Comms Dealer

An order from Storm Technologies has taken distributor Westcoast past the 100,000 CSP seat milestone in the UK.

Westcoast was appointed as a Microsoft Cloud Solutions Provider in 2015.

Mark Davies Westcoast's Cloud Services Director, said: "That says a lot given we only started accelerating our CSP programme last September. Since then we've absolutely rocketed. Our partners have seen their cloud numbers surge and their businesses boom."

Georgina Block, Head of Cloud Sales at Westcoast, said: "The technology hasn't changed no matter which Microsoft agreement is chosen. What has changed is the way in which our partners now sell their products, creating margin from value added services and building solutions."

IT solutions provider Imerja has achieved Gold Partner Status with network access provider HPE Aruba.

Since the partnership began in 2011, the two companies have worked together to deploy and deliver a number of networking projects across the public sector.

A standout example is the critical IT infrastructure deployed for the Innovation Hub at Alder Hey hospital, which allowed clinicians to trial, develop and test new health technologies.

Ian Jackson, MD at Imerja, said: "Aruba Networks has been a core partner of ours for five years, and throughout that time we've worked together to empower organisations through innovative solutions."

Eve Kelly, channel manager at HPE Aruba, added: "Making Imerja a gold partner felt like a natural elevation as we have been impressed by the team's innovative approach to large projects and strong customer relationships for many years."

Cloud telephony provider Firstcom Europe has selected Cisco' new Multiplatform IP Phones for its Unified Communications Service, Universe.

Adam Crisp, Chief Technology Officer at Firstcom, said: "By partnering with Cisco we have a clear development path from today's products into the products of the future. Customers and partners demand ease-of-use, value and hardware that is built to last, and with Cisco, by definition they are buying into technology that is not only all of these things, but also future-proof."

8x8 has been awarded four new patents related to its communications technologies - Conferencing and Meeting Implementations with Advanced Features,; Multiple-Master DNS System; Identifying and Processing of Unreturned Calls in IPBX; Limiting Contact in a Networked Contact Center Environment.

"Enterprises everywhere are undergoing a digital transformation that involves not only a shift to cloud-based architectures, but also requires the implementation of smarter, more flexible communications systems that help address the needs of a constantly evolving competitive environment," said Bryan Martin, Chairman and CTO of 8x8.

"We've long been committed to innovating with and ahead of our customers to help them meet the evolving and complex needs of that transformation."

Reading-based Nuvola Distribution invited local businesses to a coffee morning held in aid of Macmillan, raising over £290 for the cancer charity. "Many of us have friends and family touched by cancer, so we ate a selection of cakes baked by employees and their children, and drank copious amount of hot brews to raise the funds," said Nuvola CEO Michael Lloyd.

Mitel has introduced World Cloud, a new solution for simplifying back-end services and management of cloud communications for multinational businesses.

Announced at the company's marquee Mitel Next event in Paris, World Cloud expands Mitel's cloud footprint to more than 40 countries worldwide.

World Cloud gives employees universal access to the same communications capabilities while providing free international extension-to-extension dialling and unlimited user-based country dialling. Local in-bound phone numbers and extensions with local out-bound dialling also localise the customer experience.

World Cloud also simplifies IT management with streamlined administration tools and consolidated billing.

"There is an increasing, even an accelerating, interest in cloud communications by distributed organisations with sophisticated requirements and geographically-dispersed offices," said Sandra Gustavsen, Analyst, G Business Systems.

"Ease of adding new locations, consistency across a network and built-in resiliency are among the strategic benefits a cloud alternative inherently offers.

"Moreover, a global cloud network that can unify a hybrid of cloud and on-premises deployments provides the ultimate in flexibility by creating a single communications platform for multinational organisations, while allowing them to retain the mix of on-premises equipment and cloud services that best fits their particular business challenges."

Jon Brinton, President and EVP Mitel Cloud Division, added: "With the rise of the digital economy, business must think globally more than ever because the reality is their competitors are.

"Mitel is helping meet the connection and flexibility needs of multinationals as they penetrate new markets, acquire and merge with other companies or expand their workforce.

"This is true for the small business looking to address its customers' needs like a Fortune 500 enterprise, or a large business wanting to adapt to changing markets with the ease of a nimble start-up."

A strong sales performance secured Nimans the Distributor of the Year award from headset firm Jabra for the second time. "Winning awards is great testimony to the skills and dedication of our staff coupled with the support of our customers," said Dealer Sales Headset Business Manager Jason Welsh. "We enjoy an excellent working relationship with Jabra which is set to grow even stronger."

Toshiba long-timer Daniel Fuller-Smith has joined South West Communications Group as Sales Manager of the south east office.

He worked for Toshiba for 26 years, latterly as Sales Manager for the UK and EMEA.

Sales Director Sarah Flowers said: "Daniel was well known to us during his role with Toshiba. His expertise and location means he is a natural fit for our growth plans into the south east."

Fuller-Smith added: "We already have clients in these areas but know we can support many other businesses with the addition of extra staff dedicated to the region."

A team of 10 fundraisers put together by Focus Group Director Chris Goodman have summitted the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, Kilimanjaro, raising over £28k in aid of Chestnut Tree House (a children's hospice in Sussex), St Wilfrid's Hospice, Ronald Macdonald House, Teenage Cancer Trust and the British Heart Foundation.

"Because of the altitude and lack of oxygen it took seven days to summit the mountain, but only one to get down!" said Goodman, who is pictured with his wife and two fellow fundraisers.

UCaaS provider Fuze (formerly ThinkingPhones) has joined Intelisys Global's European Supplier Partner portfolio, a move that builds on its relationship with Intelisys in the US since August 2012.

Gregg Henebry, VP Worldwide Channels, Fuze, said: "The Intelisys technology services distributor model proved successful for Fuze in the United States so we are keen to replicate this in the UK and European markets.

"Signing up as an Intelisys Global Supplier Partner brings new opportunities for Fuze to broaden its reach to channel partners and grow our expanding customer base."

The Intelisys Global distribution channel was launched into Europe in July this year.