MicroScope articles from December 2005

MicroScope archives from December 2005

All change at 3Com in Europe.
December 5, 2005... Vendor loses fifth UK country manager in four years as it carries out a major reorganisation of its management structure Christopher Walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk 3Com has announced a major overhaul of its European management...

Bell CEO to oversee integration of MCE in Europe.
December 5, 2005... The acquisition of MCE by Bell Microproducts means the distributor gleans half its revenues from Europe, and CEO Don Bell is set to cross the Atlantic to oversee the integration of the business and execute a restructuring plan for the...

Blue Coat message 'alienates' partners.
December 5, 2005... KARL FLINDERS karl.flinders@rbi.co.uk Blue Coat Systems risks alienating long-term partners as it attempts to increase the take-up of its Web filtering product by comparing it positively to Websense. The appliance vendor is...

Cisco launches upgrade strategy.(Cisco Systems Inc.)
December 5, 2005... Christopher Walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk Cisco has urged its channel to tap into its customer base for upgrade opportunities with the launch of the Foundation Advantage for Channel Partners programme, which will run until...

Cisco shakes up channel.(Cisco Systems Inc., Acal PLC)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Vendor appoints first UK distributor in eight years to boost its advanced technologies portfolio christopher walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk Cisco's channel underwent a shake-up last week with the appointment of the vendor's...

Contrasting fortunes for Kingston and Redstone.
December 5, 2005... Service providers Kingston Communications and Redstone Communications have suffered contrasting fortunes in the past six months following their respective acquisitions of systems integrators Omnetica and Xpert Systems this year. While...

HP aims to avoid disruption of supply chain.
December 5, 2005... Hewlett-Packard has assured resellers that its change in carrier will not disrupt the supply chain, despite concerns from some distributors that a switch-over could impact shipments during the first quarter of next year. The vendor told...

International SAM standard expected by May 2006.(software asset management)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... karl Flinders karl.flinders@rbi.co.uk The final draft of the channel-driven international standard for software asset management (SAM) will be complete this month, with the full standard expected by May 2006. As exclusively...

Lenovo channel programme set to launch in January 2006.
December 5, 2005... January will mark the launch of Lenovo's first channel programme before the Chinese PC giant takes the covers off its first own-branded desktops and notebooks in February and April respectively. The products are aimed at the very small...

Pryor-Jones returns to the channel.(Richard Pryor-Jones, Azlan)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Former Azlan European operations director Richard Pryor-Jones has returned to the channel with the launch of his consultancy Ignite Management. Making good his promise to MicroScope earlier this year that his next step after Azlan would be...

Ramesys changes expected.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... There are growing indications in the channel that Nottingham-based software and services specialist Ramesys could be subject to a management buyout in the coming months as venture capitalist backer Kleinwort Capital seeks out an exit strategy....

SME rebates cut.
December 5, 2005... Paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk Lexmark will reduce the level of rebate available to distributors on sales to resellers operating in the SME market from the first quarter 2006 but will make funds available to reward increases in...

Software market is mature not slowing.
December 5, 2005... The number of resellers offering integration will decrease in the next 12 months, with the number of those building businesses on software services remaining stable, according to the latest research from compuBase. The research of...

Telco launches channel scheme.
December 5, 2005... Vodafone demonstrates its commitment to data resellers with the introduction of its Channel Partner Programme Paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk Vodafone has moved to shore up its relationship with data resellers through the launch...

Traditional resellers decline.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... The European channel appears to be relatively strong and stable, but on closer inspection the future for those sticking with traditional resale businesses looks more bleak, with numbers declining. According to the Europe ICT Distribution Guide...

Striking a balance in software M&A.
December 5, 2005... KARL FLINDERS karl.flinders@rbi.co.uk With the software channel investing in sector-specific expertise to meet demand and add value in an increasingly competitive market, acquis-itions are paying off. Whether investments are aimed...

Working out in the channel.
December 5, 2005... Working in the channel is the same as anywhere else, salary is key to loyalty, and if you've got the right skills and are determined to succeed the rewards can be very high. Watch out though, it's a stressful business Channel careers take...

Game on.
December 5, 2005... Christmas is coming, which means it has been a very busy couple of months for anyone interested in the games market. We find out what's hot and what's not on the console front, and what the manufacturers have in store for the future ...

IT check-up.(information technology)
December 5, 2005... The changing nature of the healthcare space is creating opportunities for resellers to win valuable business, but an understanding of the market is essential and techno-talk should be avoided Since the introduction of the National...

Elcom buys auditing specialist.
December 5, 2005... Elcom Information Technology has moved to get a slice of the auditing market after acquiring Ensign Consulting. The purchase, for an undisclosed sum, gives the corporate reseller access to a range of software auditing products as well as...

The bigger picture.(Company Profile)
December 12, 2005... Danny Bradbury The bigger picture Digital cameras revolutionised the photography industry overnight, and gave IT resellers a whole new set of opportunities. But now the market is maturing, upselling is more important than ever ...

Triumph or turkey?
December 12, 2005... Cath Everett Triumph or turkey? Vendors have pinned their hopes on blade servers as the key to their future success. Analysts, too, are forecasting huge growth rates. But if SMEs cannot justify the expense, are any celebrations...

Lenovo UK backs resellers with launch of channel programme.
December 12, 2005... Paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk Lenovo UK has insisted the company's resellers will not suffer from the same uncertainty that rivals' channels have faced in recent times and its own "face-to-face" sales team will work with partners...

Packaging shortage hits AMD supply.
December 12, 2005... Although shortages are not uncommon in the fourth-quarter run-up to Christmas, AMD has blamed a lack of packaging, not silicon, for the problems it is currently facing in meeting demand. The shortfall is expected to continue into January...

Chip sales beat record.
December 12, 2005... Strong demand for consumer electronics saw global semiconductor sales rise by nearly seven per cent year on year in October, beating the record set a month earlier, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. Sales for the month...

Finally the Government begins to take innovation seriously.
December 12, 2005... Gordon Brown has rarely had a more difficult pre-Budget report to deliver than last week's, such has been the stability of the economy since 1997. The Conservatives had published a dossier predicting a "double-digit" downgrade to his growth and...

Computacenter talks continue as bid is rejected.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk Negotiations determining the future of Computacenter have started in earnest after the independent directors at the corporate reseller rejected an initial bid of 255 pence per share from the company's...

IT projects lack governance.(Information Technology )
December 12, 2005... Budgets are on the increase but many organisations have yet to implement a process to measure the business benefits PAUL KUNERT paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk Over the past 12 months IT budgets have risen, more organisations are investing...

Ramesys education arm sold in MBO.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... christopher walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk Ramesys has sold its education business to a management consortium led by the Nottingham-based reseller's current managing director Bill Donoghue and backed by Lloyds TSB Development...

Monactive seeks SAM resellers.
December 12, 2005... KARL FLINDERS karl.flinders@rbi.co.uk Asset management tool maker Monactive is rebuilding its channel as demand for software asset management (SAM) continues to gather pace. The firm currently does most of its business through...

TSG moves south with Accounting Answers buy.
December 12, 2005... The Technology Services Group (TSG) has made its long-awaited move south as Accounting Answers becomes the firm's 18th acquisition. The latest buy, for an undisclosed sum, will add to TSG's skills for its Sage and Pegasus software business...

HP's ProCurve overtakes 3Com in western Europe.
December 12, 2005... Christopher Walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk Hewlett-Packard's ProCurve networking division has beaten bitter rival 3Com on both revenue and port shipment market share for the first time in western Europe as Cisco continues to...

A fresh start.
December 12, 2005... IT equipment often ends up in landfills after the supposed end of its useful lifecycle. This practice is a waste of potentially useful technology and will soon be subject to tough environmental legislation in Europe. As a result, a thriving IT...

C2000 aims to boost market share with HCI focus.
December 12, 2005... The new head of Computer 2000's PC systems division is aiming to sharpen its focus on the Home Computing Initiative (HCI) and local government arenas and take market share from rivals in the margin-poor desktop and notebook markets. Barry...

HP runs rule over BlueCom.
December 12, 2005... Danish distributor under investigation for suspected infringement of trademark agreements on the import of grey goods PAUL KUNERT paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk Hewlett-Packard has raided Danish distributor BlueCom for suspected...

Piracy wipes billions off value of software sector.
December 12, 2005... The value of the UK software sector would grow by billions of pounds in the next three years if piracy was reduced by ten per cent, according to a Business Software Alliance-sponsored IDC study. The UK software industry is currently valued...

Silicon moves on.
December 12, 2005... Danny Bradbury Silicon moves on Intel and AMD are pushing processors with two cores in one, among other new developments. We find out what next year has in store Intel's developer forum back in the summer was one of the most...

Zollo heads up Extreme in UK.
December 12, 2005... As former UK head Nick Roullier joins Avaya, the vendor insists the move will strengthen tie-up between two firms CHRISTOPHER WALTON christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk Andy Zollo has taken the reins as UK country manager at networking...

NetStore plans more security buys.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... KARL FLINDERS karl.flinders@rbi.co.uk Reseller group NetStore will continue to mop up security resellers as the sector consolidates further, targeting businesses turning over about [pounds sterling]5m. The hybrid application...

Wireless market set to boom.
December 12, 2005... SIMON QUICKE simon.quicke@rbi.co.uk With security concerns over-come, mobile devices on the market and SMEs looking to increase staff mobility, the levels of planned purchasing in the wireless technology market is expected to generate...

ClearSwift moves to silence takeover whispers.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... karl Flinders karl.flinders@rbi.co.uk ClearSwift has moved to stamp out talk that it is being acquired by Symantec. The firm insisted the suggestions are completely groundless and claimed no discussions have taken place. Channel...

MTIC fraudsters hide trail as HMRC steps up action.(Missing trader intracommunity)(United Kingdom. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
December 12, 2005... Missing trader intracommunity fraud more complex as criminals move goods around world Paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk Criminals involved in the missing trader intra-community (MTIC) fraud have evolved and are operating more...

SMC extends trade-up initiative to users.(SMC Networks Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Mid-market specialist network- ing vendor SMC Networks has expanded its channel-only trade-up programme to incorporate users in a bid to improve the up-sell of its switch portfolio. The vendor launched its trade-up programme in...

Affiniti aims to recruit more VoIP resellers.
December 12, 2005... Affiniti, the amalgamation of Omnetica, Technica and Kingston Communications Services, is looking to recruit more resellers for VoIP services sold through its partner services division. The channel-focused busi-ness unit accounts for about...

The highs and lows of 2005.(Company Profile)
December 19, 2005... MicroScope looks back at the events of 2005 -- which may go down as the year in which solution providers begin to play an increasingly important role, leading to the slow but certain demise of box-shifters At the start of 2005 there was a...

Digital decade.
December 19, 2005... Tim Bajaran 2005 was an exciting year for PC and CE industries as the battleground to win the next-generation game of digital technology moves out of the living room and onto the connected consumer During most of 2004, many companies...

3Com hit by fuel depot blast.
December 19, 2005... Networking vendor 3Com's Hemel Hempstead offices were damaged by last week's fuel depot explosion and while no employees were hurt, the resulting damage to its servers has led to delays in its pre-Christmas channel sales incentives. 3Com's...

C2000 exodus continues as Blackburn joins Steljes.(Steljes Hire appoints Russell Blackburn)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Russell Blackburn is the latest in a long line of senior management at Computer 2000 to leave the company this year after it emerged he will join AV specialist distributor Steljes as commercial director from January. In 2005, the...

Notebook rise fails to spark PC market.
December 19, 2005... Not even a healthy 22 per cent increase in notebook sales could help drive the total UK PC market into growth during October after the desktop space declined by 17 per cent compared to the same month a year earlier. According to figures by...

C2000 SENIOR MANAGER DEPARTURES IN 2005.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Gary Fowle, ex-commercial director joined Fujitsu Siemens in March Simon Hill, UK director of product distribution left to pursue other interests in June. Richard Prior-Jones, European head of Azlan left the company in June and started...

Toshiba rebate scheme under fire.
December 19, 2005... Paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk E-tailers have complained that Toshiba's rebate structure for tier two dealers selling to SMEs is creating conflict after it emerged smaller traditional VARs were getting up to [pounds sterling]150 off...

DDRC loses [pounds sterling]100,000 worth of kit in office raids.
December 19, 2005... Christopher Walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk Manchester-based reseller DDRC has lost [pounds sterling]100,000 worth of kit during a series of raids on its premises and has urged the channel to keep its eyes out for a significant...

CC and SCC to double telesales teams.
December 19, 2005... As part of aggressive plans to capture more mid-market business, Computacenter Direct and SCC Exchange will almost double their headcounts in the first quarter of 2006. Both firms launched telesales operations last year, with the...

Civica grows its profits with focus on higher-margin sales.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Software and services reseller Civica has profited from higher margin sales and has made an official acquisition offer to bolster this part of its business further. Civica reported profits of [pounds sterling]12.7m for the year ended 30...

SAP seeks ISVs for push into lower end of market.
December 19, 2005... KARL FLINDERS karl.flinders@rbi.co.uk SAP is calling for more independent software vendors to develop vertically focused SME applications to integrate with its Business One product following the unveiling of a dozen ISV-built...

Bell wins software contract with PCWB.
December 19, 2005... Bell Microproducts has claimed a major software deal after PC World Business selected the distributor ahead of previous supplier Computer 2000. According to an industry source, the deal involves most mainstream software, including...

HP runs rule over BlueCom.
December 19, 2005... Danish distributor under investigation for suspected infringement of trademark agreements on the import of grey goods PAUL KUNERT paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk Hewlett-Packard has raided Danish distributor BlueCom for suspected...

Company cloning on the up.
December 19, 2005... Comstor tightens up its procedure for delivering to non-standard addresses after an increase in fraudulent transactions CHRISTOPHER WALTON christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk The spectre of company cloning raised its ugly head as the...

Grey day for Nexpress adminUK.
December 19, 2005... Distributor goes into administration after losing vendor's franchise following a wrangle over open market trading Paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk Sun Microsystems' reman- ufactured distributor Nexpress has gone into...

Bell Microproducts cuts staff as restructuring plans take shape.
December 19, 2005... The action plan Bell Microproducts put in place to turnaround its European operations by cutting costs and restructuring the business has started with up to 19 staff leaving the operation before Christmas. Separately, Mike Kontowtt, head of...

Councils must understand value.(survey of information technology services on their business strategies)
December 19, 2005... Annual survey of local government IT calls for councils to consider business benefits and not to buy solely on lowest price KARL FLINDERS karl.flinders@rbi.co.uk Councils could save millions if they changed their procurement...

Review delays WEEE further.(Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... The channel is preparing for a further delay in the implementation of the WEEE Directive as the Government starts a review of problems that continue to dog the introduction of the recycling measures. The DTI announced last week that the...

Channel persuades HP to cut pay-for-results targets.
December 19, 2005... Vendor agrees to make targets more realistic following 'consistent' feedback from partners Paul kunert paul.kunert@rbi.co.uk For the first time in its history Hewlett-Packard has bowed to reseller pressure by reducing the...

Novell and Avnet hold talks on future of distribution deal.
December 19, 2005... karl Flinders karl.flinders@rbi.co.uk The distribution agreement between Novell and Avnet is in doubt as the pair revealed they were in talks about the future of their relationship. The negotiations are part of a review by Novell,...

Juniper rides high on back of new market acquisitions.(growth of Juniper Networks Inc in the market of networking business)
December 19, 2005... Christopher Walton christopher.walton@rbi.co.uk Juniper rides high on back of new market acquisitions This time last year Juniper was the "dark horse" of the networking industry, but it completed the year as not only the company...