News
Network Infrastructure Solutions and Services
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March 09, 2010
09
Mar'10
Polycom extends Avaya relationship
Polycom has extended its existing relationship with UC networking vendor Avaya in order to jointly market integrated voice, video and collaboration solutions based on Polycom's Open Collaboration Network strategy and Avaya's SIP UC platform, Aura.
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March 08, 2010
08
Mar'10
Motorola relaunches enterprise partner scheme
Motorola enterprise and public sector partners are to be inducted into a new channel programme framework dubbed Partner Empower.
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March 08, 2010
08
Mar'10
Cisco backs off from WiMAX market
Cisco has quietly let slip that it is quitting the WiMAX market, which it entered in 2007 with the $330m acquisition of Navini Networks.
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March 08, 2010
08
Mar'10
Brocade targets 50% customer growth with channel shake-up
Brocade EMEA channel director Amanda Giddins (pictured) is expanding the storage networking firm's channel teams across EMEA and realigning UK staff to meet growing demand for end-to-end network and data centre installations, and will be targeting ...
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March 05, 2010
05
Mar'10
Psion looks for channel to play role in vertical market push
Smartphone specialist Psion is reaching out to developers to support its drive into vertical markets but wants resellers to get involved with its efforts to widen its market.
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March 05, 2010
05
Mar'10
RIM targets SMEs with BlackBerry server
BlackBerry firm RIM is looking to work with more data resellers as it looks to increase its penetration into the SME market building on a growing slice of the consumer market.
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March 04, 2010
04
Mar'10
Avaya leans on disties to speed Nortel integration
Avaya is shoring up its distribution relationships in order to better integrate Nortel's enterprise reseller channel into its own, saying it won't be able to fulfil its aims without their help.
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March 04, 2010
04
Mar'10
Touchscreen mobility set to grow 97% in 2010
Close to 365 million touchscreen mobile devices will be shipped worldwide this year, an increase of 96.8% on 2009, according to new research from industry watchers Gartner.
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March 03, 2010
03
Mar'10
Force10 heads for $144m IPO
Self-styled disruptive networker Force10 has become the fourth vendor in the networking space to file for an IPO since November, making an initial offering of $144m (£95m).
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March 02, 2010
02
Mar'10
Lord Carter resurfaces at Alcatel-Lucent
Former communications minister and Digital Britain mastermind Stephen Carter has taken a leap back into the private sector to join Alcatel-Lucent as chief marketing, strategy and communications officer.
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March 02, 2010
02
Mar'10
43,000 UK pensioners may lose out in Nortel claim
Nortel has dodged a multi-billion dollar bullet after a US court ruled that the UK Pensions Regulator cannot claim on the vendor's assets as it attempts to make up a £2.1bn shortfall in Nortel's UK pension scheme.
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March 02, 2010
02
Mar'10
Brussels signs off on Orange T-Mobile venture
Orange and T-Mobile have been given the all-clear to merge their UK networks by the European Commission. The merger was first proposed last September after a period of speculation over the future of Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile brand in the UK, and ...
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March 01, 2010
01
Mar'10
Brocade hires networking vet John McHugh
Former Nortel enterprise solutions boss John McHugh has popped up at Brocade as vice president and chief marketing officer. A long-time networking veteran, McHugh also spent 26 years at Hewlett-Packard, six of those in charge of the vendor's network...
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March 01, 2010
01
Mar'10
Euro IP telephony market sees buoyant end to '09
The western European enterprise voice market began to show signs of recovery during the second half of last year, despite falling over 23% in value over the course of 2009.
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March 01, 2010
01
Mar'10
O2 FY profits up on smartphone adoption
Spanish-owned UK mobile operator O2 outperformed the rest of the market in 2009 - largely thanks to its formerly-exclusive contract the sell the Apple iPhone, as well as a huge ramp up in text message revenues and growth in the contract segment.
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March 01, 2010
01
Mar'10
Avaya adds EMEA marketing programme
Avaya has launched a new marketing programme designed to help EMEA partners ramp up their sales through training and lead generation.
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February 26, 2010
26
Feb'10
Carrier VoIP shows increased resilience
The market for carrier VoIP appears to have made it through the recession relatively unscathed compared to other voice technologies, according to research released this week by analysts at Synergy Research Group.
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February 26, 2010
26
Feb'10
Colt profit soars on managed comms sales
Business communications provider Colt Telecom has seen its annual profits surge by 69% year-on-year, hitting €121.6m (£108.4m) after tax and special items. Sales figures were more muted thanks to the ongoing impact of the recession.
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February 26, 2010
26
Feb'10
D-Link unveils public sector finance offering
D-Link has unveiled a zero percent offering targeted specifically at the public sector with the expectation it will overcome traditional resistance in that market to using finance.
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February 25, 2010
25
Feb'10
Genband grabs Nortel VoIP unit for $182m
Nortel has abandoned the auction of its profitable carrier VoIP and application solutions (CVAS) unit, selling the business to Texas-based Genband for $100m less than it had hoped.
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February 24, 2010
24
Feb'10
Juniper pumps $50m into network development
Juniper Networks has stumped up $50m to fund VC-backed technology start-ups investing in its Junos network ecosystem. The two-year Junos Innovation Fund will target firms that Juniper feels 'complement' its growth strategy.
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February 23, 2010
23
Feb'10
VoIP subscriptions top the 100 million mark
The number of VoIP subscriptions worldwide topped 100 million for the first time late last year, according to research house Point Topic, representing 15% growth over the first three calendar quarters of 2009.
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February 23, 2010
23
Feb'10
Brocade sees Q1 Ethernet slump
Brocade has suffered a setback to its network ambitions during the first quarter of its fiscal 2010, as sequential Ethernet revenues plunged 13% as a proportion of total sales.
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February 19, 2010
19
Feb'10
Cisco decision to dump HP could boost partners
Cisco's decision to throw HP out of its Cisco certified channel and global service alliance partner programmes could bring benefits to other partners as the vendor is forced to lean on them to plug the gap.
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February 18, 2010
18
Feb'10
Daisy Group acquires BNS Telecom for £10.45m
Voice and data service provider Daisy Communications is forking out £10.45m for BNS Telecom, its second acquisition this month.
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February 16, 2010
16
Feb'10
Mobile data traffic will be 50 times higher by 2015
by Ian Grant Mobile phone traffic will grow by a factor of 50 as the mobile phone industry attracts three billion new mobile broadband subscribers and delivers billions of new content-rich applications, says Hans Vestberg CEO of mobile phone maker ...
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February 16, 2010
16
Feb'10
Telecoms resellers target for private equity backers
Evidence of a resurgence in technology M&A activity continues to stack up with the third report predicting a recovery in the market this year arriving in the space of four days.
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February 11, 2010
11
Feb'10
Nortel sales net two billion dollars
The final dismantling of Nortel could take close to two years, the firm announced today, as it revealed that it has so far generated more than $2bn in net proceeds from the sale of its various business units, with another $1bn expected imminently ...
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February 11, 2010
11
Feb'10
ntl Telewest relaunches as Virgin Media Business
Business-to-business network provider ntl:Telewest has relaunched as Virgin Media Business, setting out an ambitious strategy to become a compelling alternative to BT.
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February 11, 2010
11
Feb'10
ACS puts down £100m for COA
Primary care-focused software and services provider Advanced Computer Software (ACS) has splashed out £100m in a cash/debt combination to acquire COA Solutions, which specialises in back office software for both the public and private sector.
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February 11, 2010
11
Feb'10
BT pension crisis rears its head as profits surge
BT's pension crisis has reared its head once again, spoiling otherwise healthy Q3 results as the telco faced down a potential clash with the Pensions Regulator, which has raised concerns over the scheme's £9bn deficit.
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February 11, 2010
11
Feb'10
Alcatel-Lucent's problems overshadow Q4 net profit
Alcatel-Lucent today posted its first ever quarterly net profit since its inception in 2006.
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February 11, 2010
11
Feb'10
Gamma signs up to Wick Hill convergence plan
Wick Hill has added Berkshire-based network operator Gamma Telecom to its line-up as part of an ongoing assault on the networked convergence sector.
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February 10, 2010
10
Feb'10
Netgear reverses year-on-year losses
Networking vendor Netgear is heading back to profitability after posting GAAP net income of $7.9m (£5.04m) for the three months ending on 31 December 2009, up from a GAAP net loss of $7.3m at the end of 2008.
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February 09, 2010
09
Feb'10
Mobile data traffic set to grow 39-fold by 2014
Cisco has provided further evidence that smartphone technology will become a dominant force in the data industry after revealing the results of its Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Forecast for 2009 to 2014.
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February 09, 2010
09
Feb'10
Cisco and Tandberg show off video roadmap
Cisco and Tandberg have outlined further details of their technology roadmap prior to formal regulatory approval, which is expected sometime during the first half of calendar 2010.
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February 08, 2010
08
Feb'10
BT jumps the gun on Cameron broadband pledge
BT has jumped the gun on the Conservative party's broadband election pledge after revealing it is now in talks with the comms regulator, Ofcom, to open up its underground duct network to allow rival operators to run and manage their own fibre-optic ...
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February 08, 2010
08
Feb'10
Daisy buys Managed Communications for £6m
Acquisitive voice and data services provider Daisy Group has stumped up £6.3m in cash for Notts-based Managed Communications Ltd in its first buy of the new year.
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February 05, 2010
05
Feb'10
Mitel hints at channel strategy shakeup as IPO looms
Canadian comms vendor Mitel Networks has given the industry a brief snapshot of its future strategy, hinting that it may look towards a new class of reseller and revealing troubling facts about its financial health as it heads towards an imminent ...
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February 04, 2010
04
Feb'10
Dealers could benefit from carbon confusion
Carbon management and green IT is pushing its way back up the agenda as the tentative economic recovery kicks in.
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February 04, 2010
04
Feb'10
Vodafone data revenues top a billion
The growing take-up of smartphone devices saw Vodafone's data revenues top £1bn - up 17% year-on-year - for the first time during the quarter ended 31 December 2009.
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February 04, 2010
04
Feb'10
Magirus lands Cisco data centre distribution contract
Magirus has been appointed by Cisco as its first data centre distributor in Europe after landing the contract after undergoing an extensive tender process.
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February 03, 2010
03
Feb'10
Cisco heralds economic recovery as profits surge
Cisco boss John Chambers has heralded "the second phase of the economic recovery" as he lifted the lid on the networking bellwether's second quarter results on Wednesday evening.
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February 03, 2010
03
Feb'10
OFT targets Orange T-Mobile merger
The proposed merger between UK mobile phone networks Orange and T-Mobile could become subject to additional scrutiny after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) asked the EC to refer "aspects" of the merger to it.
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February 03, 2010
03
Feb'10
Riverbed sales fly on virtualisation ramp-up
Network infrastructure performance vendor Riverbed Technology has posted record fourth quarter sales figures as WAN optimisation technology began to be recognised as a "critical" element of virtualisation installations.
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February 02, 2010
02
Feb'10
Five minute interview: Dave Breith, O-bit Telecom
MicroScope puts its questions to Dave Breith, CEO of O-bit Telecom. What is the best/worst advice you have received and from whom? I don't think I have ever been given any really good or bad advice, but I have worked things out for myself along the ...
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February 02, 2010
02
Feb'10
Extreme plans data centre assault as Q2 sales rise
Network infrastructure vendor Extreme Networks has narrowly exceeded its previous Q2 sales forecast for the three months ended 27 December 2009, posting revenue of $79.4m (£49.8m), a little over $1m above expectations but down 9% year-on-year.
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February 02, 2010
02
Feb'10
Cable & Wireless to split at end of March
Cable & Wireless today named 26 March as the date for its demerger, pending a shareholder vote this month.
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February 01, 2010
01
Feb'10
DiData services sales behind improving performance
Dimension Data's European unit was singled out as an improved business area during the three months to 31 December, as services revenues continued to show growth.
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February 01, 2010
01
Feb'10
Nortel jobs at risk as plant faces closure
Up to 140 jobs are at risk at Nortel's Northern Ireland facility after Avaya told the BBC it was considering closing down the part. "Avaya has entered a consultation process following the strategic business decision to potentially close the Monks ...
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February 01, 2010
01
Feb'10
Nokia faces competitive challenges in 2010
Analysts at IDC have warned that Nokia needs to make some smart moves in the coming months to maintain its lead in the European smartphone segment.
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February 01, 2010
01
Feb'10
Secret admirer chats up NetServices
Salford-based Cisco Master Managed Services partner NetServices has revealed it is in talks with a mystery buyer after its share price leaped just before the weekend.
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February 01, 2010
01
Feb'10
Tories called out on broadband pledge
The Conservative party has unveiled plans to slice off a portion of the BBC TV licence fee to fund 100 Mbps broadband across the UK by 2017, should the comms industry fail to deliver of its own accord.
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January 29, 2010
29
Jan'10
Juniper sales up on network spending rebound
Juniper Networks has reported strong results for the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2009, giving more weight to talk that enterprise customers in the US are now ramping up their network spend.
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January 29, 2010
29
Jan'10
Phoenix IT Group to acquire KCOM network break fix arm
Phoenix IT Group has been hotly tipped to acquire KCOM Group's network maintenance services business by early next week. Hull-based KCOM embarked on a major cost-cutting programme after notching up significant losses in 2008.
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January 29, 2010
29
Jan'10
KCOM performance improving in second half
Managed comms outfit KCOM Group continues to power through the second half of its fiscal 2010, according to an interim management statement released today.
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January 28, 2010
28
Jan'10
BroadSoft and Polycom add new VAR channel programme
VoIP application software developer BroadSoft and video specialist Polycom have joined forces to set up a new VAR and SI-facing channel programme to sell a new integrated voice and video proposition, launched today.
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January 27, 2010
27
Jan'10
Loss-making ShoreTel remains optimistic
IP communications specialist ShoreTel has posted disappointing second quarter numbers for its Q2 2010, delivering sequential revenue growth of 5% but posting an overall loss for the period.
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January 27, 2010
27
Jan'10
BT recruitment scheme rebooted
BT has announced a major new recruitment drive just five months after canning its graduate placement scheme and mere hours after ONS figures showed that the recession is technically over.
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January 27, 2010
27
Jan'10
Getronics numbers down as parent's profits soar
Incumbent Dutch telco and Getronics-owner KPN has seen its Q4 net profit spike over 100% year-on-year on the back of a €705m tax gain, hitting €1.09bn (£945m) on sales of €3.37bn, down 9.3% on this time last year.
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January 25, 2010
25
Jan'10
Polycom hitches video trailer to Juniper Networks
Mere days after signing a vendor partnership agreement with Siemens Enterprise Comms, Polycom has ramped up the anti-Cisco rhetoric after allying with network infrastructure specialist Juniper Networks.
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January 25, 2010
25
Jan'10
Azlan boss sets out convergence ambitions
The new boss at Azlan has laid down the gauntlet to rivals by claiming it will develop into the first converged infrastructure distributor in the UK.
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January 25, 2010
25
Jan'10
Ericsson workers on notice as Q4 profits wiped out
Swedish comms giant Ericsson is to take the axe to jobs across the business after net profit for the last quarter of 2009 plunged a horrifying 92%. Across the board, Ericsson's Q4 profits fell from 3.89bn SEK this time last year to just 314m SEK (...
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January 22, 2010
22
Jan'10
Siemens and Polycom ink resale agreement
Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEN) has signed a global resale agreement with video specialist Polycom, to integrate the latter's telepresence, HD video conferencing and video collaboration apps into SEN's OpenScape UC environment.
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January 21, 2010
21
Jan'10
F5 holds up well in Q1
Application delivery networking outfit F5 Networks has closed the first quarter of its fiscal 2010, posting healthy sequential and year-on-year growth on both product sales and service maintenance contracts.
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January 20, 2010
20
Jan'10
Avaya-Nortel channel set for March debut
Avaya's UK managing director has said that the vendor still plans to begin inducting Nortel resellers in the UK into its new Connect partner programme in March, earlier than previously stated.
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January 20, 2010
20
Jan'10
Buffalo soldiers on with Ingram Micro
Wireless networking, storage and memory vendor Buffalo Technology is extending a pre-existing distribution agreement with Ingram Micro in Germany across Europe. The firm said it hoped to use the enhanced relationship to extend its visibility among ...
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January 19, 2010
19
Jan'10
Avaya lays down Nortel technology future
Avaya set out its plans and road map for the newly-acquired Nortel enterprise business on Tuesday afternoon and pledged to build capabilities from Nortel's portfolio into its own product line-up.
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January 19, 2010
19
Jan'10
Carphone Warehouse sees strong Q3
Communications specialist The Carphone Warehouse has increased its full-year guidance after a strong quarter, with good performances from its TalkTalk internet business and its Best Buy Europe joint venture, CEO Charles Dunstone said today in a ...
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January 18, 2010
18
Jan'10
Alcatel-Lucent signs second UK distie
Alcatel-Lucent has inked a new distribution partnership with fledgling managed services and convergence distributor Incanix, through which it hopes to target resellers specialising in IP and applications in both Britain and Ireland. ...
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January 14, 2010
14
Jan'10
Second half looks rosy for Datatec
Datatec, the South African IT stalwart and owner of Westcon and Logicalis, is anticipating a return to growth in the second half of its fiscal year, after publishing an interim management statement for the three months to 31 December 2009.
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January 14, 2010
14
Jan'10
Motorola quietly ditches cable modem unit
Motorola has quietly sold off its European cable modem business, EuroDOCSIS, to the networking division of Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Compal. The deal extends an already existing customer-relationship between the two firms; Compal has a ...
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January 12, 2010
12
Jan'10
Europe to lead mobile security market
Third party apps will become the security safeguard of choice for corporate mobile users by 2014, with Europe and the UK at the centre of the trend according to a new report by analysts at Juniper Research.
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January 11, 2010
11
Jan'10
Alcatel-Lucent launches green network vision
Alcatel-Lucent’s R&D division, Bell Labs, today launched a green communications initiative dubbed Green Touch, a consortium promising to make comms networks 1,000 times more energy efficient than they are today.
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January 08, 2010
08
Jan'10
Nortel gets approval for CVAS sale
Nortel has won court approval for the sale of its carrier VoIP and applications solutions (CVAS) business to Genband, a Texas-based Internet protocol specialist, for $282m. The sale of the units in the UK is subject to an additional agreement that ...
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January 08, 2010
08
Jan'10
BT taps ex-EDS man as Lalani leaves Global Services
BT has tapped former EDS man Jeff Kelly to run its loss-making Global Services unit, after CEO Hanif Lalani stepped down just 14months into the role to pursue personal business interests.
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January 07, 2010
07
Jan'10
Flexible working achievable for SMEs
A government sponsored report into flexible working has concluded that – within reason – SMEs can benefit from implementing flexible working policies.
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January 06, 2010
06
Jan'10
Bono slammed by ISPs for flawed anti-filesharing argument
U2 frontman Bono has been heavily criticised after penning an article in an American paper earlier this week lambasting ISPs for not doing more to prevent illegal filesharing.
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January 06, 2010
06
Jan'10
Comstor rolls out ProCurve sales initiative
Comstor has kicked off the new decade with the launch of a range of channel sales initiatives around the HP ProCurve networking brand. The Westcon-owned distributor has added personalised training through a programme dubbed Preferred Partner ...
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January 05, 2010
05
Jan'10
Intact expands global Cisco reach
Datatec-owned Cisco services house, Intact Integrated Services, has expanded into the US with the acquisition of Ohio-based Cisco practice Millennium Technology Services for an undisclosed sum.
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January 04, 2010
04
Jan'10
Redstone boss insists profits possible
Redstone executive chairman Stephen Yapp has said the group still has "the resources and the opportunity to return to profitability" after lifting the lid on disappointing six-monthly interims at the end of December.
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January 04, 2010
04
Jan'10
Cloud not yet getting through to CIOs
Over half of CIOs fail to see how cloud computing can save them money despite the reduction of capital expenditure being a fundamental tenet of the cloud proposition.
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December 16, 2009
16
Dec'09
Aruba worldwide channel boss to poach Cisco business
Former Meru US sales boss Bob Bruce has been handed the post of worldwide channel sales vice president at wireless LAN hotshot Aruba with the express aim of snaffling sales from under Cisco's nose.
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December 15, 2009
15
Dec'09
Social apps to take on a corporate flavour
The influence of consumer-focused technologies on business environments will continue to expand in 2010, albeit with more emphasis on providing business-tailored applications, according to communications experts.
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December 14, 2009
14
Dec'09
ANS H1 numbers steady as it calls time on recession
Cisco gold partner ANS Group has reported flat profits for its half year heralding that performance as robust given the market conditions in the six months up to 30 September.
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December 14, 2009
14
Dec'09
Nortel on top of global VoIP charts
Nortel’s Carrier VoIP and Application Solutions (CVAS) unit is still at the top of the carrier VoIP market despite its parent’s ongoing troubles, according to new research from Dell’Oro, Infonetics and Synergy.
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December 10, 2009
10
Dec'09
Ciena books widening losses but sees growth ahead
Quarterly net losses at networking vendor Ciena have widened to $26.7m (£16.3m) for its fiscal fourth quarter, and $581.2m for the year ended 31 October after booking a one-off goodwill impairment charge of over $450m, but is forecasting ...
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December 10, 2009
10
Dec'09
Sequential growth shows PBX sales could be back on track
Mirroring sequential growth seen in other areas of the ICT industry, it appears as if the UK market for PBX and IP PBX systems is moving in the right direction once again,after analysts at MZA Consulting clocked 7% sequential growth in calendar Q2 ...
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December 09, 2009
09
Dec'09
Cisco boss talks up recovery and hints at further acquisitions
In a climate where most CEOs shy away from making boldoptimistic statements about the future Cisco’s head honcho has talked of doubledigit growth and acquisitions. Speaking at a financial analyst conference yesterday JohnChambers, CEO of Cisco, ...
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December 07, 2009
07
Dec'09
Daisy hit by loss but remains hungry for acquisitions
Highly acquisitive Daisy Group has posted a loss in its nine-month interim results but indicated that it will continue to expand. Over the course of its current financial year, which ends 31 March, Daisy has carried out a reverse takeover of the ...
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December 04, 2009
04
Dec'09
Cisco gets shareholder backing to complete Tandberg deal
Increasing its offer for Tandberg has paid off for Cisco as it secured backing for its takeover of the Norwegian video conferencing specialist.
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December 03, 2009
03
Dec'09
BT pledges £30m to Northern Ireland broadband project
Major Orders Fuel Fast Growth BT has pledged to invest £30m in the government’s Next Generation Broadband project in Northern Ireland, launched today by enterprise minister Arlene Foster.
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December 02, 2009
02
Dec'09
SMB uptake to drive web conference services in 2010s
Growing SMB adoption rates point to compound annual growth in the web-conferencing market of over 25% during the next five years, according to new research from Frost & Sullivan, which says sales will reach $657.1m by 2014.
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November 26, 2009
26
Nov'09
Azlan grabs Cisco Unified Computing Solutions portfolio
Azlan has taken on Cisco's entire Unified Computing Solutions portfolio to build out its mid-market infrastructure push.
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November 26, 2009
26
Nov'09
UK still lagging behind in broadband stakes
Despite the occasionally bright spot the UK is still lagging behind in the broadband speed stakes with some places still below the 2Mbpsgoal set by the government.
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November 25, 2009
25
Nov'09
European performance buoys Blue Coat Q2
Network application delivery specialist Blue Coat Systems has benefited from improving conditions in both Europe and the US recording sequential growth in its second quarter.
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November 24, 2009
24
Nov'09
Brocade full-year sales up on networking surge
Brocade has wrapped up a transformative financial year with dip in net profit offsetting a surge in quarterly sales. Year-on-year, quarterly GAAP net profit at the storage and networking vendor slipped 6% to $33.6m (£20.32m) as sales rose 31% to ...
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November 23, 2009
23
Nov'09
Ciena picks up Nortel units
Network infrastructure vendor Ciena has won the auction for Nortel's optical networking and carrier Ethernet business with a bid of $769m (£463m). Earlier on Monday competing bidder Nokia Siemens Networks pulled out of the auction, as reported...
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November 20, 2009
20
Nov'09
Meru picks Westcon for UK distie contract
Wireless LAN hotshot Meru Networks has jumped into bed with Westcon to provide value-added distribution services in the UK. Meru, which works with Westcon in other theatres and also has relationships with Siracom and Sphinx in the UK, is giving ...
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November 19, 2009
19
Nov'09
EU blesses Avaya Nortel marriage
Brussels has approved Avaya's billion dollar acquisition of Nortel's enterprise business, paving the way for the deal to close by Christmas.