Technology Reseller v09

01732 759725 08 NEWS : DISTRIBUTORS Diary Date Technology products distributor Exertis is holding its second Plug In to Exertis channel event at Silverstone Circuit on April 16. Resellers and retailers will have the opportunity to see the full range of technologies and services provided by Exertis, with separate areas for business solutions (AV, PC, Print, Components, Enterprise and Mobile) and consumer products (Smart Tech and Networking, Premium Audio & TV, Gadgets & Accessories and Gaming). Each area will host an exhibition and a seminar programme delivered by industry specialists. Guest speakers Mark Gallagher and David Coulthard will talk about the business lessons that can be learnt from running a Formula One team. www.exertis.co.uk/plugin Nimans strengthens Samsung team Exclusive Samsung Unified Comms distributor Nimans has appointed Joe Casari as Head of Samsung and unveiled an enhanced reseller support programme to develop additional sales opportunities. For the last nine years Casari has been working in the education technology sector for global manufacturer Promethean, most recently as Head of International Alliances. He was previously Head of Channel for Dolphin Telecom. Casari said: “We have many innovative new plans in the pipeline to help our customers capture even greater levels of business, from a dedicated website to enhanced levels of reseller support. Nimans is the choice for Samsung UC and we are determined to take things to a completely new level.” www.nimans.net n Tech Data has launched a Data Centre Optimisation service for resellers that want to develop their existing cloud services and move customer workloads onto Microsoft Azure. The programme provides a complete process for DC migration, from an audit of the partner’s current capabilities to optimisation of data centre resources. Partners that sign up for DC Optimisation will also have access to Tech Data’s Azure Centre of Excellence, pre-configured Azure Solutions and Blueprints to make selling and deployment easier. www.techdata.com TechData lowers proof-of-concept funding limit TechData has halved the threshold at which partners on its Velocity Azure programme can apply for proof-of-concept funding for Microsoft Azure projects, from deals worth $100,000 per annum to ones worth $50,000 per annum. The scheme effectively provides credit on Azure services for a fixed period, allowing customers to try out the cloud platform for up to two months, with total consumption over the period limited to a value of $5,000.  John-James Uezzell, Business Development Manager for Microsoft Azure at Tech Data, said: “The new qualifying deal size will make it an option for many more smaller customers. We will do most of the set-up work, so it will be very simple for partners to access and use.” Tech Data’s Velocity programme is for Microsoft partners that want to start or expand their capability to sell Azure-based services. It provides sales and technical skills training and support to help partners achieve Silver Competency in Microsoft Cloud within a six-month period. The value of the programme to each partner is over £20,000. So far, more than 50 resellers have embarked on the programme. www.techdata.com Price checking made easy Square 1 Products, a value-added distributor of brands that connect, secure and power networks, has launched a specialised website that provides the IT channel with a single resource for up to the minute global prices from some of the biggest vendors in the UK and European markets. WhatsTheListPrice.com saves IT resellers the trouble of sourcing global price lists (GPLs) from different suppliers and makes it easy to compare prices. With vendor data continually updated, users have access to up-to-date list prices, including last published prices for end-of-life products. Using a price enquiry feature, site users can check the latest discounted prices available to them from Square 1. Daisy Wholesale, a telecoms, IT and cloud services and solutions provider to the channel, has launched four new products designed to integrate with the company’s existing Hosted Voice and Mobile solutions. Introduced in partnership with BT Wholesale, the new products are SIP; SD- WAN; Broadband Quality of Service (QoS); and a Unified Communications app. Together with Hosted Voice and Mobile, they form Daisy’s One and Only Convergence Solution, a fully integrated suite of products optimised for the channel. Daisy Wholesale has also announced a new Sales Academy, which it will be launching soon at no cost to partners. Terry O’Brien, MD of Daisy Wholesale, said: “By combining some of our best- of-breed services into an integrated solution suitable for all types and sizes of business, supported by a complete sales and marketing educational programme, we ensure our partners are perfectly positioned to take advantage of the massive opportunity the convergence of the IT and communications arenas presents.” www.daisywholesale.com Daisy Wholesale launches One and Only Convergence Solution Joe Casari John-James Uezzell