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Channel catch-up: News in brief
Developments this week at EntrustIT, SCC, MLL, Westcon-Comstor and Automat-it
An acquisition, moves by partners to gain valuable vendor accreditations and a record-breaking performance by one SCC staffer are all worth noting before the close of another week.
EntrustIT: The managed services provider has acquired Bedford-based IT and security systems integrator DWM Technical Solutions. The move has primarily been made to strengthen the coverage of the UK for EntrustIT.
“DWM is a natural fit with our business, strengthening our capabilities in IP and systems integration,” said Jeff Dodd, CEO of EntrustIT. “This partnership expands our reach in the UK and brings our combined team to over 75 people, enabling us to deliver even greater value to clients.”
In response, Robert Munday, managing director of DWMTS, said the tie-up would be a positive for its staff and customers. “We’ve spent 25 years building DWM, and I’m proud of what we have achieved,” he said. “I now look forward with excitement to working with EntrustIT to build the next stage of our business – delivering exceptional service for our combined client base.”
SCC: The channel player has cut the ribbon on its Cloud Migration & Security suite, a multi-product offering in AWS Marketplace. The suite includes a range of tools comprising app performance analysis, zero touch identity management, and cost and compliance management, leaning on SCC’s consulting and managed services capabilities and IBM, CrowdStrike and Zscaler solutions.
“By offering our Cloud Migration & Security suite in AWS Marketplace, we’re making it easier for customers to accelerate their cloud journey,” said Jean-Philippe Barleaza, head of EMEA Software at SCC. “Bringing together multiple products and services in a single, pre-packaged solution allows customers to simplify procurement, speed-up deployment, and unlock more value from their AWS investment.”
SCC is also marking the achievements of its staffer UK ultra athlete Alex Welch, who won the five-day 250km Namib Desert ultramarathon. When he is not putting in world-record performances and winning competitions across the globe, he works as a senior cyber security sales specialist at SCC. “Namibia was unlike anything I’d ever experienced,” said Welch. “The heat was on another level, and every stage demanded absolute focus. To come away with the win – and a course record – is overwhelming. After the Arctic and Kyrgyzstan, this was the challenge I had been building towards all season. I’m grateful for everyone who has supported me, particularly my colleagues at SCC, who have backed me every step of the way.”
Stepping up
MLL: The firm has been awarded the status of Fortinet Advanced Partner as a result of its commitment to supporting the vendor and its expertise around delivering security solutions in the UK public sector. MLL had operated as a Fortinet Select Partner for the past five years, and stepped up due to meeting revenue and training criteria.
“This well-deserved award is a significant milestone achievement on the way to MLL becoming a Fortinet Expert partner in the near future,” said Shaun Ledgerwood, CEO at MLL Telecom. “For our public sector customers, MLL’s certification will deliver additional value and peace of mind from their Fortinet investment. It means we are not only able to equip their organisations with world-class cyber security technology, but also now have the additional expertise and strategic guidance necessary for its true optimisation, from deployment to configuration and management.”
Westcon-Comstor: The distributor has launched a Check Point renewal application programming interface (API) that makes the process smoother and will help partners runaround revenue opportunities more quickly.
“Pioneering this renewal API with a strategic partner like Check Point showcases the technical excellence and spirit of collaboration that drives our business,” said Marianne Nickenig, vice-president of revenue operations for Europe at Westcon-Comstor.
“This is a crucial step in our commitment to automating the entire quote-to-cash process and simplifying operations for our partners – allowing them to focus on creating value for their customers. With partners seeking to optimise revenue at every stage of the solution lifecycle, renewals are an increasingly strategic priority, and it’s our role as a value-added distributor to facilitate growth through initiatives such as this.”
Automat-it: The firm has become one of the selected few that has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Agentic AI Specialisation. The business gained the specialisation as a result of its proven technical expertise and customer success delivering autonomous AI systems.
Ziv Kashtan, CEO at Automat-it, said: “It is recognition that our deep expertise, and the breadth of services and rapid innovation AWS delivers, means startups can build agentic applications to deploy rapidly, scale securely and innovate confidently while minimising technical risk and maximising ROI.”
