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It’s offi cial! Comms Dealer No.1! The most requested & highest circulation magazine for the UK voice & data partner community VOL 16 ISSUE 7 DECEMBER 2011 www.comms-dealer.com


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Technologies Ltd Comms Vision Convention sets the Transformation agenda


SENIOR executives of leading channel companies have converged on the world famous Gleneagles Hotel for Comms Vision 2011, the channel’s premier strate- gic business planning convention (November 9-11). In a keynote address John Chapman, CVC 2011 Content


Director, set the scene with words of strategic insight, pointing to an IT Renaissance that has been catalysed by a period of ‘great change’. “The IT Renaissance has been enabled by the cloud, bringing high levels of scalability,” commented


Chapman. “We have also seen the emergence of new devices and applications. This is a superb opportunity but we need to innovate and ensure that IT changes the business rather than supports it.” See page 20 for the full Comms Vision report


In this issue Industry News:


Catch up with events Comms Vision Report:


3-26 20 CVC 2011 event round-up


Avaya Conference News: 30 Butt trims channel Industry Analysis:


32


Squeeze forces change Business Matters:


Comms sector in review Business Profile:


Integra puts quality first Special Report:


Value adds up for DMSL Special Report:


Call Management Comms People:


Movers and shakers COMMS VISION – P20


A billing system that’s not just for


Christmas! 34 38 40


Boost for channel marketing Company Profile:


44 52 58


High optimism over SME growth outlook


HIGH optimism and an expected boost to cash investment have bolstered the growth outlook for UK SMEs during 2012 amid lingering concerns about the ongoing economic challenges, according to the findings of a new survey.


SPECIAL REPORT


The economic challenges facing the UK have been shrugged off by SMEs who expect to fare much better next year, buoyed up by a new wave of confidence about expected levels of sales and new investment.


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According to a new report, more than two thirds of SMEs in the UK expect growth in 2012, which is good news for voice and data resellers operat- ing in the SME segment. The poll of SMEs by Experian found that 70% are expecting sales growth in 2012, while one in five plan to increase their headcount next year. The improved performance will come from an increase in sales to UK customers. This is seen as the biggest growth driver for more than 68%. International sales will account for higher growth among 12% while over a quar-


ter plan to expand into new areas or markets next year. The poll also shows that nearly a quarter of firms intend to take on new credit over the next year, with a further 33% undecided as to whether they would take on new finance. Significantly, 75 per cent of the SMEs polled stated that they had access to additional cash that they could use within their


businesses. Meanwhile, 45% claimed they had access to cash reserves they could use to fund their growth activities, while 19% had money set aside to cover emergencies.


Max Firth, MD for Business Information Services at Exp- erian, confirmed: “There is opti- mism among SMEs. Some plan to use their capital reserves to fund growth and cash flow.”


HATS off to Chess Telecom for joining 1,700 organisations from around the world to celebrate National Customer Service Week. The fi rm hosted a range of competitions and incentives, all with the customer in


sharp focus. David Pollock, Chief Executive, commented: “Great service comes from great people. Our people are passionate about delivering great service, and celebrating Customer Service Week gave us a chance to refl ect on how we can become even better.”


Huawei links up with SDG


HUAWEI Technologies has forged a distribution agree- ment with SDG to distribute the Chinese giant’s enterprise portfolio in the UK, France and the Netherlands. “Huawei’s enterprise tech- nologies and solutions are set to have a major impact on the UK and European markets,” com- mented Paul Eccleston, MD, SDG EMEA. Dominique Vanhamme, VP for Channel at Huawei, added: “This partnership fits within Huawei’s strategy to build up its position in the UK and European Enterprise market. The relation- ship will accelerate the growth of our Enterprise business in the UK and Europe.”


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the industry is evolving so are we. www.comms-dealer.com A BPL BUSINESS MEDIA PUBLICATION


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