Comms Dealer

IT services company CCE has partnered with TalkTalk Business and is eyeing the market for managed desktop services in the SME sector based on TalkTalk Business connectivity.

Initially TalkTalk Business and CCE will target SMEs keen to grow, but do not have in-house resources and budgets to build the right IT infrastructure to support their plans.

"In today's digital age it is critical for businesses to be available 24x7, because customers demand the same level of consistent service all the time," said Giles Thorpe, Managing Director, CCE.

"That's why it is important for CCE to partner with network and infrastructure partners to deliver the standard of connectivity our customers expect."

TalkTalk Business has installed its own equipment in more than 3,000 of the UK's local telephone exchanges, which cover 95% of UK businesses.

Alex Tempest, Director of Partners at TalkTalk Business, added: "We recognise that businesses - especially small and ambitious companies looking for growth, have the opportunity to thrive in the global marketplace thanks to the latest developments in superfast broadband and Ethernet.

"Combining our connectivity with CCE's enterprise IT know-how will enable customers to respond dynamically to fast-changing markets."

In addition to managed desktop services, CCE is also looking forward to taking up TalkTalk Business SIP trunking powered by tIPicall.

Swansea-based comms provider Siarad Network has completed a project to install all of the telecoms systems and connectivity at transportation company Frenni's base in Port Talbot.

An important aspect of the implementation was to ensure downtime and connection losses are minimised.

Garath Williams, MD of Siarad Network, said: "Using a local telecoms company can often be more beneficial for companies like Frenni, rather than a conglomerate with support services based overseas."

Nimans has marked the third birthday of its IP-based comms platform with a new two-day iQ PBX technical training course to be held at its Manchester HQ (October 20-21).

"Since its launch in 2012 the Asterisk-based platform has established itself as a firm favourite for resellers looking for a complete out-of-the-box solution at a highly competitive price point, backed by maximum flexibility," said iQ Business Manager Judith Addison.

The X600i gateway solution is supported by various products such as POE switches and iQ handsets, according to Addison who emphasised how multi-trunk call recording, call management, hotel software and an iQ softclient solution are some of the ways resellers can maximise revenues.

"The iQ X600i is a flagship feature rich product with many standout qualities - such as SIP trunk connectivity - without adding any licences," she said.

Avnet has named Sirma Ozkan as its new VP of Marketing for EMEA effective 1st October 2015.

Ozkan has worked in the IT distribution industry since 2008 in a number of roles including channel management, product management and marketing.

She joined Avnet in Turkey in April 2013 as Marketing Manager and currently holds the role of Sales and Marketing Director for Technology Solutions in Turkey.

Graeme Watt, President TS EMEA, said: "Sirma has made a significant contribution to the company's success and progress in Turkey and now has the opportunity to make the same impact at EMEA level."

Ozkan added: "Marketing is one of the key success factors contributing to business results. My focus, among other things, will be to look at the regional marketing strategy and identify key areas where we can collaborate further with Avnet sales teams, partners and suppliers."

Ozkan will relocate from Istanbul to Bracknell.

York-based IT distributor Varlink has added DataVan to its portfolio of EPoS vendors, introducing the Taiwanese manufacturer to the UK market.

Varlink will soon be distributing the DataVan Glamor and Bravo ranges of EPoS Terminal, aimed at resellers in both the retail and hospitality sectors.

Both terminals are resistant to dust and spills and the fanfree design of the Glamor series ensures low energy usage, reducing the total cost of ownership for the end user.

Varlink Managing Director Mike Pullon said: "We have worked hard to find an established manufacturer capable of providing us with reliable and well specified products backed by the commercial understanding and flexibility required to enable us to establish their brand in the UK."

Logicalis UK has appointed Ben Gale as UK Managing Director, reporting to Arnaud Spirlet, Head of Logicalis Europe.

Gale brings nearly two decades of experience in leading successful sales and growth plans in the technology industry.

He joins from Tensator Group where he was Chief Executive Officer.

Before that, he worked as Vice President of The Logic Group, having previously been Vice President of NCR Corporation where he defined the company's sales and growth strategy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Gale has also worked as National Sales Director for Reed Business Group and at Xerox where he was General Manager for the EMEA region.

CEO of Logicalis Group, Mark Rogers, commented: "Ben brings the industry knowledge and leadership skills required to navigate a changing UK market, where software, analytics and cloud are becoming ever more important to customers, and where Logicalis UK needs to have a strong market position."

Pulsant has appointed Chris Roberts as Channel Director, moving from from global solutions and service provider MTI.

He will oversee the growth and development of its partner programme.

Roberts brings more than 15 years sales experience to the role, with a range of expertise in selling both directly to the corporate marketplace, and collaboratively through the partner channel.

Prior to that, Roberts worked for iomart and Datapipe where he was tasked with building, promoting and delivering indirect programmes for the channel community, and his achievements included several key wins across multiple vertical segments.

At iomart Roberts helped deliver several million pounds of new annualised revenue for the company as well as assisting the iomart team to gain accreditation as an approved Dell managed services provider.

Excalibur has scored the winning goal to clinch a deal to provide Nottingham Forest FC with managed mobile phone services, supplying 60 lines to the Championship club.

Excalibur will manage mobiles for the club's players, management and staff.

Nottingham Forest FC's Head of IT Steve Dickman said: "We very much wanted to work with a provider who would take full responsibility and give us just one throat to choke. It is a big, time-saving benefit to us in the hectic and fast-changing world of football to work with a company where a consistent point of contact will respond very quickly and effectively to our needs.

"More than ever our players and management need enhanced levels of security for their phones, which Excalibur understood and sorted immediately. It was time to move away from gimmicks such as buy-backs and go for top quality instead."

James Phipps, Excalibur's CEO, added: "We are already a key supplier to two Premier League football clubs, as well as managing mobile, fixed-line and IT services to several leading names in cricket and ice hockey."

Barracuda has added CMS Distribution to its distribution line-up in the UK and Ireland

CMS Distribution is tasked with recruiting new reseller partners in the storage and security industries.

Originally founded in 1988, CMS Distribution works with over 3,000 resellers, employs over 215 staff, and has five offices spanning across the UK and Ireland.

Justin Griffiths, Group Director Software Solutions at CMS Distribution said: "Barracuda is a natural fit to our existing portfolio. Security is a space that CMS Distribution has not focused on previously, but it is an area that we will continue to invest in as we move forward towards our development goal.

"We believe this is an exciting time to position this technology to our customers, as the market is moving forward and embraces mobility, cloud and enhanced infrastructure."

Business analytics software and services specialist SAS has announced plans to expand its centre in Dublin, adding 150 jobs over the next three years.

New roles include multi-lingual business development and sales specialists, customer engagement specialists as well as data scientists and software engineers.

The new centre, which will be initially located at University College Dublin's industry partnership centre, will see an addition of Inside Sales and Customer Contact Centre to support sales of its data analytics software into markets across EMEA.

SAS expects to increase its overall workforce six-fold. Additionally, the move has gained the support of the Department of Jobs through IDA Ireland, a non-commercial, semi-state body promoting Foreign Direct Investment into Ireland.

The company also plans to approach mid-market organisations which have no history of using data and no in-house expertise. According to SAS, the new centre will benefit those companies by making its Analytics more accessible to them, across a wide range of territories and industry sectors.

Carl Farrell, Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer, SAS, said: "As a global company with offices all over the world we wanted to expand in a city as vibrant as Dublin which has such a thriving technology ecosystem.

"We are now experiencing a 'democratisation of analytics' where more and more organisations - including small and medium sized enterprises - are investing in analytical software and services that don't require a significant up-front investment.

"Our new centre will provide the extra capacity needed to support customers as they embark on this data analytics journey."