Technology Reseller - v21 2019

01732 759725 22 NEWS : VENDORS Leeds-based business intelligence (BI) and data analytics software developer Panintelligence has opened its first overseas office in Boston, at the Cambridge Innovation Centre in Milk Street. The move follows a number of US contract wins, including one with retail app developer PCMS, which has its US base in Cincinnati. CEO Zandra Moore said: “The US has been of interest for some time, as UK clients were increasingly deploying our platform across borders, with many users based in the US. After meeting with market experts from the British Consulate in Boston and visiting the city twice, it’s been an easy decision to invest in our first overseas base in Boston.” She added: “The whole tech community there is so vibrant and exciting. With so many developers and resellers who need smart data tools, it’s a perfect region to expand into as we scale-up.” The Boston office will initially serve as a base for Panintelligence staff seconded from the UK, prior to the recruitment of a four-strong in-market team in 2020. Originally part of Leeds-based financial services firm Pancredit, Panintelligence was founded in 2014, following an MBO led by Moore and CTO Ken Miller. It employs 37 people at its Leeds head office and last year increased revenue by 40%. The company’s Panintelligence Pi software, which provides real-time BI dashboards and predictive analytics to improve decision-making, has more than 200,000 users worldwide and is white- labelled across a wide range of industry sectors, from retail and education to local government and healthcare. Moore claims the company’s roots in the financial services industry is a big selling point. She said: “We’re seeing a massive advantage from the security and compliance aspects inherent in our platform as a result of coming from the highly regulated UK financial services sector. There are definite advantages for some UK fintech firms like us who have had to deal with the world’s strictest data compliance and regulatory environments since their first day.” First US office for Panintelligence Platinum partner NEC Display Solutions Europe has appointed workspace solutions provider UC Workspace as a Global Platinum Partner. Under the agreement, UC Workspace is customising its Quicklaunch meeting application for use with the NEC InfinityBoard all-in-one collaboration solution. Quicklaunch provides one-click joining for more than 30 meeting providers and the ability to launch applications and share devices within a secured environment. www.nec-display-solutions.com . Kaspersky rebrand Cyber-security specialist Kaspersky Lab has rebranded as Kaspersky and introduced a new visual identity and mission statement – ‘Building a safer world’. Commenting on the rebrand, CEO Eugene Kaspersky said: “Since we founded our company more than 22 years ago, we’ve seen both the cyberthreat landscape and our industry change beyond recognition. Today, the world has new needs, and our rebranding reflects our vision to meet those needs and help build a safer world that’s immune to cyberthreats.” www.kaspersky.com New owner for Verbatim Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation has announced the sale of its Verbatim storage media business – celebrating its 50th anniversary this year – to optical disk manufacturer CMC Magnetics Corporation of Taiwan. Clive Alberts, President Verbatim EUMEA, said: “The change of ownership of Verbatim makes a lot of sense. For MCC, the Verbatim brand has become peripheral to its core B2B chemical business; for CMC, it provides a great opportunity to strengthen their position in optical media and diversify into other categories serviced by Verbatim’s global sales and marketing operation; and for Verbatim, we get a dynamic new owner that will help to grow our business, reinforce our strong position in the storage industry and use our infrastructure and local sales and marketing expertise to expand into new areas.” www.verbatim.com Enhancing the customer experience Billing and provisioning solutions provider Union Street Technologies has become a member of the Institute of Customer Service, an independent not-for-profit membership body that helps its 450 corporate members and 4,000 individual members enhance their customer service by providing research, training, accreditation, networking and consultancy. Union Street Head of Sales & Marketing, Vincent Disneur, said: “Union Street has always differentiated itself by providing service, support and consultancy that CPs (communications providers) can count on to leverage our solutions to maximum effect. Working with The Institute will help to drive new initiatives and ensure our customers remain at the heart of everything we do.” Existing Union Street initiatives to improve billing skill levels in the communications industry include the Union Street Accredited Professional (USAP) qualification, which has upskilled hundreds of billing professionals since it was launched in 2015; and the Union Street service portal, which provides on-demand access to training videos, live chat and an extensive knowledge base. More than 600 CPs use Union Street’s aBILLity billing solution to bill around £1.1 billion per annum. unionstreet.uk.com Partner funds Zoom Video Communications is enhancing its channel programme with a Marketing Development Funds (MDF) programme to help channel partners finance demand generation and go-to-market activities based upon agreed business plans. The programme includes a dedicated MDF module within the partner portal where partners can request funding and submit claims. Zoom is also expanding partner support, with extra channel account managers, a dedicated support line, an expanded library of resources available through the portal, updated learning tracks and the introduction of partner qualifications courses. Panintelligence CEO Zandra Moore and CTO Ken Miller in Boston Vincent Disneur