Tag: partners

Canon touts compact imaging

Posted on April 8, 2013 by - News

Canon logoCanon is helping its partners make the most of the increasing demand for compact imaging products.

It has launched two new compact black-and-white multifunctional devices (MFDs) as part of its  ImageRunner Advance range, which it claims will create new revenue opportunities in the desktop capture and output market.

According to the company’s recent Office Insights report, value and cost of MFDs were found to be the most important factors in the purchasing process for 34 percent of decision makers, followed closely by reliability – 20 percent and output quality – 18 percent.

Canon said its new devices helped bridge this gap and also added to its partner’s portfolio.

The new ImageRunner Advance 400i and 500i A4 devices have output and capture capabilities in a compact design claimed to provide users with smarter ways of working.

End-users can print from any Google Cloud Print enabled web-connected device, or scan to and print from the iPad, iPhone and Android mobile devices. The Uniflow platform is said to offer configurable document workflows to larger organisations or more demanding environments.

Uniflow also provides a secure platform for users to print from any device to any networked MFD.

The ImageRunner Advance 400i and 500i devices will be available across the UK & Ireland from 1 May 2013.

Canon helps the partners out

Posted on April 2, 2013 by - News

canonCanon is helping its channel partners to generate additional revenues with the launch of two new series colour multifunctional devices (MFDs).

According to the company, the i-SENSYS MF8200 and MF8500 both offer high quality and connectivity features and all five new compact laser devices will enable partners to help their small to midsized customers work faster.

Anil Jagpal, European Marketing Manager for i-SENSYS at Canon Europe, said customers were increasingly asking Canon partners to provide office technology products that supported a more connected approach to working and increased the productivity of end-users.

The company also referenced its own recent research that found more than two-thirds of end-users felt that printers or scanners with Wi-Fi connectivity could improve their productivity.

“Our refreshed i-SENSYS range provides our partners with a great business opportunity to convert the strong desire for quality, connectivity and productivity into sales,” Jagpal added.

The new i-SENSYS MFDs are said to be designed to be shared and come network-ready as standard. They are claimed to provide users with the ability to print from a range of mobile and other web-connected devices, using Canon’s Mobile Printing App, Apple AirPrint or Google Cloud Print.

The i-SENSYS MF8280Cw and MF8580Cdw also feature Wi-Fi connectivity, and the i-SENSYS MF8500 series enables users to capture paper-based documents and send them straight from the device to an email address or network folder.

The MF8500 series also support PCL, which allows partners to integrate these devices into their customers’ existing IT and printing environments as well as offering security features that allow partners to meet their customers’ increasing demand for keeping company information safe.

The new i-SENSYS devices will be available from 15 May 2013.

Atlassian sees growth through partner expansion

Posted on March 27, 2013 by - News

lemmAtlassian has said that bookings from its channel partner network grew by 59 percent in 2012.

The enterprise software company says it has around 284 Expert Partner businesses covering 150 countries worldwide on its book.

iGUAZU  has a network of more than 600 trusted business partners in Japan, is Atlassian’s newest partner.

“While enterprise software is increasingly being bought and not sold, we know that many large-scale deployments require professional services and or customization for a successful rollout or expansion of our software,” said Jose Morales, Atlassian vice president.

He claimed that because the company’s software was a “platform” that partners could “leverage and extend” with their own plug-ins and customised integrations, its channel had seen great growth.

Atlassian’s expert partners are said to deploy and customise large-scale software implementations and extend the software platform through customised plug-ins and integrations with existing systems and appliances.

These custom solutions sit on top of Atlassian’s software platform and are sold through the Atlassian Marketplace, a business-to-business marketplace where customers can access 1500 available add-ons.  Partners also provide the professional services necessary for large customer deployments.

In 2012, revenue for Atlassian North American channel partners grew by more than 57 percent. Platinum expert partner Appfire, with offices in Boston, San Francisco, Toronto and Hyderbad, experienced record growth in 2012, doubling its staff and watching its five-year average annual growth rate soar to 57 percent.

In the U.K., Adaptavist, an exclusive Atlassian consultancy with offices in central London, achieved close to 100 percent revenue growth in 2012 and as a consequence, doubled its headcount.

Ingram embraces Cisco partners

Posted on March 12, 2013 by - News

Jay MileyIngram Micro’s North America Services Division has made its Hosted Collaboration Solution (HCS) available to qualified Cisco channel partners across the US and Canada.

Powered by Cisco, the cloud service has already been available in beta with select Ingram Micro channel partners for several months. It is now set to be demonstrated live at Ingram Micro’s 2013 Cloud Summit April 7-10 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Featured on the Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace, the Ingram Micro HCS is, it is said,  an end-to-end system that lets partners make subscription-based, “as-a-service” offerings around Cisco Collaboration technologies including Cisco Unified Communications, Cisco Customer Collaboration and Cisco WebEx.

The service is also said to include the full range of Cisco Collaboration functions along with the tools to deliver these to the end customer in an automated, standardised and efficient manner.

Ingram Micro is also taking advantage of the Cisco Advanced Services team to help its channel partners provision and deploy the service, as well as offering round the clock service management, monitoring and Level 2 and Level 3 technical support.

Jay Miley, vice president and general manager, Advanced Technology Division, Ingram Micro US said that by engaging Ingram Micro, and utilising its dedicated Cisco Business Unit and growing Cloud Marketplace to offer HCS-as-a-service, Cisco channel partners could “establish a new recurring revenue stream without having to invest in the upfront capital to get the business moving.”

Ingram Micro rides high on reseller programme wave

Posted on March 4, 2013 by - News

IMIngram Micro said that its time and investment in its resellers is paying off and has launched more partner programmes as a result.

The distie, like many, centres its efforts around education and training for its partners, which it hopes will boost morale and help them sell more products.

And according to Arnet the company is riding the wave of success as a result of a range of initiatives launched over the past year. This includes its enablement training programs, aimed at the SME market, and helped bring in the bucks for the resellers in this sector.

The distie has also launched major programmes including  the Microsoft Training Academy and Microsoft Customer Immersion Experience, which it claims are doing so well that they have been over-subscribed and forced the company to lay on more of these events over the next month, while its Symantec and VMware launch and learn events have also paid off.

The company, which said it a statement that it believed “education and training were key enablers for its reseller partners” has now launched two more programs for March.

Veeam Campus is a program claimed to provide training and certification for Veeam products, while Cloud Advance has been created in partnership with UberGlobal and Microsoft to assist resellers in identifying and capitalising on cloud service opportunities.

The distie warned that interest in both new programs was strong already and early registrations were filling quickly.

IM resellers can register for both free programs immediately.

Intel Ultrabooks are the “Titanic of the 21st Century”

Posted on February 25, 2013 by - News, Opinions

Der Untergang der TitanicResellers have lit into Intel Ultrabooks likening the range to the “the Titanic of the 21st Century,” and calling the products a “sinking expense.”

The comments come as resellers are still seeing bleak sales  for  these products, with some saying they can’t see a light at the end of the dismal tunnel.

Intel’s slim line babies had been touted as a lighter way to work, however, according to recent research by IDC, the company’s emphasis on its skinny form factor did it no favours as the price tag is still sky high.

However, it seems the stubbornness of the company, and its reluctance to cut prices, have angered resellers.

“Ultrabooks have really been the Titanic of the 21st Century. A disaster, and sinking expense,” one told ChannelEye today.

“It seems to me that whatever Intel does, and however much it throws at this brand, it’s just not going to take off unless it reduces prices for these ranges significantly.

“However what we’ve heard from the company hints that this isn’t going to happen, meaning we’ll once again be left with surplus stock and low margins as a result.”

Others agreed, claiming that the price point was the thorn in Intel’s side.

“Ultrabooks still aren’t doing as well as we would have liked. No one wants an overpriced laptop at the moment and the slim USP it’s got going on just isn’t attracting consumers,” another reseller told ChannelEye.

“There are cheaper, but bigger laptops that offer similar features that just make purchases more justified.”

Others have also pointed out that although the company could cash in on the upcoming holidays, consumers again would be reluctant to opt for this product with tablets offering a better price point.

“We’re hoping to see a rise in Ultrabook sales as the summer holidays come around, but it’s market. Some families who are going away will be looking for a light device that can keep kids occupied on a plane as well as act as a virtual mag/book.

“Although an Ultrabook would be perfect for this, the reality is the price points will push many to a tablet,” he added.

Magor Communications intros cloud partner programme

Posted on January 28, 2013 by - Events, News

clouds3Magor Communications is set to launch the first phase of its new Stratus Partner Programme at a conference later this week.

The visual collaboration company will use the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) conference, which kicks off Jan. 29 in Amsterdam as the mouthpiece for the new initiative, which is claimed to help resellers offer their customers “alternatives to traditional video conferencing.”

The Stratus service is said to work differently from other products as it uses software architecture to apparently allow users to engage and interact on any device.

As it runs through the cloud, the company says there are more opportunities for partners who will be able to leverage the cost reduction of cloud deployment and support many creative use cases for video to their customers.

At ISE the company will be on the search for new partners who are looking at new revenue opportunities. In return the company claims it will give those who join up access to a variety of options for billing, endpoint monetisation, vertical product development and “other benefits.”

ChannelEye will be attending the event and giving you the low down later in the week.