July 2011

July 28, 2011 28 Jul'11
UK government should open up IT contracts to SMEs, say MPs

The UK government needs to beef up its in house IT skills, widen its supplier base and reduce its reliance on outsourcing after wasting "an obscene amount of public money" on IT projects. Continue Reading
July 28, 2011 28 Jul'11
Virgin Media Business records small drop in sales

Virgin Media Business has reported a small drop in business revenue for its second quarter. Continue Reading
July 28, 2011 28 Jul'11
Cloud is as fast as physical servers, report claims

The "myth" that cloud computing is inherently slower than conventional hosting environments has been dispelled, a new study claims. Continue Reading

July 28, 2011 28 Jul'11
Name and shame

Businesses that are serious late payers are causing their suppliers unnecessary hardship and misery according to the Forum of Private Business. Many companies are afraid to speak up because they fear losing work and business. Continue Reading
July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11
Job satisfaction? Show us the money say employees

Channel businesses would be well-advised to keep an eye on their staff because workers have revealed they are more likely to change jobs for better pay rather than more job satisfaction as they try to overcome the rising cost of living. Continue Reading
July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11
Solarflare burns for Avnet

Avnet Technology Solutions is joining forces with low latency, 10 GB Ethernet specialist Solar flare in a new distribution agreement, writes Linda Endersby. Continue Reading
July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11
Bradford Networks embraces two-tier channel model

Network security specialist Bradford Networks has signed a deal with Hampshire-based VAD Siracom as it moves to develop a two-tier channel distribution model for the first time in the UK, writes Linda Endersby. Continue Reading
July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11
Avisen eyes return to acquisitive growth

AIM-listed Avisen is planning a return to acquisitive growth in the coming months after restructuring around its core business, business technology and profit improvement specialist Avisen and storage resource analysis outfit Storage Fusion. Continue Reading
July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11
Midwich appoints key account sales manager, adds more staff

AV and IT distributor Midwich has appointed a key account sales manager, bolstered its sales specialist team, added to the Midwich home technology division, strengthened its pro audio division and recruited three extra sales staff to its True ... Continue Reading
July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11
Juniper shows solid recovery in switching market

Juniper Networks CEO Kevin Johnson has talked of growing momentum in the vendor's routing business and "a return to solid performance in switching" after the firm booked solid growth in both sales and GAAP net profits. Continue Reading

July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11
CablesToGo signs distie agreement with Synaxon

Connectivity specialist CablesToGo has signed a distribution deal with Synaxon UK, giving it access to the dealer group's member community, writes Nick Booth. Continue Reading
July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11
Computacenter picks nlyte for C3 cloud initiative

Computacenter has extended the use of nlyte Software's Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) suite to support its new C3 cloud initiative, which offers ability to adopt the cloud using an optimal blend of on- and offsite IT delivery models, ... Continue Reading
July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11
Amazon international cloud growth dwarfed by American performance

Growth at Amazon's web services division internationally is falling further behind the company's performance in the North American market where AWS reported a massive revenue growth rate of 85% for its latest quarter. Continue Reading
July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11
France mourns pioneering pre-Internet Minitel service

Sad news from across the Channel, where France Telecom has announced it will close down its pioneering Minitel network in 2012 after 30 years of service. Continue Reading
July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11
NetApp takes Hammer relationship to next level

NetApp has given storage VAD Hammer full access to its entire portfolio, including its FAS series kit and software solutions, allowing the firm to grow its resellers to the highest level within NetApp's partner programme. Continue Reading
July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11
Has Wandisco launched a store for cloud apps? 'Appen it has

Sheffield-based Wandisco has launched an app store for cloud applications. Sadly, they eschewed any Yorkshire themed names - Appen-It-Does was my suggestion - for a more corporate sound name befitting an enterprise IT supplier. So uberApps it is, ... Continue Reading
July 27, 2011 27 Jul'11
Submission omission

Anyone who pays tax on a self-assessment basis - the rich, entrepreneurs or those with abnormal financial affairs - know that they have to pay tax on account. Continue Reading
July 26, 2011 26 Jul'11
Cloud computing is a lot of hot air (and it can heat your house)

There's an intriguing paper published by Microsoft in which the authors argue that it could be possible to send servers used in cloud computing data centres to houses and office buildings and use them as a primary heat source. Continue Reading
July 26, 2011 26 Jul'11
Paying by credit card online? Use your webcam says Jumio

US Payment Company Jumio has released technology which it claims turns any webcam into a secure credit card reader making it easier for merchants to accept online payments. Continue Reading
July 26, 2011 26 Jul'11
Arrow ECS adds Isilon cloud storage kit to portfolio

Arrow ECS is to add Isilon scale-out NAS products to its line card after signing a distribution deal with the EMC-owned firm. Isilon has made a strong play in the growing scale-out NAS sector. Continue Reading