Comms Dealer

As Intel's March 12th warning led many to expect, PC sales were weak in Q1: IDC estimates shipments fell 6.7% yr/yr to 68.5m, a much sharper drop than Q4's 2.4% and Q3/Q2's 1.7%. Gartner estimates shipments fell 5.2% to 71.7m. With IDC also reporting of price pressure, revenue declines might be larger.

IDC says the Q1 market faced multiple headwinds - including inventory build-up of Windows Bing based notebooks, commercial slow down following the XP refresh and constrained demand in many regions due to currency fluctuations and unfavourable economic indicators.

Gartner thinks sales of mobile PCs (notebooks, convertibles, and Windows tablets) rose, while desktop sales fell sharply.

Both Gartner and IDC report US PC shipments fell only 1% yr/yr. On the other hand, IDC thinks Japan (another high-ASP market) saw shipments fall 44%; strong Q1 2014 spending prior to a tax hike made for tough comparisons.

Market leaders Lenovo and HP continued taking share from firms with less scale: IDC estimates Lenovo's share rose to 19.6% from 17.6% a year ago (3.4% unit growth), and HP's to 19% from 17.1% (3.3% unit growth).#3 Dell's share rose to 13.5% from 13.4%; #4 Asus was flat at 7.1%, and #5 Acer rose to 7% from 6.3%.

Everyone else collectively fell to 33.9% from 38.4%.Unlike in Q4 and Q3 (seasonally stronger quarters for the company), Apple wasn't in the global top-5. IDC estimates the company's US. unit share rose to 10.9% from 10.6%, good for fourth place (revenue share is higher).

Unify's UK channel expansion campaign, launched last month, is gathering pace as exclusive distributor Nimans gears up for a brace of events in May designed to onboard new partners.

The events - 19th May, The Globe in London; and 21st May, The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester - will highlight Unify's recently enhanced Partner Program and on-boarding support structure.

"With an ambitious growth strategy that places partners at the heart of its plans, Unify has developed, honed and fine-tuned its go-to-market strategy to help partners make maximum revenues and profits in the minimum timescale," said John McKindland (pictured), Head of Systems Sales, Nimans.

The events will also showcase OpenScape Business and Unify's communication and collaboration platform, Circuit.

"Attendees will hear from product experts about the factors driving adoption of Unify solutions and where they see the biggest opportunities," added McKindland.

"Resellers will also benefit from an onboarding package that demonstrates how Nimans and Unify are helping them to grow their businesses."

Distributor Exertis has strengthened its strategic partnership with Ricoh, the global technology company specialising in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems, sustainability solutions and IT and communication services.

The bolstered alliance - which is effective from April 9th - builds on an existing 12 month relationship with Ricoh and will see Exertis assume responsibility for the global delivery of an extended range of AV and print solutions.
 
Steven Hastings, IT distribution channel director at Ricoh, said: "Our existing relationship with Exertis has enabled us to reach new audiences and strengthen our business in retail, SME/SMB and the public sector, so we look forward to this natural evolution of our relationship."
 
Jamie Brothwell, Print Business General Manager at Exertis, added: "Having worked with Ricoh in the retail sector for the past 12 months, it was a natural progression to expand our offering with the B2B product range. We felt it a great fit."

NewVoiceMedia has named Mark Fellowes (pictured) as Senior Vice President of Sales Development and Operations.

Fellowes will lead NewVoiceMedia's company-wide sales development and operations to support both high growth and efficiencies across the business's expanding global footprint.

He brings over 20 years industry experience to NewVoiceMedia, joining from Syniverse Technologies and MACH, global providers of interoperability and enterprise solutions focused on enabling the mobile communications industry, where he held various senior sales and business operations positions.

Fellowes will report to CEO Jonathan Gale, who commented: "Mark is a talented executive with a strong track record of increasing sales productivity for large global organisations."

Voice and data recording firm Red Box Recorders has strengthened its position in the APAC region with the appointment of Lee Anstiss as Sales Director APAC.

His remit is to continue increasing the company's presence across the region which includes doubling the number of staff and growing the business by around 20% in the next year.

Anstiss is based in Singapore where he has previously been employed for the past five years, working most recently for BT as Account Director - Unified Trading Global Banking & Financial Market. Prior to that he was Sales Director (Singapore) at Mitel.

Lee Jones, CEO at Red Box Recorders, said: "Lee's appointment signals the next exciting phase in our development in APAC which will see us increasing our staff on the ground to drive sales and further support our growing customer base.

"His proven experience, particularly in the finance market, will prove invaluable as we continue our strong growth in the region and beyond, further cementing Red Box's position as a serious global player."

Anstiss added: "I have been involved with Red Box many times over the years. There is a real drive within the business to succeed and I am extremely pleased to be part of it."

The evolution of SIP trunking from a cost-effective ISDN replacement product to full enabler of UC adoption is complete, according to Gamma.

The company says SIP trunking has become a 'pivotal tool' in the journey towards UC. And Paul Wakefield, SIP Trunking Product Manager, cannot overstate the significance of a strong and strategically focused SIP trunking proposition in today's UC-hungry marketplace.

"That means offering business-grade availability, scalability and value," he said. "A clear and agile roadmap is a prerequisite and an essential tool for remaining competitive and relevant."

According to Wakefield, rapid changes in market dynamics means taking a 'sitting on hands' or 'wait and see' approach is not an option for the comms provider.

"Gamma regularly releases product updates and enhancements such as the launch of two new build types - Resilience+ which is a new resilient build option for dual endpoints, and an enhanced build option for customers with single endpoints," he explained.

Wakefield also noted that free fraud protection comes as standard, along with free call termination in the UK including 01, 02 and 03 number ranges.

Gamma has also introduced a pricing initiative that offers free call termination to UK mobile destinations.

Chris Russell, CEO at Arrow Business Communications and a proponent of Gamma's market approach, said: "It's important that the communications partners we work with are forward-thinking and can effectively support us to deliver reliable and scalable solutions."

In an update on trading for the financial year ended 31st March 2015 Phoenix IT Group expects profits to be 'comfortably in line with market expectations'. 

The firm has reduced net debt from £56.1m to £49m, and executing strategic priorities set out by Chief Executive, Steve Vaughan early last summer have paid off, said the firm.

The Group expects to announce results for the year ended 31st March 2015 on 8th June.

Vaughan' strategy included managed service renewals such as Phoenix's long-term relationship with Costain Group for the provision of a wide range of infrastructure services, including Business Continuity and cloud services.

Growth in Business Continuity planning and consultancy has been aided by the release of an upgraded version of the Group's ShadowPlanner product.

A key objective for the second phase of the strategy is to sell additional services to existing customers, particularly those in Business Continuity.

The Group is seeing this cross-selling happening, particularly in the expansion of existing BC relationships into full-time hosting arrangements involving private or hybrid cloud provision.

The Group's proprietary public cloud offering, CloudSure UK, is performing well, said the Group, having secured its largest contract to date with a newly formed Joint Venture business involved in improving the National Infrastructure. 

The Group now has a total of 12 live CloudSure UK customers, double the number at the end of the half year.

Gateshead-based IT firm Advantex Network Solutions has completed a five figure contract to supply superfast broadband services to a Newcastle hotel just 10 days after receiving the initial enquiry.

The 11 storey 170 bedroom Sandman Signature Hotel complex in Gallowgate can now provide faster connectivity for guests and an improved offering as demand for WiFi usage grows.

The work was carried out as part of the Government funded Broadband Connection Vouchers scheme with assistance from Newcastle Councils Go Digital team.

The Sandman Hotel is the latest success for Advantex, which as a registered supplier of the vouchers, has helped around 50 businesses on Tyneside to install superfast broadband.

Mitch Gaglardi, MD of Northland Properties Corporation (which operates the Sandman Hotels brand in the UK) said people using his complex will benefit from high quality access to faster services.

He said: "We have to be able to provide our guests with the very best in fast, secure and reliable internet and email services.

"Advantex moved quickly to deliver an improved service in record breaking time."

Advantex Director Stephen O'Connell, who is looking at supporting possible internet upgrades at other Sandman Hotel sites in the UK, added: "As a supplier of connection vouchers we are helping companies like Sandman Hotel Group improve their brand offering through the provision of quality advice and services.

"It's a further example of helping our customers to benefit from the voucher funding - from the initial application to the final installation - with expert advice and competitive solutions."

Pictured above: The Sandman's Mitch Gaglardi (left) and Advantex's Stephen O'Connell

Former Great Britain rower Sean Dixon has hung up his oars and is now pulling in sales alongside reseller partners at Henley-based service provider Fidelity Group.

At six feet four inches in height Scotsman Dixon has the perfect frame for a rower, but it's not just physical strength that gets you to the top in this highly competitive sport: There's mind games plus, of course, a teamwork ethic that he has replicated in his new telecoms career at Fidelity. Dixon joined the company in August 2014 as Sales Manager and wasted no time in building a like-minded sales team, a strategy that quickly paid off with a growing number of IT and mobile resellers benefiting from the resale of Fidelity's hosted voice solution and recurring revenue model. Dixon believes these achievements are due to his sporting background and a desire to win. And recognising these qualities as intrinsic to the sporting environment he has cleverly expanded the sales team with ex-professionals from rowing, golf and cricket.

Dixon's own sporting career began at school in Edinburgh. "Rowing was an extracurricular activity and I started for fun," he said. "My coach always taught me never to be satisfied with whatever level I occupied. I'm a highly competitive person and I always put myself in environments where I am challenged and out of my comfort zone. Working at Fidelity has filled the void left by rowing."

Dixon made his international debut for Great Britain at the tender age of 16. He won a silver medal at the World Championships two years later, an achievement that drew great interest from US universities. He was eventually awarded a full scholarship to row at Boston University where he read finance.

"Rowing in a US college team is highly competitive," Dixon recalled. "There's 50 guys training twice a day to be ranked in the first Eight, and all this while maintaining academic eligibility. During the winter we trained to improve techniques and strength, while keeping an eye on teammates for any chinks in their armour that could be exploited to move me up the rankings.

"But once selected for your crew the dynamics change. Rowers who were threats to my advancement could literally be in the same boat and you go from an individual looking to exploit weakness to one who wants to band together as one unit, working with combined strengths and covering individual shortcomings. There are many analogies between rowing and work, but the core of each is the same - a desire to win and doing so with your peers."

Dixon returned from America having contributed to a record year for Boston University winning all regular season 'duals' in the first Eight, except the last clash which he lost by 0.3 seconds over a six minute race. Naturally, Dixon wanted to carry on his rowing career in the UK and moved to Henley-on-Thames, home to the Royal Regatta as well as the most successful rowing facility in the world, the Leander Club.

Here, fired-up by ambition Dixon would row 30-40km on the water and rowing machine in the morning followed by a session throwing weights around, finishing training at 1pm. But rowing is an amateur sport and those not in the Olympic team have to fund themselves through part-time work, so Dixon docked at Fidelity Group in the afternoons to pay the bills. When his 2016 Brazil Olympic dream paled, Dixon hung up his oars and within six months had propelled himself to Sales Manager of the Top 10 Tech Track £7 million group, which also enjoys high status as a Gamma Platinum Partner and exclusive O2 JUC Partner.

"Sean has brought his success and hunger from rowing and applied it to his new role," commented Fidelity Managing Director Alan Shraga. "During his winter training he saw the productivity of the team diminish as individuals were focused on beating each other. Sean saw the same problems within the Fidelity sales team. They were focused on their own target rather than the company number and there was no motivation for peer collaboration. Sean changed the structure at Fidelity, aligning the targets with the team and company goals."

No longer stirring up the calm surface of an Olympic waterway Dixon is now focused on making bigger waves in the channel, and he has no regrets. "Since I hung up my oars I haven't looked back for one second," he added. "To compete at the Olympics for Great Britain is an honour, but I came to a crossroads where my work was suffering because of my rowing and vice versa - one had to go."

In his new role at youth led development agency Restless Development, Jim Sewell, former Sales and Marketing Director at Alternative Networks, hopes to recruit telecoms champions for an 'Entrepreneur Panel' to support fledgling enterprises in the developing world.

The fact that Sewell is now working round the corner from where he helped established one of the UK's most successful reseller companies is purely coincidental but ironical all the same. For Sewell, going 'full circle' has two connotations, not only the geographical location of the Restless Development charity in Waterloo, London where he now spends a lot of his days, but also his long association with the organisation that goes back over 25 years. For it was after leaving Radley College at 18 and before meeting up with Alternative Networks founder James Murray, that Sewell taught English, history and maths for nine months in a rural school in Zimbabwe with an organisation called Student Partnerships Worldwide, which is now Restless Development.

Sewell, now 44 and married with three children, describes that early experience as extremely formative and one that also gave him a love of Africa, and a great respect for the people there. After Zimbabwe he returned to the UK to 'study' geography at Manchester University and, on finishing there in 1993, spent a year buying and selling products from auctions in Manchester and selling them to students. "It was way before you could do this through eBay," recalled Sewell. "So I used to advertise in LOOT. We were the only student house with five microwaves and endless stereos and the odd very second hand car outside!

"I had known James Murray since we were 18 and in 1994 he explained his plans to start Alternative Networks and in October 1994 I joined as a start up alongside James, Chris Wilson and Ben Marnham. Nearly 20 years at Alternative was enormous fun, extremely hard work, and a constant learning experience working and playing with a great team of people. With the rate of change in our sector it's also been a constant challenge to keep up with the technology and which products and suppliers to work with. Alternative Networks is now an amazing, multi-faceted business and one I'm very proud to have been part of growing."

Jim had kept in touch with Restless Development and been inspired by the work they do. As Alternative Networks grew and diversified, so did Restless Development and Sewell became a Trustee in 2008. Hence, when his time at Alternative drew to a satisfactory close on both a financial and personal level, Sewell was free to put something back into the charity that set him on the path to success. "Over the last few years it has been my ambition to have more time to work on the Restless side and help set up and run some new fund raising projects, as well as having more time with the family and to do more fund raising events," he said.

Sewell cycled from John O'Groats to Lands' End with a team from Alternative in 2012 and has completed sections of the Tour De Force, which cycles the route of the main Tour de France the week before the professionals for charity. Of the livelihood projects Restless run he chose the Restless Hub concept in Tanzania and plans to visit this annually and meet some of those who use the hub.

"It is vital that local entrepreneurs in Tanzania, and other countries, have access to a central hub where they can receive training, use IT facilities, share ideas, debate successes and failures and receive small amounts of financial support where required," said Sewell. "This is no different to what we need in the UK and I completely understand the benefit and need these fulfil. I also love the concept of donating with groups of friends and visiting the projects together, as this is an experience that you simply do not get in your normal life, and is also a good excuse for a trip abroad each year with mates that is hard for the other half to turn down!"

Restless Development launched the Entrepreneur Panel concept at the House of Lords in February. It aims to bring successful entrepreneurs together and get them closer to Restless Development's work by providing financial assistance and expertise to young entrepreneurs in Africa and South Asia. "There is a natural entrepreneurial spirit in Africa as people find ways to earn a living," added Sewell. "With the right training, very small amounts of financial support and access to IT, we can make a huge difference to not just individuals but whole communities.

"We are looking to fund a wide variety of livelihood programmes, from entrepreneurship training programmes to internship schemes, and we can provide detailed costings for each project so that supporters get a sense of how many businesses and people their donations will support. Restless has 30 years experience working in these communities and understands how to deliver successful entrepreneurship programmes. The charity is run very much like a business, with money carefully invested and programmes monitored in extreme detail."

Sewell wants to launch the Entrepreneur Panel concept into the comms industry by bringing successful charity minded business leaders from the channel round a table to share thoughts, set targets and conceive events to raise funds. "I really believe that companies want to work closely with charities but often find it hard to know how, unless someone internally has a specific passion," he added. "It's important for entrepreneurs and businesses to get something back and to be able to see first-hand the work that they support.

"Engaging in charitable activities improves staff motivation, retention and workplace culture and also helps businesses to live their own values. Alternative Networks, like so many other resellers, are all about the people who work there and bringing staff together is always of huge benefit which can be delivered incredibly successfully with charity at the centre of things.

"If we could embrace this as a sector then we could make a massive difference as a group. The drive and values of people at the core of Restless Development is awe-inspiring, often in very difficult scenarios, and is something we could all learn from and help all our businesses become stronger and more successful."

Restless Development has a strong track record of corporate engagement and won six awards in 2014, including the Charity Times Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Project of the Year for its successful partnership with KPMG.

For more details email jim.sewell3@gmail.com or ella@restlessdevelopment.org