v5 4· 2022 www.technologyreseller.co.uk THE MAGAZINE & ONLINE CHANNEL RESOURCE FOR VARS, IT RESELLERS & IT SUPPORT PROVIDERS CYBER SECURITY A better way to manage cyber risk with Kenna Security PAGE 34 ACCESS PAGE 26 IP TELEPHONY Introducing Wildix and the benefits of WebRTC to UK resellers PAGE 42 OneLogin unifies access management for on-prem and cloud apps 200mm 218mm www.technologyreseller.uk THE MAGAZINE & ONLINE CHANNEL RESOURCE FOR MSPS, IT RESELLERS & IT SUPPORT PROVIDERS PAGE 32 VIEW FROM THE CHANNEL SECURITY Q&A PAGE 24 PAGE 36 Brandon Lieberthal explains how resellers can profit from AI PCs With Andrew Carr, MD, Camwood Jonathan Whitley outlines WatchGuard’s evolving product offering TECHNOLOGY RESELLER MAGAZINE I N PRI NT & ONLI NE IN PRINT & ONLINE SINCE 2016
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technologyreseller.co.uk 03 If you no longer wish to receive Technology Reseller magazine please email your details to [email protected] COMMENT On September 17, Tech Live returns to the Business Design Centre in London. We launched the popular one-day event in 2021 to give VARs and MSPs the opportunity to discover new technologies with which they could expand their customer base, extend their reach and generate additional sources of revenue. Attracting channel partners from the IT, print and comms communities, diversification has always a key theme, along with the power of partnerships. It is therefore fitting that this year Tech Live is partnering and co-locating with Uptime Live, a new exhibition created for MSPs looking to improve business efficiency and profitability through the latest tools and business best practice. Turn to page 16 to find out more about this welcome new addition to the MSP calendar. AI has long been used by MSPs to gain insights into their customers’ IT estates. In our Q&A starting on page 32, Brandon Lieberthal, VP PC and Printing Systems, Europe at TD SYNNEX, explains how AI, well AI PCs, are giving a shot in the arm to the PC industry. He is looking forward to a return to sales levels last seen in the Covid years, this time driven by technological advances rather than crisis management. Of course, PC growth is not all down to an appetite for AI-enabled solutions. Much of the demand for new PCs will be driven by the termination of Windows 10 support on October 14, 2025, allied to Windows 11’s minimum hardware requirements. This is creating opportunities for businesses in many different areas, not just PC vendors and their channel partners. On page 24, Andrew Carr, Managing Director of Camwood, an application optimisation and migration specialist, explains how he is seeing growing demand for Windows 11 readiness planning projects. On page 30, Simon Townsend, Global Field CTO of ControlUP, points out that Windows 11 migrations are also an opportunity for businesses to implement digital employee experience (DEX) management tools that will deliver value for years to come. James Goulding – Editor, [email protected] Technology Reseller is published by Kingswood Media Ltd., 7 Amherst House, 22 London Road, Sevenoaks TN13 2BT • Tel: 01732 759725 Email: [email protected] www.technologyreseller.co.uk No part of Technology Reseller can be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. © 2024 Kingswood Media Ltd. Design: Sandtiger Media www.sandtiger.co.uk technologyreseller.co.uk Comment Register online To receive your regular FREE printed copy of Technology Reseller Magazine simply fill in our online registration form at www.technologyreseller.uk/register Read Technology Reseller online, on tablets and smart phones www.technologyreseller.uk Join us : Follow us technology-reseller-magazine Editor: James Goulding 07803 087228 · [email protected] Publishing Director, Social Media and Web Editor: Neil Trim 01732 759725 · [email protected] Advertising Director: Ethan White 01732 759725 · [email protected] Account Manager: Jeff Root 01732 759725 · [email protected] Art Director: Nick Pledge 07767 615983 · [email protected] ISSN 2632-9301 (Print) ISSN 2632-931X (Online) 04 Distributor News Pax8 launches its next generation marketplace 08 Interview Technology Reseller talks to Joel Chimoindes about key growth areas for Nuvias UC 10 Reseller News NG Bailey returns to profitability 16 Tech Live 2024 What you need to know about co-location partner Uptime Live 18 Technology Reseller Awards 2024 Congratulations to this year’s winners 22 Cover Story Test your customer’s domain security 24 View from the channel With Andrew Carr, Managing Director, Camwood 28 MSPs How Kaseya is aiming to transform the economics of the MSP industry 30 DEX Why IT teams should look at DEX when migrating to Windows 11 32 Q&A How resellers can profit from AI PCs 36 Security Technology Reseller talks to Jonathan Whitley about WatchGuard MDR 39 Events Future tech in the fast lane at Goodwood Festival of Speed 40 People New faces, new places TECHNOLOGY RESELLER MAGAZINE I N PRI NT & ONLI NE IN PRINT & ONLINE SINCE 2016 Business Design Centre · London · 17 September 2024 ICT · MANAGED IT · MOBILE · PRINT 24 in partnership with www.tech-live.co.uk Photo: Hive Frameless ©Antonio Pagano Photo: Jayson Fong
01732 759725 04 DISTRIBUTOR NEWS Giacom conquers the Keswick Three Peaks Giacom staff have raised £17,000 for the Make a Wish Foundation and The British Red Cross after conquering the Keswick Three Peaks in the Lake District National Park. For the third consecutive year, Giacom’s flagship charity challenge was sponsored by CityFibre. www.Giacom.com ··· continued... Pax8 launches enhanced marketplace Pax8 is offering its 30,000 MSP customers an enhanced buying experience with the launch of its next generation Pax8 Marketplace. Unveiled at Beyond 2024, the company’s flagship three-day event attended by more than 2,500 partners and vendors, the new Marketplace boasts a modern UX and additional capabilities previewed last year. The two big ones are Opportunity Explorer, which uses AI and data insights to help MSPs identify sales opportunities, and a new Storefronts feature that MSPs can use to create branded stores for customers that want a self-serve option. Other enhancements include smart search and advanced sorting capabilities to help partners find exactly what they’re looking for; the ability to create multiple carts simultaneously; a simplified quoteto-contract process; and the ability for MSPs to create a library of solutions that align with their customers’ needs. Pax8 has also announced a new security program based on the CIS Control Framework that gives partners a proven approach to establishing a cybersecurity practice, with tools, resources and guidance from their account team, as well as leading security solutions. The educational part of the Pax8 Security Program includes a series of 90-minute, instructor-led virtual educational sessions split into separate business and vendor tracks. Finally, Pax8 has added multiple new vendors to its Marketplace. These include: n SuperOps, the first PSA-RMM tool available for purchase through the Pax8 Marketplace, giving MSPs one unified solution to streamline workflows, enhance service delivery and scale operations; n Kalibr8, provider of a comprehensive, multi-tenant cloud management platform that enables MSPs to optimize Azure cloud usage and spending (with monthly savings of up to 65%), automate scheduling to balance peak and off-peak needs, identify underutilised resources, make necessary adjustments such as downscaling and decommissioning resources, and take advantage of reserved instance opportunities; n MSPbots, a process automation platform that enables MSPs to reduce time on routine business and people management by 30% to 40%, through pre-built, ready-to-use dashboards and automation; and n Perception Point, a provider of Advanced Threat Prevention solutions, covering email, Microsoft 365 collaboration apps (Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive) and web browsers, including a 24/7 managed incident response service. www.pax8.com Goldilock expands reach with strategic channel partnerships British cybersecurity company Goldilock has entered into a number of partnerships with distributors and value-added resellers (VARs) as it seeks to increase global demand for its physical network isolation solution using a channel-first approach. Its hardware-based ‘kill-switch’ uses Dynamic Physical Network Segmentation (DPNS) technology to physically isolate digital assets and systems at the touch of a button, giving users another way to protect critical assets as part of a layered security strategy. Initial distribution partnerships are with Cyber Distribution in the UK and Naperto and CreaPlus in mainland Europe. Rob Leggett, CEO and Founder of Cyber Distribution, said “Cyber Distribution is always on the lookout for game-changing products which can make a real difference in the crowded cybersecurity market, and Goldilock fits the bill. Goldilock’s ability to physically isolate critical network infrastructure, OT and IT systems ensures that assets remain secure, invisible and inaccessible to adversaries, connecting to the internet only when necessary or being truly physically isolated in an instant. Our partners can now offer another level of security to their customers that was previously unavailable.” The first VARs to partner with Goldilock are Brookcourt Solutions in the UK, NCS in Singapore, BKJ Works in the US and defence sector specialist Sterling in the UK & US. Steven Brodie, Head of Channel at Goldilock, added: “Our commitment to a channel-first approach takes a major leap forward with these partnerships. We’ve already established strong relationships with our new partners, and we’re actively seeking more to join our growing ecosystem. Ultimately, this is about meeting the demand for such a critical cybersecurity solution as quickly as possible.” ··· Arrow extends VMware support in new agreement with Broadcom Arrow Electronics has signed a new distribution agreement with Broadcom for VMware solutions covering 20 European countries. These include places it was already a VMware distributor prior to the acquisition by Broadcom, plus the Czech Republic, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Switzerland. The agreement will see Arrow and its channel partners help Broadcom drive the adoption of VMware private cloud infrastructure and transition existing VMware customers to a new subscription licence model. Arrow will continue to deliver the entire VMware private cloud infrastructure portfolio including the new offerings VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF), VMware vSphere Standard and VMware vSphere Essentials Plus Kit, as well as add-ons such as VMware vSAN and VMware Live Recovery. In addition, Arrow will expand its role to provide technical support for select VMware solutions in the customer’s preferred language as an extension to Broadcom support. Nick Bannister, President of Arrow’s Enterprise Computing Solutions Business
technologyreseller.co.uk 05 AD NIMANS The ‘go to’ place for Microsoft Teams Certified solutions The ‘go to’ people for Microsoft Teams Certified solutions Headsets, Handsets, Audio Conferencing and Meeting rooms solutions.
01732 759725 06 DISTRIBUTOR NEWS continued... in EMEA, said: “As a VMware distributor for 20 years and the exclusive Symantec cybersecurity aggregator for Broadcom in Europe, we are excited to continue our relationship and play a crucial role in VMware’s new go-to-market approach. Arrow is focused on empowering channel partners to thrive in the new VMware landscape. Our local teams with their extensive experience are ready to guide partners through this transition.” arrow.com ··· SYNAXON UK now an APC Premier Partner Partners of channel services provider SYNAXON UK can look forward to preferential pricing and bid support from APC by Schneider Electric after SYNAXON UK achieved Premier Partner status with the power protection solutions provider based on its technical expertise and a 58% rise in sales. Mike Barron, Managing Director of SYNAXON UK, said: “APC is a renowned brand that is consistently amongst our bestsellers. We have a strong relationship with them and as a Premier Partner, we are now even better placed to support our partners in delivering a great experience to their customers. It also means we can offer even better pricing and special bid access that will enable them to compete for and win profitable business with APC.” The appointment of SYNAXON UK as an APC Premier Partner builds on an 18-year relationship between the two organisations in Germany, where SYNAXON already holds APC Premier Partner status. www.synaxon-services.com ··· TD SYNNEX renews AWS SCA TD SYNNEX is dedicating additional resources to its AWS solutions team after renewing its Strategic Collaboration Agreement (SCA) with Amazon Web Services (AWS). This includes: expanded offerings in several key competency areas, including SMB acceleration, migration and managed services, FinOps, generative AI and AWS Marketplace; dedicated business development resources for its AWS public sector program; and expanded expertise in its regional centre of excellence. Anthony Greenhalgh, Vice President, Hybrid Cloud, Europe at TD SYNNEX, said: “This is a landmark agreement for our two companies, but more importantly it means that we are better positioned than ever to help our partners to deliver innovative and robust solutions to the market and grow their businesses in the process.” www.TDSYNNEX.com Infinigate Cloud expands offering with Chorus SOC services Infinigate Cloud is bringing a Microsoft Sentinel-based SOC-as-a-Service offering to more than 5,500 MSPs across Europe through a new collaboration with global MSSP Chorus. The addition of Chorus’ 24x7 managed threat detection and response (MDR) and managed extended threat detection and response (MXDR) services to the Infinigate Cloud portfolio will help MSPs protect customers’ critical data and IT assets from evolving threats. Michael Frisby, Senior VP of Cloud Services at Infinigate Cloud, said: “For the majority of MSPs, the only viable route to provide true 24x7 managed security protection is through partnership with a specialist provider. This provides peace of mind not only for the end-customers but also for MSPs knowing that their customers are being actively protected around the clock.” Chorus will deliver the managed security services from its UK-based 24x7x365 Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC). Underpinned by Microsoft’s advanced security technologies, Microsoft Sentinel and Microsoft Defender XDR, they have recently been awarded Microsoft-verified MXDR solution status. ··· EMEA first for Westcon-Comstor Westcon-Comstor has become the first distributor in the EMEA region to be officially recognised as a delivery and solutions partner for stadiums looking to transform the spectator experience and boost revenues with Extreme Networks Wi-Fi connectivity and Wi-Fi analytics solutions. Extreme’s connected stadium solutions have already been deployed by Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund, as well as US-based sporting bodies such as Major League Baseball, NASCAR and the National Football League (NFL), to provide a range of features such as mobile ticketing, cashless transactions, in-seat concessions ordering, real-time sports betting and improved stadium app performance. A strong wireless network infrastructure can also improve security and staff collaboration and provide data-driven insights for better resource allocation and operational planning. Martin Flensburg, VP, Business Operations, Global Supply Chain Solutions and Services at Westcon-Comstor, said: “Extreme Networks has taken a leadership position in driving seamless deployments across large venues and stadiums, and we’re excited to partner with them as they continue to expand their presence across EMEA. This new element in our relationship with Extreme creates exciting new opportunities for our partners.” ··· TD SYNNEX expands NVIDIA AI graphics offering TD SYNNEX has expanded its NVIDIA AI offering in Europe with the addition of NVIDIA RTX graphics processing units (GPUs). Designed to accelerate demanding computing workflows in embedded devices, such as kiosks or video walls, as well as servers and workstations, NVIDIA RTX GPUs offer full-stack professional visualisation technologies, delivering realtime ray tracing, AI, compute, simulation Destination IBM watsonx TD SYNNEX has launched a new initiative to recruit 100 partners and guide them to IBM Gold-tier partner status so that they can grow their AI practice with the IBM watsonx AI and data platform. Part of the distributor’s Destination AI programme, the IBM watsonx Gold 100 programme includes AI enablement and training; business planning and sales acceleration; marketing and demand generation; expert services and pre-sales support; and on-demand access to IBM learning and demo environments on IBM Cloud. Sergio Farache, Executive Vice President, Strategy and Global Technology Business at TD SYNNEX, said: “When it comes to investment in AI, it can be difficult for partners to know where to start, so we aim to provide not just solutions but guidance, training and enablement to help them navigate the AI revolution successfully. This comprehensive program is one example of how our Destination AI program can help partners harness the massive opportunity for growth available through AI, including the opportunities made possible by the IBM watsonx platform.” As part of its collaboration with IBM, TD SYNNEX aims to establish IBM watsonx Centres of Excellence in four TD SYNNEX locations in North America and Europe in 2024. site.tdsynnex.com/watsonx. Nick Bannister Arrow Sergio Farache Mike Barron SYNAXON UK Anthony Greenhalgh TD SYNNEX
technologyreseller.co.uk 07 DISTRIBUTOR NEWS Hive exclusive for Midwich Midwich and PSCo are to offer Hive’s full product range in the UK and Ireland, including the Beehive, Beebox and Beeblade, after signing a distribution deal with the media server manufacturer. Designed from the ground up on a Linux operating system, Hive products provide a flexible and scalable media control ecosystem to power complex and creative visuals in immersive exhibitions, galleries and museums, live shows, theme parks and high impact advertising. Customers include the BBC Earth Experience, Frameless London, Luna Park Theme Park, Bees at World Museum, London 2012 Olympics, Tokyo Olympics, Dubai World Expo, Eric Prydz’s HOLO, Coldplay World Tours and the National Museum of Qatar. Mark Calvert, Managing Director of Hive, said: “We are very happy to join the Midwich Group for exclusive distribution of our entire product range within the UK and Northern Ireland. Midwich’s sales, marketing and first line support reach enables Hive to remain focused on our core development and growth strategies.” www.midwich.com • www.psco.co.uk and advanced graphics. Chris Marriott, Senior Director, Enterprise Platforms at NVIDIA, said: “Today’s digital landscape requires advanced computing capabilities to power mobile and desktop users’ everyday workflows. With the addition of NVIDIA RTX GPUs to its portfolio, TD SYNNEX now offers complete enterprise solutions for customers, from desktop to data centre.” ··· New additions to Exertis OpenText offering Exertis Cybersecurity has extended its partnership with OpenText Cybersecurity to provide a broader range of enterprise-class cybersecurity solutions to customers across the UK and Europe. New additions include NetIQ, offering an identity-centric approach to authentication, access, privilege and governance; Voltage, which protects high-value data by deidentifying it and making it useless for attackers while maintaining its usability for processes, applications and services; Fortify, for secure software development and scalable security testing; ArcSight SIEM, a leading in-memory correlation engine for real time threat detection and response; and ArcSight Intelligence, an advanced Insider Threat detection service that uses unsupervised machine learning to detect behavioural anomalies. Dominic Ryles, Director of Sales & Commercial at Exertis Cybersecurity, said: “I’m thrilled to be expanding our distribution agreement to deliver a new generation of tools that include cybersecurity, digital operations management, application modernisations, and AI to our channel partners.” ··· Pexip solutions now available from TD SYNNEX Maverick TD SYNNEX Maverick, the specialist audio visual division of TD SYNNEX, has signed a distribution agreement with Pexip, a leading provider of secure, enterprise grade video and collaboration solutions that improve meeting room experiences and drive higher ROI for customers. With more organisations now making use of multiple video conferencing platforms, the ability to seamlessly and rapidly switch between solutions and to take control of meeting room equipment is crucial to delivering the best user experiences. Pexip’s solutions enable partners to offer these capabilities to customers. Mark Glasspool, Business Development Director at TD SYNNEX Maverick, UK and Ireland, said: “We are committed to providing cutting-edge solutions for our partners and Pexip is a significant addition to our portfolio – one that enables partners to deliver truly seamless and effective communication experiences to their customers. As well as solving a dilemma for users looking to create a full native experience on a variety of host video conferencing platforms, Pexip can help organisations looking to migrate from onprem to cloud by bridging the gap between legacy systems and modern collaboration solutions.” https://uk.tdsynnex.com/ ··· Storware extends UK reach with Titan Data Solutions Storware, a provider of advanced backup and data protection solutions, is expanding its reach in the UK through a partnership with Titan Data Solutions, a specialist distributor of data storage, security and management technologies. Established in Warsaw, Poland in 2013, Storware secures virtual machines, containers and cloud environment data, including Microsoft 365, applications and storage providers. Storware CEO Jan Sobieszczanski said: “We are delighted to partner with Titan Data Solutions to enhance our reach and deliver greater value to customers seeking robust data protection for modern workloads. Together, we are well-positioned to meet the evolving needs of businesses for reliable, scalable and easy-to-deploy data backup and disaster recovery solutions.” Stefan Ferrari, Head of Technical Services at Titan Data Solutions, added: “We’re committed to bringing the most advanced technologies to our growing partner base. Storware’s cutting-edge backup solution offers unique functionality that will create new opportunities for our customers. Storware’s product integrates with many of Titan’s vendors, allowing us to enhance storage and management solutions with disruptive backup that ensures data availability and business continuity. We look forward to working with Storware and our partners to create value, drive opportunities and deliver mutual success.” titandatasolutions.com Dominic Ryles Exertis Cybersecurity Mark Glasspool TD SYNNEX photo: Hive Frameless ©Antonio Pagano
01732 759725 08 INTERVIEW James Goulding talks to Nuvias UC CEO Joel Chimoindes about CCaaS, services and the ISDN switch-off in video collaboration everyone wants you to sell vast quantities, but it still requires specialism for it to be used properly at an end user level. There’s a dichotomy where the industry needs volume and professionalism at the same time, and that's really where video is now. “In a previous role (almost two years ago), we did a survey of 1,500 SMB resellers across Europe and looked at the average number of units bought by SMB resellers for video collaboration. That number was just three. When you go back to understand why the figure was so low, it was things like not enough margin in the deal because resellers didn't have the skills and capabilities to deploy it in an effective way.” Chimoindes points out that today, when selling video collaboration devices or UCaaS/CCaaS, resellers need an expanded range of capabilities, not just in network and platform integration and security but also in their understanding of workplace, HR and productivity issues, as well as traditional customer relationship management skills. “One thing that came through really strongly in the research is that no one was going back to the end user and saying ‘How are you using your equipment? Can we help you use it in a better way?’. And that still rings true today.” ISDN switch-off Which brings us to the ISDN switchoff. This is clearly a big opportunity for resellers and MSPs to go back to their customers and discuss their evolving communication and collaboration requirements. So, what does Chimoindes think of its postponement to January 2027? Like many in the industry, he has mixed feelings. “From an end user perspective, it's okay because their ability to spend money is still constrained. From a channel perspective, it's really frustrating. The channel has been prepared for this for a while and has taken advantage of the opportunity to move people from ISDN to IP solutions and at the same time to upsell to UCaaS and CCaaS. The fact that the ISDN switch-off has now been pushed out to 2027 is quite frustrating. I'm not saying it was unexpected, but it is frustrating.” Chimoindes says that while telco resellers already work closely with their end user customers, the number of businesses that have yet to do anything is a real opportunity for smaller IT resellers to engage with SMB customers looking for or needing information about migrating from legacy to IP communications, including UCaaS. “Our friends at Cavell Group shared some great research at one of our recent Tech Talks events. They surveyed 501 telecoms buyers in companies of multiple sizes and found that 80% were aware of the PSTN switch-off. That still means 20% weren’t. That's quite a large number. So there's still education to be done.” Businesses making that first move from ISDN to UCaaS is one market trend. A second highlighted by Chimoindes is that of businesses that have already switched to a UCaaS solution now looking to upgrade to more competitive solutions. Again, he cites a Cavell Group survey, this one showing that of the businesses that adopted a UCaaS solution in 2021, 70% had moved over from an on-premises PBX, with 30% coming from an alternative UCaaS solution. In 2023, the ratio changed to 50:50. “That tells us that customers that have already adopted UCaaS and IP-based solutions are now looking at how they move to the next one, because the market is getting more competitive. We've got two dynamics: we've got the move from ISDN, where people need to make their first leap to UCaaS and beyond; and then we've got the businesses that have already moved to UCaaS and are now looking at more competitive solutions.” For some, this could involve an upgrade to Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS), which is experiencing strong growth in the mid-market thanks to a strategic focus on customer experience Technology Reseller last met up with Joel Chimoindes, CEO of Nuvias UC, the week before Christmas to hear about his plans for the specialist distributor of voice, video, UC and CCaaS solutions. On May 29, after almost six months of lacklustre UK growth and constrained spending, we put in another call to see how those plans were progressing. The week before our call, Rishi Sunak had surprised (nearly) everyone by announcing a summer general election. Like many, Chimoindes is looking forward to life after July 4 when businesses can face the future with more certainty and perhaps free up their spending which, from Nuvias UC’s perspective, he characterised as patchy, with good growth in services and UCaaS/CCaaS offsetting tough conditions in hardware sales. Chimoindes shied away from describing the UC hardware market as commoditised, preferring the word maturing instead. “I was talking to someone yesterday about the distinction between maturing and commoditised, a word we often use in the IT industry without actually meaning it. Commoditised, to me, is when you are shipping thousands of units and margins are fairly low for everyone involved. We’re not at that stage yet in UC. We’re a maturing industry, but we’re not commoditised, and that brings with it some interesting dynamics. For example, Growth and maturity Joel Chimoindes
technologyreseller.co.uk 09 INTERVIEW Services growth Meanwhile, services continue to be a key growth area for Nuvias UC, propelled by the evolution of Teams and Zoom into mission-critical communications platforms and supported by the creation of a single, pan-European services team responsible for delivering professional and managed services across the UK, DACH, Benelux, France and southern and eastern Europe. “Nuvias UC’s services business is going from strength to strength across Europe. Our Technical Services team now has over 417 technical accreditations from the likes of Zoom, Microsoft, Cisco, Poly HP, Yealink, Pexip and PRINCE2 Project Management. We've reached a milestone, over the last 12 months, of migrating more than 30,000 seats from legacy platforms to Microsoft Teams on behalf of partners. We also provide managed support services for more than a dozen customers, again on behalf of channel partners, monitoring and managing Teams-based devices on networks and resolving any issues that arise,” explains Chimoindes. “We’re going to carry on growing and investing in that part of our business because we believe it enhances the capability and the capacity of partners. Some will choose to offset professional services and managed services to us while they develop their own capabilities. Others will use Nuvias UC to expand their own capacity. There are some great examples in our German business of where we’ve worked with partners to address the needs of end users that have had trouble with migration and managed support and, with our services, have been able to help resellers secure those end users as customers for the next three to five years.” Market polarisation Services growth, especially around Teams and Zoom, is important as it allows channel partners to maintain revenue and margin in traditional areas that are experiencing downward price pressure, including meeting spaces. Chimoindes acknowledges the fall in average selling prices (ASPs) caused by new entrants looking to establish a market presence through aggressive pricing but says there is still plenty of growth in the meeting spaces market. “Still only 16% of meeting rooms have got adequate video capability, so that's a huge opportunity for us. When we talk about that market maturing, that's at a revenue level not at a unit level. Unit sales are still growing, and we expect that growth to be significant. But because ASPs (average selling prices) have come down there is a need to add services and other opportunities to maintain revenue and margin.” He also points out that because video is now mission-critical rather than a ‘nice-to-have’ a good quality meeting experience is essential. “The market will polarise. Yes, there will be a need for price-efficient units that can satisfy a certain customer need. But equally there will be a need for hardware that delivers a great user experience, with fantastic picture quality and the use of AI to mix camera feeds for greater meeting equity. If 50% of people attending a meeting are going to be remote, probably more, you need to create a great meeting equity environment. And to do that you need great solutions from people like HP Poly and Logitech.” To find out more about Nuvias UC’s solutions and services, please visit https://nuvias-uc.com. (CX) and the greater availability of agile, scalable, cloud-based solutions that are easier to deploy in SMBs. “We talk a lot about converged communications and CCaaS is a natural evolution of that, whether you're a telephony partner or a video partner. Take Zoom as an example. It started life as a meetings company and then transitioned to telephony and now to CCaaS as well. A lot of partners have gone through the same evolution. CCaaS feels like a natural extension to that whole unified comms portfolio, so if a partner is supplying video and telephony and they don’t do CCaaS someone else in their environment will.” Nuvias UC’s recently launched Pathfinder+ programme is expressly designed to help partners gain expertise in CCaaS and other growth areas. It is early days, but the distributor is already working with a dozen partners to help them strengthen ties with vendors, expand their capabilities and get to revenue more quickly. This is exactly what Nuvias itself is doing. It already acts as a distributor for Five9 and Zoom and is soon to announce new vendor partnerships in its CCaaS portfolio (as well as its UCaaS and meeting spaces offerings), while at the same time expanding its own CCaaS deployment through integrations with the company CRM system and AI. This investment should enable more productive interactions with partners, using chatbots, for example, to answer basic questions and AI to provide prompts and live feedback on sales calls.
10 01732 759725 RESELLER NEWS DXC partners with Checkmarx DXC Technology is extending its relationship with cloud-native application security specialist Checkmarx and delivering the latter’s fully scalable application security programs and services to enterprise customers around the world. As well as selling and supporting the Checkmarx One AppSec platform globally, enabling customers to improve security across the entire software development life cycle (SDLC) from code to cloud, DXC will provide a variety of services. These include application security strategy and consulting; application threat analysis; optimisation to ensure high-fidelity results and priority-based remediation; query customisation, triage and remediation; static, dynamic, API, IaC security testing; open-source software composition analysis; and migration to Checkmarx One. DXC.com ··· Keeping customers close Yorkshire IT and telephony specialist Probado is building even closer ties to one of its customers, the Globe Mill in Slaithwaite town centre, by moving its operations and nine-strong team into the building for which it provides network and connectivity services. The move will support Probado’s continued... Kinly delivers more engaging experiences with XR Studio As part of its developing expertise in immersive collaboration technologies, Kinly has launched Kinly XR Studio. Combining Kinly managed services with technology supplied by Wimbledon-based virtual production company Smart Stage, the turnkey solution enables customers in the corporate and higher education sectors to provide more engaging experiences by immersing users in a limitless 360° virtual world supported by broadcast-quality production capabilities. XR Studio replaces a green screen with LED video displays showing digital content, colleagues and clients and, via a virtual set extension feature, expands content beyond the physical LED environment, allowing the camera(s) to explore the virtual world and capture a range of perspectives and additional content. Augmented reality layers, such as graphs, data and 3D visualisations, can be incorporated alongside the ‘on stage’ presenter, helping to bring content to life. XR Studio tracks the presenter’s position, enabling AR graphics to appear in front of or behind them as they walk around. Another standout feature is full body ‘teleportation’ streams that allow remote guests to join and present as if they were physically in the XR Studio. Kinly says that no technical experience or large studio team is required to produce broadcast quality output with AR graphics and extended VR sets. Operation and content creation is managed though an intuitive user interface, operable via an iPad. www.kinly.com ongoing growth, following the expansion of its technical services team with three new starters in the last 12 months and a 20% increase in client numbers in 2024 alone. Probado is leasing three offices with a combined space of 900sq feet and investing £30,000 on a bespoke fit-out with new furnishings, automatic height adjustable desks, video collaboration facilities and a gaming area where the team can unwind. It has also provided staff with barista training from Darkwoods Coffee. Established in 2007, Probado provides networking, hosting, printing, telephony, IoT, training and integration services to organisations across the north of England. www.probado.co.uk ··· Thirty-year target International IT and business consultancy Waterstons is marking its first 30 years in business with a pledge to raise a minimum of £30,000 to give back to organisations and communities that mean a lot to the company’s 300-strong team. The four charities selected by Waterstons staff are: the Alzheimer’s Society; St Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham; Brightest Stars, which supports children and families suffering bereavement and loss; and Man On! Inverclyde, which exists to prevent suicides and enhance wellbeing. Fund-raising activities already planned include the Durham City Run Festival, a sponsored 30km walk around London, a night time climb of Snowdon and, on July 5, the UK Three Peaks Challenge. www.waterstons.com/waterstons30 ··· One-stop network and cyber security Pan-European cyber security specialist Integrity360 has launched a managed service covering Fortinet’s full portfolio of cyber security and network solutions. Available to SMEs and enterprises in Ireland, the UK and Europe, the Fortinet managed service provides 24/7 monitoring to identify issues and manage incidents, supported by access to Integrity360’s remote security operations centre (SOC) and service desk. The service includes the Fortinet Security Fabric platform, backed by one operating system (FortiOS), one unified agent (FortiClient), one management console (FortiManager), one data lake (FortiAnalyzer), open APIs and integration with over 500 third-party products. In addition, Fortinet Secure SDWAN enhances work-from-anywhere with a comprehensive SASE solution by integrating cloud-delivered SD-WAN with Security Service Edge (SSE). ··· Workplace Vision to bring consistency to global AV/UC deployments Workplace Vision is entering the enterprise workplace technology market with a platform-based approach to the global deployment of AV and UC solutions underpinned by global standards management, delivery governance and support. The company says it is not a hardware
technologyreseller.co.uk 11 BUSINESS BRIEFING AD Giacom Giacom’s cloud marketplace provides over 6,000 MSPs and Resellers access to Cloud, Comms, and Hardware products and services from the world’s top vendors and carriers. Our range of automation tools and integrations will streamline your business ops. And, with our enablement resources and tech expertise, you can build the skills you need for the future. Imagine growing your business faster. You can, with Giacom. 03304 333 888 www.giacom.com what we can do together
01732 759725 12 RESELLER NEWS John Masters Workplace Vision reseller or a traditional AV integrator or consultant but a provider of a framework of services through an intelligent software & services platform optimised to help enterprises meet the demand from global hybrid workforces for consistent and equitable user experiences. Workplace Vision operates from Global Operations Centres (GOCs) located in the UK, US and India, allowing them to deliver 24x7 scalable and cost-effective global support. CEO John Masters said: “There has been an undeniable increase in demand for userfriendly technology to support hybrid working models. But there is very little support for organisations with a global technology strategy that want to enjoy the significant benefits of operating through a global support desk. And that’s where Workplace Vision’s intelligent platform-driven approach steps in to deliver truly standardised solutions that are optimised for our fast and cost-effective global support service.” Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Kuldip Kamat added: “Workplace Vision’s end-to-end service and intelligent platform approach make it easier for clients to gather and analyse data across their entire global technology estate, supporting the continuous development of their workplace technology strategies.” https://workplacevision.com/ ··· NG Bailey IT services aid return to profitability NG Bailey’s diversified business strategy is bearing fruit with a return to profit in the year ending 1st March 2024. Annual turnover grew to £600m, up from £532m in 2023, with an underlying operating profit up to £11.2m, following a loss of £17.3m in FY2023. The UK’s largest independent engineering and services business has maintained its strong balance sheet with net assets of £129m (2023: £121m), including cash and investments of £70m (2023: £83m) and, since the end of March 2023, no external debt. The Group’s order book also remains healthy, at £1.4bn (2023: £1.3bn). Growth has been driven by the strong performance of its Services division, which delivered record levels of profitability for the second year in a row. All three business streams (Facilities Services, IT Services and Freedom) increased turnover and either met or exceeded budgeted profitability. The Services division now accounts for about half of overall Group turnover, following organic growth and selective, low risk acquisitions which have increased capability, geography and resilience. The division is primed for further growth as it uses its expertise in renewable connections, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and the built environment to further support the decarbonisation of the UK economy. ··· Flotek becomes SonicWall gold partner Fast growing MSP Flotek has been recognised as a Gold partner by cybersecurity company SonicWall, becoming only the second firm in Wales to gain the accreditation. SonicWall protects cloud, hybrid and traditional environments across an expanded attack surface including remote, mobile and cloud-enabled users. Jay Ball, CEO of Flotek Group, said: “Becoming a Gold partner of SonicWall gives us the strongest buying power to deliver solutions to our customers as a monthly service, such as firewall, rather than large capital upfront costs.” In the last two years, Flotek Group has completed 11 acquisitions, increased turnover to more than £12 million and expanded its team to 86 people. n In a second second, Flotek has become only the second company in Wales to be authorised to supply, install and certify CommScope data & fibre products across the UK. Phillip Emanuel, Flotek Group Telecoms Director, said: “This partnership will allow us to work with much larger installations throughout the UK, like NHS Trusts, local councils, data centres or emergency services. We will be recruiting 15 more engineers over the next six months to grow this arm of our business to over £2 million revenue within the next 2 years.” www.flotek.io ··· Wavenet and Canon extend partnership Wavenet has strengthened its partnership with Canon by adding Canon Multifunctional Printers (MFPs) and print services to its offering. Wavenet is currently the power behind Canon’s IT Services proposition. Canon MFPs will enable Wavenet to support customers’ digital transformation with innovative devices that work handin-hand with smart software to digitise business processes. The next stage of the partnership will see Wavenet adopt software solutions such as uniFLOW Online. Stuart Miller, Director, Channel Partners at Canon UK & Ireland, said: “At Canon, our partners are at the centre of our business and we are delighted to be taking our long-standing relationship with Wavenet to the next level as a trusted partner while reaffirming our position also as a Wavenet IT partner. We’re working closely with the team to support them throughout this learning process, so that they can expand their capabilities for existing and new customers.” ··· OryxAlign launches Copilot workshops IT managed services provider OryxAlign has piloted a series of workshops to prepare clients for the roll-out of Microsoft Copilot across their businesses, holding its first workshop on how to protect sensitive company data from AI systems at its London HQ at the end of May. Justin Rutherford, Chief Technical Officer at OryxAlign, said: “While the world has been quick to embrace and start using freely available generative AI tools like ChatGPT, what most users probably aren’t aware of is that entering sensitive company information into these tools can be used to train the AI models and could increase the cybersecurity risk companies face. We’re launching these workshops to help companies embrace AI safely. “Many attendees were surprised by the amount of preparation necessary before launching Microsoft Copilot and our sessions provided a framework for them to start thinking about what’s needed.” OryxAlign warns that if Windows Copilot is activated without the correct configurations, it could gain access to sensitive business data within applications and systems that could inadvertently be shared or misused. In addition, the MSP warns that activating Copilot without adequate data security measures could expose systems to cyber threats. Ensuring that Copilot is configured with enterprise-grade security settings, including vulnerability management and extended detection and response (XDR), can help to protect against these risks. www.oryxalign.com continued... continued...
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01732 759725 14 Richard May virtualDCS Ryan Martin ANS RESELLER NEWS Two Veeam awards in two years for virtualDCS Leeds-headquartered cloud service provider virtualDCS has won its second Veeam Innovation Award in two years at VeeamON 2024. The business continuity specialist won its first at last year’s event, as well as ‘Best in Show’ for its CloudCover arm. CloudCover is a purpose-built SaaS suite that enhances Veeam’s backup software by providing a single pane of glass for end-toend security, backup and data immutability in the cloud. virtualDCS recently enhanced its CloudCover suite with CloudCover Guardian for Azure. This provides a 360-degree view of firms’ Microsoft 365 configurations and complete, multi-tenanted backup and recovery capabilities, without the need for any on-site installations. Richard May, CEO of virtualDCS, said: “We are thrilled to be able to provide a complementary solution to the already strong Veeam software suite. And to be recognised for a second time in a row by the global software leader — not least alongside such esteemed industry peers — is a proud achievement.” www.virtualdcs.co.uk ··· ANS helping partners tackle UK skills gap Digital transformation and cloud services provider ANS is giving channel partners the opportunity to take advantage of its OFSTED ‘Outstanding’ apprenticeship programme with the launch of a new Academy as a Service offering. This will enable partners to address the UK’s tech skills gap by working with ANS on the development of tailored tech talent apprenticeship training programmes. Ryan Martin, Head of Indirect at ANS, said: “We wanted to take our OFSTED Outstanding training to our channel community, utilising our experience and success in building early career pipelines for their business and building a diverse and skilled workforce.” The Department of Education (DfE) reports that 65% of apprentices stay with the same employer after completing their apprenticeship, with 61% staying with the same employer for over 5 years, according to the Institute of Student Employers. ANS has helped more than 250 apprentices to gain technology, commercial, finance, business administration and marketing qualifications, with a 100% pass rate and 78% distinction rate. ··· FluidOne prepares for 300% growth with refinancing package FluidOne has agreed a long-term refinancing package with Pemberton Asset Management in support of its ambitious plans to treble in size over the next five years. The provider of Connected Cloud Solutions has quadrupled in size since 2019, evolving into one of the UK’s leading IT and continued... Giacom enters world of IoT Giacom, a provider of comms, cloud and technology solutions for the channel, is addressing the need for always-on mobile connectivity with the launch of a Smart Mobile Data SIM with access to all four major UK mobile networks and the ability to switch between them if a signal is lost. Andrew Wilford, Managing Director (Mobile) at Giacom, said: “Smart Mobile Data provides the foundation to support a vast range of communications and IT solutions, leveraging the same mobile networks that we all use for our smartphones and tablets. It’s a perfect addition to any traditional comms or managed service portfolio.” Giacom is offering Smart Mobile Data with tariffs suitable for two major use cases – the Internet of Things and mobile broadband. These are FlexConnect, which ensures IoT devices stay connected to 4G/5G using the strongest mobile network available; and CompleteConnect, a managed SIM and Router solution for customers who need a temporary hotspot or a mobile broadband solution for a small/home office. Giacom’s Cloud Market makes billing simple and easy, while providing access to additional products with which partners can create Smart Mobile Data-based solutions. Giacom.com Andrew Wilford Cyber Security managed services providers with group revenues of £109 million. Pemberton’s refinancing agreement includes a facility to fund future strategic acquisitions and support FluidOne’s plans to acquire multiple businesses every year. Since investment from Livingbridge in 2019, supporting an MBO led by CEO Russell Horton, FluidOne has made eight acquisitions and become a leading IT and cybersecurity-led MSP. FluidOne combines IT and cyber, connectivity and communications in connected cloud solutions that enable staff to work from anywhere, simply and securely. www.fluidone.com ··· Deep Green partners with Vespertec Deep Green, developer of the UK’s first data centre-heated swimming pool, has announced a new partnership with data centre infrastructure specialist Vesper Technologies (Vespertec) to help it deploy decarbonised immersion-cooled data centres across the UK. It has chosen to work with the specialist in the design, configuration, delivery and support of open, high performance data centre infrastructure because of Vespertec’s close working relationship with manufacturers. This will help it create a fully traceable supply chain of high performance hardware capable of operating in immersion cooling systems which will be needed for Deep Green to scale its technology. Ben Langstreth, Open Technology and Infrastructure Specialist at Vesper Technologies, said: “By repurposing the power it uses in novel ways that benefit the surrounding communities, Deep Green has shown the way towards a more sustainable future. We have no doubt this project will continue to scale and set the tone for the UK’s data centre industry. Vespertec is delighted to support its growth.” www.vespertec.com ··· Mitel accolade Maintel has been named Mitel Partner of the Year for UKISA (the UK, Ireland and Southern Africa) at the 2024 Mitel Next Awards in recognition of its commitment to growth, customer excellence and innovation. www.mitel.com
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