Comms Dealer

Microsoft has decided to integrate its Windows Embedded Partner Program in the Partner Network, a reorganisation that will take effect by the end of the year.

This gives embedded device manufacturers, semiconductor vendors, systems integrators and other Microsoft partners a better chance in the growing market for intelligent systems, it says. IDC believes, in fact, it should weigh around $2.3tn in 2016.

"By consolidating offers and resources within the Microsoft Partner Network, Microsoft partners will have easier access to the tools they need, and whatever the product " Microsoft noted during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference held recently in the USA. Besides training, support tools sales and marketing resources, partners can benefit from the knowledge and experiences of 500,000 businesses who are already members of the network, it says.

A large community forum will be also available to them in order to gather information and identify business opportunities. The partners will also benefit from the rights to use certain products and software development kits. Four new specialisations will also make their appearance in the MPN, one of which will involve the design of intelligent systems. Finally, from January 2014 a Device Design and Developement Resource Center will open its doors and will be available by subscription to companies working in the design and development of embedded systems, especially helping newcomers to the market.

Fast growing independent ICT solutions provider GCI has launched its new indirect arm and is on the hunt for white label reseller partners.

GCI Channel Solutions will be headed up by Mark Whitehead who is well known to the channel having spent seven years at Griffin Internet where he sold MPLS networks, Ethernet and cloud based firewalls to system integrators, VARs and telecom channel partners.

GCI was recently ranked by Investec as the UK's 19th fastest growing privately owned business, a recognition that didn't go unnoticed by Whitehead.

"GCI has a broad range of products available to the telecoms and data channel and is launching with a complete suite," he said.

"Ethernet has enjoyed incredible growth driven by the message that end users need larger reliable bandwidth to enjoy future technologies like cloud and UC. But we are already there and the channel needs these products now. With the launch of GCI Channel Solutions we will equip the channel with the tools and products to sell these high margin products."

GCI Channel Solutions, based from the GCI's Derby office at Pride Park, a primary hub for technologies in the midlands, will sell white label services to resellers interested in increasing customer ARPU via cloud, connectivity and voice.

Channel partners will be able to deploy cloud, Ethernet, voice and broadband through self-service tools and upon reaching competencies in GCI products and services will have an opportunity to be accredited as a GCI Channel Partner.

GCI Channel Solutions will be giving live demonstrations of some of their new cloud-based products, including virtual desktop, hosted Lync and enterprise file sharing at Convergence South on 2-3 October in London.

Ink, which connects travellers throughout their entire journeys and produces more inflight magazines for more airlines than any other company in the world, has installed OAISYS' Tracer call recording solution across its contact centre operations.

"With 70 London-based contact centre agents handling more than 77,000 calls each month, we identified a need to record calls for quality monitoring, training and to verify agent compensation," said Colin Dash, Ink's group IT manager. "Our objective was to ensure consistent call quality and validate agent conversations for compensation as well as to quickly and efficiently resolve disputes."

Using OAISYS Tracer, Ink's contact centre supervisors can now easily find, review, mark and share call recordings for review. For sales training, supervisors can train agents by using calls that exemplify best practices so that the agents know exactly what is expected, enabling them to be properly trained and rewarded when they do a superior job. Supervisors can also monitor live calls to see how agents are handling customers, particularly in the case of big sales.

"OAISYS Tracer is an affordable, intuitive call recording solution that has made a big impact on the way Ink's agents represent their clients, and it has helped us increase revenues. It's a more complete solution than the other call recording applications we considered," added Dash.

Research carried out by headset manufacturer Jabra and international research agency YouGov has determined that most office workers no longer feel stigmatised by wearing a headset.

11,906 office and mobile workers between the ages of 18-69 were surveyed to chart the real and perceptual differences and attitudes towards headset use in an office environment and the ergonomic focus in businesses.

In the 12 countries surveyed, a total of 46 percent of users were offered a headset and use it at work and 70 percent felt they look efficient wearing it. 62 percent said they took more calls after switching to a corded headset and that figure jumps to 75 percent if the respondent switches to a wireless headset.

50 percent of non-headset users said they believes that headsets are no longer just for call centre agents or technicians servicing the IT helpdesk, but are also practical and efficient for all office and mobile workers. 78% said they would wear a headset if the sound quality was great

Commenting on the survey Andrew Doyle, Managing Director, Jabra Business Solutions, UK & Ireland said: "Headsets have come a long way since they were first adopted for business use. At Jabra, our designers are acutely aware that not only style but also comfort and ergonomics are important features in making a headset attractive for our users.

"This is also one of the reasons why wireless headsets have become so popular throughout the world in recent years. We are pleased to hear that our users find that our products make them feel efficient, especially because all of our research shows that headset users are more productive".

Connectivity and network services specialist, Genius Networks, is claiming a channel breakthrough with a solution to help comms resellers save time, resource and cost by removing the pain of working with global networks.

According to Genius, as UK companies increasingly look to capitalise on international business opportunities, the need for high performance global connectivity has never been greater. However, network solutions stitched together by traditional aggregators continue to compromise the delivery of business critical applications,

Powered by a revolutionary core routing infrastructure, engineered to automatically connect with all the major global network carriers, Genius is said to offer smoother, faster, more reliable global services at an affordable price. With a single end-to-end SLA across the entire core and carrier network, resellers can recommend streamlined, fully automated, global network solutions that have guaranteed worldwide quality of service.

"Resellers are always over-stretched," said James Roberts, Director of Genius Networks. "We know from our own past experience that it's a constant juggling act keeping clients happy, staying on top of technology and running a profitable business. When you're working at the limit, poorly configured networks are a huge frustration. That's where our best-of-breed solutions can help.

"Global networks are complex to design and manage, so we've built-in intelligent, automated processes that simplify traffic management and accelerate performance. We've built-in worldwide local hubs to reduce latency and improve the delivery of sensitive traffic. And we've built-in online portals that help resellers win and manage business - including the unique ability to plan and price different carrier options across Europe."

Node4 has implemented a cloud-based infrastructure for Motorpoint to help the online car retailer rapidly expand their number of branches across the UK.

Node4 put together a complete cloud based infrastructure which has enabled Motorpoint to bring all its IT into one central focal point within Node4's resilient data centre environment. This allowed the company to direct its efforts into the core functions of its business without the hassle of being limited by outdated equipment. The whole IT infrastructure is now built on powerful unified Cisco platform blades.

All servers that power the day-to-day operations of the company, including authentication, mail servers and line of business applications have now been moved to the cloud.

Mark Carpenter, Managing Director at Motorpoint, said, "Our ambitious growth plans were being hindered by the fact that our IT infrastructure was inconsistent across the branches. Moving to the cloud has really given us the smoother infrastructure we needed to develop the business. Thanks to Node4, we can now set up the IT for new branches within minutes."

Andrew Gilbert, Managing Director at Node4, said, "The benefits of cloud computing become all the more apparent for a rapidly growing business such as Motorpoint so we have enjoyed helping them to realise their business objectives through IT. The fact that all their data is replicated across a second data centre further adds to resiliency of the solution."

Sales guru Gary May, who is regarded as one of the best business motivators in the UK, has joined the Comms Dealer editorial team.

Gary who owns sales training business Salesology, has published a number of sales training audio and DVD programmes and has co-written the bestselling sales book SELLING: Powerful New Strategies for Sales Success.

He will writing a series of articles for Comms Dealer as well as a Sales Blog on www.comms-dealer.com aimed specifically at the telecoms industry and expertly addressing topics surrounding the art of Lead Generation, Sales Strategy and Proven Business Acceleration Models.

"I am delighted to be joining the UK's number 1 comms magazine and I'm looking forward to exposing those strategies, techniques and business acceleration models that have resulted in our clients being awarded and recognised as being some of the most prolific selling telecoms based organisations in the UK.

"As the green shoots of recovery begin to show there is one single thought that must be at the forefront of every business owner and entrepreneur's mind and that's making more sales. I have witnessed personally and through the success and growth of my clients that economic conditions are simply no match for elite sales and lead generation strategy and performance."

Look out for Gary's first article on 'The 200 year old secret to beating the recession!" in the October issue of Comms Dealer.

Cloud contact centre solutions provider NewVoiceMedia has opened a new office in central London, continuing its rapid worldwide expansion.

Located in Westminster's historic Golden Square, the new office will support NewVoiceMedia's substantial growth and further strengthen its presence in Europe.

According to industry analyst DMG Research, the company is growing at more than twice that of the rapidly expanding cloud contact centre market and has doubled its number of staff in the last year to meet increased demand for its technology.

Jonathan Gale, CEO of NewVoiceMedia, commented: "We recently reported another year of impressive growth and continue to drive innovation that will revolutionise the contact centre industry as it transitions to the cloud. NewVoiceMedia offers an amazing platform with incredible service levels, so it is no accident that we are growing significantly ahead of the market and our competition.

"We are always looking for ways to better serve our customers and the opening of this office provides us with an excellent facility to base our sales and marketing teams. It will also help us to attract the best people who are excited about our vision of using cloud technology to dramatically enhance the customer experience in today's contact centres."

Bonded internet solution provider Sharedband has introduced a new DSL modem it claims will provide help resellers and customers embrace cloud connectivity.

The new Dual DSL Modem bonds multiple connections and replaces the former 'two routers, one switch' bonded solution with a single unit, cutting cost from £400 to £299, according to Sharedband. In addition, the new unit is said to eliminate multiple connections and wiring, eliminating the risk of connection errors and clutter.

Tim Burne, Chief Operations Officer, commented: "Demand for cloud services is increasing but Ethernet and leased line costs prove economically prohibitive for many businesses. This innovation cuts the entry-level hardware cost for end-users making Sharedband an easier deployment for our reseller channel. Sharedband effectively bridges the gap between a standard low-band width DSL connection and the quantum leap to Ethernet or leased lines, giving customers access to cost-effective high-speed internet".

Sharedband's technology bonds together network connections from a variety of sources to produce a single fast and dependable internet connection. Sharedband can bond together two, three or more broadband connections from multiple sources providing a more effective internet connection.

From a channel perspective, Sharedband says the bonded internet is as an enabler for further sales of lucrative cloud solutions that require fast and reliable connectivity.

Nectar Services Corp, a leader in the development of Unified Communications network monitoring and management software for voice, video, data networks and applications, has signed an agreement with the Aura Alliance to be the only network monitoring tool recommended to its members.

With 50+ Avaya certified members and a network of over 3,200+ Avaya accredited specialists in more than 112+ countries, the Aura Alliance is the largest Avaya-endorsed global alliance in the world.

"This agreement indicates the confidence that the Aura Alliance leadership has in Nectar's industry leading solutions," said Tony Parish, CEO, Aura Alliance.

"Nectar has been investing heavily in the development of the Converged Management Platform (CMP) product line for a number of years and its commitment to innovation, coupled with our history of successful global deployments, uniquely qualifies CMP as our best-in-class monitoring solution of choice. We're delighted to offer our support to Nectar and our endorsement of CMP."

David Giangano, CEO, Nectar Services Corporation commented: "Being named the preferred vendor by the Aura Alliance for network monitoring and management is a great honour. Many of the Aura Alliance members already depend on our solutions to offer managed services to their customer base. We're looking forward to having conversations with the rest of the Alliance members and demonstrating why Nectar CMP is the clear choice in our market."