News

Unified Communications (UC) Services

• October 06, 2020 06 Oct'20

  Sabio adds more CX muscle with Anana

  Customer experience specialist Sabio makes its fourth acquisition this year as it continues to back its ambition to become a major European player in the CX market

• October 05, 2020 05 Oct'20

  Virgin Media Wholesale shows commitment to the channel

  The decision by Virgin to establish its wholesale business shows positive signs of its belief that it can grow with partners

• October 02, 2020 02 Oct'20

  Pandemic sparks revenue climbs in unified comms and collaboration

  IDC has shared its views of what happened in the market in the second quarter, with the shift to home working having a clear impact on demand

• September 15, 2020 15 Sep'20

  Maintel progresses with cloud and managed services transformation

  Channel player releases H1 numbers that show impact of Covid-19 but also reveal progress made in changing revenue sources

• September 08, 2020 08 Sep'20

  Avaya extends channel coverage with Telarus

  Comms player builds on existing relationship with North American master agent to work with the channel player to reach resellers in the UK

• September 03, 2020 03 Sep'20

  Ricoh adds AV expertise with German partner acquisition

  Vendor continues with its policy of buying expertise in a bid to enhance its AV and collaboration offering across Europe

• August 13, 2020 13 Aug'20

  Jackson marks anniversary at 8x8 with solid channel progress

  8x8’s EMEA channel boss, Keith Jackson, has spent his first 12 months building a channel base to use as a platform for future growth

• July 30, 2020 30 Jul'20

  RingCentral sings praises of master agency model

  Cloud comms player is the latest to voice support of an approach that is starting to gain more ground in the UK

• July 29, 2020 29 Jul'20

  Channel eyes opportunities around hybrid working

  There is a fresh two-word contender to challenge digital transformation for dominance in every channel conversation

• July 07, 2020 07 Jul'20

  Nuvias ushers in XaaS division Konekt

  Distributor Nuvias develops standalone unit focusing on cloud and anything-as-a-service options

• July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20

  Resellers overcoming resistance to agent model

  Avaya has seen its channel partners change their position on the master agent model as the vendor has led more of them through the process

• July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20

  Channel key to driving Avaya’s UCaaS offering

  Comms player cuts the ribbon on its unified comms-as-a-service product with the channel front and centre of its plans

• June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20

  Nuvias adds collaboration options with Zoom

  Distributor Nuvia is given master agent status by video comms platform player Zoom as both look to grow the business via the channel

• June 26, 2020 26 Jun'20

  ISDN switch-off and 5G are clear opportunities for BT channel

  Comms specialist has seen a response from customers to the lockdown, with many reaching out for higher-speed digital solutions

• June 17, 2020 17 Jun'20

  Westcon named ‘master agent’ for Avaya UCaaS offering

  Westcon will help take Avaya’s first joint offering with RingCentral to the channel in Europe

• June 08, 2020 08 Jun'20

  Avaya readying channel for latest UCaaS offering

  Comms player is working towards an end-of-month launch of its Cloud Office product, with current efforts focused on readying the channel for its release

• April 30, 2020 30 Apr'20

  Olive Communications steps up support for Teams

  Comms specialist is making its suite of services available to firms looking for help in adding more flexibility to their existing infrastructure

• April 02, 2020 02 Apr'20

  Vonage EMEA channel boss on a growth mission

  The recently appointed channel leader for EMEA at cloud communications specialist Vonage shares his plans for the rest of 2020

• February 11, 2020 11 Feb'20

  Avaya ‘all-in’ with growth plans

  Avaya CEO outlines investment plans in cloud and says it “won’t be shaken easily”

• February 10, 2020 10 Feb'20

  Maintel boss confident of transforming the business

  After a few months in the hot seat, Ioan MacRae believes channel player Maintel has the weapons in its armoury to drive future growth

• February 06, 2020 06 Feb'20

  Avaya kicks off partner recruitment for UCaaS launch

  Avaya previews first unified communications-as-a-service product Cloud Office following partnership with RingCentral

• January 22, 2020 22 Jan'20

  Avaya appoints former channel boss to UK&I MD role

  The comms specialist has turned to its former European channel chief to help continue its drive into the cloud

• January 13, 2020 13 Jan'20

  Ingram Micro Cloud and Cloud Distribution both enjoy strong 2019

  Distributors Ingram Micro Cloud and Cloud Distribution share details on how they fared on the revenue front in 2019, with it proving to be a positive time for the big players

• January 07, 2020 07 Jan'20

  Wavenet snaps up Microsoft Teams player VIA

  Deal has been struck in a move by Wavenet to increase the expertise it can offer around Teams

• January 03, 2020 03 Jan'20

  Enghouse Systems strengthens software side with Dialogic buy

  The unified comms specialist will have more tools to offer partners after it seals a deal to pick up Dialogic

• December 23, 2019 23 Dec'19

  Motherhood is the necessity of invention, says Mellanox channel boss

  Mellanox vice-president Yael Asseraf Shenhav talks about how her employer has enabled her to thrive in a male-dominated industry and sheds light on how we can all better manage our time

• December 03, 2019 03 Dec'19

  CounterPath preparing for UCC battle in SME space

  The unified comms specialist is competing in a crowded SME market and the expectation is that customer segment will continue to be fought over

• November 14, 2019 14 Nov'19

  Customer experience driving collaboration investments

  Improving customer experience is one of the main factors behind the decision by users to invest in unified comms and collaboration tools

• November 13, 2019 13 Nov'19

  Microsoft channel needs to be talking about Business Voice

  A perfect storm of market conditions are making it the right time for partners to approach customers about their unified comms and collaboration plans

• October 04, 2019 04 Oct'19

  Counterpath ramping up channel efforts to get UCC to SME base

  Unified comms player has identified the channel as the best route to a small business customer base that is currently missing out on the benefits of UCC

• October 03, 2019 03 Oct'19

  Telstra looking for channel growth after turning purple

  The recent launch of Telstra Purple will give the comms specialist the opportunity to provide the channel with more support

• September 20, 2019 20 Sep'19

  Lifesize outlines channel commitment

  Lifesize talks channel investment after breaking through the $100 million mark in bookings

• September 12, 2019 12 Sep'19

  LogMeIn looking for channel to support UCC suite

  Firm is looking to get partners behind its latest product releases as it increases the focus its on comms and collaboration suite

• September 03, 2019 03 Sep'19

  Olive Communications talks of growth after solid fiscal year

  Comms specialist has seen its cloud and managed services business improve over the last fiscal year

• August 09, 2019 09 Aug'19

  Olive CTO talks 5G and the importance of providing a good customer experience

  Recently appointed CTO is looking to help the mobile and cloud player build on its legacy and support more global customers

• July 03, 2019 03 Jul'19

  Connect Managed Services and G3 Comms merge

  Customer Experience and Unified Comms players bought together to form a £55m revenue business

• June 13, 2019 13 Jun'19

  Modular channel approach working at Avaya

  The unified comms specialist has seen the channel engage with its blocks approach with many getting behind numerous specialisations

• June 06, 2019 06 Jun'19

  Goodbye Daisy Partner Services and hello Allvotec

  Daisy Partner Services is to be rebranded and given more independence as voice and data specialist Allvotec

• June 03, 2019 03 Jun'19

  GCI beefs up Microsoft skills with Modality buy

  The firm has made its first acquisition since it gained access to a sizable M&A war chest last May

• June 03, 2019 03 Jun'19

  Second suitor emerges for KCOM

  With a couple of days to go before the first offer got rubber stamped a higher value bid has come in for the telco specialist

• May 15, 2019 15 May'19

  Oncore IT and Node4 hit the acquisition trail

  Both firms bolster their activities through purchases that will deliver unified comms for Oncore IT and SaaS skills for Node4

• May 02, 2019 02 May'19

  Twilio aiming to build channel momentum

  Comms specialist has been on a partner recruitment drive and is looking to keep its indirect business moving forward over the course of this year

• March 25, 2019 25 Mar'19

  Apiary Capital takes majority stake in G3 Comms

  Private equity firm makes investment that should fuel further organic growth and possible acquisitions at comms and networking player

• March 14, 2019 14 Mar'19

  Mitel points partners in the direction of the UCaaS opportunity

  Strong demand for greater mobility and flexibility is fueling a growth in the unified comms as a service market

• March 06, 2019 06 Mar'19

  Olive Communications sets sights on global expansion

  The communications firm has taken steps to increase its global coverage with an operation in Australia

• February 11, 2019 11 Feb'19

  Firstcom Europe expands UK footprint with Telesis buy

  The cloud comms player has ambitions to increase revenues and is using acquisition as one of the ways of getting there

• January 09, 2019 09 Jan'19

  Arrow Business Communications strengthens position in Scotland

  Comms player makes third purchase north of the border to extend country coverage

• December 03, 2018 03 Dec'18

  Sabio looks East for latest acquisition

  Customer experience player makes a second purchase this year adding both technology and a wider geographical footprint

• November 27, 2018 27 Nov'18

  Challenging enterprise market conditions hit KCOM H1 numbers

  The comms specialist has updated the markets on the progress of its first half with the enterprise side of the business showing weakness

• November 20, 2018 20 Nov'18

  RingCentral lands shots in cloud battle

  RingCentral CEO declares on-premise UC technology “dead” with customers forcing partners’ hands on cloud

• November 06, 2018 06 Nov'18

  SCC deepens comms offering with avsnet investment

  Significant investment in comms and collaboration player will form the bulk of SCC approach to that market opportunity

• October 02, 2018 02 Oct'18

  Gamma extends European reach with Dean One buy

  Comms specialist's approach to the channel cited as one of the reasons the tie-up was made

• September 06, 2018 06 Sep'18

  Wavenet adds UC muscle with Solar Communications buy

  As the last days of summer come to an end there has still been time for Wavenet to add to what has been a long list of deals struck over the last few weeks

• August 22, 2018 22 Aug'18

  Peach and Getronics add to summer of consolidation

  Peach IT and Getronics have both struck acquisitions adding to a growing list of deals that have been made over the last few weeks

• August 07, 2018 07 Aug'18

  Elite Group talks acquisitions after securing refinancing

  The unified comms specialist is looking to expand the business further after getting more backing from Lloyds

• July 17, 2018 17 Jul'18

  Mitel appoints Westcon-Comstor as part of go-to-market review

  The comms firm has been reviewing its go-to-market strategy for the past few months and concluded that a pan-international distributor would make a good addition to the partner roster

• July 11, 2018 11 Jul'18

  Vodafone pointing partners towards IoT and 5G opportunities

  The comms firm has been getting its channel ready for the next wave of innovation

• June 27, 2018 27 Jun'18

  Time for the data channel to add voice to the mix

  With the technology shifting to the cloud and the days of expensive PBX boxes coming to an end the opportunities for the IT channel are expanding

• May 11, 2018 11 May'18

  Huawei thanks partners for UK growth

  The firm has thanked its channel base for helping it gain more share in important vertical markets

• April 25, 2018 25 Apr'18

  Mitel channel should enjoy flexibility and pace after vendor goes private

  With Mitel looking to accept an offer that would take it private the message for the channel is that it's business as usual but there is the prospect of something even better coming after the deal closes

• April 24, 2018 24 Apr'18

  Mitel looking at life as a private entity

  The unified comms player has accepted an offer that would see it go into private hands

• March 07, 2018 07 Mar'18

  Mitel lines up unified global partner programme

  The final part of Mitel's intregration of ShoreTel is to combine the partner programme into a single offering

• February 19, 2018 19 Feb'18

  Nuvias extends Cisco UC support

  The distributor has built on its relationship with the recently acquired UC as a service player BroadSoft

• February 02, 2018 02 Feb'18

  Vodafone highlights the UC opportunities

  Vodafone's UK channel chief has provided a progress report one year on from rolling out its partner programme

• January 30, 2018 30 Jan'18

  Connect Managed Services makes double acquisition

  The firm has struck two deals on both sides of the Atlantic as it looks to bolster its portfolio and customer base

• January 18, 2018 18 Jan'18

  Elitetele.com acquires engineering partner

  Telephony player makes its first acquisition of the year indicating that there could be more to come

• January 15, 2018 15 Jan'18

  Education still needed around ISDN switch off

  A lot of energy is going into GDPR but once that deadline has passed another big one for the channel and customers to think about is the ISDN switch off

• January 12, 2018 12 Jan'18

  Founder of Nimans passes away

  Julian Niman has been found dead at his home in Manchester

• January 11, 2018 11 Jan'18

  Channel key to future Avaya plans

  With its shares going onto the New York Stock Exchange next week the firm has outlined some of its growth plans, with the channel very much part of the future

• January 09, 2018 09 Jan'18

  Former Cisco channel man Roberts pitches up at Mitel

  Mitel has made a major channel appointment as it looks to crank up sales of its unified comms products

• December 05, 2017 05 Dec'17

  Elitetele.com sets up acquisitions team to support growth ambitions

  Unified comms player sets aside millions to fund the next wave of acquisitions to keep the double digit revenue growth coming

• November 13, 2017 13 Nov'17

  Avaya updates partners on Chapter 11 progress

  Vendor uses partner council event in Southern France to provide details to partners of its turnaround plans

• September 05, 2017 05 Sep'17

  Microsoft gives Westcon-Comstor Surface Hub distribution role

  Microsoft has extended its UK distribution network for its large format Surface Hub collaboration tool

• September 05, 2017 05 Sep'17

  Solar adds UC expertise with TWL buy

  Solar Communications has added Welsh firm TWL to the fold as it looks to increase its ability to deliver Unified Communications as a Service

• August 17, 2017 17 Aug'17

  Nimans brings former Azlan Tech Data MD on board

  The distributor has appointed an industry veteran to navigate its relationships with its major accounts

• August 02, 2017 02 Aug'17

  Maintel expands offering with Intrinsic acquisition

  Maintel hit the headlines last year for the Azzurri deal and has been busy again picking up Intrinsic

• July 31, 2017 31 Jul'17

  Shoretel acquisition provides a chance to review Mitel partner activities

  Mitel is going to use the acquisition of Shoretel as an opportunity to revise its partner programme and review its channel strategy

• June 19, 2017 19 Jun'17

  Networking and UC channel starting to line up behind SD-WAN

  The opportunity for SD-WAN is appealing to more than one type of partner according to the experiences of Talari Networks

• April 12, 2017 12 Apr'17

  Nuvias rolls UC practice out across EMEA

  Nuvias has started to lean on the UC expertise it acquired with SIPHON and roll out a practice across EMEA

• March 21, 2017 21 Mar'17

  Maintel gets Azzurri revenue boost

  The acquisition of Azzurri has delivered real benefits to managed service player Maintel's financial performance

• March 07, 2017 07 Mar'17

  Avaya turns the focus on moving mid-market customers to the cloud

  The "Powered by Avaya" campaign aims at working with the channel to get more mid-market customers to move to the cloud

• February 14, 2017 14 Feb'17

  Westcon, Enghouse and TalkTalk Business signal UC growth

  The number of industry players pointing to the UC market as one that is fertile ground for resellers continues to rise

• February 13, 2017 13 Feb'17

  Nimans rolls out IP support for resellers

  Comms specialist Nimans is hoping its latest support offering will help resellers gain more UC sales

• January 20, 2017 20 Jan'17

  Channel left sweating as Avaya files for Chapter 11

  Plenty of channel names are owed money as unified comms specialist Avaya files for Chapter 11 protection in the US

• January 04, 2017 04 Jan'17

  GCI adds UC to the managed services mix with Freedom Communications buy

  GCI has started the year much as it carried out the last one with an acquisition to extend the options it can deliver to customers

• December 20, 2016 20 Dec'16

  Vodafone accredits over 100 partners in the channel programme

  Vodafone's new partner programme places emphasis on training and service excellence

• October 04, 2016 04 Oct'16

  Nuvias snaps up Siphon to gain UC expertise

  The Nuvias Group continues to add distributors to its roster to widen its technology coverage

• September 21, 2016 21 Sep'16

  Legacy and price arguments must be overcome for UC to flourish

  The channel needs to push harder against price and sweating asset arguments to get more customers to adopt UC

• September 21, 2016 21 Sep'16

  SMEs reaching out to channel for digital workplace help

  HPE Aruba has quizzed SMEs across Europe and found that although many want to get a digital workplace they need the channel to help them get there

• September 13, 2016 13 Sep'16

  3CX hoping for BT channel boost

  The relationship between software-based PBX player 3CX and BT should lead to more opportunities for those resellers selling comms

• September 06, 2016 06 Sep'16

  CIF increases cloud training for channel sales staff

  The Cloud Industry Forum has rolled out its latest online training designed to arm channel sales staff with more skills

• August 02, 2016 02 Aug'16

  UC player sipsynergy looks for growth with channel names

  UC player sipsynergy looks for growth with channel names

• July 18, 2016 18 Jul'16

  Daisy warns that digital transformation isn't going to just happen

  Firms might be aware of the need to get involved with digital transformation projects but for many not a great deal is happening as they struggle with various challenges

• May 12, 2016 12 May'16

  Avnet launches Industrial IoT starter kit

  It's not very often you hear distributor and Internet of Things in the same sentence; but Avnet is looking to change that with the launch of a new IoT starter kit

• May 12, 2016 12 May'16

  Nimans opens up internal training

  Nimans has given resellers the chance to go through the same training it provides in-house to its own staff

• April 19, 2016 19 Apr'16

  Flexible working and mergers driving UC investment

  The demand for UC and collaboration tools is being driven by market conditions that resellers need to watch out for

• April 04, 2016 04 Apr'16

  Digital transformation driving UC and security opportunities

  Microsoft's CEO might have spent the afternoon talking about digital transformation but he is not alone as the channel looks to make revenue out of the buzz phrase

• March 23, 2016 23 Mar'16

  KCOM looks for growth under a single brand

  KCOM has pulled all of its operations into a single brand as it looks to maximise its chances of growth

• March 10, 2016 10 Mar'16

  Microsoft announces UK roll out of PBX functionality

  Cloud PBX will allow organisations to purchase PSTN calling services directly from Microsoft, cutting telcos and channel partners out of the picture

• February 03, 2016 03 Feb'16

  ShoreTel taking out cloud message to existing base

  ShoreTel has identified plenty of its existing customers that want help from the channel in making a move towards the cloud