Comms Dealer

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.

Pan-European telecoms provider Viatel is to integrate Cirpack solutions across its core network and enhance the company's services catalog tailored for enterprises, public organiSations and channel partners.

Cirpack technology will be deployed on the Viatel network in Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands and will be extended to other countries in a second phase.

Businesses based in these countries will be able to connect to the Viatel network to access VoIP and other advanced voice services.

This contract is part of the investment made by Viatel to extend its voice portfolio, fibre infrastructure, cloud services and data centre solutions to customers throughout Europe.

Viatel has selected and deployed Softswitch platforms and routing application servers from Cirpack's broad range of VoIP and voice solutions. All have the latest SBC technology along with associated services to support multi country and multi-site configuration as standard.

JMC IT has won a three year contract to provide rural and agricultural business Farmcare with a fully-outsourced IT platform following its separation from the Co-operative Group last year.

The telephony and support solution spans 10 farms, two pack houses and a head office based in Manchester. The system will support Farmcare's 260 current employees and growth plans.

Amie Harris, Head of Business Change at Farmcare, said: "Migration of all data and applications away from the Co-operative Group's infrastructure was a big project for us and it was important that this was undertaken successfully.

"Furthermore, fully outsourcing our IT system, support and all user requirements means that we do not require an internal IT team at all, which means we can focus on the core operation of the business."

JMC's Business Development Director Mike Bentley added: "We look forward to further cementing our close relationship with Farmcare that will help them to continue to build on their success through its journey of transformation."

Mitel is leveraging its cloud technology to unite organisations with mobile silos and create a seamless comms experience in what the vendor calls a 'mobile-first world'. Mitel's strategy is to use mobile as the entry point and leverage the growing capabilities of cloud and 4G LTE mobile to enable easier collaboration on mobile devices as part of an all-encompassing comms platform.

Mitel President and CEO Rich McBee said: "For many of us, the first thing we do in the morning is check our mobile. Increasingly everyday business communications are initiated on a handheld device rather than a desk phone or PC."

Mitel outlined a trio of initiatives designed to bridge mobile, enterprise and cloud technologies.

As well as combining cloud communications with a 4G LTE portfolio to speed up access to real-time services, the vendor will deliver Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) capabilities to mobile carriers in Asia, Europe and North America, and launch a string of mobile enterprise cloud-based products and solutions.

Zeus Kerravala, ZK Research founder and principal analyst, said: "Mitel's promise to leverage the intersection across real-time, cloud and mobile technologies aligns with a user's desire to knit together mixed voice, video and collaboration environments so businesses can effectively communicate and compete."

Turning its mobile vision into strategy Mitel launched a mobile-first version of MiCollab that enables small, mid-size and large enterprises to deliver presence, company directory, and tap-to-connect features.

MiContact Center connects the mobile enterprise with the mobile consumer, enabling text, chat and speech applications. And improved analytics and integration capabilities integrates customer data with 'IoT triggers'.

Also, Mitel's Hospitality solutions link a guest's smartphone to the hotel's network, making it an extension of their room phone.

McBee added: "Users expect rich and contextual services across the devices of their choice so that business communications deliver a consumer-like experience and mobile communications move towards a business-like experience.

"The intersection of mobile and cloud communications is breaking down technical barriers and bringing us to the point where truly seamless collaboration and communications is finally achievable."

Entatech UK has sealed a new distribution agreement with VTech Business Phones.

VTech is a global supplier of electronic learning products, from infancy to preschool, and a manufacturer of cordless phones.

Entatech will be introducing the manufacturer's range of cordless and corded ErisTerminal SIP Phones and accessories to its product portfolio, boosting its networking telecommunications offering, as well as bolstering its currently product set for the corporate market.

ErisTerminal phones come with dual Ethernet ports and PoE support, and a three year warranty.

Dave Stevinson, Entatech' MD, commented: "The inclusion of VTech into our portfolio is a great opportunity for resellers to partner with a familiar brand."

Ingram Micro is moving strongly into fulfilment and e-commerce, buying Dutch DOCdata Nederland B.V. and DOCdata International B.V. (Docdata), the e-commerce fulfillment business of publically-traded, Netherlands-based, DOCDATA N.V. for approximately €160m.

Docdata will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Ingram Micro.

Docdata CEO Michiel Alting von Geusau will continue to lead the company, reporting directly to Ken Beyer, Ingram Micro executive vice president commerce and fulfillment solutions. In addition to customary regulatory and other closing conditions, the transaction requires approval of a majority of outstanding shares at a special meeting of DOCDATA N.V. shareholders, which is expected to take place toward the end of the 2015 fourth quarter.

Docdata provides order fulfilment, returns logistics and online payment services, providing critical commerce solutions to major retailers, brands and start-ups, currently working with between 125,000 and 250,000 orders on a daily basis, with major operations in Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The company is expected to contribute in excess of $150m in annual services revenue to Ingram Micro.

Ingram Micro CEO Alain Monié said: "Adding Docdata's broad-based suite of commerce solutions to our existing portfolio of global services will bring critical mass to our commerce and fulfillment solutions business in Europe."

Snom Technology has unveiled the D765 Desk phone, featuring a high-resolution color display and equipped with a XML browser.

The integrated Ethernet switch allows VLAN and IEEE 802.3 connectivity and provides for the secure connection of additional network components.

Thew IP phone supports up to 12 different SIP user accounts and is designed for the busy office environment, supporting multiple audio devices at the same time, and the built-in Bluetooth compatibility enables easy connection for wireless headsets.

This SIP-based VoIP phone also fits easily into modern telephony and unified communications solutions and includes future proofing features such as including IPv4/Pv6 dual stack support, and both Gigabit Ethernet and USB connectivity. Data transfer takes place via a built-in HTTP (S) server, the encryption of the communication uses TLS and SRTP SIPS

"Fraudulent activity on company telephone networks is costly and on the increase. These latest handsets are designed to meet the requirements of security conscious business professionals," commented Nadahl Shocair SEO Snom Technology AG.