www.technologyreseller.uk THE MAGAZINE & ONLINE CHANNEL NEWS & RESOURCE FOR MSPS, IT RESELLERS & SUPPORT PROVIDERS AI PAGE 24 What I’ve leant about AI by Phoenix Software CTO Craig Taylor PAGE 16 How monday.com is putting more power into the hands of its users PLATFORMS Shop the Brother colour laser range now (YES PLEASE) 28% OFF UP TO High speed printing, no quality compromise A fully circular cartridge returns scheme Predictable monthly costs with Brother MPS When it’s worth printing, print it in colour. *T&Cs apply * PLUS 3 YEAR WARRANTY* AND UP TO £100 CASHBACK* Shop the Brother colour laser range now (YES PLEASE) 28% OFF UP TO High speed printing, no quality compromise A fully circular cartridge returns scheme Predictable monthly costs with Brother MPS When it’s worth printing, print it in colour. *T&Cs apply * PLUS 3 YEAR WARRANTY* AND UP TO £100 CASHBACK* Shop the Brother colour laser range now UP TO High speed printing, no quality compromise A fully circular cartridge returns scheme Predictable monthly costs with Brother MPS When it’s worth printing, print it in colour. *T&Cs apply * PLUS 3 YEAR WARRANTY* AND UP TO £100 CASHBACK* TECHNOLOGY RESELLER MAGAZINE IN PRINT & ONLINE SINCE 2016 IN PRINT & ONLINE SINCE 2016 IN PRINT ONLINE SINCE 2016 (YES PLEASE) 28% OFF UP TO * e aser ow SE) FF t’s printing, in colour. *T&Cs apply * S R* AND UP TO £100 CASHBACK* TECHNOLOGY RESELLER AWARDS 2026 PAGE 34 Now open for entries
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Entries now open for all categories What better way could there be to start the new year than by entering the Technology Reseller Awards 2026? Doing so will give you the chance to relive last year’s triumphs and successes. It might even provide strategic clarity as you plot your path towards continued growth in the year ahead. By most measures 2025 was a challenging year, with insipid growth, hesitant customers and cost increases across the board. It was also a year of great technological progress and, it has to be said, significant spending on infrastructure and digital transformation to support it. As ever, many vendors and channel businesses did very well even in difficult circumstances. Success comes in many forms. Revenue growth, increased market share and M&A activity are obvious markers, all well worth celebrating, but there are also less primary indicators like strengthening customer loyalty, improving staff morale, providing a welcoming workplace, investing in technology and systems, reducing one’s environmental impact and, the leitmotif of many interviews conducted over the last 12 months, ‘doing more with less’. We want to celebrate your achievements in all areas. The awards are free to enter online at www.technologyresellerawards.co.uk, where you will find entry criteria for each award. These are mainly for guidance purposes; we’re not expecting you to tick all the boxes. You can enter multiple categories – all we ask is that you tailor each entry to the award in question and don’t just copy and paste the same content. The deadline for entries this year is February 20, 2026, so you still have weeks to get your entry/entries in. But don’t delay. Good luck! 04 Distribution News Hammer adds Nexsan to EMEA storage portfolio 08 Interview Technology Reseller talks to Joel Chimoindes, CEO of Konekt, about the new name in distribution’s plans for 2026 10 Reseller News Intercity targeting £100 million in revenue, following major investment in its operations 16 Work management Monday.com readies its platform for new era of digital workers 20 Interview How Gamma Business Channel is giving partners an edge in a challenging market 22 Cover Story Long Live Colour: Brother UK rolls out colour laser campaign with up to 28% partner discount 24 AI Lessons and top tips from the AI frontline by Craig Taylor, CTO of Phoenix Software 26 Shadow AI Better visibility and control needed to reduce Shadow AI risk 27 Partnerships How the Acronis TeamUp programme has influenced the vendor’s approach to partner enablement 30 60 seconds with… Levente Bokor, Founder of Kevlarr, provider of DMARC management for MSPs 32 Support Services Boom Collaboration and Solvertec join forces in meeting room support pilot 33 Networks Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise makes the case for on-premises network management 34 Technology Reseller Awards The 2026 award categories 36 Tech Digest A round-up of the latest developments from established and emerging technology vendors 41 People New faces, new places 03 CONTENTS technologyreseller.co.uk ISSN 2632-9301 (Print) ISSN 2632-931X (Online) Technology Reseller is published by Kingswood Media Ltd., 7 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. © 2026 Kingswood Media Ltd. 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] Events & Commercial activities: Paul Johnson 01732 759725 · [email protected] Account Manager: Jeff Root 01732 759725 · [email protected] Designer: Brian Cloke 07484 288189 · [email protected] If you no longer wish to receive Technology Reseller magazine, please email your details to [email protected] 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 technologyreseller.co.uk TECHNOLOGY RESELLER MAGAZINE IN PRINT & ONLINE SINCE 2016 IN PRINT & ONLINE SINCE 2016 IN PRINT NLINE SINCE 2016
01732 759725 DISTRIBUTOR NEWS 04 TD SYNNEX expands Samsung mobile offering TD SYNNEX is giving partners the opportunity to offer even more value to B2B users of Samsung mobile devices after being appointed a UK distributor for Samsung Knox mobile management and protection. This follows its appointment as a distributor of Samsung B2B mobile devices in July 2024. Available in three flexible plans (Base, Essentials and Enterprise), Samsung Knox enables organisations to configure, customise, deploy, protect and manage mobile devices, improving performance, productivity, security and efficiency. Since being introduced in 2013, Knox has secured over two billion Samsung devices. James Reed, Managing Director, Endpoint Solutions, UK and Ireland for TD SYNNEX, said: “With Knox, partners can extend the value they offer on Samsung mobile devices with automated device deployment and management along with enterprise-grade protection. It’s an excellent suite of solutions with a tremendous reputation and an outstanding opportunity, both for us and our partners. It also means TD SYNNEX can now provide partners with all the solutions and services they need to grow their Samsung business sales.” https://uk.tdsynnex.com/ DoiT forms strategic alliance with Ingram Micro DoiT, a provider of enterprise-grade FinOps and CloudOps solutions, is making its Amazon Web Services (AWS) solutions available to more than 5,000 Ingram Micro AWS partners and their customers through a strategic alliance with the distributor. As part of the alliance, DoiT plans to integrate the DoiT Cloud Intelligence FinOps 3.0 platform into Ingram Micro’s digital experience platform Xvantage, giving the distributor’s AWS customers real-time access to its CloudOps and FinOps capabilities. Used by more than 4,000 customers worldwide, DoiT Cloud Intelligence delivers best-in-class FinOps and CloudOps capabilities like workflow automation, data ingestion and advanced AI insights that empower organisations to take full control of their cloud investments and evolve them into genuine profit centres. Duncan Robinson, Vice President of Global Partnerships at Ingram Micro, said: “For years, the IT industry has focused on costs and availability over creating true business value using technology. This strategic collaboration with DoiT and future integration of DoiT Cloud Intelligence into our Xvantage platform will help our customers transform their cloud investments into ROI machines, while still getting the core visibility and reporting they need to operate.” http://doit.com … Arrow named AWS Rising Star Following fast on its designation as the 2025 Microsoft Distributor Partner of the Year, Arrow Electronics has achieved more awards success, this time at the 2025 Geographic and Global AWS Partner Awards Gala, held during AWS re:Invent 2025, where it was named Rising Star Distributor Partner of the Year EMEA. The award category celebrates distributors that are early in their AWS Distributor journey and have demonstrated strong momentum in activating the businesses of several AWS Partners. Nick Bannister, President of Arrow’s Enterprise Computing Solutions Business in EMEA, says the win is testament to the work Arrow has done to advance cloud transformation through scalable programmes, technical enablement and close collaboration with partners and customers. He said: “Being recognised by AWS is a tremendous achievement for Arrow. UK channel partners optimistic about AI‑readiness, survey shows Westcon-Comstor is urging UK partners to become strategic advisors to businesses hungry for intelligent adaptive networks as new research highlights high levels of confidence in the channel’s ability to deliver AI-ready networking solutions. As part of its Future Ready programme of channel analysis, the distributor commissioned Coleman Parkes to survey decision-makers in VARs, MSPs, MSSPs and SIs across the UK, Spain, UAE, Australia and Singapore (100 from each region). Findings show that UK technology service providers are generally more confident in their own capabilities and their customers’ AI-readiness than those from other regions. Almost half (43%) of UK-based respondents already offer advanced, AI-integrated network services, significantly higher than the global average of 26%; and 46% believe their customers’ network infrastructures are already fully optimised to support AI workloads, compared to a global average of 33%. In addition, most UK partners (52%) say they are in the process of further developing their AI capabilities, with a majority already active in areas such as AI-driven network automation (65%), edge computing & distributed data routing (64%) and intent-based networking (52%). Just 5% claim to be ‘exploring’ AI while offering traditional networking services – much lower than the global average of 18%. This suggests UK partners are ahead of the curve when it comes to integrating AI into their offerings and addressing new opportunities for growth in AI-driven networking. These include AI-enhanced network security analytics (cited by 65%); AI-powered network observability and diagnostics (64%); edge-tocloud data routing and optimisation (59%); and autonomous/self-healing networks (39%). Commenting on the findings, Rene Klein, Executive Vice President, Europe at Westcon-Comstor, said: “Our research shows that despite some challenges UK partners are leading the way internationally in AI-readiness. This confidence puts them in a strong position to seize the significant growth opportunities on offer in AI-led networking as we look to 2026.” Rene Klein Infinigate now an AWS Designated Seller of Record Infinigate Group, the cybersecurity, cloud and network infrastructure distributor, has been appointed an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Designated Seller of Record (DSOR) across EMEA, Australia and New Zealand. This means that an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) can now designate Infinigate as the Seller of Record for its SaaS listings on the AWS Marketplace and give it responsibility for creating and managing the listings and handling private offers in collaboration with channel partners. Being part of the DSOR programme enables Infinigate to extend its market reach, scale its cloud distribution role and generate incremental growth opportunities for vendors and partners. Denis Ferrand-Ajchenbaum, Chief Growth Officer at the Infinigate Group, said: “AWS is a cornerstone for many organisations’ successful business operations. Collaborating with a global cloud provider of this calibre is of great significance for our ambitious roadmap, as we grow our cloud distribution offering to support our customers with a strong cloud adoption strategy, helping them devise the best cloud model for their business requirements.” He added: “By joining the DSOR programme, we’re revolutionising how organisations access and implement cloud solutions, reducing processing time by up to 85% and ensuring faster time-to-value for our customers.” The Hyperscaler Cloud Marketplace is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 29% over the next 5 years, with 59% of spending expected to come through the IT channel by 2030 (source: Omdia). www.infinigate.com Denis FerrandAjchenbaum James Reed TD SYNNEX
DISTRIBUTOR NEWS technologyreseller.co.uk 05 By delivering a unified platform with the crypto-agility required for post-quantum readiness, we’re helping partners build scalable data security practices that meet critical customer needs, from regulatory compliance to secure AI innovation, unlocking significant services and solutions opportunities.” www.westconcomstor.com It underscores the impact of our innovative programmes and the strength of our collaboration across EMEA as we continue to accelerate cloud transformation.” https://secure-eugo.arrow.com/ LP=21980 … CMS Distribution bringing HKC displays to UK&I CMS Distribution has enhanced its intelligent display offering for resellers and retailers in the UK and Ireland through a new partnership with HKC, a manufacturer of semiconductor display technologies for all major applications, including televisions, monitors, laptops, tablets, smartphones, e-paper devices, automotive displays, industrial control panels, medical equipment, outdoor digital signage, video walls and interactive whiteboards. Enrique Piedrafita, Vendor Manager at CMS Distribution, said: “We are delighted to partner with HKC and bring their range of products to our customers. Their innovative and high-quality solutions are a perfect fit for our portfolio and we are confident that this partnership will provide great value to our customers.” Bentley Lo, UK&I Country Manager at HKC Europe, said: “This new and exciting partnership with CMS Distribution will allow us to expand our reach into the UK and Ireland markets. It brings together our expertise in display solutions with their strong channel network and extensive experience in the display category.” www.cmsdistribution.com/vendors/hkc … Hammer adds Nexsan to EMEA storage portfolio Nexsan, a provider of secure, reliable, high-performance storage systems for demanding data environments, is extending its regional reach and expanding its partner ecosystem through an EMEA distribution agreement with Hammer Distribution. The partnership will give Hammer customers across the region access to foundational storage infrastructure for AI pipelines, high-bandwidth research models and modern data lifecycle management, backed by tailored support and flexible deployment options. Nexsan solutions now available from Hammer include E-Series enterprise SAN storage, Unity NV-Series unified storage and Assureon data protection. Nexsan CEO Vincent Phillips said: “AI and high-performance computing require storage that isn’t just fast, but inherently dependable and designed for sustained data growth. Our partnership with Hammer ensures that customers across EMEA can access enterprise-class infrastructure built to retain, protect and mobilise the massive datasets that power modern AI innovation.” www.nexsan.com … Fortanix platform now available from WestconComstor in EMEA Westcon-Comstor has expanded its EMEA security portfolio with Fortanix’s data security platform, giving partners the tools and support they need to solve customers’ most pressing data security challenges in the AI and post-quantum era. The agreement empowers channel partners to build high-margin data security services focused on cryptography, regulatory compliance and post-quantum readiness, while meeting growing demand for unified data security and multicloud control in regulated industries such as finance, healthcare and government. The Fortanix platform is powered by Confidential Computing, which keeps data isolated and encrypted during processing, ensuring protection at rest, in motion and in use across hybrid, multicloud and AI environments. Its unified architecture simplifies compliance, centralises policy control and enhances visibility across complex data landscapes, while advanced data tokenisation and confidential computing capabilities allow sensitive data to be used securely in analytics or AI models. Daniel Hurel, Senior Vice President, Westcon EMEA Go-To-Market at WestconComstor, said: “Our agreement with Fortanix enhances our security portfolio and empowers partners to lead in securing multicloud and AI environments. Westcon-Comstor and Check Point Software break ground with renewal API launch Westcon-Comstor has reinforced its digital distribution capabilities and taken a big step towards automating the entire quote-to-cash process with the launch of an API that slashes the time it takes to get Check Point Software renewal quotes to partners and their end-users. The product of a seven-month collaboration between the two companies, the renewal API improves accuracy by eliminating manual data entry and is scalable to support increased levels of business. With its launch, Westcon-Comstor has become the first distributor in EMEA to successfully deliver a project of this kind for Check Point. Marianne Nickenig, Vice President, Revenue Operations Europe at Westcon-Comstor, said: “Pioneering this renewal API with a strategic partner like Check Point showcases the technical excellence and spirit of collaboration that drives our business. This is a crucial step in our commitment to automating the entire quote-to-cash process and simplifying operations for our partners. With partners seeking to optimise revenue at every stage of the solution lifecycle, renewals are an increasingly strategic priority and it’s our role as a value-added distributor to facilitate growth through initiatives such as this.” www.westconcomstor.com Marianne Nickenig New workshop framework launched to accelerate AI adoption TD SYNNEX has introduced a new workshop framework to help partners accelerate customers’ adoption of AI. Part of its Destination AI programme, the AI Game Plan is an interactive workshop that empowers partners to lead AI conversations with enterprise- and mid‑market-level customers and identify areas where AI can have an impact. In TD SYNNEX’s fourth annual Direction of Technology report, 45% of partners said their top challenge in implementing AI solutions is translating AI into customerspecific business value. The AI Game Plan helps achieve this through a threephase framework structured around discovery, scoring and activation that enables partners and their customers to identify pain points in their business where AI could make a difference and then score and prioritise use cases based on factors like feasibility, impact and strategic alignment. The workshop concludes with a shortlist of two or three high-value, budget-aligned AI initiatives and a clear 90-day roadmap for implementation. Sergio Farache, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer at TD SYNNEX, said: “One of the biggest challenges to effectively leveraging AI is prioritising and defining where to use it within the business and how to maximise the return of these investments. Through AI Game Plan, we are enabling our partners to facilitate repeatable, outcome-oriented AI engagements that help their customers move beyond curiosity to real results.” https://www.tdsynnex.com/us/en/services/ specializations/destination-ai/contact.html Sergio Farache Daniel Hurel Westcon-Comstor, continued...
DISTRIBUTOR NEWS ...continued 01732 759725 06 Solstice AV expands audio offering with AtlasIED Trade-only AV distributor Solstice AV has added commercial audio specialist AtlasIED to its growing vendor portfolio, giving AV resellers in the UK access to highly engineered audio solutions for diverse environments from large, acoustically challenging public spaces and transport hubs to smaller, more focused installations where a single, high-performance speaker can deliver clarity without compromise. Paul Midwood, Chief Technical Officer at Solstice AV, said: “AtlasIED is a name with real legacy in commercial audio, and that pedigree shows in the solutions they bring to market. This partnership isn’t about filling a gap, it’s about giving our resellers access to genuinely differentiated audio technology for projects where performance, control and intelligibility are critical. AtlasIED strengthens our ability to support more complex environments while still offering practical, scalable solutions for everyday spaces.” AtlasIED is recognised globally for its commercial audio expertise and continued investment in specialist technologies, such as directional audio and beam-steering systems used in transport and infrastructure, and premium ceiling and surface-mounted loudspeakers for corporate, education and retail environments. Solstice AV supports resellers with a value-led distribution model built for long-term growth including solution design, project support, installation and on‑site warranties. … TD SYNNEX Datech extends BricsCAD partnership to Europe TD SYNNEX is enhancing the portfolio of Datech, its specialist design software division, by extending a collaboration it has with BricsCAD in the Americas to Europe. Under the expanded agreement, Datech partners in Europe can access the BricsCAD platform for engineers, designers and construction professionals offering 2D drafting, 3D modelling, BIM, mechanical design and surveying workflows. Jaap Smit, Senior Vice President, Datech and Business Applications Global at TD SYNNEX, said: “By adding BricsCAD to our portfolio, we provide customers with solid alternatives that the CAD market demands. Our robust digital distribution platform and value-added services, based on the LAER model (Land, Adopt, Expand, Renew) will enable resellers to drive customer success and unlock BricsCAD growth opportunities across Europe.” www.TDSYNNEX.com … Midwich to distribute Logitech in UK&I Building on an existing relationship in the US, Logitech has appointed Midwich as an official distribution partner for its video conferencing solutions and meeting room technologies in the UK & Ireland. Eamon O’Doherty, EU B2B Head of Channel at Logitech, said: “Following our successful collaboration with Midwich in the US, extending the partnership to the UK & Ireland was a natural evolution. Midwich’s AV expertise, technical capability and strong channel relationships make them the ideal partner to help us meet growing demand for flexible, reliable video collaboration solutions.” www.midwich.com … Maverick partners with Barco and Epson TD SYNNEX Maverick has announced new UK&I distribution agreements with Barco and Epson Projectors that build on existing relationships in other parts of Europe. The specialist collaboration, digital signage and unified communications business within TD SYNNEX will offer the complete range of Barco ClickShare meeting room solutions in the UK&I. These include ClickShare, for interactive BYOD meetings in any meeting room, and the ClickShare Hub modular Microsoft Teams Meeting Room system built on the Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP) for more comprehensive hybrid collaboration. In addition, TD SYNNEX Maverick will supply the full range of Epson projectors in the UK and Ireland, including professional, business and consumer products, supported by advanced logistics and finance options. https://uk.tdsynnex.com/ Westcon-Comstor implements EMS with ecoDriver Westcon-Comstor has implemented a new energy management system (EMS) in partnership with ecoDriver and its delivery partner Powercor, following a successful trial in three UK locations. The EMS will help the distributor take a datadriven approach to carbon emissions reduction by centralising sub-meter electricity usage data from sites across Europe. As it is rolled out, the ecoDriver system will enable Westcon-Comstor to remotely identify opportunities to reduce emissions across its European estate and empower sustainability teams within the region to shift their focus from manual administration to evidence-based action. As more sites are added, Westcon-Comstor aims to benchmark buildings and run data-backed sustainability competitions between sites. Sarah McGaw, Global Head of Environmental Sustainability at Westcon-Comstor, said: “Having access to a single source of truth for our energy and emissions across Europe will allows us to identify, quantify and act on opportunities to make further reductions in line with our ambitious climate targets and commitment to helping create a more sustainable IT channel.” These include 100% renewable energy use globally by 2030, a 50% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and becoming net-zero by 2050. WestconComstor.com Sarah McGaw Tenable exposure management added to Distology portfolio Distology, a specialist distributor of cybersecurity solutions, is building on its commitment to deliver market-leading security solutions across the IT and OT landscape through a partnership with exposure management company Tenable. Recognised as a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Exposure Assessment Platforms, Tenable’s AI-powered exposure management platform provides unified visibility, insight and action across the entire attack surface, enabling organisations to understand, prioritise and reduce risk. Distology CEO Hayley Roberts said: “Signing a vendor like Tenable is a huge milestone for us as a business. We were first introduced to Tenable a decade ago, and to see this partnership come to life now is a testament to the journey both organisations have been on and shows that even vendors in accelerated growth mode still need support with channel enablement. This partnership reinforces our valueled, consultative approach while strengthening our technology strategy in critical focus areas.” Kobi Hunn, Solutions Engineering Manager at Distology, added: “Exposure management and CTEM are critical in enabling organisations to move from reactive to proactive, adaptive security, and there is no partner better suited to deliver this than Tenable. While we already had strong technologies within the CTEM specialism, Tenable offer missing foundational capabilities in vulnerability exposure across workspace, cloud and OT infrastructures.” www.distology.com Hayley Roberts Paul Midwood Solstice AV
01732 759725 08 generating real productivity gains inside the business. The biggest thing for us with AI is culture. The technology is there – it continues to evolve at pace, as I’ve said – but what’s really important is making sure we’ve got a culture inside our business that encourages people to look at how we can adopt AI inside the organisation. One partner I am fortunate enough to work with only set up his business a couple of years ago, but because he built it with AI at its core, his organisation of 15 people has the output of a 30 to 40-person business. TR: And, of course, many of the vendors you have relationships with have AI built into their platforms for transcription and things like that. JC: Yes, if just we look at Zoom – clearly Microsoft are dominant with Copilot as well – but if we just look at Zoom with their AI Companion technology, it’s incredible how they’ve built that into their platform. Using Zoom, as end users first of all, not only are our meetings transcribed, they are then put into documents, then the task list is sent out automatically. We’re using Zoom whiteboard functionality to work on and chief executives of some really good resellers and consultancy businesses, where we talk about what’s happening in AI, how it affects our own businesses and, of course, where the opportunities sit. The first thing I can tell you, and I’m stating the obvious here, is that the pace of change is unbelievable. What we talk about in one quarter is already out of date by the next. The second thing is that we are all looking at how we embrace AI in our own environments, in our own companies, to improve what we do. We got it wrong at the beginning, by the way. We wanted to solve all our problems by doing great big AI projects. That was the wrong approach. What we’re doing now I liken to lots of little AI fires going off across the organisation, whether that’s our HR department putting all their policies into AI, our marketing department improving the efficiency of how they work with vendor finances, or even our pre-sales team creating what we call Nisha AI, an AI chat bot designed to answer questions about products from our internal and external sales teams. That’s working really well. None of these things are massively exciting or revolutionary, but they are Technology Reseller (TR): The last 12 months have been challenging. What are your impressions of the market? Joel Chimoindes (JC): It’s been a mixed bag. To put it simply, IT spend has been going into two buckets: the must-have bucket and the nice-to-have bucket. And at the end user level, money has been going into the must-have bucket, on things like laptops, the Windows 11 refresh, security and AI, with lots of investment in components and storage and servers. That’s really where the money has been going and that affects where growth is being seen in the channel. The pot of money at the end user level is only so big, so demand for some of the nice-to-haves has been suffering. TR: You mention AI. You’ve invested a lot in AI to improve your own internal processes. Are there things your partners should be doing more of on the AI side? JC: It’s a big subject. I’m very fortunate that once a quarter I host a roundtable with half a dozen MDs Technology Reseller talks to Joel Chimoindes, CEO of cloud solutions and services distributor Konekt, about his impressions of the market, the opportunities for channel partners and his plans for 2026 Only Konekt INTERVIEW Joel Chimoindes
technologyreseller.co.uk 09 us selectively add a few new vendors into the portfolio as well. TR: What are your priorities in Europe? JC: In the cloud communications market, one size doesn’t fit all. If you look at where we operate in Europe (France, Germany, Benelux), different countries are at different stages of maturity in their migration to cloud. The Netherlands is quite similar to the UK, with a maturity rate of about 58%, but in France and Germany, we see a huge opportunity because the penetration of moving from on-prem to off‑prem is only 20% to 22%. Our priorities are to work with our partners, and maybe some new partners in those countries as well, to really capitalise on those opportunities, whether that’s helping people migrate to Microsoft Teams or to Zoom or to Cisco WebEx and the products and services that go around that. That’s going to be a real priority for us over the next 12 months. TR: Your UK and European operations are actually quite well integrated on the services side, aren’t they? JC: Yes, they are. In 2024, we aggregated our services teams into one services team across the whole of Europe. That means we can, and regularly do, fulfil migration projects and managed services in multiple countries throughout Europe. It also means we have people speaking local languages, which works really well for us. And we have people based in the US, in India and in Australia, giving us a 24/7 capability for managed services. It’s important for me to add that all the services we sell are always through the channel, so our managed services capability is there to enhance the capability of our partner base. TR: Will you be looking to add more partners in 2026? JC: Today, across Europe, for software and services, we serve 500 to 600 partners. Of course, we’ll add breadth into our base, we naturally do that as a distributor, but we have enough partners there already. We just want to do more and more business with them. www.konekt.tech In the case of cloud communications, as an end user I want my telephony system integrated with my CRM system, integrated with my ERP, and then I want some AI on the back of that to be able to give a great experience for our sales people and our customers. That’s quite a complex thing to be able to deliver. Our partners are asking us what they can outsource to us to help them and what recommendations we have as well. TR: Are you under pressure from them to expand your product portfolio? JC: I think we do need to expand our portfolio, but we’ll always stay true to cloud communications. That’s what we do. And it’s quite a wide subject area: it could encompass AI, data processing, data organisation, which might be something for the future, and compliance, most obviously in relation to things like intelligent call recording. So, to answer your question about vendor expansion, yes, we will selectively be adding vendors into our portfolio that we think will enable us to bring real value to our customer base, but we’re never going to be a distributor that has 150 vendors. That’s not what we’re about. We’re about working with some really specialist vendors on that cloud communication solution that we can then take to market for them. TR: What are your priorities for the next 12 months? JC: My priorities are to make sure that we continue to invest in our software and our services business. That’s really important to us. We’re really keen to reduce friction inside our business, especially around things like ordering, so API integrations into our vendors is something we’re pushing hard right now. That’s key. I want to put more people out there to serve our customers, rather than process pieces of paper, so digital enablement is a big priority for us. We’ll continue to expand our services capability. You’ll see us launch a few new services around cloud communications and what we can do to help our partners in those areas, especially in the area of AI. And as I mentioned previously, you will see ideas and then using AI to turn those into a business plan. Soon, we’ll be rolling out Zoom CCaaS to teams internally. That will give customers a fantastic experience when they speak to us because we will have AI sentiment analysis linked into our CRM database. That how we are using AI as end users. If you then look at how we are helping our partners with that. Call it eating your own dog food or drinking your own champagne, we believe we can take those skills and that knowledge to our partner base to help them in their own businesses and with their customers’ businesses. TR: So in this respect, AI gives your partners a reason and an opportunity to upgrade their installed base to more advanced solutions. JC: Absolutely. In the UK today, around 58% to 59% of organisations have already made the move from on-premises to cloud communications, according to Cavell. That makes the UK quite a mature market. Early adopters are now starting on a refresh and renewal cycle and are looking at how they move platform, because their original decision may not have been the right one for them or they may require new capabilities. With our knowledge of Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Cisco WebEx, to name just three platforms, we can help our resellers help their end users with those platform-to-platform migrations. In 2025, we surpassed 250,000 user migrations, helping partners move customers from on-prem to off-prem and also between platforms. TR: You hold regular partner events and get-togethers. What sort of feedback are partners giving you about the challenges they face? JC: We run roundtable events because we find having small groups prompts better discussions and better debates. I’ve already highlighted the challenges in AI – when do you get involved, because it’s moving so fast? How do you get involved, both in your own business and at a customer level? What are the opportunities? Secondly, the end user is crying out for a simpler experience, but the technology in the background used to deliver that is quite complex, so our partners need a wide variation of skills to be able to deliver that simplicity. This is an edited version of a conversation between Technology Reseller Editor James Goulding and Joel Chimoindes. The recording can be viewed in its entirety at www.technologyreseller.co.uk INTERVIEW
10 01732 759725 RESELLER NEWS Integrity360 expands into Benelux with Cresco acquisition Integrity360, the European cybersecurity specialist, is extending its reach into the Benelux region with the acquisition of Belgian cybersecurity services consultancy Cresco, which will now become the company’s regional hub. To enable the 30-person consultancy to provide Integrity360’s full suite of cyber security services to customers in Belgium, Luxembourg and beyond, Integrity360 has announced plans to establish a Security Operations Centre (SOC) in Brussels linked into its existing SOCs in Dublin, Stockholm, Rome, Sofia, Madrid, Cape Town and Johannesburg. Integrity360’s 200-person global SOC already delivers a range of managed services to customers across EMEA including EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response), XDR (Extended Detection and Response) and MDR (Managed Detection and Response). Operating out of two offices in Belgium, Cresco is best known for its ethical hacking and offensive security expertise, notably the delivery of a full suite of assessment and penetration test services including red teaming and social engineering. In addition, it provides customers with cyber security consultancy and governance, risk and compliance services including gap assessments and implementation plans for cyber frameworks such as NIS2, as well as phishing simulations and other employee awareness services. Cresco is an active supporter of BeHack, a Belgium-based ethical hacking community focused on learning, knowledge-sharing and collaboration across the region. … UK Connect underpins growth with Microsoft Dynamics integration UK Connect, a provider of wireless connectivity and IoT solutions for remote environments in the construction, defence and manufacturing sectors, is supporting its ongoing growth strategy with investment in new technologies, notably Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. The implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central by Xpedition and its integration with UK Connect’s existing Microsoft ecosystem will enable the company to improve decisionmaking, collaboration and the customer experience through streamlined processes, operational efficiencies and access to reliable data insights. UK Connect CEO Joe Budnar-Hunt said: “As a business, we pride ourselves on putting our customers’ needs first. Partnering with Xpedition and implementing this technology is essential to helping us achieve our objectives now and in the future. It’s an exciting time for UK Connect; continued... Intercity eyes £100 million in revenue following £1.8m investment in operations Birmingham-headquartered managed service provider Intercity has marked it first four decades in business by making a £1.8m investment in its operations as it looks to nearly double revenue to £100 million by 2030. As well as replacing its legacy platforms with an AI-enabled ecosystem powered by Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform and Halo ITSM, Intercity has upgraded its five sites in Bedford, Bolton, Nuneaton, Northampton and Birmingham and created a new technical training and cyber awareness academy. The company started out as a mobile phone specialist, Intercity Telecom, in 1985 before rebranding as Intercity Technology in 2010 to reflect its expanded product offering. This now encompasses communications, managed IT and cybersecurity services. In the last three years, Intercity has more than doubled revenues from £25m to £55m through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, notably those of Chandler Communications and Centrality. The addition of Centrality has turned Intercity into a Microsoft-first MSP capable of running, securing and optimising an organisation’s Microsoft environment, from Azure and Microsoft 365 to security, compliance and ongoing performance. Last year, Intercity became one of just 300 members of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) community. Commenting on the company’s first 40 years, Group CEO Andrew Jackson, son of company founder Alan Jackson, said: “We have been in Birmingham for 40 years and are hugely passionate to call it our home, tapping into its rich talent pool, enterprising culture and industrious nature. As well as working for a lot of firms in the city, we are delighted to be the official IT partners of Edgbaston Cricket Stadium and Birmingham City Football Club, two landmark deals that have put us on the sporting map and ensured both stadiums are world-class technology venues.” He added: “To mark our big birthday, we have reaffirmed our ESG commitment by planting 200 trees per year and renewing our support for LoveBrum and Birmingham Children’s Hospital’s Changemaker Programme.” www.intercity.technology Columbus to deliver M3 CloudSuites in the UK Columbus, the global digital consultancy, is strengthening its partnership with ERP platform provider Infor and bringing its expertise in the Infor M3 CloudSuites platform to UK businesses in the food & beverage, retail/distribution and manufacturing sectors. As part of a strategy to double Infor’s customer footprint in the UK by the end of 2027 and help maximise the value customers get from the Infor M3 CloudSuites platform – both in the cloud and on-premises – Columbus will be expanding its UK team with an additional 10-15 M3 consultants each year. Globally, it has more than 300 certified M3 consultants and successful Infor businesses in the Nordics and US. Wolfgang Kobek, Executive Vice President & General Manager, International Business for Infor, said: “Expanding Infor’s partnership with Columbus into a key market for us, the United Kingdom, is testament to the strong foundation and relationship already forged in Germany, the Nordics, Benelux and the US. Our focus on delivering industry-specific cloud solutions that provide real-time data insights aligns well with Columbus’ customer-centric goals to provide clients with leading-edge, sector-specific expertise. The recent launch of Infor’s role‑based industry AI agents can help automate workflows in niche sectors from dairy to automotive. Infor’s goal is to continuously innovate to provide the tools necessary for our partners to achieve strategic objectives and improve customer outcomes.” www.columbusglobal.com www.infor.com From left to right: Soren Jepsen, Business Line Director Columbus M3 Denmark & UK; Mark Hugh, VP Sales, Infor; Rob Heys, Director Sales, Infor; Roger Labrell, Alliance Director, Infor; Chris Mean, CEO Columbus UK & US; Tina Algkvist, Head of Columbus M3; Ian Kingstone, Columbus Strategy & Growth Practice Director.
If, like us, you have a love for the Channel and the Mountains, then this European Event could be for you. Held in the legendary Italian resort and party town of Sauze d’Oulx, for its third outing, we will host 40 industry professionals from across the Vendor, Reseller and Distribution Community in the stunning surroundings of the Via Lattea ski area. It is often described as a dream come true for snow lovers offering fantastic Alpine skiing and great apres. On top of the skiing, this 4-day event will allow you to network and socialise with colleagues, customers and prospects. This is a networking event without parallel. There is nothing like helping someone down a mountain to create a great bonding experience making colleagues or customers friends for life! Prices: £950 + VAT per person (twin or double room occupancy) £1275 + VAT per person (single room occupancy) This is a first come first served event so contact Ethan, Neil or Paul to book your place or ask any questions: 01732 759 725 [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected] Trip includes: n Transfer to and from Turin Airport n 3 nights B&B accommodation n 2 Day ski pass n All ski hire (boots/skis/helmet) n Ski and boot storage at ski lift n 2 x Italian evening meals in traditional trattoria n Après ski refreshments budget •SKI CLUB NETWORK• 2-5 MARCH 2026 OH NO... NOT AGAIN!!! IT’S TIME TO GRAB ONE OF THE COOLEST TICKETS IN TOWN! Thank You To Our Sponsors
RESELLER NEWS 12 01732 759725 such as manufacturing, logistics, film, advertising, architecture and gaming.” Stapleton adds that the ongoing evolution of AI, MR and other demanding applications and the need to balance performance, cost and sustainability highlight the importance of making smart, sustainable tech choices. He said: “With technology usage at record highs, there’s a real risk of exacerbating the global e-waste crisis. That’s why it’s so encouraging to see more businesses turning to refurbished GPUs as a sustainable alternative to buying new. And we’ve seen first-hand how refurbished GPUs can help businesses meet their performance needs and sustainability.” https://www.etb-tech.com/ … CJAZ joins Redsquid group Redsquid has strengthened its capabilities in secure, connected technology and services with the acquisition of Hertfordshirebased CJAZ. The fast-growing MSP’s sixth acquisition of 2025 adds enhanced MAC (Managed Apple Configuration) expertise we’re growing rapidly and I firmly believe the introduction of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central will help us meet and exceed the expectations of our new and existing customers.” … AI powering demand for refurbished GPUs ETB Technologies, a supplier of refurbished servers, storage and network equipment, has reported a surge in graphic processor unit (GPU) sales powered by the AI boom and growing demand for high-performance computing, with unit sales up 31% in 2025 and revenues up 33%. Nick Stapleton, Managing Director of ETB Technologies, said: “The demand for GPUs has skyrocketed over the last few years and it shows no signs of slowing down. With the UK Government announcing plans to expand the nation’s data centre capacity, I fully expect the growth in AI to continue, something that is sure to cause greater demand for GPUs. It’s not just AI driving the surge though. We’re seeing major uptake in mixed reality (MR) 3D rendering applications across industries and four highly skilled technical team members to its expanding workforce. … Nerdio added to Node4 offering Node4 is strengthening its Microsoft specialisation through a partnership with Nerdio, a provider of automated provisioning, scaling and cost management tools for Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365 and Microsoft 365 solutions. By working together, the two companies hope to help customers migrate from legacy virtual desktop infrastructure to fully optimised Azure environments that deliver greater performance, flexibility and cost control for a range of use cases, from flexible remote work to GPU-intensive design and AI workloads. As part of the collaboration, Node4 will integrate Nerdio’s platform into its managed service offering to make sure resources only run when needed, thus reducing operational costs and increasing efficiency. Andrew Slater, Technology & Innovation Director - Cloud at Node4, said: “This partnership is an important stage in our AVD journey. We’ve already seen strong success helping customers transition from legacy VDI platforms, and Nerdio adds an important additional layer of automation, optimisation and assurance. It enables us to deliver more value, faster and reinforces our role as a leading partner for Microsoft cloud desktop modernisation.” www.getnerdio.com … CCS success for HGS HGS UK, a provider of intelligent customer experience and business process solutions, has been awarded a place on the four-year Crown Commercial Service (CCS) RM6295 ...continued UK Connect to strengthen data security with ShelterZoom UK CONNECT is reinforcing its commitment to data security through a partnership with ShelterZoom that will give it and its customers greater document control, visibility and security. ShelterZoom’s blockchain-powered tokenisation platform secures files to prevent data loss, leaks and breaches, extending protection and compliance beyond the traditional network perimeter. By embedding ShelterZoom solutions into its workflows UK Connect can control, track and securely share digital assets and documents with partners. UK Connect CEO Joe Budnar-Hunt said: “As our business continues to grow, we recognised the need to implement the highest standard of security to protect our data and that of our customers. ShelterZoom’s Document GPS solution protects data in the event of a cyberattack, future-proofs our operations and enables us to engage with customers in complete confidence.” www.ukconnect.com Joe Budnar-Hunt Pinnacle buys Sage business of Onesys Business management software and managed IT services provider Pinnacle, the technology solutions division of K3 Capital Group, has strengthened its Sage and business solutions portfolio with the acquisition of the Sage and ERP business of Onesys Ltd. Based in Harrogate, Onesys has over 40 years’ experience across the Sage portfolio (including Sage 200 and Sage Intacct), manufacturing and distribution software, custom integrations, training and support. The addition of Onesys’s highly skilled Sage professionals to Pinnacle’s in-house capabilities, building on its recent acquisition of the Chepstow-based Sage and managed IT solutions provider AlphaLogix, will enable Pinnacle to deliver an even greater depth of knowledge and support to Sage customers nationwide. Rachel Tindle, Managing Director of Pinnacle, said: “Onesys brings significant Sage expertise and a customer-centric culture that perfectly complements our own. With their experienced Sage consultants joining our team, we are able to expand both our capability and capacity, providing customers with a seamless experience, from implementation and custom integrations to ongoing support and training. Combined with our wider IT infrastructure capability, Pinnacle continues to be a one-stop partner for all business management and Sage-related needs.” Richard Knowles, Managing Director of Onesys, said: “As we focus on developing other areas of our business, we are confident our Sage specialists will thrive as part of Pinnacle, combining shared values, technical expertise and a commitment to exceptional customer service to deliver even greater value to Sage customers.” www.pinnacle-online.com Pinnacle, which has offices in Greater Manchester, London, Newcastle and Belfast, was a double-winner at the Sage Future Partners 2025 event in Barcelona, being named Sage Business Management Solutions (BMS) Partner of the Year 2025 and Top UKI VAR. It also retained membership of the Sage Platinum Club reserved for partners that accelerate digital transformation and champion customer growth across Sage’s global ecosystem. Left to right: Gareth Cram, Director of Customer Services; Rachel Tindle, Managing Director; James McCarron, Head of Sales; James Spencer, Director of Acquisitions; and Paul O’Riordan, VP & Head of Medium Segment Northern Europe at Sage. Nick Stapleton ETB Technologies
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