Comms Dealer

With just days to go before the engines are turned, Gamma is making the final preparations and gearing up for the Gamma Bally Rally III.

Starting in Newbury on Wednesday 17th September, 26 teams, including Gamma Channel Partners and sponsors Cisco, Polycom and Oak Telecom, will be driving 500 miles to Dublin in cars costing no more than £500.

With go-karting, scavenger hunting, geo-caching and many more fun challenges along the way, the teams will compete for points while enjoying visits to the iconic race circuits Thruxton and Mondello Park en-route.

While fun, silly challenges and racing are very much on the agenda, the real aim of the Gamma Ball Rally is to raise money for charity.

Each team has donated £500 as an entry fee - all of which will go directly to Gamma's nominated charities:  Action Through Enterprise and Honeypot Children's Charity.

The three-day adventure will conclude with a charity gala dinner, followed by a prize ceremony and 'Auction of Promises' at the 5-star Powerscourt Hotel in Co Wicklow on the 19th September.

John Haw, Sales Director at Gamma, said: "We're really excited about the upcoming Gamma Ball Rally and can't wait to get involved in all of the challenges.

"After raising £50,000 from last year's rally, we're determined for this year to be bigger, better and raise even more money for our nominated charities.

"We've received some fantastic auction donations including luxury holidays, flying experiences, football and rugby tickets and a no expense spared trip to Vegas. A big thank you to all of our generous donors."

The majority of the money the Gamma Ball Rally raises is from the charity auction - dubbed the 'Auction of Promises'. To found out more please email john.haw@gamma.co.uk

A team of 20 employees and customers from KCOM Group will be taking on the challenge of cycling from Venice to Genoa this October with the aim of raising £50,000 for Comms Dealer charity Sparks.

Over £45,000 has already been raised, with generous support from Deloitte, Oakley Capital and several online sponsors.

The trip will see the team cycling a 300-mile route over four days as they travel from the East to West coast of Italy. After a smooth flat start from Venice, the second half of the trip will take a hilly turn as the group climbs mountains towards Liguria before reaching Genoa on the final day.

The team, led by KCOM Group's Chief Financial Officer Paul Simpson, comprises employees from all of KCOM Group's sub brands; Kcom, KC, Eclipse and Smart421.

Joining them will be colleagues from other businesses including Deloitte, Addleshaw Goddard and Lloyds Bank.

Madeleine Buckley, Corporate Partnerships Manager at Sparks, said: "We are absolutely thrilled that Paul and his team are taking on this cycle for Sparks. It's great to see the energy that they are all putting into the challenge and we have no doubt that they will reach their target while having a brilliant time along the way.

"Just £10 per child in the UK is spent on research into child health each year, yet 1 in 30 children are born with a condition that may affect them for life. Sparks funds research to change this, which is why remarkable supporters like these are so important to us."

Simpson said: "As we are now in the third year of our incredibly successful partnership with Sparks, we wanted to do something even bigger to make a difference and this challenge was the perfect option. The team and I are really looking forward to the trip, and it is great to see everyone coming together in the build up to support our fundraising efforts for this fantastic cause."

KCOM Group has supported Sparks as its charity partner since 2012, raising over £217,000 during that time to beat its original fundraising target by more than £100,000.

Distributor Exertis has advanced its Samsung go-to-market strategy with a reseller conference showcasing the South Korean vendor's voice and wireless LAN portfolio.

The event, staged at Loughborough University, offered resellers insights into the latest product enhancements and applications for desktop CTI and CRM integration, productivity, mobility and hospitality.

Alongside the live demonstrations a technical and product workshop presented delegates with a platform to give direct feedback to Samsung on product enhancements they’d like to see developed and added to the portfolio over the next 12 months.

John Bird, Head of Systems and Support Services at Exertis, said: "The event was the ideal opportunity for our resellers to learn how applications and the migration to IP endpoints will help resellers increase order values, increase customer retention and lock-in and, most importantly, deliver truly bespoke solutions to meet any end users requirements.

"Samsung are Exertis’ largest vendor and its product portfolio penetrates almost every business unit and sales team within our business, from IT to network infrastructure, CCTV, lighting, print, audio visual, mobile and UC.\"

"Samsung is the only PBX manufacturer to produce market leading mobile handsets and tablets, allowing Exertis to help our resellers deliver high end mobility solutions into key vertical markets such as hospitality, education and general office environments, delivering measurable increases in customer efficiency and productivity.\"

Exertis has reported a 20% uptick in Samsung UC revenues.

This year Nimans welcomed a summer intake of four students looking for work experience and one in particular has completed a full four weeks 'on the job'.

George Smith, 17, spent a month at the group's Agecroft headquarters learning about business practices and procedures and how a successful £85 million turnover company operates.

Smith is studying accountancy and business finance at FutureSkills College, Salford, and is hoping to one day work in finance.

"It's been an invaluable learning experience being at Nimans," said George who spent the majority of his time in the Accounts and Credit Control departments.

"I gained a brilliant insight into real life work and it's whetted my appetite to carve out a long term career in finance."

Nimans' Investors In People Manager Sue Goldfine added: "Over the summer months we welcomed four young people for varying periods of time.

"They each had a specific programme designed for them depending on how long they were with us and what their particular interest was. They spent time in various departments including accounts, telemarketing, purchasing and credit control.

"The boys particularly enjoyed time in the warehouse, realising that a modern facility is not just picking and packing but a highly organised technical operation.

"It's important to give our young people work experience to help them shape and develop their career paths as well as social and interpersonal skills. They discovered that working at Nimans was an informative experience seeing how an innovative and efficient company operates. They all said it was a great place to be and appreciated the opportunity."

"Never underestimate the power of the comms channel." That was the key message from Fidelity MD Alan Shraga after hearing that his company has been ranked No 8 in the Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 league table having achieved 134% growth in three years.

"This is the highest position ever achieved by a comms channel business and demonstrates how quickly a company can grow by investing in the channel, giving resellers the tools and range of products they need to develop their businesses and offer them attractive incentives to stay loyal.

"We are a small team but we have worked extremely hard and achieved this result against the headwind of the UK's biggest recession in decades," added Shraga.

"More importantly, as a channel focused business, we have succeeded because of the hard work and talent of our partners. Our mantra of Loyalty, Trust and Delivery has never had more resonance."

TheTech Track table ranks Britain's 100 private tech (TMT) companies with the fastest-growing sales over the latest three years. Founded in 2008, Fidelity's turnover has grown from £400,000 in 2010 to £5.7m in 2013, a sales growth of 134.15% in just three years.

Shraga and fellow founder Simon Payne sold two telecoms companies before starting Fidelity, Cable Telecom and VNetworks.

Fidelity's joined up solutions for the channel include Anvil, a web-based portal for customer management and billing.

Trustmarque Solutions has been acquired by IT services company Liberata UK to create a £240m business with 2,000 employees across multiple UK locations and a client base of more than 1,700 public and private sector customers. Trustmarque will continue to operate as a separate entity in a deal that CEO Scott Haddow said is 'simply a change of investor'.

Trustmarque's senior management team will remain responsible for the company's day-to-day operations.

"The strategic fit between the two organisations is excellent and as a result we are excited about the market opportunity that's in front of us," stated Haddow.

"We continue to be a successful and profitable business, and with the added expertise, customer portfolio and services that Liberata brings to the table we will go from strength to strength."

The acquisition significantly extends Liberata's market reach and opens up a range of private sector opportunities.

Liberata's scope of services now extends across the ICT value chain and the Trustmarque deal follows its acquisition of Trinity Expert Systems last year.

Dermot Joyce, CEO of Liberata, said: "The acquisition creates significant value for Liberata and for all of our customers by connecting the ICT value chain.

"We see the advantages of the complementary service and solutions provided by Trustmarque and believe that together we can create an end-to-end proposition for all of our clients."

Virgin Media Business has launched a free online digital learning resource for businesses which lack knowledge about the so called 'Digital Revolution'.

Called the Big Digital Skills Hub, the tool offers written advice, animated video tutorials, interactive quizzes and downloadable resources.

Fronted by Sir Richard Branson, the hub brings together some of the top industry experts to offer SMBs 15 tutorials on digital knowhow. Topics range from setting up and maximising a website, to social media and content marketing. The whole experience has been designed to work around a busy schedule.

The hub is designed to plug the skills gap between digital technology and the way British businesses are using it.

According to a survey commissioned by Virgin Media Business 48% of UK SMB don't use their website to find new customers, while 28% of SMBs don't currently have a website at all.

The research also found that 13% of the UK's SMBs currently have no plans to build a website and a third (35%) of SMBs admitted that they do not have the social media skills needed to grow their business.

Branson said: "We are living in an increasingly connected world and wherever we go access to the Internet is just a touch away through a smartphone or tablet.

"The way we do business has been transformed and trade online is growing at around 20% a year, so it's now not just a case of making the most of an opportunity for your business, it is crucial for business survival.

"At Virgin we have embraced new digital technologies and it has transformed the way we do business and how we engage with customers.

"Social media has proved to be one of the most effective ways of reaching our customers and there is much more data available for us to find out what our customers want and how best we can create new products and services to meet those needs.

"Taking advantage of the power of the Internet and digital technology has helped Virgin to create many of the great services we have today and put the needs of our customers at the heart of everything we do."

Mike Smith, Director of SMB Virgin Media Business, added: "We're in the midst of a technology revolution and digital has the potential to empower every SMB in the UK. Our research shows that the country's small and medium businesses are excited by this revolution but there is an alarming skills divide between those doing it well and those who are struggling to seize all the opportunities that digital can bring them.

"That's why we've launched The Big Digital Skills hub, but industry alone cannot drive the change that the UK needs. It's the duty of government to help every SMB in the UK cross this divide. This launch is part of our commitment to helping small businesses succeed in the digitally enabled world we live in. With the right tools and skills, SMBs can continue to drive the UK's competitive digital advantage."

Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy Ed Vaizey said: "Encouraging as many people as possible to get online and get the most out of the Internet is vitally important in the digital world we live in. Research shows that companies that embrace technology will grow faster, export and create more jobs.

"That's why Government has introduced funding for Broadband Connection Vouchers to improve Internet access for small and medium sized businesses. We are also working in partnership with digital charity Go On UK to make it easy for small firms to find the right support to help them improve their digital skills and do more business online."

Mitel has expanded Trust's distribution portfolio with the addition of the Aastra A400 communications platform, Aastra SIP, Lync and DECT Handsets and all peripherals to its portfolio.

The agreement follows the appointment of Trust as a value added distributor for MiVoice Office in 2011 and the integration of the Aastra product suite into the Mitel portfolio earlier this year.

Rob Hutton, head of distribution sales, Mitel, said: "Trust Distribution has already demonstrated its commitment to developing expertise around our business communication solutions, and Mitel's business with Trust has almost doubled over the last 12 months. By focussing on a single distribution partner we can provide resellers with the solutions expertise and support they need to take advantage of the growing opportunities within the SMB market."

Vince Leahy, MD for Trust Distribution, added: "Our success with MiVoice Office is testament to the growing demand from SMBs for advanced business communications solutions. By integrating additional Mitel products into our portfolio we can ensure our reseller partners can offer customers a full suite of quality solutions, backed up with value added support services and product expertise."

Pragma is gearing up for its 2014 conference to be held in October at The Worx Studios in Parsons Green, London.

Pragma will be joined by the leadership team from Ericsson-LG and partners Tollring, Mondago, Multimessage, Clear Asset Finance and Pragma Networks.

The Ericsson-LG team will share its product roadmap and plans for 2015 including a new cloud platform and other technologies.

In October last year Pragma outlined its channel strategy with Ericsson-LG and committed to a product roadmap that saw the company refresh its portfolio and launch new products for two to 2,000 users. Since then Pragma has witnessed a significant increase in new partners.

Chris Goodman, Sales Director at Focus Group commented: "The new products launched have helped us to compete and win with aggressive pricing and margin opportunities in the SMB and applications, features and UC for our enterprise customers."

Pragma MD Tim Brooks added: "The conference is a fantastic opportunity to share the passion, success and opportunity that exists in our channel and demonstrate the capability of one of the UK's strongest reseller communities.

"We are proud to have Comms Dealer as our exclusive media partner and look forward to engaging the UK's high growth resellers in the Ericsson-LG opportunity."

The conference will include a Solutions Fair for resellers to get hands-on demonstrations of the latest technology, presentations from the Pragma and Ericsson-LG teams an awards ceremony, evening party and entertainment.

Network Digital Group has secured a major deal to deliver a flexible unified communications solution for Richmond Hyundai, one of Europe's most successful car dealerships.

The reseller implemented Ericsson-LG iPECS solution across multi-sites supported by distributor partner Pragma.

Network Digital recognised the importance of helping end users understand the value of unified communications and how integrated applications such as icall from Tollring and PHONE-LiNK can play a role in helping high growth businesses keep growing.

To achieve this Pragma helped Network Digital Communications produce a video case study that demonstrates the benefits that iPECS UC can deliver.

Will Morey, Marketing Director at Pragma, commented: "Working with Network Digital on this case study enabled us to explore the value UC delivers to a high growth business and to articulate the benefits. Using iPECS NDC has delivered a solution that makes a tangible difference to their customers' ability to grow and develop."

To view the case study please click here http://youtu.be/khfKTkw9ZoA