Author: Nick Farrell

Coronavirus brought cyber breach to half of businesses

Posted on October 12, 2021 by - News

SecureAge Technology, a global data and endpoint protection company, announced the release of its 2021 COVID & Cybersecurity Study. Polling 200 employers and 400 employees from around the UK business world during Q3 2021, the study examined key cybersecurity topics and trends.

A survey conducted by SecureAge has found that 48 percent of businesses have experienced a cyber breach during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another eight percent thought they might have and 16 percent of employees said they had personally had to deal with a cybersecurity incident during the same period.

SecureAge Technologies technical director Nigel Thorpe said that COVID-19 created one of the most challenging periods ever for businesses, their staff and IT departments.

QCI offers quantum software-as-a-service (SaaS) quantum partner programme

Posted on October 11, 2021 by - News

After launching a software-as-a-service (SaaS) quantum computing solution earlier this year, Quantum Computing (QCI) has rolled out a new partner programme for the scheme for those who want their cats dead and alive.

Qatalyst makes quantum computing resources readily accessible to users on classic computer systems, reducing related costs and deployment time. The new Partner Program seeks to take this a step further, extending Qatalyst’s benefits to partners’ customers.

The Qatalyst platform offers what QCI calls a “seamless quantum bridge” that connects classical and quantum computers. Instead of working in binary bits like conventional devices, quantum computers operate on qubits, which can represent both 0 and 1 simultaneously. As a result, quantum computers can process far more possibilities at once, solving more complex problems faster. For businesses looking to crunch more and more data, quantum computing could be an important breakthrough.

Aabyss stares back after snapping up Netcom

Posted on October 11, 2021 by - News

MSP Aabyss has acquired Netcom Technologies as part of a cunning plan to strengthen its North of England presence.

Sheffield-based Netcom Technologies offers IT support, cybersecurity, business continuity and modern workplace services to customers in sectors including engineering, medical, manufacturing and services.

All of Netcom’s staff will be retained as part of the acquisition and will work within the Aabyss Group.

Aabyss CEO Andrew Allen said that Netcom’s reputation as a trusted managed services provider was well earned, and is an essential part of our plan for continued regional expansion.

Currys pushes itself as a super “one stop shop”

Posted on October 11, 2021 by - News

Currys is pressing its “superbrand” with an initial ad campaign, which sees the tech retailer flogging its staff expertise.

For those who came in late, Currys now has  Currys PC World, Carphone Warehouse, Team Knowhow, and Dixons Carphone under the same umbrella.

Now Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, has put out TV spot positions touting Currys as a one-stop hub for tech expertise, highlighting its in-store experts, as well as its 24-7 ShopLive video chat feature.

Currys brand and marketing director said that technology was such an intrinsic part of our lives now that how you buy it matters more than ever before.

SoftwareONE buys out Nottingham SAP outfit Centiq

Posted on October 8, 2021 by - News

SoftwareONE has announced the acquisition of UK SAP Services Partner Centiq. M&As are proliferating this year.

Founded in Nottingham in 1998, Centiq provides SAP-related professional and managed services and solutions across Europe. Centiq has expertise in Microsoft Azure, too.

SoftwareONE SAP Services global practice leader Daniel Da Vinci said that his outfit was thrilled to welcome Centiq to the SoftwareONE organisation.

“Through this acquisition, we are continuing to strengthen our global SAP Services practice and extending our reach in the EMEA market”, he said. 

Simoco Wireless Solutions snaps up a majority of Thorcom

Posted on October 8, 2021 by - News

Derby-based critical communications company Simoco Wireless Solutions will acquire a majority shareholding in Thorcom Systems and its subsidiaries.

The move will give Simoco a platform to expand its presence in the UK emergency services market, while giving Thorcom the opportunity to access international markets such as Asia-Pacific, North America and Australia, where Simoco already has established operations. Simoco has seen international success in the public safety sector and it is anticipated that this move will now accelerate its growth in the British emergency services market.

In 2019 TST Systems, the joint venture that includes Thorcom Systems, was a successful bidder on a Framework Agreement further to a procurement exercise with the Home Office. TST became one of two suppliers of vehicle-based communications devices for use on the soon to be launched ESN network.

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise and RingCentral launch Rainbow Office

Posted on October 5, 2021 by - News

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise has teamed up with cloudy communications provider RingCentral to launch Rainbow Office in the UK.

The Unified Communications as a Service solution combines the latest in UCaaS technology from RingCentral with networking, communication, cloud solutions and services from Alcatel-Lucent’s portfolio.

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise’s UK Country Business Leader Heather Zhang, said the solution will address the needs of both middle and large enterprise customers.

“This public UCaaS solution, which includes outbound and inbound calling minutes, represents a fantastic opportunity for companies who want to accelerate their transformation to the cloud,” she explained. “These businesses can benefit from a secure business communication platform, which is both easy to implement and to use. The Rainbow Office carrier-grade communication suite provides an all-in-one solution with multiple security layers, offering protection for applications and devices from potential attacks.”

Rainbow Office apparently means users can efficiently and securely collaborate from anywhere and across any device, using RingCentral’s integrated Message Video Phone (MVP) capabilities.

The platform also provides HD audio and video, virtual backgrounds, screen share capabilities, the ability to check presence, share files, as well as seamlessly switch between devices with integrated carrier-grade voice.

NetApp snaps up CloudCheckr

Posted on October 5, 2021 by - News

NetApp is to acquire cloud visibility management vendor CloudCheckr.

NetApp Public Cloud Services EVP Anthony Lye, said CloudCheckr’s multi-cloud infrastructure management solutions will be used to bolster Spot by NetApp, the vendor’s analytics and automation platform. He claimed that CloudCheckr’s platform will help partners increase margins, maintain security and compliance.

The product is used to help businesses scale cloud infrastructure and services.

Lye said:”Managing costs while accelerating cloud applications is a significant challenge for organisations as they work to maximize the return on investment of their cloud investments, all while running at cloud speed. By adding cloud billing analytics, cost management capabilities, cloud compliance and security to our CloudOps platform through the acquisition of CloudCheckr, we are enabling organisations to deploy infrastructure and business applications faster while reducing their capital and operational costs.

CloudCheckr CEO, Tim McKinnon, said the solution provider wants to help NetApp create an industry-leading suite of CloudOps services.

Clavister moves to subscription model

Posted on October 5, 2021 by - News

Security outfit Clavister has decided to move to a subscription model to help resellers avoid having to spin large capital investments to their customers.

The outfit said that customers wanted to reduce their CAPEX burden and gain access to technologies that otherwise might have been out of their reach.

It said that there are shedloads of companies that need protection but find the big upfront investment too daunting, its sales team has noticed. By creating a budget-friendly payment and service model, Clavister wants to give its UK resellers and service providers something to tell their clients about.

The service proposition has been shaped in time for its latest product launch, involving new versions of its Firewall systems: NetWall 6000, NetWall 500 and NetWall 100. These all promise 10-40Gbps connectivity options at a “significantly lower price”.

Redcentric snaps up Piksel Industry Solutions

Posted on October 4, 2021 by - News

Redcentric has aquired Piksel Industry Solutions (Piksel IS) for £9.5 million.

Based in York and London, Piksel IS employs 93 people and specialises in providing IT modernisation and digital transformation services to businesses. A partner of both AWS and Microsoft Azure, the firm also delivers managed services across verticals such as security, DevOps, application development, and public cloud.

More than half of MSP clients are on the cloud

Posted on October 4, 2021 by - News

A global survey of 1,884 MSPs conducted by Strategy Analytics on behalf of Datto, finds half of MSPs reporting their clients now have 50 percent to 75 percent of workloads in the cloud.

Another nearly 20 percent report clients have 25 percent to 50 per ent of their workload running in the cloud.

At the same time, 99 percent of respondents report they also offer managed security services. Those services are being provided by hiring dedicated cybersecurity personnel in addition to reselling services provided by other MSPs or services provided by security vendors.

LogPoint appoints Wallen UK regional director

Posted on October 4, 2021 by - Moving People, News

Security outfit LogPoint has appointed Tim Wallen as Regional Director for the UK & Ireland. Wallen will be responsible for driving strategic growth and leading the growing team of LogPoint sales, marketing, and technical professionals working out of the new LogPoint offices in the City of London.

Wallen said: “I’m excited to join LogPoint at a time where large-scale digital transformation is accelerating, and remote working projects are redefining the way organizations work. As an application development and delivery is being revolutionalised, there has never been a bigger need to understand the threat landscape for any kind of organisation, big or small.”

 IDE Group sees green shoots of recovery.

Posted on October 1, 2021 by - News

 After a few miserable years, IDE Group sees green shoots of recovery as it plans to offload its Connect business.

Revenues of £7.6 million were up from £6.8 million in the equivalent period last year and group profits of £3.6 million were up on £2.5 million. Adjusted EBITDA profit of £2.1 million was a significant improvement on £0.5 million in the first half of 2020.

IDE chairman Andy Parker said that the group has taken advantage of this period to continue to restructure the operational side of the business and has decided to concentrate on the profitable Manage side of the operations.

The sale of Connect was seen as a moment to get the business finally back on track and discussions are advanced to sell the unit. Between 1 January and 30 June 2021, IDE Group Connect with Nimoveri made a combined operating losses of £1.4 million.

Armour hatches a partnership with a partnership with Samsung Electronics and Targus

Posted on October 1, 2021 by - News

Armour Comms has teamed up with Samsung Electronics and Targus to let enterprises extend the business use of smartphones.

Armour Mobile has been optimised to provide a desktop-like user experience on Samsung DeX devices with the Targus USB-C phone dock.

The idea is to provide enterprises with a solution to support secure homes working, on enterprise-level Samsung Galaxy Android smartphones, using Armour Mobile and a Targus DeX USB-C phone dock – as an alternative to laptops. Designed with the end-user in mind employees will be can work remotely with a desktop feel, with Armour Mobile providing fully integrated secure communications for voice, video, messaging, conferencing and associated data files.

Zoom and Five9 give up on merger

Posted on October 1, 2021 by - News

Zoom and Five9 have mutually terminated the merger agreement started by the parties on July 16, 2021.

At Five9’s special meeting of stockholders held on September 30, 2021, Five9 did not obtain the requisite stockholder support for the merger agreement. As a result, Zoom and Five9 each had the ability to terminate the merger agreement.  It is rare that a merger gets as far as the shareholder stage and one of the parties shareholders say “nah, not good enough”.

Eric S. Yuan, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Zoom was putting his best spin on the situation saying that it would have been good for both and his outfit has not given up on wanting a foot in the door of the contact centre market. He said that the contact centre market remains a strategic priority for Zoom, and we are confident in our ability to capture its growth potential.