Channel Business Management

MicroScope: Power to transform

In this issue, MicroScope asks experts what to expect in 2020, and the channel shares why change is necessary to thrive in different business environments Continue Reading

Beware of falling for the hype machine

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Channel faces another year of evolution

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Lenovo DCG turns to channel veteran to run EMEA

Hardware player brings in former Riverbed channel executive with a history of working with partners to drive growth across the ecosystem Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Partners driving growth at Microsoft, SnapLogic and Scale Computing

A trio of vendors have shared their latest quarterly results with the channel getting a mention Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel could benefit from SME Brexit bounce

With the UK just hours away from officially leaving the EU it looks like many SMEs are gearing up to start spending on tech Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Resellers look to distribution to underpin 2020 ambitions

Context shares more findings from its ChannelWatch report with resellers looking for more support from their distie partners Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Who has moved into a fresh job in the past seven days? We highlight some of those making moves in the industry in the past week Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

BETT: HP hits the road to support educational partners

Vendor aims to get its education offerings out in front of customers and support resellers across the country Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

BETT: Lenovo calls for more tech investment

The hardware vendor has worked on a report that indicates that money needs to be spent on tech to keep education in touch with the digital demands of the future Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Computacenter eyeing vast opportunities

Channel player shares details of strong 2019 and indicates that the future is one where it can enjoy further growth Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

IT security is broken: Six ways partners can help fix it

Many organisations have numerous non-integrated security point products installed across their enterprise, the management of which is a huge challenge. Here, we discuss how partners can help their customers to adopt a more holistic approach to security Continue Reading

By

• Ian Jenkins, VMware

IT firms victims of worsening late payment situation

Last year saw the problem with invoices being settled getting worse and IT firms are struggling to get their bills paid on time Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Avaya appoints former channel boss to UK&I MD role

The comms specialist has turned to its former European channel chief to help continue its drive into the cloud Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Fresh efforts made to tackle late payment woes

Late payments have been a headache for SMEs for years but fresh attempts are being made to clamp down on the issue Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Moves at a fairly senior level seemed to be the trend over the past week with firms looking to kick on in 2020 with some fresh talent Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Kaspersky rolls out licensing portal for MSPs

Security player aims to make licensing easier with online tools and more flexible with a monthly billing option Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Skills crisis threatens to derail customer growth ambitions

Getting hold of talent is top of the list of concerns for UK tech leaders and is causing many of them to cast doubts over the prospects for the industry in the next couple of years Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Several executive moves have caught the eye over the past seven days with this roundup capturing a few of the notable ones Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Beware of falling for the hype machine

With more companies resorting to hyperbole to sell products, Billy MacInnes warns of the necessity to see past exaggeration and look at the true effectiveness of products and technology Continue Reading

By

• Billy MacInnes

Synnex splits in two with Concentrix getting its independence

Distributor is looking to gain more flexibility and focus by splitting away from the customer experience specialist Concentrix Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Desmond returns as Exclusive strengthens executive team

After a year away from his role at Exclusive Networks, Barrie Desmond has returned to the distributor alongside three other hires to add muscle to the channel player’s executive team. Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Just a few executive changes to concentrate on the first full week back to work of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

LogicMonitor planning to invest in partners

It's been almost a full twelve months since the AIOps player launched its channel programme and it is looking to build on that over the course of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel faces another year of evolution

Distributors, vendors and trade associations share their expectations for the year ahead, with the need to embrace change a key part of the message Continue Reading

By

• Billy MacInnes

MicroScope: SMEs and managed services

In this issue of MicroScope, we look at the channel opportunity in the SME customer base as they look for managed services support, our roundtable discussion looks at the transformative appeal of unified communications, and consider why software development houses are switching to no-code. Read the issue now Continue Reading

Channel predictions: Opportunities in AI, hybrid cloud, edge and security

Some of the great and the good in the industry have shared their predictions for what they expect in 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Motherhood is the necessity of invention, says Mellanox channel boss

Mellanox vice-president Yael Asseraf Shenhav talks about how her employer has enabled her to thrive in a male-dominated industry and sheds light on how we can all better manage our time Continue Reading

By

• Nick Booth

Resellers feeling good about 2020

Context has surveyed thousands of resellers across the UK and Europe and found that levels of optimism are higher than at this time last year Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Five minute interview: Alex Walsh, Manager of Channels UK&I at Veeam

The recently appointed UK channel chief at Veeam shares his thoughts on his favourite band and the movie he wish he hadn't seen Continue Reading

VMware arming channel with skills to unlock digital opportunities

Reaping the digital transformation rewards is more than just an IT conversation and VMware's UK channel chief is taking an approach based on helping partners increase their capabilities Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Canalys reveals its Channel Champions

Analyst house places 12 vendors in the champions category for delivering high levels of support to partners Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Consenna gearing up for HP for Education programme

Channel player ready to support the eighth year of the vendor's education trade-in programme Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Before the channel starts to go into full on festive mode there have still been some appointments worth highlighting Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

HP expands channel finance options

Vendor renews its relationship with HPE and adds DLL to the mix to provide channel finance options Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Distribution model is alive and well

Warren Buffett’s interest in Tech Data represents a very strong endorsement of distribution and the channel’s role Continue Reading

By

• Billy MacInnes

SCC chief heralds solid year

The last twelve months have been busy ones for SCC and its chief executive is keen to highlight its achievements Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Stone Group undergoes an MBO

Firm goes through second MBO in the space of 11 years as it changes investment backers Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Northamber founder David Phillips passes away

The founder of Northamber has sadly died after suffering a short illness Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Sabio looks for growth with fresh CEO

Firm looks to build on six acquisitions in the last three years with a fresh face in the CEO chair Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

MicroScope: Time for change

In this issue, we ask experts how they're approaching digital transformation to meet customers demand, and we look at whether the actions of the user should reflect on the accountability of the cloud provider Continue Reading

Lenovo lifts lid on SME demands for more flexibility

The vendor has found that a significant number of staff working for SMEs would like to get access to mobile and cloud computing tools Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

How to improve customer experience

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Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Another busy week with several comings and goings to report on from across the channel Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Veeam UK channel boss looking to widen partner support

The recently installed UK channel boss is planning to increase the support it offers a wider number of partners as well as looking to exploit its alliances for the benefit of resellers Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Apollo increases Tech Data offer to fend off rival bid

Private equity player is now prepared to pay $6bn for distributor after its original offer was trumped by a rival suitor Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Q&A: Rob Tomlin, vice-president of channels UK&I, Dell Technologies

As Rob Tomlin completes his first year as UK channel chief at Dell, it's a good time to reflect on the progress made and future goals Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Support for business and tech called for from next government

Channel and business groups set out their wish list for whoever wins the keys to Number 10 next month Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Another week with some moves across the industry as firms look to get the right personnel to drive growth Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

GTDC: Distribution set for continued growth

The industry group has released the findings of its 2025 research indicating that the future for distribution is looking positive Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Opportunities and threats with Microsoft 365 Business Voice

The latest announcement from Microsoft brings significant business benefits and increased revenue to its resellers Continue Reading

By

• Michael Frisby, Vuzion

Cohesity, Extreme and Cloudera enhancing partner programmes

Just like waiting for buses it's turning out to be the week when numerous channel partner programme refreshes all turn up Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

How to improve customer experience

Billy MacInnes questions experts on what they’re doing to digitally transform the customer experience and asks what advice they have for channel partners Continue Reading

By

• Billy MacInnes

CompTIA: Pressure on channel to change

Industry association is encouraging resellers to step out of their comfort zones and embrace change Continue Reading

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

No sign of the job moves slowing down with some more changes happening across the industry over the course of the last week Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Dell platinum partner OCF undergoes an MBO

The owners of the high performance computing specialist have decided the time is right for some fresh hands at the wheel Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Customer experience driving collaboration investments

Improving customer experience is one of the main factors behind the decision by users to invest in unified comms and collaboration tools Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Tech Data accepts $5.4bn private equity offer

Distributor's board recommend the sale, which should give it access to more financial muscle Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

IoT security: A winning strategy for MSSPs

Don’t let your clients’ IoT initiatives make them vulnerable to cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Jason Howells, Barracuda MSP

Exertis delivers for DCC

Half year numbers show that although facing its challenges the Technology side of the business is performing strongly Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

A busy week with lots of announcements of fresh faces taking up roles across the industry Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

SCC investing millions in HQ

A couple of buildings that date from the 1980s will be given a full refurb as the channel player invests in its facilities Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Software driving increased IT spending in 2020

Gartner has been looking into its crystal ball to see how IT spending will fare across EMEA next year Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

What’s in a name? Inside sales versus telesales

Inside sales seems much the same as telesales, only dressed up for the modern age. What's brought the change about and is it really so different from what we already know? Continue Reading

By

• Billy MacInnes

Q&A: Angela Whitty, managing director, UK&I partner organisation, Cisco

Cisco’s UK channel chief shares some views on the year ahead and the progress made in the 2019 financial year Continue Reading

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Another busy few days in the IT world with some more appointments being made across the industry Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

HPE supports as a service shift with partner programme enhancements

To support the ambition to offer as a service across the portfolio by 2022 HPE has started to make changes to its partner programme Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

MicroScope: The growing SD-WAN opportunity

After plenty of hype, software-defined wide-area networking is delivering revenues for the channel, but how are partners taking advantage of it? Also read about how to tackle the growing skills gap in the face of Brexit, and how businesses are supporting intelligent workspaces Continue Reading

Rivals offer alternative to UKFast staff after CEO steps down

Lawrence Jones has decided to step down amid allegations of sexual misconduct Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

What resellers want: Countering customer frustrations

Alex Tatham, managing director of Westcoast, discusses his conclusions from the results of the company’s recent survey Continue Reading

By

• Alex Tatham, Westcoast

Computacenter delivers solid third quarter

Computacenter has cheered investors with a decent Q3 just a week after fellow channel player Softcat did the same with its full year numbers Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Changing of the guard: Will technology leaders soon set business strategy?

IT must increasingly align with the business to keep up with modern customer demands, leading to a change of how the technology leadership role is performed Continue Reading

By

• Sean Farrington, Pluralsight

Retirement wave sparking mainframe skills crisis

LZLabs has found that in just a few years those with the skills at many firms to keep the mainframe lights on are planning to head off into retirement Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

NetSuite makes “largest ever” investment in channel

ERP software vendor outlines new partner programme Continue Reading

By

• Christine Horton

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

A brief guide to some of the appointments made across the industry in the past week Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Webroot putting the ground work in before 2020 programme launch

The security player's channel chief has been spending the months post the Carbonite acquisition getting a firm grip on its indirect business Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Skills issues holding back wider channel adoption of emerging tech

CompTIA takes the pulse of the UK channel and discovers more would like to be at the cutting edge but expertise is an issue Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

New Commvault channel chief promises partners greater stability

Mercer Rowe’s pledge of no more “knee-jerk reactions” welcomed by partners Continue Reading

By

• Christine Horton

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Another busy seven days with some more arrivals that have been hand picked for their abilities to bring growth Continue Reading

Forcepoint in a rush to make a channel difference

Security player is turbo-charging its efforts to put structures in place to work with partners Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Schneider Electric: Healthcare, manufacturing and education leading edge spend

Power management specialist works with Canalys to survey resellers around the opportunities and challenges customers are facing around edge computing Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Fresh image and roadmap “breathe new life” into Commvault

Commvault unveils new look and product strategy under CEO Sanjay Mirchandani Continue Reading

By

• Christine Horton

Digital transformation: How far are we really in the journey?

Are customers really in as much of a hurry to digitally transform as the shrillest advocates of the technology would like us to believe? Continue Reading

By

• Billy MacInnes

LzLabs moving to plug mainframe expertise gap

Pressure is mounting from various sides on those customers that are still using apps that are stuck on aging mainframes Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Nutanix reassures channel in transition to software company

Nutanix launches partners services programme and pushes OEM relationships Continue Reading

By

• Christine Horton

Webroot and Carbonite to re-launch channel programme in 2020

Webroot talks merging channel organisations following its acquisition by Carbonite in March Continue Reading

By

• Christine Horton

Nutanix announces back-end rebate increases

Vendor looks to get partner compensation “on a par” with competitors Continue Reading

By

• Christine Horton

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

The revolving doors in the industry have been spinning over the last week as some senior figures have chosen to step aside and some fresh blood has been sought elsewhere to help fuel growth Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Westcoast uncovers reseller thoughts about distribution

Channel player asks resellers what they think of distribution and finds there is work to do to support digital transformation ambitions Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

CompTIA: Channel must “learn new tricks” to keep customers

CompTIA CEO urges channel to explore emerging technologies or risk losing business Continue Reading

By

• Christine Horton

SD-WAN: How channel can make net gains

How prepared are channel partners to take advantage of the rapidly growing SD-WAN market? Continue Reading

By

• Billy MacInnes

Might be a while before someone orders from a reseller with Alexa

Personal assistants are gaining traction as yet another way customers can order services but concerns about data integrity are holding back widespread adoption Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Forcepoint using platinum and services to up consultancy levels

Security player is adding more depth to its channel programme with a couple of enhancements Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Another busy week in the industry and time for the channel to get familiar with a few fresh names Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

MicroScope: What’s next for the channel?

The fourth quarter is the busiest in the channel, so we talk to experts to ask what technologies should be selling strongly in the coming months. Also, discover whether vendor certifications are really worth it, and what Brexit could mean for the GDPR sales pitch Continue Reading

Westcoast and iland present a tale of two disties

Talking to just a couple of distributors reveals the evolution and determination from those firms to remain ahead of the market Continue Reading

By

• Nick Booth

Telstra looking for channel growth after turning purple

The recent launch of Telstra Purple will give the comms specialist the opportunity to provide the channel with more support Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Nuvias putting the emphasis on value

Distributor kicks off a campaign around adding value for resellers that will run for the next few months Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

HPE points distribution towards the growing as a service opportunity

Vendor is sitting down with distributors this week to talk about as a service, SMEs and its channel programmes Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor

Maintel turns to former Avaya boss to step into CEO shoes

It's only taken a few weeks for the managed services player to settle on its choice of who will be its next chief executive Continue Reading

By

• Simon Quicke, Microscope Editor