Comms Dealer

By Anton Le Saux, Head of Connectivity and Partner Sales at O2 Telefónica UK: The m2m market is expanding rapidly and developing into unchartered territory with new sectors acknowledging the benefits and smaller businesses adopting the technology.

But it is partnerships that will facilitate the growth of m2m, because no single business could possibly have the knowledge or contacts to roll out m2m into all potential sectors. If partnerships are the future for the m2m market, then relevant companies need to be seeking like-minded affiliates to move forward with, not to mention a centralised portal or facilitator to co-ordinate them. O2's Global Partnership Programme (GPP) is an example of this approach, driving industry growth through a system that supports multiple businesses, allowing them to move forward symbiotically.

As more businesses come together to establish links, commonalities and trends are coming to the fore. m2m is becoming more intrinsically linked to business processes and revenue streams, and connected device data needs to be blended with enterprise IT systems to maximise its usefulness. In short, data generated by m2m systems is becoming less about monitoring and more about decision making and business direction. This is increasing the need for real-time data across all parts of a business, drawing from multiple connected devices.

With data coming from numerous locations, a central portal to manage and manipulate this information is required to bring all connectivity together at a single user-friendly point. Only established, streamlined partnerships will be able to successfully collate these different strands into a unified and useable solution.

For more information emailanton.lesaux@telefonica.com or visit partnersdigital.telefonica.com

Hortonworks, a provider of enterprise Apache Hadoop, has expanded its System Integrator Partner programme to speed up cross-industry adoption of the open-source software framework. 

The first company to join the new programme at the Platinum level is Accenture.

Under the expanded programme, partners will benefit from advanced online training systems while the certification requirements will be more extensive in order to ensure better quality, Hortonworks says.

System Integrators will be also offered an option to participate in channel programme under Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze partner category. Additionally, all partners will have access to Hortonworks' library of online training, specialised solution-based workshops and technical boot camps.

"Partners are essential element for achieving enterprise pervasiveness of Hadoop across all vertical industries," said President of Hortonworks, Herb Cunitz.

"We have seen massive growth in the demand for trusted, expert Hadoop services on a global basis. The programme enhancements will better prepare new and existing systems integrators to consult, implement and install Hortonworks Data Platform solutions to ensure that enterprises achieve their business objectives."

Ingram Micro has created a dedicated 3D printing and scanning division in Europe led by Senior Manager Rudolf Ehrmanntraut who will set up a European Competence Centre and drive the company's expansion in this space.

The announcement follows a period of success in the European 3D printing market. Ingram Micro's portfolio now consists of products from OEMs including 3D Systems, Leapfrog and German RepRap.

"We have seen a frenzy of activity in the 3D printing and scanning space in Europe, with our resellers making it clear that they are looking to enter or expand in this fast-growing market," said Ehrmanntraut.

Ernesto Schmutter, vice president Germany of Ingram Micro's Technology Solutions division, added: "We have been observing the evolution of this technology and the market around 3D printing for some time and are convinced that for our customers, new business opportunities are out there for the taking."

Congrats to 4net Technologies for scooping the Avaya Partner of the Year award, collected at the vendor's annual Partner Conference.

Established in 2005, 4net Technologies achieved Avaya Platinum Partner status earlier this year.

Richard Pennington, 4net's MD, said: "Over the past 18 months we have won a number of awards in recognition of our dedication to customer service and project delivery.

"4net's reputation is built on our customer satisfaction scores, a 99.96% customer retention rate and using the full range of Avaya technologies."

Avaya's Regional Channel Leader, Barry Tuffs, added: " 4net is one of our most innovative and consistent partners. It works closely with Avaya to deliver our full range of solutions to customers which include Garmin, Findel Plc, Luton Council and Central Government."

Wi-Fi networks provider Xirrus has established a European team of distributors following agreements with Purdicom in the UK, Exclusive Networks in Benelux and Germany, WiFiDom in Spain and Alliance HBP Associates in France.

The agreements provide each distributor with access to Xirrus' range of high density, software enabled access points and cloud managed Wi-Fi networks, which feature application control, high scalability and future proofing.

"These appointments mark the continued expansion of Xirrus' product range and the company's position as a major player in the cloud managed Wi-Fi space," said Ian Bayly, VP EMEA Sales, Worldwide Channels & Strategic Alliances, Xirrus.

"Together with our new partners we look forward to delivering an innovative, disruptive breed of cloud enabled Wi-Fi technology across Europe and a simple-to-access, high capacity advanced Wi-Fi experience."

Around 60% of BYOD workers do not involve their company IT support in setting up their devices, according to Phoenix's national survey of UK employees on their use of and attitudes towards workplace IT.

One of the survey's key findings highlights UK workers' widespread use of their own electronic devices for work, posing a potential major threat to business security.

The survey, conducted with workers aged 18 and over who use IT and electronic devices as part of their day-to-day business, across a wide range of industry sectors, revealed that while over half (51%) primarily use their own devices, 59% of those workers have not used their company IT support to setup their devices.

This indicates a significant number of devices being used in the UK economy that may not comply with corporate IT policies or have sufficient security measures in place.

This is particularly pertinent as cyber-attacks are designated as one of the UK's top national security risks, alongside terrorism. Statistics from GCHQ show that a third of UK small businesses and 80% of large businesses suffered a cyber-attack from someone outside their business last year, illustrating how unsupervised BYOD can significantly increase companies' exposure to risk.

Alistair Blaxill, MD of Phoenix's Partner Business, said: "Mobility is one of the most significant driving forces for the IT sector and an increasing number of people want to be fully connected to work all of the time.

"However, the emergence of BYOD in the workplace is creating a real challenge for IT departments, with workers using their own unmanaged devices to access corporate networks and sensitive data. The findings of our survey underline this trend in the UK and it reinforces the need for businesses to stay on top of how employees access IT and ensure that they are appropriately protected.

"We think the best way to achieve this shift is to look at the ways in which IT departments are interacting with workers. Employees' attitudes to IT support are changing and they want instant, real-time solutions to their device issues.

"Our survey tells us that just 23% and 32% of workers received their IT support either primarily face-to-face or a mix of face-to-face and remotely respectively.

"Savvy employers are now looking to provide workers with an IT support service that mirrors the personal experience they receive outside of work when resolving issues with their own personal devices."

Marcus Yates is the man at the centre of Nimans' drive to increase Unify's market share. His appointment to the lead role follows a four year stint at the distributor, previously heading-up the NEC systems team.

"With Unify's communication and collaboration platform, Circuit, an enhanced partner programme and the Openscape Business technologies, this is a great opportunity to be taking on this role."

Tony Smith, Unify Channel Sales Director UK&I, added: "Further to the significant increase in the Unify UK&I sales and pre-sales teams recently, Marcus is key to delivering the level of expertise and support our partners need at this exciting time for the Unify community."

essensys has been named in the Gartner Cool Vendors in the European Cloud Computing Market 2015 report.

essensys has been selected by Gartner for its cloud orchestration platform, Bluefin, which allows for the automation of a range of IT processes, as well as for JEFF, its front-end interface.

The Bluefin orchestration engine and JEFF user interface were built from the ground up to enable the provisioning, management and monitoring of IT services across all layers (from infrastructure to applications), in a single environment.

"To be recognised as a true innovator in the European cloud space is a huge honour," said Mark Furness, CEO, essensys.

"essensys is at the centre of a number of meta-trends that are now driving business technology, including IT as a service, process and workflow automation and user self-service.

"Cloud solutions such as essensys' are redefining how people think about, resell and consume IT and digital services."

Dartford-based ISP Astro Communications has completed the roll out of a new MPLS network and data centre migration project for restaurant chain TGI Fridays UK.

Astro has had a longstanding partnership with TGI Fridays for the supply and management of the wireless network for its restaurants and support centre, and after competing in a formal tender process late last year has been awarded a three year contract for the supply and management of the WAN and the centralised data centre services.

With a range of connectivity types including Ethernet, FTTC and ADSL, many backed up by 3G failover, the TGI Fridays WAN delivers all essential services to the restaurants including payment traffic, supplier orders, internal team communication via the intranet and hosted VoIP voice traffic along with the usual services of email and web browsing.

The WAN and infrastructure in the primary and secondary data centres along with the shared services centre (Head office) are monitored 24×7 by the Astro Network Operations Centre (NOC) and a granular and bespoke alerting process has been put in place to ensure that the maximum available uptime and minimum disruption to the network is guaranteed.

Jeremy Dunderdale, Head of IT for TGI Fridays UK, said: "Combining the provision and management of all our services and infrastructure through Astro has enabled us to have better visibility of the service we offer and simplify troubleshooting of any issue.

"We are able to fully monitor and manage all issues and improvements within our infrastructure through the close relationship of a single partner. The drivers for change were a combination of a need for an improved level of service, an improved network performance and reduced total cost of ownership."

Steve Hodges, MD of Astro Communications, added: "The performance of the infrastructure and the managed service are living up to the expectations we set with TGI Fridays, and I am looking forward to a long-term working relationship with them and transitioning more services over the network as TGI Fridays continues to grow in the UK."

Exertis is to exclusively launch the new LG G4 'premium' smartphone into the UK, a device designed for the top end of the market with a strong emphasis on the visual experience.

The premium Android 5.1 Lollipop smartphone will be available from the end of May in the UK from distributor, Exertis, and select high street and network operator LG partners.

Simon Woodman, Exertis Mobile Sales Director, said: "Its photographic capabilities will make the G4 a sure-fire hit with users interested in taking more than just snaps, while the handcrafted leather casing, beautiful design and business features mean its set to be an executive favourite."

Andrew Coughlin, Head of Mobile at LG Electronics for the UK and Ireland, added: "We see this smartphone being popular with a multitude of users, from consumer through to business.

"Over time, smartphones have become slabs of flat metal. We wanted to create a smartphone that was more natural than that, so we put the user at the centre of the G4. This isn't about chasing after technology for technology's sake, this is about innovation for a better life."