IN PRINT & ONLINE v65 · 2023 www.technologyreseller.co.uk THE MAGAZINE & ONLINE CHANNEL RESOURCE FOR MSPS, IT RESELLERS & IT SUPPORT PROVIDERS PAGE 26 PARTNER PROGRAMMES 5G 60 SECONDS WITH… PAGE 16 PAGE 20 Marcia Dempster, Senior Director of Channel Sales, Keeper Security HP Amplify extended to distribution partners How Cradlepoint is helping partners deliver pervasive wireless connectivity Register for the webinar Discover risks, educate employees, enforce policies and prevent data loss. Previously, organisations have had to rely on external defences, discovery, and classification to protect data. These legacy approaches no longer work, and with Intellectual Property and sensitive data being an essential asset to all businesses, it’s vital we find another way. With Brigantia and Next DLP joining forces, organisations can rest assured that their data is protected from both accidental loss and deliberate data exfiltration. Next DLP and the Reveal platform
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technologyreseller.co.uk 03 If you no longer wish to receive Technology Reseller magazine please email your details to [email protected] COMMENT You don’t need Elon Musk and Rishi Sunak to know which way the wind blows, and it is hard to imagine any business that hasn’t thought about the potential impact of AI on its operations and competitiveness. However, with generative AI starting to influence so many products and with Microsoft Copilot itching to grab the controls, it is surely time to take engagement with the technology to the next level. At Kingswood Media, we might play around with ChatGPT and Bing in our lunchbreaks, but for now we have zero tolerance of content generated by bots (although I do know of at least one article that has slipped through the net). This is largely to do with trust, transparency and attribution and the responsibility we have to our readers to be truthful. More practically, it reflects our concerns around copyright and plagiarism. At the same time, there are clearly elements of our content, for example the People and Appointments pages, that AI could put together perfectly well and much more quickly than we can. Are we missing a trick here? How would we do it? And would there be any kick-back from readers? No doubt, we will be discussing these issues for years to come, as will others in relation to their business processes. In this context, Alex Luketa’s article on page 38, Natural Language Processing: a practical guide, was an eye-opener and a useful reminder that AI doesn’t have to be a Pandora’s box but can be guided to meet specific requirements (as long as you are clear about what they are). It also underlines the importance of working with people that have knowledge and experience in this area. Expect to see many more such organisations pop up as the explosion of generative AI-powered products and product upgrades is followed by a tidal wave of consultancy and advisory organisations offering businesses help in embracing the potential of AI to improve productivity, develop new services and gain a competitive advantage. 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. © 2023 Kingswood Media Ltd. Design: Sandtiger Media www.sandtiger.co.uk v65 · 2023 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 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] Account Manager: Jeff Root 01732 759725 · [email protected] Art Director: Nick Pledge 07767 615983 · [email protected] ISSN 2632-9301 (Print) ISSN 2632-931X (Online) 04 News CGI installs giant globe in Space Park Leicester 08 Channel News SCC launches new tech as-a-service solution to help tackle e-waste problem 10 Working together A round-up of the month’s new distribution agreements 12 Connectivity Giacom partners with Sky Business Wholesale 16 Partner Programmes HP Amplify partner programme extended to distributors 20 Wireless Networks How Cradlepoint is opening doors for Softcat 24 Q&A Introducing softwaredefined network provider iQuila 26 60 seconds with... Marcia Dempster, Senior Director of Channel Sales at Keeper Securityl 28 View from the Channel Carl Henriksen, CEO of OryxAlign, highlights recent successes 30 MSPs The evolving role of MSPs, according to Kaseya’s Mike Sanders 31 Partnerships New vendor partner programmes and MSP solutions 34 Fibre connectivity Why XGS-PON technology is best for fibre delivery 36 IT management. ManageEngine aiming to double revenue from channel partners 38 AI AI for business: a practical guide 39 Data Centres UK’s oldest mental health charity improves resiliency with virtual data centre solution 40 Digitalisation How Riverbed is enhancing clinicians’ digital experience management 42 I couldn’t do my job without… Oliver Norman lists his favourite work tools 43 Events Paul Johnson’s Golf Society bulletin 44 People New faces, new places
01732 759725 04 Jack Chapman Egress NEWS LLMs boosting success of phishing campaigns warns Egress Egress, provider of an Intelligent Cloud Email Security suite that uses patented self-learning technology to detect inbound and outbound threats, is warning businesses to be on guard against the growing security threat posed by large language models (LLMs) and social engineering campaigns. Jack Chapman, VP of Threat Intelligence at Egress, said: “Without a doubt chatbots or large language models (LLMs) lower the barrier for entry to cybercrime, making it possible to create well-written phishing campaigns and generate malware that less capable coders could not produce alone. “However, one of the most concerning, but least talked about applications of LLMs is reconnaissance for highly targeted attacks. Within seconds, a chatbot can scrape the internet for open-source information about a chosen target that can be leveraged as a pretext for social engineering campaigns, which are growing increasingly common.” While there is potential for cybercriminals to use LLMs and chatbots to create phishing email campaigns, the second Egress Phishing Threat Trends Report suggests that AI detector tools are currently less effective at identifying chatbot-written emails. Egress says that because they utilise LLMs, the accuracy of most detector tools increases with longer sample sizes, so they often require a minimum of 250 characters to work. With 44.9% of phishing emails under 250 characters and a further 26.5% under 500 characters, AI detectors won’t work reliably or at all on 71.4% of attacks. The report also warns that the proportion of phishing emails employing obfuscation techniques to hide attacks from certain detection mechanisms has risen by 24.4% to 55.2%. According to data from the Egress Defend Integrated Cloud Email Security solution, 47% of phishing emails that use obfuscation contain two layers to increase the chances of bypassing email security defences and reaching the target recipient. HTML smuggling is the most popular obfuscation technique, accounting for 34% of instances. In addition, there has been an 11% increase in phishing attacks sent from compromised accounts. Because compromised accounts are trusted domains, these attacks usually get through traditional perimeter detection, including secure email gateways. Egress data shows that the percentage of emails getting through Microsoft defences was 25% higher this year, with 47.7% of missed phishing attacks sent from compromised accounts. The percentage of attacks getting through secure email gateways (SEGs) was 29% higher. Chapman said: “If you’re relying on traditional perimeter detection that uses signature-based and reputation-based detection, then you urgently need to evaluate integrated cloud email security solutions that don’t rely on definition libraries and domain checks to determine whether an email is legitimate or not.” He added: “Legacy approaches to email security rely heavily on quarantine, barring end users from seeing phishing emails, but as our report highlights, phishing emails will inevitably get through. This is one of the reasons why we’ve flipped the quarantine model on its head, adding dynamic banners to neutralise threats within the inbox. These banners are designed to clearly explain the risk in a way that’s easy to understand, timely and relevant, acting as teachable moments that educate the user. Ultimately, teaching someone to catch a phish is a more sustainable approach for long-term resilience.” Egress has expanded its partner network significantly over the last year and a half, resulting in a 220% growth in partnergenerated revenues in the last 12 months, including a 400% year-on-year increase in revenue from its MSP programme. ······ NEWS continued... The view from space IT and business consulting services firm CGI and the University of Leicester have marked their growing relationship by installing an eye-catching artwork by renowned Bristol-based artist Luke Jerram in the atrium of Space Park Leicester. The Conference of Parties (COP) Globe, a smaller sister of Gaia commissioned by CGI for display at COP27, is a 3 metrewide, suspended globe showing the view of earth from outer space. Its installation coincides with the opening by CGI and the University of Leicester of a new Sustainability Innovation Lab that will enable CGI to help clients accelerate their transition to a sustainable future in partnership with university professionals and students. The facility will also advance research undertaken under the aegis of CGI’s Sustainability Exploration and Environmental Data Science (SEEDS) initiative, of which the University of Leicester is a founding member, and provide a space for students and researchers to conduct and showcase their own research, attend seminars and workshops and collaborate on sustainability projects. The Lab’s opening was marked by a launch event at the School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences, University of Leicester on October 9, attended by Tara McGeehan, President CGI UK & Australia, and Professor Henrietta O’Connor, the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University. cgi.com Phishing Threat Trends Report From pretexting to payloads, how have phishing attacks evolved in 2023? October 2023
technologyreseller.co.uk 05 NEWS YOUR NEW SINGLE PLATFORM EXPERIENCE Everything you need in one place. Cloud, Mobile, Connectivity, Voice, Hardware and Billing. Power in Partnership. Introducing Cloud Market. www.giacom.com
01732 759725 06 Dirk Schrader Netwrix NEWS Cyber insurance a spur to better security Half of organisations with cyber insurance have implemented additional security measures to qualify for cover or to reduce its cost, claims cybersecurity vendor Netwrix in its 2023 Hybrid Security Trends Report. In its survey of more than 1,600 IT and security professionals worldwide, more than half of respondents already have cyber insurance (44%) or plan to purchase a policy within the next 12 months (15%). Of those that already have cyber insurance, 28% made changes to reduce their premium and 22% had to improve their security posture to qualify for the policy. Dirk Schrader, VP of Security Research at Netwrix, said: “The insurer’s audit will highlight security gaps in the IT ecosystem and provide recommendations on how to overcome them. In some cases, implementing additional security controls is mandatory to even qualify for a policy. In addition, some organisations choose to invest in more security measures because it reduces the cost of the insurance policy.” Measures required in order to qualify for a policy include multifactor authentication, cited by 63%; patch management (55%); regular security training for business users (47%); identity and access management (38%); and privileged access management (36%). www.netwrix.com ······ Sophos customers in UK offered Cowbell cyber insurance Cybersecurity as a service provider Sophos has extended its relationship with cyber insurance provider Cowbell to give small and medium-sized business customers in the UK direct access to Cowbell cyber insurance and pricing that reflects the strength of their defences. Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and endpoint customers that share information with Cowbell can look forward to optimised pricing, plus risk assessments and ongoing risk alerts backed by AI monitoring and human support. According to a study published by Sophos in May, The Critical Role of Frontline Cyber Defenses in Cyber Insurance Adoption, 84% of businesses in the U.K. have some form of cyber insurance. More than half said the quality of their cyber defences affected their ability to get cyber insurance coverage (58%) and the cost of their policy (63%). Sophos claims that organisations with cyber insurance are better able to recover data after a ransomware attack, thanks to assistance from their insurer as well as the strength of the cyber defences needed to qualify for insurance. www.sophos.com https://cowbell.insure/ ······ Pulsant increases capacity as decision-makers question cloudonly strategies Regional data centre specialist Pulsant has announced a £3 million expansion of its Rotherham site to meet growing demand in the Yorkshire and Humber region for access to low latency, high performance compute, storage and connectivity services. The investment will increase total IT space across the 2,000+ SQM site by 30% and more than double data centre hall capacity to 380kW (up from 176kW). Ben Cranham, Chief Operating Officer at Pulsant, says the expansion comes as more business decision-makers consider hybrid alternatives to cloudonly strategies, including colocation and private cloud infrastructure. He said: “Our platformEDGE infrastructure in Rotherham and across the UK is supporting the increasing number of business decision-makers challenging cloud-only strategies on cost and vendor lock-in grounds and their IT counterparts who see the limitations in the hyperscale model.” As part of the investment, Pulsant is piloting the use of biofuel in standby power generators, eliminating the use of FM200 fire suppressant gas and switching to LED sensor lighting across the centre. www.pulsant.com/ ······ continued... Replica world cup balls come with unique digital identity Rugby fans looking for a souvenir of this year‘s Rugby World Cup Final between South Africa and New Zealand are being offered 150 replica match balls authenticated through blockchain, tokenisation and IoT technology. In a partnership between Gilbert Rugby, distribution partner Legends International and authentication platform AuthentifyIT, each limited edition ball will come with its own unique digital identity. As well as proving the authenticity and ownership of the commemorative balls, this ‘digital passport’ will enable the owner to connect with other enthusiasts via a WhatsApp-like communication platform and access exclusive content, services and offers. AuthentifyIT says its fraud-proof authentication technology provides crucial security for collectors by validating the origin and history of objects from inception to end-of-life. Co-founder Olivier Viaud said: “In a world where 40% of collectibles turn out to be forgeries, the astounding absence of provenance and authenticity verification is nothing short of a global shocker. It boggles the mind that some of the world’s most prized collectibles are valued based on nothing more than a piece of paper. Brace yourself for a game-changer, as the world awakens to the possibility of universally and permanently etching the history and lineage of physical objects. This is the seismic shift that will upend how we perceive and cherish collectibles.” Hybrid Security Trends 2023
technologyreseller.co.uk 07 NEWS One third of MSPs forecasting 20% hike in managed services revenue IT managed services revenues are growing at three times the rate of overall IT spending according to a new Canalys report commissioned by Cisco (Channel partner opportunities and trends by region – an independent study by Canalys, Cisco, September 2023). Global revenue for managed services is forecast to rise 12.7% in 2023, from $419 billion to $472 billion. Total IT spending is predicted to grow by 3.5%. More than one third (35%) of channel partners surveyed in June said they were expecting growth of at least 20% in their managed services business this year – up from 27% of channel partners in last year’s survey. Growth is being driven by rising demand for: n cybersecurity services and expertise, as organisations contend with greater threat levels and a global shortage of cybersecurity and IT talent. More than half (56%) of surveyed MSPs expect revenues from cybersecurity managed services to grow this year; n cloud infrastructure management and expertise, as organisations are challenged by complex cloud infrastructure spanning private and public clouds, along with distributed applications and services. Again, more than half (55%) of MSPs expect revenues from cloud infrastructure management to grow this year; and n rising demand for flexible consumption models, as organisations integrate more technology into their operations. The study suggests managed services revenue will receive a further boost next year from emerging technologies like AI and the growing emphasis on sustainability. Nearly six in 10 partners (59%) believe AI presents a business opportunity (39% stating it will be significant); and 57% believe customers are willing to pay a premium for sustainability products and solutions. In 2022, the UK’s 12,615 managed service providers increased managed services revenue by 11.4% year-on-year to $23.8 billion, contributing to year-on-year growth of 4.5%. www.cisco.com ······ No more hoarding Virgin Media O2 has relaunched the O2 Recycle for Business service, enabling any company, regardless of its mobile provider, to trade in their old technology in exchange for cash back, credit towards new devices or a donation to charity. O2 research suggests UK businesses are hoarding almost 12 million unwanted and unused smartphones and tablets. Since its launch in 2009, O2 Recycle for Business has processed more than 3.8 million business and consumer devices, wiping them clear of data before 92% are either recycled or refurbished and resold as ‘like new’ products. https://business.o2recycle.co.uk ······ Intelligence boost Zebra Technologies has demonstrated a Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) large language model (LLM) running on its handheld mobile computers/tablets without the need for connectivity to the cloud. The ability to run GenAI on-device will enable Zebra customers in retail, warehouse & logistics, hospitality and healthcare to enhance productivity with the added benefits of improved privacy and security (as data remains on the device), faster performance and lower costs (GenAI searches on the cloud can be expensive). Potential use cases include boosting employees’ knowledge, e.g. by answering queries on products, store policies etc., and improving the customer experience by powering personalised shopping assistants that could provide product recommendations and potentially fully voice-activated shopping. As an alternative to a smaller on-device LLM, users of Wi-Fi 6/6E and 5G-enabled Zebra devices could also switch to a cloudbased app or web browser GenAI tool. www.zebra.com ······ Gamma recruits Morph for PSTN switch-off campaign Gamma, a leading provider of communication services, has recruited beloved Aardman character Morph and his rival Chas to help raise awareness of the PSTN switch-off. Following a recent study showing that almost one third (29%) of UK businesses are unaware that PSTN lines will no longer work after December 2025, Gamma commissioned the animation studio to create a film to highlight the switch-off and the benefits of replacement digital systems. Will Studd, Director at Aardman, said: “Working with Peter Lord, co-creator of Morph, and Chris Parker, author and screenwriter, we created a fun, playful narrative that explains the concepts and benefits of the switch in a way that harks back to the golden age of kids TV. “Voiced by Derek Griffiths, staple of 1970s and 80s Children’s BBC, we created a memorable film that plays on Morph and Chas’ antagonistic relationship to show how beneficial and easy the transition to digital is. Just like the show, Morph ends up on top, enjoying the full benefits of his digital communication. The film was a joy to create.” https://www.gamma.co.uk/solutions/ pstn-switch-off/
01732 759725 08 CHANNEL News Record results for Academia Academia, a provider of IT services and solutions to education, business and the public sector, has reported record results of more than £130 million. As well as increasing revenue by 22%, Academia has grown its headcount by 30% and strengthened its leadership team to support projected double-digit growth in 2024. Changes include the promotion of Mark McCormack from Chief Commercial Officer to Managing Director and the recruitment of Peter Heath, ex-Westcoast Group, as Technical Operations Director; Trevor Nickolls, ex-Computacenter and Storm Technologies, as Sales Director, Commercial; and Kris Bunting, ex-Jamf, Redstone and Jigsaw24, as Head of Technical Services. Academia Group Owner Andrew Harman said: “We’re on the launchpad for huge expansion and it’s with great enthusiasm that I extend a warm welcome to Peter, Trevor and Kris as senior managers.” This year, for the first time, Academia was awarded six lots on the CCS TePAS 2 framework, covering Hardware; Software; Health and Social Care Technology; Education Technology; Sustainability & Circular IT; and Technology Catalogue. https://academia.co.uk/ ······ Remanufacturing vs. new Circular Computing is promoting a new peer-reviewed study by Cranfield University showing that its remanufactured laptops have just 6.34% of the CO2 emissions of brand-new devices. www.circularcomputing.com First steps for evo Foundation The evo Foundation, a new charity set up by office products distributor evo, is celebrating the completion of its first fund-raising event after evo UK Warehouse Director Steve Smith successfully completed a 10-day, 274-mile charity trek. Taking in significant evo landmarks along the way, including Sheffield, Lutterworth, Birmingham, Bradford, Leeds and Normanton, the Walk of evo has so far raised £31,000 for the advancement of education and the prevention of poverty globally. More than 100 colleagues from evo businesses, Vow Wholesale, Banner, Complete and Premier Vanguard, joined Steve for different legs of the journey. www.justgiving.com/campaign/walkofevo ······ Crayon selected to offer Microsoft 365 Copilot Crayon has been selected as one of the first Microsoft partners able to offer Microsoft 365 Copilot, its AI-powered productivity tool. Combining large language models (LLMs) with a company’s data, the AI tool offers an array of features, including content generation, graphics design and improved ways to collaborate and share knowledge, plus integration with other data sources outside Microsoft 365, such as Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Power BI and Microsoft Dynamics 365, for better insights. http://www.crayon.com Telcom aiming to transform connectivity delivery Telcom Group, the Manchester-based provider of hyperfast business connectivity, is looking to transform business internet connectivity with the launch of GigaBritain to channel partners. This gives customers access to reliable hyperfast 10Gbps connectivity in as little as 20 days with availability of a 100% uptime guarantee. Telcom has been a provider of hyperfast business internet for over 10 years, building and managing its own full fibre and fixed wireless network in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, (soon) Cardiff and in London through its recent acquisition of Luminet. It also partners with national carriers such as BT Wholesale, Virgin Media Business and Sky Business. Telcom has identified the time it takes to get connected, typically from 90 to 120 days, as one of the biggest weaknesses of connectivity provision in the UK and hopes to transform expectations with connection times of as little as 20 days on its own network and 24 hours in hundreds of Preconnect buildings across the country. The new GigaBritain wholesale portal enables partners to access and compare real time availability, delivery lead times and live pricing from all carrier partners 24/7. Will Goodall, Head of Wholesale and Carrier for Telcom, said: “Unlike other channel providers who can’t be flexible, our dedicated partner delivery team and in-house engineering means we can own expectation-setting and adapt to the end user requirements of every partner. We look forward to working with our new channel partners on this exciting journey and to their help in building GigaBritain.” https://telcom.uk IT services company SCC, its sister company Rigby Capital and Lombard, the asset finance arm of NatWest Group, are collaborating on a new as-a-service solution that aims to prevent over a million electronic devices, including company mobile phones and laptops, from becoming landfill over the next five years. With SCC committing to send zero waste to landfill, the end-to-end solution will enable businesses to invest in and install the hardware, software and services they need, with the flexibility of a single contract, and well-established routes to secondary markets for re-use and recycling at end of life. Simon Everidge, Managing Director of Rigby Capital, said: “IT asset finance is no longer just about funding, it’s about full life cycle management of assets and particularly the management of end-of-life assets. Rigby Capital and the operational capabilities in SCC, with its market-leading IT recycling facilities, can provide complete end-to-end management of IT assets for Lombard and its customers.” Each year, approximately 50 million tonnes of e-waste is produced, of which just 20% is formally recycled. If nothing is done, the amount of waste produced annually is forecast to more than double to 120 million tonnes by 2050. SCC partners with finance companies in new tech as-a-service solution
technologyreseller.co.uk 09 CHANNEL NEWS Rymountaineers smash fund-raising target A team of 14 employees from stationery and office supplies retailer Ryman has raised more than £6,000 for Starlight Children’s Foundation after climbing Yr Wyddfa (Mount Snowdon) in Snowdonia National Park, Gwynedd. So far, the Ryman team has raised £4,052, more than four times its original target of £1,000. An additional donation from The Theo Paphitis Trust of up to £200 per volunteer has increased the total amount raised for the charity to more than £6,000. https://www.justgiving.com/team/ rymountaineers ······ Exertis publishes first DE&I report The international Exertis Group (DCC Technology) has published its first annual DE&I report, detailing the actions it has taken to foster an inclusive working culture across its businesses. Highlights include the creation of multiple Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) in the group’s US, UK, Nordic, Dutch and Canadian businesses, which is helping to promote understanding between key communities, as well as greater engagement with DE&I in general, with 18% more employees than last year participating in this year’s annual internal DE&I survey. www.exertis.com ······ ISO success for Inform Billing Billing solutions provider Inform Billing is celebrating the achievement of both ISO9001 and ISO27001 certification for its quality management and information security management systems. Managing Director Shaun Bodsworth said: “We are thrilled to have achieved this significant milestone. These certifications demonstrate our commitment to providing our clients with reliable, secure and top-tier services while maintaining a strong focus on quality and continuous improvement.” Established in 2010, Inform Billing provides billing services to over 300 UK resellers. In September, it introduced a new Automated MSP Billing Solution to streamline subscription management for Managed Service Providers (MSPs). informbilling.co.uk ······ Mdee golf day raises money for charity On September 14, Mdee, the mobile airtime and services distributor of BT and EE products, brought together more than 70 mobile industry professionals for a day’s golf at The Warwickshire. Sponsored by Jamf, TCL, Renewd, Data Select and BT/ EE, the event raised more than £700 for Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice. Sean Cottrell from EVAD beat golf pro Jason Powell to win the top prize of a two-night stay in a spa hotel plus £150 towards food. Second prize of a game of golf went to Jamie Cottle from Camrol, a customer of Midland Communications, a trading arm of Mdee. mdee.co.uk • noahsarkhospice.org.uk/ ······ Salvation Army wants your old devices SATCoL, the business arm of The Salvation Army, is encouraging businesses to dispose of unwanted IT equipment such as laptops, PCs, phones and tablets, through its relaunched secure Data Destruction service, now called IT Reuse. The free service securely destroys all data on devices to UK Police standard HMG Infosec Standard 5 before repurposing them for resale through SATCoL’s 240 UK retail outlets and dedicated e-commerce platform. The service is fully funded by SATCoL, with all profits donated to The Salvation Army for charitable activities. www.satcol.org ······ Rising to the challenge Managed workplace services provider Apogee has helped raise thousands of pounds for cancer charity Teens Unite by encouraging employees to boost their activity levels and by making a donation for everyone who took up the challenge. Participants in Apogee’s Active Challenge were encouraged to walk, run, cycle and swim as much as possible in August and September and track their activity on fitness app Strava, with prizes offered to teams and individuals who raised the most money and covered the greatest distance. Over nine weeks, 23 teams of Apogee employees, friends and family covered a total of 31,714.3 kilometres, raising more than £6,000 for Teens Unite. apogeecorp.com ······ Nikki Baxter Challenge Cups raises hundreds of pounds for WaterAid Three Hertfordshire-based businesses have jointly raised £665 for WaterAid at a charity golf day held at the John O Gaunt golf club in Sandy, Bedfordshire. Teams from managed print services provider First Class Business Solutions (FCBS), DocuWare Platinum Partner Elite Document Solutions and workplace technology provider United Client Services (UCS) competed for the inaugural Nikki Baxter Challenge Cup, named after the late wife of FCBS Managing Director Adrian Baxter. In her lifetime, Nikki was an active fund-raiser for good causes including the international water charity. FCBS Lease Manager Clark Baxter, who organised what is set to become an annual competition, said: “WaterAid is a charity that Nikki supported, and although I highly doubt she would have chosen golf to do it, I am sure she would be extremely happy to see so much money raised for such a great cause.” The Nikki Baxter Challenge Cup was won by FCBS, with individual prizes going to Lee Waddingham from UCS (individual winner), Paul Brigden from Elite Document Solutions (longest drive) and Paul Heywood and Olly Smalley from FCBS (closest to the pin). The funds raised for WaterAid include a £300 donation from Sharp UK. www.fcbs.co.uk
01732 759725 10 WORKING TOGETHER Microsystems to distribute Vertiv products in UK and Ireland Vertiv, a provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, is aiming to expand its reseller network in the UK and Ireland with the appointment of Intec Microsystems as a new distributor. The agreement will give partners of the Birmingham-based IT hardware, software and services distributor access to Vertiv’s range of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), thermal management systems, power distribution units (PDU) and integrated solutions, backed by bestin-class service offerings. Vertiv is continuing to invest in its Partner Programme and associated resources including the Vertiv Solution Designer product selection tool and partner-focused Marketing Centre resource library. Vertiv.com • www.intecmicros.co.uk Netwrix extending UK reach with e92plus Cybersecurity provider Netwrix is extending its reach in the UK and reinforcing its commitment to a channelfirst strategy through a new distribution agreement with e92plus. The company’s solutions, already used by 450 organisations in the UK, address the three primary attack vectors of data, identity and infrastructure and all five NIST functions, helping security professionals to identify and protect sensitive data, to reduce the risk of a breach and to detect, respond to and recover from attacks. Mukesh Gupta, CEO of e92plus, said: “The increasing complexity of having visibility and control and the ability to audit data and permissions across on-premises networks and multiple cloud environments is something customers really struggle with. The Netwrix offering will help our partners take a comprehensive approach to that challenge, enabling their customers to meet increasing requirements around compliance or demonstrate adherence to cyber insurance requirements.” e92plus will offer a choice of procurement options, enabling VARS, MSPs and MSSPs to protect themselves and deliver managed services to their customers. www.e92plus.com Westcoast to distribute Boom UC products Texas-based video conferencing manufacturer Boom Collaboration has officially launched in the UK with the appointment of Westcoast as UK distributor of its complete range of products, including 4K PTZ conferencing cameras, video bars, personal devices, audio speakers and the GOJO multicamera controller. Boom Collaboration, formed in 2020 by founders Fredrik Hörnkvist and Holli Hulett, already operates in 30 countries and plans to reach 20 more this year supported by its network of four logistics centres. Westcoast UC Business Manager Sam Armstrong said: “Boom Collaboration has quickly built an impressive reputation and a very comprehensive product portfolio, covering everything from personal workspaces to huddle rooms and large boardrooms. Boom Collaboration can offer our resellers something different and is a very welcome addition to our high calibre UC collaboration division across the UK and France and Germany.” Hörnkvist added: “Joining forces with a huge industry powerhouse like Westcoast will enable us to penetrate deep into the UK and wider international markets. This is a major step forward in our growth strategy.” www.westcoast.co.uk LogRhythm and Infinigate build on StarLink relationship LogRhythm, which aims to help security teams stop breaches by turning disconnected data and signals into valuable insights, has appointed Infinigate Group to extend its reach in the UK and Ireland and DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). The agreement, building on LogRhythm’s distribution partnership with StarLink, now part of Infinigate Group, gives Infinigate partners full access to the self-hosted LogRhythm SIEM (still popular in DACH); the cloud-native SaaS SIEM, LogRhythm Axon; and LogRhythm NDR. Gary Abad, VP of Global Channels at LogRhythm, said: “LogRhythm and StarLink have both experienced tremendous growth since the beginning of our partnership in 2015 when we worked together to expand offerings and services in the Middle East. LogRhythm is now one of the top SIEM providers there, and partnering with Infinigate provides an excellent opportunity to replicate our success in the Middle East within the European market.” https://logrhythm.com/partners/ www.infinigate.com New additions to Pax8 Marketplace Pax8 has announced the addition of two new security vendors to its cloud marketplace: Check Point company Perimeter 81, provider of a unified, cloud-delivered network and network security platform that connects all users, in the office or remote, to all corporate resources located on-prem or in the cloud; and Blackpoint Cyber, a provider of SOC-as-a-Service backed by a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) platform that detects, isolates and eradicates threats 24/7, 365 days a year. Amit Bareket, CEO of Perimeter 81, said: “Our goal is to empower every MSP to construct a secure network for themselves and their clients. We do this by providing an easy-to-use and enterprise-grade network security platform, delivered as a Software-as-a-Service offering for service providers. Together with Pax8, we’re poised to provide every MSP with the tools they need to thrive in today’s dynamic IT environment.” With Blackpoint Response and Cloud Response, Blackpoint simplifies security management for MSPs, enabling them to focus on scaling their business, while Blackpoint handles the complex security backend on behalf of them and their customers. www.pax8.com Crowd control solution taken on by TD SYNNEX TD SYNNEX is bringing WaitTime, an AI-driven crowd intelligence and management solution to the UK market. Already used by the NEC and Manchester City Etihad Stadium, WaitTime collects accurate, real-time data on crowd movement, density, occupancy and wait times to alleviate congestion and enhance safety and efficiency in sports stadiums, concert venues, transport hubs, retail complexes and amusement parks. Working together This month’s round-up of new distribution agreements Mukesh Gupta CEO, e92plus
technologyreseller.co.uk 11 BUSINESS BRIEFING AD Nimans IMPACT 1000 Series Designed for the New Open Office environment. Built on EPOS BrainAdapt™ technology to reduce brain fatigue with adaptive ANC and industry-leading voice pickup powered by EPOS AI™. The ‘go to’ place for EPOS
01732 759725 12 WORKING TOGETHER continued... TD SYNNEX points out that the need for smart IP cameras and networking technology in support of the software gives partners a great opportunity for additional sales. https://uk.tdsynnex.com/ A+K adds Utelogy device management to portfolio UK workplace technology distributor Anders+Kern (A+K) is enhancing its offering through a new partnership with Utelogy Corporation, provider of an enterprise-grade software platform for managing, monitoring, controlling and automating AV, unified communications and IoT devices. In addition to remote monitoring and management of devices (including automatic fixing of common problems), Utelogy delivers powerful analytics that enable organisations, integrators and MSPs to optimise device usage to increase productivity, save money and reduce energy consumption. Utelogy.com • anders-kern.co.uk Kompingo to help Hackuity grow UK partner network Risk-based vulnerability management start-up Hackuity has appointed valueadded distributor and MSSP Kompingo to help grow its channel partner network in the UK and Europe. Winner of PwC Luxembourg’s Cybersecurity & Privacy Solution of the Year – People’s Choice Award (2023), Hackuity addresses the challenges of fragmented cyber security teams, a surfeit of tools and an explosion in vulnerabilities by aggregating 70+ market-leading tools into a single pane of glass, prioritising vulnerabilities with a risk-based scoring algorithm and automating remediation. Patrick Ragaru, CEO of Hackuity, said: “Creating strong channel partnerships is key to our growth and our collaboration with Kompingo will further strengthen our ability to build our customer base. We’re seeing growing opportunities for an approach which puts organisations firmly in the driving seat when it comes to managing and prioritising a vast – and growing – number of security vulnerabilities. With Kompingo we have a partner that is an extension of our team.” Kompingo will provide Hackuity with sales, marketing and technical capabilities, backed up by the highest level of services, from pre-sales and installation to fully managed and SOC services. Sky Business Wholesale and leading channel provider Giacom have announced a long-term partnership to deliver better solutions for the Channel. The two companies will leverage their combined experience, scale and ambition to deliver a suite of connectivity products and services to the Channel, with Giacom acting as a key distributor for Sky Business Wholesale services and Sky Business Wholesale becoming a key supplier for Giacom. Initially, Giacom partners will be offered layer-2 Ethernet services leveraging Sky’s network to support the growing bandwidth demands of their customers, with further product releases scheduled for launch in the coming months. The connectivity products will be supported by a range of complementary services including mobile backup, Wi-Fi solutions and comprehensive security, combining to create a highly differentiated product offering for partners. Using the intuitive self-service and management capabilities of Giacom’s Cloud Market portal, partners can quickly build and scale up their managed services offerings. This market-leading platform provides one place where partners can procure and manage comms, cloud, hardware and billing products and services from the world’s leading vendors and service providers, and access comprehensive resources to enable their business to grow. Damian Saunders, Managing Director of Sky Business Mid-Market & Wholesale, said: “Our purpose is to provide better solutions to keep businesses moving forward, which is why we’re working in partnership with Giacom, one of the largest aggregators of services in the Channel, to offer a better choice of connectivity. By drawing on their experience and expertise, we’re developing a Channel-first product portfolio that’s versatile, easy to implement and cost effective for our partners. Giacom’s Cloud Market portal also offers seamless integration with our provisioning systems, ensuring a smooth and efficient order journey is delivered for our partners and their customers.” Giacom CEO Terry O’Brien added: “We’re very pleased to be expanding our relationship with Sky Business and to be giving our partners access to such an exciting new range of Connectivity services. Sky Business has worked closely with our team to develop a really compelling portfolio of products that are truly disruptive and feature incredible innovations. This partnership with Sky Business will provide our partners with the chance to differentiate and gain a competitive advantage as we fast approach 2025.” Sky Business is the business-tobusiness division of Sky. One of Europe’s leading media and entertainment companies and part of global media and technology company Comcast Corporation, Sky Business keeps businesses of all sizes connected with its next generation network and customers entertained with its unrivalled live sport and entertainment. www.giacom.com Giacom expands connectivity portfolio with layer-2 Ethernet services leveraging Sky’s network Sky Business Wholesale and Giacom to superserve connectivity market Terry O’Brien, CEO of Giacom, and Damian Saunders, Managing Director, Sky Business Mid-Market & Wholesale
technologyreseller.co.uk 13 `AD BROTHER www.spitfire.co.uk Telecoms and IP Engineering Solutions for Business since 1988 Innovative • Flexible • Reliable • Supportive • Cost Effective Sales 020 7501 3333 • Partner Services 020 7501 3150 www.spitfire.co.uk/ fireswitch Our latest fully featured hosted VoIP telephone system, with mobile and desktop softphones, has been designed with your freedom in mind. So users can work from anywhere. It’s highly scalable and resilient, providing an online management portal, call recording and business analytics, making system monitoring and management easier than ever. Connecting people and sites together with next generation communication ... why wouldn’t you? Introducing FireSwitch If you could work from anywhere, why wouldn’t you? Next Generation Hosted Telephony Key Features Softphone Call Recording Reporting Management Portal Inbuilt Call Resiliency
01732 759725 14 TECH BRIEFING Sponsored by Western Digital high-density hard drives help store massive amounts of data reliably, cost-effectively, and energy efficiently. They are designed for optimal power supporting a variety of workloads. High-Density Storage Platforms Storage platforms such as JBOD and JBOF, or ‘Just a Bunch of Disks’ and ‘Just a Bunch of Flash’, address the everexpanding storage needs. Western Digital Ultrastar® Data102 storage platform (JBOD) is configured with up to 102 HDDs in a compact and efficient form factor and offers up to 2.2PB1 of raw storage in 4U using the company’s 22TB1 CMR HDDs. One of the challenges of very dense storage enclosures is effective cooling. To address this challenge, in Western Digital JBODs, the enclosure is divided into two main zones, with rows of drives in the front, and rows of drives in the back. The front zone is cooled conventionally with the air drawn in from the cold aisle, but the warmed air is then ducted around the sides of the rear zone directly to the hot aisle. For the rear zone, cold air is drawn straight from the cold aisle into the center of the box and distributed through the rear drives, and to the exhaust on the hot aisle. In testing against a competitive enclosure, the Ultrastar Data102 storage platform required just over half the cooling power per drive slot to get the same average drive temperatures. To put this in perspective, in a large data center with 20,000 drives, this could be as much as USD $300,000 in savings in energy costs.2 Innovations in enclosure design can pay great dividends in terms of cost, performance, and reliability. Organisations are turning to data to create deep differentiations and the promise of data to unlock insights continues to hold, and as a result, its value continues to grow. This translates into the need for better DC infrastructure so that cost of capturing, storing, and analyzing data does not spiral out of control. The storage industry must continue to innovate and introduce cost-effective, high-density, and reliable products and solutions for the data center market. The most efficient data centers are focusing on increased density as a way to manage this growth while containing costs. Density comes in various forms in a DC. For example, there is high density in server deployments, which means, compute nodes packed into smaller form factors to increase the number of servers per rack. Then there are high-density hard drives (HDD) and solid-state drives (SSD) to help improve storage density or capacity per system. High-Density Drives As organisations move from merely creating and collecting data to driving actional insights from it, the four V’s of big data are becoming more and more important: Volume, Velocity, Variety, and of course, Value. Today, gigantic amounts of data are integrated and analyzed, regardless of their type, size, or format to unlock hitherto unseen trends, patterns, or connections. More data equals better AI/ML training and smarter algorithms. This intensifies the need for a high-density storage infrastructure with purpose-built capabilities. For example, Western Digital’s The global data center (DC) market is witnessing healthy growth, driven by the humongous amount of data that is being captured, stored, managed, and analyzed across industries. Consequently, DC infrastructure is also evolving at a rapid pace Density in Data Center 1. 1GB = 1 billion bytes, 1TB = 1 trillion bytes, and 1PB = 1 quadrillion bytes. Actual user capacity may be less due to the operating environment. 2. Based on internal testing, assumptions, and analysis using typical data center efficiency and energy costs over a five-year system lifecycle.
15 RESELLER NEWS DISCOVER YOUR DRIVE Discover how storage optimized to deliver the right combination of speed, capacity and endurance can change the way you work and play. From high-capacity, workhorse HDDs to efficient and speedy SATA or NVMeTM SSDs, WD Color Drives let you find a purpose-built device that’s perfect for your project, profession or passion. VISIT WWW.COLORYOURDRIVE.COM TO LEARN MORE Western Digital, the Western Digital logo, WD Green, WD Blue, WD_Black, WD Red, WD Purple and WD Gold are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the US and/or other countries. Pictures shown may vary from actual products. The NVMe mark is a registered trademark of NVM Express, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. ©2020 Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Solutions That Cover the Spec-
16 01732 759725 PARTNER PROGRAMMES n Amplify More for More, a rate multiplier that is designed to give partners who sell across the HP portfolio a better customer experience and higher compensation opportunities. This will be provided in addition to the existing core Amplify incentives. Power Partners focused on Personal Systems, for instance, can qualify by increasing sales of peripherals, Poly headsets and Workforce Solutions product lines. n Amplify Fast Lane, a first-of-its-kind joint demand generation Marketing Development Funds (MDF) reimbursement process designed to simplify and accelerate reimbursement for eligible partners through an automated claims and payment procedure. By speeding up the payment turnaround time by up to 50%, the Amplify Fast Lane programme enables qualified partners to focus on optimising demand generation initiatives rather than becoming bogged down in complex processes. n Amplify Growth Plays, a new programme element for Commercial and Distribution Partners due to be rolled out from May 2024. Focused on driving opportunities and incremental partner profitability, this will give all HP Amplify Commercial Partners a clear path to portfolio specialisation in key customerdriven growth categories such as Managed Print Services, Lifecycle Services, SMB Video Collaboration Solutions and HP Software – along with appropriate tools, capabilities, compensation elements and tailored benefits for investing in these areas. Upon launch, existing Amplify specialisations will transition to Amplify Growth Plays. Kobi Elbaz, Senior Vice President & General Manager, HP Global Channel Organisation, said: “By leveraging our expanded portfolio and enticing new benefits, HP partners are uniquely positioned to catalyse substantial, longlasting growth. Every enhancement to the program launched today has been shaped by the invaluable feedback of our extensive partner network and we are committed to continually refining the Amplify Program to stay at the forefront of evolving industry dynamics.” Amplify Impact Expansion Another important development for HP partners is the expansion of the HP Amplify Impact partner sustainability program to Distribution Partners and five additional countries – Austria, Belgium, Luxemburg, Netherlands and Finland. This brings the total number of countries in which the Climate Action, Human Rights and Digital Equity programme operates to 48. HP claims that sustainable practices are not only vital for the future of our planet but are good for business, citing last year’s analysis by Corporate Knights showing that over 60% of HP’s revenue met sustainability standards. HP Amplify Impact helps partners advance their ESG strategies by providing resources to identify gaps in their approach and guidance towards achieving sustainability goals. www.hp.com HP Inc has announced a significant expansion of its HP Amplify partner programme, effective from November 1. As well as integrating all HP solutions and services, including Poly, Teradici and HyperX, into one unified global platform for partner engagement (HP Amplify for All), HP is extending its integrated partner program (and its Amplify Impact partner sustainability program – see below) to Distribution Partners for the first time. HP says HP Amplify Distribution is the industry’s first program tailored to meet the unique needs of distributors and marks the successful implementation of the HP Amplify Program across all partner categories. HP has also announced new Commercial Partner benefits. These include: Foldable PC HP’s Partner Programme is designed to reward partners for sales of HP products including the HP Spectre Foldable PC. Integrating the best features of a laptop, tablet and desktop, this 3-in-1 device with foldable screen is designed to provide consumers with the ultimate hybrid experience. The HP Spectre Foldable PC can be used as a small, foldable 12.3in laptop, with the options of expanded mode (one-and-a-half screen) or extended mode (dual screen functionality); as a thin 17-inch tablet for onthe-go productivity and entertainment; or as a desktop by deploying its sleek built-in kickstand and detachable keyboard. The foldable panel and integrated hinge ensure seamless, easy transitions between the three form factors, with Windows Snap and an HP enhanced mode quickly adapting and reconfiguring the Windows layout. The Spectre Fold comes with a built-in AI chip supporting features such as walk away lock, wake on approach, auto screen dimming, privacy alerts, screen time and distance reminders and touch-free, gesture-powered content control. www.hp.com HP expands Amplify partner programme and extends it to distributors for first time Fully engaged
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