Tag: Academia

Academia adds up some great results

Posted on October 31, 2023 by - News

IT services and solutions provider to the education, business and public sector Academia has reported record results FY23.

The company has seen 22 per cent growth, increasing its revenue to £130 million FY23 for the tenth year in succession, leaving it well positioned going into FY24 as the IT services and solutions provider of trust for education, business and public sector in the UK.

Total revenues hit £130 million, which was an increase of 22 per cent from the previous year. Academia charges into FY24 with a Q1 performance that not only met but exceeded financial targets.

Academia scores higher revenues

Posted on October 12, 2022 by - News

Academia has reported revenues of £114 million for its fiscal 2022, which was 34 percent higher than last year.

The company reported it added 40 new staff to the business, bringing its total to 180, to support the delivery of its growing service portfolio from its new headquarters in Hemel Hempstead.

Academia chief commercial officer Mark McCormack said: “Our growth in the last year has been fuelled by customers who need a trusted partner who ensures they have the best technology and support in place for their day-to-day operations.

National Desktop and Notebook Agreement goes live.

Posted on September 5, 2017 by - News

CNS-Solutions-CSWA-Exam-Student-Taking-Exam-2The National Desktop and Notebook Agreement (NDNA)  is now live with resellers awarded spots as indirect partners for a host of PC vendors.

Managed by London Universities Purchasing Consortium, the four year agreement  will see Academia, DTP and Misco provide desktops and mobile devices from Acer, Fujitsu, HP Inc, Lenovo and Toshiba. Dell will take all its business direct.

The 11 resellers on the framework are: Academia, Bechtle, CDW, DTP, European Electronique, Getech, Insight, Misco, SCC, Stone and XMA. Stone Computers will also supply its own devices direct to customers, while XMA will supply its Viglen brand.

The framework is broken up into three lots: Lot 1 is for desktops, Lot 2 is for notebooks and mobile devices, while Lot 3 is a “one-stop shop” for both categories.

The value of the NDNA is between £400 million and £440 million, which is much bigger than its predecessor’s £310 million.

One thing is noticeable. Samsung is no longer involved, while Fujitsu is brought in on Lot 2. Softcat is a notable reseller absentee, having previously been in all three Lots with Dell and Lenovo.

 

Apple says “we don’t need no education”

Posted on August 1, 2017 by - News

PinkFloydTheWall1Fruity tax-dodging cargo-cult Apple has just staged a night-of-the-long knives on its education partners culling them down to just 14.

Word on the street is that between  24 and 26 Apple Solution Experts – Education (ASE) previously, with Softcat, Insight and Misco are off the books.

All that are  left are Academia, MCC, GBM, Trams, Albion, KRCS, Western Computer, Toucan, Jigsaw24, XMA, BT Direct Business, JTRS and for Ireland Wiggle and Compu b.

The theory is that Jobs’ Mon wants to push more through a smaller number of harder working channel partners in the education sector.  Apple wants more sustainable services which wrap-around either the iPad or the Mac, apparently.

Apple’s relationship with the channel is fraught  due to  it being a little inflexible and always wanting things its way. It has been slowly reducing its resellers over the years as it leant on its own retail channel. This way it can have greater control over how its products are presented and with Apple, presentation is everything.

This being the case, the recent cull will probably do more to lesson Apple’s influence instead of promoting it.

Microsoft extends Surface channel

Posted on May 4, 2015 by - News

image-left-cyan-hero-e1400563125164Software king of the world Microsoft has been expanding its channel for its Surface tablets by adding more partners.

Six UK resellers into its authorised device reseller (ADR) programme including  O2, Academia, XMA, PCS Business Systems, Storm and Total Computer Networks have signed up following a competitive tender process.

This means that there are now 14 ADR’s peddling the Surface in the UK.

Being an ADR gives resellers access to special bid pricing on volume Surfaces and the ability to provide extended warranty and a range of other value-add services around Microsoft’s slow-burner of a tablet.

The first batch of nine ADRs included Insight, SCC, Misco, Softcat, Phoenix Software, Kelway, CCS Media, Computacenter and SoftwareOne. Phoenix Software was less interested in hardware and left the programme two weeks ago to concentrate on software sales.

Microsoft’s Surface distribution strategy after the launch of Surface 3 was likely due its popularity and the fact that Microsoft’s tablet is being demanded by those who need a tablet for business rather than consumer use.

Surface sales started off poor but picked up and demand had been “very strong” since the ADR scheme was launched. Surface sales grew 24 per cent in 2014 driven largely by the Surface Pro 3 and accessories, he said.

IBM steps up educational push

Posted on February 9, 2015 by - News

ibm-officeMassive services giant International Business Machines (IBM) said it has now enrolled over 300 colleges and universities around the world in its Power Systems Academic Initiative (PSAI).
IBM said that the push is to help students learn skills related to big data, cloud computing, mobile and social networking.
That, said IBM, is important in today’s job market.
The initiative, which started in October 2012. has grown by 152 percent over the last two years, IBM claimed.
Schools and universities hooked up to IBM include New York University’s polytechnic school of engineering, Virginia Tech, the UK University of Greenwich, the University of Ulster, and Glasgow Caledonian University.
Of course, IBM’s move is not all altruism – it is pinning its future on cloud computing, big data, analytics and security.
Several of the academic bodies offer courses related to IBM specific operations, and the company said it recruit from universities and business schools.

Toshiba gets slice of new NDNA pie

Posted on September 4, 2013 by - News

toshiba-logoToshiba has been approved as a vendor in the new National Desktop and Notebook Agreement (NDNA) to provide PCs to universities, colleges and affiliated research institutions.

Toshiba is not new to NDNA, it has been on board for twelve years, but now it’s expanding its reach in Lot 2 of NDNA.

Toshiba will work with resellers Viglen, European Electronique, Iansyst and Academia to deliver its range of B2B products to NDNA members and it will offer a few perks as well. All products sold under the programme will come with an three-year on-site warranty, as well as an extended three-year battery warranty for Portege and Tecra laptops. End-users will also be allowed to retain their hard drives, so they can dispose of sensitive data as they choose.

“We’ve been working hard with our partners on supporting the education sector for many years, and to be re-awarded a place on the NDNA framework enables us to continue this practice.” commented Mark Byrne, Head of Public Sector, Toshiba UK. “As technology’s influence within the education sector continues to grow, we are delighted Toshiba continues to play a central role in these advances.”

The new NDNA framework went live on the 1st of August. Toshiba also noted that it remains committed to other educations programmes in the UK and the continent, such as European Schoolnet’s iTec and the UK Education Ambassadors programme.

Academia expands portfolio

Posted on August 12, 2013 by - News

salamancaEducation technology group Academia is launching a new commercial business team within Academia Technology Group as a reseller for enterprise customers.

Leading the team will be Richard Faucher, who has previously worked at PC World, Misco, Insight, and Computacenter, and has 20+ years in the IT sector. It will be branded Academia for Business.

Academia hopes to built on its reputation as an existing Apple, Toshiba, Adobe, HP, and Microsoft supplier but to expand with mainstream server and storage to help business customers.

In a statement, Faucher said account managers will focus on different markets, including publishing and media, telecoms and technology, law and finance, and sports and leisure.