Comms Dealer

GCI has been ranked in the Investec Hot 100 fastest growing UK private companies listing, taking 19th position. The comms provider, headed up by ambitious CEO Wayne Martin (pictured), also took second place in the midlands region.

Following significant investment from Barclays in 2011 and Business Growth Fund in 2012, GCI is poised for further growth, noted Martin.

He said: "We are in a great position to significantly build scale, service diversity, service and capability to meet all ICT needs at a time when our clients need it and the market conditions are ripe for growth."

GCI's fast growth ranking comes soon after the firm was awarded the G-Cloud framework, enabling it to provide cloud solutions to the public sector.

GCI owns its own Core MPLS network and provides secure ISO 27001 accredited data centres, with one located in a nuclear bunker.

Aastra has launched a wireless conference phone, the S850i, incorporating wireless omnidirectional microphones and handset dialer, offering users the flexibility to place these components in preferred locations within a room.

The phone uses DECT between the microphones, speaker and base station, while boasting acoustic echo cancellation and an ability to block out any mobile phone interferences.

Aastra's S850i can be used as a standalone audio conference solution or can be connected to a video conferencing solution such as the Aastra BluStar for Conference Room.

The S850i can also be the speaker and microphone for Bluetooth enabled devices (mobile phones, DECT handsets and even laptops with the BluStar for PC Client).

Private calls can be made from the handset dialer and, using a one touch toggle, can be switched to speaker mode to enable more participants in the room to join the call.

Simon Beebe, Vice President of Product Line Management at Aastra, said: "In a world where businesses must remain in touch with remote workers, global teams, partners and customers, audio and video conferencing have become important productivity tools that enable organisations to communicate and collaborate more efficiently and effectively. Making sure that everyone can be clearly heard during these calls is critical."

The wireless conference phone is SIP-based and compatible with Aastra communication servers (Aastra 400 and 5000, Clearspan and MX-ONE) as well as other third party SIP compatible call managers.

CommScope has appointed James Leyland as UK Sales Manager.

He aims to leverage his ten years experience providing IT solutions in the property and telecoms industries to drive new business development.

Based in London, Leyland will report directly to Jim Curran, Managing Director, Enterprise, Northern Europe.

Curran said: "James has a strong track record working with clients who require complex and demanding solutions. His background in property and IT will prove useful for our customers and prospects as we lead the market with best in class resources for our users."

Leyland joins CommScope from UK property company MWB Business Exchange, where he focused on disaster recovery and IT support solutions for the Alternative Investment Market.

Prior to that he worked for Alternative Networks.

Distributor Mayflex has added the Razberi range of Server Switches to its line card.

The Razberi ServerSwitch NVRs combine the functions of a network video recorder, PoE smart switch, storage and video management software into a single appliance.

Gary Harmer, Mayflex Director of Sales for Electronic Security, said: "With its plug and play technology and the fact that the video software comes pre-installed, the ServerSwitch range is particularly suitable for traditional analogue installers that are looking to move into IP."

Tom Galvin, President for Razberi Technologies, added: "Mayflex is a good fit for Razberi in the UK, particularly with itys focus on IP security and the fact that it is also distributes two of our technology partners, Milestone and Axis."

The Razberi ServerSwitch products come in 4 and 16 channel variants at present with 8 and 24 way units soon to be launched, all complimented with a 3 year warranty.

Hospitality sector specialist Solution Builders Limited (SBL) is gearing up to stage an end user Smart Connections event (Corinthia Hotel, London, July 24th) to showcase existing and emerging hotel technologies alongside partners HOSPA, Alcatel-Lucent, FCS, Mitel, Motorola, Splicecom and Vtech.

Established in 2006 by MD John Owen, SBL is now one of the UK's leading suppliers to the hospitality sector, which, according to Owen, has proved especially resilient to the general economic downturn.

"This is particularly true for London where there continues to be over-demand for hotel beds and consequently new hotel openings are increasing in frequency," he said.

"Guests are demanding more and more in terms of technology and general amenities, creating opportunities for improved telephone systems, WiFi networks and infrastructure solutions.

"Smart Connections aims to be a fun and educational experience for hotel owners, general managers and IT directors who understand that customer service is paramount to the success of their business."

The PC market continued to suffer slow shipment growth in top countries across regions in May, according to the IDC Monthly PC Tracker.

April shipment growth had improved slightly from March in Latin America and EMEA, but May growth has come in slower than April for each of these markets except India and UK.

IDC's quarterly PC forecast from May projected worldwide PC shipment declines of -11.7% in the second quarter of 2012 (2Q13), -4.7% in the third quarter, and -1.6% in the fourth quarter, resulting in total annual growth of -7.8% for 2013. This follows a decline of -13.3% in the first quarter of 2013 and -4.0% for all of 2012. The results for May are behind pace for achieving the projected 2Q13 growth rates, although stronger June results could still make up most if not all of the difference.

"The expectation for the second quarter was not all that high, showing only minor improvement from the first quarter. But the May results reflect deteriorating conditions rather than improvement and the market will probably fall short of projections," said Loren Loverde, Program Vice President, Worldwide PC Trackers at IDC.

"We still expect an improvement in the second half of the year as more new products are launched and we get into the back-to-school and holiday seasons. But the market will likely remain cautious about the second half of 2013."

Huawei has signed a deal with French integrator Bull for a new enterprise services partnership covering Europe designed to enhance the delivery and in?field management of Huawei's technologies in the region.

Under the partnership, Bull will provide local implementation and support to Huawei's enterprise IT customers and technology reseller partners in Western Europe.

Bull will contribute onsite?deployment, field maintenance and logistics management and support across several countries, including France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. The agreement covers enterprise ICT solutions including cloud computing, network and storage, where Huawei has a key focus on the healthcare, public sector and industry vertical sectors.

Commenting on the agreement, Han Xiao, President of Huawei Enterprise Services, says: "The collaboration between Bull and Huawei offers many benefits, both for our end customers and for our service partners. This is another major step forward for Huawei's service capabilities in the enterprise market in Western Europe."

Philippe Miltin, Executive VP of Computing Solutions at BULL, added: "Bull and Huawei's skills and capabilities are complementary. Enterprise customers in Western Europe will benefit from a combination of ICT from Huawei supported by implementation and in?life service from Bull."

Ericsson has broadened its broadcast services portfolio and boosted its capabilities in the TV industry following a stated intention to acquire Red Bee Media, a high profile media services company based in the UK.

The acquisition supports Ericsson's strategy to grow in the broadcast services market while leveraging its technology and services strength to help broadcasters and content owners address the convergence of video and mobility.

The deal brings 1,500 highly-skilled employees, as well as media services and operations facilities in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Australia.

Ericsson's broadcast services business started in 2007 and expanded in 2012 with the acquisition of Technicolor's Broadcast Services Division.

With 1,240 of Red Bee Media employees being based in the UK, Ericsson's UK business would grow to around 4,000 employees and with more than one third working in the media services business, the UK will become a global media hub for Ericsson.

Since its foundation in 2005, Red Bee Media has established itself as a strong and diverse business with a growing number of customers around the world.

It provides a range of media services; from media asset management to playout and digital video publishing, metadata services, multilingual access services and creative services to major broadcasters and broadband platforms.

The Television and Media industry is undergoing an unprecedented transformation driven by consumers' appetite for rich, interactive, anytime, anywhere entertainment.

The confluence of communications, broadband and media technologies and the use of IP and mobile networks to generate and deliver such experiences is creating new opportunities in the ecosystem.

New services are expanding and re-defining the way consumers experience entertainment, placing new economic and creativity demands on businesses - whether they be broadcasters, telcos or other media companies - worldwide.

According to the Ericsson Mobility Report June 2013 release, video is the single biggest contributor to traffic in mobile networks and this is expected to grow 60 per cent annually until the end of 2018.

"Ericsson is making a step change to our business, cementing our commitment to TV and broadcast services and continuing a journey we started in 2007," says Magnus Mandersson, Executive Vice President and Head of Business Unit Global Services, Ericsson.

"We can create value for broadcasters by making digital content more accessible, enabling monetisation of TV content more efficiently. Video traffic shows very strong uptake in the mobile networks and Ericsson can address the need of both broadcasters and telecom operators through our technology expertise and services capabilities."

Ericsson's core capabilities in hardware, software, systems integration and management/operations services have been deployed worldwide in the communications and broadband businesses to create success for many players.

Ericsson provides technology solutions for content acquisition, exchange, distribution, delivery and the provisioning of multi-screen entertainment experiences.

The closing of the acquisition is subject to approval from relevant regulatory authorities and other contractual conditions. After completion, Red Bee Media will be incorporated into Ericsson's Business Unit Global Services.

Six Degrees Group has provided the hosting infrastructure that underpins a new ecommerce platform launched by transport services organisation Arriva, which caters for over 770 million passengers every year.

Six Degrees worked closely with Freestyle Interactive to develop a solution that matched Arriva bus's requirements, designing a tailored dual-site private cloud solution.

The ecommerce platform on Arriva bus's website ensures passengers have access to ticket purchasing facilities on the go as well as up-to-the-minute service information and route details.

The ecommerce site designed by digital communications agency Freestyle Interactive works on a number of devices including iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. For Arriva bus, the update to the online ticketing facility is mission critical to its operations and reflects the increasing number of passengers who demand convenience as well as real-time access to bus information from mobile devices.

The private cloud solution is hosted on a dedicated rack in Six Degrees' proprietary tier 4 data centre facility. To keep the website highly available and resilient, especially where payment data is concerned, the solution employs dual-site technology to cut the risk of potential downtime by mirroring the deployment on a secondary cloud platform in a geographically diverse location. Crucially, the solution allows for short-term bursts and long-term expansion as website traffic increases over time and as passengers access service information around the clock.

Campbell Williams, group strategy and marketing director, Six Degrees Group, said: "When designing any website function it is important to develop a suitable hosting platform that takes into account the current and anticipated requirements of the website concerned. With 770 million passengers a year, it's likely that the traffic to Arriva bus's website is going to increase significantly so this solution needed to have the potential to scale up.

"Working with Freestyle Interactive it was possible to build a solution that is not only designed with future growth in mind, but also boasts inbuilt resilience, giving Arriva bus piece of mind that its website can deliver great customer service."

Cirrus has added to its commercial team with the appointment of Peter Cresswell, a seasoned professional with over five years telecoms and software experience, including a four year stint at Union Street Technologies where he became Support Team Manager.

Cresswell went on to become the Operations Manager for a small telecoms reseller before moving to Cirrus parent company Direct Response. His role has now been expanded as he takes responsibility for managing the billing and commercial relationship with Cirrus' partners and resellers.

Cresswell commented: "I'm looking forward to working with our industry partners to look at how we can further improve our offering to suit their needs."