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THE CHANNEL’S LEADING MAGAZINE FOR VOICE & DATA SOLUTION PROVIDERS oak.co.uk The Channel’s choice for


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IN THE NEWS PG18


snom


embarks on bold UK channel campaign


INTERVIEW PG20


Sleeping giant NECi issues wake up call to competitors


PROFILE PG24


TV’s top voiceover supremo powers up his voice


VOL 15 ISSUE 8 JANUARY 2011 oak.co.uk The Channel’s choice for


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Gamma launches offensive CHANNEL ARMY CALLS FOR ACTION


THE Channel Army pressure group is urging Comms Dealer readers to fully understand the implications of changes to EU regulations that are set to become law in May this year. The group,


formed by the FCS in association with James Palmer, CEO of Nine Telecom, has already recruited some channel heavyweights such as Tom O’Hagan, MD of Virtual One. He said: “If we are unable to


Clampdown on toll fraud


SPECIAL REPORT


A COMMS Dealer website poll found that 62% of voters have customers who are the victims of PBX hacking, with 25% reporting more than 20 cases within their customer base. Tom Maxwell, Dealer Sales


Director at Nimans, agrees that telephone fraud is a growing men- ace and needs to be at the forefront of channel debate this year. “When you see the numbers


involved on a global scale it’s fright- ening,” he said. “Everyone knows


CHARGE! Gamma Telecom is on the offensive aiming to help resellers conquer their 2011 targets with a castle themed roadshow during the first two weeks of February across four locations throughout the UK (Stirling Castle, Peckforton Castle, Walton Hall and The Tower of London). During each morning seminar Gamma will be showcasing an armoury of new services including a new MVNA agreement with a FMC capability, bolstering its mobile offering. Also on show will be a new hosted service with greater flexibility and a stronger feature set around inbound, mobile and UC; a new data launch that enables partners to offer a single IP solution; and a new hosted PBX solution that will give businesses more choice in how they deploy their telephone systems. Pictured: Gamma’s CEO Bob Falconer leads the charge. Continued on page 3 col 5


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they need PC protection when surfing the web. It’s the same with telephone systems.” Richard Winterburn, Strategic


Partner Manager at Retell, says it is ‘incredible’ that so many resellers and customers think their PBX is immune to hacking.


“I doubt any system is fraud


proof,” he said. “It’s usually just a matter of time before hackers gain access one way or another.” Jack Wraith MBE, CEO and


Director of The Telecommuni- cations United Kingdom Fraud Forum (TUFF), strongly recom- mends that organisations have in place the highest levels of protec- tion against the abuse of their tele- phone systems. He stated: “SMEs are particu- larly at risk from telephone hackers whose activities can cost the busi- ness many thousands of pounds. “Hacking telephone exchanges


08008 49 49 49


that are operated by small busi- nesses, schools and the like still figure highly in the fraud that is committed against the telecommu- nications industry.” See pages 38, 44, 45, 46


Nine is the word www.comms-dealer.com A BPL BUSINESS MEDIA PUBLICATION


offer three year contracts then we cannot hit the price points cus- tomers expect for services. That would be a disaster. Joining the Channel Army will help us get heard.” Full story on page 23


In this issue Industry News:


Market Analysis:


Global PBX sales News Interview:


snom in UK push News Interview:


NECi talks tough Business Profile:


Avaya drives change Channel Army:


Campaign mobilises Product News:


VaaS has X Factor Video Comms:


Picture perfect Change Leader:


Cisco’s transformation Cloud Computing:


Death of the PBX?


3-13 14


18 20 22 23 24 34 42 43


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