Supplier relationships
Analysis: Time for the supply chain to improve for workers
Posted: Fri, 11 Jun 2010The question of how people are treated throughout the supply chain is one that is edging closer to being a significant issue as the developments with Foxconn's Shenzhen factory illustrate.The...Read More »
Considerations for building a successful cloud offering
Posted: Mon, 24 May 2010Mark Williams, managing director at Pensar, pinpoints the areas resellers should focus on when building cloud servicesThere is no doubting that cloud computing is an impassioned topic within the channel....Read More »
Prepare for a year of consolidation
Posted: Thu, 11 Feb 2010One of the safest bets that can be made this year is that there will be further consolidation in the market and perhaps a few surprises in terms of buyers...Read More »
Microscope Media Centre
Posted: Tue, 02 Feb 2010MicroScope.co.uk Media Information MicroScope is the longest established weekly newspaper for computer manufacturers, distributors and resellers who need to maintain a competitive edge in the channel. Hard-hitting opinionated editorial covers...Read More »
Opinion: Time for channel to chase fame in Twitter limelight
Posted: Thu, 28 Jan 2010When Twitter went down for an afternoon - or what felt like eons to those used to permanently switched on communications - Bill Gates was at one point singled out...Read More »
Five minute interview: John Campbell, QlikTech UK
Posted: Mon, 07 Dec 2009MicroScope puts its questions to John Campbell, alliance director at QlikTech UKWhat is the best book you have ever read?Anything by my favourite author, Frederick Forsyth. I’ve read all his...Read More »
In depth: Marketing matters
Posted: Thu, 03 Dec 2009Vendors, distributors and resellers discuss the ins and outs of marketing development funding programmes in a MicroScope virtual roundtableWHO'S WHO:Mike Bernard, marketing leader of general business and channels at IBMAngela...Read More »
In-depth: Tap into Middle East tech boom
Posted: Tue, 29 Sep 2009At a time when European markets have reached saturation and organisations in the developed economies are cutting back on IT expenditure, the Middle East offers sellers and resellers a rapidly...Read More »
In depth: Tips for starting your own business
Posted: Mon, 07 Sep 2009There are three relatively easy ways to money: win it, marry it, or steal it. The passage of time should have taught you that there is almost no chance of...Read More »
Interview: Sir Peter Rigby finds fortune favours the brave
Posted: Thu, 11 Jun 2009As is the case with most successful entrepreneurs, it is possible to look at the winner of this year’s MicroScope Awards for Channel Excellence lifetime achievement award, Sir Peter Rigby,...Read More »
Keeping mobile communications open
Posted: Mon, 23 Feb 2009The year ahead will be tough for the mobile communications industry as the majority of organisations continue to rein in discretionary spend while keeping an eye on operational expenditure in...Read More »
Outsourcing group calls for calm in foreign workers row
Posted: Fri, 13 Feb 2009The National Outsourcing Association has called for calm in the current ongoing row about foreign jobs. Following the walk out at the Total Lindsey refinery because of the...Read More »
Resellers encouraged to keep sight of green message
Posted: Thu, 22 Jan 2009One of the potential victims of the downturn is the green message. The idea of spending money to save the planet will not seal many deals in the current climate.It...Read More »
Green IT and infrastructure projects victims of downturn
Posted: Fri, 09 Jan 2009If there is one question dominating channel minds it is what the year ahead holds.Most agree that 2009 is going to be tough and that thinking beyond the end of...Read More »
The road to virtualisation
Posted: Fri, 09 Jan 2009One of the questions resellers often ask is where some of the account managers and sales directors that they enjoyed dealing with in distribution have moved to.Some move onwards and...Read More »
Buyers market for IT talent in 2009
Posted: Tue, 06 Jan 2009Recruiters will face a buyers market during the next few months when it comes to scooping IT talent, according to research analysts at Gartner. In its annual CIO...Read More »
Euler issues profit warning on back of Woolies collapse
Posted: Tue, 02 Dec 2008Euler Hermes, the largest credit insurer in the channel has issued a profit warning after being hit by the bankruptcy of Woolworths and a steep rise in claims that...Read More »
HP partners cheer ProCurve move
Posted: Fri, 07 Nov 2008Hewlett-Packard’s announcement that it is folding HP ProCurve’s channel into its Solution Partners Organisation (SPO) has been greeted by partners as a step towards making HP easier to deal with....Read More »
FSC turns to train to avoid air freight
Posted: Mon, 06 Oct 2008In a move that could set an example to other vendors Fujitsu Siemens Computers has completed its first shipment from China to Germany by train. The vendor has...Read More »
Finding the perfect partner
Posted: Thu, 18 Sep 2008Unlike the famous, 80:20 rule in direct sales, it’s estimated that approximately 95% of a vendor’s channel revenue will come through 5% of its partnerships. That means that all...Read More »
Dell to incentivise direct team to increase channel sales
Posted: Fri, 12 Sep 2008In a move that would have been unthinkable in the not-too-distant past, Dell’s direct sales force will soon be knocking on the doors of resellers when a pilot kicks...Read More »
More than a flash in the pan
Posted: Fri, 29 Aug 2008When the announcement came over the wires that Norwegian business software specialist Mamut was the buyer of the UK operations of MYOB, the name might have been unfamiliar to a...Read More »
Services market dominated by largest players
Posted: Fri, 29 Aug 2008IDC has released a piece of research that will come as little surprise to channel service specialists battling for business with the larger suppliers. According to the analyst...Read More »
Dell gives assurances over Premier Pages service
Posted: Tue, 26 Aug 2008Dell has assured MicroScope that the system error that caused a disturbance to its Premier Pages online pricing system have been fixed. Partners reported experiencing problems last month...Read More »
The return of 3Com
Posted: Fri, 01 Aug 2008As far as the networking industry is concerned, there is a huge elephant in the room, and it's named Cisco Systems Incorporated. Admired, respected and feared in equal measure, in...Read More »
Microsoft's Barclay prepares for new challenges
Posted: Mon, 28 Jul 2008Working with the channel is always going to be a challenge when you are employed by one of the world's largest software vendors. It becomes even trickier when the message...Read More »
Ease targets, vendors urged
Posted: Mon, 28 Jul 2008The channel has called for vendors to start factoring the economic slowdown into their sales forecasts, as sales are on average five to 10 per cent below expectations, according to...Read More »
Infosecurity Europe: product preview
Posted: Fri, 04 Apr 2008In an age when most people argue that the internet has started to replace everything, it is reassuring not only to walk the halls of an exhibition and do business...Read More »
Cisco unveils plans to drive server farm programme
Posted: Fri, 04 Apr 2008The influence of the internet is changing the timetable of large software releases, forcing vendors to brief resellers at a much earlier stage. Even before the release of Windows Server 2008...Read More »
Motorola addresses concerns over splits
Posted: Thu, 03 Apr 2008Motorola has assured its business partners they have nothing to fear from the imminent break-up of the communications giant. The company announced it was to divest itself...Read More »
Dell looks to get into bed with John Lewis
Posted: Wed, 02 Apr 2008Dell is locked in negotiations with a premium high-street brand as part of its ongoing retail expansion strategy, according to sources close to the vendor. As revealed late last year,...Read More »
Public sector shuts out small firms
Posted: Mon, 19 Nov 2007by Billy MacInnesMany small businesses are being shut out of Government contracts because of the cost and complexity of a tendering process which favours larger companies. The Forum of Private...Read More »
Dell investigates partner web tool calamity
Posted: Thu, 01 Jan 1970By Paul Kunert24 July 2008Dell is investigating an error on its web-based ordering mechanism that caused the system to crash leaving reseller partners with invalid quotes for customers. The Premier Pages...Read More »
Delivering the right channel message
Posted: Thu, 01 Jan 1970With technology companies selling up to 90 per cent of their products via the IT channel, this audience has become a vital part of any marketing strategy. The channel’s prominent...Read More »
Computer Channel and Computer Dealer News | MicroScope
Posted: Thu, 01 Jan 19703 December 2009As many as 1,000 Hewlett-Packard staff will go on strike for one day this month to show their disapproval of pay freezes and job cuts at the company. The...Read More »
Googlegalleyslaves awash with ideas
Posted: Thu, 01 Jan 1970Bermuda has to be one of the very few sun-soaked islands to pass a law about the minimum length for skirts. I’m not sure if this is out of a...Read More »
Acer gets the message
Posted: Thu, 01 Jan 1970By Paul Kunert 1 August 2008 Five years ago when selling through the channel was less than fashionable, Acer kept faith with its indirect only sales model. Rivals watched the Taiwanese giant’s subsequent rise...Read More »
Outsourcing: What drives a positive customer experience through the economic downturn?
Posted: Thu, 01 Jan 1970In a global economic crisis, organisations will be looking to outsource for a variety of traditional reasons, including the need to expand hours, better handle off-peak traffic, improve staffing flexibility,...Read More »
Vendors buffer network channel
Posted: Thu, 01 Jan 1970Over the course of the decade we’ve watched networking go from an adjunct to IT to one of its keystones, around which a huge amount of industry innovation is occurring. In...Read More »
Rebuilding UK econonomy on the IT sector
Posted: Thu, 01 Jan 1970The current recession has caused the greatest damage to the UK economy for over 100 years, writes Stephen Kelly, CEO of Micro Focus. The industries on which we had relied...Read More »
Five minute interviews
Posted: Thu, 01 Jan 1970Find out a little more about what makes some of your favourite channel folk tick with our probing interviews. Where else can you find out what little temptations managing directors...Read More »
Five minute interview: John Cruickshank, Hughes Europe
Posted: Thu, 01 Jan 1970MicroScope puts its questions to John Cruickshank, sales director, Hughes EuropeWhat is the best/worst advice you have received and from whom? Best: From my earliest mentor in sales – whatever...Read More »
Raise your game with customer service
Posted: Thu, 01 Jan 1970We all know the world is changing at an ever-faster pace and on many fronts, writes Neil Anderson, MD of outsourcer Qcom. While this rapidly shifting economic landscape is creating...Read More »
How to demystify data deduplication
Posted: Thu, 01 Jan 1970When it comes to data deduplication technology, the opportunities for resellers are clear, provided they present it and match it effectively to their customers’ needs.Data deduplication has moved from the...Read More »