News
Salesforce Management
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June 22, 2011
22
Jun'11
Five minute interviews
Find out a little more about what makes some of your favourite channel folk tick with our probing interviews.
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June 07, 2011
07
Jun'11
C2000 names new sales, commercial directors
Computer 2000 has named Peter Hubbard, formerly of Dell, as its new sales director, and promoted David Watts to the role of commercial director.
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June 02, 2011
02
Jun'11
Cisco adds partner rebates to extended EasyLease scheme
Cisco's financing arm, Cisco Capital, is to extend its EasyLease low rate financing programme through to the end of July and added five year deals and up-front rebates to the scheme.
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June 02, 2011
02
Jun'11
Ingram Micro to offer £100K SMB credit limits
Broadline distributor Ingram Micro has announced a major expansion of its CreditBuilder + programme within the UK and will now offer credit facilities of up to £100,000 to SMB resellers over a 12 month period.
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May 31, 2011
31
May'11
Finance not seen as problem for optimistic mid-market
Smaller firms might still be struggling to get credit and blame the banks for keeping too tight a grip on the purse strings but in the mid-market there appears to be more optimism around the chances of getting finance.
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May 26, 2011
26
May'11
IT failure rates stable as health of SME sector improves
The number of IT firms hitting the wall has stabilised with the number of insolvencies last month dropping slightly year-on-year.
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May 24, 2011
24
May'11
RM unveils former Dell executive as chairman
Education specialist RM has announced a shuffling of its senior management just days before its current chairman retires.
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May 24, 2011
24
May'11
Banks failing to lend small firms the funds they promised
The banks are continuing to fail to provide credit for small businesses and are set to miss the targets they agreed with the government to start providing money to cash strapped firms.
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May 19, 2011
19
May'11
Growth fund unlikely to deliver for majority of channel
The impact of the government's business growth fund is expected to be minimal on smaller resellers as most would prefer to stick with traditional methods of getting access to finance.
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May 18, 2011
18
May'11
Softcat bucks public sector cuts with recruitment plan
Soft cat has announced plans to take on over 60 public sector specialists across its three UK locations by the end of 2012 to support ambitions to grow infrastructure and software sales into the public sector.
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May 18, 2011
18
May'11
Crawling social networks not the way for resellers to find staff
Resellers have been warned to avoid relying on social networks to find their next star sales person because of the effort involved in trawling through the thousands of potential candidates.
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May 13, 2011
13
May'11
M&A tech activity stabilises following strong Q1
The health in the tech mergers and acquisitions market across Europe continues to perform well up but has started to show signs of stabilisation after a very strong first quarter of recovery.
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May 11, 2011
11
May'11
Demand for IT jobs hits five year high
The demand for IT skilled staff is growing quicker than any other sector of the economy as customers look to recruit both permanent and temporary workers.
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May 11, 2011
11
May'11
In-depth: The chance for the channel to exploit bank holidays
When people look back at 2011 and think of April they will no doubt remember the Royal Wedding and the unusual summer like conditions enjoyed by most of the country.
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April 27, 2011
27
Apr'11
MicroScope ACEs postponed
The MicroScope Awards for Channel Excellence (ACEs) have been postponed and will no longer take place on 16 June. The decision to postpone the awards comes in the wake of a change of ownership to MicroScope after Reed Business Information sold the ...
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April 27, 2011
27
Apr'11
Resellers need to be freed from red tape to drive recovery
One leading SME business group has called for resellers to be freed from red tape if they are going to be able to help the economy grow.
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April 20, 2011
20
Apr'11
Skilled IT workers head abroad in hunt for better pay
Better quality jobs and better pay are causing IT workers to consider leaving the UK to head to other shores.
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April 07, 2011
07
Apr'11
Private sector might be home for government staff with IT skills
IT staff working in the public sector should have an easier time finding jobs in the private sector according to those in the recruitment industry.
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April 06, 2011
06
Apr'11
IT industry salaries rising as applicant numbers fall
A shift towards a candidate-driven IT jobs market has driven industry salaries up by 5% over the past 12 months, according to sector recruitment specialists CV Screen.
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April 01, 2011
01
Apr'11
Church rewarded with Integralis board promotion
The UK boss of Integralis has been rewarded for contributing heavily to helping the security specialist move back into the black with a promotion to the board.
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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 ...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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.
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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.
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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 ...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 ...
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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.
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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.
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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 ...
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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.
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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 ...
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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.
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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 ...
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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.
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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 ...
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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.
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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.
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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 ...
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 ...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 ...
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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 ...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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 ...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 ...
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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.
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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.
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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).