Comms Dealer

By Elvire Gosnold, Director, Blabbermouth Marketing: We are all busy advising end user businesses how they can change their communication habits for better efficiency both in terms of time and money, plus how they need to potentially learn a complete new way of collaboration with colleagues, suppliers and customers.

However, we all need to spend a bit more time looking more closely at how we should be changing our communication patterns in order to satisfy the requirements of our clients.

In the digital age where everyone wants unprecedented amounts of information immediately it can be hard to establish where your efforts should be focused in order to satisfy this demand for instant information. There are so many ways you can communicate your services - post, email, web the possibilities are endless but budgets unfortunately are not.

I am seeing more and more demand for the more traditional forms of client marketing support to have a face lift. As, while their content is undoubtedly useful, their delivery methods sometimes are not up to speed, hence the rise in popularity of video. Traditional case studies and training material can be brought to life in videos and your corporate message can be delivered in a far more varied fashion as you can use sound, personalities, colours and even humour on a far more creative level.

The beauty of video as an educational tool is that it supports all learning styles. Voice, visual, text all come together to serve the differences in individuals' ways of processing various types of information. YouTube, selfies, video phones etc have all helped us get used to presenting and watching others, plus the progress of software development makes corporate videos more accessible and acceptable as a valid mechanism to convey stories and instructions.

O2 Telefónica is launching a new global partner model that puts M2M revenues into the hands of all partners wanting a share of the booming connected devices market, explains Anton Le Saux, Head of Connectivity and Partner Sales at O2 Telefónica UK.

O2 Telefónica has been working in the M2M sector for more than 15 years, recognising how people were using its network for simple telemetry applications and how that use would evolve. Since then, the investment has grown and Telefónica Digital has been created with a core goal of putting Digital at the heart of our customer experiences, and M2M is one of the key markets within Digital. M2M and the Internet of Things (IoT) is at the top of our investment decisions and this is reflected in the leading solutions we have already launched, as well as those we are working on now.

This year we believe that the IoT will be realised, with a number of physical things becoming Internet enabled and creating networked services and solutions. As we see the M2M space change from a previously business and public organisations targeted approach to more consumer friendly, it means technology is becoming more affordable for everyone. From fitness and entertainment gadgets, to a fully smart home, people are quickly realising the benefits from integrated technologies which use M2M solutions. The world's largest M2M contract win to date consists of delivering smart metering communications to have over 53 million smart meters installed across the country by 2020. This opens up endless possibility for providing solutions and technology to a much wider market than was considered in the past.

At O2 Telefónica we have always believed that we can deliver the best value, with our service and reach to end customers, achieved through a strong partner model. We have had significant success with this in the UK, however we consider M2M to be a global solution and as such we need to have a global platform for our partners in order to take this to market. For some time now we have had a global sim product available to our partners that will allow customers to roam across all of the UK networks, and agreed pricing for roaming across 390 other networks in 173 countries. But the challenge has been taking this to market in a simple and transparent way.

The new Global Partner Programme has been developed with this in mind. There are three key principles we have used: transparency in the relationship model, simplicity in the way of working, and we offer a journey with different steps in the way we develop our relationship with the partners. We will give partners access to all of the tools that our own internal teams use, enabling them to self-serve and create the best deals for their customers. And they will have full access to our platforms for on-going management. The programme we launched in the UK is also launching in our other operating businesses, so whether our partners are targeting business in the UK, Spain, Germany or North America, they will get the same service and access to local products and local pricing.

With the explosive growth we are seeing in M2M, we also need to make sure everyone that is operating as a comms supplier has access to and the ability to sell M2M products and services via O2 Telefónica. Our current priority is to launch the Global Partner Programme in all of our operating businesses. A soft launch is taking place now and we will do a full launch at Mobile World Congress. Our plans are to create a platform that will allow everyone in the comms industry to be able to identify M2M opportunities in their base and facilitate their customer needs.

All registered partners will have access to our Partner Portal and a range of tools that will allow them to be self-sufficient and deliver the best deal for them and their customers. The portal will give access to our global price list so they will be able to tailor a deal specifically for their customer. There are a number of quotation tools in the portal that will enable partners to build the deal; there are worldwide RF coverage locators, deal management tools, service management tools, partner locators and much more. They will have access to everything they need to be able to create the right proposition for their customer at the best price and then make sure it is managed in life.

Our biggest challenge to date is getting businesses that operate in the telecoms industry to understand M2M and the value it will bring to their business. To address this we will be doing our best through 2014 to educate partners and help them to understand the benefits. In a few years, billions of devices will be connected to the Internet in order to be smarter and more efficient. The IoT and M2M technology are inevitable and the solutions provide us all with an opportunity to significantly improve the way we do things. Once you look at the whole solution it is easy to see where there is real value and how to generate revenue. And if you look at the average telecoms dealers base there are many customers of all sizes that could and at some point in the future benefit from a M2M solution so if the incumbent does not identify this, someone else will.

There are many analyst projections that M2M is growing at 25 per cent year-on-year. Our focus and objective is to make sure that O2 Telefónica and its partners are best placed to capture this growth, through delivering a fantastic customer experience and solutions that make a difference. Partnering is key. Partners can offer so much more value and service to an end-user than the network will ever be able to. As a network operator we have to do everything we can to make it as easy as possible for the partner to do business and make money from our services. We have done this in the past by having just a select number of partners in the channel that we can work with closely. With the explosion of M2M it is impossible to have the resource to manage all the new entrants in this way so we have to do this via other means.

As such, we have developed a Partner Portal that allows all partners to be completely self-sufficient while having access to a team of accounts managers and operations support where needed. Because the partner is getting access to our product and services via a portal whether they do business in the UK, Spain or both countries, they will have the same experience and the same opportunity to succeed. One global product, one global price list and one global relationship.

O2 Telefónica is part of the M2M World Alliance, which helps us promote the adoption of M2M worldwide by giving our customers the ability to operate connected devices globally at a reduced cost. We understand that customers are looking for a simple M2M solution, from a single trusted service provider. They want a business partner that speaks to them in a human way, taking away the jargon and tech speak to cut to the chase. They want help with making their businesses grow and work smarter, and with our full end-to-end solution and control centre we can help unlock new opportunities, reduce costs for customers and provide brilliant digital experiences.

2014 is set to be an exciting year full of surprises for M2M as we progressively see an effective transformation of value chains. As M2M technology continues to develop, we will be able to do things more efficiently and see our world in a different way. •

Just 17 per cent of UK business leaders see cyber security as a major priority, compared to 41 per cent in the US, research from BT has revealed.

The research, which assessed attitudes to cyber security and levels of preparedness among IT decision makers, highlights that UK businesses are lagging behind their US counterparts in crucial areas.

Just one in five (21 per cent) respondents in the UK are able to measure the return on investment (ROI) of their cyber security measures compared to nine in ten (90 per cent) US companies. Similarly, 86 per cent of US directors and senior decision makers are given IT security training, compared to just 37 per cent in the UK.

More than half (58 per cent) of IT decision-makers globally stated that their boards underestimate the importance of cyber security. This figure increases to 74 per cent in the US but drops to 55 per cent in the UK.

The difference in levels of preparedness correlates with attitudes to threats. Non-malicious insider threats (e.g. accidental loss of data) are currently the most commonly cited security concern globally, being reported as a serious threat by 65 per cent of IT decision makers. In the UK this falls to 60 per cent and is followed by malicious insider threats (51 per cent), hacktivism (37 per cent) organised crime (32 per cent), nation states (15 per cent) and terrorism (12 per cent).

In the US the proportion of IT decision makers who see non-malicious insider threats as a severe threat increases to 85 per cent and is followed by malicious insider threats (79 per cent), hacktivism (77 per cent), organised crime (75 per cent), terrorism (72 per cent) and nation states (70 per cent).

Looking ahead, more than half of global IT decision makers believe that hacktivism (54 per cent) and malicious insider threats (53 per cent) will pose a greater risk over the next 12 months. In the US this increases to 73 per cent and 74 per cent respectively.

This compares to 29 per cent and 23 per cent in the UK. Globally, terrorism is seen as the threat least likely to pose more risk over the next 12 months.

Mark Hughes, CEO of BT Security, said: "The research provides a fascinating insight into the changing threat landscape and the challenge this poses for organisations globally.

"The massive expansion of employee-owned devices, cloud computing and extranets, have multiplied the risk of abuse and attack, leaving organisations exposed to a myriad of internal and external threats - malicious and accidental.

"US businesses should be celebrated for putting cyber security on the front foot. The risks to business are moving too fast for a purely reactive security approach to be successful. Nor should cyber security be seen as an issue for the IT department alone."

In response to emerging threats, three quarters (75 per cent) of IT decision makers globally say they would like to overhaul their infrastructure and design them with security features from the ground up.

74 per cent would like to train all staff in cyber security best practice. Similarly, just over half (54 per cent) say they would like to engage an external vendor to monitor the system and prevent attacks.

Hughes added: "As the threat landscape continues to evolve, CEOs and board level executives need to invest in cyber security and educate their people in the IT department and beyond. The stakes are too high for cyber security to be pushed to the bottom of the pile."

The Federation of Communication Services (FCS) Billing Group has ironed out the wrinkles in its UK CDR Standard format, launched in January 2013, with the introduction of version 2.0.

Following a review of the original UK CDR Standard format the Billing Group identified a number of items that could be improved.

These include the adoption of the E.164 international standard for telephone numbers, multiple currency support and the inclusion of a header row which makes it easier for users to interpret data within the CDR.

Several of the definitions have also been revised to make information clearer and less open to ambiguity.

The FCS Billing Group's stakeholders include the UK's major billing vendors plus representatives from a number of large communication providers.

They approved the new standard, which comes into effect on the 1st April 2014 at a meeting in late January. Standard 2.0 will coexist with its predecessor for six months when version 1.5 will be withdrawn.

Tony Cook, Chairman of the FCS Billing Group, said: "Although we've had modest adoption of the Standard format to date we believe that version 2.0 addresses the primary concerns people have had for not adopting it so far.

"We strongly encourage all service providers and producers of wholesale CDRs to embrace the UK CDR Standard which is available for download on the FCS's website."

Daisy Group has been chosen as one of the providers on the framework agreement for IP telephony systems and as the sole provider for the procurement of Mitel and Avaya handsets to Scottish universities and colleges.

The framework agreement presents members of the APUC framework (Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges) with the opportunity to benefit from IP telephony solutions. 

Andrew Fryatt, Daisy Group Retail Director, said: "The APUC framework win is fantastic news for Daisy as it provides us with greater opportunities to supply services to publicly funded organisations.

"The services we provide for Scottish educational institutions will keep them in line with the market's latest communications solutions and ensure they can work more efficiently and productively."

Claranet has expanded its European footprint with the acquisition of Portuguese managed hosting and applications provider Echiron, the latest in a string of acquisitions.

The Claranet Group now boasts annual revenues in excess of €155m, around 750 employees, over 4,500 customers and operations in six European countries (France, UK, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain and Portugal).

Echiron has annual revenues of around €5m a year and builds Claranet's position in Portugal, making it one of the main providers of managed hosting and applications services in the region. 

António Miguel Ferreira, MD at Claranet Portugal, said: "The acquisition is part of Claranet's overall growth strategy and allows us to expand our teams and our service offerings. It confirms our ambition to become the leading independent provider of managed services in Europe."

Avnet Technology Solutions has launched the Altitude programme in the UK aimed at promoting EMC storage and back-up devices for SMBs.

Avnet Technology Solutions' partners now have access to EMC's range of VNXe storage solutions and Data Domain back-up products following a new supplier agreement.

To speed time to market the distributor has launched a new programme, called Altitude, which consists of an online configuration tool that business partners can use to calculate pricing for EMC products without the need to contact either Avnet or EMC.

Lee Bushnell, EMC business manager, Avnet Technology Solutions, UK, said: "We believe the next 12 months will see a high level of growth in terms of companies leveraging existing network technology and adding storage functionality to their data centre environments. The new Altitude portal will give Avnet business partners an advantage in terms of speed of response to such opportunities."

Terry Beale, channel director at EMC, added: "Offering storage and back-up devices for SMBs with minimum delay makes sound business sense. Avnet has already demonstrated its ability to act quickly and efficiently by setting up this programme, and we look forward to working together to maximise this market opportunity."

Exponential-e has lifted the lid on CloudNet, a business-class fibre connection that comes bundled with Internet and direct private access to multiple cloud services with a single end-to-end SLA.

Exponential-e has integrated its cloud infrastructure with its own UK network to offer free-to-connect private connections from company offices or data centres direct into a range of pay-as-you-go cloud services. The Cloud connections bypass the Internet thereby negating serious business concerns regarding data security and Internet performance issues, said the firm.

CloudNet offers multiple private connections to various cloud services over a single 100 or 1000Mbps fibre connection, the same fibre connection it delivers business Internet services on.

Exponential-e has recognised that standard Internet connections are no longer enough for businesses, as witnessed in the consumer market with triple-play entertainment packages.

Lee Wade, Exponential-e CEO said: "This cloud-network innovation resolves the data security and privacy concerns many companies have regarding the adoption of cloud services."

Dave Joplin, Exponential-e's Head of Channel, added: "CloudNet delivers the agility and flexibility the cloud promises, without any of the previous concerns end-users had about Cloud technology - namely, security and privacy of their data.

"Companies today require cloud with a dynamic agility to react to the changing needs of business, providing connectivity, compute, storage and voice - a cloud and network connection where both are elastic and can scale up or down on demand as well as being cost effective, which is what CloudNet delivers."

BT has entered the audio conferencing market with its first professional grade device as part of an exclusive supply partnership with Nimans.

The X500 boasts four wireless microphones for meetings of up to 16 people - in addition to a large base speaker for high quality audio performance. Dynamic noise reduction and echo cancellation are combined with full duplex functionality, a 6m connection cable and 50 name and number directory.

Ian Brindle, Nimans' Head of Conferencing Sales, said: "This is a cost effective out-of-the-box complete conferencing solution. The wireless microphones add a dynamic dimension to any conference call ensuring all parties can easily be heard. They sit neatly within the unit when not in use as part of a compact, user friendly and easy to use overall design."

BT Account Director, Phil Jones, added: "Over the last 12 months BT has diversified into other complementary product sectors such as broadband extender plugs and headsets. Audio conferencing was the next logical step and we are delighted by the exceptional value and high performance of this device."

Avnet Technology Solutions has named Marc van Ierland as country manager for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (Benelux), effective immediately.

With more than 20 years experience in distribution, Marc joined Avnet in November 2007 as part of the ACAL acquisition. In his time at Avnet he has held several management roles covering multiple business units. Most recently Marc was sales director, Avnet Technology Solutions, for the IBM, Oracle, networking, security and document management business units in the Benelux. 

Andrew Binding, vice president, Avnet Technology Solutions EMEA, South Region commented, "Marc is a well-known and respected leader and has a proven track record in developing and managing highly motivated teams. I am confident that Marc will lead our Benelux operations to even greater success in the future."