Comms Dealer

NTA acted quickly to escalate the development of a hosted telephony dialler solution and launch it to the channel following prompts from partners.

"We received many requests to develop this solution so we prioritised the project with our in-house developers," explained MD Paul White (pictured).

"Predictive diallers can often connect calls before an agent becomes free, but our solution contacts the agent prior to making a call, ensuring there are no silences which can result in upsetting the prospective customer even before starting a conversation about a product or service."

White also noted that data from the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) can be uploaded into the dialler which checks online data seconds before the call is made. "Only checked numbers against the TPS database can be called," added White.

Other features that come as standard include appointment booking via the system and caller blacklisting.

In a separate development Romford-based NTA also launched a new Private Digital Subscriber Line service (PDSL) which is locked down for voice purposes only, promoting enhanced QoS when using hosted telephony services.

"The circuit itself has an internal IP address delivered by the NTA network meaning that no public IP address exists, and therefore no traffic is physically going over the Internet," explained White.

"This in turn makes the service less open to toll fraud and means that NTA can ensure continuity and reliability of the service end-to-end."

First port of call for Andrew Smethurst, the newly appointed Head of Channel (UC) at Gamma, was Fidelity Group's HQ in Henley-on-Thames where he presented MD Alan Shraga with a plaque to acknowledge the service providers new Platinum Partner status.

Shraga told Comms Dealer: "This recognition differentiates us from Gamma's 700-plus registered partners and enables our channel to be first to market with new Gamma products and have exclusive commercials."

The winners of the O2 Direct Partner Network Digital & Customer Excellence Awards met at Silverstone race track in Northamptonshire to celebrate following the re-launch of the O2 Direct Partner Network earlier in the year.

The new awards hailed the end of the outdated tiered system which has been used across the industry for many years, and are indicative of O2's new approach in rewarding partner's overall capability instead of grouping them by their scale and size alone.

The day kicked off with lunch in the British Racing Drivers Club over-looking the track, followed by the awards presentation.

Senior figures from O2 - Ben Dowd, O2 Business Director, Paul Lawton, General Manager SMB, and Jason Phillips, Head of Partners SMB - presented Excellence Awards to 21 of O2's partners, 11 of whom won both the Digital and Customer Excellence Awards.

As well as receiving their awards the partners got the chance to race each other on the world famous track, James Wright from Vivio being crowned Driver of the Day (pictured) on top of an award for Digital Excellence.

All winners receive new excellence award branding, additional commercials and further marketing, training and consultancy to help develop their business.

Pragma put in a another strong growth performance in its third year of trading with growth of over 50% and was named a finalist in the upcoming Comms National Awards in the Convergence Distributor of the Year category.

Pragma's main supplier, Ericsson-LG Enterprise, is also shortlisted as a finalist in three awards, and four of their top resellers have also secured finalist positions.

Ericsson-LG Enterprise were one of only four vendors to demonstrate organic year-over-year growth in the recent Gartner analysis of the Enterprise Telephony Equipment Revenue.

Ericsson-LG Enterprise saw an increase of 8.8% according to the report that reviews the top 10 Global vendors.

This performance is very much in-line with the UK results where Ericsson-LG Enterprise and Pragma continue to outperform the market and show strong growth.

Will Morey, Marketing Director, Pragma, said: "It is great to be working with such a strong global vendor and see the growth and success that this brings. Our resellers continue to deliver outstanding performances and help us to drive significant gains in the UK market for Ericsson-LG Enterprise."

To support this growth Pragma has continued to expand its team, adding more sales, marketing and technical specialists to provide class leading levels of support to their sellers.

Pragma also highlighted the upcoming launch of aplatform designed to offer a reseller focused cloud telephony proposition as well as a service provider proposition that offers PBX functionality in the cloud.

This new initiative will underpin its growth plans in 2016 alongside continuing to grow their on-premise unified communications business.

Tim Brooks, Managing Director, added: "The combination of another strong growth performance and Pragma being shortlisted for finalist positions at the Comms National Awards is one of the highlights of our year. We are looking forward to more of the same in 2016."

And if they don't grab it, they don't want it! It's taken me 27 years in sales to realise that as blunt as this motto is, despite how sophisticated we think we are, it's as true today as it was in 1988, writes Clive Jefferys, Managing Director of telco recruiter JMA Network.
 
Whether you are selling comms, cars or candles, when the prospect in front of you says that he wants to think about it, you have to act immediately. Admittedly the objection might be trivial, but unless you get at it quickly it will only grow and grow. The concern might be major and you certainly need to address what is holding back the much sought-after Yes!
 
This is especially true regarding all matters of recruitment, wherever you sit in the process, so here are a few translations:
 
"I always like to sleep on it"
I'm pretty certain it's a No. However if I wake up tomorrow morning and suddenly feel better about it, I'll try and find an alternative before coming back to you.
 
"We have more people to see before we can make a decision"
I'm not convinced and I'll come back to you as the last resort.
 
"I'll let the agency know my decision."
I don't like giving bad news myself and you might have a gun in your pocket.
 
"We just need to see proof of your past performance / income."
I don't believe you, but I'm open to being proved wrong.
 
"I'm really very keen about your offer, but I always discuss important things like this with my partner."
I want to bank this for the moment, until something better comes along.
 
"Yes, I'm really happy about your offer!"
But I didn't say your job did I? I will split hairs about my choice of words, if I back out later.
 
Recruitment attunes you to human nature and every day is a school day in sales. The thing I love about my profession, and sales in general, is that when you find a prospect or candidate that is on the level, open and honest, it makes the job so much easier.
 
So, if the candidate or job offer in front of you today feels right, just go for it and say yes. Waiting for what might be round the corner creates lost opportunities and solves nothing.
 
Remember, recruitment is a Now business!

ShoreTel has appointed Gary Gould as Marketing Director for EMEA, responsible for the marketing function including strategy, demand generation, and internal and external communications.

His key focus is on growth programmes, channel marketing economics, sales impact and driving partner engagement in the region.

Gould has over 20 years of marketing, product, channel and communications experience in the telecoms, technology and cloud space, having held key marketing roles at Cisco, Verizon and Panduit.

He is a cloud specialist and co-founded a start-up for on-demand cloud services aimed at micro and small businesses, Compare Cloudware, between 2011 and 2015.

Gould joins ShoreTel from Trustpilot where he developed its global partner and content marketing strategy.

Four years as an MD in the BT Local Business Network has also equipped him well to work effectively with channel partners, understanding their needs.

Mark Roberts, CMO at ShoreTel, said: "Gary brings extensive channel and cloud expertise to ShoreTel's global marketing team and has a great track record of successful integrated marketing campaigns under his belt.

"EMEA is a crucial market for us and this important addition to the team is further evidence of our commitment to meeting both customer and channel demands in all corners of the globe."

Gould added: "Following the recent launch of ShoreTel Connect it is an exciting time to be joining a company at the forefront of cloud and UC innovation. I'm looking forward to working closely with the team and ShoreTel's partners to drive further growth in EMEA."

Marlow-based Softcat has revealed plans to float on the London Stock Exchange in what Non-executive Chairman Brian Wallace said is a 'natural step' in the firm's growth strategy. In a statement the company said admission would occur during November.

Softcat has increased its revenue ten-fold over the past ten years, delivering 40 quarters uninterrupted organic revenue growth since 2005.

Its revenue increased from £89.1m for the year ended 31st July 2007 to £596.1m for the year ended 31st July 2015, up from £504.8m the previous year.

The company's leaders believe that the IPO will enhance Softcat's profile and brand recognition with customers, vendor partners and distributors and provide a strategic growth platform.

Wallace said: "The Board believes that the company's plan for an IPO provides a natural step forward for the business while retaining its culture and ethos. The IPO will enhance the public profile of Softcat, help attract new customers and support growth through the ability to attract and retain high quality employees."

Martin Hellawell, CEO, added: "Our growth model is simple but effective - grow our business with existing customers and win new customers, while continuing to offer high quality service. By continuing to focus on these key areas, we believe that we can continue to drive the growth of our business and, as a consequence, create shareholder value."

The offer will consist of the sale of shares currently held by the founders of Softcat, senior members of the management team, and certain current and former employees.

Softcat began operating in 1993 and has evolved from a software licensing reseller to offer a range of products and services and has over 200 vendor partners, either direct or through its distributors.

Armstrong Bell's MD William Copley has credited his growing workforce and the introduction of new products and services for a 26% hike in revenues.

The Midlands-based company has doubled its headcount and reported turnover up from £1.08m in May 2014 to £1.36m 12 months later.

According to Copley the firm is on track to double last year's turnover by 2017 and this year's by 2018.

Armstrong Bell, which services 300-plus UK business customers, has added to its management, sales and technical teams, boosting the headcount from eight to 17, and also relocated bigger offices.

Copley said: "The success we've seen in the last year has been down to having the right offering for businesses.

"Clients have capitalised on the introduction of hosted products as well as data services, broadband and Wi-Fi.

"These products are going to be a key part of our growth over the next few years, especially hosted voice, SIP trunks and connectivity.

"SMEs are reaping the feature and cost benefits of cloud-based services and we have seen a big surge in the number of customers taking up these products."

Copley also noted that Armstrong Bell has implemented a new CRM system.

Copley added: "We're experiencing growth at a rate we haven't seen before. It's an exciting time for the company."

Former Daisy Group MD Andrew Goldwater has joined Onyx Group as Chief Financial Officer.

The appointment advances Onyx's plan to accelerate revenues (which have increased from £4m in 2005 to £30m in 2015) to £100m within five years.

Goldwater said: "I am looking forward to applying my financial and commercial experience to facilitate the company's ambitious growth plans and take the business to the next level."
During his tenure at Daisy Goldwater played a key role in leading the company through the acquisition of 2e2's administration stricken data centre assets and delivering post-acquisition financial results in excess of initial expectations.

Onyx Group CEO Neil Stephenson added: "Andrew brings a wealth of valuable knowledge and experience to the team which will prove vital in the continuation of our business growth.
"With previous senior roles at Daisy Group, Ernst & Young and BNS Telecom Group, it is testimony to our progress that we can recruit people with Andrew's experience."

Established in 1994, Onyx Group has grown from a regional IT company to a national technology provider with sites in the north east, London, Scotland and Yorkshire.

Tech Data has formed a dedicated team to address the fast-growing market for wearable technology.

The three-strong team will work together on partner enablement and programmes designed to drive reseller and retailer sales.

Mike Cain, previously NETGEAR Development Manager within the Tech Data PC Components team, becomes the new dedicated Business Development Manager for Wearables; Mica Jakins, takes up the position of Senior Category Manager, moving across from a similar role within the Tech Data Consumer Electronics team; and Stacey Bliss makes a similar transition as Assistant Category Manager.

The team will work in close liaison with both the Tech Data Consumer Electronics and Tech Data Mobile teams, to ensure that both vendors and customers have access to the information, resource and support they need to maximise the growing potential of wearable technologies.

Tech Data already offers a range of wearable devices from Samsung, Motorola, HTC, Alcatel, ASUS and Acer, and is planning to make significant additions to its portfolio in the near future.

Mark Glasspool, Director of Product Marketing at Tech Data, says: "The formation of the dedicated wearables team is a clear sign of our commitment to this market. We believe there will be enormous potential to develop our business in this area. The job of our new team will be to identify and address the opportunities and bring all the strengths and benefits we have to offer to bear in ensuring success for our partners and customers."

The potential extends to all areas of the market, Glasspool noted. "This is not only a consumer opportunity, there are going to be applications in the enterprise and SMB markets and also in the public sector. With the clear sales focus we have on each of these segments, and the Wearables team co-ordinating our efforts, Tech Data is well-placed to lead the way in developing this exciting and rapidly expanding new market."

According to a recent report from CCS Insight, the global wearables market is set to reach $25 billion by 2019. The number of devices sold will triple to more than 245 units in 2019, up from 84 million units this year. The company expects the wearables market to be worth $15 billion this year with smartphones claiming 61 per cent of total revenues and generating just under half of all income by 2019. While fitness trackers are expected to lead the way in growth terms, augmented and virtual reality headsets and wearable cameras are also expected to see strong increases.