Comms Dealer

Billing firm Aurora Kendrick James has marked the next phase of its development with a company name change and a rebrand.

Now known as Aurora, the name aptly signifies a 'new beginning' or 'new dawn'.

This progressive move includes the launch of a fully responsive website that offers customers login access 24/7, a new corporate logo and software developments to the billing platform, now rebranded as the Affinity Software Suite.

The site reflects the Aurora brand and showcases the Affinity software and the diverse product range it can bill, including fixed line, mobile, cloud and data and utilities.

The website also features a new online resource centre with all the information needed to use the Affinity billing platform to its full potential.

This is a core component of the site and has many new features including software and industry webinars along with 'how to' videos.

Aurora has also re-categorised Affinity into six 'simple' modules, each reflecting the billing operation process, and all incorporating the Affinity name: Affinity Sales, Affinity Fulfilment, Affinity Billing, Affinity Finance, Affinity Online and Affinity Service.

Derek Watson, MD, said: "These changes not only reflect the business we have become, but have been designed in line with what we know our customers and our customers' customers require to operate efficiently and successfully in an increasingly complex and competitive market."

"Aurora is a particularly fitting brand name in an industry which is constantly changing.

"The strategic timing of this development has been most important. With the communications landscape and channel diversifying so significantly and rapidly, our services and software need to reflect these changes.

"No longer do our customers sell just one product. In fact 70% of our customers bill multiple products, so we think it's crucial that we move in line with the industry to secure the trust of our customers."

The registered company name remains unchanged.

Eclipse has been awarded Microsoft Gold Competency for its 'best-in-class' hosting services.

"Out of 24,000 Microsoft Partners in the UK, Eclipse is one of just 721 who have achieved the Gold Partner status," said Pete Tomlinson, director of product, marketing & sales at Eclipse.

"We were one of the first organisations to secure official CSP (Cloud Solutions Provider) status in the UK so it's great to solidify that relationship and offer our customers further confidence in our expertise."

Phil Sorgen, corporate vice president, Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft, added: "By achieving a gold competency, Eclipse has demonstrated the highest, most consistent capability and commitment to the latest Microsoft technology.

"Eclipse has deep expertise that puts them in the top 1% of our partner ecosystem, and their proficiency will help customers drive innovative solutions on the latest Microsoft technology."

Hats off to Southport-based AdaptiveComms for scooping a Business of the Year 2015 award at the e3 Business Awards, hosted by 1 Events Media at the Macron Stadium in Bolton.

Managing Director, James Brayshaw said: "AdaptiveComms has consistently offered outstanding solutions and services to customers throughout the UK, but to be recognised by an independent body of judges for our performance over the last 12 months gives further verification to the high level of service and care we provide to both our customers and to our business internally."

London's Globe and Manchester's Museum of Science were the venues for two Unify reseller onboarding events staged by Nimans.

Unify's Channel Sales Director Tony Smith outlined the vendor's strategy, pointing out that 30% of revenue from the company's OpenScape Business platform was now software based.

Resellers were given live demonstrations of OpenScape Business and Unify's next generation communication and collaboration platform called Circuit.

Delegates also got the heads up on a new range of handsets and version 2 of OpenScape Business.

Ilkley-based ISP Talk Straight has capped eight years of growth with a move to new custom-designed offices, its third relocation in six years.

Company owners David Tindall and Tim Sedgwick built the company from scratch and now employ 50 staff with room for a significant increase in headcount at the new HQ opened by special guest Ryan Hall from the Leeds Rhinos.

"As a forward-thinking technology company we wanted to create a head office that's exciting and comfortable to work in, and a highly functional space that will maximise working efficiency," said Tindall.

"It's taken a couple of months to convert the empty shell, but the office team are pleased with the end result".

Office features include zonal air-conditioning, motion-controlled lighting, a grassed indoor picnic area, mobile controlled kettles, a shower and relaxation areas for staff.

The new office will also house the control centre for the company's network operations team who look after the broadband for over 1,000 schools across the UK.

Solar panels will meet the company's environmental policy.

Sedgwick added: "It's been an incredible eight years and despite tough economic times we're proud to have flourished so well.

"As a company born in Ilkley it was always our intention to maintain our base here. Finding suitable office space for a growing company was challenging, but we're delighted with our new building and position in the town.

"I feel extremely pleased that we've been able to bring new employment opportunities to the area, particularly for young people as there are very few technology companies in the locality.

"Our new offices have the capacity for up to 35 additional staff and I hope the company will continue to grow over the next few years."

Updates to Unify's OpenScape Business and OpenScape Enterprise Express solutions will 'expand opportunities with SMB and mid-market customers', according to Jon Pritchard, Executive VP of Worldwide Channels. He also announced that Unify's services are available for channel resale.

Unify's software and hardware support resale programme is available in the US, Germany and the UK, with additional regions in the pipeline. The vendor also offers tailored managed and professional services to partners on a project-specific basis.

"The ability for partners to sell our end-to-end services and support frees partners to spend more time on higher value activities," said Pritchard.

OpenScape Business now supports up to 1,500 users, while OpenScape Enterprise Express, developed for mid-size enterprises, currently caters for up to 2,000 users with plans to scale to 8,000.

MeetingZone is to offer a new cloud-based video conferencing service called Cisco Collaboration Meeting Rooms (CMR) Cloud.

The service enables video conferencing participants to come together in one meeting experience irrespective of the devices and software they use to connect.

Participants can join using video from standard desktop or mobile video conferencing services like Cisco WebEx to high-end immersive systems such as those from Cisco, Lifesize, Tandberg and Polycom. Anyone joining a meeting can share the same conferencing experience of audio, video and content sharing regardless of location or device.

Cisco CMR Cloud allows companies to make use of their existing investments in hardware and software. With MeetingZone's subscription-based pricing model, it means avoiding unnecessary capital cost, said the firm.

"Cisco CMR Cloud is the glue that sticks all these video conferencing systems together. It's best thought of as a secure, virtual meeting room in the cloud," said MeetingZone's CEO, Steve Gandy.

"But whereas traditionally such rooms required participants to have the exact key to gain entry - in other words, they all needed to be on the same system - CMR Cloud lets you give people a skeleton key that opens the door regardless of the technology they're using."

Swyx Solution has produced a jargon-free and non-technical white paper designed to help IT buyers quickly grasp the benefits of cloud-based UC and how the technology works.

Harald Bender, Vice President Marketing at Swyx, said: "Although there is plenty of discussions around cloud there is still some confusion over the advantages it can offer the average SME and whether it is right for everyone.

"This informative guide explains how cloud works but also more closely explores how organisations can benefit from cloud-based unified communications and draws comparisons with an on-premise solution."

Focus Group has revealed expansion plans that will see the comms provider relocate to a bigger HQ in Shoreham next year and embark on a recruitment campaign to boost its current 160 staff headcount.

In preparation for its next phase of growth Focus Group has launched a new website that offers quick access to key information on current UC solutions.

The company started out 11 years ago with just five employees and has grown into a major force, scooping a Comms Dealer Reseller Sales Team of the Year award.

Avnet Technology Solutions has launched a CloudReady Programme in the UK, an initiative designed to provide Avnet business partners with the tools and knowledge required to evolve their cloud strategy.

To launch the programme, Avnet is hosting a partner briefing created in conjunction with HP and VMware, on Tuesday 16th June at the Coppid Beech Hotel in Bracknell, Berkshire.

Entitled Future-Proof Your Cloud Proposition, the briefing will reveal the latest findings from industry research and provide delegates with top tips on how to future-proof their own IT strategy.

Industry analyst IDC will present the results from its latest end user surveys of buyers' attitudes and priorities. Cloud specialists from HP, VMware and Avnet will address the major challenges facing IT service providers today and answer some of the most commonly asked questions around HP and VMware cloud solutions.

Christian Curtis, Sales Director, Avnet Technology Solutions UK, said: "We are fast approaching the time when the cloud will simply be the new way business is done and IT is provisioned.

"However, the reality is that many end users and channel organisations are not geared up for the change. IT management are often battling against complex, inflexible systems and infrastructure capacity limitations that compromise their ability to deliver a timely and competitive service to their customers.

"Meanwhile the channel is looking to broaden its capabilities by selling beyond products and break-fix services by offering cloud solutions and managed services that add business value, minimise financial risk and build recurring revenue streams."

In addition to the research from IDC, there will be a series of business-led presentations on how cloud solutions can help boost competitive advantage and enable business partners to respond quickly and efficiently to increased and constantly changing service demands.

Curtis added: "By working closely with supplier partners such as HP and VMware and applying Avnet's SolutionsPath methodology, we are positioned to enable our business partners to take the right evolutionary steps to deliver a seamless service to their customers while keeping ahead of the competition.

"This briefing is an opportunity for business partners and supplier partners to network, share ideas and gain insight into what the future holds. The next step will be for us to develop joint business plans to support our partners' new goals and strategies."