News

Network Infrastructure Solutions and Services

September 15, 2011 15 Sep'11
Nokia shakes up distribution strategy

Nokia has taken the wraps off a distribution revamp that sees it settle on three partners and unveil a channel network. The telecoms vendor has made the strategic changes following a six month review of what it needs to do to further its business in...
September 14, 2011 14 Sep'11
Cisco halves sales forecast as CEO eyes Huawei market share

Networking giant Cisco has halved its sales forecast as it struggles with reduced demand and increased competition. Cisco's annual revenues will grow up to 7% over the next three years, down from a previous target of up to 17%. But profits are ...
September 13, 2011 13 Sep'11
Imago turnover bolstered by strong VC demand

Strong demand for video conferencing has helped bolster turnover for audio visual distributor Imago Group, writes Linda Endersby.
September 09, 2011 09 Sep'11
Redstone cuts deliver bottom line savings

The cost reduction programme at Redstone is having a positive impact with the firm making a sizable reduction in its pre-tax losses and operating expenses. The networking solutions specialist's report for its last financial year, ended 31 March, ...

September 08, 2011 08 Sep'11
Meru buys Brit security outfit Identity Networks

Wireless LAN vendor Meru Networks has acquired Manchester-based security specialist Identity Networks for an undisclosed sum.
September 07, 2011 07 Sep'11
Wireless kit sales boosted by corporate mobility growth

Booming sales of mobile devices have led to year-on-year growth of 35% in enterprise wireless LAN (WLAN) sales, as Wi-Fi coverage in both public and private spaces becomes a must-have service, according to analysts at Canalys.
September 06, 2011 06 Sep'11
BT to merge Engage IT and dabs, Balaam steps down

BT is to form a £400m IT services business that will see the integration of three standalone units, reseller Engage IT, BT Business Direct and e-tail arm dabs.com, with Engage IT head Martin Balaam to step down as a result.
September 06, 2011 06 Sep'11
Siemens Enterprise Comms names new channel boss

Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEC) has named distribution manager Tony Smith as its new UK indirect channel sales director, replacing Leon Mangan, who is leaving to take up a new post elsewhere in the industry.
September 06, 2011 06 Sep'11
ANS doubles turnover in busy fiscal 2011

Manchester-based services provider ANS has more than doubled its turnover to £29.4m during an eventful fiscal 2011. In the 12 months to 31 March, the firm turned in gross profit of £6.6m, up 68%, and operating profit of £1.5m, up ...
September 06, 2011 06 Sep'11
Ingram Micro to launch new Cisco VAR programme

Ingram Micro will launch a programme designed to attract new Cisco resellers later on this month, the distributor has said.

September 05, 2011 05 Sep'11
Huawei enterprise VP to chat up UK disties

Huawei's new vice president of enterprise for the UK and Ireland, Simon Culmer, will be tasked with setting up a local distribution channel, the firm has said.
September 02, 2011 02 Sep'11
Servassure hires comms vet Annette Reynolds to run channels

Daisy Group's white label channel services provider, Servassure, has hired former Sphinx convergence head Annette Reynolds as its new channels partner manager. Reynolds spent four years with Sphinx, prior to which she was instrumental in ...
September 02, 2011 02 Sep'11
Mitel losses narrow as impact of restructuring becomes clear

Quarterly net losses at unified comms and collaboration vendor Mitel have narrowed on the back of a major restructuring programme intended to improve operating performance.
September 01, 2011 01 Sep'11
Comstor to support Cisco TelePresence 'distie-as-agent' track

Westcon's dedicated Cisco distribution unit, Comstor, has unveiled support for the Global Partner Network (GPN) for Cisco's TelePresence Distributor-as-Agent track.
August 31, 2011 31 Aug'11
Brocade to launch pay-as-you-go network

Brocade is to launch a subscription-based network proposition designed to entice new customers by aligning network capacity with fluctuating business demands in cloud-based IT environments.
August 31, 2011 31 Aug'11
Migrating towards the new Internet, lessons from IPv6 Day

As the industry gears up for the inevitable transition from IPv4 to IPv6, 8 June 2011 was designated as World IPv6 Day, with organisations across the globe offering content over IPv6 to test out the new protocol.
August 30, 2011 30 Aug'11
Collaboration buy helps Cisco VARs target MS Office market

Cisco has paid out an undisclosed sum to acquire privately-held business collaboration start-up Versly, a California based firm that specialises in enabling more effective content collaboration within Microsoft's Office suite, a potential 600 ...
August 26, 2011 26 Aug'11
Azlan's Sheppard replaces Shorten at Avaya

Former Azlan lynchpin Andrew Sheppard is heading to Avaya as the firm's new UK and Ireland managing director after Lee Shorten stepped down from the role to pursue other opportunities.
August 25, 2011 25 Aug'11
Avaya cops to three years of losses ahead of IPO

Ahead of its imminent billion dollar IPO, Avaya has divulged crucial details regarding its financial health and revealed three straight years of net losses.
August 25, 2011 25 Aug'11
BT Engage IT signals that growth ambitions continue

BT Engage IT has completed the first stage of its recruitment drive after hiring in 40 heads but has vowed to keep expanding in order to gain growth.
August 24, 2011 24 Aug'11
IT departments marginalised as UK workers take control

Nearly 70% of British workers are now using at least one of their own devices, whether it be a notebook, smartphone or tablet, in their day-to-day work, according to Mitel, with many end-users expressing a lack of confidence in their IT departments ...
August 23, 2011 23 Aug'11
Ex-Riverbed boss to oversee EMEA launch for Tintri

Former Riverbed EMEA vice president Marcus Chambers has popped up at US VM storage specialist Tintri to oversee its expansion into Europe.
August 22, 2011 22 Aug'11
Cisco software buy to ease service provider sales process

Cisco has handed over $31m (£18.8m) to acquire the AXIOSS service fulfilment software assets and related employees of Finnish comms software firm Comptel's UK subsidiary.
August 22, 2011 22 Aug'11
Sabio appoints UC business boss

Former DiData UC practice solutions architect Dan Harding has joined comms integrator and Avaya partnerSabio to head up its unified comms operation.
August 22, 2011 22 Aug'11
Frontier's Mann takes up marketing role at Aastra

Business comms specialist Aastra has announced the appointment of Colin Mann as its new UK and Ireland marketing manager.
August 22, 2011 22 Aug'11
Alcatel-Lucent relaunches nought per cent finance plan

Alcatel Lucent's financial services arm has announced it is re-running last year's naught per cent financing scheme built around the firm's enterprise solutions for voice, data and unified comms.
August 17, 2011 17 Aug'11
Jones the Dragon flogs wireless business for £38m

Dragon's Den star Peter Jones has sold off his machine-to-machine comms specialist Wireless Logic to private equity house ECI Partners for £38m.
August 16, 2011 16 Aug'11
F5 buys IP of defunct Crescendo

F5 Networks has acquired the intellectual property assets and some key development staff from defunct Israeli application delivery networks (ADN) specialist Crescendo Networks, which has gone into administration.
August 15, 2011 15 Aug'11
Huawei looks to cloud and tablets to grow business

Comms specialist Huawei has talked up its ambitions to deliver products well beyond its traditional networking expertise highlighting cloud as one of the areas it plans to expand into along with tablets and other devices.
August 15, 2011 15 Aug'11
Google boosts smart phone position with Motorola Mobility buy

Google might be facing a tough competitor in Apple, which is defending its smart phone patents aggressively, but has bolstered its access to intellectual property with the $12bn (£7.65bn) acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings.
August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11
Chambers vows to keep pressure on to change Cisco

Cisco boss John Chambers has promised that it will not take the foot off the pedal as it reviews its business in the hunt for cuts and areas where it can simplify the operating structure.
August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11
Ipanema targets VAR market with new partner programme

WAN governance and app-centric VPN services specialist Ipanema Technologies is branching out from its traditional routes-to-market and launching a partner programme to address a "green field" market among system integrators and VARs.
August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11
Cisco results show positive impact of cost cutting

Cisco managed to surprise the markets in a pleasant way delivering results that were better than expected indicating that the demand for IT is holding up but the vendor has weighed in with plenty of cost cutting to try and get itself back on track.
August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11
ShoreTel bangs mobility drum, but posts another loss

ShoreTel CEO Peter Blackmore has vowed an aggressive partner recruitment drive as the company targets increased sales of its mobility unified comms solutions into the Avaya and Cisco installed base.
August 04, 2011 04 Aug'11
Mobile providers must evolve business models, says Gartner

Gartner has issued a warning to mobile service providers, saying that end users are shifting their perception of mobile data plans from a luxury service to an essential need.
August 03, 2011 03 Aug'11
Nimans to offer data infrastructure leasing

Comms and networking distie Nimans has introduced a dedicated leasing service across its data infrastructure range in an attempt to help resellers cut investment costs and win more sales. The firm has already run financing and leasing schemes for ...
August 01, 2011 01 Aug'11
ProcServe to trial SME procurement tool

Amid the current controversy surrounding last week's Public Advisory Select Committee report on UK government IT.
August 01, 2011 01 Aug'11
Smartphone investment priority for UK SMBs, says Netgear

Tablets and smartphones will form the backbone of strategic IT investments among British SMBs during the next 12 months, according to a new survey of business owners and IT managers conducted by SMB and consumer networking vendor Net gear.
July 29, 2011 29 Jul'11
Zycko cracks open Krakow for Polish expansion

Still fresh from spearheading an MBO earlier this month, Zycko managing director and owner Nick Moglia has announced the opening of the firm's first office in Poland as it eyes further expansion on the continent.
July 28, 2011 28 Jul'11
Alcatel-Lucent profits below expectations

Troubled comms vendor Alcatel-Lucent has booked a small net profit of €43m for the three months to the end of June, on sales of €3.90bn, up 10% year-on-year at constant currency rates.
July 28, 2011 28 Jul'11
BT sales narrow but profits improve 38%

BT has reported a pre-tax rise in profit of 38% from £375m to £517m in its fiscal first quarter as 251,000 new customers were introduced to its broadband network, but sales at the UK incumbent comms provider dropped 5% year-on-year to &...
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.
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.
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.
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.
July 26, 2011 26 Jul'11
Radware posts record Q2 sales

Radware today reported record quarterly revenues of $41.1 million for the second quarter of 2011, writes Linda Endersby.
July 26, 2011 26 Jul'11
Redstone to pump cash into fibre development

Managed services provider Redstone has announced a fundraising valued at close to £2.65m through a conditional placing of 212m new shares in an attempt to improve its financial position and strengthen its growth plans through fibre-optic ...
July 25, 2011 25 Jul'11
Daisy halves wholesale Ethernet costs

Ethernet wholesaler Daisy Wholesale has slashed the cost of its Ethernet packages by 50 per cent in an attempt to get VARs selling Ethernet and EFM into Britain's SME community.
July 25, 2011 25 Jul'11
Judge tells Oracle to rethink Google Java damages claim

A United States District Court Judge has dismissed Oracle's initial damages estimate for its Java patent case against Google after accusing the company of over-reaching in multiple ways with the "goal of seeing how much it could get away with".
July 22, 2011 22 Jul'11
Mobile payment market growth slows in 2011

The mobile payment market is growing slower than expected and the mass market adoption of near field communication (NFC) payments is at least four years away.
July 22, 2011 22 Jul'11
Griffin helps focus potential data network dealers

Griffin are launching a new service for resellers in the UK who are looking for other sources of income as their customers cut their costs in an effort to improve margin.
July 22, 2011 22 Jul'11
Digium and Polycom to offer VARs £1 a day unified comms

Telephony firms Digium and Polycom have teamed up with asset financing firm Capital Solutions Group to offer resellers the chance to buy Digium's Switchvox UC telephony kit for less than one pound per user per day.
July 22, 2011 22 Jul'11
Roberts right man to succeed Wightman at Cisco

Following a series of structural changes to its worldwide channel operation announced yesterday, Cisco has finally broken cover and officially announced the appointment of Richard Roberts as UK and Ireland partner lead.
July 21, 2011 21 Jul'11
Cisco shuffles channel execs, holds off naming UK head

Cisco has made a series of changes at the top of its worldwide partner organisation, shuffling its executive team and reduced the number of theatres it operates in, but contrary to speculation has remained silent over the matter of replacing UK ...
July 21, 2011 21 Jul'11
SAP opens up Sybase mobility solutions to VARs

SAP VARs are being given the opportunity to sell Sybase enterprise mobility apps and solutions for the first time in a move that could provide new mobile and revenue opportunities to as many as 3,000 SAP partners.
July 21, 2011 21 Jul'11
Nokia makes Q2 loss and sales fall as it waits for Windows Phone

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has conceded the mobile phone company's Q2 results were "clearly disappointing" but claimed it was making "better than expected progress" as it shifts OS platform from Symbian to Windows Phone.
July 21, 2011 21 Jul'11
F5 networks sets out market expansion plans

F5 Networks president and CEO John McAdam spoke of the company's strong positioning in the ADC market and the new products and resources planned to expand its footprint, as the company announced its fiscal Q3 results, writes Linda Endersby.
July 21, 2011 21 Jul'11
Android to be darling of low-cost smartphone industry

The growth of open-source operating systems such as Android, will bring down smartphone price points, driving the worldwide smartphone market to new heights, according to Juniper Research.
July 21, 2011 21 Jul'11
Alcatel-Lucent 'exploring' sale of enterprise biz

Alcatel-Lucent has confirmed it is exploring strategic options to enhance the future of its enterprise business unit, including discussions that may lead to a sale.
July 20, 2011 20 Jul'11
Google introduces malware warning to search

Google has introduced a warning system that alerts people using Google search that their computers have been infected with malware. The search giant discovered the malware when it found "some unusual search traffic while performing routine ...
July 20, 2011 20 Jul'11
Improving profitability cheers Datatec

Datatec, the South Africa-based parent of Westcon and Logicalis, has said its trading and profitability are continuing to improve, with gross margins also on the up.
July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11
Adobe purchase of Echosign hit by patent lawsuit from rival RPost

Barely hours after Adobe's acquisition of web-based provider of electronic signature and signature automation, Echo sign, the companies have been hit by a lawsuit filed by US-based rival Post alleging infringement of 5 of its patents.
July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11
DiData to target consumerised environments with Citrix

Dimension Data has become a Global Systems Integrated Partner for Citrix, formalising the partnership from existing regional relationships to make the £4.7bn services provider one of a handful of Citrix's most strategic partners, writes Linda ...
July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11
Cisco ditches 6,500 jobs

Troubled networking vendor Cisco has confirmed it is to make large-scale redundancies across the business next month. Reports emerged last week that the firm was on the verge of handing round the pink slips as it looks to trim a billion dollars from...
July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11
Data Robotics renames self after key product

Consumer and small business storage specialist Data Robotics is to change its name to reflect growing market recognition of its key product brand, Drobo. The decision has been taken to drop its old name in favour of Drobo in response to feedback ...
July 18, 2011 18 Jul'11
Akamai extends channel with NetAlliance partner programme

Cloud optimisation services specialist Akamai Technologies has announced plans to expand its channel with a partner programme designed to help global IT solution providers integrate the company's services into their offerings.
July 18, 2011 18 Jul'11
Everything Everywhere CEO Alexander steps down

Everything Everywhere CEO Tom Alexander has announced his resignation from the helm of the company he has run since its inception in July 2010. The CEO joined Orange UK in the post in 2008 and as the company merged with T-Mobile he moved across as ...
July 15, 2011 15 Jul'11
Extreme to cull 110 workers in strategic restructure

Extreme Networks has announced plans to cut $20m (£12m) in costs out of its business by the end of its next financial year, and will be reducing its headcount by approximately 16 per cent, with 110 positions understood to be at risk.
July 15, 2011 15 Jul'11
Avnet gets paws on LifeSize video kit

HD video solutions specialist LifeSize is to sell its gear through Avnet Technology Solutions in the UK, as part of the distie's strategy to tighten its end-to-end unified comms offering.
July 15, 2011 15 Jul'11
Cisco partners welcome EMEA channel team shake-up

Cisco partners have welcomed an imminent shake-up of its EMEA management team, which it is understood will include the appointment of the firm's operations director of distributed government, Richard Roberts, as its new UK and Ireland channel ...
July 14, 2011 14 Jul'11
Nimans looks for data infrastructure growth

Nimans is expanding its data infrastructure division and moving to sell AV components for the first time as it looks for fresh areas of growth.
July 12, 2011 12 Jul'11
Cisco could cut up to 10,000 jobs in cost-trimming exercise

Cisco could be on the verge of announcing up to 10,000 redundancies, or 14 per cent of its workforce, according to reports from the US.
July 11, 2011 11 Jul'11
Systemax first EMEA reseller to bag Dell networking badge

Systemax Europe Technology Group has become the first Dell reseller to bag the vendor's new Networking and Security certification in EMEA.
July 05, 2011 05 Jul'11
Intrinisic gets private equity backing in £30m MBO

Unified comms and virtualisation reseller Intrinsic Technology has secured private equity backing for a £30m management buyout led by its current chief executive.
July 01, 2011 01 Jul'11
Mitel sees profits slump 80% in Q4, has high hopes for 2012

Unified communications vendor Mitel has bounced back from net losses in the third quarter of its financial 2011 to post GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of $4.4m (£2.7m), but on a year-over-year basis the figure was still down 80 per ...
July 01, 2011 01 Jul'11
Apple Microsoft alliance beats Google to Nortel patents

Google's $900m stalking horse bid for the last remaining patent assets of Nortel has been soundly trumped by an unlikely consortium led by Apple and Microsoft.
June 30, 2011 30 Jun'11
Easynet Connect to relaunch SME channel next week

SME-focused comms and network provider Easynet Connect will formally relaunch its channel next Monday, with its eye firmly on beefing up sales through its VAR community.
June 29, 2011 29 Jun'11
Azlan adds Cisco UCS B-Series to configuration offering

C2000 enterprise unit Azlan has announced the addition of Cisco B-Series blades to its build-to-order partner configuration service.
June 28, 2011 28 Jun'11
Cable & Wireless boss quits after profit warning

Jim Marsh, chief executive at troubled comms provider Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW), has handed in his resignation after the firm admitted that sales in the first 10 weeks of its fiscal 2012 were much slower than expected.
June 28, 2011 28 Jun'11
Daisy to wind down acquisition spree

Acquisitive comms and networking services provider Daisy Group has said it expects to wind down its acquisition spree in the coming months as it concentrates on achieving profitability.
June 27, 2011 27 Jun'11
Billing returns to channel to boost network monitoring sales

Former enterprise manager and Microtronica managing director Les Billing is making a move into the networking software sector after signing up with Worcestershire-based Cyclone Technology as a non-executive director.
June 27, 2011 27 Jun'11
Array Networks signs up Nubeon as UK distie

Array Networks is lining up a renewed assault on the UK channel and has appointed Nubeon, the distribution arm of ICT provider Ampito, to build a channel around its application, desktop and cloud delivery technology.
June 24, 2011 24 Jun'11
Network overhaul needed to boost remote working capabilities

Managed services provider Calyx has responded to this week's annual CBI and Harvey Nash employment trends survey, which talked up the growing importance of flexible working to UK businesses.
June 23, 2011 23 Jun'11
Ex-Colt SME head Andy Horn turns up at Easynet

Andy Horn, former head of SMEs at Colt, has pitched up at Easynet's SME division, Easynet Connect, to run its UK operations.
June 23, 2011 23 Jun'11
Opinion: Proper decorum for the meeting of the future

Chris Barrow, advanced technologies marketing manager at Avaya, talks video-conferencing novices through the etiquette of appearing on camera. It is often said that there is no second chance to make a first impression.
June 22, 2011 22 Jun'11
Avnet to bring Force10 Networks lines to UK

Force10 Networks has moved toaugment its UK distribution channel after signing an agreement with Avnet Technology Solutions to sell its high-performance datacentre networking kit in EMEA. The two firms maintain a relationship in North America, and ...
June 22, 2011 22 Jun'11
Daisy bursts seams of Lancashire base

Daisy Group has revealed plans to create 100 new jobs before Christmas at its base in Nelson, Lancashire, and will be holding a recruitment day next month.
June 16, 2011 16 Jun'11
Nortel sets stage for patent bidding war

Citing a 'significant level of interest" Nortel has today delayed the auction of 6,000 patents, its last significant remaining asset, to the end of the month, setting the stage for a potential bidding war.
June 16, 2011 16 Jun'11
ScanSource VARs get 'meet the vendor' webinar programme

ScanSource is giving its VAR community the chance to catch up on new product developments, market trends and ask questions of their vendor partners through a series of weekly online webinars.
June 15, 2011 15 Jun'11
Daisy flies Scottish flag with new Strathclyde office

Comms and internet solutions provider Daisy Group is talking up its commitment to businesses north of the border as it unveils a new facility at Belshill, near Glasgow and launched new Daisy Scotland branding in the country.
June 14, 2011 14 Jun'11
Arrow beefs up channel support on Riverbed gear

Arrow ECS is to offer technical support to Riverbed resellers after signing up to become a Riverbed Authorised Support Partner (RASP).
June 13, 2011 13 Jun'11
Western Europe lags in global PBX market

Sluggish sales into the British and German PBX markets bucked an otherwise healthy upward trend during the first quarter, according to the latest market figures from analysts at MZA.
June 10, 2011 10 Jun'11
Avaya to go public in $1bn IPO

Avaya has filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to a proposed IPO of $1bn in common stock. As reported earlier in the week, rumours about Avaya going public have been circulating for some time.
June 09, 2011 09 Jun'11
HP Networking chief to address VAR services strategy

The new EMEA vice president of HP Networking has pledged to address lingering differences of opinion between HP and its resellers over services provisioning.
June 08, 2011 08 Jun'11
20:20 Mobile signs European distie pact with Huawei

Mobile handset and accessories distie 20:20 Mobile has signed a pan-European framework agreement to distribute Huawei devices across the region.
June 07, 2011 07 Jun'11
Nimans makes call for greater convergence

Voice and data convergence has been a trend in the channel for the last few years but there is still a fair way for resellers to go in embracing the concept, which is leaving those yet to expand their portfolios missing out on revenue.
June 06, 2011 06 Jun'11
Cisco's Nick Watson to replace Sartorius at HP Networking

HP Networking has appointed Cisco's European strategic private sector accounts head Nick Watson as its new EMEA vice president, replacing Carlos Sartorius, who is taking up worldwide position.
June 03, 2011 03 Jun'11
Nimans extends nought per cent Samsung deals

Nimans has announced the extension of its zero per cent financing offer on Samsung OfficeServ systems and software to the end of September after seeing a spike in sales through the channel during the first six months of 2011.
June 02, 2011 02 Jun'11
Avnet showcases new Motorola lead-gen site

Motorola hardware dealers buying through Avnet will now be able to source lead generation services and collateral through a new Marketplace website being rolled out across Europe.
June 02, 2011 02 Jun'11
Eclipse Internet increases reseller managed services options

Broadband specialist Eclipse Internet has ploughed investment into its partner portal as it looks to increase the managed services options its resellers can offer customers.