Comms Dealer

Avnet Technology Solutions has partnered with The Knowledge Academy to deliver training across 30 Uk locations.

The Knowledge Academy will add VMware accredited courses, delivered by certified Avnet trainers, to its education portfolio.

René Albert, Director Education Solutions Avnet Services, EMEA, said:, "This is a significant new relationship for Avnet as The Knowledge Academy is Avnet's first national education business partner in the UK. 

"As a result, business partners can now offer customers Avnet certified VMware training from any of The Knowledge Academy's 30 local training centres. Having access to a variety of courses at more locations will provide Avnet's business partners with the opportunity to strengthen their customer relationships through an additional point of value."
 
Avnet UK is a VMware Authorised Training Centre (VATC) and has a portfolio of certified training on offer from IBM, F5 Networks, Juniper, Palo Alto and Veeam.

Avnet business partners and end-users can now take advantage of VMware training plus The Knowledge Academy's public training schedule of more than 250 courses, including PRINCE2, MSP, MoR, ITIL, P30 and APMP, which run in more than 30 modern training centres across the UK.  
 
Steve Williams from The Knowledge Academy added: "In 2013 we trained more than 25,000 delegates in professional best practice and personal development courses globally.

"Working with VMware certified trainers from Avnet extends our portfolio to ensure that professionals using solutions for data centres or desktop virtualisation have the skills they need to install and manage VMware products effectively."

Migrating customers seamlessly to the cloud remains a challenge according to research by the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF). The majority of end users confirm that the cloud model offers them a competitive advantage but achieving this happy state is far from straightforward for most customers.

The study found that 87% of cloud users feel their migration could have been improved, with 38% wishing it had cost less. In more detail, 31% struggled with the complexity of migration, while 35% would have liked better tools from their Cloud Service Provider.

In a number of cases these difficulties resulted in lost productivity during implementation, delays in time to market, and to a lesser extent, some negative impact on the customer experience.

"Although these difficulties do not seem to have impacted UK businesses' enthusiasm for cloud in any significant way, improving the overall experience of cloud, from service design to service migration and management, should be an ongoing focus and priority for the industry to further enhance the benefits of cloud experienced by businesses," stated CIF CEO Alex Hilton.

On the plus side, the research found that 55% of cloud users have experienced a competitive advantage from using cloud services, and a further 23% anticipate the same result.

The survey also confirmed that end users are attracted to cloud benefits such as faster access to technology, flexibility of delivery and operational cost savings.

Proximity Communications has achieved Avaya Contact Centre Service Expert accreditation, and in doing so, joining just two other UK partners accredited to Expert level in all areas of Avaya business communications.
 
The Avaya Contact Centre Service Expert accreditation completes Proximity's set of Avaya Service Expert certifications (Networking Expert, Unified Communications Expert, Unified Messaging Expert and SME Expert).

Proximity has also been recognised with the Most Notable Win for Avaya Networking and the Avaya Partner in Customer Excellence Award the last two years running.
 
Stuart Legg, Sales and Marketing Director, Proximity Communications, said: "As a long-standing Avaya Enterprise Business Partner, we've been working together for many years and this new Contact Centre Expert accreditation gives further testament to that relationship. We're now able to help more companies than ever gain greater business value from IT."
 
Andy Litherland, VP European Channels at Avaya, added: "From its state of the art demo facilities to its passion for delivering business enhancing communications solutions, Proximity exemplifies the value Avaya partners bring to the sales process."

Global PC sales in Q2 fell by less than previously forecast, down 1.7% yr/yr to 74.4 million, says IDC, which had predicted a 7.1% drop. This was smaller than the 4.4% and 5.6% declines respectively seen in Q1 and Q4. Gartner is even more positive, estimating shipments rose 0.1%, ending a long string of declines.

"While the worldwide PC market stopped two years of declining shipments in the second quarter, there were mixed results, as stabilisation in developed markets was offset by a decline in emerging markets," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner.

"The PC industry in emerging markets has been impacted by the allure of low-cost tablets. These low-cost tablets continue to take spending from new PC units, meaning that it will take more time for PC sales to stabilize in emerging markets."

HP achieved its fastest global PC shipment increase in the last four years (since 2Q10). The company has put a lot of effort into restoring its PC business, including the review of the product family and stock keeping units (SKUs), as well as revitalising the channel partner program. HP did very well in EMEA with 21% shipment growth, securing the top spot in the region.

IDC thinks business PC upgrades following the end of Microsoft XP support helped. But it also says consumer demand was better than expected, with sales of low-end PCs, including. Chromebooks improving as tablet sales growth slows. Sales in the US and EMEA (two high-ASP regions) rose, while Asia-Pac (outside Japan) still fell by nearly double digits. IDC now thinks full-year industry growth "could get closer to flat, rather than the May projection of -6%. IDC's Q1 share data points to industry leaders gaining at the expense of smaller players: Lenovo's 19.6% share, +270 bps Y/Y. HP with 18.3%, +190 bps, and Dell 14%, +180 bps. Acer at 8.2%, -10 bps. Asus at 6.2%, +30 bps.

PC shipments in EMEA totalled 22.5 million units in the second quarter of 2014, an 8.6% increase from the same period last year, says Gartner.

The EMEA PC market has returned to strong growth after very weak growth (0.3%) during the first quarter of 2014 and eight consecutive quarters of decline prior to that.

"2014 is on pace to be a year of relative revival in the global PC market and that change is most pronounced in Western Europe," said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. "In EMEA during the second quarter we saw a continued shift to ultramobiles at the expense of traditional notebooks." In addition, PC sales in EMEA continued to be driven by an increase in professional spending. This is in part due to organisations upgrading from Windows XP as official support from Microsoft ended.

Hybrid ultramobiles, such as two-in-one devices, are becoming more attractive - with increased usability at lower price points. Sales of premium tablets (such as the iPad), which compete with PCs, are also slowing as users move to tablets with lower functionality and price points; some users will replace premium tablets with two-in-one PCs, bringing spend back to the PC market.

In emerging European markets, the story was different, with two distinct trajectories seen during the quarter. "In Eastern Europe the PC market stabilised and volumes improved marginally year-on-year, driven by a slightly improved economic situation," said Isabelle Durand, principal research analyst at Gartner. "However, the situation in Russia and Eurasia remains challenging, due to the political and economic situation in Ukraine." The ongoing conflict resulted in a steep decline in the PC market in Ukraine, and businesses have delayed many PC purchases in Russia until, at best, the second half of 2014.

Suppliers and partners joined up with Fidelity Group and celebrated in true ‘Great Gatsby' style at last week's sun drenched Henley Royal Regatta.
 
Guests on board the Fidelity Thames cruiser enjoyed spectacular views of the international races throughout day two of the world's best known regatta and then danced the evening away in the riverside located Mahiki Club.

"It was Pimms in paradise with wonderful hospitality, wonderful people and wonderful weather," said Oak joint CEO James Emm.

CRM and e-commerce are set to be the fastest growing enterprise applications claims Ovum, which says customer engagement systems will be the fastest growing enterprise application between 2013 and 2018.

According to the analyst's newly launched software forecasts , e-commerce and CRM solutions will see compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of approximately 10% for the 2013-2018 period, followed closely (8%) by enterprise applications that support innovation, such as product lifecycle management (PLM) and innovation management platforms.

It has been a tough time for CRM and ERP systems, as the problem of engaging with business processes has proved daunting with users and channels.

Ovum's Enterprise Application Software Market Forecasts*, illustrate businesses' interest in strengthening customer engagement capabilities while reducing costs. This trend is corroborated by Ovum's ICT Enterprise Insights, where growth was the top priority, followed by greater customer focus, compliance, cost reduction, and innovation, across a global population of 6,698 enterprises.

The forecasts show that manufacturing and healthcare verticals will be the biggest spenders by 2018, driven largely by the need to innovate. Healthcare investment will nearly double between 2012 and 2018 from $12.2bn to $22.9bn, while manufacturing investment will grow from $14.6bn to $23.9bn over the same period. By region, the rapidly evolving economies of China, India, Brazil and the Middle-East & Africa show the highest CAGRs (between 13% and 16%).

Predictably, Europe and the US show the lowest (between 7% and 8%), albeit from a much higher base. "Globalisation and disruptive technologies - particularly social networks, cloud computing, and mobile - have had a massive impact, raising customer, consumer, and citizen expectations and giving them greater power. This, plus a strong focus on cost reduction through IT modernisation and fierce competition for customers, is leading organisations to invest in their ability to adapt quickly enough to remain relevant to consumers," said Jeremy Cox, principal analyst, customer engagement, Ovum.

Rainbow Communications has increased its customer numbers to 10,000-plus following its acquisition of UTV Connect's business and residential base in the UK and business customer base in Ireland.
 
Eric Carson of Rainbow Communications said: "The purchase of UTV Connect's customer base represents a significant step change for our business development.

"In one transaction, our customer base has passed the 10,000th mark and we have been able to add a significant number of well established local businesses as well as number of smaller businesses alongside a thriving residential base. 
 
"UTV Connect's customer base represented an attractive strategic fit for us and we are confident that the new range of products and services open to UTV Connect customers by Rainbow Communications will help drive real telecoms benefits for their businesses," added Mr Carson. 
 
Rainbow Communications was formed in 1999 by local businessmen Eric Carson and Martin Hamill.

Handset maker BlackBerry turned in a stronger than expected performance in Q1 (2015 fiscal year) reporting hardware revenue on approximately 1.6 million BlackBerry smartphones, up from circa 1.3 million in the previous quarter.

Revenue for the period was $966m, down $10m or 1% from $976m in the previous quarter (revenue breakdown - 39% for hardware, 54% for services and 7% for software and other revenue).

However, taking into account non-cash and one-time items BlackBerry posted a profit of $23m in the quarter. And according to John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO of BlackBerry, the company is targeting break-even cash flow results by the end of fiscal 2015.

"Our performance in fiscal Q1 demonstrates that we are firmly on track to achieve important milestones, including our financial objectives and delivering a strong product portfolio," said Chen.

"Over the past six months we have focused on improving efficiency in all aspects of our operations to drive cost reductions and margin improvement. Looking forward, we are focusing on our growth plan to enable our return to profitability."

Unify resellers can now target the below 30-user segment with the launch of OpenScape Business X1, and according to the vendor's exclusive UK distributor Nimans the launch provides a boost to those Unify resellers with their eye on winning a place on Nimans' three-night incentive trip to Chicago in October.

To qualify resellers need to exceed agreed sales targets of the OpenScape Business UC Suite of solutions before September 19th, while new dealers have to complete Unify's onboarding programme to stand a chance of jetting off across the Atlantic.

"The availability of Unify's new OpenScape Business X1 appliance - designed for smaller sites - represents an opportunity for resellers to further accelerate their sales," said Paul Burn, Head of Category Sales at Nimans (pictured above).

"The system enables partners to provide customers of any size with an easy to deploy, manage and use all-in-one UC solution and leverage their current training and investment in the complete OpenScape Business portfolio."

Huawei has joined the 5G Infrastructure Association Board in Europe and will be represented by a member of its European Research Centre, Dr. David Soldani.

The 5G Infrastructure Association is a joint initiative of the European ITC industry and the European Commission with the value of €1.4bn. It has been created to support the delivery of super-fast connectivity for Europe and globally, promote R&D in the EU networks industry and increase competitiveness in Europe. It represents private party of the 5G Public and Private Partnership (5G-PPP).

As a new board member, Huawei will help prioritise tasks for the EU in the area of the 5G research as well as serve as an advisory body. The company will be also tasked to supervise 5G technology research, tests and large-scale trials and assist in evaluating business goals.

Additionally, the Chinese telecommunication specialist will work with the EU and partners to align the work of the 5G Infrastructure Association, the 5G-PPP, ), the NetWorld2020 European Technology Platform and other working groups.

The 5G Infrastructure Association, which is based in Belgium, is a non-profit organisation which conducts research on 5G communication systems and networks and prepares global standards related to 5G, it says.