Six Heads Are Better Than One

Encouraging and empowering teamwork in Education with Microsoft Collaborative Tools

When we were children, collaborating on a school project usually meant gathering around a piece of paper, pencils in hand, tongues probably sticking out of the corner of our mouths, wishing that we’d been partnered with one of the brainy kids. Someone would eventually be nominated as ‘writer’, someone else as ‘drawer’, and then the most opinionated would hold court, ordaining proceedings in the vein of a miniature dictator. Inter-school collaboration was rare and fragmented. International collaboration almost unheard of.

The developing technology of the last 20 years has brought about no end of changes to the ways in which schools operate, but few provide a more startling contrast than the means of collaboration. Continuing our run down of Microsoft’s educational offerings, today we’re looking at the ways in which our favourite manufacturer’s educational app store could help make teamwork easier in an educational environment, especially when working on a Microsoft Surface.

It’s Not What You’ve Got but the Way That You Use it

… Making the most of Microsoft Learning Tools for Education

Have you ever stopped and properly looked at all the tools that your computer can offer you? Not just the obvious Office and web browsers, or even the games beyond Solitaire – who doesn’t like the odd sneaky game of Solitaire? – but at SketchBook and Drawboard, Maps and StickyNotes, not to mention the wealth within the MS app store. If you haven’t – and we’d be willing to bet that you haven’t – then how can you expect your customers to? And if they don’t look, how can they know what Microsoft has to offer?

We always get questions about how Surface devices fit in with education, over the next few weeks and months we’ll be looking at some of the best tools currently available for your customers, starting with MS learning tools.

The ThinkPad has been around for 25 years. Here’s some tech which, um, hasn’t.

As the Lenovo ThinkPad brand reached the ripe old age of 25, the brand has gained a reputation for reliability and high performance. With the red trackpoint button and eye-catching logo, a ThinkPad is instantly recognisable. Whether your customers are after a slim and light device, an ultra-powerful portable workstation or a versatile 2-in-1, there’s a ThinkPad for them.

To celebrate the huge 25-year milestone, we decided to reflect on some tech that, in contrast, hasn’t quite stood the test of time…

MiniDiscs and MiniDisc Players

Despite launching the same year as the ThinkPad, MiniDiscs couldn’t quite knock portable CD players off the top of the tree. When MP3 players launched, MiniDisc players were doomed.

A day at the Microsoft Surface Partner Briefing

By Sam Thrower

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of attending the Microsoft Surface Partner Briefing. A quarterly, first hand opportunity to hear from some of the key players within the Microsoft Surface team about the latest product information and the potential opportunities for the months ahead. It’s been a pretty incredible 5 years for Microsoft Surface on their device journey and from the sounds of it, this is only the beginning …

It was a great day at the Everyman Cinema in Canary Wharf and I came away feeling enlightened with lots of valuable insights into where we’re going next on this incredible Surface journey, insights which I will share with you below….

Westcoast Bolsters Cyber Security Solutions Business with Thinkmarble

PRESS RELEASE

Westcoast has signed a distribution agreement with information and cyber security specialist ThinkMarble.

The distributor will offer ThinkMarble’s full range of security solutions including managed threat and vulnerability monitoring services ATLAS:, and TITAN:, and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliance consultancy services Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.

Mark Davies Westcoast’s Cloud Services Director, said: “We can’t wait to start working with the experts at ThinkMarble and helping our partners provide their customers - enterprise or SME - with the very best in cyber security services and solutions.”

“The most important part of our role will be around enablement. We want to make sure our reseller partners fully understand the cyber security solutions they are selling as well as the value within that solution.” 

2018 Juniper Partner Advantage – a change for the future

By David Siddall

The technology industry is, by its very nature, one of the fastest evolving verticals. Featuring a new, never before heard of buzzword trending on LinkedIn and elsewhere seemingly on a monthly basis; we throw the words: Wannacry, Petya and hybrid cloud (not to mention GDPR) around as though they were course slang at the pub. Such terms however are representative of the real ways in which our industry has changed the world of business forever.

Juniper Networks has a history of being thought-leading. Indeed, being a viable challenger brand means adapting and evolving to a level above the rest of the market oftentimes including the incumbent leader. Marketing slogans are meaningless on the frontline where incremental revenue is the truest test and at Westcoast we have seen demonstrations and sales of Juniper’s “Software Defined Secure Networks” take off with our Juniper sales specialists evangelising the Policy Enforcer, Security Director and Sky ATP (otherwise known as zero day threat prevention) licenses to help our customers leverage network intelligence for security enforcement. This level of innovation spreads now to the Juniper partner program.

HP ZBook 15u G4: Feature-Rich & Budget Friendly

Does anyone ever look back on IT hardware with fondness? Has a friend or colleague ever said to you, “You know what, I really miss my Dell Precision 380”? Yeah, that’s what I thought. We’re living in a technological boom, and it’s a great time to be working in IT and following the changes as they happen.

It doesn’t require a great stretch of the imagination to say that those who have benefited most from the constant advances in IT hardware are those who need the most power. For example, gone are the days when designers were using workstations the size of fridge-freezers with 1 gig of RAM in a desperate bid to keep on top of their workload (albeit slowly). Devices have simultaneously slimmed down, risen in performance, and gotten cheaper. And this means that designers are given more flexibility in choice of tech, and that they can finally use workstations that look as appealing as the content that’s being created on them.

“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.

Find out how one vendor is changing the landscape of audio management

Everywhere things are getting smarter, from self-driving cars to supermarket shelves that analyse how we shop (yes, really), and everything in between. So why should headsets get left behind, especially when they’re so important to the business environment?

That’s where Sennheiser’s aptly named HeadSetup Pro Manager comes in. It’s a powerful cloud-based solution that lets an IT administrator manage, update and configure settings for every Sennheiser headset and speakerphone in the organisation, from one central location.

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.

Coming Up for Air – All You Need to Know About Surface in Education

 ‘Our aim is to empower every student on the planet to achieve more.’ Steve Beswick, Business Development Director – Education Industry, Microsoft.

That, in a nutshell, is what Surface in Education is all about.

Anyone who has paid attention to Microsoft over the years will be aware of the company’s long-term commitment to education. Right from the days of Bill Gates, Microsoft has invested in education; it’s one of the key tenets at the heart of the business. Consequently, as a reseller, if you’re looking to expand your target market, the education sector is the ideal area to set your sights, because Microsoft – and Westcoast – are already prepared to help you. 

Can you be the F1rst Among Equals?

There’s always something special about being the first. You may carry the honour with a devil-may-care nonchalance, but whether you’re the first to own a new piece of tech, or you’ve come first place in the parent’s egg ‘n’ spoon race at your kid’s sports day, there’s a certain swagger that you just can’t shake off.

Imagine, then, the feeling not only of coming first, but of winning a corking prize for doing so. Oh! The smugness would overflow! Well, that’s the opportunity you get with Westcoast F1rsts, in collaboration with Microsoft.

HP’s Big Answers to the Security Conundrum

Here’s a sentence you might not be used to seeing: It’s not possible to be fully protected against every security risk in IT. Maybe that doesn’t surprise you. After all, how do you even begin a conversation about security when it comes to IT? If we accept that full protection isn’t possible, then where do we start? Well, with HP actually. And here’s why.

HP are leading the way as an OEM by including vital security features with their Elite range of devices. With such a vast amount of considerations to be made, it’s no longer viable or fair to leave security up to end users, which is why HP have introduced some innovative new features into their premium product line, equipping users with some vital security tools from the get go.

Window 10 Pro for Workstations

By Owen Hutchinson

Windows 10 Pro for Workstations is coming: find out everything you need to know and avoid paying extra

This Autumn Microsoft is rolling out Windows 10 Pro 64 for Workstations: an OS variation that’s optimised for professional users. This isn’t just a vanity update, with the new features covering a range of areas that are a boon for hardware that has to support critical workloads.

Specifically, the new features include support for:

● Up to 4 Physical CPUs

● Massive memory (up to 6 TB)

● SMB Direct/RDMA capable network cards

● Persistent Memory (NVDIMM) and Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA), so you can blast through file transfers and advanced workloads

● Creation of Resilient File Systems (ReFS) volumes so that data is mirrored to multiple drives, while being monitored and repaired if degradation is detected

Why we need another HPE access point

By David Anthony

I must admit, I thought to myself “why are HPE pushing an Office Connect access point? Isn’t this just going to take business away from Aruba and confuse the issue?”

Not for the first time, I’ll admit I was wrong. I’ve written previously about how smartphones have raised everyone’s expectations about what we should be able to do in the workplace. If we can run our lives from our phones, why not our businesses from our laptops, tablets and phones, wherever we are?

Portable gaming: An industry on the move

By Carl Oxley

Ever since Nintendo launched the first Game Boy in 1989, the world of portable gaming has been witness to a very gradual but notable rise. As graphics improved, more games became available and, most importantly, with huge leaps in memory and the continuation of Moore’s Law, the consoles themselves became increasingly portable. As such, the market has undergone a consistent growth that has recently hit an unprecedented peak.

Securing your Hybrid Cloud/Multi-cloud Strategy

By Adam Hartley

Cloud technologies are no longer the leading edge done by early adopter companies. In fact, private clouds, hybrid clouds and multi-clouds are quickly becoming the de-facto standard among organisations across business verticals.

The major drivers for this migration to the cloud is lower price, scalability, global availability and the need for global availability with no downtime.

Unsurprisingly, Cloud Service Provider revenues grew steadily in 2016 with Amazon Web Services (AWS) growing its revenue to more than $12.2 billion, followed by Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and IBM Cloud.

Data, data everywhere - Securing the Internet of Things Q+A

By Lee Prior & Paul Harman






















Take a look around the typical home 10 years ago and you could probably count the number of devices connected to the internet on the fingers of one hand for the most part, but take a look around that same home today and you’re likely to run out fingers before you run out of devices. Computers, Phones, Games Consoles, TV’s even ligtbulbs, thermostats and doorbells in some cases, and these are going to be joined by a whole host of other things in the coming months and years.