Comms Dealer

Nimans is offering free lifetime warranties across its range of SIP and DECT handsets as well as conferencing models from Yealink (UK).

The commitment will see any faulty devices replaced up to 12 months after their official end-of-life date and covers all current handset models including the popular T4x series - CP860 conference phone, W52H and W52P DECT phones, EXP40 expansion module and the recently launched T27PN & T29GN.

Ian Brindle, Nimans' Head of Conferencing and Telephony Sales, said: "Yealink enjoys a reputation for reliability and the lifetime warranties are further evidence of the confidence we have in its expanding product portfolio."

Under the warranty claims procedure Nimans will replace units deemed to be faulty. If the model has been discontinued an equivalent or better replacement will be supplied.

The UK SME sector is taking a global lead when it comes to embracing new software technology - but only when it is absolutely necessary to do so.

These are some of the findings of a global research study commissioned by business software provider Exact that compares how SMEs in different countries stack up against each other when it comes to technology adoption.

The 'Exact 2015 SME Cloud Barometer' - an independent research study of just under 3,000 SME leaders across the UK, the USA, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium - found those who are 'heavy users' of cloud software (defined as having three or more different cloud products in place) achieved far higher revenue growth and more than double the profit of those using fewer cloud products.

The study found the UK has the second highest number of 'heavy' cloud software users (27%), just marginally behind the USA (29%). This compares to 25% of SMEs in the Netherlands, 24% in Belgium and France, and just 10% in Germany. Overall, just under half of UK SMEs (47%) are now using at least one cloud business software tool.

Significantly, those who have embraced the cloud and are using multiple software products as part of their business processes showed on average 26% growth in revenue in 2015, compared to 14% among those using one or two online solutions, and 10% among those who don't use any cloud solutions at all.

Although the research shows the UK does have plenty to shout about when it comes to tech adoption rates among its five million+ SMEs, there are shortcomings when it comes to optimising working practices.

Only 10% 'actively look for new solutions that help us grow' - the lowest number among any of the comparison countries - while the most popular reason given for implementing new software solutions was "when we need to replace outdated versions" (54% - higher than any other country).

In terms of what is driving cloud adoption, IT cost savings is the primary reason for UK SMEs (32%) - unlike everywhere else where better security was the main reason for switching away from on-premise software solutions or traditional pen-and-paper style processes, particularly in Germany (36%). In all cases, easy access to information was cited as the third biggest benefit for moving business and finance processes online.

When it comes to financial challenges and how technology can help address those, getting customers to pay on time is the top issue facing UK SMEs (40%), followed by cash flow management (33%). These concerns are clearly justified; according to the research, 11% of UK SME's invoices are paid late, and 2% are never paid at all. UK manufacturers are particularly affected by late payments (16% are overdue), while wholesale & distribution businesses are most affected by invoices never being paid (5%).

These financial concerns might explain why among those cloud adopters who took part in the poll, accounting software is the most popular business tool being used (27%).

"Few business leaders would argue with the fact that having the right software tools in place can be vital to success," said Erik van der Meijden, CEO of Exact. "In fact, 63% of the SMEs who took part said they felt that technology is going to have a strong impact on the competitive landscape in their market over the next three years."

Lucy Fox, General Manager, Cloud Solutions at Exact UK, added: "There is a real opportunity here for UK SMEs to build on the success and status they hold on the global stage. To do so, businesses need to ensure they stay competitive, efficient and provide the very best in customer service. Cloud adoption levels appear to be growing, and highlighting the tangible benefits it can offer through research like this will hopefully encourage more UK SMEs to follow suit."

Bucks-based Olive Communications has scooped a £1.5m four-year deal from OneFamily, a mutual with more than £7bn of assets under management and one of the UK's largest mutual insurers.
  
Olive will implement a UC and contact centre solution based on Mitel's cloud-based platform along with a knowledge management system that will enable agents to more easily access information, documentation and FAQs.
 
Olive Communications CEO Martin Flick said: "This project demonstrates our ability in the financial sector for delivering business critical cloud communication services."

Avaya has named Nidal Abou-Ltaif as President for EMEA and APAC regions.

Since joining Avaya in 2003 as the Regional Sales Leader for the Middle East, Abou-Ltaif has been instrumental in expanding the company's presence in the territory.

In early 2014 Abou-Ltaif was selected to lead Avaya's Global Growth Markets sales theatre, including MEA, Turkey, Russia & CIS, India and SAARC, and Greater China.

Under his leadership, the Global Growth Market region (Middle East, Africa, Russia, India and China) was the fastest-growing within Avaya in FY2014, leading the company's networking business growth globally and achieving impressive performance in the mid-market with Avaya's iConnect channel engagement programme.

Pierre-Paul Allard, Senior VP, Worldwide Sales and president, Global Field Operations, Avaya, said: "Nidal has a significant history of success, a recognised people focus, a fierce passion for winning, and a track-record in helping governments and businesses use technology to make a real difference in people's lives.

"In this new role, his expertise and experience will prove invaluable in a market environment where change is the only constant."

Abou-Ltaif added: "Only when our customers rate us strongly can we consider ourselves to be truly successful. Having a customer-focused organisation requires building solutions and services that deliver the outcomes desired by our customers. This means having a team that understands our customers' challenges today and in the future, and one which has the expertise and imagination to build solutions that produce measurable and meaningful results."

Predictive monitoring platforms have proved difficult to develop but John Pepper, Managing Director at Managed 24/7, claims to have innovated an industry breakthrough.

Despite the hype not a single application has hitherto delivered the level of predictive monitoring that a next generation MSP needs, according to Pepper, but following a six year period of working on the problem he claims to have developed a 'special recipe' consisting of six networks and application monitoring systems, layered with one of the most advanced Business Intelligence tools available. And as someone who does not ever sit on his hands, Pepper's efforts to build on this innovation mean it will continue to evolve.

"I have always been passionate about technology and business," he said. "It all started as a boy when I was given a Spectrum 48k for Christmas and a book on how to create games. From that moment I was struck. I attended business college and always wanted to own my own company. The passion started early and I love the daily changes that happen in the IT industry."

He founded Managed 24/7 in 2009 after working for and owning a VAR. "I bought into the idea of creating a managed services provider that had predictive monitoring at its heart," he explained. "This is different from traditional MSPs who see an alert when something goes down. Achieving our goal took a lot of personal investment, commitment and time, but those foundations and our passion have remained resolute. Our aim is to improve on our core services while evaluating the latest trends and working closely with partners such as Cisco, Microsoft, VMWare, HP, Nimble Storage and many more. No day is ever the same and we will never stand still - a week on holiday and you come back to see the world has moved on a year."

Managed 24/7 covers traditional IT, cloud, collaboration, Internet provisioning and disaster recovery for many household name brands. The company has doubled year-on-year in revenue, profits and staff numbers. "We now have a great portfolio of fantastic clients that we work closely with and our attrition rate is low," added Pepper. "We gain more business from referrals than we do from any marketing campaigns, something I could have only dreamed about when setting up the business."

On founding the company Pepper aspired to owning one or two of his own data centres, but the demise of 2e2 changed all that. "To have a service provider that is offering both the managed service and the data centre doesn't make sense to end users any more," he stated. "If the service provider goes they lose everything. Customers are wise to this and keen to separate the service from the ownership of data centres. I'm pleased we didn't commit to anything."

Customers are choosing long-term partners who understand them and can become part of their growth strategy. Managed service providers offer this, and the VAR model is dead in Pepper's opinion. "To shift tin, then send an engineer to install it and wait for the next order goes against anything 'value added'," he said. "Next generation MSPs are working with their customers to identify, budget and plan IT and communications procurement years in advance if you are a predictive MSP, or weeks in advance if you are pro-active.

"The role of the VAR is becoming irrelevant as customers become more technically aware. You only have to look at the number of VARs and SIs that are attempting to become MSPs. The problem is they have a five or six year journey and even then may end up becoming only pro-active MSPs, which by that time will also have become irrelevant. The message is simple: Transform and be relevant or stay where you are and become irrelevant."

That's why Pepper always looks a couple of years ahead of the market. In 2009 he invested in predictive monitoring using Big Data concepts and trend modelling, and in two-to-three years time he has no doubt that this will become the norm for traditional MSPs. "We have to keep ahead of the curve so we invest our profits back into the business to continually evolve," added Pepper. "This year we have committed over £1.5 million into a new predictive monitoring operations centre in Milton Keynes. There will be over 16, 4K projectors seamlessly working to deliver at a glance next generation predictive monitoring.

"Why? Because we believe our customers are tired of proactive managed services. They don't want to be told when they are down for an engineer to go out. Customers expect IT and communications to just work. The new centre will allow us to spot the smallest of trends a year to six months before an issue occurs. Significantly, the planning processes for the next stages of this are already on the drafting board."

Key to all this is getting the right people on board. "When I come up with zany ideas it's great to have a team that works out if the ideas can be put into action," said Pepper. "This is key for any business owner. We were committed to providing 24x7x365 predictive support from day one - with no outsourced option. Therefore, I've spent my fare share of time working through the night building the teams and building the processes to allow us to do this. Managed 24/7 is a community of like-minded individuals from many different backgrounds that come together to work towards a common goal. We all own the company and strive to work harder for our customers and be a leader within the industry."

Finding the talent to grow is a core priority and Pepper believes this issue will be just as hot in 2020. "We offer competitive salaries and a generous benefits package, including EMI schemes and private healthcare. But it doesn't stop there. We have invested heavily in on-demand training platforms to nurture talent and have an incredible atmosphere across all of our offices. Investment in people will always be top priority for us and our responses to date have always paid off."

Pepper acknowledges that developments in communications and IT are changing at a more rapid pace than at any other time in his career history. Companies are consuming IT and communications in new ways and using innovative strategies to deliver. "There will, therefore, always be areas in our portfolio that we can expand, but it's important not to believe the hype," he stated. "We always look for vendors and exciting opportunities, but they have to be stable, proven and better than any existing technology we have. You can never stand still in IT."

One area of developing interest that fits this outlook is the Internet of Things which applied correctly, is 'incredibly exciting', enthused Pepper. "When I say applied correctly I mean there has to be a need for it," he explained. "What use is a toaster reporting to my smartphone how many slices of bread it has toasted in the last month?

"But a Rolls Royce engine being predictively monitored for vibrations 24x7 enables parts to be shipped to the aircraft's destination prior to the aircraft landing. This is preventive, intelligent and exciting. IoT is something to watch as it starts applying to businesses, and we will be ready when it arrives."

In October 2016 Pepper will officially own Managed 24/7 longer than any other business he has founded. "We have a strong set of people, systems and strategies to execute and these are great foundations," he said. "I am more excited about the next 10 years than I have been about any business at any point in my career. I truly believe that my biggest achievement to date is creating a relevant proposition and company before the curve with Managed 24/7, and putting my heart and soul into it."

Rising through the ranks can only take you so far, but the sky's the limit when you buy the company, become CEO and multiply revenues tenfold. Not content with this remarkable achievement, Incom Business Systems' David Hughes is pushing ahead with even bigger plans.

Hughes expects this year's revenues to hit his £11 million target and he is confident that during the next three years the company will almost double the takings. To say his pedal is to the floor would be to greatly understate the rate of Incom's accelerating growth and he has no intention of slowing down. However, with a glance into the rear view mirror Hughes recalls when the journey began. He's only ever worked at Incom, joining the firm in 1989 as a sales exec who became inspired by his mentor Sales Director Malcolm Kilvert, a man who made a lasting impression.

Hughes bought Incom alongside Malcolm's son Jason Kilvert in 2004. They gained ISO 9001 in 2009, acquired Yorkshire-based IT and telecoms firm Worth Communications in 2010, and moved to a new HQ in Manchester during the same year. Two months ago Incom linked up with Complete Network Services (CNS) in a collaboration that extends their geographical reach to five offices. The organisations have pooled their skills to better address demand for UC and contact centre solutions that incorporate multimedia, social media capabilities and workforce optimisation. "At the time of the MBO in 2004 there was just 18 of us and we hit the £1 million revenue goal we'd set for ourselves," said Hughes. "Now we have almost 100 staff and the next big revenue goal is to achieve £20 million within the next 36 months."

Ahead of Incom's mission to nigh on double revenues by 2019 the company has been busy building and maintaining a strong recurring revenue model. "We are ideally positioned to meet growing demand for cloud solutions and we are already successful in this area," added Hughes. "The benefits are numerous, which is why we've been deploying cloud solutions since it was called hosted telephony! The way our customers consume business services and technologies is undergoing a massive transformation, and it's our job to ensure we guide our customers through these changing times. It's an important new chapter for us and good news for organisations looking for a partner who can simplify the design, delivery and management of all their communications requirements."

The Incom growth strategy is defined by three strands - organic growth, acquisitions and strategic partnerships. "Joining forces with CNS is a prime example of a successful partnership," stated Hughes. "We work together for the greater good of our customers by leveraging our expanded support, technical and marketing capabilities, and it allows us to extend our reach into important verticals such as the public sector, professional services, consumer and housing."

Hughes recognises that his customers are digital so he is exploring ways to make it easier for them to engage with Incom using the channel of their choice. "This could change the way we deliver support services as more customers want faster responses using smart devices," he said. "Our number one priority remains delivering an excellent customer experience. Our goal is to be the business communications provider of choice for our target markets and we plan to achieve this by offering best-of-breed products, services and solutions, operational excellence and customer intimacy. The latter is really important to us because we want every customer to be an Incom advocate."

Hughes's focus on customer service is unwavering and he enjoys longevity in his relationships with them. "Having been in business for 26 years and with a large number of customers loyal to us for over two decades, we still conduct a customer satisfaction survey after every implementation, no matter how small the deployment, which is discussed at our weekly management team meeting," he commented. "This enables us to deal with any issues rapidly. More importantly, every department within our business is aware of, and focused on, the client's need. We all own customer satisfaction. Customer referral remains our number one source of new business."

Word of mouth referrals come thick and fast because Incom has built a reputation for understanding its customers' organisations, their markets and how they communicate with their own customers and suppliers. "We have considerable expertise across vertical markets and business processes, so our standpoint is to understand the challenges and organisational goals before assessing how the communications and supporting infrastructure can deliver a quantifiable solution," added Hughes. "Tangible ROI and lifetime value are the critical metrics demonstrated by our solutions."

It is just as important to attract and retain the best people and provide career opportunities for the team. "We focus on recruiting people who want to develop and we give them first rate training to help them progress through the ranks," explained Hughes. "This ethos has enabled us to retain exceptional talent for well over ten years. We have a supportive team culture and I'm proud that we all pull together for our customers. We can also enjoy a beer or two outside of work."

Buying the company and then grow it to ten times the revenue is 'incredibly satisfying', said Hughes. "However, we had to create the right culture, develop our staff and nurture an environment that enables the team to drive Incom's success," he added. "It's the Incom team and their achievements that makes me most proud."

Since its inception in 2005, Comms Vision has closely tracked the evolution of business communications technology and the role of the channel in bringing it to market successfully.

Here, four of this year's keynote speakers provide insights into the key themes and messages that will be considered and debated at this year's gold standard event, writes Comms Vision Content Director Paul Cunningham.

Strong leadership and close customer engagement are key to the future success of the comms channel. Why? Because the current rate of innovation and disruption in technology-led marketplaces is dizzying to the point of distraction. Furthermore, the move towards a cloud-based virtualised and rented comms platform means that customers no longer 'own' the products supplied by the channel, and the channel may no longer 'own' the services they offer. But is something bigger and more disruptive happening behind the scenes? Andy Lippman, Associate Director of MIT's Media Lab and Comms Vision opening keynote speaker, observed: "Today's disruptions such as Uber, AirBnB, Bitcoin and Kickstarter are challenging deeply rooted social and commercial institutions by transforming heavyweight social practices into massless and weightless viral phenomena.

"Viral systems are grassroots ideas that start small, scale and gain value in scaling. They can be a programme, a hardware design, a communications system or means of social interaction. A characteristic of many of today's explosive ideas is that they are striking deeper at the heart of social and business institutions than they did in what you might consider the 1st Internet revolution. Uber is more than a new way to hail a cab. It challenges transportation at every level, from the organisational and regulatory to the operational."

Ironically, pointed out Lippman, most disruptions are not based on any great technical invention. Instead, they are a combination of societal readiness and rapid growth. At Comms Vision we will ask the question - what other technologies can move from being rigid to becoming viral? Keynote speaker Matt Griffin of 311 Institute observed: "If you ask a customer what product they'd like you to create they'll more than likely make reference to an existing product suffixed with 'er' - faster, smaller, bigger, cheaper etc. None of these customers would have considered creating an iPad. Therein lies the innovator's dilemma because customers simply aren't innovative or creative enough to be much help. Customers don't buy products because they want to, they buy products because they fulfil particular needs.

"By focusing on and understanding outcomes that drive customer behaviour, teams can create powerful and compelling products. However, outcomes take on many forms so you have to identify the outcomes that the majority of customers want, that have not yet been met by a solution. For example, consider customers who want to reduce their energy bills as well as wanting integrated communications and content. Once you understand what the common outcomes are you can design solutions like the Connected Home using intelligent sensors and systems to help reduce energy consumption combined with unified, on demand Over the Top (OTT) content in a single experience."

The digitalisation of our society, economy and industry is leading to a significant transformation in the way that organisations research, evaluate, acquire and manage technology for business. In a world where the ratio between the cost of acquiring the customer and their lifetime value is a key metric, there is less time available for the discovery process, making it essential to lead with discovery. This change can best be characterised by the question, 'how can customers who need what we have find (and engage) with us?', rather than 'how can we find customers who need what we have?'.

Comms Vision keynote speaker Richard Robinson of customer engagement specialist Turn commented: "As businesses get larger and more mature, it is hard for them to remain agile. Responsiveness is something that you have to build into all of your processes so that the willingness to adapt and experiment does not get lost. You have to be prepared to go the extra mile to compete. You have a lot of information readily available and you need to learn to gather and filter it wisely, so that it provides your business with the advantage it needs to succeed.

"There is no excuse for not knowing who your audience is, or what your competitors are all about. Use the information that is available to make your business stand out. When you have the opportunity to present your proposal, be prepared and know that those to whom you are presenting have also fully researched the solutions to their business needs online. It is easy to be sidetracked and to start expending hours of your valuable time on tasks that do not add any value or income to your business. We all need a reminder that we need to stop and take stock of what we are doing, so that we can refocus those efforts if necessary."

A primary example of potential distraction in the current marketplace is the prevalence of cloud-based messaging and content pouring into the average business user from a huge number of service providers, vendors and media. Factors such as organisational structure, geographic distribution, security, capital investment policy and the need for advanced software functionality all play their part in determining whether a business might make the move to the cloud for their communications needs. What seems likely is that the successful comms channel player will soon (if not now) need to offer a blend of on-premise, cloud and hybrid solutions, matched to the needs of their customers.

Communications technologies are taking a leap forward with the advent of software defined and virtualised solutions at a carrier level. For the business customer traditional software applications are being challenged by web and app-based solutions and the Internet of Things is about to revolutionise how devices, processes and people interact based on context, location, status and many more previously unattainable factors.

There is also a strong consensus that channel businesses will only succeed and survive by building and sustaining a culture of excellence and innovation. This requires the identification of cultural values, technologies and processes that represent the best opportunities to change and excel in channel business operations.

Leading global business coach, author and Comms Vision keynote speaker Darren Rudkin commented: "Leadership teams in top performing companies spend significantly more time getting aligned than 'ordinary' companies. Leaders in these businesses see it as their job to create the heart of the company and then create the conditions and culture that both brings this to life and invites others to step forward and bring it to life for themselves. They see culture as a driver for competitive advantage. A leadership vision isn't credible if it's stuck on a wall in the office. You are a role model whether you want to be or not."

Business leaders wanting to take their first tentative steps towards the cloud while retaining a hardware presence on site are prime targets for resellers of ShoreTel Connect, a new solution launched to the UK market that offers a single platform with three deployment options and a common user interface.

ShoreTel has mid-market firms in its sights and according to a top industry analyst the launch enables UK resellers to more easily approach businesses with an all-embracing UC&C solution that allows customers to readily migrate to the cloud in their own time or continue with a CPE-only solution.

Rich Costello, Senior Research Analyst at IDC, noted: "The new common platform enables ShoreTel to offer customers what they want - a choice of premises, hosted or hybrid solutions with a consistent user experience across a common software stream. The common platform also makes UC&C easier for channel partners to deploy and support as well as for customers to migrate from one model to another as needed. With its fully integrated solution, ShoreTel eliminates the need for customers and partners to piece together complex solutions from multiple parties."

When ShoreTel had garnered feedback on the business challenges faced by its partner ecosystem the vendor set about creating something special, according to Adrian Hipkiss, VP of EMEA (pictured above), who says the new Connect platform is an industry first and a disruptive channel force. The undertaking was significant. ShoreTel developed four million lines of additional code and employed 300 extra software engineers to create the Connect platform. "With this roll out we're addressing the mediocrity of enterprise communications," claimed Hipkiss. "We've turned the UC industry on its head having invested time and people into creating solutions that deliver flexibility and choice. Our common platform and user interface answers issues such as poor user experience and the lack of integration with CRM apps and back office systems."

ShoreTel's strategy for the UK market is 'growth', emphasised Hipkiss, and in Europe the sweet spot is the mid-market space, 50-5,000 employees. "Occasionally we'll go below for premises deployments, and of course we'll go above," added Hipkiss. "Connect enables our channels to support organisations of all sizes, with on site, virtualised, cloud or hybrid solutions."

The Connect platform and user interface is available to all accredited ShoreTel resellers, and distribution channels that offer value added services will be able to support all aspects of Connect, including design, installation and support.

According to Hipkiss, training is easier and more cost-effective. "Connect is a single common operating platform that was designed to be intuitive and fun to use, so you only need to get trained once and can pass on that training to others," he explained. "The user experience is exactly the same no matter which model is deployed. It's also a simple model for selling: One common platform for UC, three ways of deploying, two methods of consuming."

In closer detail, ShoreTel Connect Onsite is an end-to-end UC solution that customers own, maintain and control. ShoreTel Connect Cloud is a fully hosted and managed end-to-end UCaaS solution. And ShoreTel Connect Hybrid enables Onsite customers to have applications delivered via the cloud. Hybrid apps such as ShoreTel Fax and ShoreTel Scribe (voicemail transcription) are also available.

With hundreds of software developers on the case you would expect Connect to incorporate new features. ShoreTel partners will not be disappointed. Personalised call handling and call routing for both office and mobile devices have been introduced, along with collaboration tools including IM, audio and web conferencing, point-to-point video and desktop sharing. Other new features include integration and collaboration apps for smartphone, tablet and wearable devices, integration with CRM systems, and apps like voicemail to text, emergency notification, integrated call recording and enhanced paging.

ShoreTel's President and CEO Don Joos said: "ShoreTel Connect helps customers determine how and when to move communications to the cloud by offering hybrid options along the way, no matter how many sites or employees. Whether customers prefer to subscribe to a managed cloud service, invest in an on site system or deploy a combination of the two, there is a single UC solution that delivers the same user experience and capabilities to the entire team."

The new ShoreTel Connect client is consistent across the three deployment types. With one click, users can escalate a conversation from an IM to a call to an online meeting, and then to a web desktop share and video. The browser-based app also facilitates collaboration among internal teams and enables external users to engage and collaborate without the need for plug-ins, multiple application windows, passwords or complex set-up.

As part of the ShoreTel Connect roll-out the vendor also introduced a contact centre solution scalable to 1,000 users for ShoreTel Connect Cloud and ShoreTel Connect Onsite. ShoreTel Connect Contact Center introduces multiple interaction channels including inbound and outbound voice (with the ability to incorporate campaign dialling and automated call backs from queue), web chat, web call back requests and email routing.

"The new browser-based interface, called ShoreTel Connect Agent Interaction Center, combines the easy management of multiple contact channels, deep contextual transaction information, agent and service KPI information, supervisor/agent interactions, web chat and agent controls within a single pane," commented Eugenia Corrales, Senior VP of Product.

She noted that the solution provides support for up to 1,000 concurrent agent logins for both cloud and on site deployments, offers real-time and historical reporting including statistics on call centre activity, detailed agent activity and call-by-call details on outbound calls.

Also in the package are enhanced customer self-service capabilities with customisable interactive voice response (IVR) scripting; as well as deep integrations to workforce optimisation and CRM solutions including support for real-time adherence. Corrales added: "The ShoreTel Connect common platform enables partners to deliver a feature-rich cloud contact centre solution that meets the needs of today's multi-channel, multi-site organisations."

Databarracks stands proud as an emblem of simplicity in an industry renowned for making things complicated, according to Managing Director Peter Groucutt.

The 'Databarracks' name signifies clearly the function of the organisation, which is to provide DR, backup and infrastructure services from UK-based ex-military data centres. Just as transparent is the channel engagement philosophy behind its partner programme which strips down traditional modes of operation to their most basic components, claims Groucutt. For this reason it's called the Partner (de)Programme, designed to unravel confusing complexity and red tape, and was rolled out in February 2014.

"Databarracks launched the Partner (de)Programme to shake things up," stated Groucutt. "We think traditional partner programmes don't work. It's called the 'de-programme' to highlight its different approach, stripping out all of the red tape traditionally associated with partner schemes. We don't ask partners to complete 100 hours of training or become gold certified before we work with them. We treat them all equally and adapt our approach to fit the partner rather than force them to fit into a predefined category."

Groucutt would rather work with a handful of trusted partners who share his beliefs and who understand the cloud than 500 partners who 'just don't get it'. "This programme is about providing personalised partnerships that support the strengths of the individual," he commented. "Access to resources, support and market development funds has been streamlined to make the whole process of acquiring and executing on new business much simpler."

The de-programming initiative is not a one-off event, its launch set the scene for another disentangling move made two months ago when Databarracks launched a new, and simpler, pricing game plan for the channel. This unscrambled model is designed to make procurement of disaster recovery much easier for resellers and end users. "When evaluating suppliers and buying a DR service there are a number of different factors that need to be considered," added Groucutt. "Understanding how the service is priced shouldn't be an arduous task, but many pricing models can make things over-complicated.

"We have been guilty of this ourselves, so we streamlined our DRaaS pricing model. The costs are fixed and on a per-server and per-terabyte basis, and the model is completely transparent. What you see is what you get, so it's much easier to gain buy-in from other key stakeholders. A big part of selling cloud services and maintaining relationships with customers is about building trust. By providing a pricing model that works and is honest you create lasting relationships built on trust."

Groucutt established Databarracks in 2003 with two other directors. They saw an opportunity for automated backup at a time when bandwidth first enabled businesses to backup over the Internet without a requirement to purchase additional connectivity. But their biggest turning point came five years ago when Databarracks made the move from a pure play backup provider to offering disaster recovery and infrastructure solutions, as well as more diverse services such as AWS consulting. "We were early to cloud computing, before backup was called 'cloud backup'," noted Groucutt. "We wanted to build on our expertise and the strong reputation we had earned within the industry."

The shift to cloud computing has also redefined the role of resellers and SIs. Many of them are transitioning from significant hardware sales to reduced, but ongoing recurring revenues based on cloud services. "Many have resisted this evolution but developments like Office 365 are starting to catalyse the transformation," commented Groucutt. "In some cases cloud computing brings the risk of disintermediation, so the challenge for resellers is to add value in different ways, be that consultancy, management or becoming a broker of cloud services."

In these times of great technological change and advancement Groucutt is particularly excited by developments in the use of hyper-scale clouds. "It's not just AWS dominating that space any more, Azure and Google are also investing and innovating," he said. "In the future we expect to see organisations deploy a combination of on-premise IT and cloud solutions from local and niche cloud service providers like us, combined with hyper-scale clouds such as those from Amazon or Microsoft."

The scale of Databarracks' achievements to date belie its size and UK focus in the context of a global market. So much so that it was named in Gartner's first Magic Quadrant for Disaster Recovery as a Service earlier this year, a rating that Groucutt counts as a 'huge accomplishment' for the company. "Compared to many of our competitors in the disaster recovery area we're considered a fairly small organisation," he stated. "As a UK-only provider, we were ecstatic to be recognised in a report that is globally revered. It's proof that our hard work and drive for simplification is paying off."

MeetingZone has officially disclosed its ambition to be Europe's leading provider of UCaaS solutions and heading up its Skype for Business practice is General Manager Andy Clark who revealed the company's ambitious channel growth plan.

Set-up in 2002 by current CEO Steve Gandy, MeetingZone first operated as a provider of high quality audio conferencing services. Today, the independent global business has headquarters near Oxford and offices in Germany, Sweden, USA and Canada, and offers UC, conferencing and collaboration services. Its portfolio and service wrap are available to partners to re-sell either under a referral model or as a wholesale white labelled solution.

MeetingZone provides Skype for Business, Cisco WebEx, Glance Screen Sharing as well as its own audio conferencing services - all augmented by a neat service wrap that includes account management and training. In March 2013 the company bought Atia Communications, a Microsoft certified Skype for Business/Lync specialist with more than 400 supported Microsoft Server UC deployments across the world. MeetingZone's international expansion is significant with a two year average sales growth of 72 per cent, placing the firm at number 30 in the Sunday Times BT Business SME Export Track 100 2015.

MeetingZone also achieved 11 per cent compound annual growth over the last five years and forecasts £21 million this financial year. The company's 110 staff support 5,000 customers globally, including many of the FTSE 500 companies in the financial, retail, IT, pharmaceutical, not for profit, business services and legal sectors.

The main development in the business during recent years has been its shift towards providing a broader range of conferencing and collaboration services through reselling Microsoft's Skype for Business and Cisco WebEx. "We're also moving towards a recurring monthly licence revenue model that will benefit partners by providing a regular secure revenue stream," said Clark. "This has been introduced as we foresaw the customer demand for more integrated, easy to use conferencing and collaboration tools."

Target partners include system integrators and telecoms providers. "Resellers are a key component, and our partner programme has been designed to align with different business models to encourage growth," explained Clark. "Partners allow us to increase our reach, so we provide them with the latest sales support, marketing materials and other collateral. This can be MeetingZone branded or white labelled - either way these services are available alongside billing and regular communication. We also provide partners with a portal that allows them to manage their customers and access resources quickly and easily."

With the launch of its new Skype for Business as a Service platform, MeetingZone is focusing on partners who want to offer hosted Microsoft UC solutions without the need for capital investment. "Our priorities are to help partners achieve their goals by guiding them on what they need to succeed," added Clark. "As a UC, conferencing and collaboration specialist, MeetingZone offers Skype for Business and WebEx and full integration with our audio conferencing solution. This enables us to offer the full range of UC services from IM and presence all the way through to enterprise voice and PBX replacement."

According to Clark, more companies are embracing UC because it improves the effectiveness and efficiencies of their organisations. He's witnessed this interest first hand and noted that IM is becoming a popular feature, although there is still an increasing impact on audio, video and content usage with access via a UC client. "Our strategy is based on liberating people and enabling them to connect, communicate and collaborate," he stated. "Our service wrap differentiates us for both direct customers and our partners as we focus on training and support, while all of our technology is deployed with a dedicated account manager."

The role of resellers and SIs has been evolving for several years. However, many resellers have not yet embraced new technologies and business models, while others are mid-journey. "I see the evolution happening in a number of different ways, with many resellers and SIs reviewing their go-to-market strategies around UC&C and working to understand their role and how they can provide customers with a raft of different solutions," added Clark.

Weighing up which technologies to take to market is all well and good but resellers also need to offer different methods of deploying them, according to Clark. "While on-premise still provides great opportunities, cloud and hosted deployments are growing in popularity and most analysts suggest that this growth will only continue," he commented. "Therefore resellers need to understand how to drive a cloud strategy. Many resellers will need to re-invest or potentially find a good partner that specialises in the complementary technologies they want to drive to market."