MicroScope | IT Channel and IT Reseller News

Samsung aims to rival iPad with Galaxy tablet

2010-09-03T09:20:23Z

The battle for market share in the tablet market is increasing with Samsung the latest to enter the fray with a product to take on Apple's iPad.

The iPad has sold 3.3m units since coming out in April and sparked development efforts at a range of rivals with Samsung among the first to come out with a rival, its Galaxy Tab.

The Samsung offering is both smaller and cheaper than the iPad with the vendor keen to exploit Apple's historical tendency to set the price of its products in the premium bracket.

Launched at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin the tablet is based on the Google Android OS, provides a 7 inch screen and via a 'readers hub' is also going to challenge some rival ereader products. It will start shipping in Europe later this month.

Richard Holway, chairman of TechMarketView, dubbed 2010 as the year of the tablet and commenting on the daily news update from the analyst house he pointed out developments were happening quickly with Samsung joining Dell and Apple in the tablet world with HP and Blackberry not that far behind.

"The predictions we made a year back that tablets would become an important new 'form factor' seem to have come to pass. It has also moved into the enterprise space very quickly," he wrote this morning.

Symantec and resellers to play data doctors in IT clinics

2010-09-03T09:13:47Z

Symantec has opened the doors on a small business IT clinic that will provide the vendor and its resellers with a chance to advise SMEs on security and data protection.

The old days of hackers just targeting large enterprises are long gone and now every firm and individual is a potential victim of scams designed to get personal data.

The clinics, which will be held across the UK with the vendor's staff and reseller representatives, will provide advice on securing data, preventing information loss and how to implement a backup and recovery plan.

Glenn Woolaghan, director for small business at Symantec, said that the impact of data loss or an attack could be critical for small firms.

"A single incident of cyber attack or data loss could be enopugh to take a small company out of business," he said.

"It's a shocking fact that 73 per cent of small businesses suffered a cyber attack in the past year and all companies affected suffered losses, whether this be downtime, loss of productivity, or in more serious cases, loss or theft of data," he added.

MicroScope's top stories, week ending 3 September 2010

2010-09-03T08:00:00Z

The most visited channel stories on MicroScope.co.uk from the last seven days.

Apple reignites race for the digital living room

Apple is aiming to get its brand firmly entrenched in the living room with a slimmed down and more attractively priced TV product that allows users to hire and watch movies and Internet video content.

HP edges back in front in race to acquire 3Par

Hardly had the share price of storage player 3Par had time to react to Dell matching HP's offer of $1.8bn than the race to seal the deal to acquire the company reached another level at the start of the week. The scrappy bidding war reached its conclusion on Thursday.

Gartner warns of slowing PC demand, downgrades forecast

Gartner has warned that the litmus test for recovery in the PC market will come in the second half of the year but the early signs are not encouraging.

Lenovo gunning for UK consumers despite late market entry

Lenovo expects to grab 5% of the consumer market in the UK by year-end after finally launching into the sector with DSGi in the summer.

Slow-burning Cisco UCS gains traction at last

Cisco's UCS proposition has indubitably been a slow starter, but more than a year after it first saw the light of day it is starting to gain a long awaited element of traction within the UK market.

Best of the blogs

This week, Reseller Radar looked forward to the day (coming soon) when Oracle breaks its vow of silence over the integration of the Sun channel. Meanwhile, Network Noise caught BT being a little cheeky with its latest broadband statistics, and Quicke off the Mark stood up for our right to a Bank Holiday lie-in.

Lenovo gunning for UK consumers despite late market entry

2010-09-02T14:34:24Z

Lenovo expects to grab 5% of the consumer market in the UK by year-end after finally launching into the sector with DSGi in the summer.

The firm's absence from the retail space - which accounts for roughly one third of total PC sales in the UK - has prevented it from breaking into the top five biggest selling PC vendors in the territory.

Neil Berville, Lenovo executive director for the UK, Ireland and Benelux, told MicroScope that following three quarters of profitable growth, the "fortunes of the company have turned around" and it was time to diversify.

"Part of the strategy from the beginning was that there was a piece of business we attack and a piece of business we protect, last year the only attack was in the emerging markets but we are now targeting consumer business in the UK."

The first ever Lenovo consumer products have landed on the shelves at PC World - the All-In-One 305 series desktop - and a G-series notebook line will be sold in Argos.

"We need to have the first breakthrough, to get to 5% market share which we are confident we'll do this year and next year we'll grow it from there," said Berville.

"We don't have a universal consumer brand and the cost of creating one is prohibitive so we are supporting retailers where they'll give us time and dedicated space to promote the brand at the point of sale," he added.

In the second quarter, Lenovo shipped 25,000 units to UK consumers according to IDC, placing it ninth with a market share of 1.5%.

Eszter Morvay, research manager at IDC, said in the quarter Lenovo would have needed to ship four times as many PCs to achieve the targets it had set.

"In the competitive UK market it is possible [to take 5% market share] but it will be very challenging," she said.

According to Gartner data for Q2, Lenovo sold 20,000 units into the UK retail channel which research director Ranjit Atwal described as "peanuts" but added, "They are at least on the playing field now".

"It will be a challenge for Lenovo, most vendors found their way into the market through competitive pricing and that is not one of Lenovo's strong points," he said.

HP extends use of iQuote tool to StorageWorks

2010-09-02T14:31:19Z

Hewlett-Packard is trying to simplify partner engagement by rolling out a stock availability, pricing and configuration tool through commercial storage distributors.

The iQuote system developed by channelcentral has been used by HP wholesalers selling ProLiant servers but from November StorageWorks volume kit including NAS, DAS, tape and disk will also be folded into it.

"It is a natural evolution as distribution customers were asking for storage products to be included in the tool," channelcentral director Tim Moyle told MicroScope.

Around 150 resellers are currently using iQuote through ProLiant distributors Avnet/Bell, Ingram Micro, Azlan, SDG and Westcoast, which was the first to integrate the system last year.

Alex Tatham, sales and marketing director at Westcoast, said it had been a contributing factor to the growth of its ProLiant business.

"Like any expert system it means improved accuracy when ordering, better pricing because promotions become more apparent and greater attach rates which HP pays rebates on," he said.

The iQuote tool had been a welcome development in HP's server market and "will be very useful to our storage business as well," said Jon Bunyard, director of HP Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking at Ingram Micro.

HP emerges victorious in 3Par bidding war

2010-09-02T14:23:46Z

The protracted bidding war between Hewlett-Packard and Dell over storage vendor 3Par has concluded this afternoon after Dell bowed out of the bidding process, saying it had "ended its discussions regarding a potential acquisition".

This came after Dell raised the stakes once more this morning, offering $32 per share for the assets of 3Par. In response, HP raised its bid again to trump Dell's final offer, offering $33, which values target at $2.4bn (£1.56bn).

In a statement, Dell's senior vice president of corporate strategy Dave Johnson said: "We took a measured approach throughout the process and have decided to end these discussions."

In a statement issued in response to HP's offer, 3Par said that the new bid was a "superior offer" but added that its merger agreement with Dell remained in effect and the board continued to recommend that shareholders accept Dell's offer and tender their shares pursuant to it.

Dell's offer contains a $92m termination fee, payable by 3Par and a multi-year reseller agreement, fixed pricing and other terms that 3Par says are "unacceptable".

Nevertheless 3Par now plans to enter into a merger agreement with HP following the expiration of a three day waiting period set out in its agreement with Dell.

Oracle ordered to pay costs in grey trading case

2010-09-02T12:55:19Z

Following last week's Court of Appeal judgment in favour of reseller M Tech, which was accused of importing grey Sun Microsystems hardware, Sun owner Oracle has now been ordered to repay costs of £85,000.

The sum represents the costs that M Tech was originally ordered to pay to Oracle, in addition to ongoing costs.

The initial judgment in favour of M Tech stated that the grey trader was entited to argue that certain articles of the EC Treaty prevented Oracle from obtaining summary judgment for trademark infringement.

]]> The ruling is likely to have widespread implications for trademark owners and grey marketers in the EU, according to Harvey Stringfellow of legal firm Hill Dickinson LLP, which represented M Tech.

The court has suggested that Oracle needs to apply for directions so that the matter can be brought on for a speedy trial.

If vindicated in the UK, Stringfellow said there was every chance M Tech's case could be referred to the European Courts.

IT jobs market still in doldrums

2010-09-02T10:33:37Z

The IT jobs market remains stuck in the doldrums, according to annual figures from recruitment specialists at Hays, with the dip in public sector sales unlikely to help matters.

A dismal performance in the first half was, however, offset slightly by improvements in the last six months of fiscal 2010.

In its 12-month report for the year ended 30 June, Hays said that fees from its IT recruitment business dropped 21% to £22.4m while operating profit slumped 89% over 2009, booking just £500,000.

Hays reported a slight uptick in sequential private sector recruitment, with pharma, corporate accounts and the City all doing well. However this was offset by the ongoing round of cuts being made in the public sector, which dragged down numbers across the board.

CEO Alistair Cox put a brave face on the overall numbers but said that "90% of our markets" were returning to growth.

The IT industry currently accounts for around 9% of Hays' UK business.

European firms cough up £6.5m in software piracy costs

2010-09-02T10:29:32Z

European businesses caught using unlicensed software have had to splash out £6.5m in the first half of this year as they settle with the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and buy the required licenses to get legal.

The value of settlements has already eclipsed last year's half year mark by 20% costing more than £500,000 as firms continue to run the risks of using unlicensed products.

In the UK firms have paid out in excess of £2m and with the fight against piracy ongoing the figure is expected to carry on rising through the rest of this year.

"Despite ongoing campaigning by the BSA to educate businesses to make sure that they have adequate software licensing in place, these figures demonstrate that there is still a way to go in changing the attitude of some companies," said Julian Swan, director of compliance marketing EMEA.

]]> The BSA only recently announced its latest case in the UK against a medical supplies firm found using unlicensed software and continues to look for firms to chase up encouraging the public to report those that are guilty of breaking the law.

"The BSA conducted more than 1,000 legal actions in the first half of this year in EMEA," said Sarah Coombes, senior director, legal affairs EMEA at the BSA.

She added that not only did those caught out leave themselves exposed to public naming and shaming and reputational damage but also significant legal and financial sanctions.

DSGi sales up but B2B reseller biz finds life tough

2010-09-02T10:27:39Z

DSG International had a comparatively rosy start to the year with sales fuelled by rising demand for televisions prior to the World Cup and early exclusive rights to the iPad but it confirmed that the B2B market remained challenging.

In a trading update for the first twelve weeks of fiscal 2011, group sales were up 3% on a like-for-like basis while the UK grew 6%, Nordics were flat, and the e-commerce unit was up 3% as International sales fell 1%.

"This is an encouraging start to the year, especially given the challenging market conditions." said DSGi chief executive John Browett.

]]> The UK operation gained market share as the quadrennial football competition took place and it made the most of early access to Apple's slate PC ahead of the vendor's Premium Partners, the firm said.

The two in one model - opening High Street and superstores that combine the Currys and PC World brands - means that DSGi will report only UK numbers.

However, a spokesman confirmed that DSGi was continuing to wrestle with difficult market conditions that have dramatically reduced the size of its reseller operation DSGi Business in recent years.

"In terms of B2B, it is still tough but we are doing all the right things with Phil Birbeck and his team," he added.

Shareholders will next week be able to vote on whether to approve the proposed name change from DSG to Dixons Retail next week, a move that initially sparked some industry talk that it was a precursor to selling the B2B unit.

Outsourcery, Nokia launch OCS scheme

2010-09-02T09:51:39Z

Hosted IT services, UC specialist and Microsoft Gold partner Outsourcery has hooked up with Nokia through its InPartnership programme to push sales of the mobile version of Microsoft OCS.

The first stage of the JV will be involve heavy promotion of Microsoft Mobile Communicator-ready handsets to Outsourcery partners. In the future, the duo have made plans to allow Outsourcery to manage Mobile Communicator on Nokia smartphones.

"By joining together Microsoft's productivity solutions with Nokia's customer base, the three companies are able to serve the needs of the growing mobile worker population, which IDC estimates to reach 1 billion worldwide in 2011," said Microsoft communications sector industry director Alex Danyluk.

Meanwhile, Outsourcery today issued a warning over the economic cost of next Monday's planned tube strike in London.

Outsourcery cited figures from the London Chamber of Commerce that suggested the local economy could lose up to £48m during each 24-hour stoppage.

CEO Piers Linney reported that enquiries into UC and cloud solutions had already risen by 125% in advance of the walk-out, suggesting that awareness, and promotion, of such solutions within the channel is growing.

Sage signs up Westcoast

2010-09-02T08:37:26Z

Westcoast has been signed up by Sage as its fourth UK distributor selling the software vendor's products from next Monday.

The distributor is being given the chance to sell boxed product into retailers, licenses and support to the reseller community as well as Sage branded stationery.

Westcoast has appointed Carl Quigley, who has recently been at Microsoft LAR Software Box, as Sage product manager.

Alex Tatham, sales and marketing director at Westcoast, said that it had landed the contract after impressing the vendor with its planned approach to sell the products differently and widen the market through its wide customer base.

Stuart Wilson, Sage UK channel manager, said that it was pleased with the focus that the distributor was planning to give to its products.

Apple reignites race for the digital living room

2010-09-02T07:15:08Z

The vendor made a stack of product announcements last night, refreshing its iPod range and updating iTunes, but also revived the ambitions for the digital living room with the TV moves.

In the past Bill Gates and Microsoft have spoken about the importance of winning the battleground for the digital home because of the potential size of that market and Apple has thrown its hat back into the ring with its latest product changes.

The Apple TV will cost £99, less than half of the previous version, and is a quarter of the size of the old model. Through the device users will be able to rent HD movies, including the latest films and television shows from a range of networks.

Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, was keen to stress that the device would be providing the latest Hollywood content in HD and revealed the position it would take in the digital home.

"This tiny, silent box costing just £99 lets users watch thousands of HD movies and TV shows, and makes all their music, photos and videos effortlessly available on their home entertainment system," he said.

Other changes included an updated iPod shuffle and nano and a change to the iTunes store, adapting the logo, which had been based on a CD, and launching a social network based around musical tastes, called Ping.

Chess Telecom sticks with buy and build blueprint

2010-09-01T15:28:34Z

Chess Telecom is forging ahead with a buy and build strategy despite posting modest revenue growth in its most recent financial year during which it made 12 acquisitions.

The business comms provider forked out £4m alone on customer lists in the year to 30 April 2010 but grew sales just 13% to £29.1m.

However operating profit before exceptional items soared 60% to £4m and retained profit climbed by 56% to £2.5m.

In a statement accompanying the financials, David Pollock, chief executive at the Alderley Edge-based firm, said the results vindicated its expansion strategy.

"Our proven business model of acquisition, organic growth and cross sales to existing customers continues to deliver growth in turnover and profit," he stated.

]]> A dozen acquisitions were completed in the year including Pennycom - its fortieth in six years - which gave up trading in the market but sold its customer list and passed across a bunch of sub-reseller partners to Chess.

Pollock said Chess had reaped the benefits of effectively managing slow and late paying customers, and increased billing efficiencies helped bolster gross margins to 40%, up from 37% a year ago.

Line rental and data product revenues went up 23% to £12m, with 83% of customers contracted for two or more products and a little over one quarter of its customer base opting to sign up to two year deals.

The consolidation of the telco market looks set to continue - Chess secured a £10m facility to fund further acquisitions - and Pollock said it had a "pipeline of potential acquisitions".

Earlier this month, Chess made its forty seventh purchase, picking up the customer list of Intelligent Networks.

Printer sales back on track says Context

2010-09-01T13:41:29Z

The EMEA printer market staged a recovery in the second quarter driven by All-in-One (AiO) laser devices.

Unit shipments were up 8.8% year-on-year according to figures by Context, which collates sales out data from the major distributors in the region, compared to flat growth in the first three months of 2010.

"We saw the fastest growth in sales of AiO laser printers," said Jeremy Davies, CEO and co-founder of Context, pointing toward the 46.3% rise in sales as businesses sought to cut costs by consolidating fragmented fleets.

"The declining love affair of consumers with single function inkjet printers over the same period was reflected in a sales drop for the category of 21.8%, while inkjet printer sales grew 5.3%," he added.

Regionally, the Middle East and Africa were up 13.7% and 12.5% respectively as Central and Eastern Europe grew 11.9% and Western Europe posted a more modest rise of 6%.

The UK fared relatively well fuelled by unit sales growth of 12.1% with AiO inkjets recording an increase of 27%; AiO Lasers were up 5.7%; Laser printers grew 5.3% but Inkjet devices declined 33.2%.

Across EMEA, HP continued to head the pack of vendors with 39.4% share of sales, up from 38% last quarter, following by Canon and Epson with 18.4% and 14.6% of total sales respectively, Brother held 8% and Samsung 6.9%.