Comms Dealer

3CX, developer of the Windows VoIP PBX 3CX Phone System, has launched 3CX Mobile Device Manager version 6.3 which provides Android manageability by allowing administrators to remotely configure corporate email, and retain control of the sensitive stored attachments and emails.

3CX DroidDesktop has also been integrated, providing administrators with the ability to remote control Android smartphones and tablets.

"With 3CX Mobile Device Manager 6.3, businesses can have peace of mind as they can securely and efficiently deploy corporate email as well as delete emails and attachments from Android devices at any point," said Nick Galea, 3CX CEO.

Inmarsat has appointed RigNet to distribute its Global Xpress and L-band services to the energy sector. The satellite firm also released details on the sale of its retail energy business to RigNet.

RigNet will become a key Global Xpress distribution partner for the global energy sector and will offer Global Xpress and L-band services to RigNet's growing customer base, said the firm.

In connection with the appointment, RigNet has entered into to a significant four-year Global Xpress capacity pre-purchase.

Inmarsat agreed to sell its retail energy operations, currently managed within the Inmarsat Solutions Enterprise business unit, for a total consideration of $25 million.

The sale will include Inmarsat's microwave and WiMAX networks in the US Gulf of Mexico serving drillers, producers and energy vessel owners; its VSAT interests in Russia, the UK, the US and Canada, its telecommunications systems integration business operating worldwide, and its retail L-band energy satcoms business.

In 2012, the operations subject to the sale had total revenues of $81 million. The overall transaction is expected to close during or before the first quarter 2014.

Mark Slaughter, RigNet's chief executive officer and president, said: "We are delighted to enter into this strategic partnership with Inmarsat. As the two companies came together for discussions over a number of months - with RigNet evaluating high-throughput satellite providers and Inmarsat seeking a strong distribution channel into the energy market for its Global Xpress offering - it quickly became clear that this deal represented the best path forward for both companies."

IT solutions consultancy ramsac is urging businesses to think more carefully about the use and licensing of software across their office, remote and mobile IT devices.

The company recently launched its Software Asset Management (SAM) Service which helps organisations to assess the use of software across all devices to ensure it is fully licensed and offers the right value for money whilst addressing business needs.

Volume Licensing Specialists Mel Wilcock commented: "The software that all businesses rely upon to run their IT devices has probably never been more important.

"We now have a huge range of different devices working on our corporate networks, from smartphones and tablets to laptops, desktop PCs and with servers at the end of the line. However with this complexity comes the possibility of mistakes and misuse, both in terms of functionality and licensing.

"ramsac's SAMS approaches this from a business angle, not only looking at the legality of the software in place but also if it is doing its job properly, and if you are indeed paying too much for items that aren't needed."

Wilcock also noted that one of the risks of not being compliant is the possibility of fines and potential legal costs for which the company executives are held accountable for any copyright infringements that occurs company-wide.

"ramsac is fully accredited by Microsoft to offer regulation and inspection of their software licenses and by receiving a regular SAM review, organisations will be issued with a certificate that confirms compliance for a complete year," he added.

01 Telecom has signed a three year contract to expand its network equipment infrastructure into City Lifeline's London data centre.

Founded in 2009, 01 Telecom delivers a range of hosted Unified Communications services including Hosted PBX to its sole trader, small business and global multi-site international customers.

Jon Lamont, services manager at 01 Telecom, said: "The benefits of Unified Communications and Hosted PBX are being recognised on a global scale and this has rapidly increased our customer base.

"To support this growth we turned to City Lifeline, who we knew could comfortably support our requirements. We'll continue to work closely with the team in the London data centre as our business continues its global expansion."

Roger Keenan, MD at City Lifeline, said: "01 Telecom's growing roster of multi-national clients demands a data centre that has the flexibility to be able to adapt to, not just their changing requirements, but also the requests of their clients."

Alcatel-Lucent's Q2 net loss rose to €885m from €254m last year - higher than expected because of the huge impairment charge from reorganisation.

A small operating profit €24m is better than last year's loss of €86m, with revenue up +1.9% to €3.61bn, which is better than expected. Sales were boosted by a large increase in revenue from North America. Shares rose in response.

The €552m impairment charge relates to the reorganisation of the company's wireless business and a €194m restructuring charge. It has cut €120m in costs, so that the cash burn drops to €248m from €517m. The gross margin was 31.9%, similar to last year and improving compared to Q1 13 as a result of higher volumes and a more favorable product mix.

New Chief Executive Officer Michel Combes will continue to look for savings, which means job cuts and asset sales in the coming months to further his reorganisation efforts at the company, which has lost more than $10bn since it was created through a 2006 merger.

Western Europe showed encouraging trends in the quarter, resulting in nearly flat performance, while Eastern Europe declined at a double digit rate.

He said Qualcomm will invest well below 5% as part of a joint research programme to develop so-called small-cell base stations for locations such as university campuses and malls.

"Good progress has been made in the implementation of the turnaround plan," Combes told analysts. "A new organisation is in place, we've accelerated on cost savings, and the announcement with Qualcomm shows we're moving ahead with technology partners like we said we would."

The company is seeking three to five partners to buy a combined stake of a little more than 5%, Combes said.

Entatech UK has bolstered two of its channels following the appointment of Product Specialists Richard Lowes and Michaela Foreman at its HQ in Telford, Shropshire.

Lowes joins the networking and communications team as D-Link Product Specialist, having moved from Education Account Specialist at BT where he looked after all of the Education accounts in the Midlands.

Michaela Foreman joins the Software and Commodities team as Product Specialist for Startech. Although new to the IT industry she boasts a wealth of account management and field sales experience in previous roles.

Jon Atherton, Entatech Vice President, commented: "The new additions to our sales team will ensure that we're able to provide our customers with detailed, sound advice on products from our vendors."

Distributor channelfusion has signed an agreement with Fusion-io to distribute the Fusion ioControl hybrid storage solution in the UK.

Targeting the enterprise mid-market, Fusion ioControl hybrid storage solution (formerly the NexGen Hybrid Storage) leverages PCIe flash technology from Fusion-io and ioControl software to provide a blend of performance and capacity optimised for end users looking to extract greater value from their critical applications and shared storage, said the firm.

"The demand for hybrid storage is growing fast," said Bruce Hockin, Director of channelfusion. "Our objective is to enable and support a channel of around a dozen specialised partners to work with Fusion-io, specifically those that are ready to reap the rewards from the gap created by incumbent SAN providers that are failing to meet customer performance needs at the right price."

Chris McCall, Fusion-io Sr. Director of ioControl, added: "No matter their size, companies require serious performance to support a variety of mission critical applications, and Fusion ioControl delivers on the need for flash-fuelled performance with quality of service guarantees to support VDI, Microsoft Exchange or any database challenges faced by small to medium enterprises."

Ingram Micro's (UK) Data Capture/POS (DC/POS) division is now supplying HP RPOS solutions to the UK&I reseller channel.

The HP RPOS range provides solutions for a variety of POS requirements in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with modular or complete all-in-one systems, cash drawers, receipt printers, customer displays, and bar code scanners.

rnesto Schmutter, Senior Director, Ingram Micro DC/POS, EMEA, said: "HP RPOS solutions are a perfect fit for Ingram Micro and our customers. In addition to having access to knowledgeable local sales and support specialists, resellers will also benefit from quick delivery to most parts of the UK&I. Special pricing has been designed to help resellers compete effectively for business."

Beds-based ONI ha been awarded the special star indicator for Customer Satisfaction Excellence by network giant Cisco.

Customer Satisfaction Excellence is the highest distinction a partner can achieve within the Cisco Channel Partner Programme. 

Channel Customer Satisfaction Excellence assessment is based upon the customer satisfaction results captured in the Cisco Partner Access Online tool. Each measurement period, Cisco will acknowledge Certified Partners that have the highest customer satisfaction distinction within each geographic region.
 
"During the 21 years of working with Cisco, ONI PLC has strived to deliver the most sophisticated level of technical understanding and service to our customers. We are proud to once again receive the highest level of distinction for customer satisfaction excellence. This proves that as a business we have been successful in our quest," said Kevin Kivlochan, Sales & Marketing Director, ONI.

Rating agency Standard & Poor has cut its outlook for Tech Data over concerns that it won't deliver its restated financial results by its agreed-upon deadline of late October.

Fellow ratings firm Moody's Investors Service lowered its outlook on Tech Data's rating in March for similar reasons.

Moody's rates Tech Data at Baa3, equivalent to S&P's rating.

S&P affirmed Tech Data's corporate credit rating at triple-B-minus, the first rung of investment grade. The outlook was revised to negative, from stable.

Tech Data said in March it would restate some of its financial results from the previous three years to correct errors related to how its UK unit handled vendor accounting.

The company estimated at the time the restatement would reduce previously reported operating income by up to $40m and net income by up to $33m.

"Although we expect Tech Data will most likely resolve and be in compliance with its financial reporting requirements by Oct 31, it's possible the company won't achieve compliance, thus the negative outlook," said S&P analyst Philip Schrank.

The outlook will return to stable once all the filings are current, and weaknesses within its financial reporting system are addressed.

Tech Data shares were up 2.5% to $51.71 in recent trading. The stock is up 14% since the start of the year.