November 2010 Archives

Former Bell Microproducts director Colin McGregor has joined forces with Anthony Young at channel consultancy Demuto.

McGregor left the distributor months ago to set up brain4change, a consultancy offering self-development workshops and exec coaching services, but is teaming up with Young who departed Bell two years ago.

Young said resellers needed tools to cut through vendors' marketing messages that were often developed in the US and not tailored to local requirements: "Resellers are swamped with information from vendors and not all of it is useful".

A sales qualification tool developed with French firm ConservIT and a managed services e-learning platform are among the services packaged by Demuto that are "tailored solutions for local [reseller] customers," added Young.

These services worked well with his own aspirations at brain4change, said McGregor, who added he would help to develop e-learning, sales optimisation and growth programmes in the coming months.

HP is reportedly dumping Oracle Siebel's CRM system and penning a deal with Salesforce for 35,000 to 40,000 seats as a precursor to potentially moving wholesale to the new system.

A war of words erupted between HP and Oracle in the summer following the well documented resignation of HP's CEO Mark Hurd, who was then made president at the software giant by Larry Ellison. 

According to Trip Chowdry, analyst at Global Equities Research, HP is "completely shutting down Oracle Siebel, which contacts tell us has made Oracle furious" in a move which could save HP 40% to 50% in costs.

He added that should the deal with Salesforce come to fruition, HP CEO Leo Apotheker, who recently pledged to resume annual raises, will give a keynote at Salesforce' Dreamforce event early next month.

It appears that the spat between Oracle and HP is set to continue for some time yet.

The phrase "live by the sword, die by the sword" has been taken a little too literally by Nick Glynne, boss at Huddersfield-based etailer Buy It Direct.

He has engraved the names of the rivals he reckons his company has put out of business on a sword, though it is not clear if this is a fencing foil or a scimitar.

When asked about the existence of the said blade, Glynne, well-known in these parts for a series of elaborate April Fool's gags, had no qualms in owning up to the unusual ritual.

"Yes, and I'm going to need to get a new one soon because this one is almost full," said a joyful Glynne.

Given the loss of confidence in the consumer sector, reflected in part by recent UK PC numbers, he may risk ending up a trophy in someone else's cabinet.

Channel veteran Mark Hughes is following in the footsteps of the Calendar Girls by getting his kit off for charity, to be exact a very worthy Prostate Cancer Charity that funds research and helps people affected by the illness.

The HDS partner development manager - a former IBM and BT Engage IT exec - is one of 12 men from different walks of life to bare all for a calendar which goes on sale for Christmas.

For some reason Hughes is Mr July and is photographed with a strategically-placed football preserving his dignity, if that is possible, even though the season will be long over by then. Perhaps a cricket tennis ball would be more appropriate?

For those keen to support Mark's gratuitous act of nudity, please email markhughes2@hotmail.co.uk.

The calendar costs £11 including post and packaging with £10 going direct to the charity, which is sponsored by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, who thankfully kept his kit on.

What connects a Holocaust survivor, a Member of Parliament and Mike Norris, chief executive at Computacenter? The annual graduates 'Roll of Honour' awards ceremony for the University of Hertfordshire.

Norris is one of 16 "pillars of the community" to be handed an Honorary Degree and Fellowships for outstanding contribution to academic disciplines, charity, professions or public service.

Specifically, he has been slapped on the back for his "contribution to the computer services industry and the regional community". 

He joined Computacenter as a City salesman in 1984 and became chief exec a decade later, the rest is history.

Apparently, people from all over the world pitch up in St Albans at this time of the year to celebrate the event and to minimise the impact of the increased traffic, the University is urging people to use public transport or a shuttle bus it has kindly laid on.

Just for your information Mr Norris, the shuttle runs every 15 minutes.

The pressure of fame is clearly getting to Lord Sugar who was this week replaced as business tsar by former Tory Cabinet Minister Lord Young.

Not only has he lost the reasonably high profile job that was created for him by previous PM Gordon Brown but it appears that His Sweetness is at risk of losing favour with followers on the social media scene.

This morning Radio One DJ Chris Moyles told people to stop following Sugar on Twitter because he uses it as a platform to plug his autobiography. I can vouch for this as I have been a Sugar devotee on Twitter for some weeks now.

Responding to the jibes, Sugar went into some sort of Tweet meltdown, accusing Moyles of being a hypocrite and creatively suggesting other topics he could focus on.

"Dear Chris Moyles, if you want me to talk about other things, lets discuss the plight of the common earth worm and how it's is (sic) the gardeners friend," he tweeted.

The meltdown continued: "U want to hear personal stuff instead book or biz tweets. I'm 5'8, weigh 76kg, suffer excessive wind if eat too much broccoli."

Bit too much information there, Lord Alan. I'll remember that tonight when I'm watching The Apprentice and pity your poor wife who is probably sat on the sofa next to you trying to escape the faint smell of rotting vegetables.

Lord Sugar also routinely reminisces about revolutionary old Amstrad and Viglen technology, apparently he invented the tablet platform years ago but it was too advanced and customers were not ready for the vPad revolution.

He stepped down as Viglen chairman last year when he was given the enterprise tsar gig by Labour so will have more time on his hands now to steer R&D at the UK education specialist.

Perhaps that is why he is grumpier than usual.

Photo courtesy Gavin Rodgers, Rex Features