technology
reseller.co.uk
BULLETIN
7
Behind the usual background chatter of the big
eating the small, the small eating the big, mergers,
acquisitions, births, deaths, marriages etc., there’s
a lot going on that’s changing the landscape we all
operate in.
Many will be impacted by recent announcements
of mergers or downsizing, which will see thousands of
people lose their jobs in IT across EMEA. The industry
may not have homes for everyone, so many will move
into alternative sectors, along with their embedded
experience, never to return.
Meanwhile, BREXIT is pushing up the value of
imported hardware, artificially inflating revenues,
signalling industry growth to those who don’t have the full
picture, whilst concealing the significant changes that are
taking place. How the next five years is going to play out
with hard BREXIT, we’ll see. Lots more known unknowns
to contend with.
IT – Me?
Start-up entrepreneurs coding their way into established
sectors may not identify with the IT industry at all, seeing
themselves instead as entrepreneurs disrupting multiple
business sectors on the way to multi-million (or billion)
dollar fortunes. Me in IT? Erm – No!
And then we have a bunch of young people who don’t
perceive the IT industry as either ‘hot’ or ‘interesting’. Talk
to them about brands like Google or Facebook and it’s
high-fives all round. But an apprenticeship in IT sales?
Forget it, yet the rewards are equal.
It all makes for some interesting questions. What
industry do we now work in? Who does it represent?
What is its future? Where is the talent pipeline coming
from? Does the IT sector need a re-brand?
What’s clear is that the sector is changing very
quickly. Products, People, Services are all changing,
and that can make it hard to keep sight of where the IT
industry is heading, where you sit within it and what role
you plan to play.
Reviewing the gameplan, the talent plan, even the exit
plan is key right now and preserving time to think about
such things is more important than ever. Over the coming
months I aim to share some of my observations here with
you.
See you out there.
Phil Jones MBE
,
Managing Director,
Brother UK
@philjones40
Insider...
With so many winds of change
blowing, I got to thinking recently
about the industry we’re in and what
its prospects might be for the future.
IT departments extend
reach
A new survey of IT directors by Robert
Half Associates shows that over the
last five years, the number of business
projects involving the IT department
has risen either somewhat (64%)
or significantly (15%). Only 2% of IT
directors surveyed said that the number
of projects their teams were involved
with had decreased since 2011.
roberthalf.co.uk
Growth all-round for 360
degree cameras
Futuresource Consulting is predicting
strong growth in 360-degree camera
sales over the next five years, from
worldwide unit sales of 150,000 in 2015
to 600,000 in 2016 and 4,000,000 in
2020.
The research company expects
consumer demand to be boosted by falling
prices for virtual reality (VR) headsets,
the availability of headset-free 360 video
experiences on sites like Youtube and
Facebook, the launch of more affordable
consumer devices and an expansion
of form factors, from mountable and
handheld models to throwable and aerial
drones.
Initially, VR capture was only possible
with high end professional cameras like
the Nokia Ozo ($60,000). However, it is
now available on a growing number of
premium devices (e.g. the Kodak SP360
4K, 360fly 4K, Nikon KeyMission, Samsung
Gear 360 and Vuze 3D 360); more
affordable entry-level consumer models
from Ricoh (Theta), LG (360) and C-list
brands (<$100); and new entrants on
crowd-funding sites like Kickstarter.
Exertis strengthens AV
division
Exertis is continuing to strengthen its AV
division, most recently with a distribution
agreement with SY Electronics and the
acquisition of Medium Ltd, a specialist
distributor of projectors, flat panel
displays, interactive systems and digital
signage from CTOUCH, Casio, Hitachi, LG,
NEC, Panasonic, Samsung and Peerless.
Medium has a turnover of £32 million,
employs 40 staff and has relationships
with more than 800 AV resellers in the UK.
Commenting on the acquisition, Gerry
O’Keeffe, Exertis managing director for
the UK & Ireland, said: “Medium has built
strong customer and vendor relationships,
and its technical expertise will strengthen
our ability to implement a full suite of
professional AV solutions into the B2B
market, where our complementary products
and services provide opportunities for
additional growth.”
Exertis’s distribution agreement with
SY Electronics, a manufacturer of control
systems, video switching and video
extension products, will strengthen the
company’s offering in digital signage, video
wall and collaborative technologies.
n
The Dell and Intel Future Workforce
Study suggests that Virtual reality (VR)
and augmented reality (AR) could impact
the workplace sooner than we think, with
half of UK employees saying they would be
willing to use VR/AR in their professional
lives. The most frequently cited user
cases for the new technologies include
training on new skills in realistic virtual
environments (24%), problem solving
or coming up with new ideas through
3D visualisation (15%) and presenting
to clients using immersive technologies
(11%).
Events Most Likely to Prompt
Investment in IT
Catastrophes
(system failures, security
breaches, data losses)
72%
Externally driven events
(regulatory, competitive,
economic)
69%
Organisational events
(M&A, senior management
changes)
68%
Internally driven events
(product launches, market
initiatives)
63%
Utilities related events
(cost/availability of power,
telecoms)
61%
Internal IT requests
(relating to infrastructure,
tools, skills)
58%
End-user lobbying
(relating to devices, BYO,
cloud services)
55%
(source: EON/Freeform Dynamics)
