Comms Dealer

Harrogate-based InTechnology has been confirmed as an approved supplier on the online Janet Telephony Purchasing Service (JTPS) which enables organisations connected to the Janet network to procure approved telephony and Unified Communications services from the firm.

Natalie Duffield, Sales Director at InTechnology Managed Services, said: "We are delighted to be one of the first three approved suppliers following the launch of the JTPS. Our proven competency, capability and experience have enabled us to meet Janet's stringent requirements and is a testament to our focus on delivering telephony services."

Atia Communications has achieved Microsoft Premier Support for Lync Partners (PSLP) accreditation.

As one of just four companies in the UK to attain PSLP accreditation, Atia has demonstrated its ability to deliver high quality support to Lync customers which addresses all aspects of a voice communication system including software, hardware, network, gateway, and system interoperability.

"With so few companies capable of attaining PSLP accreditation this really reflects Atia's deep understanding of the UC marketplace," said Steve Gandy, CEO of MeetingZone, which acquired Atia in March of this year.

"Atia's UC expertise will play a key role in helping MeetingZone to become a major European UC provider. Together we will meet the need for a trusted partner who can deliver a bridge of knowledge between UC solutions and an understanding of traditional enterprise telephony environments."

Patrick Copping, General Manager for Atia, added: "Atia had already attained Microsoft Gold Communications Competency and our PSLP accreditation is further validation that Atia has the expertise and skill set to help our channel partners and end users successfully deploy UC solutions."

Virtual1 ha expanded its SIP Exchange following a link-up with Voiceflex, the London-based provider of voice and data solutions to the channel.

Launched by Virtual1 in 2011, the SIP Exchange provides access to the solutions of multiple UK SIP providers via a secure, ring-fenced area on the Virtual1 core.

The infrastructure allows customers to avoid both the need for upfront investment and for long term contracts with a single provider, removing the traditional barriers to SIP migration.

Voiceflex Sales Director Paul Taylor said: "Our decision to join the SIP Exchange was an easy one as we have been working with Virtual1 for some time.

"SIP is now an established product, however without quality connectivity SIP and hosted telephony will fail. Virtual1 deliver calls directly to our platform and not over the open Internet, enabling QOS to be established end to end."

Tom O'Hagan, Managing Director at Virtual1, added: "Virtual1 is committed to providing choice and freedom to our partners and their customers, so that they can build their solution, their way."

Panasonic System Communications Company Europe (PSCEU) in conjunction with Trust Distribution hosted an event for premier partners and resellers at the vendor's state-of-the-art Solutions Centre located at the Panasonic UK HQ in Bracknell.

The agenda included a guided tour of the Solutions Centre which shows how Panasonic products are advancing in a number of different verticals including logistics, transport, retail and banking.

Also on the presentations on the latest developments in Panasonic Communication Solutions, showcasing the IP technology based business communications server NS1000.

The Computer Product Solutions team also offered live demonstrations of the Toughbook and Toughpad rugged mobile computer series and presented product information on Panasonic EPOS electronic point of sale.

Avnet Services EMEA now has a strategic partnership with N2S to deploy its UNITY Estate Management solution.

The agreement further develops N2S' environmentally friendly supply chain, which aims to move the channel from its current 'take, make and dispose' model to a 'take, make, use and remake' approach.

Avnet's UNITY solution helps organisations pinpoint end of life IT assets for disposal. The partnership promotes a circular economy, actively seeking to reuse the equipment it decommissions on behalf of customers, rather than simply disposing of it. This ensures businesses adhere to the latest WEEE directives set out by the Environment Agency, thus avoiding regulatory fines.

Christian Magirus, Vice President Avnet Services EMEA commented: "As a result of recent legislation, CEOs are beginning to scrutinise the way they dispose of IT assets. They're starting to look at putting in place tighter controls to promote industry best practice and minimise financial risk. Our partnership addresses this and, more importantly, opens the doors to a greener future for the channel."

Q2 2013 global Ethernet switch sales grew from a seasonally slow first quarter but not enough to drive year-over-year growth as EMEA pulled the numbers down.

Market research firm Infonetics Research has released vendor market share and analysis from its 2nd quarter (2Q13) Ethernet Switches report.

"North America, the largest region for Ethernet switches, was the bright spot, with revenue jumping 15% sequentially," says Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise networks. "However, weak economic conditions persist in EMEA and demand is slowing in China and Japan, tempering overall growth."

Globally, the Ethernet switch market was up 6% in 2Q13, to $5bn as 10G ports recovered after a temporary dip in 1Q13, up 39% from the year-ago quarter. 40G Ethernet is growing rapidly: On the heels of over 1,000% growth in 2012, 40G port shipments doubled again sequentially in 2Q13.

The new 100G Ethernet switch segment tripled from the previous quarter, thanks to broader availability of 100G solutions. Alcatel-Lucent, Enterasys and Juniper all posted strong (+20%) sequential revenue gains in 2Q13, the research finds.

Avnet TS in the UK has won a Quality in Credit Management (QICM) Accreditation from the professional association for credit management excellence.

Expert Eddie Pacey says that credit management should be seen as much more positive than debt control, and that accreditations should be targeted at this wider role.

Avnet is the latest company to achieve QICM status and says it is the first IT distributor in the UK to receive the award from Europe's largest association for the credit management profession, the Institute of Credit Management (ICM).

QICM recognises the achievements of organisations that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to quality, continuous improvement and best practice in all things credit.

Darren Maynard, Head of Credit at Avnet Technology Solutions UK said: "Credit is a key sales enabler in the IT channel and it is important to Avnet that its business partners have complete confidence in the credit support they receive."

Content Guru, a supplier of cloud-based communications services, has been shortlisted for the Cloud Provider of the Year award at the 2013 UK IT Industry Awards.

The awards are run by BCS (the Chartered Institute for IT) and Computing magazine, and last year's winners included HMRC, Telefónica and Deutsche Bank.

Content Guru's case for Cloud Provider of the Year is based around its storm SHIELD solution, which uses cloud technology to help organisations handle massive peaks in communications demand. Hundreds of thousands of UK consumers use storm SHIELD on a daily basis to check live travel information, get updates on their power supply, resolve enquiries regarding council tax and many other high-volume services.

Sean Taylor, Managing Director of Content Guru, said: "We started our journey into the cloud almost a decade ago now, long before cloud was the well-established industry buzzword it is today.

"We're now starting to see Software-as-a-Service delivery reach mainstream adoption, and it's hugely exciting to be part of such a high-growth sector of the market."

Nimans is urging resellers to get switched on to the potential of broadband extender plugs that convert power sockets into internet connectivity.

Group Sales and Business Development Director, Richard Carter, says the devices, part of a new partnership with BT, have the potential to overtake sales of DECT telephones.

Nimans has produced a guide to outline the benefits of the technology, showcasing the options available, from Wi-Fi hotspots and extender plugs to a dual band base station for higher speeds and greater performance.

Carter said: "The proliferation of smartphones, tablets, smart televisions, set-top boxes, games consoles and social media has further pushed the boundaries, creating an insatiable appetite for Wi-Fi. But what about areas of an office or home where Wi-Fi isn't available? Catch-up TV and gaming are some of the most influential factors as they require instant, high capacity and reliable bandwidth. Wireless broadband extender plugs are the answer and offer huge revenue potential as almost every home needs them."

Nimans also stocks a BT Ethernet switch that allows multiple devices to be connected to a broadband router, providing connection of up to eight devices at speeds 10 times faster than standard Ethernet.

Brocade has announced the appointment of Bill Lipsin to the position of Vice President of Worldwide Channel and Global Systems Integrator Sales, responsible for the overall direction and management of all sales and business development operations for Brocade's channel organisation, and the strategic direction, and operational and sales management of the company's Global Systems Integrator (GSI) team. 

He will report directly to Brocade's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales, Jeff Lindholm.
  
"91 percent of IT decision makers claim that their data centre networks need upgrading, and many of these will turn to either Outsource Service Providers, System Integrators or VARs to fulfill their needs," said Lindholm. 

"Bill's track record of building robust partner sales organisations is second to none, and I am confident that he has the right mix of industry knowledge, business acumen and leadership skills to drive continued growth across Brocade's partner community."