Comms Dealer

Two key appointments have positioned Syneto for its next phase of growth across Europe.

Vadim Comanescu has been appointed CEO and Rick Dudson is the new VP of Sales with a remit to drive double-digit growth and expand the firm's channel partner ecosystem.

Comanescu replaces Marco Lorenzi who becomes Syneto's COO, a role previously occupied by Comanescu.

"We have been preparing for this geographical expansion for some time and are now in a strong position to roll out our solutions across new markets in Europe," said Comanescu.

Dudson brings more than 25 years experience and previously held senior sales positions at Infotrend and Hitachi.

He will be based in London and takes overall responsibility for Syneto's channel sales organisation in the DACH region, Eastern Europe, France, the Nordics, Iberia and the UK.

Big data and analytics firm Antuit has kicked off a European expansion campaign with the opening of a London office from where it will provide data engineering, Business Intelligence and other analytics solutions to UK and European-based clients.

"The opening of our London office means we are better equipped to serve companies in Europe," said Neeraj Bhargava, Executive Chairman. "There is strong demand for the business-enhancing, analytics-driven solutions we provide and we looking forward to capitalising on the opportunity."

Antuit has named Amit Khanna as MD for Europe. Khanna's previous experience includes leadership roles at KPMG and Accenture where he was responsible for starting up analytics practices.

He added: "We have launched operations with a strong team of experienced analytics professionals."

Rigby Private Equity (RPE) has formed Nuvias Group - a holding company for the pan-EMEA distribution business it is building - into which Wick Hill and Zycko have been incorporated and will be known as Nuvias group companies.

RPE aims to establish an EMEA-wide specialist distribution business with a common proposition and consistent delivery.

Paul Eccleston, Head of RPE, also becomes CEO of Nuvias.

He commented: "Zycko and Wick Hill form the foundations of Nuvias, a new type of international distribution company.

"We're building a distributor to meet the evolving demands of the channel. As of today, Nuvias is already serving 40 vendors and 5,000 resellers in 13 countries.

"Moving forward, we will be covering all major territories in EMEA, offering a common value proposition, consistently executed."

Excalibur Communications is the first organisation to sign up for Swindon Town FC's new Red & White Executive Business Club, designed to help promote local companies and create networking and partnership opportunities.
 
Long-standing supporters of Swindon Town FC, including the back of shirt sponsors in 2014/15, Excalibur has also been the club's official IT and Communications partner since 2013, providing managed services for both mobiles and IT. 
 
"We like to support local sport and community projects wherever possible", said Emma Carter, Sales and Marketing Director at Excalibur. "And with Swindon Town's large network, the new Red & White Executive Business Club is a great way of bringing companies together to support the club and also make some new contacts.  It's a win-win".
 
As well as the sponsorship of the back of the club's shirt and the sponsor of former manager Paolo Di Canio, Excalibur has also supported Swindon Town FC on various ticket initiatives, including 'Fill the Stand', and the Pro Red Scheme for junior football.
 
Carter added: "Joining the Red & White Executive Business Club provides numerous marketing and networking opportunities at the County Ground, which is a great venue to bring customers and business associates. We're proud to support the team and wish them luck for the season ahead".

Telematics Wireless and Pangea have joined forces to provide cellular connectivity for smart street lighting solutions.

Pangea will deliver a cellular solution for Telematics' lighting gateways over a secure private network (commonly known as an APN).

"The partnership will enhance our smart street lighting solution offerings to our customers with the necessary cellular connectivity and services needed for smart city deployment," said Eddy Kafry, Chief Executive Officer of Telematics Wireless.

Dan Cunliffe, MD of Pangea, added: "We conducted a trial that demonstrated the capabilities of our SMART Connectivity platform and explained the capabilities of the APN and real-time management to the customer.

"Leveraging the capabilities of our platform we are looking forward to support the customer's rollout in UK and expanding our global market reach in the near future."

Telematics Wireless is a specialist in smart lighting, network and energy management systems with a global presence.

Pangea is a global provider of SMART connectivity and solutions to the Machine-to-Machine and Internet of Things market.

Less than two years after CityFibre began construction on its Gigabit City network, Peterborough City Council has trebled its utilisation of the pure fibre infrastructure with an order for a further 220 new sites via its ICT Managed Service Provider Serco.

The sites comprise CCTV cameras, Wi-Fi connections and a network of Information Traffic System locations. By migrating these sites from legacy connections to CityFibre's pure fibre network the Council increases its technical capabilities and reduces operating costs.

Once connected, the new sites will enable the Council to introduce High-Definition CCTV and Wi-Fi based cameras that can be moved around in place of fixed point cameras.

With increasing reliance on CCTV for security and traffic management purposes, movable HD cameras represent an upgrade to their capabilities.

By leveraging the unlimited capacity of a pure fibre network the technology can be easily accommodated without an increase in costs.

The network architecture deployed by CityFibre in reaching the street furniture associated with the CCTV and traffic control locations is identical to that required in future 4G and 5G wireless small cell deployments.

This means that CityFibre's 37 city footprint can is able to serve as the foundation of large scale small cell deployments across a significant portion of the UK.

The Peterborough Gigabit City network now comprises in excess of 90km of pure fibre and duct infrastructure built originally to connect 107 public sector sites including schools, council buildings and health sites.

The network was made available on a wholesale basis enabling ISPs to offer local businesses gigabit speed Internet services. Hundreds of businesses throughout the city are already connected.

John Harrison, Corporate Director for Resources at Peterborough City Council, said: "This investment in extending our city's fibre network will further enhance Peterborough's reputation as a Gigabit City. These new access points will enable us to improve our CCTV and traffic management solutions while allowing for future roll-outs of citywide Wi-Fi and future proofing the city for future developments in a world of the Internet of Things and Smart Cities.

"It is no secret that we are well on our way to being one of the world's top 'smart cities' after being crowned Smart City of the Year 2015. Our partnership with CityFibre is just one of the many ways we are investing in growth, innovation, skills and sustainability with the goal of making Peterborough a better place to invest, work and live."

Greg Mesch, Chief Executive of CityFibre, said: "Peterborough City Council and the city as a whole have grasped the Gigabit City vision and made it their own. Peterborough has become a model for a true Gigabit City."

Elitetele.com has extended its cloud capabilities with the acquisition of NetCentrix and SystemHOST. Carnforth-based NetCentrix provides bespoke cloud platforms to public and private sector organisations and was founded in 2002. Two years later systemHOST was set-up as a wholly owned subsidiary specialising just in hosted IT solutions.

NetCentrix is Elite's eleventh acquisition since 2008 with more MA& activity in pipeline.

Elite founder and CEO Matt Newing said: "This acquisition brings a third data centre on-net to Elite's UK-wide NGN core network. We have increased our capacity to offer IT and cloud solutions and we have exciting plans for further innovation in the market with NetCentrix and SystemHOST on board."

Phil Scanlon, MD and founder of NetCentrix, added: "Our products complement Elite's existing solutions and we are very much looking forward to launching the combined offering into the market."

RedstoneConnect has acquired smart building software applications provider, Connect IB, in a £1.32m deal.

RedstoneConnect will integrate its smart building technology with Connect IB's application development into a single framework.

Connect IB's 'wayfinding' solution and its frictionless car parking system extends RedstoneConnect's OneSpace capabilities that help organisations manage the occupancy and use of their buildings and beyond into the car park.

Connect IB brings with it a number of long-term blue chip customers including GlaxoSmithKline, Meyer Bergman and Westfield Corporation.

Connect IB's MD Keith Jump will join Redstone Connect as chief technology officer.

Mark Braund, CEO of the Group, commented: "This represents a significant strategic step and one that is highly complementary to our existing business. Connect IB is the first acquisition to be made by our new management team and one which has enabled us to enhance our core offering."

Coms plc has rebranded as RedstoneConnect to reflect the Group's strategy of providing technology and services for smart buildings and commercial spaces through its core businesses Redstone and Connect IB.

RedstoneConnect's strategic priorities include building on the Group's presence in the high growth smart buildings and smart technologies arena, while leveraging cross-selling opportunities throughout the Group's customer base, including many blue chip organisations.

Also top of the agenda is developing and expanding the Group's annuity revenue streams in software, managed services and support and maintenance, and rolling out its new occupancy management software solution called OneSpace.

The Group will broaden its intellectual property applications to a wider spectrum of smart environments and invest in research and development.

Acquisition opportunities that support the Group's strategy will be considered.

Mark Braund, Chief Executive of RedstoneConnect, commented: "We have successfully repositioned the business to focus on a defined strategy to use technology and innovation to make buildings and commercial spaces smarter. Our new name and identity reflects this strategic direction.

"At the core of our offering is the Redstone operation, an IT network and smart building systems integrator, with a blue chip customer base and a 30 year heritage. This has been enhanced through the acquisition in March of Connect IB, a smart buildings software and solutions business.

"The opportunities for deploying smart technology into buildings and commercial spaces continues to grow at pace and we are delighted to have already secured a number of new contracts which utilise services from across the Group."

Oriium has acquired London-based application transformation and cloud migration company add3 in a seven figure deal.

Oriium is a channel-only infrastructure and data management specialist and has extended its capabilities to include cloud migration, application transformation and application packaging as portfolio services.

The combined businesses provide Oriium partners with a route to capitalise on the growing trend of application migration to cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and private cloud suppliers.

Oriium MD Chris Kiaie said: "This acquisition expands our service capabilities and brings considerable value to our partners and clients.

"We have gained an application practice with a southern presence and high profile customer base.

"While some businesses may be apprehensive in light of recent political and economic events, we are confident we have created the foundations for a solid, scalable business and this acquisition underlines our confidence."

The founders of add3, Danny Clarke and Andy Hopkins. retain an interest in the company.

Clarke said: "Oriium is a complementary fit to our application practice and we share the same values.

"Having worked together on a number of occasions we have a proven model that delivers increased value to our customers and partners."

Oriium Chairman Ryan McCarry added: "This acquisition is the first of several that delivers against our strategic growth objectives.

"We are well positioned to take advantage of the growing trend of transitioning applications to cloud.

"In the last few years, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure have extended their market dominance and the add3 acquisition ensures we are aligned and will benefit by providing complimentary services."