Author: Nick Farrell

Dell sales plummet across the board

Posted on March 4, 2024 by - News

US grey tin box shifter Dell’s annual sales slumped to £69.8 billion, down 14 per cent from the previous year and £10.7 billion less than its £80.5 billion record in 2022.

The outfit’s top-selling infrastructure category dropped 12 per cent to £26.7 billion as global customers tightened their belts despite the hype around generative AI.

Dell’s senior vice president and treasurer, Tyler Johnson, moaned that the outfit was waiting for the big corporate, global, multinational business to return. They’re cautious because of the economy, politics and interest rates.

Dell’s servers and networking business fell 14 per cent to £13.9 billion in sales. Storage did slightly better, down nine per cent.

Dell COO Jeff Clarke said FY24 didn’t go as planned.

“But we did our best. We adapted to the changing market, focused on what we can control, and expanded into the high-growth AI opportunity. Our operating margin rate improved as we delivered higher gross margins with disciplined cost management.”

Dell and Nokia join forces to conquer the telecom world

Posted on March 1, 2024 by - News

Dell and Nokia have signed a pact which they claim will revolutionise the telecom ecosystem and private 5G for businesses.

The dynamic duo will share their expertise and solutions, including Dell’s infrastructure offerings and Nokia’s private wireless connectivity capabilities.

Grey box shifter Dell will become Nokia’s preferred infrastructure partner for its AirFrame servers, with the former rubber boot maker Nokia offering Dell technology as part of its telecom cloud deployments.

The companies have announced plans to gradually transition existing AirFrame customers to Dell’s infrastructure portfolio, which includes the tech firm’s PowerEdge servers for modern telecom network workloads.

Axeman goes wild at Ingram Micro

Posted on March 1, 2024 by - News

Ingram Micro is mercilessly cutting left, right, and centre jobs to save money.

The firm in sunny California is closing a warehouse in Missouri and sending 60 workers to the job centre. Insiders suggest more redundancies, including some of the bosses, are in the pipeline.

Ingram Micro has declined to confirm rumours that it is about to make another round of redundancies, including some of its middle managers. But confirmed it will close an advanced logistics facility this summer.

Lenovo recycles PCs to save polar bears

Posted on February 29, 2024 by - News

Lenovo is trying to flog old PCs to customers who want to save a few quid and the environment.

Using Lenovo Certified Refurbished, punters can get a second-hand PC that still works and doesn’t pollute the planet too much.

The company’s TruScale Device as a Service (DaaS) customers will also have more choices to mix and match their tech according to their needs and budget. Only Lenovo and its partners will offer the Lenovo stamp of approval.

Lenovo Global Sustainability Services head Claudia Contreras said going green is a big deal for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

ATOS scotches Tech Foundations sale

Posted on February 29, 2024 by - News

Atos has abandoned its plans to flog its Tech Foundations arm to EP Equity Investment (EPEI) after disagreeing on the price and terms of the deal.

The French IT giant said it will keep looking for other ways to eliminate the loss-making business, which sells old-fashioned tech to big clients.

An ATOS spokesman said Tech Foundations is still up for grabs, but they will run it alongside their Eviden unit, which sells trendy tech like cyber security and digital platforms.

Cloudy Keepit opens UK HQ in London

Posted on February 28, 2024 by - News

City Hall and Tower Bridge at Night, London

Cloudy backup outfit Keepit has opened a UK HQ in London as it ramps up its British expansion.

The Danish firm has seen 100 per cent annual growth in the region for the past three years and claims it will do it again in 2024.

The firm added the announcement comes after a recent £29 million cash boost from HSBC Innovation Banking and the launch of the Keepit partner network as the company switches to a partner-only strategy.

Keepit has teamed up with the likes of Phoenix, CDW, and Softcat, is looking to sign up a mix of more extensive partners, and aims to grow its networks within the Salesforce community, too.

He said the firm plans to launch a new partner programme across EMEA, including training and certification, letting partners get different levels of badges.

Keepit claims to be the only backup firm offering the benefits of broad application support and other unique features.

Mid-market bosses are buying the wrong tech

Posted on February 28, 2024 by - News

Microsoft partner Advania has found massive problems for mid-market firms in Northern Europe: they’re splashing out on the wrong tech mix with no way out.

Censuswide, an independent research firm, quizzed 966 mid-market IT chiefs across the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland.

The report found mid-market bosses feel snubbed with most thinking they are forking out on tech that doesn’t suit their business needs.

The findings come as company bankruptcies soar to their highest level in the UK since 2009 and mid-sized firms face sky-high borrowing costs, post-pandemic debt and rising inflation. IT budget slashes are unavoidable, yet despite mid-market firms knowing where they are overspending, the survey shows they don’t know how to chop.

CFOs take charge of AI plans

Posted on February 27, 2024 by - News

A study by Gartner has found that CFOs are getting more involved in shaping their firms’ AI strategies.

The research, which quizzed 822 bosses, found that 34 per cent of them thought CFOs had a say in their AI plans. CTOs came top with 55 per cent, followed by CIOs with 48 per cent and CEOs with 45 per cent.

Chief bean counter at Gartner, Alexander Bant, said most CFOs are unhappy with how their digital projects are going.

“AI spending is set to soar by five to eight times this year at most firms, and many CFOs are playing a key role in ensuring these investments pay off and don’t cause too much risk.”

KKR in £3 billion bid for VMware’s EUC arm

Posted on February 27, 2024 by - News

Private equity giant KKR is set to snap up VMware’s end-user computing (EUC) division for a whopping £3 billion.

The EUC unit, worth around £790 million, is being sold off by Broadcom after it splashed out £54.5 billion on VMware last year.

KKR already owns Alludo, a software firm that includes Parallels, VMware’s EUC products rival.

The feeling in the Channel is that if KKR is successful, it could be suitable for the industry. KKR would be a good guardian of the technology and the business. This could create a new EUC powerhouse that would benefit the VDI industry.

The deal starkly contrasts Vista Equity Partners’ £13 billion takeover of VDI software maker Citrix in 2022. KKR would be getting a good deal for a £790 million business with a competitive range of technology for delivering virtualised desktops and applications and managing a wide variety of devices.

 

Focus group buys Pinnacle

Posted on February 26, 2024 by - News

Focus Group has snapped up the Bristol-based cloudy outfit Pinnacle in a deal that will boost its business across the Southwest and beyond.

The deal comes as both companies are booming and claim to share the same goals and values. This is the third company that Focus Group has bought and  Pinnacle has a cracking success story, having raked in loads of cash over the years, which fits well with Focus Group’s growth plan.

Focus Group supremo Brian Lodge said: “We are over the moon to have Pinnacle on board. This deal shows our ambition to grow and not only makes us stronger in the Southwest but also joins two companies that see eye to eye on growth and customer happiness. Pinnacle’s products go well with Focus Group’s offerings in telecoms, IT, and mobile solutions, while its know-how in UC technology gives us more chances to work together and create new things.”

I-Soon was playing i-Spy on western companies

Posted on February 26, 2024 by - News

A shocking data leak has blown the lid off China’s secret cyber spying operation, which has targeted countries like the UK, India, and Taiwan.

The leak, which was posted on a website for computer geeks, reveals how a shady Chinese firm called I-Soon has been helping the communist regime to hack into the phones, emails and social media accounts of millions of people around the world.

The leak contains hundreds of files, including emails, chats, photos and documents, that show how I-Soon has been working with the Chinese government for eight years, snooping on at least 20 foreign governments and territories.

CultureAI has sticks keys in Ignition.

Posted on February 23, 2024 by - News

A UK cyber start-up, CultureAI, has teamed up with Ignition to peddle what could potentially be some controversial AI tech.

CultureAI is a “human risk management platform” which uses AI to monitor employees’ online habits and spot risky behaviour, such as using weak passwords, clicking on dodgy links, or sharing secrets on chat apps.

However, the technology opens up a can of worms about firms monitoring staff, mainly using AI. The start-up says it can use data to “transform” staff security and reduce human risk by sending alerts and interventions to the most vulnerable workers.

Murphy quits over Bytes share dealings

Posted on February 23, 2024 by - News

Bytes Technology boss Neil Murphy has quit after being caught flogging shares on the sly, according to news24.com.

The JSE-listed outfit, which sells software to the public sector, admitted that some of Murphy’s trades were not reported to the market as they should have been, and it was trying to find out what happened.

Murphy, who had been with Bytes since 2019, claimed that his stake in the company was the same as he had declared on 28 November, when he said he owned 2.9 million shares or 0.8 per cent of the total.

TD SYNNEX gives partners a boost with Epson

Posted on February 22, 2024 by - News

TD SYNNEX has launched a new service to help its partners offer top-notch printing solutions to their customers

The outfit has partnered with Epson to offer its partners the Workforce Enterprise series of A3 copiers and printers. This means partners can provide customers with remote monitoring, automatic cartridge replacement, on-site warranty cover, and the energy- and waste-saving benefits of Epson’s unique Heat-Free inkjet technology from the moment they install them.

The new service, dubbed OpenMPS, lets partners manage customers’ printing devices with automatic shipments of supplies, remote monitoring of print devices, and on-site warranty cover. Partners have complete control over customer pricing and get alerts when consumables orders are placed. Smart dashboarding and full reporting let them see all orders and shipments in one place, and enhanced data checking protects against fraud.

TD SYNNEX UK managed print boss Peter Lunn said adding the Epson Workforce series to OpenMPS allows partners to offer a complete service on these devices. This is a big deal because, as well as making OpenMPS even more handy, there have been few A3 options for partners to sell.

Sophos releases new services for cybersecurity partners

Posted on February 22, 2024 by - News

Security experts Sophos has unveiled a new service to help its partners deal with the nitty-gritty of their business.

Dubbed Partner Care, the service features a crack team of Sophos experts who are on call 24/7 to answer any questions and sort out any sales-related problems.

The service is designed to speed up response times for Sophos partners and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) who need a hand with admin and operations, freeing them up to focus on selling and securing their customers with Sophos’ cutting-edge security solutions.

Sophos global channels and small business sales boss Kendra Krause said after decades of experience supporting partners who sell to small and medium-sized businesses, the firm knows that admin and operations can be a real pain and take up precious time that could be spent on building customer relationships, chasing leads and closing deals.