MicroScope articles from May 2007

MicroScope archives from May 2007

Back to the future as Dell considers options.(05 Editorial)
May 7, 2007... A few years ago I had a bet with a colleague that Dell would one day take an advert in MicroScope and although the time frame for the original bet has passed it is still a distinct possibility. The reason being that Dell is finally starting...

12 Soap.
May 7, 2007... www.weirdworld this week wonders if the excitement created by Kate Moss for Top Shop would work in the channel if she designed some IT products and gets ready for the hottest April excuses Designer kit This might sound like an odd...

In Google we trust.(05 Editorial)(Viewpoint essay)
May 7, 2007... Byline: Chris Bidmead Opinion Following the temporary loss of their Google home pages last month, should users be relying on a multinational corporation? April was a cruel month for users of Google's personalised home page. On Thursday...

04 Hardware.
May 7, 2007... Briefs Rising chip sales The Semiconductor Industry Association reported that global chip sales totalled $20.3bn ([pounds sterling]10.2bn) in March, a sequential increase of one per cent and 3.2 per cent growth compared with the same...

Five Minute Interview.(Phil Purssey, British Telecommunications PLC)(Interview)
May 7, 2007... Phil Purssey, responsible for mobility in BT's specialist partner sales group, takes 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? The best...

08 Storage.
May 7, 2007... Appointments Neil Evans takes charge of HDS UK channels Neil Evans has joined Hitachi Data Systems as regional sales director for UK channels, responsible for indirect business including resellers, distributors, Sun Microsystems and...

Aggressive pricing by Sun puts reseller sales at risk.(04 Hardware)
May 7, 2007... A 25th anniversary web promotion by Sun Microsystems which offered huge discounts to users buying direct has ruffled a few feathers in the reseller channel and disrupted some deals that were about to close. But in response to the resultant...

01 News.
May 7, 2007... Profits grow at Insight Insight Enterprises reported preliminary results of operations for the three months ended 31 March. Net sales increased 53 per cent to $1.12bn ([pounds sterling]562m) and gross profit grew 58 per cent to $153.2m....

Slow demand for wireless keyboards.(09 Tech Traders)(Brief article)
May 7, 2007... While other keying devices are failing to increase volume sales, PC keyboards had another good month in March 2007, with a growth rate of 22 per cent against March 2006, writes Steve Reid. The market was almost level with February 2007, but...

Dirty business.(10 Features)
May 7, 2007... Paul Clapham delves into the environmental issue to discover that going green can do wonders for your company image while at the same time boosting your business opportunities Interesting colour, green, given its association with money,...

Inside OutFalling costs fuel RFID use.(01 News)
May 7, 2007... Rob McGregor Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has long been in existence but it's only now being used in different applications - and the list is growing. RFID uses tags to receive and transmit radio signals to readers....

11 Letters.
May 7, 2007... Braced for enterprise demand for FMC I was interested to see Pyramid Research's latest report, Fixed-Mobile Convergence: What Works, What Doesn't and the MNO's Path to Substitution, which states that the number of UMA and dual-mode...

Taking the risk out of credit data.(Column)
May 7, 2007... Outside In You'd think that in the current climate of global economic slowdown, rising levels of insolvency and increasing tendency towards late payment, businesses would be taking a more active approach to credit risk. However, this is...

Digital POS affiliates face payment demand.(01 News)(Brief article)
May 7, 2007... Insolvency practitioners seeking payment of [pounds sterling]4.6m owed to company Insolvency practitioners have issued statutory demands with the Royal High Courts of Justice against seven companies affiliated with Digital POS for payment...

Bell Micro to withdraw from Overland distribution deal.(01 News)
May 7, 2007... Only six months after signing a distribution deal with Overland Storage, Bell Micro has served notice of termination on its contract, citing over-distribution in the market as the principal factor behind the decision. This follows hot on...

01 News.
May 7, 2007... Briefs Comms-caring for the environment is free Comms-care has set up a disposal and recycling service designed to assist its resellers in disposing of IT equipment - including desktops, notebooks, servers, storage, networking,...

BT hosted software portal delivers to small businesses.(03 Networking)
May 7, 2007... BT has launched a software as a service (SaaS) portal, containing a variety of different hosted software packages designed to appeal to small businesses. The idea behind SaaS is that software is provided via the internet on a pay-as-you-go...

03 Networking.
May 7, 2007... Mitel bypasses distributors to sell to resellers direct Mitel, the Canadian telecoms equipment company, is cutting out distributors and will deal direct with resellers under its new partner programme. The vendor found it difficult to...

Dell in channel embrace.(01 News)
May 7, 2007... Resellers look on with interest as direct vendor makes noises about partnering More than ten years after slamming the door on resellers, Dell's CEO may be opening up to the idea of formally partnering once again after admitting to staff...

01 News.
May 7, 2007... Big Blue improvements in the pipeline The quicker turnaround of rebates and special bid pricing should improve life for IBM's business partners as it plans to address the processes in both areas. These were among a raft of product...

01 News.
May 7, 2007... BREAKING NEWS Lenovo has announced the appointment of Chris Wells to the position of UK and Ireland vice-president, filling the vacancy created when Gareth Hansford moved to a role in Europe. Wells recently worked for BT as CEO for...

04 Hardware.
May 7, 2007... Price cuts cannot be relied on to boost future notebook sales Growth in the UK notebook market is on a downward trend, according to distributor figures, but there are signs that price cuts can no longer be relied on to fuel demand. ...

Microsoft blows its security trumpet.(07 Security)
May 7, 2007... For the past few years Microsoft has showed up at Infosec to talk about trusted security and its attempts to eradicate the hacking and virus problems that have historically plagued its operating system. This year was no different, with the...

07 Security.
May 7, 2007... F-Secure prepares service to help resellers gain customer confidence The channel has been preaching the managed services mantra for the past year, but there is the potential for customers to be less than assured by the arrangements...

SCH upbeat as preliminary results show jump in profits.(Specialist Computer Holdings Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 7, 2007... Tough market conditions in the corporate enterprise market saw revenues at SCH decline marginally, according to preliminary results for the year ended 31 March, but against all odds profits rose healthily. Turnover for the 12 months was...

09 Tech Traders.
May 7, 2007... Over the past few years the world of computer chassis has developed at an alarming rate and got to a stage where every option under the sun now seems to be available. But for the reseller the first question still has to be asking the user...

09 Tech Traders.
May 7, 2007... A lot of effort has gone into designing computer cases but not a great deal has gone into the idea of making them more portable. But that is changing with the arrival of products such as the Thermaltake Lanbox, which is designed to be moved...

09 Tech Traders.
May 7, 2007... With all the emphasis on wireless, people seem to forget that out in the market before it all began there was Bluetooth and a great deal of noise was made about that technology. Then things went quiet and you could have almost been forgiven...

09 Tech Traders.
May 7, 2007... A few months ago, in a moment of desperation with a laptop and a wireless mouse, it became obvious that, while there is a benefit to be gained from using this type of technology, it is advisable to shop around first. The particular problem...

01 News.(IBM recruits new vendors)
May 7, 2007... IBM has recruited 500 partners globally to a scheme aimed at mid-market customers and said it was encouraged by the take-up of its Express product portfolio. Last week at PartnerWorld, the vendor announced several enhancements to its Express...

01 News.
May 7, 2007... PartnerWorld round-up The conference was graced by the presence of IBM chairman and CEO Sam Palmisano for the first time in three years - an absence for which he had been criticised. In his keynote speech he called on the channel to carve...

Partners waiting for a sense of direction.(Websense's acquisition of SurfControl)(Brief article)
May 7, 2007... The channel is watching for signs of potential fall-out from the acquisition of SurfControl by Websense as the historically direct selling vendor is incorporated into its channel-friendly rival. Websense and SurfControl have competed in the...

Further channel consolidation.(01 News)
May 7, 2007... The channel continues to consolidate at all levels, with the latest acquisitions occurring at both reseller and vendor level. Maxima Holdings, the acquisitive IT solutions and managed services company, has conditionally agreed to acquire...

Making a mint from the web and consumer electronics.(01 News)
May 7, 2007... Those hoping to make money out of technology should be putting their cash into the web and consumer electronics if the results of the Rich List 2007 are anything to go by. The opportunity to gaze enviously at those with millions saw the...

Users ready for extra tools.(01 News)
May 7, 2007... Vendors that can be broadly categorised as offering business intelligence have surged into the SME market over the past few years. Explaining what can seem like a wooly phrase, often taken to mean expensive and complex, has in reality meant...

02 Software.
May 7, 2007... Filemaker defines partner boundaries Database vendor Filemaker is to offer independent developers selling its products and services the same level of discount as resellers. The vendor has decided to split its existing Filemaker...

Efficiency formula falls short.(08 Storage)
May 7, 2007... Pillar Data Systems has developed a formula to measure the efficiency of competing storage systems, but analysts believe an industry benchmark would give customers a fuller picture. The Efficiency Quotient (EQ) multiplies capacity and...

Signals that now is the time for a rethink.(05 Editorial)
May 14, 2007... Life as a distributor is not easy, what with suppliers squeezing the margin at one end and customers trying to get something for nothing at the other. So it is no surprise that there are rumblings of discontent in the world of distribution...

12 Soap.
May 14, 2007... www.weirdworld this week wonders whether or not hugging a vendor might improve the state of the channel, why retailers are obsessed with the last rites and invites Kate Moss to a party Hug a vendor It might have escaped your attention...

Five Minute Interview.(12 Soap)
May 14, 2007... Simon Butterfield, UK channel manager at BasWare UK, takes the hot seat this week as MicroScope directs some probing questions at him Who helped you get to where you are today? Mostly myself - it sounds vain but it's true - with the...

Inside OutDebunking the myths behind CRM.(15 Columns)
May 14, 2007... Matthew Crook Companies are continuing to invest heavily in customer relationship management, so are clearly confident in its business value. Yet in 2005 Forrester Research found that more than half of CRM users were unhappy with their...

Time to drop out of design investments?(15 Columns)
May 14, 2007... Outside In I was in Palo Alto last week at a great networking event run every quarter by Rutberg & Co. Rutberg is well known in the industry for watching the media and wireless sectors. It had put together a great panel for a discussion...

Keep data in the right hands.(08 Storage)
May 14, 2007... The house was burgled last week by some low-life scum. Nothing that bad was stolen, but they did get a laptop as well as the DVD player. Fortunately I had back-ups, but the data on the laptop hard drives was open to anybody who could bypass a...

Microsoft Office move should benefit ISVs.(01 News)
May 14, 2007... Open standards add flexibility for partners to build new products Microsoft has opened up its Office product, making it easier for independent software vendors and IT departments to integrate Word, PowerPoint and Excel files with other...

01 News.
May 14, 2007... Accounting software firm Sage saw revenues rise but profits fall as it was affected by greater competition in the US from SAP and Microsoft. Revenues rose from [pounds sterling]455.9m to [pounds sterling]574.7m in the six months to the end...

01 News.
May 14, 2007... The spectre of charges for stock holding and delivery being passed through the channel from distribution has been raised on the continent, with expectations that a similar move could be made in the UK. According to reports, attempts have...

Calyx clears path for MBO bid.(01 News)
May 14, 2007... Highly acquisitive Dublin-listed IT and telecoms supplier Calyx has cleared the way for a potential MBO by granting a period of exclusivity to the team involved to make an offer. Chairman and chief executive Maurice Healy, who founded the...

01 News.
May 14, 2007... Briefs Epson inks out-of-court deals with suppliers Following recent legal proceedings, Epson has reached out-of-court settlements with several European ink cartridge suppliers: ELITEX, Media Blue, KG, Digital Revolution and K&U...

Worm exploits USB to spread malware.(07 Security)
May 14, 2007... Cyber criminals have demonstrated their ability to find ways to circumvent computer security measures with the release of a family of worms that spreads by using USB memory sticks to infect computers. The SillyFD-AA worm looks for USB...

07 Security.
May 14, 2007... Anti-virus firm expands on UK base with reseller recruitment drive plans Anti-virus vendor BitDefender predicted it would increase UK reseller numbers to 300 or more within a year after announcing it had signed up 150 to its channel...

Three tiers for Mitel Partner Programme.(01 News)
May 14, 2007... Comms vendor unveils details of its new channel-centric strategy Mitel's shift to a single-tier channel model was capped last week with the introduction of the communications vendor's Partner Programme, the new umbrella term for its global...

CSG buys in compliance skills.(01 News)
May 14, 2007... Computer Software Group (CSG) has acquired FAST Limited to add compliance services to its portfolio. CSG, which provides business software to vertical markets such as legal, not-for-profit and financial services, wanted to expand its...

Vendors upbeat about tie-up customer progress.(01 News)
May 14, 2007... Novell's agreement with Microsoft to make products interoperable appeared to be paying dividends as the companies announced 12 new customers, but channel opinion about the tie-up remains mixed. Novell claimed the deal was having the desired...

01 News.
May 14, 2007... Microsoft has opened up Office, making it easier for independent software vendors and IT departments to integrate Microsoft Office and Word, PowerPoint and Excel files with other applications. Speaking at a Microsoft roundtable last week,...

VADition talks up need for different Web 2.0 approach.(01 News)
May 14, 2007... Start-up will provide leads, training and support to help resellers adapt to converged market The ranks of UK distribution have been bolstered with the arrival of VADition, which claims a different approach is needed as the industry enters...

Spam no threat to 'business-critical' email.(01 News)
May 14, 2007... The channel has played down a warning from IDC that spam is killing email as users turn to other forms of communication. The analyst group recently said that the increasing volume of spam email messages could drive users to use alternative...

Customers getting more intelligent about BI tools.(02 Software)
May 14, 2007... Increasing SME interest in the use of business intelligence (BI) tools has attracted a host of vendors to the sector, thereby encouraging the channel to service that market. Experiences in the market so far are demonstrating the readiness...

02 Software.
May 14, 2007... Briefs An eye on data access Imperva has launched its SecureSphere Universal Visibility Architecture, which monitors all database activity regardless of the method used to access the database. Imperva can track all avenues in and out...

Mobile phones must wise up.(03 Networking)
May 14, 2007... Mobile phones should adjust to environmental factors, such as whether it is night or day, noisy or quiet, according to industry experts at the Mobile User Experience (MEX) event held in London last week. At the event mobile experts from...

03 Networking.
May 14, 2007... Nine thousand jobs to go at Nokia Siemens Networks Nokia Siemens Networks, the mobile and fixed network infrastructure business, has announced plans to cut 9,000 staff from its 60,000-strong workforce. "While we have a great...

Energy measurement required for green IT.(04 Hardware)
May 14, 2007... The pressure to prove that technology is green is being undermined by the lack of agreed metrics to measure performance and energy consumption. The debate has been rumbling on in the industry for the past few months as vendors and...

Upgrade your PC with 1TB storage.(01 News)
May 14, 2007... With many UK homes now having multiple computers and the increase in digital media usage, many storage vendors are bringing out products to match this increasing market. The proliferation of digital media has led to an increase in the...

High-end speakers delivera maestro performance.(01 News)
May 14, 2007... Looking for another up-sell opportunity on your next notebook or PC sale, already sold the RAM, the extended warranty but still feel your missing something ? Most multimedia systems now include great graphics capability and quality in board...

01 News.
May 14, 2007... Web cam can pan and tilt to follow subject around room If you log onto to Skype any time of day you can see anywhere between 8-11 million users logged on worldwide. That's a lot of people who'd like a new web cam. It seems Logitech...

A lighter shade of green.(05 Editorial)
May 14, 2007... Byline: Steve Shipside Opinion It seems even the environmental baddies of industry are cleaning up their acts and taking a greener approach to making money As someone who has spent most of the past two decades with either a keyboard or...

Gorging on spam.(10 Features)
May 14, 2007... All this spam is making the internet sick - but where is it coming from, and what can we do about it? Danny Bradbury finds out Spammers would make great psychologists. After all, they know all about the fundamental human weaknesses. Think...

The ACE in the pack is the channel's value.(05 Editorial)
May 21, 2007... By the time this magazine lands on your desk the sore heads will have eased off after a memorable night at the Park Lane Hilton celebrating the MicroScope Awards for Channel Excellence. The awards process has thrown up a number of important...

12 Soap.
May 21, 2007... www.weirdworld this week wonders if the channel will be able to forgive the HCI kill-off merchant Brown, ponders over quite what giant screens at Wembley will show, and gets in line for the bench Smile wiper A week is a long time in...

Five Minute Interview.(Julie Field, TallyGenicom)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... Julie Field, marketing manager EMEA at TallyGenicom, takes the hot seat this week as MicroScope directs some probing questions at her What is the best/worst advice you have received and from whom? Listen with your ears and not with your...

The sweet smell of success.(future prospects of Dell Inc. )(Editorial)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Billy MacInnes Opinion The future looks promising for the indirect sales model, whether Dell chooses to jump on board or not There must be many in the channel happy to derive some amusement from the fact that the current...

Agenda.(13 Back Pages)
May 21, 2007... May 21-22 May StorageScene UK The Madejski Stadium, Reading Web: www.storagesceneuk.co.uk Tel: 01252 871432 Email: paul.trowbridge@evito.net 22 May Document and Records Management Strategy Briefing CBI...

Inside OutPlundering the ECM coffers.(15 Columns)(enterprise content management)
May 21, 2007... Trevor Cole While the majority of UK resellers have dabbled in point enterprise content management (ECM) solutions - from document management to workflow, collaboration tools to email archiving - few have been able to truly leverage the...

Looking to the future.(10 Features)
May 21, 2007... Despite the commoditisation of networking routers and switches, Christopher Walton discovers there are more innovative products available which offer resellers an opportunity to differentiate their offering Networking remains one of the...

Blair's legacy to small businesses.(15 Columns)
May 21, 2007... Outside In The Blair government's record with small businesses is a chequered one. The past decade has been relatively stable economically and that has been good for the UK's small businesses, which increased in number from 3.7 million in...

Spam defence not a commodity sale.(07 Security)
May 21, 2007... Resellers wondering how the different models between point product selling and value-add operations work would be wise to study the channel's experiences with spam. No one in the industry would disagree that the spam problem is increasing...

Merger disruption to be minimal.(07 Security)(Websense Inc., SurfControl PLC)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... The impact of the latest merger in the security world, with Websense on track to acquire SurfControl, should cause minimum disruption to resellers well versed in market consolidation. Those involved in the deal are reassuring the channel...

Loss of HCI hits Evesham hard.(01 News)
May 21, 2007... Evesham Technologies' next set of financial results for the year ended 31 May 2007 is expected to show a significant loss resulting from the collapse of the Home Computing Initiative withdrawn in the 2006 Budget. The most recent results...

Microsoft requested to back up patent claims.(01 News)
May 21, 2007... Microsoft's claims that free and open source software (FOSS) violates 235 of its patents have been met with a hail of derision and defiance from companies in the Linux world. Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith and licensing chief Horacio...

Mainframe software tools present an alternative.(01 News)
May 21, 2007... The pressure is increasing on mainframe architectures as products that remove the need for radical upgrades and hardware overhauls come to market. Already some of the largest players in the market, including Bull and Unisys, have started...

Sony Ericsson technology gets in touch with nature.(03 Networking)
May 21, 2007... Sony Ericsson, the mobile handset maker, launched a selection of handsets earlier this month, taking a leaf out of Nokia's book by giving them a Nordic nature theme. Among them were two mobile phones that take their inspiration from the...

03 Networking.
May 21, 2007... Arc Solutions expands channel with Nowcomm Arc Solutions, which develops applications for Cisco's unified communications range, has added Nowcomm, a Cisco solutions provider, as a premium partner. Nowcomm will sell the recently...

At last, Michael.(01 News)(Dell Inc.)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... Dell CEO finally recognises and openly accepts the value offered by the channel In one of the biggest U-turns ever seen in the channel, Michael Dell has had to swallow his pride and admit that the company needs the reseller and integrator...

Failure to find a buyer signals end of Actebis UK.(01 News)(Actebis Computers Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... A break-up of the entire Actebis Group across Europe looks inevitable after a failure to find a buyer has left the German owners with no option but to wind down the struggling components-focused UK operation. Since the collapse of...

Hewlett-Packard mops up server market share.(04 Hardware)
May 21, 2007... The x86 server segment was dominated by Hewlett-Packard in the first quarter, with growth rates of twice the UK average eclipsing closest rival Dell which grew marginally but whose market share continued to erode. According to IDC unit...