Technology Reseller - v10

technolog y reseller.co.uk 13 NEWS : DISTRIBUTORS PNY partners with JP Distribution PNY Technologies is partnering with Johnsons Photopia (JP) Distribution to bring its latest photography gadgets and accessories to UK customers. The Stoke- based specialist photography distributor will sell and distribute PNY’s latest SDs, microSDs and card readers, alongside its popular 4-IN-1 Lens Kit for smartphones, Outdoor Charger and OTG flash drive for Apple devices. www.pny.eu Exertis acquires Hypertec Exertis has acquired Hypertec Ltd, a distributor of third party and own-brand memory, storage, assistive technology and security products and accessories. Hypertec employs more than 50 people at its facility in Hungerford, Berkshire. It sells to more than 400 active accounts and generated sales of over £20 million in FY17. Exertis UK Managing Director Paul Bryan said: “Hypertec has an excellent track record in the industry and has built strong relationships with its customer base and vendor partners by delivering excellent product supply, service and support. Its own brand product and technology portfolio is in increasing demand in today’s economic environment, as users look to extend the life or improve the performance of computing devices and resellers attach accessories to add margin to their sales.” www.exertis.co.uk New accessories brands To help resellers add margin to sales, Exertis has expanded its accessories range with the addition of three brands. These are: J5 (connectivity and docking solutions); Tzumi (mobile phone accessories, including screen protectors, headphones, power chargers and selfie sticks); and Travel Blue (travel accessories, including bags, adapters and USB chargers). Exertis Unlimited Commercial Director Matthew Balcombe said: “The accessories market continues to grow as consumers look to gain extra value from their devices. Our resellers and retailers have a great opportunity to maximise the profitability of a sale by adding accessories that solve day to day issues for users. We have an exciting range that covers pretty much every requirement.” Growth for Midwich Audio-visual and document solutions distributor Midwich has reported a 27.5% rise in revenue for the year to 31 December 2017, from £370.1m to £471.9m. Gross profit margin went up 0.2%, to 15.5%, driven by an improving product mix. Adjusted operating profit increased from £18.5m to £25.0m, a rise of 35.1% or 31.3% in constant currency. www.midwich.com Extreme Networks appoints Westcon-Comstor as training partner Extreme Networks has appointed Westcon-Comstor as an Authorised Training Partner for the EMEA region. Westcon-Comstor is the only Extreme Networks distributor able to provide this service across the entire EMEA region. Dave Garwood, Westcon-Comstor European Vendor Manager for Extreme Networks, said: “Now is a great time for partners to join with Extreme Networks. The Avaya networking, Brocade DataCenter networking and Zebra WiNG Wireless acquisitions have strengthened the portfolio significantly, providing great growth opportunities for all partners in the Extreme community.” Extreme Networks is a Gartner WLAN Visionary vendor that was ranked No. 2 in Gartner’s recent Critical Capabilities for Wired and Wireless LAN Access Infrastructure report. www.westconcomstor.com Alpha Generation invests in reseller support Alpha Generation Distribution is enhancing the support it provides IT security vendors and resellers by taking on more staff and investing in more research-based initiatives. The IT security distributor is also expanding into Europe, starting with the Nordics, as part of 4SEC Group’s expansion strategy. Sales director Chris Walsh says Alpha Generation is investing in channel support in response to the growing end user demand for advice and guidance from resellers. He said: “Businesses are not going to win the ongoing battle against cyber attackers alone, and resellers need to get better at supporting them. IT security resellers need support, too, and, according to our research, most think distributors aren’t doing enough. Just 22% say they focus on long-term proactive security.” Walsh added: “Distributors need to focus on offering resellers the products and services their end-users are asking for, which is what our business is centred around.” www.alpha-gen.co.uk Exertis expands AV and UC divisions Exertis has strengthened its Pro AV (Exertis Medium) and Enterprise UC divisions with two appointments. Steve Robertson has been promoted to head of AV sales for Exertis Medium. Reporting to director Ian Aitken, he will be responsible for delivering the overall sales numbers for Exertis Medium and ensuring profitable growth by providing solutions that meet the demands of AV specialist resellers. Simon Cadman has joined Exertis as UC technical consultant reporting to Mark Weaver, Exertis UC sales manager. In this role, he will help resellers get onboard with Exertis and support them with demonstrations, sales support and engagement with the professional services team. www.exertis.co.uk Steve Robertson Simon Cadman Everything motorola Tech Data Corporation has unveiled a new Trusted Advisor site for motorola where resellers can access information on the company’s moto range of Android devices and the motorola Partner Programme. Launched by Tech Data Mobile Solutions last year, the Partner Programme gives resellers access to the full range of moto products, plus pre-sales material and support, training resources, attractive margins/rebates and evaluation units. www.techdata.com Dave Garwood