Comms Dealer

Virgin Media Business has marked Flexible Working Awareness Day by calling on companies to provide employees with the tools they need to enable them to work effectively outside of the office.

Organisations across the UK have the power to boost performance by embracing digital, says the firm.

Research conducted by Virgin Media Business last year found that 81% of workers believe that being able to work remotely increases their productivity.

Yet many are still not doing so, despite the knowledge that businesses that make it easy for staff to work flexibly are also likely to see an increase in loyalty. 84% of people surveyed said that allowing remote working shows that a company trusts and values their work.

To take full advantage of the benefits digital has to offer, organisations need to equip staff with the tools they need to work from anywhere at any time, says Virgin.

Duncan Higgins, Marketing Director, Virgin Media Business, said: "Technology connects companies and employees in the globalised world. Yet these digital advancements also mean that global competition is more significant than ever before for UK businesses.

"Providing employees with the right tools, be they unified communications, mobility or secure, remote access, to work flexibly around both their personal and professional needs will not only transform productivity but it will also allow businesses to take on their biggest competitors, both nationally and internationally."

Cloud robotics will lead to the development of smart robots that have higher computing efficiency and consume less power, claims new analysis from Frost & Sullivan.

These attributes will drive down the cost of manufacturing as there is less hardware and also result in lower emissions.

Innovations in cloud robotics have gained significant momentum, with initiatives by large companies such as Google and IBM and the engagement of research institutes in several active projects around the world. The need to develop robots that rank high on performance and accessibility has been the key focus in research activities.

"As cloud robotics moves beyond its nascent stage, numerous applications of these technologies will come to the fore," noted Technical Insights Research Analyst Debarun Guha Thakurta. "For the moment, healthcare, transportation, consumer robotics and manufacturing are areas that can benefit from the use of shared resources and the elimination of the need to manage or update robotics software."

Considering the prevalence of cloud computing technology and smart phones/tablets, the consumer robotics market will witness strong growth. In fact, cloud robotics will be a catalyst for the emergence of a mainstream consumer robot marketplace, reckons Frost & Sullivan.

The major challenge for market participants, however, is the high dependence of cloud robotics on active Internet connectivity for processing any function. In areas of limited or no connectivity, robots powered by the cloud are unable to function effectively and respond promptly in critical situations.

"The convergence of cloud robotics with big data, context-aware computing and high-speed ubiquitous wireless networks, along with the use of advanced wireless sensors, could solve connectivity issues that slow response times," said Technical Insights Research Analyst Mousumi Dasgupta.

"Operations that require the execution of tasks in real-time will also need service-oriented robots with on-board processing capabilities."

Fewer, but larger deals are being favoured for European venture capital investment, says Dow Jones in its latest study of deals in the first quarter of 2015.

European companies raised 2.6bn euro in venture capital for 345 deals during 1Q 2015, an increase of 41% in the amount raised from 4Q 2014 despite a 5% slide in the number of deals completed. Consumer Services was the strongest sector of the quarter in terms of attracting investment with Business and Financial Services in second.

Information Technology was placed third, with companies in the sector gathering 16% of the total amount invested for the quarter. The sector received 436m euro across 75 deals; a rise of 65% and 1% from 4Q 2014 in capital invested and deal flow respectively. 

49 venture-backed M&As took place in Europe during 1Q 2015, up 7% from 4Q 2014 but down 6% on the figure for 1Q 2014. 12 venture-backed IPOs took place during 1Q 2015, two more than those seen in the prior quarter and four more than the listings for VC-backed companies completed in the year ago period.

Germany was the most favoured destination for equity financing during 1Q 2015, receiving €921m across 64 deals. The country took 35% of all equity financing for the quarter, tripling its 4Q 2014 investment total.

The United Kingdom placed second, attracting a 34% share of European financing. Investment rose by 54% from the prior quarter to total €886m while deal flow increased by 16%.

France occupies third position raising €292m, 11% of the total for the quarter. Austria rose to fourth position with a 7% share, raising €173m during 1Q 2015.  
 

NEC has launched new Express5800 servers for mission critical systems and processing Big Data.

The global release of a new Express5800/A2000 Series of enterprise servers for Windows and Linux operating systems incorporate the Intel Xeon Processor E7 v3 Family (up to 18 CPU cores).
 
They enhance memory controller features, memory sparing functions and memory mirroring functions (Address Based Memory Mirroring, which enables efficient use of memory space), making them suited for the growing needs of Big Data processing and sophisticated social infrastructure, while providing reliable and stable system operations, said the firm.
 
"In recent years, there is an increasing demand for reliable, high-performance, non-stop processing of enormous amounts of data for the IT infrastructure that supports, for example, security systems for social infrastructure, banking systems and management systems for business operations," said omoyasu Nishimura, General Manager, IT Platform Division, NEC.

"There is also a growing need for Big Data processing in order to forecast market trends and to analyse customer profiles. In order to respond to these demands the importance of memory space that can perform real-time processing with high reliability is rapidly increasing."

Professional recruitment firms now have 20% more vacancies on their books than this time last year, according to new survey data from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).

This annual increase has been recorded despite reports that UK economic growth slowed to 0.3% in the three months to March 2015.

APSCo's data coincides with the latest ONS figures, which show that the number of people in work has increased by 248,000 in the three months to February, driving UK employment to a record-high of 31.05 million.

Clive Jefferys, Managing Director of Telecoms Recruiter JMA Network, observed: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Politicians of all persuasions should take heed of this benign employment climate and resist the temptation to start meddling with economic policy."

Voiceflex has launched a new combined voice and data product to the channel that delivers a dedicated voice and high availability connection service under a service level agreement. 

This new service combines Voiceflex's voice and SIP Trunking service.

Paul Taylor, Sales Director, commented: "The new addition to our Business Connect portfolio will help our partners to take advantage of the ever-increasing and demanding communications market. 

"Pricing is less than the equivalent ISDN pricing and has all the features associated with SIP. Plus, it takes out all the hassle of the application making it easier to sell."?

A new product guide designed to help resellers put a 'spring into their sales success' has been introduced by Nimans.

The 24-page 'spring New Products' guide provides an overview of the latest solutions and services available from the distributor.

Traditional systems, headsets, conferencing and telephones are showcased alongside newer areas of business such as hosted, hospitality, IT peripherals and networking. Special offers and events are also highlighted.

Head of Dealer Sales, Tom Maxwell, said: "The comms world continues to evolve and this new guide encapsulates some of the many ways Nimans is expanding its range of products and services to the reseller channel."

Zen Internet has launched a new range of broadband products to the channel two months ahead of schedule.

The new range of copper broadband and telephone bundles, designed to improve connectivity for customers at reduced costs, will be available through the company's Partner Portal from May 6th.

Stephen Warburton, MD for Indirect Markets at Zen, said: "We initially anticipated these products wouldn't be available until later in the year, so we're thrilled to be able to announce their launch two months earlier than first expected.

"We opted to prioritise this work based on feedback we received at our partner event in November. Doing this has enabled us to bring these products to market in a short period of time. Now, Partners can begin to benefit from a new range of broadband products at significantly lower prices than they're used to."

The new products combine ''competitive pricing' with a choice of download limits to suit customers' varying monthly usage.

They include an entry-level package for low usage customers and two unlimited usage packages to support those who indulge in rich media and cloud-based applications.

IT veteran Tom Kelly has joined Agilitas as Chairman. He brings over 30 years ICT, MBO and private equity expertise and will leverage his experience to ensure that Agilitas' growth plans remain on track, working closely with CEO Shaun Lynn.

Kelly is perhaps best known for his ten year stint at the vanguard of IT firm Logicalis' drive to become a leading systems integrator and managed services provider.

Lynn said: "We have ambitious growth plans and to have someone who has been there and done it to the extent Tom has is great news for both Agilitas and our customers.

"Tom has a first class reputation and an impeccable track record in the industry and I look forward to continue working closely with him as we look to expand our services proposition."

Kelly added: "Agilitas is the IT industry's best kept secret and part of my role as Chairman is to maximise the relationships I have built up over the years by introducing Agilitas to those people I know can benefit from its best of breed services.

"What I've learnt over the years is people buy from people regardless of the industry you are in."

Kelly was also involved in helping to facilitate the successful MBO earlier in the year. Led by Lynn and members of the management team, Agilitas IT Solutions superseded the previous company ACAL Enterprise Solutions.  

The change of ownership enables the company to pursue its own independent growth strategy and to control the development of its services portfolio in line with both market and customer demands.

Kelly added: "Cloud services are fast becoming a huge enabler of change within the IT channel as the major vendors, distributors and resellers jostle for market share.

"Agilitas is positioned to support this change as the consolidation of services to the cloud also drives a bigger demand for organisations to centralise their spares inventory, and this is where Agilitas comes in."

Lynn noted: "For many years we have delivered Inventory Management Services for some of Europe's leading OEMs and service providers.

"During that time we have expanded our services portfolio in line with customer demand and will continue to do so.

"However, with the addition of Tom, we have someone who is already driving us forward in getting ahead of the curve."

CIOs and CTOs control the digital strategy in 60 per cent of organisations, according to Claranet's latest Innovation in European IT research report.

According to Claranet this is a 'huge opportunity' for IT leaders to take a major role in the future direction of their companies, provided that they are able to balance available resources between innovation and maintain existing service support.

With innovation taking up just 9% of an IT department's time, there is a danger that this opportunity could be lost to just keeping the lights on.

Commenting on the research, Michel Robert, Managing Director of Claranet UK said: "IT leaders have faced challenges from many angles in recent years.

"Constrained budgets have provided limited room for manoeuvre and the relative easy access of cloud computing, has given different parts of a business the ability to procure their own services and applications.

"Given the mission critical nature of IT to business success, this has increased the pressure on IT leaders to become more responsive to business requirements by gaining a better understanding of the key drivers to future success.

"The CIO/CTO needs to really help determine and deliver against the strategy of the business by providing great service today and focusing on innovation - a challenging thing to do.

"That digital strategy is the preserve of IT in the majority of situations is proof of the confidence that CEO's have in the IT department to lead business change."

The pan-European research report, which surveyed 900 IT decision-makers from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and the Benelux, from a range of mid-market organisations, examined trends in IT service provider adoption and asked IT leaders to forecast how their needs would change by 2020.

When asked: 'Which person is responsible for your organisation's digital strategy?' 31% stated that the CIO took the role and 29% stated the CTO. 15% said that the CEO was responsible and only 6% has a dedicated Chief Digital Officer in post.

Michel added: "The strong position in which IT leaders find themselves to guide the future of their businesses, combined with the fact that budgets are set to increase quite significantly in some countries over the next years, means that we can expect to see new levels of innovation across all sectors in Europe.

"In particular, managed services providers (MSP), like Claranet, are well placed to support the CIO/CTO in both the delivery of services today, but also the required innovation. MSPs can really help."