INDUSTRY NEWS COMMENT: THE O2 CORNER Maggie Kennedy
I WOULD like to take the opportunity to reflect on my recent visit to the Comms Vision Convention at Gleneagles. I managed to speak to a large number of partners (both existing and potential) while at the event and I know many partners also attended our boardroom sessions and spoke with other members of my team. Of the conversations I had, two key things stood out for me. The first is how much
closer our worlds are now than they have been in previous years. The convergence of fixed and mobile is now really starting to come together, and it is clear that anyone who feels they can operate independently of this is going to fall behind in the current climate. This came across loud and clear in all of my conversations, and it almost felt that we had been operating in this channel alongside fixed resellers for years. The second point that stood out for me was evident in every presentation: The smartphone and tablet are driving all of us and our customers to change our behaviours and alter the way in which we communicate in business. With cloud services and hosted applications becoming the norm in the-day to-day running of thriving businesses, there is a requirement to be able to access these services from anywhere, whether you are office based or on the move. To back this up I have just looked at the number of smartphones we shipped over the last quarter, and I can confirm 91 per cent of all new business we connected was on smartphones. Given the above I believe we are all on the verge of something very big that will see even more alignment in the future – and I for one am looking forward to this. Do drop me a line at maggie.
kennedy@o2.com and share your views.
Maggie Kennedy, Head of Partners, O2
Gamma ties link to Janet
GAMMA has established an interconnect with Janet, the net- work infrastructure for educa- tion and research communities. The interconnects and asso- ciated agreement mean that Gamma’s SIP trunking and host- ed communications services are now available via the Janet high speed IP Network.
The agreement comes at a time when educational estab- lishments and local authorities are facing big cost constraints. Deploying a SIP trunk- ing solution, which uses the existing high availability and high bandwidth of the Janet IP network, creates the possibil- ity for organisations to make significant savings on ongoing telephony costs.
Alan Mackie, Head of SIP Services at Gamma, comment- ed: “Gamma channel partners are already providing SIP ser- vices to customers in the educa- tion and local authorities sector. “The deployment of SIP trunking and cloud-based com- munication services can also assist organisations that are looking to implement a UC strategy to further enhance their operational efficiency.” Tim Kidd, Director of Operations at Janet, said: “The interconnect that Gamma has with Janet gives education and research the ability to access voice services without the need to purchase additional band- width, which will make a huge difference to our customers.”
Zen set to offer EFM
ZEN Internet has lifted the lid on its Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM) service, providing lower cost high speed Internet and data connections for businesses. EFM is delivered through multiple copper pairs and can be provided within 30 working days, which is half the time of a traditional Ethernet service, with guaranteed speed options
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VoIP service provider Sipcentric is urging IT service companies to link up for an Internet telephony partnership. Sipcentric, based in Birmingham, has already partnered with four local IT firms which are now offering VoIP. Charles Chance, MD, said: “VoIP doesn’t have to be complicated. Our partners don’t need to be clued up on VoIP. We support and service their clients with our round-the-clock engineers.”
M12 in IoD deal
AN AGREEMENT between M12 Solutions and the Institute of Directors (IoD) sees the Hants-based reseller become the exclusive provider of tele- coms and Internet connectivity services to IoD members. M12 beat off strong com- petition to win the deal. “Our bid focused on our high service levels and flexibility,” com- mented Andrew Skipsey, MD of M12 Solutions. “Our tele- coms services can blend lines, calls, Internet and mobile with an attractive ‘one provider’
14 COMMS DEALER DECEMBER 2011
solution, together with the right phone system with inbuilt man- agement and recording.” Sarah Ready, the IoD’s Commercial Director, added: “By introducing this new ser- vice we can help our members improve cost efficiency and keep ahead of the competition.” M12 works with key players such as the big mobile networks, Openreach, Gamma, Griffin, Splicecom and ShoreTel.
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from 1Mbps to 10Mbps sym- metrical bandwidth.
Andrew Saunders, Head of Product Management and Marketing at Zen, said: “EFM brings many benefits for busi- nesses and is an enabling tech- nology for a range of business Internet services such as e-com- merce, cloud computing and remote working.”
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Manchester-based IVR specialist BCH Digital celebrated its 10th anniversary with a four-day company trip to New York. Andrea Wilson-Brown, MD, said: “The whole team loved every minute of it and everyone got to let their hair down and make the most of New York.”
The PSU Tache Team, a group of moustached colleagues at PSU Technology Group, grew their best efforts to raise awareness and funds for prostate and testicular cancer as part of Movember. Technical Director Nigel Davies said: “I donated my top lip to the cause for 30 days in an effort to help change the face of men’s health.”
An update for Swyx’ UC solution SwyxWare 2011 R2 brings greater flexibility with USB devices, enhanced collaboration and plug-ins so that an increasing choice of third party hardware can be used with SwyxWare. The collaboration functions such as video, document sharing and IM can now be used across locations and between an unlimited number of different Swyx servers at a range of geographical sites.
GOLF protégé Josh Swallow (pictured) hosted Channel Telecom’s inaugural golf day, staged at Chart Hills Golf Club in Kent. Swallow is being sponsored by Channel Telecom in his quest to turn pro. The event was won jointly by channel partners Kevin Boyer of IP Netix and John Bradbury of Company Telecom who both notched up a respectable 35 points around the Sir Nick Faldo designed track. Bradbury also secured the nearest to the pin prize. Channel Telecom’s MD Clifford Norton said: “We had a great day with a lot of fun and some good golf.”
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