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.

Why should your customers use Brother Genuine Supplies over compatible, non-genuine supplies?

Brother Guest Post

Brother Genuine Supplies deliver unrivalled print quality, superior reliability and reduced downtime and wastage. Westcoast resellers can cut the cost of printing while still getting the truly professional finish both them and their customers business deserve.

In this article, Louise Unsworth, Business Unit Manager Consumables for Brother UK, responds to some frequently asked questions from our resellers.

Big Data: Answering the questions that don’t yet exist

By Phil Le Blond 

Data is growing fast, real fast! It’s predicted that humanity’s accumulated digital universe will be 44 trillion gigabytes by 2020. That’s a lot of data to crunch considering today only 0.5% of data is ever analysed. Somewhere in that data we will find the cure for all disease, the ability to conserve our planet, to generate unlimited free energy, prevent war, and produce enough food for every person on the planet. Technology will have to help us, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will guide us to the answers we seek, or perhaps decide to kill us all.

LEAP: Sell, Learn and Earn with Lenovo

By Sam Thrower

Most loyalty programs deliver benefits to users but many can seem a little short of the mark. Lenovo were intent on developing a rewards system that loyal sales reps could really get some benefit from.

The Lenovo Expert Achievers Program (LEAP) is the end result and it’s helping the company’s enterprise partners and employees to develop the vital skills that enable them to become more productive and earn better revenues.

Westcoast Ignite Partner Symposium 2017 – Taking IT to the Next Level

By Lee Prior

It seems almost ridiculous that we’re approaching a full year since the inaugural Westcoast Ignite Partner Symposium, almost a full year since we spent a great day at the Mermaid theatre with colleagues, clients and partners and almost a full year since I had to promise everyone that came along that “Of course we’ll do another event in 2017.”

Westcoast win PCR Cloud Distributor of the year!

By Sian Walsh 

This time last week Westcoast were anxiously putting on those glad rags and preparing themselves for what was set to be a fun filled night at The Brewery in London for the annual PCR Awards, an event which brings the UK IT Channel together to celebrate the past year's achievements.

Having been shortlisted for two awards: Hardware Distributor and Cloud Distributor Westcoast nervously awaited the results.

CRN Fight Night is back and Westcoast is still fighting fit

By Sian Walsh

It's nearly that that time of year again. Time to put on our boxing gloves, dig out the foam fingers and look forward to one of the best channel nights out in the industry, watching 10 of the channel's bravest contenders battle it out in the boxing ring all for their chosen charity.

Is it just me or does it feels like the buzz from CRN Fight Night 2016 is still ringing in everyone's ears and now... it's creeping up like there's no tomorrow! - Seriously where did those last 10 months go.

The event is a sell out every year. Hundreds of industry professionals come together to watch the action live from the ringside. Now fast approaching its 10th anniversary CRN has raised over £200,000 for charity since it first launched.

You Can’t Sit Still In Business…

Fellowes Guest Post

Oh woe is us! An obesity ‘epidemic’ is sweeping the country! Cholesterol is sky-rocketing! Cheese, beer and chocolate just taste too damn good! And we’re all going to die of diabetes! The children! Won’t somebody think of the children?!?!

It seems that we just can’t move for advice about things that are bad for us these days; even over-browned toast comes with a health-warning. But you know, the real problem for most of us is that we’re just not moving… Although, admittedly, that’s mainly through laziness rather than being hemmed in by advice. However, that’s not always due to lifestyle choice.

Why choose Epson inkjet for your business?

By Nicola Upe

Now is the time to invest in this future-minded technology

While so many vendors are scaling down strategies and reducing headcounts, Epson are investing €50 million into our European operations. Why? Because now is the best time for Epson inkjet printers.

Over the next two years, Epson plan to increase their current workforce by 10%, and kick off a strategic shift from consumer to business markets with a focus on infrastructure, information technology, marketing and headcount. 

Everything You Need to Know; Dynamics 365 and SPLA

By Imran Malik

 Microsoft Dynamics 365 is the next generation of intelligent business applications in the cloud, which enables organisations to grow, evolve, and transform. These applications provide CRM capabilities to help engage customers, empower employees, and reinvent products and business models. Microsoft Dynamics 365 helps customers to accelerate their digital transformation to meet the changing needs of their customers and capture the new business opportunities of tomorrow.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 released in SPLA on the 1st of February 2017. It replaced the previous Dynamics CRM SKUs.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 (On-Premises) Licensing Update

By Dave Jennings

Microsoft Dynamics 365 (On-Premises) is the replacement to Microsoft’s CRM On-Premises solution, available through Open Licensing, Open Value, OVS and OVS-ES. There are various options available, and a customer can start with one plan and move to new plans as and when they need extra capabilities. The licences come with renewable software assurance, which gives the customer a range of benefits such as new version rights, planning services, 24x7 phone and Web support, training.