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.