MicroScope articles from June 2004

MicroScope archives from June 2004

BT insists Integrator will increase channel.
June 7, 2004... When BT Indirect Channels announced plans to extend its Integrator scheme there were inevitable questions asked by resellers concerned that the vendor would take away their business by opening up the market. Because of the way Integrator works...

Big Blue develops strong alternative to Microsoft.
June 7, 2004... As IBM outlines developer plans, Christopher Walton reports from the ISV Forum in Nice IBM's battle with Microsoft for the hearts, minds and customers of the ISV community continues to be triumphed by Big Blue. Coming a year after the...

Business anywhere.
June 7, 2004... As mobile working really begins to take off, the battle is on between PDAs and smart phones to see which technology will win users over As a result of the publicity surrounding the government home/work legislation and the increasing...

CNP fraud needs attention.
June 7, 2004... Government, banks and police disinterest in cardholder not present fraud leaves traders footing the bill themselves The channel has voiced frustration over the government's seeming reluctance to tackle cardholder not present (CNP) fraud and...

Casualties mount as war rages.
June 7, 2004... Innocent traders are paying the price for C&E's crackdown on VAT fraud due to incompatibility of UK and European law In war, innocents are inevitably caught in the crossfire, and the same principles apply to Customs & Excise's battle to rid...

Check Point rewards investors.
June 7, 2004... Check Point has overhauled its channel strategy by introducing a partner programme that seeks to reward resellers which invest in their relationship with the vendor. The valued partner programme splits resellers into four tiers -- platinum,...

Consortium will help resellers to compete.
June 7, 2004... Sun will offer wide variety of services to help it compete with IBM and HP Under the auspices of the iForce partner brand, Sun Microsystems will look to develop a reseller consortium this quarter, which will offer a wide variety of...

Contracts help Synstar figures.
June 7, 2004... Long-term contracts boosted Synstar's first half of the year as it suffered a drop in revenues and increased pre-tax losses in the company's final stage of a four-year transformation to a managed service provider. First half revenues ending 31...

Corporate refresh orders for PCs to hit five-year high.
June 7, 2004... Resellers have been told to "make hay while the sun shines" with over 220m corporate PCs to be replaced worldwide by the end of 2005 when the mature market returns to single-digit growth. The volume of replacements in the next two years is...

Dell CEO-to-be slams HP business model.
June 7, 2004... A month before he is installed as Dell's chief executive, Kevin Rollins has attacked Hewlett-Packard's business model, accusing its bitter rival of subsidising its PC business with expensive toner cartridges. Set to replace Michael Dell in...

Demanding a commitment from ISVs.
June 7, 2004... Big Blue's value proposition for recruiting ISVs demands a commitment from the partner to develop the vendor's software standards further. Andros Papageorgiou, CEO at ISV AlphaNova, said: "It was a very big decision to move from Microsoft to...

EIM offering will give CA customers greater integration and lower costs.
June 7, 2004... Computer Associates aims to enable IT organisations to optimise assets, increase infrastructure performance, and ensure enterprise security and business continuity through its Enterprise Infrastructure Management (EIM). Under the EIM, CA plans...

Enterprises leave their IT headaches to third parties.
June 7, 2004... Managed services continues to grow as more enterprises opt to bring in third parties to help run their IT infrastructure, but without an understanding of the risks and objectives projects will hit the rocks. Although the objective of bringing...

Foundry adds to migration options for IPv6 customers.
June 7, 2004... Foundry Networks enhanced its 10GB Ethernet products for service providers and enterprises last week in a bid to target customers considering migrating to the IPv6 protocol. At the same time, the vendor also introduced a family of wide area...

Gartner identifies need for change in channel support.
June 7, 2004... Resellers, VARs and service providers are going to have to change their service delivery models or continue to lose out on business, according to the latest research by Gartner. In a survey of SME users of IT support, channel partners and...

NAI direct list working well.
June 7, 2004... Four months after Network Associates made a list of direct accounts public, resellers have revealed it has made it easier to work with the vendor. In February, NAI confirmed there was a list of which customers NAI could procure with, but...

One IT security breach can cost [pounds sterling]122,000.
June 7, 2004... The cost of virus attacks continues to rise, according to research by the Corporate IT Forum (tif), and IT suppliers continue to be blamed for security breaches. Research conducted by the DTI in 2002 placed the cost of a security breach at...

Sun and FSC to co-develop Unix.
June 7, 2004... The announcement that two vendors are to team up in a joint development agreement is met with mixed reaction Sun Microsystems and Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC) have agreed to jointly develop on Sun Solaris software and FSC's Sparc chips,...

Value-added solutions in mobile market are key to profitable future for resellers.
June 7, 2004... Resellers have been warned that they face losing out in the mobile market if they play at being specialists rather than building up the ability to sell solutions. The attraction in laptops continues to increase with year-on-year sales figures...

Alcatel gains SMEs with SmartBiz plan.
June 14, 2004... Alcatel has pronounced its efforts to make inroads into the UK SME reseller channel through its SmartBiz scheme a success, after signing up 43 partners to the programme last month. The vendor launched the scheme to attract UK resellers in the...

Panasonic to offer free upgrades for smooth adoption.(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... Panasonic is seeking to smooth the adoption of wireless technology in the projector environment by offering a free wireless upgrade to its latest ANSI lumens XGA projector through distributor Midwich. The adoption of wireless is seen by some as...

Channel expresses concerns over HP sales mix.(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... Hewlett-Packard has revealed a worrying statistic for dealers -- its direct PC business is growing at more than twice the rate of channel sales. In a half year meeting with US financial analysts last week, Duane Zitzner, executive...

Channel wars.
June 14, 2004... The argument indirect vendors have with direct sellers is set to continue with both sides claiming to be more successful It is 20 years since Michael Dell set up Dell Computers and turned it into the biggest thorn in the side of everyone...

Dell facing public sector price cutting allegations.
June 14, 2004... Resellers claim they have evidence the direct giant is selling below cost and flouting GCAT government price list A band of local system builders and resellers are preparing to log a complaint with the European Union against what they...

Diagonal rejects Microgen "without merit" sale offer.(Consultancy Diagonal)(Microgen Holdings PLC)
June 14, 2004... Consultancy Diagonal has rejected a takeover bid by Microgen after the software and services specialists acquired a strategic shareholding in the company of [pounds sterling]2.7m. In a statement to shareholders, Diagonal said it had received an...

Director of BTIC leaves company.(BT Indirect Channels)(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... BT Indirect Channels has been left searching for a replacement director after Mark Hollister walked out of the company after 15 months in the job. The surprise decision by Hollister to leave the company was announced last week just a couple of...

Fujitsu Siemens ups Connect2Air rebate.
June 14, 2004... Fujitsu Siemens Computers has announced a huge hike in rebates available to partners selling its Connect2Air product range in response to feedback from resellers that the previous rate was too low. The rates have increased from [pounds...

HP and Palm aim to plug Sony PDA gap.(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(PalmSource)(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... The decision by Sony to pull out of the PDA market outside of its native Japan has left a space for rivals to plug the gap. The manufacturer of the Clie range of handhelds enjoyed around 13 per cent market share and already rivals are hoping to...

Increased data and document management drive up storage.(Storage Expo )
June 14, 2004... One of the consistent features of the storage market has been the continued growth in data, tightening of compliance legislation and an ongoing need by users to invest in maintaining their IT infrastructure. Storage is a market that has...

Insight to float PlusNet and cut stake.(Insight Enterprises Inc.)(PlusNet Technologies Ltd.)(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... US reseller giant Insight Enterprises is set to pursue an initial public offering of its Sheffield-based PlusNet ISP subsidiary on AIM as it looks to take advantage of an increase in demand for business broadband. PlusNet was the offshoot of...

Microsoft admits to considering bid for SAP.(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... Microsoft revealed the extent of its ambition to break into the business application market last week when it admitted it had initiated takeover discussions with SAP last year. Analysts suggested the approach showed Microsoft's intent to...

Mid-market is cautious when considering managed services.(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... Mid-market buyers have become more open to selective outsourcing and mid-market managed services, according to research by data centre service specialist Attenda. With outsourcing traditionally thought of as the realm of the enterprise service...

Mix of indirect and direct sales could be future channel model.
June 14, 2004... Billy MacInnes says some indirect sellers are seeking the best route to users and may have to consider a direct approach The future channel model will include elements of direct and indirect as vendors choose the best route to market rather...

Passing on deals information delivers margin records.(Prime Business Solutions)(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... Billy MacInnes says that resellers will soon gain discounts when the UK is added to Cisco's incentive pilot programme Cisco has launched the pilot scheme for its opportunity incentive programme (OIP) in three European countries, with the UK...

Quest brings Aelita dealers into unified channel scheme.(Quest Software Inc.)(Aelita Software Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... Quest Software has outlined plans to bring its channel programmes under one umbrella, following the completion of its acquisition of Aelita Software. Richard Moseley, director of Windows management business Emea at Quest, said: "We have a three...

Resellers are seen as key to UK brand development by Corel.(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... Corel is trying to raise its brand profile in the UK with a partner recruitment drive and plans for a reseller programme by the end of the year. The vendor wants to boost reseller numbers and expects to extend its reach in the UK in the coming...

Resellers slow to take up electronic trading.
June 14, 2004... CompTIA survey shows resellers are missing out on cost savings by not trading on the Web British resellers are lagging behind in the race to adopt electronic trading, according to a survey by the US Computer Trading Technology Industry...

SurfControl to offer remote e-mail filter.(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... The direction of the Web filtering market will be to reach out protection to remote workers and offer enterprise protection against e-mail threats with an appliance aimed at handling problems for businesses. Resellers attending the SurfControl...

Tarantella free licence strategy ups secure remote access stakes.
June 14, 2004... Tarantella has revamped the way it sells its products in a move that results in licences costing nothing, but ties users into a two-year mainte- nance contract. The vendor hopes to take market share from rival Citrix in the secure remote access...

Trend Micro teams with Cisco on security.(Trend Micro Inc.)(Cisco Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... Trend Micro and Cisco have teamed up to try to simplify the security market by offering antivirus products embedded on the network. Under the terms of the deal every Cisco router will incorporate Trend Micro antivirus technology and will open...

US vendors to target UK channel.(FineGround Networks Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... In the past month, a swath of vendors have shipped over from North America to court channel partners and push their products in the UK enterprise market, yet can any successfully break through in a traditionally conservative market? Silicon...

VAT fraudster sentenced.(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... A Scottish businessman who pleaded guilty to VAT fraud has been sentenced to four years imprisonment, for his part in a multi-million-pound scam. Last month, Michael George Voudouri from Stirling, admitted to importing computer chips from the...

A clandestine channel affair.
June 21, 2004... MicroScope has kept a close eye on Dell's relationship with resellers since "the worst kept secret in the channel" came up on the radar a number of years ago. In December 2001, MicroScope reported that a global research house was...

Allied Telesyn registers market share increase.(Allied Telesyn International Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Allied Telesyn has claimed that mounting demand for alternatives to Cisco have helped the vendor achieve growth in its core switching market. The vendor has backed up the claim via the latest figures from global research group IDC's Emea LAN...

Avaya release will ease IP migration.(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Avaya has introduced a gateway product and enhanced software to encourage users of its INDeX IP converged communications system to migrate to its IP Office technology. The vendor has over 20,000 INDeX IP systems, which cater for businesses...

BMC appoints Morse in key partner tie-up.(BMC Software Inc.)
June 21, 2004... With some vendors becoming ubiquitous for their direct approach in the enterprise market, other vendors have made a strategic decision to grow their channel through a small number of strategic partnerships. Once famed for its direct sales...

CSC pulls out of BBC outsourcing bid.(BBC Technology Ltd.)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Services giant CSC has withdrawn from the race to both acquire BBC Technology and procure a [pounds sterling]2bn, ten-year outsourcing deal with the BBC. The initial tender was whittled down to three suppliers earlier in the year and CSC's...

Citrix opens door to mobility sector.(Citrix Systems Inc.)(Vodafone Group PLC)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Citrix and Vodafone have struck a deal which they hope will help resellers seeking to break into the technological hot spot of mobility. This effectively opens up Vodafone Mobile Connect mobile data access to centralised business applications...

Dealers reveal Dell SME plan.
June 21, 2004... Channel claims vendor has created UK reseller-focused telesales team offering account management and discounts Dell appears to be formalising its relationship with resellers in the SME space after a number of UK partners claimed they now...

Disk fails to offer best TCO for archive storage.(total cost of ownership)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Tape, DVD and ultra density optical (UDO) platforms provided the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) for archive storage, beating disk platforms from rival EMC six-fold, according to recent research conducted by Cambridge-based storage vendor...

Distributors dispute TopConfig claims.(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Computer 2000's claims to have secured the number one spot for Hewlett-Packard sales through the TopConfig scheme have been called into question by rival distributors. The Basingstoke-based distributor issued a statement last week saying...

HDS reaches into low-tier enterprises.(Hitachi Data Systems Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) has moved into low-tier enterprise modular storage systems with the extension of its application optimised storage range. The vendor believes this will help resellers compete with the threat of Dell/EMC in both the...

HP to decrease complexity.(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Four months after admitting it needed to raise the profile of its software business, Hewlett-Packard has revealed plans to reduce the complexity of its products and expand by acquisition. In February, Paul Hodgetts, director of HP Software UK,...

Juniper aims J-series at SoHo market with.
June 21, 2004... In its first product release since acquiring NetScreen, Juniper Networks moved to extend its reach into the SoHo market by bringing the router and security aspects of its product range together. At the time of the acquisition (see...

Maxtor looks past grey claims and appoints eSys in UK.(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... eSys Distribution brushed off claims that it has been dealing in grey Maxtor product after being appointed as a UK distributor for the hard disk vendor last week. eSys, which is a Maxtor distributor in Asia, claims to be the largest...

NAI plans future as McAfee.(Network Associates Inc.)
June 21, 2004... As the count down to its brand change to McAfee, Network Associates has unveiled its channel programme and revealed its intentions to be a 100 per cent channel business within a year. NAI currently does 99.5 per cent of its businesses through...

New FSC CEO takes up reins.(Fujitsu Siemens Computers's Bernd Bischoff)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Adrian von Hammerstein will step down from his position as president and CEO of Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC) from 1 July. Bernd Bischoff, currently executive vice-president of sales, marketing and customer services at FSC, will replace him....

Oracle expands ISV partner base with commitment to Linux sector.
June 21, 2004... Software giant Oracle has triumphed a 40 per cent increase in recruiting independent software vendors (ISVs) in the past year citing Linux as a "significant driver for growth" in attracting ISVs to the Oracle PartnerNetwork. Oracle is the third...

Procurve buys Riverstone and boosts reseller training scheme.(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... HP's networking division steps up challenge to Cisco through acquisition and education HP's focused Procurve networking division has stepped up its challenge to market leader Cisco both through the $28m ([pounds sterling]15.2m) acquisition...

SCO financial crisis deepening.(Santa Cruz Operation Inc.)(financial results)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... SCO has secured a delay in its court case against IBM over the alleged inclusion of its proprietary code in Linux, but the victory was dented by the vendor's worsening financial position. On the same day of the announcement that the case,...

SIA predicts record sales of [pounds sterling]117bn.(Semiconductor Industry Association)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... The semiconductor industry is preparing to rip up the records book this year as worldwide sales are expected to hit $214bn ([pounds sterling]117bn), outperforming the historical high in 2000 of $204bn. But the 28.6 per cent growth the...

Suppliers under pressure as use of e-auctions rises.(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Research from Vendigital has found that companies buying IT equipment through e-auctions are getting a better deal Companies and public sector bodies buying IT equipment through e-auctions and electronic procurement processes believe they...

Teksys slows LAR partners; aim as SAM business grows.(large account resellers, software asset management )(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Teksys puts its LAR partnership plans on the back-burner as its software asset management business explodes Teksys has revealed its plans to try and develop partnerships with Microsoft large account resellers (LARs) have taken a back seat...

Unipalm ties up with N-Able.
June 21, 2004... Security distributor Unipalm is stepping into the managed services space having formed a relationship with Canadian network monitoring software vendor N-Able. As resellers look to automated service offerings in order to remain competitive and...

Vendors urged to simplify licensing.
June 21, 2004... Research has highlighted the need to make software licensing models easier to use to end channel confusion Systems integrator Elyzium has warned vendors they need to simplify their software licensing as current models are both confusing and...

Zoom offers channel a different route.(Zoom Hayes)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... The expansion of the modem market into initially ADSL and now VoIP is offering resellers trying to crack voice a different route into the market. The latest products from Zoom Hayes, incorporating IP functions, offer free phone calls to other...

Astaro courts UK enterprise channel.(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Open source security specialist Astaro is to set up a UK channel structure in the third quarter in preparation for an attack on the enterprise market. Astaro received $6.7m ([pounds sterling]3.7m) in venture capital funding last week to extend...

BSG to adopt managed services model.(Business Systems Group Holdings PLC)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Enterprise reseller Business Systems Group (BSG) is to step down from its listing on the London Stock Exchange and apply for admission on the AIM market in an effort to reduce costs as the company continues to suffer from a decline in hardware...

Brother sets standard to tackle green issues.(Insynergy programme)
June 21, 2004... Brother is adding a tier to its Insynergy programme for resellers that want to try and differentiate themselves on environmental grounds and is looking for 40 partners to sign up. According to the printer vendor, around 25 per cent of company...

CipherTrust seeks partner in SME space.
June 21, 2004... E-mail security specialist CipherTrust is looking for channel partners to help push the small and medium-sized enterprise version of its IronMail product in the UK. The vendor is looking for resellers which are active in the SME space,...

Education sales and Euro 2004 fuel AV market.(audiovisuals)
June 21, 2004... The AV market has performed well in the first six months of the year and distributors are hoping for more of the same for the rest of 2004. Mark Tildesley, product marketing director at AV specialist distributor Maverick, claimed the market...

Hewlett-Packard tightens grip on market.(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... One in three PC's sold by the UK channel in May were from Hewlett-Packard as its nearest four rivals combined still remain five per cent behind HP's grip on the market, according to the latest figures from Context. The UK channel remains more...

InTechnology buys NetConnect to help plug VAR training gap.(Intechnology Corp.)(NetConnect Training)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... InTechnology has acquired NetConnect Training, a subsidiary of systems integrator Netstore, for [pounds sterling]900,000 in cash with a further [pounds sterling]100,000 paid on condition of performance of the company over the next 12 months....

Revenues and profits will slip warns Misys.(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Delivery from a wide variety of enterprise verticals were thrown into doubt last week as direct software and services giant Misys warned investors it expected revenues and profits to slip by as much as ten per cent in the first half of the...

SMEs urged to store data safely.
June 21, 2004... AXA Insurance has warned that many small to medium- sized businesses are taking big risks by not storing their back-up data securely. The company, which insures more than 400,000 small businesses, is urging them to ensure their back-up data is...

Toshiba ups recruitment drive for data resellers.(Toshiba Business Communications )(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Toshiba Business Communications is making strides in its plans to recruit data resellers with the appointment of internal recruitment staff who are taking time to assess dealer abilities. Tim Webb, general manager at Toshiba Business...

UK firms risk penalties over data storage compliance.(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Resellers should look to educate businesses about regulatory compliance after research revealed that 85 per cent of IT managers had not received any training about the issues. According to research by Adaptec, the majority of UK firms are...

US vendors control global spend.(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... The worldwide market for IT services grew by 6.2 per cent in 2003 to $569bn ([pounds sterling]312bn), according to analyst group Gartner, with US-based vendors controlling 59 per cent of global spend. Globally, the top five service vendors are...

Zultys appoints Chewton.(Zultys Technologies)(Chewton Group)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... Zultys has moved to extend its reach in the UK with the launch of a clustering ability and the appointment of a second distributor. The IPT specialist has signed Bath-based niche distributor Chewton Group to help expand its channel in the UK....

BI is now a solution not only a tool.(business intelligence market)(Brief Article)
June 28, 2004... The business intelligence market has moved beyond a tool sell to be part of a solution sell. This is the view of Ged Simmonds, channel manager for the UK and the Middle East at Cognos, who believes the change has come about as the need for BI...

Bell sets sights on Europe after OpenPSL acquisition.(Bell Microproducts Inc.)
June 28, 2004... Manchester-based distributor decides against proposed IPO and instead accepts $36m purchase offer from broadliner OpenPSL has turned its back on a proposed initial public offering (IPO) opting instead to be bought by Bell Microproducts for...

Citrix contemplates threshold reduction.(Citrix Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 28, 2004... Citrix is considering lowering the threshold of a scheme designed to reward value added resellers which help create customer opportunities, even if they do not end up making the final sale. The initiative, which was launched in January,...

Continued margin pressure dampens optimism.(Network Interlinks)(Brief Article)
June 28, 2004... Despite expectations earlier this year that margins would begin to rise, an exclusive MicroScope survey has revealed that resellers are still struggling to make money on product sales. But there still appears to be a ray of hope for the...

Gerrard Youna takes up the reins as Tech Data president of European operations.(Brief Article)
June 28, 2004... Computer 2000 parent company Tech Data has promoted Gerrard Youna to president of European operations, the role previously held by Bell Microproducts' Graeme Watt. Youna was formerly Tech Data's vice-president for southern Europe and had joined...