Comms Dealer

ScanSource POS and Barcode hosted its 2016 ScanSource Partner Conference in Malta this month, bringing together almost 200 attendees, including ScanSource executives, vendor and reseller partners.

The conference gathered channel experts for three days of networking; and the agenda featured a series of sessions discussing new trends and key developments in industry software, with a particular focus on the challenges and opportunities around the Internet of Things.

Attendees also engaged in a vendor panel discussion led by the conference sponsors.

ScanSource POS and Barcode Europe's President, Maurice Van Rijn, provided an update on the company's latest services and tools, and enhancements to existing tools, such as Showpad and PartnerPAD.

Alongside the conference, ScanSource POS and Barcode announced the opening of two new offices in Warsaw, Poland, and Madrid, Spain.

ScanSource also provided an overview of its enhanced sales structure with the appointment of five regional sales directors for its Europe business.

Ultracomms has appointed Derwyn Jones as Chief Executive Officer.

He brings over 25 years experience in the contact centre and business process outsourcing (BPO) industries, and has a proven track record in delivering improvements in operations, sales, cost control, quality and productivity.

Prior to joining Ultracomms he held a variety of non-executive, board advisory and C-level roles with major blue chip brands including Parseq, Golly Slater, The Panther Group, Dell Corporation, and the SITEL Corporation, both in EMEA and in the US.

Robert Bates, Chairman of Ultracomms, said: "Derwyn brings a wealth of experience in the contact centre industry and a proven strategic background that will help us continue to grow the business and deliver an innovative roadmap of features and services for existing and new clients."

Derwyn's appointment follows a period of investment in technology, including the patented advanced answer machine detection solution, AMD+, PCI DSS level 1 certification, and most recently the announcement that speech analytics technology will be made available to clients this summer.

Jones said: "Ultracomms has an impressive technology portfolio backed by a talented and committed team. Looking ahead, we want more organisations to be aware of how Ultracomms can help them achieve improvements in productivity and learn how the right choice of technology can have a positive impact on both customer and employee experience, while optimising costs and remaining compliant with all the key industry regulators."

Data centre firm MIGSOLV has rolled out its first channel programme and is on the hunt for resellers of its colocation services.

The support package includes discounted rack price, dedicated account manager and support line, 24x7 onsite support and the company is backing its programme with the promise that if, within 60 days, a reseller's customer is unhappy with any aspect of its service, it will refund all related fees.

MIGSOLV CEO, Alex Rabbetts, stated: "We're excited to launch our reseller programme as the next phase of our company's growth. There's a great opportunity for forward-thinking resellers to enhance their offerings."

MIGSOLV's Gatehouse data centre is located on a nine acre site in Norwich.

5G commercial services will launch in 2020 and there will be 24 million 5G subscriptions worldwide at the end of 2021 for mobile and fixed broadband services, according to Ovum's inaugural 5G Subscription Forecasts released this week.

North America and Asia will each account for more than 40% of global 5G subscriptions at the end of 2021, followed by Europe with more than 10% of subscriptions, with the Middle East and Africa accounting for the remainder.

Ovum estimates that 5G services will be available in more than 20 markets worldwide by the end of 2021, with services in all four major world regions. However, the vast majority of 5G subscriptions will be concentrated in the US, Japan, China, and South Korea, where major operators have revealed aggressive timelines for launching 5G services.

"The main use case for 5G through 2021 will be enhanced mobile broadband services, although fixed broadband services will also be supported, especially in the US," said Mike Roberts, Ovum Practice Leader covering carrier strategy and technology.

"Over time 5G will support a host of use cases including Internet of Things and mission-critical communications, but Ovum does not believe those use cases will be supported by standardised 5G services through 2021."

A number of operators have announced plans to launch what they describe as 5G services before 2020, but these will not typically be based on networks and devices complying with 5G standards, and so are excluded from Ovum's forecasts.

Ovum defines a 5G subscription as an active connection to a 5G network via a 5G device. 5G is further defined as a system based on and complying with 3GPP 5G standards, beginning with parts of 3GPP Release 15, which is scheduled to be finalised in 2018.

"5G is at an early stage and there is a high degree of uncertainty around 5G deployment and adoption, including significant upside and downside risks," Roberts added.

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