Technology Reseller v11

01732 759725 16 NEWS : RESELLERS Rackspace acquires RelationEdge Rackspace has broadened its IT-as-a- service portfolio with the acquisition of RelationEdge, a full-service Salesforce Platinum Consulting Partner and digital agency. The acquisition will expand Rackspace’s ability to manage the transition of a customer’s complete application portfolio to modern technologies, including SaaS applications. Rackspace claims already to have one of the industry’s broadest portfolios of IT services and expertise across applications, data, security and infrastructure. www.rackspace.com City of Edinburgh Council Head of ICT joins Commsworld City of Edinburgh Council CIO and Head of ICT has joined the board of Scotland’s largest independent telecoms firm Commsworld as Executive Director of Operations. Founded in 1994 and with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, Commsworld supports thousands of Scotland’s leading organisations, including City of Edinburgh Council, with business-critical internet, data and voice communications. It is also Scotland’s largest indigenous ‘next generation network’ operator and internet service provider (ISP). Prior to joining City of Edinburgh Council, Bruce Strang worked at outsourcing giant Capita, where he oversaw Capita’s Scottish Wide Area Network (SWAN) framework, which resulted in a £325 million deal to deliver public sector telecommunications across the country. He also had a stint as Managing Director of Updata. www.commsworld.com MBO for Excalibur Communications Excalibur Communications, a provider of managed IT and telecoms services to more than 4,000 SMEs in the South and South West, has undergone a Management Buy-Out (MBO) supported by significant funding from Santander Corporate & Commercial. The management team led by CEO Peter Boucher will take majority ownership of the firm, with former owner and CEO James Phipps retaining a minority shareholding and continuing his involvement with the company as Executive Chairman. The new management team aims to take full ownership of the business within five years and to increase acquisitions and investment in new technology. Excalibur Communications is one of Vodafone’s top five distribution channel partners in the UK. www.santandercb.co.uk Halifax-based tech firm Vapour Cloud is on the acquisition trail as it targets 80% growth this year. With a £10 million war chest at his disposal, CEO Tim Mercer is looking to strengthen Vapour Cloud with the acquisition of a traditional voice company, selling PBXs or mobile, and a Northern IT support firm with Microsoft partner status. The former should have a large customer base that Vapour can transition from on-premise communications to a cloud offering, while the latter should have expertise in the public cloud, particularly Azure and AWS (Amazon Web Services), to complement Vapour’s existing private cloud offering. Mercer said: “There are a number of well-established operators in this sector, but many are not cloud-first. Some are rising to the challenge and quickly adapting their offering to satisfy clients’ modern business needs, but cloud is an entirely different world. We hope that by acquiring two or more such companies, we can successfully build on the legacy the current owners will leave behind, whilst supplying their customers with the next generation products and services they’re looking for.” www.vapourcloud.com Onecom aims to reverse gender bias in tech Onecom has pledged to take action to increase the number of females taking up technology roles by signing up to the ‘Tech She Can Charter’. Charter signatories commit to work with schools to inspire pupils to consider a career in technology; to ensure inclusive access to technology roles in their own organisations; and to create the right environment to attract, recruit and retain female employees. Parysa Hosseini-Sech, Head of Human Resources at Onecom, said: “We’re already seeing the huge impact technology is having on our lives. If the sector and people in technology roles don’t reflect wider society there’s a real risk that the products and technology advances will be biased.” She added: “This is our chance to build a diverse and inclusive pipeline of technology talent, which will help position UK businesses at the forefront of innovation and investment in the future.” https://onecom.co.uk • www.pwc.co.uk/techshecan Vapour Cloud on the acquisition trail WeFix to expand nationwide Onecom has signed a deal with Samsung to roll out its WeFix at-home mobile and tablet repair service across the UK. WeFix, founded by former Dragons Den contestant Oliver Murphy, has grown rapidly since receiving a six-figure investment from Onecom in 2017 and, with Samsung’s support, is on target to have 51 vehicles across the UK by the end of the year. The Samsung-approved doorstep repair service currently serves Portsmouth, Brighton, Bristol, Kent, Essex, Coventry, Luton, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Wolverhampton, Reading, Bournemouth and Southampton. Customers can book online at samsungrepair.com by entering their postcode, device model, address and preferred appointment date and time. https://samsungrepair.com Tim Mercer Parysa Hosseini-Sech Bruce Strang