Network & Communications
Outsourcery, Nokia launch OCS scheme
Posted: Thu, 02 Sep 2010Hosted 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...Read More »
Network neglect holds back IT innovation
Posted: Wed, 01 Sep 2010A study of 235 organisations carried out on behalf of networking and communications integrator Kcom has found that network management is too often overlooked during IT strategy planning, with the...Read More »
In-depth: Slow burning Cisco UCS gains traction at last
Posted: Thu, 26 Aug 2010Speaking on a recent conference call detailing Cisco's most recent set of results, CEO John Chambers said that it had now sold 1,700 installations of its much-vaunted Unified Compute System (UCS),...Read More »
Headsets a product to sell alongside UC
Posted: Mon, 23 Aug 2010Those resellers looking to add some margin to a unified comms sale are being urged to put headsets into their product portfolios.Plantronics director and general manager of UK & Ireland...Read More »
Viatel joins BT shared broadband trials
Posted: Wed, 18 Aug 2010Business comms provider Viatel is to participate in trials of BT Wholesale's Real Time Quality of Service (QoS) over shared broadband service, in the hope of fast-tracking business relevant comms...Read More »
Social media reaching mass channel audience
Posted: Mon, 16 Aug 2010After much encouragement from the vendor community, resellers in the communications channel are beginning to take up social media platforms in their businesses in large numbers, according to research conducted...Read More »
Google hit by Oracle lawsuit and 'sell out' charges
Posted: Fri, 13 Aug 2010By Billy MacInnesOracle has launched a legal action against Google for allegedly infringing patents on Java technology in its Android operating system, heaping further pressure on the search giant as...Read More »
Mobile device margins fell in Q2, says Gartner
Posted: Thu, 12 Aug 2010Despite recording the usual healthy growth in shipment volumes, average selling prices of mobile communications devices fell during calendar Q2, and margins have begun to slide, according to the latest market research...Read More »
TalkTalk launches Vodafone MVNO, cracks open interims
Posted: Fri, 30 Jul 2010TalkTalk, owners of the Opal b-2-b comms brand, has today announced the formation of a new MVNO agreement with Vodafone to offer customers mobile voice and broadband services alongside their landline...Read More »
Wireless spend forecast to return to growth
Posted: Wed, 28 Jul 2010Increased deployment of 4G networks in the coming months will reverse two years of declining revenues in the wireless infrastructure market, according to stats from analysts at iSuppli. Global capital...Read More »
Ofcom highlights broadband speed discrepancy
Posted: Tue, 27 Jul 2010Average broadband speeds in the UK are increasing, but there still remains a serious discrepancy between advertised speeds and average actual speeds, according to new research from comms regulator Ofcom...Read More »
Blue Coat launches network optimisation sales tool
Posted: Tue, 20 Jul 2010Application delivery networking vendor Blue Coat is to launch a dealer-focused cloud-based reporting and analytical service that it hopes its partner community will use as a sales tool in both...Read More »
Nokia Siemens buys Motorola wireless business for $1.2bn
Posted: Mon, 19 Jul 2010Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has today splashed out $1.2bn (£784m) on Motorola's wireless networking infrastructure business in yet another networking mega-deal. The deal, which was mooted in the business pages last...Read More »
Analysis: A streaming World Cup
Posted: Fri, 16 Jul 2010News analysisStreaming of major sporting events puts networks under strain and IT suppliers must be ready, says Amro GebreelWith the World Cup one of the first major sporting events to...Read More »
Days are numbered for 'unlimited' broadband
Posted: Wed, 07 Jul 2010Even before the Advertising Standards Authority review of claims of 'unlimited broadband' has reached its conclusions several players in the industry have called for an end to the misleading description...Read More »
D-Link appoints Bell Micro to support business growth
Posted: Mon, 05 Jul 2010Networking vendor D-Link has extended its relationship, already established in the US, with distribution partner Bell Micro appointing it in the UK to support its market growth ambitions.Bell has been...Read More »
Virgin Media Business courts channel
Posted: Tue, 29 Jun 2010With voice margins declining broadband provider Virgin Media Business has launched a reseller programme aimed at attracting those with the expertise in data sales.Boasting of its fibre optic network and...Read More »
Riverbed looks to the channel to provide greater support
Posted: Mon, 28 Jun 2010Riverbed is looking to its first tranche of services specialists in the channel to take the pressure of its support call volumes.The WAN optimisation specialist has announced those resellers and...Read More »
Three joins the ranks of data capping phone operators
Posted: Thu, 24 Jun 2010The days of unlimited data on smart phones are coming to an end just as Apple launches it's latest incarnation of the iPhone.As customers queue to get their hands on...Read More »
World Cup game causes internet surge
Posted: Thu, 24 Jun 2010Fears that World Cup games would put a strain on the network were borne out yesterday as England played its first game during office hours.With the England v Solvenia match...Read More »
ASA launches review of unlimited broadband offers
Posted: Thu, 17 Jun 2010A review by advertising chiefs could put an end to the word "unlimited" being applied to broadband offers that are anything but.The timing of a review of the way ISPs...Read More »
GCI Telecoms acquisition spree far from over
Posted: Wed, 16 Jun 2010The telco market has been one of the most active on the acquisition front during the recession with the likes of Daisy and GCI expanding their operations by opening their...Read More »
Digital Britain could become key element of recovery
Posted: Wed, 16 Jun 2010The managing director of TalkTalk's b-2-b division Opal, Paul Lawton, has called for the new government to assess the direction of the Digital Britain project and make strategic changes to...Read More »
HP picks Vidyo for conferencing line-up
Posted: Thu, 10 Jun 2010Hewlett-Packard has signed an agreement with video-conferencing software provider Vidyo to run Vidyo's software-based desktop and room video solutions on HP servers as part of its Halo desktop and room-sized...Read More »
Novell, Fujitsu team up for flexible clouds
Posted: Wed, 09 Jun 2010Novell and Fujitsu have announced the formation of a new vendor alliance designed to deliver flexible cloud solutions that are scaled to business needs.Under the terms of the alliance, Fujitsu...Read More »
Government sets more ambitious broadband targets
Posted: Wed, 09 Jun 2010The Coalition government has pledged to give the UK the best broadband network in Europe.Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt described the previous government's commitment to 2Mbps speed for all as "pitifully...Read More »
Cisco VNI report shows video, mobile growth trends
Posted: Wed, 02 Jun 2010A new report from Cisco has today highlighted the changing nature and volume of online data flow, projecting that global Internet traffic will increase fourfold between 2009 and 2014.The vendor's...Read More »
Ofcom unveils Digital Economy Act proposals
Posted: Fri, 28 May 2010Only fixed-line ISPs with customer bases larger than 400,000 will be initially subject to the conditions on copyright infringement laid down in the Digital Economy Act 2010, Ofcom has proposed.This...Read More »
Recession hammers network management systems sector
Posted: Fri, 21 May 2010Sales of network management systems (NMS) suffered more during 2009 than was originally expected, according to new research from analysts at Analysys Mason, as total sales dipped 8% year-on-year to...Read More »
Coalition sets out broadband policy
Posted: Fri, 21 May 2010The programme for government published this week by the Liberal-Conservative Coalition has set out the new government's plans for the ongoing roll-out of super-fast broadband across the UK.Although lacking in...Read More »
Cisco makes optical networking play
Posted: Thu, 20 May 2010Cisco has made its second acquisition this week after putting down $99m (£69.38m) in cash and retention incentives to acquire digital signal processing solutions provider CoreOptics.US-based CoreOptics, which has substantial European operations, specialises in transmission technology...Read More »
Networking vendors ink interoperability pact
Posted: Wed, 19 May 2010Hewlett-Packard, Juniper, Logitech, Microsoft and Polycom have been named as the founder members of a new non-profit alliance - dubbed the Unified Communications Interoperability Forum - designed to promote standards-based,...Read More »
Nokia under pressure as global mobile sales climb 17%
Posted: Wed, 19 May 2010Close to 315 million mobile handset unites shipped during the first three months of 2010, representing a 17% increase on the same period in 2009, according to the latest quarterly...Read More »
Wireless key to dodging public sector bullet
Posted: Mon, 17 May 2010With the scale of the inevitable cuts in public spending under the new Liberal-Conservative government still unclear, the channel is still bracing itself for a rough ride in the coming...Read More »
BT heads back into black
Posted: Thu, 13 May 2010BT has breezed past its previous forecasts after posting full-year profit of £1.02bn - marking a return to profit after posting massive losses in 2009 - on total sales of...Read More »
Smartphone market sees strengthening growth
Posted: Tue, 04 May 2010Worldwide shipments of smartphones hit 55.2 million during the first three months of the year with growth hitting 67% year-on-year, according to a new report from Canalys.Despite taking flak for...Read More »
Alcatel-Lucent gets behind 21CN video plans
Posted: Tue, 04 May 2010Alcatel-Lucent and BT have signed a five-year deal to expedite the provision of next-generation network services across BT's 21CN (21st Century Network) project.BT said Alcatel-Lucent's High Leverage Network architecture and...Read More »
Business sales marching up the hill
Posted: Fri, 30 Apr 2010GfK's month-on-month market comparison shows climb out of decline. Carl West explains the figures With most year-on-year sales comparisons not truly indicating a return to the more buoyant levels of...Read More »
ProCurve, 3Com brands to become a memory
Posted: Tue, 20 Apr 2010After years of blowing hot and cold over the future of its networking arm, HP ProCurve, Hewlett-Packard has now revealed that the ProCurve brand will disappear from the market...Read More »
Cisco closes Tandberg buy as video value erupts
Posted: Mon, 19 Apr 2010Cisco senior vice president, Emerging Technologies Business Group, Martin de Beer, has claimed that two thirds of the multi-billion dollar installed collaboration market is held by vendors other than Cisco...Read More »
How consumer trends are shaping UC for business
Posted: Fri, 16 Apr 2010March's UCExpo trade show in London provided a forum for industry representatives and customers to come together and discuss the growing influence of unified communications (UC) on the working environment...Read More »
Orange calls in BT to run broadband network
Posted: Fri, 16 Apr 2010Orange is to hand off control of its fixed-line infrastructure and broadband services to BT in an attempt to increase its UK coverage and improve the quality of its own...Read More »
ShoreTel launches TCO calculator
Posted: Tue, 13 Apr 2010IP communications vendor ShoreTel has launched a new tool designed to guarantee lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) to prospective customers when compared to rival solutions.The new program relies on...Read More »
D-Link expands line-up to target midmarket
Posted: Mon, 12 Apr 2010Ahead of a planned channel programme refresh, SMB networking specialist D-Link has launched a new line-up of 802.11n wireless products pitched at midmarket firms, and added new partner sales tools...Read More »
TalkTalk vows to fight Digital bill as debate rages
Posted: Fri, 09 Apr 2010Consumer ISP and Opal owner TalkTalk has vowed it will not surrender the details of any of its customers from digital rightsholders and will refuse requests to disconnect copyright infringers,...Read More »
Costs of Digital Economy Bill stack up for ISPs
Posted: Thu, 08 Apr 2010By Ian GrantInternet service providers (ISPs) face a host of extra costs that could add up to £15m a year when provisions in the Digital Economy Bill become law.This emerged from a...Read More »
Huawei mulls potential Motorola bid
Posted: Wed, 07 Apr 2010Shot down in 2008 in an attempt to link up with 3Com, Chinese networking vendor Huawei is now reportedly eyeing up Motorola's network business as the venerable US-based tech firm...Read More »
End users pushing business UC deployment
Posted: Thu, 25 Mar 2010Networking and data centre infrastructure vendor Brocade has stumped up further evidence that unified comms (UC) marketing messages are being missed, saying that 75% of UK businesses had yet to...Read More »
Intact to vet Cisco services channel
Posted: Thu, 25 Mar 2010Cisco services and support outfit Intact Integrated Services has added a formal partner accreditation tool - dubbed INSpect - to its expanding INSpan services network.The new processes are designed to...Read More »
Wireless carrier market set for further decline
Posted: Tue, 23 Mar 2010Bucking the recent trend towards recovery in networking markets, analysts at iSuppli have today released figures suggesting that the wireless carrier infrastructure market will decline in 2010 for the second...Read More »
BT gives thumbs up to Ofcom broadband proposals
Posted: Tue, 23 Mar 2010BT has spoken out in favour of Ofcom's proposals to promote competition and investment in super-fast broadband, but has added that it is already working on many of the comms...Read More »
Brown broadband pledge raises troubling questions
Posted: Mon, 22 Mar 2010The industry has been voicing concerns in reaction to this morning's speech by Gordon Brown in which the PM set out Labour's plans to hook up every UK household to...Read More »
Unified comms message is still too complex
Posted: Fri, 19 Mar 2010It is some time since the concept of unified communications (UC) became generally known, but it is clear that there has been a lack of education around it because challenging...Read More »
SpiriTel locks down Nessco acquisition
Posted: Fri, 19 Mar 2010Business comms provider SpiriTel has forked out £1.2m for Glasgow-based IP telephony specialist and fellow Mitel reseller Nessco in a deal it claims will give it nationwide coverage.The acquisition is...Read More »
Arrow ECS to beef up security and networking line
Posted: Thu, 18 Mar 2010Arrow ECS is planning on beefing up its security portfolio and making overtures at networking and voice vendors after missing out on Cisco's UCS play. It is three years since...Read More »
Switch market gains momentum as recovery takes hold
Posted: Thu, 18 Mar 2010The latest Canalys market figures on the worldwide enterprise switching market point to gathering economic recovery, with total end-user value beginning to show sequential improvements.Across the full-year, switch shipments totaled...Read More »
Ericsson tipped to buy LG-Nortel stake
Posted: Thu, 18 Mar 2010Nortel's stake in four-year old convergence, mobility and UC vendor LG-Nortel is set to be bought out by Ericsson by the end of the week, according to Reuters.According to reports...Read More »
Network ignored in IT decision-making
Posted: Wed, 17 Mar 2010Over 30% of IT managers, buyers and CIOs are failing to consider the impact of new technology on their networks before buying, even though 74% claim the network is central...Read More »
Colt enhances VAR services proposition
Posted: Tue, 16 Mar 2010Business communications provider Colt has added additional bandwidth and self-monitoring options to its SME voice and internet access bundle, VoIP Access, and updated its partner programme to deliver training, support...Read More »
Blue Coat takes first steps into virtualisation world
Posted: Tue, 16 Mar 2010WAN optimisation vendor Blue Coat is taking its first steps into the virtualisation arena and hopes to cosy up to VMware resellers through its distribution partnership with Arrow.The firm has...Read More »
Telindus hires for UK mobility push
Posted: Thu, 11 Mar 2010Telindus has appointed mobile industry expert Mike Bowerman to head up its new Mobile Broadband Framework as client director of mobile and spearhead the firm's drive into the mobile broadband...Read More »
Channel urged to ramp up video deployment
Posted: Wed, 10 Mar 2010Network quality is finally reaching the point where video applications can be sold successfully as part of a unified communications solution set, according to the buzz on the floor at...Read More »
PBX market declines ease in Q4
Posted: Wed, 10 Mar 2010The declines seen of late in the global PBX and IP PBX sector seem to be declining, according to the latest research from analyst house MZA Consulting, but the 12...Read More »
Polycom extends Avaya relationship
Posted: Tue, 09 Mar 2010Polycom has extended its existing relationship with UC networking vendor Avaya in order to jointly market integrated voice, video and collaboration solutions based on Polycom's Open Collaboration Network strategy and...Read More »
Motorola relaunches enterprise partner scheme
Posted: Mon, 08 Mar 2010Motorola enterprise and public sector partners are to be inducted into a new channel programme framework dubbed PartnerEmpower.The mobility and networking vendor said the amalgamation of the two separate channels...Read More »
Cisco backs off from WiMAX market
Posted: Mon, 08 Mar 2010Cisco has quietly let slip that it is quitting the WiMAX market, which it entered in 2007 with the $330m acquisition of Navini Networks.In a statement sent to MicroScope, Cisco...Read More »
Psion looks for channel to play role in vertical market push
Posted: Fri, 05 Mar 2010Smartphone specialist Psion is reaching out to developers to support its drive into vertical markets but wants resellers to get involved with its efforts to widen its market.The vendor yesterday...Read More »
Comment: Talking the talk on voice services
Posted: Fri, 05 Mar 2010Talk may be cheap but voice services could be raking in the readies for resellers, writes Jim Kent, chief executive officer of Datapoint, the communication systems integrator for businessesThe next...Read More »
RIM targets SMEs with BlackBerry server
Posted: Fri, 05 Mar 2010BlackBerry firm RIM is looking to work with more data resellers as it looks to increase its penetration into the SME market building on a growing slice of the consumer...Read More »
Touchscreen mobility set to grow 97% in 2010
Posted: Thu, 04 Mar 2010Close to 365 million touchscreen mobile devices will be shipped worldwide this year, an increase of 96.8% on 2009, according to new research from industry watchers Gartner.According to the latest...Read More »
Brussels signs off on Orange T-Mobile venture
Posted: Tue, 02 Mar 2010Orange and T-Mobile have been given the all-clear to merge their UK networks by the European Commission.The merger was first proposed last September after a period of speculation over the...Read More »
Euro IP telephony market sees buoyant end to '09
Posted: Mon, 01 Mar 2010The western European enterprise voice market began to show signs of recovery during the second half of last year, despite falling over 23% in value over the course of 2009.Market...Read More »
Avaya adds EMEA marketing programme
Posted: Mon, 01 Mar 2010Avaya has launched a new marketing programme designed to help EMEA partners ramp up their sales through training and lead generation.Dubbed MarketLeaders, the programme will encompass various partner-focused services and...Read More »
Carrier VoIP shows increased resilience
Posted: Fri, 26 Feb 2010The market for carrier VoIP appears to have made it through the recession relatively unscathed compared to other voice technologies, according to research released this week by analysts at Synergy...Read More »
D-Link unveils public sector finance offering
Posted: Fri, 26 Feb 2010D-Link has unveiled a zero percent offering targeted specifically at the public sector with the expectation it will overcome traditional resistance in that market to using finance.The networking specialist is...Read More »
Juniper pumps $50m into network development
Posted: Wed, 24 Feb 2010Juniper Networks has stumped up $50m to fund VC-backed technology start-ups investing in its Junos network ecosystem.The two-year Junos Innovation Fund will target firms that Juniper feels 'complement' its growth...Read More »
VoIP subscriptions top the 100 million mark
Posted: Tue, 23 Feb 2010The number of VoIP subscriptions worldwide topped 100 million for the first time late last year, according to research house Point Topic, representing 15% growth over the first three calendar...Read More »
Mobile data traffic will be 50 times higher by 2015
Posted: Tue, 16 Feb 2010by Ian GrantMobile phone traffic will grow by a factor of 50 as the mobile phone industry attracts three billion new mobile broadband subscribers and delivers billions of new content-rich...Read More »
ntl Telewest relaunches as Virgin Media Business
Posted: Thu, 11 Feb 2010Business-to-business network provider ntl:Telewest has relaunched as Virgin Media Business, setting out an ambitious strategy to become a compelling alternative to BT.The relaunch reflects the branding change that took place...Read More »
In-depth: A game-changing year
Posted: Thu, 11 Feb 2010The last year of the 'noughties' was a big one for the technology sector, and many of the developments will have repercussions throughout this year and beyond. David Binning reportsWe...Read More »
Mobile data traffic set to grow 39-fold by 2014
Posted: Tue, 09 Feb 2010Cisco has provided further evidence that smartphone technology will become a dominant force in the data industry after revealing the results of its Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Forecast...Read More »
Cisco and Tandberg show off video roadmap
Posted: Tue, 09 Feb 2010Cisco and Tandberg have outlined further details of their technology roadmap prior to formal regulatory approval, which is expected sometime during the first half of calendar 2010.The two companies, which...Read More »
BT jumps the gun on Cameron broadband pledge
Posted: Mon, 08 Feb 2010BT has jumped the gun on the Conservative party's broadband election pledge after revealing it is now in talks with the comms regulator, Ofcom, to open up its underground duct...Read More »
Daisy buys Managed Communications for £6m
Posted: Mon, 08 Feb 2010Acquisitive voice and data services provider Daisy Group has stumped up £6.3m in cash for Notts-based Managed Communications Ltd in its first buy of the new year.Daisy has undertaken to...Read More »
Dealers could benefit from carbon confusion
Posted: Thu, 04 Feb 2010Carbon management and green IT is pushing its way back up the agenda as the tentative economic recovery kicks in.But according to research carried out by Cisco and green technology...Read More »
Vodafone data revenues top a billion
Posted: Thu, 04 Feb 2010The growing take-up of smartphone devices saw Vodafone's data revenues top £1bn - up 17% year-on-year - for the first time during the quarter ended 31 December 2009.Vodafone now claims...Read More »
Magirus lands Cisco data centre distribution contract
Posted: Thu, 04 Feb 2010Magirus has been appointed by Cisco as its first data centre distributor in Europe after landing the contract after undergoing an extensive tender process.Under the terms of the relationship Magirus...Read More »
OFT targets Orange T-Mobile merger
Posted: Wed, 03 Feb 2010The proposed merger between UK mobile phone networks Orange and T-Mobile could become subject to additional scrutiny after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) asked the EC to refer "aspects"...Read More »
Riverbed sales fly on virtualisation ramp-up
Posted: Wed, 03 Feb 2010Network infrastructure performance vendor Riverbed Technology has posted record fourth quarter sales figures as WAN optimisation technology began to be recognised as a "critical" element of virtualisation installations.Sales rose 11%...Read More »
Extreme plans data centre assault as Q2 sales rise
Posted: Tue, 02 Feb 2010Network infrastructure vendor Extreme Networks has narrowly exceeded its previous Q2 sales forecast for the three months ended 27 December 2009, posting revenue of $79.4m (£49.8m), a little over $1m...Read More »
Cable & Wireless to split at end of March
Posted: Tue, 02 Feb 2010Cable & Wireless today named 26 March as the date for its demerger, pending a shareholder vote this month.The demerger was officially announced in November 2009 but is in fact...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 »
Nokia faces competitive challenges in 2010
Posted: Mon, 01 Feb 2010Analysts at IDC have warned that Nokia needs to make some smart moves in the coming months to maintain its lead in the European smartphone segment.Growing competition from Korean manufacturers...Read More »
Secret admirer chats up NetServices
Posted: Mon, 01 Feb 2010Salford-based Cisco Master Managed Services partner NetServices has revealed it is in talks with a mystery buyer after its share price leaped just before the weekend.In a disclosure made to...Read More »
Tories called out on broadband pledge
Posted: Mon, 01 Feb 2010The Conservative party has unveiled plans to slice off a portion of the BBC TV licence fee to fund 100 Mbps broadband across the UK by 2017, should the comms...Read More »
Juniper sales up on network spending rebound
Posted: Fri, 29 Jan 2010Juniper Networks has reported strong results for the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2009, giving more weight to talk that enterprise customers in the US are now ramping up their...Read More »
KCOM performance improving in second half
Posted: Fri, 29 Jan 2010Managed comms outfit KCOM Group continues to power through the second half of its fiscal 2010, according to an interim management statement released today.The group's performance to the end of...Read More »
Analysis: Turnaround in networking fortunes?
Posted: Thu, 28 Jan 2010Despite networking market declines last year, some technologies hold the promise of growth in 2010, writes GfK's Greg AllenThe past year has been particularly challenging for the networking market, with...Read More »
Analysis: Educators fear IT budget cuts
Posted: Thu, 28 Jan 2010Although the weather might have hit the numbers, more than 30,000 visitors were expected to walk the floors of London's Olympia at this year's BETT Show over its four-day span.One...Read More »
BT recruitment scheme rebooted
Posted: Wed, 27 Jan 2010Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400;...Read More »