Category: News

Ransomware clean-up causes MSPs headaches

Datto research has found that MSPs are reporting attacks on their customer base with 84 percent being hit causing a major clean-up problem.

The Global State of the Channel Ransomware Report found that the impact of an attack was often ten times more costly than the ransom demanded by the criminals, with businesses losing $46,800 on average against payments of $4,300.

Tablet sales come back from the dead

While most of us have written off tablets as a marketing fad which went no-where, it appears that they are going to end up in someone’s Christmas stocking, where they will be as useful as a bright green jumper with Santa on the front.

Figures from Context indicated that across Western Europe volume sales of tablets were up by 21 percent in October year-on-year challenging those that have argued the form factor is out of

Security is the reason for SW-WAN interest

While the channel thinks cost saving is the primary sales point for SD-WAN it might be better off pitching sales on security issues.

TechTarget research suggests that improving security posture and reducing risk is the number one driver for firms looking at the SD-WAN.

Zeus Kerravala, founder and principal analyst at ZK Research, said the findings of the research showed that the WAN had not fundamentally changed in decades and SD-WAN came with the promise of lower cost and more agility.

Network switch and routers see huge growth

Beancounters at Synergy Research have been adding up some numbers and concluded that the networking switch and router market is growing like crazy.

The sector saw its most significant ever quarterly sales in the third quarter, with revenue passing the $11 billion and has been growing at roughly one per cent annually, with Cisco continuing to dominate.

The analyst claims that the networking giant has 53 percent of the

Imprivata sorts out NE London NHS Foundation Trust’s password fatigue

Security outfit Imprivata has announced that North East London NHS Foundation Trust deployed Imprivata OneSign Single Sign-On to speed up access to essential clinical applications while still maintaining security integrity.

The solution, supplied via Imprivata reseller CDW, provides medical staff with fast, safe, and secure No Click Access to applications using their employee smart cards. Password fatigue was a growing concern across the Trust with employee feedback forms revealing that 50 percent of staff admitted to having some form of password memory aid that was either visible or easily accessible.

Government and security companies will improve regulation in 2019

Barracuda Networks has been playing poker with tarot cards in the staff cafe and given ChannelEye its 2019 predictions.

BJ Jenkins, President & CEO said he thought over the next year is government and security companies starting to work together to improve regulations to protect companies and individuals.

“Time after time, organisations have shown they cannot be trusted with users’ data because it is not secured correctly and ends up available to be exploited easily by attackers.”

Skills shortages and integration stuff up digital transformation

The Cloud Industry Forum and BT have woken up to the fact that skills shortages and migration and integration issues are causing problems for firms keen on digital transformation.

According to the pair’s study, three quarters either have or are thinking about digital transformation strategy in place or are rolling one out.

When customers talked about hurdles, barriers and problems the main one was around skill shortages with 59 percent thought they lacked the staff with integration and migration skills,

76 percent of buyers want hardware on a subscription

The idea of hardware as a service has [surely Haas, Ed.] gained traction among the punters, according to Panasonic.

Panasonic has been adding up some numbers and worked out that more than  76 percent of technology buyers were keen to buy hardware on a subscription basis, with cost their crucial consideration.

The outfit found that increasing number of customers have heard about the option and wanted to use it for laptops, tablets and handhelds. The attraction of the

JASK gets Exclusive

Exclusive has been appointed by JASK, the provider of the industry’s Autonomous Security Operations Center (ASOC) platform, to accelerate the market penetration of its disruptive and innovative technologies around the world.

Exclusive will manage the distribution of JASK’s ASOC Platform as part of a worldwide agreement, with the first wave of territories onboarding in Benelux, the Nordics and the USA, with more countries expected to be rolled out shortly. The distribution

Silver Peak appoints three new executives

Global SD-WAN contender Silver Peak announced three new senior executive appointments as part of its future plans.

The new appointments include Ken Laversin, Chief Revenue Officer, Kathleen Swift, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Rick Valentine, Chief Customer Officer.

A company spokesperson said the executive appointments, which follow a series of regional and channel leadership appointments, will enable Silver Peak to

Buy IT buys Trojan Electronics.

Channel outfit Buy IT has bought the refurbishing company Trojan Electronics.

It acquired Trojan in a pre-pack deal after the organisation entered administration in November, with Glynne saying that all members of staff have been kept on and around £3 million of debt has been paid.

Buy IT said that a large chunk of its business come from refurbishing and selling products that suppliers have had returned to them by customers.

Digital secretary talks up May’s Brexit deal

Desperate to prove that Theresa May’s Brexit deal is not the lame duck that the pundits claim, DCMS Secretary of State Jeremy Wright has claimed it will “provide the UK’s booming £130 billion digital sector with the certainty it needs to continue to thrive”.

The digital and tech industries employ more than 2.1 million people across the UK, and Wright says that the continuation of free-flowing data is vital to “both our economy and security”.

King of Servers rebrands to Evaris

King of Servers has rebranded to Evaris after acquiring Manchester-based MSP Think4 IT.

The newly formed firm will offer a range of services including cloud management and disaster recovery, as well as expertise in servers, storage and networking.

Evaris CEO Mike Cohen said: “The acquisition is a key strategic step to ensure customers continue to benefit from the excellent knowledge and service already offered by King of Servers and

Symantec COO quits on “difficult day”

Symantec COO and president Michael Fey in what he called a “difficult day” on his social media account.

“Today is an exciting and difficult day. As I have chosen to embark on the next stage of my career”,  Fey wrote in a post on his LinkedIn page. “While this was a difficult decision to leave this awesome team, I am very excited about the future.”

As part of Fey’s separation agreement with Symantec signed Wednesday, he has agreed to forgo severance benefits, unvested equity awards, and cash bonus payments.

Ismail Mitha joins Jabra North EMEA Channel team

Sound outfit Jabra has appointed Ismail Mitha to its North EMEA Channel team. Mitha will be field-based, but will report into Jabra’s UK HQ in Langley, Berkshire.

This news follows a string of new hires and promotions as Jabra has seen increased demand and strong financial growth across the organisation. Mitha joins as Telco Account Manager and will utilise his vast experience in the industry to build upon the strong foundations laid by his predecessor, Lee Davis, who was recently appointed Enterprise Account Manager at Jabra.

Ismail Mitha worked for over 10 years at British Telecom