Author: Nick Farrell

PC and datacentre vendor to roll out Lenovo 360 in January

Posted on December 14, 2021 by - News

Lenovo partners could earn 30 percent more on sales as the vendor launches a new global channel framework that goes live next month.

Lenovo 360 will launch in January 2022 and it promises to give partners easier access to the entire Lenovo portfolio encompassing devices, infrastructure and services.

It follows the reorganisation of the Lenovo business earlier this year into three business groups: Intelligent Device Group; Infrastructure Solutions Group; and the Solutions and Services Group.

The Lenovo 360 framework is the culmination of a restructure which saw Lenovo geo and marketing teams across PC endpoint and infrastructure come together into single teams to report to a single-channel leader responsible for Lenovo’s entire portfolio.

Black Box announces new international partner programme

Posted on December 14, 2021 by - News

Black Box has launched the Black Box Velocity Partner Programme, which it says gives VARs and resellers programmes, training, product authorisation, and support to boost sales and revenues.

Members of the Velocity Partner Program also gain access to strategic pricing incentive programs designed to assist in closing new business.

The plan is being piloted over the pond and should be appearing in the UK early next year.

Black Box Sales vice president CJ Ballejos said that combining resources across key areas of sales and support, the new Black Box Velocity Partner Programme delivers a wide array of tools partners can use to kick sales into high gear.

Law outfit Wiggin boosts telecom brief

Posted on December 13, 2021 by - Moving People, News

Media, technology and IP law firm Wiggin has announced that telecoms specialist Victoria Harris-Honrado has joined the firm as a partner. The hire is something to do with the arrival of Gordon Moir and his team in October 2020.

Harris-Honrado joins from 3 . Before her time in-house she spent nine years in private practice, including at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Hogan Lovells in Brussels.

John Banister, CEO, Wiggin said: “I’m delighted to welcome Victoria to the partnership. As the past two years have demonstrated, the telecoms sector is vital to all. It will only become more so as we move increasingly online, making connectivity critical to all elements of our lives, both personal and professional. I’ve no doubt telecoms will continue to be a key sector for us as we continue to pursue our vision of being the destination law firm for a digital world.” Whatever that means.

Nordic Advania takes over Content+Cloud

Posted on December 13, 2021 by - News

Content+Cloud has been acquired by Nordic MSP giant Advania, in a deal which will create a combined group with more than £800 million in turnover. M&As again, eh?

The London-based Microsoft partner generated revenues of £84.5 million for its year ending 31 March 2021 and it has 800 staff across offices in London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Reading, Cardiff and Cape Town in South Africa, Content+Cloud claims to operate across all three of “Microsoft clouds” – Modern Workplace, Azure and Dynamics – and has earned 16 Microsoft Gold certifications and six Advanced specialisations.

Ransomware attacks will rise to £15 billion

Posted on December 10, 2021 by - News

Ransomware continues to be the number one threat to big and medium businesses, and the damages caused as a result of ransomware attacks are expected to exceed $20 billion (about £15 billion) before the end of 2021.

The Acronis Cyberthreats Report 2022  shows that during the second half of 2021, only 20 percent of the companies reported not having been targeted in cyber attacks, as opposed to 32 percent last year.

The study highlights that managed service providers (MSPs) are particularly vulnerable to ransomware and supply chain attacks, because cyber actors are now attempting to use MSPs own management tools, such as RMM or PSA, against them.

NTT data sees its sponsored candidates graduate

Posted on December 10, 2021 by - News

NTT data announced the graduation of its sponsored candidates participating in the route2work digital skills Academy programme.

The scheme forms part of the outfit’s activities designed to support women into tech careers and invest in their development as they progress. The graduates of the route2work programme, who come from a wide range of backgrounds, received training in Microsoft skills.

The partnership with route2work saw NTT data fund scholarships for 30 women to enrol in one of four digital skills and it aimed to give those who otherwise lacked opportunities to enter the industry.

VOW wholesale signs up Synaxon UK

Posted on December 10, 2021 by - News, Products

Channel services group,  Synaxon UK, is taking products available from business supplies distributor, VOW Wholesale on its stock availability and pricing platform, EGIS.

VOW is the latest addition to the stock availability and pricing platform, which gives partners a fast, efficient, and economical way to check current stock availability and pricing from over 40 distributors.

Business fails women

Posted on December 9, 2021 by - News

Research by Thoughtworks has found that three in five tech businesses in the UK believe there is still a long way to go to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in their sector.

Among the problems that need the most urgent attention were career development for minority groups, representation in senior posts and at the board level, and “allyship” and understanding.

The findings come as Thoughtworks continues to recruit from a number of backgrounds, as well as establishing a DEI council within the business.

Juniper Networks Veep thinks 2022 cloud will be the new normal

Posted on December 9, 2021 by - News

Juniper Networks’ Vice President, Enterprise Marketing, Mike Bushong predicts that next year the cloud is going to be considered the “new normal” and it will be operations rather than services that will make it important.

Bushong said that one of the common misconceptions about cloud is that cloud is just “someone else’s servers”.

“It’s not the servers that make cloud offerings important; it’s the operations. To make operations really fly, architects have realized that they need to simplify and standardise. Bespoke infrastructure can’t exist for companies who truly want to optimize their operating environments. As this line of thinking becomes more prevalent, the first thing to go will be all the nerd knobs that make enterprise IT so complex”, he said.

Companies either born in the cloud or at the tail end of their digital transformation efforts will move first. Although this may create problems – if you are competing against a company that suddenly develops a meaningful digital advantage, the consequences can be dire. The industry is littered with the corpses of companies that lost to Amazon and other online retailers. Digital players have disrupted transportation, logistics, manufacturing…virtually every sector imaginable, Bushong said.

Onecom swallows Russell Telecom

Posted on December 8, 2021 by - News

Onecom has acquired cloudy North East outfit Russell Telecom

Russell Telecom has been around for more than 35 years, offering on-site and cloud phone systems, business broadband, mobile phones and managed support. It has 1,500 customers, mainly across enterprise, hospitality, education, healthcare and not-for-profit organisations.

The buyout was supported by Onecom’s private equity backer LDC, which provided the comms provider with £100 million in investment in 2019 to fund future acquisitions.

Mimecast goes private

Posted on December 8, 2021 by - News

Mimecast will become a privately-owned company through a deal with Permira valuing the business at around $5.8 billion.

UK based Mimecast has been a publicly listed company for six years. It made its debut on the Nasdaq market in the US in 2015.

Permira will acquire all outstanding ordinary shares of Mimecast for $80 a-share in an all-cash transaction that represents a 16 percent premium on its closing stock price on 27 October 2021.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2022 but includes a 30-day “go-shop” period expiring 6 January 2022 in which Mimecast can actively search for alternate acquisition proposals.

5G office networks could be the next big thing

Posted on December 8, 2021 by - News

Economist Impact beancounters working for NTT have released a new report showing that CEOs are getting excited about 5G networks

The report, ‘Private 5G here and now’, reveals insights from a survey of 216 CIOs and senior decision-makers from the UK, US, Japan, and Germany, examining the industry challenges around the implementation and adoption of private 5G. It shows a significant interest in private 5G networks, with 90 percent of executives expecting that private 5G will become the standard network choice.

 Tech Data appoints net-zero carbon Czar

Posted on December 7, 2021 by - News

 Tech Data has announced that Kevin Wragg will take the job as director, environment and quality compliance as part of the outfit’s net-zero carbon commitments.

Wragg – a long term member of Tech Data’s senior management, will drive forward the company’s plans to minimise its environmental impact.

Wragg said: “There has never been a better time to embrace the energy and passion that exist around moving towards net-zero carbon. Also, at some point, customers and vendors are going to want to know where Tech Data is on its journey and ask us to demonstrate our environmentally-friendly actions and processes. We want to get on the front foot now and do what’s right for our customers, vendors, Tech Data and our planet.”

Nokia and CityFibre set up 25G PON network

Posted on December 7, 2021 by - News

Nokia and CityFibre have trialled the UK’s first 25G PON network to support 5G transport.

The digital campus testbed was set up at the University of Glasgow with three 5G sites backhauled to the core. In addition to carrying 5G transport on 25G PON, the same fibre runs XGS-PON to carry office traffic, thereby demonstrating the co-existence of multiple wavelengths on the PON.

Glide upgrades its fibre network across Middle Earth

Posted on December 7, 2021 by - News

Broadband outfit Glide Group is upgrading its fibre infrastructure in Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham and Birmingham.

For businesses, Glide said, gigabit fibre broadband means greater speed and productivity.

Glide connects over 5,000 UK businesses across the UK and brought full-fibre broadband directly to business parks underserved by larger ISPs, it said.