Unwrap 1DNC

By Phil Lamplugh

 In this merry and festive time of the year, I think that now is a great time to remind you of a great big Westcoast present that’s available all the year round.

1 Device No Compromise (or ‘1DNC’ to friends) is our jam-packed website which offers a variety of device options based on the requirements of your customers. Pick from a wide variety of sectors and roles, see the recommended options along with justifications for each one.

Featuring videos, conversation guides, battle cards and more, 1DNC is well equipped for all of your device needs. Plus, all of the devices are running Windows 10 Pro, so you know that they’re well-equipped for all business needs, no matter what the sector.

Also on 1DNC, you’ll find regular Product Spotlights where we take a deeper dive into individual devices and explore their features. Recently we’ve covered the HP Elite x3 and the Spectre Pro 13, with more coming soon.

We’re also going through one of our regular product refreshes on the website at the moment too, so you can be sure that you’ve got all of the details on the newest devices going into 2017.

There’s loads to find on 1DNC, so make sure you take a look when you can – you can always find it at www.westcoast.co.uk/1dnc

Just a quick final thing… I’m reliably informed that this will be Westcoast’s final blog post of the year, in which case it’s my duty and pleasure to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and for the very best in 2017.


See you in January!

HP: Developing devices that pack a punch for power users

By Brendan Loughrey

In an increasingly mobile world, users are bowled over by the capabilities of new tablets and laptop PCs on the market. And for some, these devices are the perfect solution to their computing needs. However, some business users simply need more power, and only an HP Workstation can give it to them.

The latest range of HP Z Workstations are equipped to handle critical application, complex data and design. Enabling users to innovate without limits, expanding as their workflow grows. At Westcoast, we think HP’s latest Z Workstation range – which includes both traditional desktops and laptops – is a cut above the rest thanks to its superior technology and partnerships. It’s simply setting new standards.

HP Elite x3 – The Future of Mobility?

By Brendan Loughrey

In August 2016 HP introduced a new member to the Elite Family and hailed it as ‘a revolution in mobility’ which, despite its appearance, is not a smartphone! HP’s reasoning for this is evident in the name, The Elite x3: The world’s first built for business 3-in-1 device that combines PC power and productivity with premium smartphone capabilities. This device has the capability to perform as a smartphone, laptop and desktop.

That being said, let’s take a closer look at how HP’s pioneering product in the business mobility category may have hit or missed the mark.

My thoughts on the Microsoft price increase

By Mark Davies 

As  has become the norm now, Microsoft along with other vendors in the channel have raised their pricing across a range of different services for on-prem products and also cloud-based services. These increases haven’t come as a surprise with market fluctuations caused by things like Brexit and other changes in the economy. Bringing pricing in line with our European counterparts is completely normal and I’m sure there was a loud cheer with everyone trading in euros. Previously, partners across Europe could be buying in sterling and seeing savings of up to 20% so this could hinder some of the European partners who can only transact in euros. So up to this point we’ve had it good in the UK.

The Future of IoT

By Sian Walsh

I was in the midst of my morning scroll on Linkedin today and came across a great post from Meg Whitman herself on the the prospect of a more connected future thanks to the development of IoT.

The post featured a video which shows just some of the great technology advances that could happen in the future such as; video calling through watches, ghost suitcases, car doors that open for you, and sending virtual cupcakes via drones -  I think the latter is my favorite idea! In Megs words 'We’re beginning to see a world where everything is connected and everything computes, driven by the Internet of Things (IoT)''... and it's a very exciting prospect that we can all look forward to.

HPE Discover 2016 round up

By Jess Tyley

Meg Whitman was clear in her keynote at HPE Discover 2016 about her vision of the future of IT and I was lucky enough to be there to hear it first hand on Tuesday. Digital transformation is at the forefront of the company’s vision along with key partnerships and data led insight.

Our world is experiencing a digital disruption. We are producing data like we never have done before and its more important than ever that we have the capability to process and draw insights from the data we create. Data volumes are increasing outside the edge and companies need to be able to process the data to make decisions in real time.

Westcoast Mentors help students win their place in the Champions of Enterprise Grand Final

By Sian Walsh

Source: ebpwb.co.uk

In September 2016 Westcoast were given the opportunity to mentor students from local community schools as they took part in the West Berkshire Champions of Enterprise competition. Throughout the autumn more than 400 sixth form students from five secondary schools took part in this exceptional competition. They were joined by volunteer mentors from 12 companies and each mentor was tasked with inspiring and advising a team of students while giving up 150 hours of their time for the project.

How comfortable is your workstation?

By Sam Thrower

We spend a lot of time sitting at our desks and while it may not seem like it, sitting uncomfortably on a long term basis could really cause havoc with our bodies. Poor layout and workplace design play a contributing factor to many workplace injuries and illness in an office environment.

Simple adjustments to improve your ergonomic workspace such as making sure your chair is the correct height, ensuring your equipment is spaced out and maintaining a good posture can all help to keep you comfortable and injury free.

The infographic below shows some key stats on just how important it is to keep a comfy workstation.

Monetising Mobility

By Lee Prior

It’s not often in life you have a genuine “Eureka moment” but I had one whilst attending an ‘Accelerate your growth’ training session at HPE in Bracknell.

Being a Marketing person you might ask yourself “what was I doing at a sales training event?” So let me cover that off up front…I was spying, there I said it. I wanted to see how HPE delivered content to the Channel so that I could pick up some tips, make some contacts and perhaps even learn a thing or two about the products and services on offer, and boy did I learn!

As with most things in life familiarity does breed a certain level of…well if not contempt, then at least a lack of appreciation, and as somebody that writes and talks about IT in general and HPE in particular on a daily basis, I can be accused of sometimes losing sight of what the technology we eulogise about can do for businesses in the real world.

Westcoast wins CRN Distributor of the year!

By Sian Walsh

If  you're in the IT channel industry and weren't at the CRN awards last night then you definitely missed out. The event was a huge success from start to finish and with a great line up of shortlisters and Frankie Boyle hosting, it certainly had us all on the edge of our seats.

It was a great night for Westcoast having been shortlisted for 3 awards, and being crowned CRN's Distributor of the year it really was the highlight of the night!

3 reasons why you should consider the new Windows Server 2016

By the Microsoft Team

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 and is the perfect balance between traditional IT responsibilities and needs.

Take a look at the infographic below which explains 3 great reasons why you should consider the new Windows Server 2016.

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.

How to Make Margin and Sell Value in the Cloud

By Rebecca Richards

The afternoon of 16th November…We can’t wait. The smell of coffee, the taste of cakes, and the satisfaction of us being able to enable our resellers on how they can enhance their ability to sell a multitude of cloud solutions.

We are so excited to be part of what is set to be another great cloud event. On the 16th of November Westcoast are hosting the next in our line of Nebula events at our fantastic Milton Keynes office and demo centre.

Although you will have to venture around the many roundabouts of Milton Keynes, the parking is plentiful as well as the smiles and experience from the Westcoast Team you’ll get to meet in person.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise - 1 Year On

By Lee Prior 

If you work within the IT industry and didn’t hear about the HP split last year then you must have been either ridiculously busy or living under a very large rock…on an island…somewhere in the South Pacific. 

If though you’re like the rest of us, then you would have no doubt been waiting for the inevitable stumbles, disruptions, delays and apologies that an undertaking of such enormity should by all rights bring, and were most likely as surprised as we all were when everything went remarkably smoothly.

SPLA Update: Windows Server and System Centre 2016 moving to Core based licensing

By Imran Malik

Microsoft has changed the licensing model of Windows Server and System Centre from Processors to Cores on the 2016 versions – these were released on the 1st October 2016.

Here’s what you need to know

• The per core licence model replaces the processor licence model on the October SPUR
• Each physical processor needs a minimum of 8 core licences
• The price for 1 processor licence = price for 8 core licenses
• The media was available on VLSC from the 12th of October 2016 
• Both Windows Server Standard & Datacenter Editions provide support for unlimited Windows Server containers
• Windows Server Standard Edition requires all physical cores to be licensed in order to run one Windows Hyper-V container (or Virtual Machine)
• Windows Server Datacenter Edition requires all physical cores to be licensed in order to run unlimited Windows Hyper-V containers (or Virtual Machines)

Fraud not flattery

By Nicola Upe

The subject of counterfeit products has been high on the channel news agenda recently in particular the issue of fake toner cartridges. Westcoast supplies vendor, KYOCERA recently revealed that they have seized fraudulent goods worth in excess €5m (£3.92m) since April. Worryingly, this points to a significant increase compared to 2015, when the firm seized more than 100,000 units, worth in excess of €10m throughout the whole year.

Windows Server 2016- Licensing Deep Dive

By Dave Jennings 

Following the introductory blog to Windows Server 2016, this post will go into a bit more depth on the licensing itself, with some real life examples explained.

Windows Server 2016 Datacenter and Standard are licensed on a core & CAL basis. There are 2 key requirements to bear in mind:

• There is a minimum licensing requirement of 8 cores per physical processor, 
• You must license 16 cores per host server. 

So instead of buying a single licence to cover a physical server, you now buy a quantity of the 2 core licence – depending how many cores the server has. As long as these minimums are met, it keeps Microsoft happy and the customer is licensed compliantly.

Blink and you'll miss this ultra thin laptop...

The first thing you’ll notice about the HP Spectre Pro 13 G1 (other than the long name), is how incredibly thin it is. In fact, at 1.04 cm it’s one of the slimmest around. With this observation in mind, it’s especially impressive to see what HP have managed to do with such a small amount of space for parts.

The Spectre Pro 13 is hiding a powerful 2.5 GHz i7 processor that turbo boosts to 3.1 GHz, which, along with the 8GB of RAM, means it can cope with the most intense workloads, such as design work or video editing. That’s not to say that business executives should pass this by; indeed, the ultra-portability of the laptop means that it invites the user to take it from meeting to meeting on a daily basis, especially with the 38 Wh Li-ion polymer battery powering the Spectre through a full working day.

Sound good? Find out it's other great features by reading the full article here.

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!

Our top takeaways from HPE GPC 2016

By Lee Prior

So the dust has settled on HPE Global Partner Conference 2016 in Boston and the great and the good of the HPE world have returned to their offices, the words of wisdom from the many speakers still ringing in their ears.

No doubt they’ll be reciting, “Hyper convergence” in their sleep over the next few weeks, such was the focus on the flexibility and agility the latest buzz word from HPE promises. With year-end fast approaching plans are afoot to re-position HPE messaging around the three core pillars they see as the future of their Hyper converged offering.

• Hybrid IT
• Software Defined…
• The Edge

7 reasons to join our Accelerate Programme

By Rebecca Richards

Selling cloud services? Want to accelerate your cloud sales? If so you need to be part of Westcoast’s Accelerate Programme. The programme is an arm of the Westcoast Nebula programme, and has been put in place by us to help you sell more cloud services. In the next few minutes I will explain to you why.

What's the big deal with Big Data?

We've all heard the term Big Data at least once in our lifetime, it has been described many times and in many different ways over the years, but it's likely that you're still left wondering what exactly is it and how it could make a difference to your business?

We've created the infographic below to show you what exactly the deal is with Big Data and how you can leverage it for your business.

And if you want to find out even more then take a look at how HPE empowers data driven business right here! or you can click here to see the current solutions available at Westcoast.

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

'Virtually' everything you need to know about HPE Easy Connect

By Lee Prior

You may have heard a lot about HPE Easy Connect recently, and are wondering what exactly it has to offer. Well in case you are, the Easy Connect EC200a is essentially a Managed IT department in a unit no larger than a cereal box with the power requirements and carbon footprint to match.

Easy Connect will enable you to transform your business from Reseller to Service Provider and in so doing it will help to deepen your relationship with your customers and cement your position as their “go to” resource for all things IT.

Whether you are a Reseller with no current Managed Services offering, a new MSP struggling to scale or an established provider seeking to improve efficiency the EC200a is the right solution…It’s that simple.

Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 now available at Westcoast

But what does this mean for you?

By Phil Lamplugh

You’ve probably seen the news that Westcoast are now selling Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 and the ultra-sleek Surface Book. This means along with all of your usual Microsoft products and software, you can get all of your Microsoft needs from one place.

So, why should you consider adding the Surface to your product portfolio?

From Seed to Tree – Westcoast’s Apple Enablement Portal Can Help Your Business Grow

More than anything, this blog is about passing on useful information to our customers, and if you happen to be an Apple reseller we have some very useful information for you: we’ve revamped our Enablement Portal.

While our original Apple hub did a good enough job at providing the basics for our customers, we felt that it could use a little improvement. Consequently, we’ve spent the last few months researching and information-gathering to find out how we could deliver more of what you’re looking for.  This is what we came up with:

                                                      www.westcoast.co.uk/apple

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.

Take a bite out of service time with the newly re-launched Westcoast Apple configuration tool

It’s not that often that we blow our own trumpet, but there are some things worth shouting about, and our newly relaunched ‘Westcoast Configured’ is one of them! 

As a Distributor, we know how important it is to get things right for your customers; it’s not just about inspiring repeat business, although that is certainly a draw; it’s mainly about inspiring confidence. Like us, you want your business to be the best in its sector; you take pride in the work you do, and you want to deliver the best possible service. Unfortunately, that can mean spending a large amount of time on what should be relatively simple tasks – such as configuring a new IT investment.

The clue is hopefully in the name, but just in case it’s left you guessing, Westcoast Configured has been devised to allow resellers to configure all Mac models – MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and iMac – in all ways imaginable, from selecting the processor to adding accessories, so you can always deliver exactly what your customers are looking for.

Increase your sales margin with one simple tactic..

Guest post - Accessorise with Westcoast

As anyone in the sector will know, the tech market is a competitive one. While this is obviously good news for the consumer, for the reseller it can present certain problems; the most apparent and pressing being falling margins. Margin on any piece of technical hardware is almost always slim, so how do you generate the profit you need to keep your business not just surviving, but thriving? If you’ve not worked it out already, our secret weapon comes in the form of accessories.

7 things you should know about Twitter Analytics

By Sian Walsh

Back in 2014 twitter launched a game changer for us marketeers by introducing Twitter Analytics. For the first time users were able to see how many times users have viewed and engaged with organic tweets, enabling them to more effectively optimise their content and social strategy.

Two years on Twitter Analytics has developed even further and just knowing the basics, will help you utilise the free tool, which is a must for any small business or individual to help understand how well your social media is performing.

Twitter Analytics is a free tool and can be accessed here: https://analytics.twitter.com

Take a look at the infographic below.

Could virtual reality be your next business opportunity?

Guest Post - HPE

Virtual reality has entered its second coming in a big way, and this new wave is advancing far beyond the early-'90s video game era. Long considered the king of gaming, it's now emerging as a real business and productivity tool, with the potential to reinvent our relationship with data by making it something we experience rather than something we merely observe.

So what does this really mean for your business? Well.. as we've moved on in the world of technology, gone are the days where virtual reality is seen as just a toy for thrill seekers and gamers. Virtual reality has grown up  and is taking over the main stream with the potential of creating huge business opportunities for you business.

Read full article: Game over: Virtual reality hits the real world

No more content brick walls - Content rich ideas to make social media planning easy.

By Jess Tyley

Content planning doesn’t have to be a headache. You can create diverse content across different formats and platforms by starting with a topic and chopping it into different formats and mediums. For example start with a blog. The most interesting and engaging blogs are usually easy to read, so ‘Top 10 ways to’ or ‘5 easy steps to’. This type of blog lets the reader know that the content is short and snappy and they can get to the bits relevant to them quickly.

From there you can start to plan out your content structure. So from your blog content you might make a video which is educational or where you feature customer testimonials. Using your testimonials you could compose some visuals for twitter posts or an infographic explaining the learnings from you video.

With that one piece of content you can end up with more than enough content across a range of content formats for your marketing campaign!

Use our infographic below to easily  plan our your campaign content strategy!

How long can your customers afford to be without a server?

By Lee Prior

Warranty is not enough! Warranty protects hardware but HPE support keeps businesses running.

Think IT support services will break your customer’s budget? Think again. Chances are that you’ll spend more per day on a morning cup of coffee than on HPE Support Services.

Are your customers adequately covered under warranty? Warranty is a limited offering only providing:

• Monday-Friday 8am to 5pm only (No weekend or Bank Holiday cover) 
• Next business day response – Reasonable endeavours 
• No software support 
• Selected options are not covered by server warranty i.e. SATA ATA PATA drives (1 year warranty) 
• If a fault occurs on Friday morning, it may be Monday afternoon before an engineer goes to the site

If your customers require support outside of standard working-hours and are not protected adequately can they really afford to be without a server...?

Read more here

Excuse me robot, could you move that 9am meeting for me please?

Could intelligent robots and Conversations as a Platform (CaaP) be the future of human decisions? Well Microsoft think so. They think bots could be our PA’s, personal shoppers and travel agents - all achievable through digital experiences and intelligent conversations. 

Take a look at this blog by Gurdeep Pall, Corporate VP of Skype, who believes that through Conversations as a Platform and bots, the computing experience we receive today could be radically different over the next two decades.

What if it was possible to access extended credit at no extra cost?

By Alex Tatham

What’s the biggest sales enabler in distribution? Sounds like an easy question, but I would contend it is such a balance of different offerings that there is no silver bullet.

• Great consistent account management
• Good pricing
• Stock levels
• Rebate management
• Quote management and turnaround
• Credit availability
• But one area that sometimes gets ignored is extended payment terms.

Cash management is a vital performance indicator for a distributor and all successful distributors put significant resources into reporting and measuring the ability to turn sales/stock into cash and maintain as balanced a cash flow as possible. Westcoast has a zero tolerance for late payment once terms have been agreed. It is too important for our business. However, we have an exclusive and innovative scheme that allows customers to extend payment and never miss a payment deadline.

Making Cloud Telephony & Unified Communications Simple For You and Your Customers.

By Justin Powell – UC Sales Manager

Hi Westcoast Partners, my name is Justin Powell and I look after Cloud Unified Communications here at Westcoast.

My role is to help and guide you through the Westcoast Cloud UC offerings and getting the right solution for you and your customer. I have over 15 years in the Telephony industry and want to share the exciting things happening in the market place around Cloud Telephony and Unified Communications

                                                      The Cloud Opportunity

ThinkPad P40 Yoga, the first ISV certified multi-mode mobile workstation

Introducing the world's first multi-mode mobile workstation, featuring Yoga's famous 360-degree hinge, the ThinkPad P40 yoga is built to last..

Here at Westcoast we LoveThink. And the below video will show you just a few of the reasons why. Check it out for yourself, we are pretty sure that you will LoveThink too.

                          


  The ThinkPad P40 is available to buy from Westcoast and can be purchased here

The New Fujitsu fi-7030 - The Perfect Cure For Medical Professionals

Product Review

Constantly under heavy scrutiny over costs and proficiency, healthcare organisations such as hospitals, GP surgeries, dental practices and physiotherapies now, more than ever, require effective document digitising solutions to manage the vast amounts of content that flows through the enterprise. And we think that the Fujitsu fi-7030; which is designed for super-fast, high quality document replication, is one such solution.

Revolution Driving Evolution - The IT channel is changing

By Lee Prior

If history has taught us anything it’s that those that feel comfortable standing still, those that are not stretching themselves and seeking to advance to the next level are in fact already moving backwards. That has never been truer than right now for IT Resellers.

Technology is now so woven into the fabric of business that most companies would be unable to function without it, and yet the level of knowledge and understanding of this vital thread is remarkably low within the UK SMB sector, a sector that makes up almost 80% of the available market. There are literally tens of thousands of small to medium businesses, who’s very existence is reliant on technology that they don’t understand…instead they expect us, their IT guru’s and modern day alchemists to understand it on their behalf and advise them on how to best wield this powerful weapon.

WPC 2016 Wrap-Up

By Mark Davies

So another great WPC came to a close and we all caught our breath. These events are a whirlwind of activity, meetings, sessions and fun with over 800 UK attendees this year making it one of their biggest events ever. Even though there wasn't any major announcements there is a flurry of activities going on at Microsoft and how these proliferate down to the channel. The message around cloud and CSP was louder than ever and the transition away from other traditional licensing business models such as open and EA was very clear.

 

Making Scanning a Snap for an Enhanced Learning Experience

As you probably already know, we’re passionate about our tech, and nothing gets our juices flowing quite like having a new piece of kit to play with. This month our favourite new toy is the ScanSnap SV600 from Fujitsu. Not only is it compact and clever, but it has the potential to make life a whole lot easier for some of our favourite people – teachers and students.  

8 tips for B2B tweet success!

By Sian Walsh

In the last few years social media has been a growing channel for B2B marketing and if done right, can prove to be an excellent tool to help extend customer reach at a very low cost (if none at all). 

The relatively new adoption of social media in B2B can mean that messages are often difficult to communicate effectively, especially if you're not quite sure how to talk to your audience.

Strategy, planning and a few basic tips should always be considered before tweeting to ensure that your content is relevant and in a language that your audience understand.

Our infographic below covers 8 top tips for crafting the perfect B2B tweet! We hope it helps you achieve B2B tweet success.

How Heidelberg uses tape and disk to keep the presses rolling

When it comes to best practice data protection, no single disk or tape technology can provide the complete solution.

Want to see why combining disk and tape really is the smart choice for data availability, protection and retention? Read how Hewlett Packard Enterprise examine a comprehensive approach to data protection that spans software, saves times and reduces the risk of one of the world’s leading printing companies.

 Click here to read more.

Build your business with Westcoast and Cloud

By Mark Davies – Westcoast Cloud Director

So as we have just come to the end of our first full year of transacting CSP seats with partners we can look back with a real sense of pride in what has been achieved. Over 72,000 seats have been successfully put onto Office 365 and a range of other services such as CRM, EMS and Azure transacted through over 300 partners. We set out at the beginning of the year to ensure that we have a more focussed partner engagement. This approach has meant that we have been able to work more closely with the partners that have signed up with Westcoast to help them win more opportunities and build a better cloud business with our support.

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.

Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Yoga Review: The One That Finally Replaced My MacBook Air

The definition of versatility, this ultralight 2-in-1 adapts to your business with 4 flexible modes to work, present, create, and connect. Featuring a stunning display with intense color and deep contrast. Including a dockable, rechargeable stylus pen. Plus, the fastest, advanced mobile broadband technology available.

Sounds good..? Then why not take a look at a great review from Jason Evangelho @ Forbes.com on the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Yoga which is now available to purchase from Westcoast!

Click here to see the range.

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...

8 tips to keep your live tweets engaging

By Jess Tyley

Live tweeting at events can be a real success but it can also turn into a real mess if you do it wrong! Doing it well can generate some great engagement from the people there and give a fear of missing out for people who arent there, meaning that hopefully they will come along to your next event!

We recently had a tweet wall at our Nebula roadshows which went down really well and we will definitely invest in this again, but a word of warning, you do need someone there who is going to be in charge of tweeting all day for it to be a success.

Our infographic below covers 8 tips to keep your live tweets engaging. We hope it helps make your events a success! Good luck!

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.

Into the Ring with Scott 'The Admiral' Nelson

By Sian Walsh

Less than a month from now our very own Scott Nelson will be stepping into the ring for one of the biggest channel events of the year CRN fight night 2016.

Pictures courtesy of CRN

Due to take place on Thursday 26th May at the Brewery in central London, the event is now in its ninth year and has raised over £180,000 for charity since it first started in 2008.

Every year the event reaches it's full capacity, where over 500 industry professionals come together to support their ultimate fighters, whilst at the same time raising money for their chosen charities.

This year after a very intense selection process we have our Print Specialist Account Manager Scott Nelson representing Westcoast who couldn't be more thrilled to take part in such an exciting event.

So of course.. in prep for the big fight there were some questions we were very eager to ask him...

IPS2016 - What a day!

The Ignite Partner Symposium lived up to its billing at being one of the biggest partner events of 2016 and 21st April will be remembered as much for the buzz and conversations of the break-out sessions as it will be for the presentations themselves.

The setting was perfect and the steady stream of HPE partners and Westcoast clients entering the doors early set the tone for the day. Before registration was even complete exhibitors were busy discussing what was new in the world of HPE, Aruba

Zynstra Easy Connect and HPFS.

The event had over 100 registrations to begin with and as the first session was being delivered by Lee Hughes to a packed auditorium we had already seen an attendance rate of over 70% with a mix of established Business and Silver HPE partners mingling with some smaller resellers looking to climb the HPE ladder.

To see how the rest of the day played out take a look here

 

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.