving 178 terabits per second! From our calculations, with this speed you could download around 6,646 HD films (average of 6GB) or 26,583 in standard quality per second!
We were honoured and humbled to win the award for Social Mobility at the Bradford Means Business Awards in September. The award recognises organisations or individuals that go above and beyond to support and champion communities, charities, schools, and businesses.
Q4
October was an incredibly busy month for Exa.
After many months of hard work by the marketing team and wider business, we launched our new website, rebrand and strategy. We hope you like our new look and have managed to find the time to visit our knowledge hub, which features lots of impartial articles and videos that answer your questions regarding internet-related topics to help you make an educated buying decision.
The Exa Foundation was also rushed off its feet with a variety of events throughout the month. First up was Bradford Tech Week for which Alan did a series of ‘out of this world’ shows for children at Kala Sangam, where they enjoyed a ‘trip’ to the International Space Station.
During half term, Alan hosted a series of digital soundtrack workshops for children at the Bradford Media Museum during Bradford Science Week, which was great fun for all ages.
In November, we were delighted to win the Best Customer Service and Best Partnership Accolades at the ISPA Awards. We were proud that our team was recognised for their hard work in ensuring our customers always come first.
December marked the start of the Christmas period and our teams took full advantage, decorating the office and spreading festive cheer. But it was our ops department who stole the show with their impressive switchmas tree.
We’re looking forward to a great year ahead, where we already have fantastic events and product launches lined up in 2022. Keep an eye on our blog and social media accounts to hear what we get up to.
We hope you have a fantastic 2022.
Exa
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