Comms Dealer

Small businesses are potentially missing out on thousands of pounds of free funding according to Gateshead-based telecoms and IT infrastructure firm Advantex Network Solutions.

This could be used to pay for superfast broadband connections and associated hardware such as wireless and Internet security.

The Government has set aside £150 million to fund its Broadband Connection Vouchers scheme. Under this, a business can apply for up to £3000 to use towards the cost of installing new internet and Wi-Fi services.

Advantex is a registered supplier of the connection vouchers and delivering the Go Digital scheme in North Tyneside, Newcastle and Gateshead, which closes in 2016 after delivering vouchers to numerous businesses already.

The firm has started work on several projects under the scheme, where new superfast and secure internet connections will be installed to improve services to tenants. These include the six storey Broadacre House on Market Street and Westgate Road's prestigious The Beacon business centre.

Director Stephen O'Connell says the UK already does more business online than any other European country, and the widespread access to superfast broadband offered by the scheme will provide a tremendous boost to the Tyneside economy.

However, he's concerned that there are hundreds of small businesses unaware of the scheme or who believe that they might not be eligible for funding.

"Although the Government has set aside hundreds of millions of pounds to help companies become better connected to the Internet, there is still huge capacity for Tyneside companies to access funding.

"Which business wouldn't want the opportunity to tap into a no-obligation funding package that puts them on the fast track to success using superfast broadband connectivity as well as associated IT hardware for connectivity?

"So, more companies need to register and take advantage of an initiative that can help them to improve competitiveness and boost growth."

O'Connell also wants to see more commercial property landlords take advantage of the scheme. "Under the scheme, a landlord could be eligible for up to £3,000 per tenant," he said.

"If they have several tenants then the available funding package can add up to tens of thousands of pounds for investing in an enterprise grade Internet for their building as well as an enterprise level wireless network and Internet security."

D-Link has extended its reach into Ireland following a link-up with Irish distributor Memory Bank which will offer the full range of D-Link's business solutions products, covering switching, wireless LAN, network storage, IP surveillance cameras and service packs.

"Memory Bank's focus is predominantly on the networking infrastructure, IP surveillance, power, and data centre segments of the business market in Ireland," said Lester Horsefall, Commercial Director for Memory Bank.

"And there are excellent synergies between Memory Bank's existing vendor partners and D-Link which will allow us to offer our customers additional choice, quality and functionality over and above our current range, while enabling our customers to build and grow sustainable, profitable businesses selling D-Link solutions and differentiated services such as IP surveillance networks."

Andrew Mulholland, Head of Business Solutions & Marketing at D-Link Europe, added: "D-Link is growing strongly across the European and UK market, and this growth period makes it the ideal time for D-Link to strengthen its business in Ireland."

Evolve Telecom has signed up to the Ebillz Enterprise solution designed to meet the capacity demands of a growing acquisitions portfolio and keep pace with new technology releases.

Enterprise also boasts ready-made integration with popular accounting software packages and white labelling bureau services.

Toby Stubbington, Director at Evolve, said: "The scope and capability of Enterprise has made it an essential element of our business critical systems.

"Enterprise is already translating into increased operational value with further potential to join up our systems."

Arvind Meghani, MD at Ebillz, added: "It is a proud statement for Enterprise that a significant company like Evolve Telecom can benefit from such a company-wide transformation after incorporating the Enterprise solution as the bedrock of their business systems."

LA Connect, the telecoms arm of ICT solution provider LA Micro Group UK, has snapped up Maidenhead-based Addition Communications, an independent supplier of fixed and mobile services headed up by MD Mark Stockdale.

He said: "We could see that there were opportunities to provide a wider range of solutions to our customers, but we needed to be part of a larger organisation. It was clear that Addition and LA Connect working in partnership would accelerate growth and enable us to offer a better service to our customers."

Lee Waller, Director of LA Connect who led the acquisition, added: "We'd been talking to Addition over a period of many months, and took our time to find a model that would be right for both parties, ensuring the transition would be seamless and that all of Addition's staff remained with us."

LA Micro Group UK has grown from a turnover of £2.9 million in 2011 to £11.7 million in 2014 and has been named as one of the UK's fastest growing private companies in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 awards. LA Connect is planning further acquisitions during 2015.

Derby-based Inform Billing is marking its fifth year of operation with a major software launch.

"We are continually making improvements and launching enhancements, but this is a major redesign with lots of additional features," said MD Shaun Bodsworth (pictured left).

"It's been a balancing act to develop the new product alongside the existing while taking on significant numbers of new customers. But we've stuck with it and are thrilled to be there."

This development shows how far the company has progressed since its creation following a MBO in February 2010.

Inform Billing was founded by Bodsworth and Director Darren Salisbury as a vehicle to sell licences for their Eclipse software.

Bodsworth added: "We both saw that the software had huge potential. The initial version had been developed in-house at PAN Telecom. We saw an opportunity to focus the software onto the channel, adding value through our many years expertise of both telecoms and billing."

Inform Billing's primary focus on providing billing solutions to traditional telecoms resellers quickly expanded to include IT, VoIP, managed print and more recently the Internet of Things.

Salisbury (pictured left) said: "We look towards emerging markets and opportunities where we can use our expertise to streamline processes and help businesses make efficiencies.

"The move towards convergence in the IT and telecoms markets means that there is a greater need to bill a variety of one-off and recurring charges in a simple and accurate way.

"Eclipse brings all these charges together on one monthly bill that the end customer can easily understand."

The company employs a growing team of software developers and support staff and provides services to over 100 customers each month.

Bodsworth added: "Our organisation has seen steady growth. The culture of offering more, doing things differently and grasping the right opportunities is something that I feel stands Inform Billing apart."

A recent survey showed that 98% of customers were satisfied with the support they receive and would recommend Inform Billing.

Salisbury observed: "We aren't the biggest player in the marketplace but we had to stand out. We pride ourselves on the relationships that we build with clients and the time and advice that we are willing to invest in new resellers entering the market. We still use the old saying, 'Inform Billing is big enough to cope but small enough to care'."

Azzurri has been awarded the Government's new enhanced cyber security accreditation, Cyber Essentials Plus.

Cyber Essentials Plus is the more advanced of the two-tier Cyber Essentials Scheme launched by the UK government in mid 2014.

By achieving this highest level of available accreditation, Azzurri's systems and processes were analysed and tested by a team of independent auditors - with a 100% pass rate required to meet the demands of the top-tier.

Azzurri currently provides services to public sector organisations such as the Department for Transport, the Competition & Markets Authority, University College London Hospitals and many local government organisations including Durham County Council, Wiltshire and Cornwall Councils. Azzurri also supports private sector organisations including Severn Trent Water and Bourne Leisure.

"Azzurri has always taken the security of its customers' data very seriously. By adding Cyber Essentials Plus to our security credentials, this should further reinforce our commitment to all our customers, be they in the public or private sectors," comments Chris Jagusz, CEO of Azzurri Communications.

GCI has introduced another dimension to its channel strategy with the launch of a Dealer Programme under the GCI Channel Solutions brand.

According to Head of Channel Sales, Mark Whitehead, the scheme enables resellers to adopt a referral model and unlock new revenue opportunities.

"We didn't want to exclude resellers from entering emerging markets because of a lack of experience, short trading histories and limited capital to invest," explained Whitehead.

"Nor did we want resellers missing out on potential GP because of the risks associated with long-term contracts."

Under the terms of the Dealer Programme GCI owns the contract with the end user and takes on the responsibility, while the dealer earns commission for this recommendation.
 
"We want our established white label partners to be able to make money from sales outside their normal areas of interest, and our Dealer Programme can accommodate this ambition," added Whitehead.

"For example, our biggest Partner buys MPLS and Ethernet from us but introduces GCI directly through the Dealer Programme for cloud sales such as hosted desktop and virtual servers.
 
"This adds a new and exciting string to the GCI Channel Solutions armoury."

Andy Tow has been appointed MD of Excalibur Communications just three months after joining the company as Chief Commercial Officer. The move sees Tow join forces with CEO James Phipps to spearhead a growth plan to boost annual turnover to £25m by 2020. Tow, the former head of Avenir, oversaw a record quarter in Q4 2014 and the firm also recorded its highest number of new customers in the period. IT services alone saw a 30% growth.

"This is no coincidence," said Phipps. "A man of Andy's calibre delivers results.

"His general management experience will lead the company not just on its turnover and profit growth, but importantly, on all the required enablers, especially structure and people development".

Tow joined Excalibur following a stint as MD of Chess Partner Services in London.

Hats off to Intercity for winning the GCI Channel Solutions African Safari Experience incentive scheme.

The scheme, which offered resellers the chance to win a Safari holiday, was awarded to the reseller who sold the most Virgin connectivity between July and December 2014.

Mark Whitehead, Head of Channel Sales at GCI, commented: "Intercity has been a great partner for us to deal with over the last year. It is also a ServiceMark accredited company which means we really have to perform as a channel service provider.

"Intercity winning our Virgin Media promotion demonstrates that we have both been successful in collaboration."

Entatech UK has struck a new distribution agreement with YEZZ, a global manufacturer of mobile devices.

Paul Olliver, Entatech Retail, Solutions and Displays Channel Manager, commented: "Throughout 2014 we worked hard to establish Entatech as a distributor of smart devices, ensuring that we are catering to the needs of our resellers and the end user.

"The introduction of YEZZ to our portfolio will provide our resellers with mobile solutions for both end user and business use, boosted by Windows and Android technologies and features."