Comms Dealer

London-based IT solutions and managed services provider Logicalis has bought a 51% stake in NubeliU, a specialist in cloud computing projects based on OpenStack.

The acquisition is part of Logicalis' strategy to position itself as a cloud integrator, the company said.

NubeliU, which was founded in 2015 by the team the deployed the first production clouds in OpenStack, specialises in integration of OpenStack environments with customers' existing platforms.

According to the company, NubeliU can remotely deliver its services offerings around the globe from its operations in Brazil and Argentina. The acquisition is also expected to accelerate the global expansion of Logicalis' cloud computing and SDx practices, it said.

"We are convinced that OpenStack will be one of the foundations for the ICT future infrastructure. It is a platform that allows management and orchestration of hybrid environments in public and private clouds, ensuring a safe and transparent operation for corporate clients," says Logicalis' CEO, Mark Rogers.

Record levels of venture capital investment at the start of 2017 has helped London retain its crown as Europe's 'number one tech hub for global investors', according to Mayor of London promotional agency London & Partners.

VCs are said to have pumped more than £1.1bn into London's tech sector over the last six months, with the total invested across the UK as a whole topping £1.3bn between January and June.

Despite Brexit the start of 2017 has seen more investment than for any other six month time period in the last decade.

Investment deals include £388m in virtual reality start-up Improbable and ones involving London-based fintech companies Funding Circle (£82m), Zopa (£32m) and Monzo (£22m).

"London's tech sector has attracted more venture capital investment than any other European city since the Brexit vote, including Dublin, Paris and Amsterdam," said London & Partners.

With over £1.8bn billion in VC funding across 544 deals, London has received more than double the amount of investment than Berlin (the second largest city for VC investment), which has seen £775m invested across 136 deals since the EU referendum vote.

Laura Citron, CEO of London & Partners, said: "London remains Europe's leading hub for global investors. The Brexit vote has understandably created some uncertainty but it is no surprise to see that London continues to attract more than double the amount of investment than any other European city.

"The fundamental strengths of London as a centre for technology and business have not changed and we have everything companies need to be successful - policy makers, finance, infrastructure, world-class universities and talent."

Investors are also continuing to pump large amounts of capital into the wider UK tech sector with British technology firms receiving more investment than any other European country since the EU referendum.

"UK tech companies have recorded £2.39bn worth of venture capital investment since Brexit, more than Germany, France and the Netherlands combined."

Ashish Surti has assumed responsibility for Colt's information and cyber security strategy following his appointment as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). He also heads up Colt's Computer Security Incident Response team.

Surti brings 15 years of security experience to Colt, moving from TSB Bank where he was the first CISO, accountable for duties including information risk management, security consultancy & architecture and cyber intelligence and response.

Surti reports directly to Chief Technology Officer Rajiv Datta.

"With the ever present risk of cyber attack and increasing pressure from global threats, secure network connectivity matters now more than ever to organisations across all markets and industries," said Surti.

Datta added: "Cyber security is a critical consideration for organisations of all sizes and across all sectors, and having talented and experienced leaders within our team is essential for us to maintain our own security and that of our customers' networks."

ProVu's founder and Sales Director Ian Godfrey has retired from the company after 18 years service.

He established ProVu in 1999 and has played a key role in the development of the company.

ProVu's MD Darren Garland said: "As founder of ProVu, Ian has played a pivotal role in making ProVu the success it is today. Not only has he overseen the company's growth, but he has also been instrumental in creating the positive culture that ProVu enjoys with its staff and customers.

"I am grateful for all that he has done for the company and along with the rest of the team wish him all the very best in his retirement."

Although continuing as an ambassador for the company, Godfrey now plans to enjoy his retirement with his wife, June.

As a former British Champion Yachtsman he is looking forward to getting out on the water more often and has a number of trips already planned.

He stated: "I know that I am leaving the company in great hands, with a team that is passionate and dedicated to growing and progressing to the next level. I look forward to seeing them continue to succeed and expand over the coming years."

Avaya's UK and EMEA marketing team is headed up by two new faces following the appointment of Ross White as Head of UK Marketing, supported by Nick Main who has been promoted to the role of Head of Channel Marketing for EMEA.

White leads all UK marketing activity with oversight of all country and joint partner marketing, channel communications, social media programs, and SI/SP and distribution relationships. He has over 15 years of experience in IT and telecommunications marketing. Since joining Avaya in 2004, he has held a number of positions within the company, most recently Head of Channel Marketing EMEA.

Main joined the team in 2016 as EU Channel Marketing Manager.

Ioan MacRae, MD, Avaya, said: "Nurturing an ecosystem of diverse and rare talents is a huge part of the value our customers and partners expect from us. The decades of experience Nick and Ross share show just how well suited they are for these expanded roles, and the potential we see in them to deliver even more."

Vodafone UK has recognised its top performing B2B partners at its annual Partner of the Year awards held in Manchester on July 5th.

The awards celebrate the performance of Vodafone's partners over the last financial year, recognising those who demonstrate superior capability across the Vodafone portfolio and provide excellent service for UK businesses.

The winners are judged on a number of criteria, such as sales volumes and accreditations achieved. The segment category awards (Total Communications, Advanced and Specialist partner categories) also consider how the programme's training and marketing benefits have been used by partners.

This year's winners are:
Total Communications Partner of the Year - Onecom
Advanced Partner of the Year - Garnell Corporate Communications
Specialist Partner of the Year - New Image Communications
One Net Partner of the Year - Connect Telecom
Connectivity Partner of the Year (new category for this year) - iTalk Telecom

Helen Freestone, who has recently been appointed as Director of Partners and Alliances for Vodafone UK, said: "It's a privilege to be able to recognise so many of our partners this year, particularly as the new programme, with a focus on capability and customer service, continues to generate success for both our own and our partners' businesses."

Natilik's Rory Tempest has been promoted to the Chief Marketing Officer role following a four year stint running a successful commercial sales function at the firm.

CEO Mike Danson said: "As we continue to grow and our portfolio becomes deeper and broader, there has never been a more important time to have someone in our company responsible for linking what our clients really want from their IT and communications investments and what we can offer.

"Rory brings a wealth of experience about our clients, our market and our brand and now has the opportunity to fuse this knowledge to help provide clarity on how we can bring value to our clients and deliver to the outcomes that are most important to them."

Tempest added: "We continue to disrupt the industry and in doing so have achieved some amazing things with our clients, which we're dying to share with the global market. We're on course to achieve our five year objectives and storytelling will play a crucial part of that."

Storacall Voice Systems has joined forces with Enghouse Interactive to develop an integrated call accounting and call recording solution targeted at businesses with large volumes of inbound or outbound calls.

The new offering is primarily based around Enghouse Interactive's Proteus call management and call accounting software, which allows organisations to run comparisons of rate plans from multiple providers.

The Proteus software provides reports on call traffic and monitors the organisation's use of long distance or toll-based services to protect against internal and external fraud.

Proteus software has been combined with the Storacall-ST call recording solution.

Joe Jestico, Head of Business Development, Storacall, said: "We are witnessing growing demand in the marketplace from businesses for an integrated solution that enables them to exert greater control over the calls they are making and receiving.

"Positive customer engagement is seen as a key differentiator by a growing number of organisations today, but in delivering it they need to address potential pain points by ensuring they manage call quality and agent performance efficiently."

Tony Davies, International Partner Director, Enghouse Interactive, added: "We are looking forward to pooling our resources and capabilities to meet the increasingly urgent need of organisations today for call management and call recording."

The number of cyber attacks targeting UK-based businesses increased by more than half in the second quarter of 2017, according to a new report from business ISP Beaming.

Firms were, on average, subjected to almost 65,000 Internet-borne cyber attacks each in the three months to June, an increase of 52% on the first quarter of 2017.

While two-thirds (68%) of attacks hitting corporate firewalls targeted connected devices such as networked security cameras and building control systems, there was a substantial increase in attacks on company databases.

On average, each UK business experienced 105 attempts to take control of their database applications per day in the second quarter of 2017, compared to just 14 in the first three months of the year.

Sonia Blizzard, MD of Beaming, said: "Major organisations have been brought to their knees by global cyber attacks and our research shows the likes of Wannacry are just the tip of the iceberg.

"UK businesses were targeted more than 700 times each on a daily basis by hackers over the last three months, who focused on hijacking connected devices and databases.

"The majority of cyber attacks are automated computer scripts that search the web for weaknesses and attack company firewalls constantly looking for vulnerabilities.

"Businesses need to keep these vital defences up-to-date, prioritise security over convenience and ensure employees understand both the evolving threat and their cyber security responsibilities."

Mitel has acquired the business assets of troubled Toshiba Unified Communications Systems.

Mitel has confirmed that there will be ongoing access to existing Toshiba products and services and that a number of Toshiba sales, support and R&D employees will join the Canadian vendor to maintain support for existing Toshiba customers and partners.

The transaction also includes a transition services agreement to provide product and service continuity.

The deal reflects Mitel's strategy to focus on expanding its position in the UCC market.

"In a rapidly changing and opportunity rich technology landscape, Mitel is helping customers find a seamless path forward whether in the cloud, on premise or a hybrid of both," said Rich McBee, CEO of Mitel.