Comms Dealer

The ability to diversify has helped Abbey Telecom to achieve its best financial performance since 2008 with profitability up by 14% in the last 12 months, driven by new line rental and call usage packages that build on its maintenance services.

Over 25% of existing customers have already transferred to its new Simplicity lines and minutes packages since their introduction late last summer.

"We're confident we're in a much stronger position now to go for further growth than we have been for several years,"said Abbey Telecom MD Tony Raynor.

"Like many companies we have to some degree been forced to ride out the recession and simply keep the business ticking over because the market for new business has been relatively flat.

"We saw early signs last year that confidence is returning and clients are either investing in extending and enhancing existing systems, or migrating across to the latest technology such as SIP trunks.

"We've also been impressed with the response of our customers to our lines and minutes packages. It's showing that most people are keen to bring all of their telephone systems under one roof for easier access, convenience and a rapid service response."

With turnover up by 24% since last year, growth has allowed Abbey Telecom to invest in new equipment and restructure its Blackburn headquarters, as well as taking on new staff.

Jamie Sansom, Marketing Assistant at Cheltenham-based Total has been named as Outstanding Apprentice of the Year in the Financial and Business Services category, at the Gloucestershire Apprentice Awards 2014.

Sansom accepted the award at the Hatherley Manor Hotel event, held on the evening of 12th June 2014.

"The idea of going to University and studying for a degree had become my last resort option as I had become tired of lectures and full time education. I was looking to gain real-life work experience in a marketing role.

"Not only have I gained qualifications and experience, along with a full-time job, I've enjoyed challenges such as running a half-marathon dressed as a mobile phone to raise funds for one of our charity customers, along with winning Total's TotaLea Above and Beyond Award in December 2013.

"For me, winning this award goes some way to thank the team at Total for their faith and investment in me as an apprentice - and to acknowledge Total's ongoing commitment to apprenticeships."

The annual event, organised by Gloucestershire Media, is now in its third year.

During this time, Total apprentices have taken home the award twice.

Sansom's award follows the success of previous Total apprentice, Lauren Hanks, receiving the same award in 2012 followed by a commendation in the Thames Valley EAL Award for Advanced Apprentice of the Year. 

Lorrin White, Managing Director of Total, said: "I believe it is essential for any organisation to continue to add young, fresh and enthusiastic team members to the business.

"Not only does the apprentice benefit from the real-life work experience, but the employer can also benefit hugely, thanks to the creativity, intelligence, flexibility, loyalty and adaptability the apprentice brings with them.

"The Awards evening gave both the apprentices and local businesses an opportunity to celebrate the success of Apprenticeships across the region.

"We are delighted that Jamie won this award in recognition of his enthusiasm, talent, commitment and 'above and beyond' approach to his Apprenticeship. I hope this award serves to inspire a whole new generation of apprentices, or those considering an Apprenticeship in the future."

French Keyrus Group has acquired the BIPB Group, provider of Big Data and Analytics with offices in London, New York, Paris, Dubai and Johannesburg.

Keyrus hopes that the acquisition will provide it with the access to UK and US markets and help expand its services portfolio.

"This deal demonstrates the real momentum that exists in the Big Data and Analytics industry. The coming together of Keyrus and BIPB is the first major acquisition we have seen in the 'new' BI technology services sector and likely to be the beginning of a consolidatory trend over the coming few years," said Anthony Platt, Associate Director at Grant Thornton, which has been selected as one of the corporate finance teams that advise on the deal.

Charles Radclyffe, Chief Executive Officer at BiPB, added: "BIPB now has access to significant financial resources to scale our graduate teams to meet client demand, and also has access to the wider talent pool within the Keyrus Group which will enable us to provide a more complete service offering to our client.

Easynet has become the latest member of the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF), the industry body that aims to improve standards and education in the cloud industry.

Philip Grannum, Easynet's Managing Director of Cloud, Hosting & UC Services, stated: "When looking at Cloud computing as a way forward for delivering IT, it is essential that we see it not as just an issue of technology, but one of enabling business process change, service delivery change, and of course IT management change.

"When you view it this way it is no surprise that the passions are raised as cloud services arguably represent the most significant opportunity to improve the way IT is delivered and managed, potentially freeing up businesses to focus their efforts on their strategic goals rather than on maintaining IT operations.

"The cloud revolution has been growing steadily for the past few years. It is now becoming mainstream within the IT industry, encompassing a broad range of potential suppliers from ISVs to hosting companies and global brands.

"Yet some firms are still concerned about a perceived lack of transparency and openness from service providers, resulting in a lack of trust. Cloud service providers need to be able to allay customer fears about levels of service, interoperability and security and it is this that lies at the heart of our decision to join the Cloud Industry Forum."

Softcat has strengthened its managed print service (MPS) offering with a new dedicated team that will provide end-to-end managed print and document solutions across the full breadth of Softcat's customer base.

Matthew Jones, Softcat's sales manager, said: "Looking at the market and listening to our customers there is clearly a shift taking place in the print market.

"We are investing in this area as we are seeing more and more clients move their print estate from uncontrolled capital expenditure to an operational cost.

"We see this shift across all verticals, both within the enterprise and public sector markets. With a dedicated team, we will work with our customers to deliver a more cost-effective and efficient print service to their business."

SpliceCom claims to have lowered the overall cost of ownership for its soft, hard and virtual IP PBX systems with the launch of a new entry-level IP phone - the PCS 542 - designed to work with the vendor's Maximiser OS-based systems.

"The PCS 542's blend of feature convenience and ease-of-use make it the ideal choice for those who want to carry out everyday business telephony tasks, but don't need the extended capabilities offered by our advanced PCS 5 Series IP phones," says Robin Hayman, SpliceCom's Director of Marketing & Product Management.

"For those just wanting to make and receive phone calls, see who's calling them, transfer calls, manage their voicemail and set up the occasional three-party conference, SpliceCom's PCS 542 is an obvious choice."

Ovum expects wholesale revenue growth across the globe to reach $142bn in 2019, driven by intensified retail competition.

Although the prices of many commodity wholesale services are falling, accelerating traffic volumes will ensure that wholesale revenues will continue to grow, says Ovum.

The telecoms analyst firm expects wholesale revenues to grow across the globe, with Asia-Pacific experiencing the steepest rise due to intensified retail competition in many countries and escalating international traffic.

After analysing the financial results of more than 200 telecoms service providers, Ovum's wholesale telecoms team has estimated that the global wholesale telecoms market will be worth $142bn in 2019.

It will account for 6.6% of total telecoms service provider revenues, up from 5.5% in 2012. Ovum predicts that strong demand in the Asia-Pacific region will push its share of global total wholesale revenues to 26.0% in 2019, up from 17.0% in 2012.

The range of wholesale offers is growing rapidly in Malaysia and South Korea, and wholesale revenues will increase in China due to the recent licensing of 19 mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). These providers would not be able to operate without the wholesale services provided by China's three dominant mobile network operators.

"The rapid rate of retail service innovation, the growth of voice and data traffic volumes, and the increasing complexity of retail services all depend on an efficient and effective wholesale market because few (if any) retail service providers can do everything themselves," explains David James, practice leader for Ovum's wholesale research channel and author of the report.

"New types of service provider are emerging, but their need for connectivity will stimulate greater demand for traditional wholesale services, while those telcos that do innovate at a retail service level will create demand from those that don't."

According to Ovum figures, wholesale revenues will be concentrated among a small number of large players.

In 2012 the five largest wholesalers earned more than a third of total global wholesale revenues, and the top 10 earned more than half of the total.

Telecoms service providers headquartered in North America and Europe dominated the list of the top 20 wholesalers in 2012, with only three based in Asia-Pacific, one in the Middle East and Africa region, and none from South and Central America.

However, David James expects this picture to change with the rise of domestic and international wholesale in Asia-Pacific.

"We expect at least one Chinese carrier to be among the top 20 wholesalers by revenues in 2019, although North America and Europe will continue to dominate the list."

SoftLayer, an IBM company, is opening of a new data centre in London based on the city's reputation as a key cloud market and proximity to financial institutions, technology start-ups and incubators.

The new London centre offers up to 15,000 physical servers and the full portfolio of SoftLayer cloud infrastructure services, including bare metal servers, virtual servers, storage and networking, it says.

Also, London's facility comes as the latest of 15 new data centres that IBM has decided to open as part of a $1.2bn (€0.9bn) investment to strengthen its cloud services in Europe, it says. In 2012 SoftLayer launched its Amsterdam data centre and London network Point of Presence (PoP).

Lance Crosby, SoftLayer CEO, said: "We already have a large customer base in London and the region. The work these businesses are doing - the solutions and services that they are building in the cloud- is inspiring. Organisations of all sizes using SoftLayer services to disrupt industries or even their own operations, creating new business models and applications."

CommVault has revamped its PartnerAdvantage Programme with new training accreditation and tools, additional incentives through a creation of the new MarketBuilder and introduction of Service Provider Edition programme.

Also, the expanded programme includes a tiering approach, deal registration processes and partner portal.

The PartnerAdvantage programme aims at building closer relationships with partners and assisting them in creating demand for its SaaS solutions for disties, VARs, SIs and service provider partners, it says.

As CommVault has specifically invested in its programme to attract more Service Providers, the new expanded PartnerAdvantage scheme offers to service providers accelerated time-to-market, new revenue opportunities, access to customised software licensing, pricing models, discounts and rebates.

Ralph Nimergood, VP Worldwide Partners and Programmes, said: "The channel has been at the centre of CommVault's growth strategy from the start and we're building on this foundation to create new routes to market and routes to margin for our partners.

"Our enhanced PartnerAdvantage programme offers resources and focus for partners that can enable their selling and implementations with customers to holistically manage and protect their data, which drives our transformation as a channel-driven company."

Resellers attending an Open Day at Nimans to learn about the latest Mitel and Aastra merger developments were told it's 'business as usual'.

Key personnel from the manufacturer and distributor, including Mitel UK Sales Director Robert Hutton, were on hand to outline future strategies, software updates and product plans - as resellers travelled from far and wide.

Nimans is the official UK distributor of the Aastra 400 system series and the company also showcased its leasing capability and Jabra headset portfolio as part of the half day event.

Hutton told attendees that the merger made 'great business sense' and created a billion dollar company with 60 million worldwide customers and 2,500 channel partners.

Dealers also heard how Mitel was 'absolutely committed' to the Aastra 400, with every current platform continuing with investment streams.

A Leeds-based dealer who attended the event said: "We only sell Aastra and never had any problems about what was happening. It's been very interesting to see the way forward. A few things have taken a bit of time to be outlined but what I've heard gives us even more confidence to move ahead on a stronger footing based on a clearer understanding of where the company is going."