Category: News

Capita and Birmingham City Council sort out new deal

Posted on June 27, 2017 by - News

bury the hatchetCapita and Birmingham City Council have sorted out their differences and signed a new IT services deal after scrapping the mammoth Service Birmingham joint venture.

The old deal called Service Birmingham saw Capita provide IT services to Birmingham City Council from 2006, but was came under constant criticism for at one point costing upwards of £180 million annually.

Cllr Ian Ward, deputy leader of the City Council, said: “As is widely known, the shape and objectives of the council are changing due to a wide range of factors including reduced funding for local government, changes in population profile and an ever-altering technological landscape.

“Our ICT and digital service needs to support and lead in achieving those objectives, while providing flexibility, added value and having the ability to continue delivering a day-to-day service while making this transition.

“This deal will see the council gradually take more control of its ICT and digital strategy over the next four years, with Capita and the council working together. Through these negotiations we have been able to secure the savings we need to protect frontline services and start the ball rolling on the process that will enable us to meet the challenges of the future.”

Service Birmingham joint venture was flawed by commercial restrictions, with the new services contract set to be in place until 2021.  The proposal will go to the council’s Cabinet today, but is expected to go through on the nod.

 

Infosys cuts tax deal with New York

Posted on June 26, 2017 by - News

infosysudacityInfosys has cut a tax deal with the State of New York’s investigation over the amount of taxes the Company paid in 2010-2011 without any criminal or civil charges being filed.

Infosys has made a $1 million settlement with the New York state after it was found that it violated US visa rules by placing employees on a different visa at its clients’ offices in the state.

The settlement was announced on Friday by Attorney General Eric T Scheiderman, saying it resolves whistleblower claims that Infosys, in the course of providing outsourcing services, routinely brought foreign IT personnel into New York to perform work in violation of the terms of their visas.

The company said that the investigation centred on alleged paperwork errors, and the company has not had to confess to doing anything wrong.  In fact it denies all allegations that it ever did anything wrong at all.

The company said in a statement that the settlement relates to legal issues already resolved under the 2013 settlement with the US Department of Justice, and was reached by both parties to avoid protracted litigation.

“Infosys maintains robust policies and procedures to ensure adherence with all applicable regulations and laws. Infosys will continue to focus on boosting American innovation, hiring American workers and better serving our valued customers across the United States,” the company said.

 

Panasonic is the king of rugged laptops

Posted on June 26, 2017 by - News, Products

cf-30_clamshell_left-600x600Panasonic is Europe’s leading rugged mobile computing manufacturer, according to the latest market analysis from VDC Research.

The beancounters, after adding up some numbers and dividing by their shoe size, said that with the Panasonic Toughbook range, the company extended its market-leading share of the European rugged notebook market with a 67 percent revenue share of sales in 2016.

The Panasonic Toughpad tablet range continued to lead the rugged tablet market with a 56 percent revenue share of sales and the company’s expansion into the rugged handheld market accelerated with year-on-year growth of 176 percent.

Kevin Jones, managing director Panasonic computer products solutions Europe said that despite a decline in the wider business notebook market, the rugged notebook market has remained buoyant as devices continue to be an important tool for many mobile workers with the need for data entry using a keyboard.

“Our focus on updating and refreshing our most successful rugged notebook models, combined with bringing to market new two-in-one detachable rugged devices has allowed us to expand our market share even further.”

In the rugged tablet market, Panasonic continued to lead with 56 percent revenue share of sales, almost eight times that of its nearest competitor.

Panasonic’s focus on the European rugged handheld market is also paying dividends. With almost a third of its product range now dedicated to this market, Panasonic has seen year-on-year growth of 176 percent in this sector as devices such as the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-F1 & FZ-N1 handheld tablets with their angled rear barcode reader to protect against repetitive strain and enhance user productivity begin to establish a reputation in industries such as transportation and logistics, retail and manufacturing.

David Krebs, EVP at VDC Research, said: “With over 67 percent  market share in the rugged notebook and over 56 percent market share in the rugged tablet market in EMEA in 2016, Panasonic continues to set the standard against which its competitors are measured. Moreover, with the introduction of the world’s first two in one fully rugged notebook Panasonic and an expanded portfolio of rugged handheld devices Panasonic is delivering some of the most innovative products in the rugged mobile computing market.”

Distributors find use for the cloud

Posted on June 26, 2017 by - News

cloudEuropean Distributors are finding a new role as a provider of cloud services, e-commerce, specialist logistics and support for the channel during the move to new revenue models.

According to a new report carried out for the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) by the research house IT Europa, the cloud helps provide coverage, onboarding and recruitment of new channels in all the markets in Europe.

The report identifies some of the ways that distribution is now able to work to develop new business lines, especially in services, where the move to cloud adoption makes it a lot easier for developers and solution providers to create solutions, but where they still need ways to reach their markets.

Vendors cited in the report say they are using distribution for access to markets that would otherwise involve them in setting-up local offices and providing local more resources.

Channels are often faced with a wave of new potential product lines, each requiring careful evaluation. Few channel players have the resources to research the market continuously.

Peter van den Berg, GTDC Europe’s general manager said that if you work closely with distributors and they will be able to guide you as to which products are going to be the winners. More than  65 percent of the business of one of the GTDC’s largest members is now in services.

“In the last two years, GTDC members have added over 600 new vendors, so they are a good source and indicator for channel partners looking to see which products and services are likely to be successful,” van den Berg stated.

The report draws on GTDC’s own research which points to a heightened sense of confidence in the European IT industry this year and identifies key growth areas for distribution and partner channels, including IoT, mobile, managed services and cloud.

SAP customers not evolving

Posted on June 26, 2017 by - News, Products

Human evolution

Human evolution

The maker of expensive management software which no one is really sure what it does, SAP, is discovering that its customers are not so keen on getting the latest and greatest versions.

SAP appears to be struggling to get users to move to its S/4HANA offering with many quite happy sticking with their existing ERP products from the vendor.

Research from Rimini Street has found that the overwhelming number of respondents – 89 percent – were going to stick with existing products because they continue to meet business needs.

When asked if they would move to S/4HANA the reasons for not making the effort included struggling to find a strong business case, unclear ROI and fears of high migration and reimplementation costs.

Rimini Street CEO Seth Ravin said that the survey highlights that CIOs and IT decision makers prefer to maximize the value of their current robust SAP ERP system that more than meets their business requirements, rather than advancing to a new platform that is still in development with no current business case to support a full reimplementation.

“It also illustrates how they are pursuing innovation strategies, such as hybrid IT, to help their business gain competitive advantage now, without having to wait indefinitely for meaningful new innovations and capabilities from SAP,” he said.

The hybrid IT approach is also one of the reasons why many customers are quite happy to use software that has largely been designed for on-premise use.

Aptec scores Dell’s Middle Eastern business

Posted on June 26, 2017 by - News

michael-dell-2Aptec, part of Ingram Micro, has been selected as a strategic distribution partner by Dell EMC across the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Yemen.

The deal builds on Aptec’s current partnership with Dell EMC and further strengthens Ingram Micro’s relationship with one of the world’s largest IT solution providers.

The distributor ow offers access to Dell EMC’s full portfolio of products, including advanced cloud IT infrastructure, converged systems, server and storage solutions, plus client systems.

Ingram Micro META chief executive   Ali Baghdadi said that the expansion of the partnership to include the full Dell EMC solution portfolio is an excellent affirmation of the success during many years of Aptec as a distributor of Dell in the Middle East region.

“We are pleased to offer an expanded portfolio of advanced solutions to our reseller partners as we continue to deliver on our commitment to support the growth of their businesses. Our team possesses excellent expertise and is well-positioned to provide unparalleled support to resellers to build their Dell EMC businesses,” he added.

Mohammed Amin, senior VP, Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META) at Dell EMC, said: “Our distributors play a crucial role in our new Dell EMC partner programme. We are very pleased to have Ingram Micro on board in this important market, as they are a key player of ICT distribution who is well connected to the partner landscape both on a global scale and specifically in the META region.”

Havier Haddad, senior channel director META at Dell EMC, stated: “With our industry leading portfolio of solutions and a world-class channel programme, we are well positioned to shift the status quo of the IT industry. Keeping this in mind, with Ingram Micro, one of the world’s largest IT solution providers on board, we aim to put our channel ecosystem at the forefront of IT transformation and achieve even greater heights in the future.”

 

Edge protector Brookcourt inspires the London Stock Exchange

Posted on June 23, 2017 by - News

 

edge 620_1Brookcourt Solutions has been named in London Stock Exchange Group’s “1000 Companies to Inspire Britain” Report.

The edge protective technology solutions outfit  was recognised in the fourth edition of London Stock Exchange Group’s 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain report.

The report names fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) across the UK

To make the cut, companies needed to show consistent revenue growth over a minimum of three years, significantly outperforming their industry peers

Brookcourt CEO Phil Higgins said: “Brookcourt are pleased to have won such a prestigious and innovative award. We focus on defining ways to deliver effective IT security solutions that match the increasing business demands for secure IT operations in today’s fast paced, unpredictable technological environment. By blending innovating, problem solving technologies across all enterprise verticals, Brookcourt’s award winning, customer centric approach ensures we continuously keep ahead. We are honoured to have been selected to receive this award.”

Xavier Rolet, Chief Executive, London Stock Exchange Group said that four years after its first release,  LSEG’s ‘1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain’ report continues to highlight the dynamic, entrepreneurial and ambitious businesses across the country that are boosting UK productivity, driving economic growth and creating jobs.

“The strength and diversity of these companies is readily apparent with a broad mix of UK regions and sectors represented. These companies are the very heart of an ‘anti-fragile’ economy: more robust; more flexible and less prone to boom and bust. We must ensure we continue doing all we can to support high growth potential businesses like these,” Rolet said.

Ellison bets on IaaS and PaaS business

Posted on June 23, 2017 by - News

Larry EllisonOracle founder Larry Ellison has told the world that he expects Oracle’s IaaS and PaaS business to “accelerate into hyper-growth” over the coming year.

Strong SaaS sales dramatically improved the company’s fiscal in the fourth quarter and full-year 2017 results.

SaaS sales grew 76 percent to $1 billion in the fourth quarter pushing Oracle’s overall cloud revenues up 66 percent $1.4 billion. Total revenues for the quarter rose four percent to $10.9 billion.

Although IaaS and PaaS growth was 45 percent in the fourth quarter, rising to $403 million, Ellison predicted Oracle’s IaaS and PaaS business will soon grow so fast it will “be even bigger than our SaaS business”.

He said that during the new fiscal year, Oracle’s PaaS and IaaS businesses to accelerate into hyper growth, the same kind of growth it was seeing with SaaS.

Ellison, who is now Oracle’s CTO, also used the call to make his ritual traditional jibe at Salesforce, claiming fiscal 2017 was the second year in a row Oracle sold more cloud annual recurring revenue than its SaaS rival.

He said that Oracle’s rapid SaaS growth was the driving force behind Oracle’s revenue and earnings growth in Q4.

“The reason we are confident that we will pass Salesforce is because we have a three-fold SaaS application suites for ERP, for HCM and for CRM including financials, procurement, supply chain, manufacturing, human resources, payroll, marketing, sales and service. Salesforce in contrast only competes in three of these nine market areas,” he said.

Vendors can’t keep up with IT changes

Posted on June 23, 2017 by - News

race-atalanta-hippomenesHuawei’s UK channel director Michael Rae claimed that most of the established vendors are struggling to keep up with changes in IT.

Speaking at Huawei’s 2017 partner conference, Rae said that as cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) adoption accelerates, most outfits are struggling to cope.

He warned his 300 UK partners that they needed to pull their socks up and improve their level of services certification around IoT and cloud. He slammed other vendors who were hoping for a quick fix by bolting on added products for partners to sell.

Many were adapting with an ‘attached’ strategy which involved attaching licenses and new services that partners must sell. This is going to affect your costing and will have a knock-on effect to customers as well.”

Huawei meanwhile is investing in its partner training resources with a new webinar service and recently launched its online training platform Huawei University, which partners can also use to train customers.

Rae said that, unlike other vendors, Hauwei was extremely partner dependent with service revenue split 85 percent in favour of our partners.

That said, Rae admitted that partners were hacked off with Huawei’s sluggish supply chain. He said that the company was improving this. More than 68 percent of deliveries are now being made out of Huawei’s European distribution hubs in the Netherlands and Hungary and carry around 75 percent of Huawei’s enterprise product portfolio.

More investment in this area was coming, along with significant investments in our production facilities from a planning, forecasting and build perspective.

Passive optical LAN fibre could be a money spinner

Posted on June 23, 2017 by - News

Fruit-and-fibreThe Association for Passive Optical LAN (APOLAN) said that it is time that more resellers and vendors put their customers on a high fibre diet.

The outfit has just compiled a report which shows that network users’ demand for connectivity is growing like topsie and this creates a need to re-evaluate the network backbone technology options that can support today and tomorrow’s needs.

Put simply, fibre-based networks deliver significant benefits that traditional copper-based LANs can’t match.

The findings of its APOLAN member survey, ranking the key benefits the next generation technology is delivering to modern IT networks. Findings show tangible green benefits, reduced spacing requirements, and superior scalability top the list as the benefits that most influence adoption and impact for optical LAN customers.

The top five selling points for passive optical LAN customers are:

  •  Tangible contributions to environmental green initiatives: With no power consumption, minimal HVAC needs and reduced equipment needs, passive optical LAN provides stronger green benefits to enterprises compared to copper-based networks. This technology supports LEED and Green Globe certifications.
  •  Reduced spacing requirements: Unlike copper-based LAN need for telecom rooms, passive optical LAN uses very little space in a building due to its reduced equipment and cabling requirements and limited powering and cooling needs. This means space savings for enterprises that can convert this extra space into more comfortable areas or in revenue-generating areas.
  • Superior scalability and availability: To keep up with growing connectivity needs, modern network backbone technologies need to deliver scalability to accommodate more bandwidth needs as well as availability that keeps business going, with no unplanned interruption. In both situations, passive optical LAN provides superior rates when compared to copper-based LAN.
  • Time-saving opportunities to IT teams: Due to its reduced component needs and network simplicity, passive optical LAN requires little time to be deployed and maintained. Another time-saving benefit when compared to copper-based LAN, is its certification period. Typically, it takes three and a half days of training, compared to several weeks required for a copper-based network.
  • Lower capital and operational costs: Because of less equipment and lower energy and cooling needs, passive optical LAN is simpler to deploy and to support, delivering greater cost reductions both short and long-term to enterprises. In another significant cost benefit, POL needs less frequent upgrading, every 10 years or more compared to every 5-7 years with copper.

APOLAN President and Chairman Thomas C. Ruvarac said:  “The survey clearly brought the key network benefits that enterprises can experience when deploying fibre-based networks,” said. “Passive optical LAN is the only network technology that can support the convergence of services, including video, data, and smart building connectivity, with improved network speed and performance.”

APOLAN membership is formed of heavyweight industry leaders that are shaping the network and connectivity future in the hospitality, healthcare, enterprise, building and construction, retail, manufacturing, financial, and education areas as well as in government. The survey was open to all Association members to offer inputs into the key network and technology benefits of the technology that were relevant to the market.

 

Intoware and AMRC take on the knowledge gaps

Posted on June 22, 2017 by - News

ul_books_shelfm290a951078_1100_germangapIntoware and the AMRC are working together to solve knowledge gaps which are causing problems in many vertical markets.

The pair is working on initiatives using software and hardware including wearable devices and machine intelligence to address this issue.

Engineers average age is around 50 years and represents a significant percentage of the workforce. This indicates an impending skills gap that is expected to hit these industries soon, creating an opportunity for technology solve a critical skills problem.

Intoware and the AMRC have joined to form a collective to create a straightforward and effective solution to this issue, each playing an essential role in the success of this cunning plan by providing technology and innovation.

A proof of concept will be set up at the AMRC’s Factory 2050 in Sheffield. A limited number of industry partners interested in participating in this collaboration can apply as early as July of 2017.

Intoware CEO Keith Shipton said: “This problem is something our team has been looking at for some time now,” and added machine intelligence and wearables are at a point where they can be used.

AMRC Augmented Reality Technical Fellow, Chris Freeman, said: “The AMRC has worked with industry innovators on many projects solving problems leveraging the latest advancements in technology.”

 

NetComm and Telefonia sign worldwide IoT supply deal

Posted on June 22, 2017 by - News

shoe phonenetNetComm and Telefónica signed a global  IoT Device Supply Agreement which should help  NetComm’ presence in Europe.

The deal offers new 3G/4G M2M/IoT capabilities for smart city, mobility, retail and energy across multiple geographies as Telefónica extends its IoT reach to over 2,500 enterprises worldwide.

NetComm General Manager M2M Philip Micallef said that Telefónica was globally driving digital transformation with a focus on IoT innovation.

“We are pleased to join Telefónica’s partner ecosystem as the need for smart remote communication between business assets, and machines become ever more critical for enterprises globally,” he said.

Both Telefónica and NetComm Wireless have received important recognition for IoT innovation with NetComm won the Aussie communications industry’s highest accolade for IoT innovation, –  the IoT Innovator ACOMMS Award. Telefónica appeared for the third year running in the “Leaders” quadrant of independent analyst firm Gartner’s report “Magic Quadrant for Managed Machine-to-Machine Services, Worldwide” which was published in October 2016.

NetComm Wireless will supply 3G/4G M2M/IoT devices including the: 4G M2M Router (NTC-140); 3G M2M Router Series (NTC-6200) and its 3G Serial Modem (NTC-3000), under the agreement,

 

Queen’s Speech features new UK data protection law and digital charter

Posted on June 22, 2017 by - News

Parliament 2017Her Majesty the Queen, crowned in her best blue hat, mentioned a few things for the tech industry in her speech including promises of a new UK data protection law and digital charter.

Brexit dominated the speech and observers noted the fact that a few of the key Tory’s manifesto pledges such as a return to fox torture and expanding grammar schools had been removed. However, technology was also a recurring theme in the speech.

“A new law will ensure that the United Kingdom retains its world-class regime protecting personal data, and proposals for a new digital charter will be brought forward to ensure that the United Kingdom is the safest place to be online”, the Queen said.

This means that a UK-specific GDPR is on the way and this could have a significant impact on the Channel who will welcome it the same way as they would a rabid dog.

Theresa May wanted to establish an international framework which is similar to those for banking and trade is expected to include proposals for closer scrutiny and regulation of certain activities online, chiefly of extremist material or content that is abusive or harmful to children.

This means that despite government claims to want a free and open internet, these proposals will drown tech companies in red tape.

The Queen also said that her government will bring forward proposals to ensure that critical national infrastructure is protected to safeguard national security.

“A commission for countering extremism will be established to support the government in stamping out extremist ideology in all its forms, both across society and on the internet, so it is denied a safe space to spread,” she said.

This might be more welcome as cyber security breaches cost businesses almost £30bn last year and small firms, are accelerating investment in security technologies to protect themselves and their customers from threats online.

Periscope teams up with dscout

Posted on June 22, 2017 by - News

IMG_5062Periscope By McKinsey has announced an alliance with research platform dscout, to develop a rapid and flexible delivery of qualitative research for both B2B and B2C businesses.

Dscout’s is known for its research capabilities into customers’ thoughts and behaviours in the form of video, images and text as they happen.

Combined with Periscope’s Insight Solutions, the new offering will enable Periscope’s clients to have meaningful C-Suite ready decision support available within days.

Periscope Managing Partner Brian Elliott said: “This is an exciting alliance, with both partners committed to answering our client’s key marketing questions through the lens of the customer by integrating dscout’s agile research capabilities into our insights creation.”

This will also allow the capability to expand from the traditional consumer segments into B2B scenarios and into different geographic regions, he said.

“Using dscout’s digital platform further enables us to understand how customers use products and services in a few days and integrate these ‘in the moment’ and evocative insights into our recommendations.”

Dscout’s digital platform enables clients to commission and complete qualitative research rapidly. Its core assets are its Software as a Service (SaaS) research and analysis platform and a pool of “scouts”—people who capture key moments in their everyday lives through short videos, photos and text entries captured on their mobile phones.

Periscope’s Insight Solutions Offering provides clients with a one-stop shop for cutting-edge outside-in consumer and buyer insights via agile market research techniques and proven approaches with a network of global research partners.

Dscout CEO Michael Winnick said: “Our relationship with Periscope will accelerate our ability to provide in-the- moment insight from people around the world to our global clients.”

AMD returns to servers

Posted on June 22, 2017 by - News

AMD-Technician-Poses-With-Chip-WaferAMD was given a good kicking in the server front and left Intel as the king of the chicken coup. However, that is starting to change with AMD providing new competitive products which will give its partners something serious to offer customers.

AMD’s launch of the EPYC data centre processor is a case in point and should give the channel to talk about with its partners.

AMD supremo Lisa Su claimed: “EPYC processors provided uncompromising performance for single-socket systems while scaling dual-socket server performance to new heights, outperforming the competition at every price point.”

“We are proud to bring choice and innovation back to the datacenter with the strong support of our global ecosystem partners,” she said.

The company has the backing of some key server players including HPE, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, Gigabyte, Supermicro and Tyan.

It also has a pile of paperwork with shedloads of benchmark studies that indicate the processors deliver speed and reliability. They are being pitched to support cloud, machine intelligence and critical enterprise workloads.

HPE is using the Cloudline CL3150 and expanding into other product lines later this year. Dell claims that its PowerEdge servers combined with the AMD technology would provide performance and security improvements. Lenovo is telling its customers that AMD based gear can reduce TCO as a result of the processor and server performance improvements.

AMD has sauced up the offering by adding its Radeon Instinct accelerators that are targeting the high-powered computing market.

Either way, Intel does not have the field to itself, and that can only be good for the channel.