Comms Dealer

Despite CEOs and strategists working around the clock to realign their businesses to embrace digitalisation, a new global study from Arthur D. Little (ADL) reveals that the majority of corporations still underestimate the risks of failing to keep pace with a rapidly digitising economy, and feel ill-equipped to make a holistic digital transformation.

In The 2015 Digital Transformation Study, ADL found that although front-runners have emerged, most companies still take a piecemeal approach to digital transformation.

Companies struggle to fully embrace digitalisation because of lagging adoption in their business models and, from an HR perspective, new data-based personalised services and overall digital capabilities.

Only 17% of surveyed companies have comprehensive roadmaps in place to master the digital transformation.

"As customers across the world embrace the new marketplace of shared ownership, on-demand services, and personalisation, no industry is immune to the growing need for digital transformation," said Dr. Michael Opitz, initiator of the study and leader of ADL's TIME Practice.

"We fear that today too few CEOs recognise the urgent need to not just invest in new technology, but fully realign every aspect of their businesses to the new digitally driven marketplace."

SSE Enterprise Telecoms has opened its third Network Operation Centre (NOC) located in Thatcham, Berkshire, adding to its existing NOCs in Hampshire and Perthshire.

Colin Sempill, MD at SSE Enterprise Telecoms, said: "With an ever increasing portfolio of high profile security and network availability conscious blue chip customers, as well as our own Energy generation, distribution and supply businesses, our third live Network Operations Centre is designed to demonstrate our commitment to providing a non-stop network service."

Swyx Solutions' long-term Gold partner EBC Group based in Birmingham is to offer the vendor's cloud-based UC/telephony platform via its privately owned data centres.

EBC Group MD Richard Lane commented: "Having made significant investments in our own core infrastructure, including two privately owned data centres, we already provide our customers with a range of services via the EBC Cloud Suite so adding telephony to our portfolio was a natural progression."

Swyx Director of Business Development, Michael Hostbaek, added: "The needs of today's modern companies are changing with greater demand for flexible, quick and easy access to communications regardless of location.

"As a result, more and more customers are asking our partners for cloud-based communications allowing them to closely match both the budgetary and operational needs of individual businesses."

Timico acted quickly to secure sponsorship of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, the first time the race has been open to sponsors in 36 years.

Alongside the four-year sponsorship deal Timico has been given preferred supplier status to The Jockey Club's portfolio of 15 race courses.  

Timico already provides ICT services to Goodwood and Newbury race courses, from managed voice and data communications to guest Wi-Fi and IT solutions.

Timico's Chief Executive Officer, Tim Radford, and his family have long been associated with horse racing as owners of frequent runners Knock House, Somersby, Calgary Bay and Racing Demon.

Timico's Chairman, Lord Daresbury, is a former champion amateur jockey. He was Chairman of Aintree Racecourse for 25 years from 1989 and took over as Chair at Haydock Park in 2013.

Radford said: "As an ambitious business working in a fast-paced industry, we were quick to recognise the tremendous opportunity of partnering with The Jockey Club to be part of one of the country's most prestigious events."

Pictured (l-r): Chairman Lord Daresbury and CEO Tim Radford

The Phone Co-op's CEO Vivian Woodell is on a mission to create an alternative economy built on the values advanced by social enterprises.

His efforts to date have been rewarded with a national award that recognises the organisation's role in a major social enterprise investment.

The Phone Co-op, based in Chipping Norton and Manchester, scooped the Best Consumer Facing award at the UK Social Enterprise Awards.

The Phone Co-op set up its Co-operative and Social Economy Development Fund to support the growth and development of other co-ops and social enterprises.

For example, it loaned HCT, the social enterprise bus operator, £500K as part of its recently raised £10m funding.

This funding, from a variety of social lenders, is a new record for a social enterprise investment in the UK.

The Phone Co-op is a strong supporter of public transport with over 91% of its business miles undertaken by public transport.

"We are happy to be using surplus capital to support another social enterprise that is providing public transport, something we actively try to use, and with an organisation that shares our values," stated Woodell.

"We see social enterprises co-supporting each other in this way as an example of the type of alternative economy we'd like to encourage and grow."

Peter Holbrook CBE, Social Enterprise UK's Chief Executive, said: "Social enterprises are needed more than ever to tackle the social and environmental problems facing Britain."

The UK now has more than 70,000 social enterprises that contribute more than £24bn to the economy each year.

Skyscape Cloud Services has been named the winner of the Communications category in Deloitte Global's 2015 Technology Fast 500 EMEA programme which ranks the fastest growing public and private technology companies annually.

Skyscape took sixth place overall and came second in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 UK shortlist of the country's most innovative and fastest growing technology firms.

"We're thrilled to have topped the Communications sector in the Technology Fast 500 EMEA shortlist in recognition of our rapid growth," said Simon Hansford, CEO of Skyscape Cloud Services. "It's a great honour to have achieved sixth position overall and to be named the runner up in the Fast 50 UK rankings."

"Making the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA ranking shows Skyscape Cloud Services' commitment to innovation and pushing the industry forward," said David Cobb, Deloitte UK and partner in charge of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA programme. "With its 13,391% growth rate over four years, Skyscape has proven that its leadership has the vision and determination to grow in a highly competitive market."

Skyscape was crowned a Cloudex 20:20 winner and named 'One to Watch' in The Sunday Times Tech Track 100. The form was also announced as the winner of the Community & Environmental Action Award at this year's British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) Management Team Awards.

Hansford added: "We attribute our success to date to two things - disruption and innovation. Our core business objective is to deliver assured, agile and cost-effective services to the public sector, ultimately delivering better value for money for UK citizens and tax payers."

Skyscape has won a number of high-profile public sector contracts with HMRC, DVLA and the MoD to name a few, and it has rapidly grown to more than 100 employees in just three years, with expectations to almost double that figure in 2016.

Its channel partner programme has also gone from strength to strength since its launch in 2013, with 190 organisations now able to market their services to the public sector by hosting on Skyscape's accredited platform.

Software provider Advanced Computer Software Group has secured two new offices close to Heathrow Airport and in Birmingham as part of a recruitment drive that will boost headcount by a third.

The premises at Ditton Park and the refurbished Mailbox in Birmingham city centre will house the new recruits.

Advanced has grown significantly since it was founded six years ago and plans to take on more than 1,000 members of staff in the next 18 months. 

Advanced hopes to attract new talent to its Ditton Park location by providing a 'premium working environment' for staff, offering a restaurant, coffee shop, gym, tennis courts, sports pitches and a kids centre.

Advanced will launch its midlands regional Birmingham city HQ in March 2016.

The Group will lease the entire third floor, a 45,000 sq ft space, said to be Birmingham's largest commercial accommodation on a single floorplate.

Gordon Wilson (pictured), CEO, Advanced Computer Software Group, stated: "Our investment in these new cutting edge facilities is part of a major recruitment drive, which will see the business grow by a third.

"It is also part of our wider strategy to foster more collaborative working, while further driving expansion.

"These are exciting times for the business and our employees are energised by all the opportunities that are on the horizon."

Advanced employs more than 2,000 members of staff and provides healthcare, business and learning management software and services to 20,000 customers.

The Group was recognised for sales growth recently, after securing a ranking on The Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 league table for the first time. 

The Group has grown its revenue to more than £200m in six years and was acquired by private equity firm, Vista Equity Partners for an enterprise value of £750 million in March 2015.

Advanced is recruiting for a number of positions including sales, professional services, software development and customer services.

Polycom's voice desktop and conferencing portfolios will be the first to support and interoperate with the Microsoft Office 365 Cloud PBX services.

The Polycom VVX business media phones are the first Open-SIP interoperability phones to support Office 365 Cloud PBX services, giving customers additional features including a touchscreen interface, intercom, group paging and a shared line experience.
 
The recently unveiled Polycom RealPresence Trio, a smart hub for group collaboration that transforms the iconic three-point conference phone into a voice, content sharing and video system, will provide a conference room experience for businesses of any size.
 
Giovanni Mezgec, General Manager of Applications and Services Marketing at Microsoft, said: "Polycom solutions, like the Polycom VVX business media phones and the Polycom RealPresence Trio, already interoperate with Skype for Business and will provide enhanced desktop and conference room applications that will offer a superior user experience for our Office 365 Cloud PBX customers."
 
Polycom's portfolio includes more than 40 existing voice, content collaboration and video solutions that integrate with Skype for Business/Microsoft Lync and are qualified by Microsoft.

Currently, seven Polycom VVX media phone models come pre-configured with Skype for Business and the RealPresence Trio smart hub will be the first to offer integration across multiple UC platforms including Skype for Business and Microsoft Lync that will allow for conference features.

Ashan Willy, Senior Vice President, Product Management & Worldwide Systems Engineering at Polycom, said: "The new cloud-based communications services from Microsoft are game changing and Polycom is proud to participate in this journey."

SIPHON Networks has secured 148th place in the Deloitte 2015 Technology Fast 500 EMEA.

Rankings are based on percentage revenue growth over the last four years; and during this period SIPHON grew by 644% per cent.

"Securing a position in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 is an impressive feat, especially given the highly competitive and rapidly changing environment of the technology industry," said David Cobb, Deloitte UK and partner in charge of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA programme.

"We congratulate SIPHON on being among the most dynamic and successful technology companies in the region."

Steve Harris, co-founder and MD of SIPHON, added: "Being recognised as one of the 500 fastest growing technology companies across Europe, the Middle East and Africa is a significant milestone for us at SIPHON, especially as we look to take steps to expand into new European markets."

Rob Smith, co-founder and Technical Director at SIPHON, stated: "Making the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA ranking is a tremendous achievement, not least because it recognises the commitment that SIPHON has made to innovation and technology-enablement through the disruptive solutions that we continue to bring to our customers in the evolving market for cloud-based UC."

Node4 has appointed John MacMillan to the newly created role of Sales Director, reporting to Business Development Director Paul Bryce.  

He brings 15 years sales and senior management experience and a proven ability to drive growth in the IT sector having secured major deals in previous roles at Azzurri and Daisy Group.

MacMillan will lead a team of 30-plus sales, pre-sales and account managers to focus on growing revenues within the enterprise mid-market and verticals including the public sector. 

He said: "I can see a clear opportunity to take Node4 to the next level with its combination of technical expertise and solutions. I'm looking forward to building a highly focused and ambitious team."

Bryce added: "We have purpose built our service offering to meet the market need for an agile IT partner. John will be instrumental in driving our next phase of growth."