Print.IT Reseller - issue 53

01732 759725 BULLETIN 6 Tech Data looks to capitalise on double-digit increase Entanet announces nominated charities for 2018/19 Entanet has outlined its commitment to the wider community through a new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) committee of 13 company volunteers. The purpose of the committee is to develop, run and coordinate CSR activities throughout the year, focusing on four main areas: charitable giving and fundraising, volunteering, environmental impact and diversity and inclusion. The committee’s first task was to create a shortlist of good causes and arrange a staff vote to decide the company’s national and local nominated charities for 2018/19. As a result of this vote its national nominated charity will be Meningitis Now and its local charity will be Midlands Air Ambulance Charity. In 2017, Entanet raised over £7,000 for a variety of charities including Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Severn Hospice and SANDS. www.enta.net Spicers initiates full review In a statement Group CEO Jeff Whiteway said: “Underpinning all of our value propositions is the need for Spicers to be an excellent low cost wholesaler. The ability to stock a relevant range of product, provide high service levels, pick, pack and despatch product on time is an accepted base requirement. Providing value-added services where price alone appears to be a major driver is disappointing and in truth a concern where reducing cost in the supply chain and helping drive sales carries far more benefit than driving for the lowest possible price, irrespective of the costs associated in doing so.” He continued: “However, there is part of the market whose strategy is just that, so Spicers has, without detriment to the supporting customer base, had to reduce cost in certain areas of the business and is reviewing many initiatives that add cost to Spicers but are not valued by that sector of the market. To achieve this we have initiated a full review as part of our strategic planning for what the channel will look like in the future. As a result there have been casualties for the purely transactional side of the business, whilst investment to better support dealers who value the ‘wider picture’ have been made.” www.spicers.co.uk Expert judging panel revealed Antalis has announced its expert judging panel for The Review 2018 Design & Print Awards. This year’s panel includes Gary Bird, Managing Director of Gavin Martin Colournet; Michael Place, Creative Director of design studio Build; Alison Kaye, Managing Director of CPI UK; and Daniel Reed, owner of independent type platform DR-Foundry. The Review awards, now in its 27th year, recognises those who have created exceptional print work using Antalis media. Finalists will be invited to a circus-themed award ceremony taking place September 18 at Circus London. In addition, winners’ work will be published in The Antalis Review Book and each will receive a trophy. www.antalis.co.uk/thereview Northamber solutions event Northamber is running a Solutions Events at Brooklands Hotel & Mercedes-Benz World on July 5. The day, designed to be both informative and fun will combine Mercedes-Benz test drives with keynotes from CompTIA around IT security and vendor-led discussions on security, ransomware, managed services and infrastructure. CompTIA’s Sue Gilkes will deliver the IT Security keynote, focussing on the latest security trends. Vendors providing updates and available for one-to-one sessions will include 10Zig, Altaro, Crucial, Overland Tandberg, Parallels, WatchGuard and Yubico. The aim is to provide resellers with the ability to spot new profit opportunities and to offer their SMB customers the best solutions in the market. www.northamber.com/solutionsevent Tech Data is aiming to build on healthy year-on-year growth in its security business, double its headcount and create a dedicated centre of excellence at its Warrington location. This latest round of commitments takes the total investment made in the distie’s security practice over the past year into seven figures, as the company executes on a strategic plan to establish itself as the go-to trusted advisor on security solutions in distribution. It is doubling the size of its security practice team over the next six months. Staff will be recruited in all areas – including professional services, account management, business development, marketing and operations. Rob Tomlin, Managing Director, Tech Data Advanced Solutions, UK and Ireland said: “We’ve seen amazing growth in our security business. Organically, we have doubled over the past two years and we’ve seen a significant acceleration over the last 12 months. “This further investment will see us expand our support to partners around digital security and data protection. We are taking a very different approach and getting really positive results, as are the partners that are coming with us on that journey.” Tech Data will be actively seeking additional security vendors that can add value to its current ecosystem. www.techdata.co.uk Members of Entanet’s CSR Committee visited a Midlands Air Ambulance crew at RAF Cosford, near Wolverhampton, to see first-hand how their support will make a difference to the charity