Comms Dealer

Azzurri Communications has secured a place on nine out of the ten available Lots on the Network Services Framework (RM1045).

The new framework, which went live in July 2015 and is operated by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) on behalf of the government, enables any public sector body to procure ICT services from credible, vetted providers.

The framework enlists suppliers and pre-approves their capabilities, assessing companies based on experience, company size, reputation, adherence to standards, financial stability, and compliance with the law. Public sector bodies assess their own requirements, and approach providers in the appropriate lot for proposals, which are typically awarded based on the most economically advantageous tender.

"This is hugely important for Azzurri in several ways," said Chris Jagusz, CEO of Azzurri Communications. "Firstly, it of course gives the business access to a huge addressable market in the public sector. Secondly, it is testament to the breadth of our portfolio, the quality of our partnerships, and the strength of our references. We are delighted with this result, not least because it unequivocally shows Azzurri to be more than capable of competing and succeeding on the largest of stages."

The latest procurement analysis from the CCS anticipates total spend through the framework over the next four years will be in excess of £3bn with an associated savings target of £556m over the same period.

The Network Services Framework is anticipated to deliver savings in excess of £500 million for departments and the public sector.

The new framework will provide simplified access to network and telecommunications services, replacing the existing PSN Services, PSN Connectivity and Telephony Services agreements.

The Network Services Framework lasts four years and is designed to replace the Public Sector Telecommunication Services (PSTS), Public Services Network Connectivity (PSNC) and Public Services Network Services (PSNS) frameworks, with which it will run concurrently for a time after PSN was extended.

ShoreTel has advanced its UK expansion strategy following a partnership with Nuvola Distribution.

Adrian Hipkiss, VPof EMEA at ShoreTel, commented: "We selected Nuvola for its UC services background including skills in application integration and cloud services.

"Alongside its services capabilities, Nuvola, as a true service value added distributor is strongly committed to offering customers the solution that is just right for them, which is something we value highly.

"This partnership marks further expansion of our business in the UK and will allow us to address both new markets and new types of partners. This will help us to continue to deliver flexibility and choice to businesses around communications in the enterprise."

Michael Lloyd, MD at Nuvola Distribution, added: "In today's IT environment the reseller must be able to deliver the total solution and partnering with ShoreTel and Nuvola in the UK ensures they are in position to do this."

The European SMB cloud services market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17% within next three years (from €18.9bn to €30.1bn), according to latest SMB Cloud Insights report from Odin.

Now in its fifth year, the Odin annual report identifies trends within the cloud computing industry and its impact on SMBs within the European market.

A highlight of European cloud services market growth will be the infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) market which is expected to increase from €7.6bn to €11.6bn.

The healthcare and finance/insurance industries will increasingly invest in security and server backups due to regulatory requirements. Professional and technology/science industries will also lead the adoption of IaaS.

"Increasingly, we see more and more SMBs realising the business benefits of cloud adoption, and as a result we see businesses are not asking why or how they will adopt the cloud, but when," said Jacek Murawski, Odin EMEA General Manager and Vice President.

Organisations now making the move to cloud services recognise the benefits of security, resilience, flexibility, scalability and business continuity. "By becoming cloud adopters, organisations can be safe in the knowledge that their IT is secure, which enables them to focus on their core business needs and do what they do best," added Murawski.

Good Energy, the fast-growing 100% renewable electricity supply and generation company, has agreed a three-year mobile phone deal with Excalibur Communications.

The Chippenham-based company has switched from a direct contract with a network provider to Excalibur's fully managed service.

Good Energy's IT Infrastructure Manager Steve Simmonds said: "As a rapidly growing organisation, it was time to review the way we managed our mobile phone needs, and Excalibur offers us a great fit."

James Phipps, CEO at Excalibur Communications based in Swindon, added: "Working with such a go-ahead customer-focused company as Good Energy is also a good fit for us at Excalibur. We work hard to remove those pain points by not only providing the right products and the right tariffs, but exemplary customer service so that we can become a long-term trusted partner."

Business investment in ICT has hit a new record high, jumping to £34.4bn last year - up by a quarter (24%) since the height of the recession in 2009 (when businesses' IT capital spending was just £27.6bn), according to BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions.

The company says that private sector IT investment has now 'far exceeded' its pre-crisis peak of £30.9bn in 2008.

According to BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions, this growth is being driven by investment in software which has jumped by 6% in the last year alone from £25.8bn in 2013 to £27.5bn in 2014. In the first quarter of this year, businesses spent £6.9bn on software.

Software now accounts for 80% of businesses' IT capital expenditure, up from 74% ten years ago.

Tristan Watkins UK Country Manager for BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions, said: "Investment in software is surging ahead because while most hardware has become relatively cheap and increasingly standardised, developments in software are advancing all the time.

"Whether that's industry or application specific software such as accounting or design packages, supply chain management programmes or sophisticated security software, businesses know that the right software will help them to be more efficient or provide better customer service than their competitors."

BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions says that as investment in IT continues to rise, it expects to see further growth in businesses' use of 'managed services', with small and medium sized IT suppliers taking advantage of leasing to enable them to offer managed services to wider range of businesses.

The managed service model allows businesses to keep IT costs under strict control by outsourcing much of their IT requirements for a transparent all-inclusive monthly fee.

The same supplier provides configuration, network, security, training and maintenance services, along with the hardware and software and warranties. The fixed monthly payment can be better for cash flow compared to paying for equipment and support needs individually up front.

However, unlike cloud-based solutions, which offer some of the same advantages, there is no need for the buyer's IT facility to be managed off-site. This is particularly important for businesses handling sensitive information and data.

Watkins added: "With businesses increasing their capital investment they want to keep their IT budget under strict control, but without the worries about data security that could come with switching to the cloud. Combining a monthly fee with an on-site service would offer the best of both worlds, helping businesses to keep any in-house IT function lean, and acquire expertise that they do not have themselves, without running up unexpected and unbudgeted costs.

"Unfortunately too few small to mid-sized IT suppliers have been able to provide this sort of service, because it means funding costs like hardware, software, installation and consultancy upfront. Only the largest suppliers - typically working with the biggest organisations - are able to do that.

"Leasing can help smaller IT suppliers to put these packages together, wrapped into a single fee. The leasing provider can fund all of the initial costs, which only leaves future costs such as ongoing maintenance to be funded by the supplier.

"For IT vendors, being able to provide a managed service helps them to build valuable, long-lasting customer relationships. They prove their expertise by providing on-going support, making them a valued partner not just a one-off supplier. The predictability of the monthly payments is also an attraction.

"Vendors are increasingly asking us about the financing packages that we can provide to make all this possible."

A former army Staff Sergeant is firing up a new career with Warrington-based reseller Avandda.

Steve Goddard spent 22 years in the army, deployed to areas such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Cyprus and Northern Ireland, most recently flying Unmanned Air Systems (UAS).

"It's the end of my military career which I have enjoyed and I am now transitioning into civilian life," he said. "For my resettlement I am going in to the telecommunications sector. I've done military telecommunications such as satellite comms and Wide Area Data Networks, so this is a natural fit now."

Goddard (pictured left) was part of a group of resellers who took part in in-depth training courses at Nimans' Manchester headquarters to boost his Samsung technical knowledge. A three-day OfficeServ Foundation course was followed by a two-day programme about Samsung's sophisticated SVMI voice messaging solution.

"I've just started a job as a Project Co-ordinator with Avandda, which I'm grateful for," Goddard continued. "It's been a bit of a learning curve as I'm only just starting off and I need to get some hands-on experience. But I'm a lot more knowledgeable now. The course has been a massive stepping stone."

The two courses were some of the first technical training events to be held in the north, as opposed to Harlow in the south, explained Nimans' Head of Systems Sales, John Mckindland who emphasised that 'plenty more will follow'.

He explained how the entry-level OfficeServ course forms the foundation of all engineer training. Hardware, end points, configuration and programming feature in the comprehensive content. SVMI voice messaging placed particular importance on how to deter toll fraud, as well as focusing on menus, modes and installation techniques.

Nimans' resellers are gearing up for a new NEC sales promotion that culminates in a motor sport race day in Holland.

The overall winner will witness one of the high performance cars displaying their own company logo as part of the NEC 2015 Blancpain Series - complemented by five star accommodation and hospitality at the Zandvoort Beach Circuit.

The long weekend in October features a canal boat trip, nightlife experience and behind-the-scenes racing including a grid and pitch walk - culminating in the Blancpain Championship race.

The centre-piece will be a Bentley GT3 complete with the winner's company logo, says John McKindland, Nimans' Head of Systems Sales.

"This four-day trip features a rare insight into the world of motor sport combined with the finest hospitality in the cosmopolitan city of Amsterdam. It will be an unforgettable experience for all those involved."

Qualification has already begun for the target-driven incentive which runs until September 15th.

Telcos must turn big data into smart data to manage customer churn and loyalty according to industry watcher Ovum.

Utilising big data analytics to personalise the customer experience will be crucial for telcos to manage customer churn and improve loyalty, says the firm.

It takes on average at least 3.5 years for telcos to break even on SAC (subscriber acquisition cost), however the average customer lifetime for telcos is currently only two years, claims Ovum.

To offset this, telcos must look to monetise their big data analytics investments and launch initiatives that will deliver value to their customers, reduce churn propensity and reduce the overall telco SAC.

As a part of its 'Using Big Data Analytics To Manage Customer Churn and Loyalty KPIs' report, Ovum explores the key KPIs that telcos must use to improve customer loyalty, and highlights practical uses of big data analytics across the business.

Ovum analyst, Chantel Cary, commented: "Churn rates among telcos have reached staggering heights and are climbing. Across all regions, telcos are seeing customers churn at rates as disparate as 1.5% to nearly 6% per quarter.

"Telcos recognise the importance of customer retention and understand that big data analytics will help to differentiate the customer experience; many, however, have hesitated to launch big data analytics initiatives that will drive personalised offers and encourage the cross-sell of products that will lead to greater loyalty.

"This was confirmed further in our survey results which showed that while more than 70% of telcos that have invested in big data have planned to apply big data analytics across the business, less than 20% of these telcos have been able to fully deploy analytics to support customer-focused initiatives.

"Poor management of customer-centric KPIs such as Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), Subscriber Acquisition Cost (SAC) and customer satisfaction scores have resulted in a vicious cycle of customer churn for telcos.

"When leveraged properly, however, big data analytics can be used monitor customer sentiment, anticipate their activities and provide actionable insights to trigger proactive measures. It supports a wide range of business initiatives, and can be used to improve churn and loyalty metrics, as well as ARPU and customer satisfaction."

Vodafone UK has launched its broadband and home phone services to millions of customers across the UK.

Available at speeds up to 76 Mbps, Vodafone's nationwide fibre optic, business-grade network reaches exchanges which pass around 22 million premises across the UK.

This launch builds on the success of Vodafone's fixed broadband services across 12 countries in Europe where it is one of the largest providers with more than 11 million subscribers.

Jeroen Hoencamp, CEO of Vodafone UK, said: "We have had great feedback on our broadband service from the customers involved in our regional launch. 

"We are pleased that they are finding the speeds as fast as they hoped for, while the Vodafone Connect companion app gives them control over their devices."

Mark Windle, Head of Marketing at OpenCloud, observed: "Vodafone's move into the broadband market shows how traditional telecoms operators are seeking out opportunities to horizontally integrate access networks - fixed and wireless. In the broader sense it is mobile, fixed-line and Wi-Fi all coming together to offer complete and cost-effective connectivity packages.

"In doing this, Vodafone will be able to keep their customers connected via their network for much more of the time.

"BT's acquisition of EE will help achieve a similar goal, but if all providers are heading that way then differentiation will need to be found in service innovation. After all, the services are really what the subscribers want - access is somewhat of a commodity these days."

When Oak joint CEO Phillip Reynolds and his son David sit down to plan business development projects they certainly do it in style.

This year the duo have bought a limited edition orange Dodge RAM 1500 with a 5.7 V8 Hemi engine under the bonnet to travel the famous Route 66 Highway, driving from Toronto down to Chicago, then across America to LA.

Reynolds told Comms Dealer: "David runs Oak SI, our technical development team in Canada .We do a 'Father and Son’ bucket list trip each year and combine that with development planning for the year ahead.

"We did Mount Snowdon two years ago, Iceland and the Northern Lights last year, this year Route 66, next year is the Himalayas and a three week trek to Tibet perhaps, then Alaska, and perhaps a John O'Groats to Lands End cycle ride. Life is short!\"