Comms Dealer

Cloud customer contact vendor NewVoiceMedia has raised $50m to accelerate its global growth programme.

New investor Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) led the funding round, joined by existing shareholders Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP), Highland Capital Partners Europe, Eden Ventures, Notion Capital and salesforce.com. This takes the total raised by the company over the last 18 months to $105m.

The UK's broadband target for 2030 is not suitable for purpose especially when compared to other nations.

That's the view of Mike Smith, Virgin Media Business Director of Small and Medium Business propositions, who believes that more education and a 'tailored' approach is need to truly benefit UK SMEs.  
 
In response to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) report on UK broadband for SMBs, Smith said: "Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and digital is vital in helping them seize new opportunities. There is some great work already underway with initiatives such as the 'superConnected Cities', but further collaboration needs to focus on tailored solutions that meet the diverse needs of the UK's small businesses.

"It's also about educating the market, driving adoption and upskilling the UK to make the most of digital, for example 36% of businesses have no web presence and 46% would like to make more use of being online. In doing so, we can drive a stronger marketplace.

"It is only through looking at the challenge that the FSB raises from multiple angles that we, as an industry, can affect change," added Smith.

After a 'year of change' The Federation of Communications Services has a clear vision to become the leading lobbyist and mouthpiece for the comms provider industry, according to chairman Justin Orde.

In his his annual report Orde told members: "The need for a clear and all-embracing voice to speak out for B2B communications has never been clearer or more urgent.

"The FCS is also the only organisation with the history, the breadth and the membership firepower to represent our industry's big-picture aspirations to policy makers and pundits.

"FCS's relationships with Ofcom, PhonepayPlus and the various industry stakeholder groups is not enough, by itself, to gain the kind of traction our industry needs to ensure markets are transparent, competition is free, and the vital, enabling capabilities of high quality business-grade communications are understood and appreciated beyond the confines of our own industry."

Orde said the FCS Board members have committed their time and experience to developing FCS into an articulate and future-proof mouthpiece for the industry.

"It's a big vision that will see FCS growing and developing to embrace new members and new technologies in the years to come."

Manchester has the potential to be one of the top digital cities of the world according to ANS Group founder Scott Fletcher MBE.

??Speaking at the 2014 Institute of Directors Conference Fletcher, who founded £100m cloud computing firm ANS Group in his Droylsden bedroom aged 22, told delegates:
"In my view we have the best universities in the world here in Greater Manchester, certainly the best in the country. And we have the best internet connectivity in the UK outside of London.

"Plus, we already have a huge base of businesses that are digital success stories. It is just joining it all up and getting the investments required."

Fletcher, who managed to keep his recent MBE secret from family, friends and colleagues for a month, discussed the challenges he faced before getting to where he is today.

"I think a business has to be a fun place to work. Investment is key if we are to compete globally and with the rest of the UK. We need to upskill our workforce, get them on a living wage not minimum wage. It does all come down to confidence. We have also got to start looking at outcomes rather than 9 to 5, and trust people to get on with it."

Kcom Group apprentice Thomas Herring has won this year's Microsoft Apprentice of the Year Award in the Large Employer category out of hundreds of apprentices employed by Microsoft and its partner businesses.\

The young software engineer attended a parliamentary reception at the House of Commons where he was presented with his award by Nadhim Zahawi MP, Member of the No 10 Policy Board with special responsibility for business and the economy.

Thomas, who is based at KCOM Group's Hull office and works in its IT team, began his apprenticeship in October 2013.

"Being able to study and work at the same time has been a great benefit to me and my development. I've been helping deliver a wide variety of projects including for a national power services supplier, a customer portal project and a corporate web application that gave me experience working to a budget and a deadline," said Thomas.

Another apprentice at KCOM Group, Liam Walker, was also a finalist in the same category of the awards and was named runner-up behind Thomas.

Managed and cloud-based services provider ControlCircle, which was acquired by the Alternative Networks group earlier this year, has been awarded Managed Services Provider of the Year for the third year in a row at the International Data centre Awards 2014.

Edward Spurrier, CEO of the Alternative Networks group told Comms Dealer: "This is a great achievement and reaffirms ControlCircle's reputation and ability as a professional managed service provider in the worldwide arena."

US-based NetMotion Wireless, provider of mobility management software and solutions for mobile workforces, is being distributed under a new deal with Ingram Micro Europe BVBA, (Ingram Micro Mobility). The privately-held supplier wants to grow into several new European markets.

"Ingram Micro Mobility is the ideal mobile-centric distribution partner to help us expand our presence with enterprises globally," said Erik Prusch, CEO, NetMotion Wireless. "This partnership comes on the heels of opening our new European headquarters and will help us quickly increase both market traction and partner responsiveness."

"Mobile productivity is becoming increasingly important to enterprises across Europe," said Marios Ktisti, senior manager, companion products (software and services Europe), Ingram Micro Mobility. "NetMotion's software fits well within our enterprise mobility software portfolio as an enabler of secure and optimised mobile deployments."

"We are excited by the opportunity of working with Ingram Micro Mobility and their reseller channel to reach a wider range of enterprise customers to ensure the success of their mobile deployments," said Erik Helms, general manager, EMEA & ROW, NetMotion Wireless. 

Q2 PC shipments in Western Europe have been boosted by ongoing renewals in the SMB space following the end of Windows XP support, says IDC.

Commercial demand remained strong as business confidence stemming from an improving macroeconomic outlook contributed to corporate renewals. Commercial PC shipment growth in Western Europe reached 26.9% - clear confirmation that PCs remain key productivity tools in the enterprise environment.

At the same time, the rebound in consumer shipments accelerated and some markets, including southern Europe, returned to levels of business close to their capacity. Shipments in Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands took off, with sell-in up by more than 40%.

According to IDC, PC shipments in EMEA reached 21.9 million units in the second quarter of 2014 - a 10.5% increase year on year and a clear return to growth after seven quarters of consecutive decline. As in the previous quarter, Western Europe drove most of the regional growth, with shipments supported by strong enterprise renewals, which led to an overall 25% increase in the PC market. Consumer shipments also returned to growth after a severe contraction in 2013.

At the same time, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) remained impacted by the unstable political and economic situation in Russia and by currency fluctuations; as forecast, CEE declined by 13.2%. The increase in total EMEA shipments indicates a rebound in the market but not a recovery as volumes remain below the 25 million unit mark of the peak periods in 2010 and 2012.

"The clear improvements in EMEA are positive signs for PC manufacturers," said Chrystelle Labesque, research manager, IDC EMEA Personal Computing. "However, there was still a big difference between the subregions, and especially in the consumer segment the divide between mature and emerging markets is similar to the worldwide trend.

"While some parts of the CEMA [Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa] PC market continued to suffer from unfavourable exchange rates and a difficult political situation, Western European shipments were fueled by low-end consumer notebooks. Even if the comparison is eased by a very poor second quarter of 2013, more attractive products at the right price points encouraged more consumers to renew their devices.

"Retailers and etailers also seem more confident as new product designs and features better positioned price-wise are now generating higher sales and not only just interest. Promotional activities and vendors' preparation for the back-to-school period further supported the market. The level of inventory will have to be monitored closely as back-to-school sales progress during August and September."

In this context, Chromebooks continued to grow, but their impact is limited to several countries in Western Europe.

"The PC market in the CEMA region reported a contraction of 6% year on year," said Stefania Lorenz, associate VP, IDC CEMA. "The CEE region, in line with forecasts, recorded an annual decline of 13.2%. The region was affected by the expected contraction from the Eastern countries: Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Russia and Ukraine suffered mostly from a slowdown in consumer demand, affected by the instability in both the economic and political situation, as well as high unemployment and a salary freeze. Kazakhstan remains affected by the dramatic currency devaluation, which is not expected to improve in the short term."

"Unlike the Eastern countries, the central region has performed well above expectations," said Nikolina Jurisic, product manager, IDC CEMA. "Countries such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Czech Republic have reported strong double-digit growth year on year.

"PC growth was driven by both consumer and commercial segments, thanks to continual improvement in channel strategies from the players in the market, as well as the expected renewal of XP that is taking place. The MEA region reported soft 1.9% year-on-year growth for the overall PC market. The desktop market performed slightly better, thanks to the Windows XP renewals taking place across all commercial segments."

Microsoft has joined Startup Europe Partnership (SEP), a pan-European programme designed to promote new technology start-ups. The initiative is supported by the EC.

"Microsoft has a real and growing commitment to Europe. By joining the Startup Europe Partnership (SEP), Microsoft is helping to build communities where tech and web entrepreneurs can start-up, scale-up and go global. Microsoft's own journey offers many lessons and examples for everyone working on digital issues," said Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission.

Earlier this year Telecom Italia announced it had supported the SEP initiative as a Corporate Member.

The other founding members of the SEP include Telefonica, Orange, BBVA, investment funds such as European Investment Fund, which is a part of the European Investment Bank Group, and European universities including Cambridge University, the IE Business School and the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society.

SAP has extended its reach to SMBs with the launch of a new Solutions Group.

SAP plans to create cloud applications, powered by SAP HANA, specifically for SMBs.

The new business unit will be led by Dean Mansfield who has over 20 years of expertise in software-as-a-service industry and his past experience includes six years at NetSuite. In his new role he will be responsible for end-to-end operations of a new division as well as for an execution of the strategy.

Mansfield will also lead SAP's Business One application portfolio, which will continue operate through the Global Partner Operations organisation.

"SMBs are playing an increasingly important role in the global economy and at the same time are increasingly interested in leveraging advanced technology," said explains Ray Boggs, vice president of SMB Research, IDC.

"We're predicting record worldwide SMB IT spending that will top $680bn by 2018, with exceptional gains in key regions and across key technologies as SMBs are being transformed through the use of mobile devices and cloud computing. The opportunity for firms to sharpen their products, refine distribution strategy and appeal to new customers has never been greater."