Technology Reseller - v22

NEWS : RESELLERS 01732 759725 14 Mark Garius Ben Dowd IT support and managed services provider IT Lab Group has become one of just a handful of official worldwide support partners for Microsoft Managed Desktop. Built on top of Microsoft 365, the Microsoft Managed Desktop service provides device configuration, security monitoring, app deployment and update management. Tim Wallis, IT Lab Chief Digital Officer, said: “Most organisations have already decided to move their email and productivity tools to the cloud, as Microsoft are better able to take the burden of running, patching and updating these with a lower total cost of ownership. The same is now true for managing the desktop.” IT Lab Group has already developed a proven Business Case and ROI calculator to help organisations assess the benefits of a Microsoft Managed Desktop solution. IT Lab CEO Peter Sweetbaum said: “Having helped to develop the business case for Microsoft Managed Desktop, we are excited to be announced as a support partner for Microsoft Managed Desktop globally, supporting our customers to realise the value of this new managed service and bringing the power of Microsoft’s three clouds to the desktop.” www.itlab.com IT Lab Group to support Microsoft Managed Desktop Excalibur achieves ISO 27001 accreditation Excalibur Communications, a Swindon-based communications and IT solutions provider, has achieved ISO 27001 certification, after spending the last six months overhauling its procedures and policies to meet the internationally recognised standard for best practice in information security management systems (ISMS). Excalibur CEO Peter Boucher said: “As a technology business offering cyber and data security to customers, it’s important for us to take a lead in having the very best ISMS and being noted for it. By gaining ISO 27001, we are not only effectively managing risk within our own businesses, but are in a position to meet the higher levels of compliance demanded by new and existing customers who take security seriously.” Fewer than 100,000 of the UK’s four million incorporated businesses have ISO 27001. excaliburcomms.co.uk DXC sets up Azure digital transformation practice In an extension of its existing relationship with Microsoft, Azure Expert Managed Service Provider DXC Technology is forming a global Microsoft Azure Digital Transformation Practice to accelerate client migration to the Microsoft Azure public cloud. DXC and Microsoft will co-invest in the development of products and services built for Azure and go to market jointly with sales, consulting and solution delivery teams composed of DXC’s Azure professionals and Microsoft architects and technical strategists. Dan Hushon, DXC Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, said: “Through this initiative, we will provide clients with a highly integrated team approach to modernising their IT systems on Azure. The result will be a reduced time-to-digital and a more rapid movement of client workloads from legacy IT to a modern cloud architecture on Azure.” With the highest level of Azure certification, DXC has more than 900 Azure professional certifications, 900 analytics clients and 8,000 analytics and AI professionals worldwide. DXC aims to increase its global Azure certifications to 5,000 in the next three years. dxc.technology/Microsoft Five in a row for Onecom Onecom has won Vodafone’s Total Communications Partner of the Year Award for a fifth consecutive year in recognition of its strong sales performance, customer service and understanding of Vodafone’s total communications portfolio. Ben Dowd, CEO of Onecom, said: “We are thrilled to once again accept this award, which recognises the strength of our partnership with Vodafone, as well as our commitment to consistently deliver innovative communication solutions and excellent customer service.” Based in Hampshire and with a network of offices across the UK, Onecom is the UK’s largest independent business telecommunications provider of fixed line, mobile, Unified Communications and connectivity solutions. New financial backer for ASL Group Independent managed office services provider ASL Group plans to accelerate its growth strategy after securing investment from Primary Capital Partners LLP, a leading provider of private equity finance. Primary’s backing will allow ASL to acquire more businesses, expand its reach and enhance service levels for its 5,000 customers. Since 2010, ASL had been supported by Mobeus Equity Partners as a buy-and-build platform, during which time the privately-owned company made 10 acquisitions and expanded its portfolio to include unified communications, software, IT and production print, as well as managed print services. ASL Managing Director Mark Garius said: “This is a significant milestone for ASL that will enable us to continue to grow our business both organically and acquisitively. Having acquired 10 businesses in the last 10 years, we look forward to the new opportunities that the investment will bring as we continue to drive better business performance for our customers.” Primary provides long-term financial resources and strategic support to businesses with a value of £20 million to £100 million. Primary Partner Alec Parkinson said: “ASL is a leading operator in a highly fragmented marketplace. We are excited to enable the company to accelerate its acquisition strategy and become the pre-eminent independent managed office services provider.” www.asl-group.co.uk Datto award for Brookfield Group The Brookfield Group, a full-service managed technology company with offices in the US and UK, is celebrating after winning the ‘Datto Hall of Fame’ Golden Datto Award at June’s DattoCon19 conference in San Diego. Datto, a provider of IT solutions delivered by Managed Service Partners, presents the Hall of Fame award to long- serving partners that have contributed to the company’s success. Brookfield Group CEO Fadi Abdallah said: “To be selected as one of Datto’s top partners is quite a point of distinction for us. More importantly, this award recognises The Brookfield Group for our commitment to provide customers with the best IT solutions for their business.” The European leg of DattoCon19 is taking place in Paris on October 21-23. www.thebrookfieldgroup.com