Comms Dealer

Nimans has urged hospitality resellers to check out a new hotel management application brought out by NEC and targeted at 2-3 star establishments.

The InHotel inbuilt solution offers a one-off licensed based cost, check-in/out and wake-up call, message waiting and toll restriction, billing and invoicing, multiple/concurrent users at no extra cost, and a dashboard view of all rooms.

"InHotel is one of NEC's InApps, a range of applications which are built-in to the system," said Nimans NEC Solutions Business Manager, Yvonne Tierney-Neave.

"This makes them easier to sell and manage as they are cost effective since no extra PC or server is required."

The hotel application forms part of a NEC reseller training programme running throughout the year.

A comparison website rolled out by DMSL enables partners to more quickly compare and contrast the supplier and service provider options offered by the distributor.

Resellers can also present the service under their own name on a white label basis.

DMSL is operating a virtual sales team whereby each partner has their own 0330 number with all calls routed to DMSL's sales staff who answer in the reseller's name before explaining the options to prospects.

Straightforward orders will be placed on the reseller's account while more complex solutions will be passed on to the reseller.

"There is a multitude of options now and one of the challenges resellers have is trying to keep up-to-date with what's available," said MD John Carter.

"The website will always have the latest information, making the sales process easier and helping resellers to sell more broadband, voice and mobile. DMSL's account team will be available to help resellers close the sale."
 
Carter also noted that DMSL will conduct a SEO campaign to drive traffic to the main site, and he urged resellers to run their own campaigns within their target markets.

IPCortex is set to build on its partner numbers with the appointment of David Farrell (pictured) to a New Business Development role. He brings over 10 years experience working with hosted service providers and resellers.

"The IPCortex Service Provider Platform is growing 100% year-on-year, driving our existing partners' recurring voice revenue and related services such as connectivity," stated Farrell.

"Hosted comms is no longer just the remit of small businesses. Feature rich platforms and embedded comms are moving the conversation away from the dial tone."

IPCortex CEO Rob Pickering added: "There's never been a better time for ISPs and existing ITSPs to re-evaluate the solutions they're presenting to the market and get more from hosted comms, whether it's increasing the size and spend of their average deployment or enabling new opportunities. David joins us at an exciting stage in this pivotal moment of our business and the market."

Gamma leaders and partners took centre stage at the comms provider's theatre themed 2017 roadshow branded 'Much Ado About Gamma'.

Over 600 partners descended on iconic theatre venues across the UK to catch up with Gamma's latest developments including a new partner marketing portal called Accelerate, and Academy, an online training portal. Gamma also revealed this year's product releases including new cloud and converged services.

Gamma MD Daryl Pile said: "We've hit the ground running in 2017 with a quicker pace on development across the product portfolio."

RHM Telecommunications MD Nick Thomas welcomed Gamma's product development roadmap. "Horizon enhancements fill the gaps in areas such as hot desking and UC, enabling RHM to kick on with this product," he stated.

"The planned launch of shrink-wrapped AWS through the Gamma portal is interesting for us as a traditional voice partner. It may enable us to have an easy entry into providing cloud computing.

"And the new marketing portal will be an asset in our marketing plans moving forward."

Previous themed roadshows have been hosted in stately homes, museums, universities and castles. This year's events were staged at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow (28th February), The Lowry in Manchester (1st March), The Hippodrome in Birmingham (7th March) and London's The Barbican (8th March).

Pictured: Gamma CEO Bob Falconer on stage

On the one hand, doom-mongers ply their gloom in the wake of the B-word. On the other, the economic outlook is bright, we have plunging unemployment and growth in consumer spending, writes Clive Jefferys, Managing Director of recruiter JMA Network.

Despite these positive vibes, some people are never happy, saying that it's no more than the calm before the B-word storm, .

Against this backdrop - according to most recruitment pundits there aren't enough applicants, there's a shortage of skills and costs are going up. Well, this may be true if you try to recruit in old-fashioned ways, but you'll be pleased to know that the fleet-footed still thrive.

Sitting around waiting for a candidate to apply to your advert never solved anything.
 
Some people say what we do is 'headhunting' but that's just a cover for when someone leaves, or you want to impress your mates down the pub.
 
I've been in recruitment for over 25 years and I've never headhunted one single person. Instead, I network the people I know today to set a foundation for the future. It's not rocket science: I simply get to know my clients, my candidates and how to bring them together.
 
Sometimes recruitment strategies feel like a huge game of chess.
 
You must study all the pieces on the board and where they are likely to move to. Then think about the implications of each move, who will go where and it will all fall into place, check-mate. So if you're stressing about your next job move or how to fill your most essential vacancies; take a deep breath, take another and then pick up the telephone.
 
Just don't mention the B-word.

Leeds-based Firstnet Solutions has added colocation, cloud platforms and disaster recovery to its services portfolio following the opening of its first purpose built data centre facility in the city.

A key feature of the launch is Firstnet's own cloud solution, powered by Nutanix and targeted at SMEs.

Firstnet Solutions MD David Cusworth said: "The opportunity to expand and invest in this building to create a certified Tier III facility was too good to miss.  

"Our customers now have access to the latest technology in managed services and a host of additional support, including office space with over 100 desks designed specifically for workplace recovery and relocation needs.

"We envisage that this data centre will create more than 100 new jobs, providing an important source of local employment." 

Lyceum Capital-backed Sabio has acquired SaaS analysis specialist Rapport, extending its reach deeper into customer experience management.

Rapport's SaaS software and analysis services provide insights into potential performance and process bottlenecks that might lead to poor customer experiences and lower conversion rates.

A dashboard delivers daily, weekly or monthly insights into KPIs, Customer Effort and First Call Resolution performance, while proactive Success Management analysis also helps organisations to optimise potential inbound call traffic issues.

"Adding Rapport to our portfolio will help Sabio to unlock more value for our customers while contributing directly to improvements in operational performance as well as lower Customer Effort scores," said Sabio's CEO Andy Roberts (pictured).

"This is also an important first step in Sabio's acquisition strategy as we look to strengthen our customer engagement proposition with adjacent technologies and solutions."

Sabio's Vice President for Go-To-Market, Michael Andrews, added: "We have the ability to help our clients understand and quantify their customer experience by highlighting and ultimately eliminating repeat calls, failure demand, incorrect messages and out-of-hours contacts that can do so much to damage brand experience.

"Having access to this level of granular data will prove valuable in terms of eliminating customer journey bottlenecks, while also giving our customers new insights into the performance of ongoing campaigns.

"Being able to monitor and report on all of the calls coming into a business will also prove invaluable for highly regulated organisations such as utilities that increasingly require an objective external view of their service performance."

The acquisition follows Lyceum Capital's recent investment in Sabio and is part of an ongoing acquisition plan to drive double digit growth.

The Government intends to clear the legal path for the separation of BT and Openreach by maintaining existing pension protections for employees.

An amendment has been tabled to the Digital Economy Bill introducing a power to maintain the Crown Guarantee for BT workers who become part of the separated Openreach.

The move follows Ofcom's announcement last week that a deal had been struck to see telecoms infrastructure arm Openreach become a distinct company with its own staff, management, purpose and strategy.

At the time Ofcom highlighted the importance of maintaining the Crown Guarantee to implementing the agreement.

When BT Corporation was privatised in 1984 the Government wanted workers' pensions protected in the unlikely event the new BT PLC became insolvent.

The Government therefore assumed responsibility for the liabilities associated with those in the BT Pension Scheme at that time, through backing the Scheme with a 'Crown Guarantee'.
 
The Government is now legislating so that the existing Crown Guarantee on BT pensions can be amended to apply to affected members of the relevant BT pension scheme who transfer to the new Openreach company.

This will be subject to the satisfactory progress of Ofcom's proposed legal separation of BT Openreach.

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Karen Bradley said: "The legal separation of Openreach is important for delivering better broadband for consumers throughout the UK.

"A more independent Openreach which treats every broadband provider fairly should increase investment, bolster competition, and help give the country the connectivity it needs.  
 
"This amendment clears a hurdle identified by Ofcom by allowing the Government to maintain pension protections for BT Pension Scheme members who transfer to Openreach.

"It will help secure the voluntary separation of BT and Openreach and provide peace of mind to affected workers."

A team of 25 from Telford-based Entanet are limbering up to compete in the Midlands Tough Mudder Half challenge to raise money for Sands (the stillbirth and neonatal death charity) in May.

The mud-run (13th May 2017) comprises a five mile, 13 obstacle course involving a combination of hills, woodlands, water and mud.

Sally Littlefair, Marketing Executive, said: "We've chosen Sands as our nominated charity because they do vital work in supporting bereaved families after the death of a child.

"The UK has one of the highest stillbirth rates in the developed world and by raising awareness of the charity we will hopefully do our bit to change that.

"Getting everyone around the course will require a lot of teamwork and determination - and we've hopefully got plenty enough of both to see us through."

To support the team please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/teamenta

In its results for the year ended 31st December 2016 Computacenter has posted a revenue increase of 6.3% to £3.25bn (2015: £3.05bn), while Group adjusted profit before tax decreased by 0.6% to £86.4m.

The Group reported annual services revenues of over £1bn for the first time in 2016.

In the UK, strong second half revenue growth was unable to prevent a 1.1% full year adjusted revenue decline.

Supply Chain margin challenges and services revenue decline contributed to a 21.1% reduction in adjusted operating profit.

Mike Norris, Chief Executive of Computacenter, commented: "2016 was a year of mixed fortune with the UK business profitability reducing materially, but the overall Group performance showing resilience due to the strength in Germany and the turnaround in France.

"The Group should have a year of progress in 2017, with a rebalancing of profits between the first and second halves of the year towards the historical pattern.

"We expect the UK to see modest improvements due to professional services and supply chain helping the overall performance.

"New technologies and the drive to digitalisation within our core customer base is driving our customers to invest capital in new projects which is unlikely to abate. However, this is coupled with a resolute desire to reduce run rate operating costs.

"As a business we have to step up to this challenge and improve our competitive position by focusing on productivity gains and automation."