Category: News

SoftwareOne sees revenue up 8.7 per cent

Posted on May 18, 2023 by - News

SoftwareOne has reported a solid start to 2023 with its revenue increased by 8.7 per cent to £213.3 million on the first quarter.

SoftwareOne CEO, Brian Duffy said who joined the company in May after it carried out a rebrand said that it was an exciting time for the company.

The partner’s software & cloud marketplace delivered revenue growth of 6.4 per cent to £111 million in Q1, up from £108.6 million during the prior year period, driven by a 30 per cent revenue rise in the ISV portfolio.

Gross billings in the Microsoft business came to $4.2 billion, up 13 per cent year on year, driven by solid momentum across customer segments.

PubMatic partners with SeenThis

Posted on May 18, 2023 by - News

Digitial advertising outfit PubMatic has partnered with adaptive streaming specialist, SeenThis in a deal it claims will deliver faster, better-quality digital advertising while minimising carbon emissions.

SeenThis’ proprietary video streaming technology allows advertisers to stream high-resolution video content rather than relying on publishers to download video creative files. Compared to running the same quality creative using conventional technology, this results in lower data usage, energy consumption, and a smaller carbon footprint.

Alibaba Cloud wants to grow global partner ecosystem

Posted on May 17, 2023 by - News

Alibaba Cloud wants to grow its global partner ecosystem and is ramping up its support and incentives.

At the Alibaba Cloud Partner Summit 2023, the firm outlined several initiatives to grow its partner base. These included launching an independent software vendor (ISV) acceleration programme, increased training for partners and more rewards for the best performers.

The ISV programme includes incentives and technical support to make Alibaba Cloud more attractive and add more depth to the cloud player’s marketplace offering. Its rivals have similar offerings, having recognised the importance of offering customers a wide range of applications.

EY buys whyaye to create EY whyaye and why not?

Posted on May 17, 2023 by - News

Consulting outfit EY has acquired whyaye, a UK-based consulting services provider for the ServiceNow platform.

This is EY’s eighth acquisition since April 2021, and the firm claims it’s part of “significant ongoing investments” in technology consulting services.

Founded in 2019, whyaye is a Newcastle-based ServiceNow MSP with more than 100 employees across the UK.

The acquisition will be known as EY whyaye [no, really.ed] and will support the growth of EY Technology Consulting services by expanding capacity, capabilities and market presence around the ServiceNow technology platform.

whyaye CEO Maureen Robson-Norman will join Ernst & Young LLP as a Partner.

SMBs optimistic about AI

Posted on May 17, 2023 by - News

A new report from market analysts Aircall-Sapio Research says most UK SMBs are optimistic about AI even if their staff fear it will take their jobs away.

Most SMBs plan to invest in the technology in the next twelve months even as half their staff are worried about its impact on their jobs, and quality of work.

Over half (53 per cent) of UK SMBs of those surveyed confirm they will be investing in AI in the next 12 months.

However, just under two-thirds of UK employees (64 per cent) think there is a lack of understanding of what AI can do in the workplace, and over three-quarters (76 per cent) would be interested in learning more about how AI can benefit them.

Connexin onboards two new Tier 1 contractors

Posted on May 16, 2023 by - News

Hull-based IoT and digital Infrastructure specialist, Connexin, has onboarded two new Tier 1 contractors — SCD Group and MAP Group.

The move is part of its cunning plan to accelerate its rapidly increasing Full Fibre network expansion,  and reach its target of half a million broadband-connected homes.

SCD Group and MAP Group obtained their Tier 1 contractor status from decades of experience delivering large-scale infrastructure projects. MAP Group is an independent provider of professional technology services and SCD Group is a multi-discipline infrastructure contractor.

They will work closely with Connexin to fully complete the Fibre to the Premise (FTTP) expansion across all of Hull and key areas of the East Riding of Yorkshire by December 2023, aiming to cover virtually every single home and business.

Unit4 and Phase 3 partnership announced

Posted on May 16, 2023 by - News

Cloud-based Unit4 announced a strategic partnership with Phase 3, a professional and managed services provider for HR, Payroll and Finance technologies.

Unit 4 believes the partnership will give its customers an accredited reseller partner which has nearly 20 years’ of experience implementing people-focused technology, creating the potential for customers to do even more to support their people.

With extensive knowledge of the Public Sector, Professional Services, and Nonprofit industries, Phase 3’s expertise means that the company can easily interpret Unit4’s customer requirements and translate these into efficient implementations, the company said.

UK facing persistent labour shortages

Posted on May 16, 2023 by - News

Blighty is facing a labour shortage which is not going away thanks to the super soaraway oven-ready post-Brexit points-based immigration system.

According to a recent survey by Finbri, 83.51 per cent of UK business owners are concerned about the impact of labour shortages on their companies, with 47.69 per cent being “concerned” and 35.82 per cent being “strongly concerned.”

Finbri Bridging Loan Broker Stephen Clark said labour shortages had become an ongoing conversation among businesses since Brexit, and the issue is only likely to worsen in the short term, offering little to contribute to the UK economy’s rebound.

Riverbed releases ACE new partner programme

Posted on May 15, 2023 by - News

Riverbed has announced a new partner programme.

The outfit’s managed SaaS Digital Experience Management (DEM) service is focused on scaling the company’s Alluvio Aternity DEM business.

Dubbed ACE, the new Riverbed partner programme targets MSP partners that deliver services to small and medium enterprises, and are new customers to Alluvio Aternity DEM, with less than five thousand global users.

Riverbed wants ACE to help small to medium enterprises struggling to measure the impact of the digital employee experience (DEX) and customer experience.

Riverbed SVP for Global Partners and Alliances Alex Thurber said that his company is taking its Alluvio Aternity DEM and turning it into a managed service as an expansion of the Riverbed go-to-market strategy as partners look for technology that can keep pace with evolving business and client needs.

“ACE enables partners to provide DEM-as-a-service to small and medium enterprises, as the need for innovation is greater than ever in today’s digital workplace. Riverbed is enabling positive change in the IT channel by providing partners with opportunities to expand their business with more flexible and modern licensing models that deliver exceptional digital experiences to customers through our industry leading Alluvio Unified Observability and Riverbed Acceleration portfolios,” Thurber said.

 

SAP and Google Cloud expand their cloud partnership

Posted on May 15, 2023 by - News

SAP and Google Cloud are expanding their cloudy partnership by introducing an open data offering.

They claim it will enable customers to build an end-to-end data cloud that brings data from across the enterprise landscape using the SAP Datasphere solution and Google’s data cloud.

This means that customer can view their data in real-time and maximise value from their Google Cloud and SAP software investments. SAP Datasphere mixes this data with data from across the enterprise.

The pair claim partners and customers can combine SAP software and non-SAP data on Google Cloud, from virtually any other data source.

SAP CEO Christian Klein said bringing together SAP systems and data with Google’s data cloud introduces entirely new opportunities for enterprises to derive more value from their full data footprints.

Accenture takes a stake in Stardog

Posted on May 15, 2023 by - News

Accenture has invested in AI firm Stardog which has developed technology that combines data from several sources and makes it machine-understandable without changing the underlying data.

The big idea is to allow such data to be better searched, and improve searches using generative AI.

Accenture makes it clear that it is not acquiring Stardog, but is instead making a strategic minority investment in the company via its Accenture Ventures.

Accenture Cloud First. chief technologist Teresa Tung said: “We believe this is such a strategic technology that we want to get in with the startups so that we can shape their product to be best for helping us with our clients.”

Accenture, which currently partners with Stardog, did not disclose the size of its investment which apparently does not give it first rights to Stardog’s technology.

Instead the move means that Accenture can influence Stardog’s roadmap

 

Accenture gets Objectivity

Posted on May 12, 2023 by - News

Accenture has agreed to acquire cloud and platform development MSP, Objectivity.

The company said that the sale will enable Accenture to meet the new wave of platform engineering projects.

Accenture Cloud First boss Karthik Narain said Objectivity’s strong engineering culture and delivery experience will help clients pivot and launch new products quickly and efficiently.

Objectivity founder Rob Helle said Objectivity has provided innovative thinking to create the most fit-for-purpose digital solutions.

Integrity360 snaps up Swedish Netsecure

Posted on May 12, 2023 by - News

Integrity360 has written a cheque for Swedish cyber security service provider Netsecure as part of a cunning plan to expand its Nordic operation.

Netsecure employs around 40 employees and is headquartered in Stockholm.  It reported growth of around 35 per cent per annum for the last four years, and it expects sales of circa €10 million during FY2023.

All of Netsecure’s employees will remain with the group, bringing the headcount of Integrity360 group to around 360.

Integrity360 executive chairman Ian Brown said that the merged group will significantly expand its activities and services throughout the Nordic region in addition to continuing growth as an independent cyber security services specialist throughout the UK and Ireland.

He has plans for expansion into other geographic markets this year.

Netsecure founder Jan Lindblom said Netsecure had become a well-respected cyber services provider within Sweden.

“Our skills combined with those of Integrity360 will provide an extension of our portfolio of professional, support and managed services. This is great news for employees, customers, and partners. Our 2 companies are highly complementary, with common strengths in cyber infrastructure, and SIEM technologies,” Lindblom said.

 

Barracuda merges MSP and channel partner programmes

Posted on May 12, 2023 by - News

Barracuda is merging its MSP and channel partner programmes.

The outfit’s VP of partner ecosystems Jason Beal said many vendors in the industry had legacy programmes that were tailored to a resale business.

Using diversified partner models enabled the creation of a global programme that recognised partners who are reselling technology and providing professional services, those that are serve up managed services or co-managed models.

Barracuda wanted to update the programme to recognise this diversification of its business models, he said.

UK businesses too dependent on ancient phone systems

Posted on May 11, 2023 by - News

Most UK businesses still rely on the out-of-date public switched telephone network (PSTN) for essential services, such as analogue phone lines, broadband, alarm systems and CCTV cameras.

A new survey commissioned by cloud and connectivity provider M247, which explores the current state of PSTN usage among UK businesses, found that more than 88 per cent of them were ignoring the fact the PSTN stop-sell followed by a full deactivation of the network by 31 December 2025.

For those not in the know, PSTN is a network of copper wires that has kept the UK connected since the 1800s.

Its owner, Openreach, will be switching the network off in December 2025 due to increasing difficulties associated with maintaining the now aged infrastructure, as well as evolving communication styles and habits.