Comms Dealer

A north west telecoms chief has headed a delegation of small business leaders on a visit to the European Parliament in Brussels.

At the invitation of North West MEP Sajjad Karim, Abbey Telecom's Tony Raynor led 26 members from the Lancashire and Cumbria Federation of Small Businesses and Lancashire Chambers of Commerce to the heart of the EU.

The group was given the opportunity to find out more about the EU's parliamentary process, its working practices and the work of MEPs.

As part of the visit, they spent a day in the European Parliament and were able to discuss with Sajjad some of the issues faced by the business community and the amount of red tape which they say often hinders the ability of small business.

"This was a hugely beneficial and enlightening delegation and we're really grateful to Sajjad for setting it up," said the Abbey Telecom managing director.  "It gave the group a much stronger idea of the benefits of EU membership in relation to UK trade and industry and as a platform from which to compete in international markets.

"It also gave us the chance to speak to policy makers about improving the law-making process across the EU and reducing red tape and legislative barriers which affect SMEs here. The UK can influence change best if we are cohesive in our dealings with fellow European members."

Sajjad Karim MEP added: "Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and are the agents for economic growth. Collectively they are major employers who are affected on a day to day basis by EU legislation.

"My work as Legal Affairs spokesperson is centred on cutting red tape to reduce the legislative burden for SMEs.  I wanted to foster a better understanding of our relationship with Europe and for people to experience first-hand some of the mechanics of the EU and see for themselves the work I undertake representing the North West in the European Parliament.

"A key example is that the Smart Regs I authored and that were passed by the Parliament last September mean that now all micro enterprises are excluded from future EU legislation unless it can be proven there is a definitive benefit."

The group also had briefings from the FSB's Policy Advisor on EU and International Affairs, a representative from the Belgian Embassy and UKDTI, arranged by the North and West Lancashire Chamber.

It is currently time consuming for smaller businesses to ensure they meet the requirements of all of the legislation coming out of Brussels affecting health and safety, employment or operational issues.

Sajjad Karim continues to spend a considerable amount of his time working towards a reduction in EU regulations and red tape on businesses, particularly SMEs. His report on Better Legislation and Smart Regulation received wide acclaim for reducing unnecessary and unwieldy EU regulation for UK businesses.

Sajjad is now going one step further with his appointment as rapporteur in the Legal Affairs committee for a new dossier which demands to keep EU regulation competitive and flexible.

Node4 has boosted its cloud service infrastructure by rolling out EMC Corporation's Atmos cloud storage platform.

The roll out represents an important strategic investment, significantly expanding Node4's n4Cloud platform and enabling it to enhance its service offering to support growing customer demand for customised cloud services.

Having integrated the new Atmos infrastructure at its Northampton and Wakefield Data Centres, Node4 will be launching a package of new cloud services over the next 12 months.

The new services based on the Node4 Cloud powered by the Atmos platform will include new back up, sharing, collaboration and archiving tools. The new services will be designed to help relieve the IT burden faced by businesses up and down the country, freeing them to invest more time and energy into the development of their core business. The first of these new services will be launched in October 2013.

Node4 will make all of these services available on a simple pay as you go, per gigabyte, per month basis.

Natalie Stewart, Product Manager, Node4 said: "The roll out of EMC's Atmos platform demonstrates our continuing commitment to investing in our own infrastructure and forms a key part of Node4's ambitious growth plans.

"Our long-standing policy to build and own our infrastructure means we maintain complete control over our solutions. Coupled with our highly skilled technical specialists, this control gives us the ultimate flexibility so that we are able to give our customers what they need."

TalkTalk Business has implemented The Kenton Group's next generation fulfilment service to automate SBC delivery, underpinned by ITIL-based configuration management.

TalkTalk Business is using Kenton's Provisioning Portal to deliver pre-configured SBCs for its new IP-ISDN30 service.

"Making SIP delivery simple is a USP for IP-ISDN30," said Jon Nowell, Head of Communications Services at TalkTalk Business. "The Kenton Provisioning Portal provides a seamless interface between TTB and Kenton's systems. The customer benefit is that SBC installation is fast, efficient and works first time."

Kenton's Provisioning Portal simplifies product configuration and delivery management for CPE on behalf of operators and ISPs across the UK and Europe. The portal streamlines the supply chain to the customer, is cost-effective for configuring routers and layer 2 CPE, simplifies and centralises the order processes and offers effective inventory management.

John Larkin, Managing Director of The Kenton Group, added: "Providing a bespoke service for our customers is key in order to deliver against their exacting requirements. Kenton's fulfilment service allows us to add value to our service offerings. Today's challenges have allowed Kenton to continually develop the service range offered to our customer base."

Outsourcery is taking part in Microsoft's initiative to accelerate the offering of IL3 compliant cloud services through its cloud operating systems network.

Outsourcery will deploy and manage a new platform to provide secure cloud-based services to UK government and commercial sector organisations with similar security requirements.

Microsoft will offer direct technology design and implementation support to this new state of the art platform. This is the first initiative of its kind in the UK market.

The public sector opportunity for Cloud Service Providers (CSPs), such as Outsourcery, is significant as the government transitions to cloud-based services.

Outsourcery is already a recognised supplier to the Government Procurement Service, an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, through the G-Cloud Framework, alongside a number of its reseller partners, which provides access to 30,000 public sector organisations.

Outsourcery is already ISO 27001 (Information Security) accredited and is capable of deploying 'IL2' accredited solutions, which are typically suitable for local government.

However, UK central government departments can require solutions that are accredited to the more stringent IL3 security level, which requires additional security and it to be hosted within UK borders. \

The UK government has introduced a Public Cloud First Policy mandate, which means that departments are now mandated to consider public cloud first in any IT procurement. It also wishes to see more flexible contracts and the involvement of UK SMEs in the delivery of services.

The government's annual hosting cost is estimated to be worth £2bn and the opportunity for new IL3 based services to address that market and deliver savings is substantial. In order to complement its Public Cloud services Microsoft is working with Outsourcery to support the introduction of an IL3 accredited platform based on next generation technology and hosted in the UK. This will be wholly-owned and managed by Outsourcery.

The platform is due to be launched in 2014 and Outsourcery will be working closely with its existing and new reseller partners, many of which are well-established suppliers to the UK government, on its go to market strategy. Outsourcery is already working on responses to central government tenders with its larger partners that will require IL3 compliance.

Piers Linney, Outsourcery's Co-CEO, said: "The deployment of an IL3 compliant version of our O-Cloud platform, powered by Microsoft, is a significant development for Outsourcery and we expect it to represent a material revenue stream by the end of 2015, in addition to our existing commercial sector business.

"We will provide the UK government (as well as security sensitive commercial sector organisations) the broadest offering of IL3 compliant and fully integrated cloud-based services available in the UK that will span platform, applications, unified communications and Big Data storage and analytics. "

"As well as the involvement of Microsoft, our large partners have been asking for such a capability as the government increasingly embraces cloud-based solutions for its ICT requirements."

Sennheiser's recently launched Century headset scooped a Red Dot design award having impressed the jury of experts with its attractive, comfortable design and productivity enhancing features, said the firm.

The jury commented, 'The simple and elegant design of this headset is well-conceived and from every viewpoint is oriented towards comfortable, professional applications'.

Jane Craven, Director of Sales for Sennheiser UK Telecoms, stated: "The Century series combines sound quality, wearing comfort and durability in a sleek and iconic design."

Manchester-based hosting and colocation firm UKFast has become an approved NICEIC electrical contractor.

Employing fully qualified, in-house design and engineering staff, the accreditation enables the cloud and colocation firm to undertake electrical installation and maintenance within its data centres and property portfolio, delivering critical services to thousands of servers without the need for third party contractors.

UKFast CEO Lawrence Jones said: "This is another step toward our goal of owning every aspect of our supply chain ensuring that we are in total control of the service we offer our clients. Having this accreditation further cements our commitment to quality and speed as now we can be certain of the response times and quality of the work our electricians carry out."

The hosting and colocation firm recently made its first acquisition, completing a deal for UK arm of American firm BurstNet, adding 25% to its client base and continuing the firm's growth in new areas.

Exeter-based Eclipse Internet has announced plans to double the size of its communications business following a multi-million pound investment that will see the firm, which is part of the FTSE 250 KCOM Group, focus on further developing its existing connectivity, communications and cloud services portfolios used by over 20,000 businesses nationally.

The investment will also create dozens of skilled jobs in Exeter over the next 12 months.

Clodagh Murphy, Managing Director at Eclipse, said: "It's an exciting time at Eclipse and with our ambitions for growth this investment really demonstrates the confidence and focus of the Eclipse team.

"Our business customers are more reliant than ever on high quality communications and the new breed of cloud based IT solutions we're launching will make it possible for us to help them grow in so many different ways."

Spectra Logic has released details of a survey by Vanson Bourne revealing that the majority of IT decision makers at large organisations use manual processes to analyse and migrate stored data, rarely delete data, and add more storage when necessary.

Organisations across a number of sectors including media and entertainment, life sciences, medical imaging, oil and gas, government, and video surveillance, are choosing to retain much of their data for extended periods, found the study.

A number of factors influence the trend toward extended data retention, including regulatory, compliance or governance requirements, as well as the opportunity to repurpose and monetise information in the future.

"The survey findings illustrate the need for new storage options that allow organisations to reduce the time spent manually managing long-term storage and easily interface with low cost storage tiers," said Molly Rector, executive vice president of product management and worldwide marketing, Spectra Logic.

"The low-cost nature of tape, combined with its scalability and durability, ensures it will continue to play an important role in modern and evolving IT environments."

Avnet Technology Solutions has launched an End User Computing (EUC) Practice in the UK designed to help the channel generate new business in the growing desktop transformation market.

Open to new and existing Avnet business partners, the practice combines VMware Horizon Suite with Avnet's SolutionsPath methodology and marks the first major collaboration between the two companies in the UK since Avnet added VMware to its UK supplier portfolio in October 2012.

The shift toward desktop virtualisation and trends such as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) have created a new set of challenges for IT departments as they struggle to manage a plethora of devices securely and cost-effectively, noted Avnet, which has recognised the importance of creating a framework for business partners that helps their customers create a successful, secure and productive workspace environment, says the firm.

Tom Ellis, VMware EUC partner development manager, Avnet Technology Solutions UK, said: "The practice enables business partners to sell VMware Horizon Suite and the additional hardware, software and services which complement VMware EUC solutions."

According to Ed Dolman, Head of Channel, UK and Ireland at VMware: "We consider this initiative to be a powerful value proposition as we seek to attract new partners who want to enter the desktop transformation market but currently lack the relevant skills.

Mobility management solutions and telecom software specialist Globo has announced positive unaudited interim results for H1 2013 driven by positive market trends, particularly in the field of 'bring your own device' (BYOD) tendency, it says.

Both Globo's market sectors, consumer and enterprise, were doing well posting a revenue increase by 22% y/y (to €17.9m) and by 132% y/y (to €10.2m), respectively. The enterprise segment with its leading GO!Enterprise was strengthen by a disti agreement signed with Ingram Micro in North America in H1 and, in particular, the prospective contribution from its 'Enterprise Mobility in a Box' distributed now through the US and Canada. The growth in the enterprise segment was also supported by a growing demand for BYOD trend.

BYOD trend in mobile technology also contributed to Globo's performance, especially given that Globo's Go!Enterprise solution delivers a platform that aims to provide the employees secure access to corporate date, it says.

On the other hand, the consumer segment (CitronGO! And Go!Social), which accounted for 56% of total revenues for the period, saw a growth in the emerging markets due to a growing demand for internet and social media through feature phones.

As far as the telecom segment is concerned, SaaS solutions increased by 81% y/y to €3.64m, thanks to continued expansion of the company's WIPLUS WiFi service that includes the managed services provided to hotels, airports, marinas and other locations.

In total revenue increased by 52% year-on-year to €32.03m reflecting the overall growth in the mobile sector. Gross profit went up by 40% to €17.05m with gross margin of 53% (against 57% at the same time a year before). EBITDA increased 44% y/y to €18.64m, with operating margin going up to 45% while profit before tax stood at €14.47m which translated into a 74%-growth year-on-year.

During the first six month of the year Globo also managed to secure a €20m three-year revolving credit line with Barclays Bank for future investments and acquisitions, it says. The company entered into new partnerships and alliances with technology companies, including IBM and Fujitsu, and signed new reseller agreements.

In the coming months Globo plans to leverage its entries into key markets with a strong focus on enterprise mobility and BYOD trends in Western Europe and the US. Additionally, it expects that its consumer-dedicated solutions will continue to grow, mostly in the emerging markets, where the smartphone saturation is still relatively lower. The markets with strong demand for internet access and with limited bandwidth capacity will be targeted by Globo's CitronGO! And Go!Social - where the revenues will be generated from services provided to end users via Value Added Service providers and Mobile Network Operators.

"Globo's growing reputation in consumer and enterprise mobile markets around the world is being translated into a strong, profitable trading performance. Demand for our market-leading products and services are being supported by positive market trends, particularly BYOD, and we are continuing to invest in R&D to strengthen our competitive edge. The potentially substantial contribution from Enterprise Mobility in a Box and Go!Enterprise 247 cloud offering and the positive trading so far in the normally strong second half, have increased our confidence in achieving market forecasts for the full year," says non-executive Chairman, Barry Ariko.

The company has also reiterated its market forecast for the full year .