Comms Dealer

Distributor Avnet has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Broadcom to cover EMEA.

Under the new agreement, Avnet will serve as the exclusive broadline distributor for Broadcom in the Americas and EMEA regions and will also continue its franchise in Asia.

It gives Avnet access to Broadcom's range of analogue and digital semiconductor connectivity solutions, primarily in wired infrastructure, wireless communications, enterprise storage and industrial markets.

"As the technology industry continues to globalise, the ability to serve customers and suppliers wherever they do business is critical," said Lynn Torrel, senior vice president, semiconductor business development, worldwide.

"What Avnet can also bring them is the scale and scope their customers need to get to market faster - it provides true differentiation."

SSE Enterprise Telecoms has announced that its network services are now available at a further 30 BT exchanges located across the UK.

This latest expansion adds to SSE Enterprise Telecoms' existing 13,700km, 232 Point of Presence (PoP) UK-wide fibre network, and is part of the operator's ongoing commitment to offer a networking alternative to enterprises located in all of the UK's key business districts.

Dubbed 'Edge 2', the latest initiative provides businesses located in a further 50,000 prime business postcodes with easy access to SSE Enterprise Telecoms' network.

Edge 2 is the second phase of SSE Enterprise Telecom's 'Project Edge' network expansion programme.

"In 2015, we experienced a 250 percent increase in orders of our Ethernet services, demonstrating the success of our ongoing network expansion," said Colin Sempill, Managing Director, SSE Enterprise Telecoms.

"With 30 new exchanges now live as part of Edge 2, and more to come within the next few months, organisations can now benefit from even greater access to our high quality Ethernet services, regardless of where they are in the country."

A new partnership between TeleWare and global system integrator Cisilion will initially focus on offering added value to Microsoft Office 365 and Skype for Business users with a range of enhancements, targeting finance, legal and insurance businesses.

The enhancements include Intelligent Number, a single number that users can access on any device anywhere in the world, regardless of mobile signal or Wi-Fi connection.

Users will also be able to add enterprise class voicemail, audio conferencing, IVR and voice recording to Skype for Business.

TeleWare CEO Steve Haworth said: "The strength of this partnership is the combination of TeleWare's product offering alongside Cisilion's strength in the finance, legal and insurance sectors."

Venus Business Communications is launching 10 gigabits per second connectivity at London's Media Production Show.

"Our 10 gigabit per second service will transform the industry's working environment making it much more efficient to transfer and share projects online at thousands of megabits per second," said Brian Iddon, Venus Business Communications Director.

"Our local field survey team aim to reduce installations times by a month and we recognise that reliability is key and the industry needs peace of mind.

"It's important to have local engineers that can respond rapidly and effectively to keep the network up and running in addition to an account management team that delivers the support the industry needs."

The Venus network is proving popular with over 1,000 customers in London enjoying high speed connectivity transferring half a terabyte of data a day.

Glamorgan Telecom MD Kelly Bolderson scooped the IOD Wales Young Director of the Year award.

Under her leadership the company has grown its client base by 22% and a number of new processes have been implemented including the introduction of an emergency engineering team and a 24-hour online help service.

She said: "We've already achieved so much but there are exciting plans in place for future growth. This is just the start of our journey."

Full profile in the June issue of Comms Dealer

KCOM's existing partner and reseller base will now be overseen by incoming Partner Manager Ben Johns (pictured).

He brings 20-plus years of industry experience and joins from Viatel where he was Account Director. Previous jobs include the Business Development Manager role at O2 Wholesale.

"With a wealth of experience across the corporate, business to business and wholesale arenas, Ben will be a real asset to our team," said Henry West, Head of Channel Sales.

Independent lender Henry Howard Finance has agreed a £51m asset finance facility under the British Business Bank's ENABLE Funding programme.

The facility, which is 50% guaranteed by the European Investment Fund, will allow Henry Howard to extend its asset finance funding to a larger portfolio of smaller UK businesses.

Henry Howard, backed by investor Cabot Square Capital and based in Newport, is the first South Wales-based lender to become a partner of the British Business Bank.

It has been providing finance to small businesses for over 20 years and last year it saw its lending grow to more than £70m from £40m. It aims to continue its expansion throughout 2016.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said: "Every growing business needs to invest in the right tools to get the job done, whether that's upgraded laptops or new delivery trucks.

"This £51 million facility backed by the British Business Bank's ENABLE Funding programme and the EIF will allow small firms to get new equipment without taking a big hit to their cashflow.

"This means they can continue to grow, create jobs and benefit local communities across Wales and the rest of the UK."
 
Mark Crook, co-founder and COO at Henry Howard Finance, added: "Access to asset finance is a major barrier to growth for many small businesses. We hope the new facility will remove this barrier and allow more SMEs to grow and prosper."

Keith Morgan, British Business Bank CEO, commented: "This is the third transaction in our ENABLE Funding programme which has now provided a total of £202m to non-bank asset finance providers."

The ENABLE Funding programme is delivered by British Business Bank Financial Services, a subsidiary of British Business Bank, on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Equity Networks has kicked off a buy and build campaign with the acquisition of Cookham Dean-based Centric Systems and its hosted VoIP and connectivity sister company Centricomms for an undisclosed sum. "This is the first of a number of planned acquisitions, all based around a robust recurring revenue model," said Marcos Reid, Director and co-owner, Equity Networks.

"Cloud services are the perfect platform on which to build, and with both comms and IT within the same group the only way is up."

The deal was prompted by a growing number of enquiries from small business customers asking Equity Networks to help them move to the cloud.

"Microsoft Office 365 and cloud storage kept coming up in meetings," explained Reid. "It was clear that clients saw us as an ICT company, not just a comms organisation.

"We were also installing a lot of dedicated fibre Internet connections which was taking us into router and firewall territory, work that we had to sub-contract out.

"We had collaborated with Centric Systems on a couple of projects and were blown away by its technical capabilities.

"Then its owner, Abbos Azad, told us he was looking for an exit. It seemed a perfect fit.

"We are now busy building both companies and cross selling into each other's customer bases and making efficiency savings at the same time."

A 'must attend' event for ambitious comms and IT providers looking to grow their business will take place in London on June 28th.

Organised by M&A Advisors Evolution Capital and hosted by Nat West, the evening symposium will bring together a team of experts offering advice and knowledge regarding the types of funding available to business owners expanding their ICT business.

Summarising the event, Evolution Capital, Corporate Finance Advisor Simon Kelson (pictured) told Comms Dealer: "Directors of businesses in the TMT arena looking to grow or ultimately sell their business must get an understanding of the sources of capital available, the attributes of high growth enterprises, how to get fit for finance and how to develop a winning investment proposition.

"Our event will provide the knowledge they need and give them an opportunity to meet debt and equity funders, network with like-minded peers and meet successful entrepreneurs who have experienced the pain and gain of business growth."

Included in a heavyweight line up of speakers at the 'Get Backed, Get Big, Get Bought' Seminar will be Nat West's Ian Mason, who will look at debt funding for high growth business; Hans Prottey from Coutts will discuss the process of gaining high net worth investment; Chris Hodges from the Business Growth Fund will explore the process of Venture Capital investment; and Duncan Gregory from Evolution Capital will explain how businesses should go about developing a strategy for growth and provide tips for developing a successful investment proposition.

Adept CEO Ian Fishwick will also provide the buyers' perspective, explaining what they look for when making investments and what in particular they are prepared to pay a premium for.

"Aimed at business owners or leaders in the TMT sector with a turnover of between £5m and £30m our seminar promises to provide real golden nuggets of information and advice for ambitious channel players and we are expecting places to go fast," added Kelson.

To register for the evening event, which will take place at the RBS Conservatory, 250 Bishopsgate, London on June 28th ,go to  http://www.evolutioncapital.com/register.

Audio conferencing firm Konftel rolled out the red carpet as a thank you to key business partners for helping to drive a sales towards potentially record breaking trading.

Representatives from Exertis and Trust Distribution joined global counterparts for the three-day gathering in the Swedish wonderland of Saxnas where over 50 guests were treated to snow mobile rides through forests, lakes and mountains. The conference provided insights into Konftel's roadmap, upcoming product launches and business strategies.

Konftel's Regional Sales Director Jeff May said: "With a series of new product developments in the pipeline this year is destined to become one of our most successful trading periods ever. We are already witnessing growth triple the industry norm and the five star trip was our way of saying thank you to our most prestigious business partners. With sumptuous dinners, an awards ceremony, hot tubs and axe throwing it was a trip to remember, mixing business with lots of fun and laughter."