Comms Dealer

Snom's new C520-WiMi conferencing solution is targeted at companies of all sizes requiring flexibility and independence as a key benefits when conferencing.

DECT and Bluetooth technology aids teamwork and three microphones ensure voice quality. One microphone is integrated into the base unit together with the full-duplex speaker, while two other cordless DECT microphones can be set up anywhere in the room and/or passed on to whoever is speaking.

The C520-WiMi features a Bluetooth interface which enables mobile or DECT telephones, such as smartphones, to be connected and used.

The C520-WiMi conference system can be extended to facilitate telephone conferences with large teams. The additional C52 speaker units are paired with the base unit in this case, thereby increasing the range of the speakers and microphones.

Nimans cooked up a charity treat by hosting a staff BBQ which raised almost £300 for Cash4Kids - a project which supports children aged 0-18 who are disabled, disadvantaged or suffering from abuse or neglect. The lunchtime event, spearheaded by the company's very own 'MasterChef' and Head of Sales Operations Mat Weall, was held at the company's Manchester headquarters and saw staff enjoy burgers, hot dogs and ice creams plus some rare north west sunshine.

DISTRIBUTORS are evolving to address the shift towards Managed Services and Cloud-based applications which are driving much of the growth across the UK ICT sector.

According to the latest research from IT Europa and Gartner respectively, Europe's leading distributors increased their share of the supply chain, growing their revenues by an average of 5.4% while overall the ICT industry grew by just 0.3%. The UK overall experienced growth of 6% - higher than the European average of 5.4%.

IT Europa's latest database report 'Distributors in Europe', describes an industry that is changing fast. While consolidation and organic growth are making for economies of scale, and portfolios are expanding, the costs of doing business in the world of complex services and emerging technologies is increasing. The larger distributors, who have been advancing into cloud, analytics, IoT and other areas, have invested in staff and training, with numbers employed in the top 500 in Europe rising to over 103,000 from just over 100,000 in the last study.

The twenty-plus publicly quoted distributors in Europe managed to lift their sales in 2016 by just 2.58%, while smaller independents did over 10% better.

The total revenues for all companies in 2015 was $142.84bn (€132.38bn) with a total staff figure of 103,034. Overall, total revenues of all companies increased 5.42% in 2016 (based on 2016 revenues) compared to the previous year.

The 'Distributors in Europe' report provides in-depth profiles of Europe's leading distributors including: 20 parent companies, 144 subsidiaries, 314 independents, and 22 publicly-listed companies. Priced from £2,350, The report is available from IT Europa (www.iteuropa.com).

Of various client and prospect meetings over the last few weeks two have stood out in my mind. You might well call it a Tale of Two Employers. Why? When it comes to employing staff today - it seems that this is the best of times and the worst times, writes Clive Jefferys of Telecoms recruitment agency JMA Network.

Both companies called us in to advise on recruiting for key positions. One needed to replace lost staff, the other wanted people for expansion. Both organisations are outwardly successful and profitable, but two very different mentalities rule within.

On one hand, the conversation was dominated by why people resign from their job. The other was all about how to attract them. One laboured on about recrimination, the other spoke of desire and ambition for the company and the people that make it. It's hard to confront issues sometimes and I don't sit in judgement - but above all else, one company simply refused to accept that this is a candidate-led market. The other embraced this fact wholeheartedly.

Its leaders enthuse about offering more holidays, shorter working hours, flexi-time, home working, better pay, employment incentives. Yes, you've heard it all before from the HR handbook. But you cannot deny that happier employees make for more productive and creative ones too.

So, when it comes to recruitment, in-house or using agencies, it's so much easier if you have a market-leading employment package on offer. It's not rocket science, it may feel costly on day one, but the long-term rewards for your business and its bottom line are much greater.

Distributor ALSO Group has reported a net profit of €36.9m in the first half of the year, an increase of 32.4% compared to the same period in the previous year.

Profit before taxes climbed by 27.6% to €51.4m. Net sales increased by 9.5% to €4.1bn.

In the Central Europe market segment, which encompasses Germany, France, Austria, and Switzerland, net sales rose by 9% to €2.5bn.

In the first half of the year, the Solutions business grew by approximately 10% and the Services business grew by approximately 40% compared to the same period in the previous year.

Of particular note are IT as a Service and Logistics as a Service, which developed favourably by 45% and 60%, respectively.

An update from M24Seven following its acquisition of Venus Business Communications in March this year outlined a stronger channel proposition headed up by newly appointed Channel Director Will Brooks who introduced a partnership programme divided into three categories - reseller, referral and wholesale partners.

"We want to take the best aspects of all the partner programmes across the businesses which have come together to form M24Seven," he explained.

M24Seven MD Neil Rampe added: "The acquisition of Venus and integration into M24Seven means better productivity and efficiency through a greater range of services and capabilities.

"Our channel partners and customers can now focus on their growth, their business and their objectives while we deliver connectivity without compromise."

Former Venus Business Communications Director Brian Iddon commented: "Our reseller network will transfer seamlessly into the M24Seven partnership programme where they will experience increased levels of support."

M24Seven now employs 230 people across six sites including Manchester, Newcastle, London and Bucharest.

Comms Dealer sister organisation IT Europa has reported 'huge interest' in this September's Managed Services Summit to be staged in London, with record sponsorship across all levels.

Event sponsors now include Datto, Highlight, Kaspersky, Mimecast, SolarWinds MSP, Autotask, Cisco Umbrella, ConnectWise, DataCore Software, ESET, ForcePoint, ITGlue, Kingston Technology, WatchGuard, 5NineSoftware, Altaro, APC by Schneider Electric, Beta Distribution, Continuum, Deltek, Egenera, Intronis MSP Solutions, Kaseya, RapidFire Tools, Webroot, plus media partners IT Europa, Comms Dealer and Computer Weekly.

The agenda for the event includes Keynotes from Research Analyst Gartner on what it takes to sell digital transformation, advice from GDPR legal experts Fieldfisher, as well as presentations on merger and acquisition activity, looking at building value in the business.

Event content director John Garratt, Editor of IT Europa, said: "It is clear from our many discussions with vendors and channels over the last few months that there are still many questions to be answered - indeed, it is a moving target as the industry evolves to change alongside its customers.

"We aim to capture the position in September with clear insights and analysis, based on the real experiences of those involved."

Gamma has given enterprise customers real-time visibility into the performance of their communications, including voice, data and mobility services.

The move follows a link up between Gamma and Highlight, the provider of monitoring services.

Gamma MD David Macfarlane said: "In the past we had one monitoring tool for our broadband environment and another for our Ethernet services, but were missing the ability to monitor our customers' applications.

"We now use Highlight internally to monitor the infrastructure and applications across our customers' environments,and we share the same tool with customers so they can see how everything is performing.

"No information is redacted and all data is real-time, so customers can hold our feet to the fire to ensure they get the services they expect."

In practice, if Highlight identifies an issue a ticket is raised on Gamma's platform for an engineer to take action.

"Highlight has enabled Gamma to move up the value chain in terms of the management information it gives to customers," added Macfarlane.

"We're layering Highlight on to our products so channel partners can also see the value. They will be able to monitor and share Highlight with their customers who use Gamma infrastructure.

"Going forward we want to have more application visibility to deliver greater detail into the quality and responsiveness of the applications."

The acquisition of VoIP platform developer Telux HD by call management firm Invosys in March has been followed up with the launch of Invosys Hosted, a service that includes Telux's open source cloud comms platform integrated with Invosys's Number Manager portal, which enables customers to configure, manage and monitor their call management solutions.

Invosys Hosted runs on high-spec servers across a number of UK data centres and has experienced zero down time in the past 12 months.

Invosys co-founder Peter Crooks said: "Innovation and breaking the mould is what we do best at Invosys. While the majority of of VoIP companies are reselling someone else's product, we have decided to throw out the rule book and do it ourselves."

Invosys CEO Rob Booth added: "Invosys are on a mission to create change and offer choice in the channel, providing an alternative and encouraging customers to try something new and exciting. Invosys Hosted is a perfect example of this."

SpliceCom has augmented the launch of its SelectVoice platform with a new installation wizard and admin portal, enabling partners to configure deployments using setting methods in four designated areas - network, system, security and SIP trunks.

Configuration of more complex features and facilities are still accessed through the system manager portal and manager assist tool kit, both of which remain the domain for accredited engineers. And to circumnavigate those 'who changed what' issues there is an Admin Portal audit log built into Manager Assist.

"With our Admin Portal we've extended the ease of management associated with hosted systems to cloud voice, on premise and blended SelectVoice solutions," said Stuart Bell, Splicecom's Head of sales for UK & Ireland.

"We listened to our customers and prospects and have incorporated all their feedback into the design of the Admin Portal.

"From adding new phones, to setting up Auto Attendant routines and Meet Me conferences, loading Contacts and performing system back-ups, everything can be handled from the Admin Portal."