Comms Dealer

Manchester-based UKFast has secured a £40m funding boost from the Royal Bank of Scotland to drive organic growth.

The company provides cloud and managed hosting to 5,000-plus customers and has posted double digit organic growth every year since it was established in 1999, adding over £10m in recurring revenue during the last two years.

The European Commission has put forward ideas to support and link up national initiatives for the digitisation of industry and related services across all sectors, and to boost investment through strategic partnerships and networks.

The Commission also proposes measures to speed up the development of common standards in priority areas such as 5G communication networks or cybersecurity, and to modernise public services.

As part of its plans the Commission will set up a European cloud that, as a first objective, will give Europe's 1.7 million researchers and 70 million science and technology professionals a virtual environment to store, manage, analyse and re-use a big amount of research data.

Andrus Ansip, Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, said: "The industrial revolution of our time is digital. We need the right scale for technologies such as cloud computing, data-driven science and the internet of things to reach their full potential.

"As companies aim to scale up across the Single Market, public e-services should also meet today's needs: be digital, open and cross-border by design. The EU is the right scale for the digital times."

Azlan is offering its partners the opportunity to demonstrate high definition graphics software being used in Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop virtual mobile workspaces, after installing the latest NVIDA graphics card in its Business Solutions Centre (BSC).

The NVIDIA GRID vGPU allows multiple virtual machines to directly access the graphics processing power. A full virtual desktop environment can be shown in high definition, running multiple VMs, with complete application compatibility and giving each user exactly the same experience they would get on a physical device.

Phil King, Solutions Practice Director at Azlan, said: "The BSC is an impressive resource which resellers can use to make a great impression on their customers and prospects.

"With the ability to demonstrate a true graphics workstation experience through XenApp and XenDesktop in high definition, it is even better.

The number of potential applications is massive and so therefore, are the opportunities. As far as we are aware, very few demonstration facilities in the UK have this capability, so we're pretty excited about it."

Excalibur has created a new communications infrastructure for the Home Instead Senior Care Swindon & Vale of the White Horse, a growing provider of relationship-based services that allow older people to remain living independently in their own homes with assistance from their team of CAREGivers.

Just nine months into its start-up year, call quality had started to suffer at Home Instead with practical issues needing to be addressed such as physically having to pass the 'on call' mobile around staff.

Excalibur started with addressing the call quality and connectivity issues, so a combination of Vodafone One Net and Microsoft 365 were implemented along with new mobile devices and contracts.

The new unified communications solution means that Home Instead is now a cloud-based business and resilient with security.

Node4 has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Consulting Partnership status with Standard level certification, recognising its expertise and capability in applying the AWS platform for customers.

The AWS Standard level exam tests both individual and enterprise competency and experience in designing distributed applications and systems on the AWS platform, while the Consulting Partner certification reflects a breath of AWS knowledge and expertise within Node4 that many companies do not have.

Node4 was the first technology company in the UK to gain the AWS Consultancy Partnership level recognition in 2012, when AWS was an established public cloud. Since then AWS' remit has expanded to offer a broad set of global compute, storage, database, analytics, application, and deployment services, all of which can be supported by Node4.

"Achieving the Standard Level Consulting Partner certification for AWS clearly validates Node4's commitment to working with new technologies and enabling our customers to transition seamlessly to AWS," said Andrew Gilbert, CEO, Node4.

"Through this accreditation, our customers can be confident they are working with the right partner to help them fulfil the potential of AWS in delivering a scalable, flexible cloud platform."

Intermedia is reselling Microsoft Office 365 under the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Programme.

Intermedia Office Apps is now available from Intermedia as a standalone service or as an integrated part of Intermedia's Office in the Cloud suite.
 
Partners and customers can integrate their business productivity software alongside the other IT services Intermedia offers, including email, file backup and sharing, identity and access management, mobility, security, archiving, and others.
 
"With this expansion, Intermedia is integrating additional productivity benefits within our suite of more than 20 cloud services," said Michael Gold, CEO at Intermedia.

"Our channel and direct customers get the Microsoft business applications they need along with the advanced data protection and security services that Intermedia offers."
 
Office Apps includes one bill, one control panel, and comes backed by Intermedia's Worry-Free Experience which includes 24/7 support with typical hold times of less than 60 seconds.

Mitel has unveiled its newest generation of MiContact Centre, a 'mobile-first, millennial-ready' customer engagement platform.

By enabling an advanced digital customer experience across real-time communications social media and CRM integration, MiContact Centre offers a cohesive view into a customer's profile which can intertwine with advanced skills-based routing capabilities.

MiCloud, Mitel's cloud communications solution portfolio, now intersects with more than 20 leading cloud-based CRM platforms along with productivity applications like Microsoft Office 365 and Google Apps.

MiCloud also integrates into cloud-based application environments for HR and recruiting, dealer and franchise management, financial management and more.

The MiCloud portfolio now integrates directly into more application workflows, providing access to real-time communications capabilities without the user ever having to leave the application.

Also, in partnership with Unisys, Mitel is introducing MiStealth security technology to provide enterprises and service providers secure mobile access to the cloud.

Using Unisys' Stealth identity-driven segmentation and encryption, MiStealth allows businesses to control who can access enterprise networks based on users' identities, whether within the enterprise or on the cloud, while reducing the attack surface and providing the elevated levels of security typically associated with private cloud deployments.

MiStealth also simplifies security management as users can access public networks (such as the Internet) without threat of exposure to their real-time communications.

In other developments, Mitel is making real-time communications for large campuses more intelligent and capable with advanced monitoring, analytics and mass-notification tools.

Mitel Performance Analytics proactively detects and addresses performance problems before they impact the user, with 24/7 monitoring, real-time alerts and testing tools for fast problem resolution.

And Mitel Mass Notification services provide a reliable communications channel when conventional email, text, voice and video communications fail due to throughput, technical or 'contact-ability' issues.

"Our users are seeking the convenience of a mobile phone, the speed of deployment and ease of management found in a cloud solution and the proven capability of a traditional desktop deployment," said Marcell Galatiano, board member, Mitel User Group.

"Mitel has invested in making communications and collaboration seamless, whether wireless or wireline, cloud or on-premises, providing a pathway to the future for the companies it serves."

Rich McBee, CEO, Mitel, added: "Workplace and consumer communications are becoming increasingly centred on mobile devices with network users expecting instant and seamless access to services from anywhere.

"Mitel is positioned to help businesses understand how to overcome these challenges and gain the benefits of tying together different modes of communications for greater speed and simplicity."

Gamma's nationwide build-out programme has enabled the firm to lower Ethernet prices by 'cutting out the middle man' in locations where it has extended its network to key BT exchanges in order to consume Ethernet directly from Openreach.

The build kicked off with the creation of a London Metro Area Network connecting 19 of the busiest exchanges to Gamma's core, with the potential of connecting customers across 38,000 postcodes.

James Bushell, Head of Product Lines at Gamma, said: "Building out to exchanges in this way is really about recognising the importance that Ethernet plays in the delivery of applications to businesses and their increasing need for bandwidth.

"The build underpins our IP voice and MPLS strategies, but the need for cost effective and high bandwidth Internet access is a key driver behind this programme."

Luke Hunt Head of Network Services at the Focus Group, added: "This is great news for us as we are seeing the level of Ethernet orders increasing month-on-month.

"There is a large appetite for low cost Ethernet in our base, but customers simply won't compromise on quality in order to make the savings they have budgeted for.

"London is an obvious place to start this sort of build and we look forward to the new sites coming on line as the year progresses."

Pricing for Gamma's London network is already available in its pricing tool, with Gamma expecting to take orders from May this year.

Hello Telecom is one of only five successful companies to be awarded the revamped Internet Telephony Services Providers' Association (ITSPA) Quality Mark.

The Quality Mark, which was first launched in 2009, helps customers identify providers who go above and beyond current best practice, ensuring a reliable and trusted service.

Due to significant developments across the industry, ITSPA felt that an overhaul was needed to ensure that the Quality Mark reflects recent changes and remains valuable for members. The changes have involved extensive consultations with ITSPA members, ensuring that new requirements for the accreditation remain an effective tool to measure standards by.

Nottingham-based Communications Provider Hello Telecom has been a Quality Mark member of ITSPA since 2012, recognising their commitment to delivering high quality services to their customers. In 2015, Hello Telecom was also awarded Best Business ITSP (SME) by ITSPA for its cloud-based VoIP platform, Contrex.

The new ITSPA Quality Mark now has ten requirements, which have all been met by Hello Telecom, and provides consumers of next generation communications assurance that they are buying a quality service.

Steve Jones, Director at Hello Telecom, commented: "We are delighted to be awarded the new and improved ITSPA Quality Mark. With the new requirements in place, we feel it truly reflects our commitment to always delivering an excellent service to all of our customers."

IBM shares fell after revealing a fall in margins in Q1 with a 5% drop in total revenue to $18.7bn.

It has stopped breaking out figures by geography and revised its reporting structure, so by division, it reported that Cognitive Solutions (solutions software + transaction processing software) revenue fell 1.7% yr/yr to $4bn, with operating margin dropping to 21.8% from 32.6%. Global Business Services revenue was down -4.3% to $4.1bn, with operating margin dropping to 4.5% from 13.2%.

Tech Services & Cloud Platforms revenue was slightly lower - down -1.5% to $8.4bn; operating margin dropped to 3% from 13%. Systems (hardware) revenue dropped on disposals -21.8% to $1.7bn, although the mainframe upgrade cycle also played a role as it moved to an operating loss as margin dropped to -0.5% from 11.3%. Global Financing revenue -11.2% to $410M; operating margin fell to 43.1% from 49.2%.

The good news is 'strategic imperatives' revenue (cloud, analytics, and 'engagement') rose 14% yr/yr to $7bn with annual 'cloud delivered as a service' revenue run rate (boosted some by M&A) up 42% yr/yr to $5.4bn.

Mobile revenue rose 88% yr/yr, security 18%, and analytics 7%. It is cash-rich as free cash flow was $2.3bn, up from $1.1bn a year ago. IBM ended Q1 with $14.9bn in cash and $18.8bn in non-Global Financing debt.