Comms Dealer

In a shock move O2 Wholesale has told partners it will be shutting down its fixed network on February 28th next year and will stop taking new orders from November 14th this year. O2 sent an email to partners on October 24th explaining that its wholesale and reseller channels had undergone a root and branch review following the sale of the consumer home phone and broadband business to Sky.

As part of the review a decision was made to move away from fibre broadband and focus on 'digital services and experiences', meaning that partners are required to migrate their DSL connections away from O2 Wholesale before the end of February.

In an official press statement O2 said that the move formed part of a wider strategy, 'We can confirm that as of February 2014 we will no longer offer wholesale broadband services. The delivery of fibre broadband currently requires a level of scale and investment which does not fit with our strategy to focus on digital services and experiences'.

Just one day after the announcement JUC partner Nimans moved fast to offer a solution to resellers affected by the move.

The distributor's Head of Network Services, Mark Curtis-Wood, said the company immediately rolled out a migration strategy enabling resellers to connect with its broadband and data service network.

The reason Nimans acted so quickly was due to a combination of foresight and preparation for such an event, explained Curtis-Wood. "We started making plans when O2 sold its network to Sky," he said. "In doing so it sold the crown jewels and we saw an opportunity to capitalise on a gap in the market.

"We recognise the general consolidation of wholesale services in the channel and the move away from aggregated services. O2 made a decision to focus on 4G mobile and digital services with a huge push for M2M. This has created an opportunity for Nimans to advance its strategy to become a full MSP and offer resellers an equivalent service with added value."

Alarm bells also rang for O2 Wholesale partner Entanet when news broke of O2 Home Broadband and BE Unlimited customers moving to Sky early this year.

"Entanet is fully prepared to continue serving O2 Wholesale's broadband customers as it withdraws from the market," commented Elsa Chen, General Manager, Entanet.

"We've had plans in place since the announcement of the Sky acquisition to ensure our existing and new customers have suitable alternative options that meet their requirements.

"O2 Wholesale's announcement is an interesting departure from the strategy it announced earlier in the year and we can understand it will concern those in the channel."

O2's network sale to Sky also prompted Daisy to collaborate more closely with the operator which, according to Daisy Wholesale MD Terry O'Brien, provided a 'quality product with great take up'.

"We have been working closely with our other carrier partners to ensure that our partners and their customers continue to get an equivalent product at equivalent value to their customers," he said.

"We are enabling our affected partners to make the transition smoothly and helping them to manage the change for their customers."

O2 Wholesale was established in 2005 and formerly known as BE Broadband before it was acquired by the mobile operator in 2006.

Distributor of VoIP hardware ProVu Communications is stocking the latest ruggedized cordless handset in the Gigaset range, the R630H which comes with an IP65 rating.

"This rating means the level of water and dust protection makes it a fit-for-purpose business phone in workshops, factory surroundings, building sites and other challenging work environments," said ProVu's Sales Director Ian Godfrey.

The R630H works with all Gigaset base stations and is optimised to work with the Gigaset N510 IP PRO and N720 DECT IP Multicell systems.

ProVu MD Darren Garland added: "If you are in the market for a ruggedized handset at a competitive price point the look and feel of this handset is superb."

Distributor Nimans has become the exclusive supplier of an 'egg-stra special' innovation that can help slash rocketing energy bills around the office or home.

Energy Egg is the brainchild of Brian O'Reilly, a 38-year-old entrepreneur and father of four - who found himself constantly nagging his wife and children for leaving appliances on when nobody was using them around their home.

His motion sensor system automatically turns off devices such as TVs and lights when they're not being used - typically saving 30% on the running costs of connected appliances.

The Energy Egg can even detect if you are sitting still or have left a room. Simple to use and set and forget, it wirelessly connects to a control adapter or strip that connects multiple appliances - and has the added ability to leave certain devices on stand-by. One button can switch all devices on or off.

The technology - originally launched as a prototype - is now available in a black design as part of a host of clever developments. These include a power strip for multiple connections, dedicated smart light switch, ceiling sensor and smaller control adapter. The system can even be configured to switch on appliances and lights when people enter a room.

"Energy prices seem to rise every year," O'Reilly said. "Energy has become such a valuable commodity it's simply too expensive to waste. As energy prices continue to rise, so does demand for Energy Egg. People want to take control and fight back. Energy Egg is a very cost effective solution and allows them to do just that."

O'Reilly set-up his own company, TreeGreen, several years ago, and says Energy Egg is a proven way to slash costly bills. "Our product range is evolving all the time. For example there's now a way to switch off room lights that have been left on, in addition to plugged in devices. In the future we are looking into smartphone-based mobile applications to control heating.

"I am proud of Energy Egg. One day I hope we have smart houses where everything works in a similar way to the egg. Teaming up with Nimans will help take us to the next level.

"We recognise that some devices, such as TV set-top boxes, need to be left in standby mode, and Energy Egg has been designed to ensure certain devices maintain power. It also gives a one minute warning before cutting power and has a master 'off' switch so if you have one by the side of your bed, it will send out a signal to turn everything off."

Preliminary research by Ovum shows that 90 per cent of organisations are at risk of becoming irrelevant to their customers unless they can learn to adapt much faster and in ways that customers value. While CRM systems are prevalent, businesses are being held back by slow decision cycles, a lack of workforce engagement, operational and channel silos and a serendipitous attitude toward innovation.

At its recent CX forum, Ovum revealed that the average score across all key attributesof a customer-adaptive enterprise (CAE) was 52 per cent, indicating that organisations are insufficiently connected to their customers and do not have the insight or discipline to enable them to sense and respond at speed in ways that will ensure their relevance to customers.

"No sector is impervious to the rapid march of technology developments or the rise of the increasingly choosy and powerful consumer, whose often vociferous voice can make or break reputations in minutes," explains Jeremy Cox, principal analyst at Ovum.

"Given the advanced nature of a 'customer-adaptive enterprise', it is unsurprising that no single enterprise scored 80 percent or more across all attributes. Yet, Ovum has found that organizations displaying a high degree of successful orchestration of these attributes are leaders in their field, and have exemplary customer satisfaction and loyalty as well as faster growth than their peers."

The key challenge according to Ovum is a lack of leadership to break through departmental or channel silos, and create the conditions to fully engage the workforce and start to create a more rounded view of the customer journey to be supported. The voice of the customer must also be embedded so that the customer experience can be effectively monitored and fine-tuned over time. Innovation is crucial to future success and although it might be counterintuitive, it is a discipline that needs to be supported and managed in any organization irrespective of sector.

"There is no shortage of technology out there to support those with the ambition to become customer-adaptive, but the fundamental blockage is a lack of visionary leadership, insight and the ability to translate that into a fully engaged and connected enterprise," concludes Cox. ''It is time that investors examine the capabilities of firms to truly engage and build trust with their customers, then perhaps we'd see more evidence of leaders orchestrating and enabling rather than commanding and controlling and chasing short-term results.''

Adept Telecom has been awarded its third Public Sector Telecom Framework. According to CEO Ian Fishwick, councils are saving around 30% by moving to Adept. "Pembrokeshire County Council alone saved £100,000 a year," he stated. "The savings on landline and broadband are huge.|"

A telecom framework means that a public sector organisation doesn't need to go out to tender, it can place orders direct.

"We started with data networks for Universities," added Fishwick. "Then we moved on to telecoms for local government and we had spectacular success very quickly with six County Councils moving to Adept in six months. Now we have been awarded a central government framework by the Government Procurement Service, the purchasing arm of the Cabinet Office."

VCOMM have expanded its Call Management portfolio to include Zylinc's solution portfolio, widely deployed and certified against leading enterprise based IP BX platforms including Cisco UCM and Microsoft Lync with solutions also fully interoperable with Broadsoft BroadWorks.

VCOMM can now offer their resellers and Service Providers technical design consultancy, field engineering and technical support across the various Zylinc solutions so that Contact Centre and Receptionist capabilities can be added to IPBX platforms, along with providing integration with enterprise systems. The solution is sold by VCOMM using a very disruptive commercial model which also includes SaaS based monthly tariffing options.

Steve Harris, Managing Director of VCOMM Distribution, said: "We were impressed with the additional functionality this provides to end users and it will greatly improve our Service Providers and Resellers ability to differentiate themselves, particularly in Microsoft Lync deployment scenarios."

Students in Salford are to enjoy business-grade Internet at a new luxury halls of residence.

Knutsford-based telco Concert Networks teamed-up with Cheshire-based Portergate Property Management to provide 100meg Leased Line connectivity at the £13 million Riverside House in Blackfriars Road.

Students will have wifi access to the asynchronous circuit, which comes with a business-level SLA and a guaranteed six hour fix.

Concert MD Neil Hollands, said: "Portergate want the very best for their tenants in Riverside House and in these times that includes high speed connectivity.

"Just like in business the internet is such an integral part of student life that downtime can lead to a huge loss of productivity and broadband just isn't reliable enough.

"By bringing a business level SLA, we can ensure that should there be any issues with the Leased Line they can be resolved quickly and efficiently within a specified timeframe.

"We think it is the first time student accommodation has employed such high spec connectivity."

Anthony Jackson, chairman of Portergate Property Management, said: "High speed internet access for individual residents and staff throughout Riverside House is vital and the minimum requirement for 21st century students."

Audio specialist Sennheiser has been honoured with the Philo T. Farnsworth Award at last night's 65th Primetime Emmy Engineering Awards in Hollywood.

The Philo T. Farnsworth Award honours an agency, company or institution whose contributions over time have significantly impacted television technology and engineering.

The award originated in 2003 as a means to recognise Panavision's years of contribution to the film and television industries. Unlike most other Emmy awards, it is not awarded every year. The award is named after the inventor of electronic television, Philo Farnsworth.

Daniel Sennheiser commented: "This is an incredible honour for all of us at Sennheiser, and I dare say especially for our teams in North America, who are reliable and enthusiastic partners to the benchmark-setting US TV industry.

"The award also honours the achievements of my father and grandfather, who firmly grounded and advanced the company in the fields of production and broadcasting."

Gamma has hosted a Ladies' Spa Day at the Donnington Valley Hotel and Spa near Newbury. The theme of the spa day was 'pure relaxation and indulgence' and included beauty treatments, a three course lunch, afternoon champagne and full use of the pool, jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, aromatherapy room and monsoon shower.

Justin Coombes, Head of Marketing at Gamma commented: "In such a male dominated industry, it's all too easy to overlook the interests of our female customers. The lack of women at some of our corporate events is unmistakable and it's important that we recognise the ongoing support and loyalty of our female customers and reward them with a day out that they really enjoy. The 100% attendance rate proves that the day was very well received!"

Kam Benning, Operations Director at Glemnet added, "A massive thank you, we really enjoyed the day and speaking with the other ladies in the telecoms world! The Gamma ladies were lovely as well and made us feel very welcome. Thank you Gamma!"

Outsourcery has signed an agreement with London Business School to provide integrated cloud communication solutions that will be used by all of its several thousand staff and students.

London Business School is one of the world's top business schools with students from over 130 countries. Outsourcery was selected following a competitive tender process and has now signed the final agreement following the solution design phase.

The cloud-based solution will be one of the first in the UK to integrate Microsoft Lync 2013 with Office 365 for enterprise voice and conferencing enablement, allowing easy collaboration between staff, students and alumni.

The solution will replace London Business School's legacy PBX telephony systems and add unified communications, video and collaboration capabilities.

The solution will enable London Business School to better adopt digital technologies, attracting both students and staff, with a stronger communications technology offering.

Piers Linney, Outsourcery's Co-CEO, said: "The solution will enable London Business School to adopt the latest unified communications and messaging technologies fully integrated with Office 365. It will add real value to their learning environment and courses, creating a more attractive environment for staff and students.

"This high profile win and the innovative solution design for London Business School is further endorsement of Outsourcery's market-leading capabilities."