Comms Dealer

An upgrade to GCI Channel Solutions' Customer Control Portal (CCP) gives partners with their own reseller base a 'Parent Child' facility, enabling their customers to deploy to end users directly via self-serve.

"The web-based application tool is a one-stop-shop that supports the ordering and automatic configuration of GCI Channel Solutions FTTC and ADSL Broadband offering, enabling partners to drive volume in sales to their resellers, explained Mark Whitehead (pictured), Director of Channel Sales.

"CCP allows partners to check product availability, track orders, bill users, provide reports and use diagnostic tools, eliminating some of the issues faced by partners including limitations on resources and strict time constraints."

Daisy Group has positioned itself as the first scaled UK-based UC and IT infrastructure managed services provider capable of reaching £1bn annual revenue following the completion of its acquisition of Phoenix IT Group.

The deal adds more than 3,600 businesses to the Daisy customer base and brings particular strength in the education, retail and financial services markets.

Phoenix is a good fit with Daisy's corporate and partner businesses, serving the Group's mid-market customer base with a broader portfolio and enhancing its offering to system integrator partners.

Underpinning this will be Phoenix's expertise in Business Continuity and IT Service Continuity Management as well as scale in key market growth areas in hybrid cloud and field services.

The complementary product sets provide cross-selling opportunities and significant economies of scale, enabling Daisy to provide both its existing customers and the customers of Phoenix with access to additional services.

The addition of Phoenix extends the scale and range of white label services in the Daisy Daisy Partner Services portfolio, in particular in desk-side and retail support, such that the portfolio now spans the breadth of traditional and contemporary Unified Communications and IT Infrastructure.

Matthew Riley, Daisy Group founder and Executive Chairman commented: "Throughout our development it has been important that Daisy continues to evolve in line with market dynamics and alongside the specific needs of customers in a rapidly changing marketplace.

"The worlds of Unified Communications and IT Services are rapidly converging and our customers and partners are asking us to provide a broader range of services under one roof.

"As such, our ambition is to be the leading provider of unified business communications and IT infrastructure managed services and solutions via our SMB, Corporate and Partner Services businesses in the UK - a marketplace we believe to be worth over £10billion per annum.

"For the last decade we have been consolidating the fragmented market and the acquisition of Phoenix is evidence of Daisy's intent to provide its customers and partners with a truly holistic service."

Neil Muller, Daisy Group CEO commented: "Through a combination of Daisy's strength in networking and unified communications and Phoenix's heritage in IT Services, we believe the enlarged group will occupy a unique position in the market.
?"As businesses become more digital there is an ever-increasing reliance on the management and availability of customers' business communications and IT Infrastructure.

"By combining capabilities, we are well positioned to offer true differentiation to our mid-market customers, providing them with a breadth of solutions and expertise, ensuring their critical systems are 'always on'.

"Likewise, for our partners serving enterprise customers, our scaled partner services division will allow us to add value through both our enhanced expertise and engineering support, with a commitment that we will collaborate with our partners at all times.

"Over the coming weeks and months we will be combining the core strengths of both businesses, and we believe that the enlarged Group will become the 'go to' provider for end-to-end Unified Communications and IT Infrastructure Managed Services and solutions."

Increased adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) demonstrates the growing demands for Wi-Fi networks to deliver optimal performance, reliability and security, according to wireless network provider Xirrus.
 
"The rapid expansion of IoT and BYOD necessitate that all businesses re-evaluate how they design their Wi-Fi networks to meet users' expectations to connect anywhere, on any device, at any time," said Shane Buckley, Xirrus CEO, commenting after the results of the firm's 'Where the Wires End' survey were announced.

The study found that a vast majority of consumers (76%) connect to Wi-Fi outside of their home on a regular basis. Moreover, the study revealed the growing expectation of connectivity everywhere. Additional key findings include:
 
• Wi-Fi usage trumps security: Most respondents (79%) do not feel that public Wi-Fi is secure; however, the majority of users (62 percent) still connect to public Wi-Fi.
 
• Travellers would change hotels and airlines for better Wi-Fi: More than half (66%) of travelers would change hotels for a better Wi-Fi experience; 49% would change their preferred airline provider.
 
• 'Bad' Wi-Fi keeps workers from doing their jobs: A large majority (84%) of respondents reported bad Wi-Fi has kept them from doing their job.
 
• Wearables and IoT adoption create demand for high-density Wi-Fi: Today, almost all consumers (90%) own at least one once connected device (e.g., laptop, smartphone or tablet). However, a surprising number (one in three) own a wearable device of some kind (e.g., smartwatch, fitness band).
 
"We are now more than ever a mobile, wireless-reliant society," added Buckley.

"The proliferation of Wi-Fi connected devices combined with the expectation of steadfast connectivity has put increased demand on Wi-Fi networks everywhere.

"Nowhere is this more apparent than in the enterprise. Our study highlights the need for organisations to reinforce their networks to ensure a seamless connected experience for users at all times, no matter the location."

Fast growing London fibre network provider Venus Business Communications is offering its top performing reseller partners a summer bonanza with tickets to top UK events including The Rugby World Cup, Premier League Football and West End shows.

"Our new summer incentives are a great way to reward hard work and loyalty," said Brian Iddon, Director of Venus.

The company is also hosting a private summer event at The Sanderson Hotel to celebrate the success of its reseller channel and provide potential partners with an insight into the benefits of joining Venus.

A record number of guests attended Channel Telecom's annual golf day held at the West Essex Golf Club which boasts views across London and is home to the smallest green in the country.

Channel Telecom partner Chris Clarkson collected the overall winner trophy having racked up an impressive 42 stableford points.

Channel Telecom MD Clifford Norton said: "We had a great day, a lot of fun and some excellent golf, as well as a record number of attendees.

"We were fortunate to have mostly dry weather and it was good to share the day with so many of our channel partners, suppliers and friends in the industry. We look forward to next year for another memorable event."

Pictured: Clifford Norton presenting Chris Clarkson with the overall winner's trophy.

A charity golf event hosted by Sennheiser in aid of the Caron Keating Foundation raised £15,000, taking the total amount raised by the company in support of cancer charities to over £500k.

Sennheiser's 20th annual charity staged at Bearwood Lakes Golf Club in Berkshire saw 80 golfers engage in friendly competition, over 90-plus attended dinner and a charity auction with entertainment supplied by Russ Williams.

Paul Whiting, President, Strategic Collaborations at Sennheiser, said: "The range of entertainment provided throughout the day was first class, as was the generosity of everyone who took part. It was a sterling effort to raise money for a very good cause and a great way to mark the 20th anniversary of this annual event."

Members of Unify's senior management team flew in from across Europe to update a full house of resellers attending a 'masterclass' event staged by Nimans at the Oxford Belfry Hotel.

The technical-focused event highlighted the manufacturer's roadmap and latest technology developments and was the brainchild of Nimans' Unify Solutions Manager Jed Brewis, providing engineers, technical managers and technical directors with a broad overview of Unify's' latest plans.

"A number of attendees have been involved with Unify for over 20 years and they place great value and endeavour into these collaborative events from senior Nimans and Unify partners," said John McKindland Head of System Sales at Nimans.

"Jed used his personal contacts within Unify in Germany to secure high level support from their technical community.

"Several high powered members of Unify's management team travelled from as far as Zurich and Munich, such was their desire to take part - while others joined via video link."

Unify's Matthias Mueller, VP, Channel Services EMEA-R, stated: "This type of workshop builds relationships and supports partner success.

"Unify has made a significant investment in the channel, putting the right resources in place to support our partner community."

Huawei Deputy Chairman and Rotating CEO Ken Hu has called for deeper and more rapid innovation to develop 5G technology as virtual reality and other applications create the need for greater network bandwidth.

In a keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, Hu said that 5G development has entered a critical phase, and that accelerating its development requires technological innovation, cross-industry collaboration, and additional spectrum resources.

"In the 5G era, virtual reality and immersive experiences will become key applications," Hu said. "We must increase investment in new technologies, especially air interface and network architecture. We're confident that our new air interface technology can at least triple spectrum efficiency without the need for new antennas or new sites."

Hu said the telecom industry has yet to establish close collaboration with other industries. He noted that each industry will have different needs, and that if 5G is to be widely adopted across verticals, its technologies and standards will have to satisfy those diverse needs.

"We hope to establish formal platforms for cross-industry collaboration to explore future needs, application scenarios, and technical standards for 5G. Technology providers, network operators, and other industries should work together to roll out industry-specific 5G demo networks."

Hu also said that like transportation network and power grids, 5G will become a critical piece of infrastructure in the future.

In the 5G era, operators will need many more spectrum resources. He expressed hope that governments and regulators can quickly develop more forward-looking policies on spectrum allocation.

"We hope that key stakeholders can reach a consensus on 5G spectrum as soon as possible and identify at least 500 MHz of sub-6 GHz spectrum for 5G, thus creating the right conditions for 5G's development globally," Hu said.

The latest stage in Ofcom's strategic review of digital communications, published today, shows it's listening to the industry's concerns but the big question about BT-Openreach separation has been somewhat dampened by the potential impact of OTT players, according to Matthew Howett, Practice Leader, Regulation at Ovum.

"Leading up to its publication, BT and its rivals had been engaged in a bitter war of words in relation to where Ofcom should focus its priorities.

"Rivals to BT believe the incumbent should be further split up and the access division, Openreach, hived off. BT responded calling for PayTV to be in the spotlight. Both of these have made it into the discussion document, however neither should probably be the focus."

The strategic review seeks to ensure that the industry continues to meet the needs of end users. The last such review, a decade ago, lasted almost two years and ultimately led to the separation of BT's access network.

"This review is unlikely to result in a further separation of the incumbent," added Howett.

"While Ofcom recognises there are challenges with Openreach, in particular in relation to service quality, it heavily suggests that further separation will not address these, and could ultimately be disproportionate. That's not to say that tweaks to the Openreach model aren't likely.

"What this review really does is present an opportunity for the regulator to properly consider the impact competing services coming from so called OTT players are having on the sector, and whether this impact warrants further deregulation of the traditional communications markets.

"As new, more nimble players such as Skype and WhatsApp have arrived on the scene and competed away traditional telco revenues, regulators have been somewhat constrained in their ability to react, and certainly have not responded in the way telcos might have liked.

"This is where Ofcom's focus ought to be, and could even be an area where BT and its rivals find mutual agreement."

Identity and access management (IAM) company SailPoint is to acquire Whitebox Security, a provider of data access governance solutions that identify and protect sensitive data against internal and external threats.

The Whitebox Security suite of solutions will continue to be available from SailPoint and will be rebranded as SecurityIQ.

By combining SailPoint's governance-based approach to IAM with Whitebox Security's ability to collect and analyse data, SecurityIQ will provide visibility and control into 'who has access to what' in unstructured data resources.

"Unstructured data is the next frontier in the IAM space, and it's a growing concern for our customers," said Kevin Cunningham, president and founder of SailPoint.

"By bringing data governance under the scope of IAM, organisations can now manage access to unstructured data in the same way as access to applications and systems.

"Our acquisition of Whitebox Security's expertise and technology allows SailPoint to link identity-centric and data-centric views within the IT infrastructure in powerful ways for our customers."