Comms Dealer

Distributor Tech Data, which bought rival SDG last year, is on target to generate 60% of its revenue from Europe.

CEO Bob Dutkowsky said: "Although we have seen some stabilisation in Q4, the weakness through the first nine months in certain countries did not always match up with our forecast.

"As a result of all of this, through Q3 our company did not execute at the levels of efficiency I would have expected. These are not excuses for our performance, but explain the reality of what the organisation faced during the year.

"However, Q3 and yet to be finalised Q4 results indicate the more current trajectory of our business, with sequential improvement in operating margins and mid-single digit year-over-year sales growth in both regions in local currency in Q4."

Interconnection and data centre company Equinix is to expand its ecosystem across Europe with an addition of cloud service providers.

This means that the European customers will be offered a wider range of cloud services colocated in Equinix international business exchange (IBX) data centres in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Zurich and Dubai.

Equinix currently hosts over 1,200 cloud and IT services companies globally, with 450 of them residing in IBX in Europe. Its cloud ecosystem gives CSPs access to 4,500 potential customers across Platform Equinix, the company says.

"Equinix's cloud ecosystem in Europe gives businesses the ability to choose a combination of cloud infrastructure, platform and software service providers to ensure they have a hybrid cloud solution to meet their individual business needs.

"Customers also have a choice of cost-effective connectivity options," said Sam Johnston, Director, Cloud & IT Services, Equinix Europe.

Veeam has announced a new set of enhancements to its EMEA ProPartner scheme to accelerate its presence in all market segments - SMBs, midmarket and enterprises, it says.

Under the new arrangement, silver, gold and platinum partners will gain more benefits when selling to a new customer of Veeam or Veeam backup and replication enterprise plus edition.

The new Veeam Certified Engineer (VMCE) Programme is now available to end-users and partners. This includes classroom training sessions provided by Veeam Authorised Education Centres (VMAECs) across the EMEA region as well as certification and education opportunities for engineers from both end-users and partners. Also, VMCE certifications are now required for gold and platinum ProPartners and recommended for Silver ProPartners.

According to Veeam, the enhanced programme will also help resellers achieve higher ROI from their investments in Veeam products and improve SLAs.

As far as the alliances programme is concerned, the benefits include a new partner Cisco to join existing alliances with VMware, Microsoft and HP and more global alliances announcements to come in 2014.

"Veeam has a channel-based business model and we recognise that the success of our ProPartners has a direct impact on our overall success. The new enhancements and updates to our ProPartner Program in EMEA will create a more empowered and enabled channel community.

"While we continue to deliver the best Protection for the Modern Data Centre, we also strive to improve and strengthen our partner training, value-add and profitability as well as integrated marketing support so that our partners maintain their reputation as a trusted advisor to Veeam customers," says Gilles Pommier, Vice President of EMEA Channel at Veeam Software.

ICUK's growth rate accelerated to 30% in its last financial year driven in particular by a significant increase in demand for its Ethernet services.

Director Leslie Costar noted that the firm's development tools and control panel are proving popular among resellers.

"Our investment in the development team and our infrastructure ensures our resellers are able to work with the platform and use it to help their own customers running their own business without interference from us."

Hosted UC specialist thevoicefactory has stepped up its reseller recruitment campaign following the launch of new applications that bring additional productivity benefits to a growing body of users migrating to hosted telephony.

Paul Harrison, Director, commented: "We are seeing growth in businesses moving to hosted, but simply swapping a PBX phone for a hosted IP one does not meet customers' expectations for the new technology to bring productivity improvements."

The BroadSoft-based service provider has unveiled a new Click 2 Call innovation that works from the desktop, websites, CRM applications, Outlook and Google etc.

"This brings SaaS to hosted IP telephony," said Harrison. "Our innovation moves the telephone to the application and also the application to the phone."

He also noted that full real-time reporting with live wallboards runs on smartphones, tablets, PCs and monitors. "Users can now see every detail on every call inbound or outbound," added Harrison.
 

A five-year agreement between BT Wholesale and BroadSoft sees the telco giant adopt the BroadCloud platform as the foundation of its Hosted Communications Services (HCS) portfolio. The move enables BT Wholesale to offer comms providers a complete white label hosted IP Centrex service, underpinned by UC applications and PBX features.

"Hosted Communications Services is a key pillar in BT Wholesale's strategy and is at the heart of our plans to rapidly expand our indirect channel business," said Marc Timmermans, Director Portfolio Development, BT Wholesale.

"We see significant opportunities for growth in this market. CPs can offer their customers a complete communications service, whether it be hosted IP Centrex, SIP trunking, contact centres or inbound services, all run, managed and owned by BT."

BT Wholesale will become a preferred BroadSoft distributor to UK comms providers who can now extend their customers' core telephony services to include applications and features such as high-definition voice, conferencing, smart call handling, instant messaging, presence, cloud call recording, CRM integration and web collaboration tools such as white board sharing.

"Communications providers can offer their business customers a hosted IP Centrex solution which comes complete with telephone numbers, configured IP Phones, headsets, broadband, Internet access and Ethernet connectivity," added Timmermans.

BT Wholesale and BroadSoft will now jointly market and sell the Hosted IP Centrex service, with BroadSoft supporting a number of UK roadshows and events hosted by BT Wholesale throughout 2014.

BroadSoft CEO Michael Tessler added: "Enterprises throughout the UK are seeking these new communications services to enhance their employee productivity."

Timmermans also noted that BT Wholesale has begun enhancing its existing hosted IP Centrex service, which includes a significant investment in a seamlessly integrated ordering and administration portal which will be available later this year.

This will sit alongside its new Business Portal which will have a new look and feel.

"This portal will be fully branded with the communications provider's identity and will allow their business customers to manage and configure their own service online, in real-time," added Timmermans.

Virtual1 is bringing high-speed Internet access within the reach of cash strapped 'ordinary businesses' looking to upgrade.

The network operator has slashed its standard London prices by over 30% and is offering 1GB of Internet for the same cost as 100MBS just a few years ago.

"With much debate about Internet pricing from Government and providers, we felt it was time we offered high-speed access at an affordable price," said Managing Director Tom O'Hagan.

"Upgrading to the latest networking technology is essential for a faster Internet in the long run, but while the average speed is important in a company's buying decision, it is also influenced by affordability."

Virtual1 owns and operates one of the largest and newest fibre networks in London, offering 50,000 on-net postcodes from multiple on-net Points of Presence.

"It is important to provide entrepreneurial and fast-paced businesses that are ready to take advantage of the economic recovery with the right platform to do so," added O'Hagan.

"Not only are we offering greater bandwidth, with broader coverage and faster speeds, we are doing this at a price that is cost-effective so that many more companies can take advantage.

"Businesses are looking ahead and Virtual1 wants to help the positive signs of recovery gain more momentum."

Wholesale comms provider Entanet has received an initial investment boost to the tune of £6m from mid-market equity investor Mobeus Equity Partners to support the £14m management buyout. Entanet's founder Jason Tsai remains a significant shareholder. The investment will support Entanet's growth plans, according to Managing Director Elsa Chen.

"Mobeus is a highly respected mid-market equity investor and we see this investment as a major vote of confidence in the long-term prospects for Entanet's business," she said.

"It will strengthen our strategy of building a solid loyal partner channel that is capable of driving steady, stable and sustainable growth over the long-term.

"The investment will also support the continuing investment we are making in our network and in developing and delivering new services that enable our partners to offer more choice and value to the widest range of customers."

Ashley Broomberg, Partner at Mobeus, added: "Entanet has a great reputation and a sound and proven business model. We are delighted to provide our support for the company's growth plans and look forward to working with the management team to build on its firm foundations in the growing connectivity services sector."

As part of the transaction, Mobeus has introduced non-executive director Richard Atkins as investing Chairman to advise Entanet at a strategic level.

Atkins has significant telecoms experience and a strong track record in delivering growth in private equity backed businesses. Atkins was previously Non-Executive Director of Global Crossing UK, Morse and MessageLabs Group.

Entanet is an established provider of wholesale communications services in the UK, enabling more than 2,000 partners to offer a range of connectivity options to predominantly business customers, from copper and fibre broadband services to tailored IP Virtual Private Networks (IP VPNs) and standalone Ethernet circuit solutions. 

Gamma is preparing to welcome a fresh intake of comms graduates during its 2014 university themed roadshow. The company aims to create a record number of comms dons by delivering a first class lesson on the state of its product development and channel strategy.

The Universities UK tour kicks off in April with stop-offs at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, The University of Manchester, Keele University and Imperial College London.

Gamma's senior team including CEO Bob Falconer will be on hand to meet and greet delegates both before and after the morning seminars, which will update delegates on how channel partners are deploying Gamma's range of voice, mobile and data services. Richard Bligh, Marketing Director, commented: "Central to this year's presentations will be a focus on why now is the right time to move into IP services, especially now the cost of traditional CPS calls has significantly increased across the industry.

"We will also demonstrate how we are helping our channel partners maintain a competitive edge in the market and hold sessions on best business practices with independent speakers. Going out to see our partners is important to us. The questions are great and the feedback invaluable in helping shape the right products for our partners to take to market."

An enthusiastic proponent of Gamma's fresh approach to educating partners is Neil Rampe, Group Commercial and Marketing Director at Alternative Networks, who is anticipating a valuable outcome from the events. He commented: "Gamma has a fresh perspective on the market and current opportunities. It's useful to catch up on its latest product developments and enhancements. And crucially I get to meet a number of key contacts from all sides of the business including senior members, right up to Bob the CEO."•

The events are open to existing and prospective partners.
To find out more visit www.gamma.co.uk/uniroadshow

Red Box Recorders has unveiled its new corporate positioning and logo, which have been designed to better represent the company as it continues to significantly expand its global presence. The company strapline has evolved from 'simpler smarter voice' to 'The smart choice'.

It is the latest in a long line of developments for Red Box following the management buyout a year ago which include a head office relocation; the launch of its own hosted product; and a re-structure of its senior management. During this time of change the team increased turnover by 20%, was recognised as being one of the top three recording vendors by independent consultancy company CIL, continued to extend its strategic partnerships and won a number of high profile global contracts.

Karen Lillywhite, Head of Global Marketing at Red Box Recorders, said: "Our business has changed considerably in the past few years and we wanted an image and positioning which still made us stand out from the crowd and was relevant to an international market.

"We also wanted to reinforce our commitment to retaining our core values and being committed to a solution that is perfect for the both the reseller market and that is truly customer centric.

"This way it could support our growth and set a foundation for increased marketing and business development moving forward. We decided to build on our 'smart' positioning because we believe that it sums up our compliance focused solutions which are proven to be flexible, dependable and advanced."