Comms Dealer

IT solutions provider Logicalis is blazing a trail in the growing market for Business Intelligence (BI) and Information Management (IM) solutions.

Demand for BI is growing in Logicalis' core market of medium-sized enterprises. The company is also approaching verticals such as retail and education. "Many organisations find themselves lumbered with disparate systems acquired across multiple and often competing ROI cases," said James Thompson, Director of Business Analytics and Information Management, Logicalis. "This often results in an increase in data complexity alongside a decrease in data quality and consistency. We are seeking to minimise the technical and governance overhead placed on customers, focusing our services on being easy for them to implement, operate and change in line with their business goals."

Logicalis' BI proposition provides customers in the UK and overseas with a service to access data from any of their systems, convert it into actionable information and insight, and deliver it to them securely and consistently, regardless of location. "Our strategic growth aims are to provide more cloud and managed service options for customers to reduce the overheads associated with administering BI and IM," said Thompson. "This will free customers to focus more on maximising business outcomes as a result of greater insight on their operations, products, consumers and competitor performance."

Thompson's key watchwords, 'rubbish in, rubbish out', define his approach. "If the data initially entered is inaccurate then all the big data analysis in the world will not give you a clearer and smarter picture of your business," he said. "Many also find that 'fashionable' visualisation tools barely fix departmental business problems and fail to move the business closer to its customers, or improve profitability. With this in mind, we are seeking to engage with companies to apply technology that will enable them to get to high quality 'right information' as opposed to low quality big data."

According to Logicalis' Retail IT Survey 2014, although half of decision makers within retail organisations are seeing positive results from their use of business analytics, just three per cent are using the insight of predictive analytics for anticipating future trends that could influence business performance. "Our aim is to ensure customers realise the true value of their IT investment, helping them sweat their BA and IM assets as a sound basis for investing wisely," added Thompson. "This also applies to the cultural and governance programmes that ensure their technology initiatives deliver real value."

Logicalis has embarked on a new BI project for retail consortium Nisa Retail. The cloud-based solution replaces Nisa's existing on-premise offering enabling its business users to gain deeper insights to better inform key business decisions. David Morris, Head of IT at Nisa Retail, explained: "Our incumbent BI solution gave us a glimpse of what was possible with BI and analytics, but we knew we could do more to leverage the technology. We wanted to adopt a new approach that would pool all data sources from right across the business to put the right information in the right users' hands, and quickly."

Logicalis is deploying the latest version of IBM Cognos, hosted on its cloud platform and wrapped with professional services inclusive of training for Nisa's team. Through the proof of concept and early implementation, the process by which data is processed and then presented to the business teams has already been transformed, according to Morris.

"Whereas before it was taking the team days to build data cubes, it's now taking them just a matter of hours with far greater consistency," Morris commented. "And as we look to mesh together data from warehousing and logistics to what customers are buying, where and when, the information garnered will be invaluable. The data will help us to shape and refine our proposition in terms of negotiating better costs with our suppliers, for example, which will directly benefit our retailers' bottom line, enabling them to operate more competitively on the high street."

Nisa's business users have also felt the early benefits. With the cloud-based solution providing greater performance, business users from across the trading, finance and customer insight teams have been able to drill down into the analytics instantly with no delay or latency on the system, providing a far great user experience. "The solution has re-invigorated the use of Business Intelligence in the organisation," added Morris. "Our previous solution was seen as something that simply existed to help Nisa's business users get from A to B in their roles. Now, as they dive deeper than ever before into our data, the solution is regarded as a key tool for delivering tangible business benefits and informing key decisions, focusing the IT department on areas that really help drive the business forward."

Chris Gabriel (pictured above), CTO for Logicalis UK, added: "Business Intelligence is all about the opportunity to engage and act upon the right information, at the right time. Critical data is being captured by organisations like Nisa everyday that, when put to work, can inform better customer engagement, marketing and growth strategies.

"IT departments in retail are coming under increasing pressure to align more closely with business strategy, and now is the time to re-shape the IT function to focus on high value strategic initiatives. With this initiative, Nisa's IT team is seizing the opportunity to do just that, enabling its users to exploit IT to make a genuine mark on business performance to the benefit of its members."

As Swindon-based Excalibur Communications puts the final polish on big preparations for growth it raises questions over the fortitude of business leaders who face similar challenges but fail to act, according to CEO James Phipps.

The time for blanket go-to-market strategies is over - it's not sensible to rack-up supplier numbers and stick to a policy of broad strokes and pointless product expansion, according to Phipps. "Resellers will have to reduce their product portfolio to enable them to be more focused," he stated. "Trying to manage umpteen partnerships in what can be a nightmare of a supply chain is not sustainable. We believe in our key partners, Vodafone and Microsoft, and we concentrate on them."

Phipps' sentiment is reflected in his strategic plan for significantly growing the Excalibur business, and his warning about partner rationalisation and streamlining product portfolios is not needless scaremongering. "Our biggest challenge is to try and keep a complex world of solutions simple for our customers," he commented. "Although we stick to the simplistic message of mobile, landline and IT, we have 10 products in total. This year was an important milestone because a customer adopted all of our services. It showed that we have become a true, trusted partner, and demonstrates that we can advise and support."

Excalibur now services over 5,500 businesses across the UK, generating £8 million turnover and £1.6 million profit. The company aims to be a £25 million business within five years, and bringing in new board members while changing the culture of the firm is an important part of the growth strategy. "We all sit together in an open plan environment," said Phipps. "The management are no longer tucked away in offices. We also have a 'How Am I Doing' note at the end of every email, giving customers the opportunity to provide feedback on everyone at the company. It's not just management that monitors the performance of staff. Time off for illness has all but vanished and punctuality is at an all time high. We have created an open and flexible environment where people feel part of the company, they want to come to work and are truly conscientious about our customers."

The input of employees is most telling in a recent company survey that showed 92 per cent of staff are very happy working at Excalibur. Based on 17,000 customer surveys from support cases, the company also achieved a 4.8/5.0 average score rating for customer service in the first nine months of 2014. "Our focus is on service and the customer journey," added Phipps. "We do everything we can to look through the eyes of our customers. When I became CEO we didn't put sales targets in place. We thought about being the best service provider we could be, and out of that our sales grew. With 5,500 customers it can be a little complicated, but we've made a six figure investment in our IT systems to bring demonstrable benefits to clients, not just 'good' customer service. This includes a new training school so that we can deliver our next set of team leaders inside the business."

With a plan for staff education in place, now is an apt time to spotlight an important lesson Phipps learnt during his early career. "I began working as a sales assistant for a mobile phone retail outlet," he recalled. "It was no more than a box with zero in the way of facilities. I worked seven days a week for a very hard to please individual. He was extremely unfair, taking full advantage of calling some very unreasonable shots. It taught me very early on how not to be a boss."

Excalibur started in 1993 as a retail store in Basingstoke under The Mobile Phone Centre (MPC) brand. Seven years later two successful franchises merged under MPC to form Excalibur Communications. By 2005 the company was operating 21 retail outlets that served over 25 per cent B2B customers. In 2006 Phipps was working as Area Manager of the Swindon office and he was the first to leave the MPC branding and move under the Excalibur banner to focus on B2B. Excalibur started offering IT services in 2007 and the customer base had by then grown to around 70 per cent B2B with approximately 1,500 business customers.

In the year that followed Excalibur acquired First Call, Vodafone's second largest partner based in Bristol. A move into fixed line provision came soon after and Phipps' appointment as Managing Director and Excalibur shareholder coincided with the firm's move to pure B2B, supporting around 3,500 customers. Excalibur's IT and UC capability was boosted by the acquisition of Emnico and Bridge solutions in 2011 and the enlarged organisation became a sole Vodafone mobile network partner, a link-up that continues to flourish with Excalibur becoming a Vodafone Platinum partner (as well as securing Microsoft Gold partner status). In 2012 the firm was named as the first Vodafone One Net Accredited partner.

Phipps became CEO last year, and as the company enters its 21st year of trading with Vodafone a trio of additional appointments are certain to bolster Excalibur's credentials. Chairman Nicky Alberry has 12 years experience at HSBC and was previously Chief Executive of GWE Business West, and is now Vice Chairman of the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership. Non-Executive Director Peter Boucher was formerly the Commercial Marketing Director at Vodafone. And incoming Chief Commercial Officer Andy Tow was Managing Director of Chess Partner Services and has almost 30-years industry experience including a stint as Head of Indirect Sales at Vodafone. "In 2010 when I became CEO I'd only just turned 30," said Phipps. "In hindsight I should perhaps have put the Board of Directors together earlier, but having said that the people I wanted weren't available at the time."

As the market veers towards consultancy and an era of one-stop-shops, resellers must look towards a more certain future based on root and branch reviews of their business and strategic roadmaps, believes Phipps. "We see some companies attempting to be a true service provider," he said. "However, they don't seem to appreciate the amount of investment required for that considerable customer journey. Solutions are becoming increasingly varied and complex, and improved connectivity alters what customers can do and how they run their business. In the ever changing landscape, tablets with SIM cards are making IT companies fidgety because it's now a communication device. Comms organisations are equally nervous because a mobile is now more of an IT device. We've removed ourselves from that uncertainty."

Only the wisely ambitious merit their position in a world of future certainty, but flux also has its place. "The excitement of working in this industry is the very fact that it's hard to predict what's around the corner," noted Phipps. "Who'd have thought three years ago that tablets would now be outselling PCs? In Excalibur's evolution we saw how landline, mobile and IT would come together under one roof. We have to keep a close eye on the developing market so that we can fulfil relevant technology. We strive to keep things simple and stick to tried and tested solutions. We use what we sell."

A passion for managed service provision has fanned the flames of Storm Internet's growth ambitions, according to founder and Managing Director Salim Benadel.

It is perhaps an irony that Benadel's main preoccupation today has its roots in what was no more than a sideline to his primary work as a website builder. But when he spotted a gap in the market it should come as no surprise that he embarked on a different course. "I bought and sold hosting while working as a freelance web designer," he recalled. "There was a lack of good Windows-based hosting and I felt that I could do better myself, so Storm Internet was born. The market was relatively unsaturated at the time giving us the opportunity to provide businesses with affordable hosting.

"Being a developer by trade, I learnt what is expected by customers and this has given me standards to work towards. More recently we've focused on getting the infrastructure and service right. Now we need to let people know about Storm Internet and what we do."

The company has shifted towards managed services and this is where Benadel's ambition ultimately lies. "We have a big focus on SMEs and when we can help them save money or make a process more efficient it feels great," said Benadel. "Our priorities are to expand our business and the main challenge is cloud being a competitive market, but there are opportunities and demand is huge for a good managed service. Cloud is now a vital business service and we are expanding out of web hosting into general business services. We want to sell a whole solution as opposed to just a commodity service. We like to understand the business problem and build a solution to fix it. Our background is in development and system design so our passion is in the managed service and problem solving. In a nutshell, looking at ways we can help businesses run better."

Storm Internet currently has a headcount of 14 with £1 million revenues and is aiming for 50 per cent growth over the coming year. Important channel partners include Dell, OnApp, VMWare, CloudFlare and Security Metrics; and target markets are software developers, retail/e-commerce and companies focusing on Big Data analysis. "We are committed to helping SMEs improve their business by adopting cloud technologies, helping them to achieve savings, resilience and increase revenue," added Benadel. "Our aim is to on-board more customers, bringing them into managed services, in particular our private cloud initiative called StormCloud."

Benadel has seen growing demand from organisations that prefer to outsource their IT. "Many companies don't want a server in-house due to the cost savings and peace of mind that can be achieved through outsourcing," he said. "We're also seeing a demand for managed cloud services, but there is confusion among SMEs about how they can adopt this technology. They've often heard of the cloud but they are not sure how to put this change into action. We want to help them understand how it can help their business so we hold seminars to educate SMEs on the benefits of cloud technology."

The most significant areas of Storm Internet's growth policy are located in service territory combined with clever recruitment. "We provide a solid service and infrastructure to our customers, that's at the core of what we do," added Benadel. "Getting this right means everything to us and that will not change. We've also built a great team around us, people who are experts in their fields to help propel the business forward. All of the teams - sales, marketing and support - will be expanded and where necessary we'll bring in specialists in key areas.

"People don't want to move around in this industry. If you look after people and treat them well they stay with you and recommend you to their business contacts. We feel we're contributing to something big and we'll all grow together. All of our employees will be rewarded as Storm Internet expands. We're like a family, we look after one another."

With IT evolving so quickly, updating the Storm Internet product portfolio is an ongoing task that Benadel enjoys. "Innovation and a drive to make things better are what we're passionate about and we're always looking for new ways that will enable us to bring more benefits to our customers," he said. "We want to be seen as a champion for helping SMEs grow while helping those who are confused about this technology."

Benadel rates his biggest career achievement to date as turning an idea into a company that has served over 5,000 customers. "Getting that first customer and knowing that someone else believes in what you're offering is also a milestone," he said. "I'm happy with the way my career has developed. I've done what I've felt to be right, been true to myself and have no regrets. Life is a learning process. It's the person you become on the journey that matters the most."•

By Elvire Gosnold, Director, Blabbermouth Marketing: What is your key corporate messaging? If it is Great Customer Service you need to put some serious time aside to revisit this. The key is to focus on your USP as a business entity, not the products you provide.

If you spend your energy and marketing budget on a product focused message the chances are your competitors offer more or less the same product, and then you are going to be judged purely on price. If you strengthen your brand messaging by proving your USP is genuine and not just marketing fluff then your brand will engage existing clients, encouraging up-sell and cross-sell opportunities. USP messaging will also reinforce a positive brand perception with your prospect base. Remember, consistency is key here. The message must be the same across all sectors of your business.

A strong simple message is a good place to start. Simplicity is key as not only do you have limited time to shout your message but your audience my vary depending on what vertical you are targeting. Choosing your message is harder than it sounds as it needs to stand the test of time if you are going to invest in promoting and reinforcing the message. What happens if you become acquisitive and broaden your product offering overnight? A product focused message would instantly be inaccurate.

Highlight why you are better and focus on those points with enthusiasm and with true examples. 'A friendly service' has been said a million times and is therefore ignored as a reason for client engagement. 'A friendly service because of X Y and Z' reinforces that your message is not just empty words. Case studies packed with genuine USPs and working examples are invaluable in this exercise.

WebRTC is a transformative technology that puts the application and ease of use centre stage, a development that is redefining UC and collaboration, enabling greater integration between comms platforms and levelling the playing field for new leaders to emerge. Small wonder WebRTC is tipped as the next big industry game-changer.

WebRTC is fuelling the trend towards open, universally accessible web-based collaboration, and the new technology has implications for all those operating within the UC ecosystem, according to Rob Pickering (pictured), Managing Director, IP Cortex. He believes that WebRTC will bring changes to the comms industry that are more profound than the move to SIP. In preparation for the expected transformation, IP Cortex has invested in advancing the technology and publicly demonstrated its first WebRTC PSTN interoperability through its software in 2012.

However, progress of the formal WebRTC standard through industry bodies has not been so timely, but we are on the cusp of standardisation, noted Pickering. "Browser support in one or two of the most important browsers is beginning to stabilise," he said. "The next major release of our VoIPCortex software will therefore deliver on our effort to enable full WebRTC-based features."

For end users this means video chat, screen sharing and peer-to-peer file transfer within a browser-based Open Communication Manager (OCM), with no plugins or downloads required. Users can also choose to enable the OCM soft phone module so that they can place and receive calls directly in-browser without being tied to a desk or desktop soft phone. "Software developers who have customised their applications to interact with VoIPCortex via our API can enable calls directly into their web-based applications just by adding a couple of lines of Javascript to their existing code in many cases," explained Pickering.

Most notably, WebRTC offers an opportunity to move away from limited internally-focused systems, or problematic web-based collaboration using technically brittle plugins. "Modern organisations excel by enabling easy and rich communication with customers and suppliers, along with the more flexible deployment of resources," commented Pickering. "This means that collaboration tools can no longer stop at an organisational boundary. They must be intuitive for all users."

As applications become just as important as the PBX behind them, resellers will need to be open to new ways of piecing together solutions that will fall outside of the traditional UC remit. "Creating and selling solutions in this way will either require investment in development resource in-house, or the formation of strategic partnerships with external application developers," added Pickering.

SME resellers will mostly be selecting the best of new generic packaged web-based communication and collaboration services that will emerge. Enterprise, integrator and developer partners will be helping their end customers add value to the experience by incorporating open building blocks from companies like IP Cortex into their internal workflows and end user web presence. "They will play an important role in identifying and articulating changing end user requirements, challenging what's possible and carving out a competitive advantage as a result," added Pickering.

WebRTC is on the cusp of changing the way people interact with one another on the web. It offers the most potential in contact centres, but it is also a game-changer for UC and collaboration, agrees Andy Litherland, Head of EU Channels, Avaya. "Ease of use means it is bound to have an impact on business communications and collaboration," he said. "WebRTC will ultimately result in more UC capabilities embedded into other applications. Instead of voice and video being applications themselves, they will become more of a feature. Organisations will therefore look to consume UC in a different way and both resellers and vendors will need to accommodate this shift."

WebRTC forms part of Avaya's overall approach to future communications. The vendor's strategy is to embrace WebRTC and its R&D teams at Avaya Labs are already integrating the technology into existing suites of software in the contact centre and UC space. "Once WebRTC becomes commonplace businesses will want security, recording and compliance for their WebRTC-enabled voice and UC functionality," stated Litherland. "They will be looking for entire packages and this will play to Avaya's strengths as we already offer this functionality and will have it integrated into our WebRTC-enabled solutions."

Employees and consumers are now familiar and comfortable with online video calls. If online video or chat was seamlessly embedded into applications people would use it even more, believes Litherland. "In the near future you might be shopping for clothes online when you get a prompt asking if you'd like to hold a live video chat with a fashion consultant," he noted. "WebRTC makes it easy for businesses to add voice or video to any website or application. For businesses it offers a whole new level of customer and employee engagement."

Employees will soon be using applications that leverage WebRTC when connected to the corporate network in the same way that they access applications via the network today. "CIOs and IT managers should be thinking about the impact of WebRTC on their business, and in particular their network," advised Litherland. "Working with vendor partners, resellers are in a perfect position to start that discussion, providing valuable advice and consultancy."

3CX is a forerunner in the adoption of WebRTC. The company first used the technology in its web conferencing solution, 3CX WebMeeting, launched in August. "We will be extending our use of WebRTC in 3CX Phone System 12.5 which will be launched shortly," said Nick Galea, CEO and founder, 3CX. "This latest version will offer click-to-call and video calling by providing each user with their own WebRTC call link. As inbound calls via the click-to-call function are effectively free, businesses can significantly reduce, or remove, the cost of operating expensive 0800 number calls which can add up for a contact centre."

That WebRTC is a game-changer for UC is becoming universally recognised. "The use of WebRTC has started to take off and we are already seeing how the new technology will disrupt the market," added Galea. "WebRTC has essentially transformed the web browser into a communications platform, levelling the playing field and thereby removing the dominance of any one operating system or device type. Because WebRTC is browser-based it will bring to an end issues of interoperability and compatibility. By removing the need for a client WebRTC will also push expensive proprietary UC vendors from the market. Those providers that cannot adapt will not survive the surge in opposing technology."

WebRTC goes beyond VoIP and web conferencing and moves towards ultra-personalised real-time customer interaction for brands. It's a huge business opportunity with far reaching implications that can impact everything from customer service and engagement to sales and conversions. "Businesses that embrace WebRTC will see commercial benefits and gain a competitive advantage, not least better customer engagement, boosted sales, improved communication and reduced call costs" added Galea. "At last, we are getting towards unified communications for all."

WebRTC technology works well on low network speeds like 3G, meaning good quality voice and video communications are possible. In terms of businesses, the fact that WebRTC is Open Source means there is no one owner who will be receiving royalties from the sale, potentially pushing the cost of development of the technology lower than in previous platforms. "This, alongside the in-built security of WebRTC, will assist in speeding up the adoption of BYOD policies," stated Robert Keenan, Head of Portfolio Management at Unify. "We will see companies embrace new ways to work with greater gusto, empowering the remote worker and enabling a completely flexible and modern business."

Ease of use is another WebRTC plus-point. And the challenges associated with supporting a range of operating systems no longer apply as WebRTC is platform agnostic. It is currently fully supported on Mac machines, which is something that the industry has struggled with until now. "WebRTC enables innovative and agile companies to gain significant market share," added Keenan. "This will shake-up the entire market and we will see new communications leaders emerge."

The largest benefit for resellers will be around the reliability of its deployment as WebRTC overcomes many of the challenges resellers have struggled with for years. "UC adoption regularly involves complicated installations with a large numbers of drivers, something that can easily lead to integration issues," commented Keenan. "WebRTC removes this difficulty."

Unify has embraced WebRTC and its recently released Unify Circuit - a next generation communications tool that brings together voice, video, file sharing and messaging - is based on the technology. This means that regardless of device, Circuit users are able to communicate and collaborate wherever they are. "WebRTC and Circuit enables employees to work in new ways and has the potential to revolutionise office life," commented Keenan. "We believe that technology should be constructed around what people want - this is what WebRTC delivers."

After 15 years at the helm Pinnacle Technology's founder and Chief Executive stepped down in December 2013 following a sharp dip in revenues, from £12.7 million in 2012 to £10.1 million. His successor, Nicholas Scallan, took over the reins in March and quickly became a visible force behind a no-nonsense business turnaround game plan.

Scallan has masterminded an all-embracing recovery plan that marks the beginning of Pinnacle's post-decline era and return to growth. "Focusing the business and paring back unnecessary expenditure is at the centre of our strategy," he commented. "To maximise growth and streamline operations we continue to simplify the structure, sharpen our focus and put an improved customer experience at the heart of what we do."

Scallan's 'business fitness' plan has positioned the Group nicely for its next development phase. This achievement came faster than observers were perhaps expecting, probably because strong foundations were already in place. "Since joining Pinnacle I have been greatly encouraged by our impressive customer base, passionate employees and exciting product capabilities," said Scallan. "We have been reviewing the company with three key aims in mind - accelerating a return to profitable revenue growth, concentrating on core business and continuing to reduce costs. Progress in turning the business around will take time to achieve, but looking ahead we believe that this review will result in a leaner, more focused organisation that we are confident will return to profitable revenue growth. The early signs of trading improvement are evident in recent months."

As an ambitious young man with qualifications on his mind Scallan also showed early promise. He studied electrical and electronic engineering at university before becoming a chartered engineer and a member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology. He counts himself 'lucky' to have been given a summer placement with a start-up telecoms company, a break that sparked Scallan's 'passion' for comms, and a door-opener that led him to the next stages of his career. "Everything leading up to becoming CEO of Pinnacle Technology has been informed by those different stages, and I wouldn't be where I am without those key experiences," commented Scallan.

Prior to his role at Pinnacle Scallan was Director of Customer Solutions at Virgin Media Business, a job he was given after a nine year tenure at Virgin Media fulfilling a number of commercial and operational roles including P&L management of the data products portfolio, customer engineering and overseeing a number of organisational restructuring activities. Before joining Virgin Media Scallan completed a stint at Energis where he was responsible for broadband, data and Internet related programmes. In The Netherlands, he held the position of Networks Director for Enertel NV and was involved in the sale of the business to a Dutch venture capital group.

Despite its recent troubles Pinnacle has also achieved some notable successes such as providing services for major events like the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the Olympic Games. "Those were huge events in UK history and it makes me proud that we were at the centre of them," added Scallan. "Early indications from our renewed strategy demonstrate that we can replicate such successes. A number of clients are seeking professional services from Pinnacle as well as renewing their existing technology solutions. Further opportunities have been identified including telemarketing and greater sales resources, core infrastructure and systems, as well as cost reductions, while providing general working capital that will act as a buffer for day-to-day purposes."

Pinnacle Technology Group focuses on the business market for IT and communications services across the UK. Having grown since inception both organically and through a series of acquisitions, the Group offers a range of IT managed services and solutions including managed support services, unified communications and collaboration, IT security, voice, broadband and mobile communications, hosted services and infrastructure services. It operates as a value added reseller and integrator, and is focused on providing these services both as an integrated offering to the SME market and more broadly to the mid-market and public sector.

An important aspect of Scallan's turnaround plan is to ensure that the company's portfolio is aligned to the demands of the market. "Some of the main trends we have seen include the growing importance of cyber security and the need for all organisations to have a strong IT security capability to deal with threats," he stated. "This has been clear in the mid-market and public sector for at least the last couple of years, however it is increasingly relevant to small and medium businesses now."

Data security and backup is also top priority, but Scallan emphasised that the solution does not always need to be cloud-based, rather a data strategy and backup solution that is appropriate to the particular needs of individual customers. "We will continue to grow our IT services and security propositions, driving the shift to professional and managed services," noted Scallan. "These will be underpinned by strong and valued voice, broadband and mobile offerings. These days telecommunications is about the convergence of multiple technologies that enable greater productivity and collaboration. These trends, coupled with providing managed IT and cyber security, enable B2B providers like Pinnacle Technology to provide a client's complete communication needs."

This capability is particularly relevant in the small and medium business space, a core market for Pinnacle. The firm also has a strong proposition for the mid-sized enterprise and public sector markets, particularly where customers have buying expertise and want to work with a partner that provides best-of-breed services. "Our view is that technology should be an enabler," added Scallan. "We provide customers with consultancy and professional services. We source best-of-breed solutions and therefore become the customer's trusted advisor.

"To be successful we must engage with a broader range of stakeholders when assessing the prospect's needs. The IT director is important but the technologies we provide touch many parts of an organisation. We find ourselves needing to engage with, and understand, many other parts of the company."

Focusing on consultancy and areas like data security and backup is just part of the story. A significant theme in Pinnacle's rewritten narrative is an ability to react fast to the evolving needs of the market. "Our people are critical to this," commented Scallan. "We have almost 50 staff and they are key to our strategy for growth. Having a good team that is passionate about their job is essential. We can also react quicker because we're a streamlined business that can see the whole picture. The bigger the company, the more time it takes to manoeuvre. Furthermore, we welcome challenges because they come hand in hand with market opportunities."

Openreach is certain to garner CP plaudits following the introduction of additional resources and service enhancements that reference actual demand from CPs.

At the heart of developments is the re-launch of WLR PSTN Premium, an Optical Spread Connection offer and the Enablement Library, designed to make information relating to Openreach's products and services more accessible. The Enablement Library is already a big hit having gained widespread approval from beta users, according to Caroline Hughes (pictured left), GM Portfolio Marketing at Openreach. "The feedback so far has been phenomenal," she said. "We are planning to expand the content and expect the site to become a critical resource for our customers."

WLR3 PSTN Premium now offers three in-tariff features (Premium Business Helpdesk, Business 2 Plus and Smart Divert), plus two bolt-on options (available at exclusive premium line discounted prices). "Businesses rely on connections and being out of touch with customers is something they cannot afford," said Hughes. "WLR Premium offers fast, prioritised repair times, call divert capabilities, dedicated service management centre support, tighter appointment slots and named engineer services."

The Premium service is available on a per-line basis and according to Hughes it offers better value for money compared to buying individual service enhancing bolt-on products separately. She also noted that the Premium Business Helpdesk offers CPs a dedicated team of experts who will case manage complex or problematic jobs through to resolution.

This team of UK-based WLR service experts are available at all times and CPs can deal with the same person. The Premium repair service, Business 2 Plus, prioritises faults over other faults with the same SLA. "Repairs are made within two days and if Openreach fails it will pay CPs one month's line rental for every day or part day beyond this (for total loss of service)," added Hughes. "With Premium, CPs also get our call diversion service for free. They can forward to any UK fixed or mobile or 0800 number, and some overseas numbers, so no call is missed."

As well as the in-tariff features CPs gain discounted access to two bolt-on options: More Focused Appointments (64% cheaper as part of WLR Premium) that provide access to two hour early morning or late afternoon appointment windows; and Named Engineer (50% cheaper as part of WLR Premium) which identifies the engineer that will attend the appointment slot, 48 hours in advance. This information is increasingly required by secure and sensitive sites.

Openreach's round of enh-ancements also proposes an Optical Spread Connection offer, launched on 1st November, enabling CPs to spread the upfront cost of an OSA Optical circuit over 12 months with no additional charges. The scheme runs until 31st March 2015. "This offer is driving serious interest among smaller CPs," noted Hughes. "It helps them to take their first step into the optical space and compete with bigger companies.

"It makes the investment decision to adopt our highest bandwidth services easier than ever, and helps to ensure no customer is locked out from meeting the latest market needs. With optical products now more accessible CPs can win new business and meet growing bandwidth requirements."

In more good news that will also bring predictably positive results for CPs, Openreach has unveiled an online tool that makes customer facing collateral, educational material and training resources easy to find. "The Enablement Library allows anyone to quickly locate, save and share brochures, fact sheets, videos and other resources on our range of products and services," commented Hughes. "With over 130 product, service and solutions pages on our website it can be time consuming for customers to find material or notice additions. The eLibrary provides everything in one place and has a powerful search capability along with other features requested by CPs."

Dr Frank Heinricht (pictured) h as been named Chairman of Sennheiser following the departure of 70-year-old Prof. Dr. Jörg Sennheiser on 1st January 2015.

Heinricht has been Chairman of the Board of Management of Schott AG since 2013 and became a member of the supervisory board of Sennheiser five years ago.

"Dr. Heinricht has a profound technical expertise and brings experience in managing large family owned companies to his new role.

"We are very happy that he is taking over as chairman of the supervisory board of the Sennheiser Group," said Daniel and Andreas Sennheiser, CEOs and shareholders of Sennheiser.

In withdrawing as Chairman of the supervisory board, Jörg Sennheiser is placing the management of the company fully into the hands of the third Sennheiser generation.

His sons Daniel and Andreas Sennheiser have been running the firm as CEOs since July 2013.

Jörg Sennheiser said: "My goal has always been to pass a healthy, thriving company on to the next generation.

"The family is committed to pursuing its strategy without any influence from third parties, a strategy that focuses on absolute customer orientation, technical innovation and quality.

"This is an aim I have always pursued, and it is the basis of the decades of success that we have enjoyed and will enjoy in the future."

Jörg Sennheiser became Sennheiser's Director of Technology in 1976 before taking over management of the family business as executive shareholder in 1982.

During his time at the helm, Sennheiser developed to an internationally successful brand. This involved setting up new manufacturing facilities in Ireland and the USA, while at the same time expanding production in Germany.

In addition, Sennheiser internationalised its sales organisation during this time.

Sennheiser today has over 2,500 employees across the globe and is active in more than 60 countries.

Nimans' in-house football team is celebrating success after winning the league title in their inaugural season.

The team play in a Monday night 'JP Business League' at Salford Sports Village - 11-a-side matches against other local Manchester companies. In their first season they won Division 2 and have now been promoted to the top division.

They played eight matches, won seven and lost one. The team scored 41 goals and conceded 10.

The team is made-up of staff from across the business, including the Warehouse, Purchasing and Credit Control.

Chairman Julian Niman was on hand to officially present the trophy at the Group's Christmas Party.

Access Technology has bolstered its hosting capabilities and SaaS and cloud suite of products following the acquisition of StratoGen.

The deal adds around £4m revenue and brings 150 customer base. StratoGen specialises in delivering VMware hosting solutions to an international market.

Access has been on a path of strategic and organic growth since its Lyceum Capital backed MBO in March 2011 with FY14 revenues announced last month of £53.5m, and EBITDA of £11.6m. Underlying these figures is ongoing organic growth of 12%.

Access CEO Chris Bayne said: "Bringing hosting into the Access portfolio extends our control over the delivery environment, enabling us to improve the service provided to our customers.

"This acquisition gives us end-to-end control of our SaaS and cloud based product offering."

Access' portfolio now includes a range of integrated enterprise solutions, managed services, cloud-based point solutions and hosting.

Bayne added: "Our SaaS and cloud platforms are continuing to grow with recurring revenues increasing 323% year on year.

"This acquisition continues our ongoing growth strategy to provide solutions that meet the needs of the whole organisation, from finance and HR, to collaboration tools and CRM, delivering full transparency and visibility of information across every department. We are fully prepared for the future."