Comms Dealer

Nimans' resellers are being invited to find out more about NEC's new SV9100 comms platform on a fact finding day at the manufacturer's UK headquarters.

NEC staged five UK roadshows last year to unveil the powerful new system that has evolved from the SV8100 model. On February 25th a similar exercise takes place at Ruddington near Nottingham just for Nimans resellers.

Paul Burn, Head of Category Sales at Nimans, said: "Last year's roadshows were held jointly with NEC and its distribution partners and proved the perfect opportunity for our customers to see the product first-hand and understand how to position and sell the many enhanced features. Those that didn't attend have the chance to discover more about the system on February 25th as part of an event just for Nimans."

Jabra UK & Ireland has bolstered its Sales and Marketing teams with a number of new starters including the appointment of Steven Whitehead (pictured) as Corporate Sales Director responsible for the High Touch and local Global Account business within the UK.

He joins from InterCall where he was Enterprise Sales Manager and managed a team looking after some of InterCall's largest enterprise accounts.

Also freshly recruited is Rick Wallis who takes the role of Business Development Manager for the SI Channel with a remit to recruit and manage future SI partners joining the Jabra UK&I WIN Partner Programme.

Prior to joining Wallis was as Head of Sales for the VAR, SI and Mobile Specialist Reseller channels at Brother and UK Sales Director for NEC IT Platform Solutions.

Fahad Quadri has become Internal Sales Team Leader following a stint working at Jabra's partner agency; while Barbara Serre join as Channel Marketing Executive.

Nigel Dunn, MD, Jabra UK & Ireland, said: "Our new appointments have a partner or customer remit that will allow us to provide increased support to existing channel relationships or fulfil our 2015 objective of acquiring new partners and winning new logos in order to further increase our market share."

IT specialist Blue Chip has secured its eighth consecutive year of growth with turnover for 2013/2014 at £22 million and staff numbers increasing to over 175.

Blue Chip MD Richard Cook said: "We have worked hard in recent years to take the business forward, investing in infrastructure for a new generation of IT services and expanding our Business Services further.

"By default this has led to the formalisation of business processes to provide consistency and efficiency at an even higher level, with both customers and staff clearly understanding the above-industry expectations and standards of our service and delivery."

Underpinning this has been the investment of a further £1 million in data centre capacity and infrastructure at Vodafone's Tier 3 data centres in Leeds and Uxbridge, expansion of its Leeds operation and a restructure of the Account Management team to provide dedicated, specialist support to SME, corporate and enterprise customers.

Daisy Indirect is offering partners a targeted approach to maximise connectivity upgrade opportunities following its authorisation as a supplier for the Government's SuperConnected Cities scheme.

Backed by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), the Connection Voucher Scheme provides financial support of up to £3,000 to small and medium-sized businesses within defined postcodes of the 22 SuperConnected Cities, which they can then put towards superfast fibre connections or Ethernet upgrades for their business' connectivity.

As well as profiling a partner's customer base in order to identify eligible customers, Daisy Indirect will work with its partners to engage with their customers and help them to realise this benefit.

Chris Burney, Head of Daisy Indirect, said: "By providing our partners with data on those customers located within the defined postcodes of the 22 cities, they then have the ability to start a conversation with those businesses about their connectivity upgrade options. If successful, the partner can reap the benefits of increased product penetration into their customer base."

After notifying partners of those customers who sit within the connected areas, they can choose to either contact those customers themselves or invite Daisy Indirect to send dual-branded communications on their behalf, informing the end user of what to do next.

Burney added: "There are a lot of businesses out there that do not realise the high speed connectivity options that are available in their area. And those that are aware may struggle to fund the upgrade to fibre or Ethernet. That is why SuperConnected Cities is such a welcomed scheme.

"By opting into the SuperConnected Cities campaign, our partners can open up new connectivity opportunities within their customer base and if they choose, we can do all the hard work for them."

Virtual1 has secured a place in the final stages of this year's European Business Awards having been named National Public Champion as the public vote opens for the first time.

The company, already named as one of the National Champions in the internally judged part of the competition, has submitted a video of its company online, giving an insight into the story of its business and its successes.

It will now compete against all other country National Champions for the public vote. The company with the most votes will be named National Public Champion for the UK on 3rd March 2015.

Virtual1, CEO, Tom O'Hagan said: "Britain is bursting with entrepreneurial businesses and the technology and telecoms sector is at the forefront of this boom. We hope to count on the support of our partners, peers and friends in getting as many online votes as possible."

Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards, added: "The public vote is a very important part of the Awards as it gives these entrepreneurial companies another way of showcasing their achievements to a wider audience across Europe. It was a huge success last year, with over 93,000 votes cast."

All the videos for this year's National Champions can be found at the European Business Awards website.

The video entries from all National Champions representing 33 countries across Europe will be reviewed and scored by the European Business Awards' panel of judges and on 10th February 2015.

The overall European winners of the ten European Business Awards categories will be announced at the same time as the European Public Champion at the Gala Event in May.

To view Virtual1's entry video and to vote click here:

Intel shares fell slightly despite strong server chip sales in Q4, according to the firm's latest set of annual figures.

Revenue of $14.72bn (+6.4% yr/yr) was better than expected, while desktop volumes rose +1% with ASPs flat (notebook volumes were up +11%, ASPs -3%).

Server CPU division performance improved with revenue up +25% to $4.1bn, helped by the Grantley chip launch and cloud demand. Intel expects mid-single digit 2015 revenue growth.

"2014 ended with better results than we expected at the start of the year," said the CFO report.

Revenue of $55.9bn was up 6%, operating income of $15.3bn was up 25%, and earnings per share of $2.31 was up 22% from 2013.

Focusing on our fourth quarter results, we achieved record revenue of $14.7b, up 6% from a year ago. PC Client Group revenue was down 3% quarter over quarter and up 3% from a year ago. The Data Centre Group was up 11% quarter over quarter and up 25% from a year ago.

Gross margin of 65.4% was up about half a point from the third quarter and up 1 point from our prior Outlook. Operating income for the fourth quarter was $4.5B, up $0.9B, or 25% from a year ago."

For full year 2014, both the PC business and the Data Centre business outperformed expectations at the start of the year.

The statement read, 'PC Client Group revenue grew by 4% from 2013. "We saw PC Client Group platform volumes grow 8% year over year and, inclusive of tablets, we saw 18% unit growth. We saw robust growth in our Data Centre business with 8% unit growth and 18% revenue growth on a year over year basis'.

Nimans has added a new data connectivity solution to its network services portfolio.

EtherStream V provides a bridge between FTTC and more expensive pure fibre options, bonding either two or four FTTC circuits.

"If a business requires robust, high-capacity connectivity without the expense of fibre, EtherStream V provides high performance and resilience at an affordable cost," said Nimans' Head of Networks, Mark Curtis-Wood.

"Many organisations are fighting to get more out of smaller budgets. At the same time, taking advantage of internet apps and Cloud- based services is key to staying competitive, but these technologies need robust, high-speed connections. With EtherStream V they get the bandwidth and reliability they need without the cost of fibre lines.

"EtherStream V uses either two or four FTTC connections bonded together so they offer the performance of a single line. This technology provides downstream speeds of more than 100Mbps without the need for dedicated fibre. The service is available to about half of all UK businesses, a number that's set to increase as the country-wide roll-out continues."

Curtis-Wood says resellers and their customers can take advantage of less expense, robust connectivity and reliable performance.

"There's no need to pay the high prices or excess construction charges of fibre connections. Costs are also fixed so bills are predictable. The service is highly reliable since it is provided over multiple connections, and can compensate if any of the connections go down. Alternative backup options are also available for even greater resilience."

He concluded: "EtherStream V provides high levels of performance even with increased Cloud, VoIP and video traffic. The service can also be scaled up from 160Mbps to 320Mbps quickly and without hassle as needs change.

"Service speed is guaranteed to remain above half the maximum available on a site, (equivalent to less than a 2:1 contention ratio). Maximum speeds of up to 320Mbps downstream and 80Mbps upstream are available, depending on location."

Astro Communications looks back on three decades in comms and sharpens its focus on the time to come...

Dartford-based Astro Communications celebrated 30 years of successful trading in December and marked the occasion with the launch of a new website and staff changes geared around its 'ambitious growth plans'.

Co-founder Steve Smith told Comms Dealer: "We believe it is important that we keep up to date with technology, and to keep our public facing image and content current in order to stay relevant and interesting. Our new website sends a clear message that while we may have been going since Band Aid was in the charts the first time around, we are every bit as in touch with the market, our customers and our employees and will remain so long into the future."

Smith will be spearheading Astro's development plans in his new CTO role and Adam Crocker-White will assume the position of Head of Delivery and Operations. Managing Director Steve Hodges said: "Although we are a relatively small company we now think and act with the underpinning processes and professional standards of a large business while maintaining the flexibility, agility and customer focus we have always had. Giving specific focus to key areas of the business as we realise our growth plans is key to maintaining that balance, and the new positions that Steve and Adam take on will enable us to better achieve that."

Founded by Steve Smith and Rob Trollope in 1984, Astro now delivers complex solutions ranging from safety systems on Fortis Field oil rigs to satellite overlay networks at holiday parks around the UK coast. While the firm now focuses mostly on providing a high quality service wrap around more standard technical solutions, there are opportunities at times to engage in the obscure or technically challenging, such as delivering EFT POS-supportable wireless connectivity to TGI Fridays in Bluewater or wireless connectivity on board Wightlink Ferries.

Astro has recently completed the build of its new ISP grade core network and Virtual Data Centre offering to deliver niche ISP services to customers who are not getting the quality of service or level of support they need from the larger suppliers. Hodges said Astro has big growth plans and exciting targets around customer satisfaction, staff engagement and partner accreditation for technical competency as well as a sharp focus on company culture.

"We would like to be a company our employees feel proud to work for, our suppliers privileged to partner with and for whom our customers have the highest regard," said Hodges. "With 30 years under our belt and a clear strategy I firmly believe we can achieve all of these things - and more."

Pictured above (l-r): Rob Trollope (Co-founder and Director), Adam Crocker-White (Head of Operations and Delivery), Steve Hodges (Managing Director), Dean Bruce (Head of Network Services), Stuart Burgis (Head of Systems and Development), Steve Smith (Co-founder and CTO).

avsnet Managing Director Graham Fry says managed services and hybrid delivery models are driving high levels of IT consolidation and investment, and he's taking action to capitalise on this opportunity.

Few doubt the power of a video call over an audio call, but the industry has been held back by past realities where systems were often complicated and unreliable, according to Fry. "Now there is no reason for this to be the case and video is becoming business critical," he stated. "The customer is the main driver and the user experience has to be as intuitive as possible. Organisations also need their business critical solutions to deliver long-term value. For us this means developing a team that understands the challenges facing modern businesses and has the specialism and knowledge to deliver bespoke technology solutions. We then work with the customer to develop the applications they need and drive user adoption and deliver maximum return on investment."

avsnet's roots are in audio visual technology and visual communications solutions, and for nearly a decade the company has followed a clear growth strategy. Fry founded AVSolution in 2005 having spotted a gap in the market and rebranded as avsnet in 2012. "The purpose of our rebrand was to better reflect the broad range of business solutions we provide," said Fry. "We wanted to maintain our strong AV and VC heritage while also increasing our focus on collaborative unified communications. I knew that if we remained solely as a specialist video communications and AV company we might struggle to convince the market of our capabilities in unified and network centric communications. We have seen significant growth in this area as well as continued growth within VC due to intuitive, lower cost and high quality VC solutions."

Along with the rebrand Fry also brought in a management team including Alistair Johnston as Financial Director and Mike Mason as Non-Executive Chairman to help strengthen the business and achieve a long-term growth strategy. A key feature of this strategy became visible when, around four years ago, Fry responded to the demand for unification with UC and intelligent network infrastructures driving growth. "Managed services and hybrid delivery models are driving high levels of IT consolidation and investment," he added. "Cloud-based video, UC and voice services are maturing rapidly and becoming a valid consideration for many businesses. I believe there is growth potential in that area and we have already begun to capitalise on the business and IT demands around deployment flexibility. Vendors are improving their interfaces and with great training visual communications tools are becoming as easy to use as a telephone."

avsnet's revenue is up 82 per cent this year with turnover expected to reach £12 million. The majority of growth has come from managed services and cloud solutions (hosted video and cloud-based unified communications), as well as interactive collaboration deployments and end user focused professional services. The firm's customers are generally mid to large organisations with complex communication and collaboration challenges. They span a range of vertical markets including the enterprise, public sector, manufacturing, medical and clinical services, education providers, oil and gas specialists and professional services companies. Partners include Polycom (avsnet has been a Gold Partner for the last five years) and Cisco, which has enrolled avsnet onto its Elite Partner Plus Framework. This represents the top 20 fastest growing partners. The rise of Microsoft in the comms space also features large in Fry's thinking.

"This coming year we see significant growth opportunities in Microsoft Lync, or as it is now officially known, Skype for Business," he commented. "Roughly 80 per cent of the companies we engage with are planning deployments. We are in a strong position to assist our customers with their Lync strategies. That could involve supplying Lync-optimised systems, integrating Lync with other technologies such as Cisco Call Manager and UC, and other related services like developing high impact onboarding strategies to aid end user adoption."

Driving employee productivity and efficiency also remains an important growth factor. "We aim to share the successes of our customers, partners and suppliers, both from a technology point of view and from a general deployment perspective," added Fry. "Listening and learning about our customers' day-to-day challenges is an important part of our growth strategy. We have grown because we are aligned with their business needs and provide a service that meets these requirements effectively.

"We are constantly investing in our technical services team and strengthening our managed services portfolio. Finding talented individuals that match our corporate philosophy and have a shared drive for success is always challenging, but we have a solid recruitment process to ensure we grow our workforce with the right people."

avsnet's policy of plugging gaps in the workforce with the right-fit people is reflected in the organisation's ongoing strategy to keep its product and services portfolio in line with user requirements. "We are currently adding new security management tools to our managed services portfolio to meet customer demand," said Fry. "More generally, a common area of the comms industry that needs improvement is the user experience. This is another reason why we have been so successful. Many providers state they are customer centric, but few actually deliver on that promise in a sustainable manner."

Although the Internet Services Providers' Association (ISPA) marks its 20th anniversary this year it came of age many years ago as the voice of the UK Internet industry. Here, Secretary General Nicholas Lansman looks at the big issues facing this sector in 2015.

The General Election on 7th May is currently too close to call and the major parties are yet to set out their plans for the sector. ISPA, however, sees a number of political and regulatory issues dominating in 2015 including consumer switching, privacy, broadband and digital skills. We still do not know the Opposition's plans for the sector should they win, but the Labour Digital Policy Review provided some clues. Covering a range of topics, recommending a universal service obligation for broadband and a strong focus on skills, and while this is light in detail, and the document's role in shaping formal party policy isn't clear, it is encouraging to see a more joined-up strategic approach. However, Labour has signalled a willingness to intervene in other sectors, such as energy, and this could extend to communications too.

Communications data comeback
A communications data law is a matter of 'when' and not 'if' for the next Government. The Home Office wants to re-introduce the Communications Data Bill which ISPA had a number of issues with and was vetoed in 2013. The Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill is in the last stages of a very rushed parliamentary process and will require ISPs to retain identifiers to help match an IP address to a specific device. But we don't expect this to be a major impact on smaller and medium sized ISPs.

2015 will also provide opportunities for industry to engage in debate. A new oversight body was created, and the Anderson Review of future laws will be published ahead of the election, with detailed proposals and scrutiny following in the next Parliament. ISPA recognises that there is a need for law enforcement to access data, but any laws should be proportionate, have strong oversight and not become a cost burden for the sector.

New processes - new costs
The customer switching process will change to the Gaining Provider Led (GPL) model in June 2015. This new process will see customers able to switch providers by informing the new (gaining) provider they intend to leave, whose provider will have to work with the incumbent to process the switch, with no disruption or involvement from the customer. While ISPA supports anything that fosters competition, ISPs expressed concern over the cost of building the new process into their operations, and that customers may leave while owing money. Other consumer protection powers remain high on the agenda, with Alternative Dispute Resolution cases being an issue for ISPs. While no one disputes consumer should be able to seek redress, the cost of case fees and acceptance of vexatious complaints can lead to high costs and a system that acts as a disincentive to fairly resolving disputes.

Government intervention
While politicians will always have an urge to tinker, ISPA would argue against too much interference in the industry, and to be mindful of the cost to business when devising new rules. Compared to other sectors, the communications industry is competitive, high-tech and fast-growing, and ISPA is concerned that excessive intervention could hinder industry. Our sector has flourished so well in the past 20 years because of innovation rather than regulation.

This year will continue to see Government providing money for broadband rollout, so expect lots of good news stories from the Government on milestones and uptake for superfast as more county-based projects complete. Funding for all broadband programmes is due to end in 2017 with no promises beyond this date. ISPA calls on the political parties to spell out their policies for digital infrastructure, as networks, ISPs and communities want to know where they can and cannot viably invest in their networks. We also call for a more inclusive procurement process and reiterate the need to listen more to the whole industry.

Looking ahead
For ISPA, looking ahead into 2015 is an opportunity to look back at where we've come in the last 20 years. With the organisation now 20 years old our membership now represents over 96 per cent of residential users and a huge percentage of the business market. We've seen the Internet evolve from being a niche product to being fundamental. The technology has evolved beyond all recognition, but many of the issues we deal with remain the same.

ISPs underpin how we live and work and this has always made them a political target for blame. The debate around parental controls, copyright, communications data and liability for the things people put over the networks has been a constant and ISPA has seen some big wins. Cost recovery is an accepted norm, resulting in big compliance savings as rules become ever more complex. The 'mere conduit principle' has been somewhat eroded over the years by the courts but still remains in place, and is a key point of principle for Internet regulation. Further, B2B providers are not subject to the same rules and regulations larger companies often are.

ISPA UK was established in 1995 and currently has 200 members. It operates as the voice of the UK Internet industry to Government, parliament, regulators and the media.

Visit www.ISPA.org.uk