Comms Dealer

Ireland-based ICT managed services provider Unity Technology Solutions has installed a new NEC telephone system for The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children's (ISPCC) Childline service. The move forms part of the firm's Corporate and Social Responsibility strategy.

Ashley Balbirnie, CEO, ISPCC, said: "As a charity working in a challenging economic environment, the ISPCC has to fundraise 90% of its annual income, and in fact the Childline service itself receives no statutory funding whatsoever, relying on the generosity of the general public, companies and schools to maintain the service.

"Our existing telephone system was ageing, unable to handle large call volumes and in need of replacement. We were delighted when Unity Technology Solutions offered their expertise in a voluntary capacity.

"The new telephone system will significantly improve statistical reporting and will allow us to continue to provide a valuable listening service as we endeavour to answer significantly more calls and give children the support they need for many years to come."

Declan Hughes, CEO, Unity Technology Solutions, added: "As part of our corporate and social responsibility strategy, staff volunteered their time and expertise and we worked closely with Andrew Cooper of NEC Infrontia in securing a phone system that met with Childline's requirements. We are delighted to work the ISPCC, our chosen charity, in implementing a new NEC phone system nationwide and in supporting the system for the next three years."

Now in its 25th year, Childline receives up to 2,300 calls and messages per day, and with its new call centre capabilities callers can be instantly routed to the next available call agent, regardless of location.

Pictured: Ashley Balbirnie, ISPCC with Declan Hughes, Unity Technology Solutions

Mobile apps continue to be a critical factor in the mobile operating system battle, according to ABI Research which reckons the mobile app market will reach a value of $27bn this year.

BlackBerry and Windows are slowly augmenting their apps catalogue as they compete for the third ecosystem, but are still far behind Apple and Android, said the firm.

"iOS continues to lead the way and the OS is projected to generate over two-thirds of the revenues for smartphone and tablet apps in 2013," stated senior analyst Josh Flood.

"Although Google's Android OS recently surpassed Apple in terms of total app numbers, iOS users continue to prove they're more willing to depart with their cash. The revenue gap between the two leading OSes looks unlikely to close over the next 18 months."

An interesting aspect of the mobile app market is revenues generated by smartphone versus tablets. Thus far, app revenues generated from smartphones have significantly dwarfed app revenues from tablets. However, tablet revenues are quickly catching up and it is projected tablet app revenues will overtake smartphones by 2017, according to the findings of ABI Research's Mobile OS, Browsers and Applications Research Service. 

Answerphone service provider Moneypenny has launched a digital receptionist for SMEs called Penelope, an app that enables small business owners to control where and when their business calls ring 24/7.

The app uses voice recognition technology (Nuance and Aurix), supported by 'real' people to guarantee 100% success rate, claims the firm.

Depending on the function they want it to perform, Penelope can be a used as a message transcribing service through to a complete phone system, all from the user's smartphone.

Penelope operates as a complete call handling solution and via the app users decide where and how their calls ring, on there office phone, mobile or home phone etc.

Ed Reeves, co-founder and director of Moneypenny and Penelope commented: "Penelope is the direct result of customer feedback and we have worked tirelessly on its development.

"There are more than 3.6 million micro businesses in the UK who are struggling to stay in control of their calls, but feel that they cannot afford a good quality receptionist or answering service. Penelope meets this need, with an easy to use app that provides on-the-go support, when and where they need it the most.

"We know from Moneypenny that professional and well managed call management is critical for business success. That is why we have built a bespoke solution for growing businesses. Every missed call means missed business, so with Penelope they can fast-track their success."

Wholesale communications provider Entanet has launched a new look website (www.enta.net) designed to meet the growing demand for mobile-friendly websites that can be used on any device.

The site auto-scales down to make content easy to read on tablets and smartphones. Navigation has been simplified with the addition of a drop-down menu and quick links that allow visitors to get information about Entanet's products, including its resale and wholesale broadband, Ethernet, IP VPNs, VoIP etc.

Entanet's Head of Marketing Darren Farnden said: "The new site, developed within our own marketing team, complements our current design approach and draws on the central and strong colours of our corporate identity, as well as looking clean and modern. We were keen to ensure the new site is user-friendly across all devices while preserving the easy reach of our content."

The new site offers clear calls to action that guide visitors to relevant and useful resources, such as free eBooks about products or finding out how to become a reseller with Entanet.

Farnden added: "Our aim is to help channel players quickly identify the opportunities available to them, while educating them on how they can capitalise on those opportunities. Our new web site is just one way in which we are helping them to do that."

Following today's announcement that EE is to double the speed of its 4G network, Emeka Obiodu, principal analyst at Ovum, observed: "The updates EE has announced for its LTE service offering in the UK are clearly aimed at giving it a competitive edge as other players launch LTE later this year. EE's choice of a summer promotion to push these initiatives attests to this."

"Fleshing out its shared plans for customers, and positioning it as a way for families to save money, is a canny move in today's austerity-dominated society. The ability to cap costs should appeal to families who will get better clarity on what their telecoms spend will be. We also liked how EE is going to use the shared plans as a nudge to push customers into a higher-prized plan. This is what Verizon Wireless has done successfully in the US and is one reason why their ARPU is rising."

For EE, offering pay as you go LTE is a tactic to corner the market for sporadic users of mobile broadband, noted Obiodu, adding: "It is safe to assume that other telcos will want to lock customers into some sort of contract and so EE could tap this opportunity for a while.

"The doubling of LTE speeds in several cities across the UK is a nice headline. But, on its own, we don't believe it is a standout game changer as telcos struggle to sell LTE as a speedier network.

"Instead, its merit is that it gives EE a base from which to offer LTE packages tiered on speed and usage which are far acceptable to customers. That is going to be the interesting thing to watch out for and if its rivals do not have the capability to do that, EE could have quite a solid marketing message."

Cloud-based Microsoft Lync provider alwaysON has designated Jabra, a Microsoft Gold Communications Partner, as its preferred headset supplier, supported by the Jabra WIN Partner programme.

alwaysON is a Gold and UC Specialist partner in Jabra's programme and is also a Microsoft Gold Communications and Silver Hosting Partner.

Both companies are part of the Microsoft's Technology Adaption Programme (TAP) for Lync which provides a consistent experience for customers collaborating with Microsoft and its partners.

James Byles, Managing Director of alwaysON, said: "This partnership ensures we can deliver full end-to-end Lync solutions for our white label partners and customers."

Andrew Doyle (pictured above), Managing Director for Jabra Business Solutions, UK & Ireland, added: "We are committed to supporting alwaysON's business to enable consistent growth of their devices category."

IT solutions provider Logicalis has achieved Elite Partner status for Advanced Security solutions within the Juniper Networks Partner Advantage Programme.

Elite status is the highest level in the Juniper Networks Partner Advantage Programme, where only qualified partners, who possess the capabilities to drive technical engagement and demonstrate industry expertise, are invited to participate.

The Advanced Security Specialisation incorporates Firewall/VPN & IDP and Policy and Access Control product authorisations.

Mark Starkey, Managing Director of Logicalis UK, said: "As enterprises seek to reap the benefits of data centre initiatives and balance the trends for mobility and cloud, advanced security technology is critical to their success.

"This accreditation provides us with access to the latest technologies and advanced training at Juniper, which will in turn help us support customers in their infrastructure strategies as we seek to bring agility and efficiency to the fore."

Accenture has reported Q3 revenues of $7.2bn, up 3% in local currency. While outsourcing growth was 7%, consulting growth was flat, resulting in total revenues slightly below the guided range.

Clients held back on spending more than expected, particularly in Europe and Brazil, and the environment is more competitive, said the firm.

System integration bookings, on the one hand, reflected rising demand for industry-specific Software solutions, where emerging technologies such as Mobility, Analytics and cloud are part of the mix. On the other hand, the bookings also reflected lower demand and a more competitive environment for ERP systems work.

The decrease in ERP work was most pronounced in some European countries, as clients are slowing down their investments in add-on work to existing solutions and generally starting fewer large programmes right now, it says.

Communications, Media & Technology revenues decreased 3% in local currency. Outsourcing revenues reflected a modest decrease, with the expected ramp down from one contract in EMEA, partially offset by very strong growth in the Americas across all industries.

Consulting revenues declined slightly overall, but it points out that the communications industry in EMEA and high-tech in the Americas had strong double-digit growth.

While the communications industry remains dynamic, it believes its offerings around transformation are resonating. a and overall, in CMT, expects year-over-year revenue performance to improve going forward.

TDAzlan, the enterprise networking division of Computer 2000, part of the Tech Data Group, has signed an agreement with Rackspace Hosting, the open cloud company, to provide a key element of its new Cloud Services portfolio.

With immediate effect, TDAzlan cloud resellers can now offer Rackspace Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) options through the TD Cloud programme and manage monthly charges and subscriptions through Tech Data's partner aggregation and billing platform, StreamOne.

The agreement means resellers can provide Rackspace's cloud services, opening up new potential revenue streams for their business and providing customers with the added flexibility and immediate scalability that cloud services deliver.

"An effective cloud partner channel is fundamental to Rackspace's vision of flexible cloud delivery across platforms, across application and data boundaries and across commercial frameworks," said Richard Brown, Rackspace Business Development Manager, International Sales.

"TDAzlan now takes up an important position inside the total Rackspace Cloud Services portfolio universe."

Joel Chimoindes, European Cloud Services Director for Azlan, said: "Resellers will now be able to offer a wide range of hosted services, extending their own potential and enabling customers to take advantage of the instant deployment capabilities and dynamic flexibility."

Jabra's Q1 2013 partner incentive scheme came to fruition last month when the vendor's top performing partners were treated to a day of horse racing and full hospitality at Royal Ascot.

Winners included Kelway, Dell, Amillan and Computacenter and collectively the troupe lapped up a Pimms and champagne reception, four-course lunch, afternoon tea and a funded racecard.

Event host Robert Stockford, National Sales Manager, Distribution & Reseller at Jabra, said: "Although some people had a flair for backing a winner, some of us weren't so able to spot a thoroughbred on the day!"

Jonathan Sharp, Sales & Marketing Director from Britannic Technologies, enthused: "The Jabra Ascot Incentive was a fantastic day. It is always great to get recognised and rewarded for success. I could not have asked for more.

"Such networking events are so important in gauging the current market situation and identifying opportunities for collaboration and development. The day was topped off by picking out a winner in the last race!"

Tim Breslin, Practice Manager, Enterprise Architecture, Global Services at Dell, added: "The day was a classic blend of frivolity, networking, champagne and strawberries. An amazing opportunity to not only build on our relationship with the Jabra management team, but also listen to other partners' successes and plans for the future."