Technology Reseller - v28

technologyreseller.co.uk 19 NEWS : RESELLERS Scott Dodds Automation and infrastructure service provider Ultima has launched a new software development arm, Ultima Labs, to give businesses a secure route to cloud-based automation. As an Independent Software Vendor (ISV), Ultima Labs has a range of software tools under development that will allow businesses to adopt the latest automation technology more easily. These include its flagship product, IA-Connect, which addresses the security concerns of customers who don’t want to automate over a VPN by enabling fast, secure automation of business processes over Microsoft RDS, Citrix Cloud and Citrix virtual apps and desktops sessions. Ultima CEO Scott Dodds said: “The launch of Ultima Labs allows us to showcase our automation software, which is a key growth area for us. As we bring out new and exciting tools to make automation a reality for customers, the promises of improved productivity and reduced operating costs from digital transformation will become a reality for every business. It also opens opportunities for us to work with leading vendors. We’re already working with the world’s leading RPA vendor, Blue Prism, to help them deliver robust and secure automation, having integrated IA-Connect with Blue Prism’s connected RPA platform.” Ultima claims IA-Connect allows a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) developer to create automations in practically the same manner as a ‘local’ automation development, without needing to resort to screen scraping or surface automation. This not only reduces development time when compared with surface automation but also increases the robustness of the processes and reduces maintenance and support. IA-Connect also addresses the security issues of cloud-based RPA automation by providing a bridge between the Software Robots and the desktop or published application session on the Citrix or Remote Desktop server. In this way, IA-Connect enables users to ‘reach through’ the virtual session to perform automations. The result is claimed to be an entirely secure, more straightforward path to RPA automation from the cloud. www.ultima.com Ultima launches software development arm to speed automation take-up Excalibur profits from wellbeing investment Excalibur Communications, the South West-based communications and IT solutions provider, has been ranked in 56th place on the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Small Company to Work For in 2020 list, winning praise for its ‘extraordinary’ levels of employee engagement and achieving a Three Star Accreditation from best companies. This is the third time Excalibur has been a Top 100 Company to Work For and the fourth year it has achieved a best companies accreditation. In the last 12 months Excalibur has increased its Wellbeing score by 11% and its Fair Deal score, which measures the level of employee satisfaction with salary and benefits, by 7%. In 2018, in consultation with employees, Excalibur implemented a health and wellbeing programme with a focus on physical, financial and mental health. This, combined with greater team leadership training, has resulted in improved communication across the business and a new approach to ‘change’, which is now implemented more slowly, with colleagues kept informed, to ensure they feel part of the process. In the last two years, Excalibur has increased its profits by 24%. IPI backs UK Youth Reading-based digital contact centre specialist IPI is continuing its support for UK Youth, which helps improve opportunities for disadvantaged young people through a range of skills development programmes. Last year more than 100,000 young people took part in one of its programmes covering STEM skills, wellbeing and mental health, enterprise skills, citizenship and the arts. IPI has raised £7,000 for the national charity since October 2019 and has more fund-raising initiatives planned for 2020, including the mentoring of young people by IPI volunteers, who can also provide tuition in coding and digital skills. Vicky Chenery of UK Youth said: “As well as being generous and creative with its fundraising initiatives, IPI’s technology focus and expertise makes its team an invaluable resource for us. Our young people are eager to learn the digital skills that will set them apart in tomorrow’s jobs market; IPI is helping to make this happen.” www.ukyouth.org AWS recognition for Insight Insight UK has been awarded AWS Well-Architected Partner Status, in recognition of its expertise in building and deploying workloads in Amazon Web Services (AWS). The accreditation means organisations can trust Insight to deliver expert consultancy, review their AWS architecture and help remediate any issues to optimise their environment. It also allows Insight to offer free architecture review and paid-for architecture remediation services, with AWS adding $5,000 in credit to any organisation that wants to put the recommendations of a review into effect. www.uk.insight.com GoPrint3D partners with Essentium GoPrint3D is partnering with Essentium to sell the latter’s High Speed Extrusion (HSE) 3D Printing Platform in the UK and Irish markets. The two companies hope the combination of GoPrint3D’s service, support and customer knowledge and the speed and economics of Essentium’s additive manufacturing (AM) solutions will help remove the barriers that have, until now, hindered the adoption of industrial-scale AM. Essentium claims that its solutions can produce end-use parts 5 to 15 times faster and 5 times more accurately than conventional Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), at a cost that makes 3D printing an economically attractive proposition. www.goprint3d.co.uk