ISSUE 96 · 2022 www.printitreseller.uk PRINT, MFP, SOFTWARE, SERVICES, DOCUMENT & CLOUD NEWS & INFORMATION FOR VARS, CONVERGED RESELLERS & MFP DEALERS Entries now open www.printitawards.co.uk CLOSING DEALS TOGETHER Flexible finance in action How can an integrated finance partnership help your business? Read our case study on pages 28 & 29
Quick, compact and energy efficient mono laser printer with 2 additional cartridges Stylish, compact and energy efficient mono multifunctional 3-in-1 laser printer with 2 additional cartridges MF3010 + 2 x Cartridge 725 Desktop Mono laser 3-in-1: print, copy & scan Fast, high quality mono prints at 18ppm Easy to use vertical display 7.8 seconds First Print Out Time Starter cartridge – 700 pages print volume Additional 2 units Cartridge 725 – 1,600 pages/cartridge, 3,200 pages in total LBP6030B + 2 x Cartridge 725 Fast, high quality mono prints at 18 ppm No waiting for prints with Quick First Print All-in-One cartridge Starter cartridge – 700 pages print volume Additional 2 units Cartridge 725 – 1,600 pages/cartridge, 3,200 pages in total Meet Thomas, the Canon Specialist at Ingram Micro Thomas Elliot, Sales Specialist, Ingram Micro UK [email protected] or call – 01908 807195 Alternately, reach out to the Print & Supplies team at Ingram Micro [email protected] Telephone: 01908 807045 AN i-SENSYS BUNDLE NOT TO BE MISSED! Printer and toner packages include not just the printer and starter cartridge, but an additional two toner cartridges. This means hassle free printing, with everything you need in one easy to set up box!
Don’t let the opportunity to enter the PrintIT Awards 2022 pass you by – the deadline to submit your entries is fast approaching – 5pm on July 22. The deadline is there for a reason so do make sure you get your entries in on time. Entering is simple and straightforward, simply visit www.printitawards.co.uk and register your details. You can view all of the entry criteria for each category online. See page 22 for a summary of each award and what the judges will be looking for in a winning entry. I was delighted to receive an invitation to Elevate 2022, Sharp’s first in-person partner conference for a few years. It was clear from the atmosphere in the room, interest in the products on show, and the constant flow of conversation, that the opportunity to meet face to face was welcomed by all attendees. You can find out more about what was announced including the launch of the new Future Workplace A3 MFP Series on page 33. I also took the opportunity to catch up with Dealer Sales Director Paul Leach and Managing Director Stuart Sykes, who spoke to me about the rationale behind relaunching Sharp’s legacy partner programme in September last year, and the firm’s commitment to supporting its partners to deliver IT services through investment in education and training. Gabriela Garner, Senior Director for Product Marketing at Kofax, picks the work tools she uses every day and couldn’t do her job without (page 18). This month’s Q&A is with Lucy Randall, Business Director, Jigsaw 24, and PITR spent 60 seconds with Martin Janus, CEO and Co-founder, MyQ. 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. © 2022 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... Gabriela Garner picks her favourite work tools 20 Research Cloud print management set to dominate 22 PrintIT Awards The clock is ticking 26 Focus on: What’s New A round-up of recent product launches 30 Partner Programme Sharp to invest in education and training 33 Elevate 2022 Sharp’s first in-person partner conference for a few years 39 One-to-one One-to-one with Mark Ash 42 VOX POP Is cloud technology firmly in the mainstream? 46 Interview Neil MacDonald, HP Inc. 48 View from the Channel Lucy Randall, Business Director, Jigsaw 24 50 60 seconds with... Martin Janus, CEO and Co-founder, MyQ ISSUE 96 · 2022 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 96 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] Group Sales: Martin Jenner-Hall 07824 552116 · [email protected] Art Director: Nick Pledge 07767 615983 · [email protected] Advertising Executive: James Trim 01732 759725 · [email protected] COMMENT PRINTITRESELLER.UK 3 SE + T ENTRIES & VOTING NOW OPEN See page 22 or visit printitawards.co.uk
Almost three quarters of entrepreneurs have admitted to dipping into their personal savings to save their business from going under, according to research commissioned by the Parliament Street think tank. Independent research company Censuswide was commissioned to poll 500 UK-based small business owners about rising inflation fears and its impact on morale. It revealed that 74% of entrepreneurs said they have had to rely on personal finance to keep their business afloat. Young entrepreneurs under the age of 35 were most likely to have used their own money to balance the books with 79% saying they had done so in the last month. Of this figure, 31% said they had to dip into their personal savings on more than one occasion in a desperate attempt to prevent their business from going into liquidation. BULLETIN Cost of living crisis bites From burnout to earnout A study unveiled by disruptive advisory firm Trachet, has highlighted the effect that returning to work post-pandemic has had on the youngest generation of the UK workforce. 46% (5,125,000) of Gen Z workers and 40% (4,457,000) of millennial workers state they often feel tired, helpless, or lonely from the world of work due to their workload. 37% (978,000) of Gen Z workers find that in running their business, they have no one to support them, they do all key tasks alone and that disconnects them from their passion and 61% (3,451,000) of Gen Z workers state they’re happy to compromise their career aspirations in order to avoid burnout. As the UK navigates a critical point of recovery post a two-year hiatus, the report titled ‘From Burnout to Earnout’ shows an underresourced workforce and a body of decisionmakers in dire need of high-level counsel. To frame the core outcomes of the nationally representative data, 28% of Gen Z respondents said they can’t remember the last time they spent quality time with their families due to their workload. Claire Trachet CEO and Founder of Trachet said: “A burnt-out workforce is one of the biggest barriers that inhibit businesses from growing effectively. The challenge lies in identifying these traits within your teams before it develops into a more serious issue.” www.trachet.co Gap ripe for cyber criminals to exploit New research commissioned by Cohesity reveals that while most IT and security operations (SecOps) decision-makers believe they should jointly share the responsibility for their organisations’ data security strategy, many of these teams are not collaborating as effectively as possible to address growing cyber threats. The survey also shows that of those respondents who believe collaboration is weak between IT and security, nearly half of respondents believe their organisation is more exposed to cyber threats as a result. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (72%) in the UK believe the threat of ransomware in their industry has increased over the last year, with more than half (51%) saying their organisation has been the victim of a ransomware attack in the last six months. www.cohesity.com Cloud complexity on the rise The 2022 Thales Cloud Security Study reports that 45% of businesses have experienced a cloud-based data breach or failed audit in the past 12 months, up 5% from the previous year, raising even greater concerns regarding to protecting sensitive data from cybercriminals. Globally, cloud adoption and notably multicloud adoption, remains on the rise. In 2021, organisations worldwide were using an average amount of 110 SaaS applications, compared with just eight in 2015, showcasing a startlingly rapid increase. There has been a notable expansion in the use of multiple IaaS providers, with almost three-quarters (72%) of businesses using multiple IaaS providers, up from 57% the year before. The use of multiple providers has almost doubled in the last year, with one in five (20%) of respondents reporting using three or more providers. Despite their increasing prevalence and use, businesses share common concerns about the increasing complexity of cloud services with 51% of IT professionals agreeing that it is more complex to manage privacy and data protection in the cloud. Additionally, the journey to the cloud is also becoming more complex, with the percentage of respondents reporting that they’re expecting to lift and shift, the simplest of migration tactics, dropping from 55% in 2021 to 24% currently. With increasing complexity comes an even greater need for robust cybersecurity. When asked what percentage of their sensitive data is stored in the cloud, a majority (66%) said between 21-60%. However, only a quarter (25%) said they could fully classify all data. Additionally, nearly a third (32%) of respondents admitted to having to issue a breach notification to a government agency, customer, partner or employees. This should be a cause for concern among enterprises with sensitive data, particularly in highly regulated industries. Cyber-attacks also present an ongoing risk to cloud applications and data. Respondents reported an increasing prevalence of attacks, with a quarter (26%) citing an increase in malware, 25% in ransomware and one-fifth (19%) reporting seeing an increase in phishing/ whaling. www.thalesgroup.com 01732 759725 4 SEE THE 2022 CATEGORIES + TIPS FOR A KILLER ENTRY SEE PAGE 22 ENTRIES NOW OPEN https://printitawards.co.uk
23 PRINTITRESELLER.UK 5 BULLETIN www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.co.uk/taskalfa-printreleaf The TASKalfa Pro 15000c inkjet production printer offers unbeatable reliability, flexibility, energy-efficiency and consistency at 150 pages a minute. But that’s not all. Choose the TASKalfa Pro 15000c, and we’ll reforest your paper use by planting new trees in the UK and beyond. Start your journey towards leaner, greener production print online: Quality doesn’t have to cost the earth. kyocera-doc-solutions-uk @KYOCERADUK kyoceraduk
BULLETIN Sales success for Nuvem Nuvem is the first reseller to achieve sales success with the new Intuitive BI Connector and Intuitive for PaperCut Hive dashboards globally, within the first week of its launch. Co-Director Michael Woodcock said: “The Intuitive BI Connector for PaperCut Hive allows us to show the real benefits of the dashboards and highlight where customers can improve the efficiency of their print infrastructure. With the dashboards being shared through an interactive webpage and the ability to match dashboards to different users, it is now easier than ever to use the Intuitive software and manage print data.” Roger Stocker, CEO of Intuitive Business Intelligence, added: “Congratulations to all at Nuvem in achieving our first global sale of our PaperCut Hive dashboards, less than a week from us launching them to the market. The team has shown a really innovative approach, and it is really pleasing to see how they have embraced the use of print data to advise their customers and help with the transition to automation and digital services within the cloud. We are currently seeing a real move in the market with innovative MPS providers gaining competitive advantage using analytics to add value to their customers’ digital transformation initiatives. With the acceleration of PaperCut Hive and our associated dashboard solution, it has become even easier for customers to take advantage of this.” www.nuvemsolutions.co.uk Kevin Keegan to appear at Integra conference Integra has announced the return of sporting legend and its most popular celebrity guest speaker to date for its 25th Anniversary ‘Strength Through Unity’ National Conference being held on November 17 in Burton Upon Trent. Former England international player and manager, Kevin Keegan, will once again grace delegates with his presence at the very fitting venue of St Georges Park, home to the FA and where the England men’s team will be preparing for the World Cup. Keegan is one of the most recognisable faces in British football and his experience as a highachieving manager is as vast and varied as his life as a professional football player. His illustrious playing career includes times at Liverpool, Hamburg, Southampton and Newcastle as well as the national side, captaining England for six years until his international retirement after the 1982 World Cup. He has since forged a successful career in football management and punditry. www.integra-business.co.uk Expanded partnership ITS Group, the exclusive European distributor for Umango scanning and file conversion solutions has expanded the partnership to include North and South America. This extension means its US sales representatives, supported by pre-sales and technical support teams, can now supply Umango solutions to their existing distribution network and offer sales and technical knowledge to support resellers, integrators and value-added partnerships in this region. Managing Director Felix Garcia, said: “We are very proud to expand our relationship with Umango and secure many new sales of Umango solutions in North and South America. This is a big step in our long-standing relationship and will bring both organisations many new opportunities and successes.” www.its-group.com AWS premier partner status Global multi-cloud software and managed service provider DoiT has attained premier partner status in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) partner network (APN). Achieving APN premier partner status differentiates DoiT as an AWS partner who demonstrated expertise and notable success in helping customers design, architect, build, migrate and manage their workloads on AWS. “Businesses are increasingly looking for new and efficient ways to design, architect, build, migrate and manage their workloads on AWS,” said Jason Gregson, Head of AWS Programs and Operations at DoiT. “We have a proven track record of helping hundreds of digital-native companies around the world migrate to AWS, optimise their deployments and manage their cloud deployments.“ In addition to being an AWS premier partner, DoiT International also possesses multiple AWS competencies, 100+ AWS certifications, 500+ AWS customer launches and is a member in multiple partner programs including managed service provider, public sector partner, solution provider program and well-architected partner program. www.doit-intl.com 01732 759725 6 Francis Thornhill VOTING NOW OPEN https://printitawards.co.uk Apogee invests in employee training Apogee has announced a further £250,000 investment in employee training. Designed to support employees at every stage of their career, the training combines rolespecific coaching and mentoring with company-wide upskilling drives in IT and compliance. With the Apogee Learning Academy eLearning platform underpinning the upskilling effort, employees can also access 24/7 virtual courses and webinars that fit around flexible working patterns. The company continues to accelerate its cultural transformation, with the investment marking a new chapter for the business and its people as they adapt and transition to the new post-pandemic shape of work. The recent appointment of Marion Brooks as Chief People Officer, accompanies this step change. Apogee currently has over 50 job opportunities across the UK, Ireland, Jersey, and Germany. The company’s renewed focus on people and culture has opened a wealth of opportunities for developing talent, with the HR team growing in size to support key equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives. www.apogeecorp.com Kevin Keegan
BULLETIN PRINTITRESELLER.UK 7 Daisy Partner Business launches new reseller programme Daisy Partner Business has launched a new partner programme that makes it even easier for resellers to run their business and offers a lucrative exit opportunity for when they decide they’d like to move on. The programme encourages telecoms resellers to migrate their base to, and place onward future business with Daisy Partner Business which will manage customers on their behalf. Daisy functions like a back office, taking care of credit, billing, delivery, and service to free up more time for resellers to concentrate on generating sales and driving revenue. The model takes some of the business risk away from the partner while also maintaining their relationships and identity. If the partner decides to depart the business at any point, Daisy will help to manage that exit and offer a multiplier of up to 25x the average of the last average commission statement, realising the value in the partner’s business. www.daisypartners.co.uk IPIA networking lunch The Gaucho restaurant in Birmingham was the venue for the Independent Print Industry Association’s (IPIA) first in-person event of 2022 – highlighting a rebound in business activity for the sector. More than 100 print industry representatives, agencies, suppliers, printers and print buyers attended the lunch, setting a very high benchmark for future events. “The Spring Networking Lunch epitomised the value of face-to-face networking. You cannot underestimate the power of human connection, especially within a community as welcoming as the IPIA. New perspectives, generating ideas, exchanging information on challenges and lots of inspiration thrown in,” said Lucy Swanston, Chair of the IPIA Events Subcommittee and Managing Director of Nutshell Creative. Commenting on the very significant industry turnout, President of the IPIA and Managing Director of PMG, Mike Roberts, said: “If there was any doubt that our sector wanted to network, then this event dispels it and proves that the appetite is very much there. With the credibility of the IPIA at an all-time high, it was fabulous to be in such a fantastic venue as Gaucho and watch members doing what they do best; networking and generating new business.” www.ipia.org.uk Record set of results Bytes Technology Group has reported gross invoiced income of £1.21bn in its preliminary results, up 26.1%, with growth reported across all business areas of software, hardware and services. Looking ahead, Bytes said that after a successful 2022 financial year with a continuation of double-digit growth across key financial metrics, it was carrying strong momentum into the 2023 period. The board said it had made a good start in the new financial year, although it was mindful of both domestic and global macroeconomic pressures. “This is another record set of results for BTG, with positive contributions from all parts of the business,” said Chief Executive Officer Neil Murphy. www.bytes.co.uk Out of the box solution Tech Data is adding further value to the business development support it provides to Microsoft cloud partners by offering them a quick-to-deploy version of the Dynamics 365 CRM solution. Dynamics GO is an out-of-the-box version of Dynamics 365 created by specialist provider Dynamiti. The solution can be up and running in as little at 60 minutes, providing customers and partners with accelerated deployment and ROI. Ian Turner, Microsoft Dynamics 365 lead, Tech Data, UK, said that it provides a fast and simple way for partners to get their Dynamics 365 business moving. “Tech Data has led the way in supporting Microsoft CSP partners, helping them to develop their cloud knowledge and capabilities, and in delivering tried-and-tested solutions to their customers. Our relationship with Dynamiti takes that one step further, giving partners with a quick and easy way to enter the fast-growing market for Dynamics 365, without having to invest in recruiting specialist staff or developing their own expertise.” For partners that want to further develop their Dynamics 365 practice – and perhaps extend it to Business Central too – Tech Data can offer access to online enablement and training resources. These will bring sales teams up to the required standard of competency in selling complete Microsoft Modern Workplace solutions that deliver all the benefits of Office 365, Dynamics 365, the associated security and endpoint management offerings. www.techdata.com Award win for Westcoast Westcoast has picked up an award in the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Awards 2022, in the Equality and Diversity category. The company said this is a fantastic achievement with a huge amount of work being put in by so many great individuals at Westcoast, to help increase the awareness and knowledge on the topic of equality and diversity across the business. www.westcoast.co.uk Distribution deal Armis the unified asset visibility and security platform, has selected the Nuvias Group as its distributor partner for the UK and DACH markets, moving from a direct to a two-tier distribution model, to boost its growth in Europe. www.nuvias.com THE WINNERS 2022 OMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY AWARD Green Machine Computers EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY AWARD Westcoast XCELLENCE IN SUSTAINABILITY Owen Mumford OST PROMISING NEW BUSINESS White Communications BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY Content Guru EXPORT BUSINESS OF THE YEAR E3D SME BUSINESS OF THE YEAR Kerr Office Group WORKPLACE HEALTH AND WELLBEING AWARD Julia’s House EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR Virgin Incentives EXCELLENCE IN CUSTOMER SERVICES AWARD Moxy & Residence Inn Slough www.binfo.co.uk/golf-society.php 2 0 2 2 Ian Turner
BULLETIN Zimperium signs Exclusive Networks Mobile security vendor Zimperium has announced its first pan-European distribution agreement with cybersecurity specialist Exclusive Networks. The deal will see Zimperium provide its full portfolio to Exclusive Networks’ partner community across multiple territories including UK, Germany, France, Benelux and Nordic regions. Zimperium operates in the mobile threat defence (MTD) market. Its own branded solutions are complemented with several agreements with major mobile device manufacturers and cyber security solution providers that embed Zimperium technology to deliver best-in-class mobile endpoint and application protection. The agreement coincides with a channel led promotion that allows registered partners to provide two free risk assessments to their clients. The mobile application risk assessment (MARA) and mobile device risk assessment (MDRA) identify risks posed by managed and unmanaged (BYO) mobile devices and applications across critical network, device, OS and phishing vectors, detailed reporting helps partners deliver mitigation strategies for security, privacy and compliance issues. www.Zimperium.com www.exclusive-networks.com Artworking service for resellers WTTB has unveiled Artworker+, an easy-touse design service, giving its resellers the opportunity to boost their business and increase capacity. WTTB is currently offering Artwork+ as a monthly subscription service with a variety of options, with a minimum sign-up time of one month. Artworker+ has been developed for customers who often need a design service but aren’t able to provide it directly themselves. The new system will cover everything from logo creation to graphics for social media posts, to more complex design work such as large reports or even books. WTTB is offering a free 14 day trial for 200 customers, on a first come, first served basis. https://artworkerplus.wttb.co.uk 01732 759725 8 TD SYNNEX expands solution offering TD SYNNEX has expanded its cloud solution portfolio with the addition of Google Cloud offerings. Available immediately to partners, Google Cloud provides users with a suite of cloud computing services businesses can use to enhance productivity and workflow. Google Cloud creates opportunities for channel partners to extend end-to-end cloud solution offerings to end-user customers and accelerates the transition to cloud infrastructure. TD SYNNEX offers extensive resources to support customers in building cloud practices and delivering cloud offerings including rapid risk security and GCP migration assessments. Coupled with the Google Cloud offerings, devices and cloud infrastructure, it positions partners to grow new core competencies and accelerate business growth. www.TDSYNNEX.com Smart meeting room Maverick AV Solutions has announced a distribution agreement with audio and microphone manufacturer and communications specialist Sennheiser. The Sennheiser solutions now available through Maverick address the growing market demand for best-in-class audio experiences in the modern meeting space and will be available across the distributor’s whole European footprint. The selection of meeting room technologies includes the newly announced TeamConnect Intelligent Speaker (TC ISP) for Microsoft Teams Rooms and bestselling TeamConnect Ceiling 2 microphone (TCC2). The agreement introduces Sennheiser to the IT channel, extending the reach of their meeting room audio solutions. Simon Kitson, Director, Smart Meetings, Europe, Maverick, said: “This is a great opportunity for us to further our Teams for Meetings portfolio and offer best-in-class solutions for large meeting rooms. By adding both the TC ISP and TCC2 to our Teams Rooms Solutions, we are able to provide more advanced audio and collaboration technology and pave the way for meeting equity within smart spaces.” www.tdmaverick.eu Lenovo recognises Tech Data Lenovo has named Tech Data EMEA Distributor of the Year 2022. The distie also received the Lenovo 360 Distributor of the Year award for the UK and Ireland. In its citation for the EMEA award, Lenovo said that Tech Data had excelled right across the region in all areas. It highlighted the strong investment and commitment in driving Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) business and said that Tech Data’s partnership ethos and expert marketing had delivered unique solutions and significant revenue growth. The Lenovo 360 award for the UK and Ireland acknowledged Tech Data’s ability to leverage the vendor’s better together programmes to drive incremental revenue. This not only resulted in growth, but also saw a substantial increase in the number of net new partners engaging with Lenovo ISG and the wider Lenovo portfolio. Matt Child, Managing Director, Advanced Solutions, UK and Ireland, Tech Data said: “We have made a strong commitment to driving Lenovo business in the UK and Ireland, putting dedicated resources in place and supporting Lenovo’s ambition to become the vendor of choice for infrastructure solutions.” Over the past year, Tech Data has worked with Lenovo to extend the reach of its partner programme and to increase education and awareness of Lenovo solutions. Partners benefit from access to dedicated resources, including bid support, training, early access to advanced information and special promotions. https://eu.techdata.com ENTRIES NOW OPEN https://printitawards.co.uk Matt Child Simon Kitson
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Centreon to increase channel investment Centreon, a channel-first provider of open IT monitoring solutions has pledged to increase channel investment in the UK by over 300% during the next 12 months. UK CM Juan Lyall, said: “We are a channelfirst company with a growth rate of over 30% per year, thanks to our unique multi-platform deployment capability, and we want to get that message out to the UK channel.” Lyall would welcome the opportunity to talk to more partners in the UK to discuss the challenges of deploying state-of-art cloud technologies, while still maintaining legacy infrastructure and how Centreon can help. “Deploying the same platform on-premise, in the cloud, or both, is currently unique on the monitoring market. We are there to work with them, offering them a silver service if you like, in order to help them realise the revenue opportunities and answer any queries their customers have.” www.centreon.com 01732 759725 BULLETIN 10 Fujitsu partners with AWS Fujitsu has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate the digital transformation of customers in the financial and retail industries with new services to be built on AWS. Fujitsu signed an SCA with AWS to accelerate digital transformation in the mobility industry in May 2021.This new agreement, focusing on the financial and retail industries will create new offerings that are an integral new part of the FUJITSU Hybrid IT Service, Fujitsu’s cloud service, and will allow the company to deliver a wide range of customers’ IT environments and solutions optimised for their needs under its Hybrid IT portfolio. Under the agreement, Fujitsu will deploy these new services for customers in AWS marketplace and will leverage AWS professional services to help customers develop and operate new systems, as well as modernise their existing systems by using the breadth and depth of AWS services. www.fujitsu.com Recognition for Nutanix Nutanix has been named a Customers’ Choice in the 2022 Gartner Peer Insights ‘Voice of the Customer’ for Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software (HCI) for the fourth consecutive year and for Distributed File Systems and Object Storage for the second consecutive year. Nutanix believes these distinctions showcase the strong value of Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) and Nutanix Unified Storage, which provide customers with simple and flexible software solutions and unique and seamless storage offerings. www.nutanix.com Union Street invests £3m Union Street has announced plans to ramp up development operations with an investment of £3m into research and development for 2022. This will enable the company to push forward with a raft of new features for its billing solutions. This will include solutions for end-user bill presentment and self-service, integrations with other BSS/OSS, and numerous automated functions designed to make life easier for billing personnel. Over the past twelve months, the company has made a heavy investment into cloud infrastructure and system security, which it reports has delivered a huge jump in rating performance and will allow its solutions to scale without limit to meet the demands of reseller partners. www.unionstreet.co.uk SEE THE 2022 CATEGORIES PLUS HOW TO ENTER & VOTE PAGE 22 Unparalleled opportunities for MSPs Barracuda Networks has announced key findings from its 2022 The Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business report, launched in conjunction with MSP Day. Now in its fifth year, MSP Day continues to highlight, challenge and celebrate the evolving managed services industry Barracuda surveyed 500 decision-makers and knowledge workers from MSPs in countries across the North America, EMEA, and ANZ regions, with between five and 250 employees. This year’s report demonstrates that there is still a huge appetite for managed services, with global services-related MSP revenue set to increase by over a third in 2022 compared with 2021. Service provision is also on a growth trajectory. In 2021, 53% of respondents’ income came from services, and this is predicted to rise to 63% in 2022. On average in 2021, respondents’ service offerings increased by four services, but in 2022, 94% expect their services portfolio to increase by an average of six services. 80% of respondents believed their customers are increasingly concerned about being breached by cybercriminals and are looking to them for help, which is creating more pressure on the MSP to deliver. Adding to that strain are evolving cybersecurity regulations. Just 36% of MSP respondents were confident of being fully up-to-date and compliant with these regulations and another 36% believe that there are too many cybersecurity regulations to comply with. “The annual MSP Day and report is vital to properly understanding the concerns and ambitions of our partners,” said Jason Howells, VP International Sales, Barracuda MSP. “One of the most important things we can do for our channel partners is to keep asking the right questions, which enables us to identify where they need our help the most. The interactions we have on MSP Day are a critical part of achieving this as they give us the opportunity to address the points raised in the report and act on what our partners tell us.” www.barracuda.com Juan Lyall Jason Howells
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01732 759725 12 BULLETIN Ricoh opens revamped customer experience centre Ricoh’s Telford-based customer experience centre, which is adjacent to its smart factory and R&D facilities, allows visitors to explore the latest innovations in Ricoh’s printing solutions and speak with experts about how they can utilise this technology to grow their business. The venue also serves as a proof of concept and test centre for software workflows and digital front ends, ensuring visitors are getting the most out of their Ricoh machines. Ricoh and Drytac collaborated to bring a fresh look to the facility, with the aim of offering customers an even more inspirational and stimulating experience during their visit, allowing them to go away with a whole range of new application and business ideas. www.ricoh.co.uk Brother partners with the ISP Brother UK has agreed a new three-year partnership with the Institute of Sales Professionals (ISP) as it continues its investment in developing its extensive channel sales team. Taking part in the programme will highlight to customers that the Brother team meets rigorous ethical and professional standards and showcases a strong commitment to continuous development. The move will see the 50-strong team re-sit the ISP’s professional registration exam and undertake rigorous progress reviews throughout the partnership to refine their sales skills and identify areas for improvements. The ISP is a government-backed body that represents sales in the UK and is committed to providing qualifications and lettered accreditation, underpinned by life-long learning, for those who choose a career as a sales professional. The institute created the first, government levy-funded sales apprenticeships and the first All Party Parliamentary Group for Professional Sales. Managing Director Phil Jones said: “Our reseller partners often cite us as one of the best vendors they work with and this is a tribute to what we do with the Institute of Sales Professionals and justifies the investment in our people. We’re proud to work so closely with this organisation and look forward to continuing developing our salespeople with industry-leading training and qualifications.” www.brother.co.uk Konica Minolta to help customers see the potential Konica Minolta has launched a new global campaign to help businesses understand the changing needs of customers to create more added value and help them rethink opportunities in a fast-changing world. The company’s ‘See the Potential’ campaign will focus on the new business opportunities, which Konica Minolta recognises are everywhere. It just takes a spark to bring more possibilities to life by embracing new techniques and creating unique customer experiences. Olaf Lorenz, General Manager, Global Brand Management, Konica Minolta Inc., said: “Despite growth in areas such as labels and packaging during the pandemic, some sectors have declined. With the print industry evolving at pace there was a need for a campaign to highlight our desire to be creative, give extraordinary brand stories through high value touchpoints, which can be shaped through our extensive product portfolio to help customers thrive.” www.konicaminolta.co.uk technologylive.co.uk The essential show for IT and mobile resellers and providers Business Design Centre · London · 13 September 2022 22 In partnership with BlackBerry expands partner programme BlackBerry is expanding its partner programme to help counteract the international escalation of cyber threats. The security software provider is enlisting large and small EMEA-wide strategic partners and regional specialists to help customers focus on preventing breaches before they happen, through AI-based, prevention-first BlackBerry solutions. The company has also committed to significantly increasing the size of its channel team, with the aim of doubling employee headcount in roles such as partner management, customer success and channel enablement to ensure partners have the technical and sales support to compete and win in the crowded EDR/XDR market. www.blackberry.com Google standardises on PaperCut MF PaperCut has announced that Google has standardised on PaperCut MF to underpin its internal print infrastructure. The announcement follows the deprecation of Google Cloud Print, a service that enabled internal and external users to print from any cloud print-aware application, on any device in the network cloud to any printer with native support for connecting to cloud print services. PaperCut MF – which offers powerful print management for printers and multifunction devices – met Google’s requirement for a solution that offers flexible print management across its complex print environment, which caters for approximately 200,000 employees and nearly 3,000 printers across all its offices globally. www.papercut.com Cybersecurity awareness Exclusive Networks has signed a partnership agreement with the ICC ‘Trade for Prosperity’ initiative to become the cybersecurity partner of choice for its new global awareness programme aimed at its 45 million member organisations. As part of the programme, Exclusive Networks will provide specialist cybersecurity expertise and knowledge to CEOs and business leaders of some of the world’s fastest growing companies, helping to guide and educate business heads as to what they need to know, what they need to do and who can provide the products and services to help them safeguard their businesses against growing cyber threats as they navigate the uncharted waters ahead and return to sustainable growth and profitability. www.exclusive-networks.com Phil Jones
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01732 759725 14 BULLETIN Litter pickers Local residents and Konica Minolta employees, Shelley Wilson, Michael Ramshaw, Louise Moran and David Moody, took part in a litter pick at the picturesque Roker Beach and Marina, organised by Sunderland City Council. Gemma Lee, Chief People Officer said: “We encourage all of our employees to get actively involved in supporting sustainability issues that are important to them, as well as taking a proactive role in helping our customers to achieve their sustainability targets and ambitions.” www.konicaminolta.co.uk Ricoh UK launches the MHAWC Ricoh UK has launched the Mental Health at Work Commitment (MHAWC). Endorsed by Business in the Community and Mind, the MHAWC is a set of actions for organisations to follow in order to improve and support the mental health of their people. The latest pledge reinforces the company’s ongoing efforts and initiatives to create a work culture which actively promotes and supports the health and wellbeing of all employees. An action plan is being developed and put in place to build on the company’s existing programmes, with a particular focus on the six standards which underpin the MHAWC. The action plan includes provision of mental health awareness training for all managers; creation of a wellbeing dashboard; and a job structure and organisation design review to understand whether any adjustments are needed to support employees’ wellbeing. www.ricoh.co.uk STX Next acquires Ermlab STX Next has announced the acquisition of Ermlab, a specialist in AI and machine learning software development. The deal will enhance STX Next’s existing AI and ML capabilities, expand its expertise in natural language processing (NLP) and further strengthen its status as a software development powerhouse. The Ermlab acquisition is the first in STX Next’s history and its first ‘acqui-hire’, with CEO Maciej Dziergwa citing the expertise of Ermlab’s leadership team as integral factors in the decision. www.stxnext.com ENTRIES OPEN SEE PAGE 22 Warning signs it may be time to explore a new career path We’ve all been there. Sat at work daydreaming of a better job, better pay, better boss. It’s the age-old problem. Will the grass really be greener on the other side? Do I stay in my current job because I have job security? Do I risk a move for the chance of something better?. Here are our top 10 warning signs that it may be time for you to take the plunge and explore your options elsewhere: q Sunday night dread – that awful feeling in the pit of your stomach whenever you think of work w Avoiding team building/socialising with colleagues e Lack of progression opportunities r Daydreaming/Procrastinating frequently at work t Getting frustrated with poor Management y No recognition for a job well done u Toxic work culture i Having insufficient tools for the job at hand o Lack of learning or training opportunities 1) Lack of salary reviews/poor benefits If you don’t feel that the issues you’re experiencing can be resolved within your current role then it may well be time to explore new opportunities and reinvigorate a passion for your career. Having a shared vision or goal with your manager or the company you work for, or even just being rewarded for a job well done can make a huge impact on job satisfaction. Being disengaged at work can have a serious impact on your mental health and wellbeing. Ensuring you have a healthy work life balance and positive mental attitude towards work will only happen if it aligns with your career goals and lifestyle demands. If you need some career advice or are ready to dip your toe into the market speak to Max Levenger or Lynsey Arnold at Henley Executive on 0333 567 4888 to see what your future career could look like. https://henleyexecutive.co.uk BUSINESS BRIEFING - RECRUITMENT
MPS Monitor has announced the PaperCut NG/MF integration into its analytics Microsoft Power BI platform. Now your Business lntelligence environment will be enriched with further data and info of your fleet devices and a detailed report of your printers' environmental impact. � mPfm ·t JJ Want to try it? • Printer monitori�i�!e �� + PaperCut. Request a demo
01732 759725 16 BULLETIN : PEOPLE McGuigan joins Workflo Solutions Workflo Solutions has appointed Justin McGuigan as Managed Service Specialist, to support current and new business opportunities across its managed print, telephony and document digitisation portfolios. McGuigan joins Workflo Solutions from Agilico, which had absorbed his original employer – office equipment supplier, Leemic, into its stable of acquired businesses in 2020. McGuigan had been with Leemic for ten years. Managing Director Michael Field, said: “Due to the rapid growth of the business in the past year, we felt it was the right time to further build the team. Justin has a superb industry background and will be a pivotal part of our growth strategy, adding real value to the business. I’m delighted to welcome him on board.” www.workflo-solutions.co.uk New face at CMYUK Chris Martin, ex Head of Sales at PrintMAX has joined CMYUK as a Senior Digital Sales Consultant. He will report to Sue Hayward, Sales Director (Equipment). Martin joined PrintMAX in 2008 initially as a Consumables Account Manager, making his way to Head of Sales with overall responsibility for all equipment and consumables. The move to CMYUK will enable him to work with an expanded portfolio of print production equipment from brands including EFI, Canon, Epson, Mimaki, Kongsberg and Klieverik. www.cmyuk.com Agilisys appoints public sector specialistO Agilisys has appointed Robert Steenson as Delivery Director, with a specific focus on Scotland. Steenson joins from North Lanarkshire Council, where he spent the last five and a half years working as Assistant Chief Executive and Executive Director of Enterprise and Communities. In his new role, Steenson will draw on his deep understanding of the Scottish public sector and work with colleagues across Agilisys to develop an outcome focused model that unlocks the benefits of digital technology for all of Scotland’s 32 councils. Cheryl Bennet, Solutions Partner at Agilisys, said: “We’re thrilled to have attracted someone of Robert’s stature to Agilisys. His achievements at North Lanarkshire Council speak for themselves and I am excited to see our progress and support Robert in sharing his experience and vision with our customers across Scotland.” www.agilisys.co.uk Integra staff members celebrate 25 years Sian Haskell, Marketing Director, and Simon Barlow, Creative Designer are celebrating 25 years with dealer buying group Integra. The duo have both been with Integra since 1997 and were recently recognised for their hard work and dedication to the group. CEO Aidan McDonough said: “Congratulations to both Sian and Simon on their 25 years of service. They are both integral to the group’s success and work incredibly hard to provide a consistently high level of support to our members and our key partners. I would personally like to thank them both for their commitment and support.” www.integra-business.co.uk NCC Group names new CEO NCC Group has named Mike Maddison as Chief Executive Officer following Adam Palser’s decision to step down after more than four and a half years in the role. Maddison is currently head of EY’s cyber security, privacy and trusted technology practice for EMEA, a role he has held since 2017. Previously he led PwC’s risk services practice across the Middle East and before that was head of Deloitte’s cyber security consultancy in EMEA for ten years where he also drove significant growth. www.nccgroupplc.com Data Direct adds to team Data Direct has announced the appointment of Neil Jolley in the newly created role of Purchasing and Product Support. Jolley’s career spans over 30 years, working for businesses including Sharp and Katun, as well as for a large part working his own business. Sales Director Marianne Chamberlain, said: “Neil is another key addition to our team with the sole aim of providing greater value to our dealer customers. Neil will also facilitate redundant stock management and be able to move this where there is still demand. I would urge dealers to get in touch with Neil, he’ll no doubt find a solution.” www.data-direct.co.uk New marketing role Canon Europe has appointed Mathew Faulkner to the role of EMEA Director, Marketing & Innovation, Wide Format Printing Group. In this position, he is responsible for strategic and operational marketing for the wide format printing business, which includes the imagePROGRAF, Colorado, Arizona, ColorWave and PlotWave product lines. Faulkner brings extensive experience and knowledge of the print sector to this senior role, having fulfilled a range of marketing roles in Canon’s production print business over the last decade. This has included almost five years working in applications-led marketing and business development for wide format, following two years marketing the imagePROGRAF portfolio. He currently sits on the council of the Independent Print Industries Association (IPIA) and is Chairman of its Training and Education subcommittee. He is also a member of the marketing steering group for the not-for-profit organisation Two Sides, which promotes the sustainability of the graphic communications supply chain. www.canon.co.uk Justin McGuigan Neil Jolley Sian Haskell with Aidan McDonough, CEO and Carl Dovey, Chairman
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