Comms Dealer

MXC Capital has acquired Calyx Managed Services from Better Capital for £9m. Headquartered in Manchester Calyx has a national footprint and delivers managed IT services to the UK mid-market through a portfolio of managed cloud, networking and mobility solutions.

The investment will sit alongside MXC's existing investment portfolio of technology businesses which includes Castleton Technology, 365Agile and Eagle Eye Solutions Group.

In the year ended 31st December 2013 Calyx generated a gross margin of £10.1m and a loss before tax of £7.4m, partially as a result of the capital structure of the group.

In the year ended 31st December 2014 management accounts for the business show a gross margin of £10.4m and a normalised EBITDA of £400,000.

MXC believes that the business is capable of generating cash from the point of acquisition. The gross assets of Calyx at 31st December 2013 were £10.4 million. 

MXC Chief Executive Marc Young said: "Calyx is a well-established business delivering a broad portfolio of ICT solutions.

"We know the Calyx business well and it operates in markets we are already active in. We believe there is an opportunity to create value for our shareholders from this investment."

Call management technology is undersold and opportunities in sectors such as education and finance squandered, according to John McKindland, Head of Systems Sales at Nimans.

"The data can be invaluable to end users but there's a lack of awareness," he said. "Many customers are not aware of the features and benefits. There's also a perception of high cost which is not the case. Resellers are missing out on additional revenue."

During demonstrations Nimans leads with applications - CTI or call management for example - and this approach has proved successful.

"We see traction from schools that request call recording, and this dovetails with call management to drill down and identify key information," added McKindland. "This is particularly valuable in sixth form and academy-style schools with older children.

"Financial services is another area resellers should be targeting as there's a big focus on the volume of calls per hour, so any productivity information is invaluable."

Virgin Media Business and Arqiva have joined forces to enable seamless 4G connectivity to city centres across the country.

The partners can provide Mobile Network Operators with access to over 400,000 street assets including lampposts and CCTV cameras.

Combined with Virgin Media Business's high capacity fibre network and Arqiva's expertise in wireless transmission, this will provide an end-to-end solution for small cell deployment - from design, through installation and into in-life operation.

As a result Mobile Network Operators will be able to use this service to extend the reach and depth of their networks, ensuring more people benefit from a high speed 4G experience.

Duncan Higgins, Marketing Director at Virgin Media Business, said: "Small cell technology is a key way of tackling network capacity in built-up areas for mobile operators.

"Increasingly people are using their mobile devices to download and stream videos. That's why services like this are so important."

Nicolas Ott, Managing Director of Telecoms, Arqiva, said: "Regardless of network or consumer device, seamless and hassle-free connectivity is an absolute must. The challenge in dense urban areas is that buildings can block the signal and the higher volume of users can result in network congestion. Small cell technology is key to addressing these challenges, as already demonstrated in the USA and Asia."

In what has been described as one of the most significant deals for Vodafone Ireland's business division the company has partnered with Ryanair to provide 95 per cent of the carrier's telecoms, M2M and communications needs.

The agreement will facilitate Ryanair's teams including pilots and cabin crew with up to the minute information, improving the overall customer experience within the airline. 
 
Vodafone will support ticketing, check-in, ground crews, in-flight crews and pilots with telephony, fixed line and mobile 3G and 4G functionality across Ryanair's 189 locations in Europe and North Africa.
 
Vodafone Ireland Enterprise Director, Anne Sheehan, said: "This business partnership is one of the most significant for Vodafone Ireland to date, demonstrating our total communications capabilities by providing complete end-to-end solutions tailored to Ryanair's requirements across 189 locations in Europe."
 
Ryanair's Chief Technology Officer, John Hurley, said: "As part of our Always Getting Better improvement programme we're continuing to enhance the Ryanair experience for our 90 million customers annually.

"This partnership with Vodafone will provide us with the technical support to allow us to make these improvements quickly and seamlessly, including the introduction of paperless cockpits and a swifter inflight sales system."
 
Part of the initiative is the introduction of the electronic flight bag that will remove paper from the cockpit which is fundamental to Ryanair's strategy. 

In addition, Vodafone will support the on-board electronic point of sale (EPOS) devices used for in-flight credit card sales.

From April 2015 Ryanair crew will be issued with 8,000 new handheld devices with machine to machine connectivity which will create a secure managed connection to sync data with credit card companies when the plane lands.
 
Vodafone Machine-to-Machine (M2M) connects previously isolated machines or devices to the Internet, delivering new functionality and enhanced services without the need for human intervention.

Former advertising guru and software development expert Marshall Sherman (pictured) has launched a new enterprise aimed at helping channel businesses break into international markets.

Ghost Digital and Data (GD&D) is offering distributors, comms providers and independent software vendors a one-stop-shop for European expansion combining creative advertising with database development and language services for non-English speaking countries.

Sherman along with his new advertising partners has already executed a plan to take his own 'Alcatel-Lucent friendly' Amigo brand to Europe.

This required some serious challenges to be overcome, not least of which were the language barriers. Now he wants to make the service available to other third party software vendors and similar companies in the telecoms industry.

Sherman told Comms Dealer that GD&D aims to offer channel companies pain free overseas expansion at around a third of the cost currently paid by well financed corporates.

"In addition to our Europe-wide distribution service the key to this is that we have major international databases at our disposal and we can provide a complete service to address them encompassing call centre services, campaign creation from concept upwards, email development and execution through to email response handling and contact management.

"We have even designed html email templates with links embedded which enables companies to rapidly address their chosen databases with quality tailored messages."

GD&D is also offering language services to help ICT companies address specific European territories including the production of multi-lingual websites and marketing literature, translation of emails, software and manuals plus, crucially, pre and post-sales and responses to marketing activities by staff speaking the language of the country being addressed.

"Our services are principally aimed at ambitious mid-market and enterprise businesses looking to secure business abroad professionally and cost effectively on a recurring revenue basis, but we are also happy to work with SMEs and start-ups on a partial remuneration model based on leads generated, sales made or contract renewals," added Sherman.

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The appointment by Commsworld of Steve Thomson as Non-Executive Director (NED) is another sign of the company's growth ambitions. He replaces former NED Ian Blackford who becomes Chairman following the retirement of Malcolm Macpherson who held the post since 2000.

Thomson brings 35 years of business and banking experience to the Edinburgh-based firm after a long career in marketing and investment banking in Europe, Asia, North America and Russia, working for Burson Marsteller, Wickes, USB Philips & Drew, and latterly as a Managing Director of Credit Suisse First Boston and Moscow based United Financial Group.

Commsworld CEO, Ricky Nicol says the appointment is an endorsement of the advances Commsworld has made in recent years.

The firm will also draw on Thomson's Investor Research expertise. In 2000 he acquired a UK-based market intelligence service providing corporate clients worldwide with analysis of developments in the aviation industry in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltics and central Asia. He sold the business in 2013.

The 55-year-old, who is also on the Board of Highlands & Island Enterprise, said: "I was attracted to the NED role by the people and the business. But the most important factor is the amount of opportunity in the market due to how rapidly it is changing.

"Ricky and his team have built an impressive, robust business and I believe they are now in a great position to take that to the next level, which is what I would like to help with. I hope I can help Commsworld grow into new markets like the public sector, while also making its proposition more understandable to the non-tech savvy.\"

2014 was Commsworld's 20th year in operation and it marked the milestone by expanding its network services across Scotland and generating record revenues surpassing the £9 million turnover from the previous year.

Nicol said: "Steve brings a wealth of business experience that we will benefit from a great deal. He gives us a straight and measured opinion on the strategies we have in place and the plans we are looking to implement, while also helping with how to roll these out. This will be valuable as we approach another important year in the company’s growth.\"

Beecham Research predicts almost one billion cellular M2M connections worldwide by 2020, according to its new report.

The 'Global M2M Connectivity and Services Forecast' looks at the rapid rise of M2M since 2013 when there were just 172 million cellular M2M connections worldwide but also projects a note of caution in the face of increasing hype around the future of M2M and the Internet of Things (IoT).

"Our worldwide forecast has been constantly updated over a long period with direct, multiple contacts in all relevant countries worldwide," said Saverio Romeo, Principal Analyst at Beecham Research, where they have been studying the M2M market since 2001.

"As a result, we have a substantial up-to-date database to work with, built up from usage data on application sectors and connectivity technologies."

However, Romeo warned about the excessive hype surrounding some current M2M forecasts. "While the M2M market is growing strongly, we have seen some excessive predictions that simply create unrealistic expectations," he said.

"An average growth rate of nearly 30% per annum over the next few years represents both a very strong and exciting opportunity in a services market that is substantially business-to-business," said Robin Duke-Woolley, Founder and CEO of Beecham Research.

"Unfortunately there are some ludicrous, multi-billion connected device forecasts around at present for M2M and IoT that betray a complete lack of understanding about how the market really works.

"Much faster growth rates are just not realistic in this market because enterprises do not assimilate new technologies into their business processes that quickly."

Gamma has launched a dedicated Microsoft Lync website to help its existing and prospective channel partners realise the benefits of providing Microsoft Lync-compatible SIP trunks and to support them on their journey to unified communications.

SIP trunking services that integrate with Microsoft Lync allow users to make and receive calls on their desktop PC, mobile or any device using the Lync web client. This unshackles businesses from the 9-5 office environment and sets workforces free to work in a way that suits them.

Following its successful completion of the Microsoft Lync 2013 certification in early 2014 Gamma has seen an increase in demand for Microsoft Lync.

Paul Wakefield, SIP Product Manager at Gamma, said: "Resellers who are already providing customers with Microsoft Lync could benefit from adding SIP to their portfolio to offer a comprehensive end-to end-solution, leading to increased margins and customer retention.

"Our goal is to help our channel partners increase wallet share and leverage the opportunity that Microsoft Lync offers. If they don't, it will only be a matter of time before their competitors do."

With the option of a branded billing bureau, number flexibility and fraud management, combined with being approximately just one of ten SIP trunking service providers that are qualified to meet the Microsoft UCOIP requirements, Gamma believes its proposition gives resellers the edge to help them make more money out of the Lync stack.

John Pittaway, Sales Director at Risual commented: "As a long standing Microsoft Gold Partner, it's great to see how focused Gamma is on providing an end-to-end service by extending unified communications beyond the office environment with SIP and Microsoft Lync."

Gamma recently announced major SIP trunking pricing initiatives, offering free call termination to UK mobile and fixed destinations, including 01, 02 and 03 number ranges.

The communications provider believes that the move to a transactional model for SIP makes it easier to administer and provides a real differentiator based around price rather than features.

Smaller resellers in Europe are growing faster than their larger counterparts, helped by expansion in key vertical markets such as the Public Sector, Bank/Finance/Insurance and Manufacturing/Industry.

Healthcare is rising fast as a category of interest to resellers. Security is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the fastest growing area of business for VARs in Europe, says IT Europa in its latest database report: Solutions VARs in Europe - the Top 500.

In the report, and looking back at the last year for which complete figures were available, total revenues of all companies included increased 29.13% in 2013 over comparable numbers for 2011. From 2012 to 2013 revenues increased just 3.98%, however.

There has been considerable movement of names up and down the list as many of the larger companies have acquired, sold off divisions and moved work outside Europe.

In 2014, the most popular vertical markets which companies were catering to were: the Public Sector (67.2% of companies); Bank/Finance/Insurance (59.4%); Manufacturing/Industry (58%); Retail (49.6%); and Healthcare (39.4%).

The fastest growing areas of activity for VARs were: security (68.23% of companies); mobility (30.17%); accountancy (13.22%); e-procurement (13.11%); and application infrastructure (13.02%). The only markets which declined were: e-commerce/Internet (-145.72%), and Supply Chain Management (-179.8%).

Other notable horizontal segments include: storage (17.6%); Business Intelligence/analytics (13.8%); networking (9.4%); and virtualisation (9.4%).

Of the 500 companies profiled, 14 were parent companies of groups of companies, 55 subsidiary companies, 418 independents and 13 publicly listed and the total revenues for all companies in the report reached $44.7 billion.

The parent companies saw total revenues decline by 6% while the best performers were subsidiary companies with 11.02% increase in revenues in 2012-2013; followed by independent companies with 6.15% increase; and public companies with 4.72% increase. Only 6.8% of the companies in the report have staff numbers greater than 1000, two thirds have fewer than 100.

The largest geographic markets in terms of 2013 revenue (the last complete year for which reported figures are available) are (in descending order): United Kingdom (total revenues of $11 billion); Germany ($8.36 billion); France ($5.95 billion); Spain ($4.34 billion); Italy ($2.56 billion); Netherlands ($1.89 billion); Austria ($1.61 billion); Denmark ($1.2 billion); and Norway ($1.18 billion). The 10 largest geographic markets covered in terms of numbers of companies profiled are: Germany (89 companies); United Kingdom (87); Italy (48); France (47); Spain (33); Poland (28); Netherlands (22); Russia (18); Turkey (15); and Austria (13).

In terms of revenue increases across geographic markets in the period of 2012-2013, Bulgaria is the best performer with 48.58% revenue growth. The second best performer is Belarus with 29.38%, followed by Lithuania (29.3%); Czech Republic (12.48%) and then Turkey (11.91%).

In this report, all Nordic countries experienced revenue growth: Sweden (8.85%), Norway (7.62%), Iceland (6.66%), Finland (4.06%), and Denmark (1.45%). In the previous report, Denmark and Sweden experienced revenue decline (-2.44% and -6.48% respectively).

The UK market is positioned at 31 and experienced revenue decline of -4.06%, compared to 21.48% revenue growth in the last published report. Similarly, in the last published report, Belgium experienced the highest revenue growth of 31.1%, but in this report experienced revenue decline of -1.71%.

The places where it was hardest to be a VAR, which experienced revenue decline in both 2012 and 2014 were: Slovak Republic (-29.26%; -25.61%), Portugal (-14.2%; -13.8%) and Greece (-17.41%; -2.77%) in 2012 and 2014 respectively.

www.iteuropa.com

Basingstoke-based Southern Communications has been ranked 49th in the 2015 Southern Tech 100 listing.

The company now employs over 140 staff and has seen annual turnover grow by 50% during the past three years.

Paul Bradford, CEO, said: "This is a great result for Southern Communications. We are seeing a drive in the direction of cloud and hosted services from our customers. The way businesses communicate is changing at a pace as they look to embrace the flexibility and mobility offered by cloud-based technology and BYOD environments, while maintaining the functionality of their traditional telecommunications."