Opinion

Opinion

Channel Business Management

• Get some protection

  Small businesses need to do more to protect and exploit their innovations, according to research published by the Intellectual Property Office.  Continue Reading

• Is Blinkbox about to move to a tax haven?

  Tesco has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in video-on-demand pioneer  Continue Reading

• New tax penalties

  A new penalty regime for late filing and late payment of Income Tax through Self-Assessment started in April and a tax return filed six months late could attract a penalty of at least £1,300.  Continue Reading

• Crackdown on drink and drug driving

  A package of measures to tackle drink and drug driving has been announced by the Government. Drivers need to know that improved testing equipment to detect drink and drug drivers is to be bought and changes will be made to "streamline" enforcement ...  Continue Reading

• Mobile marketing has terrible tacky associations

  This is just in from Velti, which says it's supplying one of the UK's largest newspaper publishers with mobile marketing services and campaigns. It will do this by integrating its mobile CRM platform across Johnston's 18 daily newspapers, 253 weekly...  Continue Reading

• Screen saver blues for Dixons: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (13)

  A Scope staffer was taking a wander around the Dixons in Heathrow Airport back in 2002, marveling at all the wonderful electronic gadgets for sale. Settling his gaze on a laptop, our man's eyes were drawn to the screen saver message scrolling across...  Continue Reading

• Email marketing doesn't have to be cheesey, but it does have to work, says Message Horizon

  We asked: Is Email marketing too cheesy? We got a massive response.  Continue Reading

• Keep details up-to-date with HMRC's free electronic service

  HM Revenue & Customs are quite keen to tell taxpayers that notification of changes to their circumstances can be made any time of the day or night, 365 days a year, with its electronic change of circumstances service. If taxpayers have moved...  Continue Reading

• Angels swoon over Roll's sausage role play: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (11)

  Back in 1995, then Microsoft Office product manager Oliver Roll was making a presentation to top executives at London temping agency Office Angels.  Continue Reading

• Times were hard back then: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (10)

  If you think times are tough now in the computing industry, you should have seen it in the early days.  Continue Reading

• Debt collection guidance

  The OFT has launched a 12-week consultation on its updated Debt Collection Guidance. The new guidance will confirm that it applies to all businesses involved in debt recovery, including creditors as well as debt collectors and purchasers, lenders, ...  Continue Reading

• A nasty blow in foreign climes: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (8)

  A foreign junket paid for by a favourite vendor was always a welcome diversion for hard-working resellers back in the 90s. It still is, even now, but such trips are far fewer than they used to be.  Continue Reading

• Is email marketing too cheesey these days? Or does it work?

  Below is a typical example of modern email marketing. This column asks: is email marketing outdated? Does email marketing actually work these days? Isn't it too intrusive? Does it work? Could email marketing help you sell your cloud computing ...  Continue Reading

• When the wheels fall off a presentation: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (6)

  MicroScope has featured a number of cautionary tales over the years concerning customer presentations. There was the instance of the belt and braces IT salesman who went to the loo just before making a presentation to a bunch of customers.  Continue Reading

• Never knowingly refused?

  John Lewis, the retailer, is to introduce a policy which will go well beyond any legal obligation to please consumers.  Continue Reading

• The name's the thing: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (5)

  Over the years, MicroScope has found that company names (and product names for that matter) can be problematic.  Continue Reading

• When IT was a world of sex and alcohol: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (4)

  People like to say the Germans have no sense of humour, but Soap has recorded proof to the contrary. Back in 1987, microcomputer manufacturer Altos Computer Systems (remember Altos?) sent a telex (remember them?) to its German operation asking for a...  Continue Reading

• Mr Bean's Unisys Drop Box: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (3)

  When it comes to demonstrating a product's capabilities, nothing can beat showing people something working right in front of their eyes instead of relying on presenting it on a slide or a video.  Continue Reading

• Misleading Advertising - don't

  The UK's consumer protection legislation has been beefed up in recent years, most notably with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) which bans unfair commercial practices.  Continue Reading

• Telecoms are out of control, scream ICT managers

  Telecoms: you can't live without them, but you can cut your bills quite easily. Or maybe you can't, if you're a dim-bulb IT manager. Seven out of ten IT and Telecoms managers think their telecoms cost are out of control says a new report by MDS. ...  Continue Reading

• When the supplies run dry: 28 years of MicroScope funnies (2)

  People in the channel can be pretty sharp and quick-witted when they want to be. This story, from 1995, is a perfect example: Back in the days when Compaq was battling with Dell to be the largest PC supplier in the world, the company found itself ...  Continue Reading

• Sniping the snoopers

  BusinessMan posted on 3 March that following a Press Complaints Commission case involving Twitter users should not expect to have any privacy when it comes to social media postings.  Continue Reading

• Employees must be reasonable

  A recent case illustrates that employees must be reasonable when it comes to settlement offers. Mr Rondeau brought a claim against his former employer, G4S, for discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.  Continue Reading

• Making a mountain where there might not be a mole

  Have you heard about the Google mole in Twitter? There's a load of stories about it. A quick search on Google News today (8 April) brought up 15 versions of the story.  Continue Reading

• Cookie Monster

  A new directive from Europe concerning the use of website cookies is set to take effect on 25 May says the Government. However, the Information Commissioner reckons that the law won't take effect until the autumn.  Continue Reading

• Top ten rainmakers in Cloud Computing

  The sun's been out for two consecutive days now. So it can't be long before there's a hosepipe ban. In recognition of this coming water crisis, here's a list of the top ten rainmakers in cloud computing.  Continue Reading

• Guarding trade marks

  Trademarks are jealously guarded by rights holders. The reason is simple - by letting trademark abuse occur the right to the mark (and the business) evaporates.  Continue Reading

• Forced resignation

  A tribunal, in the case of Patel v Matalan Retail Ltd, has found that an employee, who was 'forced' by his employer to resign, was unfairly dismissed. Mr. Patel attended a disciplinary hearing following two procedural staffing breaches, in the ...  Continue Reading

• Reasonable adjustments

  The Equality Act 2010 (Public Authorities and Consequential and Supplementary Amendments) Order 2011 will, from 6 April 2011, will address some of the drafting errors in the Equality Act 2010.  Continue Reading

• Some bribery might be OK after all

  Bribery is bad - we all know that. We also know that the Bribery Act was postponed - see BusinessMan February 23 - because of the delay by the Ministry of Justice in producing guidance in what are acceptable practices in the eyes of the law.  Continue Reading

• GoDaddy CEO under fire for shooting elephant

  We have all become wearingly familiar with the phrase "the elephant in the room", but Bob Parsons, CEO at domain and hosting provider GoDaddy has come up with a different take on it.  Continue Reading

• Resellers should operate as cloud computing aggregators, advises Quocirca analyst Clive Longbottom

  As a reseller you need to hold stock, you're hostage to the whims of a vendor and constantly getting credit crunched or screwed over on pricing. It'll be a lot less risky being a cloud computing service aggregator, says Quocirca analyst Clive Long ...  Continue Reading

• RIDDOR rules

  The Health and Safety Executive has opened a consultation on proposed changes to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995.  Continue Reading

• If the MacBook Pro is "the last notebook you'll ever need", what's the point of making any more?

  Apple hasn't been slow to trumpet the InfoWorld review for its latest MacBook Pro and it's not hard to see why when reviewer Tom Yager waxes so enthusiastically about it to the point where he states: "After more than two weeks of continuous testing,...  Continue Reading

• Facing stiff competition? Turn to the law

  There is a slight sense of irony about the moves made by Microsoft to challenge Google through the EU over its dominant position on search.  Continue Reading

• Dual discrimination banned

  The Government seems to be making cuts everywhere, and not just to budgets and spending. In a move mentioned in the Budget last week, rules that were to be introduced under the Equality Act 2010 have been culled.  Continue Reading

• Dixons profit warning: It's the economy stupid

  Is it really any surprise Dixons has announced profits for the year end in April will be at the lower end of analyst expectations?  Continue Reading

• New rules on audited accounts

  The Government has announced that it intends to allow small firms to be exempted from having to have independently audited accounts. The changes will come in via amendments to the Companies Act and will bring small company audit rules in line with ...  Continue Reading

• Linguists in war of words over Apple App store trademark claim

  Do you ever get the feeling some companies just have too much money for their own good? And that maybe they could be using it to better purpose than lining lawyers' pockets?  Continue Reading

• Get tooled up

  HMRC has launched an online resource called 'Basic PAYE Tools' to help employers run their payroll systems. The online presence is to replace HMRC's Employer CD-ROM.  Continue Reading

• Wheel clampers to get the (Denver) boot

  Ahead of a clamping ban, new government figures have shown private wheel clampers take up to £55m from drivers each year. But legislation due to come into force early next year will make clamping on private land a criminal offence.  Continue Reading

• "We're not a broadliner anymore," says C2000 boss. So what are you?

  Computer 2000 is not a generalist distributor. Has everybody got that? You at the back, did you hear it?  Continue Reading

• Citrix responds to European Commissioner's calls for cloud regulation

  European commissioner Neelie Kroes spoke out this week on interoperability and standards at the heart of the cloud computing agenda. Good grief. Is the European commissioner moving in on The Cloud? Surely, that's like being handed The Black Spot by ...  Continue Reading

• Samuel Ko on the questions you should ask before implementing cloud computing

  Samuel Ko, MD of CDNetworks (CDNW), maker of the Web Performance Suite , says cloud vendors are often so pleased with themselves for building an infrastructure that they forget the hard bit, integrating it with the customer's needs.  Continue Reading

• VAT in the Channel changes - just

  BusinessMan reported on the 17th March that the loophole that allows businesses in the Channel Islands to sell items valued under £18 VAT free, and therefore cheaper than businesses on the mainland can achieve, may well end soon.  Continue Reading

• Wearecloud looks for UK installation partners for its BIME cloud service

  Here's something different for the channel to gets its teeth into: Bime is an easy yet powerful service to connect and analyse data in any organisation - so its makers claim.  Continue Reading

• How companies should prepare for cloud computing

  Unshackling the desktop should be the first step to cloud computing, says David Angwin, Wyse Technology's marketing director. Desktop virtualisation provides a bridge to a 'true-cloud' world - but it's still 5-10 years away.  Continue Reading

• Three classic mistakes made by cloud computer users

  Mac Scott, a director at Xantus Consulting advises FTSE100 companies and large government departments about cloud computing. He's identified three classic traps organisations fall into. Seeing security through rose tinted glasses.  Continue Reading

• Cloud computing may not save you money - but here's why it's still worth it

  The cloud won't necessarily save you money, warns Ewen Anderson, managing director at consultancy Centralis whose partners include luminaries such as App DNA , AppSense , Citrix , Microsoft , VMware and Liquid ware Labs .  Continue Reading

• Small print or big consequences

  The Office of Fair Trading has warned businesses that consumer contracts must be clear and have no unwelcome surprises buried in the small print.  Continue Reading

• Miliband adds iPod insult to injure Osborne

  Labour leader Ed Miliband got in a good crack during his reply to George Osborne's budget speech today (23 March) when he compared the current situation to the last time the Tories were in power in the early 1990s.  Continue Reading

• A response to the Budget from SAP

  Today's Budget speech focused on reforming the nation's economy, ensuring jobs in the future and repairing Britain's finances.  Continue Reading

• Three things you probably didn't know about cloud computing

  Craig Wellman, director of business development, Azzurri Communications names the Three Things We Probably Don't Know about Cloud Computing: Large firms have the most to lose from cloud computing.  Continue Reading

• Doing the taxation Scam Scam

  Scammers just don't give up. Whether its Nigerian 419ers or good old phishing attacks we need to have our guard up.  Continue Reading

• Nintendo 3DS midnight launch: Is any gadget worth staying up for?

  The very very early hours, actually minutes, of Friday morning could turn out to be a mugger's paradise with the news that more than 1,200 stores are opening at one minute past midnight in the UK for the launch of Nintendo's 3DS game console.  Continue Reading

• Salesforce.com says it will beckon you into the cloud and mentor you

  Here's Eric Stahl, senior director of product marketing at Salesforce.com, on how his company will mentor you into the cloud with its channel strategy. Cloud computing is an exciting opportunity for resellers to grow their businesses around the ...  Continue Reading

• AMEX's corporate social responsibility message really is pulling up trees

  An unsolicited letter arrives in the post. As usual it's stuffed full of leaflets I never asked for, urging me to apply for the British Airways American Express card. I can't think of two organisations I need less at the moment.  Continue Reading

• Universal time off for training? Not quite

  The Time to Train regulations - as introduced by the last government - are not to be extended this April to employees of small and medium-sized businesses.  Continue Reading

• The iPad is child's play? It's even easier than that

  Saying something is 'child's play' is usually a sign that it is very easy to use but in the case of Apple's iPad, it looks as if the phrase needs to be amended to 'baby's play' judging by this video on YouTube of a two year old boy playing with the ...  Continue Reading

• HDS: cloud computing won't deliver without SIs

  We asked Francois Zimmermann, CTO at Hitachi Data Systems UK, to explain the role of the channel in the cloud.... He's made a better stab of it than most... A systems integrator could simplify the process of installing new systems and make them ...  Continue Reading

• Open sesame. Government to simplify ICT procurement

  The Government is to ensure that small firms and organisations are no longer shut out of its procurement processes because of "excessive bureaucracy and petty regulation". Further, procurement opportunities will be available for everyone to see, ...  Continue Reading

• On yer bike

  The Office of Tax Simplification, a Quango created by the Coalition Government last year to look into simplifying the tax regimes that business and citizens endure, has now presented its findings to the Chancellor. A formal response is expected in ...  Continue Reading

• VAT changes in the Channel

  The VAT rules that allow firms in the Channel Islands to undercut UK mainland rivals are looking like they're about to end.  Continue Reading

• Garden leave - can an employer dig itself out of a hole?

  When it comes to senior or key staff leaving it's often the case that employers will put the employee on 'garden leave' - they'll be paid during their notice period whilst being kept at home and away from the office, contacts and the business.  Continue Reading

• How press releases get bonged off - PR

  An email arrives in our in-box, explaining why and how [name withheld] is helping the channel make the transition from selling hardware and software to selling services.  Continue Reading

• Out of tune Zune player fades out

  Can it really be true? Will the Zune really be no more? Such are the rumours that Microsoft is preparing to pull the plug on its iPod killer a mere four years and four months after its launch. And yet, it all seemed so different back then.  Continue Reading

• Health and safety is not for the bored - it's for the board

  The recent successful prosecution of Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings in February should send shivers down the spine of any business where there is a risk of death in the workplace.  Continue Reading

• IT investment whether forecast - cloudy with a chance of pain

  John Appleby, CEO of cloud consultancy Saaspoint, the cloud opportunities are there for the taking In a sense, we are the channel! Saaspoint operates as a centre of excellence for developing AppExchange and Force.com applications.  Continue Reading

• Careful what you say, social networking isn't above the libel laws

  The Internet may represent a faster, more immediate method of communication and means of providing information but when it comes to the law it can be just as dangerous as print in a newspaper or careless words on the radio or TV.  Continue Reading

• Channel could make its fortune reselling the cloud, says Alvea

  Distributor Computerlinks says its Alvea cloud and managed services can be rebranded by resellers and sold as part of their own portfolio. Here David Ellis, its director of new technology and services, argues the case for white labelling the cloud.  Continue Reading

• Say it ain't so Joe! Calyx CTO says cloud computing is nothing more than a marketing campaign -

  Joe Mayhew CTO at medium sized managed service provider Calyx Group, says the cloud is an artificial construct. I think. What will Cloud Computing mean for the IT channel, Joe? The Cloud is nothing more than a marketing creation.  Continue Reading

• Cloud has a silver lining for the reseller, hints Clodagh Murphy at Eclipse

  Here's Clodagh Murphy, director of Eclipse Internet, answering your questions about the impact of the cloudburst that will soon engulf us all. What will Cloud Computing mean for the IT channel?  Continue Reading

• The reseller channel could be in big trouble when the IT industry clouds over

  Really Simple Systems (I like this company already, just by the sound of its name) doesn't deal with the channel. So it can afford to be brutally honest. The verdict of John Paterson (pictured) Really Simple Systems' CEO, could make uncomfortable ...  Continue Reading

• Trust the Government

  Today's posting is another revisiting of a recent topic. Hopefully readers will remember the story of 24 January that covered draft legislation that would have impacted - inadvertently and adversely - employee share schemes.  Continue Reading

• Styling tips for cool summer data centres

  It's going to be a barbeque summer. What better way to spend those sweltering summer afternoons than cooling off in a modish data centre?  Continue Reading

• DHL needs to sharpen up its act, if this email is anything to go by

  Here's an email that just came from DHL apparently. If this is a level of their professionalism, they should be a bit worried. Dear customer! The parcel was send your home address. And it will arrice within 7 bussness day. More information and the ...  Continue Reading

• iPad is a curse for Acer and a blessing for Dell

  Acer has reason to curse the iPad. Not long ago, the Taiwanese vendor was riding the crest of the netbook wave and its notebooks were making serious inroads into the consumer market. The strength of its consumer products helped propel Acer into ...  Continue Reading

• Rescuers still hopeful of reaching buried story caught in a perfect corporate jargon storm

  Six days after being submerged under a downpour of corporate jargon, rescuers still haven't given up hope of rescuing a vaguely interesting story.  Continue Reading

• d-d-d-data rules

  Last December this blog detailed the first fines handed out by the Information Commissioner for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act. Those fines may have been the first, but they clearly aren't to be the last.  Continue Reading

• HP chief plans WebOS on every machine but do users want it?

  HP CEO Apotheker is reported to have revealed plans to include the WebOS on every PC the vendor ships from 2012 onwards. Not that it's getting rid of Windows, you understand, but it will ship WebOs alongside the Microsoft product on every machine.  Continue Reading

• Will the Cloud create a suffocating atmosphere for resellers?

  In the age of IT as a utility, is the box standard reseller doomed? This is one of many questions that Cloud Computing raises for the IT reseller. What should they do? Get out and start retraining as estate agents or drug dealers? Move up the value ...  Continue Reading

• Generation Gmail

  A recent survey commissioned by email management company, Mimecast, has found that corporate email accounts are being shunned by those aged under 25 in favour of personal email accounts when it comes to the sending of business email.  Continue Reading

• Should employers leave staff to their own smart devices?

  Interesting story today about the failure of employers to come to terms with the way employees are connecting to corporate networks with their own mobile devices.  Continue Reading

• Need some R&D? Run a competition

  So many times a competition is actually a mechanism for a company to get a new logo, mission statement or campaign done on the cheap.  Continue Reading

• Retirement comes closer

  Further to a posting on Business Man on 29 November, the Government has now published the draft form of the Employment Equality (Repeal of Retirement Age Provisions) Regulations 2011.  Continue Reading

• Email can be binding

  Can a contract be formed by email? Yes is the simple answer. In a 2010 case involving Prestige Homes v Neal, the Court of Appeal decided, amongst things, that an agreement made by email can become binding.  Continue Reading

• Chips every night as Brits turn to PC dinners

  It looks as if research conducted by video on demand service SeeSaw may have helped coin a new term for the 21st century.  Continue Reading

• Secondhand love

  Can a user of purchased software resell their licence (and hand over the software) to a third party? That's a question that a German court has asked the European Court of Justice to consider.  Continue Reading

• Deloitte's fantastic new crisis management application - a phone!

  Deloitte, the business advisory firm, has developed a new system to help businesses handle disasters and crises. It's called Bamboo. It's a Smartphone. So where there's a crisis, you whip out your 'phone' and get help. Good grief! Whatever will they...  Continue Reading

• Balloon stunt for new game leaves THQ red faced

  More from the inexhaustible supply of idiotic publicity stunts by IT companies: game developer THQ has landed in hot water San Francisco Bay water with a harebrained stunt to promote its latest masterwork.  Continue Reading

• Employees are protected

  The Transfer of Undertakings for the Protection of Employment - TUPE - protects employees and their employment when they transfer between businesses. When businesses are trading normally, employees are thought of as being protected.  Continue Reading

• Be anti-social and stay private

  Social media - Twitter, Facebook and the like - have a lot to answer for. Divorce, terrorist threats and dismissals are all well known consequences of poorly judged postings. Indeed, the biggest mistake that many users make is to assume that posts ...  Continue Reading

• Apple to Microsoft: if you can trademark Windows, we can trademark App Store

  The latest development in the Microsoft v Apple court case over Apple's attempt to trademark the phrase "App Store" is a case of the biter bit.  Continue Reading

• Don't bank on the Ombudsman

  Banks are often a law unto themselves. However, customers - both personal and commercial - can seek redress via the Financial Ombudsman Service.  Continue Reading

• Money can't buy you love, but it can buy you a channel

  Xerox has a very simple strategy when it comes to the channel. If the company decides it needs a particular presence in a country it doesn't get bogged down in appointing distributors and setting up partner accreditations, it just goes out and buys ...  Continue Reading

• Empty property - empty relief?

  Property owners liability for business rates on empty properties changed in 2008; previously limited to 50 per cent of the rates bill, the cap was increased to 100 per cent of the rates bill. A huge problem and expense for anyone with unlet property.  Continue Reading

• Oscar gives three 'Likes' to The Social Network but prefers the king

  Not such a good night for The Social Network at the Oscars after all. Despite all the buzz around Facebook and social media, a film about an extremely posh English bloke with a speech impediment set in England in the 1930s took the major honours ...  Continue Reading

• Postal service hit with new VAT regime

  Death and taxes. The two certainties in life according to US founding father Benjamin Franklin. Well not to disappoint, the Government has now added VAT to certain postal services as of 31 January.  Continue Reading

• Productivity's very human limitations

  Productivity is an unwieldy sounding word but it comes up a lot in IT speak, usually as a promise or an outcome. "Increased productivity" is the favourite - well, people are hardly likely to trumpet "decreased productivity" in their business.  Continue Reading

• Wholly and Exclusively

  The subject of business expenses and what can be claimed is an old chestnut that many businesses still make mistakes over. A recent case, Azam v HMRC, looks again at expenses incurred 'wholly and exclusively' for the purposes of the business.  Continue Reading