Comms Dealer

Distributor Exclusive Group has posted record financial results, reporting strong growth in each of its business divisions and global territories.

Despite currency volatility and economic and political uncertainties throughout European, Middle East and Asian markets, Exclusive Group's total 2016 revenues of €1.27bn represent 'balanced, organic like-for-like' annual growth of 22%, said the firm.

Exclusive Networks' cyber security and infrastructure operations says that half of the Group's top 10 vendors are showing annual growth of over 50%.

BigTec, the data centre transformation arm, now contributes over €100m to annual Group revenues with its portfolio of chiefly 'born in the cloud' webscale vendors.

BigTec's largest vendor, the recently IPO'd Nutanix, is now among the top five largest in the Group.

Including the full impact of its January 2016 acquisition of pan-Asian cyber security distributor, Transition Systems, year-on-year growth for Exclusive Group is over 51%.

The 2016 results do not reflect last month's acquisition of Benelux-based VAD, TechAccess.

"To succeed in the face of extraordinary global challenges is testament to our VAST vision, delivering service-defined value through a good balance of geographies and continued expansion into new markets, both organically and through strategic acquisitions," said Olivier Breittmayer (pictured), CEO at Exclusive Group.

"Our business divisions are consistently outperforming the market and complementing one another to provide compelling differentiators for our vendor, service provider, SI and specialist reseller partners."

The Government says it is determined to help SMEs in the ICT sector ‘grasp the nettle' and start selling products and services to the public sector. Speaking at the ‘Go Public Sector' event in London yesterday, Small Business Crown Representative Emma Jones (pictured) said: "I have a simple message. The Government is open for business and it is a good client for SMEs."

Jones was joined by senior representatives from the Cabinet Office SME Panel, the Crown Commercial Service, BT's Procurement division and specialist public sector trade organisation Innopsis in urging small comms and IT providers to take advantage of the Government's commitment, initially pledged in the Conservative's election manifesto and rubber stamped by Cabinet Office Minister Ben Gummer, to spend £1 of every £3 through SMEs by 2020.

"Selling to the Government is good for credibility and good for cash flow," emphasised Jones. "The Government pays 80% of undisputed invoices within five days and then rest are paid within 30 days," she stressed.

Jones also confirmed that simplification of the procurement process was high on the Cabinet's change agenda and a range of improvements are being trialled.

"Soon I hope somebody will say to me that selling to Government was a delightful experience," she said.

As a starting point, SME comms and IT providers were urged to search online for tender information - for example, Sell to Wales, Contracts Finder and TED (Tenders European Daily), and explore the G-Cloud Digital Market website. For more advice contact mike.thomas@innopsis.org

Leeds-based Diva Telecom is targeting businesses of all sizes with the launch Diva Cloud, a hosted telephony solution based on Ericsson-LG technology.

MD Erica Lewis commented: "Hosted telephony isn't a new concept but to-date it has been restrictive. As a company we'd rather wait until technological innovations reach full vitality. With the backing of Ericsson-LG's technology, Diva Cloud is ready to be put through its paces."

According to Diva over four in five UK organisations have adopted at least one cloud service.

The news follows Diva's launch of Gigabit City Leeds, an ultrafast business broadband service that went live in 2016.

Redwire CEO Camran Mirza has pledged to put the Ealing-based data centre owner and operator ‘on the channel map' and has enlisted Graham Byrne to lead its first partner recruitment campaign. Mirza said he is on a mission to devolve the power of data centres to their users having established RedwireDC, a new data centre designed for ‘modern enterprises and start-ups', he claimed.

"The concept of a modern data centre is changing with the evolution of cloud-based services," he stated. "The cloud shouldn't be exclusive. It should be flexible and accommodate our ever changing mobile world regardless of the platform a user is running."

RedwireDC is located on two connectivity thoroughfares with fibre from multiple networks and is positioned near high speed transport links from east London and the Docklands, through to Heathrow Airport.

According to MD Ameer Mirza (pictured above) the facility is another nail in the coffin of traditional data centres and office spaces, and he provides a new level of customer service akin to that offered by a family business.

"Businesses are not simply cogs in the machine, we empower them to be the machine," he commented. "The trend is towards hybrid data centres that cater for just about anyone's needs. A place that allows the consumer and enterprise to come together and access the cloud however they see fit."

With the increasing number of enterprises developing cloud first strategies there is a channel opportunity to provide not just adaptability but also customisability, believes Byrne.

"Redwire resides at the intersection of the realm of people, offices and the traditional IT stack, hosted in a DC and connected to the public cloud," he said.

"Security is our foremost priority, ensuring that the co-work and serviced office space above is separated from our clients' sensitive information and equipment stored below."

Exertis and Hammer have scooped a distribution contract for Dell EMC, provider of converged infrastructure, servers, storage and data protection technologies.

Storage specialist Hammer was acquired by Exertis last October and the two companies will provide resellers in the UK with the full Dell EMC portfolio.

The move follows a global and country rationalisation of Dell/EMC distribution partners.

Phil Brown, Exertis, IT Sales and Commercial Director, said: "Exertis and Hammer have both been long-standing and successful partners for Dell in both client and enterprise, and Hammer has a track record as a storage specialist.

"We have previously helped Dell bring its channel programmes to life and are looking forward to delivering the new Dell EMC partner programme to a broad reach of customers that can benefit from the solutions and technical expertise provided by both of our companies."

Hammer Commercial Director Jason Beeson added: "This is a great example of how our two teams are already leveraging the complementary strengths of both companies.

"We have increased our presence in the enterprise market through key vendor additions, acquisition and by investing in people."

A report in The Sunday Times suggests that Daisy Group is planning a £1.4bn return to the stock market.

If true, the move would come circa two to three years after CEO Matt Riley took the company private in a £494m deal supported by investors Toscafund and Penta Capital.

Riley founded Daisy in 2001 and according to the report he is weighing up the possibility of a float later this year or early next year.

Chess picked up two gongs at the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For awards, securing second place in the mid-size category while founder and Chief Exec' David Pollock was identified as the UK's Best Business Leader.

"The Best Leader accolade is an award for all Chess leaders who work tirelessly to make Chess a great place to work," said Pollock. "And being voted second is an amazing achievement after being listed for eight years in the top 100.

"Our growth creates opportunity for everyone to progress their career, to develop knowledge and skill, to gain reward and recognition and to maximise their potential.

"The growth and success of our people ensures the growth and success of our business which is why we are so passionate about making Chess such a great place to work.

"We're lucky to work in a fast moving, dynamic, growth industry and our people really embrace the opportunities which that provides. We're proud of our achievements but are even more excited by our future plans."

The Institute of Telecommunications Professionals (ITP) Annual Awards (9th November 2017, Raddisson Blu, Portman Square, London) have been declared open for entries.

Launched a decade ago to recognise and reward individuals across the industry, the awards have evolved to highlight the new talent emerging into the telecoms sector. This year also sees the launch of two new awards, the categories are:

• Apprentice of the year
• Mentor of the year
• Christopher Mills Award
• Women in Technology
• New: Engineer of the year
• New: Innovator of the year

"We are proud to celebrate the 10th year of the awards which highlight our industry's brightest stars," said Crissi Williams, CEO of the ITP.

"We have launched the Engineer of the Year Award to find those who have made a significant impact over the past decade, along with the Innovator Award to recognise individuals who are making huge strides in our industry; and could be shaping its future. The awards dinner is also a great event for the entire industry to come together for an evening of networking and celebration with colleagues."

The ITP also runs its own telecoms apprenticeship scheme, and since its launch three years ago has created more than 60 jobs in the industry.

Gamma has bben recognised in The Sunday Times ‘Best Companies to Work for' for the 5th consecutive year.

Based largely on employee feedback, The Sunday Times award lists the top 100 UK companies to work for. Each entry is judged according to performance in eight key areas: Leadership, wellbeing, giving something back, personal growth, fair deal and how members of staff feel towards their manager, company and team.

Gamma attended the awards dinner at Battersea Evolutions on Thursday 23rd February where it was announced it had achieved 49th place in the top 100.

A total of 857 firms registered to take part in this year's employee engagement survey with 82 new entries making it into the top 100.

Pam Williams, HR Director at Gamma, commented: "To be recognised for the 5th year in a row is a fantastic achievement.

"Being in the ‘Top 100 Best Companies to Work For' is a real accolade and provides an excellent way to measure employee engagement.

"We wanted to share the celebration of our achievement at the awards evening by inviting along some of the Gamma staff who have really contributed to our success and are great ambassadors of Gamma. We were also delighted to see a number of our channel partners being recognised in this year's list - well done to everyone who made the list!"

The finalists for the European IT & Software Excellence Awards 2017 have ben revealed by IT Europa.

A total of 61 solution providers, 39 ISVs and 51 suppliers from 28 European countries have made the finals. The winners will be announced at the European IT & Software Excellence 2017 Awards Dinner at the Royal Garden Hotel, on 30th March 2017.

Now in their 9th year, the European IT & Software Excellence Awards 2017 attracted more than 500 entries. The awards are given for IT solutions that get to the heart of customer issues, delivering better business, a clearer understanding of data, and more efficient and profitable outcomes. The judges, with many decades of experience of IT industry involvement between them, have arrived at a list of finalists that they believe truly reflects both the strength of Europe's IT industry and many of the changes in direction occurring within it.

John Garratt, Editor of IT Europa, who heads the judges' panel says: "We have seen an even higher quality of entry this year. The fact that IT can make such a transformation in the business and organisation of so many enterprises, countries and organisations of all sizes is a tribute to the hard work that the industry puts in to effect such changes. In some ways IT transformation has been a well-kept secret and we aim to push out the core message in the coming year about just what the IT industry is capable of doing to a wider audience by highlighting some of the possibilities and potential contained in these awards."

The award winners will be announced on 30th March 2017 at a gala dinner and presentation ceremony.

The Finalists 2017:
Solution Provider Finalists 2017
Big Data, IoT or Analytics Solution of the Year
• Combis
• Allstate
• Datawright
• Zizo
• ProcessFlows
 
Connected/Mobility Solution of the Year
• Unit4
• Syskoplan Reply S.r.l.
• 360 Solutions
• Arkessa
• ANsecurity
• Capita IT Managed Services

Customer Experience/Management Solution
• RapidValueSolutions
• Bulpros Consulting
• Brookcourt Solutions
• Kamarin Computers
• Deutsche Bank
 
Datacentre Solution of the Year
• Schneider Electric
• Arista Networks
• Tech Mahindra
• Scale Computing

Enterprise Solution of the Year
• Unit4
• Tech Mahindra
• 4net Technologies
• Cleverbridge
• Acronis
• N-iX
• Cisilion
 
Managed Service Solution of the Year
• StorageCraft
• Hyve Managed Hosting
• Kaseya
• Business-e Spa
• netConsult
 
Public Sector and Utilities Solution of the Year
• Infopulse
• SIVECO Romania
• 4net Technologies
• NSFOCUS
 
Security Solution of the Year
• TIG
• Inforlandia, SA
• Corvil
• NSFOCUS
• Wavetree
• ANSecurity
• Allstate

SME Solution of the year
• Trilogy Technologies
• Intuitive Systems & Networks
• 123 Insight
• Cleverbridge
• Avangate
• Datawright
• Infopulse Ukraine LLC
 
Storage/Information Management Solution of the Year:
• Tech Mahindra
• Siveco Romania
• Unisys Corporation
• AltexSoft
 
Vertical Solution of the Year
• AltexSoft
• FHL Cloud Solutions
• SIVECO Romania
• Unisys Corporation
• Audacia consulting
• Cognizant Worldwide
• Excell Group
• Sequel Business Solutions
• Empolis Information Management
 
ISV Finalists 2017
Big Data, IoT or Analytics Solution of the year
• PureClarity
• Datawright
• Celaton
• Logi Analytics
 
Connected/Mobility Application Solution of the Year
• IBA Group
• LIFE IS HARD
• Total Mobile
• Arkessa
• Mellanox Technologies
 
Government/Utilities Solution of the Year
• SIVECO Romania
• Sorsix International
 
Information & Document Management Solution of the Year
• IBA GROUP
• LIFE IS HARD
• Cyroserver
• Qualsys
 
SaaS Solution of the Year
• ContentGuru
• SolarWinds MSP
• IBA Group
• Mitrefinch Ltd
• ZiMovi
• ConnectWise
• Quantiv
• DVS SOFT T/A PRINCIPALITY IT
 
Software Innovation Solution of the Year
• ESTECO
• StorageCraft
• Capita IT Managed Solutions
• Datawright
• Acronis
• ContentGuru
• Fookes Software Ltd
• Webroot
• Sequel Business Solutions
 
Vertical Market Solution of the Year
• Sorsix International
• Interconsul Bulgaria ltd
• PureNet
• Escher Group
• ContentGuru
• LIFE IS HARD
• Natech S.A.
• SIVECO Romania SA
 
Supplier Finalists 2017
Distributor of the Year 
• Tech Data 
• Ingram Micro      
• Arrow                   
• ABC Data  
• Westcoast 
• Exertis       
• CMS Distribution
• Cloud Distribution  
• e92plus     
• Nuvias (Wick Hill/Zycko)

Service Provider of the Year
• Annodata   
• AWS
• KPN 
• SolarWinds MSP
• OVH 
• GCI Network Solutions
• Hyve Managed Hosting         
• N-iX  
 
Finance/Support Services Provider of the Year
• BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions     
• Close Brothers Technology Services      
• Knight Corporate Finance 
• DLL Group
 
Security Vendor of the Year
• ESET         
• Symantec  
• Kaspersky 
• Avast /AVG
• Palo Alto    
• NSFOCUS
 
Software Vendor of the Year
• Microsoft   
• Red Hat
• Veeam       
• ConnectWise      
• Suse
• Avast /AVG
• CAS Software     
• StorageCraft       
 
Connected Technologies Vendor of the Year
• Cisco
• Daisy Group       
• Verizon      
 
Technology Vendor of the Year
• Dell EMC   
• IBM Watson        
• Informatica
• Tintri 
• N-iX  

Channel Programme of the Year
• AWS
• Zerto
• Riverbed   
• Informatica
• Schneider Electric
• Interactive Intelligence 
• Epicor Software Corporation