MicroScope articles from December 2004

MicroScope archives from December 2004

Kingston makes [pounds sterling]168m proposal for Omnetica.(Kingston Communications (Hull) PLC)(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... A pan-European networking giant could be born if takeover bid gets shareholder approval Hull-based networking service provider Kingston Communications has proposed a [pounds sterling]169m takeover of Omnetica, in a bid to create a...

Arc appointed to recruit resellers for BridgeHead.(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... UK-based storage management software vendor BridgeHead Software has appointed security specialist distributor Arc Technology as it put its eggs in a two-tier channel basket. BridgeHead will set its newly appointed channel ambitious sales...

Brocade to use incentives as competition toughens.(Brocade Communication Systems Inc.)
December 6, 2004... After bullish backing from investment house Goldman Sachs, which claimed Brocade had outperformed storage switch rival Cisco in two of the last three quarters, the vendor has said it is "not finding it easy" competing against the corporate...

Citrix makes strategic Net6 buy.(Citrix Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... Thin client software maker Citrix Systems has spent $50m ([pounds sterling]26.2m) on the acquisition of Net6, with secure socket layer (SSL) and voice over IP (VoIP) competencies its target as it continues to grow in the access market. Net6...

Computacenter is found guilty of unfair dismissal.
December 6, 2004... Watford Employment Tribunal has found Computacenter guilty of unfairly dismissing two enterprise sales specialists (ESSs) on the basis of redundancy. One has settled out of court with the reseller and the other is expected to attend a remedy...

F5 Networks pulls the plug on Norwood Adam relationship.(Norwood Adam Distribution)(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... F5 Networks is parting company with Norwood Adam after signing a direct relationship with the distributor's parent Matrix Communications. The network appliance vendor, which also sells through distributors Clarity and EquIP, is in talks with...

Gartner direct laptop figures rejected by HP.
December 6, 2004... Hewlett-Packard has disputed figures from Gartner that indicate one in five notebooks sold by the vendor in the third quarter bypassed the channel. The findings by the market research firm state HP sold around 100,000 laptops (70,000...

IT directors in the dark over ROI from mobile technology.
December 6, 2004... The majority of users have not calculated return on investment (ROI) from investments in mobile and wireless technology and have no plans to do so, according to research by systems integrator Omnetica. A survey of 390 IT directors by the...

IronPort expected to shake up distribution.(IronPort Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... E-mail security appliance vendor IronPort has named InTechnology Security Solutions as its second distributor and is expected to shake up its distribution tier to attack the SME sector. InTechnology's security division, formerly Allasso, joins...

Juniper out to steal Cisco share.(Juniper Group Inc., Cicso Systems)(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... Juniper has vowed to boost volumes going through the channel in 2005 and take on the "virtual monopoly" Cisco has in the core routing market now it has ironed out problems it had integrating the acquired NetScreen channel. Earlier this year,...

Nortel and BTIC extend big ticket business to resellers.(Northern Telecom Ltd., BT Indirect Channels)(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... BT Indirect Channels (BTIC) and Nortel resellers have welcomed the opportunity to sell 'big ticket business' after both parties widened the distribution net for their BT Integrator offering. BTIC and Nortel have added Crane Telecommunications...

Opportunities with demise of NT4.
December 6, 2004... At least 16 per cent of Microsoft's UK installed server base is still dependent on the soon to be extinct operating system With support ending for NT4 at the end of this month, Microsoft has revealed the extent of users yet to upgrade from...

Oracle to keep channel happy.
December 6, 2004... Oracle said it would strive to keep its channel happy after half of its business was generated by its reseller partners in the UK. The next 12 months will see the vendor recruit more resellers and create new revenue streams for the channel...

Resellers to support Dell.(Enterprise Command Centre)(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... The channel will be Dell's "feet on the street" in the services space as the direct vendor pumps its services strategy in EMEA. At the launch of its latest Enterprise Command Centre (ECC) in Limerick last week, Dell vice-president of services...

Select partners question status.
December 6, 2004... As distributors threaten to raise prices in light of HP rebate changes, resellers evaluate their accreditation level The impact of Hewlett-Packard adding Select partners to its list of named accounts has yet to be fully realised by those...

Toshiba gets aggressive.
December 6, 2004... Toshiba's UK channel head believes the company has shaken off the perception that it is an expensive brand and can now compete more effectively at the low end after cutting supply chain costs. However, there have been suggestions that the...

UK server sales increase in Q3.(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... Sales of servers in the UK grew healthily in the third quarter on the back of the Y2K replacement cycle and driven primarily by the x86 product set, according to analyst firm Gartner. There were 80,400 units shipped in the UK during the third...

Vine replaced.(Kevin Vine)(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... Kevin Vine has left his post as head of Ingram Micro's networking services division. Bhavesh Patel, the distributor's commercial director, will now take the reins of the unit. Patel will look to double sales for the networking specialist....

The TR-069 standard.(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... With DSL modems/CPE, SME customers can go out and pay pennies for basic USB devices that simply hang on the end of their broadband connection. But buying these types of white goods is a false economy because in order to derive more complex IP...

3Com warns Q2 revenues will be at least $20m below estimations.
December 13, 2004... Despite aggressive moves, including a step back into the enterprise and a flurry of new products to back it up, 3Com has warned that revenues will be down on estimations. In a statement the vendor said second quarter revenues would be in the...

AV distributors fending off rival IT share challengers.
December 13, 2004... Despite the entry into the audio visual market of seasoned IT distributors, the lion's share of the market is still held by AV dedicated specialists. According to figures from Decision Tree Consulting (DTC), the AV specialists hold three...

AVG UK seeks to attract resellers with large rebates.
December 13, 2004... AVG UK is offering resellers a 40 per cent rebate on anti-virus products as it attempts to build a presence in the UK. The company, which itself grew from IT reseller F1 Services in 2003, sells software from Czechoslovakian vendor Grisoft and...

Alcatel adds 10Gb switch for life-cycle extension.(Compagnie Financiere Alcatel)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... French telecoms and networking giant Alcatel has joined the rush for 10Gb Ethernet switching with the launch of its OmniSwitch 6800 -- its core platform for convergence networking in the enterprise. Alcatel sees the OmniSwitch range as a key...

Channel change not on cards.
December 13, 2004... IBM moves to reassure partners that life will carry on as normal following sale of PC division to Chinese giant Lenovo Following the biggest shake-up the global IT industry has seen in years, UK resellers have been left in shock after IBM...

Cisco predicts bullish growth in long term.(Cisco Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... Ever ambitious networking giant Cisco told analysts last week it expects potential growth of between ten and 15 per cent per annum over the next three to four years. Speaking at the vendor's annual worldwide analyst conference in California...

Computer 2000 puts acquisitions on hold to concentrate on AVIT marketing brand.
December 13, 2004... Computer 2000 is working on a number of new initiatives and will launch business units focusing on the audio visual (AV) and wireless mobility sectors in the first half of next year. The Basingstoke-based broadliner already sells a range of AV...

Dabs cutbacks.(Dabs.com Direct)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... Dabs.com could lay off up to 20 staff after a review of operations following a tough summer and increased price competition. The e-tailer, which employs 250 people, reported profits for the half-year to September that were below forecast and a...

Fujitsu Siemens revamps Elite accreditation scheme.(Fujitsu Siemens Computers)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC) is to overhaul the out-of-date Elite reseller accreditation programme and introduce new elements in time for the vendor's fiscal new year starting in April. The two-tier scheme, which is in its fourth year, was...

HDS turns to channel to bolster SME push.(Hitachi Data Systems UK, small and medium sized enterprises)
December 13, 2004... Hitachi Data Systems offers SME SAN product as it looks away from enterprise storage and takes on channel partners Hitachi Data Systems has stepped on the bandwagon of many rival vendors and is targeting the SME market for rapid expansion...

HP maps out strategy.(Procurve Networking)
December 13, 2004... Hewlett-Packard Procurve Networking continues to push its 10Gb Ethernet (10GbE) strategy and has outlined its product road map for the migration of traditional core and edge network platforms to intelligent EDGE and EDGE fabric designs. As a...

Hewlett-Packard to use TopValue to bolster presence in mid-market.(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... Resellers will have access to a range of A-model PCs and special bid pricing through the TopValue engine as Hewlett-Packard moves to bolster its presence in the mid-market. The TopValue scheme, traditionally aimed at SME, provides a set of...

JBoss targets system integrators.(JBoss Group L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... Open source middleware vendor JBoss is targeting BEA Systems' market share as it gets its UK business moving with former Sun Microsystems channel head Steve Raby. The software vendor claims it differentiates itself from competitors, such as IBM...

Matrix in running as Harrier suitor.(Matrix Communications, Harrier Zeuros PLC)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... After a breakdown of merger negotiations with Articon Integralis, Harrier enters into talks with a 'single party' Matrix Communications is being mooted as Harrier's latest suitor following the breakdown of the security integrator's...

Offshore margin opportunity for resellers.(Optimised Networks)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... UK SME resellers can now become a major threat to managed service providers which can leverage on cost savings provided by offshore outsourcing, according to start-up service provider Optimised Networks. The Stevenage-based service provider...

Phoenix sees large rise in turnover following float.(Phoenix IT Services)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... In its first ever set of interim results Northampton-based service provider Phoenix IT Group saw a 43 per cent rise in turnover and a 31 per cent rise in pre-tax profits including a [pounds sterling]10.9m boost from Trend Network Services. The...

Resellers urged to look at phone applications.(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... Resellers keen to cash in on the third-generation mobile phone revolution could find a rich seam if they look beyond the phone and concentrate on the possible applications the technology can provide. At the Fujitsu Siemens channel conference...

SCC Exchange division to focus on mid-market.(Specialist Computer Holdings Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... Enterprise reseller Specialist Computer Centres (SCC) has launched a division aimed at growing business in the mid-market space. Named 'Exchange from SCC', the unit came about through the merger of two existing telesales teams selling to...

Siebel looks to channel to spearhead SME push.(small and medium sized enterprises)(Siebel Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... Direct vendor seeks seventy resellers to take on CRM software products across Europe CRM software vendor Siebel Systems is switching from a direct to an indirect sales focus as it launches a dedicated team aimed at the SME. The company has...

Storage Elite scheme should improve resellers ability to sell Hewlett-Packard into enterprises.(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... Resellers are expecting the Storage Elite programme, which Hewlett-Packard is currently working on, to improve their reputation among the vendor's direct sales force. The enterprise division at HP faltered in its fiscal third quarter making...

Tandberg puts emphasis on UK in bid for growth.(Tandberg Data GmbH)
December 13, 2004... Ten months after German storage giant Tandberg Data unveiled a new channel strategy for the UK, with the intention to build its partner base and SME sales, the company has admitted it needs to give a stronger focus to the UK channel. Tandberg...

Sage launches vertical- specific software unit.(Sage Group PLC)
December 13, 2004... Software maker Sage has launched a division dedicated to providing software to the manufacturing industry in an effort to create software appropriate for this market. The vendor said it already had a construction unit and was likely to look...