Comms Dealer

The global PBX/IP PBX market continued to fall in Q2 2013, recording a decline of 4% year-on-year (period April to June 2013 inclusive) and a 1% decline sequentially.

The total market volume in Q2 2013 was the lowest witnessed in three years, according to MZA's latest report.

The largest declines were seen in the enterprise (solutions with more than 100 licenses) market, down 6% year-on-year, with a more moderate decline noted in the SME market (solutions with under 100 licenses).

According to MZA the greatest impact on the global PBX market came from the largest regional market Asia Pacific which suffered an 8% year-on-year decline in Q2 2013, influenced notably by a strong 15% decline in the 100-plus segment.

The markets in western Europe and Middle East and Africa fell relatively moderately, while the markets of Latin America and Eastern Europe suffered double digit declines year-on-year.

The north American market once again bucked the trend and grew by 7% year-on-year. The region also experienced a second successive period of sequential quarterly growth.

A strong performance in western Europe and north America has taken Avaya to number one position in the global PBX/IP PBX market, achieving a 13% volume share in Q2 2013.

Cisco, following several strong quarters, had a more challenging Q2 2013 and took the number two position with a 12% volume share.

"Avaya has a strong presence in both the SME and enterprise space, whereas Cisco's position is mainly attributed to its enterprise presence," stated Stephanie Watson, General Manager, MZA.

Meanwhile, Panasonic's performance, driven by its strong SME and Asia Pacific business, rebounded after a disappointing Q1 2013 taking the vendor to third position globally with 11% volume share.

NEC, with a good presence in both SME and enterprise segments, ranks fourth in the period with a 9% volume share. NEC's shipments fell back (most notably in its home Asia Pacific region) following a record Q1 2013.

Also in the running are Siemens, Alcatel-Lucent, Mitel, Aastra, Samsung and Microsoft. Siemens, Alcatel-Lucent and Aastra share a strong top four position in the European market but are placed lower in other global regions.

Mitel strengthened its north American position in Q2 2013, contributing to its market share growth.

Samsung's strong performance in Asia Pacific similarly contributed to overall market share growth for the Korean vendor.

Microsoft continues to make strong inroads into the enterprise market with a top six position in this segment already. But lesser presence currently in the SME space means its overall market share is lower.

Watson added: "The remainder of the market is fragmented and includes vendors Huawei, which has a strong position in both Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa; and Ericsson-LG whose business is currently weighted towards their home Asia Pacific region.

"Similarly, Shoretel occupies a strong US position however its share at a global level is smaller resulting from its lower position in other global regions."

A growing number of customers are on the hunt for single sources of security rather than trying to make point solutions work together, according to market research firm Infonetics.

"There's never been a time when the world was more tuned-in to broad privacy and security issues, and with the recent revelations about the NSA's PRISM surveillance program, consumers and businesses around the globe are re-evaluating their security posture, preferred vendors, and deployment strategies," noted Jeff Wilson, principal analyst for security at Infonetics Research.

"While it's too early to say if the NSA debacle will have an impact on security spending, one trend in the security sector is clear - buyers are looking to consolidate security platforms wherever they can. The resulting contraction in standalone security products is directly attributed to 2 things: customers moving to integrated product solutions that support the functions of the original standalone products with adequate performance and security, and customers transitioning away from product-centric security rollouts to hosted/SaaS solutions."

Worldwide network security appliance and software revenue totaled $1.6 billion in 2Q13, an increase of 4% sequentially, and integrated security appliances have gained share every quarter since 4Q11, and Infonetics is forecasting quarterly share gains through 2Q14

Cisco, Check Point, Fortinet, HP, and Palo Alto Networks all posted strong revenue results in the network security market in 2Q13 as Juniper's revenue declined for the 4th straight quarter; however, Infonetics believes that 2Q13 will be Juniper's bottom quarter.

Distributor Tech Data says it intends to file its update as soon as possible in response to a NASDAQ reminder. The distribution giant has had to redo its financial results for the last three years after discovering errors in its UK subsidiary's accounts. The company reported mistakes in "vendor accounting" by its UK arm Computer 2000.

It says it has been sent the expected "10-Q Notice of Deficiency" from the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Department stating that it is not in compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) because the Company has not timely filed its Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended July 31, 2013. 

NASDAQ requires TD to file an update to its plan of compliance with respect to the Second Quarter 10-Q no later than September 26, 2013

The First Quarter 10-Q, the Second Quarter 10-Q, and the Fiscal 2013 Form 10-K filings are delayed pending completion of the restatement of prior financial statements announced on March 21, 2013.

Maintel has diversified its revenue base and increased its presence in new markets following the acquisition of Datapoint's UK and Ireland operations for £3.5m in cash. Eddie Buxton, Chief Executive of Maintel, commented: "It has been our long established goal to acquire a complementary asset to add to our growing base of existing revenues.

"We have been tracking Datapoint's progress for some time, and this acquisition will materially improve the breadth of our product offering while also providing clear momentum for the next phase of Maintel's growth.

"We anticipate the acquisition delivering clear shareholder value over time. The acquisition is expected to be earnings accretive for its first full year of ownership to December 2014."

The Datapoint UK&I companies provide consulting and professional services in Unified Communications to a base of approximately 100 customers, with a particularly strong presence in the contact centre sector. Other services include maintenance and equipment sales.

Maintel has paid £1.0m in cash to the Administrator of Point-On Holdings Limited, the parent company of the Datapoint UKI Companies in respect of the Acquisition, and has settled the overdraft of those companies at completion to the sum of £2.5m.

This equates to total consideration, excluding any professional fees incurred, of £3.5m. There is no deferred or contingent element to the consideration for the Acquisition.

In conjunction with the acquisition, the company has secured a £3.0m term loan, repayable over three years and a £1.0m overdraft facility.

The Datapoint UKI Companies were acquired with no cash and no debt. The aggregate unaudited revenue of these companies in the year to 30 June 2013 was £15.8m, although it is envisaged that revenues will be approximately £2.5-3.0m lower in the current financial year due to lower levels of non-recurring business and a degree of attrition.

Soccer aces at Communicate Better lifted their game to score a 4-2 victory over Elite in the final of this year's annual Comms Dealer Five-a-Side tournament held at the Goals Soccer Centre in Leicester.

Communicate Better's top performers produced a masterclass to overturn three times trophy winners Elite in a thrilling match. Welcomm Communications narrowly missed a place in the final clash, coming third overall.

The event, sponsored by Nine Group, also netted £4,500 for Comms Dealer charity Sparks.

Communicate Better CEO Wayne Cartwright said: "This is our first Comms Dealer tournament so it was extremely pleasing to come home with the Silverware. Our football at times was superb.

"This is a fantastic event that supports a worthwhile charity and we will definitely be back next year to defend our crown!\"

Comms Dealer Editorial Director Nigel Sergent enthused: "Congratulations to Communicate Better on a fabulous victory! And a big thank you to Nine for supporting the event, and all of the teams that contributed to this fantastic tournament to raise such a magnificent sum for our charity Sparks."

Researcher Information Services Group says that the value of public sector outsourcing in EMEA fell 23% in the first half of 2013 but easily surpassed its average during the previous five years.

The 2Q13 EMEA ISG Outsourcing Index, which measures outsourcing contracts with an Annual Contract Value (ACV) of €4m or more, recorded one of the strongest first half performances in the Public Sector to date, with government outsourcing accounting for 41% of all contracts awarded in the region. Public sector outsourcing ACV totalled €2.4bn for the first half of 2013, a decline from €3.1bn in the first half of 2012.

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) specialist LogRhythm has launched Mission Possible, a new incentive and reward scheme aimed at its EMEA channel.

Also, the company has announced the launch of REACH, a new customer-centric content marketing platform for its partners across the EMEA region.

Mission Possible initiative will be offered to channel partners at all three levels of distinction (Platinum, Gold and Silver) and aim at rewarding those partners who help win the new business opportunities, it says.

The partners then will get the access to the online portal free of charge where they might log the new wins. Once approved by LogRhythm, resellers can build their points.

Additionally, REACH will be also available free of charge to all of LogRhythm's partners. This platform can be customised to include individual logos and contact details while leveraging the LogRhythm's brand, as it says. The platform will offer toolkits for co-branded marketing campaigns, including emails, web banners and direct mailers.

"With the security landscape as complex as it is today, there has never been a more critical time to strengthen our relationships with capable partners and major industry players who have great expertise in the space, and to help them grow with us," said Stuart Quinsey, Director EMEA Channels at LogRhythm.

European distributor Hammer has introduced a 'registered disk partner' scheme for its customers in collaboration with four vendors (HGST, Seagate, Toshiba and Western Digital).

The new programme has been designed to support customers and complement Hammer's disk portfolio. In exchange, the prospective partners will be offered an access to replacement drives, full integration and configuration services, early product and market updates, engineering and 'design-in' consultancy, priority stock allocation and more, it says.

Hammer will also launch a dedicated Hammer disk Twitter page and a YouTube channel.

"As a focused disk distributor in Europe, and with the growing diversity of both HDD and SSD products being released to suit different applications, we recognised the need to enhance the information flow to our partners," stated Nick Powling, General Manager for Disk at Hammer.

At present, Hammer offers over 1,000 models of disk drive and says it has managed to ship over 10,000 petabytes of disk capacity since the company's foundation in 1991.

Global insurance IT spending is forecast to hit $100bn (€75.4bn) by 2017 as insurers shift from cost-cutting to new revenue growth, according to a market consultancy Ovum.

For the last five years the market saw substantial IT budgets cuts due an economic slowdown and now the insurers are ready to invest in IT again, the study says.

Ovum expects that the overall global insurance IT budgets will now grow at 6.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Asia-Pacific currently represents the most rapid growth and is expected to overtake Europe, the second-largest regional market.

In Europe life insurers are aiming at reduction of their operating costs, which leads the IT investments in legacy system modernisation, online channels and fraud detection systems.

The Ovum's study indicates that a continued expansion of IT budgets in support of consolidation/transformation and core system replacement projects will see an annual spend of $5bn (€3.8bn) by 2017.

Charles Juniper, senior insurance analyst, financial services technology, Ovum, stated: "The sharp decline in new business growth across all life insurance markets following the global slowdown led most insurers to rapidly and significantly cut their IT budgets. However, accelerating year-on-year growth in 2013 following some cautious expansion from 2011 confirms that life insurers are now moving from a cost-cutting mindset toward reinvestment in strategic IT projects."

Independent managed communications provider Foehn has released a series of new videos designed to to help businesses better understand the many facets of Open Source Communications.

Open Source has become popular among companies and other organisations such as charities and those in the public sector, and many are already aware of its benefits to their business operations.

However, some businesses remain oblivious to Open Source and others are only just waking up to the possibilities of non-proprietary IT and VoIP telephony routes for them such as Asterisk.

In a series of 11 new videos, viewable on YouTube, Foehn's experts outline Open Source, what it is, how it works, who is using it, the advantages it offers over proprietary software and systems, tips to consider when looking at Open Source for Communications and advice when looking at Open Source Telephony. 

Two other videos produced by Foehn focus on how two companies - Theatre Sites and White Bros - undertook research to find Open Source Asterisk solutions for their businesses.

"Even for the most experienced IT managers it can be daunting," said James Passingham, CEO of Foehn. "Most people know there are advantages and benefits to using open source, but they don't necessarily know how to go about using open source communications for an IP telephony project.

"Like many technologies that eventually become mainstream, it isn't important to have an in-depth knowledge, but it can be useful to have an overview of what it's all about, how it's different and how it can benefit your organisation.

"This is why we've produced this series of videos, to help people understand Open Source Communications without going too much into the technical aspects of it. Hopefully it will give them sufficient information to make up their own minds about whether or not it's appropriate for their business."