Comms Dealer

Zayo is the latest connectivity provider to launch a point of presence (PoP) at LDeX Group's second carrier neutral data centre facility, LDeX2, in Trafford Park, Manchester.

Zayo delivers dark fibre, wavelengths, Ethernet and IP services to customers in the enterprise and wholesale sectors; and complements LDeX's existing list of Tier 1 carriers and ISPs, which are already on-net in the facility, offering customers that require high capacity bandwidth access to key connectivity locations via diverse dark fibre routes.

Rob Garbutt, LDeX Group's CEO, said: "This point of presence will enable LDeX2 as a carrier neutral data centre and allow its customers to connect to approximately 19,000 on-net locations across Zayo's global network.

"Attracting infrastructure providers such as Zayo to the facility aligns with our strategic plans to be the best-connected data centre operator in the UK.

"Zayo is already a provider of connectivity services for customers at our first London-based colocation facility so this is a logical extension of our relationship."

EE has been selected by the Home Office to provide Britain's Emergency Services with a national mobile network, giving 300,000 critical emergency workers access to 4G voice and data for the first time.

The Government's £1 billion Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) will ensure that Britain is a world leader in Emergency Services communications, and a 4G pioneer.

The EE 4G network will significantly improve the efficiency of the Emergency Services by giving them access to the type of data and applications that have benefitted private businesses in recent years. Some of the applications that the new network will enable for Britain's Emergency Services are:

EE CEO Olaf Swantee said: "We've worked closely with the Police and Ambulance crews to show the power of 4G in helping save time and save lives. We will now work tirelessly to deliver a highly resilient, truly nationwide 4G network to serve all of Britain's Blue Light and First Responder teams across the UK."

EE's new 4G Emergency Services Network will replace the existing TETRA system from mid-2017 as current contracts expire.

8x8's EasyContactNow (ECN) cloud contact management solution has been accepted for inclusion on G-Cloud 7, the Government's online digital marketplace for the broader public sector.

ECN is a key part of 8x8's Enterprise communications as-a-Service (ECaaS) suite and is complementary to the company's Virtual Contact Centre solution that is targeted at traditional, structured contact centre environments. 

Sharon Maslyn, Sales Director of 8x8 UK, said: "With ECN 8x8 makes it practical for organisations to use sophisticated contact centre capabilities that require efficient, personalized communications with employees, citizens or customers."

ECN offers Government departments features such as call back, IVR workflow builder, call recording, SMS, instant messaging, browser integration, full data management and integration with leading CRM solutions.

In addition to traditional customer-facing deployments, ECN can also be utilised by other key line of business functions, including IT service desks, credit control and facilities management.

This latest extension to 8x8's offerings for the public sector comes just two months after the company's accreditation under the UK Government's Cyber Essentials Plus scheme.

Exsel Group will be spreading some Christmas cheer next week by holding a 'Gift for Glasgow' event at their Citypark offices.

The company is hoping Scottish companies will support the event by bringing along a gift and taking the chance to network and celebrate with likeminded business people.

Managing Director Tom McDonald told Comms Dealer: "There are many families in Glasgow that will have a hard decision to make this Christmas: Feeding their families or buying gifts. By collecting as many presents as possible for the Salvation Army, we hope to alleviate some of the pressures on families and make it a special Christmas for the kids affected by poverty."

The event on December 11th, run in association with Health Rewards and the Scottish Football Association Business Club, will also include a Christmas fare, entertainment and a whisky and spirit tasting.

For further information or to donate a gift contact  Tom McDonald at tom@exselgroup.com

Nimans has produced a Network Services overview brochure of its voice, IP and data propositions.

The 12-page guide highlights key areas of an ever-evolving division including data connectivity, voice services, wholesale mobile and hosted and cloud solutions.

"Established since 1996 Nimans Network Services has developed an extensive network proposition and partners with leading industry suppliers to offer voice services, mobile solutions, connectivity and hosted and cloud solutions," said Mark Curtis-Wood, Head of Network Services.

"We have created commercial models to meet the needs of resellers in terms of billing and support which includes a designated bureau service.

"Our proposition is at the core of enabling successful business communications for resellers' end customers. We provide traditional voice and mobile tariffs as well as core data connectivity."

A Bureau billing collection service, GS Hosted (Nimans' own hosted telephony service) and The Hub, an order provisioning, management and billing portal, all feature heavily in the guide.

Despite CEOs and strategists working around the clock to realign their businesses to embrace digitalisation, a new global study from Arthur D. Little (ADL) reveals that the majority of corporations still underestimate the risks of failing to keep pace with a rapidly digitising economy, and feel ill-equipped to make a holistic digital transformation.

In The 2015 Digital Transformation Study, ADL found that although front-runners have emerged, most companies still take a piecemeal approach to digital transformation.

Companies struggle to fully embrace digitalisation because of lagging adoption in their business models and, from an HR perspective, new data-based personalised services and overall digital capabilities.

Only 17% of surveyed companies have comprehensive roadmaps in place to master the digital transformation.

"As customers across the world embrace the new marketplace of shared ownership, on-demand services, and personalisation, no industry is immune to the growing need for digital transformation," said Dr. Michael Opitz, initiator of the study and leader of ADL's TIME Practice.

"We fear that today too few CEOs recognise the urgent need to not just invest in new technology, but fully realign every aspect of their businesses to the new digitally driven marketplace."

SSE Enterprise Telecoms has opened its third Network Operation Centre (NOC) located in Thatcham, Berkshire, adding to its existing NOCs in Hampshire and Perthshire.

Colin Sempill, MD at SSE Enterprise Telecoms, said: "With an ever increasing portfolio of high profile security and network availability conscious blue chip customers, as well as our own Energy generation, distribution and supply businesses, our third live Network Operations Centre is designed to demonstrate our commitment to providing a non-stop network service."

Swyx Solutions' long-term Gold partner EBC Group based in Birmingham is to offer the vendor's cloud-based UC/telephony platform via its privately owned data centres.

EBC Group MD Richard Lane commented: "Having made significant investments in our own core infrastructure, including two privately owned data centres, we already provide our customers with a range of services via the EBC Cloud Suite so adding telephony to our portfolio was a natural progression."

Swyx Director of Business Development, Michael Hostbaek, added: "The needs of today's modern companies are changing with greater demand for flexible, quick and easy access to communications regardless of location.

"As a result, more and more customers are asking our partners for cloud-based communications allowing them to closely match both the budgetary and operational needs of individual businesses."

Timico acted quickly to secure sponsorship of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, the first time the race has been open to sponsors in 36 years.

Alongside the four-year sponsorship deal Timico has been given preferred supplier status to The Jockey Club's portfolio of 15 race courses.  

Timico already provides ICT services to Goodwood and Newbury race courses, from managed voice and data communications to guest Wi-Fi and IT solutions.

Timico's Chief Executive Officer, Tim Radford, and his family have long been associated with horse racing as owners of frequent runners Knock House, Somersby, Calgary Bay and Racing Demon.

Timico's Chairman, Lord Daresbury, is a former champion amateur jockey. He was Chairman of Aintree Racecourse for 25 years from 1989 and took over as Chair at Haydock Park in 2013.

Radford said: "As an ambitious business working in a fast-paced industry, we were quick to recognise the tremendous opportunity of partnering with The Jockey Club to be part of one of the country's most prestigious events."

Pictured (l-r): Chairman Lord Daresbury and CEO Tim Radford

The Phone Co-op's CEO Vivian Woodell is on a mission to create an alternative economy built on the values advanced by social enterprises.

His efforts to date have been rewarded with a national award that recognises the organisation's role in a major social enterprise investment.

The Phone Co-op, based in Chipping Norton and Manchester, scooped the Best Consumer Facing award at the UK Social Enterprise Awards.

The Phone Co-op set up its Co-operative and Social Economy Development Fund to support the growth and development of other co-ops and social enterprises.

For example, it loaned HCT, the social enterprise bus operator, £500K as part of its recently raised £10m funding.

This funding, from a variety of social lenders, is a new record for a social enterprise investment in the UK.

The Phone Co-op is a strong supporter of public transport with over 91% of its business miles undertaken by public transport.

"We are happy to be using surplus capital to support another social enterprise that is providing public transport, something we actively try to use, and with an organisation that shares our values," stated Woodell.

"We see social enterprises co-supporting each other in this way as an example of the type of alternative economy we'd like to encourage and grow."

Peter Holbrook CBE, Social Enterprise UK's Chief Executive, said: "Social enterprises are needed more than ever to tackle the social and environmental problems facing Britain."

The UK now has more than 70,000 social enterprises that contribute more than £24bn to the economy each year.