HOW TO ADD A SIM ONLY AIRTIME PACKAGE...
TACKLING CHANGE WITH TECHNOLOGY
HOW SECURE ARE YOUR HOMEWORKERS?
INTRODUCING PLUG IN TV
A unique offer available to Exertis customers from ATP Enable and Digital Inc
What new products or solutions can we expect to see as we return to a “new normal”
With more flexible working set to stay, companies need to ensure their security is up to scratch
Product spotlights, unboxing, a solution feature and a competition – available on demand
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Page 42-43
Page 12-13
Page 20
JULY 2020 BUSINESS ISSUE 20
HOME WORKING ESSENTIALS Some top tips on the best products for your customers’ remote workers
Faster. Smarter. More Response. ponse onse. Dell Latitude 9000 Series
The world world’s most intelligent PCs with built-in AI adapt1 to the way you work, wherever you work, with cutting-edge innovations like Express Response, wherev Intelligent Audio and Express Sign-in.
Full speed productivity
Smaller, smarter designs
,QWHOOLJHQW XQLÀHG management
Based on Dell analysis, November 2019. Dell Optimizer is compatible with 2020 Latitude devices with Microsoft® Windows OS, excluding Latitude 3310 2-in-1 and Chrome OS systems.
Speak to your Exertis account manager today for more details
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Home work essentials
Education boost?
Events and VR
Page 15-17
Page 24-25
Page 37-39
CONTENTS Page 24-25 IS EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY ABOUT TO GET A BOOST FROM COVID-19? A look at the opportunities and risks from on-line learning
Page 05 EXERTIS COMMENT Phil Brown introduces the summer edition of Future Business
Page 06-07 NEWS IN BRIEF A roundup of Exertis and industry news
Page 10 MARKET STATS UPDATE Our regular look at the current technology trends you should be aware of
Page 20 IT’S TIME TO SWITCH CHANNELS: INTRODUCING PLUG IN TV Product spotlights, unboxing, a solution feature and a competition – available on demand
Page 37-39 EVENTS ARE BECOMING A VIRTUAL REALITY Podcasts, webinars, virtual conferences and exhibitions – how companies are making more use of these media.
Page 24-25 MORE CLOUDS BRING BRIGHTER OUTLOOK As we continue to amass large amounts of data what are the advantages and disadvantages of cloud storage Page 12-13 HOW SECURE ARE YOUR HOMEWORKERS? With more flexible working set to stay, companies need to ensure their security is up to scratch
Page 15-17 HOME WORKING ESSENTIALS Some top tips on the best products for your customers’ remote workers
Page 28-29 HOT PICKS A range of best-selling products designed to make you more margin
Page 31 HOW TO ADD A SIM ONLY AIRTIME PACKAGE AND ENHANCE YOUR SECURITY A unique offer available to Exertis customers from ATP Enable and Digital Inc
Page 42-43 TACKLING CHANGE WITH TECHNOLOGY New products or solutions can we expect to see as we return to a “new normal”
Page 47 ENTERPRISING NEWS FROM EXERTIS Announcing the rebrand of Exertis Hammer and an exciting virtual event
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WELCOME TO THE SUMMER ISSUE OF FUTURE BUSINESS Since our last issue, the country has been in lockdown. Now we need to try and adapt to what a “new normal” might mean for business Over this period what has been abundantly clear is the value that the channel provides in maintaining the technology supply chain – much of which has helped vital key worker organisations continue to function and employers to mobilise their remote workforce. As a result, some areas of the business have enjoyed significant growth whilst others have faced more challenging times due to the requirement for social distancing. Having a diverse range of solutions and services certainly pays dividends.
In this issue, there are several articles that highlight some of the opportunities that have come to fruition due to the coronavirus pandemic. Certainly, flexible working practices are going to be key for companies in the modern workplace. On page 15, we take a look at some of the home working essentials that can make employees more productive and collaborative. At the same time, it’s a good opportunity to remind your customers about optimising their security (see page 12) as remote working becomes more commonplace. Indeed, it’s not only the workplace that will continue to evolve. Online learning will become an integral part of the educational experience and that presents both opportunities and risks for educational establishments, highlighted on page 34.
Of course, technology has a habit of solving problems and we can expect to see new products on the market that are focused on protecting citizens from the spread of COVID-19 and other potential viruses. Some are available now (see page 42) and are using advanced technology innovations to safeguard the public with the use of thermal imaging, facial recognition and AI. Whilst social distancing remains, many conferences and events have gone virtual. With the technology that’s available today, these can be as every bit as informative as a live event. Indeed, our Exertis Enterprise division will be holding one in July entitled “Stay Home, Stay Connected” featuring the latest innovations in cybersecurity, data storage and home working solutions. The virtual roadshow will offer the ‘live event’ experience with the chance for customers to chat directly with key representatives, engage in seminar sessions, visit vendor booths and find out the latest information on products, solutions and opportunities. Details on that can be found on page 37 when we look at the subject of virtual events and again on page 47 where we focus on the rebrand of Exertis Hammer and the great portfolio, expertise and valueadded services that our Enterprise division can provide. Their specialism and solutions are illustrated perfectly in the debate on the advantages of cloud storage on page 24. Enjoy the read and what’s on offer from our vendor partners in this issue.
PHIL BROWN SALES AND COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, BUSINESS
Publisher Exertis Editors Dylan Cornwell Alice Mitchell Design Alice Himfen Basingstoke Sales: 01256 707 070 Address Ashwood Chineham Business Park Chineham Basingstoke Hampshire RG24 8EH To place an order please call 01256 707 070 between 9am-5.30pm Monday to Friday
To buy online visit store.exertis.co.uk Burnley Reception: 01282 776 776 Address Technology House Magnesium Way Hapton Burnley BB12 7BF To place an order please call 01282 776 776 between 9am-5.30pm Monday to Friday
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NEWS IN BRIEF A summary of the latest news in business annuity revenues and GP as well as enabling continuous engagement with end-users,” said Rod McCarthy, managing director of Exertis Services.
1. AT YOUR SERVICE In our last issue of Future Business, we focused on our end to end integrated portfolio of services that cover the whole technology lifecycle. The range of services encompass six key areas: • Consult: Professional Services to identify business improvements • Deploy: Configuration and installation solutions • Maintain: 24x7 in-life support solutions • Manage: 24x7 fully managed and proactive monitoring and support solutions • Assist & Educate: On-demand technical assistance and training solutions • Recover: Refurbishment and recycling solutions “Our aim is to fully support and equip resellers to confidently deliver a range of technical support services without the need for specialist expertise or expensive infrastructure investment. Our services portfolio can be provided on a “white label” basis as complete or modular solutions, depending on partner needs. Our mission is to help the channel to create new recurring
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head of solutions at Exertis Pro AV, said, “We are delighted to be able to offer the Lenovo ThinkSmart View to our customers at a time when helping employees to work more efficiently from any location has added importance. It’s a perfect addition to our range of collaboration solutions that have been so well received by our customers.”
You can hear more from Rod here https://telecomreseller.com/2020/06/22/ podcast-exertis-builds-distinctive-brandby-serving-the-whole-uc-life-cycle/
2. COLLABORATION SOLUTIONS Exertis has added to his collaboration bundles, featuring products from our extensive portfolio of market leading AV and UC vendors. The solutions cater for three sizes of meeting spaces together with a remote working option: • Exertis TO GO (home working) • Exertis HUDDLE (small room / huddle space) • Exertis MEET (medium room) • Exertis BOARD (large room) With more employees likely to remain at home for some time yet, or even permanently, we have added to our Exertis TO GO bundles with solutions that provide basic equipment right up to the executive home worker. In addition, Exertis is offering the Lenovo ThinkSmart View. Greg Bennett,
3. HIGHLIGHTING OUR SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES Alan Lynch, Exertis, global logistics director, said, “Sustainability is a key focus for Exertis and the business has been working on projects across the Group with third party suppliers, vendors and customers to optimise packaging, reduce material waste, support the circular economy and increase our dropship services. By developing innovative solutions, we not only reduce our carbon footprint but positively impact the environment.” You can find out more detail on some of our key initiatives at: https:// www.exertis.co.uk/news/article. php?id=5eda1fc3616b9doc48047063
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fit for our award-winning portfolio. “New and existing customers will hugely benefit from DDN’s focus on artificial intelligence, big data and high performance computing (HPC) that this partnership will bring to our offering, alongside Exertis Hammer’s value-add ethos and proven expertise in the storage and enterprise arena.”
4. APPOINTMENTS We are pleased to announce the promotion of Jo Lawrence to UK HR Director, reporting to Paul Bryan, Exertis UK&I, managing director. She takes up the position previously held by Nick Foster who took on the additional responsibility as HR director for Exertis International earlier last year.
https://www.exertis.co.uk/news/ article.php?id=5ef0903170c07doc1082398962 In addition, Exertis has appointed Jamie Brothwell as commercial director and Sam Williams as sales director for its accessories business. Both will report to Mike Buley, Exertis consumer managing director. https://www.exertis.co.uk/news/article. php?id=5ecfa4bff1031doc1579876928
5. SMART SPENDING IN UK According to a Counterpoint Research survey conducted across seven major smartphone markets: the USA, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and India, nearly half of respondents across these countries are planning on delaying their next purchase. However, the good news is that the UK is going to buck that trend with two-thirds of UK consumers considering buying a smartphone according to their usual plan. https://www.counterpointresearch. com/smartphone-users-cut-spendingnext-smartphone/
6. COVID-19 SPIKES SALES IN HOME WORKING EQUIPMENT According to leading research analysts Context, who monitor sales through distribution, the commercial notebook unit sales grew by 68 per cent, year on year, in Europe in Q2 as remote working took hold due to COVID-19. The UK accounted for over a quarter (27 per cent) of the total commercial notebook demand, growing by 134 per cent with more than 344,000 more commercial notebooks sold in comparison to the same period the year before Sales of Unified Comms equipment was also up across Europe with collaboration headsets growing by over 25 per cent and cameras up by over 59 per cent – collaboration IP phones saw a decline of just over 10 per cent. These categories account for 80 per cent of the UC market in terms of revenue.
7. ADDING TO OUR VENDOR PORTFOLIO Exertis Hammer announced a distribution agreement with DDN, the world’s leading big data storage supplier to data-intensive, global organisations. The vendor designs, develops, deploys, and optimises systems, software and storage solutions that enable enterprises, service providers, universities, and government agencies to generate more value and accelerate time to insight from their data, on premise and in the cloud. This, says Adam Blackwell, general manager at Exertis Hammer, makes it a perfect
Our print division has added PaperCut MF, provider of print management software and complementary scanning products, enabling organisations to monitor and control print output, to its portfolio. Resellers will gain access to the Huddly GO and Huddly IQ, which provide customers with intelligent camera solutions designed for multiple use cases, including home working, huddle spaces and medium meeting rooms following a supplier agreement with Huddly for its award-winning video conferencing cameras. The flagship Huddly IQ is an AI-powered collaboration device, featuring 150° wide-angle 1080p video, automated AI user experiences, and, optionally, an embedded mic array. With the Genius Framing feature, the camera can automatically detect and frame participants in its field of view, eliminating the need to control the camera manually. The Huddly IQ is certified for use in meeting rooms and home working settings with Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Meet, and is designed to complement room-based solutions.
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Big Memory Breakthrough for Your Biggest Data Challenges Intel® Optane™ DC persistent memory represents a groundbreaking technology innovation.1 2 3 4 Delivered with all new 2nd Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors, this workload optimised technology will help businesses extract more actionable insights from data – from cloud and databases, to in-memory analytics, and content delivery networks for:
BREAKTHROUGH MEMORY OPTIMISED FOR DATA-CENTRIC WORKLOADS DATABASE
VIRTUALISATION
CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORK (CDN)
Product and Performance Information FIND OUT MORE AT INTEL.COM/OPTANE
Performance results are based on testing as of the dates shown in configurations and may not reflect all publicly available security updates. See configuration disclosure for details. No product or component can be absolutely secure.
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Software and workloads used in performance tests may have been optimized for performance only on Intel® microprocessors. Performance tests, such as SYSmark* and MobileMark*, are measured using specific computer systems, components, software, operations, and functions. Any change to any of those factors may cause the results to vary. You should consult other information and performance tests to assist you in fully evaluating your contemplated purchases, including the performance of that product when combined with other products. For more information go to www.intel.co.uk/ benchmarks.
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Performance results have been estimated based on Microsoft internal tests as of 9/25/2018 using Microsoft* Storage Spaces Direct and Windows Server* 2019 with Intel® Optane™ DC persistent memory and may not reflect all publicly available security updates. No product can be absolutely secure. Configurations: VMFleet. 312 VMs (26 per node) 12 node cluster, random 4 KB read I/O to 9.36 TiB active working set, 2x 28C future Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors (Cascade Lake), 384GB DRAM (12x 32GB), 1.5TB of Intel® Optane™ DC persistent memory, 4x 8TB Intel® P4510 NVMe* (Cliffdale) SSDs. 2018 record of 13.7M IOPs, 2016 record was 6.7M IOPs. Results have been estimated based on tests conducted by Microsoft on pre-production systems, and provided to you for informational purposes.
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4Performance results have been estimated based on VMware* internal tests as of 10/17/2018 using future version of VMware vSphere* running Redis* memtier workload and may not reflect all publicly available security updates. No product can be absolutely secure. Configurations: 2x 28C future Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors (codenamed Cascade Lake) on WolfPass platform with 12x 16GB DDR4 RDIMMs @ 2666 MT/s and 12x 512GB Intel® Optane™ DC persistent memory modules, running VMware vSphere*, 112 guest VMs running Centos 7, Redis 4.0.11, memtier benchmark with 80/20 GET/ SET ratio. Result: @ 112 guest VMs, 4.1ms measured latency and 99% measured cpu utilization. @ 28 guest VMs, 2.3ms measured latency and 25% measured cpu utilization.
ASUS BE249QLBH Business Monitor Extensive connectivity with DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI-D, D-sub, Audio in, Earphone jack plus two USB 3.0 ports for the most flexibility Ergonomic design with tilt, swivel, pivot and height adjustments for a comfortable viewing experience 7 9 5KHLQODQG &HUWLͤFDWLRQ IRU Flicker-free and Low Blue Light technology to ensure a comfortable viewing experience 3 Year standard warranty
Please Contact your Exertis Account Manager today
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HOW SECURE ARE YOUR HOMEWORKERS? Protecting you and your data With many companies having to switch their employees to home working, the initial focus was ensuring they had the necessary IT equipment to function and connect with their colleagues and customers. However, with remote working likely to remain as the new business normal for some time yet, and for many it might be more permanent as organisations and employees realise the benefits it can bring, security needs to be a key consideration. Employers rightly take measures to protect computers from malware by ensuring security solutions have been installed, preventing applications from being downloaded and restricting online access from unknown devices. Away from the office, it’s more difficult to provide the same level of protection. VPNs are a basic requirement in order to protect unauthorised access to corporate data and provide protection for remote workers at home and when accessing public Wi-Fi networks. Whilst home working continues, companies must ensure that they maintain updates and patches. New vulnerabilities are often found by cyber criminals in applications and operating systems. Remote desktop protocol (RDP) continues to be one of the main attack vectors for ransomware. Many businesses use RDP as a method to access servers, collaborate with other employees and remotely access documents stored and backed up in their office. Given its wide range of functionality across a business, this network-based service can also be misused by cybercriminals to launch attacks. If not properly configured and secured, it can act as a gateway within an organisation for
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cybercriminals to access sensitive internal resources. When providing remote desktop access to homeworkers, strong passwords or some form of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is essential. MFA ensures that access to cloud-based services or corporate network access is by authorised users only and ensures that security isn’t entrusted to just one password. Furthermore, it’s good practice to continuously remind employees about phishing and opening malicious links. Action Fraud, the UK’s reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime has estimated that over £3.5 million has been lost to coronavirus-themed scams, phishing emails and other fraud with over 7,796 reports received of coronavirus related phishing emails as of mid May1. With the increase in
Whilst home working continues, companies must ensure that they maintain updates and patches. SaaS cloud apps, these are also a target for phishing and account takeover (credential theft) attacks. These can be avoided with the deployment of cloud app security solutions. In addition, companies should try to control the use of external devices such as USB storage and peripheral devices. Now’s also a good time to check the robustness of an installed firewall. Some firewall appliances are no longer performing to their optimum due to a
surge in VPN connectivity. It may be time to consider upgrading to a newer generation or larger appliance in order to handle the increased workload. Another consideration would be to deploy a dedicated remote access appliance. Standalone solutions provide more reliability, enhanced security features, and take the load from the perimeter firewall, resulting in a much more fluid user experience and better security posture. With a dedicated appliance, connections are always-on, policies can be
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enforced more robustly, and endpoints can be scanned to ensure they have the latest software, patches and security software installed before a final connection into the corporate network is allowed. MFA/2FA is also supported. Furthermore, a high availability appliance provides peace of mind that a company can continue to function should your primary appliance fail. By synchronising most critical network connection information, it can prevent down time and dropped connections in case of appliance failure. Endpoint security is vital. With the increase in remote working, companies need to reduce the attack surface, increase visibility and protect against advanced threats. Advanced Endpoint protection
Now’s also a good time to check the robustness of an installed firewall. will help to detect malware, ransomware and restrict access to nefarious websites which aim to run a malicious application in the background to compromise a victim’s device. IoT devices have brought many benefits but they also increase vulnerabilities with more endpoints to protect and ascertaining the risk factors
with home workers can be far more difficult. There are many thousands of employees connecting to the enterprise via home networks with no firewall protection. It’s clear that endpoint security now has to extend beyond traditional antivirus to include may of the points described above. If you’re concerned about protecting your customers’ remote workers and business as well as keeping their data secure, Exertis has a portfolio of vendors that can address and resolve today’s security issues which include SonicWall, Kaspersky, Panda, Kemp, and Aqualai. In addition, we have a team of security specialists ready to help you: security.sales@exertis.co.uk 1 https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/covid19
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Surveilla Surveillance systems have been transformed, with IP-based cameras adding intelligence, improved quality, and red reducing cost. Plus, as data is encrypted, there is no need for additional encoders and nd decoders. decoders. systems depend on getting power to cameras, often in tricky locations. This is why Power over But these sys over Ethernet (PoE) is fast becoming the technology of choice for surveillance.
Contact your Exertis account manager or Luke.Lee-nutbrown@exerts.co.uk utbro own@ n@ @exerts.co.uk for more information.
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HOME WORKING ESSENTIALS Some of our top picks for home working essentials. 63 per cent of employees feel they are as productive, if not more so, when working from home as opposed to elsewhere. For some of us, home working may become a permanent fixture, even after lockdown. So, whilst, employees may have settled for what they had in order to work remotely, many companies will start to look for upgrading their technology to ensure their workers can be as productive as possible. Whether that’s a second monitor, the best video-conferencing technology or noise cancelling headphones. Any investments now will pay dividends in the future. According to Lenovo, 77 per cent of employees feel that companies will be more open to, or even encourage, letting workers work remotely once we get through the pandemic and 63 per cent of employees feel they are as productive, if not more so, when working from home as opposed to elsewhere. So, here’s some of our top picks for home working essentials.
1 COMPUTER: A laptop is pretty much the de facto computing device and at Exertis, we have a wide selection from well-known brands in the sector including: Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba. For top performance, the Intel vPro® platform powered by 10th Gen Intel® Core™ vPro® processors streamlines IT and gives business users what they want: fewer interruptions, built-in security features, responsive business-class performance, and fast,
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reliable connectivity, no matter where you are. The Intel vPro® platform is built for business. This integrated platform delivers the latest PC technologies in one validated solution built to provide what IT needs and employees want. It brings together business-class performance, hardwareenhanced security features, modern remote manageability, and PC fleet stability. It’s all the things companies need their PCs to be - accelerating productivity and reducing costs, whilst giving employees a great user experience while working at home.
most demanding tasks, as well as tomorrow’s. However, for some a desktop may also be a possible solution and Fujitsu offers a P24 monitor and G558 desktop package for the same cost as a single notebook device. The space saving design and power saving features increases productivity and its 24” display, over the average 15.6“ large notebook, may be just what some employees need.
Many companies will start to look for upgrading their technology to ensure their workers can be as productive as possible The Portégé® X30L laptop is the world’s lightest 13.3” laptop with 10th Gen Intel® Core™ Processors. Weighing in at 1.92 pounds it was engineered to endure the daily demands of modern business while at home. It’s loaded with premium, highperformance components, including the 10th Gen Intel® Core™ hexa-core U series processor, capable of handling today’s
2. KEYBOARD: The Cherry KC 6000 Slim is perfect for the home office with its stylish design, precise scissor mechanism and compact dimensions. The keyboard’s rubber feet give you the perfect viewing angle and its slightly curved keys ensure a comfortable typing experience with little noise, helping employees to stay focused throughout the day.
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3. MOUSE A mouse can help improve precision and speed when working on a laptop and prevent wrist strain. The Cherry MW 4500 is an all-rounder for the office or home use with its ergonomic form, contoured shape and 45° angle. The design means your hand is never flat, resulting in a more natural position, allowing you to work without fatigue and reducing the chance of strain injuries. Or for that extra bit of class, you could opt for the Cherry MW 8 Advanced mouse. The anodised aluminium surface, rubber side part and compact design means it fits snugly into the user’s hand. It’s perfect for the home office as the highly precise senor and laser LED allows the mouse to be used on nearly every surface, including glass tables! You can enjoy uninterrupted work as one charge lasts for several weeks, but even when the device runs out, simply plug the supplied USB cable into your laptop to continue your work. 4. MONITOR A second monitor can provide a good return on investment in terms of productivity making it easier to switch between applications quickly, segment your working tasks or view documents side by side. Not to mention that working with
a larger display than your laptop makes working more comfortable for certain tasks. The Acer B7 series display enhances your professional work needs with its strong, ergonomic stand and wide range of colourenhancing technologies. This monitor is perfect for those online calls thanks to Its built-in speaker system, ensuring powerful and clear sound without the need for a separate set up.
headsets, everyone can tune out noise and stay focused. Looking stylish and feeling comfortable is inevitable. Having the freedom to roam and talking a long time on a single charge (or for an unlimited time with a hot swappable battery) means work gets done. Even away from the desk. 6. MULTI-PORT DOCKING STATION. Choose one adapter instead of four. The StarTech USB-C Multiport Video Adapter offers a portable solution for connecting your USB Type-C laptop to a VGA, DVI, HDMI or Mini DisplayPort (mDP) displayIt features USB Power Delivery, so you can power your laptop while outputting video using the same USB-C port. It has a magnetic retainer that secures the breakout cable in place while you’re not using it.
5. HEADPHONES A pair of noise cancelling headphones with a decent microphone are essential when you are doing regular video calls with colleagues when working from home. Hearing every word clearly on a work call isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a must-have. With the Plantronics Savi 8200 Series
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7. SOFTWARE The essentials to get it all done. Office Home and Business 2019 is for families and small businesses who want classic Office apps and email. It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, for Windows 10. A one-time purchase installed on 1 PC or Mac for use at home or work. 8. PRINTER A printer is an essential item at work and is no less a key item for those working at home or running a small business. The Brother HL-L8260CDW is a reasonably priced full-colour laser printer with features often found in more expensive models. The printer combines good average print speeds (up to 33ppm) with very good output quality for text and graphics. It offers a wide range of connection choices, good paper handling and on-board security features.
9. HOME MESH WI-FI Frustrated by dead zones in your home’s Wi-Fi network, then a mesh wi-fi network is the solution. A mesh Wi-Fi router ensures that all the devices in your house are connected to the same Wi-Fi signal with the same IP address. With range extending nodes placed around the house, you get a speedy Wi-Fi signal from room to room. The NETGEAR Orbi Mesh WiFi System covers homes up to 4,500 sq.ft. and includes a router and two nodes. Their sleek, contemporary design look great with quick and easy set-up. It also works with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant so you can use voice commands to control your home WiFi network. NETGEAR also provide a system with Orbi Voice Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa builit-in. 10. WEBCAM It pays dividends to invest in a webcam that can offer decent video resolution and
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a microphone. With many of us relying on conference calls to communicate with our colleagues, there has never been a better time to invest in the Poly EagleEye Mini. A HD video-conferencing camera that is designed to add another dimension to communications in your conferences. It aims to enhance the power of communication by combining video to its Poly audio solutions. When individuals in a meeting can see each other, they experience a much higher level of engagement, making this camera an excellent addition to any videoconference. 11. WIRELESS SPEAKERS At the end of the day, what better way to wind down than to listen to your favourite music. The Audioengine A2+ premium powered speakers with high-fidelity stereo sound connects to your music in seconds from any app or device. The ultimate Bluetooth mini home music system that’s perfect for your desktop or smaller spaces. No network setup, no passwords, no hassle - simply sit back and relax after a hard day’s work. And for students working from home, now could be a good time to invest in a new PC. From doing homework to collaborating in class, 10th, 9th and 8th Gen Intel® based Chromebooks bring the performance and speed students need to succeed.
They provide real-time responsiveness so that students can save time and be more productive. The Acer Chromebook Enterprise 714 is the perfect product. With a boot time of about 8 seconds you’ll start working quicker; the simplified interface makes it easy to learn; integrated malware protection stops viruses in their tracks; and finally an efficient use of power means that you can work all day without your power adapter. Or for a Windows laptop, dynabook devices are top of the class for education. They are light and slim with an all-day battery life and a range of solutions for every budget. For instance, the dynabook Satellite Pro L50 is a well-rounded 15.6” laptop designed to bring the latest technology to an affordable price point. Its 10th generation Intel© Core™ Processor, coupled with fast RAM and SSD/HDD dual storage capability, makes multi-tasking simple and reliable. For higher education students that perhaps demand more graphics performance, Fujitsu has upgraded two CELSIUS desktop workstations to the 10th generation Intel processors. The new, small form factor system, CELSIUS J5010 with 8.3-liter housing, is 17% smaller than the previous generation yet can accommodate fullheight graphics cards, up to the NVIDIA Quadro P2200. This powerful and quiet workstation is ideal when educating yourself in Computer Aided Design (CAD) as well as for use in design, visualisation, multimedia and manufacturing.
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The world’s #1 bus business laptop of all time*
What makes ThinkPad ThinkPad, ThinkPad?
ThinkPad Laptops are Built to Last.
In a world obsessed wi with “smart” technology, it’s easy to get caught u up in the addition of new features — and in the process, lose sight of what people really need. W When we create new devices at Lenovo, we ensure they not only have the ability to adapt to users, no matter where they are, or what they’re doing, bu but also are designed and engineered to deliver sma smart, convenient and reliable benefi ts. We call this philosophy “Foundational Engineering.”
A ThinkPad would not be a ThinkPad without the rigorous Mil-Spec testing and critical quality control criteria. For 26 years, ThinkPad has been synonymous with durability. ThinkPad engineers have always focused on continuously improving reliability. Since the adoption of MIL-Spec testing as defi ned by MIL-STD 810 methods. ThinkPad is one of the most reliable and durable laptops in the market today.
*Represents ThinkPad unit sales. Statement based on product brand level worldwide total unit sales for business laptops from 1992 to Q4 CY2018.
Portable, able, Powerful ThinkPads e Marine Science and Enable Conservation vation Marine biologists often ften lack the option to work comfortably from a lab b equipped with whatever heavy, cumbersome gear ar their research may require.
The complexities of ecosystemss and the sheer volume of life and wonder in the oceans demands a hands-on approach — there’s an experiential intimacy to field research. As technology logy evolves, it becomes more essential than ever in transforming the unfathomable depths of the seas or its diverse reefs into actionable data. ta. But what tech can survive salt, sand, and ocean-scale -scale data?
“As a field biologist and as a leader of expeditions for the Hydrous around the world, I need to be portable and I need to have powerful technology to run my models and collect my data wherever I need to,” said Erika Woolsey, CEO and co-founder of the Hydrous, a non-profit organisation dedicated to saving our oceans. “ThinkPads have really given me that ability.”
Woolsey and her colleagues bring ThinkPads into the field, from the shores of Palau to the endangered reefs of Japan. Tracking changes over time, rendering complex 3D models of coral, and acting as both scientists and conservationists stretches the abilities of most modern hardware —ThinkPads and ThinkStations rise to the challenge
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PLUG IN TV It’s time to switch channels: Introducing Plug In TV Sit back and watch the first of a regular series of technology updates. WELCOME TO PLUG IN TV. Check out what’s new and what solutions can make a difference to your customers. After a quick intro into what’s going to be featured, you can choose to watch what interests you most in more detail with a fuller version, at your leisure.
In this episode, the brand spotlight falls on LG. Kate McIntyre takes an in-depth look at their world leading OLED TVs when she visits their Brooklands facility. The unboxing feature spotlights the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo when a number of “geek experts” give you the lowdown on what makes this such a great product. Even they’re surprised by what they find.
In this episode, the brand spotlight falls on LG. Kate McIntyre takes an in-depth look at their world leading OLED TVs. Next up, is the solution focus. Here you can find out why APC’s Eco Struxture is a great proposition for data centre monitoring for your customers.
Finally, there’s a competition - a chance to win a Ring Video Doorbell, one of the best selling Smart Tech security products. Simply subscribe to Plug In TV for the chance to win.
Remember, Plug In TV gives you the opportunity to see what you want when you want to. At the end of the episode, you can take a deep dive into the features that interest you most. What’s more, Plug In TV is unbranded, so you can easily share the link with your customers on social or your web sites. Check it out now. There will be two episodes each quarter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBf5lCKf8vU&list=PLkHXi6qQjILLJ3neEUBNY3DO2v7aeuARK
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Why choose FUJITSU Desktops ESPRIMO Range?
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MORE CLOUDS BRING BRIGHTER OUTLOOK One thing large market research companies agree on is that the market is forecast to continue to see strong growth as cloud adoption increases and more companies of all sizes embrace the technology. Mordor Intelligence estimate the global cloud storage market to reach $170.02 billion by 2025 growing at a CAGR of 25.74 per cent during the forecast period 2020 to 2025. Allied Market Research valued the market at $46.12 billion in 2019 with a projection that it would be worth a huge $222.25 billion by 2027 growing at a CAGR of 21.9 per cent from 2020 to 2027. Either projection presents a significant opportunity and that can only be good news for resellers. The growing demand for low cost data storage, backup and data protection has increased the growth of the market across small, medium and large enterprises across a host of vertical markets such as banking, retail, and the public sector where increased collection of data needs to be securely stored. With many organisations embarking on a digital transformation journey, data is continuing to increase exponentially with more mobile technologies, IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Machine Learning all contributing to amassing large amounts of data. Many organisations have adopted a multicloud, hybrid strategy - the later becoming increasingly popular with more sensitive data or mission critical tasks being kept inhouse. Choosing what’s best for companies may depend on the IT resources available. Certainly, Cloud computing providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Rackspace and Google Cloud have the resources and finances to continue to deliver more robust features, services and security than most organisations, although even these companies are not immune from cyber attacks.
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There are clearly advantages and disadvantages of cloud storage. Cost is often one of the most important factors. Power costs can be reduced and cloud service providers can manage upgrades and troubleshoot any issues which for a small business can be very compelling. Unlike a traditional hard drive where information is stored in a physical unit in one place, data is saved on a server belonging to or managed by a cloud vendor either on a private or public cloud. For some companies, a hybrid approach, using a private cloud offering can be the most suitable solution. Furthermore, accessibility to data can easily be accessed by users with the right credentials, therefore making the solution particularly attractive for remote workers who can access data anytime and anywhere, providing there is an internet connection. Finally, disaster recovery is another area where cloud storage has significant
advantages by providing flexible backup options which can ensure business continuity. Therefore, in the event of a problem, companies have the quick option of accessing and retrieving any lost data. This can help to minimise data losses in disaster situations. However, the cost of back-up and disaster recovery is increasing, simply because of the amount of data that is now kept. Organisations need to prioritise the information essential to run a business smoothly and at the lowest, possible cost. Artificial Intelligence for data management is an innovative new solution. Exertis Enterprise partners with key vendors that leverage cloud infrastructure, reduce overheads, and operating costs, provide stringent data protection whilst avoiding vendor lock in and enabling complete management of un-structured data using the latest autonomous intelligence.
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Our Exertis Enterprise team has storage specialists ready to advise you on the best options to enhance your choice of cloud storage solution.
been using OS Nexus QuantaStor as it’s dedicated SDS platform in the IBM cloud since 2011 with hundreds of deployments across its 23 datacentre’s world wide.
SOME KEY EXAMPLES: Datacore are market leaders in the field of Artificial Intelligence for data management. V-filo provides businesses with autonomous data management where all the important information is stored safely and protected at all times. Datacore has been chosen as a data management tool in the world’s largest enterprises across multiple industries for more than 25 years.
A10 Networks’ advanced load balancers with central management and analytics, provide a unified solution that allows organisations to manage and deliver secure, elastic, cloud-native applications and services centrally across both public and the entire private cloud infrastructure. Businesses benefit from greater visibility and insights per application and better security.
OS Nexus is a unified storage platform that is agnostic to hardware. Using QuantaStore’s grid architecture allows the removal of storage islands and the implementation of next generation hybrid/ private cloud environments. IBM has
VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud. It provides enterprise customers with a transformative wide area network experience, including exceptional application performance over any transport, drastically simplified network management, and streamlined access to Cloud services and platforms.
When you couple the Exertis Enterprise allencompassing Server, Storage, Networking, Software, Security and infrastructure portfolio, which is truly made up of some of the world’s leading technology vendors such as Dell, Intel, AMD, Supermicro, Seagate, WD, Huawei, Fujitsu, VMware, Microsoft, Nivida & APC to name a few, and pair it with the experience and expertise around not only the products/ solutions mentioned but also the CSP/DC market in general, Exertis can truly add value to our partners, whatever the choice or challenge may be. For advice on how to take advantage of cloud storage opportunities or AI management of data, talk to one of our enterprise specialists.
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9 TH GEN INTEL® CORE ™ PROCESSORS
MAKE IT FAST EDIT AND RENDER 4K VIDEOS FAST ON AN ALL-IN-ONE COMPUTER
Intel technologies’ features and benefits depend on system configuration and may require enabled hardware, software or service activation. Performance varies depending on system configuration. No product or component can be absolutely secure. Check with your system manufacturer or retailer or learn more at intel.com. Software and workloads used in performance tests may have been optimized for performance only on Intel microprocessors. Performance tests, such as SYSmark and MobileMark, are measured using specific computer systems, components, software, operations and functions. Any change to any of those factors may cause the results to vary. You should consult other information and performance tests to assist you in fully evaluating your contemplated purchases, including the performance of that product when combined with other products. For more complete information about performance and benchmark results, visit http://www.intel.com/benchmarks. © Intel Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo, and Intel Core are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries.
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EXERTIS ENTERTAINMENT
HOT
PICKS Top 5 Mobility Products
1
2. SAMSUNG GALAXY XCOVER PRO The Galaxy XCover Pro oozes in style and performance, combing both rugged capabilities and premium style, making it the ideal product for remote working.
Top Pick
Part Code: S10281376
1. THINKVISION M14 Ultraportable mobile displayed for on-the-go productivity. Whether you’re presenting to clients or just want to get things done on the road, the ThinkVision M14 helps you make your good work, better.
3. SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB ACTIVE PRO 2 A rugged tablet designed to stand up to realworld challenges and maximize productivity. Devices that are resistant to water, dust and short drops, ensuring you stay connected no matter what your day throws at you. Part Code: S10180855
Top 5 New Products 1
Top Pick 1. LENOVO TAB M10 PLUS 2ND GEN Pick up a Tab M10 FHD Plus (2nd Gen) and you’ll find it hard to put down. Its full metal body cover is seriously smooth, while the screen-to-display ratio is just under 90%. The result is a modern-looking tablet that everyone will want to use. Part Code: ZA5T0225GB
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2. KONFTEL 800 Discover the award-winning hybrid conference phone with intuitive interface. OmniSound® audio technology brings a natural sense of presence to the dialog.
3. APC ECOSTRUXURE Ecostruxure™ IT revolutionises how IT and DC professionals monitor and manage their critical IT infrastructure onpremise, in the cloud, and at the edge.
Part Code: S10269196
Bundles available up to 1500 devices
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For more information on all our Hot Picks, don’t hesitate to get in touch: store.exertis.co.uk Basingstoke 01256 707 070 Harlow 01279 822 822
4. DYNABOOK X30L Extreme mobility requires extreme durability. Weighing in at 1.92 pounds, the 13.3” Portégé X30L was engineered to endure the daily demands of modern business.
5.MOTOROLA G8 POWER Experience the power to be your creative best, with this affordable device. Boasting a 6.4’’ HD display and dual stereo speakers tuned by Dolby, giving you an all access pass to the world of entertainment.
Top 5 Best-Selling Business Products
1
Top Pick 1. LENOVO THINKPAD X1 CARBON N A sleeker and lighter version, the ThinkPad X1 carbon device delivers high performance - while the 18.3 hour battery life enables easy productivity on the fly.
2. ACER CHROMEBOOK 714 Premium looking business laptop with a sleek, aluminum chassis that’ll enhance your urbane and professional aura as you carry this device inbetween meetings.
3. LEXMARK B2338DW Strike the perfect balance of performance and affordability in small-workgroup mono printing with up to 36 page-per-minute Lexmark B2338DW, featuring standard twosided printing, enhanced security and built in Wi-Fi.
Part Code: S10282821
4. FUJITSU DESKTOP ESPRIMO The G558 offers advanced desktop PC functionality in an ultra-compact, spacesaving design that provides the performance to meet your daily office needs.
4. HUAWEI OCEANSTOR DORADO V6 Huawei OceanStor Dorado V6 all-flash enterprise storage systems are designed for mission-critical services. It fully supports intelligent and elastic architecture to build an industryleading intelligent O&M system.
5. DELL POWERSTORE PowerStore is Dell’s next generation storage appliance. It provides an infrastructure that will accelerate digital transformation. Designed for the data era, Intel® based PowerStore supports both traditional and modern workloads, from the edge, to the core, to the cloud.
5. LG 49WL95C An UltraWide 32:9 Dual QHD monitor with a doubled 27-inch 16:9 QHD pixel space in one screen. With 70% more pixels compared to 32:9 FHD resolution, you can go beyond multitasking with a multi-format multiplex.
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APC Edge Computing Enabling Digital Transformation! Edge computing is designed to put applications and data closer to devices — and their users. Meet user expectations by complementing these cloud-based resources — from compute power to storage and applications — in the digital transformation to improve the customer experience, streamline operations, and create new business opportunities. Edge data centres help achieve higher bandwidth, lower latency, regulatory compliance around location, and data privacy.
Where is edge computing used?
Retail
Education
Medical
Manufacturing nufacturing
Speak to an Exertis account manager today!
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SIM ONLY AIRTIME PACKAGE? How to add a SIM only airtime package and enhance your security. Exertis has teamed up with ATP Enable and d Digital Inc to provide a unique offering for our resellers to provide to your customers. Through ATP Enable, B2B resellers have thee opportunity to add airtime to their mobile hardware sales, thereby increasing your revenue and margin. Using ATP Enable’s portal resellers can compare, build and quote on SIM only airtime deals from all the major networks including O2, Three, EEE and Vodafone. “We are pleased to be able to provide this additional service and revenue opportunity for our B2B resellers who can now simply add a SIM Only airtime package to their mobile, laptop and tablet device sales. With h ATP Enable, there’s an easy to use portal that at removes the complexity of finding the best airtime deals as well as showing the margin available,” explained Rik Hubbard, Exertis, commercial and services director for mobile. ATP Enable’s portal has been created so that, even if you’re new to airtime, you can easily find the best deals and create a quote in seconds. ATP also manages all the connection process so you don’t have too. There is a variety of tariff options and these get refreshed regularly. Best of all, there are a variety of substantial commissions on offer that are paid to the reseller. Furthermore, you can help protect your customers with Digital Inc’s unique SIM that provides content filtering, anti-terrorism, crime protection and security compliance features. This ensures that business code of conducts and work policies are adhered to. The filtered content and network security cannot be altered or turned off by the user, with only strict access granted to the administrator. Additionally, Digital Inc’s exclusive filter system runs a check on the content of a web page as opposed to just the URL - guaranteeing optimum security. Ideal for schools as well as businesses, it’s
With ATP Enable, there’s an easy to use portal that removes the complexity of finding the best airtime deals... a comprehensive and secure method of ensuring only appropriate and sanctioned content is accessible when on the Internet, ultimately giving you the reassurance that you are providing a safe and secure environment for online users. This is vital for any organisation as the responsibility of safeguarding the users lies with those who are providing the internet connection. If a criminal act is perpetrated using an organisation’s resources and correct measures haven’t been put in place to comply with regulations, the organisation could be deemed liable with the possibility of heavy sanctions. The SIM offers protection across unified global Wi-Fi and mobile broadbands – supporting existing 3G, 4G and 5G SIMs. This means that only appropriate and sanctioned content is accessible regardless
of what method of internet connectivity is used. With remote management of all device connections, it provides 100 per cent visibility with monthly reports being readily available. Both opportunities are available through Exertis. “With the rising popularity of SIMonly contracts, there’s now more choice of airtime tariffs than ever before. However, sifting through a large number of deals isn’t an easy task. ATP Enable takes the hassle out of finding the right tariff for your customer’s business and the Digital Inc SIM card provides organisations with the ability to control and monitor how data is being accessed and used. These are perfect complementary offerings to our range of refurbished phones that are available as part of our DaaS service, added Hubbard.
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INTRODUCING POWERSTORE
The next generation of storage -
Designed for the data era
Contact your Exertis Account Manager today
Special Pricing on Selected PowerEdge Products ACT FAST WHILE STOCKS LAST*
*subject to availability
Speak to your Account Manager today
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EDUCATION BOOST? Is education technology about to get a boost from COVID-19? There is much discussion amongst the education community and the students as to whether the current pandemic will fundamentally and permanently change the delivery of learning in the future. For some, the move to online learning has been a necessity rather than a choice but it seems likely that online education will become an integral component even when some normality is restored. Many online learning platforms have offered free access to their services. Microsoft announced that all schools in the UK could sign up for Office 365 Education for free including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and significantly for Microsoft Teams. The UK has around 27,000 schools educating around 10 million pupils so the offer is clearly significant. Of course, the shift to a “work and learn from home” scenario has exponentially increased the demand for SaaS solutions that support collaboration and remote workflows. Consequently, video conferencing platforms that enable faceto-face contact have become household names with Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Meet rising in popularity. Zoom has been reported as growing from 10 million users in December 2019 to 200 million users in March 2020, no doubt helped by their 40-minute free time limit restriction being lifted. Over the same period, Microsoft more than doubled their Team daily users from 20 million to 44 million and Google was said to be adding 2 million users per day. Naturally, on-line learning requires a reliable internet connection and a laptop or tablet in order for the student to participate and, so rightly, there is a demand to ensure a level playing field can be achieved. The UK government is committed to making laptops available to
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Video conferencing platforms that enable face-to-face contact have become household names... disadvantaged students. For those that do have access to the right technology, there is evidence that online learning can be even more effective than a traditional classroom environment, increasing retention rates by between 25 and 60 per cent1. Some students clearly benefit from learning at their own pace and going back over something they might not have grasped first time around. Technology had revolutionised teaching and learning prior to COVID-19 in many instances. Indeed, the global edtech investments to learning technology companies reached almost $19 billion globally in 2019 - the highest in the history of the learning technology industry by an extraordinary margin according to Metaari2 with
ResearchandMarkets3 estimating the market expected to reach $350 billion by 2025 due to the introduction of flexible learning technologies in the corporate and education sectors. Technology provides personalised learning, empowering students to take ownership of how they learn with a combination of in-class and on-line education. Today, lectures and seminars no longer have to be confined to the classroom and experts can be brought in remotely to teach subjects where that expertise may not be available at a local level. Virtual Reality and gamification are providing new tools to add to that learning experience.
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However, for some educational establishments the sudden move to on-line learning brought about by the pandemic only highlights the importance of having proper security in place. Even prior to lockdown, a Netwrix survey entitled 2020 Data Risk and Security report4 revealed that educational establishments had weak security controls in place for protecting sensitive data and the move to distance learning will only exacerbate the problem as they become potentially more vulnerable
The educational learning experience has been changing but COVID-19 may well make that happen quicker... to cyberattacks. In the report, one quarter (24 per cent) of them admit granting access rights based solely on user requests, and another 22 per cent said they don’t know how exactly access rights are granted in their organisations — the highest percentage among all industries. To make matters worse, 63 per cent of educational organisations don’t review permissions regularly. Furthermore 52 per cent of IT professionals in the education sector admit that employees put sensitive data at risk by sharing it via cloud apps. The Cyber Security Schools Audit 2019 report from the London Grid for Learning5 maintained that four in five (83 per cent) of schools have reportedly experienced at least one cybersecurity incident and emphasised the need for cybersecurity training. Clearly the shift to remote learning opens the door to further attacks with IT departments having less control and some schools lack the resources to build strong cybersecurity protection. Social engineering remains one of the most common forms of attack with phishing and ransomware common methods. Strong passwords, anti-malware software, patching, VPNs and two factor authentication can help to deter cyberattacks but basic cyber security training also needs to be in place. See our
article on security for homeworkers on page 12 in this issue. The channel has a key part to play in helping educational establishments to know what technology is available to help them stay ahead and adapt to the changes that may well become the long term norm. Providing, deploying and monitoring the
right solutions is how resellers can support their educational customers along with ensuring training is provided to optimise the use of the equipment. In turn, resellers need a one stop shop for the products and solutions and the opportunity to take advantage of additional technical support
and services that can help them win and retain a customer. Exertis is your ideal partner to do just that. We work with key vendors such as Intel, Fujitsu, Acer, Dynabook, Dell, Lenovo and Cherry that have specific programmes aimed at this market. In addition, our Interactive and Collaboration Solutions team are certified Microsoft Teams Room technical trainers and the vendor’s UK distributor of choice for MTR. In addition, our security team can also help to provide better protection for educational establishments. The educational learning experience has been changing but COVID-19 may well make that happen quicker and deeper. That, in turn, presents opportunities for our resellers.
1 SH!FT 2 https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/2019global-edtech-investments-reach-a-staggering-18-66-billion-1028800669 3 https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/12/17/1961785/0/en/Online-Education-MarketStudy-2019-World-Market-Projected-to-Reach-350-Billionby-2025-Dominated-by-the-United-States-and-China.html 4 https://www.netwrix.com/2020datariskandsecurityreport. html 5 https://www.lgfl.net/cybercloud/securityaudit
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Designed for performance Dell UltraSharp 24 Monitor | P2419H H
Optimise your workspace with this efďŹ cient 23.8â€? monitor built with an n ultra-thin bezel design, a small footprint and comfort-enhancing features. res.
Speak to your Exertis account manager today ager toda ay for more details
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EVENTS ARE BECOMING A VIRTUAL REALITY Whilst we have been using webinars and podcasts as marketing tools for some time, even some of the largest conferences have been forced to go digital. Whilst we have been using webinars and podcasts as marketing tools for some time, even some of the largest conferences have been forced to go digital. With cancellations of major exhibitions also happening due to the current coronavirus pandemic, we should expect to see more virtual events on the calendar. Simply put, a virtual event takes place online rather than in a physical location. Looking ahead, we may see this trend becoming almost the norm as companies realise that reduced costs, a better carbon footprint and potentially accessibility to a wider audience are benefits worth taking advantage of in the future. With the technology available today, virtual can be as equally effective as in-person events with considerably lower costs on venues, builds, transport, catering etc. However, to be successful, they still require the same level of planning and marketing. Before we take a look at the more ambitious type of digital events, it’s perhaps worth reminding ourselves about the value of good old-fashioned webinars
Virtual events can be as equally effective as in-person events with considerably lower costs and podcasts. As the name suggests, webinars are the online version of the classic seminar and have become more sophisticated over time as the technology has improved and interaction with the speakers and the content is now possible.
Webinars can be run in different formats to achieve different objectives; an educational how-to, workshop or panel discussion. Whilst online, they can take place in real time and it’s not just the audio and video feature that makes webinars such a great communication tool, it’s the ability to establish a relationship with your audience through interaction. Today, webinar platforms provide chat facilities, screen sharing, whiteboard, polls and surveys and Q&A sessions. Interaction not only makes for a more interesting session than a oneway dialogue, it can also help to establish whether the audience has understood the message, valued the content and questions can be handled on the spot for everyone’s benefit. By recording the webinar, it can also still be available to some individuals unable to attend the live session. Of course, there
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is also one other important benefit that can be gained. Marketing for the webinar should always include the option, or better still the requirement, to register for the event. This means you are able to capture some basic personally identifiable information that you can use in the future by following the correct data collection requirements, as well as tracking to see if the webinar attracted new business or new customers. Whilst podcasts are audio only, offering no audience participation (although it’s possible to live stream your recording and give your audience the chance to engage with you and others on a live chat feed), they have the advantage that you don’t need to be in front of a screen and you can download and listen at any time to suit your schedule. Podcasts are ideal for people who don’t have the flexibility to be available at a specific time to attend a live webinar and the content can easily be repeated by the listener, if something is not clear straight away. Podcasts are usually recorded as an interview or as a speech and can be delivered by an industry expert or even a celebrity as part of a sponsorship programme. They are also easier to create and update than a webinar. For many people, a virtual conference or exhibition will never fully replace an onsite one but at the present time they are the only option. Companies are being forced into holding their annual kickoffs on-line and exhibition organisers are having to rethink their strategy or risk going out of business. There are no short cuts to hosting a virtual event in terms of planning. It still requires you to set out your objectives, strategy and tactics to ensure your attendees go away with some key messages or find new business opportunities. Indeed, there are a number of considerations for going online with your conference from technical set-up to agenda and speakers. Firstly, it’s always good to check that you aren’t competing with any other planned events before you start any marketing. Formulating your agenda and creating engaging content that is well delivered is vital. Similar to a physical event, choosing the right speakers can make a
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For many people, a virtual conference or exhibition will never fully replace an onsite one but at the present time they are the only option. big difference to your attendance and engagement. In some cases, you may be able to attract better speakers from further afield who would be prepared to pre-record a session instead of having to travel to a venue. Keynote speakers are well rehearsed in delivering live content but sometimes the best subject matter experts aren’t the best at speaking, so the opportunity to pre-record a video could work well in this instance. With an online event, you can easily mix live speakers
together with pre-recorded presentations. Thanks to the platforms available today, streaming video as part of a live event is much easier and less risky. It’s perfectly possible to replicate online what would have happened at a physical event in terms of keynote presentations, breakout sessions and even to some degree networking. Usually, conferences and kick-offs run over a couple of days but online you may want to space out the time over a longer period into more bite-size chunks. Expecting
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important. Tools like Slido can be very useful in collecting audience questions whilst watching a live stream. Attendees can vote for the questions they like most and the speakers can then answer these in real time. Live polls can also be used to rate the presentations or sessions and these can be shared with the audience, providing a great way to discover what topics resonate with your audience. By outlining to your participants at the outset how they can interact by using the tools available will help to create and sustain more interest. Naturally, you will still need to promote and market your event in the usual way and you can still register and capture your audience. Virtual events may not completely replace physical events when normality returns but they offer real benefits in saving costs, attracting a wider geographic audience and providing a viable alternative. Indeed, at Exertis, whilst we can’t offer our highly successful Plug In exhibition and seminar events at this time, we are pleased to offer our customers a virtual experience instead focused on our enterprise business.
to maintain your audience attention for more than 2 to 3 hours at a time on-line is going to be difficult to achieve. However, investing in a good moderator can really help here in keeping the agenda moving and encouraging audience participation. One of the criticisms levelled at virtual events is that you can’t manage the same networking and face-to-face interaction but using some of the online tools now available can certainly enhance the online experience. Naturally, the same degree of preparation for rehearsals and ensuring that the content reflects the key messaging is required. Once you have the content, you need to ensure that you have the right technology to bring it online. There are far more costeffective conferencing platforms available today to choose from and selecting one depends on your specific needs and what
Check that you aren’t competing with any other planned events before you start any marketing. features you need but examples include Zoom, GoToMeeting, Skype, Adobe Connect and Webex. As mentioned above, interaction is key and the majority of platforms offer a chat facility. Responding to chat is important so that attendees feel valued and it can keep the conversation going. Including a Q&A session is also
Our Exertis “Stay Home, Stay Connected” roadshow, covering brands from our enterprise vendors across Exertis and Exertis Hammer, is scheduled for launch on July 15th providing you with the opportunity to discover the latest innovations in cyber security, data storage and home networking solutions. It will feature a mix of webinar sessions and the opportunity for you to visit each of our vendors in their own exhibition area where there will be lots of resources available including videos, whitepapers and data sheets. Each booth also contains a live chat feature to enable you to take part in that all important “networking” element of an event and actually speak to a representative from that brand, with any questions or further information you may require. Brands including Dell, APC, AMD, OS Nexus, Microsoft, Intel and Toshiba, amongst many others, will all be showcasing their latest enterprise technology innovations. Visit our Exertis Enterprise Virtual event here https://exertisenterprise.onlineevents.co.uk/
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Better safe than sorry Help keep your company’s data safe with genuine Microsoft software. The most comprehensive security for your business Windows 10 is the most secure Windows that Microsoft has ever built, offering a multi-layered approach to protecting your company from modern-day security threats. Windows 10 security features provide peace of mind by encrypting data, preventing accidental information leaks by employees, and helping keep everything on lockdown if a device is lost or stolen. It’s a thoroughly comprehensive approach to helping protect your business information, customer data, employee identities and, ultimately, your reputation.
Windows 10 security features
Device Protection
Identity Protection
Info Protection
UEFI Secure Boot
Windows Hello**
Windows Info Protection
Windows Trusted Boot
Credential Guard
BitLocker + BitLocker To Go***
Breach Detection Investigation & Response
Threat Resistance
Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection
Device Guard
Conditional Access
Microsoft Edge Smart Screen Windows Defender
How to avoid security threats from pirated software Ȼ Acquire your PCs and software from trusted sources Ȼ Beware of unlicensed or pirated software Ȼ Install trusted security solutions Ȼ Constantly monitor employee-installed software Ȼ Pay attention to timely security updates Ȼ Back up data files real-time Ȼ Don’t pay ransomware
The business cost of malware associated with unlicensed software
What’s the cause?
$10,000 + per infected computer*
Infection rate by pirated source
(in USD)
61% 1%
Chance of infections from pirated software from all sources?
Software are Preinstalled lled on PCs from Suspect ect Sources
28%
Loss of data, files, or company information Time and cost to disinfect System outages or downtime
59%
41%
CD/DVDbased Software Trojans
36%
Web or P2P Downloaded Trojans/ Dangerous Adware
angerous adware, keystroke loggers, Malware may include dangerous password and credential stealers, backdoors for hackers, and ote control of a PC. software that enables remote
That’s close to one in three unlicensed or pirated copies of software causing a malware infection!
Companies’ biggest fears from infectious pirated software (n=202)
20%
Malware can be transmitted by the sites from ed software is sourced through which the pirated downloads.
Three ways malware invades
1
35%
Software from suspect sources
33% 3% Ȼ auction on site line supplier Ȼ online
of organization PCs were obtained from suspect sources: Ȼ consultants Ȼ PC assemblers
Loss of IP or proprietary information 28% Unauthorized access to data 27% Ransomware 23%
2
Impact on organization reputation 17%
3
Employees bring g own software to work Bringing software to work can result in a increase in infected software on organization PCs.
19%
Inattention nattention to security updates Reasons for inattention to security updates range from ffear of being caught with pirated software, to lack of processes proc and controls. More than 66% of breaches take place after updates upda are available, but have not been applied.
Source: Cause and Costs of Security Threats From Pirated Software in Europe 2017. IIssued by IDC, September 2017. Global Software Survey, June 2018. *Software Management: Security Imperative, Business Opportunity. BSA Gl ***Requires TPM 1.2 or greater gre for TPM-based key protection. **Windows Hello with biometrics specialized hardware, a fingerprint reader, illuminated IR sensor, or other biometric sensor is rrequired. Hardware-based protection of the Windows Hello credential/keys requires TPM 1.2 or greater. If no TPM exists or is configured, credentials/k credentials/keys protection will be software-based.
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TACKLING CHANGE WITH TECHNOLOGY Many technology companies have seized on the opportunity to provide products that can help in the battle against COVID-19. Already, we have seen concerns from the public about touch screen technology being deployed in public places such as self service check-outs, in health centres and transport ticketing kiosks. Consumers are being encouraged to go contactless where possible for payments and so it’s hardly surprising that there is a strong feeling that touchless interfaces are more hygienic and offer better protection. Interactive digital signage may need a rethink with gesture control technology powered by hand tracking and mid-air haptics seemingly not yet accurate enough as a genuine solution. Certainly, people will need to become accustomed to temperature checks if
they want to travel or visit high traffic areas such as shopping centres, events or medical centres and perhaps even to their place of work. Thermal cameras are already being introduced to detect people with higher than average temperatures and, in some cases, these also include facial recognition capabilities to make it easier to identify someone who might trigger an alert. Of course, that also has security and privacy implications which will need to be considered. There are a number of brands that have introduced such products using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to power the solutions. This presents a real opportunity across a wide
Thermal cameras are already being introduced to detect people with higher than average temperatures range of verticals but resellers will need to ensure they partner with a trusted brand. D-Link has launched its new AI powered DCS-9500T kit – a body temperature measuring system with a dual vision thermal camera. It can conduct up to 30 temperature checks at the same time within 30 metres with advanced thermal imaging technology making it ideal for large public spaces such as airports, hospitals, schools, offices and shopping centres. The DCS9500T automatically scans the vicinity and combines thermal imaging technology with AI to trigger an alert when it detects someone with a fever. The all-in-one,
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intelligent fever screening kit comes with a dual-lens thermographic camera, blackbody calibrator and management software. Together with the Full HD optical imaging sensor, D-Link says the camera can create high-quality footage that overlays both thermal and optical images into one. Hikvision’s Deep Learning technologies integrate into security and access control systems to manage potentially high-risk scenarios with functionalities that are modular, scalable and particularly pertinent in today’s world, notably in the form of:
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skin-surface temperature. Ideal for small premises, the features include real time alert and voice prompt from the camera when an individual is not wearing a mask, plus it has fast deployment and is cost effective, with only one camera required.
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Temperature screening designed for the detection of skin-surface temperatures so as to achieve rapid and safe preliminary screening in public areas with high efficiency in a multitude of scenarios, where the AI technology ensures thermographic cameras only detect human skinsurface temperature to reduce false alarms of other heat sources.
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Mask detection detects if an individual entering your premises is wearing a mask or not - with advanced solutions available to also detect and display
Technology has a habit of solving problems and it’s great to see some opportunities emerging to tackle some real-life issues.
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Density control of people to ensure crowds are safe and socially distanced. In order to enable social distancing, it’s imperative that buildings and facilities limit the number of people allowed inside. Many supermarkets, for instance, have a current maximum of 100 people allowed in at a time. Hikvision’s Density Control Solution automatically provides clear signage and ways to avoid overcrowding with real time alert and voice prompt from the camera when the threshold is reached.
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Thermal sensing facial recognition terminals are touch-free temperature screening devices designed to give people an easier way to enter a building, record attendance and simultaneously check temperature without having to touch a terminal or gate, using facial recognition and thermographic technologies. The touch-free nature of the terminals make access easier and safer - suitable for long-term temperature screening with access control for any scenarios with a high footfall of people. They can also be configured to allow for people to ‘self-check’ their temperature.
Technology has a habit of solving problems and it’s great to see some opportunities emerging to tackle some real-life issues. For further information on these solutions, talk to your Exertis account manager.
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CALL OUR TEAM AT: BASINGSTOKE 01256 707 070 | BURNLEY 01282 776 776
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ENTERPRISING NEWS FROM EXERTIS Rebrand the Exertis Hammer division “Stay Home, Stay Connected” will showcase the latest innovations in cybersecurity, data storage and home working solutions. Since combining the enterprise team at Exertis in Basingstoke with Exertis Hammer, the company’s enterprise division has gone from strength to strength under the leadership of managing director, James Ward, and the UK enterprise management team. At the same time, Exertis Hammer has been continuing to increase its European presence with offices now in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden (serving the Nordics), the Netherlands and Spain (serving Iberia), providing a true European enterprise operation. Having consolidated the businesses over a period of time, it’s now time to rebrand the division as Exertis Enterprise says James Ward. “We are so proud of Hammer’s history and its huge success which we’re honoured to have achieved. We’re equally proud to say that Hammer’s ethos and value-add approach, which have remained unchanged for nearly 30 years, provide a solid framework for Exertis Enterprise, which we will not deviate from. We hope that this is reassuring to customers and reiterate that our enterprise focus, and our flexible, innovative and consultative nature remain unchanged.”
James has a highly experienced team in the UK, bringing together our enterprise story across server, storage, networking, security and cloud. As Exertis Enterprise’s Sales Director, Paul Matravers has responsibility for the entire Exertis Enterprise portfolio, in addition to maintaining his sales responsibilities for the existing Exertis Enterprise, European operations. Matravers has been at Exertis Hammer for more than 20 years in both sales and commercial director roles. Tom Cox is Exertis Enterprise’s Commercial Director with responsibility for the data centre and SDS portfolio. He has been with Exertis Hammer for 15 years and Nick Powling was recently promoted to the role of Exertis Enterprise Commercial Director focused on components and networking. Powling has worked at Exertis Hammer for over 16 years, previously as components, general manager. Finally, Jason Hill heads up our European wireless and security team.
Home, Stay Connected” will showcase the latest innovations in cybersecurity, data storage and home working solutions. The virtual roadshow will offer the ‘live event’ experience, all from the comfort of customers’ own homes. Headlining vendors, Huawei, Dell, AMD and APC will be hosting dedicated sessions, supported by exhibiting vendors that include Microsoft, Overland Tandberg, Tripp Lite, Toshiba, Intel, Supermicro, Kioxia, Western Digital and OS Nexus. Each will feature business insights, key product and solution information, and the chance for customers to chat directly with key representatives.
To kick-off the Exertis Enterprise brand, the division will be running a virtual event on 15th July which will be live for 30 days enabling customers to still have access to key brands and market updates. “Stay
The event can be accessed here: https:// exertisenterprise.online-events.co.uk.
“Our aim is to provide all the benefits of a real life event via our virtual portal, and we have included as many interactive features as possible. There is also a prize draw on offer, so we look forward to welcoming customers, both new and existing,” commented James Ward.
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