MicroScope articles from October 2006

MicroScope archives from October 2006

Five Minute Interview.
October 2, 2006... What? the best piece of advice you?ve received and from whom? A maxim I live by is never to burn bridges with my colleagues, because you never know when, where or in what capacity they?ll turn up. Why are you good at your job? Three...

Music to your ears? Non.(Viewpoint essay)
October 2, 2006... In French Revolutions, Tim Moore? hilarious attempt to replicate the gruelling route of the Tour de France, there? a bit about things you start to notice after spending hour after hour staring at the roadside from the vantage point of a bicycle...

Big, flat and cheap.
October 2, 2006... Things rarely stay still in the world of IT and it is no different in the desktop screen arena with moves afoot to push larger screens, encourage users to embrace the latest innovations and to try and tempt away the last remaining CRT...

Agenda.
October 2, 2006... October 17 October Straight Talk 2006 Hilton Metropole Birmingham Web: www.microscope.co.uk/straighttalk 17-18 October GovNet Expo 2006 Olympia Conference Centre Earls Court London Web: www.govnetexpo.co.uk 17-18 October IP ?06, Earls...

Bad news for direct model is good news for resellers.
October 2, 2006... Anyone wishing to buy shares in Dell from an on-line trading web site will be met by the warning: ?Dell is delinquent in its regulatory filings.? For a channel that has struggled against the spectre of direct and channel-oriented vendors...

Dramatic price decreases raise PDA sales in July.
October 2, 2006... The market for personal digital assistants (PDAs) enjoyed high sales in July, mainly driven by good demand of PDA devices incorporating GPS, writes Sandra Bayly of GfK. Year-on-year sales volume and value figures of the PDA market for the month...

Inside OutA learning curve.
October 2, 2006... VARs losing out through missed training opportunities The rapid growth of the Institute of IT Training since its launch in 1995 is testimony to the demand for professional, high- quality training services. The association? globally...

Meet the ?new? commercial director.
October 2, 2006... MEET THE NEW COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Back in the day when large IT company branch managers were God? appointed representatives on earth, there lurked an unloved creature called a commercial manager. Usually recruited from the ranks of...

Juniper repositions into security market.
October 2, 2006... Cisco? greatest router rival, Juniper, is looking to position itself as a network security leader as it rolls out an updated version of its secure service gateway portfolio. Fresh off the back of last month? strategic partnership signing...

Zyxel introduces service packs.(ZyAssure)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Zyxel? progression into maturity took another step last week with the introduction of formal service packs to be sold on the back of its switch and router portfolio ? with a 15 per cent attach rate set for its initial year of trading. The...

Acal adds vendor in wireless expansion.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Distributor Acal has added a further vendor to its ever-expanding line-up in the shape of mesh network manufacturer SkyPilot, as the once storage-focused distributor expands its portfolio in wireless networking. For SkyPilot this marks its...

Vendor stakes name on quality.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Last week? launch of the Allied Telesis partner portal will be the first step in a re-vamped channel strategy as the vendor promises to build its reputation on quality. While Allied Telesis previous partner portal was so old the vendor...

HP boosts salesforce to chase more EMEA leads.
October 2, 2006... Hewlett-Packard will increase its internal sales team in EMEA by 200 heads to generate corporate leads and integrate more closely with partners amid concerns from senior management that resellers are not chasing enough new business. ?One...

Q2 thin client desktop sales steal the show.
October 2, 2006... Thin client (TC) sales continue to steal the limelight from a flaky desktop market and though unit shipments for the second quarter fell below analyst forecasts, growth was still in double digits. Figures by analyst IDC showed a total of...

Medea accuses ?bullying? Epson of smoke and mirror tactics.
October 2, 2006... The head of third party consumables manufacturer Medea International has complained that Epson is using scare tactics to deter users from purchasing its products and stressed it will pursue the matter in court. Earlier this year, Epson...

IBM to package services.
October 2, 2006... IBM is to bring its Global Services division into direct competition with a large swathe of the indirect channel with a plan to push commoditised service packages into an already crowded market for networking and communications. Big Blue?...

Over-distribution a worry for Array Networks.
October 2, 2006... Array Networks has revealed it will have to keep a close eye on its distribution channel after admitting the appointment of Wick Hill might mean it is over-distributed. The SSL VPN vendor added Wick Hill to its UK distributor roster last...

Hardware consolidation presents cost savings.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... A growing trend in the storage industry is for customers to consolidate their physical hardware in order to reduce costs and assist in the formulation of a disaster recovery policy. In the enterprise storage world the winds are now changing...

More laptop battery recalls.
October 2, 2006... The laptop woes continue for vendors after Lenovo and IBM confirmed they are to voluntarily recall 526,000 defective Sony lithium ion batteries to head off potential customer issues. This follows on from problems faced by Apple, which...

Microsoft delays distribution shake-up.
October 2, 2006... Microsoft? long-awaited distribution shake-up is stalling yet again, with sources close to the situation claiming the vendor? shock at substandard presentations is at the root of the delay. Channel players also believe the first round of...

SMB partners claim Cisco accreditation scheme inhibits growth.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Cisco? SMB partners continue to vent their rage against perceived barriers in the vendor? accreditation programmes, which they believe are prohibiting their ability to grow. While the accreditation programme was introduced in April,...

Vendor values loyalty.
October 2, 2006... For a company that has lacked predictability in its move to direct sales and has, by its own admission, has been less than easy to do business with, Hewlett-Packard is once again asking partners to display undying loyalty to the brand. A...

Big opportunity for small VARs.
October 2, 2006... Whether you are an enterprise VAR rolling out multi-million pound infrastructures or an SME-focused reseller, security is a core competency. According to analysis from research firm Point Topic, a total of ?1.8bn is spent on security by...

Click in comfort.(ease of using USB keyboard and wireless mouse)(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2006... The advent of wireless has changed a great deal of things in the world of computing, particularly at the level of keyboards and mice. What was once limited to the length of a cable, initially of the dedicated PS/2 variety and more recently...

Untangling broadband access.
October 2, 2006... Talking of wireless, the most obvious application for the technology is Internet access. The problem for a great deal of people opting for cable-free access to the web is that although they get a good connection in the PC that is right by...

TFT takes top slot.(consumer preference for TFT monitors)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... The TFT monitor has secured its place as the desktop display of choice. Consumers would much rather have a slimline TFT display than a cumbersome CRT monitor, and with performance improving all the time, even hardcore gamers are making the...

GlassHouse turns to services.(GlassHouse technologies)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Six weeks after its product business was sold off to a management buyout team, GlassHouse has revealed the company will now focus on selling independent storage advice. Speaking to MicroScope, UK managing director Andy Norman revealed the...

Receive answers to your questions at Straight Talk.
October 2, 2006... Resellers traditionally get an opportunity to attend annual partner conferences staged by their vendors, but although these events are packed with useful information, dealers often leave with questions unanswered. Acer and Hewlett-Packard...

Microsoft launch to open up channel vista.
October 2, 2006... Upfront spending on software products is outstripped by the spending on services that wrap around it, with the software? full economic contribution to the IT sector outlined in IDC? latest white paper. The study found that for every E1...

Tenders.(Public notice)
October 2, 2006... 180894, Tender Invitation UK-Newcastle upon Tyne: computer equipment PCs, monitors, laptop computers and other hardware. 172473, Tender Invitation IRL-Dublin: laser printers Supply and maintenance of printers/scanners. 184707,...

Knowing the price but not the real value.
October 9, 2006... Regardless of industry, there is always a bogeyman, a hate-figure that spurs on competition and keeps people on their toes. If one crumbles, another is soon created, as is being demonstrated in the channel by Tesco? emergence from the shadows...

Getting gamers? attention.
October 9, 2006... When a user goes out to buy a new graphics card the motivation often is driven by the desire to play a particular game or run a specific multimedia application. The packaging for most graphics cards is emblazoned with the latest specs and the...

Distribution cocktail shaken.
October 9, 2006... In a shake-up of Fujitsu Siemens Computers? (FSC) distribution channel Computer 2000 has walked away from its server and storage products to focus on IBM, and Bell Microproducts has mutually parted with the vendor on entry-level PCs. At...

Agenda.
October 9, 2006... October 17 October Straight Talk 2006 Hilton Metropole Birmingham Web: www.microscope.co.uk/straighttalk 17-18 October GovNet Expo 2006 Olympia Conference Centre Earls Court London Web: www.govnetexpo.co.uk 17-18 October IP ?06, Earls...

Making better use of HD space by partitioning.
October 9, 2006... There are certain activities to do with housekeeping that we all forget and looking after a PC is no different. Most computers come with the ability to backup, fragment and clean up files built in as an option in the control panel. But how many...

Net sales growth.
October 9, 2006... E-commerce is dead; long live e?commerce. While many dealers still see e?commerce as something that brings disintermediation and pressure on prices, there are signs of a renewed interest both in using e?commerce and selling e-commerce skills...

Five Minute Interview.
October 9, 2006... What is the best advice you have received and from whom? If at first you don? succeed, try and try again ?? my Dad. What is the best book you have ever read? As a young sales guy in 1981 I read How to master the art of selling by Tom...

Keeping accounts in the black.(Business Software from Mamut)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... Knowing where the money is going and coming from is crucial not just for a business but also for a home user. Get it wrong and the consequences don? bear thinking about so one answer is to make an investment in a piece of software that will...

Comms firm buys dealer in move towards direct sales.
October 9, 2006... Affiniti? parent company, Kingston Communications, has spent ?24.2m on software and application dealer Smart421 but winding down its channel partner business for direct sales will see the integrator maintain its margins in coming months. ...

Time right for IP firm in gateway access drive.
October 9, 2006... IP gateway vendor Vegastream is to ramp up recruitment activities in the UK targeting users who do not want to ?rip and replace? existing voice network infrastructure for full-blown IP. The UK-based vendor is looking to increase its channel...

Nortel changes training programmes to hasten time-to-market.
October 9, 2006... Nortel has begun streamlining its training and accreditation programmes to improve partners? go-to-market times and reduce time spent by resellers in certification. Beginning with their enterprise-focused certification, partners will be...

Clear Cube set for desktop market with blade redesign.
October 9, 2006... The CEO at PC blade vendor Clear Cube believes the firm will break out of niche markets and into general desktop replacements with a system that halves acquisition costs. The A series PC blades and chassis is priced at $999 and the I/Port...

Analyst urges firms to ?climb in the driver?s seat?
October 9, 2006... Businesses need to follow their own IT roadmap rather than accept the infrastructures presented by vendors, and resellers will play a pivotal role, according to Gartner. That is one of the major messages the analyst will discuss at its...

Dell recalls yet more Sony batteries bringing total to 4.2m.
October 9, 2006... Dell has upped the number of defective Sony battery cells to be taken back from customers by another 100,000. Two months ago the world? largest PC manufacturer recalled 4.1 million potentially faulty batteries, following several instances...

Inside OutVoIP: ready for business?
October 9, 2006... Voice over IP, Ready for Business? IP telephony is one of the fastest growing IT services today, but this is a relatively recent development. Early adoption of the technology was hampered by concerns over voice quality and network...

Do you qualify as a director?(Commercial directors in demand)
October 9, 2006... Corporate governance is in the news. Does it add value? Is the individual and collective experience of the board sufficient? The question remains: what can directors do to meet these new challenges, display the highest levels of integrity and...

Card standard threatens firms.(Company overview)
October 9, 2006... Vendors as well as resellers are setting their sights on thousands of businesses that will be penalised if they fail to adhere to the Payment Card Industry? Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), when it hits the UK in July next year. Resellers...

Websense sees opportunity in business leaks.
October 9, 2006... Vital corporate data ranging from personal employee information to corporate secrets is leaking out of secure networks via outward bound communications, according to Websense. The web filtering vendor has launched a product, in partnership...

HDS creeps steadily towards indirect target.(Hitachi Data Systems UK)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... A year after setting the target of achieving 50 per cent of sales through partners, the channel, the channel director at Hitachi Data Systems UK channel director has claimesaid the company wa is well on its way to meeting the goal. Andrew...

Straight Talking from the distribution perspective.(Company overview)
October 9, 2006... Established in 1984 as one of the first trade-only IT distribution companies, Westcoast has led the way to become one of the leading national and now international wholesale distributors in the UK. Naturally, during this time the channel...

Making life a little easier.(Tech Trader lists new products)
October 9, 2006... The third quarter is traditionally one where the vendors take a breather before heading into the crucial winter trading period where targets are high and expectations of success are high throughout the channel. But far from being quiet, the...

In pursuit of new markets.
October 9, 2006... The role of distribution has been marginalised in recent years with the onset of commoditisation; industry watchers need only look at the ?right-sizing? taking place in major vendors? channels as evidence. Pricing and next-day availability...

Open source toughens up.
October 9, 2006... Open source application developers are commonplace, but finding commercially robust software is challenging. However, one vendor entering Europe is offering just that. The benefits of open source operating systems such as Linux are common...

Microsoft warns of missed opportunities.
October 9, 2006... Microsoft partners are under? utilising the vendor? partner programme and could miss out on opportunities around new product launches. That was the warning from the vendor? director of partner marketing and development Karl Noakes. ...

Shrink-wrapped rival.
October 9, 2006... It is not only hardware where supermarkets are threatening resellers, as Tesco upped the ante by taking the wraps off gets its own range of low-end software aimed at SMEsthe low end and consumers market. The retailer Tesco will sell its own...

Nortel to focus on partner profitability.
October 9, 2006... Nortel insists that some vendor partner programmes are failing the SME reseller as it looks to make partner profitability central to its expanding and diversifying channel base in a bid to increase reach in the SME space. The vendor...

Datatec seeks AIM listing to fuel growth.(Northamber PLC warns about trading conditions in UK)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... Datatec, the South Africa-based parent company of distributor Westcon, consultancy Analysys Mason and systems integrator Logicalis, is to seek a secondary listing on London? AIM market for ten per cent of its issued share capital. Given...

Check Point partner turns to rival.
October 9, 2006... Check Point? channel reputation took another blow last week as one of its key partners turned to a rival in reaction to a changing market. Nebulas Security, which is a focused Check Point resellerhouse, has signed an agreement with Juniper...

Websense and InTechnology part company.
October 9, 2006... Filtering vendor Websense has ended its seven- year relationship with InTechnology after a conflict of interests. Websense was shocked when InTechnology signed a distribution agreement with arch rival SurfControl in August, and swiftlalmost...

Tenders.(report on tender invitations in UK)(Statistical data)
October 9, 2006... 189637, Tender Invitation UK-Llandrindod Wells: IP Contact centre solution based on IP technology. 186422, Tender Invitation UK-Taunton: accounting software Provision of investment accounting software. 195486, Tender Invitation...

Costs of not moving in the home market rise.(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... When a company flexes its muscles and sets its sights on dominating a market it is reminiscent of the opening to The Hitchhiker? Guide to the Galaxy when Arthur Dent is in denial about the imminent end of the earth ? until the moment before it...

Five Minute Interview.
October 16, 2006... What is the best/worst advice you have received and from whom? The best advice came from my father when I was looking to find a partner. He encouraged me to meet with her mother before making a move?for obvious reasons. The worst advice was to...

Agenda.
October 16, 2006... October 17 October Straight Talk 2006 Hilton Metropole Birmingham Web: www.microscope.co.uk/straighttalk 17-18 October GovNet Expo 2006 Olympia Conference Centre Earls Court London Web: www.govnetexpo.co.uk 17-18 October IP ?06, Earls...

Power to the (small) people.(computer storage)
October 16, 2006... Many of you will be familiar with the utility-based model (often referred to as ?OnDemand?), given the concept has been knocking around for a fairly long time now. For those of you who aren? familiar with it or haven? bothered to find out about...

Storage Expo 2006.
October 16, 2006... Affiniti The vendor? products are simplified into four key focus areas: consolidate, protect, archive and comply. The solution on show at the stand will illustrate how, by improving data management processes, customers can cope with the...

All in good time.
October 16, 2006... No IT professional can have visited a corporate computing event or read a business magazine recently without having heard of service-oriented architectures (SOAs). The technology is being promoted as a way to revolutionise a company? software...

Inside OutConfidence in convergence.(medium-sized enterprises)
October 16, 2006... The Secret of Selling Convergence to Medium-Sized Enterprises Medium-sized enterprises (MEs) are constantly challenged by the high costs of maintaining secure, state-of-the art telecoms infrastructures. Currently, they spend significant...

VARs under attack from retail giants.
October 16, 2006... The head of PC World Business (PCWB) wants to exceed the ?1bn revenue goal set by his predecessor, seizing market share from corporate rivals and establishing SME brand Tech Guys. After six months as interim managing director following the...

Cisco urges partners to develop formula for SME sales.
October 16, 2006... Cisco? UK channel and SME director John Donovan has called on SME partners to focus on ?the difference between selling and supplying? and find a business model for low-end customers that can be easily repeated. The networking giant? UK...

Evesham is latest to have credit cut by Euler Hermes.(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... There is anxiety among suppliers to the system builder channel following some high-profile collapses in the past year, with Evesham the latest to face cuts by credit insurer Euler Hermes. Following the loss of HCI revenue due to the scheme...

Getting to grips with MTIC fraud.
October 16, 2006... Reverse charge HMRC has announced that the revised date for the introduction of the reverse charge is 1 December. Articles in the media have suggested the EU was due to give its permission in the week commencing 2 October; at the time of...

Businesses blind to data storage liabilities.
October 16, 2006... Many organisations in different sectors remain unaware of the legal implications of non-compliance ? in particular, the imperative to store mountains of data for prolonged periods of time. According to research by the London School of...

Lack of PC components could mean price hikes.
October 16, 2006... A dearth of components could cause shortage issues for some PC manufacturers in the fourth quarter, and potentially lead to increases in system prices injecting some much needed margin into hardware. The issues stem from a constraint of...

Easy ecommerce.
October 16, 2006... Cynics that thought ecommerce had quietly gone away could not be further from the truth and you don? need to know much about Google and YouTube to know the web is currently enjoying a financial boom unseen since the 1990s. The reason for...

Security for the small business.
October 16, 2006... When it comes to working out what a small business needs from a security suite the list revolves a great deal around internet protection. The vast majority of problems come into an organisation down the pipe that connects to the outside...

Licensing considered reseller responsibility.
October 16, 2006... Resellers should be responsible for ensuring licence documentation is kept safe after a sale, according to 63 per cent of businesses interviewed for a Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) report. The survey of 300 British businesses also...

Canon to fire at grey trade in price sweep.(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... Canon is planning to unify European pricing on retail camera and low-end desktop printers from the start of 2007 to disrupt the trade of its products on the grey market. According to reseller and distributor sources, European pricing on...

European Vista still up in the air.
October 16, 2006... Uncertainty surrounding the launch of Microsoft? Vista operating system in Europe is causing concern to the channel at the same time as a US upgrade programme is set to go live. The US will see an initiative to offer a free or discounted...

Lenovo?s Marwaha replaces Atkins in IBM?s top channel job.
October 16, 2006... Lenovo? Ravindra Marwaha has become IBM? new global channel chief, replacing Donn Atkins, who has retired from the role after two years in charge. Atkins, who replaced Mike Borman in Big Blue? top channel job during July 2004, is set to...

Westcon to offer pack around Nokia mobiles.
October 16, 2006... While not officially stocking and holding Nokia handsets, Westcon has signed a deal that will see it create a secure mobility solutions division focused on the world? largest handset vendor. The division, which will be led by Westcon UK?...

Hybrid is way forward for reliable IP network.
October 16, 2006... With the shift among customers to a full-blown and reliable IP network proving a slow and laborious process, both the voice and the data channels have identified upselling of hybrid IP/TDM technologies as the chance for a slower evolution. ...

3Com/Huawei venture attracts equity interest.(H-3C)(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... US private equity houses are circling 3Com? joint venture with Chinese manufacturer Huawei ? commonly known as H-3C ? according to reports last week. Names in the running are cited as Silver Lake Partners, Bain Capital and Texas Pacific...

Smaller customers do not have the depth or the skill?
October 16, 2006... If Cisco does one thing well, it is polarising its channel base. Introducing or tweaking a rebate scheme or accreditation programme, the company will raise hackles or raise a cheer with another chance to leave the competition behind. ...

Xerox drops Micro-P for broadline firms.
October 16, 2006... Xerox? strategy to work only with broadline distributors across Europe will be fully implemented in the UK this year after the vendor served long-standing partner Micro-P with notice of termination. The SMARTer distribution strategy rolled...