Comms Dealer

Adept Telecom's year-end results to 31st March 2014 show a significant rise in data connectivity revenues helping to push the company to its 11th consecutive year of increased underlying EBITDA, up 8.3% to £4.04m (2013: £3.73m).

Adept also posted a 12.8% increase in profit before tax to £1.85m (2013: £1.64m), and a 35.2% rise in profit after tax to £1.33m (2013: £0.98m).

Among the operational highlights were a 27% increase to data connectivity and broadband revenues year-on-year; the completion of Adept's acquisition of Bluebell Telecom's customer base; and a number of public sector contract wins with major councils.
 
CEO Ian Fishwick said: "We are pleased with a 27% rise in data connectivity revenues and a number of good wins in the public sector.

"We have completed two customer base acquisitions recently (Bluebell - August 2013 and Blue Cherry - April 2014) and continue to look for more acquisition opportunities.

"Our shareholders have seen dividends doubled to 3p per share and we will continue to grow dividends over the next few years.

"Call revenues now represent only a quarter of what we do so our exposure to falling call prices and volumes is now much reduced.

"All in all it has been a good year. The benefits of having a very stable and experienced management team are clear."

M12 Solutions has appointed Steve Walker as Business Advisor with a remit to develop new business.

Managing Director Andrew Skipsey said~: "We have now got tremendous foundations in place and are ready to build our client base. I've successfully worked alongside Steve in the past and I'm sure he'll be a tremendous asset to the team to help ensure we meet our business goals."

Walker added: "I was involved with the formation of M12, and it's great to see how the business has progressed over the years. My goal is to help M12 use this solid foundation as a springboard to bring their expertise and professionalism to a wider audience."

Over 1.75 billion mobile phone users will be using their devices for banking purposes by the end of 2019, compared to 800 million this year, according to Juniper Research.

The report notes that mobile banking technology is currently available in most regions of the world, driven by high consumer demand, especially in the developed regions. Providers such as the Bank of America have already announced, back in 2013, that more of their customers are logging in to their mobile services than through their online system.

"The level of maturity in the number and innovation of services being offered in the market across several geographical areas, demonstrates that banks now regard the mobile channel as an indispensable revenue-stream," said report author Nitin Bhas.

"However, with the mobile channel becoming a key customer retention strategy, it presents a great challenge to traditional institutions."

The scale of this challenge has been confirmed by the decreasing number of branch visits by consumers and also the closure of physical bank branches over the past 12-24 months. For example, in April 2014, RBS UK announced the closure of 44 branches across the UK.

The report also notes that nearly 100% of the banks analysed had some sort of mobile (SMS, Browser and App based) and online banking offering, with almost every bank having apps available for at least one smartphone OS.

Banking apps are ranked highly amongst the most downloaded financial apps in different app stores, with banks reporting high number of average logins per month per user.

Almost a third of north west businesses (32.9%) are hosting the majority or all of their systems in a third party data centre, up 9% on last year, according to an independent survey carried out by Zen.

They also said that flexibility, lower costs and a pay-as-you-go payment models are pushing them to adopt cloud-based and virtual data centres rather than splash out on their own.

Managed Hosting is the most used outsourced hosting service, with 40% of the respondents who used a hosting service relying on it. The numbers using cloud-based Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and dedicated infrastructure services are growing too, though, at 20% for each.

"It's easy to see where businesses are headed - into the cloud, where remote applications will help them operate more efficiently and take advantage of cost-savings and new applications," said Richard Tang, Managing Director.

Cloud platforms and data centres also depend on reliable connectivity, whether hosting applications in-house, in a colocation facility or using public/private cloud services. The survey showed that reliable data centre connectivity was vital to 94.6% of respondents, with 79% choosing speed as also important.

Businesses also need robust backup and disaster recovery systems and the kind of service and support that they can count on, 60% stated that the level of support was their most important criteria.

74% of respondents considered security vital when choosing a data centre. "Security is essential, both network security to protect the servers and infrastructure, and physical security to control who can access equipment and when," added Tang.

Jabra has extended its Q2 Cashback offers into Q3 enabling all authorised Jabra WIN Partners to give customers a way to claim back a proprotion of the unit cost when they purchase selected Jabra corded or wireless headsets.

A toolbox of marketing materials to support the Q3 Cashbacks has been created and can be leveraged by partners to co-brand and promote the scheme to their customers.

Nigel Dunn, Managing Director, Jabra Business Solutions UK & Ireland, said: "The purpose of the Jabra Q3 Cashback promotion is to continue to provide our partners with an attractive incentive with the supporting marketing tools to grow their headset category and gain incremental revenue, while also ensuring value for money when our customers invest in some of our most popular devices."

On 30th June 2014 the law relating to flexible working changed and now employees with at least 26 weeks service can request flexible working from their employer.

The right to request flexible working is no longer restricted to those with children or carers of vulnerable adults. Now, all employees with at least 26 six months service can request flexible working. This could be flexibility of the time of work, the place of work or the hours of work. The right is to make a request - not to be automatically granted a flexible working pattern.

However, if an employer receives a request for flexible working that request must be given consideration. When the right to request was restricted to those with children and carers of adults there was a statutory procedure in place which had to be followed. Now, that procedure has gone. An employer is simply required to meet with the employee and give a final response within three months.

David Hodge, Employment Partner at Brethertons LLP, said: "For many, this change will simply be a codification of existing practice. In recent years, the appetite for flexible working has increased as have the facilities to enable it - such as secure remote access, mobile technology etc. This could be seen as an example of the law keeping pace with sociological change.

"Of course, the right to request does not equate to the obligation to agree and employer's still have a choice, provided that they are able to show a statutory reason for refusing any request. ACAS has produced a useful guide to assist employers. One key point to note is that the previous statutory process for consideration of a request has been removed and replaced by a less prescriptive one, so even if flexibility has been permitted across the workforce already, internal policies and procedures may need to be reviewed and amended to keep up with this change."

??Brethertons changed its own HR policy in 2011 to accommodate flexible working patterns for all staff. Now 30% of Brethertons' employees are on unique working patterns. Of those, the majority work part time, with 3% of employees working full-time but on a different working pattern to the normal office hours.??Deborah Atkins, HR Partner at the firm said: "We have found that flexible working boosts productivity, staff morale and helps retain top talent in order for us to further develop and grow our business."

David concludes: "With the update in legislation, businesses will need to review their flexible working procedures sooner rather than later, so get in touch so that we can help ensure that your policy at work meets the requirements of the law and also the requirements of your business."

The ability to diversify has helped Abbey Telecom to achieve its best financial performance since 2008 with profitability up by 14% in the last 12 months, driven by new line rental and call usage packages that build on its maintenance services.

Over 25% of existing customers have already transferred to its new Simplicity lines and minutes packages since their introduction late last summer.

"We're confident we're in a much stronger position now to go for further growth than we have been for several years,"said Abbey Telecom MD Tony Raynor.

"Like many companies we have to some degree been forced to ride out the recession and simply keep the business ticking over because the market for new business has been relatively flat.

"We saw early signs last year that confidence is returning and clients are either investing in extending and enhancing existing systems, or migrating across to the latest technology such as SIP trunks.

"We've also been impressed with the response of our customers to our lines and minutes packages. It's showing that most people are keen to bring all of their telephone systems under one roof for easier access, convenience and a rapid service response."

With turnover up by 24% since last year, growth has allowed Abbey Telecom to invest in new equipment and restructure its Blackburn headquarters, as well as taking on new staff.

Jamie Sansom, Marketing Assistant at Cheltenham-based Total has been named as Outstanding Apprentice of the Year in the Financial and Business Services category, at the Gloucestershire Apprentice Awards 2014.

Sansom accepted the award at the Hatherley Manor Hotel event, held on the evening of 12th June 2014.

"The idea of going to University and studying for a degree had become my last resort option as I had become tired of lectures and full time education. I was looking to gain real-life work experience in a marketing role.

"Not only have I gained qualifications and experience, along with a full-time job, I've enjoyed challenges such as running a half-marathon dressed as a mobile phone to raise funds for one of our charity customers, along with winning Total's TotaLea Above and Beyond Award in December 2013.

"For me, winning this award goes some way to thank the team at Total for their faith and investment in me as an apprentice - and to acknowledge Total's ongoing commitment to apprenticeships."

The annual event, organised by Gloucestershire Media, is now in its third year.

During this time, Total apprentices have taken home the award twice.

Sansom's award follows the success of previous Total apprentice, Lauren Hanks, receiving the same award in 2012 followed by a commendation in the Thames Valley EAL Award for Advanced Apprentice of the Year. 

Lorrin White, Managing Director of Total, said: "I believe it is essential for any organisation to continue to add young, fresh and enthusiastic team members to the business.

"Not only does the apprentice benefit from the real-life work experience, but the employer can also benefit hugely, thanks to the creativity, intelligence, flexibility, loyalty and adaptability the apprentice brings with them.

"The Awards evening gave both the apprentices and local businesses an opportunity to celebrate the success of Apprenticeships across the region.

"We are delighted that Jamie won this award in recognition of his enthusiasm, talent, commitment and 'above and beyond' approach to his Apprenticeship. I hope this award serves to inspire a whole new generation of apprentices, or those considering an Apprenticeship in the future."

French Keyrus Group has acquired the BIPB Group, provider of Big Data and Analytics with offices in London, New York, Paris, Dubai and Johannesburg.

Keyrus hopes that the acquisition will provide it with the access to UK and US markets and help expand its services portfolio.

"This deal demonstrates the real momentum that exists in the Big Data and Analytics industry. The coming together of Keyrus and BIPB is the first major acquisition we have seen in the 'new' BI technology services sector and likely to be the beginning of a consolidatory trend over the coming few years," said Anthony Platt, Associate Director at Grant Thornton, which has been selected as one of the corporate finance teams that advise on the deal.

Charles Radclyffe, Chief Executive Officer at BiPB, added: "BIPB now has access to significant financial resources to scale our graduate teams to meet client demand, and also has access to the wider talent pool within the Keyrus Group which will enable us to provide a more complete service offering to our client.

Easynet has become the latest member of the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF), the industry body that aims to improve standards and education in the cloud industry.

Philip Grannum, Easynet's Managing Director of Cloud, Hosting & UC Services, stated: "When looking at Cloud computing as a way forward for delivering IT, it is essential that we see it not as just an issue of technology, but one of enabling business process change, service delivery change, and of course IT management change.

"When you view it this way it is no surprise that the passions are raised as cloud services arguably represent the most significant opportunity to improve the way IT is delivered and managed, potentially freeing up businesses to focus their efforts on their strategic goals rather than on maintaining IT operations.

"The cloud revolution has been growing steadily for the past few years. It is now becoming mainstream within the IT industry, encompassing a broad range of potential suppliers from ISVs to hosting companies and global brands.

"Yet some firms are still concerned about a perceived lack of transparency and openness from service providers, resulting in a lack of trust. Cloud service providers need to be able to allay customer fears about levels of service, interoperability and security and it is this that lies at the heart of our decision to join the Cloud Industry Forum."