Comms Dealer

Pluribus Networks, a specialist in open architecture, has announced its expansion plans across Europe with new deployments in the UK, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal.

The company, which brings together compute, network, storage and virtualisation into a single platform, hopes to approach clients across finance, aerospace, telco, energy and gaming industries in Europe.

Earlier this year it already signed its major European distie Big Technology, which in the past worked with Exclusive Networks.

As its next step, Pluribus is strengthening its presence in Europe with new channel additions which include four new networking resellers: IGX, LAN2LAN, LATO Networks and Telesys, it says.

Prior to its expansion to Europe, the company launched its Pluribus Freedom solution in the US. It specialises in server-switch product line, network services platform based on off-the-shelf and open components to help virtualise and automate the network. Additionally the Pluribus' offering is supported only by escalation engineers with no 'helpdesk', stated the firm.

Key targets for the Freedom server-switch include deployment of a cloud controller in an OpenStack implementation and according to a market consultancy IDG, over 80% of enterprises seeking to deploy private clouds will choose this path in the future.

Salesforce's (CRM) Industries Business Unit will use partners to deliver industry-specific cloud software solutions for six verticals - Financial services/insurance, healthcare/life sciences, retail/consumer products, telecom/media, public sector and automotive/manufacturing.

Salesforce's message is unspecific, but it looks like it plans to leverage its mobile-friendly Salesforce1 app development platform.

Thus far, Salesforce has generally left the development of industry-specific apps to partners such as Veeva.

Workday co-CEO Aneel Bhusri recently called industry-specific apps the least developed of what he considers the five key enterprise cloud software segments.

PSU Technology Group has deployed TalkTalk Business' SIP over EFM technology as part of a managed service for QVIS Monitoring's new UK surveillance control centre.
 
PSU will use a combination of SIP and leased lines to handle QVIS' voice and data within a high-availability and highly secure architecture. 

Key to that is the inherent security of TalkTalk Business' SIP solution, delivered using the part of the TalkTalk network dedicated to business SIP voice traffic and terminated on a secure, managed session border controller.
 
Over the course of the multi-year contract PSU will retain full control of the network configuration and set-up.

This allows PSU to self-manage the deployment without TalkTalk Business' input, controlling network capacity, number of concurrent calls, number presentation and the importing/exporting of DDI numbers in virtual real-time. TalkTalk Business assurance will be available 24/7, including a 9-hour service level agreement (SLA).
 
QVIS is a subsidiary of Adata, an established CCTV distributor. The new surveillance control centre will be used to monitor, manage and react to incidents on behalf of its customers across the UK.
 
"Given the nature of their work, QVIS' situation demands absolute security", said Jon Nowell, Head of Product Management at TalkTalk Business. "With that in mind it's fantastic to see our SIP over EFM technology sitting at the heart of what PSU is offering.
 
"The UK SIP market is already worth £100m per annum, growing at an annual rate of 20%. Now the market has matured it's no longer enough merely to talk about cost-savings over traditional ISDN. The real value to a business comes from introducing SIP as part of a converged network strategy."
 
Michael Lounton, Managing Director, PSU Technology Group, added: "The flexibility that TalkTalk Business' one-stop-shop approachenables us to self-manage service capacity and configuration, which helps us to respond almost immediately to any changes in QVIS' requirements."

Advanced Computer Software Group has bolstered its commercial back office product portfolio with the acquisition of ConsultCRM, the Microsoft Dynamics CRM practice.

This acquisition means that Microsoft Dynamics CRM will now be available to Advanced's customers as part of the Advanced Business Solutions commercial product suite, which includes accounting, payroll, HR, document management, supply chain management, and membership and fundraising solutions.

ConsultCRM, based in Camberley, Surrey, provides a range of implementation services to support businesses at all stages of the CRM process. The business is one of the top 5% of all Microsoft partners globally and in 2013 was awarded Microsoft President's Club status for the second year running.

Vin Murria, CEO, Advanced Computer Software Group, said: "The acquisition complements Advanced's existing back office product portfolio, providing customers with a broader solution set and single point of supply. It strengthens Advanced's CRM expertise and enables the group to provide a complete end-to-end solution in vertical markets such as the not-for-profit sector."

ConsultCRM has clients in a range of sectors including finance, professional services, construction, technology, manufacturing, defence and membership.

Its consultants work with businesses to help them develop more profitable customer relationships, improve operational metrics and streamline the client management cycle.

This year's Welcome to Yorkshire annual conference, staged in Harrogate on March 27th and said to be the UK's biggest tourism event, saw headline sponsor Plusnet release details of new research that underlines the importance of connectivity to businesses in the region.

In the study, over three quarters (77%) of businesses name connected technology as one of the most critical elements of their business. Surprisingly, having good technology achieved 23% more than securing the right staff, which only scored 54% among the 100 surveyed entertainment, leisure, hospitality and retail businesses in Yorkshire.

Over the past year, 68% of businesses noted an increase in tourism in Yorkshire, with 70% expecting this to increase again this summer with the arrival of the Grand Départ. Alongside upgrades in technology, businesses in Yorkshire will be looking to extend their opening hours (43%), increase the number of staff they employ (40%) and offer discounted rates to drive custom (27%). 

Nearly two thirds (64%) of businesses are going to be upgrading their technology ahead of the predicted influx of tourists this summer. And 65% agree that being online has improved people's awareness of their services.

Nearly 9 out of 10 businesses (87%) gain revenue via online sales or bookings, with half (49%) agreeing that a strong online presence for all Yorkshire businesses will help encourage more visitors to the area.

Nick Silverwood, Head of Business at Plusnet commented, "It is encouraging to see how the Yorkshire business community is benefitting from bringing more of their services online and how forward thinking they are in embracing connected technology to further improve their income. 

"It highlights that a business' connectivity is critical to its success. At Plusnet we work hard to provide reliable, affordable business broadband solutions with around the clock support to keep things running smoothly at the busiest of times."

Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, added: "It's great to see that our diverse tourism and hospitality businesses are harnessing technology and using that to drive up business and spread the word about what they do.

"Yorkshire will be the focus of global attention when the Grand Départ of the Tour de France begins right here and communication technology will play a key role in making the most of this worldwide advert for the county."

The majority of UK businesses are being sidelined by service providers according to a new report by benchmark-it which suggests that the self-employed and organisations with an owner manager are 'largely ignored'.

Report author Rob Pritchard commented: "The UK population of enterprises has grown to a record 4.9 million as we recover from the recession, 75% of which are one or no employee businesses, and many of them still use consumer products when they could benefit from improved productivity and efficiency with the right ICT packages."

The report also finds that BT continues to dominate the £14 billion market with an estimated 45% share.

"Competition is already fierce, but it is going to get tougher for BT as the market continues to embrace the cloud and mobility propositions," added Pritchard.

"BT's new mobility strategy has to work this time to help it protect market share and move back towards revenue growth."

The 1,010 page report profiles and compares 60 representative providers of enterprise telecoms and related services in the UK.

M12 Solutions has welcomed Leslie Spiers to its Board of Directors as Non Executive Chairman with a particular remit to establish best practice governance. He has a strong track record of helping businesses to operate in line with best governance practices.

He was Director of Consultancy with Mecca Leisure at the time of the management buyout from Grand Metropolitan and the subsequent flotation on the Stock Exchange.

Andrew Skipsey, M12 Solutions MD, said: "We've been a successful growing business and now it's time to embark on our next stage of business development.

"Leslie will help ensure that we have all the best practices in place for corporate governance to clearly demonstrate to our existing and prospective clients we are exactly the right kind of business to work with."

Spiers added: "M12 Solutions is a forward looking and innovative business that has the customer at the heart of everything it does.

"I am delighted to be appointed to the board at what is a period of significant growth and to establish best practice governance."

Pictured: Skipsey (left) welcomes Leslie Spiers to the board

With demand squeezed by PC weakness and SSD cannibalisation, Gartner forecasts global hard drive shipments will post a 2.9% CAGR from 2013-2018, growing from 552 million units to 635.1 million.

High-capacity business-critical drives as used by web/cloud service providers are expected to fuel much of the industry's growth by delivering a 25.1% CAGR.

Western Digital's new Helium drives are aimed in large part at this segment.

The market for high margin performance optimised drives, where Seagate has a strong position, is expected to see a -4.9% CAGR, Gartner says. In addition, the segment's ASP is expected to fall 17.1% annually.

PC drives are a mixed bag as sales of 3.5" desktop drives are expected to see a -7% CAGR, but 2.5" mobile/notebook drives are seen growing at a 4.2% annual clip. CAGR forecasts for 2.5" and 3.5" consumer electronics drives are respectively at 4.4% and 2.4%.

Though both Seagate and Western Digital have launched SSDs, WD has been more aggressive at increasing its flash exposure, as evidenced by the sTec, VeloBit, and Virident deals.

Seagate is looking to strengthen its hard drive position through the just-closed Xyratex acquisition. Both firms are pitching 5mm-thin ultra-slim hard drives as an alternative to notebook SSDs.

Telefonica has sealed a deal with electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla to provide M2M connectivity for the Tesla Model S in Europe, including Germany and the UK on Telefonica's O2 network, in Spain on Movistar, and in the Netherlands on KPN.
 
Telefónica's global M2M solution, powered by Jasper, will enable connectivity for Tesla's in-car infotainment telematics including navigation, online music and Internet browsing, and remote vehicle diagnostics that relay information about the car's safety, security and performance to the driver and Tesla service in real-time.
 
The Tesla Model S is an award winning five-door sedan, launched in 2012, with deliveries beginning in Europe in 2013. Its features include remote driver support and a connected infotainment control centre.

The 17 inch touchscreen puts rich content at the fingertips of drivers and passengers, seamlessly integrating media, navigation, communications, cabin controls and vehicle data.
 
The agreement, which establishes Telefonica as Tesla's largest European connectivity partner is supported by KPN in the Netherlands and Belgium as part of the M2M World Alliance, simplifying Tesla's deployment of connected cars.
 
The ability of Telefónica and KPN to work together locally will further improve the customer experience by maintaining a smaller pool of suppliers with a common M2M service.

Jose Luis Gamo, CEO at Telefonica Multinational Solutions, said: "As we accelerate our transformation into a digital telco we see lots of opportunities to empower consumers.

"Connected cars that provide drivers with more information and a better and safer driving experience is a perfect example of this.

"Tesla is one of the world's most forward thinking and exciting businesses. We share their passion for innovation and are thrilled to be working with them to deliver a superb connected in-car experience to Tesla drivers across Europe."

Peter Carlsson, Vice President of Supply Chain at Tesla, added: "The full Model S experience requires reliable and flexible connectivity solution. Tesla looks forward to our partnership with Telefonica to provide our European customers with a whole new class of connected car."
 
The Connected Car market is expected to achieve mass market penetration in the next few years. The number of vehicles with built-in connectivity will increase from 10 per cent of the overall market today to 90 per cent by 2020, according to the Telefonica Connected Car Industry 2013 report, which features contributions from eight of the world's largest car manufacturers.
 
Jimmy Wind, Managing Director M2M/New Business of KPN said: "This is a great example of how the M2M World Alliance delivers simple and effective solutions to major multinational customers."

UNIT4 Business Software, the UK subsidiary of UNIT4, has appointed Helen Sutton as its new UK Commercial Sales Director.

Sutton joins from SAP where she was responsible for UK and Ireland partnerships and she was also a member of the SAP UK and Ireland Extended Leadership Team.

During her career, Sutton also worked at a number of software vendors including Baan as well as she partnered with systems integrators such as Accenture, IBM, Deloitte and CapGemini.

In her new role at UNIT4 she will be in charge of the group's cloud development as well as vertical and partner strategies within commercial sectors, the company says.

Anwen Robinson, Managing Director for UNIT4 Business Solutions in UK and Ireland, said: "2014 will be a year of big transformational change for UNIT4, on a global basis, as our subsidiaries align to José Duarte's new strategic vision and our potential new ownership.

"In the UK, we have already implemented significant business transformation and consolidation over the last few years and have successfully moved away from a product selling approach to delivering full vertical sector platform solutions supported by specialist partners.

"Our objective is to build upon the significant and positive progress already made with customers, partners, cloud and key solution selling. So Helen joining us represents another key step along this transformational path and having worked across most commercial markets and industries, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience which will be of huge benefit as we invest further in the success and development of our commercial sector sales and marketing strategies."