MicroScope articles from June 2006

MicroScope archives from June 2006

Where the US goes, the UK will follow.(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... While we may not like to admit it, here in the UK we generally follow where the Americans lead. This seems to be the case in everyday life as well as in business. So research highlighting the fact that US resellers are turning their backs...

The return of the Mac.
June 5, 2006... The Mac is back. Robert Peckham, an independent Apple consultant who heads up the UK Mac-Dealer Association, says that seven out of every ten phone queries he receives ?are from PC resellers ringing to ask how to sell Macs?. The arrival of...

IT all adds up.(information technology)
June 5, 2006... Those resellers that have dealt with the accounts department of a business will be aware that it is often run on antiquated technology with set ways of doing things and the suggestion of change is not always welcome. But the case for installing...

Multifunctional mean machine.
June 5, 2006... There is still a need for companies to move away from running various bits of equipment and switch to a networked all-in-one product that can save time and, more importantly, money. Step into the average corporate and you will see a large...

Five Minute Interview.
June 5, 2006... Who helped you get to where you are today? Grahame Shaw, my former sales manager at DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation), who told me that if you want a position then assume the role and accept the accountability. He also hired me out of DEC and...

Light as a feather.
June 5, 2006... When the box containing the Fujitsu Siemens Computers Lifebook laptop arrived at Tech Trader towers it was expected to contain a mobile PC. But when we lifted the handle it was observed that it couldn? be a laptop because the box was too light...

Printing and much more.
June 5, 2006... Brother has made a great deal of noise about releasing products aimed at the home worker market. The definition of success of those devices is that they offer the same level of functionality to a teleworker as someone sitting in an office. In...

World Cup fever leads to HD hype.(high definition television)
June 5, 2006... What are people spending their money on this summer? If the TV and newspapers are to be believed, everyone in the UK is rushing out to buy an HD-ready TV in time for the England? first World Cup match against Paraguay on 10 June. Is...

Guidance for contracting best practice.
June 5, 2006... Contracting Best Practice IT solutions are increasingly required to address difficult commercial and technical issues, and consequently contracts for such services can be complex, time-consuming and expensive to formulate. It is...

Juniper ?on the right road?(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... Despite channel claims that it took a long time to integrate acquisitions Peribit and Redline, Juniper has insisted it completed the process at exactly the right time. Just over a year after purchasing the two application acceleration...

Small firms struggle to reach markets.(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... The growth in the mobile communications market has grabbed the attention of technology designers but left a number of small companies with products they do not know how to take to market. Patrick Frizoni, European head of retail at Spectrum...

HP?s hybrid model pays off.
June 5, 2006... The head of Hewlett-Packard? EMEA channel believes the hybrid model in the PC and server market is starting to pay dividends and helped the company to post much improved first-quarter results. For the quarter ended 30 April, HP grew...

ViewSonic sees growth potential in projectors.
June 5, 2006... ViewSonic has slashed projector prices by 15 per cent on average and brought warranties in line with the major players, but in an already overcrowded UK market the company will need to differentiate further, according to sources. To drive...

Consolidation forces action over IP rights.
June 5, 2006... Convergence is bringing with it legal conflicts, as the current wrangling between Symantec and Microsoft illustrates, with intellectual property (IP) rights becoming more valuable than ever. Symantec has sued Microsoft, claiming that the...

LARs braced for change.
June 5, 2006... Microsoft large account resellers (LARs) could be forced to pull out of public sector deals as the software giant considers reducing the rebates on its Enterprise Agreement (EA). Some LARs are already selling at cost into the public sector...

Conflict management key for telco.(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... The head of global channels at Vodafone believes there is growing support for data dealers within the company but has said it will take time to minimise conflict between direct sales and resellers. This follows claims from several resellers...

Actebis sale on the cards.(Actebis )(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... The ?For Sale? sign at Actebis headquarters is still up, but sources close to the company have said its board has told two parties which expressed interest in the distributor to come back with firm offers. Three years ago, the...

Agenda.(Calendar)
June 5, 2006... June 6-8 June Retail Solutions 2006 NEC Birmingham Web: www.retailsolutions2006.com Tel: 01435 873080 13 June Butler Group Strategy Briefing: Performance Management Novotel London Euston Web: www.butlergroup.com Tel: 01482 608309 13...

Conmen target AV channel during run-up to World Cup.
June 5, 2006... In the run-up to the World Cup there has been a spate of attempted frauds involving plasma screens and HD televisions. As part of the deception, fraudsters bought three companies off the shelf that purported to be involved in IT, filed...

Dell resumes pursuit of mid-sized resellers.(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... As Dell pilots two shopfront stores in its homeland, mid-sized resellers in the UK are reporting further approaches from the PC maker, which is looking for incremental routes to market. According to US reports, Dell will open a small store...

Mac dealers benefit from services emphasis.
June 5, 2006... Mac dealers are in a stronger position than their PC counterparts because they are more accustomed to wrapping services around hardware sales. Apple? move to use Intel chips highlights that the difference between the PC and the Mac is...

UK dealers to follow US lead and drop vendors.
June 5, 2006... The majority of the UK channel players are set towill become anonymous to vendors asas resellers opt to focus on providing agnostic solutions rather than specific branded products. Research outlined duringat the Channel Insights event at...

e92plus diversifies with networking deal.(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... The convergence of technologies is changing the channel landscape through adaptation as well as consolidation, as e92plus? move outside its core area of specialisation highlights. The security distributor has signed an agreement with...

NHS IT delays could hinder trusts.(National Health Service)(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... Resellers have warned that delays to the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT) could cause huge problems for local NHS trusts. The warning came after the Government admitted the multi-billion pound scheme would cost three times more than...

Novell and Avnet extend deal across Europe.
June 5, 2006... Novell and distributor Avnet last week agreed commercial terms, allaying months of talk that the two would split. Last December, this magazine revealed that the companies were in talks about the future of their relationship (see MicroScope,...

Microsoft advocates reseller partnerships.
June 5, 2006... Resellers must learn to work together to complete complex deals and Microsoft is hoping to buck thea trend, of that has seen reseller partnerships failing to live up to expectation, by getting behind inter -channel partnering. The wide...

Tiscali builds capacity for partner support.(Tiscali Business Services )
June 5, 2006... After feedback from the channel revealed it was difficulthard to do business with, Tiscali Business Services has made an effort to step up to the mark. Speaking to MicroScope, Marcus Gallo, head of marketing atfor Tiscali BSBusiness...

Bags of style.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... The choice of a laptop bag can mean the choice between life and death for the hardware should you accidentally drop it. Most laptop bags are made of leather, or some of the rare breed that is imitation vinyl, and have pockets for leads and...

When second-hand is definitely second best.(Cisco Systems Inc. competes against grey market)(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... Grey product has long been a bone of contention in the industry, with vendors trying to clamp down on it while the channel argues it is official kit, just from unofficial sources. As a result, vendors are always trying to come up with new...

Unlocking the grid.
June 12, 2006... The grid computing concept was ushered in a couple of years ago with a fanfare proclaiming it as the future for enterprise customers wanting access to unlimited computing power. Everything about grid computing was big ? the number of computers...

Five Minute Interview.(Interview)
June 12, 2006... What is the best/worst advice you have received and from whom? Best advice came from a chap called Charlie Fox who told me to get my money into the stock market; worst advice was from Charlie Fox as I put it into the stock market four days...

Oyster: a pearl in waiting?(public opinion on smart cards and corporate fraud)
June 12, 2006... I read with interest the recent reports over Transport for London? decision to delay the extension of the Oyster scheme to include additional goods and services. While transport secretary Douglas Alexander has announced the extension of...

Single-handed saga.(ProVu)
June 12, 2006... Shipsides are a nautical breed. Many a proud vessel has braved the ocean wave with a Shipside poised at the rail ready to part company with lunch at the very first sign of waves. From dreadnoughts to pram dinghies, we?ve lurched, staggered and...

Invitations at a glance.
June 12, 2006... 102716, Tender Invitation UK-Durham: colour televisions Supply of televisions, interactive whiteboards, data projectors etc. IE001M32167, Tender Invitation IRL-Co Donegal: broadband Donegal regional broadband programme. 102760, Tender...

Learning curve.
June 12, 2006... EDUCATION FOREWORD Stuart Mizon is divisional manager at Midwich Information communication technology is having a significant impact in the modern classroom. Technology products such as projectors and interactive whiteboards are becoming...

Welcome to the broadband revolution.
June 12, 2006... Simple, affordable services, the bandwidth to deliver them and a credible, trusted brand name to back it up ?? everything is in place for broadband-related sales to explode within the channel over the next 12 months. For resellers it is time to...

Europe is still stuck in the wrong gear.
June 12, 2006... Europe Still Stuck in the Wrong Gear Europe? leaders need to get serious about responding to international economic challenges. Increasingly, the European Union? policy response to global competition shows a worrying lack of urgency....

A second chance.(remarketing programme of Cisco products by Comstor)
June 12, 2006... Doubts over Comstor offering of alternative to grey Cisco kit Comstor is to step up the fight against the grey market trade in Cisco product with a renewed push on sales of authorised refurbished kit that comes with the vendor? blessing,...

Intel Inside funds to be redirected.
June 12, 2006... The Intel Inside marketing funds are set to fall in September and will be funnelled into the chip maker? direct campaigns, in a move which is bound to hit tier-one vendors harder than local partners. At the same time, Intel has acknowledged...

Microsoft working to assuage rebate fears.
June 12, 2006... Microsoft has acknowledged fears from large account resellers that cuts in Enterprise Agreement rebates could discourage them from pushing the product to the public sector and admits the situation is untenable. Last week, this magazine...

Distributors could join C2000 in petition for Elonex wind-up.(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... Troubles are mounting at UK PC builder Elonex after Computer 2000 lodged a winding-up petition at the Royal Courts of Justice, with the hearing date set for early next month and more distributors threatening to join. As exclusively...

Bullet Point MD flags up potential pitfalls of buying on price.(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... The managing director of Bullet Point has warned schools buying on price that they face support issues further down the line from suppliers only interested in box-shifting, a trend that has helped push his business into administration. The...

Two tiers for SurfControl.(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... SurfControl will name at least one distribution partner in July as the security filtering vendor makes the switch to a full two-tier channel model. The vendor currently uses distribution for specific products, such as eE92plus for its...

SAP insists apps are conflict-free.(software applications)(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... SAP has insisted its move to lower the barriers to entry for partners attempting to sell applications aimed at particular verticals will not impact those that have already developed their own applications. The software vendor has...

Azzurri secures new backing.(PPM Capital)(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... Despite a potential IPO being a ?serious consideration? up until just a few weeks ago, acquisitive systems integrator Azzurri has been acquired by the private equity arm of Prudential, PPM Capital, for ?182.5m in cash that will lead to a...

Heavyweight protection.
June 12, 2006... Security appliances are often talked about if they are things that come free with a packet of cereal, but they carry out a heavyweight function and something that protects the network should pack a punch. It was refreshing to get to grips with...

Turn heads in black.
June 12, 2006... When you think about a keyboard, what are the first things that come into your mind? Comfort and appearance should be near the top of the list. But if you look at what most people are using then it is obvious that both of those requirements got...

Hot desk in comfort.
June 12, 2006... When mobile workers return to their office, their laptop is usually either docked under the desktop monitor or used on a hot desk, exploiting a wireless network. The problem with the latter option is that it can be uncomfortable to use a...

A clear-cut choice.
June 12, 2006... Everyone goes on about colour and the drive to get more companies to move away from mono printers, but that is to overlook the demand for and the familiarity with black and white. Most enterprises, ours included, have a couple of colour...

Projector protector.
June 12, 2006... Projectors have experienced a renaissance in the past couple of years because of the growing demand for the technology from a number of verticals that have previously been slow to open their wallets. But along with the boom in the education...

Simply extra storage.
June 12, 2006... A couple of years ago a great deal of noise was being made about networked storage and NAS and SAN were making the headlines, but then it went quiet. The SAN community went down the route of selling storage area networking in a box-type...

Five Minute Interview.(Interview)
June 19, 2006... What is the best/worst advice you have received? When you get into a hotel room, hang your shirt up in the bathroom and run the shower to drop out the creases. What is the best book you?ve ever read? To kill a mockingbird affected me at...

Agenda.
June 19, 2006... June 22 June Butler Group Master Class: E-mail Management Central London Web: www.butlergroup.com Tel: 01482 608 390 26-27 June Brocade Conference 2006 Radisson Edwardian Hotel Heathrow, London Contact: Andrea Lovett Tel: 0870 3517800...

Guilty figures fail to answer real question.
June 19, 2006... When the time comes to look back over the course of this year and pick out some of the themes that have been important, one of the most obvious will be the campaign against illegal software. Add to that the fight being waged by FAST and...

Missing pieces.
June 19, 2006... The government has just six months to iron out the creases of the forthcoming EU-imposed recycling initiative as further delays to the implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive will mean daily fines...

Launching a revolution.
June 19, 2006... Sri Lanka and Portsmouth. An unlikely pair of locations from which to launch a software revolution. But that? exactly what WSO2, an open source software start?up that has just won $4m (?2.2m) venture funding from Intel Capital, aims to do. ...

Q1 sales of wireless LAN switches make positive leap.
June 19, 2006... Sales of wireless LAN switches in the first quarter of 2006 rose eight per cent to $639m (?346.8m), according to figures published by research group Infonetics, which cited strong sales in the enterprise as the reason behind the huge rise,...

Solid sales with SMEs.
June 19, 2006... Is that ?100k corporate deal really good for business? You?ve hit paydirt: After almost six months, the ?100k purchase order has finally landed on your desk. There were times when it didn? seem worth it ?? your customer has squeezed and...

Stemming the tide of losses to VAT fraud.
June 19, 2006... Much has been written about the Bond House ruling on Missing Trader or Carousel fraud, but there have been other fronts opened up in the fight to stem the substantial VAT losses, which some commentators believe to be as much as ?5bn per annum....

Price cuts unsettling.
June 19, 2006... Unannounced price reductions by Intel have slowed the trade in grey products, according to distributors, but may have also hurt resellers which delved into the broker market to improve their competitiveness. In March, distributors...

Enterprising Lucent adopts two-tier strategy.(Brief article)
June 19, 2006... Lucent Ttechnologies is moving to a two- tier channel model for its security products as it targets eEnterprise customers with its repackaged carrier grade products, such as its VPN fFirewall. The company has signed six value- add...

On the acquisition path.
June 19, 2006... Content filtering vendor Clearswift is seelooking toat makeing acquisitions to bolster its business and with the intention ofto remedyy gaps in itthe vendor? technology and geographic coverage. The vendor, best known for theits...

Microsoft gets robust with UK distributors.
June 19, 2006... Microsoft has made its UK distributors re--tender for contracts as it embarks on a much more robust review of this tier of theits channel. The vendor? existing distributors will submit tenders for business before August, in a process which...

Network identity a growing opportunity management.(Infoblox)
June 19, 2006... Networking management vendor Infoblox is set to formulise its channel strategy next month as the industry gears up for a drive into network identity management and targets IDNs (identity-driven networks) as the next hot market for margins and...

Sun sharpens blade portfolio.
June 19, 2006... Sun will unveil blades in the third quarter based on the AMD x64 Opteron and eight-core Niagara SPARC chips, but channel partners will be hoping the vendor? second foray into the market will be successful. Early last year, Sun exited the...

Interested buyers line up as Elonex enters administration.
June 19, 2006... After 20 years in business Elonex has gone into administration leaving trade debts believed to be up to ?7m but three parties are already interested in buying the PC builder? assets with Centerprise leading the race. Troubles at the...

Software piracy penalties made punitive.
June 19, 2006... Businesses using pirated software will be hit with harsher penalties following the UK government? decision to implement Article 13 of the European Parliament? Enforcement directive, which relatinges to Intellectual Property rights. In the...

Dell poised for price campaign in bid to capture market share.
June 19, 2006... Dell CEO Kevin Rollins has vowed to carry on being aggressive on price in a bid to take market share from competitors. Speaking at the Bear Stearns Technology Conference in the US, Rollins said that price was a weapon the company used when...

Freedom expresses desire for data dealer.(Freedom)(Brief article)
June 19, 2006... Systems integrator Freedom is looking for a data reseller as an acquisition target and is considering options for the source of funding to back such a buy after closing the financial year with a 72 per cent increase in revenues. Having...

Honesty is Unified policy.
June 19, 2006... Eighteen months after Berkshire-based Nortel specialist Unified Networks went into and came out of administration, the business that emerged ? Unified Group ? is seeking to establish itself as the vendor? service partner of choice in a market...

One to one in T-Mobile team.
June 19, 2006... A channel programme for IT resellers is under construction at T-Mobile, but participants will be limited to 30 and the telco will set aggressive targets to justify the resources being ploughed into the scheme. The telco already works...

CA recognises partner commitment with Matrix listing.(CA)(Brief article)
June 19, 2006... CA? move to refine its partner lists in recognition of a shortfall in rewards for those that have invested in accreditations is up and running after its Partner Matrix went live last week. As revealed by this magazine in April, CA? list of...

An aggressive streak.(interview with Simon England)(Interview)
June 19, 2006... The channel is only constrained by its ability to execute and is under-selling to the user, according to a reinvented and reinvigorated Azlan, which has promised to be more aggressive under new management. Speaking exclusively to...

Agenda.(Calendar)
June 26, 2006... June 26-27 June Brocade Conference 2006 Radisson Edwardian Hotel Heathrow, London Contact: Andrea Lovett Tel: 0870 3517800 27 June Buter Group Strategy Briefing: IT Governance CBI Conference Centre, London Web: www.butlergroup.com...

A word in your shell like.
June 26, 2006... So Bill Gates, the time has come, the end is near ? well, two years or so ? soon(ish) you will be gone. After 31 years at Microsoft (33 if you don? leave until 2008), you plan to depart to concentrate on your philanthropic work. Perhaps soon we...

Five Minute Interview.(Interview)(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... What is the best/worst advice you have received and from whom? Sometimes the best way of seeing the future is to look back in time. I?m still trying to decide if this is best or worse, but I definitely like it. What is the best book you?ve...

Digital scrawl.
June 26, 2006... One particularly attractive use of technology is in reducing the time and effort required to turn handwritten notes into digital form. Not only does the idea of storing what you write have attractive legal connotations by allowing you to prove...

Seeing is believing.
June 26, 2006... Taul. Talk of networked washing machines that call a service engineer when they?re about to break down may seem a little far fetched, but this couldmay well be something we?ll seethat will happen in the digital home of the future ? although...

Time to step off the fantasy rollercoaster.(Brief article)
June 26, 2006... At the risk of courting controversy, can it at least be said without howls of derision that there is something wrong about the expectations the English place on their national football team. Before you wonder what on earth that statement...

Making business a pleasure.
June 26, 2006... With all the ingredients in place, such as web cameras and IP phones, and user familiarity with them growing, it makes perfect sense to put them all together in one product. That sounds easy, but in practise it is also easy to get it wrong and...

Darwinian rules.
June 26, 2006... Darwinian rules If IT is to continue to play a part in improving the competitive DNA of companies in the UK, there is no more important segment than the SME space ?? the engine of growth for the economy and the base for the future stars....

Getting a strong start.
June 26, 2006... It is a sad fact that three out of every five new businesses set up each year in the UK will go under within three years. It? tough out there when you?re just starting out and businesses are most vulnerable in their early stages of development...

Change is in the air.
June 26, 2006... Microsoft? channel is bracing itself for change after it emerged the vendor is scrutinising all partners with which it transacts directly, with large account resellers (LARs) and direct marketing resellers (DMRs) joining distributors under its...

Blade projects face delay.
June 26, 2006... Despite vendors capturing the headlines with blades feted to reduce power consumption and heighten manageability, many projects will be delayed until 2007 as users redesign data centres to cope with more computing. In recent weeks, Sun...