Westcoast scores hat-trick with gaming giants MSI, Gigabyte, and Steel Series

PRESS RELEASE

Trio select the distribution and supply chain specialist for UK wide partnership

UK based distributor and supply chain innovator, Westcoast, today reveals it has signed UK distribution deals with three of the world’s leading players in the gaming market; MSI, Gigabyte and Steel Series.

Gaming laptop manufacturers MSI and Gigabyte and peripherals expert Steel Series have selected Westcoast as their preferred distribution partner for the UK market, further strengthening the company’s standing in the gaming sector.

Hungry, Hungry HPE

By Lee Prior 

So far 2017 has been a pretty interesting year for HPE. We’re only half way through March and already we’ve seen them extend their portfolio through the acquisition of enterprises like Simplivity, Niara and now most recently Nimble, with each of these additions being met with the slow head nod of general approval by the wider technology sector. That in itself is an achievement some would say, but when you consider the pace of change we are seeing, with Hybrid IT finally releasing the long promised potential of the Cloud and the reality of the Internet of Things cresting the horizon, to be able to navigate the turbulent waters of such rapid progress with a steady course, speaks volumes about the crew at the helm of the good ship HPE.

Once upon a time a story about a large IT company consuming one of their smaller rivals wasn’t really “Big News”, and had more to do with Darwinian natural selection, stock market roulette, Sabre Rattling or just plain good old fashioned billionaire vs billionaire ego than it did with a clear strategic vision or a drive for innovation - but things have changed.

As a lowly Marketing Manager, albeit for the biggest HPE Distributor in the UK, this type of corporate manoeuvring was an interesting side note that held my attention for as long as I was able to read without interruption, but ultimately news of a buyout had very little bearing on my day to day life. That is most decidedly not the case now, and rather than acquisition for acquisition’s sake these additions have the whiff of strategy about them, with each bringing their own particular part of the answer to a far larger question.

‘The Big Pitch’ awards an extra £10,000 of marketing funds to innovative resellers

By Phil Lamplugh

It’s very exciting times here at Westcoast. On top of two huge promotions, we’re also looking to provide some extra funds for some great Microsoft marketing ideas. This is all a part of an initiative we’re calling ‘The Big Pitch’.

Important volume licensing pricing update

By Dave Jennings

Microsoft have announced some planned price increases to all open licensing programmes, coming into effect from January 1st 2017. This is designed to bring the UK pricing in line with the rest of EU/EFTA. Even after this price adjustment, the pricing will still remain highly competitive.

Windows Server 2016 has arrived - Find out what's new

By Dave Jennings



The 1st of October saw the launch of Windows Server 2016, and one of the biggest changes in licensing for Microsoft’s server operating system. The new licensing model is unlike any other, so we will try to explain it and cover some of the common questions we are getting, while attempting to not overcomplicate it any more than Microsoft have already!

Simple, scalable finance to accelerate your HPE business

By Lee Prior

The way that companies are using & paying for technology is changing. Applications and services

are being offered “As a Service” so it makes sense that the 

technology infrastructure that drives them adopts a similar model.

This is why Westcoast and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have joined forces to offer HPE Partner Finance to Westcoast Customers.

We want to ensure that you can offer your clients the perfect solution by shifting the cost of infrastructure from a CAPEX model to an OPEX one, spreading the cost and ensuring they have the HPE technology they need to grow.

Don’t let finance constrain the solution you offer

HPE Partner Finance from Westcoast is the perfect way to ensure that you deliver the solution your clients need rather than the one they have capital for. By utilising one of the options available you will be able to exceed their expectations of what is possible, whilst saving them money at the same time.

Address the subject of finance head on and early in the discussions, and you will free yourself to simply consider the best possible solution based entirely on the technological and business requirements of your clients.

To find out more about HPE Partner Finance click here or contact Westcoast on 0118 912 6000 or sales@westcoast.co.uk

Take advantage of the growth for mobile and IoT with Aruba partner-ready solutions

By Lee Prior

The HPE Partner Ready for Networking program delivers a best-in-class program that enables you to meet all of your customers’ connectivity needs and take advantage of the growth for mobile and IoT, with  partner-ready solutions in Wired, Wi-Fi, BLE and WAN. The ability for partners to move quickly and be responsive to their customers is what has drove one of the core principles of the program, which is to simplify and make it easier to partner with Aruba.

Starting with tools that drive awareness and attract new business, to straightforward deal numbers that help you understand your profitability throughout the sales cycle, and easily-accessed sales and technical training that will help you to become the trusted advisor to your customers for next-generation edge networks.

Sound good to you? Then take a look at the new HPE Aruba Partner Ready For Networking Program which will tell you everything you need to know to take advantage of this great initiative.

If you have any questions the Westcoast team are ready and waiting to help you. Simply call us on 0118 912 6000 or email sales@westcoast.co.uk

The latest news from CSP this September

By Tom Marwood - Senior Cloud Solutions Specialist 

The first year of CSP was met with an amazing reception through Westcoast, and Microsoft have decided the time is right to release a world of new SKUs upon the market! From the start of September, there are several new options coming to the world of CSP, many of which we are sure will help you drive business through this fantastic Microsoft model.

Purpose Software Expands Intergration with Westcoast

Purpose Software has announced that 2serv and CBS, the UK’s leading service management software solutions for document and print management providers, are now fully integrated with Westcoast. This will enable resellers to automate and speed up the end-to-end toner replenishment process and take advantage of Westcoast’s greater buying power to reduce the cost of toner, both OEM and compatibles.

The WPC16 Top 5’s – Everything you need to know

By Ben Feurtado - Microsoft Business Manager

Once again it's that time of the year when we start to think about WPC and the opportunities that will be offered to us in Toronto.

Here at Westcoast we are delighted to be the Headline sponsor for the UK once more and are excited to see as many partners as we can during the week. Toronto is a great location for WPC with the UK base walking distance from both the convention centre and the Air Canada Center. It is here that all Vision keynotes will be hosted where we will hear from Satya Nadella, Kevin Turner and other Microsoft execs about the upcoming strategy for FY17.

To help you plan your WPC experience, and visit to Toronto, I have put together a few ideas that will hopefully help you during your stay. These include WPC sessions, places to go, and for all the football fans, places where you can watch the final of Euro 2016!

Striking Scanning from Fujitsu

The weather and the calendar finally agree – summer is truly here. And one of our absolute favourite things about spring is that it heralds a wealth of new tech releases; forget the bees; we’re the ones buzzing with delight! 

In March we saw the first tranche of new products from scanning giants Fujitsu. The Fujitsu fi-7460 and fi-7480 are desktop document scanners with a difference...

Boost Your Margins With HPE Server Deal Registration Changes

As of June the 1st Platinum, HPE Gold, Silver and Business Partners can benefit from an increased amount of discount for New Business Opportunities (NBO) formerly known as Partner for Growth. The Look Back period has also been shortened to 6 months, previously it was 2 years.

Westcoast acquistion of ArtSystems

We are pleased to announce today the acquisition of ArtSystems, the Nottingham-based specialist distributor.

ArtSystems, is recognised as one of Europe’s leading providers of value-add services and solutions to support high-end printing.

The firm provides technical consultancy, demonstration services, specialist logistics and pre and post sales engineering to the design, graphics, signage, display and 3D markets. Product portfolio focuses on large format and latex print and finishing hardware, software, media and supplies – and in the last 24 months the firm has seen significant success in 3D printing solutions.

Westcoast Managing Director Duncan Forsyth, said: "This acquisition represents a game-changing opportunity for Westcoast. ArtSystems has been a driving force in the development of the wide format sector and is a leader in next generation 3D printing. Both industries are growing hard and fast. Access to ArtSystems’ peerless technical expertise and range of distribution agreement with leading vendors like HP and Stratasys will give us a considerable competitive edge.”

 Steve Hawker, Managing Director of ArtSystems, added: “Over the years ArtSystems has built a reputation for creating new channels for manufacturer’s niche products. With investment from Westcoast we now have the opportunity to scale our solutions for suppliers and customers alike.”

For more information contact marketing@westcoast.co.uk.

Have you had a project held up due to a DOA printer?

If this sounds like a problem you found yourself faced with in the past, then fear no more..

 

Westcoast now offer Pre Delivery Inspection (PDI) service on all printers so you never have to worry about a project being held up again, receiving a brand new multi function printer that nobody knows how to set up, or even worse the wrong printer arriving.

Brand New Nebula Events – 3 Huge Reasons to Attend

So, Nebula is back in Reading, Manchester, Dublin and London! And what better way to get the information about it than a quick 2-minute deep dive into the most important points?

For those of you that want to skip to all of the full gritty details, you can find out more about the events and register here.

A look at Microsoft’s Enterprise Mobility Suite

It’s coming up to two years since Microsoft’s new mobile device management (MDM) software was announced by Satya Nadella. As it’s coming up to its two year anniversary this year, it’s safe to say that it’s been steadily growing in users. 

This is no doubt in part to the rising popularity of Office 365 in the work place, meaning that software and credentials are getting used on more than just the standard desktop PC. For organisations that support using multiple devices, MDM solutions are by far the best way to manage them. Well, it is called mobile device management software after all.

Thin, but not light – the new HP t730 caters for heavy content needs

As the cloud-based computing architecture has advanced, Thin Clients have played an increasing role in business tech. Carving a niche in high-performance sectors, such as financial services, oil/gas, digital media, and engineering, the Thin Client provides easy access and secure computing power through virtual desktop provision. While the benefits of this set up are patently clear – reduced costs, enhanced security, simple manageability, and optimal scalability – Thin Clients do have their drawbacks; image quality often suffers; add-ons and extra features are habitually required to maximise performance; they can be complicated to upgrade; and the pre-loaded software is frequently sub-par. The new HP t730 sets out to redress the balance.

Nebula – Journeying through the Cloud

By Rebecca Richards

Hello Partners!

 I’d like to thank all those that attended Stage 1 of the Nebula Program at the Cloud Partner Days. Covering London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin, over 200 attendees came together to discuss Westcoast’s and Microsoft’s commitment to support our partners and the opportunities in the cloud.

Westcoast appointed as distributor of HPE Aruba Networking Solutions

Westcoast has further strengthened its relationship with Hewlett Packard Enterprise after being newly appointed as a distributor for the recently acquired Aruba next generation networking solutions.

Westcoast has been unveiled as an Aruba exclusive distributor after finishing 2015 as HPE’s strongest distributor

Edinburgh Speakers Revealed for Nebula Program

By Phil Lamplugh

So, some of you may be aware that as part of our new Nebula Program (that’s our big campaign covering all things cloud), we’ve recently announced some Cloud Partner Days that will be at cities all over the UK. Five dates, five brilliant venues, five fantastic cities. This must be what it feels like to be a rock star… Almost.