Comms Dealer

Several companies have set up a consortium to work on how blockchain can be used to secure and improve Internet of Things applications, as sectors beyond finance seek to benefit from bitcoin's underlying technology.

The group, which includes Cisco, Bosch, BNY Mellon, Foxconn and Gemalto will collaborate to develop a shared blockchain IoT protocol.

Europe is the most malware-impacted continent says a new study into cybersecurity by Malwarebytes.

Examining data from more than 200 countries and almost one billion total malware detections/incidences between June 2016 and November 2016, it found that Ransomware became a favourite attack methodology used against businesses in the US and Europe, and that ad fraud has also emerged as a primary threat, at times outpacing ransomware.

Europe saw 20% more infections than North America and 17 times more than Oceania.

The countries hit hardest by malware in Europe are France, the UK, and Spain - although the Vatican City saw the steepest rise with a 1,200% increase in all malware.

The UK saw almost twice as many incidents as Russia, and Russia was not in the top 10 of countries hit by ransomware, despite its size and population.

To better understand just how drastically the threat landscape evolved in 2016, Malwarebytes examined data taken from Windows and Android devices running Malwarebytes in more than 200 countries.

Both corporate and consumer environments were studied and data was collected from June 2016 through November 2016.

In the six months studied, nearly 1 billion total malware detections/incidences were reported. Data was also obtained from Malwarebytes' internal honeypots and collection efforts to identify malware distribution, not only infection.

"To protect users from cybercriminals, we need to intimately understand their methodologies and tactics," said Marcin Kleczynski, Malwarebytes CEO.

"Our findings demonstrate that the frequency and variety of new cyberattacks has crashed into people and businesses at an alarming rate.

"The last year involved an onslaught of ransomware, a surge of pernicious ad fraud and new, dangerous uses for botnets.

"These threats have the potential to erode many of the gains that computing is providing global society. Both consumers and businesses need to better understand how these new attack methodologies may impact them."

Like vultures, elements of the press and a section of Avaya's rivals circled low above the vendor when it filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. With the scent of blood strong in their noses they sniffed an opportunity and grasped at it with both talons.

Naturally, outright opportunists do not baulk when it comes to stirring things up to grab a sensational headline or unsteady the ground beneath resellers loyal to their troubled brands.

Ironically for the disrupters, perhaps in its perceived 'death throes' Avaya has pursued a course of action that, if anything, will breathe new life into the business which, by the way, is profitable.

No doubt there is uncertainty in the market following the move and investments in its technology may be brought into question. But is Avaya's future any less certain than the day before it decisively set about sorting out the restructuring of its debt?

For years speculation and rumours have created a storm of uncertainty around Avaya, but the business continued to do well and retained the loyalty of a staunch band of resellers and customers.

Even with the dial turned up on the hype around Avaya's Chapter 11 move, we can only see the vendor ringing up more of the same as it evaluates its options in terms of selling off assets and securing new funding, while repositioning as a software-focused company and achieving the flexibility to invest in innovation and growth.

Adept Telecom CEO Ian Fishwick noted, 'Avaya will continue as a brand and as a business. US companies that successfully entered and emerged from Chapter 11 include General Motors, American Airlines, Texaco, Macy's and Bloomingdale's'.

So, you don't need to be Mystic Meg to predict where all this is likely to end up. For the industry's sake, Chapter 11 will hopefully signify the turning of a new page and the start of another episode in Avaya's ongoing story.

Ericsson-LG champion Intellia has marched into Edinburgh waving the Korean vendor's flag.

Its mission is to firmly establish the brand in Scotland's capital having secured a new operational base in the city, according to Directors Tony Whelan and David Fisher.

"After a long time being based in the Falkirk and Stirling area we have opened a new branch office in Edinburgh," explained Whelan, Business Development Director.

"Intellia has many customers in Edinburgh but for a long time, with no incumbent dealer, I've felt the Ericsson-LG brand has been under-represented in Scotland's capital city.

"We intend to create a much stronger profile for Ericsson-LG in this commercially important part of Scotland; and use this office as a springboard to scale by around 20 per cent."

A new study from Juniper Research has calculated that the consumer migration from operator voice and text services to OTT messaging services and social media will cost network operators nearly $104 billion this year, equivalent to 12% of their service revenues.

The new research - Mobile Operator Business Models: Challenges, Opportunities & Strategies 2017-2021 - reached its conclusions by analysing the scale of operator traffic decline together with the uptake of OTT VoIP and message services. The research pointed out that the success of several platforms had substantially impacted on operator margins, with WhatsApp alone now generating nearly three times as much daily traffic as SMS.

Furthermore, it argued that with most leading OTT messaging platforms now incorporating or trialling multiple communication options, including group voice or video chat, operators would see continued erosion of traffic levels in the future.

However, the research highlighted a number of measures that operators could introduce both to arrest the decline in core revenues and to develop new sources of income.
These include:? Big data and analytics packages for both consumer and IoT devices; carrier billing payment options; mobile money services; and mobile identity services.

In each case, the research explored the strategic options offered by these measures and quantified the scale of the revenue streams they would provide.

The research also argued that with mobile increasingly deployed within the context of a quad-play offering, it was essential for telcos to provide consumers with attractive, original content to differentiate themselves from the competition.

According to research author Dr Windsor Holden, "With mobile devices now regularly used for primary consumption of video content as well as snacking, operators providing popular film, drama and exclusive sports events over multiple channels are at a distinct advantage."

So the hiring year has started briskly. The first new vacancies started coming in just before Christmas and then the real flood arrived during early January. The candidates are back too, as applications and CV registrations reach a peak and the first placements of 2017 have already happened, writes Clive Jefferys, Managing Director of recruiter JMA Network.
 
It's clear that just one word is leading people's desire for a career change - money.
 
I think we all know why: Rising prices, rising uncertainty, rising expectations - everything is going up. Earning more hard cash is the number one 'reason for looking' and it's been top of the hit parade for six months running.
 
So should employers lament, should they fret about decreasing profits and spiralling costs?
 
Well they shouldn't be in business if they do, as rising prices also bring greater opportunities. If you take a straw poll of your own top clients, they will tell you they thrive by not being the cheapest in their sector and it's no different for your best new recruits too.
 
Service delivery, features, advantages, benefits are the keywords of selling, business and hiring.
 
A year ago I proclaimed this was a Bull Market and it's no different today. Everyone says they are short of staff, yet UK recruiters place hundreds of thousands of people in new jobs every year. Our clients ask us to send every candidate that possesses the right skills, even if their salary needs are higher than the original budget for the job.
 
Just like the post referendum economy - despite the concerns ahead, business and hiring are carrying on as normal.

Northamptonshire County Council has signed two contracts with ultrafast broadband provider Gigaclear to deliver Stage Three of the Superfast Northamptonshire broadband project, which will concentrate on providing the broadband infrastructure to rural areas.

About 6,300 premises are set to benefit from the fibre-to-the-premises technology after Gigaclear was awarded the contracts following a competitive procurement process.

A total of £6.58m of public money is being invested in Stage Three, with £4.9m from the county council and £1.68m from the Department for Culture Media and Sport as part of its Superfast Britain programme. Gigaclear will be investing £3.65m in the county.

Cllr Ian Morris, whose county council cabinet portfolio covers the Superfast Northamptonshire project, said: "Having a county with excellent broadband infrastructure is essential if we want to be able to compete economically with other areas.

"The contracts awarded to Gigaclear will enable local businesses to benefit from some of the fastest broadband speeds available which is good news for data hungry operations and will to help boost the bottom line, while access to ultrafast broadband at home means the whole family can get on-line to take advantage of all that the internet has to offer."

Joe Frost, Business Development Director at Gigaclear, added: "Winning the Superfast Northamptonshire contracts means that we can now set the wheels in motion for providing a future proof, pure fibre network to people living and working in the most remote corners of the county."

Network operator Venus Business Communications has unveiled its new partner portal during a launch party at London's Phoenix Club.

The portal gives Venus' resellers easy access to information, fast pricing and an expanded range of postcodes. Each reseller also has their own dedicated account manager.

"While resellers value the support their account manager provides sometimes they want to access information immediately out in the field," said Brian Iddon, Venus Business Communications Director (pictured).

"The Portal provides Venus' resellers with key information they need, quickly and easily to their mobile devices."

The project has been a year in development led by Head of Channel Sales, Estelle Motley.

Iddon added: "Our portal was well received at the launch event and we will continue to refine it as resellers provide feedback on its use in the field."

SVL Business Solutions has secured a 25% equity interest in Liquid Voice, the developer of call recording and contact centre solutions.

Peter Gough, Sales and Marketing Director of SVL Business Solutions, said: "This investment is the latest development in a long-term strategy to diversify our business and consolidate our position as a provider of contact centre and public safety control room solutions.

"Liquid Voice provides a range of solutions that complement our current portfolio. It will enable us to significantly expand our customer base across a wide range of market sectors."

SVL Business Solutions plans to set up a new division to offer the Liquid Voice range of products as well as the company's current SmartVoice range of PCI compliance, customer satisfaction and contact centre training solutions.

This will run in parallel with SVL's existing sales and support operation which will continue to focus NICE's range of high-end interaction recording and contact centre applications including robotic process optimisation, real-time solutions, WFM, quality management, customer feedback and analytics.

Chris Berry, co-founder and Managing Director of Leeds-based Liquid Voice UK, said: "We have already forged a strong working relationship with SVL's management team and are confident that together we can maximise new business opportunities and extend our presence in the contact centre, financial and public safety markets."

Andrew Barrett, co-founder of Liquid Voice and Managing Director of the New Zealand business, added: "Liquid Voice has aspirations for development into other international territories, having already built a strong presence in the APAC region, and this move reaffirms our intentions to the market."

Cloudsource Technologies has appointed Mike Hayman as Dealer Development Director to lead its new dealer channel.

The dealer channel aims to provide smaller resellers or those looking to move in to telecoms with an opportunity to offer their customers Cloudsource services under their own brand.

Cloudsource's services include telephony, mobile, IT, energy and security, and resellers gain access to a bureau billing option, network connectivity ordering, revenue share, support and training.

Hayman said: "I've spent 30 years in the telecoms industry as a dealer and so I have a good understanding of the challenges that growing resellers face and what they're looking for from a good distributor. This experience will help me to listen to their business needs and provide personalised support, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach."