Technology Reseller - v28

technologyreseller.co.uk 21 NEWS : VENDORS Cornwall’s fastest growing tech company Bluefruit Software is hoping to preserve the culture that has seen its turnover double in the last two years by transferring 51% of the business into an Employee Ownership Trust. As part of the transition, every member of staff who has been with the software developer for more than three months received a tax-free bonus of up to £1,200. Two non-director trustees have been elected to represent the interests of staff at board level. Bluefruit Software saw revenue growth of 50% in the year to April 2019 and is on target to reach a turnover of more than £5 million and a headcount of 85 in 2020. Director Caitlin Gould says employee ownership is an extension of Bluefruit’s people-first policy reflected in the company’s strict policy against working overtime and its provision of weekly yoga classes, free gym membership and six weeks’ paternity leave. She said: “We’ve cultivated a unique work environment which supports our employees and gives them the space they need to thrive. We have an employee turnover rate of 4%; the tech industry average is 23%.” www.bluefruit.co.uk Bluefruit Software embraces employee ownership Funding boost for Manchester tech entrepreneurs Enterprise City, the tech, media and cultural cluster in central Manchester, has been awarded a £2 million grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to help fund its Exchange business support programme. The funding, which will be managed by Manchester City Council (MCC) on behalf of DCMS, will be used to help create and sustain over 2,000 jobs in the city over the next 15 years. Exchange will give early stage tech companies and entrepreneurs access to the tools and infrastructure they need to grow, including subsidised workspace in Enterprise City’s Bonded Warehouse, educational workshops & meet-ups, access to Tech Nation’s online digital academy and expertise offered by corporate partners. Enterprise City plans to take on a new cohort of 15 companies every six months. It is currently accepting applications for the October intake. www.enterprisecityuk.com/exchange Gamma acquires Exactive As part of a strategy to become the leading provider of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) in Europe, Gamma Communications plc has acquired Exactive Holdings Limited, a UC specialist and one of a small number of Microsoft Teams Voice Partners operating in the UK. The acquisition builds on an existing relationship between the two companies and will enable Gamma to accelerate businesses migration to Teams. Andrew Taylor, Chief Executive of Gamma, said: “I am delighted to build on our track record of working with Exactive to bring customers a complete range of services for Microsoft Teams. UCaaS is an ever evolving and rapidly growing market that we plan to be at the heart of, across all customer environments. Exactive helps us address a part of the market that is already embedded in a Microsoft ecosystem and this will be an essential part of our UCaaS strategy in the years ahead.” ConnectWise strengthens security To counter the growing threat faced by managed service providers (MSPs), ConnectWise, a provider of business automation software for technology solution providers, has announced that it will be implementing security testing earlier in its software development lifecycle, as part of an expanded ‘Shift Left’ strategy. This includes threat modelling and abuse case development, increased automated testing coverage and tighter integration between security and code delivery pipelines. It is also supplementing its use of third parties for security assessment and penetration tests with a formal Bug Bounty program and has launched a Trust site to provide information on security, compliance and privacy. connectwise.com/company/trust Free video conferencing Hot on the heels of its merger with Serenova, video collaboration company Lifesize is providing free, unlimited videoconferencing to help businesses weather the coronavirus crisis. New and existing customers are being offered free licences to use its cloud-based video, audio and web conferencing platform for six months, with no cap on the number of hosts, meetings or call duration. In February, Lifesize merged with contact centre-as-a-service provider Serenova, enabling it to offer a unified, omnichannel experience for video-based collaboration and customer engagement. www.lifesize.com/remote-work Sage launches marketplace for apps Sage, the second largest tech company in the UK and a leader in cloud business management, is making it simpler for its two million- plus customers to enhance their Sage Business Cloud experience by launching a curated selection of industry and vertical applications. The Sage Marketplace provides access to hundreds of connected apps, all tested and verified by Sage and rated and reviewed by users, making it easier for customers to find and buy extra tools and functionality from the wider Sage ecosystem. https://uk-marketplace.sage.com/ en-GB/home