News

Salesforce Management

March 31, 2011 31 Mar'11
Etailer group warns EU against changing returns policies

Entailers could gave a hike in the cost of returns thanks to EU legislation with little choice but to pass costs onto users. That warning has been sounded by e-retail trade body IMRG, which has reacted with dismay to the passage of proposed legal ...
March 30, 2011 30 Mar'11
Kaspersky UK boss leaves in restructure

Kaspersky Lab has confirmed its UK managing director Malcolm Tuck is leaving the business following a restructure at the antivirus specialist.
March 25, 2011 25 Mar'11
Channel backing government moves to tackle skills gap

The channel has thrown its support behind the government's plans to address the IT skills gap following plans announced in the Budget to boost the technical knowledge of future generations.
March 25, 2011 25 Mar'11
Budget in-depth: Government looks to entrepreneurs for growth

In his second Budget Report, the Chancellor of the Exchequer focused on business growth, and provided a package of incentives to entrepreneurs and businesses to help them to deliver that growth, writes Jeff Webber.

March 23, 2011 23 Mar'11
Budget 2011: Skills gap seen as threat to future growth

The potential for a lack of skills in the British workforce has been highlighted as a real danger to future prosperity by the Chancellor George Osborne.
March 10, 2011 10 Mar'11
Tech M&A slows but recovery remains on track

The move by Lumison to spend £22m for BlueSquare Data Services at the end of last month was the highlight in terms of M&A activity as the number of deals overall slowed from the start of the year.
March 03, 2011 03 Mar'11
MicroScope ACEs nominations open

Nominations for the MicroScope Awards for Channel Excellence have opened. The emphasis of the MicroScope channel awards is to recognise those suppliers that have really delivered excellence rather than fall into the trap of giving a pat on the back ...
February 25, 2011 25 Feb'11
SMEs could boost efficiency with IT investment

Small businesses could boost their efficiency by over 50% through IT investment, according to independent research, writes Bill Goodwin. Studies by E-skills UK, the public private sector partnership for IT skills and training, show that many small ...
February 17, 2011 17 Feb'11
Cyber crime costing UK firms £21bn a year

The cost of cybercrime to UK businesses is £21bn with British firms being the target of IP theft, industrial espionage and theft of customer data.
February 17, 2011 17 Feb'11
Micro-P confirms Brown as commerical director

Channel veteran Phil Brown has returned to distribution as Micro-P's commercial director following a relatively short spell running sales at netbook pioneer ASUS.

February 14, 2011 14 Feb'11
Avnet CEO Vallee steps down to drive acquisition strategy

Avnet CEO Roy Vallee has announced he is to step down from his post at the distributor at the end of the firm's financial year in order to concentrate on the firm's acquisition strategy, with current COO Rick Hamada to take up the torch from 4 July ...
February 09, 2011 09 Feb'11
Employers looking for IT staff to build up in-house expertise

The private sector should pick up the slack on the jobs front when it comes to employing IT specialists as spending starts to pick up this year.
February 07, 2011 07 Feb'11
Equanet eyes services growth with new head of IT solutions

Dixons-owned reseller Equanet has ushered in former Dataplex technical director Jamie Marshall as head of IT solutions.
February 01, 2011 01 Feb'11
Tech sector stands out as M&A target

The prospects of the tech sector being a ripe one for M&A activity look good with the valuations and returns being offered for investors much higher than in other areas of the economy.
January 28, 2011 28 Jan'11
Virtualisation, cloud and UC in demand as users look to grow

Virtualisation, cloud computing and unified comms are the technologies most in demand but resellers should not look to the public sector to be at the head of the queue to buy them.
January 26, 2011 26 Jan'11
Public sector IT cuts might not be as deep as feared

The impact of public sector cuts on IT spend from that market are not going to be severe as some anticipated with technology investment protected with the axe falling in other areas.
January 24, 2011 24 Jan'11
Avnet hires and fires staff as Bell integration nears end

Avnet Technology Solutions has confirmed the loss of 40 jobs, largely from Bell Microproducts' former headquarters in Chessington but added it is hiring to cover new vendor signings and a European accounts payable hub launching in Bracknell.
January 18, 2011 18 Jan'11
Ecommerce revenues rise but so do fraud fears

Ecommerce specialists have expressed fears that their fraud budgets are remaining stagnant in the face of increasing attempts by criminals to short change them.
January 17, 2011 17 Jan'11
CU swaps group sales director Brett for Chatterton

London-based Computers Unlimited (CU) is to appoint Mark Chatterton as group sales and marketing director this week to replace group sales director Alistair Brett who has left the company.
January 12, 2011 12 Jan'11
IT jobs most in demand

The demand for IT staff hit a six month high in December leading from the front in an energised job market that rounded off the year with nearly all sectors demanding workers.
January 11, 2011 11 Jan'11
Former SonicWall man Bird takes top role at eSellerPro

Ecommerce specialist eSellerPro has unveiled Keith Bird as its CEO after managing to tempt the former SonicWall man onboard to help drive growth across Europe. Bird, who was vice president EMEA at SonicWall, left the security vendor at the end of ...
January 10, 2011 10 Jan'11
Industry old timer McBride joins Computacenter board

Computacenter has bolstered its board with the addition of industry veteran Brian McBride.
December 17, 2010 17 Dec'10
In-depth: 2010 how was it for you?

As 2010 draws to a close there is a chance to look back and assess how things were. It was a year of recession, election, recovery and protests.
December 10, 2010 10 Dec'10
Most IT pros want to jump ship in 2011

Most IT professionals are looking to jump ship next year, according to a survey from The IT Jobs Board, writes Kathleen Hall. Some 80% plan to look for a new job in 2011, while 59% said they were not loyal to their work, said the poll. Of the 100 ...
December 10, 2010 10 Dec'10
Tech market M&A activity remains solid

Mergers and acquisition activity in the tech market has remained solid with signs that valuations are holding up raising expectations next year could be a busy period for buyers.
December 06, 2010 06 Dec'10
Mergers and acquisition activity on the up next year

Mergers and acquisition activity in the tech sector should increase next year as confidence and value floods back into the market. According to findings from Deloitte optimism is returning to the market with private equity and auctions expected to ...
December 01, 2010 01 Dec'10
Top UK CIOs admit their IT is behind the times

Top UK CIOs say their IT systems are too inflexible - and they are lagging behind their peers in the rest of the world in solving the problem, according to a report by Accenture, writes Cliff Saran.
November 25, 2010 25 Nov'10
Channel hopes ICO fines send the right message

With the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) handing out the first fines for data protection breaches the possibility of firms being hit in the pocket by another compliance body has increased the pressure on those responsible for managing user ...
November 24, 2010 24 Nov'10
Ex-Westcon boss Shakespeare pops up at Norbain

IP video and CCTV distributor Norbain has appointed former Westcon EMEA executive vice president Barry Shakespeare as its new managing director to replace chief executive Alun John, who has been managing the firm pending the appointment.
November 23, 2010 23 Nov'10
Digital champion pledges no one will be left behind in web purge

The digital champion has been quick to dampen fears that a massive reduction in the number of government websites will leave those without web access exiled from services. Martha Lane Fox, the digital champion appointed during the last ...
November 19, 2010 19 Nov'10
Enterprise czar quits for claiming you've never had it so good

Lord Sugar might be amused to discover that the man who replaced him as the government advisor on enterprise has been forced to quit just weeks after taking on the role.
November 18, 2010 18 Nov'10
Ingram Micro bags former WStore man to "revitalise" marketing

Ingram Micro is hoping that its recently installed head of marketing Stewart Hayward can breathe new life into the department.
November 16, 2010 16 Nov'10
Suffolk resigns government CIO post

Government CIO John Suffolk has announced he is to leave his £270,000 a year job at the end of the year. His role, considered one of the most influential in UK IT, will be filled temporarily by COO of the Efficiency and Reform Group, Ian ...
November 16, 2010 16 Nov'10
Research: Optimistic channel looking to expand and grow

Resellers believe they will grow and expand their businesses over the next five years as they look forward to a post-recession market.
November 15, 2010 15 Nov'10
Research: The future of the reseller

In a major piece of research in association with IBM the views from resellers on the future of their businesses and customer demands over the next five years have been examined. The major findings provide food for thought for those pushing the cloud...
November 15, 2010 15 Nov'10
Cabinet Office cuts to target government web activity

As part of its ongoing attempts to cut costs and gain efficiencies the government is expected to review and reduce its web activity.
November 12, 2010 12 Nov'10
Tech M&A activity misses expectations but optimism remains

The amount of mergers and acquisitions in the tech market has unexpectedly dropped last month but optimism that things remain on an upward curve remains among market watchers.
November 03, 2010 03 Nov'10
Jobs market dips as recruitment slows

The dip in the IT job market, which had been threatening to come for the last few months, has arrived taking the number of vacancies back to the levels experienced in the early days of the recession.
November 03, 2010 03 Nov'10
Former HP boss Fiorina misses out on Senate seat

Despite her high profile experience running Hewlett-Packard and her connections at senior levels of the Republican party former HP CEO Carly Fiorina lost out on gaining a Senate seat last night.
November 01, 2010 01 Nov'10
Serco backs down in bid to pass on government cuts

Up until this point most of the large government suppliers have towed the line and signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government, but Serco has taken a different line looking to pass on the cuts it is making to its own suppliers.
October 29, 2010 29 Oct'10
Pension changes could prompt SMEs to use more temps

Government plans to force companies to provide pensions for employees and eradicate the default retirement age will "deal a double blow to smaller employers" and push them to take on temporary and self-employed staff.
October 29, 2010 29 Oct'10
Too many users ignoring print policies, OKI survey finds

Businesses are wasting billions a year needlessly outsourcing printing jobs that they have the capability to do in house and losing money through users failing to heed companywide policies on duplex printing or using colour print when they could use...
October 21, 2010 21 Oct'10
Public sector opportunities remain in face of cuts

It might take a couple more weeks for the details of where the cuts announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review will fall but the consensus is already emerging it presents mixed opportunities for the channel.
October 20, 2010 20 Oct'10
Spending Review: No stone left unturned to find waste

The chancellor George Osborne has echoed the views of many resellers promising not only to cut waste but to reform the public sector where possible to improve performance.
October 15, 2010 15 Oct'10
Analysis: The contradiction at the heart of Green's review

Sir Philip Green is a character with the same bluntness of his fellow entrepreneur Sir Alan Sugar when it comes to talking about business.
October 14, 2010 14 Oct'10
Ingram Micro UK profits rise, workforce trimmed

A 13% reduction in headcount at Milton Keynes-based broad line giant Ingram Micro during 2009 helped bolster the bottom line in the UK. Financials for the calendar year revealed profits of £3m, an increase of 38% while sales dipped marginally ...
October 13, 2010 13 Oct'10
Channel dismisses Sir Philip Green's direct advice to coalition

Resellers and channel advocates have criticised Sir Philip Green's recommendation that government should buy commodity IT direct from multi-national corporations (MNC) as being overly simplistic.
October 12, 2010 12 Oct'10
Buy direct to save costs, Sir Philip Green advises government

The government should bypass resellers to buy PCs and commodity kit directly from manufacturers as it seeks to draw upon powerful economies of scale and a high credit rating to cut public sector expenditure.
October 11, 2010 11 Oct'10
Unions slam HP plans to cut 1,300 as butchery

Hewlett-Packard is set to shed 1,300 jobs and move production overseas bringing the total jobs axed in just the past two years to almost 4,000.
October 11, 2010 11 Oct'10
Government advised to lean on suppliers to cut waste

The government is going to be advised to buy in bulk, push suppliers for the cheapest prices and potentially stretch their payment times in order to get the most for their money.
October 06, 2010 06 Oct'10
Demand for jobs dips in September to yearly low

A discouraging picture is emerging in the IT job market with the buoyancy of the first half of the year slowing down.
October 05, 2010 05 Oct'10
Councils mount legal challenge to BSF cutbacks

Several councils are legally challenging the move by the government to scrap the Building Schools for the Future scheme. The BSF programme was cut back by Michael Gove, the education secretary, back in July scrapping 700 of the proposed projects as ...
October 04, 2010 04 Oct'10
IT jobs recovery continues to gather pace

There might be fears of a double-dip in the world economy but for now the recovery in the IT jobs market is continuing. According to the latest Recruitment and Employment Confederation report into Technology demand and supply there is a higher ...
September 24, 2010 24 Sep'10
Cisco names worldwide distribution VP

Cisco's current vice president of worldwide sales enablement Scott Brown has been named as vice president of the vendor's $10bn plus worldwide distribution business, according to reports.
September 14, 2010 14 Sep'10
Avnet lifts covers off UK management team

The UK management team at Avnet was finally unveiled today as the distributor rallied the troops to use the expanded portfolio and customer base to take market share from rivals.
September 13, 2010 13 Sep'10
Seasonal dip hits tech M&A activity

A seasonal dip in the level of mergers and acquisitions should be confined to just August with this month already showing signs that the strong activity already seen this year is going to continue.
September 09, 2010 09 Sep'10
Bell Micro EMEA enterprise boss McGregor leaves

Bell Microproducts has parted company with director Colin McGregor who has decided to start up a consultancy business. The distributor is not far off finalising the UK personnel changes as it integrates with new parent Avnet, with Europe not far ...
September 09, 2010 09 Sep'10
Government scraps £12.7bn NHS National Programme for IT

by Ian Grant The government has scrapped the National Health Service's centralised £12.7bn National Programme for IT (NPfIT) in favour of a "connect-all" strategy in an effort to save £700m on the late, over-budget project. The...
September 08, 2010 08 Sep'10
Jobs market slows as public sector cuts start to bite

Fears of a double dip recession might be raised again with the latest jobs figures showing the weakest rate of growth in permanent positions since October last year.
September 02, 2010 02 Sep'10
IT jobs market still in doldrums

The IT jobs market remains stuck in the doldrums, according to annual figures from recruitment specialists at Hays, with the dip in public sector sales unlikely to help matters.
August 24, 2010 24 Aug'10
Industry fears mount over ICT GCSE slump

Following last week's A-level results, this morning's GCSE results confirmed industry fears that the UK is not producing the new IT talent needed in the channel, writes Jenny Williams. Industry experts have warned that the 17% drop in the number of ...
August 24, 2010 24 Aug'10
Zurich Insurance hit by record £2.3m fine for data loss

The cost of losing customer details has been a staggering £2.3m for Zurich Insurance after the financial firm was slapped with large fine for letting sensitive data slip through its fingers.
August 23, 2010 23 Aug'10
Market cannot support current reseller population

The ravages of the recent recession mean that the UK IT market can no longer support the number of resellers operating in it, and a more aggressive M&A scene is the only conceivable result, say analysts at Plimsoll.
August 20, 2010 20 Aug'10
Phone and preparation best tools to make a sale

The old methods remain the best for those resellers trying to get sales out of IT directors with the telephone and personal contact the most likely way to get a pitch heard and business won.
August 16, 2010 16 Aug'10
Holidays not being taken by IT workers

With the economic pressure far from lifting the temptation to stay at the coalface working rather than sunning yourself on the beach is understandable and a feeling shared by many in the IT world.
August 16, 2010 16 Aug'10
Former 2e2 security head takes UK MD role at Check Point

Security player Check Point has plugged the gap in its UK management team bringing on board a fresh managing director. Terry Greer-King has taken the reigns as UK and Ireland country manager filling a vacancy created by Nick Lowe's promotion to head...
August 13, 2010 13 Aug'10
Print and be damned: huge amounts of paper still wasted in offices

Almost 70% of paper sheets printed by office workers in a year are "wasted or unnecessary", according to a report commissioned by Kyocera.
August 12, 2010 12 Aug'10
SMEs favour IT freelancers

by Karl Flinders Small businesses are spending more on IT, but nearly half of firms surveyed see IT as a freelance role rather than an in-house function. The survey fromsmall business skills organisationPeoplePerHour, found that PHP and SEO skills ...
August 11, 2010 11 Aug'10
Lax security, complex payments leave SMBs open to fraud

An increase in calls from members complaining about payment processing fraud has prompted the Forum of Private Business to warn that both insufficient security checks and complex payment systems are still leaving SMBs open to fraud.
August 11, 2010 11 Aug'10
Gartner says governments should shift employees to teleworking

Gartner has advised governments to aggressively introduce teleworking among public sector employees to compensate for cost-reduction measures such as salary freezes.
August 10, 2010 10 Aug'10
Bell Micro brand to be history by October

Avnet Technology Solutions has put a timetable in place to axe the Bell brand and have all front office staff in place by the end of next month.
August 09, 2010 09 Aug'10
Azlan Avaya push to be lead by ex-Opal man

Azlan has revealed itself as the latest distributor to take on Avaya's full line-up in the UK, and is adding former Opal distribution head and Avaya SMB boss Graham Bunting as Avaya Business Leader.
August 09, 2010 09 Aug'10
IT workers want proft sharing schemes

Over 50% of British IT workers believe their productivity would be enhanced if they were given the option to share in profits or take ownership stakes in their companies.
August 09, 2010 09 Aug'10
UK banks seek to deflect complaints over business loans

The UK's big six banks have established a taskforce to look at the issue of providing finance to businesses even though they continue to claim companies have become less willing to seek loans.
August 05, 2010 05 Aug'10
Fears UK will fall behind as pupils shun uninspiring ICT and Computing courses

Many of the pioneers of the IT industry and channel did not have an IT qualification and it's beginning to look as if the same will be true for future generations unless there's a dramatic improvement in ICT and Computer Science courses in schools.
August 04, 2010 04 Aug'10
Former Basilica boss Gorringe joins board at Vohkus

Former Basilica and BT Engage IT boss Nick Gorringe is returning to the industry as non-executive director at south coast-based reseller Vohkus.
August 03, 2010 03 Aug'10
Westcon promotes new Europe SVP

Network, convergence and security distie Westcon has promoted David Grant (pictured) the former CEO of Telco distributor Crane to fill the role of senior vice president of Europe. Westcon acquired Crane in 2007, and Grant remained with Westcon's ...
August 02, 2010 02 Aug'10
Public sector cuts fail to rattle overall IT jobs market

The rate of increase in advertising for the overall IT jobs market in the second quarter was the fastest for three years, despite a 21% decline in public sector job postings.
August 02, 2010 02 Aug'10
IT resellers see growth in non-computing

The IT market has seen a challenging 12 months, with many of its segments being unpredictable, volatile and tough to get to grips with. In short, sales have been slow and there are few who would disagree with this sentiment.
July 29, 2010 29 Jul'10
Industry urges government to clarify IT reform agenda

The industry has broadly backed the Cabinet Office Structural Reform Plan but feels greater clarity of some seemingly contradictory policies is needed, according to Tech Market View (TMV).
July 27, 2010 27 Jul'10
Tech M&A activity continues to recover

The level of mergers and acquisitions activity in the tech market has been in recovery for three quarters after hitting a low point last year at the height of the recession.
July 21, 2010 21 Jul'10
Clash over future strategy leads to boardroom exits at Avisen

There have been a number of board room changes at Avisen with executive chairman Ian Smith and chief operating officer Anthony Waver standing down due to disagreement over future direction.
July 20, 2010 20 Jul'10
Distribution numbers involved in IT transactions drop

The number of distributors being used as part of the IT supply chain is in decline as resellers look to consolidate the suppliers they work with.
July 19, 2010 19 Jul'10
Welch rocks up at Azlan to lead product marketing

Azlan has tempted Simon Welch out of a brief retirement with the offer of becoming its product marketing director.
July 19, 2010 19 Jul'10
June business failure rate rises in Scotland

Evidence of a growing disparity between north and south has emerged in the latest business insolvency figures from financial services house Experian.
July 12, 2010 12 Jul'10
E-commerce failures leave business owners guessing

The lack of visibility of web failures and errors is causing major problems for those running e-commerce operations. The consequences of web sites failing are not just lost revenue but lost loyalty from users that can easily head off to other ...
July 09, 2010 09 Jul'10
Customer relationship management benefits for SMEs

Every big business was a small business once. Therefore, selling to the present-day minnows will put you in pole position for selling to tomorrow's whales. They won't all make that leap - some won't want to - but the next generation of big beasts is...
July 09, 2010 09 Jul'10
European tech market M&A activity buoyant

The value of mergers and acquisitions in the tech sector continue to rise providing yet another indicator, along with increasing employment that the market is in recovery.
July 08, 2010 08 Jul'10
Web developers in demand as IT jobs continue recovery

The recovery in the IT jobs market continues with .net skills the most in demand as both permanent and temporary positions carry on climbing back to pre-recessionary levels.
July 07, 2010 07 Jul'10
Watt and Toal take top European roles in post merger Avnet

Avnet Technology Solutions has handed the top jobs in Europe and the UK to Bell Microproducts senior staffers Graeme Watt and John Toal after completing the acquisition.
July 06, 2010 06 Jul'10
UK distributors warned to be on guard against Euro fraudsters

European distributors are warning their UK counterparts to be on the lookout for fraudsters that have swept the continent targeting channel players.
July 02, 2010 02 Jul'10
Government launches campaign to free business from red tape

The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has started his campaign to cut business red tape courting the public to find out which rules they would like to see axed.
July 02, 2010 02 Jul'10
Analysis: The new normal in the credit world

When Cisco called together the main executives in its Capital business to talk about the current state of credit the resulting conversation showed the situation seems to have changed fundamentally since the start of the recession.
June 29, 2010 29 Jun'10
SME confidence takes a dip

Confidence in the economy is a precious commodity which has taking a beating since the election and the aftermath with the focus on cuts and austerity.
June 21, 2010 21 Jun'10
With BT walkout nearing CBI calls for changes to strike rules

As BT staff are balloted on industrial action there have been calls from the CBI to change the rules around strikes to make it harder for unions to get the backing for a walk out.
June 17, 2010 17 Jun'10
HMRC gets aggressive over small biz debt collection

The financial pressure on cash strapped SMEs is set to intensify with HMRC adopting a more aggressive policy on debt collection and the Government potentially ending the 'Time to Pay' tax deferral scheme next week.
June 16, 2010 16 Jun'10
Ingram Micro COO resigns

Ingram Micro president and chief operating officer Alain Monie is to stand down in August to take hold of the reins at a multi-national corporate based in Asia. Monie joined the broad line distributor in 2003 as executive vice president and a year ...
June 15, 2010 15 Jun'10
Technology leaned on as firms look for post-recession strategy

Technology is playing a fundamental role helping firms climb out of the recession as the long heralded arrival of using IT in a strategic sense is embraced by boardrooms up and down the country.
June 11, 2010 11 Jun'10
SMEs up for watching the World Cup

With the opening match of the World Cup just hours away the indications are that majority of small businesses will allow staff to watch the competition rather than to clamp down on viewing in office hours.
June 11, 2010 11 Jun'10
Analysis: Time for the supply chain to improve for workers

The question of how people are treated throughout the supply chain is one that is edging closer to being a significant issue as the developments with Foxconn's Shenzhen factory illustrate.