Comms Dealer

Channel Telecom has promoted Steve Yates (pictured) to Head of Partner Sales responsible for all sales operations covering voice and data through wholesale partner and dealer channels.

Formerly Channel Partner Manager, Yates has worked at Channel Telecom for over five years having joined soon after the company was established by MD Clifford Norton.

Yates said: "I'm excited to be taking up the challenge of heading sales at Channel Telecom at a time of rapid growth for our company.

"Our sales of Ethernet and hosted voice are surging as our channel partners communicate the major benefits of these new technologies to their customers. I will be supporting our teams and partners and aim to lead from the front."

Norton added: "Steve has been with me from almost the beginning and his loyalty and commitment to the Channel Telecom ethos is rock solid. He is definitely the guy to take us forward as we look ahead to another record year for sales revenue."

Daisy Group has been named as the new supplier for RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) following a recent competitive tender.

Daisy's appointment will enable RICS to improve and streamline both its UK and overseas operations and to integrate newer technologies into the entire network. Daisy's installation of Ethernet First Mile (EFM) and Ethernet circuits will both increase bandwidth availability and generate significant cost savings for RICS.

Nathan Marke, Chief Technology Officer at Daisy Group, said: "Being asked to support the extensive and diverse RICS community was a great opportunity for us to show them just how fast and efficient their network could become.

"We're delighted to have been able to support them through their current growth and look forward to working them for many years to come."

South West Communications Group has installed a wireless data link between Exeter Chiefs' temporary summer training camp and Sandy Park Stadium.

With a multi-million pound redevelopment programme taking place at the Chiefs' home ground this summer, the squad and coaching team has been re-located to the University of Exeter

The club's main sponsor South West Communications Group has eased this process by installing a point to point wireless link between the two sites to enable the coaching team to access their files and applications held on servers at Sandy Park.

South West Communications Group's engineering director Brian Lodge said: "The temporary site did not have any underground or overhead cabling in place suitable for the coaching team's needs and although it is is two kilometres away from Sandy Park, we were able to install a point to point link between the two sites to enable the coaching staff to seamlessly gain access to their files."

Point to point links are a cost-effective means of linking sites as they negate the need to dig up roads and land to lay cables and can be therefore deployed within days rather than months.

South West Communications Group supplies and installs a range of point to point networks that can reliably deliver connectivity speeds of more than 1Gb at distances of up to 10km to support voice, data and video.

Calling all footballers and golfers! Two Comms Dealer events are approaching that will give channel players the chance to enjoy a fantastic day out and raise some funds for children's charity Sparks.

The highly popular Comms Dealer Five-a-side football tournament, sponsored by Nine Telecom, takes place at the Goals Soccer Centre in Leicester on September 18th.

To find out more and book your team email Sam Dunne at amdunne@sparks.org.uk - or call 0207 091 7787.

For channel golfers, don't miss The Comms Dealer Sir Trevor Brooking Celebrity Golf Classic which will be staged at the spectacular Batchworth Park Golf Club, Hertfordshire on Friday 3rd October 2014.

You can play with four of your own players or three plus a celebrity captain provided by Sparks.

For further details email Sam Gale at golf@sparks.org.uk golf@sparks.org.uk or call 0207 091 7782.

Cisco is officially offering its customers and partners a Cisco part number for the Phybridge 24 and 48 Port PoLRE (Power over Long Reach Ethernet) switches.

Phybridge claims the move will help resellers overcome infrastructure barriers and enable their Cisco customers to migrate to an all-Cisco IP Telephony and Unified Communications platform.

Phybridge switches deliver Ethernet and power over a single pair of wire (CAT3) and are said to provide four times the reach of traditional Ethernet switches, transforming the existing voice infrastructure into a Power over Ethernet (PoE) network.

"The Cisco relationship is a significant milestone in our corporate development," said John Croce, CEO of Phybridge. "Cisco's leadership position and global reach will be a catalyst to our global expansion plans."

Green Telecom apprentice Aneel Ahmed has been nominated for the Institute of Telecommunications Professionals Apprentice of the Year Award and is known as the ITP's star apprentice at its college in Coventry.

Steve Hayden, MD of Green Telecom, is proud of Aneel's progress: "He is doing very well and learning. He will be extending his apprenticeship so he can advance in college to a Level 4 degree in telecommunications. Aneel is working well in the workplace also and is now progressing to manage installations of system on his own."

Aneel told Comms Dealer: "Green Telecom has provided me with a fantastic opportunity. The knowledge I have gained is priceless, providing me with many career paths in this industry. As well as Green Telecom, the ITP have also had a major influence in the success of my apprenticeship and provided great mentoring and support to help with all aspects of the course.

"Working together Green Telecom and The ITP developed a simple and easy structure over the 18 month period which enabled me to complete the apprenticeship to help gain a Level 3 BTEC qualification, benefitting not only me but also Green Telecom." 

Unify has announced general availability of its OpenScape X1 appliance, an all-in-one solution said to bring the benefits of a professional voice and unified communications to the below-30 user market sector.

Tony Smith, Sales Director, channel UK & Ireland for Unify, told Comms Dealer: "This announcement heralds an exciting new chapter for our SME customers, who are increasingly recognising the value of UC to improve efficiency and customer service.
 
"OpenScape Business X1 completes the transition of HiPath 3000 to the OpenScape Business family - a massive opportunity for our partners to realise revenue now. The new portfolio will also deliver a cost effective, flexible, agile and innovative solution to SMB businesses and help them to overcome the challenges related to employee requests to find new ways to work."

Key features of OpenScape Business X1 appliance include: professional voice, UC and mobility for small offices, branches and the home; embedded UC features for up to 30 users, including key functions such as presence, visual voicemail, voicemail to e-mail, and ad hoc conferencing; myPortal To Go app for Android and Apple iOS with fully integrated mobility to support anywhere workers.

The appliance also has a One Number Service and offers presence, favourites, voicemail, directories and journal functionality to users wherever they choose to work, aimed at improving collaboration among virtual teams.

Telefónica has signed-up 250 European and US partners to its M2M Global Partner Programme, reaching this target figure six months ahead of schedule. The Programme was launched in the USA in June 2013 and expanded to Europe in February this year, a move that saw 170 new partners - including device manufacturers, solution providers and distributors - sign-up while another 100  companies are said to be close to joining as M2M partners.

Rafael García Meiro, Director B2B Global Partners Sales for Indirect Sales Channels at Telefónica, commented: "Our Programme has been positively embraced by the m2m market, exceeding our initial expectations and proving that this framework can establish new commercial opportunities.

"We're moving fast, having surpassed our partner targets six months ahead of plan. We will now be working to extend the Programme into new regions which will further accelerate membership and enhance the portfolio of M2M solutions we can sell to our customers."

Telefónica is also leveraging the Programme to find successful M2M Service Providers that could become future vertical solution partners.

Zest4 has bolstered its management team with the appointment of cloud and mobile supremo Adam Cathcart as Sales Director. He boasts a strong track record at executive level as well as deep knowledge of the cloud, hosted IT and comms marketplace.

"Zest4's growth and ability to help partners offer a fully mobilised UC solution is in demand in the channel, and something that I am keen to be a part of," said Cathcart. "I'm looking forward to using my previous experiences as the business continues to develop its channel programme."

Barriers that stunt a reseller's ability to sell and support UC solutions have been broken down by a series of new partner models rolled out by Zest4, claims the firm. "While the channel is acutely aware of the need to sell UC solutions there is a bridge to cross in terms of knowledge, skills and support to make this a reality," stated Adam Cathcart, Sales Director.

"Zest4 has built a programme to bridge this gap, offering a choice of models that enable partners to do business on a per product basis and structure their UC portfolio."

Cathcart also noted that the new programmes encompass different skill sets, meaning that partners may be fully accredited or may have just sold one or two products.

Using the Introducer model Zest4 manages the sale, but for partners who want to UC-enable their sales teams Zest4 takes them through an academy and education programme leading to full accreditation. Partners can also join the programme as an accredited partner based on their capability.

Cathcart added: "The Zest4 Partner Programme has been born out of a true understanding of partner needs and a desire to support partners in making the journey into becoming UC solutions specialists."