The IT channel today is missing ‘the human touch’ according to a Kaspersky survey.
Nearly seven out of 10 resellers and distributors want better relationships with vendors. The same number say they would like more personal contact with their dedicated account manager.
Kaspersky notes that the current need for more of a human touch is important, given that phone calls have, in many cases, been replaced by email and other digital forms of communication, like Morse Code and Semaphore.
Attitudes to cloud have changed according to research from Cloud player Aptum.
Cloud player Aptum claims it has has revealed sweeping changes to remote working and cloud collaboration tools due to the coronavirus.
No surprise there, then, in stating the obvious.
The firm found that 76 percent of businesses are using cloud services to facilitate remote working and just under half of the IT pros surveyed have used hosted solutions to provide users with critical services.
(ISC)², the non-profit association of certified cybersecurity experts, has added Global Knowledge as an Official Training Provider for the UK, further expanding the range of training organisations offering (ISC)2 certification. [What a ridiculous name. Are you sure, Nick? Ed.]
Global Knowledge will be providing exam preparation training for the full range of (ISC)2 certifications to its UK customer base, delivering pathways to new sectors and audiences, increasing the size of the UK channel presence for (ISC)2 and responding to increased demand and a growing supply shortage of certified professionals in the workforce.
New Signature has been acquired by services giant Cognizant.
Cognizant said the deal will expand its “hyperscale cloud advisory services”, adding that 500 employees across predominately the UK, the US and Canada will join the business.
New Signature CEO Jeff Tench said: “New Signature’s success is built upon helping clients create and accelerate their business transformation through the adoption of Microsoft cloud technologies. In joining Cognizant, we will have access to Cognizant’s deep industry expertise and global scale, and together, provide best-in-class cloud solutions for the intelligent workplace, applied innovation, and managed services.”
ScanSource has said it will lay off 200 employees after seeing multiple areas of its business hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
ScanSource CFO Gerry Lyons said that the layoffs were made across multiple business units but focus on non-customer facing positions in the company as well as the distributor’s Salesforce-focused Canpango division.
During an investor call, ScanSource chief revenue officer John Eldh said the reductions include its sales support and sales administration roles, as well as staff in both sales and supply roles in its on-premise communications business.
Most of the reductions are in ScanSource’s North and South American business.
Research from hybrid IT services provider, Ensono, has found that the relationship between IT decision makers and business leaders has improved since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 43 percent of the 153 IT decision makers studied across the US and UK revealed that IT now commands more respect from the business.
With this increased respect, businesses have also grown hungrier for innovation, and consequently a third of IT decision makers are seeing IT budgets increase. A third have been given more scope to define IT spend since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, versus just five per cent who feel they have been given less scope to define IT spend.
Security outfit Libraesva has announced that Securefort is its sole Cyber Security Technology Distributor partner in the UK.
The cunning plan is to will combine Securefort’s approach to business development via their Market Activation Programme (MAP), with Libraesva’s growth plan for the UK market.
Libraesva’s product suite provides a solution for email that includes; security, continuity and compliance in their offering.
Agilitas IT Solutions has extended its partnership with Georgia Hall , professional golfer and former Women’s British Open champion and Solheim Cup Winner, until 2022.
After a successful couple of years as its brand ambassador, Agilitas has increased its investment to support Georgia. As part of the new agreement the Agilitas logo will be positioned on the front of her top, demonstrating a strong alliance between two leaders in their respective fields.
As part of their partnership over the last two years, Hall has attended Agilitas’ golf partner days at the Ryder Cup Twenty Ten Course in Celtic Manor, as well as playing alongside Agilitas team members and partners at their inaugural AgiliGolf event. Earlier this year, Hall opened Agilitas’ new international logistics hub based in Nottingham. She has participated in charity events by donating her US Open golf bag for a charity auction on behalf of Agilitas’ chosen charity the Children with Special Needs Foundation.
UK employers continued their search for workers to fill critical information technology (IT) roles even as unexpected changes in business conditions took hold during the second quarter, according to beancounters working for CompTIA.
The total number of employer job postings for core IT positions was slightly more than 125,000 in the second quarter, a decline from the first quarter, according to CompTIA’s analysis of data from Burning Glass Technologies Labour Insights.
A report says that businesses need to harness neurodiversity to deal with a skills gap in the technical security workplace.
The report published by CREST, the non-profit accreditation and certification body for the technical security industry advice and recruitment processes can be more creative, inclusive and tailored for people with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), autism, Dyslexia and Dyspraxia and how the workplace environment and culture can be fashioned and improved for neurodiverse people.
Auth0, an identity platform for development teams, announced the latest growth to its partner programme after closing a $120 million funding round last week thanks to its existing partner programme.
Auth0’s VP of International, Steven Rees-Pullman, said: “We’re also able to make our business ‘local’ far easier, particularly in markets where we might not have a large team on the ground. We find that local knowledge and expertise can be what makes the difference when winning deals. The end result is Auth0 has closed 72 percent more deals with and through partners in the first half of 2020 when compared with the same period in 2019. ”
Kaspersky’s UK SMB boss of the channel, Andy Bogdan, said that the channel is evolving and vendors must answer partners’ calls for education and empowerment
Bogdan said that those that do not adapt to changing market demands will struggle as long-term success now, more than ever, depends on value-added services and insights as well as products.
“Channel partners are calling for education, knowledge and insight – and vendors would be wise to listen, given that eight in 10 UK distributors and resellers prefer to work with those that provide training and education”, Bogdan said.
Beancounters at GlobalData claim that digital technologies are increasingly exerting pressure on incumbents across industries to change their business models while giving rise to smaller, agile players that are enabling innovation and disruption in many aspects of the business.
GlobalData Principal Disruptive Tech Analyst Kiran Raj said: “The explosion in the availability of data has reinforced the use of digital technologies as an enabler of innovation and disruption across many industries. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has hammered the business world with prolonged lockdowns that triggered the widespread recognition of digital transformation among industry leaders to future-proof their businesses.”
Wipro has signed a definitive agreement to buy 4C, one of the largest Salesforce partners in UK, Europe and the Middle East.
Established in 1997 with its headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium, 4C is an independent Salesforce Platinum Partner.
It claims deep capabilities across multiple Salesforce clouds including Sales, Marketing, Field Services and specialises in transforming Quote-to-Cash processes with Salesforce’s Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) and Billing solutions.
Synaxon UK, a channel services group, has launched an updated framework for its SynMSP membership with the aim of encouraging more managed services providers to join its ranks.
The outfit thinks that the revamped value proposition will give new members access to an extended series of community events, tools, and learning resources. As a SynMSP member, MSPs have direct access to vendor programmes and compelling benefits and opportunities to create new revenue streams.
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