MicroScope articles from January 2007

MicroScope archives from January 2007

An early warning to watch the finances.(01 News)
January 8, 2007... For a large portion of the working population, it is only today that a working 2007 really starts. For those just back at their desks, the message coming out of this first issue of MicroScope for the year seems to be that finances are going to...

Beware your dreams...(01 News)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Chris Bidmead Opinion The Windows Vista operating system is almost here, promising good things to those whose hardware will support it. Therein lies the rub All set for a Prosperous New Year? You bet, because here comes...

Five Minute Interview.(01 News)(Simon Aron, Eurodata Systems)(Interview)
January 8, 2007... Simon Aron, managing director and founder of Eurodata Systems, is in the hot seat this week as MicroScope directs some probing questions at him What is the best/worst advice you have received and from whom? Best advice: "Work hard but...

Mega capacity on a thumbnail scale.(09 Tech Traders)(Kingston 4GB SD memory card)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... There have been two major changes in the world of memory cards - capacity and price - and so you would expect one of the largest names in the market to be at the forefront of showing where the benchmark now rests. The Kingston 4GB SD...

Bluetooth returns to the reckoning.(09 Tech Traders)
January 8, 2007... A couple of years ago there was a great deal of fuss made about Bluetooth as it was a major step up from wires and infrared. Then broadband came along and people seemed to forget all about it. But as has happened before and will no doubt do...

Memory stickto MP3, it's all about content.(09 Tech Traders)(MP3 Hit Recorder 2)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... There are plenty of ways to skin a cat for those resellers that want to get a slice of the action around digital content without entering hardware relationships. X-OOM software is not alone in taking an alternative approach by coming to...

2007 predictions.(10 Features)
January 8, 2007... Wouldn't you like to look into the future and know which technologies to invest in during 2007? Davey Winder asked the great and the good, and they said it would be the year of AV collaboration Peter Tebbutt, UK marketing director at...

The desktop point of view.(04 Hardware)
January 8, 2007... We ask some of the industry's leading experts what lies in store for the PC sector in 2007 The 25th anniversary of the desktop PC was in 2006 and while the technology has evolved dramatically it is not the only thing that is changing....

Inside OutA market for servicing.(15 Columns)
January 8, 2007... Max Meiklejohn Resellers can benefit from growth at the smaller end of the contact centre market. However, ensuring that profitable deals can be struck requires awareness of this sector's unique nature. Many smallerfirms are realising...

Mapping out new networks.(03 Networking)
January 8, 2007... For a mature industry, data networking seems to have an awful lot of developing to do. Networks have come a long way since Bob Metcalfe first invented Ethernet at research lab Xerox Parc in 1973. He probably wasn't thinking about high-speed...

Credit careful.(15 Columns)
January 8, 2007... Outside In Commercial credit reports arean easy-to-use, fast and cost effective way for a business to check out their customers, prospects and suppliers and ensure ongoing stability. They are key to enabling informed decisions before...

Cheap debt warning.(Damovo's financial restructuring results in change of ownership)
January 8, 2007... Damovo forced into financial restructure which results in change of ownership Resellers have been warned to handle a favourable market for corporate debt with care after systems integration giant Damovo was forced to restructure and sell...

Cisco and CC kick off latest consolidation wave.(Cisco Systems Inc. and Computacenter PLC's acquisitions)
January 8, 2007... Consolidation has started early this year after news that Cisco has splashed out on acquiring IronPort Systems, while Computacenter (CC) paid [pounds sterling]27m to strengthen its software and services offering. Cisco's $830m ([pounds...

01 News.
January 8, 2007... The continued tightening up of Microsoft's channel is set to turn its attention to large account resellers (LARs) later this month as the vendor calls its UK partners in for a meeting to discuss its plans. LARs will get together with the...

01 News.(Tech Data Europe appoints board members)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Tech Data has shuffled its UK management pack and will begin the year with a full house of board members after four director appointments - headed by the arrival of former CA EMEA channel head Andrew Sheppard as director of Azlan UK. ...

01 News.(Quantum Microponents enters administrative receivership)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Quantum Microponents has entered administrative receivership after it failed to recover from a sizeable bad debt, but part of the company has already been sold. As revealed by MicroScope last month, the company has been teetering on the...

Latest raft of regulations aims to make life easier.(01 News)
January 8, 2007... From better payment systems to pared down red tape, there is a move to simplification One of the challenges for anybody working in business is to keep on top of the legislation and regulations coming out of government and Europe. Ones...

01 News.
January 8, 2007... Security expansion Distributor Magirus has injected more resources into its UK security operation and created 20 new positions. As exclusively revealed by this magazine, the company signalled its intent to grow a UK security operation when...

Standardised pricing policy for SonicWALL.(01 News)
January 8, 2007... Vendor seeks to boost competitiveness and cut grey importation Security vendor SonicWALL is standardising its pricing across EMEA and the US in a bid to increase competitiveness and reduce grey imports. The company's move will...

Companies considered for ACEs revealed.(MicroScope Awards for Channel Excellence)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... The first stage in the process to select winners of the MicroScope Awards for Channel Excellence (ACEs) is complete, with a 'longlist' of companies that are potential winners announced on the web. The list of resellers and distributors...

Security challenges continue as Vista shows vulnerabilities.(07 Security)
January 8, 2007... Every time Microsoft launches some new measure to boost security in its products, there is momentary panic in the information security market as people ask: "Is that the end for us, then?" The last thing they want, after all, is a bullet-proof...

Gazing at the software horizon.(01 News)
January 8, 2007... Any discussion of what 2007 has in store for the software world probably has to start where it ended in 2006 - with Microsoft's Windows Vista (along with Office 2007 and Exchange 2007). The software giant has attached great importance to its...

What's hot in the storage world for the year ahead.(08 Storage)
January 8, 2007... There are numerous hot spots in the storage world that resellers need to be aware of this year. Combined solutions Niels Abildgaard, head of storage solutions, UK, Ireland and South Africa at IBM System Storage Group, predicts that...

01 News.
January 8, 2007... www.weirdworld this week wonders just why we bothered to turn up to work last week, wishes everyone could copy the Nortel chief executive's example and begs you to keep your trunks on 24/7 skivers A cold and lonely welcome back to work...

Public sector primed for purchasing review.(05 Editorial)
January 15, 2007... The prospect of declining public spending budgets could be a blessing in disguise for resellers with a foot in the door of that sector who can watch rivals struggle as the orders start to constrict. Those with a role to play in the public...

12 Soap.(changes in digital technology)
January 15, 2007... www.weirdworld this week gets cautiously caught up in the excitement about the iPhone, watches as the lawyers get to work and wonders along with Bill Gates about the shape of the digital future iCringe Having watched several of Apple...

09 Tech Traders.(prices of consumer electronics)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... One of the interesting points about the technology unveiled at events like the Consumer Electronics Show is the sensitive but vital question of pricing. People often make the assumption that a US dollar price converts simply into pounds, but...

An eye on the horizon.(10 Features)
January 15, 2007... Microsoft's latest offering, the Vista operating system, is expected to make waves across the IT landscape, but Karl Flinders reveals it is more a case of wait and see before many businesses will take the plunge The dust has settled on the...

Agenda.(13 Back Pages)(Calendar)
January 15, 2007... January 31 January-1 February The Retail Business Show 2007 Earls Court 2, London Web: www.retailevents.co.uk/trbs2007/index.htm Tel: 020 7430 0077 February 27-28 February 2nd Strategic Software Asset &...

09 Tech Traders.(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... One of the biggest challenges for a small business is to grow and gain customers as well as keeping an eye on the figures. Most firms dream of being able to track finances, start to use some CRM features and keep on top of their sales and...

Take a break.(Christmas break)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Billy MacInnes Opinion The world doesn't grind to a halt when the majority of the population switches off for Christmas - so why don't we do it more often? Irrespective of your religious beliefs, I hope you all had a good...

Overall printer sales down 25 per cent on last October.(09 Tech Traders)(Industry overview)
January 15, 2007... There is no major change to report in terms of year-on-year sales of single-function inkjet printers, with October 2006 sales down 20 per cent on those in October 2005 (September: down 24 per cent), writes Neil Frackiewicz. Looking specifically...

01 News.
January 15, 2007... Briefs Intel quad-core range now boasts nine products At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week, Intel announced the expansion of its family of quad-core processors, including the first to hold the Core 2 brand...

09 Tech Traders.(glider mouse of Hela Ltd.)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Most people sit in front of a PC, tapping away and using a mouse to move the cursor without wondering if it is any good for them. For those who do, however, Hela has an ergonomic Glider Mouse that doesn't look like any mouse you have seen...

Inside OutVoIP invaders.(15 Columns)
January 15, 2007... David Ellis The security vulnerabilities and challenges of VoIP are well documented. Each VoIP element on anetwork -including privatebranch exchange systems, gateways, proxy, registrar and locator servers and phones -is vulnerable to...

01 News.
January 15, 2007... Data leakage confusion When it comes to data leakage, it seems sensationalism has been the order of the day in the mainstream and trade press, with a continued popular emphasis on the threat posed by USB devices such as memory sticks and...

03 Networking.
January 15, 2007... Brocade splashes out on iSCSI expertise SAN switch vendor Brocade has acquired privately held application acceleration vendor Silverback Systems for an undisclosed cash sum. Dan Crain, chief technology officer at Brocade, said:...

Facing the dragons.(venture capital)
January 15, 2007... Outside In So you fancy yourself in the Dragon's Den? Well good on you budding St. Georges. I'm certainly not at all sure that I would want to face that ordeal. Actually, there has never been a better time to start a new company, with...

AMD endeavours to win back confidence after dearth of chips.(04 Hardware)
January 15, 2007... AMD is labouring to win back the confidence of local system builders that was lost during the fourth quarter when desktop chip shortages hit the channel hard. Late last year UK assemblers struggled to source Athlon 64 desktop processors...

Employee-owned notebook schemes present reseller support opportunity.(04 Hardware)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... A growing number of large firms are warming to employee-owned notebook schemes in a bid to loosen the responsibility and support burden for PCs used both at home and at work, according to Gartner. The analyst company said the advent of...

McAfee seeks to inspire by putting sales advice in print.(McAfee Associates Inc.)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... McAfee is publishing a book as part of its drive to teach resellers how to sell security as a business enabler rather than a reaction to a problem. The vendor has been making a lot of noise of late about encouraging and supporting its...

Maturing market trades point products for UTM.(07 Security)
January 15, 2007... If unified threat management (UTM) was a buzzword in 2006, that will be nothing compared with the growing need for a unified security strategy as vendors face up to the fact they cannot cover every security threat alone. According to...

iSCSI boasts hidden depths.(internet small computer system interface)
January 15, 2007... Underwhelmed? Many people think iSCSI - IP storage area networks - is just not happening. Others are saying that what we see of iSCSI is like an iceberg and we must look under the water to see the true bulk of it. Let's take a dive under...

Council IT budgets cut.(01 News)
January 15, 2007... Expiry of e-government deadlines means local authority spending will fall this year Local government spending on IT will decline by a massive [pounds sterling]600m this year because the deadlines for e-government services have passed. ...

Acer targeted in [pounds sterling]200,000 burglary.(Acer America Corp.)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Seasonal festivities came early for thieves that stole demo equipment and presents destined for top performing partners from Acer's UK offices on 21 December. The stolen goods, coupled with damage to the Middlesex-based premises that...

01 News.(Arrow's acquisition of NOXS)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Doubts are being raised over Arrow's potential acquisition of NOXS, as sources claim the deal has fallen through, with agreement on price said to be the stumbling block. Another source said it was surprising that nothing had been announced...

Credit terms dispute delays Microsoft distribution deals.(01 News)
January 15, 2007... OEM distributors dissatisfied with low level of credit offered due to lack of trading history The restructure of Microsoft's distribution tier has hit a stumbling block with a lack of visibility of new OEM partners forcing further...

ISA Trading's [pounds sterling]70m price tag puts off buyers.(01 News)
January 15, 2007... The private investors that own multi-channel consumables player ISA Trading are looking to sell the company, but sources that have shown an interest in the business say the [pounds sterling]70m price tag is too high. Previously called ISA...

MTV Telecom and Rocom to withdraw from Alcatel-Lucent deal.(01 News)
January 15, 2007... Rocom and MTV Telecom are to part ways with Alcatel-Lucent after the vendor appointed security and networking distributor Sphinx to carry its enterprise voice portfolio. Both parties are still talking through an exit strategy with the...

01 News.(financial restructuring at Damovo)(Westcoast adds commercial manager)(InTechnology acquires Evoxus)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Financial restructure gets stakeholder thumbs up Damovo's stakeholders have given overwhelming approval for financial restructuring plans, which will enter the Glasgow-based systems integrator into a period of supplemental indenture, where...

01 News.(eBuyer)(e-tailer)(Bell Micro)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Financial results reveal mixed fortunes for channel players Three channel companies have revealed financial results and updates that range between the good, the bland and the downright ugly, writes Paul Kunert. Starting with the...

Vendor resists Becta criticism over value.(01 News)
January 15, 2007... Microsoft defends claims that schools do not get the best for money Microsoft has defended its discounts to the education sector following the publication of reports from the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta)...

Hamsard snaps up CSF for [pounds sterling]3.3m.(01 News)
January 15, 2007... CSF's remaining managed services division, left intact after the [pounds sterling]6m sale of its solutions business to Logicalis last month, has been acquired by AIM-listed Hamsard Group for [pounds sterling]3.3m. The Hamsard Group rose...

Lessons to learn in open source.(01 News)
January 15, 2007... The open source community shows potential but could do better in the education sector where Microsoft continues to dominate. This group of software vendors could save educational organisations millions of pounds if products were backed with...

Sphinx signing tests trust.(Alcatel-Lucent agreement with Sphinx)
January 15, 2007... Alcatel-Lucent has laid down the gauntlet to rivals early this year with the appointment of distributor Sphinx to carry its enterprise voice portfolio, but existing distributors have hit out believing the vendor has discarded them. The...

Networks First takes control of McKesson networking division.(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Third-party services specialist Networks First has taken control of the UK networking division of healthcare and technology services company McKesson. West Midlands-based Networks First will take on McKesson's UK staff, networks and...

01 News.
January 15, 2007... Hardware reseller of the year Basilica Business Systems Group Compusys Computacenter ComputerLand Elcom Equanet European Electronique ICM Computers Insight Kelway Logicalis PC World...

09 Tech Traders.
January 15, 2007... The attention of the technology community settled on Las Vegas last week with the Consumer Electronics Show celebrating its 40th year and setting the agenda for the consumer market for the year. Although the show is focused on the latest...

Invitations at a glanceTenders.(13 Back Pages)
January 15, 2007... 251544, Tender Invitation UK-London: networking Maintenance of data network equipment. 252547, Tender Invitation UK-Didcot: network management Data network management and support services. 253439, Tender Invitation...

Just who is protected by the Companies Act?(01 News)
January 22, 2007... If Celebrity Big Brother has demonstrated anything, it is that having a healthy level of cynicism about people is something that should be encouraged. Not everyone is as offensive as Jade Goody, but there is a proportion who are happy to...

01 News.(Educational services industry)(Brief article)
January 22, 2007... The main lesson for resellers attending last week's BETT Show was that price is important in education so margin has to come from other places. With some products being significantly cheaper to make them more attractive to schools, dealers...

01 News.(laptops, computer virus, Alex Tatham)
January 22, 2007... www.weirdworld this week expresses concerns about the $100 laptop hitting the high street, has sympathy for World of Warcraft addicts and salutes the new kitchen staff at Bell Micro Two for one The people behind the [pounds...

Five Minute Interview.(01 News)(Declan Grogan)(Interview)
January 22, 2007... Declan Grogan, managing director of ndl-metascybe, is in the hot seat this week as MicroScope directs some probing questions at him What is the best/worst advice you have received and from whom? Best advice was from my FD with whom I...

More than a corporate game.(01 News)(customer relationship management)
January 22, 2007... The market for CRM software is maturing and with that its reach is extending beyond the enterprise to smaller players. The challenge for resellers is to raise their game in relating the benefits of the technology to the requirements of...

We're all groovy teens online.(01 News)
January 22, 2007... Honesty may be the best policy in the real world, but when you're in the Blogosphere, it's simply not the done thing, dude There are two types of people of this world and the way to tell them apart is to give them a subscription form to...

A nice strong niche to be in.(09 Tech Traders)
January 22, 2007... A walk around the BETT Show last week not only indicated how important technology has become to education but how it is shaping the way children will learn in the future. Alongside numerous stands showing off whiteboard and classroom...

04 Hardware.
January 22, 2007... Processor vendor sums up disappointing Q4 AMD has revealed that revenues, excluding ATI-related segments, for the fourth quarter to 31 December 2006 are expected to increase by approximately three per cent from the $1.33bn ([pounds...

Inside OutBoardroom roadblock.(15 Columns)
January 22, 2007... Alan Calder After years of dragging their feet on information security, it appears that more company boards are at last beginning to take some action. According to Ernst & Young's most recent Global Information Security Survey,...

Out of the Blue.(Gareth Hansford )(Interview)
January 22, 2007... Lenovo UK & Ireland managing director Gareth Hansford tells Roanna Avison what he expects to have the biggest influence on the vendor's business over the next 12 months The main focus for Lenovo in 2007 will be the continued migration...

01 News.(credit cards, network access control, carbon neutral)
January 22, 2007... Take care with credit The widespread use of corporate credit cards is exposing companies to unacceptable business risk. Just what controls are in place to monitor purchases which range from stationery and IT equipment to corporate...

09 Tech Traders.(Mangofile)(Product/service evaluation)
January 22, 2007... Simplifying the storage of electronic documentation One of the challenges for every user, from school child to CEO, is to keep tabs on their 'stuff', to use a phrase that covers all possible bases. Digital content, including the...

It's not better late than never.(01 News)
January 22, 2007... Outside In The late payment of invoices by large businesses to their small business suppliers has been a problem for many years. Despite current legislative changes the situation has still not reached an acceptable level. This has hit some...

Efficiency improvements.(04 Hardware)
January 22, 2007... Lenovo finally appears to be making some progress on the issues that have dogged its European supply chain since taking over IBM's PC business 18 months ago, according to distributors. The problem was acknowledged by the Chinese PC giant...

Doors finally beginning to open for packaged print services.(04 Hardware)
January 22, 2007... A maturation of MFP technology and a growing realisation among customers that printing is an uncontrolled expense could make 2007 the year when the IT channel gears up to offer print services. The undisputed king of the printer market,...

Symantec partners call on VADs to provide single point of contact.(07 Security)
January 22, 2007... Symantec resellers that buy through value-add distribution are calling for their distributors to create a single point of reseller contact for security and storage products. When Symantec acquired Veritas there was always going to be a...

Phone data is overlooked.(08 Storage)(Brief article)
January 22, 2007... Businesses could fall foul of data storage and compliance issues by failing to protect and retain information stored on mobile phones. While businesses of all sizes recognise the importance of protecting and backing up data on other devices...

Pillar Data Systems to sign second UK distributor.(08 Storage)
January 22, 2007... Enterprise storage player Pillar Data Systems is expected to imminently name Horizon Data Management (HDM) as its second UK distribution partner to lean on the company's links with systems integrators. Pillar Data Systems will be the first...

01 News.
January 22, 2007... Briefs Intel revenues decline Intel reported a five per cent drop in revenues to $9.7bn ([pounds sterling]4.9bn) in the fourth quarter to 30 December as net income fell 39 per cent to $1.5bn. The numbers were hit by costs relating to...

Law makes it easier for fraudsters to hide.(01 News)
January 22, 2007... 'Useful routes of investigation' cut off by changes to Companies Act Changes in the Companies Act could make it harder for information agencies to detect fraud, according to credit information specialist Graydon, and could make it more...

01 News.
January 22, 2007... Will the Fraud Act be effective? When the Fraud Bill went before the House of Lords in 2005, many in the industry hoped it would help crack down on fraudsters. The resulting Fraud Act 2006 came into force last week, introducing a...

01 News.
January 22, 2007... Red Squared into profit Red Squared reported a ten per cent increase in revenues to [pounds sterling]2.7m in the year to 30 September. Losses before tax dropped from [pounds sterling]290,700 in 2005 to [pounds sterling]203,252. In the...

Vendors forge ahead with shared services portfolio.(01 News)
January 22, 2007... Microsoft and Nortel flesh out their unified communications alliance Nortel and Microsoft have put a little more meat on the bones of their unified communications alliance with the introduction of a shared service portfolio that will be...

02 Software.
January 22, 2007... If Bill Gates' keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a taste of the future the consumer market could become a business opportunity for traditional VARs. At the annual event, held in Las Vegas earlier this month,...

02 Software.
January 22, 2007... CA will put all its indirect sales operations under one organisational umbrella as the company's recently-appointed EMEA head attempts to streamline channel working. Currently the company manages all its partner groups separately with...