Author: Nick Farrell

Channel partners taking the lead on subscription services

Posted on March 23, 2023 by - News

Distributor Westcon-Comstor claims that most channel partners across the UK and Australia have realised they need to deliver subscription services.

In its Navigating the shift: The role of distributor marketplaces in partner success report, Westcon-Comstor said that while 78 per cent of partners had started to move towards subscriptions, a number of obstacles in getting there due to increased complexity among the main hurdles. Just over half pointed to the need to manage a complex multi-vendor portfolio as the biggest challenge.

The result was that more expected distributors to help and many were looking to the marketplaces that disties had established as places they could interact more easily. Some 60 per cent stated that a single platform to purchase both hardware and software would help them navigate some of the complexity and embrace marketplaces quicker.

Cohesity partners with Ownbackup

Posted on March 23, 2023 by - Gossip

Data security outfit Cohesity has teamed up with OwnBackup in a technology partnership to deliver customers a modern data security and management solution for their essential SaaS applications.

Cohesity and OwnBackup say they can manage this across an array of popular SaaS applications including Salesforce, Microsoft 365, ServiceNow, and Microsoft Dynamics 365.

This partnership will provide customers of OwnBackup and Cohesity with enhanced capabilities to backup and recover multiple data types, across a wide array of SaaS applications.

Epicor senior director Dan Lepine said. “We look forward to seeing how the partnership between Cohesity and OwnBackup can simplify how we protect and manage our most important asset: our corporate data. Being able to visualise and manage our on-premises and SaaS backup data side-by-side can bring efficiencies into how we manage those data sets.”

British watchdog snuffles around Broadcom’s VMware deal

Posted on March 23, 2023 by - News

US chipmaker Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware could make servers more expensive, a British anti-trust watchdog has barked.

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it is refering the $61 billion deal to an in-depth inquiry unless its concerns were addressed.

For those who came in late, Broadcom agreed to buy the cloud computing and virtualisation company last year to diversify into enterprise software.

But the CMA is not having it saying that  the deal could dampen innovation and drive up the cost of computer parts and software for servers.

CMA Executive Director David Stewart said: “Servers are a vital building block, functioning largely thanks to hardware products made by firms like Broadcom, working in unison with virtualisation software from firms like VMware.”

VMware improves partner connect programme

Posted on March 22, 2023 by - News

VMware has spruced up its Partner Connect programme to handle what it calls the “complex world of multicloud.”

The vendor is concerned about customer outcomes as one of its measures of partner success and will use several mechanisms to reward partners over the course of a customer sale.

This includes a sell incentive, with a back-end rebate programme that incentivises those that offer software as a service (SaaS), subscriptions and licensed software, with an increase in payments of between two and 10 times for those bookings,  the company said.

Sawyer quits Lenovo

Posted on March 22, 2023 by - News

Neil Sawyer has left Lenovo after 14 months as UK managing director & general manager.

Sawyer joined Lenovo in December 2021 after becoming a name running HP’s UK channel for six years.

Sawyer confirmed that he had left on good terms with Lenovo and was grateful to his team in UK&I for their efforts and achievements.  He just needed a break and to spend more time with his family.

He will be replaced by Preben Fjeld, former UK and Ireland GM and current EMEA chief operating officer.

 

Rafay partners with NTT DATA

Posted on March 22, 2023 by - News

Rafay Systems has entered into a reseller partnership with global digital business and IT services leader NTT DATA,.

The partnership will expand the adoption of Rafay’s Kubernetes Operations Platform (KOP) in EMEA and APAC regions. Together, Rafay and NTT DATA will help enterprises significantly reduce the complexity, resource requirements, and spiralling costs associated with do-it-yourself (DIY) Kubernetes to ensure the success of application modernisation initiatives.

Rafay Systems CEO Haseeb Budhani said: “By partnering with a revered IT services company like NTT DATA, our joint expertise and best-in-class services can serve more regions around the world and help companies in those markets modernise their infrastructure faster and with less overhead.”

Rafay’s cloud-built KOP is an SaaS solution that streamlines Kubernetes operations for companies deploying modern applications in public clouds, data centres or at remote/edge locations by adding automation, security, visibility and governance capabilities to any Kubernetes distribution and infrastructure.

Ofcom wants more time to think about Equinox II

Posted on March 21, 2023 by - News

UK communications regulator Ofcom has extended by two months its work into reaching a final decision on whether it should sit on its hands and let BT broadband division Openreach from introducing new wholesale pricing arrangements for its full-fibre services.

Dubbed the Equinox 2 the move to adopt a new framework for wholesale pricing on Openreach’s network was announced on 4 December 2022. In February 2023, Ofcom said that after carefully assessing Openreach’s offer – taking into account the interests of consumers, as well as the impact on competition among rival retail broadband providers – its provisional view was that it should not should not take any regulatory action.

It considered the Equinox 2 offer as not anti-competitive and that it was consistent with the rules it had consulted on before introducing them under its full-fibre market review in 2021. Ofcom stressed that maintaining these rules for the period of the review was also important to achieving certainty for all companies looking to invest in broadband networks.

HPE will snap up OpsRamp

Posted on March 21, 2023 by - News

HPE wants to acquire OpsRamp in a move to further expand HPE GreenLake into IT operations management (ITOM).

OpsRamp bills monitors, observes, automates and manages IT infrastructure, cloud resources, workloads and applications for hybrid and multi-cloud environments, including the leading hyperscalers.

According to HPE, Integrating OpsRamp’s hybrid digital operations management solution with the HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform will reduce the operational complexity of multi-vendor and multi-cloud IT environments that are in the public cloud, collocations, and on-premises.

The number of partners transacting HPE GreenLake grew 58 per cent last year.

CyberScale launches assessment service

Posted on March 21, 2023 by - News

Norwich-based Cyber Security Consultancy, CyberScale, has launched its One Day Cyber Assessment service to help strengthen resilience for small and micro businesses who have become prime targets for cybercriminals.

According to the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2022, 38 per cent  of small businesses in the UK fell victim to an attack in 2022, and around four in five (82 per cent ) of boards or senior management rated cyber security as a ‘very high’ or ‘fairly high’ priority. Despite this, only 19 per cent  of businesses have a formal incident response plan and only six per cent  have the Cyber Essentials certification to understand what risks they face.

The One Day Cyber Assessment prioritises attack prevention by identifying gaps in security measures and offering expert advice on how to keep company and customer data secure. This includes network, email, laptops and mobile devices alongside staff and management awareness of the risks associated with business practices such as remote working.

Specialist consultants identify areas of potential risk and recommend remediation to reduce vulnerabilities, signposting free or low-cost resources that help improve cybersecurity measure. At the end of the assessment, they provide clear actionable reports to help business owners make improvements to their security controls and understand specific legal or regulatory requirements and any security frameworks relevant to their clients.

CyberScale Founder and Principal Consultant Darren Chapman said: “We identified a need to support those businesses who have no dedicated security resources and want to learn more about the risks they face. Our One Day Cyber Assessment will empower small business owners to make informed decisions about best security practices and help them gain a competitive advantage. Raising awareness among smaller businesses about the potential threats they face not only benefits them directly, but also the UK’s overall cybersecurity posture.”

The One Day Assessment is available at a price point suitable for smaller businesses. More information can be found here 

IDC sees expansion in security spend

Posted on March 20, 2023 by - News

Beancounters at IDC have added up some numbers and concluded that worldwide security spending will grow by 12.1 per cent to reach $219 billion  in 2023.

According to IDC’s Worldwide Security Spending Guide investments in cybersecurity hardware, software, and services should reach nearly $300 billion in 2026.

The guide pinpoints the ongoing threat of cyberattacks, the demands of providing a secure hybrid work environment, and the need to meet data privacy and governance requirements as some of the biggest drivers for this growth.

Arrow targets Irish partners

Posted on March 20, 2023 by - News

Arrow wants more Irish partners for IBM after it took sole distributor status for the Emerald Isles from Exertis.

Biggish Blue conducted a distribution review in Ireland and decided to give the lot to Arrow ECS building on the duo’s existing UK partnership.

An Arrow spokesperson said that the company would pursue a “two-pronged approach” flogging more or new technology through its existing and new Irish partners.

Extending one of its two UK distributors’ rights to Ireland means Biggish Blue can service those partners with a UK and Irish business.

IBM is focused on working with distribution following the launch of its new Partner Plus programme in January, Arrow said..

Distributors like Arrow have been told to expand partners’ IBM offering into new practices, including those associated with recent acquisitions such as Turbonomic, Instana and Envizi.

German reseller gets more UK lebensraum by buying Tangible Benefit

Posted on March 17, 2023 by - News

German reseller Bechtle has snapped up British hardware procurement VAR Tangible Benefit.

Founded in 1997, London-based Tangible Benefit has a head count of 66 employees and has a core business based around hardware, plug-and-play services and software licensing, security and network services and lifecycle management.

In the 2021/22 fiscal year, the company logged €70 million in revenues.

Company founder, Timothy Trotman, said he would remain with the company for the transition phase to oversee its integration into the Bechtle Group before handing over the reins.

All other senior managers will remain in their current positions at the London office.

SME’s worried about cyberattacks

Posted on March 17, 2023 by - News

New research from SME expert IONOS, has found that while UK SMEs consider digitalisation to be important for the future viability of their business, there are growing concerns around the cost of living crisis, shortage of skilled workers and increased threat of cyberattacks.

IONOS, in partnership with YouGov, polled 1,004 UK SMEs to understand where digitalisation is tracking in terms of business priorities, the factors considered necessary for driving business forward and any key challenges holding it back.

The research found that digitalisation was crucial for future growth – 79 per cent of SMEs in the UK consider digitalisation to be important for the future viability of their business, with the three top benefits including presence and ease of discovery on the internet (78 per cent), creating a modern image (76per cent) and the ability to win new customers (72 per cent).

virtualDCS signs cloud shuttle agreement with Seagate

Posted on March 17, 2023 by - News

Cloudy disaster recovery outfit virtualDCS claims to be improving the speed at which its partners can restore, move, and consolidate data, after teaming up with Seagate.

The new Seagate Lyve offering, known as CloudCover Shuttle at virtual DCS, offers a fast and secure method of physical data transfer to avoid long transfer times dependent on internet bandwidth. The shuttle enables businesses to move their data quickly, securely, and simply from endpoints to the edge and the landing destination of the data.

Organisations that are seeding backup data, recovering data after a disaster, or carrying out hardware upgrades and Cloud migrations, can now access a physical data ‘shuttle’ service, without the need for capital expenditure and hardware purchases.

Daisy partners with Girlguiding on ewaste project

Posted on March 16, 2023 by - News

Daisy Corporate Services is partnering with Girlguiding, as part of a cunning plan to ensure old tech is diverted from landfill.

The channel player is sponsoring the Rainbows recycling badge, which incentivises girls aged between four and seven to help reduce waste.

Daisy Corporate Services chief operating officer Lyndsey Charlton said the move was part of a larger effort to tackle climate change.

“Our partnership with Girlguiding aligns with our commitment to making a positive environmental and social impact. We know that women in STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths] are always doing amazing things, and this partnership is another way we can help inspire the learning of STEM skills in the real world,” she said.