Comms Dealer

A new report from benchmark-it (UK Enterprise Segment Communications Service Providers) finds that service providers focused on traditional fixed and mobile services for business customers are losing share as revenues decline.

Report author Rob Pritchard said: "Players that do not focus on the cloud, next-generation services and managed solutions are losing out."

The report also finds that the trend towards the Digital Enterprise has implications not just for portfolios, but also for culture, systems and organisations.

"Exponential growth at the likes of Amazon Web Services and WhatsApp serve to underline the new nature of the market," he added. "Service providers need to work out what their strategy is in a market where the value chain has been inverted.

"The old-fashioned silo approach is no longer valid or viable. While issues over the future of Openreach are operationally important today, service providers need to look further ahead in terms of what they offer to their target enterprise customers in the future."

Entanet's partner sales support team has been boosted by a trio of promotions that see Paul North become Sales Manager, Emma Fisher named Sales Support Manager and Lee Hill appointed Pre-Sales Technical Manager.

Entanet's sales team now has a headcount of 16, with the total number of employees at the company numbering just over 100, up from 85 at the start of 2015.

Last year the company grew its sales by 7% to £32m.

Stephen Barclay, Sales Director, stated: "As our business has grown we have continued to invest in more effective and extensive partner account management and to work as closely with our partners as we can.

"These new appointments have been made so that we can give more of our partners more time and assistance in turning new opportunities into real business.

"We are responding to demand. Our partners are growing both in terms of sales and stature and they and we are being asked to bid for ever-more complex and challenging solutions. They need us to support them even more and it's in our interests to show our commitment by responding in kind and giving them that support."

Skyscape Cloud Services has renamed and relaunched as UKCloud.

"In a short space of time as Skyscape Cloud Services we have experienced rapid growth," said Simon Hansford, CEO of UKCloud.

"We're very proud to have helped save millions of pounds of public money by delivering more agile, lower cost IT solutions throughout Government departments, including the DVLA, Home Office and MOD. Our new name - UKCloud - reflects our commitment to serving the UK public sector and supporting the digital transformation of citizen-facing services."

Astro Communications MD Steve Hodges is limbering up to run the Maidstone half marathon in aid of Camp Cando, a charity that helps children and young adults with complex special and behavioural needs.

"Camp Cando has been doing fantastic work for many years, making a significant difference to the lives of many youngsters, their parents and carers," said Hodges. He is aiming to raise £1,500 but hopes to 'smash the target'.

Westcoast has joined forces with telecoms finance firm Lease Telecom.

Darren Seward, Head of Mobility at Westcoast, said: "More and more of our partners and their customers are looking for affordability and flexibility in how they finance for mobile products and services.

"They want to 'pay as they use' in order to avoid upfront costs, gain tax advantages and reduce balance sheet commitments. Westcoast, working closely with Lease Telecom, will make this happen."

Luminet has launched a new channel programme supported by a 100% SLA guarantee for its wireless and fibre infrastructure which, claims the firm, enables IT and voice resellers to sell value added OTT services faster.

The launch coincides with its new proposition called Fibre Air, a wireless business Internet service that can be installed in five working days.

Birmingham-based Intercity Technology has secured a place on the G-Cloud framework.

Andrew Jackson, CEO, said: "Our inclusion on the framework is a fantastic opportunity to develop our relationship with public sector organisations, including government, healthcare and blue light services. The fact that we are one of only 3.5% of suppliers that have passed on all four classes of the G-Cloud really shows the strength of the solutions that we can offer."

Solitaire MD Jeff Wilkes has issued a wake up call to resellers ahead of the introduction next March of the new £1 coin, which, he warned, will have a significant impact on thousands of installed payphones.

All new Solitaire Payphones supplied since January this year will accept the new coin but others need to be updated.

"The new Bi Metallic 12 sided coin will be in circulation in March 2017 and the old pound coin will be discontinued in the autumn," said Wilkes. "With less than 200 days to go the countdown is on.

"Demand for payphones remains strong in niche areas and the new £1 coin will have a big impact. Resellers need to be advising their customers now about how to adapt their existing machines."

Nimans is the exclusive UK supplier of Solitaire products and is also urging resellers to plan ahead for the new Royal Mint design.

"Payphones 10 years old or less are capable of being updated," said Phil Collins, Head of Purchasing at Nimans.

"Depending on the payphone model, on-site, remote download and back to manufacturer updates are available. For larger sites Nimans' resellers can take advantage of a white label on-site service from Solitaire."

Two of Vodafone's biggest UK partners have combined following the acquisition of Evolve by Onecom which will take over Evolve's operations in London, Cambridge and Shoeburyness, along with Cardiff-based The Word which is owned by Evolve and will become Onecom's first office in Wales. The deal is expected to bring new earnings of £7m in the first year. 

Evolve boasts an annual turnover of £20m and is Vodafone UK's third largest partner. Onecom currently generates £60m a year and is the mobile operator's biggest UK partner.

Vodafone has no equity interest in either company.

The acquisition will bring further investment in Onecom's total communications drive which sees mobile, fixed line, data and IT services offered to businesses as one integrated package.

The deal also adds circa 100 staff to Onecom's existing 350-strong workforce and 65,000 UK Vodafone business connections to its portfolio of accounts, taking the company's total number to over 300,000.

A post-acquisition priority is to invest in the Welsh operation and launch a recruitment drive to double the region's headcount. A number of new positions at Onecom's offices throughout the UK will also be created.

Darren Ridge (pictured), Onecom CEO, said: "Evolve's customer-focused approach and expertise in UC reflects Onecom's own strategy and values. Evolve will continue to blossom and grow under the Onecom brand."

Nick Birtwistle, Director of Partnerships and Alliances at Vodafone UK, noted: "Onecom and Evolve have been a part of the Vodafone Partner Programme since its inception and have led the field. This move will see them grow even stronger."

The acquisition follows Onecom's £1m investment in a new distribution centre in Hampshire.

The Networking division at Nimans is in expansion mode under the leadership of Solutions Sales Manager Judith Addison who is hoping to establish the distributor as a 'major networking player' offering thousands of product lines.

"We are working on delivering a complete 'office in a box' communications proposition which encapsulates everything we do, from network connectivity right through to end points such as headsets and telephones," she said

Cloud-based hybrid technologies are exerting an ever greater influence in the market according to Nimans. "For years people have been saying the PBX will die but it's just evolving," stated Paul Burn, Head of Category Sales. "Hybrid platforms tend to cover all bases and its influence is growing."