IT Lab becomes a Microsoft managed desktop partner

Posted on July 15, 2019 by - News

IT Lab Group has become a Microsoft managed desktop partner and will provide global end-user support service alongside the Microsoft Managed Desktop service.

IT Lab’s CEO, Peter Sweetbaum, said: “The IT Lab Group is delighted to be working so closely with Microsoft at the forefront of bringing this valuable new service to market.  Having helped to develop the business case for Microsoft Managed Desktop, we are excited to be announced as a support partner for Microsoft Managed Desktop globally, supporting our customers to realise the value of this new managed service and bringing the power of Microsoft’s three clouds to the desktop.”

Microsoft backs down after channel revolt

Posted on July 15, 2019 by - News

Software King of the World Microsoft has backed down over its changes to its internal use rights policy after its channel partners revolted.

Microsoft had thought it was a wizard wheeze to suggest that from 1 July next year licences would not cover everyday use but could still be used by partners for demos, solution and services development and internal training purposes.

It said that it cost too much to provide the service, but suddenly Vole discovered that it had right royally hacked off the partners.

FinancialForce expands its cloud, cuddling up to Zimit

Posted on July 15, 2019 by - News

FinancialForce is expanding its PSA solution to include services configure, price, quote (CPQ) capabilities by forming a strategic partnership with Zimit.

FinancialForce Vice President of PSA Product Management Lori Ellsworth said that the Zimit partnership means increased demand from customers to help them mature their services sales process and ensuring a smooth handoff for delivery.

“Zimit CPQ is built to handle the complexity of configuring, estimating, and pricing services, and is a natural extension to both PSA and CRM”, Ellsworth said,

Huawei shows partners towards campus networks

Posted on July 12, 2019 by - News

The American government’s favourite telco, Huawei, has been telling its British partners how they can make a pound or two flogging its  campus network switches.

Huawei thinks 5G and the demands of digital transformation will drive spending on campus networks and create opportunities for channel partners.

It launched its CloudEngine S-series of campus networking products, with the products being designed to support Wi-Fi 6 for customers moving towards a wireless environment.

Zhao Zhipeng, President of the Campus Network Domain, Huawei’s Data Communication Product Line said campus networks are the basis for constructing future-proof digital platforms for enterprises, and they are shifting their focus from data connectivity to service connectivity.

Pimberly looks to expansion and sets sights on $10 million target

Posted on July 12, 2019 by - News

Manchester-based Pimberly thinks that the time is ripe for expansion now that it has passed its $1 million annual recurring revenue (ARR) milestone earlier this year.

The outfit is am SaaS Product Information Management (PIM) and Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform provider and has annouced it is moving into scale mode, investing to accelerate growth and achieve an ARR target of $10 million.

Pimberly’s PIM platform acts as a central hub for all omnichannel product data, including descriptions, specifications, sizing, pricing, availability, imagery and videos for multiple brands, currencies and geographies. Its automation and intuitive “No-Code” UI  streamline ERP/eComm workflows. This helps retailers, distributors and manufacturers to seamlessly expand into new marketplaces and territories, as well as rapidly increasing time to market and the agility of their products and services.

Signavio invests $177 million in international expansion

Posted on July 12, 2019 by - News

Business transformation outfit Signavio announced a $177 million investment to fuel continued international expansion and further investment in its world-class software suite.

The transaction was led by Apax Digital, the growth equity team of Apax Partners, with participation from DTCP. Existing investor Summit Partners will retain an equity stake in the business.

This new investment will be used to accelerate international expansion and to further invest in Signavio’s product suite. The company already has nine offices across the world and is expanding operations in Japan and India, increasing its employee base by over 50 per cent in 2019. Earlier this year, Signavio was recognised as a March 2019 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice for Enterprise Business Process Analysis Software.

Foehn approved as G-Cloud supplier

Posted on July 11, 2019 by - News

The government’s Crown Commercial Services has confirmed that Foehn is approved as a supplier in the category of ‘Cloud software’ on the G-Cloud 11 procurement framework, part of the Government’s Digital Marketplace.

This time G-Cloud incorporates all three of Foehn’s flag-ship systems –  Voxivo Cloud Phone system, UC & Collaboration and VoxivoCX Cloud Contact Centre, all designed and built by Foehn’s development team, plus Foehn’s Omnichannel Contact Centre solution incorporating the Purecloud system delivered in partnership with Genesys.

Microsoft’s new London store opens

Posted on July 11, 2019 by - News

Software King of the World Microsoft has opened its first European store in London.

The 22,000 square feet, the three-floor store is located in Oxford Circus is within spitting distance of Apple’s Regent Street flagship.

Microsoft UK CEO Cindy Rose billed the outlet as “more than just a shopping experience”, stressing that it will teach kids to code, train educators on how to use tech in the classroom and showcase digital transformation to small businesses and large enterprises.

Nutanix appoints Sammy Zoghlami as EMEA sales boss

Posted on July 11, 2019 by - Moving People

Cloudy outfit Nutanix appointed Sammy Zoghlami as Senior Vice President of Sales for the region of Europe, Middle East & Africa.

Having previously held the role of sales lead for the company’s operations in Southern Europe,  Zoghlami will take responsibility for all aspects of Nutanix sales in a region stretching from Scandinavia to South Africa, and from Ireland to Russia. Zoghlami will be responsible for leading sales and customer support, strategic business development and strategy, management of Nutanix’s offices and operational teams in each EMEA country, as well as the company’s partnerships, alliances and channel activities in the region.

Asolvi acquires PC Data

Posted on July 10, 2019 by - News

Asolvi has acquired PC Data as part of its glorious UK expansion plans.

It wrote a cheque for Purpose Software in January and then followed that up with Vantage Computing being snapped up in February.

The Nordic player has made it clear that it views UK expansion as one of its priorities.

ASL Group buys Reprotec

Posted on July 10, 2019 by - News

Managed office outfit ASL Group has acquired office equipment supplier Reprotec.

Reprotec has been trading for 38 years and has expertise in document management solutions, including the supply and maintenance of colour photocopiers, MFDs and printers.

The move follows ASL getting cash from private equity finance provider, Primary Capital Partners at the start of the month.

Brexit is worrying customers

Posted on July 10, 2019 by - News

Chief financial officers and tech startup leaders are being more cautious, and the reason is Brexit and the trade war between the US and China.

According to the latest Deloitte CFO survey, 83 percent of those surveyed thought that the UK business environment would deteriorate as a result of leaving the EU.

Only four percent of CFOs felt that this was an excellent time to take risks, which is the lowest level since 2008.

Deloitte chief economist Ian Stewart said: “Events in the last three years, and recent news suggesting the economy shrank in the second quarter, have added to worries about the impact of Brexit. This is not solely a question of the long-term outlook. Brexit has not happened, but it is acting as a drag on corporate sentiment and spending,” he said.

80 per cent of tech startups confident

Posted on July 9, 2019 by - News

Over 80 percent of UK tech start-ups are confident about the coming year according to figures compiled by Studio Graphene.

The outfit’s second quarter 2019 Tech Tracker has revealed that confidence levels among UK tech startups is fractionally higher than three months ago with 80 percent of tech startups are ‘confident’ (41 percent) or ‘very confident’ (39 percent) about their growth prospects for the coming yeah. This figure was one percent higher than the first quarter,

Over the next year 73 percent of tech startups plan to hire more staff which is 18 percent lower than in Q1 2019 and just 59 percent intend to raise finance – down seven per.cent. The confidence of UK tech startups has remained consistence over the past quarter despite on-going Brexit uncertainty and the Conservative Party’s leadership contest, Studio Graphene’s latest Tech Tracker has revealed.

Channel facing tough security demands from enterprises

Posted on July 9, 2019 by - News

A Secure Supply Chain survey conducted by CybSafe has found there are increasing cybersecurity requirements being placed on businesses supplying enterprise customers.

The combination of new technology models and greater reliance on technology in business is changing how companies approach security. This has resulted in additional opportunities for the channel, as well as an increased requirement for the channel to secure themselves.

CybSafe ran a survey of 250 IT decision-makers at small and medium-sized suppliers to enterprise and found that 60 percent of businesses had to report on their cybersecurity measures as part of the contract or RFP process. This is up from 52  percent in 2017. 

NTT Security completes WhiteHat buy out

Posted on July 9, 2019 by - News

NTT Security has completed the acquisition of WhiteHat Security.  The acquisition was designed to boost NTT Security’s ability to address modern enterprise security needs that range from IT infrastructure to critical business applications, covering the full lifecycle of digital transformation.

WhiteHat Security will continue to operate as an independent, wholly-owned subsidiary.

WhiteHat Security CEO Craig Hinkley said: “With the cyberthreat landscape constantly growing and applications being central to digital businesses, application security is more important now than ever before. As part of the NTT Security family, we are well-equipped to provide global solutions to meet the rising demand for application security.”