Author: Nick Farrell

Cisco has training partnership with Multiverse in Manchester

Posted on March 31, 2023 by - News

Cisco announced its training partnership with Multiverse to fund and tailor professional apprenticeships for employees in its partner ecosystem in the Greater Manchester area.

The Tech Talent Accelerator programme will focus on business-critical skills in digital transformation and data analytics, helping accelerate the region’s digital careers.

More than 80 employees will join the new team so that partner organisations will benefit from training and development up to degree level, through independent learning, group workshops, and one-to-one expert coaching.

BT Wholesale launches channel based SIM package

Posted on March 30, 2023 by - News

BT Wholesale has launched a mobile SIM package for the channel after concluding a successful trial with several of its  partners.

Dubbed Complete Mobile offering it uses EE Mobile SIMs which BT will make available to partners that want to sell 4G and 5G connectivity and international roaming packages to their customers.

The decision to offer general availability to those that are part of the Partner Plus community came after the vendor ran a trial with a number of channel players, including Lister Communications, Comms Connect and Calteq.

ANS Group hires Bain as COO

Posted on March 30, 2023 by - News

ANS Group has appointed Colin Bain as its new chief operating officer.

The announcement follows the appointment of a new CFO, Alex Hodgson, as ANS strengthens its group board in preparation for its next growth phase.

Bain joins ANS from QuantiQ where he was a COO and managing director. He took a role in growing the company to become the largest independent Microsoft Dynamics 365 partner in the UK, before the firm’s sale to global Microsoft solutions powerhouse Avanade in 2021.

A CIMA chartered accountant, Bain has experience in the delivery of software and tech services and has worked with Microsoft Dynamics since its inception.

He takes responsibility for the largest division within ANS, with a brief covering professional services, managed services and transformation.

C2 launches UK channel

Posted on March 30, 2023 by - News

Third-party risk management (TPRM) outfit C2 has debuted in the UK channel with its first partner programme.

The outfit has partners in the Netherlands, UAE and Switzerland. Still, a move to the UK is part of a greater expansion, which will eventually see the company with a North American presence.

Channel business is only five per cent of total revenues, but this should grow as the company wants to see 75 per cent of revenues to be via the channel by the end of 2023.

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Softcat begins to purr

Posted on March 29, 2023 by - News

Softcat’s share price rose by over five per cent this morning as it unveiled its interim results, despite reporting slower growth.

Having stood at close to 30 per cent in its fiscal 2022, Softcat’s gross invoiced income (GII) growth slowed to 4.9 per cent in the six months to 31 January 2023. Operating profit also dipped by two per cent to £63.1 million, ending a run of 68 quarters of consecutive growth.

However, the slower GII growth was due almost entirely to the artificial impact of the high-value, low-margin business it secured with a “major” customer the prior year. Softcat had already prepared the market for a possible profit dip as its travel and entertainment costs rebounded post-Covid.

Operating profits were better than expected while Softcat’s key profit measure of gross profit hiked by 17.9 per cent to £177.1 million.

While many big tech firms are laying off staff, Softcat is giving them more money and this policy had a  “profoundly positive impact” on attrition rates and its ability to attract new talent.

Climb Channel expands partnership with Malwarebytes

Posted on March 29, 2023 by - News

Climb Channel Solutions has expanded its partnership with Malwarebytes to include the full Malwarebytes business portfolio for VARs in the UK and Ireland.

This expands the existing MSP partnership between Climb and Malwarebytes, allowing more partners to offer this cyber protection solution to their customers. With additional threat prevention modules and services such as DNS filtering and managed detection and response (MDR), partners can offer each customer the right product or service, tailored to their specific needs.

Malwarebytes Channel Manager Paul Sexton said: “As business owners worldwide have unfortunately experienced, the consequences of a ransomware attack can be devastating to their operations and even their existence. That’s why we are excited to announce our partnership with Climb Channel Solutions.”

AI technology could hit 300 million jobs

Posted on March 29, 2023 by - News

A new report by the bank Goldman Sachs has warned that generative AI technology, such as ChatGPT, could effect 300 million full-time jobs in the US and Europe.

The study said that generative AI could boost the economy and increase global gross domestic product by seven per cent in a decade.

Since its release in November last year, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has rapidly gained popularity and become one of the world’s fastest-growing applications, known for its human-like interactions and engaging conversations. It can perform tasks such as answering questions, writing essays, summarising documents and writing software.

The report said that breakthroughs in AI could automate up to a quarter of jobs, particularly those of lawyers and administrative staff.

Brent council signs digital pact with Cellnex

Posted on March 28, 2023 by - News

Brent Council and Cellnex have signed a long-term agreement to ensure mobile connectivity improvements continue across the Borough.

The Council will provide access to lighting columns for Cellnex UK to deploy small cell technology used by Mobile Network Operators to increase mobile coverage and capacity. Offering residents and businesses world-class connectivity is key to delivering Brent’s ambition to become a digital borough. This vision is set out in the Borough’s Digital Strategy.

Cellnex UK already provides vital connectivity in the Borough. Smalls cells have been widely accepted as a crucial part of advancing mobile infrastructure in the UK, given their capacity to boost vital connectivity and coverage in localised areas. As the UK’s largest independent telecoms infrastructure provider, the new agreement will allow Cellnex UK to continue to provide Mobile Operators with access to sites in the borough to quickly and cost-effectively deliver coverage to people and businesses.

The insurance industry looks to AI

Posted on March 28, 2023 by - News

Generative AI is being touted to help the insurance industry improve its processes and better protect its customers.

Zelros uses Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technology to help insurers provide policyholders with the coverage for their needs in real-time with hyper-personalised policy recommendations.

Zelros Chief Growth Officer Linh C. Ho said cultivating a culture of innovation and transformational change in the insurance industry is paramount to achieving sustainable growth.

“ Generative AI like what we’re seeing with ChatGPT can be a critical tool in our arsenal to reimagine the insurance experience for customers, transforming it from a transactional, reactive model to something more proactive and personalised,” Linh said.

Linh added: “This technology can unlock new possibilities and opportunities for growth that we haven’t even begun to explore. The industry needs to continue to invest in AI and build a culture that embraces innovation to continue providing truly transformative solutions for customers.”

PwC partners with ReversingLabs

Posted on March 28, 2023 by - News

Management consultants PwC, has partnered with ReversingLabs to provide a new automated platform to protect supply chains

In the UK, PwC provides specialist Third Party Risk Management (TPRM) services to enterprise businesses to help them identify, mitigate and monitor the risks most impactful to their operations. Businesses are becoming concerned about potential exposure to risk from third-party software and solutions compromised by malware or other threats.

PwC has responded to this by partnering with ReversingLabs to address the security risks inherent in third party software.

The partnership combines PwC’s TPRM capabilities and consultancy services with ReversingLabs’ automated platform to quickly detect and mitigate threats within software. Providing greater protection against sophisticated attacks on the software supply chain.

 

National Crime Agency tricks cyber-criminals

Posted on March 27, 2023 by - News

The National Crime Agency has infiltrated a cyber crime marketplace by setting up websites pretending to offer the tools needed to mount distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

The sting, known as Operation PowerOff, was a honey trap for hackers and saw several thousand people have accessed these websites, which offer what are known as DDoS-for-hire or “booter” services. The details of people that have registered with the fake website have been collated by investigators.

Tech talent shortage for at least another year

Posted on March 27, 2023 by - News

Tech vendors and their channel partners will see another 12-18 months of tech talent shortages, according to Gartner group.

The analyst outfit said that demand for cloud architects, cybersecurity specialists, app developers and other tech roles will continue to outstrip supply, even as the big tech firms cut staff.

Gartner senior director analyst Mbula Schoen said that the talent influx was not enough to nullify a tech skills shortage made worse by the need to digitally transform in the wake of the pandemic.

LUHFT gets Attensi IT training

Posted on March 27, 2023 by - News

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT) has teamed up with  Attensi to create an IT training system which saves staff thousands of hours to dedicate to patient care.

LUHFT worked with Attensi to create a training simulations app to accelerate learning of new IT systems. Clinical staff training within the NHS has traditionally added strain to two areas – time and resources. Thanks to the app, all 4,000 staff completed the training within three weeks, before the new systems went live.

Microsoft reveals three new partner designations

Posted on March 24, 2023 by - News

Microsoft announced three new partner designations – including one aimed at SMB support providers.

The designations are part of Vole’s new partner programme which replaces its Partner Network – went live in October 2022.

Microsoft’s told its 2023 Partner Ecosystem briefing it had acted on partner feedback garnered since launch.

The Microsoft Cloud Partner Programme was designed to simplify life for partners by shelving the 18 Silver and 18 Gold competencies under MPN in favour of six new Solutions designations across Azure, Modern Work, Security and Business Applications. It was aimed at helping its partners better differentiate themselves.

Neptune Software teams up with NTT DATA UK&I on SAP

Posted on March 24, 2023 by - News

NTT DATA UK&I announced a new partnership with Neptune Software to bring about some new SAP based products.

The idea is that the pair will provide products and services which will businesses to digitise and optimise their processes and user interfaces based around the SAP platform.

The companies say that NTT DATA UK&I will supplement Neptune Software’s ability to deliver customised applications by hosting the solution on Microsoft Azure and it will also support businesses with its industry-leading expertise and knowledge of transformation practices. The partnership will see both companies work closely together across the private and public sector, helping organisations to benefit from the SAP solutions and applications they are using.