Comms Dealer

Avaya Connect Platinum Partner Six Degrees Group (6DG) is working with the vendor to launch Europe's first cloud-based IP telephony and UC service for mid-market businesses based on the Avaya IP Office Platform.
 
The hosted service scales to 2,000 users and gives businesses access to voice, video and collaboration tools on virtually any device. It has same capabilities as an on premises-based IP Office Platform.

The service will be delivered over 6DG's network, leveraging its SIP services and business continuity capabilities.

Ioan MacRae, Head of mid-market, Europe, Avaya said: "Cloud services deliver a new path to greater business agility, the life blood of any mid-size enterprise.

"New and existing customers can now achieve a true pay-as-you-grow Unified Communications environment.

"The service will harness 6DG's highly secure, privately owned network, giving mid-market businesses all the scalability and flexibility of the Avaya IP Office Platform combined with a robust level of service and security from our local channel partner."
 
Campbell Williams, Group Strategy and Marketing Director, 6DG, added: "When it comes to telephony and mission-critical technology, it has to work. Businesses are using cloud platforms to be more scalable and flexible in how they deploy IT and now we're bringing fully-featured enterprise grade unified communication to the cloud."

Swyx has revamped its mobile app for IOS and Android operating systems to make and receive calls over 4G, 3G or Wi-Fi data connections.

Conversations can be held with other Swyx users on the same network from any location without additional costs.

The app supports Adaptive User Interface technology that automatically shows different screen displays for both smartphones and tablets.

Users also see mobile presence and status information for all corporate contacts.

The app and a new desktop version for Apple OS X will be available to download from app stores by the turn of the year.

"The development and redesign of our Swyx clients in the 2015 version reflect the increasing requirements and demands of our customers for agility and flexibility in today's modern workplace," said Swyx CEO Dr. Ralf Ebbinghaus.

"Supporting new platforms and devices, such as the use of UC features on tablets and also on Apple OS X, enables us to tap into new target markets for our solution."

The latest version of SwyxWare also offers an alternative touch-optimised user interface for Windows 8 environments and new options for secure connections outside of the corporate network without the need for a VPN.

The death of the PBX has been 'grossly exaggerated', claimed Paul Burn, Head of System Sales at Nimans, who highlighted record breaking double digit sales growth across Unify, Samsung, Panasonic, NEC and the distributor's own iQ PBX solution.

"We've increased the number of product demonstrations we go out on with dealers to help them capture more sales," he said.

"A general upturn in confidence in the market coupled with an improving economic outlook is also helping accelerate demand. Our market expectations point towards further growth."

NEC has kicked off a run of five UK roadshows with its distribution partners to give resellers a first-hand introduction to NEC's new SV9100 system.

Built on the SV8000 portfolio and aligned to the ethos of 'Evolution not Revolution', the system incorporates a suite of on-board and external applications, an evolved handset portfolio and scales to over 800 extensions on a single site.

John Bird, Head of Systems and Support Services at Exertis, said: "The SV9100 is positioned to bring new and existing resellers into new markets.

"With a clear migration path for existing SV8100 installations to be upgraded to SV9100 and a product that now supports almost 900 extensions per node, resellers now have the ability to deploy enterprise grade solutions."

Nimans' resellers were also out in force to learn more about the new SV9100. Paul Burn, Head of Category Sales at Nimans, enthused: "The roadshows proved the perfect opportunity for our customers to see the product first-hand and understand how to position and sell the many enhanced features. The SV9100 represents a significant step forward for our NEC resellers.\"

Andy Clark, NEC Voice Solutions Business Manager at Exertis, added: "These roadshows held jointly with NEC and its distribution partners are a platform for our customers to see the product first-hand, understand key enhancements over the existing SV8100 and, importantly, know that only an additional two hour technical migration course is all that is needed to bring the product into their portfolio."

Excalibur Communications just missed out on realising its ambition to break a charity Balls world record during an event staged in Swindon which saw 277 people taking part in a fun Swiss ball exercise class, close to the world record set in the US of 348.

The event was part of Excalibur's campaign to provide £50,000 for the Forever Friends Appeal, and raised over £10,000 for the teenage cancer ward in Bath's Royal United Hospital.

A number of youngsters participated in the event but those under 14 years of age were not counted by Guinness World Records.

"We would have loved to have created a new record", said Excalibur's Head of Marketing, Karen Thornley. "But everybody still had a great time together, and thanks to the generosity of the people of Swindon, we raised a five-figure sum for a charity that does fantastic work."

In partnership with the Royal United Hospital, the Forever Friends Appeal is building a new cancer centre due to be opened in 2018, raising £8.5m towards the estimated total of £23.5m.

Nimans has put together a range of special offers to support the recent launch of Panasonic's KX-NS700 SMB system.

These include preferential price support, free onsite sales training, a discounted training voucher and free sales support and marketing.

"The NS700 is a Smart Hybrid PBX suitable for small to medium sized offices," explained Paul Burn, Head of Category Sales at distributor Nimans. "We want to make it as easy as possible for resellers to embrace this innovative new system and take advantage of the many sales opportunities it creates.

"For example there is preferential price support for their first three deals and a demonstration kit. White label marketing support is also available.

"The NS700 is also designed to be used in call centre environments. Its built-in applications support the basic needs of supervisors, such as Queue Announcement, Live Status Monitor, Activity Report, Automatic Conversation Recording, and NAS (Network Attached Storage)."

Various activation keys are preinstalled or come with a 60-day free trial.

Burn added: "The KX-NS700 has a built-in messaging system that provides voice mail to subscribers. The Unified Messaging system can also provide voice guidance to outside callers, either directing them to their desired destination or to the mailbox of a subscriber, where they can leave a voice message."

Mobile airtime provider Daisy Distribution has joined forces with Sony to boost its Vodafone 4G connections with an additional connected product bonus for every Sony Xperia Z3 Compact that is connected to any Vodafone 4G priceplan.

Julien Parven, Marketing Director at Daisy Distribution, said: "Vodafone has developed its 4G network in such a way that it can now boast great breadth and depth of coverage across the whole of the UK and has a proposition that is suited to the small and medium business market.

Following some commercial changes from the network, Daisy Distribution hopes that the incentive will allow current flow of Vodafone 4G connections to continue as more and more businesses realise the benefits that it can bring within the workplace.

Parven continues: "This incentive presents a much better commercial proposition for our partners, one which I hope they will take full advantage of."

The incentive is available throughout October.

Small businesses are failing to plan for the increase in communications costs following new legislation on flexible working, says Kate O'Brien, Marketing Director for Daisy Group. 

The new legislation, which gives workers employed by a company for 26 weeks or more the ability to request flexible working, is likely to see some businesses' phone bills rocket over the next six months as employees increasingly need to call colleagues' mobile phones.
 
"Internal business calls to staff mobiles can mount up if people don't think ahead," warned O'Brien. "Unfortunately there will be many businesses offering family-friendly working arrangements that get a nasty surprise when they open their next phone bill. 
 
"We have been bracing ourselves for a flurry of calls from businesses eager to manage their call costs as they receive requests from staff to spend more time off site during the working week. But, although we've had a few enquiries, we've been genuinely surprised that the volume of enquiries we've had over the last few months hasn't been much higher.
 
"There are a number of products on the market that can help SMEs reduce their internal call costs. However, as yet, many businesses still haven't realised the financial implications that staff working off site will have on their call costs."

The UK partner channel developed by Pragma, the distributor set up by channel legend David George just two years ago, has grown by 26% in the last 12 months.

And Managing Director Tim Brooks told 130 delegates at Pragma's reseller conference in London that he expects revenues through committed channel partners to grow even bigger next year on the back of a refreshed product range, incorporating new iPECS UCP and UCS unified communications and Cloud value propositions for both the SME and mid-market business sectors.

"Based on the success achieved to date we could deliver revenues in excess of 30% next year as we now have the UC products to enable resellers to address the mid-market sector which is a massive opportunity."

Brooks said the iPECS eMG80 system launched earlier this year had been extremely successful with 1100 systems already sold.

High Wycombe based 5G communications were named Pragma Reseller of the Year at the conference.

Picture shows left to right: Will Morey (Pragma Marketing Director); Ahed Aikhatib ( Ericsson-LG International Sales Director); Tim Brooks (Pragma Managing Director); and Inho 'Peter' Kim (Ericsson-LG Head of R&D).

The news that HP is planning to split is causing uncertainty in channels on which competitors can be expected to capitalise.

Giorgio Nebuloni, Research Manager for Data Centres at IDC EMEA said: "HP's stated goal is to have an increased focus, faster decision making process, and ultimately different long-term strategies and investment roadmaps for the two business blocks.

"Tellingly, HP (PC and printer) is depicted as a stable business with predictable returns and an organic growth pace, while Hewlett-Packard Enterprise will see 'targeted merger and acquisition activity'.

"In other words, the enterprise side, which is the one HP aligns most to IDC's 3rd Platform vision, is the one where IDC expects to see more radical changes and bets on in the future. Overall, and despite the trends over the past nine months, we believe the underlying assumption is that HP Inc. is poised to face headwinds in the longer term, while the enterprise part can be boosted by significant growth with the correct investments."

In channels there is more uncertainty: Chrystelle Labesque, Research Manager, Personal Computing, at IDC EMEA, added: "As happened in 2011, IDC expects competitors such as Lenovo and Dell to try and leverage this and to try to lure smaller resellers and distributors away with a 'unity' message.

"On the positive side, HP is in a much better organisational and financial shape these days and has a clearer story for the market. In the two-tier EMEA channel, which the company dominates, having two HPs could go either way. Each supplier might weigh less and be less dominant, or it could get more room to focus and grow.

"In the mid-term we maintain that the split could end up being costly particularly to the volume side of both houses - HP is clearly looking at the longer-term horizon, but a strong acceleration in the value-add segments or in brand new markets will be needed to prove the move worthwhile."