Author: Eva Glass

Eva Glass first rose to prominence in The INQUIRER. She continues to work behind the scenes to dig out the best stories.

Avnet in EMC push

Posted on February 11, 2014 by - News

Avnet's Lee BushnellDistributor Avnet said it has introduced a programme called Altitude aimed at small and medium sized businesses.

The programme promotes EMC storage and back up devices and aims to help its resellers offer VNXe storage and Data Domain backup products.

The scheme centres around an online configuration tool that lets resellers calculate price for the EMC products without needing to contact Avnet.  Using a secure portal, the configurator is available at all times.

Lee Bushnell, EMC business manager at Avnet UK (pictured), said that the programme will help resellers to secure lucrative revenue streams with attractive pricing.

Resellers can avail themselves of training on the portal along with sales information, data sheets and product training.

HTC in Google tie-up

Posted on February 10, 2014 by - News

google-ICA report claimed that HTC, which has wobbled quite a bit over the last few years, is set to cooperate with Google on its next tablet.

According to Taiwanese wire, Digitimes, the two companies will jointly launch the Nexus 10 tablet.

HTC hasn’t had a great deal of success in the tablet sphere and Google has consorted with other manufacturers including Asustek and Samsung to create previous versions of Nexus tablets.

The big question is whether it is too little and too late for HTC to make progress in the tablet arena, given that there are already so many players.

Although its recent smartphones have been hailed as good bits of kit, it seems that a  lack of coordination and marketing know how has prevented HTC doing as well as it should have.

Avnet makes Benelux appointment

Posted on February 10, 2014 by - Moving People, News

avnettsMarc van Ierland has been made country manager of its Benelux district which includes Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands.

van Ierland has over 20 years experience in distribution and has been at Avnet since November 2007 after the company acquired ACAL.

Andrew Binding, VP at Avnet EMEA South said that he is a well known and respected individual  with a proven track record in developing and managing highly motivated teams.

He previously managed the IBM, Oracle, networking, security and document management business units in the region.

Daisy gets O2 gong

Posted on February 10, 2014 by - News

Dave McGinn, DaisyO2 has awarded Daisy Distribution its “partner of the year” award for 2013.

The company said that is beat off distributors Avenir and Carphone Warehouse to the front line. All three are O2 Centre of Excellence distributors.

Dave McGinn, MD at Daisy, said it won the award because of its low churn and rise in customer satisfaction.

“Although we continually perform strongly on computer acquisition, our goal for 2013 was to further improve our retention performance in order to strengthen our position as O2’s leading distribution partner,” he said.

O2’s Angie Simpson, said that the two companies had an “excellent working relationship in 2013 and our strategic alignment has helped forge a closer working relationship over the last 12 months”.

PC market falls again

Posted on February 6, 2014 by - News

IBMoldThe news for resellers specialising in the PC business in western Europe continues to be gloomy, apart from those specialising in the enterprise sector.

Gartner issued a report that said the market fell in western Europe by four percent in the last quarter of 2013.

And it’s all PC segments.  Mobile and desktop PC shipments fell by 6.5 percent and 0.3 percent respectively.  Sales to enterprises fell by 1.7 percent while sales of PCs to individual people fell by seven percent.

However, it’s not all bad news. Gartner said that large corporations are switching away from Windows XP – support from Microsoft ceases in April.

HP is the number one player, followed by Lenovo, Acer, Asus, and Apple. The total number of PCs shipped in Q4 2013 amounted to 14,671,825.

PC shipments in the UK amounted to 2.9 million units in the quarter, down 6.7 percent compared to the same quarter in 2012.

Mobile shipments fell 10 percent.

HP, Lenovo, Dell, Toshiba and Apple were the top five vendors in the UK for the quarter.

Intel has lost the plot

Posted on February 6, 2014 by - News, Opinions

Intel-logoOur sister publication, TechEye, reports this morning that Intel is selling its chips at or below cost in an attempt to wrest more market share in the tablet market.

The truth is that like its joined at the hip twin, Microsoft, Intel has lost the place.

We’re not able to quantify the amount of money Intel has spent in the last years attempting to get its microprocessors into smartphones and tablets – all to very little effect.

The truth is that the last thing smartphone manufacturers want to do is find themselves in the same position as PC makers did – that is to say in the grip of a virtual monopoly.

When Intel first mooted the idea of the Atom microprocessor, senior executives maintained in the face of overwhelming evidence that its introduction would cannibalise its existing notebook market.

We have some sympathy for Intel – it invests considerable amounts in very expensive factories employing tens of thousands of people.  But its clear lack of strategy in the face of the onward match of tablets and smartphones that don’t use its microprocessors is puzzling.

Tosh makes big channel push

Posted on February 5, 2014 by - News

windowscomputexToshiba introduced a campaign aimed at supporting channel players specialising in the SMB sector.

Called “”Get Modern with Toshiba”, the scheme ties in with Microsoft’s Get2Modern – an attempt by the software giant to wrest us away from Windows XP and Office 2003.

Toshiba said its channel partners will be given competitive prices on machines including the Portege Z30, Tecra Z40 and Tecra Z50. A trade in scheme lets SMBs claim up to £100 on new products, while Toshiba said its reliability guarantee lets its partners offer free repair and full refunds if on old model is traded in before March 31st 2014.

Toshiba said many SMBs are still using Windows XP and as we all know Microsoft will can support for Office 2003 and Windows XP on April 8th next.

Toshiba’s marketing director, Matt McDwall, claims “there’s a strong financial argument” to move from XP to Windows 8.1 – basing that claim on IDC figures that show running Windows XP is five times more expensive than Windows 7.

Avnet teams up with law firm

Posted on February 4, 2014 by - Events, News

Frank Bennett, AvnetDistribution giant Avnet UK said it has partnered with international law firm Simmons and Simmons to hold a seminar on the impact of IT in the finance sector.

The aim of the event, dubbed FinancialPath University, is to educate its business partners about delivering IT to this sector.  The seminar, to be held on the 25th of February, will explor legal and regulatory matters that have an effect on IT decision making in the sector.

Avnet’s Frank Bennett, who heads up the initiative, said that the financial services industry is a huge opportunity for its business partners but is a complex industry to master.

After the seminar, delegates will be able to keep up to date with developments in the sector with a series of webinars.

VIP pulls out of middle east

Posted on February 4, 2014 by - News

dubaiVIP Computers said that it has made what it calls a “controlled exit” from the Middle East.

It will concentrate on its core markets in Europe and the USA where it is a system manufacturer and a bradline distributor.

The HQ of VIP’s middle east venture, in Dubai, will not disappear however. Halprit Singh, who headed the local team, will partner with Falcon Technologies – a Euro storage company, and continue to service the channel VIP created for storage products.

VIP said after-sales support will be provided by its UK office.

Wireless devices threaten factories

Posted on February 3, 2014 by - News

cheap-tabletsA report from a market research company said that security is becoming a key question for wireless networks used in industry.

IHS said that wireless network devices in factories worldwide will rise from 2.1 million in 2012 to 3.4 million by 2017.

Mark Watson, an associate director at IHS, said there’s a gorwing trend in the bring your own device (BYOD) in the manufacturing sectors, with people using both smartphones and tablets to monitor and control industrial equipment.

“Such devices may lack adequate security, offering hackers easy access to confidential data – or allowing them to spread malware through factory automation systems,” he said.

To counter the threat, some manufacturers are employing the so-called honeypot method – essentially a fake system that lets business monitor hacking threats.

He said that WirelessHAT and ISA 100.11a are the major industrial wireless technologies and used more in process industries, while WLAN and Bluetooth are more common in discreet industries.

Canon offers SMB benefits

Posted on February 3, 2014 by - News, Products

canonMFPCanon Europe said that its imageRUNNER2400 series will bring its partners some cool profit benefits.

The multifunctional printer (MFP) is network ready and Francis Thornhill, Canon’s European and UK product manager, said that the devices helps it partners to address challenges of small workgroups.

The device lets Canon partners secure revenues after sales, he said – partners’ contact details are left on the device for end users to re-order consumables and the unit has a triple backed up counter so that bill printing costs can be tracked properly.

The device will be available in March.

Spigraph M&A makes it big

Posted on January 30, 2014 by - News

Wayne DaveyDicom’s takeover by Spigraph International Group has been finalised.

That, according to the company, makes it the biggest value added distributor (VAD) of document capture and processing technology in the EMEA region.

The VAD’s channel is being integrated – it has something like 6,000 resellers in 20 countries.

Spigraph will have a turnover of £130 million, offering its customers access to the biggest scanner manufacturers and software publishers, it said.

There will be some re-organisation – that’s what it means by saying it will optimise its product ranges.

Wayne Davey will be CEO of the combined Spigraph operation, while Joachim Froning, previously CEO at Dicom, will take on the role of senior vide president.

Cloud Distribution signs A10

Posted on January 30, 2014 by - News

Adam Davison, Cloud DistributionValue added distributor Cloud Distribution said it has signed up A10 Networks.

A10 produces high performance products for accelerating, optimising and securing apps cost effectively.

Adam Davison, director at Cloud Distribution said that the Application Delivery Controller market has gone through a shake up after Cisco discontinued its ACE product.

And, he added, a number of enterprise customers need to refresh existing IT products that have now reached the end of their lives and have discontinued support.

“The recent addition of A10’s dedicated DDoS offering is an added bonus for our partners because it broadens the market opportunity with an enlarged portfolion of products,” he said.

According to Gartner figures, the Application Delivery Controller market and will doubtle to be worth $2.9 billion in the next few years.

Ultraportables hold notebook hotspot

Posted on January 29, 2014 by - News

framedwindowsA report from ABI Research said that of the 22.5 million notebook shipments in 2013, the ultra portable segment held 12.3 percent of the market.

Selling prices worldwide averaged between $940 to $1,540 but the higher end represented the majority of the ultra portables sold.

Most of these machines use the Windows 8 OS, which “suffered fits and starts during 2013”, largely because of usability problems and “poor first impresions”.

ABI believes that many people and organisations are still waiting for hiccups in the OS to be sorted out.  And as tablet prices fall, many are testing the water with the slate form factor.

LTE mobile broadband will soon become a key differentiator as it reaches critical mass.

Daisy holds industry summit

Posted on January 29, 2014 by - Events, News

DaisyThe Daisy Group said it has set a date for an industry summit with ubiquity as its topic.

Dubbed #DaisyWired2014, and to be held at Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire on the 7th of May, the event will have as guests and speakers John Cridland, director general of the CBI, futurologist Tom Cheesewright and senior Daisy executives Nathan Marke and Matthew Riley.

Speakers will explore how technology everywhere will affect the future of British business and how companies should prepare themselves to maximise its potential.

Last year, at a similar event, over 100 companies attended. The programme includes speeches, presentations, workshops and debates.