Comms Dealer

PSU Technology Group has secured a contract to supply, install and maintain an IP-enabled communications solution for Morrison Utility Services, a UK utility service provider.

The platform will be based at Morrison Utility Services' new headquarters and will link communications between its 90 nationwide offices and depots.

Plans for the new solution, based on Mitel 3300 technology, include integration of the Mitel MiCollab Client for full desktop and Microsoft Outlook integration, presence and instant messaging, voice, video calling and web conferencing.

PSU Technology Group MD Michael Lounton said: "Like many of our clients, Morrison Utility Services recognise the productivity gains that unified communications solutions can achieve."

UC provider Olive has launched the Olive Academy staff training programme as part of its investment in the personal and professional development of its workforce.

Over the next 12 months, all Olive's 160 staff will attend bespoke training sessions delivered by leading skills development company Space2. It has worked with Olive to devise 32 different learning modules, tailored to suit different business functions within Olive.

Olive Chief Executive Martin Flick said: "We recognise that the success of Olive, and our ability to provide the highest levels of customer service, relies on the success and skills of our people.

"We believe the training will also inspire and reinforce a real sense of togetherness within the business, as well as supporting personal development."

"This isn't a 'one size fits all' approach either, as much like our customers, everyone within Olive is different. That's why they all have their own individually structured training programme that will enable them to grow in their roles and develop new skills, and help them build their career."

The launch of the Olive Academy coincides with Olive bolstering its HR function, with the arrival of a new Olive HR Manager Nick Evans, who joins after seven years at online retailer Shop Direct in a similar role.

Evans commented: "Joining Olive is an exciting move for me with the huge appeal of a rapidly expanding and ambitious environment to work within. I want to make both a personal and professional impact at Olive and work with the team here to help the business reach its long-term objectives."

Ann Potterton, the CEO of the Institute of Telecommunications Professionals (ITP) is stepping down from her role this month.

Potterton has led the organisation for several years and is leaving to focus on her own consultancy business which has been put on hold for the last few years.

She will be handing over to Adam Oliver of BT, who has been seconded to the ITP as part of BT's commitment to professional development.

Oliver, who currently works in BT's CSR and Accessibility programme as well as supporting its Apprentice programme, will continue the ITP's work to promote and facilitate accredited qualifications through professional registrations within the industry, as well as expanding the benefits of ITP membership.

BT, which believes that lifelong learning is an essential part of employees' careers and the telecom sector's well-being, is focused on encouraging more people across the industry to gain professional, industry-standard qualifications.

ITP has been the voice of the telecoms industry for more than a century and has long been committed to industry-standard qualifications through Engineering Council professional registrations.

Oliver said: "The ITP and BT have been working together for a long time, in particular to help technicians gain ICT and Engineering Technician registrations and now we will be able to encourage many more people across the industry gain professional accreditation in an increasingly competitive job market."

Lucy Woods, ITP's Chairman added: "Ann has done a magnificent job steering the ITP on its new course, and has contributed a great deal to the direction and stability of the organisation."

A cloud-based broadcast and content delivery solution launched by Level 3 offers high quality video on a global scale.

Video Cloud supports video transmission for the most-watched TV events, creating a solution for adaptive streaming with encoding, security and CDN video delivery, claimed the firm.

"Level 3 has collaborated with many content-driven companies, and the one recurring theme we keep seeing is that these companies want a one-stop-shop for high-quality video transfer and storage - for both traditional and online media," said Mark Taylor, vice president of Media and IP Services at Level 3.

"Level 3's Video Cloud Services simplify every aspect of video delivery, giving our customers the performance and global reach they need to not only deliver a video experience, but also realise cost efficiencies."

Mukul Krishna, global director of Digital Media at Frost & Sullivan, noted: "Ubiquitous networks, hyper-connected devices, and the ever-increasing consumer appetite for time, space and device-shifted, on-demand content have forced media companies to revisit their business models and technology capabilities.

"For a media company to survive and thrive in today's environment, agility is critical. Companies need to leverage the cloud to cost effectively and efficiently manage video throughout its lifecycle and deliver it measurably and intelligently across multiple screens.

"Media companies that do that well will be best poised for success. At such a time, the availability of Level 3's Video Cloud Services are extremely timely and the industry can benefit greatly from such services."

The Co-operative Group has launched its first own-brand pay as you go (PAYG) SIM card available in more than 3,800 Co-operative food stores across the country from this month.

It is being launched in partnership with The Phone Co-op, which provides the service, and will offer low-cost national and international rates, transparent pricing and UK coverage in a single SIM card.

Steve Murrells, Chief Executive Retail, The Co-operative Group, said: "It is a major milestone for The Co-operative Group to be entering the telecoms sector with its own branded products.

"We believe that by working with The Phone Co-op we are able to offer one of the most competitive and straightforward mobile pay as you go SIM card packages in the market. It's a genuine own-brand co-operative product, fair and simple, with no strings attached."

The Co-operative Mobile pay as you go SIM card is a collaborative venture between a number of British co-operatives including The Phone Co-op which has provided telecommunications services for 15 years.

Vivian Woodell, founder and CEO of The Phone Co-op, added: "The Phone Co-op is owned by customers, so there are no outside shareholders to pay. That means we can give people the value, and the service, they deserve."

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust is expecting to save over £1m in costs over five years by replacing its four existing phone systems and additional exchange lines with a cloud-based service from Vodafone.

The savings to be delivered are equivalent to the treatment costs of over 150 patients a year.

The new system will cover up to 140 sites in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire and Somerset, with a total of 3,000 phone extensions.

By moving to the Vodafone hosted telephony service Oxford Health will significantly reduce its operational costs by around £1m over five years. It will also simplify arrangements for staff and service users, allowing Oxford Health to redirect ICT resources to patient care.

The Vodafone hosted telephony service will enable the Trust to scale flexibly so that phone lines can be increased according to demand.

"The ambition was to reduce our telecommunications spend, redirect these resources to more productive activities and simplify the service for our users and those supporting our telephones," said Dominic McKenny, Director of Informatics at Oxford Health. "We were looking for a more flexible set-up that would support changes to our working practices and be responsive to changing business needs over time.

"We also wanted to ensure that we don't miss patient calls. For example, even if a patient rings the wrong Trust number, the new system will allow their calls to be forwarded to the correct service quickly and easily. This is particularly critical within a mental health setting, when callers may be in distress and need to speak to a clinician urgently," said Dominic McKenny.

Richard Aspinall, Head of Regional Public Services at Vodafone UK, added: "Oxford Health is the first NHS body to install our Vodafone hosted telephony service, which represents a cost-effective and simple solution suited to the Trust's needs.

"The system also provides a good foundation for further innovation as the Trust looks to implement better ways of working and drive improvements in the provision of mental health and community services."

Ingram Micro's idea-sharing and collaboration programme has attracted 13 new partners to its VentureTech Network (VTN) with a further pledge from three other resellers to join the programme.

Ingram Micro's inaugural VTN UK chapter meeting was attended by partners keen to discover the opportunities the exclusive network has to offer.

The UK group's next meeting is in May and members of the chapter will be gathering with their US VTN colleagues at Ingram Micro's Spring Invitational event IMOne, in New Orleans in the same month.

The chapter, named Apollo, following a democratic vote at the recent meeting, was praised by new member Mark Davies, sales and marketing director of Cobweb Solutions: "I was pleasantly surprised at the openness and engagement with all attendees. There was a real sense of community and I'm already working on mutual business opportunities from the day."

Enzo Brienza, director of sales at RFL Communications, another new VTN member, added: "We have some great objectives to cover in our chapter but my focus is on my business objectives which I trust will be accelerated with the help and assistance of Ingram Micro and the chapter members."

Apollo's members have adopted NSPCC as its chosen charity. £2000 was raised at the kick off meeting and the children's charity will feature heavily in the group's activities going forward.

Exertis Micro-P has unveiled a reseller promotional campaign that will see it give away £15,000 worth of prizes, with the opportunity to win a prize every day throughout April.

Under the scheme winners can scoop prize bundles or single high value prizes. And all entrants this month will automatically be entered into the month-end bonanza to win any prizes not claimed during April, plus £1,000 Capital Bond vouchers.

"Prizes on offer include the latest plasma screens, tablet PCs, digital cameras and blu-ray players," said Phil Brown, B2B Sales Director.

"In addition to the latest products from brands like Lenovo, Samsung, Asus and Toshiba, entrants also stand the chance to win gift experiences including British Pullman 'Golden Age Travel Trip' for two, half-day Jonathan Palmer racing experiences, hotel break and theatre experiences and Lamborghini driving experiences. High value vouchers are also up for grabs and can be redeemed at Centre Parcs, John Lewis and Champney's Spa."

To participate in the promotion resellers need to buy any product from Exertis Micro-P, record their invoice number and the following day go onto the online Exertis Micro-P Prize Portal to see if they are a winner.

Channel resellers are advised to seek out meaningful partnerships with Cloud Services Providers (CSPs) in order to address and tackle the challenges they face when transitioning to the cloud market, claims Piers Linney, Co-CEO of Outsourcery.

With over 69 per cent of organisations formally adopting at least one cloud-based service in the last year, according to findings from the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF), cloud computing has achieved mainstream deployment in the UK.

It is therefore vital that resellers embrace the benefits of the cloud - but in doing so they must also ensure they address the potential ensuing challenges they may have with their cloud sales strategy.

These challenges include not having a full understanding of the various cloud solutions available, not having enough knowledge of the development of the cloud market, and not having sufficient background knowledge of how cloud can apply in different end-user scenarios; something which would come with experience.

Linney said: "IT as a service is a very different beast to IT as an asset and the move can be difficult for many channel organisations to make.

"Resellers have the potential to miss out if they don't educate themselves about the transition and it is therefore crucial that they seek out partnerships with CSPs to help overcome existing weaknesses or knowledge gaps.

"Resellers are used to working with traditional IT models so the skill-set of current employees would mean that a move to the cloud might not be playing to the business's strengths. Cooperation between resellers and CSPs who are willing to help is key to bridging this education gap.

"There are countless examples of IT companies that have failed to adjust at the right time and have struggled as a result. Now is the time for businesses to develop the necessary skills in order to effectively adapt to the cloud, and partnering with a CSP can make the difference between failure and success.

"As there is still a market for traditional IT, the cost and benefit of transitioning is not always wholly apparent - this is why collaboration between resellers and CSPs is crucial in improving education of the long-term benefits of adopting cloud services.

"With hybrid IT solutions becoming more apparent and widespread, it is a way for organisations in the channel to work together with CSPs, to enhance synergies and improve the cloud and IT services available in the market."

Investment in IT equipment by European SMEs set to increase by almost a fifth to €73bn, driven by the the UK (€21.5bn investment in total, up 56%), followed by France (€18.6bn, up 56%). Upgrading IT equipment to enhance efficiency is a top priority for Western European SMEs over the next 12 months, according to GE Capital International's Q1 2014 European SME Capex Barometer. This represents a 15% increase on spending intentions versus the same time last year.

The research, conducted among over 2,250 SME business leaders across seven European markets during Q1 2014, shows that across the big four European economies IT is the only asset type to see a significant increase in intended investment, while spend on other types of assets is set to remain stable or drop.

In Central & Eastern European markets (Czech Republic, Hungary & Poland) IT investment levels are expected to remain broadly comparable with 2013, as manufacturing equipment assets remains a focus for capex.

Christian Bernhard (pictured above), Equipment Finance leader at GE Capital International, said: "After several years of prioritising spending on manufacturing equipment assets, SMEs now look to be increasing IT and office equipment capex, potentially in order to update their infrastructure and back office systems to match modernisation efforts at the front end.

"Given the productivity gains, cost efficiencies and competitive advantage associated with up-to-date technologies, SMEs that increase investment in upgrading IT equipment will be strongly positioned for future growth."

For SMEs across the big four economies, upgrading existing equipment to enhance efficiency and productivity is the main reason for investment in both hardware and software, with over a third of respondents citing this as a driver. This indicates a clear response from businesses to increasing missed income or loss of new business opportunities as a result of dated or inefficient equipment.

One in four SMEs (26%) in Western Europe said they had lost out on new income or new business opportunities in the past 12 months, taking the total loss in income to approximately €59bn, an increase of 12% compared to previous year.

IT investment is set to be driven by the UK (€21.5bn in total, up 56%), followed by France (€18.6bn, up 56%).

In contrast, there will be a 9% decline in investment year on year in Germany, to €20.8bn, albeit still at a very high level. German SMEs cite the single biggest obstacle to overall capital expenditure as 'having already invested' (22%), suggesting prior spend may be impacting future investment intentions. IT spending is expected to be lowest in Italy, at €11.7bn, a 20% drop from 2013 levels.

Hardware accounts for the greatest proportion of intended capital expenditure in IT equipment, with a total of €42bn earmarked for upgrading company laptops, servers and other hardware in the next 12 months.

This is driven by investments from SMEs in Germany (€12.7bn), and the UK (€12.1bn). Total spend on software is expected lower at €31bn, with UK SMEs contributing the largest proportion (€9.4bn).

SMEs in the utilities and transport sector are likely to invest more in IT equipment than in any other sectors. They plan to invest 30% of overall capex for Western Europe in IT hardware and 29% in IT software, despite only accounting for 20% of the total SMEs surveyed.