December 2012 MicroScope Indispensable channel analysis microscope.co.uk

Celebrating 30 years of Microscope To kick off our anniversary year, we invite industry figures to share their thoughts on what they consider to be the most significant developments in the channel over the past three decades and take a look at the most important technological advances during that time

ian nixon/istockphoto ◆ the month in it ◆ opinion ◆ letters ◆ five-minute interview ◆ the month in the channel

Cisco merges cloud and managed SMEs reluctant to boost staff services reseller programmes More Comet stores face closure numbers, research finds Cisco has merged its Cloud Provider SME budgets might be recovering, and Cloud Services Reseller roles as potential buyers weigh in but small and medium-sized busi- with its Managed Services Channel nesses remain cautious when it Programme to form a single Cloud Comet's administrators are preparing to close a further 125 shops over the comes to investing in fresh staff to and Managed Services Programme next few weeks unless a buyer emerges quickly. help drive the business forward. An (CMSP) in a nod to the extensive Deloitte, which was appointed administrator last month, has already cut insight from Spiceworks into the sec- synergies that exist between the two more than 1,000 jobs and closed 41 stores in a bid to reduce costs. tor, described by many as the engine areas. Richard Roberts, Cisco UK But no firm offers have emerged, despite reports of several potential room of the economy, shows that and Ireland partner organisation buyers, including business turnaround expert Clive Coombes and e-tail caution remains despite signs that lead, said the move was an acknowl- specialist DRL. things are improving. edgement of widespread industry The 125 shops would close in the next few weeks, leaving just 70 outlets acceptance that there is “no differ- trading, if the administrators are forced to take further cost-cutting action. HP lashes out at Autonomy ‘lies’ ence” between cloud services and Around 5,000 staff are left at Comet, 3,000 of whom could be out of work Hewlett-Packard has accused Au- managed services. before Christmas if the stores closures go ahead. tonomy – the UK software house The IT and electricals retailer fell into administration in early November after it bought in 2011 – of “serious ac- AVG exceeds reseller cloud its previous backers were unable to pull off a turnaround. counting improprieties, disclosure ambitions with 1,000+ partners failures and outright misrepresenta- AVG has signed up more resellers tions” after taking a multi-billion to its CloudCare service than it set dollar write-down in its fiscal fourth out to as the channel looks for better quarter. In a statement, HP claimed M ike K irby ways to deliver security services. The Autonomy’s top brass were guilty of vendor launched its cloud platform a “wilful effort to mislead investors in June on an invitation-only basis and potential buyers, and severely before opening it up to more partners. impacted HP management’s ability to AVG had planned to finish the year fairly value Autonomy”. Autonomy with 300 partners selling CloudCare, founder Mike Lynch was quick to but it has already hit the 1,000 mark. reject the accusations.

Europe is third quarter star for Cloud strategy paying off for C2000 parent Tech Data distributor ComputerLinks Computer 2000 parent Tech Data For the first time in several years reported a drop in sales and net ComputerLinks has chosen to share profit during its third quarter, but financial information about the state performed well in the troubled of its business. The distributor has European market. The distributor been in private hands for the past unveiled its latest set of results on 20 four years, with no obligation to November, booking sales of $6.04bn reveal numbers, but has opted to (£3.79bn), down 8% year-on-year, provide an update to indicate to the and net profit of $45.9m, down 14%. market and resellers how its transfor- Sales in Europe, which accounted for mation strategy is working. 61% of Tech Data’s worldwide busi- ness, were down 4%, but excluding SCC claims first healthcare reporting changes declined just 1%, cloud in Merseyside and on a Euro basis, grew by 5%. Integrator SCC has signed the UK’s first healthcare cloud deal to deliver Claranet buys Star to build secure datacentre services to Mersey £120m managed services provider Care NHS Trust through 2017. The Internet service provider turned firm has already ploughed £25m managed services specialist Claranet into developing its cloud services has acquired managed technology £17.3m Servo accounts fiddle offering, which will see Mersey Care services company Star for £55m, move its operational data and ICT with the intent of building a £120m found to date back to 2009 infrastructure to SCC’s Optimise- managed service provider in Europe. Cloud platform by May 2013. This Trading as Claranet, the new firm Integrator Phoenix IT Group has revealed that profits at its mid-market services will include the transfer of 15TB will employ more than 700 staff business Servo were deliberately manipulated over a lengthy period going back of data currently stored on 90 serving 4,500 customers. to 31 March 2009. in-house servers. The fraud, which came to light in early September, resulted in management Fujitsu targets top partners suspensions and a major internal investigation at Servo’s Leeds site. Softcat to add 40 technical with storage education drive Having completed their review of the firm’s books, auditor Pricewater- heads to support 2013 growth Fujitsu has launched a channel houseCoopers and commercial law specialist Nabarro said they found no Integrator Softcat has announced programme and user campaigns to evidence of cash theft, but discovered that the unit had indeed been overstat- plans to double the size of its techni- grow sales for its Eternus storage ing its profits. cal team to support its growth and technology. The promotional drive During the course of the investigation, it emerged that the figures involved development amid plans to meet and is designed to build on the success were substantially larger than the initial figure of £14m, rising to £17.3m after exceed this year’s turnover of £300m- of second quarter storage revenues tax, over a much longer period of time than at first thought. plus in 2013. Particularly in demand that trebled year-on-year in the face As a result of the fraud, Phoenix said it had dealt with Servo’s financial will be skills around storage and of overall declining revenues for the controller and divisional finance director, and announced plans to relocate virtualisation, networking, security sector. The Storage First programme the unit’s financial and accounting activities to a new centralised office and Microsoft, with both technical is designed to educate users about the in Northampton. support and consulting services roles primary importance of storage. up for grabs, the reseller said.

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk December 2012 | 2 community

simon quicke editor’s comment Billy macinnes comment Long live the channel Making the connection t has been a long time since the first issue of between cloud and MicroScope rolled off the presses back in the winter of 1982. Much has changed in that time – IMicroScope has evolved from a fortnightly, then managed services weekly, print publication to a solely digital source of news and analysis about the channel, both through the website and the monthly digital ezine. Scanning can back through past issues highlights that the themes of the day when MicroScope started life in this industry were very much hardware-driven. Back then, some of the companies which have now become household names were just starting out,

and although IBM was there from the beginning, it istockphoto / thinkstock did not take long for Compaq and Dell to join it. Microsoft was still selling DOS and the software world seemed to be a fairly limited one. It was cer- tainly nowhere near as exciting as the Micro world, which enjoyed larger-than-life characters – Adam Osborne and Alan Sugar are two that spring to mind. It was also a world that was moving fairly quickly. The big PC shows in the UK served as platforms for product launches, and these launches seemed to dominate the news coverage. That might have changed slightly with the market now evolving into a cloud and services world, but there are plenty of fea- tures of the channel landscape that have remained remarkably similar. Firstly, those early issues covered distributors including Micro-P, Northamber and P&P. That level of the two-tier channel has become slicker, more vital in terms of logistics and credit, and shows no sign of t was interesting to note Cisco has future plans, if they can start to view fading into history. decided there is “no difference” it as a service in much the same way Likewise, the second feature of the market that Ibetween managed services and as any other managed service and remains largely unchanged is the way vendors con- cloud services by opting to merge comprehend that it can be delivered tinue to rely on the channel to get their products out its Managed Services Channel Pro- in the same way. to market and to make their technology successful. gramme and its Cloud Provider and It is not as if people haven’t been Back in the 1980s, when the market was just being Cloud Services Reseller roles. making the comparison between formed, it was key to have your distributors on board Richard Roberts, Cisco UK and Ire- managed services and cloud comput- and resellers lined up. That is still vital for suppliers land partner organisation lead, told ing already, so if it helps customers to MicroScope the vendor was more or define it as something they already that want to make a serious dent on the market. less acknowledging the widespread know and are comfortable with the And finally, it is the resellers themselves that have industry acceptance that managed channel providing, it’s a good thing. shown just how resilient this market is. There might services and cloud services are pretty In other words, it’s not revolutionary have been widespread consolidation at all levels of much the same. but evolutionary. That’s a good thing, the channel, the internet might have emerged as a Having spoken to a number of re- by the way. way people can buy and research purchases, but the sellers which have pretty much told Are there any downsides? Well, reseller has not died. me that cloud services is a big preoc- only in terms of just how far ad- No one now predicts that the channel’s days are cupation for customers and that the vanced along the cloud path ven- numbered, as it has proven time and time again over role for channel partners is to begin dors, channel partners, cloud pro- the past 30 years that it has the ability to evolve and offering them as part of a managed viders and customers are. To provide service, I can certainly understand something as a managed service, succeed. We hope that MicroScope has done the where Cisco is coming from. you need to have a proven delivery same. Thanks for being with us on our journey and The view from partnerland seems platform and strong customer ac- thanks for reading and contributing. to be that the best way to deliver ceptance. That may not be quite Here’s to the next 30 years. Long live the channel. ■ cloud computing to customers could where we’re at right now with the be as a managed service and that cloud which, in turn, may lead some partners have a serious amount of to charge that bringing cloud and expertise that could be used to managed services together is putting provide it. the cart before the horse. If you would like details of forthcoming themes run- So I don’t have an issue with Cis- I don’t think that is the case, but it ning in the MicroScope ezine, share your reaction to co’s reasoning. It also, I think, might be worth making sure custom- this one, or make any other contribution, e-mail me should reassure customers about ers view Cisco’s move in the same at [email protected]. how cloud computing fits into their way the industry does. ■

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk DECEmber 2012 | 3 community

Billy macinnes opinion nick booth opinion ave you noticed how The Big many people these days are “passionate about IT”? Marketing cliches H The claim is on every CV you look at, every Twitter or Linked- Blue bank In profile. If I were affected by this condition, I would keep quiet about it. But oh no, everyone has to talk a crime of passion f anyone needs supporting evi- about their problems these days, as dence for an argument over how if it’s a positive. Ipoorly the banks are performing Passionate people are always If Malvern based D-RisQ had a judges’ eye with a web service for in their role as providers of credit to committing crimes, according to the company song, it would be along the finding and sharing files, wherever business, you need look no further mid-market tabloids I read. As if that lines of Development can only get they are. But what does it do that, than IBM’s announcement on 15 were not bad enough, they always better. D-RisQ plans to simplify and say, Box and other file-shifters don’t? November that it was making up to seem to get bounced back on the streamline development systems so Is it more secure? $4bn in financing available for busi- streets with a slap on the wrist from successfully that projects will cost Finally, there was Skin Analytics ness partners over the next 12 months. some bleeding-heart judge. 80% less, while maximising compli- from Cambridge. Its cloud-based IBM was pretty upfront about it I know it is not trendy to say this, ance. Would that mean more devel- service is not exactly a cure for too, quoting research from a World but I think being passionate is coun- opment could be done in the UK? cancer, but it is the next best thing: it Economic Forum survey that found terproductive. In fact, I will go fur- Perhaps D-RisQ can tell us. helps prevent cancer from spreading. 90% of countries in developing and ther – it’s unprofessional. Smart Antenna Technologies from How? It uses smartphones to monitor developed economies were seeking IT is a people business. Think of Bath has invented a single-antenna small changes in moles to detect financing to kick-start growth. all the respected professions that deal technology for portable devices that melanoma skin cancers. E-health is a That $4bn is a big figure for any cor- respectfully with people. Doctors, could be invaluable as 4G networks massive multi-billion dollar market. poration to be making available in nurses, psychiatrists, counsellors. take off. But has it got the 4G handset It would be nice to hear from Skin finance to its partners, even on a They all care about their respective makers on board? What is it doing to Analytics how it is going to execute global basis, especially when you con- charges, but not too much. One thing reach those companies? Surely this is on this brilliant idea. Are any NHS sider it is building on a figure of $1bn they all have in common is that they where you need a technology agent clinics or GPs pioneering its use? in financing made available last year are dispassionate. If a doctor or a who can introduce the right inven- Unlike on Dragons Den, the for small and mid-size businesses. nurse became too involved with the tors to the right people. Technology contestants at this event did not There is no doubt the demand problems of their patients, they is a bit like show business now – you have to walk up a flight of stairs is there. In an interview with would soon go mad or start drinking don’t get anywhere unless you can before pitching to sneery judges. MSPmentor, IBM vice-president of heavily. As indeed, some do. get an introduction, no matter how Less dramatic perhaps, but kinder marketing for the mid-market Ed great your technology is. to the contestants. That illustrates Abrams revealed the $1bn of financ- Judges without passion Another Bath-based company, the difference between passion ing, which was supposed to last 18 I’m not likening IT to medicine, TopicLogic, caught the and dispassion. ■ months, had been used up in less but I do think we should draw than a year. According to Abrams, a line over some of the crazier two-thirds of the $4bn in finance will projections we make. So with go to partners outside the US. this in mind, the judges at IBM says the aim of the scheme is Cambridge Wireless’s Dis- to provide financing options for cus- covering Start-Ups 2012 tomers that want “to acquire competition took a dispas- advanced technologies at little or no sionate view of the finalists money down, making these technolo- who pitched to them. gies affordable and accessible for The 20 judges included organisations that previously did not senior executives from Broad- have access to them”. com, Vodafone Ventures, Qual- The hope is the scheme will help comm Ventures, Google, Orange, TTP to oil the wheels for a number of Ventures, Cambridge Business Angels deals that have, to date, been held up and Silicon Valley Bank. The compa- or would have been considered nies that came out on top were unachievable in the future because of Anvil Semiconductor, D‑RisQ, a lack of credit. The benefit to part- Skin Analytics, Smart Antenna ners in being able to help customers Technologies and TopLogic. buy technology is fairly obvious. Anvil Semiconductor is cre- While IBM takes a certain risk in ating an alternative to silicon making finance available, it gains in for semiconductors. Silicon terms of being able to sell technology carbide could be cheaper and and services to customers that might more powerful than pure sil- have been deterred from buying icon-based chipsets used in because of difficulties getting credit. wind turbines, electric cars Also, if there is a toss-up between and solar panels. If it can over- buying technology from IBM or a come a few transistor glitches, T hinkstock istockphoto/ rival, making finance available could the rewards will be a leading play a big part in winning the deal. share of a $23bn power semi- It helps at a time when credit and conductor market. Let’s hope finance is in such demand that IBM it achieves its goal. We should is one of the few IT vendors in a posi- all get behind Anvil Semicon- tion to advance significant sums into ductor. But is it getting all the the market. ■ support it needs?

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk december 2012 | 4 Advertorial

Cloud levels the playing field for small business resellers

About the Author

Mike Foreman, General Manager, SMB, AVG Technologies

Mike leads AVG’s small and medium sized business division; a global organiza on dedicated to un-complica ng the lives of SMB’s and the channel partnepartners that serve them. In his role, Mike is responsible for all aspects of the company’s goal in growing this segment, including P&L, sales, product management, marke ng, sales opera ons and customer and technical support.

Prior to assuming leadership of the SMB organisa on, Mike was senior vice president of global sales for AVG a er serving as managing director for the UK. During his tenure, Mike grew AVG Technologies into the UK’s number one player in the consumer an virus space. He has been with AVG since 2007. 30 years of the channel

The internet has been a teeki d /istockphoto channel game-changer As MicroScope enters its 30th year of publication, industry figures share their thoughts on what they consider to be the most significant developments in the channel over the past three decades. Amro Gebreel reports

hat have been the most across the industry show, the need and money. However, the modern-day higher priority to customers than important channel for a channel is as relevant as it was reseller has to create value from com- what sits behind the scenes. Vendors developments in the 30 years ago, if not more so. bining many technologies into a solu- will need to keep a focus on who W last 30 years? There are tion wrapped up in services. their customer actually is. a wide range of opinions, but there Kevin Bland, Citrix channel It is in services that money is is some consensus that it has a lot to director, UK, Ireland and made today, as most components are Glyn Heath, CEO, Centiq do with services emerging as the way South Africa commoditised within one or two The most important channel devel- to pitch, rather than product, along The past 30 years have seen a dra- years of initial customer adoption. opment has been how the symbiotic with a maturity in the relationships matic yet gradual move for the chan- The cloud will represent the most relationship between vendors and between vendors and resellers. nel from hardware-based value sell- significant mind shift as companies their partners has evolved and At various points over the past ing to services-based value selling. start to offer solutions where the adapted to the introduction of new three decades there have even been A reseller used to make considera- hardware and software components technologies, the downward pressure suggestions that the channel was ble margins from selling a single desk- are hidden from view and compre- on margins and the pace of change dying. Not a chance. As comments top computer, as it represented a sig- hensive service level agreements within the IT industry over the past gathered from the great and good nificant investment in both mind shift (SLAs) with consequences are a three decades.

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk December 2012 | 6 30 years of the channel

In the early years of channel development, genuine, mutually “Perhaps the most important change in beneficial relationships were rare and vendor-channel conflicts often the past 35 years is the slow and still the norm. Engagement models have been refined in response to more incomplete recognition by vendors that sophisticated users, challenging economic demands (the recession of the channel is important and that the early 1990s, the millennium bug, the internet bubble in the early hybrid sales structures are less noughties, and the economic meltdown of 2008/09) and the effective in the medium term than increasing pace of introduction of new technologies. maintaining a clean channel policy” The channel is now more clearly defined between traditional product Ian Kilpatrick, chairman, Wick Hill Group resellers and those that add real busi- ness value. Consequently, the width of the channel has shrunk, in place of greater depth where reseller strate- Richard Flanders, marketing Communication between conti- existing services being delivered gies are developed as part of a long- director, MTI nents has never been easier, and the over the web. Could we have lasting partnership. Thirty years ago, businesses and channel is now able to operate in a dreamed this 20 or 30 years ago? enterprises purchased IT from a ven- true global economy. Despite there John Antunes, director, SME dor as a tangible product. But the rise being some predictions that the inter- Ian Kilpatrick, chairman, and channels, SAP UKI of the world wide web led to a shift net would cause the demise of resell- Wick Hill Group Cloud and software as a service towards IT as a service. ers and distributors, the channel con- We have seen a lot of changes in Wick (SaaS) have revolutionised the The rapid development of internet- tinues to be as strong as ever. Hill’s 35 years of trading. Perhaps the way software is deployed and related technologies caused the With technology increasing in most important is the slow and still consumed. The whole model breadth of choice to expand, meaning complexity, supply chains are often incomplete recognition by vendors of on-premise big software consultancy and flexibility began to far more intricate than in years gone that the channel is important and that implementations and customers play an increasingly important part by. Channel companies have been hybrid sales structures are less effec- having to wait months to gain of the purchase path. forced to forge relationships and alli- tive in the medium term than main- benefit from their software has The support offered with IT ser- ances to deliver complete solutions taining a clean channel policy. changed, and the channel has had vices and products has also pro- to end customers. This has some- It has taken over 30 years to get to to change with it, as customers gressed. With SaaS, quality ongoing times involved cooperating with this stage, but it is core to the effec- demand quicker time to value and support and service can be a key companies that may have tradition- tive operation of a growth channel faster deployment times. deciding factor in the purchasing ally been competitors. model. Even Dell, founded in 1984, is In addition, where partners decision, as the role of the CIO is no now seeing the light, which is a huge would once have sold a whole longer confined to traditional IT Stuart Fenton, president symbolic change. range of products, this is becoming infrastructure. As keepers of the keys EMEA, Insight The continuing diversity in chan- increasingly challenging as the on technology, which is now per- Over the past 20 years the most nels, both reseller and distribution, solutions on offer continue to grow. ceived as critical to business success, significant game-changer has to be creates a rich mix of choice for cus- As a result, we are seeing partners CIOs are increasingly being involved the internet, and specifically how tomers. Despite repeated waves of becoming specialists, offering in key business decisions and strat- it has affected the way we interact consolidation, in both the UK and the specific products in line with egy. Their time is precious. with our clients, from transaction to German-speaking countries, the their skills. communication. decreasing cost of entry, particularly David Ellis, director of new Today, it seems normal that cli- for resellers, means that this diversity Richard Blanford, managing technology and services, ents purchase over the web. How- of choice will continue. director, Fordway Solutions ComputerLinks ever, the sophistication of supply Most vendors now run a pretty clean One of the main developments in the chain integration has been phenom- Andy Baldin, vice-president channel programme, whereas many channel has been the way channel enal and innovations are visible EMEA, LANDesk did not in the past. partners have exploited opportuni- every few months. Indeed, during Products to services: Over the years Another key development has ties around the advent of the internet, the past two years alone, the online we have seen a shift in the channel been distributor consolidation – there in particular being able to sell solu- revolution has continued at a pace, from products to services, which has are far fewer places to buy from now. tions via email and the web. with cloud computing and new and translated into an increase in value- added services offered by channel resellers. The focus now is on value, customer service and partnership. “These days, the channel needs vendors Less is more: We have seen the rise of smaller, highly skilled, focused which are 100% committed to the partners that adhere to a ‘less is more’ approach, gaining greater ability in channel model. The recipe for success fewer solutions. Partnership: The channel has and longevity in the channel is to listen to embraced vendor loyalty and there is a real sense of partnership, the customer and focus on delivering a whereby channel resellers see ven- dors as trusted partners and custom- valuable customer-centric experience” ers see channel resellers as trusted advisers. It is about delivering the Nessa Lynchehaun, UKI channel director, Mimecast right solutions, rather than just moving products.

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk December 2012 | 7 30 years of the channel

Nessa Lynchehaun, UKI channel director, Mimecast “There are faces that have been in the The most significant development has been the transition from box- industry for 30+ years and weathered shifting to more value-based selling, with the journey from traditional changes in technology, business model hardware and software sales to the cloud. Customers want to move away or socioeconomic factors. Not only has from a fragmented environment, expecting partners to provide advice the channel itself survived, but the and solutions that demonstrate value which can be maintained moving for- people in it have too” ward, as opposed to a series of prod- ucts that separately address different Janet Gibbons, Microsoft pain points. These days, the channel needs vendors which are 100% committed to the channel model. The recipe for new entrants to the market is robust Matthew Searle, director, when we moved to a connected busi- success and longevity in the channel and we are seeing the emergence of Canon Partner Channel ness environment, and that in turn is to listen to the customer and focus new types of partners, such as born-in- The imaging channel has been created the explosion in IT and the on delivering a valuable customer- the-cloud and apps developers, and changing constantly, but never growth in the value-add channel to centric experience. the formation of new partnerships. before has the shift to services been support innovative products which more of a driving force behind need a route to market. changes in the channel than today. Prior to this we had a direct-to-end- Partners must decide if they will user model. Foolishly, in recent years “Without the channel, the IT industry move from a traditional hardware- some larger players, such as Dell, centric sales approach to a more ser- have tried to cut out the channel and would not be where it is today. The IT vices-led business model that looks go direct. But they failed and now at optimising business processes. even they have a two-tier model. innovators had the ideas and developed This shift to services represents the They learned the hard way that you natural next sales step, as the market cannot undervalue the channel. them for consumption; the channel gave continues its evolution. Only a fool would underestimate The market landscape has seen a the channel’s strength and value in them the route to a global market” number of technology-driven delivering solutions and pushing changes over the last few decades innovation. There have been other Karl Barton, vice-president of sales EMEA, Exinda and there is an increasing need to threats to the channel, such as the offer value-added services to find and internet threatening to bypass the maintain loyal customers – increas- channel. But again, all we ultimately ingly, this includes cloud services. saw was an increased validity in the Janet Gibbons, director Longevity of the channel itself: From a partner perspective, this rep- channel as the only viable way to of partner strategy and Despite the huge changes in technol- resents an opportunity to open up introduce new, disruptive, innovative programmes, Microsoft ogy, and the vendors which produce new sales channels. Only by accept- products to the market. The move to services: Perhaps the it, the people in the channel remain ing this change can companies There have been many important biggest change has been the swap the same. The channel might well increase their sales and enhance their developments, but even when those from sales of physical devices and have been selling DOS, dBase 2, ability to cross-sell services. developments appeared initially to software to an entirely more ethereal Osborne 1 and Lotus 123 back in be a threat, the channel has time and transaction. You might have sold 1982, but its business model was Barrie Desmond, group time again proved its resilience and bundled software back in 1982, very similar to what we see today. director, marketing and reasserted itself as the primary route but today, we are more likely to be Deals are done on a handshake, and global accounts, Exclusive to market. That the UK has in excess purchasing software and process- usually once in the channel, you stay Networks Group of 20,000 resellers underlines just ing power by the hour, day, week in the channel. There are faces that Networking has been the most impor- how important the channel is. Long or month. Arguably, big companies have been in the industry for 30+ tant development, because that is live the channel. ■ were doing this with bureaus 30 years years and weathered any changes in ago, but the difference now is that technology, business model or socio- anyone with a credit card can do this, economic factors. Not only has the whether they have one or thousands channel itself survived, but the peo- “Only a fool would of employees. This opens up lots of ple in it have too. new opportunities for the channel, underestimate the as partners of all sizes and shapes are Karl Barton, vice-president exploiting this development to drive of sales EMEA, Exinda channel’s strength annuity income streams. Without the channel, the IT Consolidation (and rebirth): The industry would not be where it and value in number of companies in the channel is today. The IT innovators had that have been bought or gone under is the ideas and developed them for delivering solutions huge. The very nature of the world of consumption; the channel gave technology means it is fast paced, and them the route to a global market. and pushing in the channel this means businesses The most important development come and go quickly too. The stal- for me therefore is the channel’s innovation” warts remain, but the distribution sec- continued ability to find these Barrie Desmond, tor has seen mass consolidation, as routes to market, no matter the has the smaller end of the reseller mar- challenges placed on them, and add Exclusive Networks ket. Equally though, the number of value throughout the process.

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk December 2012 | 8 30 years of technology milestones ock t Thinks

What is the greatest technology of the past three decades? Amro Gebreel asks channel figures which single innovation represents the greatest leap in an era of enormous and gathering change

t’s almost impossible to pick one tered the applications business with history deserve to be remembered for Williams, group strategy and market- technology and say it has been Office,” he says, covering a few of the the role they played in moving the in- ing director at Six Degrees Group, the most important of the last 30 early years concisely. dustry forward. At this point it is gives an example of some of the I years and as we canvas industry Then of course the British got in- probably also worth tipping a nod to views held in the channel: “I would opinion there are a number of con- volved and Mathewson describes the Sir Clive Sinclair and the Acorn have to say the world wide web is the tenders for that accolade. But that introduction of Amstrad’s PC 1512 founders for their work in making the most significant, empowering and people are already talking about for £499.00 as a significant milestone. microcomputer a technology that transformational development of the cloud services as a major technologi- “From a communications point of made its way into so many homes. last 30 years. In terms of revolutionis- cal development just indicates how view, 3Com launched the 3+share ing how we work, play, shop, share, much this industry continues to in- email system, and then the big one, The world wide web learn, communicate and interact, it is novate and move forward. the internet appeared with Netscape Away from hardware, one of the most difficult to imagine anything (apart But before we get to the latest stuff and Webcrawler,” he says. commonly quoted innovations was from the internet that underpins it) it’s probably a good idea to remind “Time speeds up a bit and we get the world wide web. that has ever made such a profound ourselves of a bit of history, some- big ticket software applications like “Obviously the world wide web, in difference to all our lives.” thing Richard Mathewson, vice-pres- ERP, [enterprise resource planning] its availability and content, has The internet hasn’t just changed ident of EMEA sales at Masergy, does CRM [customer relationship man- changed the whole world and it’s im- the way that we search for informa- in relatively few words. agement] and SCM [software config- possible to imagine life without it tion and communicate but has also “Technologically developments uration management] dominating now. But the development and user had a profound impact on the way started with the introduction of the the enterprise market, before we acceptance of mobile devices – tele- we all do business and the channel IBM PC. A battle raged between mini close in on e-commerce, Blackber- phones, notebooks, tablets – and of has not been immune from respond- computers and super micro technolo- ries and more recently virtualisa- course widespread use of Wi-Fi, are ing to the technology. gy (like Altos, Netframe and Conver- tion, cloud and BYOD [bring-your- probably of equal significance,” says Christine Gebauer, UK manager at gent) which saw super micros come own-device] iPads.” Mandi Iles, group sales director at Paessler, told MicroScope that the in- out on top. Next, LAN technology The mention of Amstrad is impor- LDD Group. vention of the world wide web in (3Com, Novell Netware) ushered in tant because it demonstrates how The world wide web also got the 1989 brought about a revolution in the network era while Microsoft en- even those names now fading into nod from many others. Campbell the way businesses and consumers

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk December 2012 | 9 30 years of technology milestones buy and sell products and services. Today businesses of any size and ock “Electronic commerce, more consumers globally can have a pres- t commonly known as e-commerce, ence on the global stage if they have

has changed the face of traditional the right technology in place and the Thinks retailing. According to a 2011 report foundations of this technology lie from the EC Eurostat’s statistical with the internet. office, 79% of companies now have “Whether it is email, instant mes- a website and 22% offer the saging or even voice and video over opportunity for customers to order internet protocol (VoiP), all are criti- or book goods online,” Gebauer says. cal in our day-to-day communica- “Paessler has been selling soft- tions. They’ve made real-time collab- ware online for more than 15 years. oration a reality where response The web has broken down geo- times are measured in minutes and graphic boundaries and e-commerce seconds rather than days and weeks. has enabled us to extend our busi- “It is for this reason that I would ness to international markets quick- argue that the internet is the single ly and seamlessly. Using the web, most important technology develop- we’re able to have a virtual infra- ment we have seen since the end of structure in place around the world the Second World War,” she adds. through our partners,” she says. Gebauer adds that e-commerce is Mobility one of the fastest growing markets in Macland flies the flag for the net- then the other technology that has tinue to develop.” Europe and with the rise of tablets working industry, describing it as the seen incredible changes in the last The introduction of the world and smartphones at home and in the unsung hero of the age and the glue 30 years has been the security world. wide web might well be the technol- workplace, there will be further that holds everything together. With Gone are the fairly innocent days of ogy of the last 30 years but mobile growth in this sector moving forward. BYOD taking hold and 4G services teenage virus writers showing off. We technology looks like staking a claim She adds that cloud computing as launching, it does not look as if that now live in a world of cyber crimi- for the next couple of decades. a concept is not nearly as new as you role will diminish anytime soon. nals and state attacks. Already some of the technological might think. Previous approaches “In just 20 years, we’ve moved Jeremy Nicholls, channel and busi- opportunities of consumerisation are have been called ‘outsourcing’ and from the introduction of the first ness development director for EMEA emerging as companies look to the ‘server hosting,’ but insufficient pro- commercial automated cellular net- at Arbor Networks, points to an ex- channel to support them as they cessor performance, enormous hard- work to the launch of 4G services and plosion in the number of cyber enter this brave new world. ware costs and slow internet connec- the delivery of 3G to some of the most threats in recent years and the chang- “Giving employees the ability to tions made everyday use difficult. remote places in the world,” she says. ing way they are carried out. use their personal devices for work “However, today’s technology – “Mobile telephony, mobile email “We are seeing customised, specif- purposes constitutes a huge leap in broadband internet connections and and mobile internet browsing have ic attacks, aimed at bringing down enterprise technology and has been fast, inexpensive servers – provide all been massive game-changing devices such as firewalls and IDS so- found to increase productivity the opportunity to access only the technologies. Now, building on top of lutions. One of the most notable through offering the workforce great- services and storage space that are ac- these, we’re seeing the balance be- changes in recent years is the fact that er flexibility, mobility and familiari- tually necessary,” she adds. tween portability and functionality it is not only the ‘big guys’ who are ty with the device that they are reach a sweet spot in the form of being attacked; we are getting calls using,” says Phil Sansom, senior Networking smart phones and tablets. every week from businesses large and vice-president of EMEA at Kaseya. But better connectivity has also fed “Combined with the reliability of small who have become victims of “However, the management of into some of the developments that mobile network connectivity, these cyber attacks,” he says. these devices can prove complicated have occurred in the networking devices have created another funda- BYOD is also adding to the mix as and time-consuming – an IT conun- market. It underpins cloud and, as mental shift in both the consumer firms start to worry about how flexi- drum for many organisations. The bandwidth improves the potential for and business landscape. They have ble working is going to have an im- advent of mobile device management more customers to use managed ser- driven the consumerisation of IT pact on data. It is still early days, but (MDM) has made the administration vices from the channel, networking trend, the BYOD trend and are now the growth in demand for personal of BYOD more straightforward for IT technology will expand in the future. impacting the way consumers and devices at work and the growth in teams and ultimately allowed organi- It has levelled the playing field for brands interact. Their ‘always on’ na- managed services suggest it’s going to sations to capitalise on the benefits many businesses, giving them the ture has heightened consumer expec- be a major growth area in the future. on offer.” chance to compete against bigger ri- tations around customer service and I “However, what is important to re- Perhaps talk of BYOD, MDM and vals and in larger markets. believe they will be the catalyst for member is that business actually cloud is for another day – a future an- Claire Macland, head of marketing some of the biggest changes in cus- needs a mixture of cloud-based and niversary issue of MicroScope – but and Avaya-go-to-market in EMEA, tomer service in the next five to 10 physical, on-premise solutions, be- for now, as we look back over a 30- says: “The internet has spurred on years,” she says. cause different problems need to be year history that has seen the rise of globalisation by opening access to addressed in different places to be ef- the PC, the development of the client new markets through affordable com- Security fective. DDoS is a great example of server model and storage reach ca- munications, it has democratised But if its change and a dramatically how this system has evolved. While pacities that seemed like science fic- business and consumer choice. changing landscape you are after cloud is great for large volumetric at- tion back in 1982, it is hard to single tacks, small-volume, highly targeted out one step forward as being greater attacks – such as those on state tables than the others. of firewalls and IDS – are almost im- But the world wide web has “Giving employees the ability to use possible to detect, so businesses need changed everything, and for that rea- on-premise solutions to help them son it deserves to be regarded as their personal devices for work with such attacks,” says Nicholls. something very significant. It has In that sense, the trend of relying changed the way we live, do busi- constitutes a huge leap in technology” only on cloud can be catastrophic to ness and communicate. It is still rel- a business when it’s attacked and has atively early days and there is going Phil Sansom, Kaseya no on-premise protection. It will be to be lots more to come, and that has interesting to see how this will con- to be exciting. ■

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk December 2012 | 10 What you need to consider when adopting BYOD Are you concerned about managing employees' personal smart phones and tablets in your corporate network? Are you planning a mobile device strategy this year? Then get signed up today and learn more about BYOD!

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©2012 Kaseya. All rights reserved. Kaseya and the Kaseya logo are among the trademarks or registered trademarks Sownedpon sbyo orre d by licensed to Kaseya International Limited. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. an eventful 30 years

The Amstrad CPC464

A trip down memory lane Simon Quicke revisits some of the events that made the headlines during MicroScope's first decade in print – the heady days of the 1980s

Bill Bertram/wikimedia

ooking back at the events Surviving early advertisers include and Pete and Pam (later to be known that have made the news Northamber, Micro Peripherals pro- as P&P) are among those keeping during MicroScope’s 30 moting Epson, and Microsoft with an their contracts. L years of publication illus- ad for MS-DOS. 1983 Intel announces plans to develop a trates what an important role the January – June co-processor chip to dramatically channel plays in the IT industry – October – December A raft of IBM clones are unleashed at speed up character generation. past, present, and hopefully in the Sirius Technology boss Chuck the 1983 Which Computer? Show. Ex-Pepsico boss John Sculley will future – and really brings home how Peddle brings an end to the rivalry DEC announces its first dealers for get a $1m starting bonus and a $1m sal- well the channel has adapted to sig- between ACT and DRG over the the Rainbow PC. ary in his role as president of Apple. nificant changes over the decades. sale of Sirius and Victor machines HP expands its sales and support WH Smith sparks a price war by Read on to take your mind back to by taking control of Victor United. effort in the UK with a fleet of vans. cutting the price of the Sinclair ZX81 the days when it all began. As part of the deal, the Sirius name ICL launches its own micro ma- by £10, a week before Sinclair does. is dropped. chine, claiming IBM has got it wrong Microsoft and Digital Research are Wordstar publisher MicroPro Inter- by pushing “just another two-disk racing to produce the first truly mul- national outlines ambitious plans for single-user system”. ti-tasking 16-bit operating system. the launch of its UK operation. ACT gets set to clone the IBM PCs Clive Sinclair becomes Sir Clive. 1982 The British Microcomputers with ‘project Apricot’, a 16-bit porta- The first issue Manufacturers Group calls on the ble micro. July – December MicroScope predicts “an incredible government to impose a 12-month Epson’s 23 distributors are upset Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak amount of business for the trade” as embargo on imports of Japanese and when the printer vendor says it is returns to the fold. Acorn and BBC agree discounts on US micros. going to axe 10 of them. Northamber WH Smith decides to stock Acorn’s the BBC Micro. Electron. Sinclair links up with the Depart- Commodore cuts hardware prices ment of Education to ensure 27,000 by an average of 25%. schools receive Spectrums and ZX ACT gets set to clone Acorn goes public with a market printers under the ‘micros in prima- capitalisation of £135m. ries’ scheme. 1983 IBM PCs with ‘project Efforts to get Osborne Computers out Those pictured in the first ever of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection issue include Adam Osborne and Apricot’, a 16-bit portable micro are not going well as local subsidiaries Clive Sinclair. prepare to strike out on their own.

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk December 2012 | 12 an eventful 30 years

Production of ACT’s Apricot PC is Lech, to manage its six-strong chain running at 50 a day – the vendor of franchises. Commodore claims orders are hitting 600 a day. Not for the first time, Apple rips up Commodore and Sinclair are on al- its dealer contracts and introduces 1986 condemns rumours location as the vendors struggle to new terms and conditions designed keep up with pre-Christmas orders. to weed out the cowboys. that it is set to go bankrupt as Microsoft launches Windows, Micropro outlines plans for the which MicroScope describes as “MS launch of its word processing pack- “completely ill-founded” DOS version 3 under another name”. age, Wordstar 2000. Ashton-Tate withdraws its Strate- MicroScope reports that disks with gis product from the UK. a “mind-wrenching 1Gb-2Gb of stor- age” are being displayed at Comdex Las Vegas. for $19m in the biggest takeover in dealers and use distributors instead. Clive Sinclair announces he has micro software history. Baring Brothers is reported to be just shipped the two millionth Spec- HP launches one of the industry’s looking for a buyer for WH Smith’s 1984 trum. Sadly, research shows the ma- longest-standing brands when it un- two Business Computer Centres. January – June chine also had the highest return rate veils its Vectra range of AT-compati- Compaq is tipped to be the first MicroScope reveals that Apple is tar- at a whopping 24.5%. ble PCs. vendor to ship a 386-based machine. geting the Apricot market with the UK Specialist Computer Centres Microsoft launches MS-DOS4, its launch of its Macintosh machines. makes its first foray into the retail last OS compatible with the 8088 Apricot parent ACT is looking for market with the acquisition of the and 8086 processors. dealers to join its ComputerWorld Byte chain from Kode for £875,000. IBM dealers unleash a terrifying franchise. 1985 weapon in the battle against Am- Commodore ‘strong man’ Jack January – June strad’s 1512 – they claim the ma- Tramiel resigns as CEO and presi- Digital Research links up with Intel chine will melt if Token Ring net- dent. on its launch of Concurrent DOS 286, work cards are installed. Alan Sugar Lotus finishes the successor to which claims to bring a Mac-like en- 1986 dismisses the claims. its 1-2-3 product. vironment to the x86 platform. January – June The Department for Trade and In- HP unveils a portable Unix com- US retail specialist Sears World dustry is given an assurance by puter – it weighs 25lbs. Trade places an order for 10,000 Apple that the US vendor will not try IBM’s dealers are aghast at the ven- Amstrad PCW8256s. to maintain resale prices. dor’s plans to open its own shops in Commodore condemns rumours it 1987 A Texan upstart called Compaq the UK. is set to go bankrupt as “completely January – June launches in the UK, looking for IBM Software houses slam John Men- ill-founded”. Romtec figures show the UK PC mar- PC dealers to carry its product and zies for making them deal with de- Atari announces plans to take on ket expanded by 20% in 1986, large- Amstrad’s PCW8256. ly fuelled by the Amstrad market. “No one can ever use the brand PC Direct changes its name after name Sinclair again, including Sir deciding to stop selling direct. A Texan upstart called Clive” – Alan Sugar’s comment fol- Tandon boss Jamie Minotto en- lowing Amstrad’s purchase of the courages dealers to sell rival ma- 1982 Compaq launches in Sinclair operation for £5m. chines after the vendor is unable to IBM places more whistle up sufficient stocks. the UK, looking for IBM PC dealers to emphasis on third- party channels for carry its product and promising a PC sales. Research from laptop model within months Hogg Robinson shows computer company employ- ees have the worst promising a laptop model within funct distributor Tiger after it collaps- safety records as months. es with debts of £500,000. drivers in the Amstrad prepares to launch a Steve Jobs is sidelined at Apple in country. range starting from £200. a “major restructuring” following ru- Digital reveals it Microsoft begins a drive to recruit mours of a falling out with president is about to “swal- dealers. John Sculley over plans to make low its pride” and Psion announces plans to ship its Macintosh more open. clone IBM PCs. four business packages – already Psion founder David Potter launch- available on the Sinclair QL – on es a campaign calling for a levy on July – other platforms. imported software to protect the fu- December ACT is understood to be planning ture of the UK IT industry. The legality of a voice-driven version of its Rascal franchise dealer PCs. July – December networks comes Microsoft announces it has finished under a cloud July – December Windows, while Digital Research ups as the European Jack Tramiel resurfaces to take charge the ante by launching two further Court of Justice of Atari in a $240m deal. operating systems. decides the Compaq says it will recruit its Acorn reschedules its debts in a contracts involve 100th UK dealer by the end of the deal that gives Olivetti 80% of the breaking competi- month. business. tion guidelines. ComputerLand opens a UK office, Amstrad launches the PCW8256. Epson announces plans to stop

under a regional director Frank Ashton-Tate acquires Multimate selling printers and PCs direct to andreas Frank/wikimedia

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk December 2012 | 13 an eventful 30 years

Romtec reports that 100 dealers ei- eight years and we’re doing it on two ther collapsed or left the PC market levels – with DOS and OS/2”. The colour portables in the last quarter of 1986. Digital Research announces plans It is revealed that Amstrad spent to launch a rival to Windows, but in- market kicks off in more than £3.1m advertising its sists it is “top secret”. 1989 PCW8265 machine in 1986. Dealers suspect IBM is trying to re- earnest as Hitachi and NEC release Apricot drops 300 small resellers. duce its System Centre tier by impos- IBM tries to squeeze cloners out of ing tougher accreditation criteria. the first “commercially available” the market with its latest range of The Black Monday stock market boxes, which include its proprietary crash scuppers Psion and First Soft- notebooks, which are expected to Micro Channel Architecture. ware’s plans to go public. Microsoft targets Lotus 1-2-3 with Steve Jobs announces that his new have a starting price of around £1,200 plans to port the Mac-based Excel company, NeXT, will begin shipping spreadsheets to the PC. workstations in 1988. Toshiba stops shipment of its PC compatible to the US in the wake of 10% tariffs. the “look and feel” of the Macintosh snapping up troubled dealership IBM shareholders vote over- environment. Personal Computers, but denies it whelmingly to continue selling 1988 Sun announces plans to launch intends to pull out of distribution in into South Africa. January – June a range of 386-based machines in the long term. Microsoft is on the brink of Apple and Digital announce negotia- the UK. Apple is being sued by the Beatles shipping OS/2, two months ahead tions to make the Macintosh the front Epson protests against European over the use of its name and logo on of schedule. end of the mini vendor’s big iron. Commission tariffs of 33% on im- musical equipment. John Sculley describes the out- ported dot matrix printers. The Japa- Intel makes its first venture into come as “one of the strongest nese vendor denies there is any need Risc with the i860, a co-processor alliances yet in the computer for the EC to protect the indigenous designed for use with the 386 or 486. industry”. printer industry. Metrologies announces it is setting IBM chairman John P&P establishes a Mac distribution up a UK subsidiary of its TopLog Akers announces plans subsidiary, Principal. operation. A research company predicts 386s will account for half of all PC sales July – December by 1993. The UK’s biggest ComputerLand IBM’s market share has slipped franchise, Iain MacDonald’s from 40% of UK sales to less than ComputerGroup, is sucked into 30% in 1987. Canada-based SHL Systemhouse in a £11.3m deal. July – December Tottenham Court Road dealer Distributor First Software metamor- Gultronics is considering an appeal phoses into Frontline Distribution. against the Office of Fair Trading after An internal Apple memo claims being found to have treated customer the latest generation of Motorola complaints with contempt. 68000 chips call for a rethink of its Amstrad is forced to overhaul its OS development strategy. entire PC2000 range because of a IBM ditches its no-redundancy series of hard disk drive problems. ICL announces policy and announces staff cuts after P&P confounds speculation it is plans to get into failing to halt its earnings decline. pulling out of distribution by forming the PC market and IBM announces it is dropping a dedicated wholesale unit. Dell reveals plans to seven distributors and relegating Rapid Recall pulls out of HP make its UK debut at them to dealer Ts&Cs. distribution. the PC User Show. Apparently busy suing anything The colour portables market kicks to split the company into five that moved for ripping off 1-2-3, off in earnest as Hitachi and NEC July – December separate systems and technology Lotus is hit with a class action suit release the first “commercially Amstrad buys its US distributor, businesses in a bid to halt an for delays in releasing version three available” notebooks, which are Vidco, for £7.5m. ongoing slide in profits. of its spreadsheet. expected to have a starting price of Bill Gates predicts between 80% Computacenter raises £12m to Context predicts the UK PC market around £1,200. and 90% of PC systems will run fund future growth. is set to top £1bn for 1988. Reseller MBS admits the OS/2 by 1990. Microsoft releases Worldwide shortages of DRAM chancellor’s decision to raise Windows 386. Bill Gates says it is force price rises. interest rates to 15% will have an “trying to build a foundation for the Apple sues Hewlett-Packard and effect on the channel – others claim applications for the next seven to Microsoft for allegedly infringing it will make little difference. 1989 Softsel announces a merger January – June with fellow US distribution giant France-based Metrologie kicks MicroAmerica, creating a wholesaler off the new year with the purchase with worldwide sales of more Bill Gates predicts of several companies, including than $1bn. Rapid Recall. It claims the Sage floats on a jittery stock market 1987 that between 80% acquisitions make it the biggest and achieves a valuation of £21.1m. ■ distributor in Europe. and 90% of PC systems will run Computacenter claims to be the This trip down memory lane will continue in UK’s biggest dealer. the next issue of MicroScope, when we will Microsoft OS/2 by 1990 Distributor P&P leaps headlong look back at what made the channel news into the direct sales market by during the 1990s.

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk December 2012 | 14 30 years of security The evolution of computer security Mar Dixon charts the changing threats to corporate and personal data as technology has progressed over the past 30 years

he history of computer security goes back to the 1930s when Alan Turing et T al at Bletchley Park cracked codes using what were at the time highly sophisticated computers. Viruses were first discussed in 1949 when John von Neumann revealed that a self-replicating program was henrik jonsson/istockphoto possible in theory. Within the first decade of the com- puter industry, hackers started to find ways of infiltrating computer systems with viruses – leading to another group trying to protect the systems. When dealing with large mainframes, many people felt it was not their issue. With the introduction of per- sonal computers, however, the hack- ers and their viruses suddenly became a more personal problem. Starting in the early 1980s, the majority of viruses on personal com- puters were vicious but clunky. They required a human interface to infiltrate (floppy disk to floppy disk). Over the past 30 years, grow- ing expertise among hackers and developments in technology have expedited the way viruses are The Hacker’s Handbook is pub- Astronomer Clifford Stoll plays a Avast! antivirus. The company spread – with the internet being the lished in the UK. pivotal role in tracking down hacker followed in 1991. main culprit. The work of hackers The first paper on computer Markus Hess, events later covered in The Morris worm is launched. has even forced the creation of laws viruses is published by Fred Cohen. Stoll’s 1990 book The Cuckoo’s Egg. Graduate student Robert T. Morris, and regulations that were previously Jr. of Cornell University launches a unthinkable. 1986 1987 worm on the government’s ARPAnet After more and more break-ins to John McAfee starts McAfee Associ- (precursor to the internet). The 1982 government and corporate comput- ates Anti-Virus to protect emails and worm spreads to 6,000 networked The US House of Representatives ers, Congress passes the Computer web security. computers, clogging government is forced to pass computer security Fraud and Abuse Act, which makes The Christmas Tree EXEC worm and university systems. Morris is laws after hackers hit computers from it a crime to break into computer sys- causes major disruption to the VNET, dismissed from Cornell, sentenced New York to California. tems. The law does not cover juve- BITNET and EARN networks. to three years’ probation and fined niles, however. First anti-virus documented comes $10,000. 1983 Robert Schifreen and Stephen from Bernd Dix. Two anti-viruses In his Turing Award lecture, Ken Gold are convicted of accessing the are created for Atari ST – G Data 1989 Thompson mentions “hacking” and Telecom Gold account belonging to and UVK. Symantec launches Symantec Anti- describes a security exploit that he the Duke of Edinburgh under the For- virus for the Macintosh (SAM). calls a “Trojan horse”. gery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 in 1988 The politically motivated WANK the UK – the first conviction for ille- Fred Cohen, who wrote the first worm spreads over DECnet. 1984 gally accessing a computer system. academic paper on computer The Comprehensive Crime Control On appeal, the conviction is over- viruses, develops anti-virus software 1990 Act gives the Secret Service jurisdic- turned as hacking is not within the strategies. The Computer Misuse Act 1990 is tion over computer fraud. legal definition of forgery. The first paper on firewall technol- passed in the UK, criminalising any ogy is published, when engineers unauthorised access to computer from Digital Equipment Corporation systems. (DEC) develop filter systems known The Computer Misuse Act as packet filter firewalls. 1992 Pavel Baudiš of Prague’s Mathe- Michelangelo virus threatens to 19 9 0 1990 is passed in the UK, matical Machines Research Institute cause millions of computers to have notices the Vienna Virus and writes their data wiped clean on 6 March. criminalising any unauthorised access a program able to remove it. This is Luckily, the numbers did not reach shared with Eduard Kucera and the five million being quoted in to computer systems together they create ALWIL Software the press, but it did result in mass cooperative, which released the first media hysteria.

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk December 2012 | 15 30 years of security

1993 logic bomb and worm planted by 2002 2009 The first DEF CON hacking confer- hackers claiming a “logic bomb” will Bill Gates decrees that Microsoft will Anti-virus company Symantec ence takes place in Las Vegas. The go off if Kevin Mitnick is not released secure its products and services, and discovers Daprosy worm which conference is meant to be a one- from prison. kicks off a massive internal training intercepts online-game passwords time party to say goodbye to Bul- The Internet Software Consortium and quality control campaign. in internet cafes. letin Board Systems (BBSs) – now proposes the use of domain name Klez.H, a variant of the worm dis- replaced by the web – but the gath- system security extensions to secure covered in November 2001, becomes 2010 ering was so popular it became an DNS servers. the biggest malware outbreak in Operation Aurora Google publicly annual event. Information Security publishes its terms of machines infected, but reveals that it has been on the receiv- AOL gives its users access to Use- first annual Industry Survey, finding causes little monetary damage. ing end of a “highly sophisticated net, precipitating Eternal September. that nearly three-quarters of organisa- and targeted attack on our corporate tions suffered a security incident in 2003 infrastructure originating from China 1994 the previous year. From January to November, reports that resulted in the theft of intellec- Hackers adapt to the emergence of US Attorney General Janet Reno of new worms, Trojans and viruses tual property from Google”. the world wide web quickly, mov- announces the National Infrastruc- ing all their how-to information and ture Protection Center. hacking programs from the old BBSs to new hacker websites. 1999 Conficker worm infiltrates AOHell is released, a freeware Software security goes mainstream. application that allows a burgeoning In the wake of Microsoft’s Windows 2008 millions of PCs worldwide, community of unskilled script kiddies 98 release, 1999 becomes a banner to wreak havoc on America Online. year for security (and hacking). including many government-level, For days, hundreds of thousands of Hundreds of advisories and patches AOL users find their mailboxes are released in response to new- top-security computer networks flooded with multi-megabyte email found (and widely publicised) bombs and their chat rooms disrupted bugs in Windows and other com- by spam messages. mercial software products. A host of security software vendors release are being detected, mainly on the The first Malware Conference – 1996 anti-hacking products for use on Windows platform. MalCon – takes place in India, where Canadian hacker group Brotherhood home computers. Malware coders are invited to show- breaks into the Canadian Broadcast- The Melissa worm is released and 2004 case their skills and an advanced ing Corporation. quickly becomes the most costly mal- Myron Tereshchuk is arrested for malware for Symbian OS is released. The US General Accounting Office ware outbreak to date. attempting to extort $17m from reports that hackers attempted to American Express introduces the Micropatent. 2011 break into Defense Department com- “Blue” smart card, the industry’s Attacks on Windows-based comput- An “external intrusion” sends the puter files some 250,000 times in first chip-based credit card, in ers continue to be rampant, with the PlayStation Network offline, and 1995 alone. About 65% of the the US. addition of Caribe, a computer worm compromises personally identify- attempts were successful, according designed to infect mobile phones. ing information (possibly including to the report. 2000 Google, Facebook and other web- credit card details) of its 77 million The MP3 format gains popularity The ILOVEYOU computer worm sites are starting to be attacked, start- accounts, in what is claimed to in the hacker world. Many hackers written in VBScript, also known ing with Trojan Vundo (Virtumonde). be one of the five largest data begin setting up sharing sites via file as VBS/Loveletter and Love Santy, the first webworm is breaches ever. transfer protocol (FTP), Hotline, IRC Bug worm, infects millions of launched. Anti-Spyware 2011 emerges – a and Usenet. computers worldwide within Trojan that attacks Window-based 2006 machines while presenting itself as One of the few worms to take after an anti-spyware program. the old form of malware – destruc- The Melissa worm is tion of data rather than the accumula- 2012 tion of zombie networks to launch Saudi hacker 0xOmar publishes 1999 released and quickly attacks from – is discovered. details of more than 400,000 credit Norton AntiVirus is released. cards online and threatens Israel to becomes the most costly malware First Trojan attack on Mac OS X is release one million credit cards in discovered with OSX/Leap-A. the future. outbreak to date Farmers Insurance, Mastercard and 2007 several high-level government sites Trend Micro website is successfully are hacked by Swagg Security. Sev- hacked by Turkish hacker Janizary eral thousand user names and logins 1997 a few hours of its release. It is (aka Utku). are released, as well as other confi- A 15-year-old Croatian youth pen- considered to be one of the most dential information. etrates computers at a US Air Force damaging worms ever. It originated 2008 base in Guam. in the Philippines, made by an Project Chanology; Anonymous Future of computer security First high-profile attacks on Micro- AMA Computer College student for attacks Scientology website servers The threat of violation to computer soft’s Windows NT operating system. his thesis. around the world. Private docu- security is not going to go away in the In response to the MP3 popularity, ments are stolen from Scientology next 30 years. the Recording Industry Association 2001 computers and distributed over Hackers are becoming more ambi- of America begins cracking down on Microsoft becomes the prominent the internet. tious in their attacks and the best that FTPs. victim of a new type of hack that Mocmex Trojan is found in a can be hoped for is counter-attacks attacks the domain name server. digital photo frame. that are stronger. 1998 In these denial-of-service (DoS) Conficker worm infiltrates mil- Concentration on cyber attacks has Yahoo! notifies internet users that attacks, the DNS paths that take lions of PCs worldwide, including become more of a priority than terror- anyone visiting its site in recent users to Microsoft’s websites are many government-level, top-secu- ist attacks, highlighting the important weeks might have downloaded a corrupted. rity computer networks. future of computer security. ■

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk December 2012 | 16 opinion

30 years of microscope aving been present during the 10th, 15th and 20th anniversary issues of Mi- Here’s to 30 more years of H croScope, it is a privilege to be asked to contribute something to mark the occasion of the maga- zine’s 30th birthday. Things have changed a lot since I first became in- MicroScope and the channel volved with MicroScope, but that is hardly surprising – things change a Billy MacInnes mulls over how IT and the channel have developed in the past 30 years lot for people too between birth and the age of 30. Still, who would have thought And the margins were massive. selling product is increas- segments of tablets and back in November 1982 that a maga- They really were. On PCs and the ingly online and where smartphones – and the zine which owes its name to the fact newly emerging laptops (some of engagement and com- challenge is coming from the words “micro” and “scope” were them were as big as a small suitcase), munication with cus- (Linux-based) Android at the top of two adjacent columns of you were talking 40% or more on tomers can often be via and Apple’s iOS. potential names for Dennis Publish- machines that were selling for well the web too. Those tablets and ing’s new channel weekly would last over £2,000. No wonder so many Technologies such as smartphones are proba- this long? people in the industry were driving virtualisation, hosting bly having as disrup- To put things in perspective, around in flash cars (usually Por- and cloud computing tive an effect on the MicroScope is the same age as Anne sches) and shouting into brick-like mean the web is also be- hardware and software Hathaway, Ne-Yo, Lil Wayne, Prince mobile phones. Many were the living coming an increasingly technologies of the PC William, LeAnn Rimes, Seth Rogen embodiments of Harry Enfield’s infa- important fabric for deliv- market as the PC had on and Kirsten Dunst. Oh, and the mous Loadsamoney character. ering services, such as remote the mainframe/dumb termi- Nissan Micra. For those of you Back then, there was still a thriving managed services, to customers. nal world. Aside from their effect inclined to the morbid, you might indigenous UK hardware industry, Channel partners have evolved over on the OS landscape and the hard- like to know that MicroScope has with the likes of ICL, Amstrad, Acorn the years from box-shifters, to partners ware environment, they also plug spent more time on Earth than Heath Computers, Research Machines and providing integration, solutions and into many of the current leading Ledger, Jimi Hendrix, Tupac Shakur, Apricot Computers. As for distributors services, to managed services and re- technological trends such as bring- Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones and Amy and resellers, longstanding businesses mote managed services. We are now your-own-device (BYOD), mobility, Winehouse. such as Northamber, Computacenter, at the point where some of them are virtualisation and cloud. As I was just entering university in SCC, Westcoast, Midwich and Wick actively engaging with a subscription 1982, I was not involved with Micro- Hill have since been joined by US model for IT, which technologies such Predicting the future Scope from the start. In fact, I didn’t broadliners Ingram Micro, (which as virtualisation, hosting and cloud Looking forward, there may be some really become involved until not long broke into the UK market by acquiring computing are helping to deliver. people willing to write the obituary before its 10th anniversary. As some- Software Limited in April 1991) and Another profound change has notice for the channel in a post-PC one who had come from user-based Tech Data (which came to Europe been the emergence of Windows, an world, just as they were when Dell’s journalism with the likes of popular with the purchase of a majority stake operating system (OS) announced in direct model seemed to be signpost- Computing Weekly and Computing, I in Computer 2000 in July 1998). 1982 that did not emerge until 1985 ing the way to a future where the role found the channel a refreshingly and only started to take off with ver- and purpose of resellers and distribu- open and direct place. A very different IT landscape sion 3 in 1992. It has since become a tors would dwindle to insignificance. Over the course of the 30 years of near ubiquitous user experience for But they would be well advised not Big opportunities, big margins MicroScope’s existence, many things anyone using a PC or laptop – with to start typing anything just yet. It probably helped that many of have changed significantly. For ex- the minor exception of Apple’s OS Because if there is one certainty those involved in the dealer busi- ample, the average price of a pint of and near insignificant Linux desktop that can be drawn from the story of ness (as it was then) had come into beer has risen from 54p in 1982 to variants). But from the vantage point the channel over the course of Mi- what was a brand new industry from £3.19 in 2012. On a technological of 2012 – 27 years after Windows croScope’s 30-year history it is that stints in other sectors and relished level, the internet has had a profound first appeared and at a time when the rumours of its demise are often the opportunity of being in at the effect on our engagement with tech- latest version, Windows 8, has just grossly exaggerated. However ground floor of something so fast- nology and ways of doing business. been launched – Microsoft’s grip is strongly some channel partners moving compared with where they Channel partners have adapted to being seriously challenged by oper- have embedded themselves into the had come from. a supply chain where ordering and ating systems in the fast-growing Wintel ecosystem, you can be as- sured they will be ready and willing to engage with any post-PC reality that emerges over the next decade Remember these? and beyond. And there will be a role for them to fulfil in that landscape (or cloudscape). I have no doubt that MicroScope, like the channel, will continue to evolve to serve its readership, as it has moved from the limitations of a physical weekly paper-based maga- zine to a web-based publication that provides significant added value services over and above news and analysis – such as seminars and events, a VAR and distributor direc- tory, research, whitepapers, technical articles and background papers. ■

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk December 2012 | 17 community readers’ letters contacts Businesses need help to secure Data at the server level has become MicroScope data across the network 1st Floor, 3-4a Little Portland Street Paul Ayers, vice-president EMEA, Vormetric businesses’ biggest security vulnerability London W1W 7JB The recent Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) data Paul Ayers, vice-president EMEA, Vormetric Web breach, wherein a security researcher www.microscope.co.uk uncovered 100,000 usernames and passwords of the institutes’ members General enquiries in plain text, unencrypted on an FTP reside within the business network. A holistic approach to customer Office Manager Anna Peters 020 7186 1401 server, draws stark attention to an in- Only then can organisations take the service is essential in achieving creasingly common type of incident appropriate and necessary measures this aim. Multi-channel support is Editorial – data compromise at the server level. to keep it safe. needed to provide the best possible Editor Simon Quicke Until recently it was stories of As we witness even more data support to customers. From excellent 020 7186 1412 [email protected] data loss involving USB drives, leaks and hacks affecting corporate call centre service to online engage- Senior reporter Alex Scroxton laptops and other portable media servers, organisations are likely to ment, businesses need to engage with 020 7186 1413 [email protected] that pervaded news headlines. In start realising that they need to focus customers on whichever platform is response to this, the market for point a lot more energy and security budget right for them. In many cases it might Production editor Claire Cormack solutions rapidly matured. These on securing them. This will provide not necessarily be the one the com- 020 7186 1417 [email protected] Senior sub-editor Jason Foster an opportunity for the channel to days, data at the server level has pany would choose. 020 7186 1420 [email protected] become businesses’ biggest security supply the tools that provide assur- Pound for pound, customer service Sub-editor Philip Jones vulnerability. ances that, no matter how or where is one of the most cost-effective ways 020 7186 1416 [email protected] Servers hold the ‘crown jewels’ data exists on systems, or whoever’s of improving a company’s image, re- of sensitive enterprise information, hands it falls into, that information taining clients and growing a custom- Advertising such as databases. Focusing on a remains secure. er base. For instance, research shows Sales director Brent Boswell defensive perimeter around the that businesses which focus on im- 07584 311889 [email protected] network will not be sufficient to Help business customers offer proving their first response time ben- Account manager Paul Chester keep malicious parties out or secure a satisfaction guarantee efit from significantly higher levels of 07799 096424 [email protected] data in light of sophisticated hacker Matt Price, vice-president and general customer satisfaction. This is a mes- threats as well as the potential for manager, EMEA sage that all businesses should heed, Events insider mischief. With no let-up in the challenging irrespective of their size and position Events manager Chris Hepple The IEEE breach in particular dis- economic climate in the UK, value- in their respective market. 07826 511161 [email protected] played two significant issues: firstly added resellers (VARs) need to con- VARs tend to deal with tech-savvy the IEEE did not consider the type tinually demonstrate their worth. people in the most part. Anything MicroScope is produced monthly by of data being processed and logged that they can do to make life easier TechTarget, First Floor, 3-4a Little Portland Customer service is a frontier Street, London, W1W 7JB, UK. No part by members, and secondly it imple- that businesses can use to clearly for both their customers and their re- of this publication may be reproduced, mented no controls over who could differentiate themselves from the spective internal stakeholders has to stored in any form of retrieval system or access it. Though the process of data competition. The value of a business be a good thing. ■ transmitted in any form by any means discovery and classification may be mechanical, electronic, photocopying, is markedly enhanced by the overall recording or otherwise without the prior a laborious task, it is essential to fig- customer service experience – it is a written consent of the copyright holder. All ure out what data to protect and es- function which if done right can give Send your letters and comments to rights reserved, including translation into tablish where that data is allowed to a business the edge. [email protected] other languages.

Carbon measurement and reporting opportunities await

Duncan Everett, managing director, Optimal Monitoring ting/ist o c kp h t With an annual carbon accounting mandate due to be imposed in April 2013, why is it that almost no one is offering businesses a means of measuring their energy consumption at the level of detail required? However indecisive the UK Government has been up to now in making businesses deliver against carbon reduction targets, there are signs that it may now take more decisive action. After all, it cannot afford not to if the UK is to meet its urtney Ke a Co urtney own ambitious pledges which are now enshrined in law. Large companies will have to formally report on their carbon emissions – including those in their supply chains – from as soon as next year as part of their annual company accounts. Therefore, while the onus is theoretically on the upper echelons of UK plc, the smaller businesses which supply these larger companies are under equal pressure to give more thought to how they measure and reduce their own carbon footprint so that they do not lose contracts to greener competition. But many organisations, irrespective of their size and market sector, will not know where to start to get their ‘carbon books’ in order – not having the means of measuring current consumption, or of discretely tracking the affect of any steps they have taken to improve energy efficiency. This is where external suppliers have an opportunity – to provide a mix of professional services and specialist solutions which enable them to fill this knowledge gap and begin reporting on their emissions in an intelligible way. From specialist software and service resellers, to the accountants who must report on the carbon emissions, the channel has an unprecedented opportunity to carve itself a niche, while carbon measurement and reporting is still a little understood discipline, and while the need to get to grips with it is becoming increasingly urgent. As things stand, services offered are at best fragmented and misdirected, which means there is everything to play for. Remember, carbon accounting and the reduction of emissions is not a luxury, but a necessity. Once the rules are tightened and penalties are being enforced, businesses will start to wake up to their responsibilities remarkably quickly. The canny service providers will be those that persuade them to act sooner rather than later, highlighting the potential cost savings that come when organisations suddenly have a greater insight into the staggering inefficiencies that are still commonplace in most buildings and places of work.

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk December 2012 | 18 backchat five-minute interview adaptive players will have grown. Technology is advancing at an ever- increasing speed, so the channel (and manufacturers) have to adapt more to the just-in-time model to ensure that stock does not become aged and obsolete as technology advances.

Tell us something most people do not know about you I really care about the planet and the environment. I have a solar panel at home, I drive an eco-friendly car, and I was instrumental in the eco-friendly product portfolio within Allied Telesis. I have also recently taken up beekeeping.

What goal do you have to achieve before you die, and why? I will enjoy my retirement. Too many people work, then die. I have worked hard in my life, and I want some time to relax and enjoy what I have worked for. Life in IT is stressful, with long days, lots of travel, and lots of keeping up with technology. A good few years of ‘back to basics’ sounds ideal.

What is the best book you have ever read? Recently, I would have to say Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I like adventure novels and Melvin Wray Allied Telesis reading is an ideal activity when flying. And the worst film you have MicroScope puts its questions to Melvin Wray, senior vice-president of product ever seen? marketing EMEA at Allied Telesis International I cannot answer this question. If I am bored by a film, I switch it off and do something else. Life is too short to waste. Tell us what you do for a living Who helped you get to where you learn about engineering, but part of the I am senior vice-president of product are today? course was on social interaction. At the What would be your desert island marketing EMEA for Allied Telesis My parents. They supported me 100% time I thought those lectures were a MP3s? International. in my hobbies when I was young. I do waste of time, but my tutor convinced Mozart’s Requiem. I love this piece of not know of many 15 year olds who were me otherwise. With hindsight, music. I could listen to it all day. Why are you the right person for building computers back in the 1970s. It understanding people – knowing how this job? gave me an excellent grounding in this to motivate them and understand What temptation can you not resist? I was ranked employee number 49 new emerging technology, that has done their needs – allows you to achieve far Chocolate. worldwide, and number one in Europe. me proud to this day. more from colleagues than just raw I have seen Allied Telesis grow over the engineering knowledge. What was your first car and how 22 years that I have worked here. I had What is the best or worst business does it compare with what you done all the possible jobs available. I advice you have received and from What advice would you give to drive now? have a good memory, a background whom? someone starting out today in IT? As a student you have to drive anything in engineering, and the ability to do Phil Alcock at North Staffordshire Everything is possible – believe in you can get that is cheap. My first car marketing and sales. My position Polytechnic. I chose this degree course yourself and what you do. Take risks. If was an Austin Allegro. Currently I have requires someone with the ability to as it was one of only two in the county you fail, then at least you can say you an eco-friendly stop/start Volvo for access a situation from all angles and doing digital electronics. Mr Alcock had a go. If you never try, then you will everyday use, and a Morgan +4 for facets, and the knowledge I have gained was my tutor. I went there wanting to always wonder what could have been. when the sun shines in the country. allows me to do this. What is running on your smartphone? If you could have represented Great What gets you up in the morning? Very little. Probably the most useful app Britain (or your home country) at one I am a morning person. I am normally “I do not know of is from British Airways, which allows me event in the 2012 Olympics, which awake well before the alarm sounds at to check flights and collect electronic would you have chosen and why? 6:20am. I cannot understand people many 15 year olds boarding passes. I’m not really into sport (other than who lie around in bed all morning – I get Formula 1), so I would suggest the bored after 30 minutes. On a weekday, who were building What does the next five years hold 100m sprint. At least I could get the I am up early to start work – there are for the channel? whole thing over and done with in never enough hours in the day. At the computers back The channel has, and will, constantly around 10 seconds. ■ weekend I like to take my dog out for a need to re-adapt to the changes in long walk. It is the most beautiful time of in the 1970s” technology. Five years from now, there Read more five-minute interviews at the day to enjoy fresh air and silence. will still be the channel, but the more www.microscope.co.uk

Daily channel news at MicroScope.co.uk December 2012 | 19