IT Reseller June 2012

The magazine for resellers, distributors, system integrators and OEMs JUNE 2012

Cloud computing special report: High-end view ADC/POS: Pushing the mobility envelope

Print: Optimising labelling processes

Document/storage management: Storehouse of channel benefits

Network technology: You want one how big?

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IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

Big opportunity s anyone interested in keeping up with current IT blogging sites will testify one of the keen discussion points at the moment is big data. Often the debates can become a little abstruse but, paring it down to as clear a definition as we are likely to find, Gartner describes the term big data as being all about extreme information management and processing issues that can exceed the capability of traditional information technology. And according to IBM we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day; so much that 90 per cent of the data in the world today has been created in the past two years alone. The large and disparate volumes of data in question could be anything from social networks, Internet data, purchase transactions, mobile phone GPS signals, video content and a host of other forms of data that can potentially prove highly valuable to an organisation if efficiently utilised.

IDC has said that big data is ramping up to be a big business opportunity, with the analysts estimating that companies will spend US$120 billion on data analytics software between now and 2015. Yet, in the view of some industry commentators, including Andy Richardson, CEO of IT services company Influential Software, the majority of services and solutions currently on offer that enable companies to take advantage of the data within their businesses are resolutely aimed at the enterprise level.

As an example, Richardson points out that IBM alone has spent $14 billion putting together an armoury of big data products and services, while SAP announced major developments to its platform earlier this month. Richardson adds that one of the downsides to many of the big data solutions that some of the larger providers have assembled is that they are currently too pricey or complex to be relevant to SMEs’ needs.

Consequently, resellers and

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systems integrators anxious to get a slice of the big data business for themselves are faced with an unenviable choice. Either they go head-to-head with vendors for enterprise-level business, or attempt to convince the IT director of a 300-person operation that they need a software system specified for use in a business ten times their size.

So what are some possible solutions? In Richardson’s view, the first is to create new offerings. “If there isn’t a solution relevant to your customers’ needs currently on the market, why not create one?” he said. “After all, channel providers represent a wealth of knowledge and insight into the IT needs of the businesses who account for the vast majority of global economic activity.”

Secondly, Richardson maintains that a key area where SMEs look to channel providers to add value in the IT procurement process lies in helping them select the right vendor.

“As industry insiders, channel providers are well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of big data solutions offered by the major vendors,” he commented, “and this expertise could in itself represent a source of new business.”

Thirdly, there is big data as a service.

“Whereas many companies will require a fully-fledged big data solution hosted on their premises and available at all times, many more SMEs’ needs will be more modest,” said Richardson. He believes that, for those businesses that stand to benefit from running sophisticated analytics on their data, but would only need to access these services every month or once a quarter, an off-premises solution makes better sense. And he adds that this is yet another way for channel providers to get in on the game by offering customers ‘big data as a service’. Here customers would access big data analytics platforms hosted on a channel provider’s own servers on a ‘pay as you go’ basis. As Richardson says, by acting as the key people between user and vendor, channel providers have an integral role to play in taking big data from being a buzzword to behemoth.

Ed Holden Editor »

JUNE 2012 – IT RESELLER

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JUNE 2012 —

Editor: Ed Holden

CONTENTS

Contributor: Ed Bateman, Avnet Technology Solutions Paul Norgate, Eaton Power Quality

Publisher: David Lee Art Direction: Ian Curtis - First Sight Graphics Production: Christine Pateman Circulation: Sarah Schofield IT Manager: Peter West Accounts: Carolyn Pither Published by: Calvert Media Ltd, Latimer House 189 High Street, Potters Bar Herts EN6 5DA UK Tel: +44 (0) 1707 664200 Fax: +44 (0) 1707 664800 Email (publishing): info@itrportal.com Email (editorial): editor@itrportal.com Printed in the UK by: The Magazine Printing Company plc www.magprint.co.uk No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. No liability is accepted for any action arising from the contents of this publication; readers are advised to check any manufacturer’s or supplier’s claims for products. The publisher does not endorse opinions expressed in any article by an outside contributor. While every care is taken over photographs and illustrations, which are returned when requested,no liability can be assumes by the publisher for the loss of such material

6 Special Cloud Computing Report

12 Automatic Data Capture/Point of Sale ScanSource Europe – Building on a proven formula Motorola Solutions ships 5,555,555th LS2208 handheld barcode scanner American Golf improves in-store efficiency with help from Esteem Managed Services Varlink – Relationship building Vendors and the channel gather for BlueStar's Copenhagen Technology Summit eCommera launches Mobile App Service for brands and retailers POSitive Technology helps Pictures Plus create keen customers with new loyalty rewards programme Sysdev - Pushing the mobility envelope Maxatec releases Bluebird ʻPidionʼ mobile device with Android OS Sigma Touch announces Opticon partnership Avnet – Opportunities in enterprise mobility Mint Velvet selects Vodat International to support future growth plans Handheld - Taking a walk along the bottom line Socket Mobile – Adapting to change

34 Printing & Labelling Alatoni optimises labelling processes with the A-Class print engine from Datamax-OʼNeil Zebra Technologies unveils new printer series Saudi Bank, Al Bilad, selects Evolis card printers to personalise its payment cards

38 Document Management – Data Storage

Livedrive – Storehouse of channel benefits G2S Toolshop selects Asigra Cloud Backup Kodak Scanmate i940 powers up productivity with robust scanning to the Cloud

43 Networking – Security – UPS Eaton Power Quality - You want one how big?

Flame malware – like Stuxnet and Duqu before it Dataguise launches data privacy protection analytics solution for Hadoop

48 Comms ISSN: 1369 - 88

Hipcom – Good call 4

IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

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Cloud Computing

Special report

High-end view Cloud computing is a concept that continues to evolve and demand an ever increasing level of attention both from the B2B and consumer world. IT Reseller looks at a number of current Cloud computing discussion points and findings within the system vendor, hosted services, consultancy, legal and channel worlds.

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loud computing continues to dominate the more technical or IT-oriented pages of the press and the world of social media. So what’s all the fuss about. A good place to start is the ongoing debate in IT circles about the benefits or otherwise of Cloud computing versus the traditional standard local server approach.

According to WMS developer MACS Software, software vendors will naturally tend to extol the virtues of their own products, and this can lead to an unbalanced comparison being made resulting in an inappropriate choice.

Therefore, MACS Software believes it is important for users not to lose sight of what they actually want their new system to achieve. MACS Software’s managing director, Tony Liddar, considers that rather than getting bogged down with the science and technicalities of a prospective new system it is better for users to look at the practicalities of how the system would work in the business on a day-to-day basis and ask the following simple questions: •

Am I in control of my own destiny (data/system)? If my vendor goes bust, can I demand the return of my data?

Servers can always fail, but what is my backup operating procedure and am I

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IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

•

• •

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comfortable with that?

What happens if the Internet fails? How would I have coped with the UK-wide BT broadband problem at the end of 2011?

What happens if there is a fire at the software hosting company?

What are the costs involved? Not just the software payments (because paying monthly is no different to spreading costs using finance) but the infrastructure costs associated with my chosen method of working.

Can I easily change the number of licences I need, short or longer term?

Do I need remote access to the IT system?

Liddar added that what suits one company might be inappropriate or unnecessary for another. “The answer to these questions will be different for every individual business,” he said, “so it’s important to look at every case carefully before making a decision.”

managed services as a more affordable option. In excess of 100 IT industry representatives were surveyed regarding their willingness to embrace Cloud computing. Over one-third of the respondents stated that ‘affordability’ was a key driver when looking to move from onpremise to managed services.

Cost was also referenced when it came to the demands of end users considering a migration to the Cloud. The potentially substantial cost savings that can be realised by such a move was ranked second highest in a list of various demands. The results also suggest that while firms are starting to gain a better understanding of Cloud computing, there still exists a level of uncertainty when it comes to the actual adoption. Over 50 per cent of respondents highlighted issues such as a lack of understanding, as well as security and complexity concerns as reasons for not migrating. Other results from the survey include:

Financials Uncertainty around the current economic climate is one factor that is spurring an increasing number of companies to look at alternatives to on-site IT infrastructures and resources. According to a recent survey conducted by hosted services provider Rise, one-in-three organisations citing

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Almost two-thirds of participants are looking to migrate to the Cloud within the next two years.

Some 63 per cent of participants identified cost and maintenance as the biggest challenge when it comes to managing existing IT systems.

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Special report

•

Over 50 per cent of interviewees stated loss of control and security and storage as barriers to Cloud entry.

According to Steve Holford, director at Rise, the results suggest that while uncertainty still exists around Cloud uptake, the cost benefits are forcing organisations to take a more serious look at managed services.

“The uncertainty hovering over the financial markets has acted as a bit of a wake-up call, forcing people to actively go out and see where savings can be made, and Cloud is most certainly one of those areas,” he said. “The financial commitment that goes with maintaining an in-house IT infrastructure is huge, and Cloud computing represents an opportunity to do away with expensive upgrades and maintenance costs.”

Holford added that the low cost adoption of Cloud can potentially lead to enormous cost savings for a business, and in the current climate he believes these cannot be ignored. “Instead of buying additional servers and storage devices that are used only a fraction of the time, employees can have access to Cloud applications and only pay for the amount of time actually used,” he pointed out. “Also, by outsourcing your IT needs you’ll be able to realign and focus on core business activities. We appreciate that a lot uncertainty still exists, and that us why a hybrid Cloud model offering the benefits of a hosted service while keeping sensitive data on site might also be an attractive option.”

Fitting innovations together Current trends such as Cloud, mobility, analytics, Big Data and Social may all be separate innovations, however Sven Denecken, SAP’s vice president strategy

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Cloud/On-Demand Solutions, sees all these trends as fitting together and being highly complementary. “And the Cloud for us is the perfect time to bring these innovations and technologies together,” he said. Why? According to Denecken, this is primarily because all this innovation in the Cloud sits on the shoulders of the vendors. “When SAP provides services to customers these innovations are already baked in,” he remarked. “So within the Cloud, we’re designing the Socials mobile first, and are bringing in Analytics in context. People who

Cloud Computing users’ existing on-premise investments,” he said. “Users should also be able to adopt these solutions at their own pace, taking into consideration where pure Cloud or hybrid fits best within their organisation.”

Eco-system flexibility In terms of specific channel partner opportunities going forward, Denecken points out that SAP is heavily investing in Java-based Platform as a Service (PaaS) offerings, which enable SAP’s eco-system partners to configure existing solutions

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Cloud computing is not going to be suitable for every circumstance and potential customers would be well advised to undertake a detailed risk analysis before committing new applications to the Cloud.” – Conor Ward, Cloud Industry Legal Forum.

run business processes want Analytics not as a tool or an after-thought; they want it within the context of their own business or own job role. And for their business processes they also want to leverage InMemory computing tools – such as SAP's HANA – either in the Cloud or on premise.

Either way, users want to leverage that technology to also build and use the solutions differently.”

As an example, Denecken said that sales personnel today want a system of engagement that increases their flexibility and profitability. “Therefore sales people need to connect quickly with the best people in their company and to the best partners,” he said. “And they need to get the information from every system pushed to them on their mobile device. They also need that information within the context of their accounts, their region and their industry.

And users want this data in real time and within their own business context. So, knowing how business processes run and how end users work, SAP is designing Cloud solutions that are very people-centric.” Denecken added that Cloud solutions should also be designed with the flexibility to embrace the hybrid (Cloud/onpremise) model. “This is so Cloud solutions can be connected with

(concerning mobility, analytics, Big Data and Social, in-memory etc.), leverage the openness of the integration and also develop their own solutions for their end customers on top of this platform.

Microsoft is another vendor company that fully embraces the Cloud model, while recognising the importance of flexibility in Cloud/on-premise integration, and the rich system integration opportunities available to its channel partners. Dr Michael Newberry, HPC product manager at Microsoft, commented that since the company made the statement that it was making the transition into the Cloud a few years ago the Cloud has become the design goal for all its products while also facilitating easy integration with other types of system. If you look at Microsoft Office, for example, which remains a very successful on-premise product, it now has its Cloud analogue – Office 365,” he said. “For end users, it’s sometimes a question of either Cloud or not, but in most cases the focus is on integration. If a company has an existing onpremise infrastructure it can easily integrate this with the Cloud solutions built on our Azure platform to provide a fully linked, seamless experience.”

Strong SME uptake While many larger global organisations are feeling more and more confident as to the

IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

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Cloud Computing business benefits of Cloud deployment, the SME space is also becoming increasingly convinced. Figures published recently by the UK Cloud Magnet point towards a 68 per cent growth in the UK SME market, amid the greatest economic downturn of the decade. The analysis of over 100 established SMEs that have all virtualised with VMware looked at growth over the last financial year 2011-2012 following the adaption of Cloud based virtualisation technology. Alex Parker, Cloud computing blogger and CTO of Cloud computing and Infrastructure as a Service provider,

Special report

Applications are more scalable, more secure and more reliable as you don’t need a copy of an app for every department using it, just one app which is flexible enough for everyone to customise for their own specific needs.”

The results from the UK Cloud Magnet study indicate that by utilising Cloud computing, businesses can instantly provision applications whenever they need them as the end user directly controls the resources they require, making the firm more agile and flexible. This allows companies striving to

“

If you process data in the UK, store it on servers in the US, send it via France, managed by support staff in India; whose laws would you obey? Things can get messy very quickly and UK companies could easily end up in breach of UK data protection laws.”

– Andrew Lockwood, Daisy Group.

Commensus, commented: “In our increasingly globalised world, small businesses need an effective communications network to span the geographically dispersed parts of the business. But the business applications required to achieve this are an expensive proposition in our current economic climate.”

Parker continued: “With Cloud computing, instead of running desktops, applications, Microsoft Exchange or a PBX voice system on physical in-house servers, they are hosted on centralised virtual servers in a data centre. This whole process is instantaneous to setup and effortless to use; you just login, customise and begin.

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IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

adapt to the pace and dynamism of business today to deploy highly resilient virtual machines for their staff, dawning a new era of flexibility. This agility and flexibility also points towards increased profits with 68 per cent of firms seeing a positive uplift.

Security The study also looks at security and highlights that many IT executives still raised concerns about the security of their data in the Cloud. However, comments UK Cloud Magnet, the reality is that this is a transitional phase “where laggards are yet to grasp the technology”. UK Cloud Magnet adds that since all data and applications are centralised in a data centre, it is vastly easier to enable and enforce processes and procedures to ensure security, privacy and other best practices. No data is stored on a device, so you never have to worry about proprietary data falling into the wrong hands if the device itself is lost, stolen or breaks. This is especially significant with potentially gigabytes of sensitive corporate data sitting on the desk of every member of staff.

“Many executives are still hesitant to take the step,” said Parker. “Their view is that they would no longer be able to ‘touch and feel’ the systems which drive their business.

Data centres have been on the scene for three decades or more: Cloud computing is simply a logical progression of that service.

There has been little evidence of companies experiencing problems with access to data and with comprehensive service level agreements that specify virtually continuous availability, any remaining concerns should be set aside.”

Duncan Binnie, marketing manager for Cloud storage provider Livedrive, reflects that when Cloud storage was brand new a lot of people were concerned about the level of security. “But I think security isn’t such a big issue any more because of things such as the current levels of encryption and the multiple redundancies,” he said. “It’s now much more of a tried and tested way of storing data securely and efficiently.”

From a voice services perspective, Paul Aabryn, strategy director of next-generation voice services provider, Hipcom, comments that security has to be a paramount focus.

“Security is the beating heart of what we do,” he said. “We spend a lot of time talking to our customers about the Public Cloud, the Private Cloud and the hybrid Cloud so they fully understand the impact of using these types of services. We run multiple levels of security; application, network, service type etc. But really it’s about making sure that the applications you deploy from the Cloud over your device – whether it’s a Bring You Own Device or a typical business device – have security parameters that really hold up.” Aabryn recognises that there is still an element of the ‘Wild West’ with regard to some players in the market, which can impact on the level of security available to users. “True Cloud infrastructure needs to be built from the ground up to support the environment it’s being deployed across,” he said. “And security is an intrinsic part of this process.”

SaaS adoption In terms of Software as a Service (SaaS) adoption, new research from Pierre Audoin

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Special report

Consultants (PAC) has found that UK SMEs are rapidly adopting SaaS, although the supplier community is struggling to keep pace. SMEs spent almost £1.6 billion on business application software and SaaS in 2011, according to the report. Despite an unclear business outlook, SMEs (companies with less than 2000 employees) will continue to invest in business applications and SaaS, with key areas of investment including CRM, analytics, mobility, and industry-specific software. PAC expects the SME market for business application and SaaS to grow to over £2.1 billion by 2015, which is a faster rate than in the large enterprise segment.

in the UK SME Sector – Identifying Hot-Spots and Mapping the Vendor Landscape', is the latest in a new UK local research programme.

The report analyses the positioning of key application vendors in the SME space in the UK, and provides an overview of how various application vendors are directing their strategies to tackle the move towards SaaS. The report also includes data on the current and future scale of application software and SaaS spending in the SME market, as well as a detailed breakdown of the supplier landscape by company size.

Fast-growing start-ups, enterprises expanding overseas, and subsidiaries of international companies expanding into the UK, will present the strongest opportunities for business applications and SaaS suppliers. However, there are big Infrastructure as a Service differences in terms of customer needs and Since Cloud started stealing headlines some level of IT complexities within the SME five years ago, its role within SMEs has marketplace. PAC has divided the market changed dramatically, according to Cloud into five different categories to assess their hosting provider Pulsant. No longer seen as specific IT requirements and position the purely a capacity/cost balancing tool, suppliers that address them. George Pulsant believes that ‘Infrastructure as a Mironescu, senior consultant at PAC Service’ (IaaS) is fast emerging as the most commented: "There are significant flexible storage option for handling the differences in the positioning of vendors by complex data applications that are essential company size. Although Sage is the undisputed giant of the UK SME People who run business processes want market, it is not as strong in the Upper Analytics not as a tool or an after-thought; they Mid-Market and faces tough want it within the context of their own business competition from the likes of IRIS Software in the SOHO segment.” own job role.”

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The SME market is entering into a major phase of transformation as buyers are increasingly attracted to Cloud-based services which enable them to access enterprise-class functionality on affordable and flexible commercial terms. PAC expects the SaaS market in the UK will more than double its size by 2015 to well over £500 million. However, SaaS is a work in progress for many ISVs, with established players wary of cannibalising existing revenue streams.

Of the top 20 application vendors servicing the UK SME sector, PAC rates only Salesforce.com and Fidessa as currently having a mature SaaS proposition.

PAC's report 'Business Applications & SaaS

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Cloud Computing

examine Cloud storage to help them cope with increased data footprints as information management, analytics and remote and mobile working become vital to their performance. Mark Howling, CEO of Pulsant, said that private and public Cloud is now a major strategy for any CIO aiming to help his or her organisation to deliver high-quality services to internal audiences and customers, over a variety of channels, while operating efficient data flows. “Both types of Cloud use virtualisation software to create ‘virtual server’ environments - on infrastructure either owned and shared across a single organisation (private Cloud) or rented and shared across many different businesses (public cloud),” he pointed out.

“Offering elastic provisioning and optimised data performance, Cloud reduces the volume, power and costs associated with traditional server solutions.”

or

Pulsant maintains that in the past many SMEs have been reluctant to – Sven Denecken, SAP. embrace Cloud as virtualisation carries a three per cent increase in overhead compared to traditional hosting.

However, the company states, time and to driving competitive advantage. Involved experience has revealed that for many in Cloud hosting since its inception over ten organisations overall operational savings are years ago, Pulsant comments that it is returned tenfold. Indeed, adds Pulsant, increasingly SMEs – not large corporates – many of its own customers report a 40 per that represent the vanguard behind cent reduction in storage running costs. “As Software as a Service (SaaS), Virtual many SMEs turn to Cloud, we are helping Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)-style them get the best out of their investment by technologies, Bring Your Own Device making it easier to choose a system that’s (BYOD) and mobile cloud apps. right for them,” said Howling. “It’s all about building reassurance and establishing trust Pulsant believes that these new web and – vital if we are to see mass adoption of mobile applications, richer digital presence Cloud hosting across SMEs. This means and growing online sales will further supporting Cloud with better firewalling, accelerate demand for Cloud storage this more rigorous IP management and fail over year. It also predicts that many SMEs will re-

IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

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Cloud Computing

processes. Taking all this into consideration using Cloud from a proven supplier with certified processes and offering 24/7 support, will undoubtedly become the preferred route to Cloud success.”

Attractive price point In terms of the main drivers behind the growth of the Cloud storage market, Duncan Binnie of Livedrive, comments that originally companies tended only to store their most important data in the Cloud. “However, now with the price of data storage becoming more competitive there is now a more compelling reason for companies to store most or all of their data in this way,” he said.

“Being able to move a greater volume of traffic to and from the Cloud speedily and more economically is one of the key reasons for Cloud storage’s increasing popularity.”

Another reason for Cloud storage’s growing uptake, according to Binnie, relates to the high number of smartphone users that enable the user to access their data from their phone; data they might previously only have accessed from their office or home computer. He adds that by using modern smartphone apps users can easily stream videos, photos and music without the need to store anything on the phone’s hard drive itself. “Now everything is immediately accessible from the Cloud,” he said. “So there’s currently a big focus within industry on smartphone integration.”

Retail deployment A growing number of companies within an increasingly wide spectrum of vertical end user sectors are deploying Cloud-related systems and services. One strong case in point is retail. According to a recent survey

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Special report

and report by RIS News titled ‘Cloud Evolution: Moving into the Mainstream of Retail IT Cloud computing’ and sponsored

by Dell Boomi, Cloud computing is becoming an increasingly popular solution in retail enterprises, with Cloud-based deployments within this vertical segment expected to rise 25 per cent by 2013.

The adoption of Cloud computing as a whole would appear to have fuelled the retail industry’s comfort level, as has the hunger for Cloud as an enabler for Big Data analytics.

As trends such as mobile commerce and real-time analytics make their way into the industry, retailers seem to be slowly abandoning their hesitations about the Cloud and are beginning to question which areas of their business it can benefit the most. The RIS survey suggests that the three most common kinds of Cloud-based applications are core retail such as point-ofsale, general business (i.e. payroll) and omni-channel and marketing, fast-growing digital commerce initiatives for example.

‘Pop-up’ channel Continuing the retail theme, according to Deloitte per cent of retail sales from traditional brick-and-mortar stores is currently 91 per cent and expected to fall to 76 per cent in the next 5 years. The need for the big box retailer would appear to have been losing appeal, replaced by the Internet retailer. Only recently, it appears there may be an emerging third retail sales-channel, according to Matt Mikell, senior advisor global Cloud messaging at Dell. This, he states, is called the ‘pop-up,’ enabled largely by Cloud computing. “Using POS, CRM, and other services via a secure Cloud connection, they have all the same IT services,” he points out. “While the pop-up retailer acts like a physical store, with inventory and systems, it outmaneuvers most other retailers with its agility and flexibility to pack-up and follow customers, seasons, or events. Imagine a store ‘untethered’ by burdens of permanent

locations, staff, machines, or fixtures.”

Matt Mikell adds that if shoppers have visited the local shopping mall during Halloween and Christmas seasons, they would likely have seen this third retail sales channel. He cites companies such as Spirit Halloween and The Latest Scoop that maintain no long-term physical presence, but spring up overnight in empty retail spaces and depart after only a few weeks or months. “In an industry widely known for ‘brick and click’ retailers, we’re seeing the emergence of the ‘quick’ retailer,” he said.

“They are agile, mobile, and capable of being strategically placed in large part to the capabilities of the internet and Cloud computing.” Adapting to market trends, testing a market, or moving to where the customers are, the retailers are free of shackles of IT and many back-office systems. Nick D’Alessio, Dell’s retail marketing lead, comments that vendors such as RICS are making Cloud applications so simple that any merchant with an Internet connection potentially becomes a store overnight.

Automation and economies of scale Stepping back for a moment and considering how the term Cloud should be accurately defined, Dan Scarfe, CEO at Not Net Solutions, observes that many companies are attaching the term Cloud to their offerings although, in his view, the true definition of Cloud is all about economies of scale and high levels of automation. “We believe that there are probably only five to ten companies in the world that can truly be called Cloud vendors in terms of being able to operate on a very large scale,” he said.

“These companies include Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Salesforce.com.”

Secondly, Scarfe believes it is all about the high level of automation and the subsequent cost savings available to end customers due to the minimal number of people required to run the data centres.

Fine print And what of the legal side of Cloud computing? A study conducted by the Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS) at Queen Mary University of London,

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Special report

predicts the evolution of a multiplicity of contracting models to be used by suppliers/service providers for Cloud computing services. The report raises concerns that end-users often overlook unfair terms as they are not afforded the opportunity to negotiate (e.g. through the use of click thru licences) and they fail to assess risk properly (if at all) when adopting low-cost Cloud services.

a detailed risk analysis before committing new applications to the Cloud. A properly thought through contract will help mitigate the majority of risks associated with Cloud computing services. However, there are few things that it is important to note. CSPs, like all external suppliers, will not act as insurers of a customer's business. Remedies under a contract may form part of, but should not be considered to be an entire, risk mitigation strategy.”

Cloud Computing said, “and where the loss of service is due to a force majeure event, the supplier may have no liability at all. A careful review of the contract and SLAs should highlight the extent to which the customer has any meaningful remedy if the service levels are not met and should enable the customer to take measures to minimise losses or disruption in the event that a disaster does occur.”

And with particular regard to the legal side Conor Ward, partner at Hogan Lovells of data security, Andrew Lockwood, head of The university’s study identified common International LLP and chair of the Cloud data solutions at unified business clauses in a wide range of both off-the-shelf, Industry Legal Forum (CILF), has warmly communications provider Daisy Group, and negotiated Cloud contracts that raise welcomed the research and reminds endconsiders that the concern still remaining is cause for concern, these include attempts users to carefully consider the legal where the data is stored, and if it is stored in by suppliers not to take liability for failures, implications of the Cloud proposition. “This the UK. “If data is is the first in-depth study in moved to a different to Cloud computing I’ve seen some applications that are working on iPhones and iPads country, a whole contracts, shedding some different set of legal valuable light on this still etc., but I’m not sure whether the majority of the resellers will be rerules could be in force,” maturing branch of IT,” he developing or re-investing a lot of money into porting their applications he said. “If you process said. “The legal issues into the Android or iPhone/iPad markets. We’ll need to wait and see.” data in the UK, store it relating to the use of the – Xavier Cartiaux, ScanSource Europe. on servers in the US, Cloud are well established send it via France, and indeed have been so managed by support staff in India; whose service level agreements that do not match for some time, but currently this wealth of laws would you obey? Things can get the needs of the business, incompatibility understanding and experience is messy very quickly and UK companies with EU data protection rules, and the right overlooked. could easily end up in breach of UK data of suppliers to change service features protection laws.” without notice. “Legal concerns can Ward continued: “To date, the relative generally be addressed by technical and immaturity of the market has resulted in legal means,” said Ward, “and whilst this contracts being used which were not The future may mean that the supplier may not have particularly well-suited to the services being So what other developments will we see total flexibility on where it can process and provided, but the study anticipates that from the world of Cloud computing over the store data, in the majority of cases the contracting models will mature as a next couple of years or so? As with any supplier is subject to restrictions imposed combined result of pressure from regulatory technology vertical, crystal ball gazing can by its technical infrastructure in any event bodies and experience from negotiations on often prove a less than accurate practice, and with full transparency and suitable the larger deals. Cloud computing is not with new innovations and trends coming contractual terms, data protection as an going to be suitable for every circumstance from often highly obtuse angles. There are a and potential customers would, as this study issue will disappear.” few likely developments, however, that will demonstrates, be well advised to undertake largely revolve around what we already have Ward added that in place; just on a grander scale. For ensuring an adequate example, user deployment will continue to level of service will of increase, both in the consumer and B2B course be important, but environment. And, largely as a data losses or the consequence, data centres – particularly temporary loss of Internet those owned by the existing large players – connectivity could have will likely get even larger. Of course, along dramatic consequences with this growth come increased sales and to a business. “Agreed integration opportunities for the channel. service levels with limited Also, keep an eye out for even more service credits will powerful mobile devices – and it will be generally not provide an interesting to see just how thin they can adequate remedy,” he become… n

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IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

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INTERVIEW

automatic data capture

point of sale

Building on a proven formula IT Reseller spoke with Maurice van Rijn, the recently appointed managing director of ScanSource Europe POS & Barcoding, about current market trends and opportunities, the changing face of technology and how ScanSource Europe plans to build on its existing valueadded services for the channel. appointment of Xavier Cartiaux to the role of president of international operations, ScanSource, Inc.

Maurice van Rijn: “Resellers’ demands are constantly changing; they expect more from their distributor.”

canSource, Inc., the international value-added distributor of specialty technology products, recently announced that Maurice van Rijn had become the managing director of the company’s ScanSource Europe POS & Barcoding business unit. In this position, van Rijn will be responsible for leading the strategic direction and management of

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In terms of ScanSource Europe’s current strategy roadmap, van Rijn comments that the company will continue to sustain and enhance its proven offerings to its reseller partners – offering them a onestop-shop purchasing option, high product availability, financial services, free pre- and post-sales technical support, Professional Services and customer services. In addition, he explains that the company will continue to manage and build on its value-added channel offerings, such as the existing online mobile application store AppSource, international partnermatching tool SUMO and the recently upgraded pre-shipment Configuration Service Centre. “We've come a long way

“

There is growing interest from vendors to sell [POS} solutions through a true value-added distribution channel, and this means there are sales and service opportunities to be had.”

sales, product marketing and inventory management for the company’s panEuropean operations. First joining ScanSource in May 2002 as part of the company’s acquisition of ABC Distribution, van Rijn brings 23 years of sales and sales management experience in IT distribution to his new role. He previously served as sales director for nine years where he was instrumental in the success of ScanSource’s European operations launched a decade ago. Van Rijn’s promotion to managing director of the POS & Barcoding business follows the

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over the past ten years by satisfying our partners’ core distribution needs extremely well,” said van Rijn. “For example, we’ve always had a wellestablished portfolio of vendor partners that offer solutions that fit our core vertical markets, such as transport & logistics, field mobility, retail & hospitality and healthcare, and we always hold appropriate stock levels to satisfy the needs of our VAR and systems integrator partners. Then, to add value to this core service provision, the past couple of years have seen the introduction of extra services such as

our training programme, ScanSource University, partner marketing, SUMO and AppSource. This will continue to be the foundation for ScanSource Europe going forward.” Van Rijn added that another key value-added service ScanSource will continue to develop is its flexible credit service. “We always set out to offer the finance our partners need to undertake projects – large and small – whether in buoyant or tougher times,” he said.

Advances in technology Van Rijn reflected that the product portfolio and service offerings have changed quite dramatically over the ten years of the company’s existence in Europe. “A decade ago we were selling simple scanners and data collection terminals,” he said. “By today’s standards these devices were pretty basic in their operation and were mainly deployed within the four walls of the warehouse or retail environment. Now, our biggest market is outside the four walls; in the area of field mobility ensuring remote workers can keep in constant communication with their company’s HQ or depots – both sending and receiving data in real time. So now a large part of our market is in selling mobile devices running on Windows Mobile and even Android connecting over WLAN or WAN with peripherals talking Bluetooth. It's a much more complex environment and our reseller partners come to us for support with their projects, whether that means before the sale supporting the development of ready-configured solutions that go directly to their endcustomer, or offering flexible credit to

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And because of the pace of technological change, van Rijn points out that ScanSource’s partner training programme is designed to keep resellers up to speed with the latest trends and the business opportunities associated with them, offering resellers a varied programme of specialised training and support. This ranges from hands-on technical training for specific products to the basics of emerging technologies. “We’ve seen heightened interest in the training we provide over the past few years,” said van Rijn. “One example of our training offering is a course we recently ran on the subject of RhoElements, the new programming platform that makes it easier to develop applications and deploy them over several different devices. The RhoElements application is very flexible in that it is operating system- and hardware-agnostic, so training is important in order for our partners to leverage maximum advantage in today’s marketplace.”

Adding service and value Van Rijn also explained that the AIDC industry’s maintenance, service and repair model has changed substantially over the past few years. “When we first started out in Europe, many of our partners did their own repairs for their end-customer’s devices and systems, and therefore needed a supply of spare parts,” he said. “Today many of the top brands don’t supply spare parts to the channel; instead resellers have the opportunity to sell vendor service contracts. Resellers are now adding service and value for the end-user in the form of managed services. And with these demands often being pushed from the end-user’s side our partners need to be able to rely on ScanSource Europe to provide them with as much flexibility as possible in order to ensure they are able to manage their customers’ projects more efficiently. For example, if the enduser would like to have one price per device per employee per month of

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INTERVIEW

help them manage the more complex and high-value projects. Resellers’ demands are constantly changing; they expect more from their distributor.”

usage, we can help our partners to finance this. Some resellers will need external help to manage this and that’s where we come in with our flexible leasing and financing options.”

In terms of the range of products and solutions offered by ScanSource Europe’s POS & Barcoding business unit, van Rijn comments that the focus will remain within the AIDC space, together with a heightened focus on Point of Sale (POS) offerings. “The POS marketplace offers a great growth opportunity,” said van Rijn. “There is growing interest from vendors to sell these solutions through a true valueadded distribution channel, and this means there are sales and service opportunities to be had. We also have a lot of reseller partners that want to grow, whether in terms of the number of vertical sectors they serve or the geographies they sell into,” he said.

“This means they can either sell the same application to more customers – maybe expanding into different countries – or they can take a solution and adapt it to fit a greater number of vertical markets. They can also look to sell more solutions to existing customers. This may additionally mean that the reseller will look to acquire or partner up with an existing player with an already proven footprint in certain geographies, verticals or technology areas.”

Van Rijn is keen to stress the importance of partnership in the way ScanSource approaches its role in the channel and actively looks to help

resellers find partners that will help them achieve their goals. “Our Partner Tour events present fantastic networking opportunities to resellers. We gather our reseller and key vendor partners in one place at one time to discuss the latest market and technology trends, and we can also work through an individual reseller’s business issues during that face-to-face time. In one afternoon, resellers can meet all the people who are important to their existing business and be introduced to new potential partners for future activities. And then when they’re back in the office they can search on SUMO to find partnership opportunities all over the world.”

Complexity and scope Looking at the vertical sectors in which ScanSource currently specialises, van Rijn considers that although demand can be less predictable than it was four or five years ago, the principle ROI remains key to end-users. “Many things have changed over the ten years since ScanSource first set foot in Europe in terms of the complexity and scope of projects, but our resellers’ customers are still looking to improve efficiency and effectiveness in their daily tasks.

For as long as the Auto ID channel can provide the means for them to achieve that, through the products manufactured by vendors, the solutions put together by resellers and the platform provided by distributors to support projects from inception to completion and even beyond, we have some good reasons to be positive about what we can achieve in the future.” n

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COMPANY NEWS

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Still counting:

ships 5,555,555th LS2208 handheld barcode scanner otorola Solutions has shipped its 5,555,555th LS2208 handheld barcode scanner proving that the class leading device remains popular across Europe, Middle East and Africa. Motorola Solutions has shipped the device via its value added distribution partner Scansource Europe, to Koncept-L, a reseller which specialises in advanced data capture solutions focused on the retail market in Poland. The LS2208 scanner was introduced in May 2003 and Motorola Solutions has delivered an average of 600,000 devices to customers around the World every year since, an average of 1700 every day.

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The affordable LS2208 handheld barcode scanner is loved because it provides fast, reliable scanning in an ergonomic, lightweight form. The wide working range – from near-contact to 40 centimetres makes this device ideal for retail, hospital, education or government settings.

Multiple on-board interfaces ensure flexible integration with a variety of host systems. In the 9 years since it was launched, the LS2208 has created its own market and has been sold into all tiers of retail from large multi-national retailers through to the corner shop. The device has also been sold into many more verticals: postal, banking and hospitals. In fact, the LS2208 is suitable for any general purpose scanning environment

where 1D barcodes need to be captured quickly, accurately and reliably.

Perfect match of features Przemek Lasocki, president of Koncept L, commented: “The LS2208 offers a perfect match of features, functionality and affordable price. However the scanner would not have been so successful without another unique feature: Motorola’s constant support for the product. The company’s tech support and passionate and inventive sales team make a real difference when comparing this device with other products. The LS2208 is a great example of a wellbred, well supported product and we’re proud of having bought the 5,555,555th device.”

scanning and easy switching between hands-free and handheld modes. The LS2208 is backed by a Motorola Solutions five year warranty.

The LS2208’s durable, single-board construction meeting stringent 5-ft / 1.5m drop tests while scratch-resistant tempered glass exit window designed for

Marco Landi, corporate vice president EMEA Channels, Motorola Solutions said: “Achieving sales of 1 million devices is always a great occasion, shipping

“

[Motorola Solutions’] tech support and passionate and inventive sales team make a real difference when comparing this device with other products.”

– Przemek Lasocki, Koncept L.

continuous use. Accurate first-time capture of 1D barcodes Increases productivity, resulting in shorter checkout lines and better customer service while the device benefits from intuitive design which minimises setup and training time. Multiple on-board interfaces simplifies installation and integration and ensures future compatibility while plug-and-play, with universal cable means rapid deployment, with a single cable connecting to any computing environment. Ergonomic, lightweight design reduces user Olaga Krystkiewicz-Latoszek, Motorola account fatigue with sleek, balanced manager, left, and Przemek Lasocki, president of form for maximum comfort and Koncept L, right, celebrate the shipment of Motorola Solutions’ 5,555,555th LS2208 handheld barcode productivity and the hands-free scanner at the Motorola offices, Warsaw, Poland.

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5,555,555 of an individual device, as we have achieved with the LS2208, is therefore very special indeed. Motorola Solutions is always focused on bringing devices to market which make a difference to our partners and customers and add value to their businesses. We are exceptionally proud of the LS2208 and the milestone we have reached; shipping over 5 million barcode scanners of one type is a huge achievement.”

For further information please visit the Motorola Solutions website: www.motorolasolutions.com or view the company’s video on the LS2208 at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja77v8spf60&feature=youtu.be

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CASE STUDY

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American Golf improves

in-store efficiency with help from Esteem Managed Services In order to remove the need to self-manage its day-to-day EPoS system, retailer American Golf has partnered with Esteem Managed Services. The result is increased employee productivity, reduced downtime and maximised revenue intake. merican Golf is a leading European golf retailer with 91 stores throughout the UK and Ireland. On average, American Golf stores in the UK process 2800 transactions per day, worth over £400,000. American Golf recognises that the speed and functionality of its EPoS systems is critical to the success of the business, and that any risk of slow or faulty EPoS equipment could result in large customer queues, dissatisfied consumers and ultimately a loss of custom.

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With an in-house IT Support department of only four employees, all based just outside of Warrington in Cheshire, dispatching staff to locations across the UK to undertake maintenance and installations of EPoS systems would be costly and time consuming, impacting on the IT team’s core function of supporting and developing the internal IT systems.

Recognising the need Head of IT for American Golf, Phil Barker, said: “Seventy five out of our ninety one stores in the UK only have one EPoS system. If this goes down the simple fact is we struggle to provide a satisfactory service to our customers.”

American Golf recognised the need for

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dedicated EPoS support to eradicate these issues. However, with stores distributed across the country and services required on an ad-hoc basis,

reportedly never further than one hour away from any American Golf store.

“The most important thing to us is to get someone to site within the time frame of

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Seventy five out of our ninety one stores in the UK only have one EPoS system. If this goes down the simple fact is we struggle to provide a satisfactory service to our customers.”

– Phil Barker, American Golf.

it was logistically and financially impractical to directly employ an inhouse EPoS support team.

Quicker fix times American Golf therefore partnered with specialist EPoS support provider, Esteem Managed Services, for maintenance of its EPoS and backoffice computer systems. Esteem was American Golf’s chosen provider based on its proven experience in supporting retail organisations together with its ability to commit to extended hours of support; providing flexibility and resulting in quicker fix times.

Esteem’s service replicates American Golf’s store opening hours, seven days a week, and with geographical coverage across the UK, an engineer is

the SLA (Service Level Agreement) and get us up and running ASAP,” explained Barker. “Esteem fulfils this request, which is why they are essential to keeping our stores trading.”

Increased employee productivity The services provided by Esteem enable American Golf’s IT team to concentrate on its primary job functions, thus increasing employee productivity. There is also no need to directly employ a field-based support team, achieving cost savings on salaries and employee expenses.

Esteem is also able to provide EPoS loan equipment and new stock where necessary; removing the need for American Golf to house and manage spare parts.

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After a fault is logged with Esteem’s experienced Service Desk, it is assessed to establish whether the problem can be fixed on-site. This first line diagnosis prepares the engineer and means that appropriate spares or loan equipment are taken to site on the first visit, ensuring the store is operational as soon as possible.

Removing the technical headache The added advantage for American Golf of outsourcing its EPoS maintenance is that Esteem liaises directly with its EPoS hardware providers. American Golf’s brand of EPoS hardware provider is DigiPos, a company that has a long-standing relationship with Esteem Managed Services. Esteem works closely with DigiPos to manage relevant spare parts and jointly identify and resolve problems, ensuring a complete system/data restore. This approach

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leaves American Golf free to concentrate on its customers instead of being left with hardware providers trying to diagnose and resolve technical problems.

Responsive partnership American Golf points out that, for any additional ad hoc IT services it requires, the company knows it can turn to Esteem to do the job efficiently.

represent a cost saving but are also a key driver for increasing customer satisfaction and employee productivity.

Alastair Kitching, sales & marketing director for Esteem, said: “Our EPoS support service provides American Golf with a solution which makes economical and logistical sense. We work with many companies in the retail sector and understand the importance of excellent customer service. Our

“

Our specialist EPoS engineers’ primary focus is to ensure stores are operational ASAP, limiting any inconvenience for customers at point of sale…”

– Alastair Kitching, Esteem.

For example, when the time came for American Golf to switch Broadband provider, Esteem was on hand to change the routers throughout all of the UK stores. American Golf adds that the services provided by Esteem not only

specialist EPoS engineers’ primary focus is to ensure stores are operational ASAP, limiting any inconvenience for customers at point of sale; consequently increasing American Golf’s revenue intake.” n

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Relationship building IT Reseller spoke with Varlinkʼs CEO Mike Pullon, and the companyʼs Casio brand marketing executive, Lucy Cammiss, about how the value-added distribution company is further developing its relationship with vendor partner Casio, with resultant additional benefits for its channel partners. arlink has now been distributing Casio products for the past six months and reports that the relationship has already proven highly popular with its VAR partner network.

For example, one device that has generated strong demand is the Casio IT-9000 handheld device, which was launched in early April as a replacement for the IT-3100. The IT9000 is an IP54 rated, all-in-one handheld device and thermal printer, providing a full solution for field workers on the move, where printing is required on the spot, making it ideal in industry’s such as parking enforcement and ticketing applications.

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Android advantage Varlink comments that another popular Casio device within the Varlink portfolio is the VX-100 Launched in April, the Casio IT-9000 is an IP54 rated, allin-one handheld device and thermal printer, providing a full solution for field workers on the move.

Android-based EPoS terminal for the retail and hospitality sector.

Varlink’s EPoS business unit, EPoS Distributor, has been working closely with resellers and Casio to select the most suitable software companies to provide Android-based software for the VX-100 18

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terminal. Both EPoS Distributor and Casio are now confident they have selected the most appropriate software partners and can now provide resellers with a full hardware and Android-based solution. According to Varlink and Casio, developing Android into the EPoS market offers a number of significant benefits for the industry; including its power consumption claimed to be 85 per cent less than conventional PC-based systems, and the fact that the Android platform can provide thousands of applications that resellers can tailor to the individual requirements of their end user customers.

And aside from these new product developments, existing products within the Casio portfolio are adapting to fit their markets accordingly, according to Mike Pullon, CEO of Varlink. For example, he cites the DT-X8 handheld terminal, which has teamed up with Wavelink to provide their Terminal Emulation (TE) software for warehousing applications. The partnership was announced in March and indicates that DT-X8 customers can deploy the TE software across their hardware offerings. Pullon explains that existing users of the DT-X8 will also be able to download the mobility software onto the device, updating it to match that of the new devices.”

Casio’s IT-300 well-established handheld mobile computer.

Strengthened business solutions arm Pullon added that this year has also seen Casio strengthen its business solutions arm by solely relying on distribution partners to create a market for their products. “Varlink benefited from this change back in January when we began distributing Casio handheld devices and Android based EPoS terminals,” he said. “So far this has been a success and resellers who were previously direct partners have taken to the change, understanding the many benefits of using Varlink as their main Casio supplier.”

Pullon explained that the new distribution business model enables resellers of Casio products to become part of the new Casio Partner Programme. “This has been launched to encourage resellers to grow their business with Casio,” he said, “and, recognising the importance of partnerships, it aims to provide all their resellers with a range of exciting

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Casio’s VX-100 Android EPoS terminal for the retail and hospitality sector.

benefits to support their sales and marketing activities.” Pullon added that as Casio customers begin to spend more with the brand the partner level is increased and their loyal custom rewarded.

Varlink’s own dedicated Casio brand marketing executive, Lucy Cammiss, works closely with the Casio team to ensure resellers get the most out of the brand. This marketing role entails providing resellers with their own end

user-based marketing resources, as Pullon explained: “For example, should a reseller want to promote the Casio brand to their contacts, Lucy can assist in the design and creation of mini catalogues, e-shots, adverts, end userfocused PR or anything else a reseller may want assistance with in order to increase sales of the brand.” Pullon also pointed out that all resellers that purchase Casio through Varlink will have exclusive access to this dedicated marketing service.

Cammiss added that Casio is helping Varlink to diversify its business offerings in an ever changing market place. Currently, this can be seen with its new approach to the EPoS market with its Android developments, while soon there will also be additional emphasis given to the tablet PC market, which is an area Varlink is concentrating on heavily as this technology continues to make waves in Varlink’s target vertical markets.

Cammiss commented: “We are

confident that our relationship with Casio will further develop our presence in the tablet market, particularly as it has become apparent that hardware opportunities which we have been working on in this area have been yielding above average margins for our reseller partners.”

Enhanced incentives In joint celebration of the Great British summer of sports with the Olympics and Euro 2012, Casio and Varlink have teamed up to reward all resellers that spend a minimum of £7500 in one transaction on Casio products with a free Casio projector. “The opportunity is on a first-come-first-served basis, meaning that only the first 20 resellers to spend this amount between 6/6/12 and 31/8/12 automatically eligible for a free projector worth in excess of £1000,” explained Cammiss. For full details on this promotion, visit www.varlink.co.uk/casioprojector

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Celebrate the Great British Summer of Sport with Casio and Varlink Spend on Casio products with Varlink and you could win a free Casio projector!

Casio and Varlink have joined up to offer the first 20 resellers who spend a minimum of £7,500 in one transaction on Casio products, a free Casio projector (part no. XJ-M240-UJ).

For full terms and conditions please visit www.varlink.co.uk/casioprojector

T: 01904 717180 E: varlinksales@varlink.co.uk W: www.varlink.co.uk

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Vendors and the channel gather for BlueStar's Copenhagen Technology Summit lueStar hosted its Copenhagen Technology Summit recently at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark. BlueStar created the Pan-European Technology Summits to allow VARs and ISVs to learn about new solutions from channel manufacturers and discover business development opportunities together.

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VARs from Denmark, Sweden and Finland attended the all-day event, learning exclusive details on upcoming products and services from ISVs across the technology solutions industry. Bengst Sunesson of Identsys RFID Consulting commented: "I found the BlueStar Technology Summit in Copenhagen really interesting; I got to see a lot of new products and solutions from vendors in our industry.

There were also some really phenomenal speakers during the day.”

New developments Industry expert speakers discussed new developments and innovations in RFID, ADC and other key vertical markets. Global brand sponsors showcased new and popular technology solutions with a focus

on the Nordic region and its specific needs.

Jennifer Pintér of Datalogic ADC said: "BlueStar's Technology Summit was an ideal venue for mingling with a broad variety of resellers and showing off Datalogic's line of barcode readers and mobile computers, including our wide range of 2D devices.”

The Copenhagen Technology Summit was the third in a series of educational and training events to be hosted across

Networking opportunities In addition to its focus on industry education, the all-day Copenhagen Technology Summit afforded vendors and VARs the opportunity to meet and network with potential new partners, building new relationships to help grow their businesses in 2012 and beyond. "The Technology Summit in Denmark was a really great event," said Jennie Riley of Star Micronics.

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Vendors are eager to get the latest information out to the resellers, who themselves are hungry for new technologies and innovations to grow their business. The Pan-European Technology Summits have been a great facilitator in creating and expanding upon successful channel partnerships."

– Viktor Bergqvist, BlueStar.

Europe, uniting vendors and resellers with the BlueStar team. "We're focusing on the unique educational and training aspects of this series," explained BlueStar's EMEA marketing manager Ricard Ferrer. "Summit attendees get the opportunity to gain extensive actionable business intelligence from premier industry professionals across the region."

"We had the opportunity to meet a lot of resellers, discuss new business opportunities and show our complete range of receipt printers."

"This series has been extremely popular," commented BlueStar Nordic marketing manager Viktor Bergqvist. "Vendors are eager to get the latest information out to the resellers, who themselves are hungry for new technologies and innovations to grow their business. The Pan-European Technology Summits have been a great facilitator in creating and expanding upon successful channel partnerships."

As IT Reseller was going to press, BlueStar was set to stage another Pan-European Technology Summit in Madrid, Spain, with another Summit scheduled for 25 September in Lisbon , Portugal. At these events, attendees can experience networking and educational activities, together with the exclusive ‘Tomorrow's Solutions Rooms’, where resellers have exclusive access to the newest solutions available. More information and registration is available at http://eu.bluestarinc.com/eusummits. n

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eCommera launches Mobile App Service for brands and retailers

The Mobile App Service is made available on a subscription basis, avoiding costly upfront investments while providing access to on-going functional innovations. eCommera comments that this approach insulates

retailers from the task of tracking and updating their application to cope with new versions of operating systems and devices. The Mobile App Service includes cross-channel features such as a store locator with turn by turn directions, in-store stock availability and barcode scanning to retrieve additional product information or access a product video in-store; social functions such as sharing a product on Facebook; as well as a fully transactional mobile store.

Synchronisation With the Mobile App Service, retailers can synchronise key aspects of the customer journey across channel, so

that customer account details, wish lists, and shopping baskets are available anytime, anywhere. The integrated multi-channel analytics allow for the analysis of customer behaviour in order to understand how best to serve each customer personally.

Andrew McGregor, CEO of eCommera, said: “The explosion in mobile and tablet use has signalled a power shift in retail to the customer who expects to be able to buy wherever and however they like. We’re making it easier for retailers and brand owners to make a direct connection with their customers, to provide an intimacy that will be critical to their success in a competitive market.” n

POSitive Technology helps Pictures Plus create keen customers with new loyalty rewards programme OSitive Technology and Retail Hero, two longstanding players in the US Point of Sale retail industry, have partnered up to offer Microsoft Dynamics RMS customer Pictures Plus a POS integrated customer loyalty rewards system called Hero Points. Retail Hero's Hero Points for Microsoft Dynamics RMS and POS 2009 is a software that allows customers to collect loyalty points and redeem them for discounts where the store owner is given the capability to define both collection and redemption schedules and provide additional points for specific purchases (bonus points) and for the new customers (welcome points).

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At the POS till during a transaction the system detects when the customer has collected the number of redeemable points and automatically prompts the cashier to reward the customer by applying a discount according to the redemption schedule. Pictures Plus, the Hawaiian custom framing specialist, tailored the rewards programme to meet the needs of its business by creating the Pictures Plus Fanatic Card with loyalty points programme. This loyalty programme allows anyone who buys any frame to receive a Pictures Plus Fanatic Card, Free. The card qualifies customers for added savings on specially featured products throughout the year, plus the ability to earn points for every dollar spent. These points are worth a penny each on future purchases

up to 50 per cent off of the total purchase.

Increased customer activity Charissa Wong, network operations manager for Pictures Plus, commented: "When we created our Loyalty Points programme we had our loyal customers in mind. We wanted to offer our valued clients the best rewards specials possible. We wanted to give them an unheard of rate of return on their spending. Our customers are really getting into the loyalty programme… they love it. Since implementing Hero Points, aka ‘Fanatic Card’, we have seen a marked increase in repeat customer activity.” n

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COMPANY NEWS

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Commera has launched a mobile app service specifically designed to provide brands and retailers with a quick route to market to sell via mobile devices and deepen customer engagement. The latest in eCommera’s TradingEdge family of products, the Mobile App Service is a configurable out-of-the-box solution that works across multiple mobile devices and operating systems, including the Apple iOS (iPad and iPhone) and Androidenabled devices, offering retailers the ability to serve the majority of potential customers for their products and brand regardless of platform.

PRODUCT NEWS

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INTERVIEW

Pushing the

mobility envelope IT Reseller spoke with Steven Nieuwstraten, international sales manager of Sysdev, about the companyʼs software development tools for the mobility market, and the valueadded service offerings available to customers.

Steven Nieuwstraten: “It doesn’t matter how many projects [integrators] roll out or how many mobile devices they install, there are no additional costs per project. I think this gives us a strong market edge.”

ounded in 2006, Sysdev Mobile Computing is a privately owned company specialising in development tools for the mobility market.

Its products allow users to cover the most diverse activities; either indoors (warehouse management, quality control etc.) or outdoors (enquiries, order registry, technical interventions etc.). Sysdev’s annual growth has averaged at around 15 per cent; reaching an impressive 20 per cent over the past year. This growth has been largely due to the company’s strong international focus; with a growing presence in many European countries, Australia, the American continent and in the Middle East.

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Mobility software development tool Sysdev offers two main product offerings. The first of these is Kalipso, a software development tool for mobility applications. This sophisticated mobile 22

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application generator allows users to build applications for Windows Mobile and CE, Embedded, XP and 7 in a fast and easy way. There are also plans to introduce an Android version later this year. Sysdev’s international sales manager, Steven Nieuwstraten, explained that Kalipso is sold directly to systems integrators or end-user organisations with their own IT departments. It is also available via Sysdev’s authorised distributor network. “We sell partly through the distribution channel because many of our distributor partners customers are people who use Kalipso to develop software for their end-user base,” he said.

Kalipso is mainly aimed at the professional devices market, including B2B mobile computers and ruggedised tablet PCs. In terms of core benefits, Nieuwstraten explained that Kalipso allows Sysdev’s customers to concentrate on their customer’s core processes without having to spend time writing lines of code. “With Kalipso, the code is already written for them,” said Nieuwstraten. “If customers have the required processes in mind then they can immediately start to build applications. It's all drag and drop, and features can be added simply by clicking specific functions within Kalipso. Technologies like barcode reader control, RFID, WebServices, ODBC, Remote Control, eMail, GPS and Signature capture amongst others, are fully integrated in the Kalipso platform, so developers don’t need to

spend hours on coding, Kalipso enables them to easily use these technologies.”

Upgrade Sysdev recently upgraded Kalipso with the launch of Version 3.5. “The new version includes around 30 extra functions, including a graphical report writer for mobile printers. “All users need to do is design their forms like they would in Word or on screen,” explained Nieuwstraten. “They don't have to worry about coding printers languages like ZPL or CPL; Kalipso sends the report or label as a graphic to a mobile printer and then the document is printed immediately.”

No runtime fees Nieuwstraten added that one of the core value-added benefits of Kalipso is that integrators don’t have to pay any runtime fees. “This means that when integrators buy Kalipso they pay for their annual support and version upgrades and that's all,” he remarked.

“It doesn’t matter how many projects they roll out or how many mobile devices they install, there are no additional costs per project. I think this gives us a strong market edge.”

Voice add-on In addition to the standard Kalipso package, Sysdev offers Kalipso Voice.

“This is an add-on to Kalipso and works within the same development

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environment,” said Nieuwstraten.

“Users who have bought licences for Kalipso can easily activate text-tospeech and automatic speech recognition (ASR).” In the case of Kalipso Voice, Nieuwstraten explained that users are required to pay runtimes per terminal, which is common practice in Voice applications.

Mobile Sales System Sysdev’s other main solutions offering is the MSS - Mobile Sales System.

“This is an easy-to-use and highly configurable Sales and Service Application developed for mobile terminals in order to increase a company’s sales and technical team’s productivity and efficiency in the field,” Nieuwstraten pointed out.

Among the many activities covered by the MSS are: sales force, visit reports, business opportunities, equipment, route-sale, technical services, sales objectives, and route & schedule.

Unlike Kalipso, the MSS Mobile Sales system is not a development product; rather it has been built to satisfy the high level of demand for automating sales force and pre-sales processes.

The MSS is sold purely through Sysdev’s integrator and distributor partner network; never directly. “It makes a lot of practical sense to do things this way,” said Nieuwstraten.

“The distributor can supply the product directly to developers and integrators in order for them to implement the system for the end user, and we can supply all the tools necessary to enable the integrator to

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connect the system to the end customer’s ERP system.”

Training Nieuwstraten explained that Sysdev can provide its integrator partners with all the background training they require. “In the case of the MSS, normally only one short training session is required,” Nieuwstraten pointed out. “This helps our customers to become familiar with the product and its benefits, and also helps them to implement it with an end user’s backoffice system, such as ERP or WMS etc.”

UK focus As well as continuing to expand its presence within its existing target geographical regions, Nieuwstraten explained that the UK is one of the company’s key focuses at the moment.

“We really started to gain a major presence within the UK during last year,” he said. “A number of integrators in the UK began to buy licences during 2011, and this has continued at an encouraging level into 2012. Kalipso isn’t the type of product that is sold by the hundreds, but if we can sustain the current growth rate we consider that we’ve done a good job.”

Full customer support In terms of value-added service, Nieuwstraten makes the point that Sysdev is well-known for the highly professional and reliable level of service provided by its Customer Support department. “Our average support

response time is less than two working hours for providing the customer with a solution to his problem, and we offer phone and online support as well,” he explained. “And in the case of online support, we can set-up an on line session and provide integrators or endcustomers’ IT teams with instant help regarding the project they're working on.”

Cutting edge In order to continually generate fresh and innovative product ideas, Nieuwstraten pointed out that Sysdev regularly recruits new technical graduates with good English language skills, mainly from the local universities.

“This helps us remain at the cutting edge of developing solutions that perfectly suit the modern developer’s and integrator’s requirements within the mobility space.”

Market reflections In terms of market demand for Sysdev’s mobility tools, Nieuwstraten reflects that there is currently a strong demand for solutions that can help developers and integrators to complete mobility-related projects for their end customers efficiently and within short timeframes.

“Kalipso is ideal for this purpose, and with over 400 integrated functions it can really take a lot of the pressure off our customers’ developers insofar as it does the groundwork for them, including for example the automatic generation of technical documentation,” he said. “It makes a lot of sense.” n

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Maxatec releases Bluebird ‘Pidion’ mobile device with Android OS axa Technologies (Maxatec) has announced the availability of two mobile computing devices with an Android operating system from the Bluebird ‘Pidion’ range. The BM-170 enterprise semi-rugged PDA and the BIP-6000MAX rugged handheld computer are now available with an Android operating system, and software developers are being urged to request initial units for their application development before first stock deliveries are exhausted. Android is a Linux based operating system for mobile computing devices, including smartphones and tablet computers.

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The rapid growth of the Android market has driven many manufacturers of enterprise mobile computing devices to develop an Android operating system platform, and Bluebird Soft is one of the first to the table with the BM-170 and BIP-6000MAX products. With such a

high number of developers from the consumer market now becoming familiar with the Android operating system, there is a significant shift in the enterprise world as Android takes hold. The open-source system offers a number of opportunities to the B2B market and gives developers flexibility.

Phenomenal growth Mike Ashcroft, Maxatec’s director of technical services, commented: “The BM-170 and BIP-6000 products now support both Windows Mobile and Android OS platform. This will enable customers who want to migrate to Android the ability to do so, an essential feature as enterprise users move from consumer smartphones to rugged handsets in the field mobility market.

The growth of Android has really been quite phenomenal, and despite some

initial hesitation from the market, both developers and manufacturers have now shown their commitment to Android and we are starting to see

COMPANY NEWS

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Bluebird’s BIP-6000MAX rugged handheld computer.

interest and take-up from a variety of sectors.”

Bluebird also plan to release two new products into the UK market in the very near future. The HM40 and 50 will be launched with the option of Android operating system, industry leading performance due to new Samsung chipset and improved power management, higher battery capacity, 5MP auto focus camera, IP65 sealing, integrated 1D/2D barcode scanner. The HM40 / 50 will set new industry benchmarks in terms of price – performance. n

Sigma Touch announces Opticon partnership PoS hardware manufacturer and channel vendor Sigma Touch Solutions has agreed a deal to sell Opticon scanners into the UK reseller channel. “The partnership allows us to offer resellers a complete and compatible EPoS solution based around our flagship i700 terminal,” said Tim Van den Branden, director of Sigma Touch Solutions. “Opticon is one of the most respected names in the scanning market and working closely with the company will strengthen our offering and help us tailor the i700 for the specific needs of retail and hospitality resellers and end users.”

E

Additional access The partnership covers a wide range of Opticon scanners and mobile computers, including the OPI range of

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2D handheld barcode scanners, both cabled and cordless, used in eticketing, mobile vouchering and food retail and the H15 Windows Mobile Computer for data collection, stock taking and price markdown. Steve Gibbons, Opticon’s channel manager for scanner products, said: “Working with Sigma Touch gives us additional access to the reseller market serving the retail trade and aligns us with a high quality, innovative EPoS solution provider.”

provide businesses with new revenue streams and ways to engage with customers by extending the role of EPoS into a promotional device, information kiosk and entertainment hub. n

Opticon's H15 mobile computer.

Sigma Touch Solutions launched the i700 in April. The PC-based system, which incorporates a fully integrated10” HD customer display and QR code scanner, is being tipped as a major step forward in the integration of smartphone loyalty and vouchering technology in the EPoS market. It has been designed to

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OPINION

Opportunities in enterprise mobility Ed Bateman, director of the storage, software and wireless mobility business in EMEA for Avnet Technology Solutions, offers his views on the enterprise mobility space, where the opportunities are and what distribution can do in conjunction with vendors to support resellers in order for them to take advantage of every opportunity.

he enterprise mobility market is changing. It’s becoming more consolidated, more solutionsdriven and presents an exciting opportunity for anyone that can keep up with it. Industry reports continue to project steady growth for the rugged handheld market but the strongest growth opportunity is expected within the rugged tablet market. In fact, it is reported

by VDC Research that 55 per cent of organisations recently surveyed are either

T “

Motorola Solutions has clearly demonstrated its readiness to support this growing market opportunity. Unlike its consumer counterparts, the ET1 has been designed with the enterprise in mind and like the other enterprise ready mobile computers in its portfolio, this device will certainly stand the TCO test.

Through this tablet in particular we are now certainly starting to see the convergence of technologies that we

For the end user, it is now far easier to evaluate which technology partner is the best fit for their requirements and the complexity of their project.”

using, currently evaluating or planning to deploy tablets in their business. As Motorola Solutions has rightly said, it’s time for tablets to get to work.

With the new ET1 Enterprise Tablet,

ET1 in hospitality.

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have all been expecting for some time.

The ET1’s ability to support unified communications technologies such as video conferencing is just one example of how this device is opening up new applications for mobile computing

technology inside the four walls.

If that wasn’t enough, the ET1 supports Motorola Solutions' HTML5 development platform, RhoMobile.

Through the suite of tools within RhoMobile it’s now easier than ever for resellers and ISV partners to develop software applications that can be used by end users across all the hardware in their business.

Generating demand, maximising opportunity Whatever the device or technology in question, demonstrating how a solution will benefit the end user’s business and provide a return on investment has always been an important sales clincher. Raising awareness of new technologies, products and solutions is something that distribution needs to get “hands on” with in order to increase demand that can be fulfilled through the channel.

To support this methodology, Avnet in particular is investing in demand generation campaigns and strategies that will increase our partners’ potential to excel in this market space. Our most recent campaign in partnership with Motorola Solutions is a unique video to promote the ET1. Why is it unique?

Well, resellers can create their own personalised version, all they have to do is fill in their details on the website www.ET1video.com and upload a logo and within seconds they are provided with the code for their own branded

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Accelerating Your Success™

Helping you on the journey to future growth Tour guide to selecting the right service VALUE ADDED DISTRIBUTOR Mobile Solutions

(QKDQFH VDOHV YDOXH DQG EXLOG ÂżUP UHODWLRQVKLSV ZLWK \RXU FXVWRPHUV E\ RIIHULQJ D UDQJH RI YDOXH DGGHG VHUYLFHV EDFNHG E\ WKH VWUHQJWK RI D JOREDO ,7 VROXWLRQV GLVWULEXWRU Together with Motorola Solutions, we can provide the mobility products, service and support you need to grow your business now and in the future.

Finance

Marketing

Integration

Sales support

Logistics

Software and services.

7R ÂżQG RXW PRUH FDOO RU YLVLW www.ts.avnet.com/uk/wmob

Š2012 Avnet, Inc. All rights reserved. The Avnet Technology Solutions logo is a registered trademark of Avnet Inc.

OPINION

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video that they can embed on their website. Web banners and emails can also be requested by partners to promote the business benefits of the ET1 to their customers and prospects.

Empowering partners Manufacturers’ partner programmes can also provide a range of benefits and help resellers make the most of the latest products and solutions. Motorola Solutions' new partner programme, PartnerEmpower, which launched in April this year, is an excellent example of how vendors are supporting and rewarding their channer partners for the vital role that they play in delivering their products to the end user customer.

ET1 in manufacturing.

Unlike its previous programme and others in the market, PartnerEmpower is split into three specific technology tracks. Rather than having access to all Motorola Solutions' product lines, under PartnerEmpower resellers have access to sell the products in the technology track that they elect to join and are granted a partner status based on their ability to meet the certification and revenue contribution criteria for that specific track.

This new structure offers both the reseller and the end user customer enormous advantages.

Through these new certification levels partners are able to more effectively differentiate their business in the market place and demonstrate their value proposition to the end user customer. For the end user, it is now far easier to evaluate which technology partner is the best fit for their requirements and the complexity of their project.

The role of distribution I believe that distribution also has a significant role to play in helping vendors and partners to deliver successful solutions now and in the future. Despite the pressure and temptation to shop around for the best deal on hardware, there are also advantages to working with a single distribution partner.

It is a priority for Avnet to ensure that we are doing everything we can to make sure our business partners are equipped to capitalise on the market opportunity. With the range of technologies and vendor lines in our portfolio, I believe we are uniquely positioned to help our resellers broaden their product and solutions offering with complementary technologies that will allow them access to a wider world of opportunities. n

Ed Bateman: Advantages are to be had in working with a single distribution partner.

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Mint Velvet selects Vodat International to support future growth plans Mint Velvet, the luxury women's clothing retailer and recently listed in the Sunday Times PwC Profit Track 100 ʻOnes to Recogniseʼ, has selected retail communications solution provider, Vodat International, to implement a fully managed network across all stores in a bid to improve communication between stores and head office. he new solution ensures Mint Velvet has a robust communications network and consistent visibility of transactions and data from all stores. Stuart Grant, commercial director at Mint Velvet, said: “We went to market and decided that Vodat International were the natural fit and could offer us the

T

Ambitious expansion plans Mint Velvet trades from 91 locations including eight standalone boutique stores, with an additional three openings planned for Spring 2012 in Harrogate, Guildford and Farnham. The company aims to have 20 to 30 standalone stores in affluent market town locations. In addition,

“

[Vodat International] have proven experience of working with well-known retailers and their reputation within the market is strong.”

– Stuart Grant, Mint Velvet.

appropriate solution for our business.

They have proven experience of working with well-known retailers and their reputation within the market is strong.”

Grant added: “Mint Velvet has grown rapidly over the last three years and our existing network infrastructure wasn’t fit for the future. Communication between our stores, data centre, warehouse and head office is critical to our business, we need all sites talking together at all times in order for us to run our business well.”

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Mint Velvet operates 83 concession stores in premium department stores and a successful website www.mintvelvet.co.uk.

The brand can now be found in every

CASE STUDY

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John Lewis Fashion store. The retailer quickly outgrew its previous solution and is implementing the fully managed MultiProtocol Label Switching (MPLS) network to support its ambitious expansion plans for 2012.

Vision for the future Paul Leybourne, head of sales at Vodat International, commented: “Mint Velvet is a shining example of a retailer that has a vision for the future. We are delighted to have been chosen as their preferred supplier and look forward to working with them in the years to come as their business continues to thrive.”

Launched in October 2009, the Mint Velvet business grew rapidly, with sales of £12 million for the 2010-11 financial year; quadrupling the trading figures achieved in the company’s first year. The business now employs 350 people. n

VODAT INTERNATIONAL AT A GLANCE Vodat International specialises in providing communication solutions to enable crosschannel retailing. Vodat’s specialist knowledge and experience in retailing enables it to leverage value from each of its clients’ networks through the development and implementation of retail-specific products and services, enabling them to boost revenue through any channel and improve the customer experience. Vodat’s client base includes 99p Stores, Beaverbrooks, Coast, Dune, East, Fat Face, Jaeger, L.K.Bennett, Spar, Welcome Break, Whistles and White Stuff.

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CASE STUDY

Taking a walk

along the bottom line Scotland's Environment Protection Agency relies on Handheldʼs Algiz 7 rugged tablet PCs to save money on a long-term field data collection project.

EPA is Scotland's environmental regulator, with 1000 personnel in 22 field offices charged with protecting and improving the nation's 78,000 square kilometers of land, which includes 25,000 lochs (lakes) and more than 125,000 kilometers of rivers and streams. Nearly three-quarters of the country's land is in agricultural use, and the country's most significant environmental problem is diffuse pollution from agricultural activities. This is especially true of Scotland's waterways. And while 63 per cent of them are rated as being in good condition, under the European Union's Water Framework Directive the Scottish government has committed to raising this figure to 98 per cent by 2027.

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SEPA has identified 102 ‘priority catchments’ – waterway regions that need remediation under this ambitious plan. And the first step is to identify and classify pollution types and sources along every kilometer of the waterways involved. That will require some serious on-the-ground, in-the-field work: SEPA staff will walk the entire river

network surveying each catchment, and will also perform farm-scale inspections across Scotland. The first 14 priority catchments are scheduled to be completed by 2015. But all this work must be done within a current climate of severe public-sector spending cuts, which include a 20 per cent reduction in staff.

Dr. Jonathan Bowes is a senior data analyst/modeller for SEPA, specialising in GIS data related to diffuse pollution.

As a leader of the data-collection efforts for this project, he immediately saw a major problem with the current state of affairs – and technology: the massive amounts of field data required was being collected and recorded by hand.

Field staff would have to walk the entire catchment, recording non-compliant agricultural practices (55 different types) as well as other details such as nonnative species and fencing configurations ... on paper. Then the data would have to be organised and entered manually into SEPA's central computer system – an extremely timeconsuming task. Bowes recognised the potential advantages of using technology to streamline the process. "The anticipated volume of paperwork involved in this exercise triggered the need for a fundamental change in the way SEPA collects data," he said. SEPA

developed a pilot project to test the efficiency and cost savings of using rugged handheld computers in the field, equipped with project-specific software that would eliminate paper, and paperwork, from the equation. The South Esk Priority Catchment was selected as a pilot area for evaluating digital data capture technology in parallel with existing methods.

Finding the best tools for the job To ensure that the pilot not only proved the improved efficiency of digital datagathering but also identified the best tools to use to do it, SEPA searched for the right resources. SEPA used an opentender process to select the GeoField field mapping and data collection solution from Sigma Seven, and chose rugged mobile computers from three different manufacturers to test in field trials. "We selected GeoField as it is fast, lightweight, simple to use and fully customisable to SEPA's business needs," said Bowes. "Sigma Seven offered us a highly attractive, independent approach." Knowing the project's needs well, SEPA identified several specific requirements for the mobile computers. They needed to be

The Algiz 7 highly ruggedised mobile tablet PC from Handheld Group offered everything SEPA needed; with a 1.6 MHz Intel processor, 64 GB hard drive and 2 GB of RAM. The tablet PC also features a 7-inch sunlight-readable MaxView touchscreen and running Windows 7, built-in GPS, fully integrated wireless communication and a 2-megapixel camera. It weighs just 1.1 kg, and its 2600 mAh dual battery pack delivers a full day's work. It is also hot-swappable.

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workers and highly accurate. Sigma Seven's consultative, task-oriented approach encouraged SEPA field operations staff to provide invaluable feedback from the trials allowing SEPA to fine tune its solution which in turn improved performance of the system in the field. "Working with Sigma Seven has allowed us to iterate through the development of the application to allow us to firm up the way it would look," explained Bowes.

an all-in-one solution, meaning no auxiliary units or separate pieces. They had to have GPS location accuracy within 5 meters or less; be shock-, dustand waterproof; weigh less than 1.2 kilograms; have long enough battery life to perform for an entire workday in the field on a single charge; and have advanced screen technology.

Those requirements narrowed the field, and the winner that emerged was the Algiz 7, a highly ruggedised mobile tablet PC from Handheld Group. The device offered everything SEPA needed; with a 1.6 MHz Intel processor, 64 GB hard drive and 2 GB of RAM. The tablet PC also features a 7-inch sunlightreadable MaxView touchscreen and running Windows 7, built-in GPS, fully integrated wireless communication and a 2-megapixel camera. It weighs just 1.1 kg, and its 2600 mAh dual battery pack delivers a full day's work. It is also hotswappable.

Workers dispersed throughout the South Esk catchment, gathering data along waterways using their tablets and software, assessing agricultural pollution sources as well as other water-quality impacts caused by factors including river engineering, non-native species and also good practice. A separate team surveyed the same area using pen and paper. And the results exemplified the reasons listed at the beginning of this article. GeoField's customised software interface removes unnecessary fields and functions; ensuring data collection is consistent across all

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Electronic data collection virtually eliminates typos and errors, as well as problems with writing legibility, loss of writing utensils and the effects of weather on paperwork. SEPA reported that the trial has allowed experienced field staff to use the system 'in anger' in a range of challenging conditions such as: rainy and muddy upland catchments, jumping fences and walls, being dropped and bashed, dense vegetation and in steep canyonised sections of rivers. The data is secure within the ruggedized Algiz 7 hardware.

Information is gathered and recorded in real-time, and uploaded nearly immediately into SEPA systems, which can easily and automatically create reports and maps, as well as a full audit trail.

The process is now easier, faster, more accurate and more secure, but what does that mean in the true test – savings? SEPA was able to compare the South Esk catchment work with mobile computers to paper-based working, using a direct comparison of walking 400 kilometers of waterways using each method. The time savings were startling.

In the paper-based procedure, collecting data into field maps took the equivalent of 16 days of labour time; converting data to a spreadsheet took nine days; scanning the field maps into PDFs took 10 days; and importing the spreadsheet data into the SEPA GIS system took 10 days. Total time expended (and paid for): 45.5 days, and roughly £8000 in labour costs. The same data collection and processing using the mobile technology – from walking in the field to integration into the GIS system – took eight days of labour time, total. That represents a savings of more than 80 per cent in labour costs - or

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approximately £6400. To put that into the context of the first project segment of just 14 priority catchments, the estimated labour savings are £708,000.

Projecting that to the entire project of 102 catchments, the savings could be substantial.

Evaluation straight from the field

CASE STUDY

automatic data capture

Of course, focusing on cost savings is meaningless if the new technology isn't useful and the new process isn't effective. SEPA has found the new system of data capture and storage greatly accelerates the process of environmental improvement. SEPA captures and stores field data quicker, cleaner but most importantly it can deliver survey and audit results back out to regulatory and science staff desktops via internal web-based GIS applications.

It is here where non-compliance issues can be rectified with landowners much more rapidly which theoretically brings faster environmental response. "The whole cycle speeds up,” summarised Bowes.

The feedback from the field has been highly positive. SEPA reports that workers have found the Algiz 7 tablets to be "usable and effective in day-long operation in rugged and remote terrain.

And the digital data capture on maps is an efficient, accurate, robust and easyto-use alternative to paper-based recording”. The agency's official feedback report also comments that the Algiz 7 is "lightweight, and a perfect fit for your hand," that the MaxView screen offers "excellent performance in direct sunlight, with minimal reflection," and that the battery life allows workers to "easily get a full day of use with GPS on one charge”.

The pilot project has pointed the way to a streamlined future for SEPA's pollutionassessment initiative. After assessing approximately 12,000 kilometers of rivers using the traditional paperwork approach, SEPA is now transitioning to a purely digital capture system around 26 Algiz 7 tablets combined with the GeoField Exchange software that will integrate with SEPA's enterprise Oracle and spatial databases. n

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COMPANY NEWS

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Adapting to change Since 1992, Socket Mobile has built an extensive suite of portable computing, data collection and remote networking hardware. These offerings have helped healthcare, hospitality, retail, and other industries worldwide meet the demands of a growing mobile workforce while eliminating manual processes and maximising efficiency in mission-critical business applications.

“It’s been a tumultuous ride over the past 20 years,” remarked Mike Gifford, co-founder and executive vice president at Socket Mobile, “and as the market had its ups and downs, so did we.” Gifford believes the key to the company’s longevity has been its ability to accommodate and adapt to these changes. “As a result, we are more focused on our current products than we’ve ever been,” he continued.

“I’m proud to say that we’ve stayed true to our vision from inception. We look forward to another decade of meeting the needs of mobile workers as the market continues to expand and evolve.”

Small and powerful The latest product to meet those needs is the SoMo 655. The small yet powerful device expands upon Socket Mobile’s award-winning SoMo 650 line of handheld devices and affirms the company’s dedication to the handheld device space by addressing the increasing demands of mobile professionals. Vince Coli, senior handheld computer product manager, at Socket Mobile, said: “Socket Mobile is committed to meeting our customers’ needs, and the SoMo 655 incorporates many new features, including improved charging and durability, 4 GB memory and enterprise-level 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi wireless technology, specifically requested by our customers.”

Proven reliability Coli continued: “With more than 50,000 devices already shipped to healthcare institutions, restaurants and other end users, the SoMo 650 has proven

Part of the reason for Socket’s ongoing success is the relationship built with Microsoft over the past few years.

David Wurster, senior product manager for Windows Embedded, at Microsoft commented: “With Microsoft’s trusted

“

In just 20 years, the constant evolution of operating systems, processors, memory, storage, screens, GPS, cameras, the Internet and, most important, end-user technology adoption, have transformed what used to be simple notebooks – that lacked network connectivity – into the slick, fully integrated smartphones, tablets and handheld computers of today.”

– Mike Gifford, Socket Mobile.

reliability in business deployments. The new SoMo 655 not only provides enhanced features, but also helps enterprises maximise ROI with a long expected life of three to five years and professional service and support options.”

platforms leveraged on devices from manufacturers like Socket Mobile, enterprises can benefit from a diverse array of solutions to support specialised devices across the retail and healthcare industries.” With the

“The new SoMo 655 not only provides enhanced features, but also helps enterprises maximise ROI with a long expected life of three to five years and professional service and support options.”

– Vince Coli, Socket Mobile.

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“

With Microsoft’s trusted platforms leveraged on devices from manufacturers like Socket Mobile, enterprises can benefit from a diverse array of solutions to support specialised devices across the retail and healthcare industries.”

– David Wurster, Microsoft.

recent withdrawal from the market of the HP iPAQ range, Socket Mobile is confident that it is now well-placed with the SoMo 655 to provide a reliable, robust and cost-effective alternative mobile solution to its core markets: healthcare, retail and hospitality.

Constant evolution The release of the SoMo 655 comes at an exciting time for Socket Mobile, particularly as this year it celebrates its 20th anniversary. “We couldn’t have picked a more dynamic market segment or a more exciting time to be a part of it,” said Gifford. “In just 20 years, the constant evolution of operating systems, processors, memory, storage, screens, GPS, cameras, the Internet and, most

important, end-user technology adoption, have transformed what used to be simple notebooks – that lacked network connectivity – into the slick, fully integrated smartphones, tablets

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and handheld computers of today.”

With the SoMo 655 at the heart of a solid family of products, Socket Mobile reports that it is looking forward to the opportunities that lie ahead. n

COMPANY NEWS

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CASE STUDY

Alatoni optimises labelling processes with the A-Class print engine from Datamax-O’Neil

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latoni is a British manufacturer and supplier that has specialised in the production of Mediterranean foods. The company was founded in 1995 in the town of Bicester and is well-known throughout the country for its marinated olives and other fine specialities from all over the Mediterranean. Products such as tomatoes, mushrooms, feta cheese and, above all, olives are marinated and packaged to the highest technical standards in the company’s purpose-built nut-free factory. Alatoni has become an important supplier of Britain’s largest supermarkets.

Due to the growth in the market for Mediterranean specialities, Alatoni has expanded its production continuously over recent years. The company has not just focused on creating new products, but has also looked at implementing fast and error-free packaging and delivery processes. Simply increasing production would not ensure that supermarkets and delicatessens received the correct supplies in the minimum amount of time.

The packaging of orders and fast, errorfree labelling of shipping carton boxes became much more important.

Unnecessary personnel and material costs An analysis of the company’s existing processes showed that, especially in these areas, there was a considerable scope for optimising processes. For example, it became clear that labelling errors occurred repeatedly because the labels were printed several days before actual production. These were often applied to the wrong cartons causing unnecessary, expensive material waste as well as shipment delays. Moreover, workers had to be drafted in from other important areas of the business, such as 34

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production or product development, in order to provide adequate resources for manufacturing the labels required over the following few days. “These processes were extremely inefficient,” said Roy Buchanan, factory manager at Alatoni, summarising the consequences. “The costs incurred due to the extensive overtime worked by our employees and material waste could have been avoided. In

Alatoni selected the P100 printer applicator from Codeology with an integrated A-Class print engine from Datamax-O’Neil.

addition, the delays in delivering our products could also have done permanent damage to customer satisfaction. In the worst case scenario, this would have resulted in a loss of revenues.”

To eliminate the weaknesses in the system and create more efficient processes, the company decided to equip two packaging lines with high performance printer applicators. The project managers had specific requirements for the solution: first, it was necessary to end the process of producing labels in advance in order to avoid personnel costs due to overtime claims. Secondly, the solution should minimise the waste of materials and significantly speed up the labelling process so that products could be dispatched to customers more quickly.

As space was limited in the room where the two machines were to be installed, the solution would have to be compact.

High performance printer applicator with integrated print engine The company selected the P100 printer applicator from British manufacturer Codeology with an integrated A-Class print engine from Datamax-O’Neil. The solution impressed Alatoni’s project managers with its outstanding performance and reliability and also scored high due to its compact design when compared with other systems. With a width of just 875 mm including an integrated conveyor, it projects less than one metre into the narrow room. In spite of this, Codeology had to develop an opposite hand version in order to be able to install two machines in the given area.

“This ensured that we could optimise the space used so there would be no obstructions despite the tight space available,” explained Buchanan.

Codeology delivered the standard version of the P100 within one week and even the design, production and

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CASE STUDY Incorrect labelling problem solved

installation of the opposite-hand machine version was completed after just four weeks. Both systems incorporate the Datamax-O’Neil A-Class print engine, which was specially designed for integration into printer applicators and offers the capacity required for manufacturing large quantities of labels due to its fast throughput of print material.

As well as high performance and easy operation, the unit has a number of impressive and innovative design features. For example, it has a stainless steel cabinet, which permits continuous availability even in rugged and extreme environments. Furthermore, the modular design of the A-Class makes servicing and maintenance simple. Normal wearing parts, such as print heads, can be replaced quickly and easily and accessories cleaned with relative ease.

The unit’s LAN connection as well as parallel, serial and USB ports offer efficient data transmission and effortless integration into existing IT systems.

Installing the P100 with the A-Class print engines has allowed Alatoni to eliminate the weaknesses in its processes. The improvements achieved in the area of labelling have been particularly significant.

The number of incorrectly attached labels and wastage of materials have been minimised. Labels are now no longer printed several days in advance but on-demand by the A-Class print engine when the corresponding carton passes through the system. The labels are applied as soon as they have been printed. This allows Alatoni to label between 5000 and 7000 shipping cartons every day without the assistance of employees from other areas of the company.

The result: lower costs and a noticeable increase in productivity. Importantly, fast, error-free labelling not only makes it possible to adjust the production volume to meet the rising demand. It also means

20 % Faster Print Speed 44 % Faster Processing 50 % More Memory 6 1 % Lower Power Consumption

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there are no longer any problems in supplying supermarkets punctually with Mediterranean specialities. Alatoni has therefore succeeded in raising customer satisfaction once again.

The high reliability of both the P100 printer applicator and the A-Class print engine also virtually excludes the possibility of system downtimes. Lost revenues due to flawed packaging and labelling processes have been consigned to the history books.

On the contrary: using this modern system has even allowed Alatoni to increase its revenues. Buchanan concluded: “We are very satisfied with our decision to purchase the P100 with integrated A-Class print engine. The solution has eliminated a number of weaknesses and optimised our processes allowing us to focus on important areas of our business such as product development – so we can remain a reliable and innovative supplier to Britain’s major supermarkets and delicatessens.” n

I-Class Mark II: We made the best better.

Datamax-O’Neil’s I-Class revolutionized the barcode printer industry with its award winning modular design, field installable options and rugged reliability. For the past several years, resellers have named the I-Class the “best channel product” in some of the industry’s most reputable independent surveys. Now we’ve raised the bar even higher, with the redesigned I-Class Mark II. Offering the fastest processor, largest memory and widest selection of communication ports available in a midrange printer, the I-Class Mark II provides lower operating costs and flawless print quality. For applications as diverse as manufacturing, transportation & logistics, food & beverage and pharmaceuticals, the I-Class Mark II will maintain its outstanding reputation for performance, reliability and value.

+33 4 75 75 63 00 www.datamax-oneil.com

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IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

35

EWS PRODUCT N

Zebra Technologies unveils new printer series

Z

ebra Technologies Corporation has announced the release of the ZT200 printer series, a new line of printers intended for light industrial and commercial applications. The new series offers advanced printer integration capabilities and complete device management.

Richard Hughes-Rowlands, EMEA product manager for Zebra Technologies, commented: “Zebra’s ZT200 series highlights our commitment to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers by providing solutions that will increase productivity and drive efficiency. From the design to the features, these latest

printers and systems.”

The ZT200 tabletop printers allow organisations to improve efficiency in a variety of verticals. Some of the specific uses include: •

•

• •

Manufacturing – light work-inprocess tracking, inventory management.

Transportation & logistics – order picking and packing, shipping and receiving, and compliance labelling.

Retail – warehouse logistics and backof-store applications.

Healthcare – specimen labelling and pharmacy labelling.

“

Our testing of the ZT200 printer was very positive; we particularly like the size of the new printer and the reduction in space needed to reload supplies.”

– Madhav Rao, Lulu Group.

offerings address the pain points of our customers while providing them with a reliable platform that can be updated in the field. We are excited to offer this series of industrial printers as they are fast, easy to use, and compatible in a multitude of environments, including those with existing

Hughes-Rowlands continued: “This is an exciting time for barcode printers and other AIDC technologies as new adopters are turning to these technologies. The ZT200 answers the market need of small and medium-sized businesses interested in these technologies to increase business efficiencies. We are thrilled to bring this product to customers around the world via our strategic alliances and industry-leading channel partners.”

Zebra reports that the new line of printers fit into customers’ existing enterprises and is durable and able to withstand harsh environments.

Also, the ZT200 series helps limit ownership costs and maximises printer uptime because it is easy to connect to the network and maintain

The Zebra ZT220. without the use of tools while the intuitive user interface simplifies the user’s learning curve for the product. In addition, the ZT200 printers address a number of customer needs with its design, which is a smaller size to fit into crowded workspaces and which features a bi-fold door, making it easier to change the media when the printer is used in a cramped space.

“Our testing of the ZT200 printer was very positive; we particularly like the size of the new printer and the reduction in space needed to reload supplies,” said Madhav Rao, CIO, Lulu Group, one of the largest retail chains in the Gulf region. Zebra is now offering the ZT200 printer series globally. n

Zebra Technologies at a glance Zebra Technologies Corporation offers technologies that give a virtual voice to an organisation’s assets, people and transactions, enabling organisations to unlock greater business value. The company’s wide portfolio of marking and printing technologies – including RFID and real-time location solutions – illuminates mission-critical information to help customers take smarter business actions.

The Zebra ZT230.

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IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

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CASE STUDY

Saudi Bank, Al Bilad, selects Evolis card printers to personalise payment cards

A

s part of its adoption of the EMV standards, Bank Al Bilad, a major financial institution in Saudi Arabia, has decided to use Evolis card printers to deliver its debit cards with graphic personalisation and data encoding. Part of the bank’s new instant issuance environment, these printers are seamlessly interfaced with the Dexxis Instant Issuance solution from Gemalto.

Positive bottom-line impact For Bank Al Bilad, the Evolis Dualys solution reportedly offers a number of important benefits. The card personalisation process is speedily carried out, with services and features that match the requirements of customers that request their card at any branch. Consequently, the overall card activation rate has recorded a significant increase, demonstrating a positive impact on the bottom line.

This new infrastructure has helped in deploying a smart card delivery environment that can boast top performance and modern features while safeguarding against theft, loss or other issues that can be experienced with the traditional centralised card personalisation model.

The solution has been deployed in 100 branches of Bank Al Bilad, instantly issuing around 2000 cards per day. This project has successfully rolled out by El Ajou Group, Evolis’ local partner and a value added provider of Office Automation Equipment and Computer Technologies.

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“

This new infrastructure has helped in deploying a smart card delivery environment that can boast top performance and modern features while safeguarding against theft, loss or other issues that can be experienced with the traditional centralised card personalisation model.”

To ensure the graphics and electrical personalisation of their payment cards, several large global players in the instant issuance market leverage the strengths and capabilities of the Evolis Dualys printer, designed to

personalise multi-feature cards on both sides.

Enhanced performance Evolis has recently integrated the Gemalto GEM PC USB TR encoder housed in its Dualys printer, to provide financial institutions with cutting-edge personalisation and enhanced performance efficiency and reliability.

Dualys has been deployed by a large number of banking and financial institutions worldwide. n

To ensure the graphics and electrical personalisation of their payment cards, several large global players in the instant issuance market leverage the strengths and capabilities of the Evolis Dualys printer, designed to personalise multi-feature cards on both sides.

Evolis at a glance Evolis designs, manufactures and markets a complete range of solutions for plastic cards personalisation. These printers seamlessly integrate all the options necessary for bringing graphic, magnetic and electronic personalisation (smart cards, with contact and contactless RFID technology) to any type of cards (transit passes, student IDs, payment cards, loyalty cards etc.) Based in France, with subsidiaries in Miami (USA) and Singapore, Evolis has reported revenues of 44.4 million euro in 2011.

Since 1 January 2012 Evolis has marketed a complete range of card accessories through the Sogedex Accessories subsidiary. Evolis has a workforce of 175 and is represented in 125 countries worldwide.

IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

37

Document/Storage Management Interview

Storehouse of channel benefits Cloud storage technology is changing the way people access their files, photos, music, videos and other digital content. It is also changing the way businesses store and access their data. IT Reseller spoke with Duncan Binnie, marketing manager for Cloud storage provider Livedrive, about the benefits of utilising storage space on the Internet, as well as the attractive channel opportunities to be had by becoming a Livedrive channel partner. loud storage services provider, Livedrive, was established four years ago by Andrew Michael, the founder of successful hosting business Fasthosts.

After selling Fasthosts in 2008 he founded Livedrive in December of the same year. The company now has over 500,000 paying customers around the world, and has received a number of accolades such as the Computer Active Best Online Backup Buy It award and the Web User Gold Award.

Livedrive has significant partnerships with some of the world's leading retailers, bringing Cloud storage and online backup to the mass market The company provides online backup services to PC World, Currys and Dixons in the UK – which are sold under Livedrive’s Knowhow brand – and to CompUSA and TigerDirect in the US.

C

The idea for Livedrive came to Michael because he had always felt it unnecessary

38

IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

for individuals and organisations to carry large amounts of data around on USB sticks or store data on their home or office computers. In being an early believer in the concept of Cloud storage, he secured a valuable head start in a marketplace that is now fast becoming a highly popular technology area.

Cloud storage services Livedrive currently offers 3 different packages for the home user and also Business packages aimed at SMEs. All of these

on your PC or Mac which can be retrieved from the Livedrive cloud when needed. If any extra files or changes are made within your

“

I think that over the next few years on-premise storage of personal and company data will become almost completely replaced by the Cloud option as more and more people understand the concept and its benefits.”

– Duncan Binnie, Livedrive.

packages are available to be resold through the Livedrive reseller programme.

chosen folders these are automatically backed up also. Off-site Cloud backup is much cheaper, quicker and safer than traditional hard drive or tape backup.

Backup: This offers a simple answer to a complicated problem.

The Livedrive Backup package simply backs up automatically folders

Briefcase: This is Livedrive’s cloud sync package and enables users to sync their files between unlimited computers. Livedrive also has apps for the iPhone and Android which enables streaming and access to files on the go. Livedrive Briefcase also has the facility to

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Cloud storage storage ffor o or EEveryone veryone

SE SELL ELL ONLINE O NE ONLIN B ACKU UP TO TO YOUR YOU OUR BACKUP CU UST TOMER O RS CUSTOMERS Just £39.95 per month month h ffor o or an unlimited unlimit ted number of cust customers omers

No char No charge ge p per er customer customer Yo ou pay a fixed £39.95 per month. Sell accounts at any price.

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Document/Storage Management

store files online only enabling archiving and freeing storage on hard drives.

Pro Suite: This package combines both Briefcase and Backup as well as more space and extra features. Pro Suite users can backup up to 5 computers and well as having access to a 5TB Briefcase Cloud sync drive. Pro Suite also enables use of FTP to upload files.

Business: The Livedrive Business combines all the features of Livedrive in an easy to use package highly suitable for small businesses.

An administrator can set up separate accounts for every person in the company but still has access to all the users accounts as well as being able to set permissions for different folders for different people within the company. This enables it to be centrally managed as well as making it easy for colleagues to collaborate and share data.

Using Livedrive Business companies can replace their traditional network drives and tape backups with a Cloud solution. [subhead] Reseller incentives As regards Livedrive channel opportunities, the company’s marketing manager, Duncan Binnie, explained that there are a number of compelling reasons for resellers to become partners; whether they are web designers, system integrators or general entrepreneurs.

Binnie pointed out that as a member of the Livedrive reseller programme, a company can start selling online backup, remote access and Cloud storage to its end user customer base straightaway. He added that resellers receive a complete toolbox to customise, procure and manage customer accounts. Livedrive Backup accounts are

40

IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

Interview

free for authorised resellers and they can create as many backup accounts as they wish; all included within a fixed monthly fee of £39.95. By becoming a part of the Livedrive reseller programme companies can sell Livedrive’s Backup, Briefcase, Suite or Business products to their end customers. They can also customise each package – turn features on and off, manage the space each customer can use and see how much of their allocated space they are using.

Flexible branding Binnie also explained that Livedrive resellers have the flexibility of either selling Cloud storage packages branded as Livedrive, or adding their own brand alongside Livedrive’s.

They can even brand everything in their own name (white-label branding). Binnie maintains that this white-label option is an industry first, allowing Livedrive resellers to change every image, string, caption and more within Livedrive’s Windows, Mac, Web and mobile apps. “We believe the Livedrive reseller model is quite unique in the industry because it enables our partners to create and sell an unlimited number of backup accounts for a flat fee,” said Binnie. “Most other reseller programmes operate as almost like an affiliate programme where you pay a certain amount per account as a percentage of the company and then you only make the margin on that. With the Livedrive programme, however, there is simply the £39.95 monthly fee.”

Binnie also stresses that Livedrive never sells directly to the end customer. “So, as a Livedrive reseller, your customers remain your own,” he said. “We will never contact your customers for any reason.”

Binnie added that, unlike the majority of Cloud storage providers, Livedrive maintains its own storage infrastructure rather than relying on third-party storage systems such as Amazon S3. “This enables us to offer more flexibility both in terms of offering cheaper storage and more features to our users,” he said. Binnie also commented that unlike most Cloud storage providers which are based in the US, Livedrive offers the facility to store data only in the UK. “This is particularly useful for many UK-based businesses,” he said.

Attractive value proposition Binnie concluded: “I think that over the next few years on-premise storage of personal and company data will become almost completely replaced by the Cloud option as more and more people understand the concept and its benefits. It’s not just that Cloud storage is secure, there for as long as it’s required, and able to offer near-unlimited storage capacity, it’s also attractive because people and companies no longer need to maintain and upgrade their own servers and the data stored on them. This has to be an attractive value proposition for resellers and their end customers.” n

No direct selling Binnie explains that resellers also have complete control from their own portal. They can procure new accounts instantly, manage and update customer accounts, control white labelling and branding, and access Livedrive’s dedicated reseller support centre.

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Case Study

Document/Storage Management

G2S Toolshop selects Asigra Cloud Backup 2S Toolshop, a distributor of professional tools and equipment throughout Canada, has selected Asigra Cloud Backup delivered as a service by Telsist. G2S Toolshop chose the Asigra platform for comprehensive and continuous protection of all business data across all computing endpoints.

G

Established in 1988, G2S Toolshop serves automotive and industrial aftermarket retailers as well as mobile jobbers located across Canada. The company strives to fulfil the expectations of clients by understanding their needs and constantly evolving to meet demands as the market develops. Prior to selecting Telsist Cloud Backup managed services powered by Asigra, G2S was using an online backup solution that lacked the ability to adequately protect its SQL Server environment. Before that, G2S was using tape-based backup which was timeconsuming to manage and lacked the ability to efficiently perform remote backup and recovery. After an extensive search of more robust data protection solutions, Asigra was selected for its feature-rich

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platform to protect the company’s growing list of business critical data.

G2S maintains an all Windows IT environment and has configured Asigra Cloud Backup to protect all computing systems, including application servers and Windows OS desktops. G2S was especially interested in protecting its SQL Server database, accounting application data and volumes of unstructured file data. With the Telsist managed solution in place, G2S currently protects 30 gigabytes of data with Asigra’s local and remote recovery capabilities.

Device-agnostic According to G2S Toolshop, one of the main reasons it chose Telsist and Asigra was because the companies offered a greater number of business oriented features.

Additionally, the device-agnostic solution provided for the protection of all computing systems and the broadest range of business application data. Add in remote recovery and automated always-on protection and this provided an unbeatable combination that more than meets the company’s data protection needs.

Elvira Bracci, marketing director for Telsist, said: “Like many organisations, G2S has found that automated Cloud backup supported by a knowledgeable backup services team to be a high-value alternative to adding IT in-house resources for backup and disaster recovery (DR) management.

Customers like G2S also get the latest technology without the need to deploy, manage and maintain the process so that all critical data is recoverable when required.”

So far, G2S has had to conduct one file-level recovery, which was performed without a substantial time requirement. The same action using tape could reportedly have taken ten times the amount of time. Key advantages of Asigra Cloud Backup for G2S include: • • •

•

Remote backup with user-enabled recovery.

End-to-end protection of all computing systems.

Ability to recover the broadest range of business application data, including SQL Server.

Hands-free operation managed by professional backup service provider.

IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

41

Document/Storage Management

Product news

Kodak Scanmate i940

powers up productivity with robust scanning to the Cloud

odak has launched its latest development in desktop document capture—the Kodak Scanmate i940 Scanner.

Powerful, portable and productive, the compact Cloud-connected scanner quickly and simply converts paper documents into dynamic digital files for distribution and sharing. Easy-to-use features make it a perfect fit for the business professional in the office or on the go.

K

Hauke Fast, EAMER product marketing manager, Kodak Document Imaging, said: “The Scanmate i940 Scanner comes standard with smart options that make it easy for users to collect and manage content. It is a convenient option for either office use or business travel thanks to a lightweight, space-saving design. The combination of speed and simplicity enables businesses of all sizes to deploy desktop capture across their workforce.”

With speeds of up to 20 pages per minute (in double sided scanning 40 images per minute), and resolutions of up to 600 dpi, it reliably captures documents in colour, grayscale or black&white. A high-capacity automatic document feeder can handle a

wide variety of media between DIN-A4 and business cards and features an exclusive hard card feeder.

The i940, an evolution of the award-winning Kodak Scanmate i920 Scanner, includes both TWAIN and ISIS driver compatibility for easy setup and integration with usersʼ existing systems and software programs. The new USB-powered feature extends the i940ʼs mobility by allowing users to power the scanner solely via the USB port on their computer. Later in 2012, the i940M Scanner will debut as the first Kodak Scanner to offer MAC OS compatibility.

Users of the i940 can upload scanned documents to the cloud through new connectivity to Evernote, Box.Net, GoDocs, and Microsoft Sharepoint Server to improve teamwork, and sharing of documents with colleagues or customers.

Kodakʼs Smart Touch functionality

Kyocera launches yocera Document Solutions Europe has unveiled two new Ecosys monochrome A3 MFPs – the FS-6525MFP and the FS6530MFP. The MFPs are said to be easy to install and maintain, making them ideal in areas where service staff are not immediately available, such as remote or highly secured locations. The FS6525MFP and the FS-6530MFP offer great functionality for offices producing low print volumes and their small physical footprint is perfect where space is limited.

K

Advanced workflows that need more steps to be carried out are easy to customise and

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IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

delivers ease of use and greater productivity to the initial point of capture with one-button file distribution. Smart Touch allows users to move files, such as JPEG, TIFF, Word and single- or multi-page searchable PDFs, directly into email, Microsoft Sharepoint or Cloud servers, networked folders and other software applications.

Kodakʼs Perfect Page Technology provides built-in image enhancement tools that result in high quality images with crisp text and bright colours.

Even the most challenging and mixed document types, can be scanned without the need to change the scanner settings.

Images from a variety of documents and media are adjusted and treated with a number of advanced features, including deskew, image rotation, content-based blank page removal, electronic colour dropout and automatic brightness and contrast to improve the readability. n

customisable A3 MFPs

install with the newly integrated HyPAS* technology. Both MFPs benefit from this powerful and scalable solution platform that delivers easily customisable workflows. Apart from individual developments customers can use well known applications such as language select, fax connect and Mail2Me which suit innovative customer processes.

The easy to operate devices have wizard navigation to aid set-up and offer great usability for typical activities, such as ʻscan to emailʼ, which significantly reduces user error and time spent carrying out jobs at the device. Noriko Ishii, product manager at Kyocera Document Solutions Europe,

explained the rationale behind the new devices: “In todayʼs economic climate our customers need professional A3 MFP functionality wherever they are. The affordably priced FS-6525MFP and FS6530MFP are robust and easy to operate.

They have adopted the award-winning reliability of Kyoceraʼs FS-6025MFP and FS-6030MFP devices which received BLIʼs Pick of the Year 2011 and Highly Recommended Awards. We aim to build on the success of our previous models with the integration of HyPAS and improved ecology standards.” *requires a compact flash card

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NETWORKING-SECURITY-UPS Opinion

You want one how big?

For both resellers and end users, deciding on the right UPS and, in particular, the right size of UPS for a specific application can be challenging. There are no hard and fast rules but there are some very useful guidelines, says Paul Norgate of Eaton Power Quality.

I

n this article, I am not going to dwell on UPS topologies as this subject has already been widely covered and most leading manufacturers offer downloadable guides to topology

selection. Suffice to say that, in IT applications, an on-line topology will in almost every case be the best choice, although other topologies, such as line interactive, are sometimes suitable.

But what size should the UPS be? To answer this question, the key points that have to be considered are the configuration of the UPS installation, the size of the load, the required runtime, the possibility of future expansion, and resilience. Let’s take these factors in order, while noting that they are, to some extent, interdependent. There are two main options for the way that UPS systems are configured: either each server more usually around 0.9, so the difference

rack is fitted with its own individual UPS – a decentralised UPS system – or one large

Avoid costly mistakes

between the VA rating of the UPS and the

UPS is used to supply multiple racks – a

In practice, things aren’t quite so simple, as

power rating in watts of the load is less of an

centralised UPS system. The first approach

the server rating plates will show the loading

issue, but it should still be taken into account.

has the benefit of easy expandability, but

in watts (W) whereas the UPS will be rated in

If there is any uncertainty about the size of

the UPS’s do occupy potentially valuable

VA, which means that the power factor of the

the load or the appropriate safety factor to

space in the racks.

UPS must be taken into account. For

use it as a good idea to obtain expert advice

example, some line interactive UPS’s have a

from the UPS manufacturer, and such advice

The second approach typically allows the UPS to be located in less valuable grey space, such as an electrical switchroom, but careful consideration must be given to how easy it will be to expand the UPS system, should the need arise. Once the basic configuration of the system has been determined, assessing the size of the load is, in principle, a relatively straightforward

“

…sizing a UPS system isn’t an intrinsically difficult process, but there are many factors that have to be taken into account.

Careful attention to these factors, ensuring particularly that none are overlooked, will allow the best and most economical choice to be made.”

matter of taking the loading information from the rating plate on each server fed

power factor as low as 0.8, which means that

should always be sought in the case of large

from a particular UPS, adding the loads

a 1000 VA UPS of this type can only support

data centres with centralised UPS systems,

together and then allowing a safety factor.

a load of 800 W (1000 VA x 0.8). With modern

as the load calculations are likely to be more

double conversion UPSs, the power factor is

complex and making a mistake can be costly.

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IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

43

NETWORKING-SECURITY-UPS Opinion

whether to buy an over-sized UPS at the outset, bearing in mind the points made about minimum loads earlier in this article, or to invest in a modular UPS system where extra modules can be added at a future date. With this last approach, however, it’s important to be sure that sufficient space will be available to accommodate the new modules and that the electrical infrastructure is in place to deal with the expansion.

The final point to consider is resilience. What happens if there’s a UPS failure or the UPS has to be taken out of service for maintenance? For the most critical systems, it may be necessary to have a redundant standby UPS to cover such eventualities.

The best and most economical choice almost immediately, while for others it will be

As this article has hopefully demonstrated,

The UPS should ideally be selected so that it

essential to maintain power long enough for

sizing a UPS system isn’t an intrinsically

will be operating at about 75 per cent of its

complex data backup and shutdown

difficult process, but there are many factors

rated capacity under normal circumstances,

procedures to be executed. In reality, most

that have to be taken into account. Careful

in order to achieve the highest efficiency while

data centres have servers that fall into both of

attention to these factors, ensuring particularly

allowing scope for expansion. It is

these categories. In such cases, an effective

that none are overlooked, will allow the best

nevertheless worth noting that modern UPS’s

and flexible power management system, such

and most economical choice to be made.

lose very little efficiency with loads down to

as Eaton’s Intelligent Power Management

Much more detailed guidance can be found

around 40 per cent, so if future increases in

(IPM), will allow selective control over which

in the latest UPS Handbook published by

load are likely, the installation of an over-sized

servers remain powered and which do not.

Eaton Power Quality, which can be

UPS should not necessarily be ruled out.

downloaded from powerquality.eaton.com.

Over-sizing shouldn’t, however, be taken too

The next sizing consideration is the one that’s

Finally, it is also worth bearing in mind the old

far – even the best UPS operating at only 20

most frequently neglected – provision for

adage, “If in doubt ask.” The Eaton Power

per cent or 30 per cent of its rated load will

future expansion, which is often referred to as

Quality team is always ready to provide expert

be inefficient.

scalability. As has already been suggested,

advice. n

this depends very much on the configuration Let’s move on to runtime. In non-IT

of the UPS installation.

applications, runtime requirements vary

Where each rack has its

greatly, and should always be considered on

own UPS, expansion is

a case-by-case basis. As a rule of thumb for

very straightforward –

IT systems, however, a runtime of 30 minutes

simply add more racks

is typically considered appropriate but, in

with more UPS’s.

sizing the UPS to provide this, the details of

Scalability is therefore

the application must still be taken into

guaranteed in these

account. For example, if there is an on-site

cases without the need

standby generator, a shorter run time may be

for special measures.

adequate.

Where a centralised UPS system is used, the

Selective control

situation is rather

Also, in some applications, it may be possible

different. The decision

to shut down the power to some servers

then has to be made

44

IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

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NETWORKING-SECURITY-UPS Viewpoint

Flame malware – like Stuxnet and Duqu before it ertificates exactly like the ones

goggles, shoulder launched surface to air

compromised as part of the

missiles, and Kevlar vests, for example, were

Flame malware, are used

developed by nation states for military use

everywhere in organisations

and are now in the hands of criminals and

worldwide today and are

worse. The attack vectors brought to you by

C

vulnerable to the exact same compromise. If

weaponised malware are, with certainty,

organisations do not have an automated

going to be employed by criminals to steal

management system in place, the likelihood

money, intellectual property, and anything

of a catastrophic event is very high. Also,

else of value.

when the event occurs, recovery and remediation will take a very long time. Just

What can be done to reduce susceptibility to

like you need to manage and keep software

these attacks and to remediate once the

up to date, you need to do the same thing

attack has occurred? A long time ago CIOs,

with certificates.

among others, questioned the need to diligently detect down-rev and unpatched

Venafi has seen a steady stream of third-party

software and the importance of keeping the

trust providers and the instruments they

software at the latest revisions. This is now a

provide being compromised for nefarious

well-known best practice that reduces

purposes; RSA, Comodo, StartSSL, DigiNotar,

vulnerability to many kinds of attacks.

Verisign, and now with Flame, Microsoft. and updating? You do. Certificates are a

Major takeaways, no one is too big to be compromised. “If you hear someone talk

Same diligence required

cross-platform, cross-application, cross-

about how they know what they are doing and

The same diligence is required to make sure

device instrument. You must keep track of

have taken precautions so that they won’t be

that down-rev and nonconforming-to-policy

where they are installed and make sure that if

compromised, run the other way,” said

certificates are detected and updated to the

there is a compromise, you can act fast. One

Venafi’s CEO Jeff Hudson. “They are in denial

latest levels. “From the many conversations I

of our customers has approximately 10,000

or worse. These are very high value targets

have with CIOs and CISOs in the industry,

certificates in numerous locations. They

and the compromises will continue. I chuckle

their understanding of this issue and their

thought they had about one half that number

when I think about how so many said that the

commitment to actually fixing this problem is

before we started the project. Before they

RSA compromise was an isolated incident.”

similar to their thinking on software updates

installed an automatic certificate management

and patches a long time ago,” said Hudson.

system it would have taken them many

“The attitude can be characterised as poor

months to replace them if there was a

Fact of life

understanding, non-committed to act,

compromise. Now with automated certificate

Weaponised malware (remember when that

ambivalence, and from one perspective,

management the replacement can be

terms was first used to describe Stuxnet?) is a

derelict in an important duty.”

performed in hours.”

Stuxnet, Duqu, and now Flame. This is not the

Venafi works hard to educate organisations

Hudson concluded: “I often wonder why

end, it is the beginning. It was called

about their vulnerabilities. Once this particular

something so fundamental as knowing which

‘weaponised’ because it translated to physical

vulnerability (ie, poorly managed certificates)

certificates are active on the network,

damage and / or because it was apparently

is understood, it is easily addressed.

understanding the attributes, and managing

trend, a progression, a continuing fact of life.

the keys associated with the certificates is not

(95 per cent confidence) developed by nation state(s) to engage in cyber warfare.

“This is not a problem that anyone is going to

a top priority, especially when managing

fix for you,” said Hudson. “Microsoft just

these instruments radically reduces the

The interesting thing about nation-state

patched a majority of their software products

vulnerability. Maybe because managing

developed weapons is that once developed

to remove the compromised intermediate root

things like certificates isn’t nearly as sexy as

and deployed, they find their way into the

certificates. If this was a cross-platform

having the latest APT detection and amazing

hands of non-nation state actors. Night vision

attack/compromise, who does the patching

firewalls?” n

46

IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

www.itrportal.com

NETWORKING-SECURITY-UPS Product news

Dataguise launches data privacy protection analytics solution for Hadoop ataguise, the developer of data

buzzword in security circles,"

security intelligence and

said Ramon Krikken, security

protection solutions, has

and risk management strategies

unveiled its enterprise-grade

analyst at Gartner. "Much of the

data privacy protection and risk

securing of big data will need to

D

assessment solution for Hadoop. The new

be handled by thoroughly

solution, DgHadoop, provides compliance

understanding the data and its

assessment and enforcement for centralised

usage patterns. Having the

data privacy protection to simplify data

ability to identify, control access

compliance management, improve

to, and – where possible – mask

operational efficiencies and reduce regulatory

sensitive data in big data

compliance costs.

environments based on policy is an important part of the overall

“We live in a time of data proliferation and

approach."

much of today’s ‘new’ data doesn’t reside in traditional enterprise data sources such as

DgHadoop was designed to

relational databases or enterprise

overcome this challenge. It is a

applications,” said Manmeet Singh, CEO of

comprehensive, flexible and

Dataguise. “The data can be anywhere, on

modular solution that delivers enterprise-class

"Big Data poses a big challenge to security

premises or in the cloud, and companies

protection to sensitive data aggregated in

technologies; both in the diversity of the data

need to reliably enforce data privacy policies

Hadoop deployments. Offering actionable

sets they store, and the sheer scale of the

regardless of where it is stored. DgHadoop

intelligence to decision makers about their

environments which leverage sensitive data to

meets this challenge by delivering enterprise-

compliance risk and mitigation policies,

perform analytics,” said Adrian Lane, security

class sensitive data detection, protection and

DgHadoop adapts easily to different

analyst and CTO at Securosis. “I see data

actionable intelligence for Hadoop, applying

deployments and data utilisation needs.

masking as a key technology to addressing

the most appropriate measures to ensure

Specifically it allows companies to:

data security and privacy in these environments. Masking, unlike encryption

data integrity and regulatory compliance.”

• Because environments such as Hadoop include very large data sets of mixed

•

Detect and protect data on the fly, as it is

solutions, can secure a myriad of data types

collected.

and still preserve value in large analytics

Detect and protect sensitive data stored

systems and Hadoop databases.”

classifications and security sensitivities, they

in Hadoop HDFS by leveraging Hadoop

are particularly prone to data privacy

APIs. The solution will store protected

breaches. And, because so much data is

data alongside unprotected data in the

Safeguarding data integrity

aggregated into one environment, the risk of

same Hadoop implementation or

"Customers are looking for enterprise-grade

data theft or accidental disclosure is

quarantine data in a separate Hadoop

capabilities in Hadoop. In addition to data

substantially increased because it serves as a

implementation.

protection and availability, they want to

Detect and protect structured, relational

safeguard data integrity,” said Alan Geary,

records. The detection and protection of

data in source repositories leveraging

senior director of business development at

sensitive data contained in these large data

Sqoop to move data into Hadoop.

MapR. "Dataguise secures sensitive data

Ensure that protected data maintains its

against unauthorised access and delivers

privacy policy enforcement and control to

integrity and value by masking data and

actionable intelligence that reduces risk and

minimise the risk of data compromise.

reverting masked data to the original

ensures compliance."

single point of access to potentially millions of

repositories is critical to the management of

•

•

sensitive data, when needed.

Set access permissions on protected files

DgHadoop will be available starting in July

Securing of big data

•

to facilitate user credential enforcement

2012 directly through Dataguise and through

"It doesn't take a clairvoyant – or in this case,

so users can access protected or

strategic Dataguise partners, including

a research analyst – to see that 'big data' is

unprotected data in Hadoop, according to

Cloudera, Hortonworks, MapR and

becoming (if it isn't already, perhaps) a major

their credentials.

Compuware. n

www.itrportal.com

IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

47

Comms

Interview

Good call IT Reseller spoke with James Brind, CTO of Hipcom, and Paul Aabryn, the companyʼs strategy director, about potentially lucrative opportunities for resellers within the voice services marketplace.

F

ounded in 2005 Hosted IP Communications Europe (Hipcom) has rapidly grown to become a leading provider of nextgeneration voice services in the UK. The company provides wholesale communication services from a real-time platform, uniquely branded for individual carriers, Internet service providers (ISPs), system integrators and VARs. This platform is an ecosystem of preintegrated voice-ready application services that include; Hosted IP telephony, SIP trunking, call recording, Microsoft UC-Connect, business continuity solutions, service assurance and Web 2.0 voice applications. Hipcom’s service is developed, designed, built and run inhouse. The company invests heavily in both new technology and people.

straight to making our services work for them.”

Brind pointed out that Hipcom had this infrastructure in place almost from the moment of the company’s inception. “A little later, phrases such as Software as a Service (SaaS) and Communications as a Service (CaaS) came along as well,” he said.

“But this has essentially been in the bloodstream of

“

Maybe [resellers] already own around 80 per cent of the end customer’s IT estate, and so we believe they should see voice as just another application.”

– Paul Aabryn, Hipcom.

Hipcom from day one. So from there we built up our high-level portfolio comprising voice services, video services, application services. The application services concentrate on things such as call recording and CRM integration. We also have a number of mobility services that sit on mobile devices such as iPads or iPhones. This means users can take their number anywhere.”

Building services James Brind, Hipcom’s CTO, explained that the company built its service Cloud offering as soon as the company was established, although the actual term ‘Cloud’ hadn’t come about at the time. “Our service delivery platform is the orchestration engine that sits in front of all the applications and services we have,” Brind explained. “The platform allows our partners to deliver services in real-time. It also takes that technology layer away from our underlying services – everything from voice and video to CRM integration so people can get

48

IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

Brind added that by putting their telephone numbers into the Cloud people can secure a lot more business value around those numbers. “If you look at the old ISDN services you had a DDI and that was pretty much where the story ended,” he said.

“Our customers can do a likefor-like replacement of the old legacy TDN world, but once their numbers are in the Cloud they can then start building services that mean something to their partners and to the different roles within their customer network.” As an example, Brind said a salesperson might work on the road but also need to be able to work from home

www.itrportal.com

Interview

and in the office. “With the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend of workers using their own equipment – such as an iPad or iPhone – in the workplace they need to be able to use these devices for everything from call recording to video conferencing etc.,” he said. “This is where we come in.”

so involved in voice in the past. “In our world there is enormous untapped potential for this type of partner,” said Aabryn.

“Maybe they already own around 80 per cent of the end customer’s IT estate, and so we believe they should see voice as just another application.”

Partner focus

Brind pointed out that Hipcom recently began proactively seeking more partners that might have traditionally served their end customers in more of a support and backup role rather than voice service provision.

“We have always focused serving our partners in the most efficient manner possible, so we have never wanted to just open the door, sign up 300 channel partners and then struggle to serve them,” he said. “Therefore we have always preferred to concentrate on a number of key accounts. However, through this journey we

And what of Hipcom’s relationship with its partner network? “We've built our solutions for the reseller market, although we prefer to use the term ‘partner’ because our relationship with our customers is more than just reselling our services,” explained Brind.

“Our partners range from system integrators to IT resellers, PBX resellers, ISPs and Tier 1 carriers. So it's quite a broad range. Today we service companies such as BT Wholesale and a number of other large service providers.” Brind added that Hipcom is 100 per cent partner focused.

“We don’t sell direct and never have done,” he said.

In terms of ongoing partner recruitment, Paul Aabryn, the company’s strategy director, explained that as well as partnering with resellers that have traditionally come more from the comms end of the channel spectrum Hipcom also enthusiastically welcomes people who have traditionally been more involved in networks, IT services, the deployment of desktops and laptops etc. – people who maybe haven’t become

opportunities that voice offered them and their customers.”

Full support Brind explained that Hipcom has a number of sales engineers and partner project managers that support existing and new partners. “For new partners, our team makes sure they are successful with their first voice deployments,” he said. Brind added that partners that have traditionally served the back-up and support market are now realising how profitable additional recurring revenues can be achieved through voice services. Brind added that there are also opportunities for partners to tie their own niche products into Hipcom’s Cloud voice services. “For example, we have some APIs that partners can orchestrate into and do things like call control,” he said.

“

…we started to partner with a small number of back-up/desktop IT support-type companies, and found that once these types of partners had been through our training they came to fully understand the opportunities that voice offered them and their customers.”

– James Brind, Hipcom.

started to partner with a small number of back-up/desktop IT support-type companies, and found that once these types of partners had been through our training they came to fully understand the

Paul Aabryn (left) and James Brind: Attractive recurring revenue opportunities to be had.

www.itrportal.com

Comms

No mystery involved Aabryn made the point that telecoms is sometimes considered to be a highly specialised market and is something that traditional support, back-up and datacentric resellers may have felt reticent about engaging with. “For example, some resellers might think they need to form a business relationship with Openreach or BT, they might say to themselves it’s something we have never been directly involved in before, it’s a whole new environment, so how can I structure my business to enter this market?”

Aabryn added that, with this in mind, Hipcom has made voice work like any other application or any other type of Cloud service. “We make sure people know how to consume our products intuitively,” he said.

“It’s just about providing a service type you want to deliver and provisioning it through the portal. There are also very high monthlyrecurring revenues to be had. There’s no mystery involved, just attractive business opportunities to consider.” n

IT RESELLER – JUNE 2012

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