Category: News

Theresa Jones tapped for NTT’s security sales

Posted on December 8, 2020 by - News

NTT has named Theresa Jones  as chief revenue officer of its security division.

In her new role, reporting to security division CEO, Matt Gyde, Jones will work closely with the Security leadership team and other NTT divisions and regions to drive Cybersecurity high-value solutions for clients. Jones will refine and develop NTT’s future sales strategy in the security business, whilst also ensuring alignment with both our business objectives and go to markets strategy.

Jones has most recently been responsible for the leading the global partnership between NTT and a big unnamed enterprise client.  She has over 20 years of experience in the industry and during this time has held different senior positions in sales and operations.

Matthew Gyde, CEO Security at NTT Ltd, said: “Having worked with Theresa for a number of years in her previous roles, I know she brings both a deep knowledge of the industries and technologies we support, as well as the leadership skills to develop a world-class sales team.”

AWS opens marketplace to code writing partners

Posted on December 7, 2020 by - News

Amazon Web Services has started a new programme gives VARs, channel partners and MSPs a new and faster way to market their intellectual property.

The big idea is that by encouraging channel partners that develop their own applications they will bring them to market via the Amazon Marketplace.

AWS announced that consulting partners that build their own software will now be able to distribute their software via the AWS Marketplace like any other independent software vendor (ISV).

Cisco revamps channel ready for 2021

Posted on December 7, 2020 by - News

Cisco has announced a significant partner programme revamp and says that the outfit is gearing up for 2021 in the post-CORVID world.

Angela Whitty, UK and Ireland managing director of partner organisation at Cisco said that that the firm has a solid set of people selling the brand in the market after the performance of partners during the pandemic.

The pandemic has seen Cisco improve its channel programme. At the partner event in October, the firm revealed the most significant changes it had made for a decade.

“The new programme will allow our partners to bring together all of the disparate programmes and will allow partners to play in their areas of expertise, so they’ll be a gold standard integrator, managed service provider developer and adviser. So you still have that high standard, but it just allows people to be more specific in the areas that are important now”, said Whitty.

Dell offers new security offerings across supply chain

Posted on December 7, 2020 by - News

Dell Technologies has announced new security offerings across its supply chain, services and infrastructure.

Rob Tomlin, Vice President & General Manager, UK Channel & Distribution, Dell Technologies comment that risks were at an all time high with the hunt on to cause harm through activities including information theft and destructive malware or ransomware.

He said many businesses are still fighting this battle with limited security resources.

“With workers now dispersed and the number of network and device touchpoints on the rise, tangible data and insights into potential vulnerabilities and user behaviour can help business leaders to make more accurate decisions when it comes to security – helping to dramatically lower the risk”, he said.

Sectigo snaps up channel partner SSL247

Posted on December 4, 2020 by - News

Automated digital identity management and web security outfit Sectigo has acquired SSL247, the biggest SSL certificate and web security provider in the UK and France, and Xolphin, the largest provider of SSL certificates and digital signatures in the Netherlands.

With the two acquisitions, Sectigo extends its sales reach and support for the company’s leading SSL certificate solutions, Sectigo Web Security Platform and Sectigo Certificate Manager platform, to thousands of additional organizations across Europe and Latin America.

The company is spending cash on growth given to it by GI Partners, a leading private investment firm.

SMEs staff fear for their jobs in security breaches

Posted on December 4, 2020 by - News

Security outfit Avast has found that almost 40 percent of small business employees think that a staff member who unknowingly clicks a malicious link would be held personally responsible for a data breach, which could be encouraging employees to keep quiet rather than flagging a potential threat.

The survey, consisting of 2,016 office-based workers in the UK and US, explores the current cybersecurity awareness levels among small business employees during a period of elevated risk brought to pass by the ongoing pandemic.

Datto hosts third virtual MSP Technology Day

Posted on December 4, 2020 by - News

Cloudy outfit Datto will host its third virtual MSP Technology Day on Wednesday, 9 December, 2020.

The event will look at the two main integrated solutions MSPs use every day to run a successful, efficient, and secure business – Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) and Professional Services Automation (PSA).

Datto’s new virtual conferencing platform will help connect the MSP community in a way more similar to Datto in-person events. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact 1:1 with Datto and with integration vendors in the RMM and PSA partner ecosystem at 35 different booths.

Cloud Distribution offers new sales masterclasses

Posted on December 2, 2020 by - News

Cloud Distribution has announced a series of sales “masterclasses” for channel partners.

Hosted by veteran sales coach Jim Wigg, the masterclasses form part of the company’s Partner Growth Services and will focus on key activities and critical points of the sales cycle.

Cloud Distribution says the short sessions are ideal for both new members of growing sales teams and seasoned sales veterans looking to hone their skills during these unprecedented times.

Channel’s SME base badly undermined by COVID

Posted on December 2, 2020 by - News

SMEs have been badly hit by the COVID-19 crisis according to BVA BDRC.

In its SME Finance Monitor  report, BVA BDRC found that three-quarters of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been negatively affected by COVID-19, with 35 percent saying things have been really tough.

When asked, 40 percent of SMEs felt the worst was still to come, although the number of those that expected income to drop by half or more had reduced from 60 percent in the second quarter to 30 per cent in the three months from July to September.

Salesforce’s buyout shows market for collaboration tools growing

Posted on December 2, 2020 by - News

Salesforce logoSalesforce’s decision to buy Slack for $27.7 billion is proof that the collaboration tools space is becoming vital to the market, according to one of its rivals.

Matthew Hodgson, CEO of Element, another secure collaboration platform said: “Salesforce’s acquisition of Slack is an interesting move for the company and validates the continued demand for collaboration tools in the market.”

He said that the move fuels the rivalry between Microsoft and Slack, which escalated recently when Slack filed an antitrust complaint against the former for unfairly using Office to promote Microsoft Teams. If Slack are to successfully compete, they need to join an open ecosystem for collaboration.

HPE pushing dHCI through its channel

Posted on December 1, 2020 by - News

HPE has mounted a channel campaign to promote dHCI (disaggregated hyperconverged infrastructure) to encourage HCI technology customers to upgrade.

The company said that its campaign has been running in the UK as a pilot project and the plan is to roll it out to other areas. The idea is to get partners and customers to view its dHCI offering, dubbed HCI 2.0, as a step forward from legacy installations from other vendors.

Orange denies Atos buy out rumours

Posted on December 1, 2020 by - News

Orange has denied two week old rumours it’s in talks to acquire French systems integrator Atos.

The €5.93 billion French telecoms vendor says that such an acquisition is also not an issue the board has any plans to discuss.

“Orange denies that it is working on a project relating to a takeover of Atos and in consequence clarifies that this is not a subject that will be discussed at the next Board of Directors meeting.” 

Agilitas management buy out completed

Posted on December 1, 2020 by - News

Agilitas has completed its management buy-out led by Shaun Lynn alongside cash from the international private equity and growth equity investor Perwyn.

Perwyn has acquired a majority stake in Agilitas and will support the team’s growth ambitions including international expansion, service acceleration and potential M&A. Perwyn has a proven track record of taking ambitious companies on the next stages of their growth journey by providing institutional backing to support such growth initiatives.

Government builds new 5G testing facility

Posted on November 30, 2020 by - News

A new government-backed 5G testing facility is to be built in Oxfordshire to help UK businesses use 5G and satellite technology.

Due for completion in 2021, the engineering hub is to be built by the IT and business consultancy CGI at the county’s Harwell Campus. The hub will get more than £3 million in government cash. Last week, the Boris Johnson government quietly muted its manifesto promise to provide the British world+dog a top interweb connection by 2025.

Arrow denies Chinese military connection

Posted on November 30, 2020 by - News

Arrow has denied Chinese military connections after one of its subsidiaries was named and shamed in a draft sanctions document by the US government.

One of the distie’s Asian units, Arrow Asia Pac, has found itself on Donald Trump’s list of outfits requiring US businesses apply for a licence before they can export certain products to firms listed.

Arrow’s subsidiary appears in the document as a “military end user” but the distie has denied any links to the Chinese military and called its inclusion on the list, which is yet to be formalised, an error.