INDUSTRY NEWS


Westcon set for MS push


DISTRIBUTOR Westcon Con- vergence has ramped up efforts to extend the market reach of Microsoft Lync following a run of successful Business Accelerate Workshops. The distributor hired MS


business consultants to help resellers assess whether Lync was right form them. “To become a Microsoft


Accredited partner requires executive buy-in and commit- ment from the outset, and the workshops were a great way to set the scene,” stated Dawn Fenton, UC Sales Director, Westcon Convergence. “They presented a valuable opportunity for our partners to work with business coaches and enable them to identify if the solution was right for them by evaluating their business strat- egy, ascertaining the market opportunity, seeing where the solution fits into their overall portfolio, and most importantly seeing how financially viable the solution is.” Tony Parish, CEO, Aura


Alliance and G3 Comms, attended the workshop with his senior management team. “It was refreshing to hear that


Mitel bags supplier in $20m deal


MITEL has snapped up one of its key suppliers, prairieFyre Software, a privately held worldwide provider of contact centre, business analytics and workforce optimisation soft- ware and services. The $20m deal will boost


Mitel’s play in the contact cen- tre space and provide a devel- opment platform to address demand for cloud-based con- tact centre solutions with strong pull through opportunities for associated sales of Mitel’s IP telephony and UC solutions, according to the vendor. “In response to customer


Dawn Fenton


Microsoft wants to understand more about traditional voice resellers and use our expertise in the industry to help drive Lync into the voice channel,” Parish commented. Westcon’s strategy – page 22


Got a news story? email: sgilroy@bpl-business.com


demand many of our IT resellers have started building out spe- cialised contact centre practices and are asking for a solution tightly integrated and aligned with Mitel’s product develop- ment and roadmaps,” comment- ed Richard McBee, President and CEO of Mitel. “We believe the highly inte- grated nature of our existing OEM relationship with prai- rieFyre prior to the acquisition makes this a low risk, high reward opportunity to capitalise on market demand, expand rev- enue and margins and position Mitel for ongoing growth.”


MICRO-P enjoyed a bountiful spring by collecting a trio of awards from two of its key


suppliers. Plantronics bestowed Largest Distributor and Smartest Operations Collaborator on the ICT distributor,


followed by NEC which presented the Fastest Growing Distributor of the Year award to Micro-P at the vendor’s annual partner conference in Dubai. Paul Dunne, Head of Channels UK & Ireland at Plantronics, commented: “Micro-P has a unique approach to working with its customers, providing them with a high level of specialist knowledge, always ensuring that they have the complete picture when making a purchasing decision. This is clearly paying off.” Andrew Cooper, Sales Director at NEC, added: “I commend the team at Micro-P on their achievements, not only throughout 2012 but their sustained growth in previous years. Micro-P is a key partner for NEC on many levels and we look forward to building on this great success throughout 2013.” Pictured: Micro-P receives the first of two awards from Plantronics


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