Comms Dealer

Volta Data Centres has formed a partnership with the London Internet Exchange (LINX), one of the world's largest network peering exchanges.

As part of the agreement, Volta will become a Virtual Point-of-Presence (vPoP) for LINX, enabling LINX members to connect directly to a core LINX PoP.
 
With over 650 members LINX is one of the largest Internet exchange points worldwide, handling over 3Tbps of traffic daily across its public exchange alone. Traffic over its private inter-connect facilities more than doubles that figure.
 
By becoming a LINX member, organisations benefit from access to direct routes from a large number of international peering partners. This improves resilience and reduces latency, thus improving their overall network performance.
 
Volta has enlisted the help of Ai Networks to provide the connectivity to enable LINX connections within their data centre.

Jennifer Holmes, Head of Sales at LINX said: "With more network operators trying to interconnect with each other in London than ever before, our vPoP and ConneXions partners provide an important service for networks wishing to participate remotely.

"We're delighted Ai Networks and Volta have joined us as LINX partners and look forward to working together to help improve the Internet for all."
 
Jonathan Arnold, Managing Director of Volta Data Centres, added: "We are excited to be only the 4th UK data centre to become a LINX vPoP. This announcement strengthens our credentials as a viable data centre option away from the traditional Docklands area."
 

Colt's cloud UC service is now available across Europe. Applications can be accessed from mobile or desktop device, supporting the growing demand for mobile working and BYOD in the workplace, said the firm.

Colt's Cloud UC offering is a suite of managed cloud-based communication and collaboration services.

Richard Oosterom, EVP Voice Services at Colt, said: "For CIOs, a major barrier to UC adoption has been the lack of understanding of the business benefits, making it hard to argue the case for replacing expensive PBX and telephony equipment.

"The difficulty of then integrating collaboration tools with existing systems, and employing a team with the wide-ranging skills to maintain the services, has delayed the uptake of UC further.

"Colt's integrated voice and data network services removes those barriers and means that businesses can benefit from the digital transformation potential of UC, while still reducing both capex and opex costs."

A new UC system launched by Panasonic works with the KX-NS series and is compatible with multiple-devices including smartphone, tablet, PC and Mac.

Called UC Pro, the vendor says the system is its 'most versatile, user-friendly' yet, and can be integrated into existing infrastructures and features a capacity of more than 2,500 extensions, voice and video call, instant messaging text and audio chat.

Schedules and presence can also be managed, while the system integrates with Microsoft Outlook and most other CRM systems.

Aimed at the medium-to-large-sized business market, the system also promises time-saving and remote-worker friendly functionality, as well as cost saving and a reduced Total Cost of Ownership.

Panasonic Marketing Manager for Communication Solutions, Carlos Osuna, said: "We know that for businesses today time is becoming increasingly scarce, while the need to stay productive on the move is rising steadily.

"That's why we've designed UC Pro to work seamlessly with the KX-NS series, offering a complete communications solution."

Sennheiser is celebrating its 70th anniversary as its Contact Centre and Office (CC&O) segment continues to demonstrate sustained growth since its launch in 2003.

A broad portfolio of products lays the foundation for the reformulation of Sennheiser CC&O. In 2014 and 2015 it launched the SP 10 and SP 20 speakerphones and now D10 series of DECT wireless headsets, refreshing its range of endpoint solutions.

Sennheiser CC&O also made significant investment in its sales operations over the past year with a focus on five key geographic markets - the United States, UK, Germany, France and Benelux (Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg).

It has established formal strategic relationships with a number of Unified Communications partners including Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Mitel, Alcatel-Lucent, Polycom, and Avaya, and continues to develop global alliances to create both local and international sales opportunities.

As the organisation celebrates its 70th anniversary, it remains family owned and operated, headed by a third generation of the Sennheiser family. The current CEOs, Daniel Sennheiser and Dr. Andreas Sennheiser, are the grandchildren of the company's founder, Prof. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser.

Permanent placements continued to rise in September but the rate of expansion eased to a two-and-a-half year low, according to the latest Report on Jobs from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). 

The availability of staff to fill permanent job roles fell further in September. The rate of decline eased to the slowest in three months, but remained marked overall.

Temporary/contract staff availability also deteriorated at a slightly slower pace. 
 
Kevin Green, CEO of the REC, commented: "As politicians make their big pitches to workers and to business at the party conferences, the UK jobs market is entering a new phase. 

"Talent shortages are making it increasingly difficult for employers to find quality candidates. This is now at a critical stage in the construction and engineering sectors, constituting a major threat to planned rail upgrades and housebuilding projects."  
 
Clive Jefferys of recruiter JMA Network observed: "This hardly surprising. The long-expected skills shortage is finally biting hard on economic growth plans. The plain fact is that the UK does not have enough people of working age to meet business demand."

It's not about Wi-Fi technology per se, it's about how you approach it and apply the connectivity, according to Felix Gibson, founder and CEO of 802 Works and 802 Event Wi-Fi.

Listen and challenge, do things well first time, don't pick fights you can't win and learn to move on: These tenets and watchwords have served Gibson well and form the basis if his company's culture. They also underpin the successful development of his north Lanarkshire-based business, which is also known for sticking to a policy of chasing success instead of money while working smarter and harder.

These guiding principles catalysed a notable change in the company during 2012 when Gibson turned his attention to High Density Wi-Fi in stadiums and arenas. As a result, 802 Event WiFi became one of the first companies to successfully deploy Wi-Fi into a 54,000 capacity football arena at Ibrox stadium in Glasgow. This was one of only four 'bowl' deployments in the UK. Since then the firm has deployed many more HD Wi-Fi solutions at venues including Down Royal Racecourse (Belfast), Hamilton Park Racecourse (Hamilton), Milngavie town centre, Perth Concert Hall and most recently Albion Rovers FC.

"The product in itself is not the end game, it is the engineering knowledge and competencies that deliver the solution," added Gibson. "Our current priority is to push the 802 Event WiFi brand and position it as the provider of choice for all Wi-Fi related solutions."

An important aspect of Gibson's growth strategy is public Wi-Fi access and data capture. He foresees a closer relationship with third party value added providers and believes that specialisation is key. "The market has become fragmented with everyone doing everything," said Gibson. "Resellers should do what they do well and make it theirs, but involve other specialists to support their own expertise - why compromise?"

To fully realise the potential of Wi-Fi more information must become available through data capture, demographics and analytics. And the relationship between Wi-Fi and the client app needs to be further developed, believes Gibson. "In the US National Football League you don't install one without the other," he added. "The app works to monetise the network and pays the Wi-Fi investment."

How businesses promote a service or product and how they communicate with their target audience is key, and 802 Works sees Wi-Fi as an absolute given. It offers the ability to promote a product or service via an image or text to potential candidates wherever they are. It's no longer about a big fixed billboard in the town centre, but rather a message or video sent directly to a device over Wi-Fi. Nor is that all, demographic and analytical information forms the basis of reports for prospective marketers to match the target with a product or service. The technology also offers the promoter an enhanced ability to engage with their audience.

"It's all about the speed of change and the impact this has on how we do business, communicate and engage with others," stated Gibson. "I experienced the 'open' technology revolution in the early 80s and have learnt to embrace new technology as it emerges. We naturally encourage the integration of emerging technologies associated with High Density Wi-Fi. We believe this adds value to the overall customer solution and user experience. Growing up with the speed of change has also taught me to differentiate between product and solution."

Gibson founded 802 Event WiFi in July 2007 as a provider of fixed wireless radio solutions to the public sector. The proposition was to deliver substantial savings by replacing legacy low capacity leased lines with superfast cost-effective wireless links. "Some organisations were quick to embrace the technology with higher capacity bandwidth and huge savings," explained Gibson. "Others didn't, and still don't get it, which is hard to believe considering how far budgets have been cut."

802 Event WiFi continues to deliver wireless solutions to the public sector with 33 per cent of local authorities in Scotland in its customer base. "Although the public sector delivers fair revenue it is becoming more difficult to build trusting relationships due to procurement rules and processes," added Gibson.

"It is difficult for us to justify 'giving away' our intellectual property and then see it appear as part of a tender which is awarded on lowest cost submission. We will continue to work with the public sector but also develop steady growth in the private sector. This fits our style. We are brand agnostic, not a brand-led solutions supplier. We will deliver a solution that meets the demands of the environment, including third party products that deliver added value."

Gibson has witnessed growth in the private sector, particularly from the entertainment and arts industries. "The market is getting a little crowded with pop-up tick-in-the-box Wi-Fi providers and multi-vendor solution providers having Wi-Fi as an add-on or afterthought," he added. "This gives Wi-Fi bad PR in much the same way that poorly installed wireless radio links did 10 years ago. It's not about the Wi-Fi, it's about what you do with it and we need to educate the market."

The company's turnover last year topped £725k with further growth expected this year. In terms of staff, Gibson's strategy is to remain lean and agile. "We have four members of staff who do the jobs that are core to the business," he said. "The other activities we outsource. Our aim is to be recognised industry-wide as a stable, secure, financially sound business and a leader in Wi-Fi technology solutions. We'll get there through hard work, credibility, innovation and a bit of luck."

  Success in the channel is essentially about having agility, the power to adapt, innovation, determination and becoming a standard-bearer for impeccably high service, according to Mike van Bunnens, Managing Director at Comms365, who says there's never been a better time for resellers to assert their growth agendas based on these solid principles.

The genesis of Comms365 is a classic example of how an agile start-up can swiftly nip past well rooted industry megaliths afflicted by inertia. And having gained experience in software, managed services, telecoms and the Internet, van Bunnens soon developed the view that businesses were disadvantaged by the extended period of time it took the larger players to react to their needs during service delivery and post-sale. "I saw an opportunity to build an ISP with an agenda to be different," explained van Bunnens. "We set about educating customers on how they should procure mission critical communications more effectively."

It was back in 2008 when van Bunnens established Bedfordshire-based Comms365 alongside Director Shaun Nicholls and two other business partners who had the knowhow to fast track the fledgling business. But future success was by no means a dead cert. "The first years were tough," explained van Bunnens. "We made a decision to invest in building our own network without having the customers to use it. We spent significantly on equipment, space and power and initially saw little return. Slowly but surely, customers found us and through sheer determination and many sleepless nights we began to attract businesses that believed in our ability to deliver solid, dependable services."

Those early clients were the building blocks of a strong and loyal customer base, and Comms365's decision to build its own network soon became the driver for a growing number of business wins from customers attracted to the firm's ability to demonstrate end-to-end control of its services, as well as offer bespoke solutions. "The great thing about our business is that we don't actually have a typical customer," added van Bunnens. "We work with companies of all sizes. Some with one person and others with 80,000 people."

Comms365 has grown between 50-80 per cent year-on-year and last year the company achieved almost £2 million turnover. van Bunnens expects to add another £500k this financial year and he is particular proud because the company remains debt free. He attributes much of this growth to Comms365's collaboration with partners who have helped to generate large sales. "The channel is key to our future growth," he added. "Our key partners are other ISPs, solution providers, SIs, IT support companies and pretty much any company that offers communication solutions.

"We offer the usual ISP services such as ADSL, FTTC and Ethernet via our channel, but what sets us apart is our mobile data solution. This is available as either a reseller or wholesale model and we can offer partners a quick way to add this rapidly growing service to their portfolios. We will also build our channel by encouraging partners to harness the fast expanding M2M/IoT market. Our products are positioned to cater for the exponential increase in data that will be generated by this burgeoning technology."

Not surprisingly, the addition of mobile data solutions opened the door to new opportunities soon after Comms365 was formed. "We were asked to help a large retailer with a mobile data solution and almost immediately afterwards we were approached by a large international carrier that wanted to interconnect with us and sell our mobile data solution. Things snowballed from that point onwards."

The company is especially interested in partners that work in specific vertical markets, particularly construction, energy and healthcare where speed of delivery and remote access are key components of the complete solution. "We see resellers as underpinning our success," commented van Bunnens. "Our solutions are all designed to be adopted by the channel and we will continue to invest in developing rich toolsets to make selling our services easier. We aim to attract partners who wish to work with a company that is in this industry for the right reasons."

Comms365 employs 15 staff and has a number of contract team members. The firm operates lean processes, proprietary internal systems and a management portal called CommsPortal which simplifies its data services and gives customers and partners a granular level of hands-on management. A move to bigger premises this month will increase the firm's capacity to service the channel and also attract local people to work for the company.

The decisive move to new premises and the revving up of channel activity has raised a number of questions about the future direction of Comms365. Most notably, the rise of cloud services is a key ingredient in the mix. van Bunnens commented: "We constantly ask ourselves - are we an infrastructure provider or a one-stop-shop? Do we get involved in application development or reselling ourselves? Do we have the requisite skills to become a fully blown ASP or do we concentrate on what we do best, creating unique data services and managed services? We know that ongoing innovation will help us to grow and diversify, but it must be done in a controlled manner."

One recent example of Comms365's controlled development style was the introduction of more vertical specific products such as its Continuum bonded service. "We went back to the drawing board, worked with customers and designed and built our own solution," explained van Bunnens. "We then productised it, offered a number of sales options such as purchase, rental and emergency deployment. The initiative has been well received, attracting great customers and we picked up awards and nominations."

Because most of the services offered by Comms365 are not mainstream it has become known as a niche provider. For example, mobile data is different to fixed line data, it has a different set of challenges around support and diagnostics. It is not an exact science and this scares many companies from getting involved. "If we can remove that unknown and make it easier for partners to take a service from us and successfully integrate it into their own portfolios, then we have succeeded," added van Bunnens.

A resilient comms strategy should be top priority for all businesses, according to van Bunnens. "Communications underpins every company so why cut corners and implement consumer attitudes to Internet, phones and business critical infrastructure?," he asked. "Most businesses spend more on postage or stationery each month than they do on their communications. This is crazy. SMEs have no comprehension about the financial impact that service outages can cause, especially as they become more and more dependent on cloud applications."

Managed services such as those provided by Comms365 plug the SME technology gap. Mobile data, for example, can be complicated but customers appreciate the consultancy, advice and guidance offered by Comms365, through to configuration, deployments, site surveys and monitoring, in addition to the actual network piece. Another growth area noted by van Bunnens is short-term rentals with rapid deployment. This is what he calls 'comms in a box'.

With growth markets on his mind he urged resellers to get into the M2M space. "We can help partners sell and support M2M," added van Bunnens. "Resellers with M2M opportunities sometimes seek out the cheapest price to make the most margin, only to find that managing the service post-sale is time consuming and the margin soon disappears. We offer the right level of consultancy to deploy a sensible and manageable service."

Comms365 is on the road to becoming one of the channel's top managed mobile data service providers offering 'home grown must-have' solutions that companies would find it 'difficult to do without', believes van Bunnens. "We re going to get there through hard work, agility, determination and listening to our partners and customers," he added. "This way we identify what is really needed and create solutions to real world problems."

The future success of MSPs depends on their ability to resolve the prevailing 'analysis-paralysis' paradox, according to speakers at this year's Managed Services and Hosting Summit (staged by IT Europa, 17th September at London's Bishopsgate).

It could be strongly argued that the managed services environment is maturing nicely. But ironically, the evolutionary nature of this space could render it locked in a near-permanent status quo, unable to develop to its full potential. At one end of the spectrum a stream of stimulating new entrants and technology innovations will refresh the traditional IT industry anew. But on the other hand, customer inertia will prevent the sector from realising its full capacity for growth. Therein lies the paradox: Customers are holding back from making buying decisions because of the pace of change, a condition SolidFire's CEO Dave Wright calls 'analysis-paralysis'.

Changes in customer buying behaviours are influencing the development of emerging managed services providers as well as more established ones. Therefore the industry must reconsider its sales approach and customer engagement processes if it is to achieve its full potential. MSPs need to be smarter at understanding the technology needs of end users, as well as knowing how the different departments within an organisation use technology.

In a keynote address to delegates, Mark Paine, Research Director at Gartner (pictured), underlined these factors and cited research that illustrated the shift away from traditional selling methods like direct telesales towards engagement with a broader range of buyers who are more informed about the options available to them. 'Knowledge can be a dangerous thing', and selling to such customers can be a challenge with 45 per cent of IT spend already decentralised.

The 'empowerment' of end users could be interpreted as a baby step towards disintermediation, but the opposite is true, with fears over the possible commoditisation of the sector allayed by David Bellini, President of ConnectWise, who has been selling managed services for 25 years. He claimed a premium over other service providers because his people are 'better', they can resolve issues quickly and the solutions he provides are generally 'more reliable'. "The commoditisation scare resurfaces every few years and we've seen it off every time," he said. "Standing your ground as a MSP depends on improved management within the company. Everything has a ticket, including people."

The rising expectations of customers are a key point of difference, believes Bellini. In such a fast moving industry a new buzzword could within a year become mainstream language. Millennials are helping to catalyse the acceptance of new phrases into everyday speech. They expect always-on comms, constant innovation and are less keen on face-to-face engagement. They're even turning against voice and phone communication. As customers, millennials have different demands on MSPs compared to earlier generations, yet MSPs must still cater for the expectations of more traditional users.

The one common factor that bridges the generation gap is customer service. Mark Banfield, VP of International at Autotask, cited research undertaken by the company that underscores the importance of QoS, delivering on time, sticking to budget and specification, as well building a close working relationship with customers who want solid advice and a single point of contact. "Price should not become an issue if you get these things right," he stated. "This works for us. We are absolutely not the cheapest in the market, but we obsess about the customer experience."

The go-to-market philosophy advanced by Banfield is a proven antidote to the 'analysis-paralysis' scenario identified by SolidFire's CEO Dave Wright, who also affirmed that differentiation through good service is key. However, promoting stand-out attributes can be problematic. "In many cases customers can't identify differentiators so they go with familiar brands," he said. "Many MSPs are struggling to stand out and this can limit their success."

Comment
The Managed Services and Hosting Summit identified the primary determining factors that are likely to shape the future look and survivability of MSPs, whose longevity cannot be separated from their ability to unlock the status quo while keeping in touch with a traditional base. Their priority is to action a new approach to customer engagement that reflects changes in end user buying behaviours. Just as important is having the capacity to differentiate. This can be achieved through outstanding consultancy, faultless project delivery and impeccable after-sales service. None of this is rocket science, but turning the obvious into actionable strategy remains a challenge and until achieved the 'analysis-paralysis' paradox will remain unresolved.

CaféX's victory is putting true omnichannel communication into the hands of customers, claims Dave Phillips, Managing Director for EMEA and Asia, who is at the vanguard of the company's just-launched UK channel expansion campaign.

CaféX is no ordinary young up-and-comer. Founded in mid-2013 and unburdened by past practices the firm is fuelled by enough innovation to set the pace in meeting customer demands for omnichannel engagement. At the helm of the US-based company's push into the UK market is newly appointed Managing Director Dave Phillips who is in total lockstep with the march of CaféX's growth ambitions, which are based on its Live Assist solution and a well advanced channel strategy.

Live Assist enables enterprises to offer customers a seamless omnichannel engagement experience encompassing voice, video, mobile, web, self-service and other communication channels without the rip-and-replace of existing systems and platforms. A quick look at Phillips' past experience shows that he is the man for the job. "I delivered multi-channel customer solutions for retail and automotive sector clients as long ago as 1999," he said. "These capabilities have reached maturity level and customer expectations are driving demand."

The litmus test of any means of communication is whether it communicates efficiently, and CaféX passes the test with flying colours. A key element of the Live Assist solution is the melding of customer history and context from each service platform among all of the available engagement channels to ensure a smooth transition and a positive customer experience, regardless of which or how many channels a customer chooses to use. "Live Assist can be added to most mobile apps or websites with minimal effort, providing one or two-way in-app video without the need for plugins or downloads, and offering true co-browsing with rich annotation and document push capabilities, along with real-time contextual communications," explained Phillips.

Developing and nurturing communications channels, as well as creating synergies with next generation customer experience providers, will form the cornerstone of CaféX's growth strategies. Alongside its partners the company will initially target medium and large sized businesses that rely heavily on customer service. "We have the solutions and deep understanding of the UK market to be successful," stated Phillips, who has spent many years working on customer experience transformation. "Our partners know this market and have a solution that will resonate with businesses that are struggling to keep up with increasing consumer demands for omnichannel engagement."

CaféX plans to force a fundamental re-imagining of the end user experience and become the standard-bearer for omnichannel communication, according to Phillips. He believes that the value proposition of digital customer engagement has not been well understood, and aims to enthuse multitudes with CaféX's clarity of vision and straightforward propositions.

"Everyone agrees that digital customer engagement is a business imperative but in practice there is often little execution, mainly because the barrier to entry has been too high," he added. "CaféX has changed that. The overarching message is that it doesn't have to be hard. We have a proven methodology that brings the significant benefits of rich digital interaction to clients while leveraging existing assets.

"One of our biggest objectives this year is to release a wizard that helps developers and customers create their own best-of-breed WebRTC-based customer engagement solution. We have worked hard in the past to streamline these processes and plan to release new tools that will simplify development even further. This capability will be well received by both enterprise customers and developers."
CaféX provides a number of tools and development kits to ease the deployment of Live Assist in mobile apps running on iOS and Android platforms as well as all major web browsers. Integration with existing enterprise collaboration infrastructure also ensures that existing investments are protected. A priority for CaféX is to also simplify the consumption model for partners and customers.

"We are focused on delivering packaged offerings that enable companies to procure and overlay our technology quickly and cost-effectively," commented Phillips. "This model is particularly relevant for the commercial market where repeatable, high volume offers that leverage economies of scale are more attractive. Of course, we will continue to support the custom requirements of large enterprises through flexible solutions optimised for heterogeneous environments."

CaféX, which was established by CEO Rami Musallam and CTO David Jodoin as a spin-off of Thrupoint's software business, was founded with a mission to create the advanced business transforming software solutions already discussed. And, as we have also seen, the company believes it is necessary for companies to harness the opportunity sooner rather than later in order to gain a competitive advantage.

"The homogenisation of companies means they must differentiate through servicing," explained Phillips. "Companies of all shapes and sizes are looking at how they can do this, and many realise that it involves large scale transformation. Together with our partners, CaféX shines the light for these companies, guiding them through a faster, more results focused path to reach their goals."

CaféX employs over 90 people spread across locations in the US and UK where it works with a number of resellers and service integrators, as well as in Japan. Remarkably for a company in the flush of youth, in March last year the Live Assist solution was named Product of the Year at Enterprise Connect in Orlando, Florida, and has achieved similar recognition from the likes of Gartner and Frost & Sullivan.

Such high praise recognises CaféX's solutions that have been deployed in trial or live environments across many of the world's largest banks, several top US insurance providers and other Forbes Global 2000 companies. CaféX has also formed strategic partnerships with three of the leading contact centre equipment vendors with access to up to 75 per cent of all agent seats globally, claims the firm.

According to Phillips, the surface has barely been scratched. "From banking and insurance to blue light services and healthcare, none have truly harnessed services that reflect the move that has already happened," he said. "That gives CaféX and our partners a huge opportunity. On the ground, we see the successful resellers acting as advisors to their clients, with CaféX software as the tip of their spear enabling them to quickly impact the business, and in doing so establish relevance and credibility beyond their traditional sphere of influence.

"Brands are looking to bring together their traditional and digital channels to create a cohesive customer experience. Resellers have the opportunity to position themselves as the much-needed bridge between those two worlds. Even better, this is a replicable model."

CaféX has evolved into a consultative sales organisation to better serve partners. Resellers also have no choice but to evolve to meet market demand, according to Phillips. "This is a critical point," he said. "Changing customer requirements drive innovation, and savvy resellers have taken this philosophy to heart and are positioning themselves as consultants that guide businesses through the labyrinth of new technology, as opposed to just selling products. There are no short cuts in this process. We have to really understand the business context in order to meet the specific needs of individual customers."

As well as consultancy, the continued growth of smartphone adoption is also fuelling CaféX's expansion. Consumers now have more choices to engage with their preferred business and service providers, and the overwhelming majority of these companies do not have the technology in place to efficiently manage these divergent communications channels.

"CaféX allows organisations to add full collaboration capabilities to their current infrastructure, enabling them to serve evolving consumer demands without having to make substantial investments in new technology," affirmed Phillips. "We have a strong foundation, a dedicated team and field tested solutions. All of the necessary ingredients are there - now it's up to us to execute."

If you think M2M and IoT opportunities only happen way beyond your back yard then think again because they exist right under your nose. The big question is how far this opportunity will be realised, according to Pangea's Managing Director Dan Cunliffe.

The reseller channel is heavily populated by outstanding opportunists but one of the biggest opportunities to come their way may soon go begging. Despite big advances in M2M and IoT the channel has been slow to enter this world, largely due to a lack of knowledge about the opportunity at hand. "Many people struggle to understand how the channel can make money from connecting a toaster to a fridge," commented Cunliffe. "Clearly, this is a misconception that separates resellers from what could be their biggest ever new business opportunity."

There is far more to M2M and IoT than first meets the eye, and Cunliffe is on a mission to bring these opportunities to the attention of M2M naysayers who are, perhaps ironically, perfectly positioned to drive this evolving market. "There are exciting and relevant opportunities for resellers," he said. "Many of our partners use their existing capabilities to generate business in the M2M space. One partner is particularly successful at selling fixed connectivity across various sectors as part of its WAN offering, especially in the construction vertical."

Citing this partner, Cunliffe noted that Pangea has introduced a productised version of a mobile WAN that complements what the partner already does so well in the fixed space. The mobile WAN can easily be deployed using Pangea SIMs that adhere to the same set of network rules as an existing WAN. "This solution has been quoted out with the partner to support several thousand end points for the construction company as a blended fixed and mobile WAN solution," added Cunliffe. "Traditionally, you wouldn't consider this to be an M2M or IoT solution, but it is. Just as importantly the solution dovetails with the work already being done by ICT resellers up and down the country."

This is just one instance of a Pangea partner moving into the IoT space using M2M and mobile data technology. "These are real examples where revenue and margin benefits are being realised," said Cunliffe. "The next step for the channel is to consider all of the opportunities within the M2M space and understand how they fit within their existing model to drive new revenue streams."

Industry players are regularly told that the M2M market is developing at a rate of knots. Such messages are often characterised by hype when applied to technologies that are proving popular, primarily to create a sense of urgency and motivate a new market. But there is a difference with M2M. The adoption rates are significant with growth across all sectors, most reaching circa 30 per cent adoption in 2015. "The implementation of M2M solutions is changing how industries operate, improving productivity, customer service, accelerating the decision-making process, cutting costs, gaining competitive advantage and being more innovative," explained Cunliffe.

He cited figures that highlight the energy and utilities sector as the highest adopter at 37 per cent, followed by the automotive sector (32 per cent). The retail sector has also experienced growth during the past year, reaching an adoption rate of 32 per cent. The healthcare sector is another key M2M market with uptake rising from 19 per cent in 2014 to 28 per cent this year.

"The energy and utilities sector has the highest adoption rate due to Government regulations on smart metering in many countries," commented Cunliffe. "The main benefits of M2M in this sector are reducing energy demand, managing patterns in demand and supply and driving innovation."

Pangea is helping partners delve deeply into the M2M market which, believes Cunliffe, is a mine of opportunity enriched with almost limitless potential. "M2M is more than just data and applications, it's about integration across the whole piece," he commented. "The market is expected to contribute $6.2 trillion to the global GDP over the next 10 years, so we are urging resellers to get involved and not miss out. In a short period time we have enabled partners to secure deals across various areas that they wouldn't normally have even considered. We are helping partners exploit new revenue streams, and we hold fresh conversations with their customers because of the new opportunities in Smart connectivity and M2M."

Cunliffe makes a point of talking up the Smart connectivity aspect because the mobile data and M2M products Pangea provides are delivered via its real-time cloud-based platform. This provides a detailed and clever overview of the entire estate and enables partners to control, activate, de-activate, set usage limits and view accurate data readings all in real-time. Pangea's own billing offering is integrated with the platform and Cunliffe believes the solution to be a key differentiator.

As we have seen the IoT creates new business models, so it should come as no surprise to learn that challenges are also inevitable. The biggest hurdle has been concerns about security which have slowed the adoption of M2M in the past, but a secure cloud-based platform overcomes this primary issue. In fact, noted Cunliffe, the Security of Things is also a new revenue opportunity.

All doubts about the relevance and potential of M2M will be swept aside by real world examples of important market successes, according to Cunliffe. To underscore his argument he referred to one partner that scooped a fleet management contract covering 15,000 vehicles with a deal value of £5.4 million. Even better, another Pangea partner picked up a UK council deal to measure and improve transport, environmental and road systems, with a total contract value of £24 million. "There are many more such deals in trial and under review," revealed Cunliffe. "We have achieved incredible results with our partners since we started in Q1 this year."

Pangea was launched by Cunliffe (the former Head of Partners and Strategy at O2 Wholesale) with backing from a team of investors and its expansion story is an apt reflection of the M2M growth narrative. The firm has quickly become a global Tier 1 provider of Smart connectivity and applications and is an Authorised dealer within O2 Telefónica's M2M Global Channel Partner Programme with the buying power and ability to provide any number of SIM cards across any amount of data over any network on a global scale.

The company has projects in the EU and South America with similar opportunities emerging in Australia and Africa. "We may have an international reach but we are focused on our partner channel in the UK," added Cunliffe. "Many of our direct competitors are larger and may have been in the market longer than us. But Pangea is young and eager to do business, especially with the channel. We demonstrated our commitment and flexibility with a partner who urgently required SIMs, so we hand-delivered them. We are not afraid to go outside of our comfort zone and do this regularly for our partners."

Pangea has four primary white label applications and product areas to support partners: A fleet and telematics service, network surveillance and CCTV, mobile WAN and Mi-Fi (Wi-Fi on the go and pop-up office). The company has agreed four global partnerships in renewable energy, health, Smart cities and community transport systems, and is able to supply connectivity in over 200 countries.

"We are hungry for growth and this is only achievable through collaboration with partners," added Cunliffe. "Partners have a fantastic opportunity to capitalise on the M2M space and realise new revenues within their existing markets. Our commercials are dynamic and designed to empower partners to create their own opportunities. The scope is endless and all of the market analysts point to sustained and rapid growth."