Author: Nick Farrell

Demand for cybersecurity is increasing exponentially

Posted on May 29, 2020 by - News

A report from MSP Barracuda shows that cyber-criminals have been taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Barracuda Vice President,  Brian Babineau, channel partners currently on their MSP journey, now is the time to really think about adding security to their services portfolio.

The report shows that  88 percent of partners questioned, believed demand for security services was set to increase over the next 12 months.

“It also is no surprise that  91 percent of the global MSP partners we surveyed are planning to increase the number of services they offer in the coming year, particularly around security”, he said.

Managed services are set to be the top revenue generator for the vast majority of respondents.

A total of 69 percent of respondents picked managed services as the biggest opportunity for increasing  sales this year. This is significantly up on 2019 where 54 percent saw managed services as their biggest opportunity, he said. 

Gaming industry could be the Cloud and 5G’s next conquest

Posted on May 29, 2020 by - News

The gaming industry could be the next target of cloud and 5G based sales teams according to beancounters at GlobalData.

Traction towards gaming-on-demand is fuelling the migration of games to the cloud while trying to utilise the peak speed abilities of 5G, says GlobalData

‘Cloud’ and ‘5G’ have become rising topics of discussion in the gaming industry in 2020 as tracked by GlobalData’s Filing Analytics platform. Mentions of these terms in earnings transcripts of companies in the gaming industry witnessed double digit growth in Q1 2020 when compared to Q1 2019. Nvidia GeForce Now, Google Stadia, Playstation Now and Microsoft’s Projext xCloud are some of the top cloud gaming services mentioned.

Rinaldo Pereira, Senior Analyst at GlobalData, said: “Following the video streaming industry trend, subscription models will cause a shift in the gaming sector due to the dawn of cloud services. The expansion of cloud 5G gaming is attractive for telecom operators – with consumers accustomed to paying for subscriptions in the industry, network operators with the right assets will gain growth and competitive agility in the lucrative market.”

Dell cuts staff benefits

Posted on May 28, 2020 by - News

Tin box-shifter Dell plans to cut some staff benefits including pay rises, promotions and 401(k) contributions as it looks to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis unscathed.

According to Bloomberg, Dell will halt several staff benefits as of 1 June and until at least the end of the year.

It is basically refusing to make contributions to employee 401(k) retirement plans and will freeze internal pay rises and promotions as it looks to preserve cash during the COVID-19 crisis.

Dell has put in place a hiring freeze until at least the end of 2020. Dell said the actions will help set it up for success when the pandemic subsides.

“Like all companies right now, we’re constantly evaluating our business to plan for resiliency in the current environment and to support our team members, customers, and community in a way that sets us all up for success on the other side of this pandemic”, the company said in a statement.

EclecticIQ teams up with PolyLogyx

Posted on May 28, 2020 by - News

Security outfit EclecticIQ is joining forces with PolyLogyx, a creator of endpoint and cloud workload threat detection and response technologies.

The partnership  will allow the two companies to bring intelligence-led cybersecurity products to market.

As the creator of PolyLogyx Endpoint Platform, PolyLogyx OSQuery Agent and PolyLogyx Kernel Library, PolyLogyx has significant experience in the field of endpoint detection and response (EDR).

The company’s expertise in this domain is an important part of EclecticIQ’s ambitions to accelerate the adoption of intelligence-led security across key industries. By joining forces, the two companies will use their combined capabilities to re-imagine how security analysts detect, hunt and respond to sophisticated threats, it is claimed.

Suppliers named on NHS Cybersecurity Services framework

Posted on May 28, 2020 by - News

The new NHS Cybersecurity Services framework has been announced with Softcat, Logicalis and MTI are among the 25 suppliers listed.

The framework has an estimated value of up to £250 million and runs until February 2024. Other reseller names on the supplier list include Trustmarque, CGI, NCC and Novosco.

The framework comprises three Lots.  The first deals with Emergency Cyber Incident Management and has an estimated total value of £90 million and 11 suppliers. The second lot is centred on Cybersecurity Consultancy Services and has a total value of £80 million and 19 suppliers, while the last is focused on Security Personnel, also with a total value of £80 million and 15 suppliers.

Enterprise hardware takes a hit

Posted on May 27, 2020 by - News

Beancounters at Context have added up some numbers after rolling the corporate dice and came to the conclusion that hardware has been the worst hit segment of the enterprise channel market in the first four months of this year.

According to it, data enterprise hardware revenue declines have widened from a per cent year on year in January, to 11 percent in March and 17 percent in April.

Context’s head of enterprise, Gurvan Meyer, said the market has been strongly impacted by the suspension of projects during the crisis.

Softcat did OK in the first three months

Posted on May 27, 2020 by - News

Softcat has been doing OK during the year despite the general woe and issued its own third quarter trading update, which covers the three months to 30 April, to prove it.

That period covers a large chunk of the lockdown, and some of the weeks after a significant number of customers had made hardware, software, and security investments to facilitate a move to a home working.

“The company has traded satisfactorily during the period and delivered growth in revenue, gross profit and operating profit. Cash receipts from customers have remained broadly in line with normal trends”, stated the trading update.

“There remains a high degree of uncertainty in the coming months, and Softcat is not immune to the challenges faced by the wider economy”, the firm stated. “However, we have moved seamlessly to a remote working model and the board is encouraged by the resilience of the business thus far.”

Exertis makes life easier for resellers

Posted on May 27, 2020 by - News

Exertis has spruced up its services to make it easier for resellers to provide customers with an end-to-end “solution”.

Company  managing director, Rod McCarthy designed the plan which involves covering  six areas: consult, deploy, maintain, manage, assist and recover.

The idea is to point resellers towards a range of services networking, security, software, AV, print, mobile management and recycling and refurbishment.

Services will come from its support centres in the UK and Ireland, staffed with tech experts which will provide resellers with 24/7 assistance.

inTec adds iTek

Posted on May 26, 2020 by - News

North West-based technology company, inTec Business Solutions, has bought Kenda-based iTek Computer Solutions. The company join telephony specialists’ Hale Communications, Vision Corporate Services and Cheshire Business Services plus Cloud and I.T. experts CFM Hub and Titan Networks as part of the inTec Business Solutions group.

inTec Business Solutions is building a network of telecoms and IT partners allowing them to expand their product and service portfolios, instantly transforming them into full-service ICT solutions providers. It specialises in the design, implementation and support of a range of Cloud services and business applications including IT managed services, IT infrastructure support, hosted collaboration and communication solutions.

iTek Computer Solutions are the sixth company to join the inTec family and bring with them a team of forward-thinking engineers who provide full I.T. expertise with in-depth cross sector experience. They offer reliable computer support and consultancy services to a range of businesses in South Cumbria and north Lancashire. 

GDPR helping cyber criminals

Posted on May 26, 2020 by - News

While GDPR has been important in making sure that companies look after customer’s data it is providing an opportunity for cyber criminals to further their own agenda.

BlackBerry has found a new trend in the last couple of years with ransomware groups using GDPR to their advantage, threatening to alert data regulators to the fact that victims had been breached, adding additional pressure on the targets to cave to their demands.

Adam Bangle, Vice President EMEA at BlackBerry  said that two years ago, few could have predicted that a regulation put in place to make data safer could turn into a tool for blackmail.

Colt appoints Gilder to top slot

Posted on May 26, 2020 by - News

Colt Technology Services has appointed Keri Gilder as its new chief executive officer, replacing Carl Grivner.

Grivner said that during his time at the company it stayed ahead of the curve by investing in high bandwidth connectivity, blockchain and APIs, even before we saw customer demand for these innovative solutions.

“It has been a privilege to lead an organisation during such a transformation, and it’s been an honour to have the backing of the Board, my team and the wider organisation as we pushed ahead with doing some things that haven’t been done before.”

Secureworks launches a performance related partner programme

Posted on May 25, 2020 by - News

Cyber security outfit Secureworks has a  new performance-based partner programme without quotas which it promises will do the magic without tiers. Or tears.

The Global Partner Programme, which replaces the existing Partner Select Programme, will base partner benefits on competencies and performance levels.

Maureen Perrelli, chief channel officer said the goal was to make things as simple as possible and the idea was backed by partners.

“We purposefully chose not to introduce traditional compliance-based, tier-based programme structures. Instead, we are using a performance-based model. To that end, the more partners achieve with us, the more benefits they will earn”, he said.

HPE to lay off staff and cut salaries

Posted on May 25, 2020 by - News

HPE  is to lay off an undisclosed number of staff to save its bottom line as the coronavirus pandemic makes it a bit unwell.

In in an earnings call for its second quarter ending 30 April 2020, HPE chief exec Antonio Neri said customer uncertainty has had a “significant impact” on revenues, with total turnover declining 15 percent year-on-year to $6 billion.

“We have taken a deliberate set of actions to protect our financial foundation, become a more agile organisation and align our sources to critical core businesses in areas of growth that accelerate our edge-to-cloud platform-as-a-service strategy. We have taken some immediate steps to reduce operating expenses that will protect our financial profile”, he told analysts.

These measures include cut salaries for all staff, effective from 1 July to 31 October. Neri and his executive team will take a pay cut of between 20 to 25 percent to their base salary with the amount of reduction to salaries then varying by level, he added.

Ecommerce systems need a Magento update

Posted on May 25, 2020 by - News

IT software solutions specialist, KFA Connect is reminding companies to prepare to switch to a new eCommerce platform or risk facing the challenges of an insecure website or one that doesn’t work. In June 2020, any websites running Magento 1 will no longer be supported. As a result, it’s important that businesses have made the move to Magento 2 or started to get the wheels in motion ahead of the deadline.

New Business Director at KFA Connect, Richard Austin, commented: “There are many reasons why companies running Magento 1 cannot put the change off for much longer. Once the official support for Magento 1 ends, websites will be more exposed to security risks and threats, including cyber-attacks. This means the move to Magneto 2 is essential for online businesses who could otherwise end up with a loss in sales and a non-performing website. As well as minimising risk, the move to Magneto 2 also offers many new benefits to businesses.

Ingram Micro UK appoints Lomas as UK sales director

Posted on May 22, 2020 by - News

Ingram Micro UK has appointed Gary Lomas as its new UK sales director and he will take care of sales across Ingram Micro UK and Comms-care, its UK channel-only services specialist arm.
Lomas has 30 years sales experience under his belt and has a proven track record of developing trust-based, long standing relationships with customers, vendors and partners at all levels, the company said. He previously spent 13 years at Logicalis UK and his earlier career included roles at Ultima Business Solutions and Computacenter.

Lomas said: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining an innovative company that is right at the heart of digital transformation across the globe. Our customers and partners have never needed to demonstrate their value and relevance to their customers more than they do now. The impressive Ingram Micro and Comms-care portfolio of Products, Solutions and Services, and our talented people puts us in a really strong position to help us develop and grow business for our existing and future partners,”