Comms Dealer

Telstra has completed the acquisition of Pacnet, a provider of connectivity, managed services and data centre services to carriers, multinational corporations and governments in the Asia-Pacific region.

Telstra Group Executive, Global Enterprise and Services, Brendon Riley said Pacnet would be integrated into Telstra and the Pacnet brand progressively retired.

Telstra will continue the development of the joint venture in China. US assets will be integrated when regulatory approval is obtained.

"The completed acquisition will double Telstra's customers in Asia, and greatly increase our network reach and data centre capabilities across the region," said Riley.

"This includes the addition of the largest privately owned intra-Asia cable network, 29 data centres and the ability to further grow our China operations through the existing joint venture.

"The acquisition provides us greater specialisation and scale, including the delivery of enhanced services, such as software-defined networking and opens up significant incremental opportunities for our business."

Nimans has strengthened its network services proposition by becoming a 'superConnected Cities' authorised supplier - with more locations now added to the project.

The Government scheme has been expanded to cover 50 cities to help businesses gain access to the best broadband speeds available, via their resellers. The project has been extended to March next year having been due to finish this Spring.

The SuperConnected Cities programme is managed by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), a unit within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It has now been extended and covers new locations such as Liverpool, Southampton and Glasgow - creating additional reseller revenue opportunities.

"The initiative provides financial support of up to £3,000 for Superfast Internet connectivity to small and medium businesses," explained Mark Curtis-Wood, Head of Nimans' Network Services.

"Many of our resellers have already harnessed the opportunities as Nimans is an an official supplier of the scheme. We can help them target their customers and get competitive quotes to potentially save thousands of pounds on install costs.

"I think the Government scheme to provide UK residents and businesses with access to the best broadband speeds available is good news for everyone - and will have a positive impact on our industry and the economy in general.

"Expanding the scheme from 22 cities to 50 creates many more reseller opportunities. We are delighted to be playing a significant role and don't want resellers and their customers to miss out.

"The government is committed to making sure that the benefits of improved broadband services are felt by as many homes and businesses in the UK as possible, to build on the rapid pace of change in the UK's broadband infrastructure, and to ensure that consumers continue to enjoy high speeds, a competitive broadband market, and attractively-priced services."

Alderley-Edge based Chess has released more details on a trio of acquisitions made in March, bagging IT systems provider Compwise Systems, the business telecom assets of provider Businesscoms Consultancy, and the carrier services division of Calyx Managed Services.

The deals extend Chess' IT portfolio, bolster its customer base for fixed lines, calls and data provision, and supports the firm's vision to provide complete end-to-end solutions for businesses.

They bring £8m additional revenues and over £1m to Chess' EBITDA.

Chess CEO David Pollock said: "These three businesses deliver technological advantages to customers. We have the talent, knowledge, skill, experience and drive to build a business we can all be proud of, our people will now strive to maximise the potential of these businesses within the Chess Group."

Daisy Wholesale has integrated netEvidence's Highlight cloud-based monitoring and reporting service into its Ethernet family of products, delivering a new level of intelligence and control across its Ethernet services.

From April 2015, Daisy Wholesale will deliver Highlight to all existing reseller networks and as part of all future placements.

Oliver Green, Project Manager at Daisy Wholesale, said: "We wanted to add value and enhance our Ethernet family of products. Highlight makes our services far more attractive with a new level of intelligence that wasn't on offer before."

Using Highlight resellers can monitor the stability of services, line health and usage to foster better communications with their customers. 

They can also give customers access to the same online reports with opportunities to upsell the service with greater reporting features and functionality.

ScanSource Communications is to extend its training offerings in Europe through its ScanSource University programme.

Seven new courses for Avaya have recently been made available. ScanSource University's training capabilities now include nine Technical and five Sales workshops, which are regularly scheduled in various locations throughout Europe.
 
Iain Murdoch, business development manager, University and Services for ScanSource Communications, Europe, said: "These training programmes are instrumental in developing and reinforcing the experience and knowledge of our partners' Sales and Technical staff, enabling them to become as self-sufficient as possible with the Avaya solutions they sell and support."

Craig Skelton, EU distribution sales lead, Avaya, added: "The better trained our resellers are the better able they are to deliver the high-level service and support customers demand. We view ScanSource University as a route to better informed partners and more satisfied customers."

A trio Six Degrees Group (6DG) employees have witnessed first hand the positive impact that HOPEHIV projects are having on Malawi's younger generation.

Through education, youth clubs, vocational training and microfinance initiatives, vulnerable children and young people in Malawi are being protected and empowered to build a better future for themselves.

HOPEHIV provides support for orphans and vulnerable children in sub-Saharan Africa whose lives have been deeply affected by HIV/AIDS.

They work closely with project partners in both urban and rural communities to provide these children with a network of emotional and social support and teach them the values of education, child rights and economic empowerment.

Six Degrees of Hope, 6DG's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, has supported HOPEHIV since the company's creation in 2011.

In three years, Six Degrees of Hope has raised over £200,000 for the charity.

The three Six Degrees of Hope Ambassadors who travelled to Malawi visited the community projects that they have helped to fund and to listen to the inspirational accounts of the beneficiaries.

They visited pre-schools, Kids Clubs', vocational trainees and a VIP (Village Investors Programme) group which all provide crucial support for orphans and vulnerable children and their guardians.

HOPEHIV's CEO, Mark Glen, said: "6DG have been such a significant and committed partner to HOPEHIV over the last few years, and we are constantly bowled over by the energy and effort they invest on behalf of our cause. It was a privilege to be able to take three of the team to Malawi, to show them in person the kind of life-changing impact their ongoing involvement is making possible."

Campbell Williams, Group Strategy and Marketing Director, 6DG, said: "It was an honour and a pleasure to be part of the team visiting Malawi. The trip provided an invaluable insight into HOPEHIV and the grassroots approach they adopt to improve the lives of vulnerable children and young people in sub-Saharan Africa.

"We saw directly the immense difference that HOPEHIV is making to some very rural communities by providing support, education and training to a generation of hope. Seeing the projects first hand gave us a new understanding of the charity and a new level of determination to support them in their work."

6DG's most recent fundraising events, including participating in the London Duathlon, the 6DG Charity Golf Day and the 2015 Ski Trip, have raised nearly £50,000 for HOPEHIV.

Mitel has named Wes Durow as Chief Marketing Officer. The 20-year tech industry veteran joins Mitel from Sonus Networks where, as Vice President of Global Marketing, he was responsible for all marketing activities globally as well as inside sales and training.

Before joining Sonus, Durow was Chief Marketing Officer at Fonality, where he focused on accelerating the adoption of Unified Communications in a Software-as-a-Service model.

Durow also served as Vice President and General Manager of Global Marketing for Avaya, where he guided global marketing initiatives following their 2009 acquisition of Nortel's enterprise division.

He spent more than a decade with Nortel in a number of leadership roles, including end-to-end marketing, go-to-market, and strategic planning for their enterprise business.

Durow began his career in advertising, helping build brands for companies including American Airlines, Pace Picante Sauce, NationsBank (now Bank of America), The Dial Corporation and GTE (now Verizon).

As Chief Marketing Officer at Mitel, Durow is responsible for driving the vendor's global marketing and communications initiatives to increase brand consideration levels and directly contribute to the company's growth objectives.

He reports to Mitel's President and CEO, Rich McBee.

"In the last two years, we have expanded and repositioned our company and our brand to respond to market conditions and customer needs," said McBee. "Wes brings to Mitel the combination of industry domain knowledge and contemporary marketing theory and discipline necessary to drive our growth to the next level."

Durow added: "Understanding customers, meeting their business requirements and building brand loyalty will determine success. With 60 million end users globally, and a leadership position in the premise and cloud enterprise markets, Mitel has everything required to drive customer adoption and market expansion."

Resellers are being invited to swing into action and win a VIP place at the British Golf Open, courtesy of a Nimans and Unify sales incentive.

As Unify's official UK distributor, Nimans is offering new and existing customers the opportunity to enjoy top class hospitality at the 144th Open Championship in St Andrews as the world's top players converge to compete for one of the sport's biggest prizes.

All resellers who qualify will be treated to a full day of VIP hospitality on July 16th in The Champions Club plus two nights' accommodation in Edinburgh with local transport to and from the event provided as well as dining and drinks.

"The Champions Club is a new concept in sporting hospitality, offering guests the opportunity to soak up the atmosphere in the vibrant Hospitality Village next to the 16th hole," explained John McKindland (pictured), Nimans' Head of Systems Sales.

"They can follow the action by walking the course or watch on a giant outdoor screen as part of a day to remember."

The incentive runs until the 30th June and is open to all new and existing Unify partners.

Eight places are up for grabs based on high sales performance and official accreditation.

Nearly 60% of IT decision makers believe that more than half of their IT infrastructure will be cloud-based by 2017, according to survey data released by Adapt.

Asked how much of their IT infrastructure would be in the cloud in two years time, 40% of decision makers still plan to largely provision IT through a non-cloud environment.

The results indicate that most IT decision makers believe a balanced approach to infrastructure provision remains likely in the short-term, despite nearly 30% of respondents predicting between 75-100% of their infrastructure to be in the cloud in two years.

"It's clear that businesses intend to continue balancing multiple infrastructure environments over the coming years to retain the flexibility and control they need to meet their business needs," said Kevin Linsell, Director of Strategy and Architecture at Adapt.

Comms-care has bagged Microsoft's Gold Mid-market Solution Provider competency, demonstrating its expertise in the most current infrastructure solutions based on Microsoft desktop, business-management and server technologies.

Equipped with exclusive training, the latest software and support, partners are able to implement solutions to meet mid-market customers' business challenges and infrastructure needs.

Simon Day, Professional Services Director at Comms-care, commented: "Achieving the Microsoft Gold Midmarket Solution Provider Competency showcases our expertise in, and commitment to, today's technology market and demonstrates our depth of knowledge when it comes to Microsoft and its products."

The Microsoft Gold Midmarket Solution Provider Competency sits alongside Comms-care's existing Microsoft competencies including Gold Datacenter, Gold Devices and Deployments, Silver Cloud Platform, Silver Communications, Silver Messaging and Silver Identity and Access.