Category: News

Two banned directors back on the job

Posted on November 22, 2017 by - News

External-SignTwo banned directors have returned to security reseller Quadsys after their bans expired.

Paul Streeter and Paul Cox hacked a rival’s email account last year, and a judge handed them a suspended jail sentence and banning them from being company directors for a year.

Streeter and Cox resigned as directors of Quadsys last year but were reappointed as of 15 November this year.

Fellow director Alistair Barnard, who received the same sanctions as Streeter and Cox, resigned and is no longer a person of significant control in the company.

The trio and with two other Quadsys employees were found guilty of “obtaining unauthorised access to computer materials with intent to commit an offence” last year, after accessing an email account of rival ITB.

The reseller hired an ex-ITB technician, who arrived at Quadsys with the email passwords, allowing them to view quotes and poach customers.

Some vendors ended their relationship with Quadsys including Sophos, McAfee and Barracuda when the outfit was found out.

UK businesses will splash out on AI

Posted on November 22, 2017 by - News

robby the robotA new study by beancounters at Deloitte predicts that 85 percent of UK businesses will have invested in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2020.

Deloitte researched over 51 UK companies and found that over half of respondents plan to invest over £10 million in AI over the next three years – with 30 percent saying they will have spent £10 million by the end of the year.

Deloitte UK digital transformation leader Paul Thompson said: “AI will have a profound impact on the future of work.

“Our view is that human and machine intelligence complement each other, and that AI should not simply be seen as a substitute. Humans working with AI will achieve better outcomes than AI alone, and UK businesses need to get this particular balance right.”

So far only 22 percent of organisations said they had not yet invested any money in AI, with just one third expecting to spend more than £1 million this year.

Deloitte said these figures are an indication that organisations are testing AI rather than skippin straight to large deployments.

More than 77 percent of leaders expect AI to disrupt their industries, but only eight percent expect AI to replace human activity in their businesses.

Whitman starts cleaning out her desk

Posted on November 22, 2017 by - News

Meg WhitmanHPE’s Whitman announced she is quitting as the CEO and claims that her channel track record was a critical aspect of her six year reign.

On 1 February 2018, Whitman will be replaced by the current president Antonio Neri, who joined HP in 1995 as a customer service engineer in the EMEA call centre.

Shareholders were not happy – HPE’s shares were down by nearly eight percent in after-hours trading, despite Q4 results topping expectations.

Whitman was appointed as HP CEO in September 2011 following the departure of much-maligned predecessor Leo Apotheker and quickly implemented a five-year turnaround.

She hived off the printer and PC arm of HP in 2015, and put in motion the most significant corporate divorce in history.

HPE’s headcount is now standing at less than 50,000, compared with nearly 350,000 when she joined.

In the UK she was known for dropping in on top HP resellers, including Softcat and CDW in the UK for tea and biscuits and talk up HP and HPE’s channel-friendly credentials at its partner summits.

According to HPE’s statement today, the vendor improved customer and partner satisfaction under her leadership, as well as rebuilding its balance sheet, strengthening operations and reigniting innovation.

HPE has delivered a shareholder return of 89 percent – three times that of the S&P 500 – HPE pointed out.

“I’m incredibly proud of all we’ve accomplished since I joined HP in 2011”, Whitman said.

“Today, Hewlett Packard moves forward as four industry-leading companies that are each well positioned to win in their respective markets. Now is the right time for Antonio and a new generation of leaders to take the reins of HPE. I have tremendous confidence that they will continue to build a great company that will thrive well into the future.”

HPE’s Q4 revenue rose five percent year on year to $7.8 billion, the company also announced.

Whitman will remain on the HPE board of directors.

 

 

Techdata increases Azure training

Posted on November 21, 2017 by - News

schoolDistributor Tech Data is leaning on Microsoft partners to get up to speed on the Azure platform.

It has put 50 resellers through its Azure Velocity Partner Acceleration Programme in the last year and has plans to put the same number through the scheme in the next six months.

The programme enables a reseller to aim for silver competency with the Azure cloud platform and improve their chances of growing their hosted revenues.

The distributor is highlighting the levels of support that are on offer to those that use the training and tools with the investment per partner reaching £20,000.

Microsoft said that Azure remains a huge focus and it wants more partners selling the platform and associated hosted services.

Tech Data is at the gold level for the Microsoft Cloud Solution Partner (CSP) and in a position to provide this level of training and support.

The outfit has put more than 70 individuals from around 50 resellers through a five-day Azure technical training course and saw their revenues with Azure and with CSP grow significantly over the past six months.

 

IoT projects need to return money fast

Posted on November 21, 2017 by - News

fings-ain-t-wot-they-used-t-be-all-star-studio-cast-recordingSuppliers of IoT gear are warning that projects have to deliver cash savings to clients fast.

Customers deploying Internet of Things (IoT) projects neither have the time or the budget to be experimental and are looking to the industry to help deliver results quickly.

While many in the IoT channel are expecting a busy year next year, there are signs that customers might not have much patience when it comes to planning returns.

IoT customers in vertical markets do not have much cash to fund the development and roll out of technology. They need returns fast.

Lantronix senior director EMEA sales Alex Hollingsworth said that suppliers must reduce time to revenue and time to market and has launched its software platform, Mach10 to help those OEMs developing IoT solutions.

Customers are calling for suppliers to create a business case and the Lantronix platform should help OEMs generate the value to show users.

The IoT market is developing specialised resellers as companies realise that they can’t do it all themselves. As a result, they are finding that they need to partner.

Toshiba says it is not getting out of the PC business

Posted on November 21, 2017 by - News

toshiba-logoCash-strapped Toshiba has denied rumours that it is planning to flog off its PC business to Asus.

The rumours seemed to fly after it became clear that Tosh was not going to be able to raise enough cash from the sale of its lucrative memory chip business in time to ward off the threat of a delisting.

Toshiba needed to find $9 billion after its Westinghouse US nuclear division turned sour.

Asus was named as well as Lenovo as potential buyers for the Tosh PC business.

However, Toshiba has rebuffed these claims in a statement, saying: “Reports that Toshiba has decided to sell off the business are not grounded in fact, nor is it in discussion with any individual company.”

Toshiba, however, confirmed that a group of hedge funds would be grouping together to acquire $5.4 billion in new Toshiba shares.

The vendor confirmed plans to explore the sale of the Westinghouse division so if anyone wants a second-hand nuclear reactor they should be able to pick up one pretty cheap.

 

Barclays survey warns of IT underinvestment

Posted on November 20, 2017 by - News

printingpress2The Barclays Corporate Banking survey shows that there is a reluctance to invest in emerging technologies which is holding manufacturers back from achieving their true potential.

While 43 percent of technologies such as the internet of things, machine learning and big data will boost profits, many manufacturers are still reluctant to invest in smart technology in their factories, despite more than half of them reporting that technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), IoT and big data have improved productivity.

The survey found that this reluctance will cost manufacturers £102 billion a year in lost revenue.

The survey revealed that 35 percent of manufacturers would be more likely to invest if they understood the tangible benefits of smart tech better, with 23 percent not clear what the return on investment would be.

Mike Rigby, head of manufacturing at Barclays, said: “British manufacturing is going through another industrial revolution, but confidence alone does not translate into success and benefit”, he said.

“With sterling currently weaker and a robust appetite from domestic and international markets for British goods, the industry is in a strong position to take advantage of the opportunities that investing in fourth industrial revolution technologies can bring.”

The research found that manufacturers could miss out on £102 billion worth of revenue due to lack of funding and 83 percent of those manufacturers are ‘confident about the UK’s ability to compete in the international marketplace over the next five years’.

According to those surveyed, skills shortage is biggest challenge to digital strategies, while an increase in cyber attacks was a concern raised.

 

Truth uses blockchain to clean up media supply chain

Posted on November 20, 2017 by - News

Newspaper Seller, 1939TMG (The Marketing Group) has launched Truth which it claims is the first media agency in the world to utilise blockchain smart contract technology.

Truth will provide 100 per cent transparency in a media industry with TMG says is “murky at best, and fraudulent at worst”.

Truth’s proprietary, media buying and planning platforms will ensure global best practice and complete GDPR compliance.

The outfit will be headed up by Mary Keane-Dawson who joined TMG earlier in 2017, and Adam Hopkinson who joins as COO from 1st December.

It has been launched in response to the erosion of trust between advertisers, media agencies and media owners. The company said the industry is ripe for innovation, where middlemen and the layers involved in media planning and buying can easily strip 80 percent of the value between brands and media owners.

Truth’s use of blockchain technology revolutionises the traditional process, allowing for complete transparency for all involved, the company said.

Truth has commissioned research, alongside London Research, among CMOs and others with budget responsibility for programmatic advertising, which demonstrates demand for a new honest agency model.

Initial findings reveal that 79 percent of those questioned are concerned about the level of transparency in programmatic advertising and over one third rate their trust in their agency as medium or low.

Truth CEO Mary Keane Dawson said: “By bringing blockchain technology into the media world we will build a cleaner media supply chain with 100% transparency. We want to put the client first and believe this is the best way to do that.”

It will launch with offices in London, San Francisco, Singapore and Sydney, providing a global solution for brands that want more transparency and better value.

Cloud Distribution expands into Blackberry security

Posted on November 17, 2017 by - News

Samsung Browses BlackberryCloud Distribution has developed its relationship with BlackBerry to take on board the vendor’s latest security products.

The distributor has been flogging BlackBerry Workspaces for three years but will now add the vendor’s Secure platform to the portfolio.

Blackberry is getting out of the mobile hardware business and into software and last month stepped up its cybersecurity services to protect privacy and data assets and also help customers gain GDPR compliance.

Cloud Distribution, sales director Adam Davison said that his outfit was building on its Workspaces relationship with BlackBerry.

He added that it would be using its Altitude Marketing programme to make sure partners were given support around the Secure platform.

“There is a full schedule of joint marketing campaigns and initiatives underway to help partners stimulate interest and accelerate pipeline growth”,  he said.

Richard McLeod, vice president of global enterprise software channels at BlackBerry, said that the expanded relationship was all part of its commitment to the channel and efforts to reach out to more resellers.

“The expanded relationship with Cloud Distribution signifies our continued investment in strategic partnerships with industry leaders, enabling us to enhance our channel partner ecosystem and provide business customers with the best possible experience within their respective market”, he said.

“Cloud Distribution’s security specialists have proven they can address challenges in today’s complex and sophisticated business environments”, he added.

 

BookingBug looks for channel partners

Posted on November 17, 2017 by - News

9426-3094550359Online appointment software outfit BookingBug wants to work more formally with the channel.

The company has worked with a few partners on an ad hoc basis but has decided to set up a more formal structure for resellers.

The increase in customer requests for online appointment systems as part of a digital transformation project is mostly behind the surge of interest in this area of the software market.

BookingBug alliances director Les Baker said the demand for a way to join online and offline customer experience had reached a point where it was time to formalise the programme and open up broader availability.

“It’s becoming normal for banks, governments and retailers to seek out new ways to improve the customer experience, especially online to offline. As channel partners see more demand, they have been approaching us in growing numbers”, he added.

Baker said that more customers realised that they needed to use technology to make sure they could manage the interactions with their most important clients.

He added that it was broadly looking for partners that fell into three segments. It had already signed some in the first category of implementation partners, with Field Dynamics having put the software into many public sector customers.

BookingBug is also courting technology companies, like accounting and CRM players that could integrate the software into their offerings. Finally, there are general resellers that are turning to the vendor when the opportunity arises.

 

DataLase does deal with PARC

Posted on November 17, 2017 by - News

xerox-parc-alto-personal-workstation-1973-bwInline digital printer DataLase has signed a strategic partnership with PARC.

The companies will work together to develop photonic printing solutions based on the DataLase award-winning laser-reactive colour-change pigment technologies. A celebratory ceremony took place at PARC last week.

The deal will accelerate the development of new laser-based hardware solutions that are optimised for use with DataLase colour-change pigment technology to digitally print variable data on a variety of products and packaging.

DataLase, a SATO company, will collaborate with PARC to advance its inkless multi-colour Infinity technology platform and has signed a lease agreement to establish a pioneering development office and innovation suite to operate from inside the PARC facility in Silicon Valley, California.

Andy Wragg, CEO at DataLase, said: “Working at PARC will give DataLase and our parent company, SATO, access to cutting-edge technology facilities to develop new and unique photonic printing solutions, based on our latest colour change pigment technologies. We will also have access to other pioneering and innovative companies and technological advances that will extend our capability to deliver unique solutions that connect brand owners with consumers around the world.”

PARC provides breakthrough capabilities that very few organisations can deliver, he reckons. Working with strategic partners to help develop innovative solutions, PARC helps take the risk out of deploying technologies and strategies that could revolutionise entire industries.

The new multi-colour Infinity platform will revolutionise the way that brand owners can connect with consumers through products and packaging. Digital printing of variable data and the personalisation of products is a rapidly growing trend as consumers demand special relevance from brand-driven marketing campaigns. Integrating printing at the point in the supply chain where it creates the most value for the brand is a key challenge faced by the industry, but inkless solutions based on database technology can meet these increasing demands. Applications for the variable printing of text, graphics, and barcodes on labels, flexible film, and folding cartons can all benefit from this unique solution.

PARC Printing Innovation Portfolio Manager Antonio Williams said that its open innovation business model worked well with DataLase.

“We’re excited to have their team here at PARC collaborating with our researchers to develop the inkless multi-colour photonic print technology. DataLase is bringing a unique solution to market, and we are looking forward to working together.”

Kaseya scores Irish government investment

Posted on November 16, 2017 by - News

irelandThe Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) is to invest £17 million in Kaseya so that the IT management vendor to create 130 jobs in Ireland.

The new jobs will be added to Kaseya’s existing Dublin-based operations, which employs approximately 30 people.

Kaseya is planning to launch a collaboration programme with third-level universities and institutes of technology in Ireland.

Kaseya has been collecting a lot of investment. Lately, the outfit which is majority owned by global software investment fund Insight Venture Partners wants to raise more than €38 million to finance its latest glorious five-year plan.

Fergal McAleavey, head of private equity at ISIF. “It will bring high-quality software jobs and further cement Ireland as the destination of choice for global software companies seeking an EU presence.

“We are confident that Kaseya will deliver a strong commercial return on our investment to complement our economic impact objectives. This transaction further strengthens our excellent relationship with Insight, one of the world’s biggest software investors”, added McAleavey.

Fred Voccola, CEO of Kaseya, said the firm was delighted to continue to grow its Irish presence and to team up with ISIF as an investment partner.

“Ireland is a great place to continue to develop our industry-leading software solutions. Our contribution to Ireland’s vibrant, dynamic software sector will help to bolster the country’s growing reputation as an IT leader while creating significant additional value for our investors”, he added.

NetApp fears no cloud providers

Posted on November 16, 2017 by - News

lightning-cloudNetApp’s EMEA boss Alexander Wallner has told the assorted throngs at the NetApp’s annual EMEA Insight conference in Berlin that the storage vendor does not see cloud providers as an immediate threat.

Wallner said that adapting to the cloud has enabled the Sunnyvale-based company to build “more flexibility and elasticity” into its architecture.

“From my perspective, we’re the only former storage, now data management, provider that decided very early on to lean into the cloud. We never saw the cloud as a threat. We don’t perceive [cloud providers] as our enemy, either. Instead, we understood early on that it is beneficial to our customers that we interact with them on the cloud and support them.”

NetApp and Microsoft have announced that NetApp’s enterprise network file system (NFS) is to be available in Azure as a service.

Wallner added that while interest in the cloud “is everywhere”, most customers are clueless as to what they should be spending their cash on. As a result, it is crucial for vendors such as NetApp to keep customer options open when it comes to cloud.

“Most of our customers do not have an idea of how their cloud strategy will evolve over the next three years. Most of them don’t know what their applications will look like three years from now. It is key for customers to decide on a data management plan that is open, which will enable them to develop in whichever direction they need to. Our task as an infrastructure provider is to provide an open architecture”,  he said.

Wallner said that hybrid clouds were not something mentioned in polite conversation anymore. It was better to talk about multi-cloud environments because hybrid cloud gives the impression that customers have to choose from only one cloud provider.

“The reality is that there is nothing that customers fear more than having a vendor lock them into the cloud.”

He added that NetApp had a fair bit to do to sort itself out in a very uncertain market.

“When you looked at the data market five years ago, life was pretty easy for us. We had a good architecture on storage systems. Now, the transformation we’ve been through in the last five years has seen the picture change completely.”

Computacenter had a good year

Posted on November 16, 2017 by - News

whirlwind-computerIt is starting to look that if you had money in Computacenter, you would be laughing all the way to the bank this year as there are good signs that the company is going to do better than anyone expected.

The outfit has put out a few hints over the last few weeks and the third quarter numbers were pretty good – there was also some spare cash to set up shop in Dublin to serve the Irish market. Third quarter numbers showed that there had been revenue growth of eight percent in the UK business as customers started to spend. While the figures showed the UK was still growing slightly slower than the group’s international units, but third-quarter sales of £335 million, up from £310 million a year ago, improved its year-to-date position to grow six percent.

This is in sharp contrast to last year which was rather unpleasant for the channel player.

The latest note from Computacenter has arrived the form of a trading update which says:

“Following a strong start to the fourth quarter and the visibility of a growing pipeline for the rest of 2017, Computacenter’s Board believes that the Group’s trading result for the 2017 financial year will now be comfortably more than its previous expectations,” the firm stated in a trading update.”

Shareholders should be happy that they will see a  one-off return in Q4 of £100 million. The full-year results are due out towards the end of January, where the firm will provide more details.

Qualcomm spurns Broadcom takeover

Posted on November 15, 2017 by - News

rejection-2Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm rejected rival Broadcom $103-billion takeover bid, claiming that the offer undervalued the company and would face regulatory hurdles.

Broadcom said it would seek to engage with Qualcomm’s board and management, adding that it had received positive feedback from key customers and stockholders.

“We continue to believe our proposal represents the most attractive, value-enhancing alternative available to Qualcomm stockholders and we are encouraged by their reaction”,  the company said.

Broadcom made an unsolicited bid to buy Qualcomm in an effort to become the dominant supplier of chips used in the 1.5 billion or so smartphones expected to be sold around the world this year.

Analysts said Broadcom can now raise its bid, go for a proxy fight or launch a hostile exchange offer.

If Broadcom makes a hostile bid, Qualcomm’s governance rules would allow the rival to submit its own slate for the entire 11-member board by the December 8 nomination deadline.

However it would be easier to talk Qualcomm’s board and agree on a higher price.

But price is not the only issue. Any deal would face scrutiny from the antitrust regulators as the combined company would own the high-end WiFi business globally, analysts said.

Regulators are already scrutinizing Qualcomm’s $38-billion acquisition of automotive chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV.

Broadcom has indicated it is willing to buy Qualcomm irrespective of whether it closes the NXP deal.