MicroScope articles from August 2004

MicroScope archives from August 2004

7intel finds out there's rather more in a name.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... The owner of a small business threatened with legal action by chip giant Intel has set up an operation called Pied Piper to help small companies fight off similar attacks from "bullying" larger operations. Gary Stapleton, owner of security,...

AMD effects channel clean-up to keep grey at bay.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... In a move designed to identify leakage in the supply chain and better track the journey of a CPU from factory to user, AMD is to place serial numbers on every processor that it manufactures. The decision, coupled with AMD's intention to sell...

APC survey highlights risks.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... The threat of power cuts to businesses and their IT has been demonstrated by a survey which revealed that 88 per cent of companies suffered from loss of electricity in the last 12 months. The survey of channel partners by APC asked whether...

Awareness of government-backed HCI almost doubles.(Home Computing Initiative)
August 2, 2004... Opportunities presented by PC lease purchasing scheme for employees are becoming well recognised in the channel BYLINE: simon quicke simon.quicke@rbi.co.uk Supporters of the Home Computing Initiative (HCI), the government-backed scheme...

BBC staff vote for industrial action over sell-off date.(National Outsourcing Association)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... BBC Technology staff have voted by an overwhelming majority for industrial action, just a day after trade union Bectu held its first meeting with preferred bidder in the [pounds sterling]2bn outsourcing deal Siemens Business Services. The...

Barrett finds a business-building role in store at revenue-driving ComputerLand.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... ComputerLand has moved to strengthen its ambitions in the managed services market through the appointment of former Atos Origin head of service management Gary Barrett, who has been appointed as services director at the Nottingham-based...

Business Systems Group GNS bid shows services ambition.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Business Systems Group (BSG) has signed a 'heads of terms agreement' to acquire "certain business and assets" from Global Network Solutions (GNS) Europe, part of Japanese corporate giant Itochu. With discussions and due diligence still taking...

Channel braced for painful lesson on notebook pricing.
August 2, 2004... Education resellers struggle to compete with Dell's aggressive pricing and fear they are being pushed out of the market Suppliers to the education space have resigned themselves to losing out to Dell on one of two spots in a mini tender...

Competition hots up.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Resellers could come under increasing pressure from customers to offer the best deals BYLINE: christopher walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk As Cisco's controversial shared support scheme kick-starts this week, dealers could face a...

Freedom plans to raise profile with CRM.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Watford-based Alcatel reseller Freedom Communications has unveiled plans to address the CRM market and work with software vendors as converged solutions become more prevalent. At the same time, the reseller is trying to raise its profile in...

GSEC1 seeks resellers for SME-focused product line.(Global Security One)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk Internet security and network management specialist Global Security One (GSEC1) has kicked off a reseller recruitment drive a month before its products hit the UK. The vendor has spent the last four years...

Gigabyte and Ingram failing to agree over UK sales.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk A spat has erupted between Ingram Micro and Gigabyte UK, after the motherboard vendor refused to service and support resellers and system builders that have bought product from the broadliner in this...

Harrier security ambitions soar.
August 2, 2004... Proposed Articon-Integralis merger will make unified operation one of the largest security systems integrators BYLINE: christopher walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk Articon-Integralis and Harrier have reached a principle agreement to...

IBM Software switch to verticals making progress.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... roanna avison roanna.avison@rbi.co.uk IBM has insisted it is well on the way to transforming its software business to focus on verticals. The vendor first outlined the strategy five months ago (see MicroScope, 1 March) as it began the...

IBM and BTIC ring in the changes at senior level.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Both IBM and BT Indirect Channels (BTIC) have taken advantage of the slow summer period to ease senior managers into positions that face the channel. Donn Atkins has replaced Mike Borman as IBM's general manager of global business partners...

IPC Web cam pilot will give users and dealers extra support with processes.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Notebook specialist IPC is piloting a Web cam-based technical support service for dealers and users through its TekSupportUK division. The service, known as TekCam, allows a support representative to broadcast live images to a reseller or...

ISS seeks to attract resellers, old and new.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Internet Security Systems (ISS) is launching a recruitment drive in the UK after a change in its discount structure resulted in increased margins for resellers. The move follows the appointment of Howard Freeman as channel business development...

InTechnology to distribute HP OpenView.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... simon quicke simon.quicke@rbi.co.uk InTechnology has signed a distribution agreement with Hewlett-Packard, adding OpenView to its portfolio of enterprise software products. Mark Jarvis, marketing divisional director at InTechnology, said...

Local authorities echo SME model.
August 2, 2004... While some resellers have struggled to find returns in the public sector, others appear to have taken a stranglehold on government business claiming their knowledge of the space can deliver the returns the public purse requires. Formerly part...

Morse sticks to [pounds sterling]50.2m bid.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... christopher walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk After tabling a bid of [pounds sterling]50.2m to acquire SAP consultancy Diagonal, Morse told investors it would not increase the cash or share elements of the offer, despite speculation to...

Resellers fear cost increases ; as Cisco implements changes.
August 2, 2004... cliff saran microscope@rbi.co.uk As Cisco introduces changes to its network suppliers support programme, there is still uncertainty over what it will mean for resellers and users. As exclusively revealed by MicroScope (see 5 July issue),...

Swyx moves into UK.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Roanna Avison roanna.avison@rbi.co.uk Swyx Solutions has opened a UK office and appointed a country managing director in an attempt to build its profile in the region. The Germany-based IP-PBX specialist had already sold into the UK using...

Talent spotting strategy.
August 2, 2004... Foster MacCallum advises vendors it is quality, not quantity, that matters when recruiting partners Vendors should avoid the temptation of trying to put partners in boxes if they want to develop successful channel strategies. George...

Trend Micro secures HP deal.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Roanna Avison roanna.avison@rbi.co.uk Trend Micro has promised further tie-ups with hardware vendors following a deal with Hewlett-Packard that will see its security software pre-installed on HP ProLiant servers. While the deal has only...

Utility computing to grow in popularity.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... simon quicke simon.quicke@rbi.co.uk Along with information lifecycle management, virtualisation and centralisation, the phrase utility computing is going to be found increasingly in storage reseller sales pitches to mid-sized and large...

White paper equips resellers with ammunition for storage sales.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Resellers looking for statistics about storage growth and future data management headaches have been handed an armful of ammunition in the latest white paper to be commissioned by StorageTek. According to the white paper by Fred Moore,...

Wincor Nixdorf acquires rival Datalect group.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Support services group Datalect has been snapped up by rival Wincor Nixdorf for an undisclosed fee, with a warning that competitors in the break-fix industry would struggle in a consolidated market. The retail and banking specialist said it...

Avaya newcomer seeks to expand wireless business.
August 9, 2004... Roanna Avison roanna.avison@rbi.co.uk Avaya's new vice-president of communications appliances has highlighted ease of use and applications as target areas for the company. Geoffrey Baird, who joins Avaya from Motorola where he ran a...

Basilica sets up distribution arm.(Basilica Distribution Ltd)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk Hertfordshire-based systems reseller Basilica has set up a distribution business and will kick off the venture by focusing on one vendor in the highly competitive low end of the network management space....

Dealers question KVS channel commitment.(KVS Information Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... christopher walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk E-mail archiving software vendor KVS has come under fire from channel partners after claims that the company's attitude towards the channel had led to its direct salesforce poaching deals...

Dell service launch adds pressure in server space.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... christopher walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk Enterprise resellers already suffering under SME-focused programmes from core channel vendors are set to face a salvo from Dell as the direct vendor looks to boost its share in the corporate...

Disaster recovery on Centera.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... InTechnology has signed a deal with storage giant EMC that will see the distributor offer disaster recovery services on the vendor's Centera range for resale by dealers. Existing Centera resellers which did not previously have the capabilities...

E-mail authentication ; could put paid to spam.
August 9, 2004... simon quicke simon.quicke@rbi.co.uk E-mail sender authentication is gaining ground, raising the prospect that spam and spoof attacks could be dramatically reduced in the next few years. Pressure is now building on the large ISPs to adopt...

European acquisition binge leaves UK industry trailing.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... The European IT industry has witnessed an 'acquisition binge' throughout the first six months of the year -- except in the UK, according to mergers and acquisition (M&A) specialists Regents Associates. Despite some of the most prominent names...

From driving buses and saving animals -- to IT!(Interview)
August 9, 2004... Judy Quoroll, business development director, Elcom Information Technology What have you got in your handbag? Purse, mobile phone, Blackberry (and I had mine before the Beckhams!). Who would you most like to have a date with? Colin...

HP delays CCI launch until European market is ready.(Hewlett-Packard)(consolidated client infrastructure)
August 9, 2004... paul Kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk Hewlett-Packard is evaluating a new variant of server-based computing which was launched in the US in January with a view to a European roll-out in the next six months. The consolidated client...

HP drives ILM sales to SMEs.(Information lifecycle management )(Small And Medium Sized Companies)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk Hewlett-Packard believes information lifecycle management (ILM) is as applicable to SMEs as corporate users and has employed a select band of resellers to drive sales into the sector. According to the...

HP to promote value of CPs.(Certified Professionals)
August 9, 2004... paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk As vendor pushes the benefits of buying through the channel, accredited partners call for crackdown on grey marketeers As the first phase of a massive user marketing campaign starts next month,...

Have dealers had their chips?
August 9, 2004... Denise Saunders Since the heady days of the fledgling IT industry the role of dealers has been diminishing. Is there still a place for this dying breed, or are they set to go the way of the dinosaurs? Denise Saunders has spent the...

Hosting offer from altoHiway.(Managed services )(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... E-mail filtering specialist altoHiway has jumped on the managed services bandwagon after claiming dealers reselling its mail control products could make 30 per cent margin by including them as part of a managed services deal. The ISP claimed...

IT buyers seek suppliers that ; take green issues seriously.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... simon quicke simon.quicke@rbi.co.uk Brother research acts as wake-up call for any manufacturers not intending to comply fully with WEEE legislation The latest draft proposals from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on the Waste...

IXEurope to increase UK base.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Data centre services specialist IXEurope is looking for enterprise-class VARs and system integrators as it tries to boost revenues on the back of increased demand for blade server technology. Having cut its teeth and survived as a data centre...

Ingram remains optimistic.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... simon quicke simon.quicke@rbi.co.uk Global distributor reports improved Q2 earnings but keeps pressure on UK performance The recovery has started, distribution revenues across Europe are not dangerously eroding, and there is a...

Let the battle commence.(Audiovisual equipment industry)
August 9, 2004... Every projector is based around one of two technologies: LCD or DLP. Both deliver excellent results, but in the developing battle for market share only one can be the winner, says Jon Sidwick, managing director of Maverick Many people may...

Matrix picks up Norwood Adam with [pounds sterling]2.5m offer.(Matrix Communications Group )(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Matrix Communications Group has loosened its purse strings with a double acquisition, picking up convergence distributor Norwood Adam and integration specialist Bedrock Networks. The deal to purchase Norwood Adam totalled [pounds sterling]2.5m...

Microgen chooses not to counter-bid for Diagonal.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... christopher walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk Bringing to a close weeks of speculation, Microgen has told investors it will not be making an offer for the UK's largest SAP consultancy and current Morse target Diagonal. Microgen, which...

NPfIT contractors under scrutiny.(National Programme for Information Technology)(Accenture)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... christopher walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk The financial status of contractors and sub-contractors to the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) has come under the spotlight following a series of parliamentary questions from MP Paul...

No sign of summer slowdown this year.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... The traditional seasonal factors that have shaped PC sales in the past have been turned on their heads after the UK market experienced an uncharacteristically buoyant second quarter. This is the fifth consecutive quarter the region has posted...

Novell sends dealers back to distributors.
August 9, 2004... Resellers buying direct are urged to return to distribution purchases BYLINE: Roanna Avison roanna.avison@rbi.co.uk Novell has vowed to invite resellers into its named accounts and encourage the dealers it works with directly to return...

Orange recruitment drive still a way off target.(IT reseller )(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Four months after launching an IT reseller recruitment drive, mobile phone giant Orange has added 47 to its roster. The vendor set an initial target of 100 IT resellers within six months to target its range of data services in the medium to...

ROI remains vital in CRM market.(return on investment)(customer relationship management)
August 9, 2004... roanna avison roanna.avison@rbi.co.uk Resellers should focus on return on investment (ROI) in the customer relationship management (CRM) market after research by both Sage CRM and IDC highlighted it as a key factor. IDC stated that ROI...

Resellers kept busy by schools market for whiteboards.( Smart UK)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... simon quicke simon.quicke@rbi.co.uk As has become traditional at this time of year, the audio- visual community is gearing itself up for a surge in schools business as pupils leave the classrooms for their holidays. As the children move...

Services growth the target for those seeking profit increases.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... The challenge to increase profits by hiking up the level of services offered is not one confined to the networking market, but one that is being actively pursued by resellers operating in this sector. Justin Harling, managing director of CEA...

Storage for the sake of storage.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... christopher walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk IBM has urged server-led distributors to adopt a "storage for the sake of storage" model as it challenges rival vendors and leans on its distribution partners to offer more value-add in the...

Tarantella signs Morse to increase market share.
August 9, 2004... Tarantella has scrapped two-tier distribution in the UK and signed a master reseller agreement with Morse as it seeks to eat into the market share of major rival Citrix. The vendor has struggled to dent Citrix's 70 per cent share of the thin...

3Com enters wireless switch market with Trapeze tie-up.
August 23, 2004... Roanna Avison roanna.avison@rbi.co.uk 3Com has signed an alliance with Trapeze Networks in a move that will take it into the wireless switch market. The tie-up is part of 3Com's wider plans to provide secure wireless mobility integrated...

Back to Britain, back to basics.
August 23, 2004... paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk In his first exclusive interview with a UK channel publication since returning to the country, Steve Lockie, managing director of C2000, talks to MicroScope about the changing role of distributors In...

Can Acer play another ace?(Acer Inc.,computer industry)
August 23, 2004... paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk The next 12 months are set to become very interesting for PC vendor Acer as volumes in the UK shift towards corporate sector refreshes and overshadow steady growth in the SME market. Over the past three...

Channel to benefit from ; FaceTime IM investment.(Instant Messaging)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... simon quicke simon.quicke@rbi.co.uk FaceTime has promised the channel more support following a $16m ([pounds sterling]8.8m) injection from investors keen to back the growing instant messaging (IM) security market. The IM specialist has...

Concern in the channel over HP Services' acquisition of Synstar.
August 23, 2004... christopher walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk With the dust yet to settle on Hewlett-Packard's [pounds sterling]162.9m bid for Synstar, the channel remains desperate for answers as to why the vendor stumped up such a large amount of cash...

Glasshouse aims for Europe.(Source Consulting)
August 23, 2004... christopher walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk No single move in the storage industry in the past year has shaken the channel nearly as much as US-based consultancy Glasshouse buying UK dealers Source Consulting and Sagitta, and targeting...

HP server roadmap comes under attack.(Hewlett-Packard)
August 23, 2004... paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk Sun warns users that rival's migration to Itanium servers spells danger Hewlett-Packard has accused Sun Microsystems of employing scare tactics in trying to migrate users away from HP's high-end Unix...

Lessons to learn from mobile games market.(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... With pressure mounting on IT resellers to get involved in selling smartphones and promoting applications that will appeal to enterprises, the games industry can provide some useful lessons. Gartner's report -- Mobile Games: Who Will Play What,...

MicroScope to launch on-line petition against CNP fraud.( cardholder not present (CNP) fraud)
August 23, 2004... Paul Kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk It is time to take action to get cardholder not present fraud recognised by the Government as a serious problem To spearhead MicroScope's aim of cutting the alarming growth in cardholder not present...

New direction?(3GSM World Congress in Cannes)
August 23, 2004... Chris Bidmead The message earlier in the year from the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes was one of optimism for the roll-out of GSM and 3G, but did they get it right? At Virgin Mobile's public flotation in July, the already downgraded...

Newcomer Ovedas offers virtual storage B2B sites.(Business to business market)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... Storage specialist reseller Ovedas has launched an e-commerce site targeted at the lower end of the market, as the Surrey-based dealer looks to capitalise on a growing knowledge base for storage in IT departments. Having emerged in the UK...

Olympics fails to boost AV interest.(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... simon quicke simon.quicke@rbi.co.uk The audio-visual channel has failed to land any medals in the run-up to the Olympics, with users failing to see the games as a prompt to acquire new AV equipment. Unlike the experience the industry...

One per cent world a reality.
August 23, 2004... Computer 2000 maintains that operating on single-digit margins still offers plenty of potential for making money BYLINE: paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk The new head of Computer 2000 has re-ignited the debate over a distributor's...

Price breakthrough to stimulate demand.(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... As a 42in plasma monitor hits the market at a trade price of [pounds sterling]999, Maverick managing director Jon Sidwick believes it is just a matter of months before the user price will come crashing down too It's not often that we see a...

Reseller expansion model remains an option.(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... simon quicke simon.quicke@rbi.co.uk The reseller acquisition model so amply illustrated by Graham Wylie's TSG group remains a route to growth for ambitious dealers prepared to tackle the problems of integrating people into a wider...

ServiceTec fuels takeover debate.(Datalect)(Synstar)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... christopher walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk In the wake of Hewlett-Packard's bid for Synstar, consolidation in the support services sector is set to continue apace after Anglo-Dutch maintenance specialist ServiceTec told MicroScope of...

Sun and EMC receive NHS supplier list assurances.(EMC Corp.)(Sun Microsystems)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... christopher walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk The National Programme for IT (NPfIT) has revealed which vendors are to underpin its network, storage, server and software platforms, with Sun Microsystems and EMC resellers receiving firm...

Systems Union to fill gap.(Systems Union Ltd.)
August 23, 2004... roanna avison roanna.avison@rbi.co.uk Systems Union is planning to help its resellers and OEMs work together to boost sales. The vendor believed that both would benefit from joint relationships and would see more sales. Talking to...

Vendors turn to resellers without content security expertise.(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... Roanna Avison roanna.avison@rbi.co.uk NetIQ is to look outside the traditional Internet content security market to expand its reseller base. Over the past 18 months the vendor has concentrated on recruiting those with existing experience...

Zultys to target Europe with replica of UK reseller model.(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... Roanna Avison roanna.avison@rbi.co.uk Zultys has outlined plans for European expansion following the promotion of UK and Ireland country manager Justine Cross to the newly created post of business development manager. She will be replaced...