MicroScope articles from April 2002

MicroScope archives from April 2002

Landis stuns vendors with CVA plan: Dutch group offers creditors 25 pence in the pound in deal designed to ensure future as networking services provider.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... The future of Landis is hanging in the balance this week as its management waits to see if vendors have approved a creditors' deal to save the group from administration. Landis, which was left in the lurch by Westcon's decision to break...

Mahon-Daly heads South after quitting VIP.(Sven Mahon-Daly leaves VIP Computer Co.)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... After struggling for 12 months to settle in the north of England, Sven Mahon-Daly has quit as general manager at VIP Computers and returned south. Jatti Sahni, founder of the Manchester-based distributor, voiced disappointment at the loss...

Industry unsure over price fixing laws.(UK information technology industry)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Government plans to make price fixing a criminal offence in its new Enterprise bill have drawn a mixed response from the UK IT industry. While some argue the industry is the most competitive in Europe, others say the opposite. "With...

Government departments to buy online in Scotland. (Customer Focus).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Government departments in Scotland are now able to buy online following the launch of an e-procurement site. The system is designed to give government department agencies (GDAs) electronic contact with their suppliers. The site will be...

Microsoft attacks Red Hat and Gateway in anti-trust battle. (News).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Microsoft's lawyers have attacked Red Hat and Gateway in the latest stage of its long-running anti-trust battle with nine US states. Microsoft accused open source vendor Red Hat of having "nobody except itself" to blame for the poor...

Deals. (News).
April 2, 2002... Deals Deals Vendor Win tickets to Rome Fujitsu Siemens Free M&S vouchers CA BrightStor ARCserve [pounds sterling]150 rebate Minolta Amilo C850 offer Fujitsu Siemens Scenic...

ICL in credit limbo as ETI delays decision. (News).(Euler Trade Indemnity postpones decision on whether to drop insurance cover)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... ICL's period of credit insurance uncertainty looks set to continue well into April after it revealed Euler Trade Indemnity had postponed its decision on whether or not to pull insurance cover on the group. A spokesman for the services...

Tiny customers 'left in the lurch' by credit card firms. (News).(are accused of refusing to take responsibility for PC warranties)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Time has accused credit card companies of leaving 80,000 Tiny customers who bought PCs with their credit cards in the lurch by refusing to take responsibility for their warranties. The retailer and PC manufacturer -- which acquired Tiny...

Apple swaps 'hit and miss' strategy for vertical focus. (News).(Apple Computer Inc. makes plans with dealers)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Apple has overhauled its channel structure to replace its 'hit and miss' Apple centre strategy with a scheme aimed at new and existing dealers with vertical industry knowledge. Mark Rogers, Apple's general manager for the UK and Ireland,...

Network Associates under official investigation by the SEC. (News).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Network Associates has put its bid to buy the remainder of McAfee.com on hold as it faces an investigation into its accounting practices by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC has launched a formal enquiry into the...

Online sales take off for Ingram. (In Brief).(Ingram Micro Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 2, 2002... Ingram Micro Europe has claimed more than 45 per cent of all orders placed in 2001 were by resellers using its e-commerce tools.

Tobit Software lists comms dealers as potential partners. (In Brief).(communications dealers)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 2, 2002... Unified messaging software specialist Tobit Software is stepping up its campaign to recruit a 500-strong network of authorised resellers in the UK by adding comms dealers to its list of potential partners. The company already has 350 dealers.

Computacenter outsourcing deal with BT given go-ahead. (In Brief).(Computacenter PLC, British Telecommunications PLC)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 2, 2002... Computacenter's outsourcing deal with BT, which had been threatened by union action before negotiations resulted in some concessions to the affected staff, was confirmed last week. Meanwhile, the reseller's chief executive Mike Norris sold...

Ongoing discussions over Micron buyout of Hynix. (In Brief).(Micron Technology Inc., Hynix Semiconductor Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Hynix CEO Park Chong Sup told shareholders that negotiations to sell the debt-ridden Korean company's assets to US-based Micron Technology will last several more weeks. Chipmaker Hynix has been talking to rival Micron since early December.

Xbox price too ambitious. (In Brief).(Microsoft cuts price of game console in Japan)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Microsoft may have to cut the price of its Xbox game console in Japan following poor sales in the country. A report by an analyst at Deutsche Securities suggested the vendor may also be forced to drop the console's price in Europe.

Spending predicted to remain stagnant until mid-2003. (In Brief).(European technology spending)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Gartner Group has predicted there will be no increase in European technology spending until the middle of next year. Worst affected will be PC vendors, along with telecoms and network equipment manufacturers.

It was 20 years ago today.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... 27 March -- Catastrophe: Seven Tears by the Goombay Dance Band is UK number one 29 March -- Chariots of Fire wins four oscars, including best film and best screenplay. Scriptwriter Colin Welland makes his infamous "the British are coming"...

Wanted: A white knight keen on distribution. (Analysis).(trouble at Landis)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... It was probably obvious from the Landis management team's reticence over Westcon's decision to end acquisition talks last week that something was seriously amiss at the company. Now, just one week after Westcon delivered its body blow, the...

Peregrine pools talent to target SMEs. (Software).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Management software developer Peregrine has opted for a two-pronged approach to try and break into the SME market It has developed a SME-focused product; Zanadu, and formed partnerships with telecom vendors. "We have signed deals with...

Mothers vote for CA while Microsoft gets the balance right. (Software).(Computer Associates, Microsoft Inc. rank among best places to work in United Kingdom)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 2, 2002... Computer Associates has been voted the best place to work for mothers by The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies To Work For survey. CA, which ranked 17 on the list of best places to work, has an onsite nursery which charges [pounds sterling]30...

Is doomsday approaching for dealers? (Comment).(information technology veteran predicts resellers will lose business to telecommunication companies and banks)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Times are changing to such an extent that resellers will be brushed aside in favour of utilities companies and banks, according to one IT veteran. "I see a two-tier distribution system where vendors will be dealing directly with utility...

GNS to provide Tarantella software in Europe. (In Brief).(Global Network Solutions)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Tarantella has announced that Global Network Solutions has become a Premier Solution Provider within the Tarantella PartnerConnect programme. GNS will provide Tarantella software to European-based organisations deploying thin-client computing...

Marra gets RiverSoft job. (In Brief).(Raymond Marra)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... RiverSoft, provider of network management systems, has appointed Raymond Marra as vice president of worldwide alliances and business development. Marra will be responsible for RiverSoft's global channel, systems integrator, OEM and partner...

Extensity promotes Tweedale to top emea position. (In Brief).(Guy Tweedale, general manager)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... ERM provider Extensity has appointed Guy Tweedale as its new general manager for Europe. Tweedale has been promoted from his previous position as European marketing director.

Caldera certified for Kylix. (Product News).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Caldera's OpenLinux Workstation 3.1.1 has been certified with Borland Software for Kylix 2. This allows corporate developers to rapidly create Linux, Web services, database and GUI applications.

Granite launches extranet for alliance partners. (Product News).(Granite Systems)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Granite Systems, communications software provider of service resource management (SRM) systems, has launched XngNET, an extranet for alliance partners.

Defcom UK arm in talks with potential buyers. (Networking).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... The UK arm of managed security services provider Defcom is in advanced talks with a number of potential suitors after its Swedish parent was bought out of bankruptcy by Nordic integrator ProAct. A Defcom spokesman said the group was close...

Bluetooth mobile adoption to reach 24m. (In Brief).(says)(TDK Systems Europe )(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... TDK Systems Europe has forecast more than 24m Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones will be in use by the end of the year. The firm has based its research on the fact that 11m Bluetooth chipsets have been shipped so far this year.

World's largest network for streaming media. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Network Appliance and IBM Global Services have teamed up to provide Deutsche Telekom AG with the infrastructure to deploy what they claim is the world's largest content delivery network for streaming media. The network will allow Deutsche...

Trescray awarded standard for quality. (In Brief).(Trescray Network Communications )(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Network and cable installation group Trescray Network Communications has been awarded an ISO9001-2000 quality standard. To keep the standard, Trescray will have to continuously improve its quality procedures.

GRIC offers partner plan. (In Brief).(GRIC Communications)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Internet-based mobile office communications services group GRIC Communications has launched a channel partner programme to support its strategy for expansion in Europe. GRIC claims its global remote access system offers channel partners margins...

HP launch could trigger huge growth in MFPs. (Hardware).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... The multi-function printer (MFP) market is like an arrow that has been pulled back for the last few years, but huge growth is set to be triggered by the recent launch of Hewlett-Packard's midrange products. The US giant dipped its toe into...

2m Ultrium data cartridges shipped in 18 months. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Seagate Removable Storage Solutions LLC revealed that as of February 2002, 2m Ultrium format tape data cartridges have shipped worldwide since the format first reached the market in September 2000. IDC estimated that...

NEC launches light Pocket PC for business users. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... NEC has unveiled the MobilePro 300E Pocket PC that weighs 146g and is aimed at meeting the requirements of business users. The product is powered by Intel StrongARM processors and 64Mb of RAM and has over eight hours of battery life. The device...

Philips to supply Dell with monitors and DVD drives. (In Brief).(Royal Philips Electronics)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Royal Philips Electronics has signed a deal with Dell to supply the direct specialist with monitors in a five-year agreement which could be worth as much as $5bn ([pounds sterling]3.6bn). The move is believed to be in line with a strategy to...

Hitachi unveils interactive presentation tool. (In Brief).(Hitachi Software Engineering )(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Hitachi Software Engineering has launched a rear-projection interactive StarBoard R-70X. The 70in tool is designed with corporate presentations, training and exhibitions in mind and can even be utilised as a home cinema, according to the...

Distributors put faith in NAS evangelism to boost market. (Hardware).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Distributors have warned of the need to plough more resources into increasing reseller awareness of the benefits of network attached storage to help the market meet expectations. "Ultimately, we recognise that the NAS market is growing less...

Chip vendors form alliances to cope with pressure. (Hardware).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Crippling investment costs and increasing pressure to show a quicker return on investment has forced major semiconductor manufacturers to strategically merge. The latest vendors to discuss a chip alliance are Japanese giants Toshiba and...

Dimension Data goes Dutch. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Dimension Data has won a deal initially worth [euro]10m implementing the EuroDocsis standard across the network of Dutch cable operator Essent Kablec as it gets ready to provide P-services over cable.

Microsoft awards CTECs with Gold Certification. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... The first five Microsoft certified technical education centres (CTECs) to be awarded Gold Certification for Learning Solutions have been announced. Aris Education, Azlan, Pygmalion, Informatics Group and Expertise Training have all demonstrated...

Accenture employs iMobile. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Synchrologic, a mobile infrastructure technology specialist, has been selected as a cornerstone technology provider for Accenture's recently launched Mobile Service Bureau. Synchrologic's iMobile Suite will enable Accenture's Service Bureau to...

Sun shines on LSI Logic. (In Brief).(Sun Microsystems)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Provider of high-performance host bus adapters (HBAs) for the Unix server market, LSI Logic has announced that the CompactPCI dual channel HVD (high voltage differential) SCSI HBA has achieved Solaris Ready Certification from Sun Microsystems.

HP adds to Netaction. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Hewlett-Packard has added a variety of offerings to its HP Netaction software suite. The developer tools and support services accelerate development and deployment of Web services.

Compaq says 'spend on IT now'. (Services).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... With all the talk of recession, the issue of IT spend has become even more important as companies weigh up whether to invest in technology. But a report compiled by Compaq suggests recession is one of the best times to invest in IT,...

New era for Premier IT as old rivals take charge. (Services).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Premier IT has been acquired by senior management at rival companies who aim to raise the profile of the London-based company as a learning integrator. Ian West and Julian Harvey, co-founders of Harvey West -- now known as Spring IT...

Azlan's roaring success defies market slump. (Finance).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Once notorious as the company at the centre of an accounting error scandal over four years ago, Azlan's recent run of good results has marked it out as one of the UK's best performing distributors. Although most of its broadline and...

Prodata reveals opportunities in SME sector. (Research).
April 2, 2002... Time and time again we see vendors and resellers make a big fuss about their SME focus, yet it seems many still have little idea what the small business customer actually wants, believing instead that all they require is a scaled down version...

Channel suffers while vendors turn a blind eye. (Analysis).
April 2, 2002... Benjamin Franklin famously remarked that nothing is certain in this world except death and taxes, but if he was around today and working in the channel (big ifs but it doesn't do any harm to fly a kite on this one), he would probably add 'grey...

Echoes from another recession sound alarm bells for dealers today. (Comment).(Column)
April 2, 2002... Billy's Banter The call for resellers to move into services might sound like a broken record, but it's one that cannot be ignored. Billy Maclnnes finds that services could be a matter of life and death -- or at least differentiation ...

Good news. Some vendors are good employers. (Editorial).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... AMID ALL THE GLOOM, IT'S nice to be able to report some good news for a change and we're indebted to The Sunday Times for providing a little ray of sunshine for the IT industry in these troubled times. For those of you who didn't see it,...

Mark my words.(Column)
April 2, 2002... Phil Wainewright alerts businesses to the dangers of getting burned by Web services, but could it be that his warning is falling on deaf ears? I can see a lot of people getting burned over Web services, the same way a lot of people got...

Crunch time: Vendors are keen for 64-bit computing to catch on -- but customers are in no great hurry to adopt it. So how can users be persuaded to make the leap and what can resellers do it help them?
April 2, 2002... Size isn't everything, or so the saying goes -- unless you're a server manufacturer or chip vendor, that is. Marketing people in the hardware space have been falling over themselves to offer 64-bit computing to the masses. But the masses have...

It works both ways: Putting its success down to the quality of service it offers, TET is keen to expand and position itself as a sole supplier to SMEs. (Meet the Reseller).
April 2, 2002... Five years ago, the managing director of City-based reseller Trans European Technology (TET) had a decision to make -- either carry on rolling out technology to its customer base or take a strategic shift and focus on services. To remain...

Welcome to the land of make-believe. (5 Minute Interview).(excerpt of interview with Silicon Technologies executive Dylan Creaven)(Interview)
April 2, 2002... Dylan Creaven, founding director, Silicon Technologies What have you got in your pockets? A Nokia 6310 and lint -- to be honest, the phone spends more time clamped to my ear than in my pocket. Who would you most like to have a date...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
April 2, 2002... Is Kunert confused? I believe there has been some confusion concerning Paul Kunert's story on Sony and would like to put it right (Sony prepares assault on corporate desktops, MicroScope, 5 March). Sony's Vaio desktop was first...

Soap.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... This week, Soap prepares to bid adieu to two of our number, Kamran Ghazanfar and Boyd Webb, who have sewed these pages with some distinction for the past year or so. Kamran is off to pursue a proper career as a solicitor, where he will be...

From MicroScope April 1987. (Hindsights).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... "Some money" An Atari spokesman reveals what Commodore had offered to settle a lawsuit. "News shouldn't have gone out this week. There was an administrative cock-up. It shouldn't have been announced for a few weeks" Malcolm...

The soap opera for the IT channel. (At the Margins).(Brief Article)
April 2, 2002... Dennis Doors and Jeff Coulter have crossed the space/time continuum and arrived at Langton Woods. Now read on... "I'm afraid you're going to have to jump, sir," said the flight attendant. Dennis Doors, the erstwhile CEO of Monstrous...

Unsettled outlook for UK dealers: Southern resellers struggle as margin and prices are squeezed but things are better up north.
April 9, 2002... A MicroScope straw poll has revealed UK resellers are divided on the sales outlook for the remainder of the year, with generally positive conditions forecast for the North, but little sign of the gloom lifting in the South. Paul Mitchell,...

Survey reveals soaring small business closures. (Customer Focus).
April 9, 2002... A shocking survey by business information group Dunn & Bradstreet has showed a marked increase in the number of small businesses going under between January and March 2002. The research revealed overall that 10,803 companies went out of...

Continuing rise in insolvencies puts IT trading conditions under the spotlight. (News).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Insolvencies in the first quarter for technology businesses in the UK surpassed the one-a-day mark and reached their highest levels for the past five years. The failures throw the difficult trading conditions in the IT industry into sharp...

Deals: Computer weekly CW360.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... deals Computer Weekly CW360 Deal Vendor Price Z23 printer Lexmark From [pounds sterling]20 Hard drive offers Western Digital [pounds sterling]50.55 Notebook accessories Targus...

Anxious Compaq dealers defect to rival. (News).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... The shareholders of Compaq an Hewlett-Packard might have given the thumbs up to the proposed merger, but some Compaq dealers have voted with their feet by switching to rivals. The revelation comes hot on the heels of a campaign by Fujitsu...

Landis 'makes progress' towards ending crisis talks. (News).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Landis claimed to have made "important progress" last week in dealing with the crisis at the company and said its major suppliers were willing "in principle" to write off part of its debts. Meanwhile, industry sources claimed Westcon might...

'The Freddy Krueger of software' bites back. (News).(Microsoft Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Behind the scenes, deals are coming to light in the anti-trust battle as Microsoft accused Mitchell Kertzman, CEO at Liberate Technologies, of playing both sides. Kertzman, who once called Microsoft "the Freddy Krueger of software", is...

ISI denies it faces critical vendor franchise losses. (News).
April 9, 2002... Interface Solutions International (ISI) has moved quickly to scotch suggestions it is about to lose three vendors and make redundancies to compensate. The rebuttal comes weeks after the Birmingham-based distributor parted company with...

Belluzzo resigns from Microsoft post. (News).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... In a surprise move, Microsoft chief operating officer Rick Belluzzo has resigned barely a year after his appointment. The departure has stunned analysts who saw Belluzzo -- responsible for overseeing consumer initiatives -- as the next...

Enterasys hires interim CEO. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Enterasys Networks has appointed William O'Brien as interim CEO following the resignation of chairman, CEO and president Enrique Fiallo. At the same time, Enterasys predicted revenues for the fourth quarter to 29 December 2001 of between $145m...

Freeserve calls on Oftel to investigate BTopenworld. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... UK ISP Freeserve has accused BT of engaging in a range of anti-competitive practices in an attempt to dominate the broadband Internet market and has called on industry regulator Oftel to take action. Freeserve claimed that rival ISP BTopenworld...

Winchester set to leave Avaya to spend time with family. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... John Winchester, vice president and managing director of Avaya in the UK and Ireland, will be leaving the company within three months. After nearly four years with Avaya and Lucent, Winchester plans to spend more time with his family.

Credit card firms join Tiny talks over customer PC support. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Time has revealed that the credit card industry has joined discussions aimed at resolving issues for Tiny customers unable to get PC support. It comes after a previous warning given by Time and Trading Standards that 80,000 customers who bought...

Autodesk buys Revit for its architecture design tools. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Autodesk has acquired Revit Technology for $133m in cash. Revit is said to complement Autodesk's building products by offering alternative design tools.

It was 20 years ago today.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... 3 April -- Seven Tears is still top in the UK, but Just An illusion by Imagination is poised at number two. Grittar wins the Grand National 4 April -- Argentine troops capture South Georgia 5 April -- Lord Carrington resigns as UK...

UK SMEs: 'best in Europe' but they want more aid. (News).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... British small businesses are the most successful in Europe, beating off their German and French counterparts to take the top spot in a government report. The results of the first European Benchmarking report make encouraging reading for...

Software enforcement agencies enlist help of dealers. (Software).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Software enforcement agencies have called on dealers to help lean up firms using illegal applications before the next round of anti-piracy legislation is introduced. Recent examples of corporate users being rapped on the knuckles include...

Obtree redirects focus with plans to put 70 per cent of sales through the channel. (Software).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Content management specialist Obtree is shifting its direct selling model in favour of the channel to increase penetration in vertical markets. The Swiss company already operates in the financial, pharmaceutical and telecoms sectors, but...

Jessop takes up position as managing director at Sagent. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Enterprise business intelligence systems provider, Sagent, has appointed Crispin Jessop as UK managing director. Jessop, who has 30 years of industry experience, joins the company from Seagate (Crystal) where he was finance sector manager. He...

Palm potential to be detailed at conferences. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... PalmSource will be hosting a series of two-day developer conferences in Berlin, Paris and London with more than 44,000 members of the Palm OS development community. Called the PalmSource Europe Forum Series, the conferences will help Developers...

Visionael offering to deliver IP services to ISPs. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Service creation and inventory-based network resource management software systems provider, Visionael Corporation, has integrated its ServiceBase service creation engine with its RiverSoft fault manager and network management operating system...

ASPirant merges with Capture Projects. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Esteem Systems has merged its content management division ASPirant with Bristol-based Capture Projects. The move is said to reflect the division's expanding customer base and the success of its e-pository offering.

Ingram sets up specialist wireless sales team. (Networking).(Ingram Micro)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Ingram Micro is to establish a specialist wireless unit within its recently-launched networking services division. The distributor claims the move will enable it to compete with specialists focusing on the emerging wireless market and...

Survey gives resellers corporate spending tip. (Networking).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Resellers are being urged to look to VPNs, VoIP and Internet access over the next year as corporate spending takes off in those areas. New figures from IDC show corporate spending in areas around VPNs and VoIP is set to increase this year...

NVT wins football club services contract. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Bellshill-based NVT Computing has secured a [pounds sterling]20,000 contract to provide computer support services to Heart of Midlothian Football Club. The contract, won via competitive tender, involves extensive re-cabling and the installation...

Infonet launches secure communication service. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
April 9, 2002... Infonet Services Corporation has introduced a managed communication service designed to allow its customers to extend their VPNs using Internet service providers to establish secure end-to-end connectivity with infonet's world network.