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COMMS PEOPLE Hats off to Hanks! Lauren Hanks


LAUREN Hanks, a Service Administrator at Cheltenham-based telecoms company Total, has scooped the title of Outstanding Apprentice in the Financial and Business Services sector of the Gloucestershire Apprenticeships Awards 2012. Hanks was presented with her accolade at a gala awards event, attended by guest of honour the Princess Royal, at The Centaur, Cheltenham Racecourse. While studying for her A-Levels Hanks maintained an interest in business but quickly realised that the number of University graduates obtaining suitable jobs in their chosen sector was low, due she felt to excessive applications for the same vacancy and the lack of work experience possessed by many. This prompted Lauren to apply for a Business and Admin NVQ level 2 and BTEC Apprenticeship. Hanks said: “It is an honour to have won such an esteemed award. I hope that I can


now be used as an example for prospective apprentices and other businesses out there to showcase how successful apprenticeships can be.” Stuart Baikie, Managing Director at Total, said: “To be recognised is a just reward for Lauren’s consistent hard work and professionalism. Lauren is set to go far.”


Also on the move... Damian Taylor


DAMIAN Taylor has rejoined telecoms recruiter JMA Network as Senior Client Consultant. He previously worked for the company between 2004-2007 and during the interim period worked for Jobsite developing strategic relationships with some of the UK’s biggest


companies including Cap Gemini, Co-Op Banking Group, Barclays Bank, and also within the ICT channel including BT and Siemens. Taylor commented: “The recruitment landscape is changing again and it’s exciting that I am now able to re-ignite my agency career with JMA.”


NEOWAVE has appointed Phil Ward as Product Specialist for ancillary products. Having spent the last two years gaining an in-depth knowledge of Sennheiser headsets,Ward welcomes the opportunity to develop his insights and expand into other areas.Ward said: “I am looking forward to continuing my relationship with Sennheiser and developing new skills in audio conferencing and call management.”


JMC IT is to build on its sales team following a record financial quarter with new sales orders worth £2.4 million, smashing the previous quarterly record of £2.1 million back in 2004. Managing Director Andrew Burgess stated: “We’re continuing a rich vein of form and it is the perfect opportunity to expand our sales team.We’re keen to bring in sales professionals with a track record of selling IT technology, ERP software or CRM software.”


Buxton boosts Zen’s channel


Nicola Buxton


NICOLA Buxton has joined Zen Internet as Channel Account Manager. Prior to joining Zen, Buxton was Business Development Manager at Central Networks and Technologies, a provider of integrated


ICT solutions and services. At Zen she will be responsible for account management, new business sales, relationship building, inbound and outbound appointments and industry events. “I am looking forward to using my experience to continue to build on the excellent work already being done with Zen’s partners,” said Buxton. “Over the coming months I will be working with the team to strengthen Zen’s partner relationships to help them achieve their revenue goals in 2012 and beyond.”


One below par


KEEN channel golfers from Rainbow Telecom, Rainbow Global Networks, Focus Telecom and Gamma Telecom have recently returned from a swinging tour of Spanish courses, hosted by Rainbow’s Dave Corgat and Chris Cooper of Focus. By all accounts a great time was had by all apart from Ralph Gilbert of Focus, who was rumoured to have boarded the first plane out of Spain after losing 6 and 5 to Fred Barton, head of Rainbow’s System and Applications. We await the true story!


BARNARD


...and finally


ST GEORGE’S DAY, East India Club, London, club rules, all mobiles off! Some things stay the same, as they should.


Without a mobile to hand many feel alone, bereft, missing something. I know how they feel… I love my BlackBerry! Ten Billion smart devices on the planet by 2020 are mooted, perhaps all of them in China, I hear you wags remark! So who will win, manufacturers, MNOs, service providers, MVNOs? And how will the new money be made? Imagine being an MNO, tens of millions of fickle low spend customers clamouring for the latest iPhone Smart device etc. and of course they want it free, free, free! No thanks, death by corporate meeting syndrome. I am happy to create value (high ARPU) loyalty (more margin) integrating the mobile into the PBX and LAN.


With some long overdue flexibility, ‘big Red’ and ‘big Blue’ say they see a future in this space, but too often these corporate behemoths stifle and bore us with their tales of glory and back offices in the 1980s. Perhaps big Red and big Bob will be the route to market for the CPS crowd, JUC and SP for the rest, who knows eh? It would be nice to be seen as more than dealers of these pipe in the sky operators though, wouldn’t it?


On the subject of operators let’s talk telephone numbers… ü Buy Energis for £670m+ ü Buy Thus for £330m+ ü Fondly recall purchasing Exodus $800m+ ü Now sell for £1bn. ü Management exodus, some £60m+ richer.


You know who I’m talking about. Let’s hope the Occupy movement doesn’t get bored with bankers and move onto a new target…


Feedback is an elixir columnists crave and methinks there’s no harm in a little incentive to oil the wheels of comment so a bottle of Club champagne awaits the most amusing contribution. You can reach me on andfinally@ modcomms.com


Adrian Barnard is Managing Director of London based Modern Communications, a provider of converged business communications services.


70 COMMS DEALER MAY 2012


www.comms-dealer.com


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