Author: Andrea Petrou

PEER 1 Hosting makes King a Channel chieftain

Posted on March 12, 2013 by - Moving People, News

PeerPEER 1 Hosting has appointed Mark King its EMEA Channel Executive.

The global IT hosting provider has said that Mark will lead the EMEA channel programme, with his efforts focused on nurturing PEER 1 Hosting’s existing partnerships as well as bringing on board new partners who can join in building on its rapid growth.

Mark worked with  companies like Avnet in the IBM Business Unit. He says he is now keen to “drive dialogue between PEER 1 Hosting partners to ignite collaboration and enable them to develop intrinsic skills to advise, build, sell and integrate solutions together”,

The appointment follows a recent announcement by PEER1 Hosting, which has
expanded its strategic alliance programme. It claims that its partners who consult, build and deliver business critical services to medium and large organisations are vital to PEER 1 Hosting.

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.”

Computacenter says “stumble in Germany” resulted in profit loss

Posted on March 12, 2013 by - News

poundsComputacenter has reported a four percent profit loss for the full year claiming it “stumbled in Germany”.

The British company said its profits stood at £71.3 million in 2012, compared to £74.2 million in 2011.

It blamed the loss on higher costs from new contracts, which bled into margins in the services business in Germany, its second-largest market by revenue.

And 2013 doesn’t look to be an easy road with the company claiming that this year would be dependant on the speed of recovery from the “problem contracts” in Germany, which it said was unpredictable.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom with the company reporting group revenues jumping 2.2 percent to £2.91 billion  compared to 2011’s  £2.85 billion.

Mike Norris, Chief Executive of the company said: “We expect 2013 to be a year of progress for Computacenter. While the Group financial outcome for 2013 will be dependent on the in-year performance of Germany and the speed at which we recover from our problem contracts, which is unpredictable, we are confident that these contracts will improve.

“More importantly, winning, contracting and taking on new contracts successfully, is more fundamental to the long-term growth of the business and its strategic development. This will be underpinned by our new Group operating model, which has taken effect in the UK and Germany, since the start of 2013.”

Alvea Services launches Infrastructure Service

Posted on March 11, 2013 by - News

Hands across the waterAlvea Services has launched its Infrastructure Service, aimed at helping companies with additional virtual servers.

The managed security and cloud-based computing provider, says its new Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) has been designed for organisations that may need to vary their computing capabilities at a moment’s notice to match the changing needs of their business. Rather than have to invest in an IT infrastructure that may lie redundant when full capacity is not required, they are claimed to be able to use Alvea’s new service to quickly and easily provision additional virtual servers when they need them.

The company says this is is particularly important for project-based businesses, those that operate around seasonal fluctuations in demand or those that may need additional resource for testing or short-term data processing.

A key feature of the new service is its secure data seeding capability, either via encrypted hard disk or high-speed internet transfer, which allows businesses to move their data to the cloud quickly and securely. There is also a simple user interface to give clients instant provisioning of IT security and cloud services with a pay-as-you go model so that IT departments can react quickly to the changing needs of their businesses and only pay for the computing power they use.

The new service has been built around a UK-based data centre to comply with data “sovereignty” and security requirements and is operated by IT security and data centre management specialists.

The service is delivered and supported by a network of IT and security resellers that provide technical support and advice on how Alvea Infrastructure can be integrated into an organisation’s existing IT environment.

To demonstrate the service,  Alvea is offering businesses free trials of the service, for a limited period of time, and inviting them to ‘try before you buy’ to test out the flexibility of the new service.

Review: Kyocera ceramic chef and paring knives

Posted on March 11, 2013 by - Fun Stuff, Products

KyoceraCutting veg, fruit and meat can be trying at the best of times.

Although there are several ranges of knives on the market, some just don’t cut the mustard, meaning carrots take on uneven lines and meat ends up different sizes.

For that rustic look, this may work, but if you’re looking for presentation worthy of Masterchef recognition then those serrated metal knives may just not cut it.

Kyocera’s ceramic knives are however, a cut above the rest. We looked at the Kyocera FK-2PC-WH3 – White Blades: 5.5″ Santoku and 3″ Paring Knife Set in our review.

The company, better known for its document products in the UK, offers a range of knives that literally cut through anything, leaving the clean tidy look reflective of their Japanese heritage.

To the naked eye these knives aren’t much to look at with a white blade so thin it almost looks plastic. There are no serrated edges and to those know almost nothing about knives, may wonder what the expensive price tag is all about.

However, remove them from their careful, prestige packaging and begin chopping and you’ll see they are well worth the pennies.

What looks like a flimsy plastic blade is sharper than most mother in law’s tongues, easily slicing through even the thickest of vegetables and toughest of meats – although we didn’t manage to try it out on horse.

The blades, which must be hand washed, are also totally impervious to acids, juices, oils, salts and other elements and unlike their metallic rivals will never rust.

The thin ceramic also means the knives weigh less than a normal one, making them easier to hold and use, as well reducing fatigue during repetitive cutting. In our opinion they are the best knives on the market, and with a lifetime guarantee and free sharpening are well worth the money.

Tesco throws down price war gauntlet to the competition

Posted on March 11, 2013 by - News

tescoTesco is vying to get customers galloping back through its doors following the horse meat scandal.

The giant is also throwing down the gauntlet to its supermarket competitors, offering its customers automatic price comparison coupons.

From today the retailer will compare its prices on branded and own-label goods with those at Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s. It said its customers would receive their coupons after every buy if its prices were found to be higher than its competitors. Online customers will receive their vouchers via email.

The scheme, which is similar to Sainsbury’s Brand Match scheme, will offer customers a maximum of £10 in coupons per visit.

The company will also be going head-to-head with Asda’s “Price Guarantee” that offers to refund customers the difference, via a voucher, if an online price-comparison website does not show that their shopping is at least 10 percent cheaper than it would be.

However Tesco has stipulated that customers must buy more than 10 different products to be eligible to receive money off in its scheme.

Chris Bush, Tesco’s new UK boss, said the company was working hard to build a better Tesco and the ‘price promise’ was an important part of that.

PM Cameron wants more apprenticeships

Posted on March 11, 2013 by - News

DCApprenticeships could become the “new norm” for school kids who choose not to get into debt by going to university if the Prime Minister has his way.

Clearly impressed by Donald Trump and Alan Sugar who have pushed these schemes into the limelight, David Cameron has said he now wants to see this training sitting “at the heart” of the government’s mission to rebuild the economy.

The PM will now call on the industry to make these schemes available to school leavers when he visits a training academy in Buckinghamshire.

The moves come as National Apprenticeship Week kicks off today. And it is clear Cameron wants to show he’s doing something for this, showing that his party is committed to helping teens get into work.

According to Whitehall, more than 500,000 people started an apprenticeship between 2011 and 2012.  The Centre for Economics and Business Research have also claimed that  completed apprenticeships over the next 10 years could contribute up to £3.4 billion a year to the UK economy through productivity gains by 2022.

Cameron is expected to claim that schemes such as these give school leavers the chance to learn a trade and build their careers which in turn helps boost the economy.

He will also tell MPs that they need to look at how apprenticeships can be expanded so they are available to all.

Microsoft Windows 8 OEM prices may drop in UK

Posted on March 6, 2013 by - Interviews, News, Opinions

Windows-8Despite claims that Microsoft is planning to offer discounts on Windows 8 OEM prices over in Taiwan, disties and resellers have said that they have not seen the same happening in the UK.

However, they have hinted that if the rumours are correct, there could be a knock on effect on UK sales later on in the year.

The comments come as DigiTimes reported that Microsoft would lower OEM licensing costs by offering a discount of $20 for 11.6-inch and below notebooks that are equipped with touch screens.

Sources and vendors said this was because Windows had fallen short of expectations in driving demand mainly because its notebooks and tablets were too expensive

For below 10.8-inch notebooks, tablets and hybrids, Microsoft  is said to offer the $20 discount plus free Office 2013 software, from the beginning of April, while retail prices for 11.6-inch touchscreen Windows 8 notebooks were expected to be reduced beginning June to reflect the discount.

However, a big distie who works closely with Microsoft in the UK said that it had not seen evidence of this.

“We haven’t heard of any reductions but we can confirm that these are failing to shift,” he told ChannelEye.

“I suppose if the news is coming from the Far East we can expect to see similar announcements in the next few weeks/months.

“These sources are rarely wrong and it would make sense given the way these products are failing to fly off the shelves.”

One reseller was less convinced, telling ChannelEye: “Sales are slow but I don’t think they are at a pace to send Microsoft into a price slashing frenzy just yet.

“It’s invested a lot of money in these products as well as us, its resellers, so it’s going to hold out. Of course that puts pressure on us to sell, but c’est la vie.”

SAS appoints new business development director

Posted on March 6, 2013 by - Moving People

DaveSAS Global Communications has appointed Dave Everest as its new business development director.

The provider of managed network and professional services has said Everest will be responsible for driving  new revenue growth across the UK via partner and direct channels.

He will be reporting to director of sales Mike Stichbury, and will be based in the north of England.

Everest climbs into SAS from managed services provider Calyx, where he held a number of senior sales and business development director roles over a four year period. He is claimed to  have an extensive sales experience in IT services, networking and telecoms, having spent more than 16 years working with major organisations, including PSINet, Cable and Wireless, Network Partners and MXC.

His appointment comes as part of a new SAS strategy with plans to enhance the company’s  managed services portfolio to become an £21 million business in the next three years.

Highstreet sales for Feb hit three year high

Posted on March 5, 2013 by - News

highstreet South endFebruary brought with it a breath of fresh air for the high street, with figures showing sales grew at their fastest rates in years.

In its latest report, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said dry weather last month encouraged people to venture out, with figures rising by 2.7 percent on the previous year and marking the fastest growing rate in three years.

Electrical goods were said to fuel the figures with the BRC describing these as the growth engine of the high street, with “big ticket goods and items for the home recovering particularly well”.

Despite the horse meat scandal, food grew by one percent, although frozen burger sales fell in favour of ingredients to make products from scratch.

The organisation pushed once again for changes in the upcoming Budget to ensure the high street continued to dig its way out of despair, claiming that the government had to realise that retail is central to generating growth and jobs critical to the UK’s economic recovery.

However, it pointed out that weak consumer confidence was the real and present obstacle, and as a result the Chancellor had to create a Budget that left people with “more money in their pockets and the confidence to spend it and retailers with the means to invest”.

It also reiterated that if the proposed rise in business rates went ahead then retailers would be placed under “inexorable pressure”.

The BRC figures contrasted with a recent CBI survey which reported that food stores suffered their worst performance for five years in February.

Although the BRC painted a rosier-than-usual picture, high street staple Debenhams recently issued a profit warning, claiming the bad weather in January could dent its margins.

It said that earnings would miss expectations and that underlying revenues were 10 percent lower in the affected fortnight, compared with a five percent rise over the festive period.

Revised profits for the six months to 2 March will now stand at around £120 million, against £128.5 million a year earlier and City forecasts in the £131 million area.

Infoblox and Wipro announce cosy reseller arragement

Posted on March 5, 2013 by - News, Products

cosyInfoblox and its Wipro owned chum Infotech have announced a global reseller arrangement claimed to give businesses and public organisations greater control over their corporate IT networks

The pair have said that the move is as a result of a “changing landscape” and the increasing demands put on networks by mobile devices and bring-your-own-device programs. Virtualisation and private clouds, as well as the transition to IPv6 were also claimed to have  created greater complexity and risk for IT teams to manage.

Through this reseller deal, Wipro will use Infoblox’s technology to help its customers automate network control functions like DNS, DHCP and IPAM  to cut complexity and costs, increase security and stay uptime longer.

This will be done through Infobloxs’ services for discovery, real-time configuration and change management, and compliance for the control plane – the layer in between infrastructure like switches and routers, and applications and endpoints like IP phones or virtual machines.

It said this would help IT teams as instead of adding manual processes and increasing network bandwidth, they could “more efficiently” control their networks, and free up resources to focus on strategic projects that create business value.

Tyan launches cheap, powerful server stuff

Posted on March 5, 2013 by - News, Products

Tyan1Tyan has launched products aimed at people looking for powerful and cheap computing performance.

The server platform design manufacturer has shown off the Tyan TA77-B7061, its latest and flexible 2U GPU supported platform; the S7042, entry-level dual socket motherboard -GT62A-B5512 and the GT20A-B7040, the “cost-effective” 1U server at CeBIT.

The TA77-B7061 is said to help consumers who are looking for accelerated data-processing and efficient computing performance as a result of supporting up to four GPUs in a 2U server chassis, it is also said to save server and rack space through the use of Intel Xeon Phi processors, NVIDIA Tesla K20 Series and ATI FirePro.

The TA77-B7061 supports Intel’s Xeon E5-2600 Series Processors, (8+8) DDR-III R/U/LR-DIMM,  PCI-E x16 G3 slots, PCI-E x8 G3 slots,  GbE ports and 2.5” HDDs.

The S7042 motherboard is targeted at the SMB market, claiming to offer these sectors a cost-effective platform.  It is claimed to have multiple expansion slots and a cost-optimised dual socket motherboard designed for SMB and workstation environments.

Those looking for strong performance with a weak price tag are said to benefit from the GT62A-B5512 which is a one way 1U rackmount server, which is claimed to target nearline storage, and  bring down the cost of server deployment.

Infoblox appoints Henk Jan Spanjaard as EMEA veep

Posted on March 4, 2013 by - Moving People

Hands across the waterInfoblox has appointed Henk Jan Spanjaard as Vice President of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

The immediate appointment means that Spanjaard will be responsible for leading the automated network control company’s  EMEA team in helping enterprises and channel partners prepare for the networking needs of the future.

In the second quarter of Infoblox’s fiscal year, EMEA revenue increased 35 percent year-on-year.  The company recently opened new offices in Russia, Turkey and the UAE. Last month, it also launched a suite of new products that it claimed handed customers greater control of their corporate IT networks with increased security and availability.

Infoblox said it was fortunate to have Henk on board and would put him to work
“educating the market on how Infoblox can help organisations better manage the demands put on their networks”.

He will also be tasked with promoting the value of the Infoblox suite of automated network control services to prospective and existing customers, as well as the Infoblox pan-European channel.

Spanjaard,is multilingual and has experience in network storage, network management and security market segments. He has held senior managerial positions in the EMEA networking industry for 20 years, including with vendors like NetApp, Mu Dynamics and Imperva.

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.

BSkyB O2 Telefonica deal is “significant”

Posted on March 1, 2013 by - News

Hands across the waterThe acquisition of UK Telefonica’s O2 broadband by BSkyB is “significant” for both customers and the industry, an expert has said.

The comments by Andrew Ferguson, editor at ThinkBroadband, come as BSkyB announced it would buy its rival’s 500,000 customer accounts for £180 million, including the O2 and BE consumer broadband and home phone businesses. It said the by gobbling up its rival it would be able to provide advantages of scale for its home communications business.

Currently BSkyB has around 3.6 million customers, who pay for the company’s TV, broadband and telephone services

The deal is due to complete by the end of April, subject to regulatory approval. Once it has been signed off, all O2 and BE broadband customers will be switched to BskyB’s all-fibre network.

“The acquisition is significant both for the customers involved who have elected to join a partial LLU service, rather than the fully unbundled options sold by TalkTalk and Sky and for the industry overall, as we now have a new second largest retail broadband provider,” Mr Ferguson told ChannelEye.

“For the industry as a whole the sale of the O2/Be customers means that the last significant partial LLU service (where telephone is left on the WLR platform and only the broadband is ran over the providers own hardware) is vanishing, at least in terms of the consumer retail arena. This means that the vast majority of the unbundled services in the UK actually have both their telephone and broadband service provided over a Sky or TalkTalk MSAN (MSAN being a DSLAM providing multiple services).”

However, he added that the acquisition would also remove the Be retail network “which while  has remained small was well loved by its generally loyal customers”.

The company was also the provider that pushed ADSL2+ onto the UK market and also gave the people control over the various parameters of the ADSL2+ service, meaning customers could tweak the performance of their line to be the best in terms of line speed and latency.

However, this could be both good and bad news for both smaller providers.

“The Sky LLU platform tends to favour stability at the expense of a small amount of connection speed and latency, this means we are expecting to see a fair number of Be customers migrating to other smaller providers,” Mr Ferguson said.

“In terms of the regulatory position, it means Ofcom is now really regulating just five major players which control 94.4 percent of the retail sector in the UK.

“The problem with this dominance by a handful of major players is that it will be increasingly difficult for the small providers who service the pro-sumer and SME sector to get their voice heard,” he added.