News

Networking and Telecommunications

August 21, 2012 21 Aug'12
e92plus launches FatPipe, Viewfinity to UK channel

Enterprise security VAD e92plus is to give US vendors FatPipe and Viewfinity their first exposure to the UK channel.
August 20, 2012 20 Aug'12
Level 3 boosts UK datacentre capacity

Comms services provider Level 3 is adding to its UK enterprise datacentre capacity to support international business requirements.
August 17, 2012 17 Aug'12
Avaya financial boss out as losses mount

Avaya has replaced its CFO Anthony Massetti, with JDS Uniphase financial bod and one-time Cisco man Dave Vellequette in the latest of a series of leadership changes at the communications firm.
August 17, 2012 17 Aug'12
Brocade boss bails on a high

Longstanding Brocade CEO Michael Klayko has decided to call it a day after the networking and storage firm posted across the board rises in sales and operating and net profit.

August 16, 2012 16 Aug'12
Little prospect of European recovery, warns Cisco

Cisco CEO John Chambers has warned that he sees little prospect of a realistic European economic recovery in the next few quarters.
August 16, 2012 16 Aug'12
Emulex kicks off channel summer promotions

Emulex has kicked off summer promotions for its resellers in UK and across Europe as it looks to drive sales of its 10GB ethernet and 8GB fibre products
August 15, 2012 15 Aug'12
Loss clouds ShoreTel figures

Unified comms and cloud vendor ShoreTel has ended its financial year on a high with sales up but posted yet another quarterly net loss.
August 15, 2012 15 Aug'12
Channel portfolio performs for Better Capital

Investment company Better Capital PCC has said that in spite of economic weakness its IT businesses are making “solid and significant improvements” in profitability and cash generation.
August 14, 2012 14 Aug'12
Second quarter of decline for mobile market

The global mobile phone market saw its second consecutive quarter of decline as feature phone sales continued to ebb away and smartphone demand faltered slightly.
August 14, 2012 14 Aug'12
Admiral bosses jump ship in SilverBug merger

Admiral IT and two of its sister firms are to merge with outsourcer SilverBug to create a new managed services player.

August 10, 2012 10 Aug'12
Android draws away from mobile OS field

Google’s Android operating system has increased its dominance over rival mobile platforms and now commands more than 68% of the total market.
August 07, 2012 07 Aug'12
Dohmen to run Comstor Cisco business

Westcon has snaffled former Cisco bigwig Andreas Dohmen to fill the role of EMEA executive vice president at Comstor.
August 06, 2012 06 Aug'12
MDNX on the rise with Griffin acquisition

With the purchase of Griffin Internet, network integrator MDNX says it hopes to start to challenge some leading networking players.
August 06, 2012 06 Aug'12
Gloomy summer could aid channel retails specialists

The latest insight into the state of the high street reveals that those that are managing to do well have slick supply chain infrastructure
August 06, 2012 06 Aug'12
MicroScope's top stories, week ending 3 August 2012

Our regular look back at the biggest stories on MicroScope.co.uk from the last seven days.
August 01, 2012 01 Aug'12
Outdated views mean opportunities in videoconferencing

Video conferencing systems used by most firms are out of date and delivering much less quality than more up-to-date technology can offer
July 31, 2012 31 Jul'12
Steve Clark new top dog at Calyx

Former Azzurri operations director and Everlogic founder Steve Clark is to become the new CEO of Calyx Managed Services.
July 30, 2012 30 Jul'12
Mayflex flexes converged IP muscles

Networking distie Mayflex has launched a new channel support proposition designed to exploit growth in the converged IP market.
July 30, 2012 30 Jul'12
Vodafone ousts Cable & Wireless management

Vodafone is to replace a swathe of top execs at Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW), with chief exec Gavin Darby and CFO Ian Gibson among those on the way out.
July 30, 2012 30 Jul'12
Games should boost cloud and video conferencing

The Olympic Games has put a strain on the transport system but as remote working increases so should the interest in cloud and video conferencing
July 27, 2012 27 Jul'12
Chess continues acquisition spree

Chess has continued to expand through acquisition adding two more purchases to a growing list as it bolsters its credentials in the telco and networking market
July 24, 2012 24 Jul'12
VMware picks up Nicira to expand beyond the server

Virtualisation player VMware has acquired Nicira as part of wider plans to expand into the data center and cloud networking markets
July 24, 2012 24 Jul'12
Cisco swings the axe in austerity programme

Cisco is adding to the ten thousand plus jobs that went last year making further staffing reductions as part of ongoing austerity efforts
July 24, 2012 24 Jul'12
4G faces delay into late 2013

Ofcom has revealed details of the auction for 4G but the timetable has slipped back into next year
July 23, 2012 23 Jul'12
Calyx lifts lid on managed UC service

Calyx has enhanced its UC offering incorporating greater levels of support for Microsoft Lync
July 23, 2012 23 Jul'12
MicroScope's top stories, week ending 20 July 2012

The top stories from MicroScope's for the week ending 20 July 2012
July 20, 2012 20 Jul'12
Olympic disruption fears start to mount

With just a week to go there are real fears that traffic infrastructure, both physical and virtual, will not be able to cope with the demand placed on it in the Olympics
July 19, 2012 19 Jul'12
Imago to launch video-com recruitment agency

Video conferencing channel specialist Imago has decided to launch its own recruitment agency to find staff with the right skills to drive the sector forward
July 18, 2012 18 Jul'12
Datatec riding economic storm

Datatec has indicated that despite ongoing global economic problems it is sticking to forecasts and Westcon and Logicalis are delivering growth
July 18, 2012 18 Jul'12
Huge investment needed for connected devices boom

Brocade has warned that significant data centre investment is needed to support the explosion in connected devices
July 18, 2012 18 Jul'12
Wick Hill signs mobile management player Zenprise

Wick Hill has added to its portfolio after signing Zenprise which provides a mobile management solution
July 13, 2012 13 Jul'12
Westcon links up with snom

Westcon Convergence has signed a new distribution agreement with endpoint device specialist snom to supply its IP and Lync optimised SIP-based phones across EMEA.
July 13, 2012 13 Jul'12
Phoenix on prowl for new sales teams as pipeline swells

Phoenix IT sales director John Hall has revealed the restructuring of the company is beginning to have a positive effect on its sales pipeline.
July 13, 2012 13 Jul'12
Siemens lavishes funding on potential UC VARs

Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEC) is offering a range of incentives to entice new partners into its unified communications channel programme.
July 12, 2012 12 Jul'12
Tech Data takes complete control of Brightstar

Tech Data has made the move to buy the 50% stake in joint venture mobility partner Brightstar
July 12, 2012 12 Jul'12
Murphx bosses head for the exit as Daisy earn-out period ends

Former Murphx managing director Carl Churchill and management team Richard Jay, Ben Murphy and Nicki Jay have decided to leave Daisy Group following expiry of a management earn-out.
July 10, 2012 10 Jul'12
ZyXEL hands execs key channel roles

Networking firm ZyXEL has promoted from within to enhance its channel proposition.
July 10, 2012 10 Jul'12
XOR hires Breen to drive growth

XOR Professional Services has hired former Azlan executive Joe Breen to drive its partner sales and help it meet ambitious growth targets
July 08, 2012 08 Jul'12
MicroScope's top stories, week ending 6 July 2012

Our weekly round-up of the top 10 most read stories here on MicroScope.co.uk
July 06, 2012 06 Jul'12
NGD to fill South Wales datacentre with hosted VARs

Datacentre operator Next Generation Data (NGD) has hired former Mitel and VegaStream man Steve Davis to spearhead recruitment of channel cloud service providers and hosting specialists.
July 05, 2012 05 Jul'12
ZyXEL finance scheme targets SME channel sales

ZyXEL has launched a new financing scheme to target channel deals worth between £5,000 and £200,000.
July 05, 2012 05 Jul'12
Nimans gets extra Aastra clout

Unified comms distributor Nimans has expanded its relationship with Aastra to include Microsoft Lync handsets.
July 04, 2012 04 Jul'12
Smith steps back as Redstone losses narrow

Redstone chairman Ian Smith has stepped back from the role he took on in 2010 as the IT and networking integrator consolidates its recovery.
July 02, 2012 02 Jul'12
BrightPoint mobility business worth $840m to Ingram Micro

Ingram Micro has made good on plans to bulk up through acquiring other distribution businesses after forking out $840m (£536m) to buy wireless device solutions and services specialist BrightPoint.
July 02, 2012 02 Jul'12
Avnet polishes off Magirus

Five years after it bought its enterprise IT distribution business, Avnet has returned to the table to acquire the remainder of datacentre solutions distributor Magirus.
July 02, 2012 02 Jul'12
Avnet makes cuts in the North

Avnet Technology Solutions is set to close its Leeds office as it consolidates its Northern operations and has announced that Paul Cook is stepping down from his general sales role.
July 01, 2012 01 Jul'12
MicroScope's Top Stories, week ending 29 June 2012

Our weekly run-down of the most viewed stories on MicroScope.co.uk
June 29, 2012 29 Jun'12
RIM battered as BlackBerry strategy crumbles

Research In Motion's smartphone strategy lies in tatters today after the firm conceded its BlackBerry 10 operating system will be delayed to at least the first quarter of calendar 2013.
June 26, 2012 26 Jun'12
Comstor plants flag in Cisco, NetApp FlexPod environment

Cisco-specialist Comstor has revealed it is to sell Cisco and NetApp's FlexPod datacentre architecture in EMEA after being handed distribution rights to the converged networking, server and storage solution.
June 26, 2012 26 Jun'12
Resellers to give Daisy partner programme the once-over

Daisy Group partners have been invited to kick the tyres of the firm's indirect partner programme at its 'Evolve' relaunch event to be held this week in the Midlands.
June 26, 2012 26 Jun'12
Cisco and Citrix partners to get joint programme

Cisco and Citrix have lifted the lid on a new channel venture designed to address demand for reseller skills around enterprise mobility and desktop virtualisation services.
June 25, 2012 25 Jun'12
MicroScope's top stories, week ending 22 June 2012

Our regular look back at the top 10 most read stories on MicroScope.co.uk from the past week.
June 21, 2012 21 Jun'12
Daisy losses narrow as sales bloom, considers dividend

Daisy Group has cut its annual operating losses from £15.8m to £13.1m for the 12 months to the end of March, and sales at the b2b comms specialist have risen by 30% to £348.6m, with EBITDA also up to £56.3m.
June 21, 2012 21 Jun'12
Cisco worldwide channel chief Keith Goodwin to retire

Cisco Worldwide Partner Organisation senior vice president Keith Goodwin is to retire at the end of the financial year after 13 years at the firm, seven of them spent running the channel.
June 21, 2012 21 Jun'12
ATEC first video surveillance firm to claim HP Gold badge

Video surveillance specialist ATEC Security has become the first UK partner to gain the HP Gold Registered Networking Specialist badge in a move it claims recognises the increasing importance of IP surveillance solutions.
June 19, 2012 19 Jun'12
Motorola Solutions devours Psion in £129m deal

Former personal organiser guru Psion has been swallowed up by Motorola Solutions for £129m, or around 88p per share by way of a recommended cash offer, effectively bringing to an end a 32 year industry pedigree.
June 19, 2012 19 Jun'12
Prosumer networkers new target for Western Digital

Storage vendor Western Digital (WD) has stepped outside its traditional comfort zone after launching a new line of high-end prosumer-targeted routing equipment, dubbed My Net.
June 19, 2012 19 Jun'12
Channel names handed gongs in Queen's list

Forget Gary Barlow and Kate Winslet, the real stars of the Queen's Birthday Honours were closer to home indicating that if you do good works then there are still rewards there for people connected with the computer and telco industry.
June 15, 2012 15 Jun'12
ANS among first to nab elite Cisco NetApp FlexPod badge

Networking and cloud integrator ANS has become one of the first Cisco and NetApp partners in the UK, alongside DiData and Logicalis, to be named to the vendors' joint FlexPod Premium Partner Framework.
June 14, 2012 14 Jun'12
Dell to channel: resistance is futile

Michael Dell has said that Dell's portfolio has grown so broad that there is now "not a question" of whether or not resellers are going to have a relationship with it but "a question of when and how".
June 14, 2012 14 Jun'12
Interactive Ideas adds NetFort to UK line-up

Software VAD Interactive Ideas has signed up to build out a channel for network monitoring software outfit NetFort as the Irish vendor seeks to formalise its UK business strategy.
June 11, 2012 11 Jun'12
MicroScope's top stories, week ending 8 June 2012

Android may falter if Microsoft, Apple strategies pay off.
June 08, 2012 08 Jun'12
Comstor takes next step up Cisco training ladder

Specialist network distie Comstor has taken another step along the road to becoming a true Cisco master after being designated a Cisco Authorised Business Acceleration Learning Partner (BALP).
June 08, 2012 08 Jun'12
Kurmi sizes up UK UC channels

Unified comms software vendor Kurmi Softwareis to begin selling its UC provisioning and management tools into the UK and will be looking to target partners of key networking vendors such as Avaya, Alcatel-Lucent and Mitel.
June 07, 2012 07 Jun'12
Android may falter if Microsoft, Apple strategies pay off

Analyst house IDC has suggested that the Android smartphone and tablet operating system's market share is on the verge of peaking this year, and will begin to decline.
June 06, 2012 06 Jun'12
ShoreTel orders up Pattie to run distribution

ShoreTel's EMEA operation is beginning to resemble an Avaya reunion after the unified comms vendor named a trio of ex-Avaya execs to its regional leadership team.
June 06, 2012 06 Jun'12
PEER1 gets NetBenefit

Web-hosting specialist PEER 1 Hosting, has signed an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares in the capital of Net Benefit (UK) Limited, for £25m in cash, writes Linda Endersby.
June 01, 2012 01 Jun'12
Nutanix commences Euro channel blitz with SDG signing

'SAN-free' datacentre specialist Nutanix has fetched up on European shores, announcing its first UK partners in the shape of distie SDG and solutions provider Kelway, as well as appointing former EMC andVMware operatives Alan Campbell as EMEA sales ...
June 01, 2012 01 Jun'12
Gradwell looks to channel to support growth ambitions

VoIP specialist Gradwell has outlined ambitions to grow its business significantly over the next four years looking for more activity from its channel partners. The growth plans come just months after the Bath-based firm gained £1.15m in ...
May 28, 2012 28 May'12
MicroScope's top stories, week ending 25 May 2012

Dell confirms UK jobs on the line Dell has said that it will look to make a series of limited job cuts in the UK as it bids to operate "as effectively as possible".
May 25, 2012 25 May'12
IP Integration buys managed services provider Micropoint

Unified comms dealer IP Integration has announced the acquisition of MSP Micro point for an undisclosed sum, as it aims to become a £30m business by the midpoint of the decade.
May 25, 2012 25 May'12
BYOD kills off Cisco Cius enterprise tablet

Cisco has quietly discontinued development of its Cius enterprise tablet offering, announcing on its website that it would "no longer invest in the Cisco Cius tablet form factor" or make any further enhancements to the endpoint device.
May 24, 2012 24 May'12
HP slashes staff, restructures as profits plunge 31%

HP has announced plans to ditch 27,000 jobs, or 8% of its workforce, and will embark on a radical restructuring programme in a bid to cut costs of between $3bn to $3.5bn (£1.9bn to £2.2bn) over the next two years.
May 23, 2012 23 May'12
Bradford Networks finds seat on Zycko bench

Network security and compliance specialist Bradford Networks has been signed up by Gloucestershire-based VAD Zycko to beef up its network management and BYOD offering.
May 23, 2012 23 May'12
Michael Dell pins Windows 8 hopes on consumer upgrades

Michael Dell has spoken of his hopes for the upcoming launch of Microsoft Windows 8, saying that although enterprise buyers were still in the process of upgrading to Windows 7 and would tend to hold off, there were early signs of a massive refresh ...
May 22, 2012 22 May'12
KCOM profits swell despite group sales decline

Unaudited annual pre-tax profit at KCOM Group has grown by more than 55% to £51.1m as a result of increased EBITDA and reductions in both exceptional costs and the overall cost of borrowing.
May 22, 2012 22 May'12
Comstor announces new Cisco UCS config tool

Cisco specialist distie Comstor is further building its partner support for the Cisco UCS B-Series and C-Series Servers, writes Linda Endersby. Comstor UCS Selector is an online configuration tool helping resellers build new revenue streams based on...
May 22, 2012 22 May'12
Intrinsic appoints new CEO as market heads for the cloud

Insider Jarvis has been appointed CEO at networking reseller Intrinsic Technology as its market shifts to the cloud offering new opportunities for growth, writes Linda Endersby.
May 21, 2012 21 May'12
Six Degrees to beef up network with latest acquisition

A week after buying two cloud hosting firms, acquisitive managed services provider Six Degrees has splashed out on datacentre interconnection specialist Data hop to lay key foundation for its network growth plans.
May 17, 2012 17 May'12
IDS named to ZyXEL elite partner squad

Network vendor ZyXEL has awarded internet and communications solutions provider IDS its highest partner status, writes Linda Endersby.
May 17, 2012 17 May'12
Motorola spin-off Cambium rubber stamps partner programme

Motorola wireless spin-off Cambium Networks, which split from its owner last year with support from VC outfit Vector Capital, has announced its first dedicated reseller programme, with the emphasis on broadening and developing vertical markets.
May 16, 2012 16 May'12
Midmarket channel deals high on Avaya agenda

Avaya's new UK and Ireland managing director Simon Culmer has revealed he is weighing up the merits of putting in place a new horizontal midmarket tier to sit across the firm's vertically-oriented sales structure, and will be leaning on channel ...
May 16, 2012 16 May'12
Datatec despairs of UK economy

Datatec, the South Africa-based group behind Westcon and logically, has reported a solid end to its fiscal 2012 which closed on 29 February, but once again has bemoaned a challenging economic environment in the UK, revealing that the bulk of its ...
May 16, 2012 16 May'12
Trustmarque partners Sophos to offer mobile device security

Infrastructure and software reseller Trustmarque has formed an agreement with IT security company, Sophos, to provide a managed service to protect mobile devices, writes Linda Endersby.
May 16, 2012 16 May'12
Mobile phone inventories stuffed, prices to fall, says Gartner

Gartner has revealed that the global mobile phone channel is suffering from a build-up of excess inventory after a sudden slowdown in demand, chiefly driven out of APAC, drove down worldwide handset sales 2% year-on-year.
May 16, 2012 16 May'12
Juniper appoints new EMEA distribution lead

Juniper Networks has appointed William Hamber to the role of senior director, Distribution Partners for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), reporting into David Helfer, vice president of EMEA partners, writes Linda Endersby.
May 15, 2012 15 May'12
Dell launches social media training for partners

Dell Premier and Certified partners are to get access to social media training sessions, with on-demand modules set to be added to Dell's Partner Direct portal in the near future.
May 15, 2012 15 May'12
Xsigo Connections Partner programme launched

Xsigo Systems has announced a new partner programme to recognise and support its growing network of global resellers as a companion initiative to its recent global expansion, writes Linda Endersby.
May 11, 2012 11 May'12
Wi-Fi provider iPass stalks mobile device management experts

Wi-Fi networking services and enterprise mobility provider iPass is on the hunt for reseller partners with competencies around mobile device management to help it get deeper into customers trying to exploit remote working and consumerisation.
May 10, 2012 10 May'12
BT profits up but revenue down

BT has announced £2.4bn in pretax profits for the year ending 31st March but seen a fall in revenue of a couple of percent, writes Linda Endersby.
May 10, 2012 10 May'12
Cisco bosses round on Huawei

Cisco's top brass have again shown they have Huawei on their minds, talking extensively about the competition and in particular their response to the growth of their Chinese rival on a conference call marking the end of Cisco's third quarter.
May 09, 2012 09 May'12
Avaya confirms Huawei man Culmer as Sheppard replacement

Avaya has confirmed the acquisition of Simon Culmer as its new UK and Ireland managing director, replacing Andrew Sheppard, who departed the comms firm in April after just eight months in charge.
May 09, 2012 09 May'12
Cloud Distribution to expand Vyatta UK presence

Cloud Distribution has announced a new partnership with Vyatta, vendor of software-based networking for virtual and cloud environments.
May 08, 2012 08 May'12
Network specialist NHR calls for new approach to end-of-life kit

Network maintenance and refurbished Cisco kit specialist Network Hardware Resale (NHR) has called for the channel to consider new approaches to dealing with end-of-life and pre-owned kit.
May 04, 2012 04 May'12
Column: Wanted: honest relationship. Ts&Cs need not apply

Recently, one of the big supermarkets complained that shoppers are cheating them. It turns out that people who scan their own shopping are becoming increasingly dishonest.
May 04, 2012 04 May'12
Enterasys channel emerges from the shadows for BYOD battle

Following a restructuring of its channel that saw it Part Company with the bulk of its reseller base, network infrastructure specialist Enterasys is presenting a leaner silhouette to UK partners.
May 01, 2012 01 May'12
Cloud purchase pays off for ShoreTel, but net profit still elusive

ShoreTel's 1 February acquisition of cloud communications vendor M5 Networks looks to be paying off, the firm has revealed.
May 01, 2012 01 May'12
ACS guzzles Microsoft, Cisco partner Fabric Technologies

Software and services provider ACS has bought City of London-based Microsoft Gold Partner and managed services provider Fabric Technologies Ltd for £4.6m.
April 30, 2012 30 Apr'12
Datapoint makes key managed services hire

Unified communications (UC) reseller and contact centre specialist Datapoint has recruited former Easy net professional services head Matt Taylor to "inject much-needed momentum into the development of [its] professional and managed services ...
April 30, 2012 30 Apr'12
Logitech courts unified comms channel partners

Logitech's new EMEA b2b director, John Howard, has spoken of the need for partners to make the most of the opportunity to add peripheral elements, such as webcams or headsets, to the unified comms (UC) sale, as the firm reflects on the recent launch...