Dan Ilett: A man Agilitas CEO sets with community on sights on three-year his mind p18 £50m target p32 VOL 25 ISSUE 9 FEBRUARY 2021 www.comms-dealer.com 0800 840 6800 0800 840 6800 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT THE HEARTBEAT OF THE UK ICT INDUSTRY BE BIGGER, BETTER, MORE PROFITABLE. Powering your potential Managed 3-16 Communication Industry News Channels Catch up with Voice, Email, Chat, Social events in comms (Twitter/Facebook/WhatsApp) & Business Apps Your customers’ needs 24 are changing Company Update Are You? New Horizons for Gamma’s Wade 26 Charterhouse in Insights Intercity finds its true purpose 27 acquisition trio th News Interview AUGUST Equity-backed Charterhouse Group is ramping up as a major MSP 6 May 2021 Comtec chief on in the channel following a trio of influential acquisitions that put the firm closer Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square his plans for AI to its £100m revenue target. and-build campaign which ing Teams. DXP provides fur- SPECIAL REPORT 38 kicked off with the acquisi- ther exposure to the north west The deals strengthen Charter- tion of public sector targeted region and is complementary Business Profile house’s influence in key geogra- NETConnection Systems in to Lloyds IP’s presence. And Lake wades into phies and deepen its Microsoft December 2019 and St Helen’s- the skillset Pentesec brings ARE YOUR new growth phase and security expertise. based Lloyds IP in early 2020. strengthens our cyber securi- TEAMS The acquisitions of Reading- Charterhouse Group CEO ty presence and enables us to CHANNEL based Symity, Digital Exchange Mark Brooks-Wadham (pic- provide an end-to-end Managed 42 Products (DXP) in Leigh and tured) stated: “Through these Security Platform. CHAMPIONS? cyber security consultancy transactions Charterhouse will “The combination of this Comms People Pentesec in Peterborough (a become a significant provider of transaction with previous acqui- This month’s Check Point Elite Partner) also managed IT and business com- sitions will create an organisa- movers and shakers boost group revenues to £60m. munications in the UK. tion of increased breadth and These transactions are the “Symity brings expertise in scale, underpinning future busi- www.channel-champions.com latest in Charterhouse’s buy- Microsoft technologies includ- ness performance and growth.” ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS WITH 9 www.comms-dealer.com CD Strip_01.18.indd 1 A BPL BUSINESS MEDIA PUBLICATION18/12/2017 11:23 Hello 2021 There’s light at the end of the ...fibre We’re so excited about 2021. Among our key New Year’s resolutions are expanding the range of full fibre products that partners can sell and enabling even more cities that they can sell in. Wherever you are in the UK’s connectivity market, we’ll be your closest ally. We also have great expectations for 2021, as the year when we begin to see normality return and as the most exciting year yet for gigabit full fibre, with us continuing to build and share our infrastructure at pace. Now is the time to get cracking and capitalise on the ever- growing opportunity we’ve created. Acting fast is the CityFibre way Be a part of it in 2021 Contact our wholesale team: 0330 100 3550 cityfibre.com/partner-us INDUSTRY NEWS EDITOR’S COMMENT DWS valued Jagusz in LAST year was a time for radical thinking and that jolt top chair in mindset continues to drive a more strategic role for ICT resellers. As the impact of at £1 billion at Vaioni Covid-19 remains keenly felt across the nation it is true DIGITAL Wholesale Solutions INDUSTRY veteran Chris (DWS) is to demerge from Jagusz has taken the Chairman Stuart Gilroy that organisations require, more than ever, forward Daisy Group following a part- seat at Vaioni Wholesale as the looking IT and comms partners who have themselves nership with Inflexion which firm strengthens its plan to tre- grasped the chance to reform and act with greater sees the private equity firm ble in size by the end of 2024. purpose on issues such as a revised strategic outlook make a significant minority The Manchester-based net- that focuses on remote working, wellbeing, the wider investment in the business. work and cloud provider’s strat- community, diversity and environmental sustainability. The demerger, which values egy includes a push towards All of these vital issues will continue to be reflected and DWS at £1bn, is the final step in total automation and potential explored in Comms Dealer magazine every month as we separating DWS from the Daisy mergers and acquisition activity. delve into the major issues impacting the channel this year Group. As part of the transac- Jagusz is well known in the and beyond through a people-first lens. We do this not tion, which was signposted on Terry O’Brien industry for his roles in high by pontificating or preaching, but through the thoughts, January 5th, the majority of the growth firms including Azzurri, observations and insights, experiences and strategies shareholders of Daisy Group are petitive market, with custom- Redcentric, Daisy and SSE of inspirational leaders in our industry who truly make reinvesting directly into DWS. ers demanding more from their Enterprise Telecoms. a difference. This month’s magazine is no exception. DWS provides IT, communi- partners, we made a strategic Vaioni Wholesale founder Building on last month’s issue in which we shared cations and cloud products and decision to separate our direct and MD Sachin Vaish stated: insights into how channel trailblazers are ‘pursuing a services on a wholesale basis to and indirect businesses to pro- “Chris is a great fit at exactly higher purpose’, this month we feature the achievements over 6,000 UK partners, from vide a better focus and agility.” the right time in our develop- of Intercity Technology which is also charging ahead with vendors including Vodafone, The transaction follows ment. He is not only a great a purposeful agenda (page 26). On matters concerning O2, BT/EE, Microsoft, TTB DWS’s acquisition of cloud sounding board, we can also the environment and the key role of the channel in driving and Virgin Media Business. services provider Giacom in lean on his experience in busi- e-waste management, we get the inside track from Its services are targeted at November giving it a strong ness growth and M&A.” Agilitas CEO Shaun Lynn on how sustainability priorities resellers serving SMEs in the foothold in the IT reseller and Jagusz added: “The business are emerging as ever more important considerations 10-250 employee range. SaaS space. has a well-funded five-year plan for resellers and end users, and how outsourcing DWS CEO Terry O’Brien, In its last financial year and straight away I knew it was key functions can alleviate the challenge and free who remains in post, said: “It ended July 2020 channel-only something I wanted to be part up resellers to focus more on their greater purpose, was clear that Inflexion shared Giacom generated almost £49m of. I bring a fresh perspective core activities and long-term success (page 32). our excitement about the UK revenues, £6m EBITDA and is to the firm’s strategic thinking, Whatever new challenges and changes we face in 2021 channel community and the on track to hit circa £62m reve- and I can dive into the detail compared to last year, the constant priority that is certain potential for growth as SMEs nue this year. when Sachin and the team think to recur annually for the foreseeable future is the theme increase their investment in dig- Giacom’s Cloud Market that will be useful. of sustainability and acting with purpose, and how that ital technology.” platform provides SaaS solu- “As a priority I’ll help to fits with your organisation’s strategy. Watch this space... Daisy Group founder tions including Microsoft 365 make sure we’re not just work- Matthew Riley continues as and Azure, security and back-up ing on innovative new products Stuart Gilroy, Editor DWS Chairman. 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Call us on 01480 274 900, or email us at [email protected] www.comms-dealer.com COMMS DEALER FEBRUARY 2021 3 INDUSTRY NEWS NEWS ROUNDUP Lux set to Nicol makes NEWS ROUNDUP GAMMA has sold its fibre A REPORT by the Public network (The Loop) in accelerate Accounts Committee which Manchester to infrastructure raises concerns over whether services firm euNetworks. “As the Government’s gigabit well as adding routes to our expansion way for CEO broadband targets are Manchester metro network, achievable has prompted Zen The Loop provides a more TELCOSWITCH has kicked off COMMSWORLD’S Non-Exec Internet CEO Paul Stobart local presence, the flexibility 2021 with a £4m growth capital Steve Langmead has taken over to call for a more joined to connect more data centres funding deal that signals the the CEO role from Ricky Nicol up approach.