Channel Business Management

What’s in a name? Inside sales versus telesales

Inside sales seems much the same as telesales, only dressed up for the modern age. What's brought the change about and is it really so different from what we already know? Continue Reading

By

• Billy MacInnes

Q&A: Angela Whitty, managing director, UK&I partner organisation, Cisco

Cisco’s UK channel chief shares some views on the year ahead and the progress made in the 2019 financial year Continue Reading

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Another busy few days in the IT world with some more appointments being made across the industry Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

HPE supports as a service shift with partner programme enhancements

To support the ambition to offer as a service across the portfolio by 2022 HPE has started to make changes to its partner programme Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

MicroScope: The growing SD-WAN opportunity

After plenty of hype, software-defined wide-area networking is delivering revenues for the channel, but how are partners taking advantage of it? Also read about how to tackle the growing skills gap in the face of Brexit, and how businesses are supporting intelligent workspaces Continue Reading

Rivals offer alternative to UKFast staff after CEO steps down

Lawrence Jones has decided to step down amid allegations of sexual misconduct Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

What resellers want: Countering customer frustrations

Alex Tatham, managing director of Westcoast, discusses his conclusions from the results of the company’s recent survey Continue Reading

By

• Alex Tatham, Westcoast

Computacenter delivers solid third quarter

Computacenter has cheered investors with a decent Q3 just a week after fellow channel player Softcat did the same with its full year numbers Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Changing of the guard: Will technology leaders soon set business strategy?

IT must increasingly align with the business to keep up with modern customer demands, leading to a change of how the technology leadership role is performed Continue Reading

By

• Sean Farrington, Pluralsight

Retirement wave sparking mainframe skills crisis

LZLabs has found that in just a few years those with the skills at many firms to keep the mainframe lights on are planning to head off into retirement Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

NetSuite makes “largest ever” investment in channel

ERP software vendor outlines new partner programme Continue Reading

By

• Christine Horton

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

A brief guide to some of the appointments made across the industry in the past week Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Webroot putting the ground work in before 2020 programme launch

The security player's channel chief has been spending the months post the Carbonite acquisition getting a firm grip on its indirect business Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Skills issues holding back wider channel adoption of emerging tech

CompTIA takes the pulse of the UK channel and discovers more would like to be at the cutting edge but expertise is an issue Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

New Commvault channel chief promises partners greater stability

Mercer Rowe’s pledge of no more “knee-jerk reactions” welcomed by partners Continue Reading

By

• Christine Horton

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Another busy seven days with some more arrivals that have been hand picked for their abilities to bring growth Continue Reading

Forcepoint in a rush to make a channel difference

Security player is turbo-charging its efforts to put structures in place to work with partners Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Schneider Electric: Healthcare, manufacturing and education leading edge spend

Power management specialist works with Canalys to survey resellers around the opportunities and challenges customers are facing around edge computing Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Fresh image and roadmap “breathe new life” into Commvault

Commvault unveils new look and product strategy under CEO Sanjay Mirchandani Continue Reading

By

• Christine Horton

Digital transformation: How far are we really in the journey?

Are customers really in as much of a hurry to digitally transform as the shrillest advocates of the technology would like us to believe? Continue Reading

By

• Billy MacInnes

LzLabs moving to plug mainframe expertise gap

Pressure is mounting from various sides on those customers that are still using apps that are stuck on aging mainframes Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Nutanix reassures channel in transition to software company

Nutanix launches partners services programme and pushes OEM relationships Continue Reading

By

• Christine Horton

Webroot and Carbonite to re-launch channel programme in 2020

Webroot talks merging channel organisations following its acquisition by Carbonite in March Continue Reading

By

• Christine Horton

Nutanix announces back-end rebate increases

Vendor looks to get partner compensation “on a par” with competitors Continue Reading

By

• Christine Horton

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

The revolving doors in the industry have been spinning over the last week as some senior figures have chosen to step aside and some fresh blood has been sought elsewhere to help fuel growth Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Westcoast uncovers reseller thoughts about distribution

Channel player asks resellers what they think of distribution and finds there is work to do to support digital transformation ambitions Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

CompTIA: Channel must “learn new tricks” to keep customers

CompTIA CEO urges channel to explore emerging technologies or risk losing business Continue Reading

By

• Christine Horton

SD-WAN: How channel can make net gains

How prepared are channel partners to take advantage of the rapidly growing SD-WAN market? Continue Reading

By

• Billy MacInnes

Might be a while before someone orders from a reseller with Alexa

Personal assistants are gaining traction as yet another way customers can order services but concerns about data integrity are holding back widespread adoption Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Forcepoint using platinum and services to up consultancy levels

Security player is adding more depth to its channel programme with a couple of enhancements Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Another busy week in the industry and time for the channel to get familiar with a few fresh names Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

MicroScope: What’s next for the channel?

The fourth quarter is the busiest in the channel, so we talk to experts to ask what technologies should be selling strongly in the coming months. Also, discover whether vendor certifications are really worth it, and what Brexit could mean for the GDPR sales pitch Continue Reading

Westcoast and iland present a tale of two disties

Talking to just a couple of distributors reveals the evolution and determination from those firms to remain ahead of the market Continue Reading

By

• Nick Booth

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 Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Nuvias putting the emphasis on value

Distributor kicks off a campaign around adding value for resellers that will run for the next few months Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

HPE points distribution towards the growing as a service opportunity

Vendor is sitting down with distributors this week to talk about as a service, SMEs and its channel programmes Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Maintel turns to former Avaya boss to step into CEO shoes

It's only taken a few weeks for the managed services player to settle on its choice of who will be its next chief executive Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Another busy week for those working in HR departments, including one of those getting a fresh head, over the past week Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Veeam looking to get more partners to gold

Vendor is keeping the focus on skilling up its partner base and getting them to higher levels in its programme Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

WatchGuard focusing on verticals as MSP numbers swell

Security player has seen its managed service provider relationships grow since it reached out to that segment of the channel community Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Extreme Networks bringing Aerohive partners into unified programme

Plans to bring Aerohive partners into a unified programme are close to being made public by Extreme Networks Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup; Who's gone where?

Another busy few days with some of the great and the good in the industry getting a chance to make a fresh impression in senior roles Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Are accreditations and certifications channel essentials, or simply nice to have?

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ScanSource paints a picture of a digital future

Just weeks after it revealed plans to divest its hardware operation the firm has updated UK partners on the strategy Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Quest and SecureAuth look for growth through the channel

If you have ambitious targets to meet then there is no better way of cranking up the sales activity than deepening relationships with the channel Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel has to help customers with confidence crisis

Those trying to go through the IT buying process are struggling with too much information and trying to make sense of vendor marketing messages Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Agilitas chairman Kelly awarded OBE

Channel veteran is recognised for his efforts working in the ICT community in Wales Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Time for the weekly roundup of personnel moves across the industry with several senior roles being filled in the last seven days Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

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 Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Datto challenging MSP sales and marketing assumptions

Firm is using an event in London to challenge existing views of sales and marketing and provide advice for those looking to devise their own strategy Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Are accreditations and certifications channel essentials, or simply nice to have?

We investigate how important it is for channel businesses to gain industry and vendor certificates Continue Reading

By

• Billy MacInnes

Cyxtera building channel base

As the business evolves and becomes increasingly indirect the data and security player is keen to work with more resellers Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Time to skill up and deepen customer relationships

The fourth quarter is a key time on the sales front but there are other activities that resellers should engage in to get themselves in a stronger position come the year end Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Commercial PC growth better for channel than consumer PC growth

The commercial PC segment experienced a 15% sales increase in July, while consumer sales dropped by 2% – but that’s better than the other way round Continue Reading

By

• Billy MacInnes

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Plenty of movement in the industry this week as firm's look for experts that can help deliver growth Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Ivanti steps up channel investment

Firm makes a raft of improvements designed to increase partner support and increase indirect revenues Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

MicroScope: Helping digital transformation

Find out how the channel is helping customers to digitally transform their businesses to keep up with trends and plan for the future, and read about what changes could come about from the shift to business-led IT. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Asolvi set for further UK expansion after landing fresh investment backers

Nordic firm has already acquired three UK firms this year and looks like more will be on the agenda after it has a fresh majority investor on board Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

CenturyLink expands channel programme across EMEA

Firm is looking for resellers to sign up after it rolls out a major expansion in the area covered by its channel programme Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Users struggling to get hold of digital skills

Research has found that a lot of customers are not able to take advantage of the latest technology because they do not have the in-house expertise needed to adapt and adopt it Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Changes in personnel worth noting this week at Googe Cloud, Lexmark, AOC/MMD and Qualitest Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Tech Data CEO points to Q2 results as validation of strategy

Rich Hume is keen to move the firm to higher value solutions and viewed the second quarter results as a sign that the strategy is delivering Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

The channel moves continue to stack up regardless of the summer holidays Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Interview: Graeme Watt, CEO of Softcat

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How to help businesses reach their digital goals

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Control or shift – channel’s role in the move to business-led IT

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Channel advice: How to spend the holiday weeks

Staff might be coming and going topping up their tans but there is still plenty that the channel can do both internally and crucially externally with customers Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Cyber security and the channel

Leading lights in the industry give their assessment of where the cyber security market is headed in the second half of 2019 Continue Reading

How to help businesses reach their digital goals

With digital transformation a hot trend in IT right now, the channel’s ability to help organisations hit the sweet spot in this pursuit could attract a lot of attention from potential customers Continue Reading

By

• Billy MacInnes

Control or shift – channel’s role in the move to business-led IT

What impact could the shift to business-led IT have on channel partners’ role with customers and the relationships they have grown and developed within customer organisations? Continue Reading

By

• Billy MacInnes

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Another busy week as some senior appointments are made across the channel Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Digital transformation leadership a problem for users

NTT research has highlighted issues around the expertise of those leading digital transformation efforts and Kyocera has highlighted the need to concentrate on people as well as technology Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Higher margin business helps Insight in Q2

Channel player might have seen sales remain flat but the CEO is remaining confident about the prospects for the second half Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

CybSafe reaps the benefits of turning to the channel

The security firm has provided an update a year after it made its decision to go in-direct Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel taking steps to improve customer experience

CompTIA has found that resellers are starting to get on board with improving customer experience strategies to remain competitive Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Skilled staff key to delivering CDW strategy

Channel player's CEO opens up about the importance of having the staff to deliver its growth ambitions during a call discussing its Q2 results Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Computacenter provides investor cheer with H1 update

Channel player issues trading statement covering its first half revealing that the business is progressing well in fiscal 19 Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Cisco increasing channel digital marketing support

Vendor brings together various marketing initiatives under one umbrella to help the channel reach out to customers more effectively Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

A fresh channel face at Vodafone and a new boss at LogRhythm are just a couple of the highlights from the past week Continue Reading

Interview: Simon England, Nuvias CEO

With the first quarter of his tenure completed the boss of Nuvias shared his thoughts about his role leading the distributor Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Softcat ahead of expectations

Trading update from channel player indicates that its fiscal fourth quarter is going well Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Another seven days that have seen personnel movement across the channel Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Ethos Technology building on Pure signing

Distributor has landed a relationship with Pure Storage and is looking to build on that moment over the rest of 2019 Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Nadella: Trust has to be earned every day

Microsoft CEO uses Inspire keynote to cover the importance of building trusted relationships Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Commvault doubles partner rewards with Advantage Programme

Data management player increasing investment in supporting top partners with fresh channel programme Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Interview: Graeme Watt, CEO of Softcat

Softcat boss talk about office openings, organic growth and why he doesn't lie awake at night worrying about the future of the channel Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Microsoft climbs down over IUR changes

Vendor performs a U-turn in the face of mounting partner opposition over plans to cut back software licenses for internal use Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

IUR row overshadowing Microsoft Inspire

Vendor's honesty about the costs of providing partners with licenses dominating the Inspire build-up Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

The hybrid cloud and clearing technical debt

When done properly, hybrid infrastructure can deliver efficiency, cost savings and performance, but with so many options available, good advice from a channel partner is key to achieving these benefits Continue Reading

By

• Adrian Keward, Red Hat

What makes a great managed security service provider?

With an increasingly challenging threat landscape, being a successful MSSP can be a struggle. Making sure customers stay safe is critical to the success of your business, which is why understanding what makes a great MSSP is crucial for you to be able to make informed choices that will prove beneficial to the company Continue Reading

By

• Ryan Compagnone, Edgescan

K3 boss upbeat on business transformation progress

The ERP specialist has indicated it continues to improve its fortunes, despite issuing some challenging H1 numbers Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

A selection of personnel moves this week as firms turn to experience to help support growth ambitions Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Brexit crisis: How are businesses coping?

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Brexit leading to increased customer caution

CFOs and tech startup entrepreneurs are both showing risk aversion with Brexit the cause of most of the problems Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

MicroScope: The effects of Brexit

Brexit is still to be delivered, but the channel has to carry on as usual – discover how executives are reacting to the effects of Brexit on business. Also read about the pros and cons of virtual storage, and how Barracuda is helping partners go further Continue Reading

Retail driving spending in CX market

There have been examples of the channel gaining customer experience expertise in the past few weeks and no wonder given the IDC growth forecasts for the technology Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Mimecast looking to harvest existing relationships

Security player uses partner event to highlight the benefits of selling more products and services to existing customers Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Why networking certifications no longer matter

Networking certifications have consistently been an important milestone for network professionals. But diverse network infrastructure, automation and UI upgrades could change that. Continue Reading

By

• Kevin Tolly, The Tolly Group

Aryaka looking at two-tier model

SD-WAN specialist is keen to sign up distribution partners in the UK before the end of the year Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Connect Managed Services and G3 Comms merge

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

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor