PCR May 2017

13 30 under 30 PCR highlights 30 of the greatest young talents in the Channel

24 How a product gets to market D-Link talks about how to get in retailers’ hands

28 A day at a distie PCR pays a visit to CMS Distribution’s London headquarters

No. 164 • MAY 2017 COMPUTER & IT RESELLERS z RETAILERS z SYSTEM BUILDERS z DISTRIBUTORS z VENDORS

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KEEPING AHEAD OF THE CURVE 19 PCR speaks to Tech Data about the challenges facing the supply chain and Brexit…

“At the end of the day, demand for technology products from both consumers and businesses is only going to grow” Andy Dow, group managing director

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STORAGE

CLOUD

CONTENTS & COMMENT

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MEET THE TEAM

CONTENTS

COMMENT

REGULARS Jonathan Easton Editor

04 Analysis 09 Appointments

jeaston@nbmedia.com @jonman247

09 Events 11 Opinion 30 Retailer of the Month: Utopia Computers

Rob Horgan Deputy Editor

33 Reseller Profile:

rhorgan@nbmedia.com @robbiehorgs

Transputec

FEATURES 13 PCR’s 30 under 30 Gurpreet Purewal Group Sales Manager

19 The big interview: Tech

gpurewal@nbmedia.com

Data’s Andy Dow and Simon Coldwell 24 How a product gets to market – interview with

Sarah Goldhawk Senior Account Manager sgoldhawk@nbmedia.com @sarzgoldhawk

27 The top five challenges facing the supply chain

PRODUCTS Dan Bennett Designer

37 New products

dbennett@nbmedia.com

42 Distributors’ top products 46 Memory, motherboards and CPUs

Jason Dowie Production Executive jdowie@nbmedia.com

OUT OF OFFICE 48 In The Hot Seat: Target Components’ Scott Frankling 50 Team of the month: BT Shop

Andrew Wooden Interactive Entertainment Content Director awooden@nbmedia.com @pcr_online

Editorial: 0207 354 6002 Advertising: 0207 354 6000

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THE TIMING AT which I write this column comes at an awkward moment.

If I wrote it any earlier than today and ahead of our print deadline then I would have been entirely oblivious to the impending general election that was called a couple of hours before I am writing this now.

Then again, if I wrote it any later (with more facts established and a greater sense of perspective to forge a fully-formed and eloquently quotable reflection on said election) then the magazine that you hold before you would be without an introductory column from yours truly.

The only thing that I can say for certain is that the opaque economic future presented by Brexit is set to be exacerbated and made even more opaque by what lies ahead of us for the next few weeks. The pound will fluctuate with the polls, with import prices going up and down like a yo-yo as the country goes through various stages of this gloriously chaotic democratic process.

D-Link’s Paul Routledge

28 CMS Distribution site visit

NewBay Media is a member of the Periodical Publishers Associations

In the thick of it

Incorporating

ISSN: 1742-8440

“The pound will fluctuate with the polls, with import prices going up and down as the country goes through various stages of this gloriously chaotic democratic process.”

In an odd way, the big shake up that the country is going through right now with both the election and last month’s triggering of Article 50, is conveniently timed with our supply chain-themed issue.

While distribution channels have been established for decades, developments over the past few years such as the growth of online buying and looming disruptive threat of robots, drones and other forms of automation have people wondering about the future now perhaps more than ever.

I hope that this issue of PCR will help to clarify that future, even if we are going to be spending the next several weeks wondering what’s going on in the rest of the country.

Jonathan Easton, Editor jeaston@nbmedia.com

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Brexit in the Channel The countdown to Brexit has begun with Theresa May finally squeezing the Article 50 trigger. Rob Horgan speaks to the Channel about how Brexit is, already has and will impact the technology sector in the years to come…

IT’S OFFICIAL: Brexit has begun! A little over a month ago, Prime Minister Theresa May pulled the (nowinfamous) Article 50 trigger, signalling the beginning of the end for the UK’s love-hate membership within the EU. Despite high-profile celebrities such as Richard Branson offloading his life savings (well some of them) in a last-ditch attempt to derail Brexit, we must now face up to the reality that it is actually happening. But what does that mean for the Channel and the technology industry as a whole?

Well, early signs show that the UK tech sector has actually grown since the EU referendum result last year (whether that is being driven by blind ignorance or economic defiance remains to be seen). In fact, in the eightmonth period after the June vote, the number of UK tech start-ups has more than doubled (year-on-year) with 5,995 new firms listing with Companies House since Nigel Farage infamously declared UK’s ‘Independence Day’.

And despite 45 per cent of the tech industry’s workforce being made up of overseas workers (mainly from the EU), the sector has shown no signs of putting the brakes on.

KPMG’s 2017 Global Technology Innovation report put the UK as the fourth most promising tech market, up three places since before the referendum took place.

Industry analysts are also seemingly unconcerned about the sector’s durability.

Christian Stadler, a Professor of Strategic Management at Warwick Business School, said: “The UK’s tech industry is one of the biggest in the world and I expect a number of companies will be making big expansions in the UK.

4 | PCR May 2017

Brexit or no Brexit, the digital economy of the UK is great and its many advantages outweigh disadvantages.”

And a large number of Channel partners are singing from that very same song sheet, with optimism remaining at the forefront of the sector. Managing director of VIP, Rich Marsden, said that outside of currency fluctuations his firm has seen ‘no real change’ since Article 50 was triggered. “Demand has stayed in line with our expectations due to the dollar against GBP rising, so overall some positives to take from this period rather than negatives. It has been business as usual for us.”

He added: “I think it is a good thing for the supply chain as a whole, and we as an industry should not continue our race to the bottom. Brexit has helped

“Our hundred plus EU workers are increasingly more nervous now that Brexit has been triggered.”

Alex Tatham, Westcoast

establish pricing back at the level it should be.”

Equally buoyant, Claire Davenport, managing director at VoucherCodes.co.uk, believes that UK retailers will actually see an increase amount of spending in a postBrexit UK. “More and more retailers are expanding internationally and this won’t change now Article 50 has been triggered,” she said.

“Often customers are not even aware they are making an overseas purchase, meaning Brexit isn’t going to push them away.”

However, others are not so optimistic and have begun putting measures in place to safeguard their business. CEO of the PPRO group Simon Black confirmed that he is looking to move more of his business to EU states to ensure the firm’s future. “In terms of Brexit-proofing our business model, we made an

early decision last year to begin relocating our headquarters to Luxembourg to comply with EU regulations. This will cost us an additional £1m per year before the UK formally leaves the EU in having to maintain dual regulatory licences, setting up and running the Luxembourg office. But this is now a necessary cost.”

He continued: “A challenge facing the FinTech industry in particular, is how firms will navigate and comply with changes to license and regulatory requirements.

Hence we are calling on Theresa May and the British Government to prioritise the retention of EU passporting rights or face a mass exodus.”

Westcoast is another company that expanded its business into Europe last year.

CEO Alex Tatham described its purchase of Westcoast France as an ‘important factor’

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to remaining fully integrated with trade inside the EU. Tatham also raised the issue of reassuring a large contingent of EU workers within his company that their jobs are secure. “Our hundred plus EU workers are increasingly more nervous,” he said. “Obviously we have reassured them but the government need to fix this issue urgently.”

He added: “The hardest thing is the uncertainty it causes the business community and undermines

confidence. It is hard to be positive about anything in the IT channel as a result of Brexit.

We are all trusting that deals on recruitment and trade are reached without harming the economy in Britain.”

While some firms are staying positive and others prepare for the worst, there are a large number who are waiting it out to see how things pan out before reacting. Ben Allcock, TP-Link director, said that he has seen ‘little evidence of reduced spending’ in the first quarter

of the year and is holding tight for now. “From our perspective, it’s been a great start to the year so there’s no need to change tactics just yet. It’s fair to say we can expect some market volatility, but change of this magnitude can be considered to be an opportunity.”

Meanwhile, an added factor faces Scottish-based firm Utopia Computers. Boss Craig Hume explained: “The landscape between Brexit and another possible Scottish referendum is of course

“Change of this magnitude can be considered to be an opportunity.”

Ben Allcock, TP-Link

something we are monitoring closely. With challenges comes opportunities, and as a business we must see the positives in all situations.”

So, to put a long, complicated, political story into a neat conclusion: the tech industry is remaining strong and looks on track for a successful 2017. If Britain can negotiate trade and freedom of people deals with the EU quickly, then all should be OK. And if not, the industry looks ready to adapt (or failing that, jump ship and relocate).

Mad Catz capitulates ON MARCH 30th, Mad Catz – a brand long synonymous with gaming peripherals – announced that it was filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, effectively shutting its doors, liquidising its assets and vacating its board of directors and officers.

It is always a shock to see a brand of such magnitude and status announce that it is going away, but it’s not a move that comes as much of a surprise given events of the past couple of years. In February 2016, Mad Catz laid off nearly 37 per cent of its emloyees and its CEO and chairman both resigned.

Things took a turn for the worse in January of this year when the company’s stock prices nosedived, and it was staring down the barrel of

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being removed from the New York Stock Exchange. It seemed at that point that unless radical changes were made then it was just a matter of when, not if, Mad Catz would fall off a cliff.

“It’s always sad to see job losses and a well established name like this in trouble.”

Craig Hume, Utopia Computers

Pundits have pointed to the company’s big gamble in 2015’s Rock Band 4 as being a big contributing factor.

Mad Catz co-published and designed instruments for the game which poorly performed. Indeed, the company told investors at the time that, after reporting a debt warning and securing additional credit, dependence on sales of the game ‘raise substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue’.

The company never recovered from that gamble and announced huge losses last June, with nobody interested in purchasing it.

And so that brings us to the

statement from Mad Catz president and CEO Karen McGinnis who said that it ‘has been unable to find a satisfactory solution to its cash liquidity problems’, and that it had ‘been actively pursuing its strategic alternatives’, but that it ultimately couldn’t find a valid solution.

After losing such a big name in the space the Channel has been shaken and saddened. Kamal Hitari (of eponymous online retailer Hitari) for one described the situation as

‘very disappointing and shocking’, while Utopia Computer’s Craig Hume (you can read our full interview with Craig on page 30) said that ‘It’s always sad to see job losses and a well established name like this in trouble’.

With Chapter 7 bankruptcy specifying that there is no intention to reorganise, this looks like it’s the end of the road for Mad Catz and a sad end for a company that has been creating a steady flow of gaming gear since it burst on to the scene in 1989.

PCR May 2017| 5

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Amazon a threat to suppliers ON APRIL 4th Amazon launched its latest Channeldisruptor in the form of its new B2B service, Amazon Business.

Amazon Business isn’t just a copy of its consumer site with a different stocklist though.

The website offers a wider range of tools and businessfriendly features such as the ability to track purchases and set spending limits, along with an expanded range of products that are geared for commercial users and not available to private consumers. Essentially, Amazon Business is an attempt to cut out the middlemen of suppliers and buying groups, and shake up the traditional B2B channels.

But the big question is how those traditional channels will respond to the challenge posed by Amazon. “The decision to move into an

established market is interesting,” commented Gekko MD Dan Todaro. “I suspect traditional B2B channels will close ranks on Tier 1 brands to avoid a potential loss in trade. The possible pitfall for Amazon and brands is how to mitigate

“The possible pitfall for Amazon is how to mitigate fraud.”

Dan Todaro, Gekko

fraud and prevent an increase in ‘grey’ market transactions.”

Kamal Hitari made a similar point, noting that: “Suppliers will have to think creatively and listen to their customers on how they can help their businesses grow in order to compete with services and

prices provided by Amazon.”

How far Amazon takes its ‘Business’-business and how suppliers respond to its introduction remains to be seen, but it has the potential to be a major disruptor.

finding signals among all the noise,” he said. “Even in recent cases, terrorist attacks that could have been tracked and stopped with available data were still missed by authorities. Removing endto-end encryption would not help solve the noise problem – in fact, it might even make it worse.”

Erka Koivunen, chief information security officer at F-Secure added that banning encryption would tear apart the trust model which internet businesses are built on. “Not only would

banning end-to-end encryption be a futile attempt to turn back the clock, it would really expose people and businesses to a number of threats. However, perhaps the biggest thing would be the collapse of the trust model that exists in internet-based business.”

Be it a blatant violation of privacy, a security threat or even an added problem for deterring terrorism, the technology sector has come up with countless reasons why banning end-to-end encryption is not the answer.

Beginning of the end for end-to-end encryption?

As the home secretary calls for reforms to end-to-end encryption, Rob Horgan asks security experts about privacy policy reform…

IN THE WAKE of the Westminster terrorist attack, the age-old question of security versus privacy has reared its ugly head. As the nation mourned the deaths of five bystanders (including police officer Keith Palmer), the use of end-to-end encryption by messaging services such as WhatsApp came under scrutiny.

Led by home secretary Amber Rudd, a cacophony of scaremongering was emitted from all corners as it emerged the attacker used WhatsApp to communicate with ISIS extremists. Little more than 24 hours after the attack, Rudd – like many others – appealed to internet companies to provide a ‘back door’ to allow the government to snoop on

6 | PCR May 2017

suspected criminals. Some even went so far as to call for a blanket ban on end-to-end encryption altogether.

“Creating a ‘backdoor’ to decipher encryption is akin to leaving a key to your front door under the mat.”

David Emm, Kaspersky So why are so many internet security and technology companies coming out in support of end-to-end encryption?

As Kaspersky Lab’s

principal security researcher David Emm argued, both getting rid of encryption and creating a ‘back door’ are ‘flawed approaches’.

“Creating a ‘backdoor’ to decipher encrypted traffic is akin to leaving a key to your front door under the mat outside,” Emm said. “Your intention is for it to be used only by those you have been told about it. But if someone else discovers it, you’d be in a lot of trouble.

Equally concerned about the prospect of a ban on end-to-end encryption, Andrew Patel, senior manager at F-Secure said such a move could actually make it more difficult to prevent terrorism. “Agencies tend to collect too much data and have trouble

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The fall of a giant Toshiba’s fall from grace has opened up the floodgates to potential investors looking for a quick buck. Rob Horgan explores exactly where the wheels came off for the Japanese firm… seemingly offloading whatever it can to recoup more than $9 billion lost to its nuclear unit Westinghouse, a more-than-willing pool of cash-laden suitors has begun circling around Toshiba’s headquarters in Tokyo.

Rubbing their palms together, investors from across the

WHAT ON earth is going on at Toshiba? In the three months since missing its first quarterly earnings report deadline, the Japanese tech giant has been in free-fall. In an attempt to put the brakes on, we have now arrived at what I’m dubbing ‘The Great Toshiba Sell-Off’. With the firm MARCH 8TH, 2006 Toshiba acquires a 51% stake in US nuclear subsidiary Westinghouse for $5.4 billion

FEBRUARY 14TH, 2017 Toshiba misses deadline for declaring its earning’s report, as a result of complications to CB&I deal

OCTOBER 28TH, 2015 Westinghouse buys nuclear construction and services business from Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I)

“A more-thanwilling pool of cash-laden suitors has begun circling around Toshiba’s headquarters.”

MARCH 31ST, 2017 Toshiba receives joint $17.9 billion offer for its chip unit from US private equity firm Silver Lake Partners and chip manufacturer Broadcom

MARCH 28TH, 2017 Westinghouse files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, announcing loses of over $9 billion, after missing earning’s report deadline for second time

world are looking for a piece of the Toshiba’s fire sale. With a deal to sell-off its profitable chip business seemingly imminent, the firm now looks open to the idea of parting ways with its iconic TV business. So how exactly have the wheels come off and what is likely to follow?

BEFORE END OF 2017 Toshiba will likely sell off a majority share in its profitable chip business, and reach agreements to part with its TV business and NAND memory units

APRIL 11TH, 2017 Toshiba finally submits its earning’s report, confirming losses of over $9 billion

Channel will see benefit from growing device spend RESEARCH FIRM Gartner has predicted that global spend on devices will increase by two per cent in 2017 to $600 billion (£480 billion), with the total number of devices shipped in 2017 expected to reach 2.3 billion – a figure that remains flat from the previous year.

What that means for the Channel can only be a good thing, and, as noted by Westcoast managing director Alex Tatham: “The UK is doing better than most other European countries.”

Breaking down the figures makes for interesting reading as the mobile phone, tablet and PC market is expected to rise by 1.7 per

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cent year-on-year, largely due to increased average selling prices, even though there isn’t an expected growth in device shipments.

“Across the world, the device market is becoming less price-sensitive,” said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner.

“Consumers and businesses are seeking better products that suit their lifestyles, rather than just opting for the cheapest products.”

With device shipments not looking likely to increase, the biggest winners will be retailers as consumers are showing a willingness to spend more for better quality products.

News Bytes UK GOVERNMENT SIGNS DEAL WITH MICROSOFT TO AVOID £15M POST-BREXIT PRICE INCREASES The deal is said to apply to nearly 200,000 government customers as it moves to Microsoft’s Office 365 cloud offering and will also include a freeze for departments at December 2016 prices.

CI DISTRIBUTION ANNOUNCES THREE NEW PARTNERSHIPS Basingstoke-based IT distributor, Ci Distribution made waves when it announced three new partnerships with key players in the IT industry: Brother UK, iKey and Mad Catz.

INTEL CLAIMS 10-NANOMETER CHIPS WILL BE A ‘GENERATION AHEAD’ OF SAMSUNG AND OTHER RIVALS Thanks to ‘hyper scaling’, Intel claims its next set of chips will yield CPUs with 25 per cent more performance and 45 per cent lower power consumption that its current Kaby Lake chips.

MILLIONS OF BRITS EXPERIENCING SLOW INTERNET According to a survey from consumer action group Which?, 59 per cent of households have experienced issues. Nine in 10 to have experienced issues said that they felt ‘frustrated’ by them, with four in 10 forced to stop what they were doing online.

OCULUS RIFT CREATOR PALMER LUCKEY LEAVES FACEBOOK Facebook has announced on March 31st that it had parted ways with Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey after three years with the company.

BLACKBERRY WINS $814.9 MILLION IN LEGAL BATTLE WITH QUALCOMM Qualcomm has been ordered to pay BlackBerry a whopping $814.9 million by an arbitration panel, over claims that the phone maker had overpaid royalties.

PCR May 2017 | 7

PEOPLE & EVENTS

Channel appointments CENTERPRISE: Centerprise International has named Jon Atherton as group commercial director. In his role, Atherton will be establishing vendor relations within the group and ensuring branding and exposure within the channel is maximised. In addition, Atherton will be tasked with GREEN MAN GAMING: Global e-commerce company Green Man Gaming has announced Sam Bennett as EVP of customer experience and communications. Bennett brings extensive experience of managing communities as well as customer relationships at gaming brands including EA, Sony and Activision.

SYNAXON: Services group Synaxon welcomed back former manager Nathan Addison as its new Cloud business development manager, and recruited Lisa Winstanley as marketing manager. Addison has returned after two-and-a-half years running his own consultancy, while Winstanley TECH DATA: Distributor Tech Data has appointed Rob Tomlin as managing director UK of Azlan and Technology Solutions. Tomlin will oversee integration of operations and set out a strategic plan for the combined organisation.

Tomlin said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead the UK’s TIMICO: Timico has appointed Alex Hendry as its new head of commercial. Alex has 14 years of experience at Alternative Networks commercial team, responsible for ensuring all customer and supplier transactions met commercial demands.

Talking about his new role, Hendry said: “The commercial

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EVENTS The UK’s channel calendar is full of important events. Here are some highlights for upcoming dates…

Jon Atherton

all PR, marketing and driving specialised sales channels.

Atherton said: “I am looking forward to the challenge and what the role presents in ensuring myself and the business continue to support and grow our existing and new vendors. It was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.”

Sam Bennett

Paul Sulyok, CEO and founder of Green Man Gaming commented on the appointment: ”As a passionate gamer who understands our audience and a well-respected community expert in the industry, we look forward to working with Sam to make sure we put our customers first at all times.”

Nathan Addison and Lisa WInstanley

brings more than 14 years of experience in the public sector and commercial retail marketing to her new role.

Derek Jones, managing director of Synaxon, said: “Nathan will already be a familiar face to many of our members, and bringing Lisa in with her experience will be a great asset to our business.”

UC EXPO

Rob Tomlin

largest and most progressive enterprise value-added distribution business. I’m looking forward to exploring new opportunities to engage with our customers and partners. My focus will be to ensure our partners benefit from the combined specialisms, skills and capabilities.

DIGITAL BUSINESS WORLD CONGRESS 2017

Alex Hendry

team will be responsible for all pricing across the product portfolio, ensuring we’re as competitive as possible, and making sure we’re getting maximum value for money for our clients. I’m hugely excited by the opportunity, particularly as I’m joining at such a pivotal time in its development.”

RETAIL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY EXPO 2017 Olympia, London MAY 5TH – 6TH The Retail Business Technology Expo (RBTE) is essential for those working in the retail, hospitality, travel, entertainment and leisure industries. With an unparalleled insight into the latest solutions, there’s also the chance to register for strategic advice.

MANCHESTER MULTICHANNEL CONFERENCE UKFast Campus, Birley Fields, Manchester, M15 5QJ MAY 12TH The Manchester Multichannel Conference is a oneday event for online sellers where 10 expert speakers will share their insights on the multichannel retail industry.

VR WORLD 2017 Olympia, London MAY 16TH – 17TH Now in its second year, VR World 2017 is a two day conference and exhibition focused on Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality and its impact beyond gaming. With four in-depth event tracks and over 150 leading speakers, no other European event covers the market in as much detail.

ExCel, London MAY 17TH – 18TH UC EXPO is the largest Unified Communications and Collaboration event in Europe. The two-day event encompasses technologies that enable smarter working and connected business. Discover solutions designed to provide flexible ways of delivering, managing, and supporting communication.

Madrid, Spain MAY 23RD – 25TH DES is the world’s leading event on Digital Transformation that will guide any business leaders to understand how to become more competitive into the digital era. The show is aimed at CEOs, CIOs, CMOs and HR departments.

PCR May 2017 | 9

“SanDisk provides fast access to my vast music libraries. It’s a brand I can truly rely on.”

GREGOR SALTO

DJ AND PRODUCER

OPINION

Why we need the old habits to die Derek Jones, managing director of channel services group Synaxon UK explains why buying smarter is better for retailers rather than always trying to get the lowest price…

pricing and availability at most UK OLD HABITS die hard. And although distributors, but by ordering through the market is changing, a lot of IT EGIS, they no longer have to visit trade is still fuelled by product sales. several different distributor websites.

Businesses and consumers may well Furthermore, they can use features be buying software by subscription such as the optimiser tool, which and using cloud-based virtual ensures the best combination of machines, storage and managed products pricing and delivery costs. In security, but they still need client other words, instead of making a devices to access it. They still need judgement on price, you can look at systems, displays, keyboards, mice, the best overall deal for your business. printers, replacement cartridges etc.

EGIS is a smarter way to buy and End customers know this and they the more our members use it, the also know that there are thousands of more benefits suppliers are prepared suppliers out there; many of them will use this to drive the price down as low to offer, so it keeps getting better. The one thing that is 100 per cent as the supplier is prepared to go. guaranteed for any dealer or retailer It’s not quite the same for resellers of any size, is that and retailers. Within purchasing through the UK’s technology EGIS can only ever channel, it’s only the “Only the big help your business to big buyers who can buyers can play buy more intelligently play one distributor from the best off against another to one distributor suppliers. beat them down on off against There are also price. Everyone else just gets the same another and beat advantages from a supplier’s perspective, deal and no real them down on as they can build some flexibility on pricing. loyalty from our But as I previously price.” said, old habits die Derek Jones, members by giving Synaxon them better targeted hard and resellers still offers and promotions. look for the best price In this way, we’re able to help and availability and place their everyone in the supply chain. Old business wherever that takes them. habits of wanting to compare pricing This has always seemed strange given and availability are still there, but we the way the supply chain works now. can now help resellers and retailers And the more I think about it, the break out from the old ways. stranger it seems.

Synaxon UK is supporting the Now, as everyone knows (I hope) whole supply chain. We help Synaxon is a channel services group. manufacturers by offering a route to We are not a ‘buying’ group as such, but our members do get special terms market, we help distributors by taking costs out of their business and and conditions from distributors delivering loyal customers and we when they purchase through our help the independent dealer by information and procurement portal, delivering improved trading terms.

EGIS. They can still check current Derek Jones is the managing director of channel services group Synaxon UK http://synaxon.co.uk

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Going above and beyond in distribution Westcoast Retail MD Carl Oxley talks about the changing roles of the distributor in the supply chain and how to remain relevant in an always evolving market… the case that, not only are we in AS THE needs and requirements of direct contact with the retailers retailers continue to change over themselves, but also a range of time, the understanding of the vendors, all of which may require a supply chain and those that work specific layout and differing with it has similarly been revisied. requirements in-store. This in turn We are now in an age where simply needs attention to detail and moving products from A to B is no additional services, such as being longer enough, and we have to able to satisfy regular stock checks provide services that go beyond the and planogram compliance, again typical perception of distribution. extending the arm of distribution. At Where previously the job of a times, there may be an even larger distributor would end in the eco-system involved, whether that retailer’s centres, we now must be shopfitters or design agencies, engage deeper into the chain in and it is down to distributors to to both the stockroom and shop floor. liaise and work with them.

Simply put, the aim of Monitoring progress and implementing an efficient supply updating retailers and vendors on chain is to improve on-shelf the results is another availability. If a necessity in modern product is in stock distribution. At in the distribution “We now must Westcoast Retail centre or stock engage deeper every job is logged via room, then we an app – and using must guarantee it is into the chain in our own analytics – available to both the retailers are able to purchase in-store.

Offering in-store stockroom and on check progress in real time. As an industry, aid to ensure that the shop floor.” products are Carl Oxley, we need to continue available to Westcoast Retail to look to offer live updates, including purchase and the likes of entry and exit appear presentable is a key service photography, to ensure both on top of typical distribution. retailers and vendors receive Although it may seem simple, such precise, real time understanding of personable management and fixtures and shopper behaviour. activity is integral to capitalise on What all of this means in essence our relationships with retailers. is that what is expected from the Effective merchandising is also ‘supply chain’ has undergone invaluable to a retailer. This can something of a reformation, involve everything from rack catering to a much wider range of merchandising jobs and ensuring needs. It’s important we keep shelf edge labels (SELs) are up to abreast of how to maximise our date, thorough to stock audits. relationships with our retailers most The ability to be flexible and cater effectively, and adapt and extend to a range of demands is also our services accordingly. increasingly proving key. It is often Carl Oxley is the managing director of Westcoast Retail. http://westcoast.co.uk

PCR May 2017 | 11

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THE IT CROWD The UK IT Channel is full of wonderfully exciting young talents so once again we’ve done our best to shine a spotlight on 30 of the top professionals under the age of 30 from all corners of the IT world from retailers and resellers to disties and vendors…

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Adam Eldrett, 27

Alex Briggs, 25

Q Buying Manager for Tablets and Printers/ Home Office Q Tesco Following a year outside of the industry, Adam has returned to the Tesco Computing team as buying manager for tablets and printers/ home office. Adam has a keen eye for a deal while building strong relationships within the industry.

His strong commercial approach always ensures he delivers what is right for the customer.

Q External Account Manager Q Panda Security Alex Briggs heads up the external channel team at Panda Security UK, driving UK Channel development and sales, at one of Europe’s most innovative security vendors. Educated at the University of Winchester, Alex also has a strong IT Channel background having previously worked within Azlan, the enterprise arm of Tech Data, representing top brands such as HPE. Alex is driving growth in key areas such as UK partner recruitment, strategic partner development and awareness of cyber security within the Channel.

Alexandra Hiatt, 28

Barry Kennedy, 26

Q Marketplace Trading Manager Q Tesco Alex has become an integral category manager within the Tesco direct marketplace, since joining in 2016. She has been instrumental in delivering exponential growth and record sales.

Having previously worked as a buyer in the tech industry she has used her market insight to create mutually beneficial joint business plans with her key trading partners. Alex’ solid business acumen, passion and technical knowledge make her a trusted colleague and a successful mentor to her team, successfully developing colleagues along the way.

Q Chief Technologist Q Utopia Computers Barry Kennedy joined the Utopia in 2007 as a trainee technician. While building his technical knowledge, he showed a natural ability for providing fantastic customer service as well as being able to get the very best out of any hardware system. He has now cemented a role as Utopia’s Chief Technologist responsible for building some of the fastest workstations in the world. He oversees the testing, overclocking and designing and continues to play an important role in managing Utopia’s gaming community.

Ben Malka, 25

Connor Perry, 26

Q HyperX Q Community Manager EMEA As the HyperX Community Manager, Ben is responsible for the discovery, development and co-ordination of strategic partnerships, alliances, influencers and any associated marketing opportunities within the eSports and gaming community across EMEA. He’s done a great job at HyperX, constantly hopping between the US and Europe to connect with all the eSports teams that the company sponsors support.

Q Senior Digital Marketing Analyst Q Ingram Micro Connor joined Ingram Micro in 2015. He has over seven years experience working in the mobile and technology industry, and is the company’s e-commerce web marketing star. Connor manages the Digital Marketing for Ingram and he has developed new tools to enhance the marketing and sales online.

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14 | PCR May 2017

Dan Foster, 27

Darryl Merkli, 22

Q Distribution Channel Manager, UKI Q D-Link Since graduating from Southampton Solent University in 2013, Dan has rapidly progressed through the ranks at D-Link in a short space of time. Starting out as an internal Channel account manager for Netgear, he joined D-Link in April 2014 and now manages D-Link’s UK and Ireland Distribution Channel, as well as leading the D-Link Business Solutions team. Dan has built a number of strong relationships in the Channel and has proven to be an incredibly valuable asset to D-Link. Dan’s Business Solutions team is set to bring in 45 per cent of the overall sales figure for the first quarter of 2017, highlighting the impact he has made and the importance of his role at D-Link.

Q Senior Marketing Vendor Executive Q Ingram Micro Described by his colleagues as one of the brightest talents in the Channel today, Darryl’s creativity, energy and commitment to delivering exceptional work for the vendor community is a great asset to the team. He strives every day to bring new, creative and thoughtprovoking ideas to the table, supporting his colleagues and earning respect from everyone he works with.

Fil Ivovic, 27

Jade Francis, 26

Q Technical Support Advisor Q Synology Fil joined Synology in the summer of 2016 and in a short space of time has trained up on Synology NAS and routers to an advanced level. Fil has become an integral part of the Synology team.

His peers in the team describe him as a ‘human knowledge base with the memory of an elephant’. In his short time at Synology, Fil has not only excelled in the technical team but also assisted the sales and marketing departments at events including the Synology launch event in 2016 and PCR Boot Camp North.

Q Senior Account Manager Q Target Components In the two years that Jade has worked with Target as an account manager, she has made an astounding impact on the business and the accounts that she looks after. Her natural ability to build relationships and tirelessly work in the best interest of the 200 or so customers has seen her become tremendously valuable to her account base. She is always keen to keep abreast of any new products or new technologies and makes sure she is best positioned to accurately advise on what is available.

Recently promoted to senior account manager, she continues to forge what will undoubtedly be a very successful career in the industry.

James Clayton, 29

James Forbes, 22

Q Junior Buyer Q Shop Direct Alongside his team, James has almost single-handedly driven the PC gaming agenda within Shop Direct. He put the wheels in motion for a strategy that has seen the company move away from the perception of being a console-only retailer into an eSports retailer. Where many competitors follow old traditional methods, James can see that a different approach is required for the gaming PC market and he focuses on his customers buying patterns to ensure that he has a competitive range every quarter.

Q Cloud Services and Website Manager Q Edward Martin Computer Services James has transformed the Cloud Services offered by Edward Martin Computer Services, taken on Epson Print365 management, and has introduced the company to iPhone, iPad and Mac repair and maintenance. His enthusiasm for new projects is infectious, which rubs off on the other members of the team and keeps morale and standards above the expected. James is also building the foundation for the company to become an MSP, by building relationships with Continuum and other key vendors.

James has also transformed the company from a paper-based ticketing system to an online PSA with AutoTask. He has continually managed change, taking the owners and staff with him on an exciting journey to secure and build the company for the future.

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www.pcr-online.biz

Jamie Hope, 20

Jennifer Eltringham, 27

Q Product Manager Q Exertis Jamie began his career at Exertis under the apprenticeship scheme at the age of 16. Starting as a junior, he was quickly promoted to a product specialist and now after less than four years, he has become integral to the PC Components division of Exertis. Jamie is in charge of managing and driving key brands such as Corsair and EVGA, as well as top tier customers, in his latest role as product manager. Keen to develop and grow, always looking for that next opportunity and a pleasure to do business with Jamie is one to watch in UK distribution.

Q Marketing Executive Q CMS Distribution Jennifer joined CMS Distribution last October, bringing with her a degree in creative advertising, over six years of marketing experience and a background in satellite communications. As the company’s Toshiba Marketing Executive, Jennifer works with retailers in the UK, Ireland and Nordics to raise Toshiba’s profile to ensure they’re among the leaders in the data storage industry.

On top of a fantastic six months in her Toshiba role, Jennifer ran the first CMS Consumer TechXpo Event, which was attended by 42 customers and 18 vendors and heralded as a huge success.

Jennifer has some serious plans in place for the next few months, working on some big vendor launches alongside adding some completely new marketing services for the B2C team.

Katie Pinnock, 21

Kieran Vineer, 28

Q UK Marketing Specialist Q Cooler Master Having joined Aria Technology in 2013 as a sales account manager, Katie was promoted to purchasing manager in less than a year. Shortly after this move into purchasing, she found her love for the industry and went on to become commercial manager, helping Aria Technology and its sister company Gladiator Computers grow to where they are today. In May last year, Katie moved over to Cooler Master to fill the role of UK marketing specialist. She is now working hard to help Cooler Master showcase its new direction and products.

Q Distribution Channel Manager Q TP-Link Kieran has demonstrated time and again that he’s the go-to guy for all things distribution. Having worked at two of the UK’s largest distributors (TechData and Exertis) as well as various roles within TP-Link, he understands the industry drivers and processes from both sides of the fence. This valuable insight enables him to come up with win-win solutions for TP-Link and distributors enabling both organisations to reach their revenue and margin targets. His enthusiasm and professionalism are infectious, enabling him to motivate colleagues to surpass expectations and targets.

Lauren Richards, 20

Lucy O’Brien, 26

Q Purchase Ledger Assistant Q Target Components Lauren started at Target in September 2015 under the apprenticeship scheme which enabled her to gain work experience while still studying for a diploma in business administration. She passed with flying colours and one year later she was taken on full time with Target and promoted to purchase ledger assistant. Lauren’s primary role within the department is helping to run our accounts payable. This includes invoice inputting, sorting queries, preparing payments for both UK and international suppliers and reconciling supplier and bank accounts. Starting as an apprentice, Lauren is now an invaluable member of the Target team, often the first point of contact for customers and suppliers and is highly regarded by both.

Q Buyer Q John Lewis Lucy O’Brien has been in buying roles at John Lewis for over five years and is currently responsible for the smartphone, photographic and wearable products and positioning. The company has had a record year in all three of those categories in the last 12 months through a combination of strengthened partner relations, a passionate focus on product and an unrivalled commitment to deliver more for customers.

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16 | PCR May 2017

Luke Blade, 21

Luke Spring, 25

Q Senior Account Manager Q EVGA Luke has worked for EVGA since the age of 19, and this year has been promoted to UK senior account manager. He has been integral to the continued growth of EVGA in the UK. He has led from the front as EVGA has risen into a major SI accounts in both VGA and PSU. In 2017 he now looks after all distribution along with a number of EVGA’s key resellers and system integrators.

Q Social Media Manager Q Nvidia Luke is one of the of the brightest young stars at Nvidia. Joining just under two years ago as the community manager for Northern Europe, Luke quickly took the lead on many regional projects, which soon turned into European projects and then into global campaigns. Luke is a gamer’s gamer, with total love of all genres across all platforms. And while his heart belongs to the PC, it’s his deepseeded love of playing games that allows him to interact with Nvidia’s community in the way he does because he truly is part of it. Before Luke joined Nvidia he’d already made his mark on the world of gaming after setting up set up his own fan-forums for Call of Duty and Batman, one of which was purchased by the franchise and is still an extremely popular forum today.

Martin Byrne, 29

Megan O’Neill, 26

Q Co-Head of Technical Solutions Q Sweethaven Computers Martin has been a star contributor at Sweethaven Computers. He has been leading the charge with our hosted data centre solutions as well as leading on its IASME / CyberEssentials accreditation. His colleagues describe him as a pleasure to work with and a truly gifted individual.

No task is too great or small for Martin.

He embraces opportunities and new technology on a daily basis and would be a credit to any IT-related business.

Q Vendor Marketing Executive Q Ingram Micro Megan is an outstanding marketer and an asset to Ingram Micro. Her endless energy, passion and drive is infectious on a day-to-day basis. She has established strong relationships across her vendor partners and constantly brings fresh and creative ideas to vendors’ boardrooms and to the workplace in general.

Priya Dayal, 26

Rebecca Williams, 27

Q Senior Marketing Vendor Executive Q Ingram Micro Priya is a tremendous asset to the Channel and to Ingram Micro in particular. Her collaboration and engagement skills across the vendor community sets her apart from the pack. She is a natural leader, and always endeavours to provide support for her team in delivering exceptional demand generation programmes.

Q Junior Buyer Q John Lewis Rebecca Williams leads the Windows computing, gaming and VR divisions at John Lewis. It has been an incredible 12 months where John Lewis has seen its biggest-ever year on Windows computing, winning a record amount of the market share. On top of that, John Lewis brought the very latest technology to customers with a fantastic launch of Oculus Rift at the end of 2016. The company’s gaming market share has doubled year-on-year attributed to a fresh approach to the category from Rebecca.

www.pcr-online.biz

www.pcr-online.biz

Rene Gueth, 24

Scott Walker, 24

Q Account Manager Q Terra Computer Rene is an established account manager and highly regarded member of a growing sales team at Terra Computer UK. His undisputed strong work ethic and relentless drive to continuously learn and better himself has made a lasting impression on his team. Rene played a pivotal role in helping the sales team achieve the company’s best-ever month this past February. He always works hard to achieve and exceed his own personal targets and as an assistant team leader, Rene always steps up to the task and displays fantastic leadership skills. Always trying to keep his peers motivated to reach their maximum potential, Rene possesses all the attributes to become a leading professional in the UK IT Channel.

Q UK Operations & Data Management Q Hannspree Bringing a range of technical and communication skills combined with key decision-making experience, Scott fills a gap in the Hannspree skillset. His main role is provide support for both customers and the rest of the Hanspree team. Scott is the most recent addition to the Hannspree UK team having only been at the company for three months.

However, he has already become an invaluable member of the team and his future at the company is set to be a prominent one. Scott has shown leadership skills with confidence but takes his training very seriously, making sure he understands new information and doesn’t let his confidence cloud his ability to learn more.

Shane Ward, 27

Simon Buckingham, 29

Q Sales Executive Q Platinum Components Since joining the company in 2014, Shane has been an influential member of the UK sales team, significantly increasing Platinum’s coverage and sales. He has built strong relationships with existing accounts and brought in new business and products to the company. He has a passion for the industry and was voted Platinum’s People Champion for 2016.

Q Retail Marketing Manager Q TP-Link Simon is a very creative individual with an original take on retail marketing.

His contagious enthusiasm rubs off on colleagues and customers to deliver measurable benefits to both. He works closely with suppliers to keep abreast of the latest trends and developments in retail marketing and adapts them to the networking and smart home sectors.

Building relationships is a crucial skill in the sector and Simon does a great job in understanding the customers’ pressure points, recommending solutions and then delivering within the agreed deadlines. He coordinates with multiple external suppliers and internal colleagues to deliver point of sale and promotions that pack a punch in store and online.

Sophia Meola, 24

Verity Agababian, 23

Q Marketing Executive - Social & PR Q Ingram Micro Sophia started her role in the Cloud business unit at Ingram Micro in December 2014 as a marketing executive.

She joined with extensive digital marketing knowledge as a well-known and extremely successful beauty blogger.

Sophia joined the team in the first few months of the Cloud division forming and used her skills to develop the Ingram Micro Cloud brand online from scratch.

In January 2017 Sophia progressed into the role of social media and PR lead for the full Ingram Micro UK business. In this time Sophia has raised the online presence of Ingram Micro through social media, our digital publication IM Advisor and launched a brand new blog. In the past two months, conversion rates from social media have increased dramatically.

Sophia’s hard work and passion is making a huge difference for Ingram Micro.

Q Marketing Executive Q BT Business Direct Verity joined BT Business Direct less than a year ago, initially as a temporary product marketing assistant in the HP and Microsoft teams. Within months she’d impressed hugely and secured a role in our corporate marketing team, writing copy for online, social media, emails and direct marketing. She also took the reigns of the campaign management of quarterly business magazine TechKnow sent to around 20,000 customers. Verity’s abilities and skills have seen her secure a role in the newly formed BT Shop team – the division that has been established to service consumers with complimentary technology products across a range of broadband, TV, sport and mobile products.

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

Changing with the times Distribution is at the heart of the IT Channel, and Tech Data has spent the past 43 years establishing itself around the world. Jonathan Easton speaks to group marketing director for UK and Ireland Andy Dow, and director of logistics Simon Coldwell about the Channel’s evolving landscape…

H “We have to provide and demonstrate our operational excellence and most important of all, we have to deliver.”

Andy Dow, Tech Data

Andy Dow, Tech Data

ow has the first quarter of 2017 been for Tech Data?

Andy Dow: Following the recent acquisition announcement, a good deal of focus has been on the integration of the Azlan Technology Solutions business. It’s important to get that right of course.

Otherwise, it is business as usual and the areas of most activity have been around the Cloud, and Microsoft CSP in particular. The whole area of consumer technology, in which the lines between 2-in-1 convertibles, tablets, smartphones and wearable devices is starting to blur is also booming. We’re big in all these areas, so we’re looking at how we can bring them together more. You’ll be seeing some increased activity from us in this area.

As ever, the market is constantly developing and both Tech Data and its customers must adapt to face different challenges and opportunities. Tech Data’s aim as a business is to be the trusted advisor to its reseller and retailer customers and that’s something we continue to invest in and work on right across our business.

Simon Coldwell: We are also investing strongly in our logistical capabilities and in developing and refining specialist supply chain services for retailers, to support omni-Channel services and shipment, for example. The ever-evolving demands of ecommerce and heightened expectations – from both vendors and PCR May 2017 | 19

THE BIG INTERVIEW SC: I can only echo that really. Being able to provide flexible options – and services such as pre-shipment configuration and testing of certain products has been important. Online has obviously grown and we’re continuing to refine and enhance the services we can offer web-based retailers.

retailers – means that there is a need for us to be even more agile and flexible. We’re working more collaboratively with retailers on multiple fronts, especially the reverse streams, and supporting their processes end-to-end. In doing so, I believe we are adding significant value and genuinely differentiating Tech Data as a partner for retailers.

What are you most excited about during the next year?

AD: We’re most excited about the potential that’s starting to emerge around the Cloud and the convergence of mobile technologies along with new areas such as fitness wearables and the smart home. We see some excellent opportunities developing here and this will be a real area of focus for us.

We are also excited about the rapid development of the PC gaming market. We work with come very big brand names in this market now and they are very well positioned to support growth. We’re also very involved in the supply of PC games titles and we’re currently taking pre-orders for a number of exciting new titles that are due for release over the summer and autumn. VR is another area that we are expecting to explode and we are already seeing many users getting ‘VR-ready’.

SC: As Andy says, there is a proliferation of mobile devices and a good deal of activity around PC gaming and accessories and making systems ‘VR-ready’. That’s increasing the number of stock lines that both web and traditional retailers need to offer, which brings our capabilities – in terms of providing reliable, overnight shipment to every corner of the UK and Ireland, and being able to drop-ship – even more to the fore.

What do you predict will be the biggest areas of growth in the tech sector over the next couple of years?

AD: It’s very hard to predict as there is so much change right now, but from a retail perspective, I’d imagine – and 20 | PCR May 2017

Simon Coldwell, Tech Data

this is very much my personal view – that we’ll see continued growth in mobile devices of all kinds, and in wearable and smart home tech. The PC gaming market is looking very promising too, so I can see that growing rapidly over the next couple of years.

Talk us through your highprofile partnership with Apple and if/ how it differs from your relationships with other vendors?

AD: Our partnership with Apple is very positive and productive. We are able to provide retailers with a vast choice of products and accessories through our EDEN website, which was recently redesigned and given enhanced functionality, so that’s all going well. Our partnership with Apple differs

“The ever-evolving demands of ecommerce means there is a need for us to be even more agile and flexible.”

Simon Coldwell, Tech Data

only in that, as Apple is a very high-profile brand and has a very loyal customer base.

It’s important to provide specific focus and resources in the relevant areas. This is something we also do with other vendor partners, it’s just that the areas of focus are different for each partner.

How has the distribution space evolved with the growth of online retail?

AD: We have been working with retailers that sell only through the web for many years now. It’s constantly evolving, as you’d expect. As Simon said earlier, it’s made our ability to hold stocks of many thousands of different and diverse product lines, and our world-class logistics services, much more prominent and important.

How do you feel about the growth in robotics and automation within warehouses and distribution more generally? Will robots replace the need for humans within warehouses?

SC: Robotics is a major trend in logistics. Worldwide sales are already at around $2 billion and are forecast to reach over $22 bilion in 2021.

It’s very much a personal view, but I see acceleration here being driven by the pace at which cognitive advances are made, and thereafter by easier ROI justification as prices for robotics systems begin to come down. The initial opportunity for technology distribution will be in the simplification of certain tasks and cost reduction. But there will be challenges here as well.

Research by PwC estimates the proportion of jobs at high risk of automation within transport and storage to be over 56 per cent by the 2030s.

Will robots replace humans? It’s a good question and I envisage that they may, for a large proportion of warehouse activities. But, I’d also imagine there will always be exceptions that require human interactions.

Other factors, such as how well and cost-effectively areas such as programming, retro-fitting, reliability, and maintenance will also impact adoption of robotics.

How do you forge and maintain relationships with vendors and retailers?

AD: We work extremely hard to develop and maintain good partnerships, both with vendors and retailers. But they are of course, completely different kinds of relationships. www.pcr-online.biz

THE BIG INTERVIEW

For vendors, we are the route to market and the most efficient, effective way to reach out to the entire Channel. Each one of those vendors will have a unique product range and its own targets and ambitions, and they will expect us to align our services and ways of working to meet those goals.

To do that well, we have to have a deep and up-to-date understanding of the market, we have to provide and demonstrate our operational excellence and most important of all, we have to deliver – which means keeping the retailers happy.

Retailers are just as individual in terms of their wants and needs – whether they are a nationwide chain, a webstore or a high street independent. We have a myriad of processes designed to meet pretty much all their needs and a plethora of online tools and tailor-made configurators that are designed to make it quick, easy and cost-effective for them or find and order products they need. www.pcr-online.biz

On top of that we have a specialist retail sales team who are there to help retailers with their specific requirements, and on the vendor side, a consumer electronics team that works to bring new technologies and opportunities forward.

How do you think Brexit will change the UK retail space, and have you already begun seeing any effects?

AD: In distribution, we are used to dealing with change, and so are retailers. There are many factors, including economic and political developments, that impact the market but at the end of the day, demand for technology products from both consumers and businesses is only going to grow. There is a lot of talk about ‘transformation’ now and the increasing reliance on digital systems and processes, and that is only going to make organisations and individuals more dependent on technology and feed their appetite for more devices and increased services.

“It’s an environment that’s constantly changing and the approach that Tech Data Logistics takes is one of total flexibility and readiness to adapt.”

Andy Dow, Tech Data

What other factors are currently impacting distributors in the Channel?

AD: Distribution and warehousing is a fast-moving and at times volatile sector – and that’s especially true of technology distribution. It’s an environment that’s constantly changing and the approach that Tech Data Logistics takes is one of total flexibility and readiness to adapt. We have multiple solutions, partner options and contingencies in place, and we like to think we are ready to deal with any eventuality.

But of course, you cannot stand still, so we’re constantly reviewing, updating and enhancing our systems and processes. By making use of market and business intelligence and analytics, and ensuring that we are closely aligned to the demands of our customers and the market, Tech Data can deliver a great service to our vendor partners and retailer customers. That makes us extremely robust and gives us as much future proofing as I think it’s possible to have in this sector.

We are always striving to excel in our supply chain management and execution, but also know we must continually evolve. We are fortunate in being able to leverage the infrastructure of one of the world’s leading technology distributors to provide great flexibility and the ability to scale across multiple solutions.

We have tremendous depth of experience within our logistics operations and a dedicated and committed workforce, excellent processes and IT platforms, and access to unrivalled resources and capabilities across the global Tech Data organisation. We are never complacent about our position in the market and I think that’s very important too. We work hard to drive differentiation at every level and in every area of our business – and I think we offer a genuinely different and valuable logistics service that can and does support the growth and profitability of our vendor partners and retailer customers.

PCR May 2017 | 21

THE SUPPLY CHAIN

H

ow do you forge and maintain relationships with distributors?

We are in a very lucky position in that we have four great distributors – Ingram Micro, Exertis, Techdata and Entatech – and we have long standing relationships with them. We ensure that we have relationships at all levels within distribution and we have a dedicated team that works purely within distribution.

We don’t see distribution just as a place to stack the products high and sell them out. We work with all levels of distribution to put the right campaigns in place to ensure that D-Link is a profitable franchise for our distributors. I think the real secret is to create a mind set with the distribution sales teams, so that they feel that they’re a natural extension of our sales team.

Down to

market The journey of a piece of tech from the production line to store shelves is at the very heart of the Channel. Jonathan Easton speaks to Paul Routledge, country manager at D-Link UK, to get to grips with exactly how a product gets to market and what the vendor’s relationship with the Channel is…

24 | PCR May 2017

Talk us through the process one of your products goes through to get to market.

Right from the outset, we work with our engineers on concepts and ideas for products. We receive feedback from the local market on how the smart home is developing and what products are popular and feed this information back to the engineers. We then get to a point where we have a concrete product that we can talk about and by this time, we will have specifications, pricing, and an idea about what a product is going to look like. Next, we look at the local markets: is this a product that we’ll bring into Europe and eventually into the UK market?

The sales and marketing plan is next on the agenda.

Looking back to two and a half years ago when we started to develop the smart home products, this was a relatively new concept.

Therefore, a lot of education was needed to position D-Link as a leader in the smart home market sector.

We concentrated on thought leadership, positioning of the

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THE SUPPLY CHAIN D-Link brand as well as the value proposition offered by our smart home solutions.

To create awareness, we used a mix of social media activity, training events and presence at exhibitions to get the product range and message out there. It was important to get people to first understand that D-link is one of the leaders in the smart home market and, second, what the product can offer to the market.

From a sales point of view, we looked into what the right channels were for those products. For example, with smart homes we started with a traditional IT retailer, in this case, Dixons and Maplin etc.

We also launched with Staples and Screwfix, taking our smart home to channels not usually supplied by D-Link.

Looking at the market place now for smart home technology, we can see our solutions are developing more towards an installer type product. With that in mind, we’re working with trade counters, in particular plumbing and electrical, where installers source their products from. In the future, smart home solutions will be installed rather than bought over a counter.

What challenges, if any, have arisen with the diminished prevalence of traditional bricks-andmortar tech outlets?

Like everyone else, we have seen that there are fewer of the traditional bricks-andmortar retailers out there.

While this changing dynamic presents challenges, there are many opportunities that have arisen. With the increased growth of online sales, I think we are able to reach a wider audience. So the reduction in retail sales is being more than compensated for by the increase in online sales.

It’s a different way of selling though. We ensure that we provide rich digital content, like video material rather than lots of text and lifestyle images so consumers can see how the solutions will look in real life environments rather

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channels and which partners to go with, and then to decide what the best approach is for each of those partners. Going back to the smart home solutions market, our initial plan was to develop that business through the more traditional brick and mortar tech outlets, which we have done and seen success with.

However, now that market is changing, we’re developing the business through trade counters and also with specialist e-tailers. I can’t think of any specific difficulties that we face in getting products to market. I think this is because we are able to utilise the solid relationships we have built within the traditional channels to branch out into new market areas. We have shown that there is value in our products and solutions which will also bring value to our partners.

than in standard product shots.

We’re also seeing that as your traditional bricks-andmortar tech outlets are diminishing, opportunities are arising with trade counters.

Be it electrical or plumbing, the number of trade counters far exceeds the number of bricks-and-mortar retail outlets of the past; there’s a different audience and we need to communicate with that audience in a slightly different way, but there is definitely an increased opportunity there.

Has the growth of online retail enabled you to have a closer relationship with consumers?

Yes, absolutely. Not just via our online partners but also via various social media platforms as well. We can communicate directly with consumers through those social media platforms as well as by developing campaigns with the retailers. There have been some really interesting campaigns, especially with our camera products. For example we ran one campaign asking end users how they would use a particular camera, giving them the opportunity to win one. We typically get lots of feedback with that type of campaign. We can also feed that directly back into a ‘buy now’ type action. One of the things many companies struggle with however, is effectively measuring a direct ROI from those sorts of activities, but we’re now seeing more of an ROI from an online activity moving back to online purchases.

Utilising some of the rich content we provide for our online retailers has allowed us to get the message across to consumers in a much better way. It’s also faster in terms of launching a product, getting it created, and then having it appear on an online platform compared to creating POS displays to go into retailers.

So yes, we can now get much closer to real consumers faster and more efficiently using our online partners.

“We can now get much closer to real consumers faster using our online partners.”

Paul Routledge, D-Link UK

What are your relationships like with retail buyers?

We have an experienced team that work the consumer channels. The key people in that team have been in the business for many years, so have developed excellent relationships with retail buyers and fully understand what they are looking for, helping us to deliver real benefits to the retailers.

Are there any specific difficulties that you face in getting your products to market?

We have some great relationships with a broad range e-tailers, retailers and Channel partners and as I mentioned previously, our relationship with distribution as well. Probably, the biggest decision is deciding which

How much autonomy do you have over your retail presence?

We have some very good relationships with the main retailers which our very experienced account managers have built up over a number of years. Because of the trust we have built up with these partners, we get a lot of leeway with the way products are presented to the public. Typically we will agree a specified amount of shelf space with the retailer and we will then provide a number of options as to how we’d like the products displayed. That could be a static display, or – in the smart home example – an interactive display, or a display using some kind of screen to play videos etc.

We’ll offer a number of alternatives which our team will then discuss with the retailers and come up with something that works for both of us, from an overall presence point of view and looking at initial calculations around return of investment.

So, with the relationships that we’ve got and the way we’ve worked with the retailers in the past, I am very happy with the presence we have with them today.

PCR May 2017 | 25

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THE SUPPLY CHAIN

Chain reactions: the top five challenges facing the supply chain Delving into the complex and multifaceted mechanics of the supply chain, Rob Horgan asks the channel what challenges it faces when getting a product to market and what is being done to overcome them in 2017…

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This is why successful organisations reinvest a large percentage of sales back into R&D to find that next big thing and keep ahead of the game.”

OR A PRODUCT to get to market it must first pass through a meticulously thought-out supply chain.

Designed to be quick, efficient and as painless as possible, the chain connects vendors, distributors and retailers alike.

And with the race against the next tech innovation always at the forefront of the industry, any one glitch in the route to market could spell disaster for a product’s chances of success; potentially losing money for the retailer, distributor and vendor in the process. Here are, in order, the top five challenges facing the chain, as chosen by the channel: 1 – Time management With technology developing at a rate knots, companies are constantly grappling to move products before they become discounted, marginalised or obsolete. Ben Allcock, commercial director at TP-Link, highlighted time management as the biggest challenge to creating a successful supply chain. “Consumers are hungry for the latest technology and this is only accelerating,” he said. “Vendors need that firstto-market advantage on new products and resellers/ retailers need to be stocking the latest products to attract the customer.”

Westcoast Retail managing director, Carl Oxley, added: “The ability to adapt to a changing market is important.

Collaborative planning and forecasting enables a reduction in stock held in distribution centres, improving supply chain efficiencies.”

2 – Relentless cost pressure Getting more bangs for your buck is pretty much essential to any successful business model, and the technology sector is no different. As Oxley

www.pcr-online.biz

explained: “Distributors must work closely with manufacturers to understand lead times on products to enable them to forecast deliveries and create a supply chain that is as efficient as humanly possible.

“A close relationship between the distributor and retailer is also crucial, as the rate of sale must be factored into forecasts. Vendor and retailer input can then be combined with knowledge of the particular market conditions to ensure the right volume of stock is in the right place at the right time, reducing working capital and therefore cost pressure.”

One way that many companies are combatting the financial pressure is by consolidating the market through mergers. In recent

4 – The Internet of Things and rise of robots With robots becoming smarter and machines communicating with each other, technology itself could be a threat to the supply chain’s efficiency. Ian Parker, professional services consultant at Axians UK believes that the Internet of Things can be a good thing for the supply chain, if (and it’s a big if) used correctly.

“Using internet-connected devices in business safely and correctly will provide considerable advantages to productivity, communication, operation and visibility,” he said. “However, the Internet of Things is only as secure as you make it. It is therefore up to the business to ensure these devices – which are essentially remote controls for the world to operate – are secure.”

years we have seen the merger of Dixons and Carphone Warehouse; Sainsbury’s buying up Argos; and Hilco acquiring Mico.

3 – Shrinking product cycles and ‘big bang disruptors’ Product lifecycles in the tech sector have shrunk to months, as new technology is rolled out at an unprecedented pace. Ashley Watts, Westcoast emerging vendors and accessories director, believes this environment leads to a ‘commoditisation of the market’, whereby ‘price is driven down by the need to move stock on’.

Allcock added: “Vendors need to find the right balance between sustainable longer term run rate product and driving new technology/ innovations to fulfill demand.

“Vendors need to find the right balance between sustainable longer term run rate product, and driving new technology/ innovations to fulfill demand.”

Ben Allcock, TP-Link

5 – Security The threat of cyber-security breaches is a growing concern to governments, consumers and technology firms alike. As Axians MD Russell Crampin explained, security is ‘crucial to maintaining confidence’ both inside and outside of the IT channel.

“Customers must be reassured that their data is secure and that if something does go wrong, the organisation has the expertise to quickly address the issue at no cost to the end-user,” he added. “With threats becoming more sophisticated all the time, businesses must use the latest technology to protect their employee and customer data.”

PCR May 2017 | 27

SUPPLY CHAIN

More than a middleman Bringing products to market for nearly 30 years, Rob Horgan paid a visit to CMS Distribution’s London headquarters to see how the company is maintaining its place in the supply chain and what it’s doing to improve its position…

L

IKE A COMEDIAN delivering a well drawnout punch line or a batsman crafting the perfect cricket innings, timing is key to a distributor’s success. Rush a product to market and it will fail to generate its optimal value, hold it back for too long and it could become obsolete, irrelevant or – worst of all – ignored altogether.

Thankfully, the team at CMS Distribution have somewhat perfected the art for almost three decades.

No longer is the distributor simply a middleman acting as a stepping-stone between vendor, retailer and reseller.

As the team at CMS explained to me, the distributor’s role is always evolving. Now expected to offer services from providing market strategy, marketing advice and product placement, the majority of a distributor’s workload in 2017 takes place in the office, and not in the warehouse. That explains why CMS has recently moved into its swanky new HQ in Old 28 | PCR May 2017

Street, just around the corner from Amazon’s London base.

As managing director David Elder explained, the role of the distributor is becoming ‘increasingly flexible and tailored’ to each individual client’s needs. That said, a distributor’s bread and butter – getting the product out of the warehouse and into the shops – is still a big part of what it does on a day-to-day basis.

“In a broad brushstroke, the main role of a distributor – in this current space – is to find the right time for a product to gain market acceptance,” he said. “This encompasses; when to start, when to go mainstream and when to look for the next big thing.

However, we are seeing vendors being much pickier and we have to offer them more flexibility. The role of a distributor is now about finding new services to put on the table, to make sure vendors see the value in distributors and to ensure the distributor’s status in the supply chain is maintained.”

“The role of a distributor is now about finding new services to put on the table, to make sure vendors see the value in distributors and to ensure the distributor’s status in the supply chain is maintained.”

David Elder, CMS Distribution

As Elder explained, a move to cut out the vendor began to gather speed around 10 years ago, with many vendors toying with the idea of going directly to retailers. However, in the past few years CMS has seen interest in distributors return as vendors realise the value of outsourcing. “We have seen a lot of vendors buying back into the distributor’s purpose,” he said.

“Inevitably companies will actually save a lot of time and money by outsourcing to distributors who are dedicated to getting a product into stores. It should also give a product more chance of success, as a distributor can offer tailored route-to-market schemes to suit each client.”

While many distributors do not have the time to map out a tailored plan for each product, CMS’s conscious decision to take on fewer clients (between 25-35) means they can offer a more personalised and bespoke service that some of their

(larger, in size) competitors simply can’t.

“We pick the vendors that we think are going to work best with us as a partner,” Elder said. “While many distributors will use trade shows to pick up vendors, our reputation means that we don’t have to do that. Instead, most clients will come to us, having been referred by other partners. If we like the product then there is about five of us who will discuss if we want to take the brand on.

It obviously needs to be financially and commercially viable for us to do so.”

He added: “Regrettably, there have been occasions in the past where we have had to turn away really interesting products because of something like a returns policy which would make it totally non-profitable for us.

That is a real shame, as at the end of the day, the most exciting part of the job is helping to bring these amazing new technologies to the masses. Ultimately we are www.pcr-online.biz

SUPPLY CHAIN

Left-to-right: Marketing manager Andrew Miles, marketing executive Jennifer Eltringham, managing director David Elder.

in this business as we want to find that next multi-million pound product and ride the coat-tails of the supplier.”

One such vendor that CMS has been shouting about is Fitbit. Now a household name, the team at CMS admit that although they liked the brand as soon as they saw it, they could never have known it would have the success it has. “Just like any product we take on, it is always a bit of a gamble,” Elder said. “As much as you like a product, sometimes they just don’t take off. With Fitbit, we knew it was good but you can never be entirely sure of its success.”

He added: “We were originally referred to them by a previous client. We went to them and instantly liked the product. We pitched to them, telling them how we would take their product to market and how it would be beautifully marketed in-store.

Inevitably we won the business because they were passionate about their product and care about what www.pcr-online.biz

they do with it. They saw us as an investment rather than a get-rich-quick scheme. In the end Fitbit exploded and they have made a lot of money.”

For the majority of products that go through CMS, a tailored market plan will be laid out. For the majority of clients this will begin by slowly feeding a product into the marketplace. “If we take a product on the usual strategy would be to go to a specialist retailer such as Maplin and John Lewis,” Elder explained.

“That way we know, we can spend a lot on the point of sale displays and we can even train up staff on how to use the technology for demonstrations. There is no point putting something straight into Tesco if nobody understands the technology.

Equally, knowing how to handle the end of a product’s shelf-cycle and knowing when to go mainstream is an important decision. Dripping a product out before going mainstream gives it a longer shelf-life time, which

“We want to find that next multimillion pound product and ride the coat-tails of the supplier.”

David Elder, CMS Distribution

effectively gives it a better chance of making the money it is worthy of making.”

As well as taking control of a product’s route-to-market, distributors have had to become inventive in their quest to stay innovative. Last month CMS launched its firstever Tech Xpo. Bringing retailers such as John Lewis and Amazon together, the event presented an opportunity for vendors to show off their goods. And as marketing executive Jennifer Eltringham explained, the wheels are already in motion to put more events in place.

“The Tech Xpo was a great success and we are already working on making that an annual event,” she said. “We are always looking to build on our marketing services for vendors. The Xpos are great as we can show of all of our brands at once.

“However, we are looking at offering more personalised services as well. This includes everything from putting on events for clients to working

hand-in-hand with PR teams to help design product stands in stores.”

With its fingers seemingly in all the pies available, another area in which CMS is also looking to expand is on social media. Marketing manager Andrew Miles explained: “We are looking at using Twitter to continue to grow the B2B side of the business. Using social media will allow us to connect with more vendors, not just in the UK but all over the world.”

Having acquired distribution companies TNS Connect and Widget in the last 12 months – as well as picking up a gong at the PCR Awards – it is clear to see that CMS is moving in the right direction (a rather full trophy cabinet at HQ reaffirms that).

What is encouraging to see is the importance CMS puts on the supply chain and its place in it by moving with the changing demands on a distributor. For the sake of the channel as a whole, long may that continue.

PCR May 2017 | 29

RETAILER OF THE MONTH

FACT FILE Year established: 1994 Number of stores: 1 Number of staff: 10 Address: 29-31 High Glencairn St, Kilmarnock, KA1 4AE Telephone: 01563 574 280 Email: sales@utopiacomputers.co.uk

Utopia Computers

Website: www.utopiacomputers.co.uk

Taking the reins of the family business, Utopia Computers managing director Craig Hume tells Rob Horgan about building PCs at home with dad, the challenges of Brexit and his utopian vision for the future of techology…

How did Utopia Computers first set up?

The business has been running for over 20 years now. My dad set it up in the early ‘90s, when the internet was starting to become popular. He had a love for technology, and after running a number of businesses he decided to turn his hand to selling computers.

After returning home to Glasgow from Canada, he first set up a restaurant, then he had a car garage and he even ran a pub. I grew up watching him set up and run many businesses over the years, but his real passion was always technology, so when the time came, setting up Utopia was a perfect match for him. I loved watching him work at something he loved and I see my role as making sure everyone at Utopia loves what they do to this day.

What challenges are there working with family?

I have been involved from the very beginning. My dad used to build computers in the house and when I was a teenager I used to tag along 30 | PCR May 2017

with him, go to events and help him out wherever I could.

When I left university I decided to join the family business full-time. As anyone who has been involved in a family business will know, it can be difficult at times. It was certainly an interesting time when we were working together. Now my dad is enjoying his retirement, I’m putting my own stamp on the company and taking it in the direction that I believe is best for the business to grow.

Looking back I feel very lucky to have got to spend those years working and learning from him. Not everyone gets to share so many achievements and fun times with their Dad. Where do you see the business growing?

While we are no longer a family business, our culture has grown to include the full team in our Utopia family. By ensuring we give the best opportunities to our team, Utopia gets the best out of everyone.

As for growing we were just at a planning meeting for

moving to a new multi-million pound Innovation Hub, Halo.

After an amazing stroke of luck, this world leading facility is being built on our doorstep and will house some of Scotland’s leading tech firms.

The fact that we have been approached to be included is a massive testament to the hard work that my team have put in over the years and the

“I see my role as making sure everyone at Utopia loves what they do to this day” Craig Hume, Utopia Computers transformation that the business has seen over the last six or seven years. We currently have 10 members of staff, but plans are already in place to increase that number over the next two years as we grow in the new space.

Originally we started by building our own brand systems in an attempt to create the cheapest, but now we build the very best, fastest, PCs in the world. That allows us to attract a different kind of client that has subsequently made a big impact on our growth over the last 12 months and will continue to do so moving forward.

We are working with some big names now throughout the UK and Europe, such as the University of Cambridge, University of Florence as well as several AAA-title game and film studios. We see education and leading-edge entertainment as a serious growth area for our business.

What products do you find generate the most interest?

Our Sonox series of workstations are without a doubt our number one seller.

We are extremely proud of this range and the results speak for themselves. We have plans to develop new, more innovative systems over the coming years and we have found ourselves a very niche pool, where we can

thrive due to our fanatical attention to detail and performance. GPU rendering is definitely where we are seeing the biggest growth.

Who do you mainly sell to?

Being on the internet allows us to do business all over the world. We currently have customers in 13 different countries across Europe and, while we are keen to grow our export sales, there is still so much for us to do here in the UK, so we don’t need to rush to focus too much on international growth just yet.

Saying that, political changes will bring about a challenging time for us in Scotland, and everybody else who operates across the continent. The landscape between Brexit and another possible Scottish referendum is something we are closely monitoring. When the Brexit results came in last year, a lot of companies put the brakes on. However, we continued to carry on and decided to keep pushing forwards. With challenges come opportunities, and as a business we must capitalise on them. www.pcr-online.biz

NO INTERNET REQUIRED

RESELLER PROFILE

RESELLER PROFILE: TRANSPUTEC Jonathan Easton speaks to director and deputy chief operating officer Shalen Sehgal from the PCR Awardwinning MSP Transputec about the varied elements of the business and plans for the post-Brexit future…

What other plans do you have for the next three years and beyond?

The company is run by three business unit directors who all have quite a generous plan on growth and strategy. On the VAR side there is quite an aggressive geographical expansion plan, with Transputec looking to expand into Europe – Spain, Italy and Germany initially – in order to enable us to do more business with our growing customer base.

Congratulations on winning at the PCR Awards. How did it feel to be announced as a winner as top MSP? It was absolutely fantastic, it felt really great. Over the last two years our company has been going through quite a prescribed and focused strategy, and one aspect of that was trying to get highlighted for some of the hard work we’re doing.

Introduce Transputec for those who might not be so familiar with what you do.

Transputec is a just-over £20 million business in terms of turnover and we have three business units. One is a reseller – a VAR. The second is a service provider. And the third is a development service provider.

I look after the service provider and the development service provider which govern around £8 million of turnover. The rest of the £12 million comes from the VAR business unit that COO Mark Nightingale looks after.

What are the differences between the VAR and the service sides of the business?

Our tagline is: ‘we translate complex services into simple product solutions delivered by a team of responsive people’. In terms of what our business offers, as well as selling end-to-end hardware and software solutions from the big vendors that we work with – such as IBM, Lenovo, Cisco, Dell, Microsoft and VMware on our VAR side – we also have a range of what I would call traditional infrastructure services. Services like our help desk, for example,

where we offer end-user support, or help for the individuals that are using the IT services.

We offer support for their environment, whether it be something as simple as a password reset to something slightly more complex that is affecting a larger group of users. We also have traditional IT outsourcing services which we label in our own and hopefully understandable language for our industry: end-user support (EUS), infrastructure management services – this is to do with the looking after and backing up of data and maintaining the hosting of servers, and also we have networks communication and security.

“Transputec will be able to adapt dynamically to the landscape that unfolds in front of us.”

Shalen Sehgal, Transputec

The part of our business that is really flourishing is our security practice. Over the past year we’ve introduced a number of security vendors into our portfolio on offer to our customers, and that business has seen very large revenue growth of over 100 per cent year-on-year. The reason for that is a combination of sales marketing and management efforts and the product design. At all levels we’ve come up with very attractive security offerings.

The journey for the next three years will be to expand our customer base and to see continued, sustained growth for the security business, which I believe is one of the reasons we won at the PCR Awards.

Has Brexit affected those plans much?

Not really, no. Having a global business with offices across four locations around the world, and also customers in lots of different places, has meant that we ultimately hold a lot of currencies and our strategy has worked out well so far.

I think Brexit will create opportunities as well as remove them from our opportunity landscape – lots of which are currently unknown. But I believe it will create slightly better opportunities potentially in non-European parts of the world. Perhaps the effect of Brexit coming in will help the pound recover which will be a bad thing from today’s scenario where we are over 30 per cent cheaper than the rest of the world because of our weak exchange rate.

But the reality of the matter is that nobody really knows what will happen until it actually starts to happen. I believe that we’ve built Transputec to be very agile so we will be able to adapt dynamically to the landscape that unfolds in front of us.

Transputec is a Wembley-based VAR and MSP transputec.com www.pcr-online.biz

PCR May 2017 | 33

TOGETHER DIGITAL – PRINT – EVENTS GAMING – MUSIC – AV – PRO AUDIO – CONSUMER ELECTRONICS VIDEO & BROADCAST – EDUCATION

Global

www.newbaymedia.com LONDON – NEW YORK

CHANNEL EVENTS

Next generation printing With 29 new products being shown off, Rob Horgan headed to Xerox’s Innovation Centre to take a look at the printer company’s biggest product launch in over a century and to see how the firm is curing office ails…

I

F YOU – like many who have gone before you – have spent hours kicking and screaming at the office printer then this news will change your life (well, your work-life anyway). The days of pulling your hair out at the copy machine – trying to figure out how to copy, scan, print on A3/ in colour/with staples etc.

– are nearly over. Office interns around the country may actually have to do some work, because Xerox has designed an intuitive range of printers that come without a manual (because they don’t need one).

Unveiling its biggest product launch in the company’s 110-year history, Xerox invited PCR – along with the world’s media – to its Innovation Centre in Uxbridge to get a first look at its ConnectKey 2017 portfolio.

During the many talks and demonstrations there was one theme than ran throughout: these printers are easy to use. To put it extremely simply: Xerox has taken the printer, done away with the complicated interface of old and strapped a tablet to the front. App driven and intuitive, the 29 products in the AltaLink and VersaLink product lines are designed with smartphones and tablets in mind.

As head of marketing Jacques-Edouard Gueden explained: “The copiers are no longer a headache. They are designed to mimic the way people work on their phones and their tablets. An iPhone app doesn’t come with a user guide; if it isn’t intuitive it doesn’t work. We have used the same theory in our devices.”

Xerox has taken the humble printer/copier and turned it into a futuristic machine capable of… well Xerox is not entirely sure just yet. The firm has ‘handed the www.pcr-online.biz

keys’ to its technology over to its partners to take it where they see fit (something Gueden admitted ‘is a little bit scary’). Through the Xerox Personalised Application Builder programme and the App Studio, channel partners can now come up with solutions to fix problems that their customers bring to them. This has already begun taking place, with resellers developing apps for the Gallery (Xerox’s equivalent of the App Store) to do everything from raising support tickets to connecting Xerox’s machines with Amazon’s Alexa to establish voice-activated commands.

At the launch, retailers from across the globe regaled stories of apps they had developed. Xerox’s first-ever PAB app builder, Stefan Nilsson from Swedish company Foxway, explained how his firm developed the Active Alert solution to handle support tickets. Also in attendance were American Joshua Justice of JustTech and Marcus Putschli from eDox. Just like Nilsson, the resellers all used the PAB programme to develop solutions to their customer’s problems.

Xerox president of International Operations Herve Tessler said that working closely with the company’s partners was

Xerox president of International Operations, Merve Tessler

“If it isn’t intuitive it doesn’t work.

We have used the same theory in our devices.”

Jacques-Edouard Gueden, Xerox

integral to the success of its product. “In an SMB market that is completely transforming the way it works, our global channel partners require the very best technology, software and services to enable them to sell and drive customer growth,” Tessler stated: “Demonstrating our continued innovation and market leading product development, this launch is further evidence of Xerox’s absolute commitment to supporting our channel partners in achieving long term and sustainable growth in their local markets.”

Personalised workflows, one-touch access to the cloud and ramped-up security, are the main features being pushed by Xerox’s marketing department. The ability to personalise the interface to the want of an individual user allows each employee to customise the screen to suit their needs; in other words, to chose what apps and in which order they appear on the touch display.

The printer has been brought into the 21st century and the days of pulling your hair out at the copy machine may once-and-for-all be over!

PCR May 2017 | 35

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New Products Dedicated monthly product coverage

The latest tech Editorial planner

The S8 and S8+ screens are fitted with 3D Touch-esque pressure sensors

For the first time, the S8 has a built-in voice assistant called Bixby

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 has finally landed THE SAMSUNG Galaxy S8 is upon us at long last. After months of rumours and speculation around the smartphone, the eagle has finally landed. Unveiled on March 29, the Galaxy S8 (and larger S8+) look like a smartened up S7 at first glance, but in reality it does much more than its predecessor.

The most obvious new addition (which everyone is talking about, literally) is the introduction of voice assistant Bixby. Samsung finally confirmed that its latest

device would feature a voiceactivated assistant, after an ‘accidental leak’ in the run up to launch day. Triggered by pressing a button on the side of the phone, unlike rivals Siri and Alexa, Samsung bosses have announced that plans are in place to implement the voice assistant in ‘millions of Samsung devices’, including TVs and washing machines.

Another, much-talkedabout feature is the introduction of eye-reading technology. Used as an extra security setting to unlock the

smartphone, the eye-reader could soon be used to confirm payments over online banking.

Fit with a 5.8-inch display and an elongated 18.5:9 aspect ratio, the screen is slightly larger than the S7. But with a similar body size, the S8 feels (and looks) much the same as the S7. The S8+ replaces the Galaxy Edge with its 6.2-inch display. Sliming down its bezels above and below the screen (much like the Edge), the display typifies Galaxy’s desire to produce a ‘more efficient smartphone’.

However, to achieve the bigger screen, the iconic Samsung Home button has been removed from the front of the device and has been built into the screen.

Fitted with fingerprint scanner, the new smartphone sees the introduction of 3D Touch-esque pressure sensing to create the illusion of a home button under the screen. Bumping the front camera up to 8MP, the Galaxy’s main shooter remains at 12MP. Packed with 4GB of RAM

and 64GB of storage the S8 runs on Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 835 processor. A 3,000mAh battery should give the S8 a slightly longer power life than previous renditions of the Galaxy. Available in four colours – black, grey, silver and gold – the S8 is retailing for £689, and the S8+ sits at £779.

With Apple gearing up to announce the launch of its 10year anniversary iPhone later in the year, Samsung will be hoping a Spring launch can take a bite out of their main competitor’s sales.

Contact: Samsung | http://samsung.com | Price: S8 - £689, S8+ - £779 | Out: April 28

www.pcr-online.biz

PCR May 2017 | 37

RECOMMENDED

Toshiba at the double DESPITE THE parent company’s on-going financial woes, the tech experts at Toshiba continue to pump out new products. Announcing that two new notebooks are set to come on the market, the Portégé X30 and the Tecra X40 are the latest devices to be added to the premium professional range.

The ultra-thin, ultra-light laptops follow the recently launched hybrid 2-in-1 Portégé X20W, and include Windows 10 Pro. With magnesium chassis, hybrid cooling technology and 7th gen Intel Core processors, both laptops are designed to be fast and efficient. Available in Toshiba’s iconic onyx blue and light gold, the laptops are a continuation of Toshiba’s existing product line.

The bigger of the two, the 14-inch Tecra X40 is 16.9mm thin and weighs 1.25kg.

“The Portégé X30 and the Tecra X40 are the latest devices to be added to the premium professional range.”

Meanwhile the 13.3-inch Portégé X30 weighs in at 1.05kg and is just 15.9mm thin, 11 per cent thinner and 13 per cent lighter than its highly-regarded predecessor.

Built with magnesium alloy

ToughBody chassis with shock absorption and unique honeycomb reinforcement the laptops are steardy for onthe-go businessmen. Both notebooks benefit from Full HD (1920 x 1080) and non-

glare screens, with optional In-Cell Touch technology to support more flexible ways of interacting.

With internet security becoming increasingly sought-after, the Portege X30

and Tecra X40 both feature multiple layers of security.

Both have biometric and facial authentication technologies as well as fingerprint sensor to reduce the risk of unwanted prying eyes.

Contact: Toshiba | http://toshiba.co.uk | Price: TBA | Out: TBA

Taking aim in VR

Super storage PLAYSTATION IS SET for a hand-held prop to go with its virtual reality headset PlayStation VR. Combined with the launch of the muchanticipated sci-fi, first person shooter Fairpoint, Sony has announced that it is ready to unveil its PSVR Aim Controller.

Looking like a cross between a machine gun, a giant Wii controller and a lightsaber, the PSVR Aim

Controller ‘creates a strong physical connection to the virtual world’, according to Sony.

While the game is available to purchase separate from the controller, the individual price of the device is yet to be revealed. A PlayStation spokesperson has revealed that more games will be released in the coming year which are compatible with the aim controller.

Contact: PlayStation | http://playstation.com | Price: $79.99 (game included) | Out: May 16

38 | PCR May 2017

DATA STORAGE manufacturer QSAN has launched its latest system. The XCubeSAN XS3200 storage system, for SMB and the enterprise market, is the world’s first SFF 26-bay high density SAN storage system.

The most advanced QSAN product to date, the system offers state-ofthe-art hardware and the new SANOS 4.0 storage operation system. The XS3200 range of SANs includes the world’s first 2U 26 bay, small form factor XS3226 in both dual active and

single controller (upgradeable).

QSAN’s host interface cards also allow the XS3200 range to offer outstanding flexibility with 10Gb ports built in, and additional 16Gb fibre channel and 10Gb iSCSI. The XCubeSAN XS3200 series can deliver an astounding 12,000MB/s sequential read and 8,000MB/s sequential write in throughout. Using SAS SSD storage, the XS3200 product is capable of up to 1.1 Million sequential IOPS.

Contact: QSAN | http://QSAN.com | Price: $7,499 | Out: Now

www.pcr-online.biz

RECOMMENDED

Hola Amigo 7 “Amino has announced that the Amigo 7 will be the smallest Android TV device of this type on the market.”

IT MAY ONLY be small, but the new operator-oriented 4K UHD Android TV device is set to become many TV buffs’ best friend. Unveiled ahead of the upcoming TV Context expo, Amino’s Amigo 7 is a 4K ultra HD Android TV set-top device designed for service

operators to put new content entertainment services to market quickly and efficiently.

Basically, the Amigo 7 is an Android TV box that uses smart platforms on 4K TVs. Voice navigation capability, advanced Android search technology and dual-band

WiFi connectivity power all feature in the Amigo 7. As do 3D graphics capabilities and a high-speed CPU to provide a more reliable Android TV streaming service.

Although the final details are yet to be revealed, Amino has announced that the UHD

box will support both Android TV and Amino’s own Enable TV OS. Exact dimensions of the product are being kept an in-house secret however Amino has announced that it will be ‘palm-sized’ and the smallest Android TV device of this type on the market.

Showcased at the TV Connect event at the backend of March, Android TV lovers may have to wait a little longer for their new friend to be released, with the Amigo 7 expected to be released in the early summer. UK pricing is currently unknown.

Contact: Amino | http://aminocom.com | Price: TBA | Out: TBA

Hi(Fi) quality

All about Mi 6 THE XIAOMI MI 6 launch has now been confirmed, after months of delays. The smartphone hit the market officially on April 11th, one month after it was unveiled by the Chinese company.

Fitted with Qualcomm’s latest processor – the Snapdragon 835 – the Mi 6 is set to be the quickest and most efficient of Xiaomi’s smartphones on the market.

A dual-rear camera is built into the device with a 5.2-inch full HD LCD display. Running on Android 7, the Mi 6 is backed by a 4,000mAh battery.

Three versions of the Mi 6 are available; the first comes with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, the second 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage and the third has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

Contact: Xiaomi | http://mi.com/en | Price: £500 - £600 | Out: Now

www.pcr-online.biz

GERMAN MANUFACTURER sonoro has created a speaker that not only sounds great but looks the part as well.

Combining state-of-the art audio technology with subtle design, the sonoroHiFi is designed to look like a miniature cabinet.

A three-way D’Appolito configuration, a tweet sits between two midrange drivers, while opposing subwoofers and six amplifiers give the sound-system some sonic muscle. A selection of playback options include a CD player, FM/DAB/DAB+ tuner as well as an RCA line-in and 3.5mm aux-in. Bluetooth is also available to stream music from phones and smart technology allows users to connect the speaker to their TV boxes wirelessly.

A built-in clock allows the speaker to be turned on via a timer and even has an alarm setting built in. Other features include a handy remote, an auto-diming display and preinstalled nature sounds and meditation programmes.

Contact: sonoro | http://sonoro.co.uk | Price: £1,299 | Out: Now

PCR May 2017 | 39

RECOMMENDED

Third time lucky for Galaxy tablet IN ITS THIRD-COMING Samsung’s Galaxy tablet is already being heralded as a success. Running on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 processor with 32 GB of built-in storage, and 4GB of memory, it is not the tablet’s spec that sets it apart from other Android-based products.

It is, in fact, the presence of a detachable keyboard and stylus that has received high praise, as Samsung strived to create a tablet which both looks good, and efficient and practical to use. Every Tab S3 comes with a super-sized S Pen stylus for jotting notes or sketching ideas on the tablet’s display. Much like the S Pen attached to Samsung smartphones, the Tab’s stylus works by hovering the tip over the screen. Annotating screenshots and writing over photos are just some of the

benefits of utilising the S Pen. Unlike the S Pen, the physical keyboard is an additional extra and costs a pretty penny at £129.

While the virtual keyboard has received good reviews, the majority of them agree that the physical addition is a must-have.

The new tablet also features a multitasking button and finger print reader below the 9.7-inch display, again designed to make navigating easier for users. A 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front-facing camera are also fitted, with the rear being able to record 4K UDH video at 30 frames-per-second.

Operating on the Android 7.0 Nougat system, Samsung’s own services include the S Pen, Air Command, Flow and Smart Switch.

“While the virtual keyboard has received good reviews, the majority of them agree that the physical addition is a must.”

Contact: Samsung | http://shop.samsung.com | Price: £599 | Out: Now

Vi headphones go on sale ONE OF THE most hotly anticipated products to come out of Kickstarter, Vi’s ‘smart’ earphones, are now available to buy – in the US. Raising over $1.7 million through the crowd-funding site, Vi’s wireless headphones offer runners and cyclists advice on their speed, heart rate and performance while exercising.

Compatible with both iOS and Android devices, battery life lasts over eight hours with sound powered by Harman Kardon. Weighing just 43 grams, the earphones feature a heart rate sensor, six accelerometers, a gyro meter and in-ear detection sensors. A Micro USB cable for charging and ear bud customisation kit with sized fins and ear gels are also included in the package.

UK availability is expected later this year.

Contact: Vi | http://getvi.com | Price: $249 | Out: Now (US. TBA UK)

40 | PCR May 2017

Xbox launches military controller MICROSOFT HAS launched a new series of Xbox One controllers.

Promising increased accuracy and comfort and designed for intense game play, the military-inspired Recon Tech Series is the latest edition to Xbox One’s string of controllers to hit the market in recent months.

Boasting laser-etched designs and a rubberised texture to improve player grip, the new controller also has improved wireless range and Bluetooth technology for gaming on

Windows 10 and Samsung Gear VR. Tech Series Xbox One controllers are also compatible with Copilot, a feature that was just rolled out with the latest Xbox One system update that allows players to bind two controllers as a single input device.

Retailing at $70, the new controller comes onto the market considerably lower than last year’s paddleequipped Elite Wireless Controller, which debuted at a premium price point of $150.

Contact: Microsoft | http://xbox.com | Price: $70 | Out: Now

www.pcr-online.biz

RECOMMENDED

Huawei knuckles down with P10 lite HUAWEI CONSUMER Business Group has announced the latest addition to its flagship P series. The P10 lite is designed for consumers that are always on the go. Powered by the Kirin 658 chipset and a 16nm Octa-core CPU, the P10 offers greater speed and less power consumption.

With a dual 2.5D double-sided curved glass and a 5.2- inch FHD screen, the P10 lite has a bezel size of just 1.21mm plus an upgraded ‘eye comfort mode’ to reduce strain.

Perfect for streaming, 4GB of RAM is built in to the smartphone which also premiers Huawei’s Knuckle Sense Technology which enables users to create shortcuts by touching different parts of the screen.

The device is currently available in midnight black and platinum gold, with more colour options coming later this year.

Erato’s answer to Airpods

APPLE’S AIRPODS may have stormed the wireless earphone market in recent months, but there is one brand that has been making these for a fair bit longer.

Headphone manufacturer Erato has just launched its latest wireless product, the Muse 5 ear buds.

Cheaper than its Apollo 7 range, the Muse 5 boasts over four hours

Contact: Huawei | http://consumer.huawei.com | Price: £299 | Out: Now

of battery life and come with a charging case. Soft silicon tips ensure a snug fit, while and the Muse 5 is also less obtrusive than the Apollo 7, which stick some distance out of users’ ears.

Using a 5.8mm micro driver, the Muse 5 ear buds incorporate the latest technology from CSR, along with Eratosurround 3D surround sound technology.

Contact: Erato | http://eratolife.com | Price: $180 | Out: Now

Editorial Planner

A look at the biggest features coming up in PCR over the next few months...

June 2017

July 2017

August 2017

THE INTERNET OF THINGS

EDUCATION

SECURITY

The Internet of Things is one of the hottest areas in tech and next month sees PCR have a look at what all the fuss is about.

This month we look ahead to the ‘back to school’ period and pick apart how best to sell IT equipment to schools.

In August we look into the pressing security issues that are affecting the Channel and what’s being done to solve them.

Included will be a breakdown of connected home products and a reflection on the history of the IoT.

Elsewhere in this issue, we review Computex and reflect on 2017 at its half-way point.

We’ll look at the state of the security landscape and get tips from experts on how best to sell security soltions.

Advertising Deadline

Advertising Deadline

Advertising Deadline

May 16th

June 14th

July 13th

www.pcr-online.biz

PCR May 2017 | 41

SECTOR GUIDE

Margin makers We asked our distributor friends one simple question: what are your top selling products? Thankfully, they were more than happy to oblige by giving us an idea of the wide array of the gear that they see the most amount of success with…

APACER AST280

ASUS ZENDRIVE U7M

KINGSTON DATATRAVELER

LG ULTRA SLIM PORTABLE USB 2.0 DVD-RW - BLACK

Distributor: Smithie

Distributor: Smithie

Distributor: Simms International

Distributor: CMS Distribution

The Apacer AST280 SATAIII SSD is an ultra thin, ultra fast storage solution designed to provide excellent reliability and efficient transmission that is ideal for new devices that are made super slim. Available in 120GB and 240GB sizes.

ASUS ZenDrive U7M is an external DVD writer featuring an ultra-slim 13mm form factor and a Zen-inspired design with a concentric-circle hairline finish that adds sophisticated aesthetics to any computer setup.

Kingston’s DataTraveler Ultimate GT is available in 1TB and 2TB capacities to back up large production files, making it handy when shooting 4K or 8K RAW video footage or storing large file libraries of movies and high-res images.

The Ultra-Portable Slim DVD burner GP57EB40 weighs only 200g. The drive burns all DVD and CD formats and also supports M-Disk Media. The power is supplied via the USB interface, making the device even more versatile.

Specs: Software free authentication & operation, 256-bit AES encryption, Compatible with any Operating System

Specs: USB 2.0, 13.5 x 14.2 x 1.4 cm, 227g

Specs: 1TB & 2TB capacity, USB 3.1, sequential read/write speeds; 300/200MB/s

Specs: USB 2.0, 141 x 136.5 x 14 mm, 200g

SRP: £40.59 (120GB), £64.49 (240GB)

SRP: £34.99

SRP: From £1859.00

SRP: £24.99

SAMSUNG SMART HOME CAMERA HD INDOOR PRO

ISTORAGE 1TB DISKASHUR USB 3.0

ENERGIZER UE10007 POWER BANK

QNAP 4 BAY NAS ENCLOSURE

Distributor: CMS Distribution

Distributor: CMS Distribution

Distributor: CMS Distribution

Distributor: CMS Distribution

View your SmartCam through your phone, and set up motion and audio alerts so you don’t miss anything going on at home. The camera provides 1080p Full HD streaming video, while a large CMOS sensor improve lighting.

An effortless way to secure your data with USB 3.0 speeds, the iStorage diskAshur 3.0 has an easy-to-use keypad and is software free setup. The iStorage diskAshur 3.0 enables you to access the drive with your own unique pin.

Energizer UE10007 is a power bank for smartphones, tablets, and other devices. UE10007 has a 10000mAh capacity, dual USB ports and is designed with soft touch housing to protect against fingerprints.

The TS-453A NAS server is designed for small and medium businesses. The NAS is a storage device, but also a multitasking and multifunctional lightweight server. The TS-453A comes with LUN/ Volume Snapshot.

Specs: Day and night use, Picture quality: 1080p, Suitable for indoor use Ceiling or wall mountable

Specs: 1TB capacity, USB 3.0, Up to 5Gbps data transfer, 8.5 x 1.9 x 12 cm, 177g

Specs: 10000mAh, Lithium-Ion battery, 63 x 155 x 21.5 mm, 2 x USB ports

Specs: 14 nm Intel Celeron N3150/ N3160 1.6 GHz processor, 8th gen Intel HD Graphics, 512MB flash memory

SRP: £129.99

SRP: £219.00

SRP: £19.99

SRP: £389.99

42 | PCR May 2017

www.pcr-online.biz

SECTOR GUIDE

BITMORE VR EYE

DEFUNC +HYBRID

SANDISK MICROSD ULTRA (64GB)

SANDISK ULTRA FLAIR USB 3.0 (64GB)

Distributor: Peak Development

Distributor: Peak Development

Distributor: Peak Development

Distributor: Peak Development

The Bitmore VR Eye headset utilises your smartphone and is compatible with hundreds of free and inexpensive VR apps. So whether you want to watch 3D movies, explore new worlds or play immersive games - there’s something for everyone. Included with a Bluetooth Remote Controller to play games and control you’re viewing content without the need to remove your phone from the headset.

Choose from four different models, in a choice of four colours. The first, Talk, is for heavy talkers. Music: for music lovers. Sport: for runners and Hybrid: for Multitaskers. Hybrid delivers the perfect blend of music and talk performance. Get full, rich sound without the isolating feel of silicon plugs. The microphone and remote are compatible with most devices (Android, iOS, Windows etc).

Shoot and save more high-quality photos and Full HD video on your Android smartphone or tablet with SanDisk Ultra microSD UHS-I Cards.

With storage capacities up to 128GB you can take more photos and videos without worrying about running out of space. This memory card features Class 10 video rating for high-quality video recording, so you can capture Full HD without dropouts and stuttering.

The SanDisk Ultra Flair USB 3.0 flash drive moves your files fast. Enjoy highspeed USB 3.0 performance of up to 150MB/s. Made to be tough and durable, SanDisk SecureAccess software (included) also lets you set up a password-protected private folder on your drive and secures your files with 128-bit AES encryption. Store your files in style with the SanDisk Ultra Flair USB 3.0 flash drive.

Specs: Compatible with Android and iPhone smartphones, suitable for screen-sizes from 4- to 6.5-inches

Specs: Cable Length: 1.2M, driver: 14mm

Specs: Up to 128GB to capture, carry and keep it all, Class 10 speed rating for Full HD video capture, durable design

Specs: USB 3.0, metal casing, 150MB/s

SRP: £19.99

SRP: £19.99

SRP: £24.99

SRP: £34.99

SANDISK CRUZER FORCE USB 3.0 (64GB)

SANDISK SSD ULTRA 2 (960GB)

HP X2 612 G2

HP ELITEBOOK X360 G2

Distributor: Peak Development

Distributor: Peak Development

Distributor: Westcoast

Distributor: Westcoast

With the Cruzer Force USB Flash Drive, you’ll get large storage capacities within a distinctive, stylish design. This USB flash drive features a durable metal casing. With capacities up to 64GB, this secure flash drive can even store large files, including high-resolution images and HD video. It comes with SanDisk SecureAccess software, which makes it easy to create an encrypted, passwordprotected folder.

On a whole range of important metrics, SanDisk Ultra II SSD performs up to 28 times better than most other hard disk drives. With SanDisk Ultra II SSD, batteries lasts longer on a single charge, and with no moving parts inside, PCs will run cooler and quieter. Plus, with SanDisk SSD Dashboard, you always have visibility into how your drive’s performing, available firmware updates, and how to maintain peak performance.

The versatile HP Pro x2 612 design strikes the right balance of mobility, durability, and security in a device that is designed to last the test of time.

Purposely designed to be ideal for mobile professionals and optimized for managed IT environments, this affordable HP x2 612 G2 touchscreen device extends productivity outside the office to literally wherever you feel like taking it.

The EliteBook has 360 degrees of versatility across five modes, unmatched security, and over 16 hours of battery life. Thin and light HP EliteBook x360 1030 is the perfect PC or highly mobile professionals looking for a work laptop that they can take on the road with them. With 8 GB of RAM, take the EliteBook wherever business or pleasure takes you, set a new benchmark for work and fun.

Specs: Durable and stylish design, available in capacities up to 64GB, portable drive for easy file storage

Specs: Fast boot up, fast loading, fast transfer, 960GB capacity

Specs: Intel Core i5-7Y54, 12-inch display, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD

Specs: Intel Core i5-7200U with Intel HD Graphics 620, 13.3-inch Full HD touchscreen, 8GB RAM

SRP: £34.99

SRP: £299.99

SRP: £1,613.00

SRP: £1,450.00

www.pcr-online.biz

PCR May 2017 | 43

Think Crucial, Think Northamber

Increase student and teacher performance with memory and SSDs Shrinking education budgets make it a challenge to deliver the computer speed and reliability that students and teachers need to succeed. Overcome these limitations with Crucial® memory (RAM) and SSDs – an easy and affordable way to improve the performance of your school’s existing systems. Instead of spending money on expensive new computers, you can instantly increase system speed, save money, and get more years out of current computers with Crucial memory and SSDs.

School computers don’t have to be slow.

Talk to the memory & SSD experts about Crucial today 020 8296 7066.

7 ways schools benefit from more memory & SSDs

1

Maximise class time and keep students engaged

2

Boost online classes, virtual classes, and educational apps

3

Better withstand the punishment of everyday classroom use

4

Use more intensive apps or programs

5

Improve student and teacher performance without draining your IT budget

6

Avoid lengthy downtime upgrading your systems

7

Ensure compatibility with your systems

Call us on

020 8296 7066 northamber.com | follow us

©Northamber 2017 E and O.E. May ‘17

Total Distribution™

SECTOR GUIDE

HP ZBOOK 15U G3 MOBILE WORKSTATION

LENOVO THINKPAD X1 CARBON 20FB

VEHO MUVI K-SERIES K-2 SPORT ACTION CAMERA

YALE YD-01-CON-YALE-CH KEYLESS SMART LOCK

Distributor: Westcoast

Distributor: Westcoast

Distributor: Exertis

Distributor: Tech Data

Enjoy workstation performance in a low cost, compact package. The HP ZBook 15u with its 15.6-inch diagonal display is the perfect combination of mobility and cost. Running on an Intel Core i7 processor it packs 16GB of RAM.

A carbon roll cage with reinforcement throughout makes the X1 Carbon Ultrabook ultralight, ultradurable and highly portable. Stay unplugged all day by boosting your battery up to 80 per cent capacity in just 35 minutes.

Capture full high definition 1080p, 60fps or 720p video at 120fps for superb quality and clarity. Shoot 16MP single photos, time lapse or fast burst of up to 10 photos per second to never miss a moment.

Yale Keyless Connected Smart Lock provides freedom to secure your home without a key. Control who and when people have access by setting a PIN code that works for 24 hours. Your door can be opened by a 4 to 10 digit pin.

Specs: Intel Core i7-6500U processor, 15.6-inch, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB HP Z Turbo Drive PCIe SSD

Specs: Intel Core i5 6200U, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD

Specs: High definition 1080p, 16MP photos

Specs: Keyless smart lock with Yale module

SRP: £2,019.00

SRP: £1,483.00

SRP: £229.95

SRP: £168.00

VEHO MUVI K-SERIES K-2 PRO ACTION CAMERA

ASUS ZENBOOK 3 UX390UA

ASUS ROG G701VIK GB043T

WIRELESS AC750 4G LTE MULTI-WAN ROUTER

Distributor: Exertis

Distributor: Tech Data

Distributor: Tech Data

Distributor: Tech Data

Ultra high-resolution video captures 4k at 15fps and 2.7k at 30fps. In 1080 high definition when shooting at 60fps or 720p at 120fps. Super powerful XA-9 Hercules chipset improve the performance of the Muvi K-2 Pro.

Every precision component and crafted detail has been re-engineered to turn the ZenBook 3 into a super sophisticated machine. It’s lighter, thinner, stronger, extremely powerful and looks the part as well.

ROG G701 is a portable and stylish gaming laptop engineered for gaming performance. ROG G701 is paired with an ultra-fast 120Hz G-SYNC display for smooth gaming performance to give you a competitive advantage.

The Wireless AC750 4G LTE Multi-WAN Router has Integrated LTE, offers 4G coverage, operates at 150 Mbps Broadband Modem. Easy to install the Wireless AC750 Router is suitable for small to medium-sized businesses.

Specs: 4K video, up to 30fps and 1080p definition

Specs: 12.5-inch display, Core i5 7200U, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, USB-C Mini Dock

Specs: 17.3-inch display, Core i7 7820HK, 64 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD (2x), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080, 8 GB GDDR5

Specs: Embedded LTE/HSPA module (Dual Mode) Supports LTE Band 3,7,8,20 (1800/2600/900/800 MHz)

SRP: £279.95

SRP: £1,199.99

SRP: £3,999.99

SRP: £147.99

CONTACT

www.pcr-online.biz

CMS Distribution ........ 0208 960 6000

Peak Development ..... 0148 979 6979

Tech Data .................... 0125 678 8134

Exertis .......................... 0208 200 8282

Simms International ... 0162 285 2800

Westcoast .................... 0118 912 6000

PCR May 2017 | 45

SECTOR GUIDE

Memory cards to motherboards Rounding up the top products currently on the market, PCR has picked out the biggest and quickest memory units, motherboards and CPUs ranging from off-the-shelf memory cards to top-of-the-range processors…

CORSAIR ‘DOMINATOR PLATINUM’ DRAM KIT

CORSAIR ‘VENGEANCE LED’ DRAM KIT

CORSAIR ‘VENGEANCE LPX’ DRAM KIT

SANDISK 16GB MICROSDHC CARD

Distributor: CMS Distribution

Distributor: CMS Distribution

Distributor: CMS Distribution

Distributor: CMS Distribution

Dominator Platinum high-performance DDR4 memory is designed for top-ofthe-range systems. Built with handscreened ICs and DHX cooling, it is optimized for the latest Intel X99 and 100 Series of motherboards.

Corsair Vengeance LED Series DDR4 memory modules provide a unique look with vibrant LEDs. Built with a custom performance PCB for better signal integrity, and carefully screened ICs for superior overclocking and reliability.

Vengeance LPX memory is designed for high-performance overclocking. The heat spreader is made of aluminium for faster heat dissipation, and the DDR4 form factor is optimised for the latest Intel 100 Series motherboards.

The SanDisk micro SDHC Memory Cards are ideal for storing photos, videos and music on phones and tablets. The SDHC cards are ideal for keeping your business contacts, emails, presentations and other information safe and to hand.

Specs: 2 x 8GB memory modules, Intel X99 and 100 Series platforms, processing speed of 2666MHz

Specs: 2 x 8GB memory modules. Intel X99 and 100 Series platforms, processing speed of 3000MHz

Specs: 2 x 8GB memory modules. Intel X99 and 100 Series platforms, processing speed of 3000MHz

Specs: MicroSDHC, class 10 video performance rating. Card dimensions: 92mm × 14.99mm × 7.87mm

SRP: £159.99

SRP: £134.99

SRP: £129.99

SRP: £9.80

SANDISK 32GB MICROSDHC CARD

SANDISK 64GB MICROSDHC CARD

BALLISTIX SPORT LT DDR4 (2666) GAMING MEMORY

GIGABYTE GA-Z170X GAMING G7

Distributor: CMS Distribution

Distributor: CMS Distribution

Distributor: Tech Data

Distributor: Target Components, Entatech

Capture, carry and keep more highquality photos and Full HD video on your smartphone or tablet with a 32GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I card.

Transfer pictures and videos from the card to your PC at a rate up to 90MB/s.

Built to perform in extreme conditions, SanDisk Ultra microSDHC and microSDXC cards are water proof, shock proof, X-ray proof and magnet proof.

The SanDisk Ultra card is rated Class 10 for Full HD video (1080p).

Designed for performance enthusiasts, and gamers, Ballistix Sport LT DDR4 memory helps you do just that. Give your processor the resources it needs to perform and make your computer faster and more responsive.

The Gigabyte GA-Z170X Ultra Gaming provides users with customisation and performance, coupled with speed and power. The GA-Z170X is Intel Thunderbolt 3 certified and supported by 6th generation Intel Core Processors.

Specs: 32 GB capacity, up to 90MB/s read speed and 40 MB/s write speed

Specs: 64GB capacity, Class 10 video perfromance, 80MB/s transfer speed, full HD video (1080p), 10-year warranty

Specs: 16GB capacity, speed of 2666 MT/S, multi-channel memory architecture, digital heat spreader

Specs: Intel z170 Express Chipset, Core i7, i5, i3 Pentium Celeron, 4x DDR4 DIMM sockets, up to 64 GB of memory

SRP: £18.50

SRP: £33.80

SRP: £37.19 – £128.39

SRP: £149.99

46 | PCR May 2017

www.pcr-online.biz

SECTOR GUIDE

ASUS Z170-PRO

GIGABYTE GA-X99DESIGNARE

AMD RYZEN 5 1600

AMD RYZEN 7 1800X

Distributor: Ingram Micro, Macle, Spire, Tech Data

Distributor: Target Components, Entatech

Distributor: Avnet, VIP

Distributor: Arrow, Avnet, Hammer, Ingram Micro, Rutronik, Tech Data Westcoast

The most powerful ASUS Gamer-series yet with SLI and Crossfire support, SupremeFX audio, M.2 and SATA Express components. Supports Intel InTru 3D, Quick Sync Video. With a maximum shared memory of 512MB.

The Gigabyte GA-X99 supports the Intel Core i7 6950 processor (Extreme Edition) and Intel Turbo Boost Mac Technology 3.0. Ambient surround LED allows users to set the board to match their style.

The AMD Ryzen 5 1600X processor is a six core and 12 thread chip. It is also the fastest six core chip in the AMD Ryzen range with base clock speeds of 3.3 GHz and 3.7 GHz boost. The chip comes with 16 MB of L3 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache.

The AMD Ryzen 7 1800X is the top-ofthe-line processor from AMD’s new Ryzen range of CPUs. Boasting eight cores, it’s a monster chip that’s designed to power through the heaviest of workloads.

Specs: 5-Way Optimization, Intel USB 3.1, One Type-A port plus a reversible Type-C port, ASUS Pro Clock

Specs: Intel X99 Express Chipset, Core i7, 8 x DDR4 DIMM sockets, up to 128 GB of system memory

Specs: Six-core, 12-thread Ryzen 5 1600X, 3.6-4GHz, 95W

Specs: Eight CPU Cores, 16 threads, 3.6GHz of clock speed, 768KB of L1 cache and a deflault TDP of 95w

SRP: £134.98

SRP: £389.99

SRP: £219.00

SRP: £499.00

INTEL I7 7700K

INTEL I5 7600K

INTEL I3 7100

MSI Z170A GAMING PRO

Distributor: Arrow, Avnet, Hammer, Ingram Micro, Rutronik, Tech Data Westcoast

Distributor: Arrow, Avnet, Hammer, Ingram Micro, Rutronik, Tech Data Westcoast

Distributor: Arrow, Avnet, Hammer, Ingram Micro, Rutronik, Tech Data Westcoast

Distributor: Exertis, Macle

The Intel Core i7-7700K processor, has been designed with performance in mind. This processor packs four high performing cores with core base frequency of 4.2GHz and 8MB of cache memory.

With Intel Turbo Boost technology, the i5 7600k has longer-lasting battery life and faster recharging for enhanced speed and performance. Create, edit and share 4K content with ease, and discover full-screen 4K viewing.

Stream 4K Ultra HD content from multiple content providers, conveniently create and edit 4K video faster, and experience interactive, smooth 4K Ultra HD 360 video playback with the i3 7100.

With traditional memory design, the MSI Z170A introduces DDR4 technology to ensure memory signals stay pure for optimal performance and stability. An added XMP LED has been added for better speed and stability.

Specs: Four CPU Cores, eight threads, processor base frequency of 4.20 GHz, and 8 MB of SmartCache

Specs: Intel HD graphics 630, graphics base frequency of 350.00 MHz, and max dynamic frequency of 1.15 GHz

Specs: 7th generation Intel Core i3 processors, Vertical SegmentDesktop, lithography 14nm

Specs: Intel Z170 Express, DDR4 Memory, Dual Memory Channel, 64 GB of max memory

SRP: £349.99

SRP: £239.99

SRP: £105.00

SRP: £140.00

CONTACT

www.pcr-online.biz

Entatech ...................... 0333 101 1000

VIP ................................ 01925 286 900

CMS Distribution ........ 0208 962 2500

Ingram Micro............... 0871 973 3440

Arrow ........................... 0207 786 3400

Tech Data .................... 01256 788 000

Macle ................. (+49) 2823 4190 100

Hammer ....................... 01256 841 000

Target Components..019777 393 000

Spire............................. 0120 282 8444

Rutronik....................... 02890 871 000

Avnet ........................... 01344 662 000

Exertis .......................... 01282 776 776

PCR May 2017 | 47

OUT OF OFFICE

IN THE

HOT SEAT Scott Frankling Target Components’ marketing executive Scott Frankling takes to the infamous hot seat to talk about saving the planet and picking potatoes…

What was your first job?

As I grew up in rural Shropshire, my first job was working on a farm. I cleaned out goats for £1.50 an hour when I was 11, but was ‘promoted’ to potato picking the following year, then driving tractors when I was 14. But my first ‘proper’ job was working as a sales assistant in HMV. I was the one who scoffed at your terrible taste in music.

What’s your favourite TV show?

Comedies in general but I’m Alan Partridge and The Thick of It are probably my absolute favourites. Malcolm Tucker is one of my favourite characters ever too – pure evil and sarcasm in equal measure.

PERKS OF THE JOB IF THERE’S one sure-fire way to butter up a journalist before a product launch it’s to make sure they are pumped full of caffeine and well fed. If it’s tech journalists you’re trying to impress then throwing in a coffee machine powered by an iPad is the cherry on top.

That is exactly what the guys at Xerox did ahead of the ConnectKey product launch. Attracting as much (if not more) attention than the printers themselves, the world’s media was suitably warmed up for the day with the TopBrewer coffee machine which pumps the black stuff into your mug straight out of the tap. With presets in place for everything from a latte to a flat white, the TopBrewer app also allows you to

customise your coffee so you can have it just the way you like at the touch of a button.

Part of Scanomat’s innovative product range, the TopBrewer app can be downloaded on iOS and

Android smartphones and tablets. We also have it on good authority that Scanomat apparently also makes a similar juice-making device, although we are yet to find photo evidence of that.

If you could go back in time what would you do?

Put a lot more emphasis on alternative fuels and their use.

I’m very interested in renewable energy – it’s been an option for such a long time but was never adopted because of the lure of money for companies in drilling or mining for fossil fuels. And it’s coming back to bite us now. Every government needs to put everything they can into a clean power if you want future generations to enjoy fresh air and clean water.

What is your biggest pet peeve?

Intolerance of others and an unwillingness to understand another person’s point of view.

Tell us something that not many people know?

I have a diploma in French Constitutional Law. How handy.

What’s the funniest or most memorable experience you’ve had in your career?

Working at Target with the people I do, something funny happens most days. So it’s difficult to pick one in particular, certainly anything that can be published.

What’s going to be the next big thing in tech?

I don’t think there’d be any argument that the smart home and VR are going to be huge. Really massive. But it’s Augmented Reality I think will change things completely and it’s really, really exciting (I’m actually just excited at the prospect of playing an AR zombie FPS in the middle of Leeds).

Tell us your favourite cheesy joke What do you call a Frenchman wearing sandals?

Phillipe Phillope.

48 | PCR May 2017

SENNHEISER SHOWS SOFTCAT A NIGHT ON THE TOWN EVERYONE LOVES to win a prize, and Marlow-based IT infrastructure provider won big as it was treated to a night at the 2017 Brit Awards, thanks to headphone-maker Sennheiser.

Having supported the Brits for 15 years, Sennheiser’s winners got to see a whole host of charttopping A-list celebs perform on the night, including Little Mix, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Robbie

Williams and Katy Perry.

Alongside all of these acts, they also got to enjoy a moving tribute to George Michael, delivered by his former Wham partner Andrew Ridgeley, funky soulster Rag’n’Bone, as well as many others.

“This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I felt like a star!

To be in the same room with so many amazing performers was

just incredible. I will remember this night forever!” commented Ellen Gardener, sales support manager at Softcat a winner of the incentive program.

If you are a reseller and are interested in having the opportunity to walk the red carpet at next year’s awards do, get in touch with your Sennheiser account manager to find out more.

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OUT OF OFFICE

MIDWICH RAISES £27K TOWARDS CANCER CARE FOR LOCAL PEOPLE MAJOR TECH distributor and one of Diss’ largest employers Midwich, raised £27,506.23 on behalf on the Big C charity, which provides vital cancer care and support for people across Norfolk and Waveney.

In 2014, Midwich announced Big C as its chosen charity for a two-year period. The company based in Vinces Road, Diss raised funds through a host of fun activities involving their 250plus staff and the local community. Some of these activities included a beat the boss running challenge, a Charity bingo, a cycle to work day, quiz nights, car washing, Summer fetes, casual days, bake offs, silent auctions and many more charity-focus days for the team.

Carla Shipp, group head of HR at Midwich commented:

“It’s been an absolute pleasure working with the Big C over the last two years.

We’ve come up with some creative ways to raise donations for such a worthy cause and have made sure we’ve had fun along the way.

We could never have achieved this without the support of Midwich staff and the local community of Diss – a big thanks to everyone for getting involved and donating, in one way or another.

“It’s incredible what you can achieve when you work together, we know we’ve played a key part in making a real difference to those people affected by cancer.

The Big C is a fantastic charity and we are pleased to have had the opportunity to support them to provide the best possible cancer care.”

Dr Chris Bushby, CEO at Big C commented “We are very grateful to the team at Midwich for their creative fundraising efforts over the past two years, which have resulted in an impressive

total. The money raised will go directly to help local people receive the best possible cancer care. It is only with this type of kind fundraising support that we are able to continue our work

to improve the lives of those affected by cancer.”

Congratulations to all those involved and we look forward to hearing about more charity efforts from Midwich and beyond.

RAPIDLY APPROACHING THE RUN-IN WITH A RUNAWAY LEADER WE ARE rapidly approaching the end of the season in the Premier League and while Chelsea seem to be running away with the league in the real world, the realm of fantasy football seems to have its own leader that has separated itself from the pack.

After 32 weeks, Steve Young’s ‘2 girls 1 schlupp’ have made their place at the top of the table well established with a gargantuan gap of 65 points ahead of Raj Thawrani’s ‘ConteKonte’ in second place, and a 90 point gap to Alex Astbury’s ‘The Problems Started’ in third.

At the other end, we have Darren Garner’s perennial bottom-huggers ‘2 girls 1 Schlupp’ stuck as firmly to the foot of the table as their namesake is glued to the top with Jat Mann’s ‘Overpaid Primadonnas’ 58 points ahead in the penultimate place.

However certain this may all look now, it could all change with seven games to go and we will keep you up to date as we approach the run-in to find out who will be PCR’s fantasy football champion for 2017.

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PCR May 2017 | 49

OUT OF OFFICE

In our Team of the Month section, we highlight some of the important faces from across the industry who perhaps aren’t always in the public eye.

BT Shop L-R: Alex Wall, Chris Newton, Duncan Rutherford, Sam Binks (background), Michelle Wood (foreground), Rob Holder, Verity Agababian.

What is the team working on at the moment?

Since the move into BT Consumer we’ve got a project of integrating fully into core BT consumer customer facing activity – essentially hardware to support service and service to drive hardware uptake – we see it as totally interlinked. We’ve got some massive opportunities in the pipeline to position the right brands alongside acquisition and retention offers across BT’s major customer bases – it’s going to be a crazy year!

Who’s in your team?

Across the full new BT Shop team we’ve got commercial, marketing, design, purchasing, logistics and CS – the whole end to end consumer journey is covered! I’m looking after the Sales & Marketing guys which includes Chris, Alex, Verity & Rob covering everything from SEO, PPC, Campaigns, Social, UX and customer journeys end to end. Sam and Michelle are looking after our vendors, product and brand strategies and our ranging profiles.

What have been your biggest successes of the past 12 months?

Being formed! For many years BT Shop has been within the old dabs. com business – now BT Business Direct – reporting under the BT

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Business organisation. From April 1st we’ve stood up this brand new team FULLY focused on purely consumers and BT Shop.

We’ve got a massive 12 months ahead with some major changes planned, getting closer to both our customers and the brands that can support the strategy.

What’s the funniest or most memorable moment of working in your team?

We’ve all worked together across different areas of the rest of dabs/BT for years so we’ve got some stories.

Corner us at the next PCR Awards for some of the unprintable ones, but we’ve got a plethora of classic photos, videos and moments that are often cast across screens in the office!

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What’s the best part of working in your team?

I’d have to say that the best part is the fact we’re all completely focused on one thing – one website, one set of customers and, most crucially of all, one set of targets and objectives to support it all. It’s a rare opportunity to have a team that truly manage an end-to-end business unit in online retail that has access to millions of potential customers.

What’s the hardest part of working in the tech industry?

The pace of technical change needed, at product level that’s what keeps it interesting, but at a technical/ logistical level it’s a massive challenge for the industry and one we all can do better at.

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What are your thoughts on the current state of the UK tech retail space right now?

Challenging! I’ve been in the industry for a decade and it’s gone through it all, it definitely feels in its best place in years now with emerging tech and fresh new brands shaking up the status quo – as well as some of the stalwarts getting their houses in order.

Who makes the best cuppa?

To be honest as we’re northern we’re all outstanding. We have a brew rota so our skills are constantly improved daily. And for the record, we might be Lancashire-based but there’s no doubt Yorkshire Tea reigns supreme.

Next time any of you come into our office ask to see our Brewlette wheel for how we decide who’s next to make one!

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For clients interested in highly targeted niche events aimed at resellers and retailers, PCR is here to help!

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Whether it is a webinar, roundtable or breakfast briefing, bespoke events provide numerous benefits such as: More time for one-on-one networking with key individuals More in-depth discussions on one key topic Less time spent away from the office Targeted audience with similar professional challenges Tailored to suit your needs Establish yourself as a thought leader in your space

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