BULLETIN Bechtle extends foothold in the UK Bechtle AG has acquired value-added reseller Tangible Benefit Ltd. Founded in 1997, the London-based company’s core business is hardware procurement including related plug-and-play services and software licensing, complemented by security and network services and lifecycle management. Tangible Benefit’s rationale for selling its profitable business is to secure a succession plan along with attractive development potential for its 66 employees. Company founder, Timothy Trotman, will remain with the company for the transition phase and will closely oversee its integration into the Bechtle Group together with James Napp, Managing Director of Bechtle direct UK, before handing over the baton. All other senior managers will remain in their current positions, guiding operations at the London office. With this acquisition, Bechtle is staying on course with its previously announced strategy for international growth. After acquiring UK IT service provider, ACS Systems, in November last year, Bechtle is adding a company to its fold that offers a very similar portfolio to that of Bechtle UK. By joining forces, Tangible Benefit and Bechtle are also creating an even stronger link between major vendor partners and the UK’s B2B customer landscape. The new location also gives Bechtle a regional presence in the London market and an expanded customer base in the corporate space, which will benefit strongly from Bechtle’s international capabilities. Combined with other offices in Manchester, Northampton and Chippenham, this acquisition now sees the IT company extend its footprint across the UK. Bechtle has been enjoying success in the UK for over 20 years, offering enterprise and public sector customers a broad portfolio of hardware, software, solutions and services. With Tangible Benefit, Bechtle employs some 280 staff across four sites in the country. Consolidated revenues total around 200 million euros. www.bechtle.com Espria partners with Five9 Espria has partnered with Five9 to enhance its portfolio of cloud-based applications with the addition of the company’s cloud-based contact centre solutions. CEO Alex Tupman said: “Today, it is crucial for contact centres to unify and analyse customer interactions across channels, self-service, and live channels and to break the data silos to transform data into a winning customer experience strategy. As a result, we have been actively looking to move into the customer contact centre market, enhancing our overall solution offering. “Five9 will now enable us to resell and integrate practical and powerful tools for managing customer experiences with a solution that overcomes the inherent complexities involved in integrating multiple touchpoints across both self-service and assisted channels.” www.espria.com PRINTITRESELLER.UK 7 Agilico refurbished Agilico has opened a new, purpose-built national MFD refurbishment centre. The Leicester-based operation houses a team of engineers who refurbish and give a new lease of life to exshowroom or low-utilisation devices, resulting in lower cost yet reliable machines ready to perform at the highest level once again. With decades of experience, the team takes a quality-first approach, enabling customers to choose a ‘like new’ device with confidence. The company says that when compared with a brand new device, an Agilico refurbished machine delivers savings up to 50% cost and up to 594kg CO2e emissions. www.agilico.co.uk Key Digital attracts investment Franking Sense has acquired Key Digital a move designed to facilitate the managed services provider’s growth strategy. The venture fits well together as both are family-run businesses that are locally born but operate fully nationwide, with Key Digital's operating centre in Burnley and Franking Sense being headed up in Bolton. Andy Ratcliffe, Managing Director of Key Digital, said: "We have spent the last few years perfecting our digital-first operating model and that has allowed us to become a nationwide sales and support business. "Where many competitors have shrunk or gone out of business following the COVID-19 pandemic, we have beaten all expectations and flourished immensely in this time - and I can't see that stopping any time soon! "With Franking Sense's help, we will be able to accelerate our growth plans and maximise Key Digital's full potential." Both firms offer both overlapping and complementary services in the fields of document management and processing, managed print, IT services and mailroom solutions. Julian Gilbert, Franking Sense's Managing Director said: "I was very intrigued by the way Key Digital operate. It is a very lean way of selling to and supporting customers. "I am really looking forward to working with Andy and all the team at Key Digital, it is a really positive step forward for us both." Key Digital will continue to run from its hub in Burnley under Ratcliffe's leadership. www.key-digital.co.uk ISO accreditations Everything Tech Group has achieved ISO 9001:2015 (quality management) and ISO 27001:2013 (information security) certifications. Chief Operating Officer Phil Smith said: “It is important to us that we obtained these certifications, so that our customers can be reassured that we take our responsibilities as an IT managed services provider extremely seriously. We have invested considerable energy into embedding the best practice that these standards offer into the culture of our business, so that certification becomes a by-product of ‘doing the right thing’.” www.everythingtech.co.uk Alex Tupman James Napp 20 23 Royal Lancaster · December 5 MEET THE JUDGES – PAGE 22
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