Comms Dealer

It is a stroke of good fortune for Clarion that its mission is also its biggest opportunity - to change the culture of re-use and waste in the phone system marketplace, according to Managing Director Tom Hunt.

Clarion's responsibility dovetails neatly with its commercial ambitions and this perfect fit is reflected in Hunt's long-term association with CEO Ben Bradbury with whom he has been a friend since childhood. Prior to joining Clarion in 2003 Hunt worked as Chief of Staff for an MP for four years focusing on environmental and technology issues. This experience was transferred to Clarion and helped to establish the company as an 'envirotechno' trailblazer with Hunt and Bradbury leading a phone system hardware re-use revolution across 50 countries - and they recently refurbished their millionth handset.

Clarion was set up with just £7,000 and currently generates circa £4 million annual turnover and employs 40 staff. The company moved from London in 2013 to 40,000 sq ft premises in Billingshurst, providing enough space to set up a remanufacturing plant. "We now have a state of the art test, refurb and repair centre and process over 3,000 IP and digital handsets a week," said Hunt. "Our current challenge is convincing people not to be wasteful and that high quality Grade A refurb kit is not the same as second hand. We are often stripping out motherboards, relaminating and recasing handsets. That is why we call it better than new.

"Our products go through an extensive refurb bench testing process and are given a warranty that is double the length of a new one. We also replace faulty handsets the next day, unlike manufacturers that require phones to be returned for repair which can take weeks. Our resellers don't pay to have their handsets maintained, which gives them more margin to play with when they are quoting for maintenance. Furthermore, to underscore our commitment to the refurb revolution we invite people to take part in our Pepsi Cola challenge by sending out new and reconditioned phones so they can make their own judgement."

Clarion began its commercial life at a time when the market was awash with VC money and cash was being spent on the very best of everything to set up new businesses. This extravagance played into the hands of Clarion's founders. "When the bubble burst much more used kit came onto the market and we approached receivers and liquidators to purchase it, paying a fair value and indirectly returning more money to creditors while creating a market for people who needed heavily discounted comms," said Hunt.

"Reusing the equipment meant that it was not being sent to landfill, which was still happening back then. Today, with our suppliers and purchases worldwide, we know what is in demand and what is coming into the marketplace and can create fair value so that both parties gain."

What stood out most to Hunt was the extent of waste and the opportunity to create something remarkable in a new market. "Companies pay a high price for new kit that devalues quickly," said Hunt. "If a company goes bust the chances are that its ICT kit will be skipped. On the flip side, companies wanting to get off the ground need comms equipment but their pockets may not be deep enough to buy new products. We saw a market for trading used telco kit so we also started scooping up deals at the auctions."

Clarion's first purchase was an old Argent Branch system with many DT3 handsets bought from an auction house in Croydon. "I had a buyer in mind so I could outbid others who were chancing their arm for a bargain," recalled Hunt. "I carried it away with difficulty in four hessian sacks and managed to get it into the car. Since those 'rag and phone' days we have developed into a fully fledged partner to the telecoms trade providing telephone systems, cards and handsets, plus repair services for resellers. We configure IP handsets for hosted providers and ship emergency maintenance parts to our customers around the globe.

"The icing on the cake for our customers is that the Grade A reliable equipment we provide is also helping them to decrease their carbon footprint. This helps them target sectors such as the NHS and Local Government which are some of the fastest growing markets for refurb in the UK. We also give the money we make from recycling to MIND, a charity close to our hearts."

Clarion's all singing and dancing refurb and repair facility houses a team of engineers who provide technical advice to resellers; while the sales team supports resellers in winning hosted and on site telephone system deals. Hunt explained: "We do this in two ways: By buying back the old telephone system and allowing the reseller to subsidise the deal, and we help them undercut the competition. Most deals on new kit come with a discount, let's say 20 per cent. If we then provide the handsets at 80 per cent off the new price resellers win the deal."

Perhaps not surprisingly, manufacturers and distributors were perturbed by the attraction of Clarion's proposition to resellers, and it didn't take long for some to follow its lead. "Cisco and Avaya entered our market with their own certified refurbished offering," stated Hunt. "This move by the manufacturers has helped to expand the market, reinforcing the message that refurbished is just as acceptable as new."

A key growth area is the supply of IP handsets for use on hosted platforms. "We have several partnerships with hosted providers and resellers," added Hunt. "They send us their equipment and our engineers configure it as they wish. Servicing hosted VARs is the fastest growing part of our business. We continue to stress to them the importance of the benefits of equipment re-use to win business and save their clients needless expenditure, and to take some responsibility in protecting the world's resources by reducing their carbon footprint. We stock every type of IP handset.

"There is no doubt that most if not all business comms will soon be in the cloud. But we should not be getting ahead of ourselves. For years we were told that the introduction of IP would mean the death of traditional fixed line business. That was back in the mid-noughties but look where we are now. There is a huge chunk of the market still invested heavily in on-site telephony. So we continue to focus on supporting our resellers in providing heavily discounted refurbished telephone systems and handsets to their large corporate clients and the public sector."

Hunt cited one such example, an organisation with a legacy system which is rolling out 5,000-plus refurbished handsets saving the business over £330,000. "There's plenty of margin to be shared between us, the reseller and the customer," said Hunt. "But large corporates and the organisations our clients service and maintain are now moving their data into the cloud. The voice will soon follow. The big question is whether they go straight to the headset/PC set-up or keep the handsets. Current trends suggest the latter. But we are also moving more into the headset market."

Another growth area is the repair division. "We have a team of qualified engineers with a broad range of technical skills," said Hunt. "Some of the vendors support us and provide their schematics, otherwise we work it out. One of our next steps will be to roll out a 3D printer division for helping produce hard-to-find parts."

Hunt advises resellers to embrace refurb whenever and wherever possible. "Being a reseller is about adding value, and with a reliable refurb and repair partner resellers are adding a significant amount of value to their offering," he commented. "In simple terms, resellers gain a competitive edge and reduce their carbon footprint."•

From car phones to PCI compliance: How Aerial Business Communications Managing Director Paul Davis made it big in comms.

Portsmouth-based Aerial Business Communications celebrated three decades in business in June. The company, formerly known as Aerial Telephones, was founded by Davis and began life as a mobile and car phone retailer operating from a small shop and employing three sales staff. Aerial has since developed into a multi-award winning full UC company with a 50-plus headcount, supplying mobiles, telephone systems, IT and Internet connectivity services.

It all began when Davis, as an opportunistic 22-year-old, worked in the Middle East for a Dutch company selling reprographic equipment to the oil industry. His plan was to do this for three years, and with time running down he began the search for a fresh opportunity on home territory in 1985. "The Daily Telegraph was advertising sales jobs in the new car phone telecoms market," explained Davis. "I found myself talking to Geremy Thomas who co-founded the Carphone Group (subsequently sold to Cable&Wireless). We struck a deal and I buzzed with exciting ideas."

The following year Davis approached the banks with a business plan but they could not see the commercial case for car phones. "Banks have been wrong on many occasions, and this was no exception," added Davis. "I invested my own money and bought five car phones, one for myself and four for stock with a total value of over £8,000. I sold to local people with expensive cars and soon required retail premises and staff. This was the start of Aerial. Today, we are O2's biggest direct partner and part of Samsung's B2B partnership programme, accredited as a B2B Expert. Much of our business is now truly converged and we have some large well known public organisations as customers. This way we are not so reliant on the networks."

Last year Aerial's mobile and data division grew by 65 per cent following a 40 per cent hike in new connections. "Although our base is predominantly business mobile customers we also saw a huge uptake in our fixed landline and broadband services with 279 per cent growth in this division in 2015," said Davis. "During the same period our IT systems and cloud services division grew by 16 per cent; and as awareness around the benefits of hosted phones and SIP trunks increases the demand for telephone systems also intensified, with 46 per cent growth in this division."

In just three years Aerial's annual turnover has ballooned from almost £9.4 million to £25.3-plus million and Davis is forecasting 2016 revenues of 30 million or more depending on potential acquisition activity. Based on its performance, Aerial has achieved a number of awards including O2's Digital Excellence Award 2015 and the CNA Customer Service Award 2014. This year the firm scooped the Best Medium Sized Business award and Overall Business of the Year gong in the local News Business Excellence Awards.

Aerial's customer base ranges from charities to blue chip companies. "The base is varied so we group customers into segments," commented Davis. "This enables us to offer more bespoke support, marketing and assistance. The aim is to understand the issues and challenges common to these sectors. "Our sweet spot remains the 50-100 handset model, though we've recently had some larger wins nationally. Customer satisfaction is key. The main challenge is managing the considerable resources in terms of staffing, time and revenue that are invested into our support services, but providing first class support has given us the opportunity build a loyal customer base."

As the workforce becomes ever more mobile, Aerial provides an increasing range of the latest digital applications such as Office 365, McAfee, Tugo, Just Call Me, Evernote and Box, plus tracking, lone worker protection, security, workflow solutions and data recording. "These applications assist our mobile customers in maximising the value they get from their devices," said Davis. "Aerial is always looking to add valuable products and services to its portfolio. All new additional products and services need to pass a number of suitability and capability tests to ensure the whole team believe in the service and understand its strategic place within the business."

A particular area of current interest, noted Davis, is PCI compliance. The market needs educating about confusing legislation and there is a need for affordable solutions that combine with existing mobile, telecoms and IT platforms. Portfolio developments last year include the addition of a radio leased line service. "Having a point of presence at our Portsmouth HQ means we can offer faster installs and more cost-effective connectivity packages," added Davis, also noting that Aerial offers Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) technology which optimises in-building wireless, Wi-Fi and IP coverage in large buildings and isolated areas. The solution has proved popular in shopping centres, high rise offices and venues such as stadiums. Another recent addition to Aerial's portfolio is hosted call centre technology.

It goes without staying that an expanding product and services kit bag requires a sharp focus on in-house ICT skills development. "It is not enough to just offer these products, we need to create a solution-based service that offers what many talk about but few deliver - Unified Communications. Aerial approaches UC from a different angle. Our long history in business mobile means we are coming from the other side compared to most providers. By starting from the mobile framework we are able to create true UC solutions."

A key emerging trend is that customers now favour sourcing their communications from a single provider. Aerial's main growth strategy is to be positioned as a fully unified comms dealer, a one-stop-shop for all business communication solutions in terms of installation and ongoing support and maintenance. "This reaches into every department of the business from our marketing team who deliver a complete lifecycle marketing programme to the customer service team who must adhere to our customer charter," explained Davis. "Customers generally want a total telecoms package which of course includes full IT support. Every one of our customers has their own dedicated account manager that can provide assistance whenever they need it."•

As Epsilon Telecommunications transitions from a network firm into a software specialist delivering connectivity services, going digital and equipping the company with the right skills and mindset is key to its roll out strategy, explains CEO Jerzy Szlosarek.

Epsilon has made a long-term investment in its proposition and partnering strategy, and an equal measure of commitment has been placed on making the business fit for the future. Processes are being improved, employees educated, customers integrated and better supported, and the back-end rebuilt to manage high volume on-demand transactions. "We are not constrained by legacy cycles if we give our customers a platform model and position our connectivity solution as an application," stated Szlosarek.

Epsilon has circa 120 staff and maintains double digit year-on-year growth. The company has come a long way since it was launched in early 2003 in London by a group of entrepreneurs including co-founder Szlosarek. Epsilon is still 100 per cent privately owned and has subsidiaries in Singapore, Hong Kong and the UK. "From the outset our business plan was to offer a simple connectivity product in the voice market which was known as eConnect," stated Szlosarek. "It was one of the first products of its kind and enabled carriers to interconnect more easily for carrying voice traffic."

Epsilon has witnessed three milestones since beginning its journey. The connectivity product, eConnect, filled a gap in the market for customers who wanted a simple connectivity solution that could reduce lead times, remove risk from the commercial framework and provide a high level of customer service satisfaction. This connectivity product grew well for a number of years and enabled Epsilon to build over 45 PoPs across Europe.

"We then saw an opportunity to integrate colocation business as part of the interconnection, allowing us to operate a colocation and physical data centre environment," said Szlosarek. "It was about giving customers a combined colocation and interconnect solution. This was a turning point because we got into a much broader skill set and capability, and also acquired assets in Asia. We then opened in global markets and ramped up our brand which allowed us to attract a large number of customers and connections."

Having built a standard product in a global market Epsilon is now well into its third phase which is the transformation of the telecommunication business into a cloud-centric network - an interconnection for customers to simplify global connectivity while also having access to high quality infrastructure and preparing for the digital economy.

"The cloud phenomenon is changing the landscape and how we manage our media, communication and applications," commented Szlosarek. "The main change we see is more push coming from OTT services and the IT sector. New operators such as AWS and Microsoft are growing. We need to think about how we can adapt to the cloud and embrace IT to transform our systems and processes in our back-end as we transition from a telecoms business towards Platform as a Service (PaaS). Our current priority is to grow as a PaaS service provider. We are beginning to see customers take up services through our software portals and APIs."

As a provider of global connectivity solutions Epsilon is already leveraging software to provide a simple way for customers to build global connectivity infrastructures immediately. "We are transitioning more towards APIs, allowing our customers to have direct control over our resources," noted Szlosarek. "We are becoming an OTT network provider, positioning our applications and connectivity to the cloud market giving SaaS companies access to a global connectivity solution, while addressing traditional carriers, data centres and the managed services segments by providing more efficient, leaner and scalable services."

Epsilon is focused on the whole connectivity experience and is closely following the IoT/M2M story, evaluating the possibility of integrating solutions for such applications. "For now, we are focusing on the cloud access piece, providing support for real-time communications and simplifying connectivity into the last mile," confirmed Szlosarek. "The next step may be IoT and M2M enablement, but there are currently no clear solutions."

Epsilon also offers a white labelling service for its platform, enabling customers to reach new markets. "As a result, our customers are realising new opportunities and business models for themselves," added Szlosarek. "That allows us to innovate and build network and software solutions while enabling our customers to be more successful in their markets. The landscape is shifting and we are talking about partnering for success, working together through an application-centric model, while enabling new opportunities through white labelling.

"Resellers and SIs play a valuable part in the ecosystem, and we will form much stronger relationships with them. Resellers should embrace the power of the cloud and platform services to enhance their own capabilities. White labelling and platforms create a more dynamic and intimate customer experience. But the journey starts with understanding cloud and how it creates opportunities for customers." •

Activity in the telco M&A market remains buoyant with a noticeable trend emerging during the past few months, observes Paul Russell, Corporate Finance Partner for M&A at BDO.

In the second and third quarters of 2016 telecoms M&A saw previously struggling assets changing hands and according to Russell this development is a notable trend. "We attribute this to ambitious management teams seeking to grow by acquisition, rather than due to any sign of distress in the sector," he said. "The obvious deals being Maintel's £48.5 million acquisition of Azzurri and GCI taking over Outsourcery's assets."

Meanwhile, noted Russell, the sector continues to attract private equity interest with Livingbridge and FPE investing in Southern Communications and Optimity respectively. "Fund raising activity has also been strong, including Maintel's £24 million to part fund the Azzurri deal and Gigaclear's £24 million for its rural broadband roll out," he added.

The appetite for M&A has not, perhaps surprisingly, waned post-Brexit. "It has largely been business as usual," said Russell. "The market fundamentals remain strong. We estimate that only 10 per cent of M&A transactions have been lost due to Brexit. The vast majority of deals have not been falling over and new business M&A activity is at good levels."

This positive outlook is underpinned by £50 billion of dry powder in the private equity space. "We anticipate that PE houses will keep spending as evidenced by the recent Southern Communications (Livingbridge), Sabin (Lyceum) and IT Labs (ECI) deals," added Russell.

Numerous international and UK trade buyers are also actively looking to acquire and debt markets remain open. "We see overseas bidders spotting an opportunity in the UK with the fall in sterling outweighing the risks of Brexit uncertainty," noted Russell. "In particular, US private equity money is coming into the market which perhaps is not surprising given the pound's three decade low against the dollar. The acquisition of Lyceum backed managed services company Adapt by US PE house Abry backed Datapipe could be an early example of this."

The drivers of M&A activity will remain as they have been over the last few years, believes Russell. These are firstly a chance to diversify into new areas that can provide future growth. Alternative Networks' acquisition of Control Circle and Pulsant's acquisition of Onyx are good examples of this. Secondly, companies will continue to acquire bases or similar companies to provide organic growth, which is sometimes hard to generate across the industry. "What will probably emerge as a trend post the current deal flurry is an increased appetite for bolt-on companies to propel top line and EBITDA growth," said Russell.

Despite some previous high profile company plans not working out as expected such as Outsourcery and Azzurri, there is a healthy appetite among existing and new investors in the wider tech and telco space. "ECI, Lyceum and Livingbridge have all had previous experience in the space and invested in the last quarter in new deals," added Russell. "All of these plans will probably assume inorganic and organic growth and a desire to get to the magic £100 million turnover, circa £10 million EBITDA level."

There are two pricing models at play. Established, larger and growing companies such as Sabio and Southern Communications attract high valuations that are close to or at double digit multiples. However, this will not translate to a smaller base or company that is, for example, lower margin with single/few customer dependency, where the multiples will be much lower. "What is interesting is that I expect a bidding war to ensue for the right assets from the companies that all have new funding, and hence the prices of the smaller players may inflate," said Russell.

Clearly, there are some big shifts in the market at the top level with BT/EE, but the mid-market is also going through a change with companies that have been privately owned taking on investment for the first time, and companies that have been through their first PE cycle finding new homes such as Selection Services, Adapt and Onyx. "This means the lower mid-market gets consolidated, the players become bigger and the fight for juicy bolt-ons intensifies," noted Russell.

In terms of acquirers pursuing a diverse approach to the evolving market, with M&A in the area of new business segments (such as M2M) as a means to strengthen overall digital offerings, Russell expects to see this trend continuing with broad based players acquiring specialist companies to add further services to their offerings, and ideally cross sell across the existing base. "Clarinet's acquisition of the gaming specialist Ardenta is a great example," he said. "This type of acquisition both locks in customers through the specialist services and protect margins."

In such a buoyant M&A environment Russell expects the market to refresh itself. "The current generation of mid-market businesses that are being transacted came about as talented individuals left big companies to establish nimble start-ups," he explained. "As the market consolidates quickly I believe this will happen again, so in five years time the mid-market companies that we are talking about may not then exist.

"Deal activity in recent years has been driven by the convergence of voice and data and the battle to deliver UC. As both of these have been achieved from a technological viewpoint, we wonder what future technology and innovation will enable companies to outpace their peers."•

Interoute's acquisition of Easynet was a game-changing strategic move that made a real difference to its channel ambitions, according to VP for Strategic Partners Neil Downing.

The decision to acquire European managed services provider Easynet in September last year for £402 million was inspired and gave Interoute an opportunity to push for a stronger channel strategy. The move also offered the chance to make progress on measures such as widening the proposition and onboarding more scale, global reach, skills and new capabilities. The acquisition also expanded Interoute's networked cloud and communications services to national and multi-national enterprises across the world.

"Our biggest opportunity is to explore the channel more with our wider proposition and bring partners with us on this journey," stated Downing. "The potential is clear. We have a big partner business already and can grow it even more through the wider portfolio and increased global reach we now have."

Interoute provides a range of unified connectivity, computing and communications products and services to multi-national and national enterprises, such as UEFA, the European Space Agency, SCA and Saxo Bank, global telecommunications operators and Internet content providers. The company's commercial beginnings were born out of a vision to connect the business hubs of Europe with the continent's largest, fastest and most advanced fibre optic network which was completed in 2002. Today, the network connects nearly 250 data centres and colocation facilities across Europe, while interconnecting America, Africa and Asia.

Interoute's channel success rests in large part on Downing's industry experience, insights and know-how. He first entered the comms industry after graduating, joining BT as an engineer in 1996 but he quickly moved into commercial roles having shown a deep interest in the profile of buyers and their purchasing habits. Downing has always worked in the telecoms sector and attributes his flair for business to his father who ran his own transport company and made a good living in a high volume, low margin business with demanding customers and time scales. "This maps well to my experience of the telco industry," said Downing. "Despite being dyslexic my father was successful and could spot a margin at 100 yards."

Downing junior also knows how to spot an opportunity and joined Interoute in 2005. "Interoute had strong revenues combined with a start-up culture where costs were meticulously managed and all roles focused on revenue growth," he commented. "The enterprise market was still in its early days for us, but we could see massive potential and were committed to changing our structure and products to maximise the opportunity."

Interoute was originally designed to serve European telecoms operators with high capacity, big bandwidth services and it continues to support the major telecoms operators in Europe. But as demand for digital communications has grown, Interoute expanded its portfolio and expertise to provide international enterprises with infrastructure products, managed solutions and applications.

Key turning points for the company include the launch of Interoute Virtual Data Centre (VDC) in 2012. However, 2004 was also a pivotal year as Interoute moved away from being simply the carrier's carrier to provide enterprise services (now responsible for more than 70 per cent of revenue). This was followed in 2005 by the acquisition of VIA Networks which formed the basis for VDC. The launch of Interoute Cloud Connect in May 2015 was followed by the completion of a fully meshed global network with two new diverse network routes between Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Singapore going live in August 2015. "The growth of VDC has been an important part of our portfolio development, allowing Interoute to capitalise on the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) market by offering a flexible, scalable platform that customers can manage themselves," commented Downing.

Interoute's network connects 132 countries and includes 24 metropolitan networks in Europe's main business hubs and 17 VDC zones across Europe, North America and Asia. "Interoute is continually growing both its operational presence and global presence," added Downing. "Expect more announcements around VDC zones in the near future. The market is constantly evolving so we have to move with it. We are also doing a lot of work in security, but have the core blocks required by most resellers."

Partners are a key focus for Interoute's proposition, enabling them to provide platforms and tools to add value. "Organisations are under increasing pressure to provide feature rich services and Interoute's software defined services give partners the flexibility to buy only what they need, then evolve and scale with the customer," added Downing. "Many resellers or SIs focus on connectivity-based services but the market is changing and moving to the cloud. While connectivity is important, Software Defined Networking is disruptive and has the potential to disintermediate this market, so SIs and VARs should be looking at more flexible models and offering a more fully formed ICT infrastructure. They may not be able to separate voice, connectivity and apps in future propositions."

Downing's main challenge is ensuring that partners understand Interoute's wider proposition and how it matches their ambitions. "We are constantly innovating and developing new products and services for the channel," he explained. "Our networked cloud platform VDC has expanded to three new zones this year and gives channel partners one of Europe's largest IaaS cloud infrastructure platforms they can easily add a service wrap too.

"This is important because the sand is shifting for customers in terms of what and how they consume, and resellers need to respond to this change and evolve their portfolios. As well as the cloud there is a rise in demand for network integration. We help customers to overcome the big challenge of integrating existing legacy IT with new digital business application development. Another area of interest is how software defined Wide Area Networks (WANs) are evolving along with how people buy networking services."

Not surprisingly, Downing defines Interoute's culture as 'European and collaborative' combined with a focus on accountability. "We're responsible for a journey involving investment, spend and effort," he stated. "This is something that comes from management and permeates down, enabling us to change our culture and skills to support customers in a different way. We see Interoute delivering combined communications, compute and connectivity through a platform defined by customers offering as much control as they need. This will resonate with the market as Interoute can provide the infrastructure and ecosystem, with partners delivering around that proposition."•

Redstone's Managing Director Brendan Loughrey reveals how the company has strengthened its presence in the high growth smart buildings and smart technologies arena while leveraging cross-selling opportunities throughout the customer base, including many blue chip organisations.

Redstone has reinvented itself as a specialist in smartening up buildings and commercial spaces. This strategic shift was made possible through the acquisition in March this year of Connect IB, a smart buildings software and solutions business. Redstone now operates as an IT network and smart building systems integrator with a blue chip customer base and a 30 year heritage. Its roots reach back to 1986 when Cableship was founded by two former BT engineers. Following a period of acquisition the company became known as Communica and during 2004-2007 won some key deals including Bank of America, HSBC and Merrill Lynch. Communica also cabled many of the major buildings in Europe.

The company was acquired by Redstone in 2007 and six years later it had evolved into three primary service areas - mobile and telecoms, managed services and converged solutions. Redstone sold to Coms plc in 2013 and has since been developing and delivering smart building solutions, from cabling and infrastructure to smart building and then service and support. This year Coms plc changed its name to RedstoneConnect, merging the Redstone brand with the Group company.

Redstone has seen steady growth since its inception 30 years ago. The company has 300 employees including 185 engineers located on-site with customers. Last year revenues climbed 35 per cent to £40-plus million and profits rose 35 per cent to £7 million. "Redstone has delivered a number of new business wins that brought scale and breadth to the scope of our client engagement," said Loughrey. "For example, recent successes in our blue chip financial services customer base include a £5.4 million contract with a major global financial services client, delivering a smart building, ICT infrastructure and IT networking project."

The company also scooped a £0.9 million contract with an international financial services client to provide a Storage Area Network infrastructure and ICT refresh, and a £0.4 million contract to deliver an IT networking project with a leading provider of audit, tax and advisory services. "Our focus has moved towards the office space, enabling customers to create an enjoyable experience within their working environment through the use of technology," added Loughrey.

In recent years Redstone has developed its service areas, appointed a new CEO, Mark Braund, and launched a fully integrated smart building solution that makes spaces work more effective and efficient. Also top of the agenda is developing and expanding the Group's annuity revenue streams in software, managed services, support and maintenance, and rolling out its new occupancy management software solution called OneSpace. "In our always-on world employees expect to use their technology seamlessly," added Loughrey. "And with the explosion of mobile devices DAS infrastructures need to cope with this exponential rise in usage. The move to hot desking has enabled us to push our One Space product that allows employers to manage their space and report on its utilisation. This software also enables employees to engage with their workspace and ensure they can work in appropriate groups.

"The way buildings are now being constructed to include IT networks from the start is key to the evolution of the smart building space. Over the last 18 months we have seen a rise in landlord networks being installed that help the tenant in their occupancy. The need to drive out cost and improve returns through the occupation and running of corporate businesses comes as a major positive for us. The Group will broaden its intellectual property applications to a wider spectrum of smart environments and invest in research and development."

Re-industrialisation, or Industry 4.0, is another key trend being closely tracked by Redstone, along with the potential impact of IoT disruption. Both are aspects of the market that are breaking new ground and this is reflected in Loughrey's career at a personal level. "Pushing boundaries is important in all aspect of your career," he said. "The development of people is important to me and seeing how they continue to grow is a special highlight."

Loughrey's own career path is a shining example of his work ethos. After completing an electrical apprenticeship he worked for BT and completed further studies in telecommunications. "I then started with Cableship in 1987, initially as an engineer and moved swiftly through the ranks, running operations with a responsibility for 450 staff and delivering £55 million of projects. I completed an MBA in 2002 and this gave me a grounding in all aspects of business, from HR to finance. I still believe that working hard and doing the right thing, regardless of how difficult this can be, is the key to being successful."•

Jane Ashworth, Managing Director for SMART Technologies UK&I, has only one purpose - to reclaim the company's dominant market status by developing staunch channel partnerships and working hand in hand with key resellers in core markets.

It took Ashworth just two months to overhaul SMART's go to market strategy. She introduced a new distribution model, rebuilt the entire sales team and realigned the marketing operation. The extent of the transformation rendered the firm's previous modus operandi almost unrecognisable. "The team has a start-up mentality, and we're ready to reclaim our number one spot in the UK market," commented Ashworth.

Given the recent history of SMART's progressive action plan Ashworth is confident that she will quickly turn strategic vision into reality by working more closely with partners and supporting resellers directly. "Our new partner strategy revolutionises our approach to sales throughout the UK," added Ashworth. "We're seeing high demand for interactive flat panels throughout the education sector with a 37 per cent increase in 2016. Our whiteboards, interactive displays and software are designed for educators and businesses that believe in the power of collaboration, and a priority right now is working with our loyal partners who have helped build the market."

SMART's revamped channel strategy is based on a hybrid distribution system with partners Midwich and Westcon. "We now have a lighter touch distribution model," added Ashworth. "We're directly involved in the channel and showcasing a clear product roadmap. Our new partner programme has completely transformed our UK route to market. We're looking to serve a growing customer base more efficiently and we're noticing an increase in demand for interactive flat panels throughout the UK education sector. We have high expectations for the market and will continue to invest in a dedicated sales team both from a channel and user perspective. Aligning with our partners more effectively to develop and continue to drive the market is also a key priority."

SMART specialises in touch technologies and software. The company was founded in 1987 and is perhaps best known as the developer of the SMART Board interactive white board introduced in 1993. The portfolio has expanded greatly to include an array of hardware and software for businesses and schools to collaborate. To date the company has installed over 3.2 million products worldwide and claims a 70 per cent interactive white board market share in the US and UK. Over 2.8 million K-12 classrooms in 175 countries use SMART solutions and software to make education more engaging, effective and fun. SMART's flagship products include interactive whiteboards, projectors and flat panel displays that enable greater collaboration, productivity and performance. "The interactive flat panel market has taken off, particularly in the UK," commented Ashworth. "We're synonymous in the education space, but looking at the enterprise opportunity, the launch of kapp iQ in 2015 laid down a marker."

The 4K kapp iQ is a smart display designed to expand the whiteboard's reach beyond those in the room. Users can walk up and use it, like any whiteboard, and it's accessible by up to 250 remote meeting participants at a time through a unique URL. Any drawings made by the presenter on the kapp iQ are pushed to each connected mobile device in real-time. The presenter and participants can click a camera button to save a snapshot of what's on the board, which then gets stored on each participant's mobile device. Another turning point was Bett 2016 when SMART launched Classroom-as-a-service, or ClaaS, a subscription model that allows schools to spread the financial cost of interactive displays and collaborative learning software into schools, upgrade technology as well as provide training and support while keeping within an education body's budget.

"We are not going to drive the market through hardware alone," emphasised Ashworth. "Most opportunities are software led, and leading with software as a solution will make the most impact in classrooms and boardrooms. SMART empowers people to work and learn together in ways that simply make sense, enabling people to naturally collaborate and contribute in classrooms, meeting rooms and beyond. We're freeing people to evolve their thinking, simplify sharing and explore unlimited ideas by creating spaces that intuitively connect across devices and locations."

According to Ashworth SMART has a social responsibility to shape the classrooms of the future. "We now have an online store for teachers to buy one-off licenses, and we're making great steps to accommodate the challenges we face in the market today," she added. "Working with partners like Midwich and Westcon is vital to reach organisations looking to capitalise on software and hardware for collaboration. We are poised to quickly gather pace and accelerate our new channel strategy. What's core to reclaiming our number one status is supporting our most strategic and loyal partners by working with the AV sector to drive a successful solution strategy. Resellers that sell solutions, not box pricing, are the future. They will deliver more margin for the business through add on services. Resellers that are stuck in the past and fixated on price won't survive."

Ashworth joined SMART in January 2015, moving from HP where she was Commercial Director for the Print and Personal Systems Group, managing the channel. Prior to her five year stint at HP Ashworth spent 13 years at Sony in various UK and European consumer roles.

"It was a great, creative time to be at the forefront of innovation," she said. "My career in IT began during an exciting time in the development of consumer technology, bringing an array of devices to market. Seeing first hand the high demand for Walkmans, MP3 players and integrated digital AV systems got me hooked. In the consumer market I had a great chance to see fast growth first hand, learn different cost models for various products and compete with Apple and Samsung. I've always loved being at the forefront of technology, from the excitement of major product launches to hearing the feedback from customers."•

The dialogue continues to jog along, as we look to our leaders to start talking about real plans and stop market-testing public opinion, writes Clive Jefferys of telecoms recruiter JMA Network.

In Europe, the politicians are warily watching Old Blighty, wondering who is going to make the first move. Seventy six years ago, the Battle of Britain raged overhead and today at home an air of siege mentality pervades.

Is the Brexit coming? When will it happen?

"Be calm - it's coming! It's coming!" Jean-Claude Juncker declares from his commissariat in Brussels.

I may not be Churchill, but I say we shall prevail.

Growing up in the dark 70s and painful 80s, I recruited all through 1992's Black Wednesday, the Tech Bubble of 2000, the Bankers Crash in 2008 - and throughout all, IT and telecoms hiring held up. In many ways, these periods were the spur for invention and significant growth in our sector, and I see no reason to think otherwise today.

Telecoms is both a necessary utility and a technological opportunity for businesses and consumers.

If anything, the pace of change is accelerating with the full impact of cloud and hosting only just beginning to be felt.

Certainly, our customer base is reporting good business and dogged determination to succeed among their customers. 

On the other side, candidates continue to register for new opportunities and we know that at least half of them wanted change by voting the way that they did in June.

Sure, negotiation of packages is tough, but when was it ever easy to hire a data salesman, a provisioner or a billings manager?

Meanwhile, Crane Watch is reporting record activity over Britain's cities, plenty of work to be had there over the next three years. The road ahead might have a few twists and turns, but as career options go telecoms has never been more attractive.

A free training scheme introduced by plan.com designed to remove all barriers to VoIP sales for mobile dealers has yielded strong results, so much so that the company is recruiting to roll out the initiative across the south of England.

"More mobile partners are realising that to grow and secure their business they must expand their offers across different channels such as VoIP, fixed and broadband," said Chris Reilly, Training Manager.

"Over 90% of all VoIP connections that we process come from VoIP virgins - partners who have never sold anything other than mobile before - which is great to see."

Reilly trains partners in their own offices and tailors the content according to their requirements.

"Our training scheme not only helps partners understand our portal and what it can do, it also gives them the tools and knowledge to offer a range of solutions that could, in time, add resilience into their business models."

plan.com's in-house tech team have boosted the firm's partner portal with new software that reduces the change of business ownership process to just minutes.

Keith Curran, plan.com's co-founder, said: "With thousands of businesses changing hands every year, most people would assume that the change of ownership process would be simple. But the industry standard to carry out this process can take days and even weeks.

"Our partners tell us what is required to make life easier for them and their customers and we provide the tech solutions."

Chris Smith, COO, added: "In today's fast paced business environment you can't afford to have manual processes slowing things down. Customers know there are quicker and easier ways of doing things, and if they are not happy they will vote with their feet. That's why we continuously invest in technology."