“Westcoast Have Made Us Invincible!”

There are some customer testimonials that just make you smile. The above from Mirus IT Solutions does it for us; it’s not every day that you’re able to bestow a super power on someone!

Technology is changing rapidly at the moment and any company offering IT support needs to stay ahead of the information curve. It’s not just products that need to be cutting edge; it’s the service provided by those both within the industry and catering for the industry that matters too. And to deliver what clients and end-users need, IT solutions specialists need to be able to act fast. It’s that winning combination of speed and service that has made Mirus feel INVINCIBLE!

Zeroing in on Advanced Cloud Solutions for the SMB

ZenZero began as a small business with big ideas. The plan was to deliver IT solutions to the SMB, so that their clients could rely on enterprise-level technology while working on a more modest scale. A personal, efficient and knowledgeable service soon won ZenZero fans and customers, but the team saw room for improvement.

Small and medium sized businesses have a very distinct set of needs. The likelihood is that they won’t have a dedicated tech department, or even managers, so everything – all forms of support and advice – will need to come from their external solutions supplier. And that’s what ZenZero specialise in; providing bespoke, customer-focused IT products, help and guidance to growing companies. Although already a gold-rated Microsoft partner, ZenZero were experiencing one major difficulty; an inflexibility in service delivery.

When unbeatable service meets improbable speed

The Westcoast CSP and Keybridge IT Solutions story…

Every client is different. Every one. It’s this understanding that Keybridge IT Solutions and Westcoast have in common.

Supplying IT solutions for the recruitment industry, Keybridge have very particular needs for their clients. Reliable, intuitive software; consistent, trustworthy service; and speed. In a sector where change happens constantly, Keybridge need the ability to react almost instantly, and that’s what they have found in Westcoast CSP.

Take your cloud business to the next level on the 12th of October

By Katy Maley

The date has been set …… The 12th of October:

The world of Cloud is growing at an expanding rate and it is hard to keep up with all the new products and demands thrown at us daily. How do we Migrate? What is GDPR? Is our system safe? These are all questions resellers are asking our team of experts on a daily basis.

Our Nebula programme is all around enablement, education and ensuring you have the right solutions to showcase to your customers. Nebula has been running for two years successfully, and this year it’s my turn to run the event. After many cappuccinos and meetings, I’ve put together an agenda that promises a great day – I hope you agree.

Westcoast Unveils New CSP Business Boosting Initiative

PRESS RELEASE

Distributor Westcoast has launched a brand new programme offering exclusive, long-term support for its CSP (cloud solutions provider) partners.

The Westcoast Cloud Development programme offers resellers a range of tailored benefits all designed to help support their CSP business and accelerate their growth in the cloud.

Partners signing up for the programme will move through a series of development levels - supported by Westcoast every step of the way. As they progress they will have opportunities to unlock additional benefits and rewards to further aid their cloud journeys.

Introducing Westcoast's New Cloud Development Programme

By Tom Marwood

When Westcoast first started the journey into supplying Cloud products, we promised ourselves that we would do as much as possible to make our partners feel like the most important part of our business. For a long time, the relationship between the Distributor and Reseller has been far too robotic, and with CSP this approach needed to be changed in order for both parties to succeed.

Over the last two years, Westcoast have been driven to make this dream as close to reality as possible, and we'd like to think that, with our hands on approach and award winning service both on the sales and support front, we've delivered on our promise. This doesn't mean that we're going to rest on our laurels however, and we've spent the last few months coming up with something new and exciting which we can now share with you!

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:

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.

Westcoast’s Cloud Marketplace: An Introduction

By Tom Marwood

It’s safe to say that, over the last 18 months, CSP through Westcoast has risen at an astronomical rate. Currently we’re transacting over 140,000 seats across 400 of our Resellers and this is growing on a daily basis. One of the reasons why we’re getting such a demand from Resellers is the Westcoast Cloud Marketplace – so I thought I’d tell you more about it.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Exploring CSP

By Phil Lamplugh 

There’s an unavoidable acronym that can be heard up and down the Westcoast office every day. CSP is making huge noise in the channel right now, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be dying down.

I’ve heard ‘CSP’ said so much, that the actual meaning of the letters has been lost in the buzz of what’s usually associated with the phrase: monthly billing; wrap-around services; 24/7 support. So let’s take a step back. As a relative newcomer to the channel, I decided to investigate the perceived wonder that is CSP.

Interview with a Specialist – Microsoft Azure

By Phil Lamplugh 

I recently had a chance to catch-up with Martin Smith; Westcoast’s Business Development Manager for Microsoft Azure. Although we work in the same office, Martin is a very busy guy. Azure is going through a big growth period right now, which means between demo visits, exhibitions, webinars, and dealing with orders, he doesn’t get a lot of time to chat. I grabbed him after a webinar for a quick talk about what he does.

Martin Smith - Westcoast BDM for Microsoft Azure

WPC 2015 Recap

So, another Microsoft World Partner Conference (WPC) comes to a close. As usual it was a big mix of keynotes, breakout sessions, partner meetings and evening party/networking. This was a quiet year for big announcements, but Windows 10 and their CSP programme definitely took centre stage for Microsoft’s focus. The most value for me is very much the evening networking where you get to speak to peers in the industry and listen to their challenges and successes within their own businesses. When you say the word ‘party’ people instantly think of too much drink and revelry but typically these are all very well behaved and actually a lot gets done then, or maybe that was just us!...

Microsoft WPC - We’ve Made It!

So after all the hype and build up, we are finally here in Orlando and what a first couple of days it's been! For all the ladies out there (and some men), I hope you brought your hair straighteners because the humidity is causing havoc with the frizz!

Sunday started with a great session with Peter Davidson and the CSP tier-2 partners. We had some great discussions around the strategy for FY16 and all the great things we will soon be offering through CSP. Make sure you come and talk to us in the UK lounge so we can tell you more about what's to come.

It was great to meet lots of the UK partners at the welcome drinks on Sunday evening. I hope you all had fun and that you're putting your Westcoast WPC Survival Kits to good use after such a fun night!

I'm really looking forward to listening to some more inspiring keynotes and speeches as the week progresses. Despite us Brits showing considerably less emotion than our American cousins, I personally find it really hard to not get caught up with all the enthusiasm which you will see and feel when you come to talk to us about CSP, and how partnering with Westcoast will help you grow your cloud services business.

If you see us, don't forget to get a selfie with us for the chance to win a Surface Pro 3 by tweeting your pic and capturing the essence of WPC 2015 to @MSPartnersUK using #WPCUK.

Join us on our Westcoast @ WPC LinkedIn Group for the latest information and a chance to win £250 of vouchers. I look forward to seeing you throughout the week and at the big party tonight!

By Nicola Boswell – Cloud Product Manager at Westcoast Limited 

How to gain the most from the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference

Platinum sponsorship – Check.  

All access pass – Check.  

Hotel – Check.  

Flights – Check.  

That is the easy part. Now is the time for planning for WPC to make the most out of your investment.

WPC is a great week of the year for any Microsoft partner looking to discover the Microsoft strategy for the next year from their worldwide leaders, build relationships with key Microsoft employees and partners from around the world and to get sight of future technologies.   

The key for us is to make sure you keep your agenda packed, the busier your agenda the less time for tiredness! 

Here are our top tips to help you gain the most from WPC:

1. Use WPC Connect as this is the best way of scheduling meetings with Microsoft employees and partners. 

2. Make sure you go to all the evening events laid on by the Microsoft team, most networking happens at these events so make sure that you have enough business cards. 

3. Spend time in the UK lounge, this is where a lot of the best networking happens along with many valuable ad-hoc introductions and meetings.

4. Do your research - What is CSP? What is Cloud? This will enable you to ensure you gain the most out of your experience. Make sure that you visit us in the UK lounge to find out what our offering is and how we can help you demystify CSP.

5. Enjoy yourself – The WPC is a huge event and will be a full on rewarding experience. You may find yourself asking these questions; Why am I so tired? Have I not slept? It’s inevitable. So make sure you enjoy yourself whilst you’re there and you can catch up on sleep when you’re back!

I think we know that Cloud and Microsoft services available on monthly billing, through the CSP program are going to be the hot topics for the week, and here at Westcoast we are perfectly aligned to the Microsoft strategy to be able to support partners with the transition to cloud and to CSP. 

Not forgetting Windows 10 – one platform across all devices, Microsoft Edge browser, Continuum, A PROPER START BUTTON! Have you ordered your free upgrade?

Be sure to follow us for the latest news and exclusive competitions on WPC and Westcoast Cloud..  

Twitter - @WestCoastCloud 

Linkedin - Westcoast @ WPC

Online - www.westcoast.co.uk/csp

See you in Orlando!

 Ben Feurtado – Microsoft Business Manager at Westcoast Limited