technologyreseller.co.uk If you no longer wish to receive Technology Reseller magazine please email your details to
[email protected] COMMENT 05 You have to admire the entrepreneurial instincts of the IT reseller and MSP community. Never slow to spot an opportunity, a great many have piled into the supply of PPE, hand sanitiser dispensers, body temperature scanners, social distancing apps and a whole panoply of COVID-secure solutions, while also meeting customer demand for laptops, monitors, webcams and other emergency supplies. And why not? Commercial print company Where the Trade Buys has worked out that businesses in the UK will have to spend a grand total of £3,683,041,021 to make their premises COVID-secure. This includes £3,058,560 on hand sanitiser, £72,000,000 on face masks, £1,234,309,789 on floor stickers and £2,373,672,672 on deep cleaning commercial spaces. Ever felt you were missing out. Of course, there are plenty of big revenue opportunities for resellers/MSPs in more traditional areas, not least cyber security, which has become the fastest growing start-up sector in the UK, according to a new report by global recruiter Robert Walters and data provider VacancySoft ( Cybersecurity: Building Business Resilience ). This shows that in the first half of 2020 funding for UK cybersecurity start-ups reached £496 million, compared to £521 million in the whole of 2019. The report cites the Government’s Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 2020 , which shows that the number of firms providing cyber security products and services in the UK has increased by 44% in the last two years to 1,221. Every week, a new cyber security business is registered within the UK. With business spending on cybersecurity forecast to double to £136bn this year, it is obvious why start-ups (and their funders) are attracted to this sector. Cyber security consultancies have been one of the fastest growing areas for start-ups, partly because businesses seem to have so little faith in their in-house cyber security teams. In a separate study by Digital Risk Protection specialist Skurio, 80% of survey respondents worried that their teams lacked the skills to monitor risks, threats and breaches. The good news for readers of Technology Reseller is that the same survey found resellers to be the most trusted source of advice on cyber security, ahead of existing suppliers, the media, word of mouth recommendations and online sources. With 50% of UK businesses now making use of outsourced services to manage their cyber security, that has to be worth something. James Goulding Editor,
[email protected] Technology Reseller is published by Kingswood Media Ltd., 10 Amherst House, 22 London Road, Sevenoaks TN13 2BT • Tel: 01732 759725 Email:
[email protected] www.technologyreseller.co.uk No part of Technology Reseller can be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. © 2020 Kingswood Media Ltd. Design: Sandtiger Media www.sandtiger.co.uk 06 What’s New A selection of the month’s new products and services 08 Tech Trends Digitisation plans advance 5 years in just 3 months 10 Distributor News Exclusive Networks launches infrastructure- as-a-service offering 16 Working Together A round-up of the month’s new distribution agreements 18 Reseller News Six Degrees Group founder launches new venture 20 Vendor News Agilitas extends relationship with Georgia Hall 26 Communications Sharon McDermott highlights the need for co-operation in fibre roll-out 35 Connectivity Why D-Link is a good business to be in, according to Paul Routledge 38 Cyber Security Resellers are most trusted source of advice 42 Interview With David Watts, Managing Director of Tech Data UK and Ireland 43 Circular IT Flex IT launches Rent partner programme 46 End User Computing The new IGEL Ready product verification programme 48 Networks Masergy sets new standards in SD-WAN 50 I couldn’t do my job without... Kay Schnittker on his favourite work tools 52 View from the channel With Leon Timmermans, CEO of Flex IT 53 MSPs The benefits of a modern IT documentation platform 54 IT as a service How Frances Weston plans to grow Econocom in the UK 56 Q&A With Matt Parker, CEO of Babble 58 People New faces, new places v32 · 2020 technologyreseller.co.uk Comment Register online To receive your regular FREE printed copy of Technology Reseller Magazine simply fill in our online registration form at www.technologyreseller.uk/register Read Technology Reseller online, on tablets and smart phones www.technologyreseller.uk Join us : Follow us @techreselleruk www.facebook.com/TechnologyResellerMag technology-reseller-magazine Editor: James Goulding 07803 087228 ·
[email protected] Publishing Director, Social Media and Web Editor: Neil Trim 01732 759725 ·
[email protected] Advertising Director: Ethan White 01732 759725 ·
[email protected] Group Sales: Martin Jenner-Hall 07824 552116 ·
[email protected] or
[email protected] Art Director: Nick Pledge 07767 615983 ·
[email protected] Advertising Executive: James Trim 01732 759725 ·
[email protected] ISSN 2632-9301 (Print) ISSN 2632-931X (Online)