Comms Dealer

Call analytics company IOVOX has set its sights on global expansion via a channel model. The company has launched a new affiliate programme designed to extend its reach through local reseller partners.

"Customers like to buy from people and companies they trust," said Ryan Gallagher, founder and CEO of IOVOX.

"A big part of IOVOX's success has been working with partners and we have introduced a channel sales programme that allows us to reach more customers in locations all around the globe."

IOVOX has customers in 32 countries that use its analytics services to make call data visual, actionable, and as important as web data.

"Instead of trying to interpret a monthly phone bill to derive answers to important business questions, IOVOX provides businesses with a simple to use, easy to interpret, real-time dashboard to measure call performance," added Gallagher.

"By using data to reveal the truth about call performance, IOVOX helps businesses improve efficiency, deliver better customer service, and become more profitable in short order."

IOVOX also has a solution called IOVOX Insights which is available for integration into cloud PBX based SPs.

The solutions offered through channel partners require no involvement post-sale, due to IOVOX's customer onboarding and support, noted Gallagher.

Distributor Westcoast and Aerohive have parted company just eight months after linking up to extend the wireless vendor's reach in the UK.

When the deal was struck it was was hailed as a 'bold and significant mobility play for Westcoast' and described as a 'massive coup'.

Aerohive noted that the partnership was 'a great fit'.

The circumstances leading up to the split are unclear.

A joint statement simply said: 'Aerohive and WestCoast today announced to be parting ways by mutual consent'.

KPMG has welcomed the Chancellor's encouragement of connected vehicle technology in the UK.

Alex Holt, Partner and Head of Telecoms at KPMG, said: "While some people may be terrified about the prospect of autonomous or driverless vehicles on the streets of the UK, in my view it's a reality they'll need to get used to.
 
"The Government's announcement to bring down the regulatory barriers facing autonomous vehicles and establishing a ‘connected corridor' from London to Dover are the sort of measures that might encourage significant telecoms infrastructure investments.

"Seamless, high quality and ultra-fast fixed and mobile connectivity is essential for successful and safe deployment of connected vehicles.
 
"The sooner Ofcom can conclude the Digital Communications Review, the sooner organisations can get the long-term assurance they need to write the big cheques for telecoms infrastructure that will underpin the creation of new digital opportunities, such as connected vehicles."

NG Bailey's IT Services division has completed an IT infrastructure overhaul at the 11,000 capacity SSE Arena, Belfast, bringing the project home on budget and in time for the venue's sell-out relaunch in autumn 2015.
 
The £1.2m contract awarded to NG Bailey by the Odyssey Trust, required the development of a solution architecture together with the installation of 120km of Commscope Systimax CAT-6a structured cabling and a network of HP switches linked to a blown fibre ring enabling 10Gbp/s connectivity to edge devices and connecting numerous communications cabinets around the arena.

The physical network infrastructure supports an Aruba high density Wi-Fi solution which targets zones with directional antennas from the gantries above the crowd. In a UK first, the Wi-Fi solution enables visitors to order merchandise, food and drinks directly from their seats via the SSE Arena's mobile app.
 
Also installed is a state of the art IP-CCTV system, comprising over 70 high performance IP cameras from Axis, together with a new payment acceptance terminal and till infrastructure, a new IP telephony solution and an arena-wide network of digital signs to display booking information, crowd control messages and showcase forthcoming events.
 
All of the arena's new assets are IP-converged, giving network administrators a new level of systems coordination via a single platform. Many of the systems also support cloud-based remote systems management.
 

Today's budget included a number of announcements that will be welcomed by the UK tech sector, according to Julian David, techUK CEO.
 
He said: "The Chancellor's commitment to adopt all recommendations made by Professor Sir Charles Bean is positive recognition of the importance of the digital industry to the UK economy.

"Investment of £10m in a new hub for data science will help the public and private sector make better use of data, which has the potential to reduce cost and improve public services.
 
"5G represents the next stage of mobile development and will play a key role in future connectivity for people and businesses. The UK has the opportunity to be a world leader in the development of 5G, and the tech community will be keen to contribute to the National Infrastructure Commission's assessment of how this can be achieved.
 
"techUK members will be pleased to see the government's ambition for the UK to be at the forefront of the development of autonomous vehicles, alongside support for the sharing economy."

AlienVault has signed a global distribution agreement with Westcon-Comstor and will take part in Westcon-Comstor's Global Incubation Programme, which helps technology vendors develop global distribution relationships for their products and services.

Based on the agreement, Westcon-Comstor's global network of technology solution providers will now have access to AlienVault's Unified Security Management (USM) platform. The new agreement also enables these partners to more efficiently address worldwide security market opportunities and gives AlienVault access to a proven distribution channel.

"With this distribution agreement in place we can immediately and significantly expand our global reach," said Anthony D'Angelo, vice president of worldwide channel sales, AlienVault.

Onyx Group has appointed Andrew Bevan a Director of Client Solutions with a remit to oversee the design and implementation of new customer solutions and services.

He will also contribute to the development and introduction of new propositions.

Bevan said: "I am looking forward to applying both my industry and technical experience to help deliver the aggressive growth plans the company has in place. I can't wait to get started."

Onyx Group CEO Neil Stephenson added: "In Andrew, we have appointed someone with the technical capabilities and business acumen to exceed our customers' expectations. It is testimony to the progress being made at Onyx that we can recruit people with Andrew's pedigree and I am confident that he will have a big impact on our business."

Bevan's appointment is the latest move in Onyx Group's long-term plan to become a £100 million revenue IT support and services business within the next five years.

Fujitsu has appointed Andy Hooper as Distribution Sales Manager UK&I. He brings 20 years IT experience including a stint at Hammer where he was nominated for the Storage Awards Channel Excellence award three times, winning in 2011. As Business Development Manager he grew Hammer's external storage business by 1,400 per cent in two years. He went on to become Sales Manager and later General Manager of UK Sales.

Kevin Matthews, Head of Channel and Direct Services at Fujitsu UK&I, said: "Andy brings a proven track record in growing vendor franchises within the distribution segment. His first task will be to shape our distribution strategy as we move into our new financial year."

Hooper added: "I hope to use my 20 years of experience to bring fresh ideas and help develop a new and exciting strategy for the foreseeable future."

Gamma is promising further developments to its Horizon hosted telephony platform in the next year including Skype for Business integration, more CRM options, call recording and an upgrade to the latest version of Broadsoft's UC service.

"We have made it a priority to ensure Horizon integrates with customer businesses, especially those utilising Skype for Business," said Gamma Product Manager Alan Mackie.

The call centre version of Gamma's Horizon hosted platform launched last autumn has given Gamma resellers the chance to target larger organisations, according to Product Director Alan Mackie.

Speaking at Gamma's London partner roadshow event this month he said: "With the solution customer agents can log in and log out and select their call status and supervisors can monitor and determine agent status and barge into calls. We have created administrator functions for each site which is useful for larger deployments or multi-site organisations."