INDUSTRY NEWS COMMENT: CLOUD TALK David Ellis
“Whichever route you take to meet the aims of your business, there’s a cloud model to match.”
WITH the arrival of cloud computing the channel business model we all know and love has changed. Straight product re-sale has evolved through value added reselling and the provision of solutions to a new generation of managed service providers, brokers and aggregators. With every stage of its development, the model demands greater skills and integration capabilities alongside an even better understanding of end users’ businesses. Throughout this changing landscape resellers and distributors need to decide
precisely what role they intend to take, what changes they need to make to their business model and then clearly communicate this to their clients and partners. Some resellers may use the cloud as the opportunity to specialise, invest in infrastructure and develop a managed services model that delivers recurring revenue and helps build customer loyalty. This approach may be an option for larger systems integrators able to invest and build on an established customer base, but may not be practical for many smaller resellers. Others may want to retain a broader set of offerings, wrap their own flavour of services around individual vendor solutions and effectively act as a broker of third party products. This approach usually demands high skills levels and the ability to manage multiple vendor relationships as well as having on and off-premise integration capabilities. Whichever route you choose to take to meet the particular aims of your business, there’s a cloud model out there to match. It’s just a case of working out which one it is.
David Ellis, Director of New Technology & Services, Computerlinks
Avnet closer to Motorola
AVNET Technology Solutions has signed an agreement with Motorola Mobility to distribute its full Home business portfolio across EMEA.
The products to be distrib- uted include HDTV IP set-tops, video infrastructure, voice and data gateways, software and digital security solutions. Keith Robinson, Product Business Group Director for EMEA, Avnet, commented: “Motorola has been a key part- ner for Avnet for many years, and this new agreement opens up exceptional possibilities for both organisations as the market for IP grows.”
There are a significant num- ber of registered and accred- ited Motorola channel program
members across Europe, and Avnet will grow this number by leveraging its existing business partner base.
Robinson explained: “For example, we will target partners selling into the hotel and hos- pitality markets, giving them access to the latest set-tops from Motorola with technical and logistical support from Avnet.” Steve McCaffrey VP and General Manager, Home busi- ness EMEA, Motorola Mobility, said: “This contract enables us to increase our sales resource and serve our customers with solutions that deliver enriched converged media experiences.”
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ScanSource has been named Global Distribution Partner of the Year, 2010, and North America Distribution Partner of the Year, 2010, by Polycom. Buck Baker, President of ScanSource, said: “This award wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our reseller partners.”
Research by Infosecurity Europe of 1,000 commuters discovered that many are not as tech or security aware as they could be. When asked what cloud computing meant, a quarter thought it was a data centre in the sky, a fifth thought it was something that Microsoft advertises, 10% said global warming caused by overheating computers, and 10% guessed it was a trendy club in SoHo.
Aastra extends reach into Ireland
THE appointment of CT3 as Ireland distributor by Aastra brings the vendor’s range of IP phones for Microsoft Lync and the Aastra SIP handset range to the Irish market. Aastra’s 6725ip and 6721ip phones developed for Microsoft Lync are the latest in its range of IP phones. Embedded in the hardware design of these
phones is the Microsoft Lync 2010 Phone Edition. Both IP phone models can be used independently from a PC with ‘always on’ operation. They also offer dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, power over Ethernet and ‘HD’ voice quality communications. Alan Reeve, MD, Aastra UK & Ireland stated: “Our goal is
to broaden and deepen Aastra’s route to market and this new agreement with CT3 helps us achieve that in Ireland.” Justin Owens, CT3 MD,
said: “We are seeing large incremental opportunities for both Aastra’s traditional VoIP products and its new range of Microsoft Lync endpoints in the Irish marketplace.”
Virgin packs a punch in data connectivity
VIRGIN Business Media has set its stall out for a channel growth programme in the summer declaring 100% dedication to business partner development. Brendon Lynch, Director of Wholesale Markets, exclusively told Comms Dealer that his new division is committed to help- ing new partners embrace data network opportunities utilising Virgin’s £13bn cable network which Lynch says runs past 85% of UK businesses. “Resellers can punch above their weight,” said Lynch. “Not
Brendon Lynch
only do we have the fastest network, but we have one of the most resilient. Earlier last month we underwent a rigorous
audit of our security procedures and were awarded the NGN 2- 2-4 security accreditation. “This new security standard guarantees the company’s dedi- cation to ensuring maximum security and integrity of data that passes across Virgin Media Business’ network.” Lynch, formerly Director of Channels at Energis, has been with Virgin Media Business for 15 months and admits the IT, media and transport giant did not get it all right in its data net- work rollout, but says the situa-
2011
Marriot St. Pierre, Chepstow,Gwent. 16th June 2011
12 COMMS DEALER MAY 2011
tion is rapidly changing. “Virgin is a big brand and people have high expectations,” he added. “We had deliverability issues but have done an enormous amount to change that by doing the right things under the bon- net, and there has been a steady improvement in service. “There has also been a raft of changes across the board in Virgin and our marketing strat- egy has been redefined.” This, as Lynch stressed, includes some hefty investment in the channel. “Virgin always
starts with people and we have put together a cracking channel team with vast experience,” he noted. “We’ve launched a pow- erful Business Partner portal, put together a three tier channel recruitment programme and we have ramped up our marketing support to partners.
“But most importantly our door us open and we want dia- logue. Resellers should tell us what they want to do in deliv- ering data services and we’ll discuss it. We believe in maxi- mising on potential.”
Register now at
www.margin-in-voice-data.com
www.comms-dealer.com
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