Comms Dealer

Tech Data's strong Q3 (ended 31st October) results saw net sales of $6.8bn, an increase of 6% from the prior-year quarter.

Gross profit was $335m, or 4.95% of net sales, compared to $326.1m (5.12% of net sales).

In Europe, net sales were $4.1bn (approximately 61% of worldwide sales), an increase of 8% in the same period last year.

"In Q3 our teams responded to robust demand for PCs in both regions and mobility products in Europe," said Robert M. Dutkowsky, CEO.

"Our operational focus drove good margin and expense management, resulting in excellent operating leverage. Our expansion in Europe has been at a quicker pace than anticipated this year.

"As we have said throughout the year, fiscal year 2015 is a market and operationally focused year for Tech Data.

"This dual focus, combined with our broad product and customer portfolio, have enabled us to capitalise on current market opportunities, improve our operating performance and grow non-GAAP earnings by 25% during the last nine months, while earning a return on invested capital of 11% for the trailing 12 month period.

"Tech Data's capabilities and strategic position in the IT ecosystem are stronger today than ever, and we are pleased with the trajectory of our business as we enter our final quarter of fiscal 2015."  

Dutkowsky said that an 'upside' for Tech Data's model is in the cloud. "Tens of thousands of resellers need a pathway to the cloud and the vendors don't know how to get them there," he added. "That will be our job and our opportunity.

"The Internet of Things represents an explosion of new devices, and all of those devices are going to put pressure on networks and data centres - so more servers, more storage, more networking.

"To make all of that be secure there will be a whole new set of vendors and new sets of technology that will focus on security. Those are areas where we have a strong presence."

Exponential-e has extended its regional reach with a new Manchester office.

The firm plans to double its current northern sales force over the next year.

"With Manchester acting as one of the largest economic areas outside of London, the new office will be pivotal to our ongoing regional growth plans for the UK and will ensure that we have a presence in technology hubs across the UK," said Lee Wade, founder and CEO of Exponential-e.

"The Government's commitment to creating a northern powerhouse has meant forecasts for private sector growth in Greater Manchester outstrip growth for the UK as a whole."

"We can now offer our customers headquartered in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and all the surrounding areas an on-the-ground presence being just around corner from them, which gives us a strong base as we grow our business further across the country."

Phoenix IT Group's play in the managed services space continues the step away from unprofitable business with the firm successfully renewing several long-term customer relationships and securing a significant five year deal with South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

In an update on the company's results for the six months ended 30 September 2014, Phoenix IT also reported that its net debt is £18.5m lower than the same time last year at £56.1m. Profit before tax increased by 238%.

Phoenix Chief Executive Steve Vaughan said: "We are six months in to the roll-out of our new strategy and our financial platform is more stable, the ways in which we work are becoming more efficient and the quality of service delivered to clients is improving.

"Alongside these efforts, we have also secured important account renewals and a large-scale, multi-year new customer win that are important confirmations of our credibility."

Nimans' Head of Network Services Mark Curtis-Wood has put a spotlight on the potential of superfast broadband to act as a catalyst for M2M adoption.

The Government's SuperConnected Cities scheme could be a major boost for M2M, he believes, pointing out that faster speeds and bigger bandwidths will lead to greater awareness of M2M.

The distributor is now a SuperConnected Cities authorised supplier and Curtis-Wood thinks that highly populated regions, like cities, are getting 'smarter', and that superfast Internet connectivity is a key feature of the smart city landscape.

"While there is not necessarily a direct link between fixed bandwidth and M2M, which is more about mobility, there is a strong synergy in city environments especially," he said.

"M2M has the scope to expand in cities because of the nature of what it can do in terms of smart car parking and traffic light systems etc.

"In these concentrated areas there's more likelihood of higher volumes of data being transmitted. This is one piece of a much bigger jigsaw and I've no doubt SuperConnected Cities will potentially be a big driver for the future growth of M2M."

The Government initiative provides financial support of up to £3,000 for superfast Internet connectivity to small and medium businesses.

"The growth in our economy is going to come from small business owners rather than large companies," added Curtis-Wood. "We are already starting to see companies with a workforce of 15 people taking on large bandwidth 100Mb pipes.

"They need massive bandwidth for now and also in the future. Upfront costs tend to be the most prohibitive factor so anything that helps businesses overcome these barriers is a welcome move."

Outsourcery has become one of a limited number of Microsoft's UK partners with ability to bill, manage and support Office 365 following its participation in the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Programme. The programme is designed to drive cloud sales by enabling partners to provide direct billing, sell combined offers and services, as well as directly provision, manage and support Microsoft products and services.

Outsourcery now owns the complete customer lifecycle, allowing it to sell Office 365 subscriptions and help customers take advantage of cloud services by owning the entire billing process and directly managing support.

Outsourcery Co-Chief Executive Piers Linney said: "We are able to further integrate Office 365 with our own offering down to billing whereas previously the billing and contractual relationship was managed by Microsoft.

"We can add material value for end-customers by integrating Office 365 with our own cloud capabilities to create hybrid solutions for commercial and public sector organisations."

Phil Sorgen, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft, added: "The Cloud Solution Provider Program puts our partners at the centre of the customer relationship. Through participation these partners have demonstrated dedication to helping our mutual customers successfully move to the cloud."

Virtual1 has launched a London-wide Gig Internet offer under a 'Christmas has come early' banner to partners and prospective partners with a ready-to-launch campaign toolkit.

The offer is available on Gig circuits with bandwidths of 100mb, 300mb, 500mb and 1Gig and includes zero cost for a managed router worth over £4,000 on Virtual1's London network. The campaign runs until end February 2015.

Virtual1 MD Tom O'Hagan commented: "Businesses are taking a serious look at their bandwidth needs over the next few years and we traditionally see partner end customers look to either upgrade or replace business-Internet at this time of year.

"The campaign is designed to give a lift to both our partners and their customers, just in time for Christmas."

In a bid to aid resellers with information on sales, marketing and support aspects of their business ICUK has launched The Support Lounge.

Resellers can now access sales and marketing literature designed to expose new business avenues and proven approaches to market.

The information ranges from making contact, objection handling, through to order collection, ready made order forms and order processing.

Additional marketing topics covered include blogging, social media, and white papers.

Neil Barnett, Business Development Manager, said: "This has been an enjoyable task to complete, working with our resellers and giving them something they can use and refer to daily.

"These tools complement the free one-to-one training we already provide, giving resellers something to reaffirm the concepts we cover."

The support element embraces all ICUK platforms including broadband, telecoms and web hosting.

It tackles common faults and provides resellers with suggestions, advice and checklists to help get the most from initial trouble reporting conversations.

Niall Higgins, Senior Support Technician, added: "Being on the front line with calls and emails, we receive a real mixture of faults and problems to deal with daily.

"The support documents are easy to understand and the checklists ensure that the really important details required to handle any fault can be captured instantly. Ultimately this leads to a quicker resolution time, and that's what we all want."

A record number of partners registered for Zen Internet's fifth Annual Partner event staged at The Belfry in the West Midlands - 20% of the turnout were prospective partners looking to join Zen.

The aim was to help Partners understand how to make the most of Zen's portfolio of products and services, as well as discussing trends in the marketplace and time to network with key stakeholders in order to provide feedback into future product developments.

There was also an opportunity to shape Zen's roadmaps in two collaborative product and systems workshops, alongside a futuristic session on emerging technologies within the channel.

The day opened with Richard Tang, Zen's Founder and Managing Director, taking partners through the company strategy.

Stephen Warburton, Managing Director of Zen's Indirect Channels, spoke about how Zen plans to support its channel partners in the future and the developments being undertaken to strengthen Partners' ability to take advantage of market trends.

A lively panel session debating opportunities in the channel over the next five years concluded the sessions, with an awards ceremony concluding the day.

Winners included:
Reseller Partner of the Year - Nexus
Dealer Partner of the Year - IT Support Business
New Partner of the Year - RHM
Rising Star - Phormium IT
Solution Sale Partner of the Year - Myson Pages
Spirit of Partnership award - TSG

Deborah Wrigley, Channel Sales Manager, said: "The day was a great opportunity to meet with our partners and work with them to develop mutually beneficial relationships and identify opportunities to grow their business, focusing on shaping future plans together in a way that complements their business strategy.

"It was also a pleasure to reward our partners for their continued support and contribution to the business. We are already looking forward to future events."

Hats off to Pragma for scooping a trio of awards at last month's Ericsson-LG Partner Conference staged in Cancun, Mexico.

Founded in 2012, the distributor bagged the Ericsson-LG Growth award and also secured the UC vendor's highest honour - Global Partner of The Year - the first time this category has been won by a UK company.

Five of Pragma's key partners witnessed the award wins first hand (Lily Communications, Network Digital, BDR Group, Digiquip and 5G), and attended the five day conference to hear the latest on Ericsson-LG's UC, cloud and video collaboration strategies.

Pragma MD Tim Brooks commented: "This award is a fantastic achievement. It also recognises the great work of our resellers in growing the UK market."

Will Morey, Marketing Director, Pragma, added: "Working closely with our partners we have been winning in the SMB and mid-market sectors with Ericsson-LG iPECS. We see continued growth through 2015 and beyond." 

To underline Pragma's style, the third award came after a blue and white themed dinner where Pragma and its UK resellers won the Best Dressed accolade.

Pictured in the blue/white tops (l-r) Will Morey and Tim Brooks

Responding to the Home Secretary, who gave a wide ranging speech on counter-terrorism, ISPA, the voice of the UK Internet industry warned against using fast-track legislation and criticised the Home Office for their lack of engagement with industry.

ISPA Secretary General Nicholas Lansman said: "ISPA is disappointed that the Home Office has not consulted with industry on proposals for IP matching, but will work with members to scrutinise and inform the legislation when it is published.

"IP addresses can generally only be used to identify a subscriber and not an individual. As we argued in our submission to the Anderson Review on future communications data laws, the Home Office needs to do more to consult with industry on its proposals. Once again there has been a distinct lack of engagement with industry."

ISPA also criticised Government for ignoring their own review into communications data laws. Lansman added: "Government committed to a review of communications data capabilities by David Anderson QC which we supported, yet the Home Secretary appears to have pre-judged the inquiry by reemphasising the need for a new Communications Data Bill, a Bill that both relevant parliamentary committees rejected."