Category: News

Climb Channel expands partnership with Malwarebytes

Posted on March 29, 2023 by - News

Climb Channel Solutions has expanded its partnership with Malwarebytes to include the full Malwarebytes business portfolio for VARs in the UK and Ireland.

This expands the existing MSP partnership between Climb and Malwarebytes, allowing more partners to offer this cyber protection solution to their customers. With additional threat prevention modules and services such as DNS filtering and managed detection and response (MDR), partners can offer each customer the right product or service, tailored to their specific needs.

Malwarebytes Channel Manager Paul Sexton said: “As business owners worldwide have unfortunately experienced, the consequences of a ransomware attack can be devastating to their operations and even their existence. That’s why we are excited to announce our partnership with Climb Channel Solutions.”

AI technology could hit 300 million jobs

Posted on March 29, 2023 by - News

A new report by the bank Goldman Sachs has warned that generative AI technology, such as ChatGPT, could effect 300 million full-time jobs in the US and Europe.

The study said that generative AI could boost the economy and increase global gross domestic product by seven per cent in a decade.

Since its release in November last year, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has rapidly gained popularity and become one of the world’s fastest-growing applications, known for its human-like interactions and engaging conversations. It can perform tasks such as answering questions, writing essays, summarising documents and writing software.

The report said that breakthroughs in AI could automate up to a quarter of jobs, particularly those of lawyers and administrative staff.

Brent council signs digital pact with Cellnex

Posted on March 28, 2023 by - News

Brent Council and Cellnex have signed a long-term agreement to ensure mobile connectivity improvements continue across the Borough.

The Council will provide access to lighting columns for Cellnex UK to deploy small cell technology used by Mobile Network Operators to increase mobile coverage and capacity. Offering residents and businesses world-class connectivity is key to delivering Brent’s ambition to become a digital borough. This vision is set out in the Borough’s Digital Strategy.

Cellnex UK already provides vital connectivity in the Borough. Smalls cells have been widely accepted as a crucial part of advancing mobile infrastructure in the UK, given their capacity to boost vital connectivity and coverage in localised areas. As the UK’s largest independent telecoms infrastructure provider, the new agreement will allow Cellnex UK to continue to provide Mobile Operators with access to sites in the borough to quickly and cost-effectively deliver coverage to people and businesses.

The insurance industry looks to AI

Posted on March 28, 2023 by - News

Generative AI is being touted to help the insurance industry improve its processes and better protect its customers.

Zelros uses Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technology to help insurers provide policyholders with the coverage for their needs in real-time with hyper-personalised policy recommendations.

Zelros Chief Growth Officer Linh C. Ho said cultivating a culture of innovation and transformational change in the insurance industry is paramount to achieving sustainable growth.

“ Generative AI like what we’re seeing with ChatGPT can be a critical tool in our arsenal to reimagine the insurance experience for customers, transforming it from a transactional, reactive model to something more proactive and personalised,” Linh said.

Linh added: “This technology can unlock new possibilities and opportunities for growth that we haven’t even begun to explore. The industry needs to continue to invest in AI and build a culture that embraces innovation to continue providing truly transformative solutions for customers.”

PwC partners with ReversingLabs

Posted on March 28, 2023 by - News

Management consultants PwC, has partnered with ReversingLabs to provide a new automated platform to protect supply chains

In the UK, PwC provides specialist Third Party Risk Management (TPRM) services to enterprise businesses to help them identify, mitigate and monitor the risks most impactful to their operations. Businesses are becoming concerned about potential exposure to risk from third-party software and solutions compromised by malware or other threats.

PwC has responded to this by partnering with ReversingLabs to address the security risks inherent in third party software.

The partnership combines PwC’s TPRM capabilities and consultancy services with ReversingLabs’ automated platform to quickly detect and mitigate threats within software. Providing greater protection against sophisticated attacks on the software supply chain.

 

National Crime Agency tricks cyber-criminals

Posted on March 27, 2023 by - News

The National Crime Agency has infiltrated a cyber crime marketplace by setting up websites pretending to offer the tools needed to mount distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

The sting, known as Operation PowerOff, was a honey trap for hackers and saw several thousand people have accessed these websites, which offer what are known as DDoS-for-hire or “booter” services. The details of people that have registered with the fake website have been collated by investigators.

Tech talent shortage for at least another year

Posted on March 27, 2023 by - News

Tech vendors and their channel partners will see another 12-18 months of tech talent shortages, according to Gartner group.

The analyst outfit said that demand for cloud architects, cybersecurity specialists, app developers and other tech roles will continue to outstrip supply, even as the big tech firms cut staff.

Gartner senior director analyst Mbula Schoen said that the talent influx was not enough to nullify a tech skills shortage made worse by the need to digitally transform in the wake of the pandemic.

LUHFT gets Attensi IT training

Posted on March 27, 2023 by - News

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT) has teamed up with  Attensi to create an IT training system which saves staff thousands of hours to dedicate to patient care.

LUHFT worked with Attensi to create a training simulations app to accelerate learning of new IT systems. Clinical staff training within the NHS has traditionally added strain to two areas – time and resources. Thanks to the app, all 4,000 staff completed the training within three weeks, before the new systems went live.

Microsoft reveals three new partner designations

Posted on March 24, 2023 by - News

Microsoft announced three new partner designations – including one aimed at SMB support providers.

The designations are part of Vole’s new partner programme which replaces its Partner Network – went live in October 2022.

Microsoft’s told its 2023 Partner Ecosystem briefing it had acted on partner feedback garnered since launch.

The Microsoft Cloud Partner Programme was designed to simplify life for partners by shelving the 18 Silver and 18 Gold competencies under MPN in favour of six new Solutions designations across Azure, Modern Work, Security and Business Applications. It was aimed at helping its partners better differentiate themselves.

Neptune Software teams up with NTT DATA UK&I on SAP

Posted on March 24, 2023 by - News

NTT DATA UK&I announced a new partnership with Neptune Software to bring about some new SAP based products.

The idea is that the pair will provide products and services which will businesses to digitise and optimise their processes and user interfaces based around the SAP platform.

The companies say that NTT DATA UK&I will supplement Neptune Software’s ability to deliver customised applications by hosting the solution on Microsoft Azure and it will also support businesses with its industry-leading expertise and knowledge of transformation practices. The partnership will see both companies work closely together across the private and public sector, helping organisations to benefit from the SAP solutions and applications they are using.

Channel partners taking the lead on subscription services

Posted on March 23, 2023 by - News

Distributor Westcon-Comstor claims that most channel partners across the UK and Australia have realised they need to deliver subscription services.

In its Navigating the shift: The role of distributor marketplaces in partner success report, Westcon-Comstor said that while 78 per cent of partners had started to move towards subscriptions, a number of obstacles in getting there due to increased complexity among the main hurdles. Just over half pointed to the need to manage a complex multi-vendor portfolio as the biggest challenge.

The result was that more expected distributors to help and many were looking to the marketplaces that disties had established as places they could interact more easily. Some 60 per cent stated that a single platform to purchase both hardware and software would help them navigate some of the complexity and embrace marketplaces quicker.

British watchdog snuffles around Broadcom’s VMware deal

Posted on March 23, 2023 by - News

US chipmaker Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware could make servers more expensive, a British anti-trust watchdog has barked.

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it is refering the $61 billion deal to an in-depth inquiry unless its concerns were addressed.

For those who came in late, Broadcom agreed to buy the cloud computing and virtualisation company last year to diversify into enterprise software.

But the CMA is not having it saying that  the deal could dampen innovation and drive up the cost of computer parts and software for servers.

CMA Executive Director David Stewart said: “Servers are a vital building block, functioning largely thanks to hardware products made by firms like Broadcom, working in unison with virtualisation software from firms like VMware.”

VMware improves partner connect programme

Posted on March 22, 2023 by - News

VMware has spruced up its Partner Connect programme to handle what it calls the “complex world of multicloud.”

The vendor is concerned about customer outcomes as one of its measures of partner success and will use several mechanisms to reward partners over the course of a customer sale.

This includes a sell incentive, with a back-end rebate programme that incentivises those that offer software as a service (SaaS), subscriptions and licensed software, with an increase in payments of between two and 10 times for those bookings,  the company said.

Sawyer quits Lenovo

Posted on March 22, 2023 by - News

Neil Sawyer has left Lenovo after 14 months as UK managing director & general manager.

Sawyer joined Lenovo in December 2021 after becoming a name running HP’s UK channel for six years.

Sawyer confirmed that he had left on good terms with Lenovo and was grateful to his team in UK&I for their efforts and achievements.  He just needed a break and to spend more time with his family.

He will be replaced by Preben Fjeld, former UK and Ireland GM and current EMEA chief operating officer.

 

Rafay partners with NTT DATA

Posted on March 22, 2023 by - News

Rafay Systems has entered into a reseller partnership with global digital business and IT services leader NTT DATA,.

The partnership will expand the adoption of Rafay’s Kubernetes Operations Platform (KOP) in EMEA and APAC regions. Together, Rafay and NTT DATA will help enterprises significantly reduce the complexity, resource requirements, and spiralling costs associated with do-it-yourself (DIY) Kubernetes to ensure the success of application modernisation initiatives.

Rafay Systems CEO Haseeb Budhani said: “By partnering with a revered IT services company like NTT DATA, our joint expertise and best-in-class services can serve more regions around the world and help companies in those markets modernise their infrastructure faster and with less overhead.”

Rafay’s cloud-built KOP is an SaaS solution that streamlines Kubernetes operations for companies deploying modern applications in public clouds, data centres or at remote/edge locations by adding automation, security, visibility and governance capabilities to any Kubernetes distribution and infrastructure.