Comms Dealer

KYOCERA Document Solutions UK has been awarded a place on the Government's Digital Marketplace G-Cloud 7 framework.

KYOCERA secured presence on two lots within G-Cloud 7 - Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Specialist Cloud Services - for its Cloud Print Service (CPS). After launching earlier this year, CPS will now be included on G-Cloud 7 from December 2015.
 
Eddie Ginja, Cloud Evangelist, KYOCERA Document Solutions UK, said: "Our successful application to join the G-Cloud framework is an endorsement of our secure approach to cloud printing.

"This is another route for our customers to procure managed print services in a cost effective way. We're pleased to be playing a major role in supporting the UK Government's drive to transform public sector IT and delivery of modern, efficient and effective services."

Gigaset pro and ProVu have completed an integration project that adds the complete Gigaset pro range of desktop and DECT phones to ProVu's Zero Touch Provisioning system.

This will enable the SIP hosted telephony provider to reduce the cost and complexity of rapidly deploying Gigaset devices while ensuring devices are feature compatible with improving levels of end-customer service.

ProVu, a value added distributor of Gigaset pro products for several years, has developed its own independent hosted provisioning platform that works across all the main SIP hosted telephony platforms.

The platform allows SIP telephony service provider partners to select and ship phones directly from ProVu to end customer premises that have already been programmed with configuration settings and user credentials to allow rapid service activation.

The platform is already used by 50 VoIP services and has already supplied over 400,000 devices from multiple vendors to tens of thousands of end customers and offers next day delivery with all phones direct to customers as new and un-opened boxes with white label options.

"The service has proved very popular and our work with Gigaset pro to include its portfolio within provision systems is a great addition and reflects strong demand from our SIP telephony partners and their end customers," said Darren Garland, manging director for ProVu.

ProVu has certified the Gigaset pro portfolio for SIP operation with its partners and also offer optional remote device management services including device firmware updates and configuration changes through either a self-service portal or via a highly automated bulk process for larger installation.

"Gigaset pro has been supportive in this process and recognise that provisioning services like ours are helping service providers to meet the demands of the rapidly growing cloud-based telephony market - especially for smaller customers that don't necessarily have onsite technical capabilities and just want to plug in a device and get up and running straight away," added Garland.

He estimates that some of its SIP telephony service provider customers have reduced the cost of device provisioning by 80% and the time between end-customers placing an order and receiving a phone has dropped from as much as 5 days to next-day delivery by using ProVu's services.

Garland also points to the benefits of its application programming interface (API) which allows its SIP telephony service provider customers to directly connect their own web based ordering system into the ProVu provisioning platform to further streamline customer activation.

"We are pleased to have the Gigaset pro portfolio within the ProVu Zero Touch Provisioning service and look forward to working closely with them to ensure that future models are included and additional features offered by Gigaset pro devices are compatible with its extended management services," says Matthew Marchant, Head of Sales, UK and Ireland for Gigaset pro.

Entanet's deployment of NewVoiceMedia's cloud customer contact solution ContactWorld for Service has quickly paid off with 80% of incoming calls being answered within 20 seconds.

Integration with Salesforce gives Entanet's team of 30 technical advisors more control and improves the customer experience, according to Matt Mills, Head of IT at Entanet.

He said: "We opted for ContactWorld because of its ease of implementation and integration with Salesforce. We wanted all the metrics and statistics that the system offered in order to drive our business performance".

Neil Watson, Head of Service at Entanet, added: "As the reports are in real-time we now know what's happened to every single call. This means our directors can speak confidently to partners when striking new deals or continuing relationships."

'As the business continues to grow, we'll be in a position to offer a consistent, high quality customer experience for resellers and end users."

C4L has added VIRTUS' LONDON2 data centre in Hayes as a Point of Presence (PoP) on coreTX, the service provider's high performance data centre network.

The agreement to connect LONDON2 to the coreTX network follows many years in partnership at the successful Enfield location, and an exclusive arrangement allowing full suite connectivity, 10Gb circuits and a large footprint of colocation racks within the facility.

The 65,000 sq.ft. newly opened LONDON2 facility deploys fresh-air evaporative cooling technology which decreases energy consumption, bringing site power usage effectiveness (PUE) to below 1.2, delivering substantial savings to clients in the premises.

Pete Hill, Partner Account Director, said: "VIRTUS and C4L have worked collaboratively on business for many years and we are both constantly improving each other's potential by bringing new and innovative additions to the table.

"VIRTUS LONDON2 Data Centre is a new breed of DC which opens up a whole world of opportunities through high density racks, allowing huge capacities which wouldn't have been possible even a year ago, fully serviced out of the site."

Datto, a vendor of data backup, recovery and business continuity, is preparing to spend the $75m raised from backers recently on channel expansion in EMEA.

Andrew Stuart, EMEA MD, tells IT Europa: "We have been focused mainly on the UK and Ireland. We wanted to bring the products to the wider EMEA market, and we decided six months ago to do this through distribution."

Datto has already signed up seven distributors covering 24 countries.

The funding will be used to increase the marketing efforts in support of the channels, looking at a 250% jump in marketing funds, to help existing partners to grow and allow distributors to build channels.

"With their growth comes our success. We have just hired a new partner marketing manager to work exclusively with them on remarketing."

"We feel that it is important that Europe is an autonomous business, with its own marketing departments, development and software engineering etc," added Stuart.

"We will double headcount next year and triple the office space. We are building a new partner briefing centre here as we believe it is not enough to just have sales people in-country."

Datto has historically concentrated on the MSP market, but expertise acquired in the last year will allow it to move into new markets.

BroadSoft BroadWorks, BroadCloud and UC-One unified communication and collaboration solutions are now compatible with Microsoft Office 365.

This integration blends BroadSoft's cloud PBX with cloud office productivity software, giving joint customers an integration capability.

BroadSoft used Microsoft's software developer kits to integrate its solutions with Microsoft Office 365, reflecting BroadSoft's commitment to open platforms and the interoperability of its communication and collaboration services with other devices, systems and applications.

"BroadSoft's integration is a great example of how partners can build on the new Office 365 platform to better serve the needs of our mutual customers," said Steve Guggenheimer, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Developer eXperience & Evangelism (DX) group.

With the BroadSoft Office 365 integration, customers are now able to leverage BroadSoft's cloud PBX and UC-One capabilities from their Microsoft Office 365 desktop applications, including cloud-based calling, to any telephone in the world.

Users can also click-to-call any phone number in emails, documents, databases, address books and on web pages from within Office 365 applications with carrier-class quality and reliability, claims the firms.

"With Microsoft Office 365's significant and growing commercial installed base, these users represent an attractive market opportunity for BroadSoft and service providers," said Michael Tessler, president and chief executive officer, BroadSoft.

"We believe that the BroadSoft Microsoft Office 365 hosted-PBX integration offers service providers a proven carrier-class and differentiated solution that enhances customers' desktop productivity and leverages existing software investments."

Ingram Micro has entered into an agreement to acquire certain assets from Parallels Holdings, a provider of commercial cloud management platform technologies, connectors, billing systems and professional services. 
 
Under the terms of the transaction, Ingram Micro will acquire the Parallels Odin Service Automation platform along with associated cloud management technologies, intellectual property and the Odin brand.

In addition, approximately 500 Odin employees, many of whom are software engineers with cloud expertise, are expected to join Ingram Micro.

Ingram Micro adopted and began licensing the Odin Service Automation platform in 2013 as the backbone of the company's automated Cloud Marketplace.

Ingram Micro CEO Alain Monié commented: "The time has come for us to expand our capabilities by owning the intellectual property that is helping to drive this technology evolution.

"Together, Ingram and Odin will offer a combination of expertise, knowledge and commercial relationships with cloud OEMs and innovators, which will enable our combined partner portfolio of 285 telcos, 4,000 hosting companies and 200,000+ resellers worldwide to thrive by lifting their customers businesses to the cloud."

NEC reseller Global 4 has installed a hosted telephony platform for two estate agencies, Your Move and Reeds Rains, which includes the telecoms provider's largest hosted voicemail set up.

Tony McCann Head of IT for Your Move and Reeds Rains says: "Global 4 has delivered an advanced telecoms solution three weeks ahead of schedule.

"This will transform how we communicate internally and with customers through streamlining disparate systems into one feature-packed offering."

Provided through NEC UNIVERGE 3C, Global 4's hosted telecoms solution is already connected to more than 2,000 users across the UK in just a few months.

Nigel Barnett, Global 4 MD, said: "For Reeds Rains and Your Move, hosted voicemail means staff will never miss a call or message and can listen to them whenever and wherever they choose, while its clients can have confidence that their messages will get to the right person in good time."

Albion Rovers fans can access free WiFi at the Cliftonhill Stadium following a deployment by WiFi specialist 802 Event WiFi.

The Scottish League One team has become only the third football ground in Scotland - after soccer giants Rangers and Celtic - to bring high density free WiFi to their supporters and away fans.

The club's home at Cliftonhill Stadium, which opened on Christmas Day 1919, has created a connected match day experience with instant access to content-rich media and instant information about other games.

Locally-based 802 Event WiFi has installed a system that brings instant WiFi coverage to the complete stadium, including the main stand, the away fans' area, the boardroom and the directors' suites.

The club, which was formed in 1882 from the merger of Coatbridge sides Albion FC and Rovers FC, is deeply rooted in its Lanarkshire community, and attracts substantial volunteering help from local people for functions such as groundkeeping and refreshments.

802 Event WiFi chief executive Felix Gibson said: "Until now, only the Old Firm have been able to offer their fans this level of instant connection with the club and the wider sporting environment.

"Albion Rovers' far-sighted commitment to their supporters and their willingness to embrace innovation shows the way for other football clubs in Scotland, and indeed the UK, to improve the supporter experience.

"WiFi installation also allows a much greater degree of communication between clubs and their fan bases, creating the opportunity to interact with each other in a way that they never have before."

Patrick Rolink, Community Development Director at Albion Rovers, said: "Installing stadium WiFi has shown Albion Rovers to be an ambitious, progressive and forward thinking club. Fan interest and community engagement is at the heart of our growth and continued development.

"The WiFi is free to all fans and demonstrates our ambition and commitment to them and the community alike, encouraging engagement and interaction directly with the club."

Node4 has been awarded a place on the Government's G-Cloud 7 procurement framework for the supply of Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas).

Node4's listing on the Government's Digital Marketplace follows a tender and enables its ISO 27001-accredited IaaS solutions to be used by organisations across the UK public sector.

According to G-Cloud figures, updated on 27 October 2015, approximately £806 million of G-Cloud sales (ex. VAT) have been reported since the initiative launched in 2012.

Half of the total sales by value were awarded to small-to medium-sized enterprises. Seventy seven per cent of total sales were through central government and 23 per cent through the wider public sector.

Andrew Gilbert, MD, Node4, commented: "Saving money and ensuring the effective delivery of services is critical in the public sector.

"Through our listing on G-Cloud 7, Government organisations can access a pre-approved IaaS partner with a proven capability in providing the IT infrastructure and high levels of connectivity and security they need to run mission-critical services for the public."