Comms Dealer

SIP connections are expected to overtake ISDN in early 2016 and Nimans has moved to ensure resellers get a head start in selling SIP before the tipping point.

The company held two SIP Trunk workshops in London and Manchester attended by 40 resellers overall, including some with no SIP experience.

A Derby-based reseller stated: "I hadn't sold SIP before but I was obviously aware of it so I attended to get a basic understanding."

As well as sales-based courses Nimans is also hosting regular engineering workshops focusing on the technical side of implementing SIP.

The Institute of Telecommunications Professionals (ITP) welcomed Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's announcement about improving opportunities for school leavers - but are keen to hear how the Government plans to improve careers advice and access to apprenticeships.

Leading independent professional body the ITP was in attendance at Mr Clegg's event at Southfields Academy in South London, along with representatives from companies such as Fujitsu, Barclays, McDonalds and Telefonica.

ITP Chief Executive Officer Ann Potterton was joined at the event by a group of 12 young people who are currently developing their own careers through the ITP's ground-breaking telecoms apprenticeship scheme, which has created 30 high-quality training opportunities since its launch in March 2013.

Mr Clegg spoke about his belief in apprenticeships as a viable post-school option, and also announced his plans to establish better careers advice for young people, as well as a 'UCAS-style' one-stop shop resource to allow school leavers to better find courses, training and apprenticeships.

Ann Potterton said: "Many of Mr Clegg's comments were extremely welcome, especially his obvious commitment to apprenticeships - which, as he rightly pointed out, are just as valid an option as university. He also spoke about other strong European economies such as Holland and Germany and the way they value their apprentices.

"While we agreed with everything he said, we are keen to find out how the Government plans to enhance apprenticeships - at the moment still many young people do not consider them as a viable option, and some employers feel too daunted to offer them. In telecoms, we launched our own scheme in direct response to employer need - offering businesses a way to access high-quality, bespoke telecoms training at an affordable price and with the admin support that makes it a feasible option.

"There needs to be more career advice about apprenticeships, and more support for employers who would like to take on an apprentice - only then will they shake off their 'poor relation' image, and allow us as an economy to reap the benefits of good quality industry-specific training for the many talented young people that are out there."

Following Mr Clegg's his talk, there was a careers fair at the school, where the ITP and its apprentices spoke to students and other employers about their own apprenticeship scheme. Ann added: "Apart from Mr Clegg's speech, the day offered a great opportunity for us to shout about our scheme."

The Deputy Prime Minister's speech was delivered in advance of National Apprenticeship Week, which begins on March 3. To mark the occasion, the ITP will be posting regular blogs about its work with apprentices - for more information, go to www.theitp.org

More details about the event at Southfields can be found on twitter, @DPMoffice, using the hashtag # skills4success.

The UK channel is struggling to meet the fluctuating cloud demands of their clients, according to independent research commissioned by IT services expert MTI.

The survey of UK resellers and service providers found that the most commonly demanded service from UK businesses is Infrastructure-as-a-Service(IaaS), with 77% of respondents reporting it as a top request from their clients.

Despite this high demand, less than half of these companies provide IaaS directly (44%) and just 22% can provide the service through vendors. Afurther fifth of the respondents (20%) revealed they might consider selling IaaS in the next 12 months.

At the other end of the scale, nearly two thirds of respondents (64%) are seeing least demand for managed security services from their clients, yet three quarters of the resellers (75%) provide the service either directly or through a vendor.

Chris Roberts, Head of Channel Sales at MTI, said: "Our research demonstrates there is a clear contrast between what clients want and what resellers and service providers are delivering - either directly or through a vendor partner. This highlights the challenge that resellers are faced wit hwhere clients' service demands can shift on a regular basis as technology evolves

"It's very difficult for resellers to be flexible enough to provide solutions as and when they come into fashion or when demand from clients peaks. Partnering with a services expert allows these businesses to successfully provide a range of solutions indirectly, without having to worry about providing themselves."

The MTI research also found that nearly two thirds of UK resellers and service providers (62.5%) make at least 40% of their annual revenue from services, with most stating that services made up between 41% and 60% of their revenue.

MTI launched its first official Channel Partner Program in late 2013 to provide a suite of managed, cloud, professional, consulting and assessment services to VARs, systems integrators, hosting and service providers.

Outsourcery has been awarded Collaboration Product of the Year 2014 for its suite of collaboration solutions, at the first annual UK Cloud Awards.

Outsourcery was also shortlisted for Provider of the Year, and co-CEO Piers Linney was shortlisted for Cloud Personality of the Year.

The UK Cloud Awards, run by the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF), Cloud Pro and techUK, recognises and rewards the best of the British cloud industry. The awards ceremony took place on the 26th of February at City Hall and Outsourcery's Piers Linney spoke at the event about how cloud has come of age.

Outsourcery was presented with the award for its collaboration suite, which combines cloud-based Cloud Mail, Unified Lync, SharePoint and CRM, all based on Microsoft technologies and designed to work together seamlessly.

In a challenging marketplace, ICT is under increasing pressure to 'add value' to businesses, with customers requiring flexibility, cost-effectiveness, quick responses and the ability to deploy new services whilst maintaining existing ones. Outsourcery's cloud offering has been developed specifically to overcome these challenges with ease, all delivered from a dedicated, enterprise-grade platform, the O-Cloud.

Piers Linney, co-CEO of Outsourcery said: "Recent findings from the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) reveal that 68 per cent of UK organisations are looking to increase their cloud usage in the next year and Outsourcery is fully prepared for this.

"Cloud adoption is no longer an option as demand for computing and storage capacity grows exponentially and applications become more complex, but an inevitability and more businesses are recognising this and working to find the best way to integrate cloud into their ICT and communications infrastructure.

"At Outsourcery, we're facilitating this trend by continuing to develop our cloud services and bringing new offerings to the market. Winning this award is not only a great honour for us, but it also serves as a good indicator that we are heading in the right direction in terms of our service offering. Our collaboration suite is also the focus of many of our large strategic partners."

New research from NewVoiceMedia reveals that UK consumers are less tolerant to poor customer service than those in the US.

Coupled with findings that they spend more prior to switching to a competitor, UK businesses are losing twice as much as American companies each year. But service should remain a top priority for US firms, as Americans are twice as likely to tell others about a bad experience.

According to the study, $41 billion of revenue is transferred between companies in the US every year and £12 billion in the UK due to bad interactions - not including the significant cost of replacing lost customers and the impact of negative word of mouth. On average 48 percent of consumers are taking their business elsewhere because they're not satisfied with the service they're experiencing.

UK consumers are more likely to switch following a bad experience than those from the US (50% vs 44%), but in both nations, the majority leave because they don't feel appreciated as a customer. In the US, 53% are so put off from calling a company for fear of not being able to speak to a real person straight away; they may switch to a competitor without even attempting to resolve a problem.

In the UK, being kept on hold is the biggest irritation (49%), although Brits are actually prepared to hold for longer than US consumers, with only 16% claiming they would hang up after five minutes of holding, compared with 22% of Americans. The results of both studies also indicate that women are far more patient than men.

Voice continues to be the channel of choice for customers, but particularly in the US where it's nearly twice as popular as email. Both regions combined, 71 percent consider it to be the most effective channel for a speedy resolution.

While UK consumers are more prone to switching, they're also the most likely to offer the business an opportunity to resolve the issue by writing to complain (58% UK, 37% US). Across the Atlantic, consumers are much less forgiving, with half eager to spread the word, (compared with 27% UK) advising friends and colleagues not to use the company. In both regions, women are more likely to complain than men.

US customers are the most likely to take complaints online, particularly those aged 25 to 34, with nearly 60 percent (59.3%) spreading negative sentiment through social media, forums or review channels following poor service.

However, the significance consumers place on excellent service presents opportunities as well as threats, as organisations can boost their business if they invest in providing a positive customer experience, even turning complainants into advocates by prioritising the service they receive through other channels. 72 percent of respondents said that good service had a considerable influence on their loyalty and 70 percent would recommend the company to others. US customers are more likely to spend more money with the business as a result (42% vs 34% UK). Overall, good service influences women more than men, with women more likely to recommend the business to others.

Jonathan Gale, CEO at NewVoiceMedia, who commissioned the research, commented: "While UK consumers are more likely to leave a company following poor service than those from the US, they share the same frustrations - not feeling appreciated as a customer, being kept on hold and having to repeat themselves to multiple agents.

"With so much revenue being transferred between companies, this research reinforces just how much influence customers have on a business's success. Great customer service is the critical differentiator and investing in providing personalised and engaging customer experiences every time, through every channel, will help businesses succeed in retaining customers and securing new business."

Exponential-e has become one of the first European Cloud Service Providers (CSP) to attain CSA STAR Certification.

The certification, issued by BSI, provides reassurance to customers and partners of Exponential-e's competency to deliver cloud services.

Lee Wade, Exponential-e CEO commented: "We are proud to be the first CSP to have achieved CSA Star Certification following a long and demanding audit process.

"We have been working for years to highlight and counteract the perception among enterprises that cloud services are not secure.

"This cloud specific security certification, that complements our ISO 27001 certification, will provide our customers with the extra confidence that their data is fully protected within the Exponential-e cloud."

Suzanne Fribbins, Risk Management Specialist at BSI, added: "Exponential-e has shown great dedication to become early adopters of CSA Star Certification and should be proud of this achievement.

"As the new industry benchmark for cloud security best practice, CSA Star Certification is a great addition to Exponential-e's existing array of management system certifications. It reinforces its commitment to continually improve business performance and importantly reassures existing and prospective clients that specific cloud security risks have been addressed."

Jitesh Bavisi, Exponential-e's Director of Compliance, added: "Achieving the CSA Star Certification is another significant step forward which enables us to offer our customers a greater level of assurance for our cloud services."

Congrats to Supply Communications for its 9th place ranking in The Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work For listing.

Established in 2008 the firm provides, installs and maintaining business phone systems across the UK.

"This was Supply's first time of entering the Times Top 100 and we are thrilled at being able to rank in the top 10 coming 9th. Hopefully next year we can aim for the number 1 spot," said MD Mark Blackwell.

"This is a massive achievement for Supply and a massive achievement for everyone who helps make this such a great company to work for."

Claranet has snapped up Grita, a provider of hosting services to the healthcare sector in France, and a supplier accredited with the French Ministry of Health's HADS (Hébergeur Agrée de Données de Santé) certification for the hosting of private medical data.

Since entering the healthcare and emerging e-pharmacy markets in 2010, Grita has added over 50 major customers in the sector, including Philips and Agfa. It was also one of the first companies in France to achieve the HADS standard.

The HADS accreditation, combined with Claranet's existing ISO 27001 and PCI-DSS certifications, makes the company one of the few hosting providers in France to have this set of key industry accreditations, and extends its reach into this fast-growing market segment.

Grita is the latest in a wave of acquisitions made by the company across Europe over the last 18 months - Star (UK, 2012), Typhon (France, 2012), CGEST (Portugal, 2012), and more recently Echiron (Portugal, 2014).

Olivier Beaudet, MD at Claranet France, says: "Grita's specialist expertise in the healthcare sector makes it the perfect partner for Claranet. The hosting market in France is particularly vibrant and is evolving rapidly. Already a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for European Managed Hosting, the acquisition further consolidates Claranet's position in France, and ensures we are well-placed to take advantage of new opportunities within existing and emerging markets in this region."

Nimans has strengthened its trading relationship with handset manufacturer Gigaset pro by being officially recognised as an authorised distribution partner - on the eve of a new product launch.

Purchasing Director Andy Winfield was presented with a plaque and certificate from Gigaset pro Channel Sales Manager Jonathan Beatson as the company unveiled a new interactive desktop device.

The Gigaset Maxwell 10 is an Android-based multi-purpose comms solution, boasting a HD ready 10.1" touch display, cordless or corded handset, built in camera, three loudspeakers, microphone and integrated Power over Ethernet.

Beatson says the Maxwell 10 represents the next chapter in business communications and also features integrated WiFi, Bluetooth and DECT capabilities, with the capacity for up to 12 SIP accounts.

"Everything a user needs is at their fingertips as part of an all-in-one desktop solution," said Beatson.

"We're delighted to recognise Nimans as an official distribution partner. These are exciting times for all of us."

 Pictured above (l-r) Jonathan Beatson and Andy Winfield

Daisy Connect, the O2 Centre of Excellence dealer and part of Daisy Group, is on the hunt for new customer bases.

Following a company restructuring, including last year's integration of the direct arm of MoCo Communications, the business is seeking additional growth through further acquisition and organic expansion, offering its comprehensive product range to new customers.

Under the guidance of Sales Director, Ian Robinson, formerly Managing Director at MoCo, Daisy Connect has successfully developed sustained growth and increased sales volumes.

This has enabled the company to increase its product portfolio as well as enhance existing customer relationships, allowing for more growth as it seeks to expand its operation further to cater for new businesses across a range of industries.

Robinson said: "It's great to see all the hard work we've all put in paying off. We've found a healthy balance between attracting new business and maintaining an exceptional account management that is really starting to pay dividends.

"The integration of the MoCo direct arm, aligned with organic expansion, has ensured we now have operational centres located across the country and we now want to build on that further.

"We possess a business model that is working extremely well, so now really is the right time to build upon our success.

"After a concentrated process, we now have the structure in place and the flexibility required to expand our base, so for us now it's just about identifying the right opportunities."