www.printitreseller.uk PRINT, MFP, SOFTWARE, SERVICES, DOCUMENT & CLOUD NEWS & INFORMATION FOR VARS, CONVERGED RESELLERS & MFP DEALERS PARTNERSHIPS A DECADE IN PRINT Canon opens two new CBCs PAGE 20 PAGE 33 PAGE 39 VOX POP The race to net zero Mark Ash shares his print experiences 10 YEARS · I02 ISSUES IN PRINT & ONLINE 2023
The PrintIT Reseller and Technology Reseller Golf Society is open to everyone; Resellers, Dealers, VARs, System Integrators and Vendors – the maximum number of players being 72 at each event. The cost per event is £107 per player or £428 per four ball + VAT. Includes breakfast and dinner. At each event there will be a prize for Overall Highest Score for the Day, Longest Drive and Nearest the Pin. Not sure about running your own golf day? No problem, bring customers along to this friendly industry relevant event. This year’s events: & The Golf Society is open to everyone no matter what your handicap is... so don’t be shy. Come and join us. 2023 2 0 2 3 The First round will take place at Carden Park on the 11th May The Second round will take place at Luton Hoo on the 8th June The Third round will take place at Olton Golf Club on the 13th July The Final round will take place at Robin Hood on the 28th September Sponsors Merchandise Sponsor If you would like to join us at any of the events please email [email protected] or call Paul on 07887 944433 SPONSORSHIP If you would like to discuss the opportunities available, please call Paul on 07887 944433, email [email protected] www.binfo.co.uk/ golf-society.php
PRINTITRESELLER.UK 3 PrintIT Reseller is celebrating ten years in print in 2023. Throughout the course of the year we will be running a series of exclusive interviews, inviting industry veterans to share their experiences over the past decade, what they’ve learned, and the highs and the lows of our unique and challenging industry. In this issue, Mark Ash, CRO at Konica Minolta shares his thoughts (page 20), and Phil Madders, Managing Director at PAE Business takes a step back in time reflecting on the changes both in terms of technology and customer needs, he’s witnessed over the past ten years (page 46). If you’d like to be featured please get in touch with me – [email protected]. Also in this issue, Richard King, Channel Partner Manager (UK & Nordics) at iTS, picks the work tools he uses every day and couldn’t do his job without (page 18). This month’s Q&A is with John Green, Managing Director, Commerce Business Systems and PITR spent 60 seconds with Adam Collier, General Manager, UFP. If you’ve got any news about your business to share, would like to be included on our monthly VOX POP panel, have a compelling business success story or simply wish to comment on any industry issues, please get in touch with us at: [email protected] Michelle Ryder, Editor PRINT.IT Reseller is published by Kingswood Media Ltd., 10 Amherst House, 22 London Road, Sevenoaks TN13 2BT • Tel: 01732 759725 Email: [email protected] www.printitreseller.uk No part of PRINT.IT Reseller can be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. ©2023 Kingswood Media Ltd. Design: Sandtiger Media www.sandtiger.co.uk 04 Bulletin What’s new in printers and printing 16 People A round-up of new hires 18 I couldn’t do my job without... Richard King picks his favourite work tools 20 A decade in print Mark Ash shares his print experiences over the past decade 22 Events Tech Live 2023 to take place September 12 24 Insights Trends helping threat actors hoodwink detection tools 26 Focus on: What’s New A round-up of recent product launches 30 Trends Top trends in the tech channel 33 Partnerships Canon opens two new CBCs 36 Research Keypoint Intelligence channel survey results 39 VOX POP The race to net zero: part one 46 One-to-One Phil Madders, Managing Director, PAE Business 48 View from the Channel John Green, Managing Director, Commerce Business Systems 50 60 seconds with... Adam Collier, General Manager, UFP 2023 printitreseller.uk Comment Register online To receive your regular FREE printed copy of PrintIT Reseller Magazine simply fill in our online registration form at www.printitreseller.uk/register If you no longer wish to receive PrintIT Reseller magazine please email your details to [email protected] Read PrintIT Reseller online at: www.printitreseller.uk Join us : Follow us @PrintITReseller Issue 102 ISSN 2055-3110 (Print) ISSN 2055-3129 (Online) Group Editor: James Goulding 07803 087228 · [email protected] Editor: Michelle Ryder 01732 759725 · [email protected] Publishing Director, Social Media and Web Editor: Neil Trim 01732 759725 · [email protected] Advertising Director: Ethan White 01732 759725 · [email protected] Account Manager: Jeff Root 07976 950285 · [email protected] Art Director: Nick Pledge 07767 615983 · [email protected] COMMENT 10 YEARS · I02 ISSUES IN PRINT & ONLINE
BULLETIN 01732 759725 4 Concerns over energy use of printers Research from Epson found that less than onefifth (19%) of printers in commercial settings throughout EMEA are business inkjet, a figure that only rises one percentage point when looking at the UK specifically. The survey of over 5,500 IT decision-makers, users and influencers showed that interviewees understand the role inkjet printers can play. Over half (54%) say inkjet printers will help them meet their cost reduction goals. And over two-thirds (68%) say they want a better understanding of energy savings that could be made by changing the type of printers in use. With energy prices rising globally at an astronomical rate, nearly two thirds (63%) of respondents say they want to reduce energy costs. About the same number (62%) say they’re concerned about the energy use of printers given the increases in energy costs. Richard Wells, Head of Office Print Sales UK&I at Epson, said: “In the context of spiralling energy costs, it’s vital that organisations take advantage of every opportunity open to them to reduce expenditure. Organisations need to move faster in adopting energy-efficient technology. A single printer might not save much money alone, but a whole fleet of business printers could deliver significantly with a shift to inkjet from laser. “And it’s not just cost that can be reduced. Cutting energy use in this way will also dramatically reduce the volume of CO2 emissions produced, helping to address concerns around sustainability.” www.epson.co.uk Global trends set to shape hybrid work Global audio and video brand EPOS, in partnership with Foresight Factory, has published ‘The Workplace of the Future’ report to explore the current and emerging trends shaping the future of work, as well as the technology solutions that can help businesses to navigate a long-term hybrid strategy for a productive workforce. Key findings include: n Employees are prioritising their well-being: (53%) of respondents say they are more likely to prioritise their well-being compared with life before the pandemic. As a result, workers increasingly expect their employers to form part of their health ecosystems with 38% of employees calling for their employers to support staff by allowing them time off for mental health needs. A further 30% of employees say they want to see businesses dedicating hours for employees to use for mental/physical well-being pursuits. n Avoiding burnout and pursuing happiness are top drivers: Employee burnout is a persistent issue and 36% of global workers say they have suffered burnout in the last 12 months from ‘working too hard’, a feeling that is greatest among Gen Z (40%) and Millennials (42%). Less than half of workers are happy with their current work and life balance (43%), and almost one-third (30%) say they intend to change careers to improve their overall happiness. n Access to a physical office is vital: Half of employees say they miss spending time with colleagues in person now they can work remotely. This trend is highest among Gen Z and Millennials (80%) who are keen to use physical office spaces to learn, grow, and establish themselves in their workplace community. n Employees will leave if they’re not learning: 60% of employees of all ages are keen to continue learning, and 44% say they want to progress and upskill within their current job. If they can’t learn and grow within a role, they will leave to achieve their career goals. n Sub-par tech solutions can lead to cognitive overload: Employers also need to be intentional about equipping employees with solutions that reduce the risk of cognitive fatigue. Jeppe Dalberg-Larsen, President at EPOS said: “Business leaders who are invested in the future of their company and the future of their employees need to think intentionally about their hybrid strategies. There is no one size fits all approach. Though we have, in recent years, seen how technology has revolutionised modern work it is no substitute for leadership and culture. Leaders today face a new set of challenges and must put their people at the heart of creating a workplace community that keeps employees engaged in the long-term.” www.eposaudio.com EMPLOYEES PRIORITIZE WELLBEING: Physical and mental wellbeing is critical. ACCESS TO A PHYSICAL OFFICE IS VITAL: of workers around the world say they are more likely to prioritize wellbeing compared with life before the pandemic. Employees want to avoid feeling isolated and 50% say they miss spending time with colleagues in person. of Gen Z and Millennials want a physical office space to learn, grow, and establish themselves in their workplace community. 53% 50% 80% in partnership with AVOIDING BURNOUT AND PURSUING HAPPINESS ARE TOP CAREER DRIVERS: 36% 60% 30% 43% 44% ‘Working too hard’ in the last 12 months led to burnout Over 60% of employees of all ages are keen to continue learning Are happy with their current work/life balance Want to progress and upskill within their current job Intend to change careers to improve overall happiness EMPLOYEES WILL LEAVE IF THEY’RE NOT LEARNING: Global trends set to shape hybrid work in 2023 Just 43% of employees are happy with their work-life balance and 30% are planning a career change If they can’t learn and grow within a role, they will leave to achieve their career goals LCNC platforms are becoming popular Companies’ discussions around low code, no code (LCNC), the new paradigm in application development that reduces or eliminates the need for coding, has increased gradually in recent years. LCNC platforms are becoming popular as companies are pouring millions into digital transformation to cut down lengthy development cycles to create new applications that meet immediate business needs. In line with this, discussions around LCNC grew by 18% year-on-year in 2022, according to GlobalData. www.globaldata.com
BULLETIN Recruitment drive to power growth Key Digital is aiming to build on a successful 2022 and power growth in 2023 through recruitment. The managed services provider enjoyed a 39% year-on-year increase in business without increasing its headcount, instead using smarter technologies to support the delivery of its service portfolio from its HQ in Burnley, Lancashire. The company is now looking to increase its sales force as it continues to grow its nationwide customer base. Andy Ratcliffe, Managing Director, said: “Our year-on-year sustained growth proves that we have the right combination of services to be the perfect technology partner for businesses and organisations, and our nationwide resource delivery offers the most flexible support possible. By growing our sales teams, we’ll be in a strong position to deliver on our ambitious growth plans.” www.key-digital.co.uk 01732 759725 6 Accelerate your innovation Apogee’s Accelerate Your Innovation event will return for its second lap at Mercedes-Benz World on March 29, 2023. As well as having the chance to take the wheel in a driving experience on Mercedes’ test track, attendees will gain insight into how they can leverage the latest developments within the managed workplace services industry to help them work smarter and safer. With technology specialists leading sessions including cybersecurity and live hacking, sustainable digital transformation, workforce insights, cloud working, interoperability, and the importance of environmental social governance in today’s business world – Accelerate Your Innovation: Lap 2 will be the only place to talk workplace innovation this Spring. “Following the great feedback we received in 2022, we’re really looking forward to inviting business leaders back for Accelerate Your Innovation: Lap 2. We’ve got some excellent guest speakers lined up to really challenge the way businesses work, and also offer the right advice in ensuring their objectives are met,” said Dom Gryszan, Apogee’s Director of Marketing. “We have a continued drive to deliver the most innovative and market-leading services in the industry – and will ensure all attendees leave the day feeling empowered and ready to make an impact. I look forward to welcoming many new attendees in 2023.” www.apogeecorp.com M247 appointed to help Calico Group optimise IT operations Lancashire-based social profit organisation, The Calico Group, has appointed connectivity and cloud services provider M247 to redesign its network, optimise operations and enhance security. M247 worked with Calico’s ICT projects team to assess their current operations and requirements in order to build a network best suited to their needs, moving from a traditional MPLS network to SD-WAN. This enables Calico employees to access information directly from their cloud applications in a more timely and user-friendly way rather than via the corporate network, and also means security can be incorporated into the SD-WAN fabric via virtual firewalls, which is a far more effective approach when endpoints are accessing applications from multiple settings. The project scope has now expanded to accommodate additional sites and demands, due to Calico’s constant growth across the region. This has seen a 30% increase in staff and a 25% increase of the number of offices over the last year. www.m247.com Rising star award Ionize, the Aberystwyth-based provider of ICT solutions and services, has won a major global award from Cisco Systems. The company picked up the Webex Rising Star Award EMEA in the recent Cisco 2022 Webex Partner Awards. The award recognises the amazing growth achieved by Ionize with Webex – a collaboration solution for remote working – over the past year. Ionize was supported in developing its business by TD SYNNEX. The Webex Rising Star Award recognises partners who have demonstrated stand-out performance, displaying remarkable growth in embracing and championing cutting-edge collaboration technology. Cisco said that Ionize exemplified the exceptional value that Webex provides in every way possible. www.ionize.co.uk Evo acquires Complete Business Solutions EVO has acquired the trade and assets of Complete Business Solutions (CBS) through a pre-pack administration. The move is reported to have saved more than 600 jobs. With over £100m sales in 2022, CBS is one of the UK’s largest providers of workplace supplies and associated services. The business is headquartered in Wakefield and operates through a further 18 regional distribution hubs across the UK. It has grown rapidly in recent years and was significantly challenged by the COVID period. Financial uncertainty from the pandemic period saw the firm appoint administrators from EY-Parthenon at the start of 2023. Andrew Gale, CEO of EVO, said: “We are delighted to end the uncertainty and bring CBS into the EVO family, which we believe is the best outcome for all. CBS is a great addition to the EVO group of companies and will operate as a standalone business. Our priority over the coming weeks is to restore stability and confidence for the CBS employees and most importantly maintain excellent service to the CBS customers.” www.evo-group.co.uk 2 0 2 3 2 0 2 3 For more information please email [email protected] or call Paul on 07887 944433
BULLETIN Prodec Networks rebrands Prodec Networks has unveiled a new name, new logo, and the formation of a new consolidation of specialised technology companies. Effective January 23, 2023, Prodec Networks will operate under the new name, TIEVA. Rebranding to TIEVA marks the start of an exciting new era of growth and represents much more than just a change in name. Following its acquisition by Fulcrum Pegasus Ltd, a Fulcrum Technology Holdings investee company in July 2022, Prodec was given the opportunity to expand and enhance its service capabilities through the formation of a consolidation of IT companies. Under the TIEVA brand, Prodec Networks is joined by Optm UK (previously Pure Technology Group) and together, they are the first companies confirmed in this consolidation. www.tieva.co.uk Sustainability investment Baildon-based office services and supplies company ACS Group, is investing £250,000 in sustainable initiatives with the aim of becoming net zero by 2030. The £26m turnover company has already invested £190,000 in a range of environmentally responsible schemes. These include the installation of 220 solar panels on its head office roof to generate energy and ensuring the use of 100% recycled filler cardboard in all orders from its distribution centre. The company which employs 112 people, is helping enable the delivery of its customers’ sustainability targets through several initiatives. These include removing single-use plastic products in its catalogues and creating a ‘green’ product list that has a minimum of 75% recyclable content. This year will also be the first that the company does not print catalogues and will instead direct customers to an online version. Sustainability Manager, Tom Taylor, said: “Net zero by 2030 is extremely ambitious and requires radical innovation within our supply chain. All of us at ACS Group hope to influence our stakeholders into making the required changes to ensure a more sustainable future for our industry and our customers.” www.acsgroup.co.uk PRINTITRESELLER.UK 7 Charity support Apogee employees have raised £3,825 for Action for Children UK, as part of its annual Christmas charity advent calendar event. The funds raised will enable the charity to continue providing practical and emotional care to children and young people across the UK, in a bid to bring lasting improvement to their lives. The support provided by Action for Children is particularly crucial this winter, with the cost of living crisis threatening the health of those in low-income households. “Apogee is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to give back,” said Director of Marketing Dom Gryszan. “And considering the circumstances this year, we knew we wanted to help some of our most vulnerable people get the support they need.” As part of the advent calendar event, employees purchased raffle tickets to be in with the chance to win from a range of 30 amazing prizes, donated by Apogee’s generous partners and suppliers. 260 employees participated, with winners announced every day from December 1 to 24. www.apogeecorp.com Advanced UK acquired by Xerox Xerox has acquired Advanced UK, an Uxbridge-based hardware and managed print services provider, and long-standing Xerox Platinum partner. This acquisition allows Xerox to further vertically integrate, continue to strengthen its presence in the UK, and provide continuity to Advanced UK’s customer base. “With its impressive capabilities and heritage in production print, Advanced UK already has a strong local client base. We look forward to bringing the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of services to an exciting new set of Xerox customers,” said Kevin Paterson, Head of Xerox Business Solutions and Small and Medium Businesses. “We are thrilled to join the Xerox team and expand our client offering through Xerox’s Print and IT Services,” said Joe Gallagher, Advanced UK’s Sales Director. “As a long-standing Xerox Platinum partner, we knew that Xerox was the perfect fit to take the business forward and drive differentiated growth opportunities.” www.xerox.com Saecom acquired by Flotek Group IT & comms MSP Flotek Group has acquired Welsh telecoms company Saecom. Joint owners of Saecom, father and daughter Stephen Evans and Amy Evans will join the Flotek Group, alongside the whole Saecom team, with Amy moving to the role of Group Billing Manager and Stephen utilising his 35 years’ experience to help grow the telecom arm of Flotek. Jay Ball, Flotek Group CEO, said: “With an incredible reputation, a prime Swansea business location and decades of experience, we are delighted that Saecom is joining Flotek. The business’ telecom-focused service offering is a natural fit with Flotek’s, augmenting the smart, integrated IT & comms solutions we provide to customers. “Our success so far reflects our commitment to maintaining the dedicated customer support valued by SMEs, while helping them unlock new potential through next generation, scalable technologies. Saecom’s specialist telecom services enhance the full turnkey service offering that sets Flotek apart as an integrated MSP.” Since its launch in April last year, Flotek has demonstrated impressive growth, completing four acquisitions including Gower Business Systems, MazingTree and Cloud9ine Communications. www.flotek.io Tom Taylor
BULLETIN 01732 759725 8 Move to green energy gathers pace TD SYNNEX has taken another important step to reduce its carbon footprint in the UK with the Magna Park warehousing facility at Lutterworth switching to green energy from the start of the new financial year – December 2022. The change is significant as the warehouse facility is TD SYNNEX’s biggest location in the UK in terms of power consumption. It means that – along with the relocation of the Basingstoke office – more than 90% of the electricity consumed by TD SYNNEX in the UK from the beginning of this year will be coming from renewable sources. TD SYNNEX is in negotiation with the owners of its Bracknell location with the goal of converting to green energy there by the end of 2023. In a separate development, TD SYNNEX has achieved ISO 9001: 2015 (Quality) and ISO 14001: 2015 (Environmental Management System) as part of an overall group recertification of its European Quality and Environmental Management System (QEMS). This now covers all four major UK sites – the offices in Basingstoke, Bracknell and Warrington, and the warehouse facilities at Magna Park. https://uk.tdsynnex.com Fraud defense TD SYNNEX has launched a new pre-configured anti-fraud solution that enables cloud partners to detect, prevent and remediate against potential attacks – and in particular will help to safeguard Microsoft Azure small business customers against the growing scourge of cryptomining. Key features include, multifactor authentication (MFA) and identity, the ability to configure conditional access, geographic restrictions for logins and Azure cost management and alerting, which enables setting usage thresholds and notifications. Available at no charge to Microsoft CSP partners, the TD SYNNEX SMB Fraud Defense has been developed to help businesses increase the security posture of their cloud environment and thus reduce the risk of them falling foul of this practice and other fraudulent activities. The easy-to-deploy, click-to-run solution, can be used to set up alerts for any potential misuse or fraudulent activity within their customers' Azure environments. This vastly improves their ability to fend off phishing attacks and prevent cybercriminals gaining a point of entry through which they can set up tenants for cryptomining. Darren Dixon, UK Microsoft Business Unit Manager, TD SYNNEX, said: “TD SYNNEX SMB Fraud Defense enables Microsoft CSP partners to better control their cloud environments whilst reducing risk in day-to-day cloud operations. It’s simple and cost-effective to deploy and most important of all, provides a line of defence for SMBs to counter these threats. It’s a brilliant way of adding value for customers and building up trust and loyalty.” https://uk.tdsynnex.com Cyber essentials plus certification Getech, a value-added distributor of edtech and end-user computing solutions, has become one of just 8% of UK businesses to attain Cyber Essentials Plus certification. The Government-backed and industry-supported scheme helps businesses protect themselves against cyber-attack and gives suppliers/customers reassurance that they have controls in place to mitigate the risk from common cyber threats. Getech Managing Director Guy Watts said: “This is a huge achievement for a company like Getech. As we grow our customer base across both public and private sector clients, it’s essential we have robust security measures that surpass the expectations of our customers and users.” www.getech.co.uk Exertis first Exertis has been named as the first UK distributor to add Seagate Lyve Cloud storageas-a- service to its portfolio. Seagate’s S3-compatible cloud storage is built to enable multi-cloud freedom, allowing customers to retain full control of their data while lowering the cloud TCO for storing, accessing and moving massive data sets. It is vendor-agnostic, providing frictionless cloud capabilities with simplicity, flexibility and cost predictability. Reducing storage infrastructure cost and complexity Seagate Lyve Cloud helps organisations make full use of the value of their data. By leveraging Lyve Cloud in scenarios such as data analytics, data repository for content collaboration, and backup/disaster recovery, organisations can remove data silos, get insights from their data and dramatically reduce their total cost of ownership. “UK Businesses are using and storing data at unprecedented levels and Seagate Lyve Cloud equips them with true multi-cloud flexibility, world-class security and long-term cost predictability,” said Ravi Naik, Executive Vice President of storage services and CIO at Seagate. “Companies that minimise data costs and maximise data innovation, win. Lyve Cloud empowers businesses to manage and transfer mass data easily, rapidly and securely across various storage environments, unlocking significant savings and accelerating digital transformation and innovation.” www.exertis.co.uk Pan-European distribution agreement Arrow Electronics has signed a pan-European distribution agreement with Synopsys to deliver the Synopsys Software Integrity Group’s extensive portfolio of application security (AppSec) testing solutions to resellers in EMEA. Arrow will resell and deliver joint Synopsys solutions and services, integrate them into DevSecOps workflows and help ensure an optimal customer experience. This will also promote a streamlined procurement experience, enhanced security execution, cloud migration and digital transformation projects. www.arrow.com Ravi Naik Darren Dixon Business Design Centre · London · 12 September 2023 23 ICT · MANAGED IT · MOBILE · PRINT
PA6000x PA5500x PA5000x PA4500x PA6000x Series KYOCERA Document Solutions (UK) Limited ECOSYS just got greener. Introducing the new ECOSYS PA6000x Series of mono print devices from Kyocera. These ultra-ecient devices deliver great performance with a low total cost of ownership, thanks to long-life image drums and energy use that is Scan the QR code or visit: www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.co.uk/pa6000x-series Discover more: But low energy consumption, the use of recyclable plastics and fully recyclable packaging aren’t even the greenest things about the new ECOSYS PA6000x Series. That’s because these new workgroup devices are carbon neutral as standard. as low as 0.5w in sleep mode.
01732 759725 BULLETIN 10 Working together CMS Distribution has partnered with Libraesva to offer their email security solutions to customers throughout the UK and Ireland. Specialising in email security, Libraesva continue to invest R&D resources into developing security offerings to enhance the email security gateway and email archiver. Libraesva Managing Director Robin Mohan said: “We're delighted to be partnering with CMS Distribution because they share Libraesva's passion to protect businesses, and their employees, from the ever-present threat of cyber-attacks.” www.cmsdistribution.com Exertis Enterprise signs Veeam Exertis Enterprise has added Veeam Software to its portfolio – increasing its cybersecurity offering with a full range of solutions from the backup and recovery provider. The partnership is focused on opportunities in the UK and Exertis is an official Veeam distributor. “We are delighted to start this new partnership with Exertis Enterprise and welcome them as a distributor in the United Kingdom,” said Alex Walsh, Channel and Alliances Director UKI, Veeam. “Exertis Enterprise is demonstrated experts in cybersecurity and as more businesses focus on the protection of their business-critical applications and data to provide cyber resiliency against ransomware attacks and cyber threats, it was a natural choice for us to begin this partnership together.” www.exertis.co.uk • www.veeam.com Maverick brings Zoom to channel partners Maverick, a specialist business of TD SYNNEX has announced a new agreement with Zoom to extend the reach of its fully integrated communications and collaboration solution portfolio to all partners in Europe. Partners can now access the entire Zoom portfolio, including the unified communications platform Zoom One, an evolution of the Zoom experience, which combines team chat, phone, meetings, whiteboard, and other solutions for a holistic collaboration experience. Maverick will also support partners in developing comprehensive smart, future workplace-focused solutions with a comprehensive portfolio of Zoom-enabled hardware and software products from many of the industry’s brands. Partners can also access required technical resources accreditations in order to enable the deployment of Zoom solutions. Hugo Graça, Senior Vice President, Specialised Solutions, TD SYNNEX, said: “This new agreement with Zoom represents a great opportunity for our partners in Europe to accelerate their smart collaboration offerings at scale with a market-leading solution that has become a byword for innovation in the unified communications space in the last few years.” uk.tdsynnex.com/portfolios/ maverick-av-solutions Video security Mayflex, a distributor of converged IP solutions, has strengthened its relationship with Motorola Solutions, through a new agreement to distribute AVA (a Motorola Solutions company) cloud-based video security solutions. Security Director Simon Steer said: “AVA is a truly innovative cloud solution that we feel has huge potential due to the rapid growth of 5G and generally improved internet speeds and coverage. With its advanced analytics and ease of install, the AVA solution provides a serious alternative to current systems on the market and can also be integrated with legacy cameras so that you can take advantage of the revolutionary AI capabilities via a hybrid cloud.” www.mayflex.com • www.avasecurity.com Arrow partners with Devo Arrow Electronics has signed an agreement with Devo to distribute its cloud-native suite of security operations centre (SOC), security information event management (SIEM) and security orchestration automation and response (SOAR) solutions in the UK. Together, Arrow and Devo will aim to deliver what Devo calls the autonomous SOC – complete visibility, automation, analytics and open access to security community expertise and content. “Devo is proving itself to be a leading choice for monitoring real-time threats and focusing on the detection of critical issues to resolve them on large-scale infrastructure,” said Nick Bannister, Vice President Sales for Arrow’s enterprise computing solutions business in the UK and Ireland.” www.arrow.com Collaboration with AWS TD SYNNEX has extended its strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to cover public sector business in Europe. Through the agreement, partners across the entirety of TD SYNNEX’s European footprint can now access an extended range of AWS cloud services for national, regional and local governments, and public institutions covering healthcare, education and other nonprofit activities. This agreement builds on the companies’ existing multi-year strategic collaboration agreement, through which TD SYNNEX created dedicated local AWS sales and technical teams in each of its countries in Europe, working in unison with central solutions architects and services experts as well as resources dedicated to marketing and project management. TD SYNNEX will support partners who are looking to accelerate their AWS public sector offerings by giving them access to dedicated programmatic support to reinforce in-house competencies and provide easy-to-deploy, pre-packaged Click2Run solutions based on its cloud solutions factory for AWS. In addition, TD SYNNEX’s StreamOne Ion Enterprise platform provides a robust tool to enable partners to simplify and consolidate the management of consumption and billing for AWS services. Jason Boxall, Senior Vice President, Advanced Solution, Europe, at TD SYNNEX said: “We look forward to supporting partners in bringing the benefits of AWS to public sector end customers. Our focus is always on helping our partners to grow and evolve their businesses and we will leverage the combination of specialist local expertise complemented by the regional platforms, programs and solutions architecture that have been core to the success of our collaboration with AWS so far.” https://uk.tdsynnex.com Jason Boxall Alex Walsh
A new o ce printer and up to £50* cashback on selected Brother inkjet printers Whether your customers are working from their home or the o ce, it’s important they have a reliable, professional printer that looks good and doesn’t cost a lot to run. Brother’s latest range of multifunction inkjets o er fast print speeds and a range of connectivity options to help boost productivity. Now available with up to £50 cashback for your customers to spend on whatever they like. We’ve created a campaign toolkit of assets for you to use. *O er valid from 01/01/2023 - 31/03/2023 Visit BrotherZone for more information
01732 759725 12 BULLETIN Enhancing exhibitions Sharp UK has expanded its partnership with Imperial War Museums (IWM) to provide new audio visual solutions that enhance the presentation of its exhibitions across five locations. The screen technology supplied through Sharp’s Connect Partner Programme will enable IWM to display its vast photography and video collection at forthcoming exhibitions in new, creative and engaging ways through Sharp’s latest technologies, including professional display systems for both passive and touchscreen digital signage environments. The partnership will cover all of IWM’s sites, beginning with the new Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries at IWM London in Autumn 2023. Shane Hamilton, Account Manager at Sharp said: “We are delighted to continue building on our successful relationship with the Imperial War Museum and further expand our offering. We are proud to help enhance the experience for visitors through our latest audio and visual offering and bring to life key exhibitions curated by the museum.” www.sharp.co.uk The Climate A List Konica Minolta has been awarded a global leadership position on the Climate A List by CDP – an international non-for-profit organisation engaged in activities to realise a sustainable economy. This is the seventh time Konica Minolta has been placed on the Climate A List. The Climate A List is composed of companies that have been recognised as global leaders in terms of goals set and actions taken to combat climate change and disclosure of information. Of the more than 18,700 companies around the world that were covered by CDP’s survey, 283 (including 74 Japanese companies) were included on the Climate A List this year in recognition of their efforts to reduce CO2 emissions, mitigate climate change, and contribute to a low carbon economy. www.konicaminolta.co.uk Best place to work Softcat has ranked eleventh on Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards, a list of the UK’s Top 50 Best Places to Work 2023 with a 4.6 ranking. Chief People Officer Rebecca Monk said: “I’m so pleased that our incredible employees and former employees take the time to review Softcat on Glassdoor and I want to thank them for making this achievement possible. The reviews mean a lot to us, and we always learn from the feedback. This recognition is a true reflection of all the hard work everyone puts in to making Softcat such a special place to work.” www.softcat.com IT spending to grow in 2023 Worldwide IT spending is projected to total $4.5 trillion in 2023, an increase of 2.4% from 2022, according to the latest forecast by Gartner. This is down from the previous quarter’s forecast of 5.1% growth. While inflation continues to erode consumer purchasing power and drive device spending down, overall enterprise IT spending is expected to remain strong. “Consumers and enterprises are facing very different economic realities,” said JohnDavid Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. “A turbulent economy has changed the context of business decisions and can cause CIOs to become more hesitant, delay decisions or reorder priorities. We’ve seen this in action with the reshuffling taking place among some B2B companies, especially those that overinvested in growth. However, IT budgets are not driving these shifts, and IT spending remains recession-proof.” www.gartner.com Cyber protection partnership Acronis has announced a three-year partnership with London’s oldest professional football club, Fulham FC. EveryCloud.co.uk will support Acronis as its ‘Strategic #Cyberfit’ delivery partner providing its cyber protection solutions and cloud backup service to the club. Arturs Banks, Head of IT of Fulham FC, said: “We are very pleased to be working with Acronis and EveryCloud UK, and we look forward to incorporating them into our cloud backup and file security infrastructure. Their support and expertise will be invaluable to Fulham FC and the Fulham FC Foundation as we continue to prioritise data and cyber security at the club.” www.everycloud.co.uk www.acronis.com Bringing partners together TD SYNNEX is launching a new cybersecurity ecosystems initiative designed to bring together partners that have complementary skills in different areas of digital security to form new alliances that will deliver benefits for both their mutual end-user customers and the partners themselves. This new community will draw on all the security-as-a-service, support and educational capabilities of the TD SYNNEX security practice. Security Business Unit Director Alison Nixon said: “There is a multiplicity of reseller businesses – solutions integrators, service providers, and specialists in all the different areas of digital security. But few, if any, have all the knowledge and skills they need to offer a complete cybersecurity offering to their end-user customers. In addition to that, cybersecurity skills can only be acquired at a huge premium right now. These are significant challenges for partners and one very good way of addressing that is through partnering. “The cybersecurity ecosystems community will provide a valuable forum through which partners can explore new possibilities and the different pathways and options that we provide for them to develop their security and data protection business.” https://uk.tdsynnex.com Alison Nixon
For the best prices, next day delivery, industry-leading warranties & so much more! 01189 734 564 [email protected] DEALING WITH US COULDN’T BE SIMPLER DATA DIRECT PARTNER PROGRAMMES - DELIVERING VALUE TO YOUR BUSINESS EVERY DAY TONER & MORE www.data-direct.co.uk
01732 759725 14 BULLETIN Konica Minolta recognised as top employer Konica Minolta has been officially certified by the Top Employers Institute for a sixth consecutive year, in recognition of its exceptional employee offerings. Chief People Officer Gemma Lee said: “The professional talent market is fiercely competitive, and we strive to be the employer of choice. As well as demonstrating our commitment to this, the Top Employers accreditation also gives us an excellent opportunity to reflect on what we’re doing and to compare it to best practice across various sectors, making improvements and changes to ensure we remain market leading in our people practices and overall experience for all of our employees, both current and for the future.” Konica Minolta’s commitment to its employee experience includes a range of initiatives. For example, a choice-based working approach gives full flexibility to employees to work when, where, and how they want to and has proven to be critical in maintaining a work/ life balance. This is further supported by the intelligent use of digital communications (chiefly Microsoft Teams) to ensure working flexibility and continual connection from any location, with several thriving channels for all employees to access a variety of topics (e.g., diversity and inclusion, virtual book clubs, well-being etc.) The company also supports initiatives that create a fully inclusive workplace for all. These include employee representative groups (ERGs) – vibrant (for the LGBTQ+ community), breathe (the well-being network), and balance (for gender equality). Each ERG is designed to educate, raise awareness, and drive true change and development in the organisation, looking closely at existing processes and programmes, and making inclusive changes at every stage. www.konicaminolta.co.uk Software collaboration Sharp NEC Display Solutions Europe and Seenspire have collaborated to enhance the digital signage experience for their customers. Accessible with NEC MediaPlayer’s running on MPi4 Kits or MPi4 Box in its large-format displays, Sharp/NEC will be the first to offer Seenspire’s intuitive content app for digital signage. Through a single app, companies can attract the crowd’s attention to displays by simply drawing on unlimited content and additionally support signage installations and further enhance their messages. “We are excited to partner with Sharp/NEC and bring to market the very first digital signage display with a built-in Seenspire content app,” said Samuel Mekonen, Co-founder and CEO at Seenspire. “Sharp/NEC users now have frictionless access to a wide range of dynamic content feeds designed to keep the digital signage communication channel fresh and relevant." Nils Karsten, Business Segment Lead Retail at Sharp NEC Display Solutions Europe added: “The Seenspire content app, committed to delivering the highest standards of content for digital signage, considers viewing experience (VX), user experience (UX), and unlimited access through a single app with our displays. This way, we can offer our customers a signage solution with always up to date content, which can fulfil any form of application requirement in any vertical deployment scenario.” www.sharpnecdisplays.eu www.seenspire.com Ricoh makes Global 100 list Ricoh has been rated as one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the world for the eleventh time. The Global 100 is an annual ranking of the world’s most sustainable corporations published by Canada-based Corporate Knights. The 19th annual ranking, the 2023 Global 100, assessed 6,720 publicly-traded companies with over US$1 billion in revenue. President and CEO Jake Yamashita said: “In 2020, we positioned ESG initiatives as future financial targets, one of the dual companywide management targets along with regular financial goals. This ranking is a testament to Ricoh’s continuous and accelerated commitment to sustainability, such as incorporating ESG indicators into our executive compensation and actively lobbying for climate change action by joining the conversation on renewable energy with the Japanese government.” www.ricoh.co.uk Five years of giving back Acronis is celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Acronis Cyber Foundation Program, a set of philanthropic initiatives designed to engage with partners on community development projects and provide volunteering opportunities to team members around the world. Founded in 2018, the program has been strongly dedicated to education by funding school construction and bringing IT skills training to communities around the globe. The Acronis Cyber Foundation Program, with collaboration from partners, has built 18 schools with five additional schools in construction progress in 22 different countries. This initiative has benefited over 5,500 students who now have access to quality education. To further support education, 12 schools have been equipped with computer classrooms to provide students with access to technology and the chance to benefit from learning in a digital environment. In addition to building schools, the program has engaged in educational projects with over 14,000 people taking part in Acronis IT Skills Training programs and has brought humanitarian aid to over 5,000 individuals in underserved communities. Acronis invites all businesses, large or small, to engage in joint projects. For partners wanting to develop their own community development plans, the program can help in supporting other initiatives as well. www.acronis.org www.trawards.co.uk
Straight out of the box, the Kodak E1040 scanner catches the eye with its small footprint. It’s no larger than a shoe box but still packs a powerful punch provide one-touch scanning to the destinations of their choice on their network or the cloud, including scan to email, scan to print and scan to storage on the network or in popular cloud applications. Productivity is enhanced by an impressive 40 pages per minute scan speed and a time-saving 80-page document feeder. An optional flatbed accessory gives the ability to scan anything from delicate documents to passports and drivers licences. The Kodak E1030 has a smooth scanning path, reducing the risk of paper jams, and comes with a 3-year warranty for added reassurance. New Dual Illumination and Perfect Page technology deliver scanned images of even better quality than the originals, improving readability and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) accuracy – another great productivity benefit. We have been using the scanner in our office for a week and have been really impressed by its all-round usability and easy operation. It’s a great option for any business looking to implement more productive, efficient workflows. www.alarisworld.com The device comes complete with a cable and even a CD with drivers, no doubt to use as a coaster as the software and drivers are downloadable from the Alarisworld website along with supporting documentation. The scanner is ideal for SMEs looking to digitise their paperwork and introduce digital business processes, with automatic sorting and separation of documents. Its small footprint, unobtrusive design and easy set up make it suitable for any office space, while TWAIN, ISIS, WIA and SANE compatibility gives it the flexibility to work in any IT environment. Users can programme the unit to Now, the key features... n Up to 30/40 ppm and 5,000 pages per day n 80 Sheet feeder n Simple numeric display enables one-touch scanning of up to 9 different jobs n Smart Touch makes it easy to scan to file locations, popular cloud services, email, networked printers and third-party applications n Scan a variety of document types and sizes, including passports and fragile documents via optional accessories n Capture more documents at once with the largest feeder capacity in its class n USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 compatible n Multiple driver compatibility: TWAIN, ISIS, WIA and SANE n 3-year warranty Kodak E1040 – digitise those documents easily Scan the QR code to see an overview of the Kodak E1000 Series Scanners ON TEST PRINTITRESELLER.UK 15 Kodak E1040 Scanner
01732 759725 16 BULLETIN : PEOPLE Spicers UK eyes turnover boost Wholesale business supplies specialist Spicers has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Business Development Director Adrian Reid. The strategic hire is the latest chapter in the firm’s bid to achieve 70% turnover growth in 2023, by helping dealers to thrive and be more profitable Reid joins Spicers – which provides dealers across the UK and Ireland with office products and workplace supplies – from his previous position as Sales Director at Nectere. Under his new remit, he will develop a pipeline of new business opportunities for the Ashton-underLyne headquartered brand – expansion which is expected to lead to further appointments in the future. Commenting on his move, Reid said: “Spicers has been through a significant period of transition in order to ensure it’s a fit-for-thefuture organisation – and one which is ideallyplaced to become the industry’s wholesaler of choice. “I want to leverage my knowledge of and relationships with dealers to help Spicers’ new and existing customers to thrive and be more profitable – by empowering them to trade more easily, and more efficiently.” www.spicers.co.uk STX Next hires new CEO STX Next has announced the appointment of Ronald Binkofski as its new Chief Executive Officer. Binkofski joins STX Next with almost 30 years of experience working in managerial positions at tech companies across Europe. Commenting on his appointment, he said: “I’m delighted to be joining STX Next as its new CEO. It is a company that I have long held in high esteem for its work across Europe and the rest of the world, and its ambitious plans for the future. I look forward to supporting the team fully in the next stages of STX Next’s development.” www.stxnext.com SaaS entrepreneur to head TelcoSwitch TelcoSwitch has appointed Matt Mansell as its new Chief Executive Officer. Mansell takes over from former CEO Russell Lux, who founded the company in 2015 and oversaw growth of the challenger brand into a key player in the UK channel market, resulting in a majority private equity investment funded by Queen’s Park Equity in 2022. “TelcoSwitch has been disruptive in the UK channel market with a much-loved product and commercial model”, he said. “I’m excited to take over the CEO seat as we combine the strength of our fantastic partners with such a unique, innovative and powerful platform.” www.telcoswitch.com Former Rubrik and ServiceNow executive joins Cohesity James Blake has joined Cohesity as Field Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) in EMEA. Blake will play a key role in consulting on how organisations can bring the worlds of data security and management together and build an optimal cyber resilience and recovery strategy orchestrated by a single data management platform. Before joining Cohesity, Blake was the CISO at Rubrik. Prior to Rubrik, he was the Advisory Chief Information Security Officer for ServiceNow. In both positions he engaged with C-level at FTSE 100 and FORTUNE 100 organisations, helping build and deliver strategies and concepts about improving effectiveness and efficiency of cyber resilience in today’s operating environment. www.cohesity.com Internal promotion Key Digital has announced the internal promotion of John Egan as Sales Team Leader. Egan has been with the company since 2019, initially heading up production and commercial print sales having previously run his own print business for over a decade. He has since transitioned into business processing services and digitisation, establishing new agreements with vendors to develop the channel. Egan has been tasked with growing the sales team and increasing revenues in BPO, print and digitisation channels. www.key-digital.co.uk New CFO for Exclusive Networks Exclusive Networks has named Nathalie Bühnemann as its new Chief Financial Officer, replacing Pierre Boccon-Liaudet who stepped down to pursue new opportunities outside of Exclusive Networks. She becomes a member of the executive committee and will directly report to Chief Executive Officer Jesper Trolle. Trolle said: “I am thrilled that Nathalie is joining the executive team of Exclusive Networks. In addition to her tremendous energy and experience in senior finance roles, she brings a deep understanding of Exclusive Networks’ model, strategy and culture from her time as a board member and chair of the audit committee since our listing in 2021.” www.exclusive-networks.com Matt Mansell Nathalie Bühnemann Ronald Binkofski John Egan James Blake
binfo.co.ukRkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDUxNDM=