Comms Dealer

Chess Telecom has acquired Scottish Microsoft Partner IRW Systems, a specialist in software design, development and support. IRW Systems brings significant capability and market share within the growing Chess IT and software consultancy space, providing 50 additional Software Design Specialists working in Glasgow and Edinburgh and adding £3m annual turnover to the Chess Group.

Chess Chief Executive, David Pollock, said: "IRW Systems has proven expertise within the Microsoft solutions portfolio, cloud applications and technical services arena.

"Together, we are positioned to deliver a range of consulting and software services to our existing and new customers and partners.

"This foundation is essential for enabling the next wave of technological change for customers focusing on the transition to cloud-based technologies and applications."

Ian Warnock, MD of IRW Systems, said: "Our complementary technologies and portfolios will enable our continued success in the cloud solutions arena."

Chess Director Richard Btesh added: "Our expanding presence from telecoms to the cloud, data and hosted space is bringing us more high profile acquisitions enquiries."

IRW Systems specialises in software and portal design, development and support services. Its solutions are built around the Microsoft platform and tools, particularly SharePoint, .Net, CRM, Mobile, Power BI, Web and Cloud based systems.

IRW Systems has built a blue chip customer base across the public and private sectors including central government departments, health, police, local authorities, communications, engineering/manufacturing, finance, professional services and the voluntary sector.

The firm employs over 50 employees across Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Distributor ScanSource has enhanced its management structure for its Communications and POS and Barcode business units in Europe.

Ian Vickerage has been named President of ScanSource Communications, Europe, where he will lead all of ScanSource's Communications operations throughout Europe.

Vickerage previously served as Managing Director of Imago, the distributor of video and voice communications equipment and services, which he founded and ScanSource acquired in 2014.

Vickerage also serves as Managing Director of Imago ScanSource.

Rudy De Meirsman will continue as Managing Director of ScanSource Communications. He has served as Managing Director since 2013 and will continue to lead the strategic direction of the Communications business throughout Europe.

"We are excited to be able to build on the successful acquisition of Imago, as it enables us to realign our business and better focus our efforts, so that we can best serve our reseller customers and vendor partners," said Mike Ferney, president, Worldwide Communications and Services, ScanSource, Inc.

"The dedicated leadership, sales, merchandising, and technical support teams in each region underscores our commitment to our partners' success."

Maurice Van Rijn has been named President of ScanSource POS and Barcode, Europe, where he will continue to provide strategic leadership to the company's pan-European POS and Barcode business.

Van Rijn has been with ScanSource since 2002 and most recently served as Managing Director of ScanSource POS and Barcode in Europe.

Prior to that, he served as Sales Director for the company.

Distributor Exclusive Group has announced a record H1 for 2015 with sales of €370m.

While the €1bn target seemed demanding when first discussed, it looks like achieving it a year early.

"We are now thinking of new targets," says Olivier Breittmayer, CEO of Exclusive Group, talking to IT Europa.

He is dismissive of rival distributors attempts to keep up with his growth: "We probably invest more and have more demo kit than any other distributor in Europe."

With all parts of the business showing growth, and having secured more funding from its backers, the new emphasis may be on the BigTec data centre business which has seen very high growth and which can be expected to sign more new vendors in the coming months.

Group revenue was 60% higher than the same period last year (42% growth on a like-for-like basis), beating the Group's own expectations by more than 10%.

Sales were boosted by a strong performance across the global footprint of its Exclusive Networks cybersecurity and infrastructure value added distribution business, as well as larger-than-expected gains from the Exclusive Capital, BigTec and ITEC business units, it says.

While actual numbers of reseller customers have not changed greatly, at around 8,000, by concentrating on the higher profile business and getting closer to existing channels the distributor has generated more sales. In particular, sales in the core vendors in cyber security have lifted the business, he says.

The future may see it both adding vendors in a traditional VAD model, and expanding the finance arm Exclusive Capital which currently operates just in France, and the ITEC global services capability.

With the UK and Germany still targeted for acquisitions in IT finance, the next period may see a further dramatic jump in this segment of the business.

ITEC, with its logistics and export expertise is opening up many global deals, it seems, with 20 closed already and another 100 in the pipeline. "Complexity means opportunity," said Barrie Desmond, Chief Operating Officer.

A huge 'good luck!' to M12 Solutions MD Andrew Skipsey who on Saturday 5th September embarks on a charity nine-day 960 mile bike ride from Lands' End to John O' Groats.

"This is a going to be hard," he said. "Some days we'll cycle over 120 miles. It'll feel like I'm doing consecutive marathons and it's sure to take its toll on me.

"I have tried to build up my training. I am going to ache and then have to ride the next day and the next. The cycling is sure to go on and on and on, particularly when there is horizontal rain and headwinds!"
 
Skipsey is fundraising for The Royal Marines Charitable Trust, and Home-Start North Dorset which helps local families.

If you would like to support Andrew's huge undertaking please visit:

www.justgiving.com/andrewskipseyrab

https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/andrewskipseyrab

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, EMEA Conferencing Services Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $1.9 billion in 2014 and estimates this to reach $2.6 billion by 2019.

The study covers audio, hosted Web, hosted video and managed video conferencing services. The communications service providers that have a sizable presence across these segments in EMEA are Arkadin, BT Conferencing, Deutsche Telekom, InterCall, Interoute, Orange Business, PGi and Telefonica.

"Hosted/cloud video conferencing services that enable interoperability across endpoints appeal to a broader user base in EMEA owing to the rise in complexity and number of devices on networks," said Frost & Sullivan Digital Transformation Practice Research Director Adrian Drozd.

"Feature-rich solutions that support mobility and the bring-your-own-device trend are also popular among customers in these regions."

Conferencing services are central to the collaboration strategy of any enterprise and there is a growing preference among users for integrated solutions, instead of standalone products, to support communication architecture and services.

In response, vendors in EMEA are increasingly looking to package complementary collaboration services such as webcasts, team workspaces with other unified communication applications like telephony, voice mail, instant messaging and presence.

Among the various market segments, audio conferencing services are experiencing low growth due to price compression and user migration to bundled packages. The gradual transition to IP-based conferencing, owing to the proliferation of IP PBX, is also dampening the need for audio conferencing services in EMEA.

"As the lines between video-centric and content-centric web conferencing solutions that include video continue to blur, the revenues of both segments will take a hit," noted Frost & Sullivan Digital Transformation Practice Senior Director Ashwin Iyer.

"Higher sales volumes of IP-based audio conferencing solutions as well as hosted and managed video conferencing services will, nevertheless, promote revenue growth in the market."

Market penetration is the highest in the United Kingdom, France, Benelux and the Nordic countries due to increasing business-to-business and business-to-customer collaboration.

Over the forecast period, Northern Europe is likely to see more demand for hosted video conferencing services, while Southern Europe experiences greater interest in managed video conferencing services.

The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), the Government's advisory group on broadband, has called for a continued focus on reducing costs to allow superfast connectivity to be made available to all business premises as quickly as possible.

In a new report BSG found that while median downstream demand for small business premises will rise from 5Mbit/s in 2015 to 8.1Mbit/s in 2025 demand for the 95th percentile will rise from 12.9 Mbit/s to 41.1 Mbit/s.

In reflecting the diversity of small businesses, the report found that their bandwidth needs (downstream and upstream) are as varied as their composition.

Unsurprisingly, the number of employees and industrial sector are important factors in driving demand with the report ranging from one person food manufacturers - requiring just 6 Mbit/s downstream in 2025 - to a 49 person software business which will require 193 Mbit/s by 2025.

Matthew Evans, CEO of the Broadband Stakeholder Group, commented: "Although standard broadband is adequate for most firms, some firms are already constrained.

"All small businesses will need access to superfast speeds in the next five years, and large numbers will soon need the ultrafast speeds that the Government committed to delivering in the recent Productivity Plan."

The BSG has called on Government to work with industry to ensure that all small business premise have superfast connectivity, continue to drive down costs of network deployment to facilitate the further deployment of ultrafast networks, and gather evidence on the productivity gains that companies who have used the SME Voucher Connection Scheme.

Panasonic has introduced the KX-HDV230 SIP desk phone, designed to bring increased versatility and usability to the small business world.

Easy installation, low-cost maintenance and long-lasting robust design mean the KX-HDV230 has a low Total Cost of Ownership, said the firm.

Panasonic Marketing Manager for Communication Solutions, Carlos Osuna, said: "We know that for today's businesses, high quality communication and reliability is only part of what they need. The solutions we offer must also bring long-term cost savings as part of the deal.

"That's why we've made sure that our KX-HDV230 more than delivers on all fronts. We think this makes it an attractive proposition for carriers."

The KX-HDV230's enhanced features include six-line connection, gigabit ethernet, Power over Ethernet and 24 flexible function keys with self-labelling. It also offers an optional expansion module to increase the number of flexible keys to 224.

The KX-HDV230 includes a combination of HD SONIC features such as full duplex, acoustic full duplex, acoustic echo cancellation, and packet loss concealment, to maximise voice quality and wideband communication performance.

The KX-HDV230 will be joined in the coming months by two more models.

The latest release of 3CX Phone System for Windows gives resellers the ability to provide both a hosted and on-premise PBX on the same platform.

According to the firm Version 14 of its communications solution will be a 'welcome addition' for partners looking to expand their offering to include virtual PBX services.

3CX's rewritten smartphone clients for iOS and Android boast advanced PUSH technology and an integrated SIP tunnel. Smartphone users can now use their office extension anywhere with the same ease of use as a normal cellphone call.

Using to PUSH, 3CX can wake up the phone in the case of an inbound call and fast registration and response allows the user to answer calls easily.

Nick Galea, CEO of 3CX said: "Now with integrated PUSH in our softphone clients, which gives 3CX PUSH messages priority over others, 3CX Phone System is offering true mobility with the office system at the user's fingertips wherever they are."

Also, users will now be offered an additional deployment option, allowing 3CX partners to offer 3CX as a hosted PBX. 3CX Phone System v14 can be installed as a Virtual PBX server for up to 25 instances on a single Windows Server, easing ongoing management and lowering per instance deployment cost, said the vendor.

The addition comes at a time when vendors are seeing an increasing demand for cloud-based business solutions. It is predicted that by 2018 the hosted PBX/UC sector will have driven over $18bn in revenue. "With 3CX Phone System Hosted PBX, 3CX partners will also be able to offer 3CX as a hosted solution along with the on-premise version," added Galea..

On an administrative level, 3CX adds improved management features such as scheduled backup and restore, more alerts and a streamlined interface.

3CX also integrates virtually out of the box fault tolerance.

With the PRO edition it is now easy to maintain a virtual 'copy' of 3CX Phone System as a hot standby and failover in the unlikely event of a server failure.

Furthermore, administrators can enjoy a range of additional new features including scheduled reports by email, voicemail and recordings quota management, and new SIP trunk providers to choose from including Broadvoice, AMcom, Deutsche Telekom and Time Warner Cable to name just a few.

The company's integrated video conferencing solution, 3CX WebMeeting, has also undergone improvements, namely better video delivery due to improved WebRTC support.

Vapour Media has launched a new cloud-based bundle called All in One, a per-person, per-month managed solution encompassing cloud voice, data storage, LAN and WAN connectivity.

Vapour Director Tim Mercer has urged resellers to help drive technological change in the small business community. He said: "Cutting edge technology and big budgets no longer go hand-in-hand. Likewise, having an in-house IT expert is not a pre-requisite for efficient and affordable business communications.

"However, the UK's small businesses are still not getting the solutions and services they deserve. The advent of cloud means businesses, no matter how big or how small, have the flexibility to scale their communication needs in tandem with their business aspirations.

"While the cloud is growing at such a pace and consumer demand for instant access, instant answers and a robust service, businesses can no longer sit on their hands and ride out the familiarity of old technology. The channel and its network of resellers, with their reputations for service delivery at a local level, need to evangelise and educate about the benefits of cloud.

"We decided to take the headache out of an unnecessarily complex end-to-end solution and give channel partners, and their customers, a solution they would both understand and be able to instantly derive the business benefits."

All in One is fully installed and tested by Vapour engineers and managed 24 hours a day from the company's Network Operation Centre. Dedicated private access with class (CoS) and quality of service (QoS) comes as standard.

Established in 2013, Vapour supports IT and telco resellers by providing them with a point of access to its own private network, a choice of network providers and the ability to deploy cloud-based services, working with and educating the channel to adopt new technologies.

Hats off to eircom for scooping Xirrus' MSP Partner Of The Year Award for 2015.

Xirrus' CEO Shane Buckley presented the award during a ceremony at eircom's HQ in Dublin.

Since becoming a Xirrus MSP Partner last year, eircom has deployed Xirrus' technology in hundreds of customer sites.

"We have been impressed by the way in which the company deploys our technology and delivers innovative Wi-Fi solutions in a way that visibly benefits end users," said Buckley. "We are also delighted with eircom's ability to exceed customer demand for efficiency, cost effectiveness and investment protection."

Bill Archer, MD for eircom Business Solutions, added: "We have a strong and solid partnership with Xirrus, which allows us to deliver innovative Wi-Fi solutions to our customers. We are honoured to be recognised by one of our key partners, and we look forward to working together for many more years."