Comms Dealer

Huawei has named a UK-based technology consultancy Aegis IT as its European Excellence Partner of the Year, 2013.

Aegis IT, which assists customers across all sectors with procurement, provision and support of business IT requirements, has beaten off competition from Huawei distributors across Europe, it says.

"This award acknowledges the hard work by our entire team to build an outstanding relationship, and is a great achievement for our business. The number of joint projects we have handled with Huawei has increased significantly over the last 12 months, and this is a sign of the strengthening relationship," commented Aegis IT Managing Director, David McPherson.

The electronic funds transfer-point of sale (EFT-POS) terminals market is expected to grow rapidly as vendors capitalize on opportunities in emerging markets, says reaearch. The emergence of mobile POS (mPOS) payment-based solutions has provided added opportunities for vendors.

These developments will spur market revenue growth from $2.53 billion in 2012 to $3.51 billion in 2017 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6 percent, according to the recent EFT-POS Terminals-Implications for Digital Identification Payment Providers analysis from Frost & Sullivan.

"mPOS payment-based solutions have become a viable option for small enterprises and direct sellers owing to its cost-efficiency, security and easy-to-use features," says Frost & Sullivan Global Program Director, ICT in Financial Services, Jean-Noel Georges. "This niche market is also the perfect entry point for new challengers to deploy their innovative payment systems based on a cost-effective business model."

Market entrants will still face significant barriers especially in Western Europe and the United States, where the market is saturated. Moreover, challenging economic conditions have led to prolonged recession in some of the major markets for the POS industry - the United States, the Eurozone, and parts of Asia and Latin America, reducing the addressable market base for terminal vendors as even existing customers are wary of capital expenditure.

Another factor holding back robust growth is the lack of industry-wide security and payment processing standards. Despite the existence of the Europay, MasterCard and Visa as well as Payment Card Industry standards, several countries in Europe and Asia have set their own policies. While these new security requirements play a key role in combating fraud, they have an adverse impact on a vendor's time to market.

Nevertheless, these national level mandates issued by governments to aggressively pursue the upgrade of payment infrastructure have also widened the prospects for terminal manufacturers.

"To capitalize on this potential, global EFT-POS providers must enhance and personalize customer experience," noted Georges. "Apart from extending services such as money transfer, bill payment, age verification, mobile top-up and couponing, offering loyalty programs and gift card applications will open up additional avenues for revenue generation."

An East Lancashire telecoms company has joined forces with a local radio station to help give some deserving youngsters the chance to produce their own radio show.

Six young adults from Derian House Children's Hospice are recording and editing their own show for an online broadcast, thanks to a collaboration between the charity, Abbey Telecom and Rock FM's Rock Academy.

The budding DJs and studio producers include Tyla, Leah, Bradley, Will, Adam and Alix, all aged between 17-23 years. They have set up a small studio at the hospice in Chorley from which to record the one hour pre-recorded show which is scheduled to go out across the airwaves later this month.

Will and Bradley were keen to explain their involvement: "We both really enjoyed this session - it was good to do something different that we had not done before," said Will. "I chose to pick a playlist of my top 10 rock songs as this is something I am interested in."

Bradley added: "I chose to talk about my time at Derian and what it means to me. This was an ideal opportunity to tell people about Derian House and what it does."

Abbey Telecom is involved in helping the children produce a 30 second example commercial for broadcast. Managing director Tony Raynor also agreed to take part in a chat show type studio interview organised by the children. Rock FM has provided resources and equipment to assist with the recording, editing and production of the show.

Rock Academy Manager Caroline Emmerton said: "We've shown the young people how to produce radio shows and have set them a challenge to come up with a one hour programme which will include discussions, in depth interviews and adverts.

"They get to use a range of high tech recording equipment and devise and edit the content of the show. We are also helping them to shape the format and script the show themselves."

Helen Pearcy, Deputy Head of Care at Derian House Children's Hospice explained: "This is both an educational experience and a fantastic opportunity for the young people to create their own show, giving them a platform to talk about their passions, interests and hobbies. It's allowing them to experience something completely new, supported by radio professionals and with the results of their work broadcast online."

AURELIUS-owned Getronics is partnering with NEC and buying NEC Enterprise Solutions' direct sales and service activities in the UK, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.

NEC Europe has announced a long-term strategic partnership in Enterprise Communications in Europe and the transfer of NEC Enterprise Solutions' direct sales and service businesses in four European countries to the Getronics family.

This includes the transfer of NEC Enterprise Solutions' business in the UK to Getronics and in Spain, Portugal and Switzerland to Connectis, a member of the Getronics family. The transfer of the businesses has been completed and both parties agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction.

NEC and Getronics/Connectis have signed a long-term business partnership agreement for the distribution and supply of NEC's portfolio of Enterprise Communications products and solutions in the four countries.

This offers a pan-EMEA system integration channel to NEC Enterprise Solutions in Unified Communications & Collaboration and Mobility. At the same time, NEC Enterprise Solutions' expertise and customer base in the four countries allows Getronics and Connectis to have broader market opportunities with enhanced portfolio of Enterprise Communications solutions and service.

The reshaping of activities in the four countries is in line with NEC Enterprise Solutions' strategy towards growth by taking advantage of indirect distribution to address the opportunities offered in the market for IT & Communications products and services. Enhancing and strengthening its indirect distribution model enables NEC to address a larger number of customers with its expanding portfolio of systems and applications.

"The interest in and commitment to our portfolio of products and solutions from such a leading solution provider is a clear recognition of our leadership in enterprise networking solutions for the converged world", said Paul Kievit, Vice President, Enterprise Vertical, NEC Europe. "We will continue to develop and deliver new systems and applications to fully conform to market developments and customers' requirements, in support of further growth of our business in this region. Our channel-centric approach allows us to focus on the development of new systems and applications, enabling us to offer a wide range of cutting-edge solutions."

Nimans' PR whiz Chris Widocks has scooped a Business Excellence award in recognition of his work with the media.

Awards event organiser Charlotte Abbott from Acquisitions International magazine stated: "Awards are earned solely on merit and recognise leaders in their respective fields. Winners truly demonstrate sheer determination and hard work.

"The award is a key milestone in Chris' career and a reinforcement of his consistent ability to outperform his peers."

Widocks has worked in the media for over 25 years and joined Nimans in 2006.

Clutching his UK PR Manager of the Year award, Widocks said: "I thoroughly enjoy working here and I'm very honoured to win this award as it reflects the high standards of excellence running throughout the business.

"It's great to be part of a high profile and growing company and I'm particularly grateful for the support and co-operation of all my work colleagues in helping achieve this success, as well as the many media contacts I work with on a regular basis."

Ten Entanet staff have walked barefoot across red hot burning coals and broken glass risking cuts and burns to raise money for charity.

The event, which took place at Albrighton Hall Hotel near Shrewsbury, raised over £750 for Severn Hospice, which provides palliative care for sufferers of long-term and terminal illnesses and relies heavily on public fundraising.

Entanet's Head of Marketing Darren Farnden said: "Entanet has raised money on behalf of Severn Hospice for the past few years and recently raised over £1,000 by participating in the annual Dragon Boat Race during June.

"Our volunteers decided the Fire and Glass Walk was an excellent way to push boundaries and continue to raise more money."

Team member Steven Wood from Entanet's sales team said: "The great thing about Severn Hospice is how it always comes up with fun and exciting opportunities to raise money and walking over hot coals and broken glass was an opportunity I could not pass up.

"I was a bit nervous leading up to the walk but the nerves were quickly displaced with adrenaline and in a flash I was on the other side with 'hot potato' feet and a proud, jubilant face."

Daniella Stewart from customer services added: "I was excited at the opportunity to take part in the Fire and Glass Walk. Admittedly, it's not the most conventional way of raising money for charity. I think this is why it appealed to me, despite dreaming about falling face first onto the hot coals."

Delivering a poor customer experience can have a significant impact on a brand or organisation, according to new research from Mitel which reveals the important role of contact centres in driving customer loyalty and retention.

Almost three quarters (74%) of UK adults would change supplier based on a poor experience with the contact centre, with 46% of these consumers confirming they have already switched for this reason.

The survey of 2,000 UK adults, carried out in September 2013, reveals that personal touch is critical to delivering a positive experience, followed by fast and effective service. The most important factor for consumers when contacting a brand or company is being able to interact with a real person, not an automated service (54%), followed by getting a quick response (49%) and having a query resolved immediately (44%).

Email is by far the most popular channel at this time, used by 72%. Less established communication methods like live chat and social media are currently used by 10% of UK adults, although the signs are that these internet-based channels will grow in importance, with one in five adults under 35 already using Facebook or Twitter to contact brands.

The research also revealed the critical role of the telephone in the customer service communications mix and in driving customer satisfaction. It is currently used by 49% of consumers when they contact companies, but is the number one channel of choice for voicing frustration.

Premium rate numbers, getting cut off mid-call, being left on hold and automated telephone services all rank in the top five frustrations of UK consumers when contacting a brand or service, via any channel. In contrast, only 13% of survey respondents ranked not receiving a response to an email in their top five pet hates.

Todd Simons, Director Solutions Marketing, Mitel said: "The channel is the first point of call for many companies looking to change their communication solution.

"Revenue generating and customer facing applications are rising to the top of priority list, with contact centre capabilities becoming more important to the overall buying decision.

"The channel is in a unique position to be able to educate its customers about the importance of the contact centre in customer growth and retention."

Channel Telecom has embarked on a staff recruitment campaign and aims to take on six additional staff to fill new positions in account management, support, sales support and a billing manager.

The company recently expanded its office space and has more than doubled turnover every year since establishment in 2008. This year revenues are predicted to exceed £6 million.

Clifford Norton, Managing Director commented: "Our continuing success and expansion means that we have a number job opportunities now opening up.

"We are offering a great working environment and remuneration that exceeds industry levels because we want to find people with the right skills and attitude.

"For some posts we are willing to train from scratch, if we get the right candidates. The company is now ramping up and we need the best people to take it to the next level."

The official launch of GCI Channel Solutions, the new indirect business of GCI, was dominated by news of a 30 SIP trunk giveaway on Ethernet orders and a proposition that includes an aggressive pricing structure and reseller-friendly portal that offers easy access to cloud business and higher ARPU opportunities.

Incremental upgrades qualify for 10 extra free SIP trunks per additional 10MB, and two entry level cloud services align neatly with the current requirements of a mobile workforce and the back-up needs of businesses.

According to CEO Wayne Martin, GCI Channel Solutions (officially launched at Mercedes-Benz World in Surrey on October 1st) will become a key plank in his ambition to grow the company into a £100 million business from its current £54 million turnover.

"The race is on to capture the Ethernet pipe and drive value by up-selling cloud services," said Martin. "Our commercial proposition is dramatic and enables partners to secure the connectivity piece with low cost Ethernet and 30 free SIP trunks."

The two entry level cloud services, ShareFile (which automatically backs-up data on a mobile users' laptop into the cloud), and GCI Back-Up (a storage solution that enables users to pay only for the data they use in a calendar month), are positioned as a springboard for resellers who want to realise analyst predictions that 75 per cent of businesses will adopt some flavour of cloud services this year.

Mark Whitehead, Head of Channel Solutions, said: "During the last 12 months we have created a full portfolio of cloud solutions, built new Ethernet pricing tools that can generate multiple quotes in minutes, cloud services tools, on-boarded key channel managers and positioned GCI to offer partners an end-to-end experience underpinned by our nationwide infrastructure."

Full story in the November issue of Comms Dealer

Network Rail is to invest £1.9bn to upgrade its telecoms infrastructure and roll out high-speed mobile broadband across the busiest parts of Britain's rail network.

By 2019, 70% of train passengers should have access to the faster technology, leaving rail users and business travellers who rely on the backbone of Britain's transport network to struggle with inadequate mobile broadband for the next six years.

Mobile Data and broadband expert Nigel Bramwell, CEO of Voiamo, the company behind MobiData, can explain how rail travellers will need a practical solution to this broadband issue and can show how passengers can stay fully connected to their smartphone, laptop or tablet and beat the broadband block when on the train.

Nigel Bramwell, CEO of MobiData, said: "For anyone who wants to get their gigabytes on the go and stay connected to their digital life while using the rail network it can be frustrating when you're sharing a dial-up connection with 100 people.

"Rail use in the UK has doubled in the last decade and while we wait for this much needed upgrade, passengers demanding mobile broadband services need a new way of bridging their personal data gap on the railways."