News

Finance and Credit

• April 08, 2013 08 Apr'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 5 April 2013

  Our regular look back at the most important channel news stories from the past seven days, as selected by MicroScope readers

• April 04, 2013 04 Apr'13

  KCOM seals agreement over pension deficit

  KCOM has issued a trading update revealing that it has come to an agreement with trustees over its pension scheme deficit

• April 03, 2013 03 Apr'13

  Mobile payments a growing fraud concern

  The growth in the number of users paying via mobile technology is set to grow and is already stirring some fears of fraud

• March 28, 2013 28 Mar'13

  BlackBerry 10 ships one million in first quarter

  BlackBerry has reported its Q4 2013 results and revealed that shipments of its new Z10 devices has topped a million units

• March 27, 2013 27 Mar'13

  Fujitsu HQ shows confidence in UK operation

  Fujitsu says a multi-million pound investment will enable it to build up its UK business

• March 27, 2013 27 Mar'13

  Corero: stars will align for security business in 2013

  Corero insists that 2013 will finally be the year when its network security business takes off after its non-core software business outperformed it yet again

• March 25, 2013 25 Mar'13

  Changing customer priorities suit ComputerLinks

  ComputerLinks says that demand for products designed to optimise and protect existing customer networks has helped it book full-year growth of 22%.

• March 25, 2013 25 Mar'13

  Syscap calls for more lenders to be involved with government credit schemes

  Syscap has highlighted the failure of the main two government schemes to improve the flow of credit to smaller firms advising that now is the time to widen the lenders that can be involved

• March 25, 2013 25 Mar'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 22 March 2013

  Our regular look back at the top channel news stories from the past seven days, as selected by MicroScope.co.uk readers

• March 22, 2013 22 Mar'13

  Computer 2000 at centre of £26m accounting hash

  Tech Data stands to lose up to £26m after uncovering a series of accounting errors at its UK business

• March 22, 2013 22 Mar'13

  Government expects Business Bank to ease SME credit woes

  The government has provided more details of the next plan to ease SME credit problems in the form of the Business Bank which gets going in September

• March 20, 2013 20 Mar'13

  Budget should create opportunities for the channel

  The reaction from channel players and business groups to the Budget have highlighted that IT services specialists will have a key role to play in supporting more deficit reduction moves

• March 20, 2013 20 Mar'13

  Credit plans to be extended as Osborne delivers tough Budget

  The Budget has included details of proposals to extend the credit schemes the government has established to help SMEs

• March 19, 2013 19 Mar'13

  Westcon focus of parental concern as Datatec downgrades again

  Datatec is down-in-the-dumps over Westcon’s performance and is preparing to pull the distributor out of some markets altogether

• March 19, 2013 19 Mar'13

  IoD tells Osborne it is time to be radical

  On the eve of the Budget the Institute of Directors has urged the Chancellor to be radical to ensure that the UK remains a competitive business market

• March 18, 2013 18 Mar'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 15 March 2013

  Our regular look back at the most important IT channel news stories from the past seven days as selected by MicroScope readers

• March 15, 2013 15 Mar'13

  More credit and simpler taxes top Budget wishlists

  With the Budget just days away business groups have made it clear they want the Chancellor George Osborne to do more to make life easier for small businesses

• March 13, 2013 13 Mar'13

  Government told to do more to support tech start-ups

  The House of Commons science and technology select committee has warned the government that not enough is being done to support start-ups

• March 12, 2013 12 Mar'13

  SMEs turn away from channel for ICT procurement

  Although over 40% of SMEs use VARs as their main channel for procuring IT, a clear majority use the internet as a primary or secondary means of ad hoc procurement, effectively locking resellers out of millions of pounds worth of sales

• March 12, 2013 12 Mar'13

  AMD sells off campus to raise funds

  Chipmaker AMD has announced plans to sell its Texan campus and then lease it back for 12 years in a move that will raise the firm millions

• March 12, 2013 12 Mar'13

  SFO launches investigation into Autonomy accounts

  The Serious Fraud Office has become the latest organisation to launch an investigation into the alleged accounting irregularities at Autonomy

• March 12, 2013 12 Mar'13

  Computacenter reaps rewards of UK investment

  Computacenter began to see the fruits of its investment in the UK market during 2012, with local sales up 8% to £1.2bn and adjusted operating profit up 40% to £52m

• March 11, 2013 11 Mar'13

  Outsourcery CEO Linney joins BBC Dragons

  Cloud computing provider Outsourcery has revealed its co-CEO Piers Linney is to join the line-up for the next series of the BBC’s Dragon’s Den as a replacement for outgoing Theo Paphitis

• March 11, 2013 11 Mar'13

  US firms dominating tech M&A activity

  US firms are dominating the large mergers and acquisitions with European activity levels remaining unchanged since the start of the year.

• March 11, 2013 11 Mar'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 8 March 2013

  Our regular look back at the most important IT channel news stories from the past seven days as selected by MicroScope readers

• March 07, 2013 07 Mar'13

  First time credit applicants face uphill battle

  The Forum of Private Business has reacted with dismay to figures that show it is getting harder for first time applicants to get credit

• March 06, 2013 06 Mar'13

  Samsung pumps $110m into Sharp

  Samsung has made an investment in Sharp as it looks to gain closer links with the thin-screen LCD manufacturer

• March 05, 2013 05 Mar'13

  Tough economic conditions fuel fraud growth

  The level of fraud that channel firms are facing is on the rise as criminals look to use various techniques to gain access to funds

• March 05, 2013 05 Mar'13

  Gates and Ellison still top the IT rich list

  Bill Gates and Larry Ellison feature in the top five of the latest Forbes list of global billionaires

• March 04, 2013 04 Mar'13

  Bank credit scheme failing to get money to SMEs

  Figures from the Bank of England show that the Funding for Lending scheme is not delivering as much credit to businesses as some had hoped for

• March 04, 2013 04 Mar'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 1 March 2013

  Our regular look back at the most popular IT channel news stories from the past seven days

• March 04, 2013 04 Mar'13

  Logicalis buys 2e2 European ops for a song

  Logicalis has emerged as the new owner of 2e2’s European business after handing over €24m (£20.7m) for four units, administrators FTI Consulting have said

• March 01, 2013 01 Mar'13

  Mike Lynch: We’ve still not heard anything from HP

  Nearly four months after being slammed over alleged accounting fraud, former Autonomy frontman Mike Lynch says he has not heard a peep out of HP

• March 01, 2013 01 Mar'13

  Electric vehicle incentives could slash channel costs

  Resellers looking to cut costs should look to improve the efficiency of their vehicle fleets, as the experience of Edinburgh-based ECS shows

• February 28, 2013 28 Feb'13

  Shop front dealers operating on emptying high streets

  The state of the average high street last year was fairly dire with major retailers closing shops at the rate of almost one an hour in 2012

• February 27, 2013 27 Feb'13

  Northamber chairman hits out at “tired” vendors

  Northamber chairman David Phillips has slammed “tired and historic” vendors for eroding the distributor’s business by cutting prices again and again

• February 25, 2013 25 Feb'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 22 February 2013

  Our regular look back at the most important channel news stories from the past seven days

• February 22, 2013 22 Feb'13

  HP out of intensive care but more struggles ahead

  Meg Whitman has said that HP is showing signs of improvement as its lengthy turnaround process continues

• February 22, 2013 22 Feb'13

  Enables IT lifts lid on growth plans, plots M&A spree

  Network and virtualisation specialist Enables IT has posted its first set of annual results following its reverse takeover by MSP Nexus Management and revealed details of its future strategy

• February 21, 2013 21 Feb'13

  Ratcliffe leaves healthier RM, but BSF impact lingers

  With its successful restructuring now largely complete, RM chairman Martyn Ratcliffe has announced he will step down from the firm this summer

• February 21, 2013 21 Feb'13

  Micro Focus reports steady business, closes acquisition

  Enterprise BI specialist Micro Focus has reported steady trading for the period from 31 October, with results in-line with its expectations

• February 18, 2013 18 Feb'13

  Brocade profits disappear into California coffers

  Brocade has blamed changes to the tax code in its home state of California for a $21m (£13.5m) net loss, down from $54m in the previous quarter and $59m year-on-year

• February 18, 2013 18 Feb'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 15 February 2013

  Our regular look back at the most important channel news stories from the past seven days

• February 15, 2013 15 Feb'13

  EMEA sales up, profits down at Insight

  Insight has returned to revenue growth in EMEA during the fourth and final quarter of its fiscal 2012, however profits declined sharply thanks to restructuring costs

• February 15, 2013 15 Feb'13

  Calyx, m-hance strong performers for VC backers

  Better Capital, the venture capital backer of channel outfits Calyx Managed Services and m-hance, has said both businesses are trading according to its expectations

• February 15, 2013 15 Feb'13

  Dell sacrifices share value to smooth private bid

  Michael Dell has allowed his 16% stake in the PC maker to be valued at 2% lower than the level that was offered to shareholders

• February 14, 2013 14 Feb'13

  Ingram Micro has strong end to fiscal year

  Ingram Micro has closed out its financial 2012 on a high note, with fourth quarter sales up 14% in US dollars and its October acquisition of BrightPoint already paying off

• February 14, 2013 14 Feb'13

  Europe building up head of steam for Cisco

  Cisco CEO John Chambers has pointed to signs that key parts of the European market may be beginning to turn around

• February 13, 2013 13 Feb'13

  Trustmarque books strong sales, profit growth

  VAR heavyweight Trustmarque has lifted the lid on strong financial results and said that growth in both sales and profits reflects the strategic transformation it has made in recent years

• February 12, 2013 12 Feb'13

  Exclusive Networks aims at €1bn sales mark

  Exclusive Networks has announced it will return to acquisitive growth in 2013 as part of a wider plan to make sales of €1bn (£860m) per annum by 2017

• February 12, 2013 12 Feb'13

  Accounting body launches Autonomy investigation

  The Financial Reporting Council has launched an investagtion into Autonomy's reports in the lead up to its acquisition by HP

• February 11, 2013 11 Feb'13

  Dell shareholders voice disquiet over sale plans

  One of Dell's largest shareholders has made it clear it will vote against buy-back plans that are being spearheaded by Michael Dell

• February 11, 2013 11 Feb'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 8 February 2013

  Our regular look back at the most important channel news stories from the past seven days

• February 08, 2013 08 Feb'13

  Telco market props up slowing tech M&A activity

  Aside from deals struck in the telco market January saw the volume of tech M&A deals drop and the value reduce

• February 07, 2013 07 Feb'13

  Shutters come down at 2e2

  The failure of administrators to find a buyer for 2e2 has led to large parts of the UK business to be closed and for hundreds of jobs to be lost

• February 04, 2013 04 Feb'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 1 February 2013

  Our regular look back at the biggest channel news stories from the past seven days

• January 30, 2013 30 Jan'13

  Channel suitors pursue stricken 2e2 businesses

  Administrators say a number of potential buyers for some or all of 2e2's businesses have already stepped forward

• January 29, 2013 29 Jan'13

  VMware cuts staff to boost bottom line

  VMware is to lay off 900 staff, mostly in non-core functions, as the virtualisation giant seeks to breathe new life into flat profits

• January 29, 2013 29 Jan'13

  2e2 calls in the administrators

  Despite a last-ditch management reshuffle, integrator 2e2 has become the first channel casualty of 2013 after calling in administrators FTI Consulting on Monday 28 January

• January 28, 2013 28 Jan'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 25 January 2013

  Our regular look back at the most popular channel news stories from the past seven days

• January 24, 2013 24 Jan'13

  Avnet profit slide fails to dent optimistic outlook

  Avnet boss Rick Hamada has put a positive spin on flat sales and slumping net profit in the second quarter to 29 December 2012, saying that the business was performing stronger than he had expected

• January 23, 2013 23 Jan'13

  Microsoft linked with Dell financing talks

  Microsoft is reported to be prepared to invest a fairly hefty sum to back the proposed Dell buyout that is being led by Michael Dell and private equity firms

• January 21, 2013 21 Jan'13

  SMEs still lack confidence to seek credit

  The latest Bank of England report on lending has revealed that more credit was available to SMEs but many remain unwilling to try to get access to it

• January 21, 2013 21 Jan'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 18 January 2013

  Our regular look back at the most widely read channel news stories from the past seven days

• January 16, 2013 16 Jan'13

  Westcon restructure on the cards, says Datatec

  Datatec has confirmed that weak trading at Westcon means its full year financial results will come in substantially below expectations, and said it will take steps to rectify the situation

• January 14, 2013 14 Jan'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 11 January 2013

  Our regular look back at the most widely read channel news stories from the past seven days

• January 10, 2013 10 Jan'13

  Barclays backs Solar and Armstrong deal

  Barclays bank provided some of the funding to help Solar Communications Group acquire Armstrong Communications highlighting it as an indication it will support the channel financially

• January 09, 2013 09 Jan'13

  Barclays open for channel business

  Barclays has made it clear that it is willing to lend to the channel and support the transition to managed services through its technology, media and telecoms unit

• January 09, 2013 09 Jan'13

  Business confidence shows signs of returning

  UK businesses are more confident about the year ahead and are making investments and seeing cash flow improve according to the latest British Chambers of Commerce survey

• January 07, 2013 07 Jan'13

  Late payers face being named and shamed

  The government is continuing to stress that it still hopes its prompt payment code will get the backing of large companies

• January 07, 2013 07 Jan'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 4 January 2013

  Our regular look back at the most read channel news stories from the past seven days

• January 03, 2013 03 Jan'13

  Gartner: global ICT spend up 4.2% in 2013

  Gartner has predicted that global ICT spending will grow by 4.2% to reach $3.7tn (£2.3tn) during 2013, up from its previous forecast of 3.8%

• January 02, 2013 02 Jan'13

  SaaS uptake pushes TSG to new high in 2012

  Tyneside-based software services specialist TSG has kicked off 2013 by reporting strong figures for the last financial year

• December 20, 2012 20 Dec'12

  CompTIA reports optimistic VAR outlook for 2013

  A survey of UK IT companies by trade body CompTIA has found that two thirds of companies expect to experience growth over the next 12 months, with 22% of firms looking for growth of 10% or more

• December 20, 2012 20 Dec'12

  MicroScope's Review of the Year: July - December

  As 2012 draws to an end, we look back at the top stories from the second half of an eventful year, as selected by MicroScope readers

• December 19, 2012 19 Dec'12

  Oracle Q2 revenues rise 3%

  IT giant Oracle has posted a modest increase in sales of 3% to $9.1bn (£5.6bn) for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2013, compared with the same quarter the year before

• December 19, 2012 19 Dec'12

  MicroScope's Review of the Year: January - June

  As 2012 draws to an end, we look back at the top stories from the first half of an eventful year, as selected by MicroScope readers

• December 18, 2012 18 Dec'12

  OpCapita engulfed in growing row as Comet shuts down

  With its remaining stores closing for good on 18 December, private equity backer OpCapita is under pressure over its role in the collapse of Comet

• December 17, 2012 17 Dec'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 14 December 2012

  Our regular look back at the most important channel news stories from the past seven days

• December 11, 2012 11 Dec'12

  Redstone celebrates first ever pre-tax profit

  Despite a slip in revenues, managed network services provider Redstone booked its first ever profit before taxation of £200,000 in the six months to the end of September, reversing a loss of £1.5m in the year-ago period

• December 11, 2012 11 Dec'12

  Tech M&A values hit yearly high

  Technology mergers and acquisitions have hit a yearly high in the value of deals and seen the level of activity rise to around 250 transactions a month

• December 10, 2012 10 Dec'12

  ACS swallows Serco education unit

  Advanced Computer Software (ACS) has picked up outsourcer Serco’s education unit, Serco Learning, for £7.25m in a deal that will add around £13.5m to the rapidly expanding firm’s top line

• December 10, 2012 10 Dec'12

  Microsoft in the firing line over tax

  Microsoft has become the latest name to join Starbucks and Google on the list of firms that are being accused of not paying the UK tax man quite what they should be

• December 05, 2012 05 Dec'12

  Scrapping of fuel tax welcomed by SME groups

  The decision by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement to scrap the proposed 3p rise in fuel duty next month has been welcomed by business groups

• December 04, 2012 04 Dec'12

  Phoenix covets more enterprise contracts in second half

  Phoenix IT Group management has been talking about its projected strategic direction during the second half of its financial year and says it is already reporting growing success in major accounts

• December 03, 2012 03 Dec'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 30 November 2012

  Our regular look back at the biggest channel news stories from the past seven days

• December 03, 2012 03 Dec'12

  Weakened Westcon forces Datatec downgrade

  Datatec has issued a downbeat trading update after a much weaker performance in recent weeks than expected at comms, network and security distie Westcon

• November 30, 2012 30 Nov'12

  Dixons shares rise as Comet woes continue

  Dixons has seen its shares carry on riding on the back of a return to profitability in the UK and expectations that it is going to benefit from Comet's problems

• November 29, 2012 29 Nov'12

  Servo account fiddle dates back to 2009

  Integrator Phoenix IT Group has revealed that the profits at its midmarket services business Servo were deliberately manipulated over a lengthy period going back to 31 March 2009

• November 28, 2012 28 Nov'12

  Majority of SMEs not bothering with banks

  The latest quarterly SME finance update from BDRC Continental has indicated that small businesses are increasingly ignoring external financial providers

• November 28, 2012 28 Nov'12

  Fujitsu private sector head Long heading to Kcom in January

  Fujitsu’s UK Private Sector division head Stephen Long will take up the role of managing director of KCOM in January, relieving temporary boss and CFO Paul Simpson of command

• November 27, 2012 27 Nov'12

  ANS half-year numbers reflect growth trajectory

  Datacentre and cloud services specialist ANS Group has announced a 13% uptick in its six monthly sales figures to 30 September, with revenues hitting £20.3m and net operating profit up 18% to £1.3m

• November 26, 2012 26 Nov'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 23 November 2012

  Our regular look back at the most read stories on MicroScope.co.uk from the past seven days

• November 22, 2012 22 Nov'12

  Funding for Lending not getting credit to SMEs

  The government's latest attempt to get credit flowing to small businesses via the Funding for Lending scheme doesn't appear to be making a difference

• November 21, 2012 21 Nov'12

  Europe third quarter star for Tech Data

  Computer 2000 parent Tech Data has booked declines in both sales and net profit during its third quarter, but turned in a solid performance in the troubled European market

• November 21, 2012 21 Nov'12

  Chancellor urged to do more on SME credit front

  With the Autumn Statement just weeks away the Chancellor has come under pressure to do more to help SMEs get access to credit

• November 21, 2012 21 Nov'12

  Autonomy founder Lynch rejects HP allegations

  Former Autonomy boss Mike Lynch has come forward to refute Hewlett-Packard’s allegations that it was deliberately misled over the true state of the firm’s books when it acquired his business in 2011

• November 20, 2012 20 Nov'12

  HP lashes out at Autonomy ‘lies’

  Hewlett-Packard has accused Autonomy of “serious accounting improprieties, disclosure failures and outright misrepresentations” after taking an $8bn write-down

• November 16, 2012 16 Nov'12

  Dell profits collapse as PC spend dries up

  Dell’s net profits have almost halved after another dismal quarter in the PC sector, slumping 47% to $475m (£300m) on sales of $13.7bn, down 11% on the year-ago quarter

• November 15, 2012 15 Nov'12

  IBM pumps $4bn into partner credit scheme

  IBM has added $4bn to the credit available to global partners in an effort to get orders flowing as evidence points to lack of funding being one of the major problems customers are still grappling with