technolog y reseller.co.uk If you no longer wish to receive Technology Reseller magazine please email your details to
[email protected] COMMENT 03 Happy New Year! With the promise of fresh starts and new opportunities, this greeting has always been more than a platitude, but this year it is more significant than ever. With so much confusion and uncertainty surrounding Brexit, with so much that could go wrong and the seeming inability of our politicians to treat the issue with the seriousness and urgency that it requires, the happiness and prosperity of many is far from guaranteed. On a more positive note, whatever happens is sure to create opportunities that the most entrepreneurial resellers and MSPs will be able to exploit. This point was made forcefully by Phil Jones, Managing Director of Brother UK, when I interviewed him in the week before Christmas about the threats and opportunities facing the channel in 2019. He admitted that there was a lot of uncertainty about, but tempered this with a quote from Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck — Why Some Thrive Despite Them All by business guru Jim Collins: “Everyone gets luck, good and bad, but 10X winners make more of the luck they get”. So, no excuses. Make sure you watch the video of the interview when it is posted on our website later this month. Whatever happens, the IT channel will always find new opportunities to develop. Eight years ago, Spectrami spotted a gap for a new type of distributor in the United Arab Emirates. It now has a turnover of $60 million and has just opened a UK operation, which, as Spectrami UK Managing Director Sean Fane explains on page 33, is providing resellers over here with new technologies that perhaps they wouldn’t get from traditional distributors. On page 27, Nigel Edwards explains how Western Digital has consolidated its branding and streamlined its distribution network to help resellers maximise the opportunities emerging in data management and storage. And, on page 30, we learn how Giacom is making it easier for small resellers to profit from Microsoft Azure. As ever, there’s much to look forward to as we enter the new year. Here’s hoping it’s a prosperous one. James Goulding Editor,
[email protected] Technology Reseller is published by Kingswood Media Ltd., Amherst House, 22 London Road, Sevenoaks TN13 2BT • Tel: 01732 759725 Email:
[email protected] www.technologyreseller.co.uk No part of Technology Reseller can be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. © 2018 Kingswood Media Ltd. Design: Sandtiger Media www.sandtiger.co.uk 04 Bulletin Technology, vendor, reseller and distributor news 05 Insider... Phil Jones on making the most of good intentions 08 Working Together This month’s round-up of new distribution agreements 18 Telephony Why Spitfire’s new hosted IP telephony solution is ideal for IT resellers 27 Storage Western Digital Corporation streamlines its distribution network 28 Cover Story New Epson business scanners 30 Cloud How Giacom is helping resellers profit from Microsoft Azure 33 Q&A Sean Fane explains why Spectrami UK is not like other distributors 34 Market Snapshot European businesses spend big on IT security 36 What’s New The month’s best new products and services 38 Storage Florian Malecki explains how storage as a service can give MSPs a competitive edge 40 Worklife Dan Scarfe picks the five work tools be couldn’t do his job without 42 View from the Channel With Gary David Smith, co-founder of Prism Solutions 43 People New roles, new faces, new places v16 · 2018 technology reseller.co.uk Comment Register online To receive your regular FREE printed copy of TECHNOLOGY RESELLER Magazine simply fill in our online registration form at www.technologyreseller.co.uk/register Read Technology Reseller online, on tablets and smart phones www.technologyreseller.co.uk Join us : Follow us @techreselleruk www.facebook.com/TechnologyResellerMag technology-reseller-magazine Editor: James Goulding 07803 087228 ·
[email protected] Advertising Director : Ethan White 01732 759725 ·
[email protected] Publishing Director: Neil Trim 01732 759725 ·
[email protected] Group Sales Manager: Martin Jenner-Hall 07824 552116 ·
[email protected] Social Media and Web Editor: John Peters 07711 204011 ·
[email protected] Art Director: Nick Pledge 07767 615983 ·
[email protected] Advertising Executive: James Trim 01732 759725 ·
[email protected] ISSN 2055-3110 (Print) ISSN 2055-3129 (Online)