Computer Reseller News Latest updates

Bytes loses sales staff

Kayleigh Bateman — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:56:52 GMT

Kayleigh Bateman, CRN, Tuesday 7 October 2008 at 16:43:00

Sales director Zak Virdi among breakaway group of sales staff leaving the Microsoft partner

Microsoft LAR Bytes Technology has confirmed the exit of its sales director Zak Virdi and four members of its new business sales team....

Super models attract customers

Andrew de Rozairo — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:02:29 GMT

Andrew de Rozairo, CRN, Tuesday 7 October 2008 at 14:58:00

A year of change means unexpected sales opportunities, according to Andrew de Rozairo

2008 has been a year of change, with much financial uncertainty and fluctuation. This change is being felt throughout organisations; it is affecting staff numbers, sales targets, efficiency, and productivity....

Big Blue moves ISVs into the cloud

Kayleigh Bateman — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:30:46 GMT

Kayleigh Bateman, CRN, Tuesday 7 October 2008 at 14:22:00

Big Blue unveils new resources to help ISV partners and customers move to cloud computing delivery model

IBM has unveiled a new initiative to extend its software delivery model towards cloud computing applications for its ISVs and customers....

Interface increases Sun exposure

Sara Yirrell — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:14:47 GMT

Sara Yirrell, CRN, Tuesday 7 October 2008 at 13:56:00

Distributor appoints new head of Sun business unit to spearhead growth

Interface Solutions has recruited a new head for its growing Sun business in the form of John Taylor. Taylor joined the distributor two months ago from Horizon, which was snapped up...

AMD uses Abu Dhabi cash to split

Sam Trendall — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:14:47 GMT

Sam Trendall, CRN, Tuesday 7 October 2008 at 14:06:00

Chip vendor spins off manufacturing business to focus on design and improve financial predicament.

Investment from Abu Dhabi-based firms will allow chip manufacturing titan AMD to split into two businesses, one to design chips and one to manufacture them....

Rocom gives VARs vertical edge

Sam Trendall — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:37:25 GMT

Sam Trendall, CRN, Tuesday 7 October 2008 at 12:33:00

Distributor teams up with two vendor partners to offer resellers a series of free vertical-focused workshops

Distributor Rocom is teaming up with two of its vendor partners to offer resellers a series of free workshops focused on vertical markets....

Small businesses feeling the pinch

Sara Yirrell — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:09:39 GMT

Sara Yirrell, CRN, Tuesday 7 October 2008 at 09:53:00

FSB calls for interest rate cut as market downturn gets a grip on SMEs

Smaller firms have admitted to a downturn in business and a rise in operating costs according to a Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) survey....

SAP shares plunge after sales warning

Doug Woodburn — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:09:38 GMT

Doug Woodburn, CRN, Tuesday 7 October 2008 at 10:03:00

Software vendor sees share price nose-dive 16 per cent after admitting sudden drop in sales

The tech sector is reeling after business application giant SAP reported a “sudden” drop in sales in the second half of September....

Barlow leaves Computacenter

Doug Woodburn — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:52:05 GMT

Doug Woodburn, CRN, Monday 6 October 2008 at 15:36:00

Former Equanet chief said to be looking for next channel opportunity after parting company with corporate reseller

Industry hard-hitter Paul Barlow has left Computacenter just nine months after joining the corporate reseller. Barlow took up his post as commercial director of Computacenter’s Customer Coverage Unit (CCU) in...

Veeam targets VMware channel

Kayleigh Bateman — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:15:57 GMT

Kayleigh Bateman, CRN, Monday 6 October 2008 at 13:01:00

VMware management tools vendor plans to recruit 50 partners after touching down in UK

VMware ESX Server management tools vendor Veeam Software has landed in Europe. The US-based company recently unveiled its EMEA headquarters in Camberley, announcing plans to recruit 50 UK partners by...

IBM opens Scottish data centre

Kayleigh Bateman — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:39:01 GMT

Kayleigh Bateman, CRN, Monday 6 October 2008 at 10:37:00

New Greenock facility aimed at mid-sized firms looking to consolidate their IT infrastructure

IT goliath IBM is set to build a £2m collocation data centre at its Greenock facility in Scotland. Big Blue’s new energy efficient facility will offer services to mid sized...

BT reveals ambitious plans for services arm

Sara Yirrell — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:39:01 GMT

Sara Yirrell, CRN, Monday 6 October 2008 at 16:09:00

Telecoms giant looks to double turnover for renamed services division

The services arm of BT aims to more than double its turnover to £2bn within five years. The division is undergoing the process of being renamed before the end of...

Online VARs appeal to card issuers

Sam Trendall — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:39:01 GMT

Sam Trendall, CRN, Monday 6 October 2008 at 15:52:00

Etailers look to credit card firms in battle against fraud

Online resellers have spoken of the need for unwavering vigilance in tackling card-not-present fraud (CNP) while appealing to credit card companies for more help....

One in three schools needs IT improvement

Sam Trendall — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:26:03 GMT

Sam Trendall, CRN, Friday 3 October 2008 at 16:11:00

BESA report hints at VAR opportunity by concluding UK state schools are under-equipped for learning platforms as 2010 deadline nears

More than a third of UK state schools feel under-equipped to properly implement a learning platform, a study by trade association the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) has found....

Choiix targets mini-notebook channel

Nick Booth — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:10:38 GMT

Nick Booth, CRN, Friday 3 October 2008 at 16:01:00

Vendor claims VARs can make continuous profits from its mini-notebook accessories

Mini notebook accessories maker Choiix believes it can emulate the printer market’s model for making continuous profits for its partners....

Microsoft pushes S+S vision

Kayleigh Bateman — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:07:39 GMT

Kayleigh Bateman, CRN, Friday 3 October 2008 at 15:02:00

Software giant asks partners: are you ready to evolve?

Microsoft recently did its best to promote its Software Plus Services strategy at its S+S: Are you ready to evolve? event in London....

Targus Entas Mac market

Nick Booth — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:52:07 GMT

Nick Booth, CRN, Friday 3 October 2008 at 14:49:00

Manufacturer tasks distributor Enta with taking its first Mac notebook accessory to market

Laptop accessory maker Targus has launched its first line of accessories for Mac notebook users, available to the channel through distributor Enta....

Plimsoll figures show depth of reseller peril

Doug Woodburn — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:16:42 GMT

Doug Woodburn, CRN, Friday 3 October 2008 at 12:09:00

Number of VARs using overdrafts as permanent means of finance is causing growing concern

More than a quarter of UK resellers are losing money and one in six is close to collapse, gloomy new research has suggested....

Cisco spins out WebEx to VARs

Sam Trendall — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:45:41 GMT

Sam Trendall, CRN, Friday 3 October 2008 at 11:29:00

Collaboration portfolio welcomed by partners

Top-level Cisco partners have welcomed the launch of the new Cisco collaboration portfolio, including a WebEx software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. The networking giant acquired conferencing vendor WebEx last year but, until now, getting...

2e2 closes Netstore buy-out

Sam Trendall — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:14:40 GMT

Sam Trendall, CRN, Friday 3 October 2008 at 11:02:00

Integrator targets £50m revenue spike and increased SaaS expertise

After closing its acquisition of security specialist Netstore, integrator 2e2 has claimed it now boasts a formidable consultancy practice. Completion of the £57m buy-out, 2e2's biggest acquisition to date, was...

Mitel ransacks rivals for partner staff

Doug Woodburn — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:14:40 GMT

Doug Woodburn, CRN, Friday 3 October 2008 at 10:56:00

Mitel Sales Academy will recruit and train experienced industry sales staff and place them at Mitel resellers

Mitel is raiding the sales channels of competition in a bid to plug vacancies at its own partners. The telephony manufacturer has launched the Mitel Sales Academy, which is designed to...

PC market shrugs off crunch

Nick Booth — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:12:30 GMT

Nick Booth, CRN, Friday 3 October 2008 at 10:04:00

Second quarter unit shipment growth of 14.5 per cent exceeds expectations

Demand for PCs continues to defy economic and financial woes, reports analyst iSuppli, with worldwide unit shipments growing by 14.5 percent in the second quarter of 2008 compared to the...

Set meaningful KPIs

Ian Tomlinson — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:57:59 GMT

Ian Tomlinson, CRN, Thursday 2 October 2008 at 16:43:00

Ian Tomlinson argues that more attention should be paid to setting – and using – key performance indicators (KPIs)

The answer to every problem is closer than you think. Resellers tend to look outside their business for remedies. They would do better to look inside their businesses, measuring performance...

BSA makes four pirates walk the plank

Kayleigh Bateman — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:42:23 GMT

Kayleigh Bateman, CRN, Thursday 2 October 2008 at 16:31:00

Anti-piracy body swoops in biggest settlement of the year

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has claimed UK businesses are still ignoring software licensing laws after securing its biggest settlement this year by catching four organisations red-handed....

Lenovo boosts partner rewards

Sam Trendall — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:42:23 GMT

Sam Trendall, CRN, Thursday 2 October 2008 at 16:37:00

PC vendor and technology partners offer goodies and holidays to channel sales staff

PC vendor Lenovo and a number of its technology partners are offering channel salespeople prizes and holidays as incentives to encourage VARs to sell more kit....