Comms Dealer

Veeam Software has appointed Peter McKay (formerly Senior VP & GM, Americas at VMware) as President and Chief Operating Officer; and promoted William H. Largent, currently Executive VP, as its new CEO.

Veeam co-founders and Directors, Ratmir Timashev and Andrei Baronov, will remain strategic to the company, playing active roles focusing on market strategy and new product development.

"With the appointments of Peter and Bil, we are adding depth, experience and talent to our executive team.

"Peter and Bill are seasoned leaders with complementary skill-sets. They will be instrumental in helping Veeam to continue on its steep growth trajectory," said Timashev.

"Peter will also join our Board of Directors and serve along with Andrei, Bill and myself. By attracting executive talent such as Peter, Veeam is sending a clear signal to the market that we are a leader and we've only scratched the surface of our potential."

WLAN sales continue overall growth trajectory

Wireless LAN (WLAN) equipment sales totalled $1.2bn worldwide in the first quarter of 2016 (Q1 2016), declining 14% sequentially due to seasonal demand factors, but continuing on an overall growth trajectory. 

On a year-over-year basis, revenue is up 5%, slightly ahead of 2015’s 4% growth rate, says IHS Technology analysis in its WLAN Equipment and WiFi Phone Quarterly Market Tracker, which includes data for the quarter ended March 31, 2016.

Among the good news is further acceleration in access point shipment growth, which stands at 20% year-over-year in Q1 2016, with a total of 4.7 million access points shipped. 

On the other hand, average selling prices have not materially increased despite good adoption of 802.11ac and Wave 2 products — the latter standing at 3% of all units shipped in Q1 2016. Demand for WLAN is strong, but monetizing that demand has been a challenge for the last two years as organizations chose lower-cost approaches.

The outlook for the WLAN market remains bright, as infrastructure investments over the long term shift to WLAN equipment to support the rapid rise of wireless devices, both personal and Internet of Things (IoT), as well as mobility requirements. 

Commoditisation, however, is keeping a lid on independent access point revenue, which declined 8% in 2015 and was flat in Q1 2016 from the year-ago quarter (Q1 2015). 

Over 70% of all access point revenue comes from 802.11ac products, and Wave 2 products broke through the 5% mark in Q1 and have started to cannibalise Wave 1 802.11ac gear.

The top year-over-year share gainers in the WLAN market in Q1 2016 are, in alphabetical order, Aerohive, Ruckus and Ubiquiti.Wireless LAN (WLAN) equipment sales totalled $1.2bn worldwide in the first quarter of 2016 (Q1 2016), declining 14% sequentially due to seasonal demand factors, but continuing on an overall growth trajectory.

On a year-over-year basis, revenue is up 5%, slightly ahead of 2015's 4% growth rate, says IHS Technology analysis in its WLAN Equipment and WiFi Phone Quarterly Market Tracker, which includes data for the quarter ended March 31, 2016.

Among the good news is further acceleration in access point shipment growth, which stands at 20% year-over-year in Q1 2016, with a total of 4.7 million access points shipped.

On the other hand, average selling prices have not materially increased despite good adoption of 802.11ac and Wave 2 products - the latter standing at 3% of all units shipped in Q1 2016. Demand for WLAN is strong, but monetizing that demand has been a challenge for the last two years as organizations chose lower-cost approaches.

The outlook for the WLAN market remains bright, as infrastructure investments over the long term shift to WLAN equipment to support the rapid rise of wireless devices, both personal and Internet of Things (IoT), as well as mobility requirements.

Commoditisation, however, is keeping a lid on independent access point revenue, which declined 8% in 2015 and was flat in Q1 2016 from the year-ago quarter (Q1 2015).

Over 70% of all access point revenue comes from 802.11ac products, and Wave 2 products broke through the 5% mark in Q1 and have started to cannibalise Wave 1 802.11ac gear.

The top year-over-year share gainers in the WLAN market in Q1 2016 are, in alphabetical order, Aerohive, Ruckus and Ubiquiti.

Communications technology business TeleWare is celebrating its tenth year of Microsoft Gold Partner status, placing it within the top one per cent of Microsoft's partner ecosystem for the past decade.

Microsoft Gold Partner status is awarded to businesses that hold at least one Microsoft Gold Competency.

TeleWare was awarded the Microsoft Gold Communications competency in 2015 and the OEM Gold Competency in 2014. Both recognise TeleWare's ability and commitment to meet customers' evolving needs in today's dynamic business environment.

Steve Haworth, CEO of TeleWare, said: "This partnership allows us to collaborate with Microsoft to develop and enhance products that increase customer productivity and enhance the customer experience whilst complying with regulatory requirements.

"It also allows us early access to new products, enabling us to better serve our customers with the latest innovations.

"Our Microsoft Gold Partner status showcases our expertise in and commitment to today's technology market and demonstrates our deep knowledge of Microsoft and its products."

TeleWare is attending the Microsoft World Partner Conference on July 10-14th.

Managed technology providers forecast high revenue growth over the next two years, according to research from CompTIA.

But their optimism is countered by continuing worries about their role in a market increasingly dominated by cloud computing solutions and by a persistent problem with employee retention.

CompTIA surveyed 400 managed services providers (MSPs) for its Fifth Annual Trends in Managed Services report. The study profiles today's managed services practices and examines both their internal operations and external strategies.

"The level of confidence among MSPs in how they are running their businesses is quite high," said Carolyn April, senior director, industry analysis, CompTIA. "Two-thirds of the companies we surveyed consider themselves to be skilled experts at managed services."

Some of this confidence is due to market maturity. Nearly 90 per cent of companies have been offering technology services for two years or more.

Revenue growth is also a contributing factor. Three in ten companies say their services business was their leading revenue generator over the past year. Half of all MSPs surveyed expect high revenue growth over the next two years, with services accounting for 75 percent or more of total revenue.

But bullishness on future business is tempered by worries about margin erosion. Just over half of the firms cite margin erosions as a factor that keeps them awake at night.

"Naturally occurring market commoditisation accounts for a portion of slimming margins, but some of the blame also falls on MSPs themselves, many of whom continue to compete with one another solely on pricing" April said.

Topping the list of things that keep MSPs awake at night is cloud computing, cited by 62 percent of companies.

Kris Nagamootoo, Senior Manager at CompTIA, added: "They still haven't figured out whether the cloud is a good thing or a bad thing, they fear that customers will simply bypass them and look to cloud providers for their basic needs."

Just 54 percent of MSPs offer cloud-based solutions and services as a strategic part of their business. Another 44 percent only support cloud services when requested by a customer.

Kris said many companies are missing out on big opportunities to be 'cloud orchestrators' for their customers.

"Just as they remotely managed on premise devices and applications, they can manage what a customer has in the cloud," he explained. "It's a natural spot for an MSP."

MSPs must also act to stem the persistent problem of employee churn. A majority of firms say in the past year they've lost at least one staff technician to an end-user organisation's IT staff.

"Employees who leave are usually seeking more stable hours, better pay or a job that's more challenging than simply monitoring and waiting for an alarm bell to go off," April said. "It's a problem that MSPs will have to address."

Chief Financial Officers must embrace technology to future-proof their position and drive digital transformation in their organisation.

This is according to a white paper, entitled the ‘The Connected CFO - a company's secret silver bullet?' produced by software provider, Advanced.

The paper highlights a recent KPMG survey that found 63% of CEOs believe that the CFO's role will increase in significance over the next three years, compared to other C-suite positions. However, only one in three of those surveyed felt that their CFO was up to this challenge.

As many finance tasks become automated, technology is changing the role of the CFO by enabling them to spend less time on gathering and comparing data, and more time on high-level, strategic activities.

Previously regarded as just the financial gatekeeper of the organisation, analytics tools and big data present CFOs with an opportunity to elevate their position by establishing themselves as digital pioneers and business enablers.

The white paper claims that this changing role has significance for the whole business. By providing more valuable insight and analysis based on up-to-date data, CFOs can strengthen their relationships with the CEO and the rest of the C-suite, as well as identify areas where improvements and efficiencies can be made.

Andrew Hicks, Chief Financial Officer of Advanced, said: "As the availability of data increases, both the business itself and its investors are becoming more information-hungry. The CFO tends to sit at that intersect point between operations and the numbers so they are ideally placed to interpret plans and improve business performance.

"Many organisations are only in the early stages of this transformation but the savvy CFO can seize the opportunity to drive real change and be seen as a leader. Businesses are crying out for that connected, end-to-end view of data across departments, and CFOs are in the position to deliver this."

As technology and finance become more closely intertwined, CFOs must ensure that they have the technical skills and knowledge required for their new role.

A recent survey by CFO Research of senior finance executives in the US found that 93% believe the CFO of the future will need a much stronger technology skill set than at present. 64% said they had taken steps to upgrade their own skills, while 80% plan to do so in the coming year.

The white paper highlights analytics technology as being crucial for CFOs to take advantage of this opportunity. With a single dashboard of real-time data, reports can be produced more quickly and the CFO can play a major part in creating a more reactive and agile organisation.

Hicks added: "Technology and big data are going to play an increasingly prominent role in the CFO's day-to-day job. This in turn gives the connected CFO greater information and power, offering them the opportunity to elevate their own position in the organisation as key strategic advisors and enablers of business change. A connected CFO can really be a silver bullet for a company."

The organisers of the Managed Services and Hosting Summit have announced a string early sponsor and speaker line-up.

Under the theme of 'The Digital Dividend - The Role of Managed Services in a Digital World', this year's event staged by IT Europa will examine the rapid changes taking place currently in the industry and among IT customers.

The way companies are buying IT is changing, creating threats and opportunities for existing MSPs and new market entrants alike, just as IT models themselves are undergoing fundamental change.

LOGICnow (now part of SolarWinds MSP) and Schneider Electric have been confirmed as Platinum level sponsors; Autotask, Ingram Micro and Kaseya as Gold; ConnectWise, Exponential-E, Infrascale, LogicMonitor, Qolcom, StorageCraft, The Bunker, Volta and WellData as Silver.

The speaker line-up includes Mark Paine of Gartner addressing the question 'Where Next for MSPs?'. VARs and other suppliers who have transitioned their business to Managed Service Provision are only at the start of their journey, he says.

Customers will lead them into the world of enterprise cloud applications, integration and software development as they become participants in the digital business ecosystem.

This session will explore the reasons why customers will demand more from MSPs and give advice on how to transform to the new world.

In another keynote, 'The Age of the Customer', Tiffani Bova, Salesforce's Global Customer Growth and Innovation Evangelist (and former Gartner VP, Distinguished Analyst and Research Fellow) will address how companies of all sizes can create new business practices that leverage technology to strengthen customer relationships and accelerate sales and growth.

Attendees will hear actionable takeaways on how to create a customer-centric business and long-lasting brand loyalty.

Now in its sixth year, the Managed Services and Hosting Summit 2016 will focus on how the market is changing and what it will take for MSPs to succeed in this brave new digital world.

A positive customer experience is critical to a company's brand and, ultimately, its bottom line. With the proliferation of technology and devices, the customer has become smarter and more powerful. Customers now decide when and how they want to interact with brands and this has had a direct impact on the way companies sell to their customers.

While macro trends such as social, mobile, cloud, big data and IoT are forging a new era of engagement, customers are ultimately becoming far more disruptive than the technology itself.

The UK Managed Services & Hosting Summit 2016 will take place at 155 Bishopsgate, London, on 21 September 2016. www.mshsummit.com

8x8's partner business programme has been extended to offer marketing support with PR and fast track funding.

The enhanced programme now gives the channel access to funding, marketing collateral, support and resources and has three different tiers - Accredited, Gold and Platinum.

The programme builds on the existing 8x8 Academy, a two day accreditation course on 8x8's portfolio of products.

Over 85% of 8x8's UK sales are via the channel and the updated programme was launched with Newbury-based Platinum partner du Pré.

The tiered scheme offers structured PR support to Platinum partners helping them to increase their profile in trade and business media through the development of a PR strategy, advice and content from an 8x8 retained PR agency.

The Platinum programme also offers an annual Joint Marketing fund whereby 8x8 matches investment by partners so both reap the most benefit from it, as well as quarterly Marketing Development funds.

8x8's channel partners at Accredited and Gold level will also receive fast track funds to accelerate growth and reach the next level of the programme.

Charles Aylwin Director of Channel and Public Sector at 8x8, said: "We want to continue our own rapid expansion and the only way to do that is with our partners. This is why we've introduced one of the most innovative partner business programmes."

IDC expects a 'challenging transition' as a result of Brexit, with the UK IT spending forecast likely to be revised downwards by more than 2% on a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) basis through to 2020, but with overall European IT spending remaining largely unaffected in this period.

"The often dramatic experiences in the past decade have enabled leaders across the globe to establish risk processes and act in a more measured fashion.

"Based on recent feedback from a number of large enterprise leadership teams, we expect a 'wait and see' approach as the political and economic lines are redrawn," said Thomas Meyer, Group Vice President Research at IDC Europe.

"IT spending will likely shift, but the strategic transition towards the digital enterprise will remain, and is likely to accelerate with a greater focus on cost optimisation and IT value to the organisation's bottom line."

Data centre operator Next Generation Data (NGD) has announced the appointment of Simon Bearne as Commercial Director.

Previous roles include senior sales and marketing positions at companies such as Mars, Cable&Wireless, Colt and most recently Claranet.
 
Bearne's new remit is to spearhead NGD's strategy for securing further contracts from major enterprise and service provider organisations as well as developing initiatives for enhancing overall customer engagement.  
 
"I am looking forward to leveraging my experience of the managed services industry which will complement the existing talents of the NGD team."

Nick Razey, CEO, added: "Simon will play a pivotal role as NGD continues to maximise its growth potential from an increasing number of large domestic and global tender opportunities."

We used to think that people don't like change, but clearly they do. While the ramifications of leaving the EU will take years to become apparent, the impact on business and jobs is the most immediate concern today, writes Clive Jefferys of recruiter JMA Network.

We can expect a wholesale change in employment trends across the UK during the next ten years, but right now, telecoms resellers and dealers are in a strong position to take advantage of what is to come.

An awful lot has changed since 2008 and the rise of network services sales has moved the greater part of revenues to a consumption-based sales model.

With the advent of hosted telephony solutions with built-in call plans, reseller incomes should remain the same or actually rise, particularly with regard to international calling. Capital purchases of hardware will take a short-term dip, but this was already an ongoing trend in the move towards telecoms as a service. No surprises there then.

The key question for employer and job seeker alike is how recruitment will be affected over the next year? Headlines may warn of general job losses to come, but in telecoms I'm not convinced. The latest IoD survey says that a quarter of employers are putting hiring on hold, a third will continue recruiting and the rest will stay the same. I can't think of a time that a survey said anything different. The reasons may change, but the outcome is the same.

The telecoms and IT sectors have spent the last five years coping with skills shortages and the lead time on filling roles had stretched out to six months in most cases. So it's going to have to be 'business as usual' as companies are already looking to reshape themselves for 2017.

Conversely, putting a break on new hires today will prove dangerous, locking you out of recruiting new potential for a very long time.

The most important facet of hiring has, is, and will always be to build your company's sales potential.

Maximising your strength to win new revenues has never been more urgent.