Technology Reseller - v16

technolog y reseller.co.uk NEWS : TRENDS 05 INCA Awards winners announced The Independent Networks Cooperative Association (INCA) held the inaugural INCA Awards on November 5 to celebrate the work of the UK’s alternative network providers. The eight award winners are: n Broadway Partners for Technical Innovation; n Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council for Commercial Innovation; n KCOM for Urban Impact; n Lothian Broadband for Rural Impact; n Balquhidder Community Broadband CIC for Best Community Project; n City of London Corporation & London Law Society for Best Public Sector Project; n Hyperoptic for Outstanding Contribution; n Simon Wade of Emtelle, for Outstanding Individual Contribution. www.inca.coop Uncompetitive mobile market costs SMEs £1 billion UK SMEs are spending £1 billion more than they need to on mobile telephony, claims bill analysis and mobile price comparison service Billmonitor. According to its new report, An investigation into the B2B mobile provider ‘Wild West’ , just one in ten SMEs gets a fair deal, with the price differential between the cheapest and most expensive provider for an average SME customer being as much as 16.3%. Billmonitor founder Dr Stelios Koundouros said: “It is staggering that in a market so critical for businesses, there isn’t oversight to prevent SMEs falling victim to what is becoming its own ‘Wild West’. We call on the CMA to investigate the business telecoms market, to take over the job Ofcom seems to show little interest in doing, despite Billmonitor’s three year-long pleas, and to ensure SMEs of all sizes get a fair deal when procuring a mobile provider. ” www.billmonitor.com Poor mobile coverage in offices damaging business Just 17% of businesses have access to ‘full bar’ mobile coverage in their buildings, threatening productivity, revenue and staff and customer satisfaction, claims Vilicom in a new report Building Connections . The report, which has been released to promote the company’s new Building Connections service, reveals that 26% of businesses have had complaints from staff about the quality of mobile coverage on their premises; 23% have also received complaints from customers/clients. Building Connections provides a complete end-to-end service to help businesses and property owners improve indoor mobile coverage, from initial design to ongoing support and upgrades when necessary. www.vilicom.com Men in IT earn 30% more Men in the IT industry earn up to 30% more than women in the same roles reveals research by accountants SJD. Analysis of the salaries of more than 1,000 contractors shows that women with job titles such as SQL Developer or IT Architect earn almost a third less than men doing the same job. www.sjdaccountancy.com Technology buyers want to spread cost of mobile computing Over three quarters (78%) of UK technology buyers would be interested in a subscription-based solution to equip mobile workforces with notebooks, tablets and handheld devices, claims Panasonic. Research by Opinion Matters on behalf of Panasonic Toughbook shows that most buyers expect to replace employees’ mobile devices every two to three years and would be interested in an ‘as a service’ approach for mobile hardware. Perceived benefits include more up to date technology (54%), better management of costs (49%) and more available budget for accessories (34%). In 2018, Panasonic launched a Toughbook-as-a-Service (TaaS) solution based on interest-free, monthly payments. https://business.panasonic.co.uk/ Insider... New Year, New You? January is the time of year when we are full of good intentions. Clicking into a New Year is an opportunity to try something new, to change something or to give something up! Creating new habits and behaviours is difficult. It takes a lot of willpower, a clear motivation, resources, planning and effort. Many people fall off the wagon after a few weeks, some after just a few days  Sitting on a Leadership course with some colleagues in December, we had a good discussion about change. The industry is changing, technology is changing, generations are changing. In fact our entire trading environment is shifting rapidly, creating a significant need for new sales techniques, business models, company structures and skills. Yet, these changes are difficult to make. Organisations that refuse to change face decline. Those that are not changing quick enough decay. Even those that are changing are challenged by the speed of the change required. One quote I’ve always liked comes from the excellent Jim Collins. In his book Great by Choice, he writes: ‘Go slow when you can, go fast when you must.’ It’s not about constantly running at warp speed; considered decision- making is vital. Just don’t delay if you need to move quickly. This may require change(s), so get used to being comfortable with being uncomfortable! As we face 2019 with optimism, let us all be agents of change for the future of this great industry. See you out there. Phil Jones MBE , Managing Director, Brother UK @philjones40 www.vilicom.com REPORT November2018 BuildingConnections: IndoorMobileCoverageStudy