Author: Nick Farrell

Fortune 500 solutions integrator Insight Enterprises has snapped up British consultancy outfit New World Tech (NWT).

This move is part of a cunning plan to bolster Insight’s expertise in driving digital transformation across diverse sectors.

New World Tech carved a niche in handling intricate IT projects and crafting technology strategies for large organisations in financial services, automotive, telecommunications (TMT), and the public sector.

Insight EMEA President Adrian Gregory said: “With NWT on board, Insight can further enhance its role as a solutions integrator.” NWT’s reputation aligns perfectly with Insight’s commitment to excellence. Read more…

According to a new Sage report, SMEs increasingly seek trusted advisors within the channel to guide them in adopting digital services and AI.

The report said that over the past year, over half of IT resellers have reported an increased role in providing strategic advice.

To meet these needs, the channel must remain flexible and well-informed, and using AI tools and analytics is crucial to staying abreast of market developments.

Responding to pressure, more than half of resellers prioritise adopting the latest technologies. They focus on expanding services, optimising business processes, aligning tech solutions with business goals, and offering industry insights. Read more…

Troubled French outsourcer Atos faces turmoil as two board members quit.

David Layani and Helen Lee-Bouygues resigned immediately after Onepoint’s withdrawal from Atos’ share capital and restructuring talks.

The consortium comprising Onepoint, Butler Industries, and Econocom has abandoned restructuring talks with Atos, posing a significant setback.

Earlier, Atos had accepted the consortium’s proposal to convert €2.9 billion of existing debt into equity.

In response to the consortium’s exit, Atos received a revised financial restructuring proposal from its bondholders’ representative committee (SteerCo). Read more…

Global technology provider Arrow Electronics has unveiled a distribution agreement with digital infrastructure outfit Equinix.

This partnership allows Arrow’s channel partners to offer Equinix services as integral components of comprehensive solutions targeting network optimisation, hybrid multi-cloud enablement and heightened application workload performance.

Channel partners in the UK, France, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Finland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden can tap into Equinix’s transformative solutions.

These services can now be positioned and invoiced monthly.

The Equinix Platform boasts an extensive portfolio, including data centre co-location, private links to major public cloud providers, and a robust interconnection ecosystem spanning over 260 International Business Exchange data centres worldwide. Read more…

The consortium comprising Onepoint, Butler Industries, and Econocom has ceased discussions regarding its financial restructuring with French outsourcing giant Atos.

On 12 June, Atos agreed to a consortium proposal to transform €2.9 billion of its debt into company equity.

Atos has also received an updated financial restructuring plan from its bondholders’ representative committee, SteerCo. The company is currently negotiating with SteerCo and select banks to finalise an agreement immediately.

Atos has warned that the proposed financial restructuring would significantly diluent current shareholders, leaving them with less than 0.1% of the share capital. Read more…

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Motorola is suing the Home Office, alleging underpayment of bills for operating the police radio network since March 2023.

This lawsuit marks the latest episode in a series of disputes over the proprietary Airwave secure communications system and its associated costs, dating back to the project’s inception in 2000.

Court documents obtained by the Daily Telegraph reveal that Motorola accuses the Home Office of failing to settle the full amounts due on invoices. The claims, filed last month, suggest that the Home Office neglected to pay additional costs associated with inflation.

Motorola is seeking £13.5 million, along with interest estimated at around £1 million. In contrast, the Home Office maintains that all invoices concerning charges from 2021 onwards are incorrect. Read more…

OneCom has unveiled its twelfth acquisition since 2020. The LDC-backed enterprise, renowned for its expertise in cloud communications, has devoured Leicester-based Daly Systems.

This transaction marks a pivotal moment for founder Peter Daly, who will now retire to pursue his passion for motorsport.

Ranked nineteenth in the esteemed Oxygen 250, OneCom claims to be on a mission to transcend its origins as a mobile communications specialist. The recent addition of Daly Systems, a valued partner of Gamma, Microsoft, Openreach, and Jola, solidifies OneCom’s position in the market. Read more…

There have been major shakeups at the software and cloud solutions reseller SoftwareOne.

Company insider Raphael Erb has been appointed as its new Chief Revenue Officer and Executive Board Member, effective 1 July, 2024. Erb will succeed Rohit Nagarajan, who is leaving the company.

With over 25 years at SoftwareOne, Erb most recently served as President of Asia Pacific, the company’s fastest-growing region.

His previous positions include Head of Services for German-speaking markets and Country Lead for Switzerland and Singapore.

Erb, a Swiss national based in Singapore, began his SoftwareOne career in 1999 as a Sales Team Leader.

Erb will oversee SoftwareOne’s global revenue operations in his new executive board position. Read more…

HPE is expanding its NVIDIA partnership to include NVIDIA AI Computing.

This will create NVIDIA AI Computing by HPE, a portfolio of joint solutions that accelerates the adoption of generative AI.

The HPE Private Cloud AI is central to the offering, which integrates NVIDIA’s AI computing, networking, and software with HPE’s AI storage, compute capabilities, and GreenLake cloud platform.

Powered by HPE’s OpsRamp AI copilot, HPE Private Cloud AI provides a self-service cloud experience that integrates full lifecycle management. In the coming weeks, all solutions in the portfolio will be available in four configurations through a joint go-to-market strategy that helps enterprises of all sizes develop and deploy generative AI applications efficiently, flexibly, and sustainably. Read more…

Software distributer QBS Technology Group has completed the acquisition of Hungarian software distributor KSoft Korlátolt Felelősségű Társaság (KSKFT), marking a strategic move in its pursuit of achieving $1 billion in revenue by 2030.

Established in 1991, KSKFT claims to be one of Hungary’s oldest software businesses. Over the years, it has cultivated strong relationships with vendors such as JetBrains, ShareGate, Altova, and R Studio. KSKFT’s extensive portfolio spans a wide range of software products, making it a formidable regional force.

With the retirement of KSKFT’s founder and owner, QBS Technology Group is poised to usher in a new era.

Andrea Egrenyi, a seasoned leader with over eight years of service in the DACH region, will be the country manager for QBS Hungary. Egrenyi’s wealth of experience and existing responsibilities for the Hungarian market position lead the company into its next phase of growth. Read more…

Amidst the backdrop of ever-increasing wait times and reduced access to healthcare, frontline healthcare workers report losing precious hours each week due to subpar printers.

Epson has conducted a study of 200 patient-facing healthcare workers across the UK and discovered that 72 per cent concurred that their already overstretched teams are squandering time with inadequate technology, and an additional 76 per cent thought more should be done to address the problem.

Printers were identified as a significant time sink, with healthcare workers losing an average of 47 minutes a week to sluggish or inoperative printers — equating to nearly 3,980,955 workdays lost annually. Alarmingly, 18 per cent of workers are forfeiting one to two hours weekly, while six per cent are losing an astonishing three to four hours a week due to printer-related issues.

Despite the ongoing digitisation of the UK’s healthcare services and processes, there remains a substantial reliance on paper, making the availability of quick, operational printers crucial. Read more…

TD SYNNEX has expanded its Strategic Collaboration Agreement with cloud computing giant Amazon Web Services.

Both outfits say the development marks a significant stride in the alliance, building upon the foundation laid by the initial agreement.

The expansion of the Strategic Collaboration Agreement enhances TD SYNNEX’s AWS competencies. This strategic move will strengthen the support infrastructure for our partners, accelerating their AWS practice growth and fostering business expansion.

As part of the renewed agreement, TD SYNNEX will enhance the capabilities of its bespoke AWS solutions unit. This will involve a fusion of technical expertise and service excellence within its regional hub, supported by targeted business development for our AWS public sector initiative.

The company said it will expand its service offerings across key competencies, including SMB acceleration, migration, managed services, financial operations, generative AI, and the AWS Marketplace.

TD SYNNEX, Vice President of Hybrid Cloud for Europe Anthony Greenhalgh (pictured) said: “This landmark accord not only cements the partnership between our firms but crucially, it equips us to empower our partners with cutting-edge, resilient solutions. It’s a pivotal step towards nurturing their market presence and driving their business growth.”

Since the inception of its inaugural SCA with AWS, TD SYNNEX has meticulously crafted a holistic AWS suite that spans enablement, bespoke services, and specialisations tailored to the public sector and SMBs, he said.

Using initiatives like the Cloud Practice Builder, Click to Run solutions, and the AWS Cloud Assessment service, the company has been instrumental in pinpointing and propelling its partners’ core strengths, thus accelerating their AWS-centric growth trajectory.

AWS Director of Partner Management for EMEA Antonio Alonso Lopez said: “This strategic accord is a testament to TD SYNNEX’s unwavering support for the AWS Partner Network. It arrives at an opportune juncture for the SMB and public sectors within the region, as well as the broader cloud landscape. TD SYNNEX is set to enhance its existing programs, unlocking advanced capabilities for our partners and expediting the digital transformation journey for our clientele.”

TD Synnex has reshuffled its senior managers after CEO Rich Hume’s retirement.

As a result of Hume’s planned exit on 1 September, the distributor will promote its chief operating officer, Patrick Zammit, to the CEO position.

Hume, who will remain on the board, shares a similar career path to Zammit. He also moved from COO to CEO. He joined TD Synnex in 2016 before getting the top job in 2018.

His time in charge involved several momentous moments for the channel player, including acquiring Avnet Technology Solutions, taking the firm private in partnership with Apollo Asset Management, and the successful merger of Tech Data and Synnex.

“It has been the greatest privilege of my professional career to serve as CEO of TD Synnex. I am proud of the culture we have built, our partner-first focus and commitment to customer excellence, and our purpose-driven approach in our business,” said Hume. Read more…

AI offers an opportunity for partners to sell more on-premises hardware, according to HPE CEO Antonio Neri (pictured).

Addressing the crowds at the company’s annual Partner Growth Summit before the main HPE Discover 2024 conference in Las Vegas, Neri said that AI provides a distributed workload, which is very data-intensive.

This opens the chance to bring more infrastructure to the premises.

The data-centric nature of AI is a game-changer for businesses. It compels customers to reevaluate their data strategy, including its storage and compliance maintenance, creating a significant market shift.

By providing customers with a cloud-first approach that’s based on-premises (such as HPE GreenLake), there’s an opportunity to increase revenues significantly. Read more…