New AMD Radeon Pro Range Smashes Limitations and Empowers Designers

AMD Guest Post 

AMD has refreshed its line of GPUs, meaning that the FirePro series is no more, and the Radeon Pro is the new king of the workstation. You can’t claim the throne without power though, and the new set of Radeon Pro graphics cards have brought along some considerable improvements that promise to keep design professionals well equipped for future developments in the industry.

Introducing Westcoast Financial Services – end to end B2B financial and asset management solutions.

By Peter Howell

It’s been 2 months now since I joined Westcoast and I feel like my feet haven’t touched the ground! My background includes roles within GE Capital Bank and HPE Financial Services. In fact during my time at HPE I dealt closely with Westcoast and so when I was offered a role to head up strategy for Westcoast Financial Services, I jumped at the chance.

Over the last 2 months I have been busy meeting customers, understanding their needs for finance and helping to drive both higher attach and enrichment to their go to market. And we’re now in a great position with our own go to market.

In the IT industry the one constant is change and Westcoast have always been the pioneering distribution business which delivers both innovation and solutions to resellers and customers alike. In a recent survey of top IT procurement professionals, 93% were clear that a pay per month option was a critical factor taken into account when deciding where to source IT solutions for their business.

We're headed for a Big Data-Internet of Things 'Big Bang'

By Paul Harman

Making the most of the Big Data/Internet of Things opportunity

The recent news about Microsoft researchers working on a new project aimed at securing low-cost Internet of Things (IoT) devices really caught my eye.

Hopefully, Project Sopris, as it’s known, will prove to be a significant step forward in the battle to protect IoT microcontrollers against security threats posed by internet connectivity.

It’s a positive play by Microsoft. One that delivers a welcome blast of reassurance given we all recognise security and risk as being the biggest concerns around IoT and its unstoppable rise.

This global proliferation of IoT devices is one of the three main reasons why Big Data is getting even bigger.

Getting more from ‘best of both’ worlds

By Mark Davies 

It feels like it’s always been the same old story for the majority of businesses on their cloud journeys. Or sometimes the lack of journey.

They reach a stage where a certain amount of their data and applications have been successfully migrated to the cloud, while the rest - the ones that feel can’t be moved -remain on-prem.

Once those basic applications are moved to the cloud this should be their chance to take stock and see what else could be done to make their IT more efficient or cost-effective.

Cue head-scratching and deliberations on how they can best utilise both on-prem equipment and cloud based services.

But having applications running in two different places but connecting to each other has become very achievable especially with the advent of open 'apis' (application programming interfaces), which allow applications to communicate with each other.

The reality is that today, more and more businesses believe a blend of cloud and on-prem is a desirable end-position.

Why it’s time to move to the new 7th Gen Intel Core Processors

It’s difficult to remember a time when Intel wasn’t top of the class for processors, but one thing is for certain: this hasn’t been achieved through resting on a brand name. Instead, each new generation of Intel processor brings with it both subtle and sizeable improvements on the previous year’s tech, while OEMs make sure that their next line of flagship devices launch with the processors firmly positioned front and centre on the spec sheets.

How much is your hand luggage worth?

Kensington Guest Post 

How much is your hand luggage worth? With longer work commutes and travel between offices becoming more frequent, more and more people are taking valuables in hand luggage. A staggering 75% of people do not secure their luggage. This Kensington blog highlights the importance of securing your valuables when on your travels and is a valuable read if you're off on your travels this summer.

Secure Productive Enterprise: The Next Big Thing for Licences in Office 365

By Tom Marwood

At the backend of last year, rather under the radar, Microsoft released a gem of a package that rolled out across multiple platforms. Although not advertised too much at the time, it’s now being noticed, and rightly so. This blog will discuss what it is, and how you can license it.

SPE (Secure Productive Enterprise) is the latest ‘bundle’ to be rolled out on Office 365 away from your standard Office 365 offerings. This combines the latest technology across Windows, Office 365, Enterprise Mobility and Security. Obviously there are packages such as Enterprise E3, Business Premium and so forth, but SPE gives you that next level of products, all in one price. There are two different products for SPE (E3 and E5), each offering the below:

Complex Solutions - Simply Sold

By Lee Prior

“I know enough about technology to know that I don’t know enough.” That’s what I often hear myself saying when faced with a technical question that exposes the limit of my knowledge. It’s a flippant comment that most times will buy me the breathing room I need to look up the subject matter and return with a full answer a little while later…That’s fine for me I’m in marketing, but a sales person faced with a call or presentation where they are expected to have all the information to hand in order to secure the deal doesn’t always have that luxury.

Microsoft Azure Deployment Made Easy

By Martin Smith

In today’s world, the term Microsoft Cloud or Microsoft Azure fills people’s minds with exciting prospects. However, when it comes down to the pricing, configuration and implementation, people tend to switch off and/or let Azure fade out of their plans.

The reason for this is not always their fault. This can be a problem with something as simple as terminology and messaging. It could even be a problem with a certain topic, which most people don’t want to start a conversation about, called licensing. Which can be absolutely baffling.

Why you need Parallels in your Product Portfolio

Parallels Guest Post

You might not be aware, but here at Westcoast we’re quite picky when it comes to taking on new vendors. You see, we don’t believe in being a jack of all trades – instead, we prefer having a tailored line up of vendors that we can give our full support to from a Reseller perspective. Our work with Parallels is a perfect example of this.

Top tier sales made easy: Welcome to the new HP Premium website

By Emma Richardson,

There’s something amazingly satisfying about finding exactly the right device for a customer. Perhaps it’s the thrill that comes from digging through countless spec sheets to find something that ticks all the boxes, or maybe it’s the anticipation of future business through the customer loyalty that you’re inevitably earning. No matter what the reason, setting a customer up with their perfect device is mutually beneficial. This is doubly true for customers that have high budgets and even higher expectations. Thankfully the HP Premium website has been updated to make it easier than ever before to find the right top of the range device for your customers’ individual needs.