Call to Action on Tough GDPR Laws

Evans opens up on Steve Soper: A man hSo’s big expansion with the courage of plans p26 his convictions p32

VOL 22 ISSUE 1 JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com

Call recording for PCI, FCA and MiFID ll compliance. oak.co.uk Advertisement Advertisement THE HEARTBEAT OF THE UK COMMS INDUSTRY

created by Cloud Billing made easy. Multiple online billing 01256 799812 solutions designed for every business requirement. www.quickstart-billing.co.uk

3-24 Industry News Catch up with events in comms 28 Business Profile A model that creates true value CD_commcloud.pdf 1 24/04/2017 12:24

34 Experience the Company Profile Call to action onC Why Liquid Voice M is in full flow Y

CM Communications Cloud tough GDPR lawsMY 36 CY We get your Interview With less than one year to go until tough new EU data laws come into forceCMY employees, the level of preparedness among those affected appears to be woeful. Intercity Technology K customers and set to go global apps talking SPECIAL REPORT Bruce Potter, Chairman of month had ‘some’ understand- Blake Morgan, commented: ing of GDPR. “We have a long 50 When the European General “We are just a year away from way to go and only a year to do Data Protection Regulation a major shake-up of European it,” stated Dr. Dierk Schindler Market Review (GDPR) comes into effect on information governance laws (pictured above), Head of EMEA Schools: Playground May 25th next year all organisa- and it’s fair to say that many and Global Legal at NetApp. of opportunities tions that retain or process per- businesses and public sector “C-suite staff and IT manag- sonal information will need to organisations are ill-prepared. ers, however, are still uncertain comply or face crippling fines. “The digital economy req- when it comes to data compli- 58 But according to law firm uires a more robust legal frame- ance, which is concerning as it Blake Morgan many organisa- work to ensure confidence in lies at the heart of GDPR. Comms People tions across the public and pri- the protection of information, “Their knowledge of compli- This month’s vate sectors are far from having and organisations need to adapt ance and ability to be responsi- movers and shakers their house in order and could to these higher standards now.” ble for the data they handle will be fined up to £17m or 4% of Just half of respondents in a directly affect their capacity to worldwide turnover. NetApp survey published last fend off future fines.”

Purple Partner Programme ninewholesale .co.uk www.comms-dealer.com A BPL BUSINESS MEDIA PUBLICATION CD Strip_06.17.indd 1 31/05/2017 16:31

Evans opens up on Steve Soper: A man hSo’s big expansion with the courage of plans p26 his convictions p32

VOL 22 ISSUE 1 JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com

Call recording for PCI, FCA and MiFID ll compliance. oak.co.uk Advertisement Advertisement THE HEARTBEAT OF THE UK COMMS INDUSTRY

created by Cloud Billing made easy. Multiple online billing 01256 799812 solutions designed for every business requirement. www.quickstart-billing.co.uk

3-24 Industry News Catch up with events in comms 28 Business Profile A model that creates true value CD_commcloud.pdf 1 24/04/2017 12:24

34 Experience the Company Profile Call to action onC Why Liquid Voice M is in full flow Y

Purple Partner Programme ninewholesale .co.uk www.comms-dealer.com A BPL BUSINESS MEDIA PUBLICATION CD Strip_06.17.indd 1 31/05/2017 16:31 3 great reasons to partner with Entanet

Technical competence First class network & Complete support & help to deliver the peering relationships 24/7 complex

THREE STEPS TO SUCCESS

There’s no magic wand to ensure ongoing success in the channel. It takes commitment, hard work and the support of a wholesale partner that truly understands your business challenges.

With 21 years under our belt, we’ve got the people, portals, processes and peering relationships to help you grow high margin business and deliver complex solutions with simplicity.

Sound good?

Let’s talk connectivity. enta.net/complex-simple Find more detail at:

reasons-to-partner.indd 1 19/05/2017 17:02:45 INDUSTRY NEWS

EDITOR’S COMMENT Claranet bags trio Those who wave flags get noticed, and I see a lot of flags every month. The most important is the red flag I see – which signifies to me of key acquisitions all of the hidden, unfurled flags that remain wrapped Claranet has pocketed a up despite representing a trio of acquisitions that extend rich heritage, interesting its reach and capabilities across key European markets and boost Stuart Gilroy background stories and strong values. These are the rising revenues by 40%. star companies that do not have recourse to PR specialists The IT services provider has and marketing expertise – the professional flag wavers – or also secured long-term financ- have limited in-house marketing resource. So this month ing and an acquisition facility we urge all channel companies with a story to tell, and of £80m. that’s most, to put a stake in the ground and get noticed. The refinancing exercise Our industry is perhaps the most dynamic and also introduced new minority Charles Nasser diverse of all and this should be fully represented in this shareholders including Tikehau magazine which prioritises people and companies. Our Capital which has come in Charles Nasser, founder and opportunities and challenges of door is wide open to new faces and great stories, be they alongside existing shareholders. CEO of the Claranet Group, a rapidly evolving technology strategic or personal (email [email protected]). The three new acquisitions – commented: “Claranet’s organic services sector. We are sometimes contacted by business leaders who Sec-1 in the UK, French IT firm growth combined with acquisi- “We will see continued con- have reached a stage where they want to tell their story, Oxalide and Portugal-based tions has enabled us to establish solidation of the European man- get noticed and be appreciated. Yet they are gobsmacked ITEN Solutions – add security, a significant operation in the aged services market over the when they get a swift and positive response from Comms DevOps, systems integration managed IT services market at next two years and we are on a Dealer – so please feel free to raise your flag with us. and IT services capabilities to the European level. strong footing in all major west- This month, for example, we profile Beta Distribution, the Claranet Group. “These acquisitions represent ern European markets to take described by its Managing Director Steve Soper as one The expanded Group has a big step forward for Claranet. advantage of the opportunity.” annualised revenues of £310m, The refinancing, and these lat- of the industry’s ‘best kept secrets’. Not any more. Got a news story? email: more than 1,800 employees and est acquisitions, means that we No longer in the background, his march towards [email protected] building a £500 million business is almost audible over 6,500 customers. are better positioned to meet the on page 32, where the Beta banner blows in the channel wind for all to see and acknowledge. NTA’s target busting hosted telephony resellers were As is the norm, this issue is packed with business profiles rewarded with an all-expenses paid trip to Cyprus and interviews with people who help to make this industry (May 16th-20th) where they enjoyed a selection of one of the most exciting and progressive sectors in the UK. activities including golf, a boat trip and diving, along with evening treats such as a casino trip. NTA Sales Stuart Gilroy, Editor Director Justin Blaine commented: “It’s great to have so many partners who qualified. During the trip they have not only forged a stronger relationship with the NTA team, but also between themselves through • In his strategic reactions to new market opportunities hSo MD sharing business ideas and stories about their Chris Evans is not short of a dead cert growth plan (p26). different routes to success.”

NTA is offering new & existing resellers their astonishing£4.75 per seat license which also includes 5,000 free minutes to 01, 02, 03 & UK 07 numbers on a 30 day rolling contract. Call Justin Blaine now on: 01708 320000 or email: [email protected] to find out how NTA’s hosted offering will increase your margins.

www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 3 INDUSTRY NEWS

COMMENT: MOBILE MATTERS MTI plans to boost We all know that sinking feeling when our mobile phone has been lost, stolen or simply broken. It’s a scary thought to be cut off from headcount by 10% the world and the sheer personal panic indicates Pan-European cloud service our reliance on what has provider MTI is to boost its become, for many, the most sales and technical team head- important device in our lives. count by 10% across the UK, The arrival of 4G has France and Germany. The move follows the acq- Richard Carter further strengthened our dependence and enabled uisition of MTI by PE firm us to take advantage of ever more sophisticated Endless LLP in January 2017. applications. 5G is around the corner too which will Based in Godalming, Surrey, allow us to do even more – in theory at least. £70m turnover MTI provides Sadly, mobile connectivity still remains hit and miss on-site and cloud-based storage, depending on where you live and where you are travelling security solutions and IaaS. Scott Haddow around the country. You would have thought by now that The headcount increase also the billions of pounds worth of investment would have follows the appointment of “This is an approach that has “It is great to help build brought a consistent and level playing field. But no. If you Scott Haddow as MTI CEO two worked so well in the business- a skilled and loyal capability live or are near Middlesbrough then according to the latest months after the acquisition. es that I have led, and others in from the ground up and to sup- Which? survey you are ranked number one in the country Haddow has strong experi- the channel that I admire,” com- plement the experienced talent for 4G availability. But London comes in at a poor 16th ence in the IT channel hav- mented Haddow. that we are now attracting.” with Bournemouth and Poole just about scraping into ing held senior roles at New Horizons and Computacenter. the top 20. Connectivity is probably the most important A BPL Business aspect of any mobile device and as a frequent traveller Haddow said: “Since the start Publication I know all too well how performance can fluctuate. of the year we have designed BPL Limited Highbridge House, 93-96 Oxford Road, services for delivery through Editor: Stuart Gilroy Just over 10 years ago the iPhone was born and mobiles Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 1LU, United Kingdom [email protected] 07712 781 102 have revolutionised our home and working lives. They are the G-Cloud 9 framework in the T: 01895 454542 F: 01895 454413 Publisher: Nigel Sergent Subscriptions now more powerful than some basic home computers. The UK; and across Europe we are Subscription rates for 12 issues: [email protected] 07712 781 106 mobile world moves on – but just make sure your security working towards a Microsoft UK, £65; Overseas:£80 (incl p&p) Managing Director: Michael O’Brien Back issues can be obtained: is up to date after the recent worldwide ransomware Gold Azure partner accredi- UK £6 (incl p&p), Overseas £10 each (incl p&p) [email protected] 01895 454 444 For subscriptions please call 01635 588 869 attack when global panic replaced personal panic. tation after receiving Silver Sales Director: Simon Turton Views expressed in this magazine are not accreditation in May. [email protected] 01895 454 603 necessarily those of the publishers. No part of Richard Carter, Director of Channel Sales, Nimans “This targeted headcount this publication may be reproduced without the Sales Executive: Sophie Timms express written permission of the publishers. investment will allow us to [email protected] 01895 454 476 All trademarks acknowledged. Photographs and bring the broadest range of Production: Frank Voeten artwork submitted for publication accepted only secure data solutions to new [email protected] on the understanding that the Editor is not liable • Ahead of the education sector’s summertime ICT buying period for their safekeeping. and existing customers.” Circulation 01635 588 869 we highlight the areas of opportunity for resellers and spotlight © 2017 BPL Business Media Limited. the technologies and integrated solutions under consideration by Haddow noted that some of ISSN 1366-5243 Printed by Pensord Limited schools planning their summer break upgrades (p50). the new positions will be for Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations ABC total average circulation 16,020 (Jan-Dec 2016, 12,634 print, 3,386 digital) apprentices and graduates.

4 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com INDUSTRY NEWS Node4 seeks Boudier leads in new partners mid-mkt

A new cloud-based UC offer- Stephane Boudier is to head ing based on the Cisco Hosted up Avaya’s European mid- Collaboration Solution (HCS) market campaign following platform has been rolled out a year working with the ven- by Node4 which is seeking dor as Orange Global Account additional partners to bring this Director where he delivered solution to the mid-market. 160% growth in the mid-market “In the last year we’ve sensed space in Q4 2016. real hunger within the mid-mar- Boudier has notched up ket for the kind of advanced, almost 30 years telecoms indus- WE ARE fully featured UC systems that, try experience including two until recently, only the larg- Andrew Wilson decades with service providers est enterprises have been able such as TDF, Orange and SFR. EXPANDING to afford,” commented Simon “With the expansion of our He also brings wide inter- Herbert, Cloud Solutions Dev- UC proposition collaboration national experience to his new OUR NETWORK elopment Specialist, Cisco. solutions are no longer a privi- position as EU Mid-Market “There’s an enormous oppor- lege for the large enterprise.” Leader having formerly served tunity here. It’s only right that A Node4 survey of 200 UK as CEO of PSN in Poland, more advanced functionality IT decision makers showed that Executive CTO for Orange should start to migrate down the cost was the number one com- Jordan, as well as years of expe- chain via a UcaaS model.” plaint regarding UC in the mid- rience in both North American Andrew Wilson, Director of market. And many mid-market and Asian companies. TO COVER Channel Sales, Node4, com- companies feel that their UC Fadi Moubarak, Vice Pres- mented: “Our focus is on new deployments are not reaching ident for Avaya Channel, customer acquisitions in the their full potential. EMEA & APAC, commented 180 TOWNS mid-market and our channel on the appointment: “Stephane partnerships form a critical part Got a news story? email: has demonstrated both a clear [email protected] & CITIES of this strategy. understanding of the diverse needs of our partners and end customers as well as real enthu- ACROSS THE UK siasm for achieving growth and strong relationships.” Actility snaps up Abeeway Low Power Wide Area Net- working (LPWAN) firm Actility has pounced in geolocation system company Abeeway following a $75m fundraising round. The UK’s leading “We’re seeing massive dem- Digital Service Provider and for location aware IoT solutions from industry,” stated Working exclusively for the Building on its programme of sailing-based corporate hospitality Actility CEO Mike Mulica. wholesale markets, we operate the Koris has taken title sponsorship of the Royal Southampton Yacht “We’ve been developing our most advanced network in the UK. Club’s annual Double Handed race series, a run of eight races ThingPark Location platform to divided into two sub-series (Solent and Passage) of four races deliver tools to service provid- Our world class infrastructure each. “Among other things, we will be exposing our customers to ers and our customers in the connects the critical digital services the controlled mayhem of racing by taking them out to the start tracking ecosystem. that makes UK business work. line on the committee boat,” commented Craig McCalley, Sales “As a long-time partner with & Marketing Director at Koris. “This high adrenaline sport mirrors Abeeway we saw great poten- some of qualities we see in our clients – the ability to remain calm tial in adding its patented assist- and make good decisions under significant pressure.” Pictured ed technology and expertise in above: Paul James, Marketing Manager at Koris, who is taking part tracking to the capabilities of in the Solent Double Handed Series. our ThingPark platform.” To advertise in www.virtual1.com contact The Sales Team on 01895 454411 www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 5 INDUSTRY NEWS

NEWS ROUNDUP Security market in Leach sits hSo has secured a place on the latest iteration of the G-Cloud as MD of framework, G-Cloud 9. Avner Peleg, Customer Development Director, said: phase of disruption NFON UK “Our presence on the Govern- ment’s Digital Marketplace Advanced analytics, expand- NFON UK’s head honcho Rami proves once again that a SME ed ecosystems, the adoption of Houbby has left the business to such as hSo can deliver off- SaaS and managed services plus focus on a new venture, making the-shelf cloud services to the prospect of punitive regula- way for incoming MD Myles public sector organisations of tions are set to drive a ‘dramatic Leach who worked alongside all sizes, while still applying transformation’ in the security Houbby for two years. rigorous compliance process- software market, according to Leach joined the firm as UK es and dedicated support.” industry watcher Gartner. Business Development Director hSo has provided G-Cloud “The security market is and was promoted to Strategic related services since 2014 undergoing a period of disrup- Channel Development Director and has a strong presence in tion due to the rapid transition prior to Houbby’s exit. local and central government. to cloud-based digital busi- He was previously MD of a ness and technology models,” successful telecoms reseller. Prianto is to distribute F- said Deborah Kish, Principal Hans Szymanski, CEO at Secure’s UK corporate secu- Research Analyst at Gartner. NFON AG, commented: “Since rity business portfolio. “This disruption is changing Rami opened the NFON UK The agreement includes how risk and security functions subsidiary in April 2013 the UK stand-alone software solu- deliver value in an organisation. market has gone from strength tions and products that sup- At the same time, the threat to strength. port managed services for landscape and an increase in the “NFON UK is set to have partners via the F-Secure number of high impact secu- Deborah Kish its best year ever in 2017. With Cloud portal. rity incidents are also creating Myles at the helm we are confi- The deal will see dis- demand for security technolo- where analytics will deliver sig- financial impact of fines and dent it will continue to go on to tributor Prianto provide cen- gies and innovations that deliver nificant value and augment lim- non-compliance,” added Kish. break even more records.” trally managed security con- greater effectiveness.” ited security staff and resourc- “Organisations will look to figuration, management and Gartner says enterprises are es,” added Kish. providers with products that responses to over 700 part- increasingly seeking products She also noted that the offer visibility and control of ners in its network. that incorporate ‘smarter’ pre- EU General Data Protection their data. Providers should F-Secure will also make dictive and prescriptive ana- Regulation will come into effect identify the key regulatory its new Cloud Protection for lytic technologies. These more on 25th May 2018 and could see requirements in target geogra- Salesforce product available advanced analytical capabilities organisations facing heavy fines phies by working with legal to users through Prianto. are driven by a variety of under- should they receive a complaint counsel to deliver product and The security firm says the lying technologies, such as heu- for mishandling private data. service choices that will allevi- offering adds a layer of secu- ristics, AI and other techniques. “Punitive regulations will ate board level fears.” rity to check files and links “Successful vendors will create board level fears, driv- Got a news story? email: uploaded into Salesforce. work with customers and pros- ing security software budget [email protected] pects to understand use cases decisions based on the potential Hans Szymanski

What kind of communication fits with your company? KX-NSX Series. The new business communication server.

T: 0207 022 6530 E: [email protected] W: business.panasonic.co.uk/communication-solutions

6 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com new version out now

Browser-based call reporting, analytics and call recording.

3 All new look and feel with a new menu structure

3 Intuitive graphical user interface

3 Optimised to auto-adjust according to screen size

3 Enhanced security with a new password policy and role-based access with permissions

3 New report scheduler - allows multiple reports to be emailed to multiple users.

Samsung CMS seamlessly integrates with Samsung OfficeServ and SCM phone systems, providing accurate in-depth analytics, call recording and evaluation on business inbound and outbound calls.

Find out more 0161 925 1980 [email protected] nimans.net

Part of the Nycomm Communications Group MK5186CD120517

MK5186-CD-245x340 SamsungCMS Press-Ad_June.indd 1 15/05/2017 09:36 INDUSTRY NEWS

COMMENT: CHANNEL CONFLICT? Top exec set Leicester Over the years I have dealt with many channel partners firm Yello who tell me it’s imperative that they own the customer, and that their customers for CityFibre acquired are not aware of who is actually providing the product CityFibre has strengthened LA Connect’s acquisition or service. Resellers are its Board and growth ambitions of Leicester-based comms firm terrified of customers being with the appointment of indus- Yello Communications signifi- pinched by their incumbent try big gun George Wareing as cantly extends its portfolio of suppliers which could Sales Director. telecoms products and services, potentially sell at the price He brings 18 years experi- including data and voice instal- ence in the cable and mobile lation, network services and a Justin Blaine resellers buy at. Ownership of the end customer and sectors including a 15 year stint maintenance service. white labelling of the service is key, right? Or is it? at Virgin Media Business where The deal is Windsor-based It never ceases to amaze me that the bigger the he built a commercial team and LA Connect’s second acquisi- vendor in our marketplace the more it’s a case of ‘like is credited with transforming tion and builds on its four year the mobile backhaul market run of organic growth with turn- it or lump it’. Some of the largest suppliers of products George Wareing and services and manufacturers in the IT and telecoms through a £100 million national over in excess of £24m expected space have a huge direct salesforce. Are you happy backhaul deal with MBNL. milestone in CityFibre’s ambi- in its next financial year. with this? It seems you are, as these players have a He left Virgin Media tions to transform digital infra- Lee Waller, General Manager channel conflict policy in place to safeguard against Business to become UK Sales structure in the UK.” of LA Micro (part of LA Micro them going against one of their partners directly. Director for Telecity Group in Wareing said: “We have the Group), commented: “LA Micro According to this policy they will walk away or 2014 (now Equinix) where he ability to transform digital infra- is expanding its service offer- even support resellers if they come up against them led many record contract wins. structure, alter the status quo ing having recently become a in the field. However, there are many stories of this CityFibre Commercial Dir- for the benefit of all and meet Microsoft Partner. Combining not happening with business being written directly, ector Rob Hamlin said: “George demand for better service and the experience, strength and shunning resellers. Yes, the very resellers that helped is one of the most respected affordable gigabit connectivity. product range of the two busi- those organisations become the forces they are today. and highly sought after Sales As Sales Director, I’m looking nesses will broaden our offering It’s obvious to me that if you are playing in the Directors in the industry. His forward to playing a lasting and and bring new opportunities for channel space you need to have your ethics and appointment marks a significant significant role in this journey.” both companies.” morals right. Choose direct or indirect routes to market. You cannot do both without a conflict of A team of 22 staff from Telford-based Entanet have interests. And for resellers, choose your suppliers completed the Tough Mudder Half Midlands challenge, wisely as they may also be your competitors. raising funds for the stillbirth and neonatal death char- Justin Blaine, Channel Sales Manager, NTA ity Sands. The Entanet team comprised a mix of men and women from various departments including two who completed the challenge dressed as Tyrannosaurus • For a man with the unswerving courage of his own convictions, Rex dinosaurs. Stephen Barclay, Sales Director, said: “The course lived up to its name. It Steve Soper’s plan to build Beta Distribution into a £500 million was really tough and very muddy, but it was also a lot of fun. It must have been particu- business within five years is entirely plausible (p32). larly difficult for our T-Rex duo who went above and beyond to support Sands.”

8 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2016 www.comms-dealer.com Join the pure fibre revolution

During 2017, more and more of our full-fibre networks will open up to all providers. Come aboard now to start putting our powerful, affordable products at the centre of your solutions.

Dark Fibre Sign up as Proven delivery a partner to Operational flexibility, certainty and commercial agility. Plus, everything else you’d expect from a team put fast and who’ve lived and breathed dark fibre since 2011. affordable Active Internet choice at your Astonishingly fast fingertips Symmetrical Gig and half-Gig products that do cityfibre.com/ what they say on the tin. All for less than the price of 100Mbps Leased Lines and EFM alternatives. partner-today

Active Ethernet Independent alternative From tails with aggregated handover, right through to dedicated P2P options. All coming soon, with market leading prices and no hoops to jump. INDUSTRY NEWS

COMMENT: NETWORK INSIGHTS Wade knee deep in Living through the transition from VHS tape to DVD, to Blu-ray and now Netflix, I do wonder about how quickly the technology revenue stream rise becomes obsolete for what is essentially just watching a Cloud and network provider movie. I bring this up because Exponential-e’s financial results we at Virtual1 are building for year ending January 31st out our national network, 2017 were ahead of forecast which requires much planning with revenues up 26% to almost to deliver a sustainable £97.5m driven by an increase in demand for cloud network com- James Hickman infrastructure that can cope with future demands. But puting and managed services. how do we get it right? Building big is attractive as it Exponential-e’s EBITDA allows for growth, but it requires a subtle balancing act was reported to be over £20m, of engineering perfection versus real-world economics. up 45% with profit before tax For a start you have to build more capacity than you up 48% to just over £9.9m. need right now. How much more ultimately depends on CEO Lee Wade said: “The how good your sales team are. The stuff you buy from last year has been incredibly suc- vendors needs to be keenly negotiated, both for the cessful for the business, deliver- initial build and expected expansion. It makes no sense ing record revenues. Customer to get locked-in to a vendor by sleepwalking through a acquisition has continued to rise sweetheart deal and getting over excited by the feature fuelled by strong demand for our cloud-based offerings. list on their latest bleeding edge kit. They have no crystal Lee Wade ball seeing into the future any more than you do. “Our model is built to deliv- Right now, network vendors are looking to Software- er innovative, ‘non-stop com- A 10 Gigabit Internet service ence in the Government com- Defined this and Virtualised that. The aim is to reduce pute’ solutions that use best-of- was made available in February, puting space. the complexity from the customer perspective while breed technologies. These have which is over 400 times faster “Despite market uncertainty simultaneously delivering operational flexibility at proved popular with our cus- than the Government’s mini- we expect the next 12 months to reduced costs. Even our SDN deployment has a way tomers over the last 12 months mum definition of superfast be positive,” added Wade. to go before it fulfils everything that some industry and have contributed to this rev- broadband, available to busi- “Our determination to inno- visionaries would say is possible. And that comes down enue growth.” nesses throughout the UK. vate and create products ahead to a lack of readiness from some suppliers, no credible The last 12 months have seen Exponential-e also expand- of the market will endure and standardisation among vendors and of course cost. Exponential-e develop a range ed its operations outside of hold us in good stead. As fur- But, we are getting it right as our network has a lot of of new products and services. the London area, moving its ther commitment to this part flexibility and we will expose this through portals and APIs In July the company laun- Manchester office to a new, big- of our business we have ear- over the coming months. It is much like getting the latest ched a SD-WAN proposition ger location and growing its marked £2m to be used solely Star Wars on Blu-ray after only ever watching it on VHS. that allows companies to cen- headcount there to 20 people. for research and development.” You know the story but the experience is so much better. trally assign and manage appli- Earlier in April, Afshin See page 28 cation policies across multiple Attari was appointed Director Got a news story? email: James Hickman, CTO, Virtual1 sites and scale bandwidth up or of Public Sector tasked with [email protected] down as required. growing the company’s pres-

Upgrade your Polycom 300 series phone with a UC-1 License to a Polycom 400 series FREE of charge.

For more information please call: 03300 539 169 or email: [email protected]

10 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com Maximise the Convergence Opportunity with our broad portfolio

Lines and Calls Managed Business Services Mobile

Contact Centres WiFi

PARTNER

Supply Chain Services WITH US Connectivity TODAY!

Business UC&C Continuity

Cloud and Hosting Security

LAN

helping your business grow. call us now on 0808 178 4555 www.daisywholesale.com © Daisy Wholesale Limited (CRN: 4211657) INDUSTRY NEWS

COMMENT: SKILLS MEANS SALES Cloud giants NEWS ROUNDUP When it comes to selling The third phase of SSE Ent- cloud-based unified erprise Telecoms’s network communications and expansion has kicked off with voice solutions, resellers plans to unbundle an addi- need a set of different but eye channel tional 40 BT exchanges in complementary skills to be ‘prime’ business areas around able to deliver these services Cloud giants such as AWS, cloud and develop new types the UK. The company will effectively. Resellers know Microsoft, Google and IBM of workloads as part of digital offer Ethernet services and that if they fall behind in have swung their gaze onto the transformation initiatives.” also deploy dark fibre ser- acquiring the skills needed channel as a means to sustain Cloud players are looking vices on the successful com- to broaden their footprint and drive their stellar growth to the channel to expand their pletion of Openreach’s Dark in the unified comms rates; and their interest in the reach, especially when it comes Fibre Access trial. enterprise and mid-market space to mid-market opportunities, This expansion, dubbed Charles Aylwin space they risk creating leeway for competitors where competition is fierce will says Canalys Senior Analyst Project Edge, will bring the to move in to their customer base. But the opportunity see them prioritise indirect part- Jordan De Leon. “The channel total number of exchanges in the unified comms space is enormous if resellers nerships to extend their reach, has become integral to winning served by a national fibre can get this right. It’s already a $50 billion market and claims Canalys. in the enterprise, with top cloud optic network to 140. is set to continue to grow 65 per cent by 2018. In Q1 2017 AWS maintained players focusing on channel Colin Sempill, MD of SSE Technical skills are key for the channel to understand its dominance, holding a stable expansion plans,” he said. Enterprise Telecoms, stated: the products they are selling. But it’s also important to global market share of 31% on AWS has a growing and “To function in today’s econ- know how to evaluate a customer’s business environment 43% revenue growth. Microsoft established channel programme omy businesses need reliable, to position products in the right way. For example, being grew revenues by 93% and which the company says is help- high capacity connectivity in able to explain the benefits of a Unified Communications Google was up 74% compared ing to win key global clients. all corners of the UK.” system as compared to a legacy on-premise solution. to the same quarter a year ago, And Google has revamped its Partnering with the right vendor will be a huge while IBM witnessed 38% rev- partner programme to reflect the Pan-European cloud man- support to develop these skills. We run an Academy enue growth. technology and feature needs of aged services firm Claranet at 8x8 giving partners the skills needed to understand The overall worldwide cloud large enterprise customers. has secured an £80m invest- our portfolio and sell effectively. Our partners value the infrastructure services market “Go-to-market strategies, ment from French asset man- competitive edge the training gives them in the market. was up 42% year-on-year in Q1 including both customer and agement firm Tikehau Capital A good vendor should also support resellers in the field, 2017 to reach $11.4bn, accord- channel partner engagement, in return for a minority stake offering pre-sales support, dedicated field sales, as well ing to Canalys. will ultimately determine ven- in the business. as running regular workshops that help them to develop “Competition for enterprise dor success in this segment,” The investment follows the new skills, such as our 8x8 Marketing Masterclasses. customers is intensifying among commented De Leon. company’s move in February Turning technical skills into sales know-how is leading cloud service provid- “Larger enterprises will to set up Claranet Italy in key, and demonstrating how technology will have ers which are investing heav- adopt a multi-cloud strategy to response to demand for man- a genuine business benefit is a crucial differentiator ily to secure key national and distribute risk. aged public cloud solutions in when selling to businesses. The most competitive global accounts,” said Canalys “Ultimately, to challenge the Italian market. resellers will be able to offer the right solution and Research Analyst Daniel Liu. AWS, vendors will need deep The new entity based in add value. If they don’t, someone else will knock “Timing is crucial, as many financial resources to continue Milan focuses solely on pub- on their customer’s door and do it for them. large accounts are assessing, to participate and advance.” lic cloud services working formulating and executing strat- with partners such as Amazon, Got a news story? email: Charles Aylwin, Director of Channel & Public Sector, 8x8 egies to move existing work- Google and Microsoft. [email protected] loads and infrastructure to the

The financing partner you’ve been searching for.

PEAC delivers dynamic and proven asset finance and leasing solutions for manufacturers, resellers and distributors of ICT, office and vending equipment, with instant online credit decisions, fast turnaround times and same-day payouts.

To find out more, contactJeff Jones at [email protected] phone 07879 481092 or visit peacfinance.com

12 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com Build your channel with Comms Dealer

With Comms Dealer magazine, reaching & influencing more resellers in the UK than any other channel publication or website is as simple as ABC.

• Comms Dealer magazine Comms Dealer’s ABC audited circulation provides the largest audience of UK resellers. (Average Monthly Circulation 16,020)*

• www.comms-dealer.com Our ABC audited website provides 24/7 access to channel news and is the only ICT channel magazine to independently audit web traffic (Derived daily average unique browsers 840/day)**

• Comms Dealer Weekly e-news Comms Dealer’s weekly, ABC audited e-newsletter delivers the latest, breaking news to the UK ICT channel. (Average Weekly Distribution 20,392)***

If you want to engage with the UK partner channel in print, digital or direct to desktop, talk to us now and find out why Comms Dealer is the best choice for reaching more UK resellers than any other channel magazine, website or newsletter.

Simon Turton E: [email protected] T: 07759 731134

* Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations ABC total average circulation 16,020 (Jan-Dec 16, 12,634 print, 3386 digital) ** www.comms-dealer.com Online property (1st January 2016 to 31st December 2016), Derived daily Average Unique browsers 840) *** Distribution of weekly email newsletter (1st January 2016 to 31st December 2016, Average Distribution 20,392 INDUSTRY NEWS Mills unveils High number Exclusive appoints new service of IoT failures cloud ace

IoT deployment success Inbar Lasser-Raab, VP of Exclusive Group’s Cloud rates are woefully short of the Cisco Enterprise Solutions First strategy has a new man at mark according to a study by Marketing, added: “We are the helm, Patrick van Arendonk, Cisco which suggests that 60% seeing IoT innovations almost who brings almost 30 years expe- of IoT initiatives stall at the every day. We are connecting rience and joins from Exclusive Proof of Concept stage and only things that we never thought Networks Netherlands where 26% of companies have had an would be connected, creating he held positions including IoT initiative that they consid- new value to industries. General Manager and Director ered a complete success. A third “But the biggest opportunity of Business Development. of all completed projects were is where we partner with other Prior to this he was founder not considered a success. vendors and create solutions of VADition Benelux (acquired Julie Mills “It’s not for the lack of try- that are not only connected but by Exclusive Group in 2011) ing,” said Rowan Trollope, also share data. and has also worked in senior Training firm Train to Win. The firm has also introduced Senior Vice President and “That shared data is the basis sales roles at Juniper, F5 and tv has introduced a new man- services that overcome some of General Manager, IoT and of a network of industries – Cisco, among others. aged service – Support to Win. the hurdles it has encountered in Applications, Cisco. “But there sharing of insights to make tre- “It’s time for some blue sky tv – which provides outsourced day-to-day operations. “A great are plenty of things we can do mendous gains for business and thinking now that the cloud support for hosted telephony example of this is the new guid- to get more projects out of pilot society, because no one com- consumption model is begin- customers, covering all non- ed install service,” added Mills. and to complete success.” pany can solve this alone.” ning to become more relevant,” commercial requirements such “During the last 12 months the said Barrie Desmond, COO of as moves, adds, changes and the market has seen a significant Exclusive Group. provisioning of services. increase in hosted sales to busi- “The Cloud First initiative Julie Mills, founder of Train nesses of less than 10 users. helps us, our vendors and resell- to Win.tv, commented: “We have “These organisations simply er partners understand their rel- responded to repeated requests do not warrant an on-site visit evance in this journey and put by channel partners and end but they still need handhold- cloud at the forefront of their users to extend our range of end ing through the initial set-up proposals and mindset.” user training services. and installation. By offering a Arendonk, Director of Cloud “We’ve set up a dedicated virtual installation via webinars First, added: “The traditional support centre and employed and over the telephone we can markets for cybersecurity and experts on an array of hosted ensure that customers get the Daisy Wholesale’s move to new offices reflects its ‘most successful infrastructure are still grow- telephony platforms. same level of service you would year ever’, according to MD Terry O’Brien. “It’s exciting times at ing, but the private, public and “Support to Win.tv is based get from an onsite deployment Daisy Wholesale,” he stated. “The support of our partners has hybrid cloud alternatives are helped us grow and we needed more space to serve them better.” on a white label ticketing sys- but at a much lower cost.” growing 10 times faster. The new HQ on Hampshire Corporate Park in Chandler’s Ford, tem and telephone answering “The opportunities for part- Got a news story? email: Eastleigh, currently houses over 120 staff under one roof (with room service that can dovetail into a ners are huge, but only if they [email protected] to grow) and a new demo suite. partner’s own support process.” take steps to evolve.”

The only Hosted UC solution provider to make sure our partners are PCI Compliant

For more information please contact [email protected] or visit www.thevoicefactory.co.uk 14 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com Do I look like I had an issue convincing my boss?

Selling Hybrid Cloud is easy with a business case that stacks up on both cost and value.

Our Hybrid Cloud solution is a scalable platform that allows you and your customers to ex usage between private and public environments within one easy-to-use portal. And with a monthly pay- as-you-use cost model, it’s easy to sell the bene ts right from the start.

Hybrid Cloud solutions that sell themselves. Talk to us today for a free demo.

0345 122 4777 [email protected] business.kcom.com/partners

KCOM_CommsDealer_PartnerAd2_2017.indd 1 17/05/2017 08:43:45 INDUSTRY NEWS

COMMENT: STRATEGIC TALK Excell picks Apple Business demand for high speed data is growing rapidly. Ovum predicts that in the next three years alone demand for 1Gb+ speeds hotshot MacSeven will increase by 50 per cent, forming around 60 per cent Excell Group’s acquisition of all connections. This is of IT and Apple support firm supported by insight into our MacSeven Consultants adds own customers’ bandwidth £2m-plus turnover to the bot- demands. Last month we saw tom line and follows last year’s data across our network grow City Audio Visual Services buy. to hit a new peak of 2.7Tb, in Excel said this latest acqui- stark contrast with just 0.9Tb sition is particularly relevant to the 6,000-plus customers in Alex Tempest in 2009. We expect this to Edward Pettit double again within the next Excell-enabled business centres 12 months. Last year we saw data revenues increase 30.8 where Apple Mac OS and other Excell marks its 25th anni- deals are structured to give per cent over the year, with over 8,000 new high speed devices are in high use. versary this year and has ramped Excell a controlling interest but Ethernet and EFM (Ethernet for the first mile) data lines MacSeven’s team of seven, up its acquisition strategy. Its still leave sellers with a stake. connected. In future, as businesses find new ways to use headed up by Directors Michael the bandwidth available, this trend is only set to continue. Humphreys and Naveen Nahar, According to combined research from leading industry will operate autonomously post- analyst houses, the growth in Ethernet is being driven acquisition and continue to be IT buying influenced by increased use of, and reliance on, cloud services, the point of contact for existing as well as unified communications tools and high customer support. definition video. However, organisations still expect Excell’s Finance Director by cross-dept execs the same on-premise experience from in-cloud services Edward Pettit said: “There are and won’t accept applications performing poorly multiple benefits here: Excell’s A new report by CompTIA has action with the channel. So it’s because of insufficient bandwidth. These services are customers now have access to re-confirmed the influence of incumbent on the channel to get totally dependent on a first class network to function specialist Mac services and sup- cross-company execs in the ICT their faces in front of line of and there is too much at risk for this to fail. Partners port, and MacSeven’s custom- buying process. business leaders. already offer businesses a robust Ethernet connection ers can now take advantage of “CIOs and IT teams remain “The channel needs to alongside new tools for end-to-end solutions, but high a range of telephony, network, involved in the process,” com- speak the language of business bandwidth services also need to be cost-effective. comms and business resilience mented Carolyn April, Senior because this new generation of The UK’s infrastructure needs to improve further services. It’s diversified our Director, CompTIA. buyers does not want to hear or the channel risks stunting the potential of future product suite further.” “But business lines are about the technical implications innovations and opportunities before they have Naveen Nahar, co-Director clearly flexing their muscles. of their purchases. even arrived to market. The needs of the business of MacSeven, added: “With a It’s another strong signal that “Channel partners need to world are evolving and so the connectivity offered 25 year pedigree and consistent technology has shifted from a position themselves as con- by the channel needs to evolve with them. growth, Excell will allow us to supporting function for business sultants and service providers continue refining our expertise to a strategic asset. who can help customers make Alex Tempest, Director of Partners, TalkTalk Business and resource, while significant- “However, lines of business informed decisions about what ly growing our offering.” have little knowledge or inter- they buy.”

Simpler, FaSter, better value Connect hundreds of thousands of businesses in London 50Mbps – 1Gbps One to 10 day install Pricing from £180 pcm

Find out more at luminet.co.uk

16 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com they got there first!

20 years of continuous commitment to developing innovative billing software solutions means a long list of happy clients and unhappy competitors. Billing & Provisioning that is ‘Streets Ahead’.

IS650048 020 8614 9090 unionstreet.uk.com Powering your potential

Union_Street_horse_advert_final.indd 1 09/02/2017 12:11 INDUSTRY NEWS

NEWS ROUNDUP Welsh dealer Cisco swoops ScanSource Imago has extended its ‘huddle room’ solutions portfolio following a distribution deal with Vaddio, the maker of pan-tilt-zoom ties up MBO on MindMeld camera, AV and VC kit. Resellers gain access to Cisco’s acquisition of San Vaddio’s PTZ cameras for Francisco-based AI company conferencing, lecture capture MindMeld will ‘power new and general AV, along with conversational interfaces for enterprise video collaboration Cisco’s collaboration suite’, and bridging systems. said the firm. “Vaddio’s solutions pres- MindMeld has developed ent new opportunities for our an AI platform that enables reseller partners,” said Phil customers to build intelligent Boyd, VP of Merchandising, and human-like conversational ScanSource Imago. “There is interfaces for any application or Rowan Trollope particular interest in huddle device, and Cisco believes that space technology.” AI and machine learning will Board and Cisco Spark Room play a vital role across all parts Kit, along with features like The latest iteration of of its business. SpeakerTrack and VoiceTrack Entanet’s Ethernet Quoting Kelly Bolderson “Through its proprietary in the video portfolio. Tool offers additional band- machine learning (ML) technol- “This acquisition will power width options from a select Cardiff-based Glamorgan Bolderson stated: “This is ogy, MindMeld delivers accu- new conversational interfaces group of carriers. Telecom has completed a full the beginning of a new and racy to help users interact with for Cisco’s collaboration prod- As well as existing options management buyout with sup- exciting journey for the busi- voice and chat assistants in a ucts, revolutionising how users of up to 100Mbps, resellers port from Finance Wales which ness. With a full buyout in place more natural way,” said Rowan will interact with our technol- can get immediate quotes takes a 15% equity stake in the the management team now has Trollope, SVP, Cisco IoT and ogy, increasing ease of use and for 200Mbps, 300Mbps, group following the deal. control to guide Glamorgan Applications Group. enabling new cognitive capa- 400Mbps and 500Mbps leased MD and majority sharehold- Telecom into an exciting new “Cisco is unlocking capabilities,” added Trollope. lines on 1Gbps bearers. They er Kelly Bolderson and mem- chapter, and with the invest- bilities through AI that were “For example, users will be can add multiple options to bers of the senior management ment we can continue with our unthinkable in the past. For able to interact with Cisco Spark each quote. team have bought out founding expansion plans.” example, empowering our cus- via natural language commands, Sales Manager Paul North director Neal Pughe’s stake to This is the latest investment tomers to self-manage their providing an experience that is commented: “We’ve seen a bring the company under the from the Wales Management network and data centre, stay highly customised to the user rise in requests for 200Mbps, control of the current board. Succession Fund, a Welsh ahead of security attacks, embed and their work. Together, Cisco 300Mbps or more on 1Gbps The move enables Glamor- Government-backed £25m fund intelligence at the edge, deliver and MindMeld can bring voice bearers. We could provide gan to refinance its existing debt, supporting business succession predictive analytics and revolu- AI to meeting rooms throughout these before but they weren’t advance growth plans across for growing Welsh companies. tionise the workplace.” the world. on the quoting tool which we south Wales and the south west Glamorgan Telecom was AI and ML technology is “The workplace of the future have always wanted to keep and target revenues of £5m-plus established in 1993 and has already evident across Cisco’s is one powered by AI, and this as simple as possible.” before 2019 having expanded more than 1,800 customers and portfolio in products such as is a significant step toward mak- its sales team by 40%. currently employs 32 staff. Stealthwatch, Cisco Spark ing that workplace a reality.”

18 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com THIS ROUND’S ON US!

Get your MPLS for the same price as a basic circuit with Marston’s and save thousands.

Business has changed and your customers want more from their internet connection. This is why we are now offering FREE WAN capability and FREE Firewall on all our ethernet circuits.

#PerfectlyCrafted

Perfectly crafted to give you the advantage over your competitors and add margin to your bottom line.

MARSTON’S FROM EXPORTS TO ETHERNET

Visit our website for terms and conditions.

0808 280 0000 | [email protected] | www.marstonstelecoms.com INDUSTRY NEWS

NEWS ROUNDUP New force in TalkTalk adds Node4 has been awarded a place on G-Cloud 9, the Government’s cloud services procurement framework. “A number of public sector networking MiCollab app organisations are increasing their use of cloud services,” TalkTalk Business has stated Paula Johnston, Head added a multi-platform mobile of Public Sector. “They now app to its Hosted Voice product have better access to Node4’s in preparation for a near tipping solutions to run mission criti- point in workplace mobility. cal systems and services.” The company cited a report by The Work Foundation which Gold Business Partner status says that within three years 70% has been awarded to Daisy of people will work away from Group by Lenovo, its highest the office just as much as they tier. Daisy’s Lenovo revenue work at their desk. stream achieved over 170% In preparation for this future year-on-year growth. working environment TalkTalk Andrew Pring, Daisy’s David Walsh Business has introduced Mi- Vendor Alliances & Supply Collab, a UC application based Guy Miller Chain Services Director, said: The merger of Sonus Networks by the end of 2018 and to gen- on Mitel technology that enables “Lenovo underpins our desk- and Genband creates a new erate at least $100m in annu- users to access the same func- “More and more firms are top lifecycle services to some force in next generation comms al EBITDA, with fiscal year tionality from a PC, laptop, desk finding that for their employees of Daisy’s longest serving and networking with greater scale 2020 EBITDA projected to be phone or smartphone. work is an activity rather than a most prestigious customers.” and market reach across prod- approximately $140m. An optional Skype for place to be. They expect to be ucts, customers and regions. Raymond Dolan, President Business plugin means that able to work from any location 8x8 CEO Vik Verma has given The joint entity has an enter- and CEO of Sonus, said: “This TalkTalk Business partners can with the same level of access incoming CMO Rani Hublou prise value of approximately is a strategically and financial- more easily provide enterprise- and connectivity as if they were a rousing reception. $745m with Sonus and Genband ly compelling transaction for class voice within the Skype for in the office. “Rani is a proven inno- shareholders each owning circa Sonus. With Genband we will Business platform. “With the introduction of the vator, competitor and winner 50% of the combined company. achieve our growth initiatives Workers can download the Unified Communications fea- and her accomplishments at The transaction brings togeth- faster and more fully than either app directly from the Android, ture set to our Hosted Voice Comprehend, PSS Systems, er Sonus’ expertise in real-time company could do on its own.” iOS, BlackBerry and Windows platform, TalkTalk Business is BEA Systems, Broadvision communication virtualisation, Genband CEO and Chairman application stores. allowing partners to cater for and Icarian speak for them- cloud-based SIP and 4G/voice David Walsh added: “Like Guy Miller, Director of evolving working practices selves,” he commented. “She over LTE solutions and security Sonus, Genband has transi- Trading at TalkTalk Business, while also providing telephony has marketing and consult- initiatives, with Genband’s UC, tioned its business to support commented: “Businesses have which is secure and reliable.” ing expertise and a successful mobility and embedded com- and accelerate the modernisation long been looking for ways TalkTalk Business is a Mitel track record using an analytics munications solutions. and transformation of networks, to improve their productivity Platinum partner. approach to help companies The combined company is and we have seen improving while also providing much more Got a news story? email: expand into new markets.” expected to realise annual cost profitability over the last couple flexibility for their increasingly [email protected] synergies between $40m-$50m of years and into 2017.” mobile workforce.

20 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com INDUSTRY NEWS ENERGY UPDATE in association with Intercity set Frontier in Energy diversion TeleWare pays off for BAU for UC move affiliation ADDING energy to your portfolio telecoms companies in London Frontier Voice and Data has of customer services is an and further afield. added cloud call recording solu- ‘attractive business diversion’ according to Josh Hanning, “The Fidelity model comple- tions to its portfolio following a Managing Director of central mented our objective to offer link-up with TeleWare. London based BAU Systems. cost savings whilst making The partnership will focus “Success is governed by simple procurement of core business on mobile, fixed line and Skype parameters and diversions can services easier to manage. Time create growth, increase is a critical factor for most for Business call recording par- customer acquisition or generate business people, you can only ticularly in the financial sector brand awareness which are all truly claim it back when you can where companies must become worthy reasons to explore new delegate with peace of mind. compliant with the upcoming ideas,” said Hanning, who has This is a sentiment that BAU now successfully partnered with shares with Fidelity. MiFID II regulations. Fidelity Energy. Andrew Jackson TeleWare’s COO Nick “Since partnering with Fidelity Reaks commented: “MiFID II BAU (Business as Usual) provides we have helped clients save IT and Energy Consultancy anything between 15-40% per Intercity Technology is set to business success and Touch is demanding greatly increased services to businesses across the annum which gives us great for the channel launch later this Technology is an exciting inno- call recording and storage from UK, offering clients access to pleasure. Sales of any descrip- year of Touch Technology, a vation that empowers organisa- companies. For smaller busi- leading products and partners tion isn’t easy and energy isn’t global UC solution backed by a tions to facilitate communica- nesses such as hedge funds, across six core service pillars, the anomaly to the rule. There namely Network & Connectivity, are some preconceptions to £10m R&D investment. tion and collaborative working implementing a total transfor- Hosted & Virtualised IT, Security, overcome. Customers can be Touch Technology was across the business.” mation of telephony systems Unified Communications, surprised by how energy developed in-house and is pro- Lee Hull, Executive Director to achieve full compliance is a Professional Services & procurement differs from other tected by a global patent, offer- at Intercity, added: “Thanks to costly and difficult process. Engineering and Energy. services such as IT for example. Timing is a big factor and the ing integrated voice calls, video its global coverage and scalabil- “Furthermore, operating that “Technology and energy markets market fluctuates daily. conferencing, mobility, screen ity, Touch Technology enables system can be a full-time job are fast moving and complex sharing and collaborative tools. us to support more businesses which takes away from their with many suppliers offering “Fidelity have a great team of comparative solutions. Our knowledgeable and helpful Touch Technology has an across the world, helping them main task of delivering perfor- clients trust us to provide people who are consistently open API and integrates with to work smarter and get the mance. By providing systems unbiased expertise and guidance looking for ways to improve the other business systems includ- most out of their team. that are easy to implement and to help solve their specific partner and end customer ing Sales Cloud from Salesforce “We’ve worked hard to cre- sit on top of existing solutions business challenge,” continued experience. The portal that they Hanning. have built is unique in the and Microsoft Dynamics. ate a flexible and scalable com- we are able to help these small- market and provides a single It is also available as a munications solution that can be er operations remain profitable “We make the Procurement of IT pane of glass for pricing and mobile first solution. quickly deployed. We’re look- and improve their communica- and Energy services simple and signing energy contracts. In Andrew Jackson, CEO at ing forward to launching this tions solutions.” seamless by offering market addition, their supplier selection insight, choice, competitive is a vetted process which mirrors Intercity Technology, said: “We into the channel later this year.” Nolan Braterman, Business commercials and dedicated BAU’s model. have created a disruptive solu- See page 36 Development Director, Frontier resource to design, implement tion that can completely trans- Voice and Data, added: “The and support. All managed and “Supplier vetting is an important Got a news story? email: billed by one entity.” factor in the current economic form the way businesses work. analytics that we offer will also [email protected] climate and should provide Boosting productivity is key mean that companies can gather Hanning decided to explore the partners and customers with more data and apply it to inform energy opportunity after hearing peace of mind that they will be their growth strategies.” good reports about the work dealing with viable long term PCM extends to UK Fidelity were doing with IT and suppliers.” US-based and publicly traded from North America-based cli- The Fidelity value added reseller PCM has ents into the UK, Europe and Energy model outlined plans to expand into the Asia Pacific markets. UK and the European market, “Our expansion into the UK complemented and will use its wholly owned marks a major milestone for subsidiary, PCM Technology PCM,” stated Chairman and our objective to Solutions UK, as a ready made CEO Frank Khulusi. “PCM UK offer cost savings springboard. The firm expects will be our hub for the UK and to fill around 90 positions by the the rest of Europe.” whilst making end of the year. According to the company, procurement of In February PCM UK hired which saw its 2016 revenues hit Donovan Hutchinson as MD. $2.25bn and has nearly 4,000 core business He joined from Global IT where employees, the move to the services easier to he was responsible for execut- European marketplace repre- ing collaboration programmes sents ‘the next major step’ after manage. and extending service offerings expansion into Canada in 2015. Nick Reaks

JOSH HANNING, Maximise your call margins with Daisy Wholesale. Managing Director, BAU Systems www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 21 INDUSTRY NEWS Gigaclear in BT swings Data boosts axe as job funding deal cuts loom TTB revenue Gigaclear has secured work to hundreds of thou- TalkTalk Business has The company also expects £111m in additional equity sands of homes and business- again proved itself to be a key to capitalise on the opening up funding to build new fibre net- es across Devon, Somerset, contributor to the Group’s per- of the Ethernet market through works in rural areas. Gloucestershire, Herefordshire formance having generated a new access to Dark Fibre later Existing shareholders Infra- and Northamptonshire through 30.8% increase in data revenue, this year. capital and Woodford have the Government-backed BDUK according to figures in its pre- Legacy voice revenues committed to investing £60m programme,” stated Matthew liminary financial results for the declined 17.9% but there was and £15m respectively with Hare, CEO, Gigaclear. 12 months to 31st March 2017. a strong take-up of TalkTalk other shareholders contributing “The new investment will Revenue growth speeded Business’s next generation IP a further £1m. fund the first stage of these new Gavin Patterson up in H2 to +6.1%, up from voice product with revenue RPMI Railpen, the invest- networks along with other com- +2.3% in H1. The number of growth during the year of 20%. ment manager for the Railways mercial network build projects. BT plans to shed 4,000 jobs new Ethernet and EFM lines The launch of IP Voice prod- Pension Scheme, a new institu- “This round of investment globally within two years, main- increased by 8,000 during the ucts followed the acquisition of tional investor, invested £35m will enable Gigaclear to step up ly across back office and mana- period and overall revenues tIPicall in April 2015. in the company. our speed of network delivery gerial positions in its Global grew by over 4% year-on-year. TalkTalk Business says 116 “In recent months we have and is a clear signal of the confi- Services division. TalkTalk Business plans to Partners have signed up to sell won significant tenders to dence investors have in our con- The cuts come after an double its size based on demand this new service and the total deliver our broadband net- tinued expansion and success. accounting scandal within the for high bandwidth data prod- base of SIP channels on the “Millions of rural homes and Italian operation of BT’s Global ucts and next generation voice platform, including the acquired businesses need better broad- Services arm that is said to have services ahead of the 2025 base, increased by 7,340 chan- band and we want to reach as cost the company over £500m. ISDN switch-off. nels (up 65%) during the year. many of those in rural areas as BT’s CEO Gavin Patterson “The acquisition has contin- quickly as possible.” and outgoing Group Finance ued our diversification into next Greg Mesch, CEO of fel- Director Tony Chanmugam generation telephony services,” low pure fibre player CityFibre, have been stripped of a bonus said Kristine Olson-Chapman, said: “This is not only welcome for the 2016/17 financial year. MD at TalkTalk Business. “Our news for the rural communities BT also announced that Bas hosted telephony platform saw stranded on unsuitable copper Burger is to become CEO of the user base grow by 43%. infrastructure, it also serves to Global Services. He has been at “Even more encouraging is highlight the crucial role and BT for nine years in a variety of the ongoing increase in demand growing momentum of compet- roles, most recently President of for next generation voice and itive full fibre players and the BT in the Americas. Kristine Olson-Chapman data services.” rapidly increasing market sup- The news came with the port for full fibre investment.” release of BT’s annual results to March 31st which disclosed Got a news story? email: that BT’s annual pre-tax profits Matthew Hare [email protected] dropped 19% to £2.35bn. Altos extends global reach

The extent of MyPhones.com’s almost 5% of MyPhones.com’s A quartet of Directors from South West Communications Group total subscriptions, pointed out worldwide influence has been are set to tackle the Three Peaks Challenge this month to raise revealed after analysis of SIP Dr Marsden. money for the Prince’s Trust. MD Brian Lodge and board members trunks in use with its Altos host- The firm currently has end Jon Whiley, John Holdstock and Sean Doyle aim to scale Ben Nevis, ed telephony platform. users in more than 60 coun- Scafell Pike and Snowdon in less than 24 hours on June 20th. “We originally designed tries covering most of mainland Lodge said: “We are of varying ages, sizes and abilities, so this really Altos for the UK reseller chan- Europe and Russia. does represent a challenge. More than that though, we want to raise nel,” said Dr Stuart Marsden, “Altos doesn’t mind whose as much money as we can for the Prince’s Trust, for which we became founder of MyPhones.com. SIP trunks are used to carry the a patron last year. They carry out some fantastic work across the south west and we want to support the young people they help every day.” “It came as a surprise to see Dr Stuart Marsden calls,” added Dr Marsden. just how far our end user base “Some of our resellers are CEO and Chairman Tony Rowe OBE is to chauffeur the group had spread. America and Asia, and as far looking overseas either for bet- between each peak. “Tony has a big part to play in achieving our 24-hour target time,” said Lodge. “He will drive overnight to deliver “As expected, the vast major- as South Africa, Australia and ter SIP trunk rates or to deliver a us at the foot of each mountain in a safe and timely manner. He will ity of our end users are located New Zealand.” service to customers based out- also oversee nutrition on the move and the all-important motivational in the UK, but they are also International end user sub- side the UK. And we are very talks, not to mention sharing a pint or two with us at the end!” spread across Europe, North scriptions now account for happy to support them.”

20 years of Snom. 20 years of professional VoIP telephony. German engineering. Elegant design. Cost eﬀective. Secure. Snom Technology GmbH . Tel.: +44 161 348 7500 . [email protected]

22 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com Expanded for 2017! Distributor Zone

FOREST OF ARDEN, MIDLANDS, 22ND JUNE 2017 INDUSTRY NEWS

NEWS ROUNDUP Mitel set for Beta calls off Ahead of the latest release of its partner and customer portals fast expanding plan. com has added 15 more sales staff, moved to a new Isle of 10% job cull Entatech deal Man HQ and is relocating its UK office. Beta Distribution MD Steve Angie Ablard, Head of Soper has called off a deal to Sales, said: “It takes more acquire Entatech. than an intelligent portal and He said that Beta had been hard work to maintain and in detailed talks with Entatech grow our customer base and and its advisors about acquiring relationships. It takes people certain assets of the company. – smart, experienced people.” “Although we have been The retentions team is in discussions for some time, also expanding and will relo- information obtained during cate from its current base in detailed due diligence meant we Didsbury, Manchester, to a were unable to continue,” com- new office in Stockport. mented Soper. “It is disappointing because Exertis is to extend the credit this is an industry sector that we lines of a select number of Richard McBee are extremely interested in and SMB resellers in a move that are looking to develop.” Steve Soper the distributor described as ‘a Mitel is targeting a 10% cut tion the company to achieve its Although not generally major credit initiative’. in its global workforce by year- long-term financial targets.” known as a company with an With annual revenues on The Credit Xtra offer end in a move that CEO Rich For its first quarter Mitel acquisition strategy Soper says track for £200m and year-on- is available to over 1,600 McBee described as ‘proactive reported a dip in revenues to that the business is ‘always on year double digit growth Soper accounts and could be worth cost reduction’ based on the loss $223.1m (down from $233m in the lookout for opportunities to believes that Beta has the infra- up to £20m with plans to of circa 330 jobs. the same period last year), and a grow the Beta name’ and has structure and financial capacity extend further where resellers This is expected to bring net loss of $21.1m. pursued a number of opportuni- to support the right acquisition. have used their credit. savings of around $30m while Recurring cloud seats grew ties in the past. “We will look to buy a com- Mark Reynolds, Exertis the cost of job reductions is by 45,000 during the quarter “We have been just as active pany that can contribute to our B2B Sales and Commercial thought to be in the range of and now stand at 588,000. as our competitors in looking business that may have exper- Director, said: “By working $25m to $35m this year. “In Enterprise, we drove for acquisition opportunities, tise that we currently don’t with our credit insurers we The news came with the steady market share gains,” but so far nothing has materi- have,” he commented. are in a position to double release of Mitel’s Q1 results and added McBee. “We were espe- alised,” he added. “Entatech fitted the bill, with the facility and extend that follows the Canadian vendor’s cially pleased with our perfor- “Beta has a five year plan experienced people, important further if they remain within sale of its mobile software divi- mance in the larger European based around organic growth, supplier relationships and a well our usual credit terms.” sion (based on the $545m acqui- markets, while recurring cloud but if the right opportunity came established customer base, but it Exertis works with Chubb sition of Mavenir in April 2015) grew in-line with our expec- along to increase that growth wasn’t to be.” See page 32 Ace, said to be one of the in February this year. tations as orders continued to by acquisition then we would world’s largest publicly trad- Richard McBee, CEO, com- be strong, and we continued to consider it seriously, as we did Got a news story? email: [email protected] ed insurers. mented: “With the mobile dives- ramp our installation capacity.” with Entatech.” titure behind us we are taking Cisco’s $610m all-cash acq- proactive cost reduction actions uisition of Viptela extends to align our operating expenses its SD-WAN portfolio and with our current and future busi- Zen hires technology chief capabilities, offering a cloud- ness investment needs. first approach with scale and “This includes a workforce Zen’s incoming CTO Justin There are big gaps in the mar- straightforward deployment. reduction of around 10% expect- Fielder has compared the firm’s ket and major opportunities for “This is what today’s cus- ed to be completed between potential with that of his old Zen, so it’s an exciting time to tomers demand,” commented now and the end of the year.” stomping ground Easynet, the join the business. Scott Harrell, SVP of Product Mitel’s Chief Finance Offi- first comms company to imple- “My experience of growing a Management, Cisco Enterprise cer Steve Spooner commented: ment LLU, where he was a similar business at Easynet can Networking Group. “During the quarter Mitel took driving force. help Zen fulfil its ambitions. We “With Viptela and Cisco, major steps to fundamentally Easynet was sold to BSkyB can swiftly automate everyday we will be able to deliver strengthen its capital structure in 2005 and the network still back-end processes, freeing up a portfolio of on-premises, and operating model. forms the backbone of Sky’s technical staff to focus on long- hybrid, and cloud-based SD- “We paid down $364m in residential broadband service. Justin Fielder term projects for the benefit of WAN solutions.” debt, secured new credit facili- “The similarity between the business.” The acquisition is expect- ties at significantly lower inter- Easynet and Zen was a key Fielder. “Easynet was operating CEO Richard Tang com- ed to close in the second half est rates, initiated a stock buy- factor in tempting me to relo- at a larger scale but Zen has mented: “There are few CTOs of calendar 2017. back programme and started cate from the south east to all the pieces in place and has in our industry with Justin’s cost reduction actions to posi- the Manchester region,” said just doubled its LLU footprint. level of experience.” WE’RE EXTENDING OUR REACH...

24 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com CHANNEL UPDATE produced in association with

TheThe futurefuture ofof ICTICT distributiondistribution

Information and communication technology (ICT) has become so prevalent these days that life would be unimaginable without it and, with over three billion people connected to the internet, just envision where ICT is heading.

“We are already living in a globally and distributors of software-based systems interconnected world where the transfer of are becoming less needed since SaaS information is transmitted in real-time,” products can simply be downloaded. says Paul Clarke, Regional Sales Manager However, contrary to popular belief, the UK & Ireland. vendor-distributor relationship extends much further than just product sales. “ICT impacts global economies, politics Boasting an annual growth rate of 40%, and culture, greatly influencing the way we 3CX’s strategic distribution plan proves to identify the world and ourselves in it; be spot on and, according to Clarke, giving voice to those who weren’t heard strong partnerships have been established before and an even greater voice to the across the globe. ones we wish would just give it a rest.” “We can acquire specific market Whether you are an older millennial, a knowledge regarding partners’ respective Generation Xer or baby boomer, or one of target areas and end-users, bringing them the earlier generations to appreciate life a wealth of insight regarding their before the tech boom; most agree that ICT customer base in different parts of the has progressed so fiercely that without it world. What’s more, 3CX’s business-model business would perish. Whether the continues to open the doors to a whole world’s heavy reliance on ICT is a good or range of new markets, allowing them to a bad thing, it’s certainly a money-making offer their products internationally.” tool and an entire industry of its own. With a global booming tech industry, new SaaS With businesses increasingly making the players enter the market day by day, move to hosted services, it becomes vital monetizing on the development of for both vendor and distributor to offer progressive products that continuously As the ICT market cloud based solutions. Vendors should improve and make ICT more accessible for grows, the vendor- provide the necessary tools and support end-users. needed for partners to fully benefit from reseller relationship the cloud market. “SaaS products usually require very little hardware, keeping logistics and shipping is expected to 3CX has catered to this need by costs at a minimum, implying the end for developing PBX Express, a deployment tool SaaS partners, however for many increase as well. which allows resellers to install a successful corporations, a strong and price customer’s PBX in their own cloud account competitive SaaS product in correlation in a matter of minutes, making it much with a vendor-distributor arrangement is easier for resellers to offer their clients a the essence of their success,” argues Paul Clarke hosted PBX on a cloud provider of their Clarke own choosing or on their own hosting customers in their target markets. consists of five levels ranging from account. 3CX: A Global Channel Company “What’s more, partner sales and projects Affiliate, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum, are rewarded in the form of points,” says which are based on loyalty and sales “As the ICT market grows, the vendor- 3CX is a 100% channel company that has Clarke. “Moving up a partner level volume. The higher the level, the more reseller relationship is expected to increase geared its Partner Program to cater to the depends on the number of points a partner benefits and margins are offered. Being a as well,” adds Clarke. needs of partners dispersed throughout has acquired through sales. The points 100% channel company, 3CX only sells via the world. When joining the program, system aims at rewarding partners who its 3CX partners hence it is never in “There is no denying that resellers bring in potential partners are given the are certified and trained by 3CX and who competition with its resellers. Boasting masses of revenue and provide opportunity to receive free training and also display loyalty to the company numerous awards and recognition for its maintenance and support services before gain access to 3CX’s online learning through consistent and repeated sales. The innovative product development and and after installation of ICT products. Not materials to prepare for the 3CX’s free points system does not only reflect sales business model; 3CX has experienced an only does this allow resellers to build online certifications. Thereafter, the volume, but also the effort and astounding 40% growth rate annually. profit with additional services, but the program provides resellers with free leads, commitment a 3CX Partner shows towards vendor can ensure that its thousands of marketing tools and support to provide 3CX.” Specific Market Knowledge end-users around the world have access to them with strong foundations so they can support, a feat which they could not effectively sell 3CX products to their The 3CX Partner Program’s points system There is a growing concern that resellers attempt alone.”

www.3cx.com +44 (0) 203 327 2020 [email protected] www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 25 BUSINESS PROFILE Evans opens up on big expansion plans

In his strategic reactions to new market opportunities hSo Managing Director Chris Evans is not short of a dead cert growth plan. Here, he reveals the strategies and drivers that will double company revenues within three years.

vans has key by investments in growing markets and channel our presence in channel, expansion directly wholesale and public sector in his sights and is markets,” commented Epushing forward a strategy to Evans. “A key development double revenues within three for hSo (HighSpeed Office) years via a mix of organic has been getting on the growth and acquisitions RM1045 Network Services that he hopes will generate Framework and gaining a 10 per cent EBITDA Crown Commercial Service profit margin. “The organic supplier status. That enables growth will be powered us to bid for Government contracts to supply data hSo Timeline... connectivity, IP telephony and traditional voice services, 2001: Signed up and resulted in us winning first customer many millions of pounds 2002: Online data back- of additional business.” up service introduced 2004: VoIP/SIP implemented hSo is currently a circa £10 in core network million turnover company 2005: Became with around 40 employees. EBITDA profitable Its enterprise team targets 2006: MPLS core organisations with 100 to network implemented 1,000 employees and those 2009: Hosted VMware with multiple sites. The virtualisation implemented channel team tends to work 2010: hSo:compare with IT support companies while the wholesale launched providing Chris Evans prospects with instant operation mainly deals with leased line quotes hosting firms, ISPs and service 2013: ISO 9001 and providers. “We are working As a SME, hSo can focus on customer service, ISO27001 certifications to grow the wholesale side 2013: Goscomb of our business,” added responsiveness and tailoring solutions to Technologies acquired Evans. “Our acquisition 2014: Achieved G-Cloud of Goscomb Technologies individual customers status for virtualisation boosted our wholesale and and SIP services channel offering substantially. specialising in bespoke cloud Thankfully, the property solutions to individual 2014: ISO 20000 certified We can now offer services solutions for voice, data owners saw our potential customers. This is something 2015: Crown Commercial in over two dozen data and IT security. “We were and agreed to fund us.” resellers appreciate as well Service Supplier status centres and have many more founded in 2000 to become as keen pricing. We always confirmed for RM1045 wholesale customers as a the Broadband Office of Customer service listen to the feedback from Lots 1, 3 and 5 result of the acquisition. It the UK,” he explained. hSo has wholesale our customers and partners 2016: Public cloud also improved our economies “We bid to provide IT and relationships with all UK and respond accordingly connectivity introduced of scale, enabling us to offer telecom services to buildings telecoms carriers. “Resellers by developing appropriate 2017: Launch of hSo: better prices to our channel owned by a consortium of have been poorly served by products. We prefer to be wholesale brand. partners and customers.” property owners. We won the major carriers,” claimed led by customers’ needs Outsourced NOC the tender but the dotcom Evans. “As a SME, hSo can rather than speculatively service added Evans describes hSo as a boom turned to bust focus on customer service, developing products that may network service provider and we lost our funding. responsiveness and tailoring or may not have a market.”

Channel Marketing Consultancy 01252 416 389 Bringing Channel Sales & Marketing Together www.bowanarrow.com

26 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com Evans opens up on big expansion plans

hSo serves customers handset. I then joined hSo nationwide but its base in in 2001 as Financial Director. Just a minute with London brings a requirement But in 2003 the Board asked Chris Evans... to occasionally leverage me to replace the existing partnerships in the regions. CEO. Back then my role Role model? Richard Evans hopes to plug these was focused on establishing Branson. He’s self-made gaps with potential bolt- systems and processes. and recognises that a on acquisitions that extend Now, my day-to-day tasks lot of success is luck hSo’s geographic reach while are orientated more around What talent do you wish on boarding local people growing the business by you had? To sing well to serve customers locally, attracting the right talent What do you fear the as well as acquisitions that and increasing revenues. most? Heights like increase scale or strategic The biggest challenge cliff tops, but tall and product options. is determining what buildings are fine! “We continue to look for developments are going to be Tell us something about complementary products the next big thing that can be yourself we don’t know: for which there is growing used by the business world I’m one of the youngest demand,” he added. “In to improve performance.” qualified ASA swimming recent years we have added teachers in the UK public cloud connectivity and Sales wins How would you like to hosted voice services based Again, this is a hurdle be remembered? As on BroadCloud and Asterisk. that Evans will surely someone who delivered Hosted on promises, who was We’re open to filling gaps overleap given his eye for generous with time through organic development an opportunity and ability and resources, and or via targeted acquisitions.” to turn opportunities who supported and into market realities that encouraged everyone Another key factor driving generate revenues. His What’s the biggest risk hSo’s growth is cloud foresight is evident in the you have taken and why? computing. “We now decision to achieve important Leaving Ernst & Young to provide connectivity to public accreditations to win new join a technology start- cloud platforms AWS and business, such as ISO up. The challenge and Azure and have our own accreditations and RM1045 growth potential were private cloud platforms which are responsible for a compelling draw The revolution is calling based on Citrix and VMware public sector contracts If you weren’t in IT what for Hosted solutions. virtualisation,” commented worth £3 million being would you be doing? Evans. “A challenge will won during the past year. Landscape gardening Invosys are pleased to announce the be to deliver services that Evans described the uptick Top tip for resellers: combine the pricing of the as ‘transformational’. Build the relationship. launch of our beautiful new Hosted public cloud with the security People buy from people product. Invosys Hosted is feature rich, of the private cloud.” He also believes that strong Give one example of as always, simple to set up and easy to customer relationships something you have use, and includes important services It is a challenge Evans is will grow in importance overcome: Shyness as that make it unique and aren’t available certain to overcome given his due to tougher conditions a child and teenager. anywhere else. previous working experiences ushered in by the General Recognising that nobody which are wide ranging. He Data Protection Regulation is perfect, that we all Let’s talk hosted.Today. trained as an accountant with (GDPR) within the context of make mistakes and we all have something to Ernst & Young in the 1980s a stringent data protection offer helps. But in the end and was based in Reading environment. “This will make you have to be confident which at that time was the winning new business, which and engage with others. UK’s nearest approximation is hard at the best of times, Everyone likes to talk to Silicon Valley. “Having even tougher,” commented Your greatest strengths worked on fundraising for a Evans. “Resellers with a and what could you work client, Dolphin Telecom, I was close personal contact with on? I see issues quickly asked to join the company,” their customers will be in a and clearly and identify recalled Evans. “Dolphin stronger position to defend appropriate actions, but Telecom was a network and grow the business could take more risks provider that combined relationship. Cultivating How do you relax? Taking GSM phone and push-to- customer relationships will the dog for a walk talk technology in a single become more critical.” n invosys.com To advertise in contact The Sales Team on 01895 454411 www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 27

Invosys-April-Ad-Stage-2.indd 1 13/03/2017 10:30 BUSINESS PROFILE This model strategy creates true value

Every reasonable business leader agrees that people are the lifeblood of a company, none more so than Exponential-e’s Head of Channel Alp Kostem who infuses people- centricity into every aspect of his management style and growth strategy.

or Kostem, putting in young people is far more people first is not important to our CEO Lee an adopted strategy, Wade. His personal goal is to it is in his nature. ensure that Exponential-e is FIt’s a personal quality that recognised as a world class dovetails with Exponential- company. Growth is driven e’s championing of staff as by our profits which are the primary driver of growth, used predominantly to fuel and this approach has given research and development the company a remarkable work. This R&D and a hand of cards that comes up firm focus on investing trumps every year as revealed in people is what drives in its impressive financial the company forward.” figures. Exponential-e has seen solid compound annual Kostem joined Exponential- growth since 2002 – without e in 2010 and his primary a whisper of M&A activity. In focus has been growing its latest set of annual figures the channel and increasing revenues were up 24 per cent revenue, gaining strength to £97.5 million, with 45 from his previous work per cent growth in EBITDA experiences in the to over £20 million. Profit recruitment industry and before tax was up 48 per fast growth organisations. cent at almost £10 million. “I focus heavily on hiring, training and re-training “Our goal is to hit the £200 people to join our team,” he million target within three explained. “We now have Alp Kostem years,” said Kostem. “There’s one of the biggest channel been speculation on whether teams in the UK with 38 Exponential-e’s channel off, a reflection of the times the company is for sale, but people. I attribute this to sweet spot is £20-50 million The fact and close to being torrid. that isn’t the case. Creating our channel products and revenue partners. But there But Kostem emerged with opportunities and investment offerings, how we cater for are no hard and fast rules. that I get to key skills he otherwise would dealers, resellers, partners, The company also has much empower not have picked up, and Milestones... wholesalers and carriers bigger and smaller partners the experience lay the step – with flexibility being key. which is testimony to the people, see my stones of a career path that 2002: Exponential-e claims flexibility of Exponential-e’s has always been people a first in introducing “We’ve developed our own broad product portfolio. team members oriented. “It was survival of Ethernet to the UK brand of ICT products to “We are also completely buy their first the fittest in IT recruitment 2006: High speed put on top of the network, agnostic and work with any around the turn of the Internet product Power and by supplementing this other UC or cloud offering, house, get millennium,” he said. “I’ve NGN was launched with our 900-plus active whatever works best for our not seen such a cutthroat 2010/11: Entry into channel partners we have customers,” added Kostem. married and and dynamic environment the broadcast market been able to continue our since. Not to mention the having handled the US momentum. Exponential-e His predilection to working have children 85 to 100 hour weeks that broadcast for the Royal is also a diverse company closely with people can be were part and parcel of the Wedding to all of the in terms of its markets traced back to a five year is a huge time. But it gave me a good main US providers – strong in the public sector, stint in the high pressured IT source of grounding in how to use 2012: Introduced a full finance, broadcast and retail. recruitment business during the telephone. Knowing suite of ICT products Around 3,000 end users the Y2K dot.com bubble. how to make 200 calls a day are using our products.” The experience was a one- personal pride is a skill worth having.”

28 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com This model strategy creates true value Meet

Frustrated by the vagaries experts in the field,” added of ‘selling people’ Kostem Kostem. “We want to offer Just a minute with Alp Kostem... The Fresh decided to sell solutions our own security proposition which are more predictable that will be separate to our in their nature, and worked other products. The GDPR Role model? Alex Ferguson for John Caudwell when regulation and the constant for his impeccable man he set up Reach Telecoms, attacks that people are management, consistency One which later became Caudwell seeing keeps such issues in over a number of years Communications. “This was the public consciousness.” and unbeatable will to win an interesting experience What talent do you in how to quickly grow a Aside from external wish you had? To play Mobile calls, SMS market presence and make regulatory and technological a musical instrument a return in a short space forces, the big challenge What do you fear the and data – at home of time,” added Kostem. facing most channel most? Being in an “John was one of the organisations is how to environment where I’m and in Europe – all most impressive people in recruit the best people. on edge. Places like an operating theatre business I’ve ever seen.” The scale of the task is spring to mind most acutely felt by fast included and just a Fast growth expanding companies such Tell us something about Then, start-up company as Exponential-e. “We’re yourself we don’t know: 30-day commitment. I represented England at V Networks beckoned. growing fast and a big rugby at under 16 level Established in 2005 V challenge is finding and Networks grew to circa matching the right people How would you like to be As someone What could be £23 million in two years. to the right positions within remembered? who has achieved It was sold to TalkTalk the company,” added something in their time more simple? Business in December 2008. Kostem. “We tend to take “V Networks was a lean, on graduates, so we invest What’s the biggest risk you have taken? Going mean channel machine,” a lot of time, training and into management. I’ve Join the green noted Kostem. “This was a effort into our people. always been responsible completely different kind of Products can be developed for just myself, so having revolution with Bamboo. experience and interesting relatively straightforwardly, 37 people working on the to see a start-up grow but people don’t just team rather than being to such a size in a short ‘happen’ in the same way.” in charge of my own space of time. It was also destiny is a major change Because you are our a challenge to learn how Hence the Exponential-e If you weren’t in IT to sell for a company that academy which is in its 11th what would you be one and only. had no existing partners or year. The company takes doing? Banking or references. I continued at people from all walks of a statistician. I’m a TalkTalk for a year and a half, life – young people, career numbers man at heart To find out more, call working on three acquisitions re-starters, those with Top tip for resellers: IT 0800 804 4047 or email during my time there.” degrees and those straight is never going to stand from school – trains them still, neither should you [email protected] Kostem’s background makes over a six month period One example of something him an ideal candidate to and places them into the you’ve overcome: English play a key role in advancing appropriate department. is my second language. I Exponential-e’s 20-plus per “Many academy graduates grew up speaking Turkish cent growth rate year-on- have risen up the ranks within Your greatest strengths year, which is a difficult the business,” commented and what could you task. So Exponential-e Kostem. “My biggest improve on? My desire to listens to partners and end achievement is moving from be successful is a strength users to drive new products a sales focus into hiring, that has served me well throughout my career. But and services based on training and investing in I could work on improving demand, and also responds young people to work in our my listening skills appropriately to external teams. The fact that I get How do you relax? A forces that have an influence to empower people, see my glass of red wine and on the market, such as the team members buy their first time with my family. I up-coming GDPR regulation. house, get married and have have twin girls and love “We are looking to target the children is a huge source of spending time with them security space and will recruit personal pride.” n www.connectgrow.co.uk

Maximise your call margins with Daisy Wholesale. Terms and Conditions apply

www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 29

296x86_meet the fresh one_Final.indd 1 16/03/2017 11:31 the Comms National Awards 2017

12th October / Hilton Park Lane / cnawards.com

The Comms National Awards is the leading awards process that recognises excellence in the UK ICT industry and the countdown to the 2017 awards has begun.

The awards will be presented at a • If you are a reseller business, don’t glittering ceremony at London’s Hilton on miss the opportunity to get the Park Lane on October 12th, so put the accolade you deserve for the solutions date in your diaries now! and service you provide to customers. With past hosts including, Patrick Kielty, • If you are a vendor, carrier or service Rufus Hound, Hugh Dennis, Stephen provider, this is your chance to get K. Amos, Michael McIntyre, Marcus channel recognition for the support and Brigstocke, Ronnie Corbett, Gabby Logan service you provide for your reseller and Vernon Kay the entertainment will, as partners. ever, be top drawer. The Comms National Awards is the The Comms National Awards is the highlight of the industry year. Don’t miss premier awards process for the UK’s being part of it. For more details on ICT channel rewarding excellence in the entering and securing your place at the supply of service and solutions to resellers Awards ceremony visit: and end-user customers. www.cnawards.com

LEADING service provider, 9 is delighted to reprise its headline sponsorship of the Comms National Awards at The Hilton, Park Lane on Thursday 12th October. According to 9’s Marketing Director, Mark Saunders, renewing their sponsorship of the awards for a fifth year in succession reinforces their commitment to the channel and love of a great night out. Saunders stated: “Both the quality of the entries and the enjoyment factor have risen every year during our sponsorship term and it will be a real challenge for entrants and organisers alike to surpass the excellence of last year’s event, but I am sure they will succeed. “It was noticeable how the nominees and eventual winners reflected the changing face of our industry, but I am sure there will still be room for senior stalwarts to secure some silverware too, so why not start thinking about your entry now.” 9 will continue their sponsorship of a special award to recognise outstanding customer service, which was won last year by Pam Blanchard of ICA. “This award is presented to the reseller who can truly demonstrate that everything in their business is led by the customer’s perspective and how they have remodelled and transformed their business to achieve this,” added Saunders.

Headline Sponsor Category Sponsors a ENTER NOW t www

.c n a w a rds.c

o Distribution Category SME Reseller of the Year Software Application m Category

Paul Taylor Garry Growns Nick Goodenough Sales Director Sales Director Partner Service Manager Voiceflex Daisy Wholesale Spitfire “Voiceflex is delighted to once again sponsor the “Entering the prestigious Comms National Awards not “Spitfire is delighted to again sponsor the Vendor Distribution category at this year’s Comms National only brings together great individuals and companies, Software Application category for the 2017 Comms Awards. We’re 100% channel focused and value whilst showcasing businesses’ successes, it allows National Awards. We know from experience of our the relationships we have. We support our partners you to acknowledge the hard work, talent and own Comms National Award winning solutions, with continued investment, portfolio development determination of your teams. At Daisy Wholesale, we such as Spitfire SIP Communicator™, that the and enhancements plus sales and technical training. believe the SME sector has huge potential which is development of successful applications requires In less than eight years, every UK business will be why we are proud to support our fantastic partners significant investment of time and expertise. using some form of SIP or hosted applications to and the channel by sponsoring the SME Reseller of Consequently, it is important that the telecoms communicate and we’re dedicated to supporting our the Year category. This is your opportunity to reward industry recognises and rewards innovation and partners get on the SIP and WebRTC journey. We look the people that make your business a success, so excellence. We value the high esteem in which the forward to celebrating continued channel success at grab it with both hands and get your entry in now.” Comms National Awards are held and they have the CNAs and wish everyone the best of luck.” become the benchmark for excellence in the industry, providing well deserved acknowledgement of achievement.”

Cloud Communications Vertical Market Solution Event Hospitality Solution Category Category Vincent Disneur Steve Mace Head of Sales Andy Grant Senior Director - Channel & Marketing Managing Director Interoute Union Street Bowanarrow “Interoute firmly believes that through offering an “The CNAs is unquestionably the channel’s most “Bowan Arrow are proud to support the 2017 Comms exceptional product and partnering with skilled, highly anticipated awards ceremony. It’s a celebration National Awards for a second year as Hospitality innovative and driven channel resellers everyone in of outstanding achievement, with each award Sponsor. These awards recognise excellence in our the market can benefit from the transition to cloud. representing hard work and determination on the part reseller and vendor communities and they happen Awards such as this offer recognition of star players, of the winner. We would strongly encourage anyone to be my favorite evening in the industry event which is an important tool in motivating cloud undecided about whether to enter to get involved. calendar. The award categories provide a diverse communications resellers to find novel ways of using Achieving finalist status is a fantastic achievement, range of opportunities for businesses of all types to Virtual Data Centre platforms to deliver services to but to win is indescribable. We’re very much looking enter and be acknowledged as the best of the best. end-users. We are proud to sponsor the Reseller forward to this year’s CNAs and, on behalf of myself We all know the old saying, ‘you have to be in it to Cloud Communications Category and we would and the Union Street Team, I would like to wish the win it’, so what’s stopping you; select a category, encourage everyone who believes they are delivering best of luck to all this year’s entrants.” review your recent customer wins and start your digital transformation to their clients to enter.” entry. Good luck!”

Michael O’Brien Simon Turton Reserve your 01895 454 444 01895 454 603 07968 369 372 07759 731 134 table NOW! [email protected] [email protected]

Hospitality Sponsors BUSINESS INTERVIEW How Soper plans to hit £500m target

For a man with the unswerving courage of his own convictions, Steve Soper’s plan to build Beta Distribution into a £500 million business within five years is entirely plausible.

oper’s longer-term and MSPs with a range of growth strategy pre and post-sales services confirms what those through technical experts.” familiar with Beta SDistribution have long known Last year Beta set up Digital – that the company is a Media Solutions which sleeping giant and sooner or provides end-to-end digital later the industry would wake signage solutions, covering up to its growing influence. the supply of the product According to Soper, that through to final installation, time has come. He grasped and offers a content creation the reigns as Managing service. “The signage market Director in 2008 after a is set to undergo a significant seven year stint in the firm’s change in the way it is sold FD seat, taking over from as Samsung, in particular, founder Gary Wilson, now is targeting a model where Chairman, who established users can effectively rent the company with his wife screens through Samsung Irene in 1980 as a fixer of Capital, allowing hotels, Canon calculators, moving retail outlets and many into print distribution. Those other verticals to entertain days are long gone. “During large scale projects on an the past 10 years we’ve opex rather than capex transformed the business basis,” noted Soper. from a niche print distributor with revenues of around £30 Beta employs circa 140 million into an international people and trades with Steve Soper operation approaching around 3,000 resellers of £220 million,” said Soper. all descriptions including IT resellers, MSPs and VARs. In The printer consumables particular, Beta is increasing Beta Distribution is still one of the industry’s market still accounts its presence in the data/ best kept secrets. The challenge is to ensure for over 50 per cent of technology market through Beta’s business and gave new vendor and customer that more resellers fully understand what we the company a broader trading relationships and the footprint across the reseller recruitment of skilled staff can offer to the channel channel. Alongside this Beta such as Solutions Architects. established a Technology The company is also growing London and warehouse in have introduced a ten-strong have to look at services and Solutions division to capitalise its presence in more regions Birmingham as well as two Technology Solutions sales solutions to protect their on the growing data at home and overseas. “We recently opened sales offices team to provide the expertise margin and act as a partner storage market, becoming have expanded into Europe in Reading and Leeds.” needed to support MSPs; and to resellers rather than an authorised distributor with sales operations in we have completed a number merely a source of credit,” he for the likes of Fujifilm and Benelux, France, Germany Growth phase of high profile technology added. “It’s all about services. Maxell based largely on tape and Poland, which are all To say that the past three based projects from concept VARs will need to transition back-up products. “In recent serviced from a warehouse years have been strategically to final installation.” their business and become years we have entered the in Maastricht,” said Soper. active would be to greatly solution providers and they hardware and software side “This European business, understate the extent of Projects such as this show will expect their distribution of this market with new that didn’t exist three recent developments at Beta. how IT distributors can do suppliers to support them distribution agreements,” years ago, now generates “We have added 35 more more than simply provide in this transition.” added Soper. “This business annual revenues of 40 vendors since 2014, largely product and credit to the has a service led proposition million euros. In the UK in the enterprise storage channel, observed Soper. Three focus areas are the so we now provide VARs we have our head office in arena,” said Soper. “We “To survive distributors will new paradigm for Beta

Gear Up Your PBX WWW.3CX.COM 3CX Software PBX - Your Fast Lane+44 (20) to 3327 Proﬁts 2020 Cut Costs, Boost Proﬁts WWW.3CX.COM +44 (20) 3327 2020

32 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com How Soper plans to hit £500m target

Distribution – providing print of how large LFD projects hardware, consumables and can be deployed in this Just a minute with data storage to IT resellers; way. Distribution has to Steve Soper... delivering disruptive data adapt both commercially storage technologies, and operationally to be able Tell us something about products, services and to deliver these changing yourself we don’t know: I solutions to VARs and MSPs business models with, or am a keep fit enthusiast through the Technology on behalf of, the vendor.” and ran five consecutive London Marathons Solutions business; and from 2007 to 2011 supplying end-to-end digital Given a magic wand, Soper signage products, services would dismantle a market Role model: Ian Botham, who changed the way and solutions (plus off the structure that allows tier 1 English cricket was shelf meeting room solutions) brands to have a monopoly perceived and took to AV specialists and resellers. on what resellers, and calculated risks in his sport “Our main focus is on ultimately end users, see as – although he sometimes organic growth across the the only solution to their didn’t seemed to worry three business areas,” added problems. “There are so about the consequences! Soper. “But consolidation many vendors with great One example of something is all around us, notably technologies and stories you have overcome: At the acquisition of smaller that, given the chance, Beta we are constantly specialist or niche distributors could enhance the end user trying to overcome the by the big broadliners. We experience and resellers’ perception that we are were recently involved in margin,” he said. “I’ll give still only a print specialist. the potential acquisition of you an example, we recently We are making progress but the job is nowhere Entatech, although ultimately designed and helped install close to being complete we pulled out. I expect the entire IT infrastructure further consolidation to take of a new UK clearing bank. What’s the biggest risk Build Smart place and we remain on alert It was given the usual tier 1 you have taken and why? Setting up an operation for any future opportunities.” options, we gave them an in Holland and trying to alternative that went over Hosted PBX replicate the outsourced New models and above the customer’s logistics model we use in As well as consolidation, requirements and saved the UK. Three years later Bundles the changing demands of them over 25 per cent. we have a 40 million euros end users and how they Technology Solutions will business from start-up Generate Higher purchase has an impact on generate growth by bringing Name three ideal dinner distribution. “As end users disruptive products and guests (past or present): move from capex purchases technologies to VARs and Ian Botham, Alex Margins with Targeted into various opex models MSPs in a direct challenge Ferguson and Steve Jobs such as consumption, to the tier one vendors.” How would you like to Services and Bundles pay-as-you-grow and be remembered? As subscription, resellers want Presented with potential new someone who always support from their vendors market opportunities such put their family first Did you know? and distributors to ease the as this, Soper never takes a Your strengths and what financial burden sitting just ‘wait and see’ stance if he could you improve on? I • 55% of Users require a DDI Number, with them,” Soper explained. senses tangible potential. But work hard and lead from are you paying for 100%? “These models are not just while confident about future the front. What could I confined to cloud-based revenue growth, there is still work on? Far too many • 24% of Users take mobility Bundles areas to mention! services. More and more much to do. “My biggest • VanillaIP Avg Seat Sale Price £10.41/ end users, and therefore achievement is growing Beta If you weren’t in IT mth, purchase price £4.13/mth resellers, have a requirement to its current size, but the what would you be for hardware, software and job is far from done,” he doing? Something accounting related services to be wrapped up stated. “Beta Distribution in monthly payments. is still one of the industry’s Top tip: Listen to Build your own packages to stand best kept secrets. During the customers and help them overcome the out in a crowded market. Use Uboss “Vendors have been adapting next five years the challenge problems they are facing intelligence to profile user adoption of their finance and leasing is to ensure more and more models to accommodate this resellers have access to us How do you relax? services and target up-sell marketing. Spending time with my transformation. Samsung and fully understand what we family and exercising Finance is a great example can offer to the channel.” n Request a Virtual Meeting today To advertise in Tel 0800 9700 971 | www.vanillaip.com contact The Sales Team on 01895 454411 www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 33

17-05 Build Smart Hosted PBX Bundles_1/3pageVertical.indd 1 31/05/2017 10:03 COMPANY PROFILE Liquid Voice in full flow

From school days to nowadays Liquid Voice UK co-founder and Managing Director Chris Berry has shown a resilient entrepreneurial spirit that is reflected in his channel ambitions and sharpened appetite to go head-to-head with major global vendors following new investment.

n January this year Just a minute with SVL Business Solutions Chris Berry... secured a 25 per cent equity interest in channel Role models? I admire Ipartner Liquid Voice, the selfless and honest people developer of call recording who put the needs of and contact centre solutions. Chris Berry others before their own Following the deal, SVL What talent do you Business Solutions, a NICE own businesses. His ambition The business has been the industry with solution wish you had? To Systems Platinum Partner, was evident at an early age profitable from the outset sales that meet the ongoing sing. I’m tone deaf plans to set up a new having set up his first IT and after building the needs of customers rather What do you fear the division to offer the Liquid consultancy business mid-way product portfolio and than only looking for most? Heights Voice range of products through his A levels. “I spent establishing a customer short-term profits based What are your greatest as well as its SmartVoice time as a CTI consultant base Liquid Voice switched on where the best margin strengths and what could portfolio of PCI compliance, with Comino/Civica where to an indirect sales model. is available,” said Berry. you work on? I set goals customer satisfaction and I was responsible for the “The transition presented a and objectives and am contact centre training design and commissioning number of challenges and we Liquid Voice is now an relentless in achieving solutions. According to of IVR and ACD systems fully have learnt what a software- international operation them, but I could improve Berry, the deal enables integrated with their CRM based business needs to with offices in the UK and on my leadership identity Liquid Voice to maximise and EDRM solutions for the have in place to support the New Zealand and circa 600 One example of something new business opportunities public sector,” said Berry. channel and the attributes customers in a range of you have overcome? The and extend its presence in of a good channel partner,” market sectors including fear of making tough the contact centre, financial Leeds-based Liquid Voice said Berry. “The move to utilities, retail, financial decisions. I now know you can tell someone and public safety markets. was established by Berry indirect sales through channel services, public sector and anything if it’s delivered in “We are working on an and Andrew Barrett in 2005 partners with accreditations outsourcing. “I am proud of the right way. Providing arm’s length distribution having brought Civica/ and distribution models is a the way that Liquid Voice has your intentions are agreement with SVL being Comino’s suite of computer key factor in Liquid Voice’s continued to grow despite good and justified most our first fully accredited telephony applications success in all countries the uncertainty that the people can deal with it services partner,” he said. to market. “Our original where we operate.” economy has experienced How would you like to strategy was to capitalise over the last few years,” be remembered? As a Prior to his appointment on the growing demand for Raising the bar commented Berry. “Liquid great businessman who as Liquid Voice’s Managing contact centre solutions with He noted that technological Voice has become a well knew his stuff and didn’t Director Berry was Sales a focus on call recording, evolution is prompting known brand and has the need to stand on any Director, a post held since the quality management and resellers to become SIs that technology and products heads to get to where company was first formed. integration,” added Berry. offer a one-stop-shop so to effectively compete he wanted to be Aside from two brief stints “Liquid Voice fills the space customers do not have to with the world’s largest Top tip: Pick a niche. Take as a corporate employee where manufacturers don’t deal with multiple suppliers. manufacturers, which time to understand the Berry has spent most of his do so well in terms of service “There should also be a presents an opportunity for product you are selling working life as an owner and delivery, providing focus on raising the level of channel partners to come on and become the expert and Director running his added value to customers.” professionalism throughout board and join us.” n

the Comms National Awards 2017 Headline Sponsor 12th October / Hilton Park Lane / cnawards.com

34 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com CATCH EVERY CUSTOMER INTERACTION

CRM+ from CallSwitch Business offers a huge opportunity to set yourself apart from your competitors by integrating a customer’s phone system with their CRM platform.

Each and every call, lead and opportunity is automatically updated with the full call record, recording and outcome. New tasks can be automatically set while notes are stored and sent to colleagues.

Out-of-the-box integration with over 30 CRM platforms including:

All trademarks or logos used are the property of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them. COMPANY PROFILE Intercity goes global

to taking some of these Intercity Technology has lifted solutions to the channel in the curtain on a new in-house the second half of 2017. I can’t give too much away, developed UC platform that CEO but it’s set to take computing on demand to a new level.” Andrew Jackson says will make Jackson wants to establish a mark on the global map as Touch Technology as the go- to unified communications well as the channel landscape. platform for growing businesses across the globe, particularly those with international operations or ntercity Technology cross border aspirations. Just a minute with is an extended family “It’s an area where we see Andrew Jackson... business that has huge growth potential,” retained its core family he explained. “The Touch Role model? Nick Ivalues despite undergoing a Technology platform is our Woodward, a partner technology and acquisition biggest current opportunity. at Ernst & Young. He driven transformation We have so many markets to mentored and taught that encompasses new attack and I’m proud of the me a huge amount, markets, more people and team for creating proprietary including the importance of taking an interest in greater scale. At the helm technology that rivals the your staff. It’s how you get is CEO Andrew Jackson very best out there. I want Andrew Jackson the best out of people whose father founded the to see Intercity Technology What talent do you business in 1985. Based in as a credible alternative wish you had? To speak Birmingham Intercity was step into the unknown, but is £50 million but Jackson’s to the most established IT several languages one of the early pioneers of it’s the best thing I’ve ever ambition is to get to £75 providers in Europe. With What do you fear the the mobile phone industry done. Acquisitions always million by 2020. “We are still the broad suite of solutions most? Not getting on and signed Vodafone’s first catalyse change and bringing very much on the acquisition we now offer, coupled with with it. Life is short UK partnership agreement. Imerja and Gage into the trail and will continue to our proprietary technology, The company has since fold has been no different. look for opportunities to add we can make a big dent Tell us something about broadened its service But both sets of colleagues capabilities where we feel in our target markets.” yourself we don’t know: I hold an International portfolio and transformed have integrated well and we there is an opportunity for Competition License from a pure-play mobile are very much one team. growth,” noted Jackson. “We Intercity Technology’s for motorsport and provider to an IT and We’re a family and all staff also see the launch of Touch relationships with customers competed in the British communications solutions at Intercity Technology are Technology as the start of a are based on shared long- Ford Championship the specialist. Jackson became treated as valued individuals. new path to growth, based term goals. That means year after Jenson Button CEO in 2013 and quickly The future is looking positive on innovative technology we providing technology One example of something went on the acquisition with everyone trying to have developed in-house.” solutions that change the you have overcome? A trail to build a well rounded achieve our shared objectives. way they work for the fear of heights. I overcame internationally competitive Deals like these are often Alternative platform better. “Many companies this by jumping out of a technology business. difficult and complex, According to Jackson the are moving traditional IT plane at 15,000ft when but as a management introduction of Touch out of their offices and into travelling in New Zealand He joined the company team we navigated both Technology, a global UC data centres giving them How would you like to in 2008 following a five incredibly well.” platform, is a game changer. the flexibility and scalability be remembered? As a year stint working as a “Because this is something to grow,” said Jackson. genuine person who senior executive at Ernst The acquisition of IT we developed in-house it “Intercity Technology’s USPs delivered innovation through technology as & Young where he was services provider Imerja was makes us a vendor as well in this area are our in-house part of a talented team heavily involved in M&A. significant as it expanded as a services provider,” he data centres, data sovereignty “This experience prepared Intercity Technology’s said. “We’ve invested £10 in the UK, expertise, delivery, Top tip for resellers: Focus on building me for our acquisitions of capabilities and gave it million in its development. and removing complexity long-term mutually Imerja and Gage Networks,” footholds in a number Touch Technology is a from the process. I’ve learnt beneficial partnerships commented Jackson. “The of new vertical markets patented alternative to other that businesses succeed when business had seen 30 years including the public sector. major players in the market. they keep things simple. How do you relax when not working? Long drives of organic growth when The company now has 250 We are also working on Clarity is crucial and this is through the countryside we embarked on our first employees based in five office developing Infrastructure as a particularly important in the acquisition so it felt like a locations. Group turnover Service and looking forward IT and comms industry.” n

the Comms National Awards 2017 Category Sponsor 12th October / Hilton Park Lane / cnawards.com

36 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com Whatever you need, hSo’s got you covered.

MPLS Leased Lines

Data Centre Connectivity

Colocation

IP Transit

Public Cloud Connectivity

DDoS Protection

Advanced 24/7 Monitoring

www.hso-wholesale.com 020 7847 4550 CUSTOMER SERVICE Kaleidoscope Customer service requires an all-round approach

Delighting customers is about Aerial Business Communications strives setting expectations, meeting them, to provide an outstanding customer exceeding them - or blowing them out of experience. Our team’s core values the water! When we say 30 minute SLA, are based on going beyond the expectations of we mean 20 to 30 minutes; service must be our clients by delivering exceptional customer about minutes, not days. For the channel, if service and ongoing support throughout their 20 minutes isn’t fast enough, partners can set contract, not just at the point of sale. Each their own SLAs, managing their base through customer has their own dedicated Account our self-serve portal. Whether wholesale Manager they can contact should they have partner, managed partner, reseller or bureau any queries. Our Account Managers pro-actively biller, we offer an array of service functionality monitor their customers’ usage, analyse bills, to delight every layer. Direct customers enjoy email them monthly reports, keep them informed unique monitoring and alert services with of favourable tariffs and offer quarterly reviews. the bonus of preselected, (thus automated) Aerial aren’t tied in to a single provider or service functions. With online billing, asset system, so as an independent company we can controls, Helpdesk KPI management, social bring together 1000’s of combinations of unified media, whitepapers and much more, we ask for communication solutions, offering our customers LORRIN WHITE feedback every month, ensuring continual focus PAUL DAVIS – AERIAL BUSINESS better value in terms of cost-effectiveness and BAMBOO TECHNOLOGY on service development. COMMUNICATIONS functionality. here was a time when comms and IT providers sold people Tproducts – maybe phone systems or computers –and then let We attribute our recently achieved Web chat and shiny new portals are them get on with integrating them CDSMA ‘Channel Sales Team of the all very well for enhancing customer Year’ status entirely to our passion for experience, but at 9, we believe it is into their way of working. OK, a ser- delivering first-class customer service. Running the people at the coal face who make the real vice contract may have been added deep through every vein of our business is the difference. Working with the feedback from our in, but fundamentally businesses understanding of how paramount customer annual survey, we have trained staff members satisfaction is. A happy customer is the beating to be more able to own and resolve issues first purchased equipment ‘off the shelf’ heart of any growing company and nurturing time, which our customers appreciate. By taking and tailored it to suit their business. these important relationships is key to success. root cause analysis seriously and reviewing As we all know, that paradigm An approachable outlook and willingness to regularly amongst the management team, we has changed. In a big way. Now, it’s improve goes a long way towards recognising drive out gremlins and avoid the repeat errors and responding to customer’s needs. Over the which customers find so irritating. Better never all about understanding customer past 12 months, we have launched various stops however and our process of listening and organisations and the way they work engagement campaigns, introduced a user continual improvement gives us all confidence and solving their problems with inte- friendly online pricing portal and more than that the next customer survey will show how quadrupled our social media reach. These fuse much difference the changes we are making grated solutions that truly meet their together with our enthusiastic, hardworking have made. needs. And when competition is CLIFFORD NORTON team to produce the type of healthy customer MARK SAUNDERS tough and the economy is uncertain, CHANNEL TELECOM service that wins awards. 9 WHOLESALE securing a long-term relationship

In the last 12 months, we have Telecoms World Customer Service Customer service is at the heart amplified the message of our Affinity is ever-evolving to support of everything we do. As part of program into the NSN channel our customers’ business and this continual process Nimans has enabling greater product saturation into the efficiently manage queries and faults. We developed a core call framework that focuses on existing customer base. Co-branding a suite of have implemented various communication the customer at every stage. All our desk based tailored marketing shots we have worked closer channels such as SMS to advise on faults and Account Managers and Team Managers receive with our partners to deliver Cloud IT Solutions appointment reminders and we use Trust Pilot dedicated training, followed up with structured and Energy/Utilities Savings; greatly increasing for real interaction with our clients to help us support, coaching and engaging incentives to the value experienced by our customers and improve or continue our business processes. The continually increase the quality of the customer “My Account Area” gives our customers full, our partners alike. We have created product experience. We hold Gold Investors in People instant access to manage their account 24/7, vouchers to increase traction at the coal face status too and we’re on our customers’ side. It’s along with our World Tech department who offer and free trials to bring customers up to speed ongoing connectivity and IP installation support. our job to respond to their situations, desires with the latest in Cloud IT solutions. With over By offering ongoing 1-2-1 training internally and concerns – to help find what’s best for 20 core value add products the NSN channel and through external training organisations, them. offering is delighting partners and customers we have achieved multi-skilled staff across alike over the medium and increasingly long all departments. And we are dedicated in term as is proven by very low churn keeping our customers happy whilst BEN TAYLOR levels. NEIL BARRALL maintaining their business operations MATT WEAL NSN TELECOMS WORLD with minimal disruption. NIMANS

Mobile calls, SMS and data – at Join the green revolution with Bamboo. Meet The home and in Europe – all included Because you are our one and only. and just a 30-day commitment. To find out more, call 0800 804 4047 or Fresh One What could be more simple? email [email protected] www.connectgrow.co.uk Terms and Conditions apply Conditions and Terms

38470x40_meet COMMS the freshDEALER one.indd 1JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com 16/03/2017 11:32 CUSTOMER SERVICE Kaleidoscope Customer service requires an all-round approach

with customers is critical to maintain One of the challenges in our highly As a customer centric company we competitive market is the constant strive to deliver exceptional service at cash flow and business growth. evolution of what constitutes every interaction and have recently: So, what are they key elements to outstanding service, it needs to move as fast re-developed our synergi partner portal - ‘delighting’ customers and keep as our technology does. We are working hard making it mobile responsive, faster and easier them coming back for more? to make this a reality with the completion of to navigate; conducted a thorough customer our fully software defined network. From my satisfaction survey amongst our partners which Most important is a holistic time as a channel partner, I know that being in gathered valuable feedback and has helped us approach to customer service. Why? direct control of the services that they provide identify key areas of improvement; and created Because every single interaction a is critical, and far better than having to back a new role of Customer Relation Manager to off all services to a supplier. That is why we are enhance our customer experience delivery. user has with you, your staff, your giving our partners access to perform many of We’ve also just made our synergi-based quoting website, and your content feeds into the configuration changes that they traditionally tool for Ethernet services (EQT - Ethernet their overall experience - and overall rely on carrier providers for, such as bandwidth Quoting Tool) available to all our partners. changes and VLAN resizing all via 1Portal, in Additionally, our support team are available impression of your organisation. real-time. 24/7/365 and our dedicated account managers Remember what damage American work closely with our partners to help them Airlines did to their brand due to the NEIL WILSON DARREN FARNDEN grow and develop their businesses. actions of some overzealous cabin VIRTUAL 1 ENTANET crew in forcibly removing a customer who refused to give up his seat when they had overbooked a flight? And the CEO’s ‘non-apology’ ProVu is built on three core values, Relationships are the heart of which have been designed to help our business. Creating personal increased the damage. ensure our customers keep coming back: relationships with our partners and our It’s not rocket science. The better our value-added services – we are constantly customers is one of the core foundations of overall experience customers receive, developing our systems to exceed our customers’ our service provision to maintain long-term expectations; our team – we have a great set of customers. Our business development managers from receptionist to CEO, the happier people who are passionate about the products are problem solvers and will not only listen to they’ll be and they’ll be more likely and services we provide; and our product the customer’s needs, but always search for the to stick around and tell their friends portfolio which constantly evolves to suit our ideal solution, and ensure that our customers customers’ demands. By providing great products are empowered with the right technologies for about the great experience your and the highest levels of service, we hope our their businesses. We have a dedicated customer company provides. customers do not have any reason to look relationship team who maintain regular contact The goal in providing and accu- elsewhere. Our most recent developments include with our customers by phone and email. mulating positive interactions integrating our systems with 3CX’s to create an This team ensures that our customers have a automated ordering process and integrating Euro personal point of contact should any issues arise throughout a customer’s lifecycle will pricing for our overseas customers, plus there’s and that our customers are aware of the latest ultimately help you stand out from much more to come in the pipeline! developments, promotions or incentives. your competitors and improve your DARREN GARLAND TIM HOLWAY PROVU bottom line. FIDELITY GROUP

Customer service is at the heart Our priority is giving customers Having delighted customers for of everything we do. As part of cutting-edge technology and great over 20 years, we have found this continual process Nimans has support at a cost-efficient price. But that some of the most effective developed a core call framework that focuses on we also constantly delight customers with methods for supporting customers are the the customer at every stage. All our desk based innovation. For example, we recently enhanced simplest to deliver. We place a huge emphasis Account Managers and Team Managers receive the analytics platform our clients use to view on acknowledgment which is the cornerstone dedicated training, followed up with structured their own customers’ journeys. It helps them of any service based strategy. This is achieved support, coaching and engaging incentives to better understand how a customer gets to the through having genuine conversations with our continually increase the quality of the customer contact centre and what they might be looking clients, from discussing the services they may experience. We hold Gold Investors in People for, meaning all call routing is correct and the have with us, to what their plans might be for status too and we’re on our customers’ side. It’s most appropriately skilled agent speaks to the the weekend. This works two-fold as It creates our job to respond to their situations, desires customer first time. All end users have access to a level of familiarity and ensures that we have and concerns – to help find what’s best for these features, as well as the partners supplying tight-knit bonds with each of our clients and them. them. This means our partners can fully enables us to enhance the feeling of empathy understand the needs of their end users and between ourselves and our clients. It also helps they tell us this is a strong unique selling point identify those latent needs, that might otherwise when engaging with their customers. go unnoticed without further discussion. DAvid CHASE CHRISTOPHER OWEN 8x8 ICA

470x40_meet the fresh one.indd 1 www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER JUNE16/03/2017 2017 11:32 39 BUSINESS PROFILE Firstnet set for growth

With the launch of a state-of-the- art data centre in Leeds Firstnet Solutions’s reputation as a fast rising northern powerhouse is assured, according to Managing Director David Cusworth.

eeds-based Firstnet’s the Best Enterprise Mobility new £24 million data Solution category. The centre, launched in company currently has a March, is not only headcount of 30, circa 250 L‘just the job’ for channel customers and revenues of partners and customers, it is around £4 million; while also a boon to job seekers in Cusworth’s plan to target £20 the local area as the facility million turnover by 2020 and is expected to generate 100 jobs is advancing nicely. around 100 new positions. As well as adding people, the “Our growth plans are data centre adds colocation, aggressive but as any cloud platforms and disaster business owner knows fast David Cusworth recovery to Firstnet’s services growth poses a whole raft of portfolio, including its own challenges, but I have a great and with a successful career to succeed it is imperative so we are working with our cloud solution powered management team and I in IT sales under his belt that they understand their customers to ensure they by Nutanix and targeted know there isn’t any obstacle Cusworth decided to go it clients’ businesses and how are GDPR compliant and at SMEs. Cusworth said: we can’t overcome,” said alone having spotted a gap in they can add value to them,” able maximise the business “The opportunity to expand Cusworth. “A milestone for the market to offer enterprise he added. “All VARs should benefits that BI can provide.” and invest in this building us was changing our mindset solutions and services to help customers change their to create a certified Tier from a small business to a the SMB marketplace. “I perception of IT as a cost Educating customers is III facility was too good to medium sized operation. We persuaded my wife Angie, centre to a profit centre. perhaps a VAR’s biggest miss. Our customers now now undertake large scale who is an exceptional opportunity, backed up have access to the latest IT projects and roll outs to Operations Director, to join “IT is always changing and to by what Cusworth says is technology in managed the enterprise and corporate me in my vision and we be successful you have to be Firstnet Solutions’ greatest services and a host of marketplace and have have taken the business ahead of the curve and able source of potential growth additional support, including established Firstnet Education from strength to strength to offer the latest technology. – its new data centre and office space with over 100 which provides IT services to every since,” he said. Resellers also need to be the associated cloud services desks designed specifically schools, while Firstnet Data aware of the IT landscape. it brings. “This facility will for workplace recovery Centre offers colocation for Key trends Ten years ago virtualisation enable us to provide a true and relocation needs.” resellers, cloud for the SMB The industry trend that was the big thing, then it was IT service to our clients,” he space and workplace recovery most interests Cusworth the cloud, now it’s Business added. “We have an amazing It was in 2014 when Firstnet services to the corporate right now is the high Intelligence, analytics and the in-house team and the began to flourish having and enterprise market – all level of acquisitions in the Internet of Things. If resellers business wouldn’t be where it earned a reputation as the fully end-to-end services.” distribution arena which can’t give client’s what they is without them. Within three ‘go to provider’ of IT services he believes will eventually, want and need someone else years I expect Firstnet to be a in the Leeds city region. That Cusworth ‘fell’ into IT by sooner rather than later, will. And as the landscape £50 million turnover business same year Firstnet’s profile chance and fate could have leave just four or five large changes new challenges and the go-to IT company was raised across the nation played a hand as he started distribution players. The role spring up every day such in the north of England. We when it featured as a finalist out at Pipex which, also by of resellers is also evolving, as GDPR. It is our duty to have grown quickly and will in a number of industry chance, was based on the noted Cusworth, who urges enable clients and support continue to do so – there just awards and scooped the site of Firstnet’s new data them to partner with their them and their businesses doesn’t seem enough hours Comms National Award in centre. As an entrepreneur customers. “For resellers through these challenges, in a day.” n

the Comms National Awards 2017 Headline Sponsor 12th October / Hilton Park Lane / cnawards.com

40 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com WE MAKE IT POSSIBLE More and more service providers are coming to us I did I’m in

We did Count I did me in

Want to know why?

Because we have world-class solutions at great Those are just some of the reasons why we’re prices. Just take our new Wholesale Hosted proving so popular. We also have great new pricing Communications solution – a new service that meaning there’s never been a better time to use gives you the best of Hosted Centrex and Hosted the power of the cloud. Get in touch today to get SIP Trunking simply combined. the ball rolling. So get in touch today and start a UC journey where you can enjoy a huge range of benefits: Interested? Get in touch with us today. • Flexible call bundles • Easy-to-use portal 0800 671 045 • Seamless upgrade path from SIPT to Centrex Email us at [email protected] • Mixed Centrex and SIPT estates on one or visit us at www.btwholesale.com dial plan • Value added services (Call Analytics, Call Recording, CRM integration, UC Packs) • Built on our secure 21c network • Network based intelligent Fraud Management included BUSINESS PROFILE King’s sold on Virtual1

levels of automation and Optimising the sales operation in API capability overlaid with a fast growing channel business SDN removes ‘brief case time’ and errors through is no easy task, but Virtual1 Sales re-keying data, reducing the book-to-bill time frame. Director Jason King has approached Also, our regional model gives us a local presence the challenge with all his skills as a with national capability.” strategist and business transformer. Virtual1 is attracting strong Here, he also reveals the passions interest by converting business through speed that drive his sales leadership. of delivery with greater automation and APIs. “We will be able to drive costs down in markets where there has been a lack of competition as well as hen King structure and processes has enhanced flexibility,” said got wind of enabled the entire company King. “We will be launching a Virtual1’s plans to scale up quickly with new commercial structure to for a national an agile business model, reward partners for increasing WSoftware Defined Network facilitated by the high levels their volume with other roll out and CEO Tom of automation being brought multiple benefits through a O’Hagan’s expansion strategy on line with the national partner programme featuring along with the advance of network and SDN capability. Jason King tiered pricing, opportunities a job offer to lead the sales for MDF and shared effort there was no looking “Ultimately, the software This is something that runs learned that it’s best to have marketing resource to name back. “I resigned from my defined network will make throughout the company a mixture of characters in a few. Watch this space to previous company to join the life easier for our partners. which has gained a Two the sales team to deliver see how we develop our team as soon as possible,” With the network being Star accreditation in the the best results. But all partner ecosystem.” n stated King. “I thrive in an automated through 1Portal Best Companies awards. team members must have environment of growth. With we’re putting our partners Communication and drive and ambition. Belief Just a minute with my experience of running in control, allowing them understanding with every in the Virtual1 proposition, Jason King... successful sales teams I knew to make adds, moves and team member is vital. the vision and a willingness I could work with Virtual1 configuration changes By understanding what for personal growth and Role model: Barak Obama on its growth journey, themselves directly for their makes each team member development are also key.” is a great inspiration, motivating the team and customers in real-time. This tick and ensuring each of successful against the reviewing its sales processes, will enable the sales team to them are clear on the part King’s historical relationships odds and never believed helping the company to focus on driving incremental they play in the delivery with key carriers are a boon anything is impossible disrupt the marketplace with growth as the ‘Business as of the wider strategy, you to Virtual1 as it seeks to Tell us something its national network roll out usual’ becomes automated.” create an environment of form new partnerships at about yourself we and portal enhancements.” continuous improvement.” the upper level. And King don’t know: I practiced As well as automation, made a point of emphasising martial arts at senior level and represented The character of King’s collaboration with marketing Sales pedigree the wholesale-only nature the UK in 1998 at the style of management alongside recognition and King is no stranger to fast- of Virtual1’s proposition. World Shorinji Kempo quickly emerged with the reward programmes for the growth environments as “We never compete with Championships in Japan introduction of a more sales staff have empowered his previous experience our partners,” he stated. where I won a medal disciplined sales structure that the team to regularly over shows. He joined Energis in “Our message is one of If you weren’t in comms maps talent to opportunity. achieve, explained King. 1996 when the company incremental growth and what would you be “Working with the wider “I have enhanced the generated £40 million how we work with partners doing? Helping under Virtual1 team we have been processes around governance turnover. Six years later to drive more business and privileged teenagers able to align and build a and added a clear career it was a near £1 billion win through differentiation. that show ambition clearly defined sales structure, path supported by core business. “I enjoyed a similar For example, we deliver and drive despite facing analyse partner trends and competencies for all team situation at Colt and was differentiation through our challenging circumstances. identify opportunities to drive members,” he stated. “I was fortunate enough to join various Exchanges such as I would like to create a new markets,” he added. impressed by their energy, Virgin Media Business at the SIP Exchange, UC Exchange framework for them to turn their lives around “Remodelling the sales passion and enthusiasm. outset,” added King. “I’ve and Cloud Exchange. Our

the Comms National Awards 2017 Category Sponsor 12th October / Hilton Park Lane / cnawards.com

42 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com Partner with Gradwell and make life simpler Partner with for your business customers. By providing a wealth of award-winning calls, connectivity and cloud options, you can enhance your Gradwell and reputation and boost your earning potential.

make life Our in-depth partner programme enables partners to succeed with comprehensive training, intuitive portals and a named simpler for account manager. Plus, our UK-based support team is always here to support you and your customers. Get in contact today and your customers. learn everything you need to know (minus the waffle!).

www.gradwell.com 01225 800 900

www.comms-dealer.com comms dealer JUNE 2017 43 FOREST OF ARDEN, MIDLANDS, 22ND JUNE 2017

Step into The Cloud

Elevate your margins...

Each year since the turn of the millennium, Margin in Voice & Data – known as ‘The Industry event of the Summer’ – has helped resellers addressing SME markets identify new avenues to profit and truly understand the changing ICT environment.

This year, MiVaD 17 returns to the breath-taking Forest of Arden Hotel complex in the heart of the Midlands and once again this 24-hour event promises a day of inspiration and exploration plus a ‘once a year’ opportunity for resellers to network with like-minded peers and business DEMYSTIFYING THE M2M OPPORTUNITY – generators. ANTON LE SAUX, ZEST 4 Split into three sessions, the event will comprise a morning thought In his keynote, Anton Le Saux, Head of IoT & M2M at leadership conference to help delegates get an understanding of the new Zest4 will help to demystify M2M/ IoT in the channel and demonstrate how you can grow significant revenues by Voice & Data landscape; an afternoon ‘managed meetings’ session where adding these technologies to your product portfolio. resellers can meet new supplier partners; and last but by no means least, a As part of his session he will show how Zest4 have helped their channel partners succeed in M2M; how they fun evening networking dinner. have supported partners to win new customers and generate new long term revenues from their existing base. All this is COMPLETELY FREE to *qualified reseller delegates so don’t miss out.

*Margin in Voice & Data delegates must be directors of reseller business with a turnover below £3m GET ON THE SIP AND WebRTC JOURNEY – PAUL TAYLOR, VOICEFLEX This year the main theme of MiVaD 17 will focus on the shift to Cloud In his two-part keynote Paul Taylor, Sales Director at Communications, the new connectivity solutions driving this change and Voiceflex, will firstly look at the opportunities in selling the value-added opportunities new business environments are creating for SIP connectivity for CPE in advance of the ISDN switch ICT resellers. off in 2025 plus SIP applications such as call recording, statistical analysis of usage, network topology etc. Paul will then lift the lid on WebRTC namely what it is, what are the applications, how can you make money from the technology and its Speaker line-up future development.

FIND YOUR WAY INTO THE CLOUD – WILL CLOUD BUSINESS ADD VALUE? – GARY GOULD, SHORETEL ADAM ZOLDAN, KNIGHT CORPORATE FINANCE In his keynote, Gary Gould, EMEA Marketing Director at Unified Communications and Cloud Contact Centre In his presentation, Knight CF Director Adam Zoldan will vendor Shoretel, will explain how delegates can get onto give his annual overview of the M&A landscape, the trends the pathway towards supplying Cloud Communications and themes that have driven deals and his predictions for solutions via the new easily accessible ‘Shoretel Connect the coming year in the new Brexit economy. Adam will also Cloud Programme’. look at the key factors that can influence the value of your He will also show shortcuts to net-new UC opportunities and explain how company especially as you add more cloud based business to your order book. your sales people can identify customers keen to join up their communications infrastructure with minimum disruption and cost.

MARKETING TO MILLENIALS – HOW TO STAND OUT IN THE CROWDED ANDY GRANT, BOWAN ARROW HOSTED PBX MARKET – IAIN SINNOT, VANILLA IP Almost half (46 percent) of B2B buyers are Millennials and if you’re not marketing to this group, you need to The Hosted PBX market has now moved beyond simple reevaluate your strategy. In his session this year, Bowan one-bundle solutions with customers becoming smarter to Arrow Managing Director Andy Grant will explain the possibilities of Cloud. In his keynote Iain Sinnott, Head how B2B buying decisions are happening and who is of Sales at VanillaIP will be talking about how resellers responsible for them. Andy will dispel the Millennial myths can stand out in a crowded market, addressing branding, of B2B marketing and demonstrate how best to address this audience of key automation, reporting, commercial options and all the tools required to transition decision makers in your target business accounts. to a sophisticated product offering and build long-term success in the Cloud.

44 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com Meet New Partners

“ShoreTel is a leading “The market op- “Two million ISDN “Zest4 are delighted provider of business portunity in Hosted channels are set to to sponsor this communications PBX is enormous, be changed out for years’ MiVaD event. deployed in the cloud, but what are the SIP or hosted appli- We will highlight the onsite or a hybrid of barriers resellers the two. At this year’s cations. 20% expect huge growth oppor- need to scale to MiVaD event, Gary will to be sold in the tunities both now be truly effective provide an overview of next 2-3 years and and in the future in winning business how ShoreTel works the rest being drip in the M2M & IoT collaboratively with and maximising fed until 2023 when market. MiVaD is a partners, helping achieve high win rates and sales opportunities? Resellers need there’ll be a surge before the ISDN great opportunity to meet with key industry leading margins. He will also reveal smart overlay services that can be turn off in 2025. Sales opportuni- resellers and spend time with partner the latest edition of ShoreTel’s partner added to a base user to address the ties are enormous. We’ve launched principals who are actively keen to programme that includes innovative and entire market spectrum. VanillaIP will new SIP Trunk bundles to enable our grow their business and revenues and flexible marketing-as-a-service options.” be addressing what this means for partners to stay ahead. Find out more engage with suppliers to help them resellers in real terms at MiVaD.” Gary Gould at MiVaD.” meet these objectives.” Shoretel SILVER SPONSORS Iain Sinnot SILVER SPONSORS SILVER SPONSORS Paul Taylor Mandy Fazelynia VanillaIP SILVER SPONSORS Voiceflex Zest 4

“Invosys is a new “MiVaD is a great “NTA are proud to “We’re very much generation carrier opportunity for us be sponsoring this looking forward to - a challenger to the to demonstrate to year’s MIVAD. We attending MiVaD telecoms ‘establish- new and existing will be demon- this year, to meet- ment’ – providing partners the range strating to all new ing both new and ground breaking yet of flexible solutions resellers how our existing clients and simple products and that Marston’s Tele- existing partners in to finding out how services. At Margin coms can provide the Comms & IT we can add value in Voice & Data, we’ll to the channel. We industry are making to their businesses. showcase our cloud-based Number look forward to discussing how our margins of 80% plus with our Hosted We’ll be showing off some of the lat- Manager portal which allows custom- products provide partners with rev- Telephony platform. Our system is est enhancements to our award win- ers to configure, manage and monitor enue opportunities, underpinned by a White Labelled even down to the sub ning aBILLity billing software, including their services wherever they are, solid network platform and affordable domain for log in purposes and has some big developments to our cloud across all devices, as well as our new pricing.” over 500 features as standard.” infrastructure that makes our solutions hosted product.” an even more attractive proposition Rob Derbyshire BRONZE Justin Blaine SPONSORS BRONZE for comms providers.” BRONZE Peter Crooks BRONZE SPONSORS NTA Marstons Telecoms SPONSORS SPONSORS Invosys Vincent Disneur Union Street

“We are delighted “At MiVaD 17 we’ll “We are excited “As the training com- to be attending our advise resellers to be involved with pany for the channel, first MIVAD event how you can grow this event for the delegates can expect to learn how our and we’re looking additional margins first time and we’re services can improve forward to meeting from your trusted looking forward to their business but industry colleagues, client relationships. meeting up with ex- most importantly sharing our experi- We will help you isting and prospec- their people. We ences, discussing po- quickly upskill your tive customers and have a wide array of tential bespoke billing requirements and business, train your strengthening chan- telecoms focused courses ranging from our feature rich web-based QuickStart sales teams in the art of advising on nel partnerships. Delegates will have Selling SIP & Hosted through to Regula- platforms. Our objectives are simple, energy, build a marketing plan and give the opportunity to find out more tory and Compliance certifications. We to work together, giving customers you the tools you need to add energy about the latest developments to our are also thrilled to be launching Support freedom of choice with minimal billing to your product portfolio.” services, our new training programme, to Win.tv, a hosted telephony support limitations and offer maximum function- and most importantly, the new ver- service for the channel. It allows partners ality and customer care, to maximise John Haw sion of our billing software rolling out to focus on their strengths while we take return on investment.” Fidelity Energy in 2017.” care of their customer on-boarding and BRONZESILVER SPONSORS SPONSORS DISTRIBUTOR ZONE life’s Moves, Adds and Changes. BRONZE SPONSORS DISTRIBUTOR ZONE Simon Adams Shaun Bodsworth Julie Mills PRD Technologies Inform Billing Train To Win

“As an adviser, “ProVu are looking “Channel Solutions “Make a difference MiVaD helps us forward to meet- Resource (CSR) where it matters understand what’s ing new Channel enables the channel most. Our call happening at ground Partners at MiVaD to engage a wider recording, reporting level of the sector, and demonstrating audience with its and evaluation solu- how customers are how our range of ‘Support, Mainte- tions provide vital reacting to changes value added services nance and Proposi- insights to inform in the market and can help reduce the tion’ for telephony business decisions, how this impacts and cost of deploy- and data. With help motivate and influences the vendors and suppliers ing Customer Premise Equipment. ‘channel only access’ to this service, it support teams, and enhance the around them. Whether you are looking Whether you’re looking for quality empowers the channel to grow rev- customer experience. With more to review your strategy, raise finance, VoIP hardware or remote installation enues, because they can now Acquire, than 30 years’ industry experience considering an acquisition or want to support, ProVu have the skills and Secure and Migrate customers with and 50,000+ systems already installed, understand more about Exit options, expertise to help. Visit us to discover existing PBX platforms to their own we’re your ideal partner when it we look forward to meeting you at more about our value-added services revenue focused solutions.” comes to delivering real results.” HOSPITALITY MiVaD.” and how they fit your requirements.” SILVER SPONSORS HOSPITALITY Don Moore HOSPITALITY SPONSOR James Emm SILVER SPONSORSPONSORS Adam Zoldan SPONSOR Darren Garland DISTRIBUTOR ZONE Channel Solutions Oak Innovation Knight CF ProVu Resource REGISTER now at www.margin-in-voice-data.com www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 45 SECTOR REVIEW Top marks: Partners bring fibre to the classroom

Technology is reshaping the education sector and pushing the limits of learning and its delivery. Here’s how one channel partnership is harnessing full fibre to remodel the future of education.

he education sector connectivity via its partners is undergoing to a growing number of a technological universities over the past year. transformation and “Demand is driven by the TExa Networks, CityFibre’s need for higher bandwidth primary education partner, is of course, but it’s additional at the forefront of this digital benefits such as multiple transformation. “Education fibres and full control over sector requirements have scalability for the future shifted over the last that really influence the few years with schools decision making process,” increasingly needing higher he explained. “We’re also speed connectivity to get seeing more local authorities the best out of online choosing to include schools teaching resources,” said in their procurements Mark Cowgill, Director irrespective of the and co-founder, Exa academisation programme.” Networks. “Meanwhile, the emergence of academies Investing in dark fibre has created a new dynamic infrastructure to serve schools in terms of purchasing as well as other public sites with more opportunities maximises the benefits of a for educators to seek out full fibre network investment. service arrangements that It also leaves schools free fit their particular needs.” to focus their IT budgets on other priorities and serves Mark Cowgill As demand for bandwidth- to improve education across intensive resources grows the whole region. That said, Cowgill expects more many schools are concerned Connectivity has become significantly more and more schools to with budgeting and planned introduce gigabit capacity cuts, which means that powerful and less expensive, and we expect services. “They’re choosing buying new technology connectivity options that offer isn’t necessarily as much of things to get even better with the increasing the flexibility and capability a priority as it has been in to increase speed to match recent years, noted Cowgill. availability of dark fibre demands,” he added. “Our DarkLight product is suitable “Many of those wanting to curriculum dependencies on partners the choice and as well as for businesses for these schools, giving introduce new technology Internet and IT use, and a control they need to build in those same regions.” them the ability to increase are therefore looking for constant pressure on available and deploy services that are their bandwidth within cost cutting solutions,” budgets. This is prompting tailored to meet the needs of Fibre services are more minutes at any time and for he commented. “That them to take a much longer- technologically demanding important to schools now as long as needed. Schools could mean reducing time term view of ICT investment, Higher and Further Education than ever – and this will only also want secure connectivity spent on things that could one that will derive savings establishments, and more increase, believes Cowgill. at all times, and they’re often be handled quicker by over a lifetime and make budget challenged primary “Even before considering looking for high upload technology. Or, increasingly, the entire school or college and secondary schools. the high bandwidth speeds to make it easier to reducing what they’re paying ecosystem more efficient. And of course, as CityFibre requirements of BYOD and use cloud back-up services.” for various services.” continues to accelerate tablet schemes (reliant on “That’s exactly what full its UK Gigabit City build, wireless connectivity), there’s Andy Nash, Head of Public ICT buyers in education fibre solutions can deliver,” so the opportunity for an overwhelming amount of Sector at CityFibre, noted face ongoing cost versus stated Nash. “By providing digital transformation genuinely useful material for that the alternative provider bandwidth challenges due easy and affordable access deepens right across the students online and we’re has been supplying dark fibre to the relentless rise of to dark fibre CityFibre gives education and public sector encouraged by the number

the Comms National Awards 2017 Category Sponsor 12th October / Hilton Park Lane / cnawards.com

46 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com SECTOR REVIEW Top marks: Partners bring fibre to the classroom

of schools that are actively to break free from the class on these frameworks benefit from the very best in working to get the best room. This brings enrichment, can be expensive.” connectivity and bandwidth out of these resources,” he flexibility and variety to speed. We should be added. “Over recent years learning for the benefit of all Cowgill also underlined the equipping schools with the connectivity has become students and staff. Reliable challenge faced by smaller right infrastructure solution significantly more powerful wireless connectivity also players. “It’s traditionally to support their needs. and less expensive, and we opens the door to innovative quite difficult for resellers expect things to get even new technologies and to approach schools,” he “The JANET framework better with the increasing services that can help schools said. “Most schools in any which procures dark fibre availability of dark fibre.” become safer, more efficient given area see their contracts infrastructure has been and far better managed.” renew at the same time, successful in serving higher Future trends will also so there’s a short period of education requirements. bring far more coding, Time to upgrade opportunity for those looking We understand that applications development A number of school districts to sell to the education this framework will be as well as distance and are coming to the end of sector, particularly considering re-procured this year, cloud-based learning, some their connectivity contracts the relatively long contract potentially giving more of which will take place with local authorities over Andy Nash periods involved. Beyond companies the opportunity beyond a typical classroom the coming months, so many that, it’s often difficult for to bid for a secure position environment. For these types schools will be looking to for, while often allowing schools to actually talk to an on the framework. of activities to be successful improve the services they’re resellers to offer schools unbiased source about the across multiple classes getting, prioritising higher better pricing than other advantages of the various “We also encourage local simultaneously, high capacity speeds, increased reliability options – a real no lose services available to them, government to procure and scalable bandwidth will and better prices. “We also situation in a lot of cases.” so sites like EduGeek are on behalf of schools. By be increasingly essential, feel that there’s going to invaluable in this respect.” combining the civic estates of pointed out Nash. “The be an increased focus on But getting a foothold in the local authority with the trend towards learning value added services such the education sector is a CityFibre has a powerful schools or higher education outside of the classroom as content filtering, with tough task for many resellers. message for the education estate, substantial economies using iPads and cloud will schools looking to get the “The main challenges sector. “The CityFibre of scale and savings can be continue, leading to a greater best possible offers from their generally relate to a reseller’s model is one of inward derived for the public sector. dependency on ubiquity, providers,” said Cowgill. ability to appear on key investment, the stimulation CityFibre has a number of resilience and performance public sector framework of competition into next examples where this shared of connectivity,” he added. “Pure fibre connections, such agreements that universities generation gigabit capable platform proposition has as our DarkLight service, are and schools use to procure networks and progressively been procured by local “Wireless is a way to derive a major area of opportunity ICT services,” said Nash. making fibre solutions government, such as our maximum use and flexibility for those looking to provide “This tends to restrict some available to all,” stated Gigabit City projects in York, from investments in full fibre to schools. This technology of the smaller players as Nash. “That starts with the Kirklees and Edinburgh.” n and high capacity networks. enables the improved speeds the costs and accreditations education sector. All of our Education sector focus But it also enables students that schools are looking required to get a position schools should be able to continues on page 48

Comms Dealer in your hand available now!

l Read Comms Dealer the moment it’s published.

l Works on any mobile device – Iphone, Ipad, Android etc.

l An exact replica of the paper version.

l Turn the pages of the magazine, as if you had it in your hand.

l Search for a company name, article, or person etc.

l Click on hyperlinks and emails and zoom to specific stories.

l Re-visit your library of previous issues.

www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 47 SECTOR REVIEW It’s school time in ICT

Here, we talk to Gamma’s Hosted Sales Specialist Sean Blackmore to explore how resellers can maximise the business opportunities during this year’s peak buying time in the education sector.

triking the right A big trend in schools is technology balance the rise of parent-teacher for schools and contact. Many schools offer colleges, addressing parents the opportunity to Sthree key concerns while have regular catch-ups with demonstrating value are teachers to check on the the keys to unlocking a progress of their children. market ripe with upgrade By integrating a PC and Sean Blackmore opportunities this year, CRM with a phone system a believes Blackmore. “The teacher is able to call parents upgrade opportunities for the benefits, and not just The main challenges faced main concerns for ICT buyers via click-to-dial and log solutions such as a ‘safety make a decision on price, by resellers addressing the in schools and colleges the topics of conversation package’ that can be sold are the biggest education education sector are cost are resilience, safety, and in the CRM system. Call as a bolt-on and act as a sector opportunities.” and striking the right balance efficiency,” he stated. “This recording can also be used differentiator when compared between ‘overkill versus not sector is generally cost to record important parts to a reseller taking a one-size- In terms of the size of the enough’. “An all-singing conscious so ICT solutions of the conversation. fits-all approach. “Schools opportunity, academies and all-dancing proposition need to address these priority and colleges are placing a stand out as having more might put resellers out of areas and hit the right “The methods of contacting strong emphasis on practical budget to spend, sometimes contention when speaking price point. For schools and teachers are also expanding,” applications, efficiency and up to 10 per cent more to a school,” he explained. colleges, buying technology added Blackmore. “For productivity, and investing from receiving funds for “However, other products is less about solving example, a teacher could in technology helps them support services that used may be more affordable but problems and more about be accessed via a soft to advance this agenda,” to go to local councils. “This lack the required security improvement, streamlining, phone application that commented Blackmore. “In means that many have or resilience that a school being more efficient and supports chat. Or, should the past school administrators more capital available for needs. Finding the right safer. And resellers must they not be at their desk embraced technology to investment in technology balance has always been make a proper assessment phone, if a voicemail is send emails to parents and we have seen them a challenge for resellers. of these requirements.” left they can still pick it rather than give them adopting Gamma’s hosted up providing the phone printed letters to take home, phone system, Horizon,” “But for those resellers who Blackmore noted that system supports voicemail meaning messages cannot added Blackmore. “We are get it right a shift in the schools and colleges are to email. Alternatively, be lost while saving on costs. making Horizon a more mindset of buyers in schools more receptive to the idea when the teacher leaves the The same is happening vertical oriented product. and colleges will ensure that of investing in the right classroom they can turn on nowadays with telephony. Rather than a one-size-fits-all this market sector continues infrastructure, providing mobile twinning, making approach we have developed to grow and present their three main priorities are them available on their Flexibility a proposition for six verticals, opportunities. At one time met. “If this can be achieved mobile while on a school “Administration teams also one of them being education, technology was viewed as at the right price then trip for example. These see the benefit of an easy to and produced a range a cost with no real benefits 2017 will be the year that are just some examples of use portal that enables them of white label marketing to an educational institute, educational establishments how schools are starting to make changes should material to support our now it is seen to improve make the move from legacy to embrace technology.” there be an unexpected partners in positioning these efficiency and safety and systems and embrace new requirement. Having these solutions to the relevant deliver cost benefits.” n technology – so long as value For resellers, the education conversations with end verticals. We can only see Education sector focus is demonstrated,” he added. sector also offers exciting customers who accept this trend continuing.” continues on page 50

the Comms National Awards 2017 Category Sponsor 12th October / Hilton Park Lane / cnawards.com

48 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com

SECTOR REVIEW Why schools are a playground of opportunities

Ahead of the education sector’s summertime ICT buying period Comms Dealer highlights the areas of opportunity for resellers and spotlights the technologies and integrated solutions under consideration by schools planning their summer break upgrades.

ound by pressure the number of academies the flexibility to merge to keep costs low, joining multi-academy services,” noted Collins. many education Trusts grows ICT buying will “This is particularly important authorities have a become a more centralised when it comes to demanding Btechnology agenda that takes function with a focus on situations like clearing. That the ‘more for less’ scenario to reducing costs through is why the option of Skype a new level. “The focus this increased buying power.” for Business is often an year is on hardware, security attractive one in these cases and connectivity,” said Phil When it comes to UK – it’s cost-effective, easy Scanlon, Commercial Director colleges, there is an aim to deploy and does what of IT Services at Elitetele. for fewer, larger and schools need it to do.” com. “Online learning and more financially resilient online curriculum activities organisations. As a result, In terms of mobility, schools are also a priority, enabling many colleges are in the need staff members to be pupils to study in or outside midst of a merger or have contactable on and off school school and have the same already merged with another grounds and able to access experience, while removing local college, presenting a features remotely so that the need for paper trails, new opportunity for ICT they can ensure parents or physical books and paper suppliers. “There is potential guardians are kept up to study notes for revision. for resellers to get in front of date. “For example, when Pupils need access to colleges during the merging a school trip is running coursework, notes, revision, process,” explained Daisy’s late it’s important that tests and help wherever Public Sector Sales Director staff have a method to they are, especially outside Justin Collins. “When the update the school’s main of school hours.” time comes to choose one announcement service,” single supplier their name pointed out Craig Rimmer, Scanlon also noted the is already in the hat.” Partner Account Manager, trend of schools opting to Panasonic Business. “There become academies and Another important trend is Mark Shane is more focus on cost saving, highlighted the challenges distance learning. Colleges but an increased requirement that are associated with this have a target to conduct 25 for call recording and mobile migration. “In becoming per cent of their teaching New, faster networks are integration. The infrastructure an academy a school online. If they haven’t already behind newer technologies needs to transition from done so colleges will be always needed in schools as such as mobile integration local authority control looking for the infrastructure can be a challenge, and in into a more commercial- to successfully support the the older infrastructure often some cases it’s difficult to like organisation,” he ability to interact remotely find cost-effective solutions explained. “They need with large numbers of fails to cope that meet the requirements software to manage areas students. “This opens up of some organisations of the organisation that talks for BYOD solutions, dealing with Digital Natives telephony refresh. Many within education.” were previously handled by Wi-Fi and cloud networking, here, so high quality education sector institutions the local authority, such as not to mention the security connectivity is a must, along are sat on 30 year old Distributor ICON works financial accounts, payroll of those networks,” added with the ability to access telephony infrastructures that closely with channel and property maintenance. Collins. “And the fast pace the network from wherever need replacing, and with BT partners in the education We are also seeing a number of the mobile industry drives students are located and with set to turn off ISDN by 2025 space and the recurring of academies coming a more regular refresh cycle speeds fast enough to do many schools and colleges theme is connectivity and together to form multi- to ensure that the latest whatever they need to do.” are doing a SIP migration at safeguarding. Schools, academy Trusts that require devices can be supported by the same time. “It’s important teachers and students want the centralised delivery of the wireless infrastructure Another area of focus, which that their telephony has the to be part of the connected software applications. As around the sites. We are is often underplayed, is a ability to scale up and provide world but the challenge

the Comms National Awards 2017 Category Sponsor 12th October / Hilton Park Lane / cnawards.com

50 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com SECTOR REVIEW Why schools are a playground of opportunities

is to meet the network for tablet-based classrooms they want to achieve from The days when a teacher want to buy technology and connectivity needs of and e-learning. This will this technology. Wireless simply regurgitates text at a low price, and more all those involved without create channel opportunities networking has also been books are long gone. “The that want to engage with compromising the duty of not just for tablet hardware enhanced with the release new approach in many partners who can help them care to either party. “ICON and support but also for the of 802.11ac Wave 2. primary and secondary understand how to achieve worked hard to secure wireless and fixed network “New, faster networks are schools is an 8-10 minute their goals. “There is also the 4ipnet product simply infrastructures. “Schools always needed in schools screen cast at the beginning greater demand for enhanced because of its suitability in want to provide students as the older infrastructure of the lesson to outline support and maintenance tough markets like these,” with Internet access but at often fails to cope with the learning objectives,” packages as schools become said Mark Shane, Sales the same time need to restrict up to 30 students in a commented Shane. “The more dependent on the Director at ICON. “Not and manage the bandwidth small area all turning on lesson itself will then use technologies deployed in only does 4ipnet provide they consume,” added notebooks at the same various mediums to support them,” commented Shane. fast wireless networking Shane. “Some schools want time,” commented Shane. the learning objectives. This “Technology will continue and role-based connectivity to allow Facebook access is becoming more and more to play an important role in restrictions, it is also during lunch time but not at Wireless upgrades dependent on Wi-Fi and education. Purchasers in this approved for wireless voice other times. Because of these “The initial surge of pulling results cannot be achieved sector are becoming more which is desirable today.” complex requirements we down their roaming profiles without a robust wireless aware that a wait and see have seen growing interest in from the network can make a network. We all know the approach to technology is ICON continues to witness better Wi-Fi management.” Wi-Fi network grind to a halt. frustration of trying to work not a workable model. Being strong demand for wireless ICON has partners who have in a hotel on a poor Wi-Fi married to a maths teacher communication devices Interest in 4G connectivity sold as many as three wireless connection, imagine trying has also opened my eyes to as this sector needs to also continues to grow and network upgrades to the to learn while using one.” how technology is being used communicate with the core ICON has been consulting same school as demand for in schools and colleges. It has faster than ever before. with partners and their faster more robust wireless For reasons such as this changed a lot since I was in There is also high demand clients to understand what networking increases.” there are less schools that short trousers.” n

A Comms Dealer Webinar in association with Gamma Taking place on: Tues 4th July at 10am THE GAMMA GUIDE TO... Thurs 6th July at 2pm Selling Hosted telephony into vertical markets Vertical markets present many and varied challenges We will cover the following vertical markets: when it comes to discussing telephony requirements, • Charities for example benefiting from premium features within a • Education set budget, allocating staff effectively during peak times, • Estate agencies prioritising calls and coping with scalability changes. • GP surgeries • Law Although Hosted telephony can cater to the vast • Recruitment majority of customers, some have requirements for feature sets that may differ to others. REGISTER: www.gamma.co.uk/commsdealer Join our webinar to hear: • An overview of the Hosted telephony market • The challenges that these vertical sectors face and how Hosted telephony can help overcome them • How to sell Hosted telephony into different vertical markets

Tel: 0333 014 0000 www.gamma.co.uk *Gamma Connected Business Report - Sept 2015

www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 51 NEWS INTERVIEW Intec approach resolves mobile dealer dilemma

Full support in the supply of converged communications and IT services, a pioneering new buy- and-build business model and well planned route to exit offered – that’s how mobile dealers can benefit from joining the Intec Business Network, according to Chairman Simon Howitt.

here is nothing the mobile channel with secret about Howitt’s great confidence having formula for Intec already piqued the interest Business Network’s of private equity players Tfuture success nor the who form part of the rationale that underpins his business plan’s end game. strategy and proposition. The objective is to bring a Some get carried away network of mobile dealers with a great idea only together who recognise to see it falter no matter the need to broaden their how well thought out. But portfolios but do not have Howitt’s big ambition is the resources to achieve more a reflection of sound their ambitions to become strategy than aspiration one-stop-shop comms and and optimism, drawing on IT providers. Intec delivers knowledge gained from these capabilities through hard earned experience. And its technology team that his plan to introduce to the operates under the SparkHub mobile channel a pioneering banner. Companies using new business model could this service alone are called not be more timely. Affiliate partners and by committing over and above The importance of striking less beneficial third party an equilibrium between bold relationships they receive a visions and real world market bigger share of the revenues. opportunities was a lesson learnt by Howitt during his Driving value time at Outsourcery, a lesson But Intec’s primary goal is to he is putting to good use drive a buy and build strategy now with Intec. “I always and bring strong customer Simon Howitt want to be ahead of the relationships under its wing pack and ride the wave of rather than simply acquiring opportunity, but not so far customer bases with cross We are not looking to buy bases. We want ahead that you get battered sell potential. This way Intec when the wave breaks,” he can help dealers engage access to strong customer relationships stated. “Outsourcery was with customers loyal to them far too forward and there and provide consultancy build the network and within Partners who have helped took the proposition to over were too many doubters. services. Mobile dealers who a three to five year period to grow the business can 25 customers and 15 have We had a great idea, great become technology services we will sell,” commented continue if they wish.” already engaged while others positioning and great people, providers will naturally sell Howitt. “At this point we are in progress. We appeal to but we were too pioneering. a wider set of solutions envisage selling to PE and Howitt aims to have six dealers who understand that The big lesson learnt – no which means they could have discussed our plan engaged and active partners their customers want more matter how great the idea, double the valuation of their with a small number of by the end of the year, than mobile but they don’t don’t be too far ahead.” business. Because of this PE companies that are three of them owned by have the capabilities to meet upside the seller gains extra monitoring our progress. Intec. “Next year we want this demand. Our proposition It is with this knowledge advantages beyond those The upside of a PE deal is to reach 15 rising to 25 enables such dealers to and acute sense of of a standard disposal. that ‘owned’ partners will by the end of 2019,” he offer a solutions sell that optimum timing that benefit from enhanced values added. “Within six months of pulls through products Howitt is introducing “We are clear with all and PE will be attracted pioneering the concept with naturally. Dealers also need Intec Business Network to partners that our plan is to by the potential to scale. Hale Communications we to understand that customers

the Comms National Awards 2017 Category Sponsor 12th October / Hilton Park Lane / cnawards.com

52 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com NEWS INTERVIEW Intec approach resolves mobile dealer dilemma

don’t expect everything Early last year the trio we are able to help our and onto the payroll. For for free and will pay for developed a plan to show clients to make best use of wise dealers there is a strong Just a minute with services if they see value.” how Intec could grow and technology and improve incentive to join the Intec Simon Howitt... quietly launched the concept the way they work.” Business Network and tap Howitt does not want to in the summer. “We are now into its technology specialist Tell us something about build a large network of ready to extend our reach But the frustration is that team. “This function is run by yourself we don’t know: partners, he aims to create to partners who want to too many dealers have Ray and is what the partner I was a ‘visible’ extra in a more intimate and hands- remain in their business and their head in the sand, are takes to their customers,” a Red Nose day video on relationship. “We are drive growth but also have wedded to products, not said Howitt. “We will be featuring Tom Jones and Rob Brydon. It not looking to buy bases,” an exit plan that benefits solutions, and engage in developing regional centres got to Number 1 added Howitt. “We want them by taking some value price wars that devalue for SparkHub to make sure access to strong customer off the table now,” added the industry. According to we are close to partners What talent do you relationships and the Howitt. “By offering more Howitt they need to wake throughout the UK.” wish you had? To be more patient dynamic between the dealer of a ‘club’ and collaborative up and smell the coffee. and their customer base is feel they can join something “When Yes Telecom was at Once Intec has engaged with Role model: I was important. A differentiator that retains their identity but the forefront of BlackBerry’s a partner the fist job is to fortunate enough to work with Martin Sorrell soon for those we own is that at the same time they are surge of ‘email on the move’ get them thinking about the after he established WPP. their identity remains in place part of something bigger.” we saw some dealers turn concept of solutions versus He’s a highly intelligent and we drive centralised their backs and say ‘this will products and to understand and formidable person, back office synergies.” Methodology never catch on’. In 2010 where the real value lies. The with a clear vision, According to Bell, Intec’s and 2011 when Outsourcery majority of partners open bags of ambition and Building channel relationships approach is based on a three shared its vision many dealers up quickly, enabling Intec also approachable that stand the test of stage methodology. “Firstly, and conventional providers to identify their obstructing What do you fear time is one of Howitt’s investing time to understand thought we had just arrived issues. “They come to the most? Missing long held specialities. His our clients business, how they from another planet. Now understand that customers an opportunity career began in advertising operate, their history and everyone is rushing into need to see value,” explained One example of something and while working on a their plans for the future,” the cloud and providers Howitt. “If dealers can show you have overcome: A number of technology and he explained. “Secondly, who scoffed at cloud how technology and their life threatening illness. mobile accounts he was we include in our scope services are now building skills can improve business I’m fully recovered introduced to Yes Telecom. all business processes and their proposition on them. processes companies will What’s the biggest risk “I joined the company as technology solutions from What was seen as futuristic pay. Customers want help you have taken and Sales & Marketing Director telecoms services to business is now standard. It’s no and advice to ensure they why? Coming out of my and continued for three applications and physical IT longer about convergence make the right technology comfort zone and joining years following its sale infrastructure. Thirdly, we of telecoms, it’s about the decisions. So dealers must Yes Telecom. But it was to Vodafone,” explained set out a future technology convergence and integration not fall into the mobile a great experience and I Howitt. “Yes Telecom was vision and support the of all business collaboration trap and crash the price worked with great people acknowledged as a model process of change with a and communication needs. assuming that customers Name three ideal dinner channel business and its plan that is achievable, has It’s about the convergence will not pay for services guests (past or present): reputation is still an industry something in it for everyone of mobile, voice and IT.” that are valuable to them. Nelson Mandela for his pure inspiration and talking point. I then joined and is business case led. accomplishments; Seve the team that backed an By following this process Analysis cited by Howitt “The biggest opportunity is Ballesteros, an absolute MBO of Genesis from suggests that just 20 per cent getting SMEs to understand legend who might give me DSG and was one of four of a customer’s technology that they can benefit from a short game lesson; and founding shareholders of spend goes into telecoms, technology they thought Paul Merton who can see Outsourcery which launched meaning that many mobile only affordable by larger the funny side of anything as a Cloud Services Provider. dealers are leaving money enterprise and corporate How would you like to be on the table for more organisations. We can remembered? As someone “Soon after its IPO in 2013 rounded rivals to pick up show them the value that who was good to work Finance Director David Burke and potentially swipe the technology brings to their with, treated others as I and myself left. I remained mobile spend from under business. We energise dealers would like to be treated close to David and also Ray their nose. The opportunity to generate growth from myself, inspired leadership, Bell who was CTO at Yes and risk is plain to see and their base, we motivate them infused the team with purpose and direction Telecom. We collaborated Intec’s intention is to help to continue growing and on projects at Outsourcery. partners capitalise on the share in greater future value. Your strengths and what The three of us discussed opportunities and de-risk not We have been in mobile, we could you improve on? the industry and where only from the competition have been in cloud services, Resilience, belief and determination. I never it was heading. It was a but also from the challenge we understand the channel, give up. But I could work conversation that gave rise of recruiting specialist and we have a great blend of Ray Bell on being more patient to the Intec concept.” resources into their business skills and capabilities.” n

the Comms National Awards 2017 Category Sponsor 12th October / Hilton Park Lane / cnawards.com

www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 53 BUSINESS PROFILE Moore’s strategy revamp EMITs beaming prospects

The revamp of EMIT’s strategic approach has delivered clarity, focus, confidence and growth, says Managing Director Eamon Moore who reveals the thinking behind his expansion plans.

n April this year Dublin- Just a minute with based IT services firm Eamon Moore... EMIT (Eamon Moore IT) acquired the Role model? Richard Imanaged services business Branson for the variety and customer base of local of his businesses rival Softech, boosting its What talent do you wish customer base to over 3,500 you had? To play the piano end users across enterprise, Your biggest career SMB and public sector achievement? Collecting organisations. The deal is the Microsoft Global expected to add a further Partner of the Year award two million euros in revenue closely followed by lunch over the next three years and with Michael Dell is the latest step forward in Something about yourself Moore’s well planned growth we don’t know: I got 12 strategy. “EMIT has ambitious hole-in-ones as a junior business development goals pitch and putt player and will drive growth, both Three ideal dinner guests? organically and through more Three tech investors! acquisitions,” he confirmed. What do you fear the most? Just a Moore established EMIT Minute quizzes! in 2003 following a solid Top tip for resellers: Don’t grounding in the outsourced call yourself a reseller IT space. His IT career began How do you relax when earlier than most. It started not working? Family, after an introduction to his friends and sport teacher’s brother who ran What are you greatest CSK Software, one of Dermot strengths and what could Desmond’s companies. you work on? Networking Moore was just 15 at the is probably my main time and spent his summers strength. I could work and school breaks working on time management in CSK’s IT department to Eamon Moore One thing you could learn the trade. During not do without in this period he completed your job? LinkedIn a degree in Computer It isn’t just about going the extra mile for a What’s the biggest risk Applications. “In 1999 I was you have taken and why? then lucky enough to work customer, it’s about being alongside them on Our recent company under another of Ireland’s restructure. It was a leading entrepreneurs, the journey gamble based on what Denis O’Brien,” commented we needed to be in Moore. “The Head of In 2002 Moore took a part-time in Esat but we week was full and I was the future rather than relying on the past IT in CSK Software was call from Finbarr Crowley, agreed I would provide officially in business.” appointed to launch Esat Managing Partner of legal these services two days a Describe EMIT’s culture: Clear, O’Brien’s first venture firm Crowley Millar Solicitors week,” recalled Moore. The outsourced IT model Ambitious, fun, open, driven and focused into the residential Internet (who now sits on the EMIT “The EMIT seed was sown. was a big draw for SMEs. market. I was brought in board as Non-Executive A few months later after And after a number of years What possession could to help set up the technical Chairman) requesting receiving more interest in operating this model as a you not live without? My smartphone support department along consultancy services on IT my outsourced IT model sole trader Moore set up his with my CSK colleague.” projects. “I was still working I resigned from Esat. My limited company in 2008

the Comms National Awards 2017 Category Sponsor 12th October / Hilton Park Lane / cnawards.com

54 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com BUSINESS PROFILE Moore’s strategy revamp EMITs beaming prospects

and opened his first office Having shown a resilient 2014. “After 10 years of bold decision to significantly engagements with customers in Park House on the North business model founded providing consultancy and reduce our partnerships, about their business and Circular Road in Dublin. “I on solid experience Moore IT outsourcing services the with Dell and Microsoft technology challenges. It hired my first employees to then decided to further his EMIT board made a decision appointed at tier one level.” isn’t just about going the build up a small team and we prospects by completing a to move away from this extra mile for a customer, won a number of outsourced diploma in Cloud Strategy business model which had Moore’s business pillars it’s about being alongside contracts,” said Moore. at the Irish Management become too broad and showcase the core them on the journey. “Businesses also required Institute in Dublin in 2012. resource intensive,” he said. technology solutions that support and advice outside “This transformed my he now delivers. The move “This has led to further of our outsourced time so we thinking around business Four pillars has resulted in EMIT’s most investments in our Business built an IT support helpdesk and the value of focus,” he “We had amassed over 20 successful period with record Intelligence practice. service that would support explained. “Our strategy industry partnerships which growth in turnover and We want to bring BI to our clients remotely.” lecturer closed the course was unmanageable. We also staff headcount (currently companies of all shapes by saying, ‘with business looked at key technology 16) as well as a number and sizes to help them This period of development strategy, it is just as solutions and realigned of industry accolades, the understand the true value coincided with the market important to be clear about EMIT to deliver the four most notable being 2016 of data. We will also focus uncertainty of the economic what you won’t do as it is pillars of Infrastructure, Microsoft Global Partner more on technology-based downturn but Moore about what you will do’. Cloud, Security and Business of the Year for SMB Cloud solutions, enhance our said EMIT had a ‘good That line has stayed with.” Productivity solutions. These Solutions. “I spend a number security range and increase recession’ as its model and are supported by a number of weeks each year with the our software development outsourced offering helped Armed with knowledge and of professional services Microsoft senior leadership capabilities. We intend many businesses to benefit experience and following including managed services, team in Redmond,” said to become a much larger from a viable IT solution six months of research helpdesk, support, project Moore. “Close relationships organisation supported despite not being able to and planning Moore management, training and with vendors are as by investment and more invest in internal resources. revamped his strategy in consultancy. We made the vital as having constant strategic acquisitions.” n

THE COMMS DEALER SIR TREVOR BROOKING GOLF DAY

SPONSORED BY Join channel teams and a celebrity from Sparks for the best golf day in the industry... Tuesday 11th July 2017, The Oxfordshire Golf Club, Thame, Oxfordshire

New course for 2017!

You play with three colleagues and a Sparks Celebrity from stage, film or sport.

WORKING TOGETHER FOR CHILDREN’S HEALTH

To book your team contact Sam Gale at Sparks: Tel: 020 7091 7782 Email: [email protected]

www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 55 4th May 2017 AWARDS SPECIAL Winners all! What a celebration for channel sales and marketing stars There can never be any doubt that the UK’s top channel teams know how to celebrate success and they did so in style at this year’s ‘biggest and best’ Comms Dealer Sales & Marketing Awards.

The ballroom at the glamorous Park Lane Hotel in London’s Mayfair was bursting at the seams as 400 channel stars assembled to acknowledge the channel’s top revenue generating teams from the distribution, vendor and reseller sectors of the channel.

Sponsored by KCOM, the annual awards were presented by Radio Five Live’s Colin Murray who was the consummate host for a very special afternoon event that gave the channel’s brightest stars the chance to acknowledge the amazing work carried out, day in day out, by their hardworking sales and marketing teams.

Stand-out winners were Entanet and ProVu who both scooped a brace of awards and Pure Tel- ecom who collected SME Sales Team of the Year trophy along with the coveted overall Comms Dealer Channel Team of the Year award.

This year’s event also saw the debut of two new awards, Best Apprenticeship Scheme and Best Company to Work For, picked up by Lily Comms and Berry Telecom respectively.

“Channel sales are as good as they have ever been as the record breaking Comms Dealer Sales & Marketing Awards has underlined,” stated Comms Dealer Editorial Director Nigel Sergent. “All of our finalists are to be congratulated on their achievements and deserve wide recognition for their hard work.”

Awards judge Lee Shorten added: “Entries this year were exceptional. The quality and breadth of the submissions has shown me that channel companies are upping their game and develop- KCOM’s Henry West set the Host Colin Murray was an ing top notch sales and marketing teams which are ignoring the economic news and smashing tone for the afternoon audience winner targets via resilient selling and creative marketing.”

WINNERS’ QUOTES

“It was evident from the outset that this was a first-class event. Colin Murray was “Winning the award has been a real boost to Berry, it’s all very well us thinking right on point with a great mixture of humour and kept the whole event flowing at we’re the best place to work at but to have it confirmed via a national award is the right pace. Pure were over the moon to not just pick up the award we entered very humbling.” but also the covered Team of The Year Award.” SIMON LANGFORD – BERRY TELECOM MATT SANDFORD – PURE TELECOM

“The Comms Dealer Sales and Marketing awards ceremony this year was by far “We work hard to disrupt the IT space with creative and innovative marketing and away the best to date. Colin Murray was engaging, warm and extremely campaigns. The awards ceremony was fantastic and we were proud to win Best funny.” Reseller Marketing Campaign.” STEVE YATES – CHANNEL TELECOM HANNAH CUNNINGHAM – CISILION

“It was evident from the outset that this was a first-class event. Colin Murray was “Everyone at Exsel Group is absolutely delighted with our recent Comms Dealer right on point with a great mixture of humour and kept the whole event flowing at Sales Award win which provides huge motivation for everyone. The event was the right pace. Pure were over the moon to not just pick up the award we entered superb and made great by a fantastically funny Collin Murray.” but also the cover.” TOM MCDONALD – EXSEL DARREN FARNDEN – ENTANET

“The Comms Dealer Sales & Marketing Awards just keep getting bigger and more “The Comms Dealer Sales and Marketing Awards are always a great event to impressive with every year. Colin Murray was the perfect host, hilarious and attend. This year was particularly entertaining with Colin Murray as host. Having enthusiastic and being the inaugural winners of Best Apprenticeship Scheme is a scooped two awards, it was great for our team to receive such recognition in front tremendous honour.” of industry peers.” CHRIS MORRISEY - LILY COMMS DARREN GARLAND – PROVU

“What a fantastic event with a great host in Colin Murray. To collect the award for The awards, hosted to perfection by Colin Murray, were a great celebration of the Large Reseller Sales Team of the Year in front of all our industry peers was the effort put in by the many sales and marketing teams in the industry. Our Best perfect way to spend an afternoon.” Vendor Partner Programme Award provides us with the perfect springboard to DANIEL FULLER-SMITH - SWCOMMS develop our partner activity even further.” MARK ELWOOD – TELEWARE

Sponsor of the Reseller Sponsor of the Reseller Sponsor of the Distribution Sponsor of the Best Sales Team of the Sales Team of the Sponsor of the Vendor Channel Account Company to Work For Year above 7.5m Year up to 2.5m Best Partner Programme Team of the Year 56 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com HEADLINE SPONSOR AWARDS SPECIAL

ROLL OF HONOUR

Distributor Channel Sales Team of the Distributor Channel Marketing Team of Distributor Channel Marketing Campaign Service Provider Channel Sales Team of Year – ProVu Communications the Year – Pragma of the Year – ProVu Communications the Year – Channel Telecom

Service Provider Channel Marketing Service Provider Channel Marketing Team Vendor Channel Sales Team of the Year – Vendor Channel Marketing Team of the Campaign of the Year – Assembly of the Year – Fidelity Group Entanet Year – Entanet Channel Services

Reseller Sales Team of the Year with a Vendor Channel Marketing Campaign of Best Vendor Partner Programme – Reseller Sales Team of the Year with a turnover between £2.5m & £5m – Exsel the Year – Union Street TeleWare turnover up to £2.5m – Pure Telecom Group

Reseller Sales Team of the Year with a Reseller Best Marketing Campaign – Best Partner or Customer Event – Gamma Best Partner or Customer Portal – Daisy turnover of above £5m – SWComms Cisilion Wholesale

Union Street Head of Sales & Marketing Vincent Disneur donated the 5-star holiday Best Apprenticeship Scheme – Lily Comms Best Company to Work for – Berry The Comms Dealer Team of the he won in the Sparks Charity draw to his Telecom Year – PureTelecom marketing manager Gareth Pritchard.

FOR MORE PICTURES OF AN AMAZING DAY SEE www.cdsalesawards.com/gallery

Sponsor of the Vendor Channel Account Sponsor of the Best Sponsor of the Reseller Sponsor of the Reseller Team of the Year Hospitality Sponsor Hospitality Sponsor Apprenticeship Scheme Sales Team of the Best Marketing Year 2.5m-7.5m Campaign www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 57 COMMS PEOPLE Metronet’s key hire Zest4 brings

Livingbridge-backed Metronet (UK) has appointed Mike Darcey as Chairman. The move coincides with a in IoT whizz rebrand of Metronet (UK) to M24Seven following the acquisition of Venus in March. Darcey was formerly Zest4 has enlisted CEO at News UK from 2013 to 2015 following a 15 Ian Davis as M2M year stint at BSkyB where he was Head of Strategy and & IoT Business latterly COO. He has also held a number of Non-Exec Development Director roles at PA Group and Home Retail Group. Manager to work Darcey commented: “In the UK, M24Seven has a alongside Anton proprietary wireless network and access to local loop Le Saux who unbundled fibre, particularly in London. This is a differentiated was appointed proposition in a crowded market. Globally, M24Seven has Head of M2M an IXP network across 16 cities which is only just beginning in September to be exploited. I will work with the team to shape the 2016. Davis Ian Davis strategy and see what we can achieve together.” brings over 20 CEO Lee Perkins added: “Mike joins the team at an years mobile industry experience and has notable integral point where we bring so much hard work to life, stints at Ericsson and Exertis under his belt. especially our brand. At M24Seven, we believe that well- He also worked at 3A Telecom and Yes Telecom, connected businesses are more productive and our new both companies established by Zest4 founder brand reflects our ability to support our customers around Freddie Fazelynia. Davis’ new remit is to help Mike Darcey the clock, enabling them to get more done, 24-seven.” grow the network of Zest4 partners offering M2M solutions to end customers. He said: “We have clear targets and a robust strategy for the M2M Also on the move... and IoT market. It’s an exciting time to join Zest4 NG Bailey’s IT and help build the future of a growing company.” The appointment Mandy Fazelynia, Operations & Business of Dave Hudson as Development Director, commented: “Adding Managing Director an additional member to our team will enable of Zen’s Wholesale MD recruited us to further achieve our ambitions.” division is the culmination of the NG Bailey has firm’s strategy to recruited Peter establish a separate Jones as Managing Wholesale business. Logicalis names “We need to have Director of its IT Services division, Dave Hudson the mentality of a start-up because taking over from Bob Radcliffe as FD what we’re doing is new for the company,” said Dunnett who has Hudson. “We want to put Zen on the map in retired. Jones reports Logicalis UK the wholesale space and have the skills and the directly to CEO David has welcomed infrastructure to become a major player. The next Hurcomb and joins Stuart Radcliffe as few years will see much wider adoption of ultrafast from G4S where its new Finance technologies such as FTTP and G.Fast, while FTTC he was Managing Director, replacing will replace ADSL in becoming the norm.” Director of Facilities Paul Crilly who Management UK has taken on a Former Brightstar VP for OEM in EMEA Richard Peter Jones Ferguson has joined distributor Exertis as Head of and Ireland. He new role within Commercial. Prior to his three stint at Brightstar has also held senior leadership positions at CBRE a Datatec Group he spent eight years with Vodafone as Commercial and Carillion. Hurcomb said: “Bob has done firm in Australia. Director. Previous a great job and leaves us with a strong client Radcliffe Stuart Radcliffe roles include senior base and an expanding pipeline of new business brings over management opportunities. I now look forward to working 20 years experience and joins Logicalis UK positions with T- closely with Peter to continue the development from Unify where he was CFO responsible for Mobile and BT. “It’s of the division. He has a well deserved reputation the governance of various territories within an exciting time and a deep understanding of providing complex APAC, EMEA and Russia, managing a combined at Exertis,” said services to both the private and public sector.” business turnover exceeding 400 million euros. Ferguson. “I was Jones added: “Developments in Smart Prior to this, Radcliffe held Finance Director attracted by the ambition of the Buildings, the Internet of Things and increased positions at Acentic, Affiniti and Omnetica. company and am digitisation of client businesses are all creating Radcliffe reports directly to Managing Director looking forward significant demand for our core structured Bob Swallow who said: “Stuart’s knowledge to working with cabling and managed services solutions, both and experience will enable him to contribute vendors to drive within new build and major refurbishment to our strategy of putting our customers at the incremental business programmes. I look forward to leading the centre of everything we do, giving them access Richard Ferguson for our customers.” IT Services business at this pivotal time.” to the full portfolio of Logicalis solutions.”

the Comms National Awards 2017 Category Sponsor 12th October / Hilton Park Lane / cnawards.com

58 COMMS DEALER JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com THE COMMS PRODUCTS AND COMMSPAGES SERVICES PAGES To reserve your place and to be a part of the comms directory contact the call Sophie now on 01895 454476 or email [email protected] for details

RESELLERS WANTED

The UK’s first SIP Hosted Seat reseller portal with integrated billing.

• Full reseller portal access • Give your customers portal access • LIVE DATA dashboard showing call statistics • Bill your customers instantly with integrated billing with full itemisation

Includes unlimited landline calls and many advanced features from only £4.99 (plus VAT) per month, per seat. 0207 177 5000 [email protected]

We buy Cisco equipment We buy HP equipment Recycle services available e: [email protected] w: wdpco.net t: 01732-742620

THE FIRST CHOICE FOR FLEXIBLE BILLING SOLUTIONS

Reseller monthly start-up options from £99 pcm Contact us today for information and advice informbilling.co.uk inform_billing 01332 92 70 80

E s n u MARKET LEADING... a c BILLING :: SOFTWARE :: SYSTEMS INTEGRATION blin Fo g the Channel to EXPERT BILLING SOLUTIONS The Complete DIRECT DEBIT AND COLLECTION Billing Solution SERVICE PROVISIONING Recommended by 98% HOSTED VOICE of our customers FIXED LINE, MOBILE & CLOUD

Tel: 01235 526600 Email: [email protected] www.tms.co.uk 0808 115 4043 | [email protected]

www.comms-dealer.com JUNE 2017 commsdealer 59 CommsDealer 107x62.indd 1 23/01/2017 12:19 .co.uk nine wholesale

PROVIDING RESULTING IN

u . o c • Hosted VOIP • New revenue streams . e l a s e l • SIP Trunks • Tech resources on demand o h w e in • White Label Solutions • Rapid conceptualisation n

t: 020 7100 1114 e: [email protected] w: www.elishatelecom.com

Speakserve are looking to acquire businesses Please contact Jonathan Grant, CEO, We’ve been a partner of Nine Wholesale since we launched and client bases in the Best 4 Business Communications in 2005 and they played an in confidence on: instrumental part in the company’s success ever since. Over the Audio Conferencing and years, the team at Nine have been a huge source of support, 07720 417023 always just a call away when we need them and happy to help Unified Communications with any problem whether big or small. Service and cost are market. equally important and Nine tick all the boxes. Freddie Hawker - Best 4 Business Communications

www.speakserve.com Contact us at [email protected] or call 0800 068 5939 Success is a journey, together.

PRD Technologies Ltd software CD Directory Ad_06.17.indd 1 23/05/2017 10:44 Tailored billing PRD Technologies Ltd ViewPoint, Basingview • Monthly contracts Basingstoke, RG21 4RG Channel Marketing • Free customisation with set-up • Independently owned Contact: Simon Adams Consultancy Telephone: 01256 799 812 • Established for 20 years Email: [email protected] • Bespoke billing solution Website: www.quickstart-billing.co.uk Bringing Channel Sales & • Cloud billing • Bureau billing service Marketing Together • Out-of-the-box billing software 01252 416 389 www.bowanarrow.com

2013201 3 WINNER CHANNEL PRODUCT (ON PREMISE SOFTWARE APPLICATION) Award Winning Communications Management Software PAGES Call Recording Call Reporting CRM Integration Fully FCA & PCI Compliant Performance Analytics for Automated Screen Popping Solutions for Every Business Businesses and Contact Centres of CRM Contact Records 0800 9889 625 oak.co.uk To list your company products and services here for a full year – call Sophie now on The experts in billing & 01895 454476 or email provisioning solutions [email protected] for 020 8614 9090 details unionstreet.uk.com COMMS

60 commsdealer JUNE 2017 www.comms-dealer.com HOW HOT IS YOUR BUSINESS?

ENTER THE COMMS NATIONAL AWARDS 2017 AT CNAWARDS.COM

12th October / Hilton Park Lane .co.uk nine wholesale

u . o c . e l a s e l o h w e in n

We’ve been a partner of Nine Wholesale since we launched Best 4 Business Communications in 2005 and they played an instrumental part in the company’s success ever since. Over the years, the team at Nine have been a huge source of support, always just a call away when we need them and happy to help with any problem whether big or small. Service and cost are equally important and Nine tick all the boxes.

Freddie Hawker Best 4 Business Communications

CD Ad_06.17 working.indd 1 31/05/2017 16:28