Technology Reseller - v28

technologyreseller.co.uk 45 MANAGED SERVICES rather than generalists. People are looking for MSPs that provide high value niche services to deliver strategic goals rather than someone just to manage problems they might have. Our niche is the workspace and virtual desktops – it is what we are known for, whereas a generalist MSP might struggle to differentiate itself in an extremely busy marketplace.” Watson says the new funding will enable Atlas Cloud to ramp up sales and marketing activities targeting larger organisations that are becoming more and more interested in Citrix Workspace as a way of meeting strategic goals around mobility and flexibility, as well as cost cutting. It will also enable the company to take on another 20 people, increasing its headcount to 55. Finding people with the right skills is not easy in the current climate but Watson believes the corporate culture at Atlas Cloud gives it an advantage. “In the North East there is a very big tech market. You have HP, Sage, DWP, which has thousands and thousands of staff, so there is always pressure around top talent and increasing salary demands. We address this by focusing very much on culture; we have flexible working so people can work from home whenever they want; we provide flexible holidays so people get a lot of time off when we are quiet. We have an unlimited holiday policy, which sounds very glamorous, but we expect a lot when we are busy and want people to spend time with their families when we are not.” Balancing the needs of employees and the business has served Atlas Cloud well in its first decade and provides a solid foundation for another 10 years of success. to a degree, with everything brought under a single sign-on, a single experience for the end user. Our business last year was all around security and delivering a high performance end user experience,” explained Watson. Niche expertise Atlas Cloud has been enjoying significant growth over the last three years, with an average compound annual growth rate of 52%. Much of this Watson attributes to the company’s expertise in Citrix Workspace and virtual desktops. “Whereas in the past there would have been big managed services contracts and clients getting rid of staff in favour of small staffing groups, we are starting to see more strategic teams and IT teams in organisations and they are using a range of different suppliers – specialists Security in the spotlight Nimans is encouraging resellers to take advantage of the opportunities in IP security Britain is one of the safest and most secure countries in the world thanks to over four million CCTV cameras capturing virtually our every move. It’s a market set to double in value over the next five years, offering significant revenue opportunities for resellers with IP end point skills. Supply specialist Nimans has set-up a dedicated division to help customers capitalise on the many opportunities available. It is headed by Director of Sales, Security & AV, Camilla Kirkham. She said: “IP-based technologies are a natural extension of a reseller’s portfolio – and represent an easy expansion of their overall proposition. We only launched the division in the Autumn of last year and overall demand and interest has exceeded our expectations. There’s still lots of work to be done but resellers are beginning to fully understand and embrace the huge market potential.” Key growth areas this year are likely to be body worn cameras with integrated two-way radio functionality, smart buildings, low light colour imaging, thermal imaging and AI – all part of a flourishing market that continues to diversify and grow. Access control and wireless intruder alarm systems that integrate with fire systems and Alexa-style apps are likely to be big business, as they can be installed in half the time of traditional solutions. There are also big opportunities on the high street where cameras can be used to analyse customer behaviour to reduce queuing times at peak periods, for example, or to optimise store layouts, in addition to more traditional security applications. Kirkham says that data cabling companies have been among the first to take advantage of opportunities in the IP security market. “They are doing all the hard work with the installations anyway, so adding a camera end point is valuable additional revenue,” she said. Nimans has big plans in 2020 to attract even more resellers into this market through training and accreditation, extra resources scaled in line with accelerating demand and compelling solutions. “We are working with big name brands as well as different technologies to inspire, excite and educate the reseller community, based on Nimans’ renowned industry pedigree. Our team is packed with experience and know-how and has hit the ground running with lots of orders and interest generated so far,” explained Kirkham. “One of the biggest challenges for end users is how to upgrade their old analogue infrastructure so they can take advantage of the latest IP technologies. The major security manufacturers such as Hanwha and Hikvision have developed solutions that enable them to bridge the gap rather than having to rip out and replace cabling, which can be very costly.” www.nimans.net