Cisco London 2012

"The level of awareness of the impact of London 2012 among small business appears to be low. With less than a year to go to the Games, the clock is ticking and planning needs to start now."
Rich Cudworth, head of the Business Continuity & Resilience team at Deloitte

Cisco believes that by managing risks it’s not just big corporations that will reap the financial rewards from being ‘business ready’. Travel disruption and staff availability will be critical considerations. That’s why we have been urging small and mid-sized business for some time to assess their network infrastructure to ensure they are set up for business continuity throughout the Games. Are you sure your organisation will have the capacity to cope with the surge in traffic from staff watching the games at work and for remote working?

View the webinars

Forward planning is the key to 'business as usual, only better' throughout the Games. Cisco's 'Plan for Success' webinars show you how to meet extraordinary demand and capitalise on the opportunities of London 2012. Covering topics such as Transport, HR, Media and Security, you can watch recordings of previous webinars on demand or register for forthcoming webinars here.

The retail sector is anticipated to benefit from the full impact of the Games. With 9 million tickets spanning events across 34 Olympic and Paralympic venues, plus the athletes, their families, officials and many casual visitors expected each day, visitor numbers are predicted to spike by up to 1 million during the Games. That’s why it is important to manage risks and consider how the Games will affect staff, customers and suppliers and proactively adapt your operations.

In addition to the Olympic Park site, East London will benefit from a massive upgrade to facilities. There are exciting, longer-term opportunities for the construction sector in the surrounding Host Boroughs. In Greenwich, for example, there are plans to build 10,000 new homes plus 150 shops and restaurants, creating 29,000 new jobs. Newham, Hackney, Waltham Forest and Tower Hamlets are all implementing regeneration and redevelopment programmes.

• What measures do you need to take to enable your business to respond to a sharp uplift in demand?
• How will your marketing and promotional plans around the Games gain cut-through amidst all the messages?
• Do you intend to offer customers and suppliers hospitality and, if so, at what level? You will need to take into account tax considerations and the UK Bribery Act.

Staff availability remains a key concern for business and organisations are starting to respond.

"33% of companies intend to review their flexible working policies before the Games compared with 14% in May 2011, whilst 43% intend to review their annual leave policies (compared to 33%)"
(Deloitte, The State of Play, Special Edition 3, London 2012 – ready or not? January 2012)

• How will you enable staff to benefit from the Games experience without loss of productivity?
• Have you reviewed your network infrastructure to ensure you are set up for remote working?
• Have you secured the budget and authority to appoint additional staff or temporary workers to meet incremental workload arising from the event?
• Is your business set up to handle a more diverse customer base than usual?

For further information on how to proactively manage issues including absenteeism, travel disruption, availability of temporary staff, flexible working and productivity during the Games, view our recently-recorded webinar on people-related preparation.

Watch our HR webinar on demand

• Do you expect disruptions to your supply chain during the Games? What would be the impact of late deliveries and what can you do to mitigate it?
• Are you expecting ‘business as usual’ from your suppliers or will their attention be diverted elsewhere?
• Can you foresee any issues relating to security of personnel, premises, stocks or data during the event?
• Can you implement a flexible working policy around key travel times and peak congestion?

The Games will undoubtedly impose additional pressure on public transport. The main problems will be during peak hours: an estimated 800,000 extra people an hour will be using road, rail and underground transport between key hubs in and around the Games’ Host Boroughs.

To help meet this incremental demand the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and its delivery partners Transport for London (TLF), Network Rail and central government have invested billions of pounds in improvements including new lines, bigger stations and extra services.

However not all business transport related challenges will be alleviated., An alternative solution to fighting your way to the office – one which Cisco has already deployed across LOCOG’s business operations – is a ‘Borderless Network’. This gives staff the flexibility to work remotely with full, secure and reliable access to the systems and data they need to do their jobs.

Find out more about minimising disruption to your own service delivery and how your business can navigate the event period successfully while the country’s transport infrastructure is put to the test. It’s all in our Transport webinar, in association with BT and TFL.

Watch our Transport webinar on demand

You need to be confident that your network is capable of handling the extra demand the Games generate. There’s never been a better time to test the resilience of your network and plan for continuity in anticipation of increased transactions. With Cisco’s understanding of the growth of the internet as a business tool, we can help predict demands and opportunities, providing customers with the insight they need to lead in their own fields.

"Many businesses need a wake-up call. They operate in service industries where people are vital, where the supply chain is time-critical, where having products on the shelf or food to serve in restaurants is essential to their daily business. The clock is ticking and planning needs to start now."
Rick Chudworth, Partner, Security and Resilience, Deloitte

With £3 billion additional retail spend anticipated during the Games themselves, rising to an estimated £10 billion including pre-and post-event activity, retailers can expect a variety of challenges. An upturn in business will be accompanied by an increase in card-based transactions, with implications for payment processing times and customer data security. Retailers may also find they need to extend their opening hours, hire extra staff, or increase security to accommodate increased footfall and transactions. Cisco can help retailers to respond quickly and effectively in a number of ways:

• Increased Store Footfall – Greater footfall in stores may prompt the need for additional staff and/or longer opening hours. Cisco collaboration tools can enable staff rotas and task management applications to be delivered directly to the sales floor to cover demand.
• Staff Training – Staff may require training to manage the pressures of a busier-than-usual store environment, and temporary staff will need briefing on the company’s ethos and processes. Cisco’s next generation video conferencing can enable staff training to be carried out simultaneously across multiple stores without incurring downtime or travel expenses.
• Improved Service – During exceptionally busy periods, customers may not be able to get the help and service they need, resulting in a lost sale or tarnished perception of your brand. Making Cisco Unified IP phones available on the shop floor can allow customers to seek help at the push of a button from department-assigned employees with wireless handsets. Cisco can also help you to enhance your customer interactions with remote assistance via in-store kiosks. These stations enable customers to check the status of their loyalty account, view stock in other local stores and place orders online.
• In-store Promotions – Retailers can target customers in store with specific promotions and marketing messages based on the demographics of the local store or even department. Cisco’s digital signage solutions enable unique promotional messages and other visual information to be controlled centrally and updated regularly, enhancing the shopping experience.