PCR142 Magazine July 2015 by Future PLC

FOR THE UK’S PC & TECH COMMUNITY JULY 2015

6 Computex review PCR rounds up all the key announcements from the trade show

26 The future of CU Computers Unlimited CEO James Sanson talks about new ownership

28 Lenovo interview We ask UK consumer director Alex Ebeid about the rebrand

/ 8 JULY 2015 COMPUTER & IT RESELLERS z RETAILERS z SYSTEM BUILDERS z DISTRIBUTORS z VENDORS

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DESKTOP DEMISE

As industry analysts forecast further declines in the PC market, we find out if there is life in the old tower yet EVERY YEAR we hear that desktop sales are declining, but every year there are those who stand defiant. While Q1 sales are down ten per cent in volume and 21 per cent in value according to GfK, fresh form factors,

Windows 10 and custom systems are breathing new life into the sector. PCR explores the state of the desktop market, offers advice for retailers and talks to big players like Lenovo about what’s next.

STEAM MACHINES READY FOR LAUNCH – P9 IS THE DESKTOP DYING? – P22 LENOVO’S NEW LOOK – P28 CHILLBLAST INTERVIEW – P34 SELLING ADVICE AND PRODUCT GUIDE – P43

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CONTENTS & COMMENT

MEET THE TEAM

CONTENTS

COMMENT

REGULARS Dominic Sacco Editor

06 Analysis: Computex 2015 07 Analysis: Smart home

dsacco@nbmedia.com @Dom_Sacco

08 Analysis: Windows 10 09 Analysis: Steam machines 10 Number Crunching

Laura Barnes Deputy Editor

14 Appointments 16 Events and E3 review

lbarnes@nbmedia.com @roradrum

19 Opinion

FEATURES Jade Burke Staff Writer

22 Is the desktop dying? 26 Computers Unlimited on

jburke@nbmedia.com @JadeBurke77

the Exertis deal 28 The big interview: Lenovo 33 Tech apprenticeships Andrew Wooden Publisher

34 Chillblast on staying

awooden@nbmedia.com

ahead of the game

@pcr_online

36 Wortmann’s Terra brand 38 Patent trolls

Let’s buck the decline WELCOME to PCR’s desktop special, where we take a closer look into the market for the trusty tower and how it’s changing. It’s been said time and time again that the desktop is dying. Some say the demise is inevitable; others believe the PC market is simply changing with other form factors like tablets, smartphones and all-in-ones picking up the slack in recent years. While there are elements of truth in both of those views, for me there’s life in the old dog yet. I still think the desktop will make another revival. The reason for my optimism is threefold – ﬁrst, the UK’s performance system builders out there aren’t exactly feeling the heat. Sure, online competition is rife between them, but PC gaming specialists like Chillblast are still selling plenty of custom rigs (see our interview on page 34), as are distributors like Target Components, despite analysts like IDC and GfK reporting an overall year-on-year drop in desktop sales.

“It’s been said time and time again that the desktop is dying, but for me there’s life in the old dog yet.”

40 Behind the scenes: Jennie Lane Sales Manager

Synology 43 Desktop selling advice

jlane@nbmedia.com @jennielane1

RETAIL 53 Apple Pay Sarah Goldhawk Account Manager

54 Mystery Shopper

sgoldhawk@nbmedia.com

57 Retailer of the Month: Fix

@sarzgoldhawk

My PC

Elizabeth Parker Production Executive eparker@nbmedia.com

PRODUCTS 44 Desktops 46 Desktop accessories 50 Components 59 Recommended products:

Dan Bennett Designer

Computex special

dbennett@nbmedia.com

OUT OF OFFICE 64 Ingram Micro’s Mount Editorial: 01992 535646 Advertising: 01992 535647 NewBay Media is a member of the Periodical Publishers Associations

Incorporating

Everest conquest 65 Industry Tweets 66 The Last Word: Paul Yung, Hannspree UK

ISSN: 1742-8440 www.pcr-online.biz

Secondly, the breadth of innovation coming out of Computex this year has been staggering. From fresh form factors like the PC in a plug to ASUS/In Win’s dazzlingly cool hydraulic transforming tower, Intel Skylake and curved G-Sync monitors to mention a few, we were spoilt. And those only scratch the surface – check out our show review on page six and product focus on page 59 for more. Let’s not forget Microsoft and AMD’s big announcements from E3 either (turn to page 16 for a roundup). Thirdly, there’s been plenty of talk recently of the desktop as a home’s central hub. Users are returning to their main PC for the more important tasks, then using a tablet or notebook for secondary actions like checking emails and playing games. As more smaller devices emerge and home automation increases in prominence (just when will it hit the mainstream? We take a look on page seven), users may need a central device to facilitate that. That’s why for me the desktop isn’t dying – it’s just changing. To get ahead, make sure you read our indepth analysis piece on page 22 for more info, our big interview with Lenovo on page 28, growing alternative brands like Terra on page 36 and our desktop selling advice on page 43. Enjoy the issue. Dominic Sacco, Editor dsacco@nbmedia.com

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ANALYSIS

Thinking outside the box The PC community gathered in Taiwan for Computex in June, with a raft of innovative products on display looking beyond the desktop, from the PC in a plug to a transforming tower. Dominic Sacco dissects the show… FROM NEW components to cases and software (plus a bit of drama thrown in for good measure), Computex 2015 certainly didn’t disappoint. Microsoft highlighted a host of new PCs ready for Windows 10, from the Acer Z3-710 all-in-one to the Dell XPS 15 and HP x2 two-in-one, while AMD lifted the lid on its sixth generation A-Series processor for notebooks, which were previously codenamed Carrizo. Intel showed off some of the latest tech including Thunderbolt USB-C and wireless charging solutions, but while it didn’t reveal its latest core processor – dubbed Skylake – it was powering a number of ASUS mini-PCs at the show and is coming later this year. Motherboard manufacturers like ASRock also presented Skylake-compatible boards at the show. Nvidia debuted its highend GeForce GTX 980Ti graphics card at the event, as well as confirming its stutterfree G-Sync display technology would be built into a new line of laptops from late June. However, these announcements were to be expected. Looking beyond the usual stories, there were a couple of real surprises which really caught the attention of the trade. The most talked about product was the ASUS ROG In Win H-Tower. Almost every system builder PCR spoke to complimented it – and for good reason. The hydraulic system automatically opens up like a transformer to reveal its interior, giving the user access to its components, before making it close by itself at the push of a button. “It has to be the best thing I saw at the show,” Ebuyer senior product manager Paul

6 | PCR July 2015

Inset: ASUS and In Win’s desktop tranforms to show off its components

“The price tag on this case will be hefty – I was told around £1,500 at the time – but worth it for the ultimate case on the market.” Paul Nolan, Ebuyer

Nolan tells PCR. “It’s a work of art. This is probably the ultimate show off case I’ve seen and In Win have always lifted the bar with their highend cases in the past, but this is another level. The price tag on this case will be hefty – I was told around £1,500 at the time – but worth it for the ultimate case on the market.” However, CK, MD of YoYoTech, is not so sure. “It caught the eye, but the market for that kind of case is so limited that bringing in even one container could be seen as quite a risk,” he says. Regardless, ASUS stole the show this year. It presented the slim, sleek, almost handbag-like ZenPad 8 tablet, which it described as ‘the perfect fusion of fashion and technology’, as well as the ZenFone Selfie and Zen all-inone series to name a few. It also showed off a curved G-Sync monitor, as did Acer. New form factors were also on display. The FoxConn

Kangaroo is a portable desktop PC that turns your TV into a Windows PC, including a fingerprint reader to support Windows Hello and up to six hours of battery life, and the Quanta Compute Plug is a mini-PC in a power adapter. Other notable products include the Corsair Bulldog DIY gaming PC, the MasterCase custom chassis from Cooler Master (which impressed the likes of Chillblast and Utopia), SanDisk’s external SSDs and MSI’s laptops featuring Tobii eye-tracking tech (turn to page 59 for PCR’s pick of products from Computex). Then there were the awards. The five D&I Gold Awards went to the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook, Alienware 51 gaming desktop (boasting a hexagonal chassis), TPV’s AOC LX series curved TV and digital sign and Smanos’ K1 SmartHome DIY kit. The Best Choice Awards went to Acer’s Revo One mini PC, MSI’s X99A

Gaming 9 ACK motherboard, Synology’s RT1900ac router and more. Synology certainly had a memorable show. The vendor marked its move into the router market, plus its Surveillance Station CCTV system caught a thief trying to steal a laptop from the Synology booth. Furthermore, Lenovo announced a slew of new devices at its own Tech World event (see page 28), and let’s not forget the post-Computex announcements. Oculus and Microsoft are partnering to bring the Rift virtual reality headset to the Xbox One, available in early 2016. There was also the small matter of video game trade show E3 in Los Angeles (see page 16), where AMD showed off new graphics cards. CK adds: “Computex was, as ever, the bright spot in our channel’s calendar; there was plenty of new kit to see with lots of innovation.”

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ANALYSIS

Will consumers stay connected? According to a new report, consumer interest in connected home devices has fallen by 15 per cent. But as more companies release these products, will this be the year the smart home really takes off? Jade Burke finds out… AFTER APPLE announced the release of its HomeKit earlier this year, the vendor has since started to roll out its line-up of smart accessories for homes. Now that one of the largest tech vendors has jumped on board, could this mean that the smart home will hit the mainstream this year? More and more companies are tapping into the up and coming market. Analyst Context estimates that there are over 240 million homes in Europe, and around one million of those feature smart home solutions. In addition, IDC reports that the Internet of Things (IoT) will nearly triple to $1.7 billion (£1.9 million) by 2020. And it doesn’t seem like the industry is slowing down any time soon, with more large IT companies getting involved in the market. For example, last year Google acquired smart home company Nest, famous for its smart thermostat, in a deal worth $3.2 million (£2 million), while British Gas also bought AlertMe for £44 million. This shows the market has scope, but even though companies have been focusing on the smart sector for well over a year, consumers are still reluctant to embrace it. Sebastian James, CEO of Dixons Carphone, tells PCR: “I don’t think there will suddenly be a year when it happens, I think increasingly we’re just going to realise that everything in our home is automated and we’re going to do it piece by piece. “It will soon be very normal to control your heating and lighting with connected devices, but it’s not going to happen in one go.” On the other hand, according to analyst Argus Insights, the overall connected home device market is shrinking, with new research revealing that

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consumer interest in connected home devices has fallen 15 per cent year-on-year. But Matthew Broadway, chief operating officer at Netatmo, believes that the smart home will take off as customers are interested in the benefits connected devices can bring. He adds: “Customers aren’t interested in a concept of IoT and the connected home, what they’re interested in is really useful features and benefits that they weren’t able to get from unconnected devices. “So it’s all down to the quality and the disruptiveness of the technology that different IoT companies bring to the market.” Netatmo also recently announced its smart home camera called Welcome, the first home security camera to feature facial recognition. Users can sync up the device with a smartphone and receive notifications when someone enters their home.

Above: Nest’s thermostat allows users to control the heating in their homes

“Customers are interested in useful features that they weren’t able to get from unconnected devices.” Matthew Broadway, Netatmo

“We’re so excited about the home camera, the first and only home camera to have true facial recognition technology,” adds Broadway. Computers Unlimited’s CEO James Sanson, believes the smart home will only take off once certain standards are put in place. Sanson explains: “I think a lot of the rest of it is waiting for the standards to settle down, and then the products to come out that match those standards. I think that when it and one or two other standards – like Google’s – fall into place, and the developers have a year or two to make their products better, then I would say 2016 or 2017 is more likely.” Smart home products are also starting to get recognition for their functionalities, and during trade show Computex 2015, the Smanos K1 SmartHome DIY Kit which can connect up to 50 wireless accessories at

once, scooped a prestigious Gold Award. But Billy Knowles, sales manager for the UK, Ireland and Nordics at Synology, thinks that the market still has a way to go. He adds: “Until someone comes out with a range of products for the whole home that is easy to set up and is cost effective, I think that’s when it will kick off. I think it’s on the brink and it’s just waiting for that extra push.” With more smart home products, such as sensors, thermostats and even plugs coming to market, it seems possible that this year could be the year that the smart home hits mainstream. Broadway concurs: “For face recognition cameras and domestic security, I think this is absolutely the year that the IoT will take off, because there’s a company, in this case us, that has brought a disruptive innovative product and technology to market.”

PCR July 2015 | 7

ANALYSIS

News Bytes INTEL ACQUIRES ALTERA Chip maker Intel announced the acquisition of Altera in a deal worth approximately $16.7 billion (£10 million). The deal will see Intel develop new classes of products, meeting customers’ needs in the data centre and IoT market.

KASPERSKY HIT BY CYBERATTACK The security vendor was recently subject to a cyberattack from one of the most powerful cyber threats, known as Doqu 2.0. The company’s corporate network was hit in early spring, in an attemp to hack the company’s ongoing research and technologies.

SHOPPERS PREFER PHYSICAL STORES GfK’s Global Shopper survey has revealed that younger shoppers prefer to shop in a physical store when buying their tech products. It also found that 16-21 year olds would rather shop in store when purchasing a mobile phone.

OCULUS PARTNERS WITH XBOX Oculus is bringing its Rift headset to the Xbox One console as part of a deal with tech giant Microsoft. The rift will be available for pre-order later this year and will come with an Xbox controller and adapter.

STRONG YEAR FOR DIXONS CARPHONE Dixons Carphone has posted a positive full year trading statement, with like-for-like revenue growing by 13 per cent in the UK and Ireland. The company also revealed that market share gains were made across electricals and mobile in the UK and Ireland, Nordics and Greece.

PRINTER HARDWARE SHIPMENTS DECLINE UK shipments of printer hardware have declined by 11 per cent during Q1 2015, according to analyst Context. EMEA also saw an eight per cent dip in shipments, while unit shipments of laser SFPs increased by two per cent.

8 | PCR July 2015

Trade gears up for Windows 10 launch Microsoft has revealed the launch date for Windows 10, and with new form factors designed for the OS coming to market, Jade Burke speaks to industry members for their thoughts… MICROSOFT has announced the release date of Windows 10 – and the channel is preparing for its launch on July 29th. Although some retailers have previously showed scepticism over the new operating system (OS), believing that the free upgrade may be quite challenging to make a profit from, some retailers and vendors are already excited by the upcoming launch. Nick Parker, corporate VP OEM division at Microsoft, said during the keynote: “Our device partners continue to push the envelope of innovation, developing stunning PCs that are sure to delight customers. “And our commitment to broaden the ecosystem opportunity with Windows 10 is revolutionising how people interact with their devices and create new opportunities for revenue growth.” Although the free upgrade has caused some concern within the industry, Sebastian James, CEO of Dixons Carphone, believes servicing will be a great opportunity for retailers to get involved with, as more customers will return to get their PC upgraded in the future. James adds: “Generally speaking with Windows releases we think this is going to be a winner. “We will be helping customers to do the upgrade, and I think for many customers the notion of doing an upgrade can be quite daunting, so we will then be able to show them how to use their new product. So for us, we think there are opportunities in servicing.”

Microsoft has also unveiled a line-up of new devices during a keynote at Computex 2015, which have been designed for Windows 10. Some of which include a Transformer Book from Asus, an HP tablet and the Dell XPS 15 laptop. There are new form factors designed specifically for the

positive long-term gains thanks to its similarities to Windows 7. He says: “On the Windows 10 free update, for me it just means that we’re going to see customers having the best experience on a PC. “So that’s got to be a longterm gain for everyone – they will get more out of PCs and

“Windows 10 is revolutionising how people interact with their devices and creating opportunities for revenue.” Nick Parker, Microsoft operating system. One of the more unusual devices was a Compute Plug from Quanta, a mini PC inside a power adapter instead of a stick. The plug can be plugged into an HDMI port, which then turns TV into a smart computer, allowing users to control their device using Cortana via a Bluetooth remote or headset. Alex Ebeid, UK consumer director at Lenovo, believes that Windows 10 will bring

at some point when they look to a new machine, they stay on the Windows platform and won’t migrate to others.” As some customers found Windows 8 quite tricky to get their heads around, the simple layout of Windows 10 and the return of the Start menu are both welcome features, plus with the integration of Cortana, users will be able to get a user friendly experience. Ben Miles, sales director from system builder

Chillblast, tells PCR: “Microsoft is back on form. Windows 8 had a mixed reception, but Windows 10 has been overwhelming positively received. “It’s like an OS that takes the best bits of 7 and 8; it’s pleasant to use and lightning fast. The number of draw calls you can do on DirectX 12 is also massively improved from DirectX 11.” Similarly, Gavin Rose, joint UK MD for Wortmann AG’s Terra brand, thinks that the uptake to Windows 10 will be much quicker than previous versions. “I think people are becoming a bit more proactive with technology and work with technology more. Now we have smartphones and tablets the interconnection means people aren’t just sticking to the old PC on the desk. They want to swap data across various devices. “So the uptake on Windows 10 should be quicker and it’s an uplifting technology – each version has easier, better and nicer features.”

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ANALYSIS

Big rebrands reflect challenging market SOME OF THE industry’s most established brands are getting a makeover and revising their ethos as competition intensifies. Over the past month, Lenovo, Cooler Master and Corsair have made public changes to their businesses – while HP revealed a new logo for its upcoming split-off HP Enterprise arm back in April. While tweaking a logo can seem like a minor change, beneath the surface there are some major changes these companies are making to the way they run their businesses. Lenovo describes its new logo(s) as more ‘personal, engaging and consumercentric’ and reflective of Lenovo’s personality, incorporating its ‘rich heritage of acquisitions and original innovation DNA’. But the different coloured logos are just a physical mark of a strategic shift within the company, positioning itself not just PC-only anymore, but what it describes as “one of

“As the PC market continues to evolve, brands have to move with the times.”

the world’s leading consumer electronics companies”. Lenovo recently announced its first streaming device, PC on a stick, smartwatch and Smart Shoes concepts, as well as new SAN storage arrays. Its smartphones and convertibles are selling strongly, and the firm is even exploring emerging areas like robotics (read more in our interview on page 28). The new logo might as well scream: “We’re not the old PC Lenovo you knew.” Lenovo’s big rival, HP, is making an arguably even

bigger corporate change. It is splitting its personal computer and printer business from its corporate hardware and other services. The latter will be know as HP Enterprise, which has received a new logo. Like Lenovo, HP says simplicity was important in its logo. “That’s what we’re going to be about – easy to do business with and precise in our work, our engineering and our innovation,” says HP CEO Meg Whitman. On the components and accessories side, Cooler

Master outlined a revised ethos at Computex 2015, saying it wants to break new ground in the way PCs are designed. It unveiled a customisable MasterCase featuring a clip-and-click panel, allowing users to vertically adjust or entirely remove drive cages, allowing for multiple system configurations. To mark this new type of product, Cooler Master revealed its new ‘Make It Yours’ slogan. Corsair, meanwhile, has ditched its gaming logo featuring two swords, which was dubbed a ‘tramp stamp’ by some PC gamers, sparking an online petition. Corsair listened and has instead revealed a snazzier version of its traditional sails branding. As the PC market continues to evolve, with traditional desktop sales down and all-inones, streaming devices and convertibles on the rise, brands have to move with the times – and we’re sure we’ll see more of that in the years to come.

Full steam ahead? BACK IN 2012, the CEO of PC gaming developer Valve declared the launch of Windows 8 “a catastrophe”. Gabe Newell, the man behind the hugely popular PC gaming download platform Steam, wasn’t happy with Microsoft’s OS. He began toying with the idea of launching what the media dubbed at the time a ‘Steam Box’ – a device similar to a games console with a more open operating system designed for living room playing. Last year Valve announced the initial line-up of computer vendors and system builders with their own Steam Machines, generating excitement in the market. But these were delayed, and have only just been given the official release date of November 10th 2015 (with customers who prewww.pcr-online.biz

order early able to get theirs on October 16th). However, by that time we’ll already be familiar with Windows 10, complete with impressive graphics API DirectX 12. And PC gaming is much bigger now than it was three years ago, with more affordable desktops and more efficient GPUs – so will there still be a strong demand for Steam Machines? Retailer GAME is certainly confident. It will be exclusively selling the Steam controller and Link streaming device in the UK, with both priced at £39.99. So will GAME stock the systems themselves – and who is distributing them? While GAME, Valve, UK distributors and official partners remain tight-lipped when approached by PCR, others in the PC gaming channel are excited by the potential

of their own Steam Machinelike systems. DinoPC is working on a custom case for a Steam Machine; Utopia Computers has its own take on it – the Hero 4K system; plus Ebuyer is working with Cyberpower to promote a range of specialist gaming desktops, including the Syber range. DinoPC marketing manager Nic Carnelutti tells PCR: “When I think of a Steam OS I see a Linux-based OS that can be installed right now on most of the computers currently on the market, consequently I feel it’s safe to say that pretty much every small form factor PC could be considered a steam machine. “In the last few months we noticed an increase in sales of mini ITX based systems, people are looking for powerful and compact

computers with a stylish looking that can take pride of place in their living rooms.” YoYoTech MD CK adds: “Steam can offer the power of desktop PC gaming – the challenge will be to see if gamers really want to be playing in their living rooms with others. “Also, if TV manufacturers will begin to integrate more and more powerful PCs into the screens themselves – possibly with GRID gaming capability.”

RISE OF THE MACHINES Here are the 14 ofﬁcial partners which will be releasing their own systems approved by Valve. The individual products are all named ‘Steam Machine’ unless stated otherwise: Q Alienware Q Alternate Q ASUS ROG GR8S Q Digital Storm Eclipse

Q Falcon Northwest Tiki Q Gigabyte BRIX Pro Q Maingear DRIFT Q Materiel.net Q NextBox Q Origin OMEGA Q Scan 3XS ST Q Syber Q Webhallen S15-01 Q Zotac SN970

PCR July 2015| 9

STATS

Number

crunching

A round-up of the most important stats and facts in the tech channel…

11.3%

1 in 3

Smartphone shipments are expected to grow by 11.3 per cent in 2015, down from 27.6 per cent in 2014. (IDC)

One in three people would rather lose a finger than their internet access. (Cable.co.uk)

£1.5bn Cats and dogs from Europe have managed to chew their way through more than £1.5 billion worth of handheld gadgets in the last five years. (SquareTrade)

-13%

Overall graphics cards shipments dropped by 13 per cent quarteron-quarter in Q1 2015. (Jon Peddie Research)

10 | PCR July 2015

71%

HALF Nearly half of the global population will be using the internet by the end of this year. (The International Telecommunication Union)

1in 4 71 per cent of senior IT personnel from 100 UK businesses believe that employees will be more productive when using BYOD. (Vanson Bourne)

One in four users who kept backup copies of data on physical media eventually lost their files. (Kaspersky and B2B International)

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RECRUITMENT

Jon Atherton joins Exertis

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF…

Lenovo confirms new UK boss z CompTIA appoints Tracy Pound z Azlan forms Dell business team z AMD gains new senior VP

ANNA CHENG, ENTERPRISE AND TECHNICAL PR MANAGER, INTEL UK

Jon Atherton

to the role, having worked his way up to lead Entatech’s business in the UK. Atherton said: “Exertis already has an outstanding product portfolio helping the company grow into new areas and technologies. Its recent acquisitions will further cement its position as the leading distributor.”

David McQuarrie

Lenovo has also promoted LIU JUN, executive VP of Lenovo Mobile Business Group, becoming a special consultant to the company’s CEO on mobile business and strategy. In addition, CHEN XUDONG has been promoted to the new leader of MBG and chairman of Motorola Mobility.

Tracy Pound

reviewing its activity. With over 30 years’ experience in the IT industry, she has been a part of CompTIA since 2006, where she started out as an accredited assessor. Pound said: “It is an organisation that has been close to my heart since I joined in 2006, and I hope to make a real impact.”

AMD: AMD has appointed JIM ANDERSON as the company’s senior VP and general manager of AMD’s computing and graphics business group. He will be responsible for managing all aspects of strategy, business management, engineering and sales for AMD’s computing and graphics products and solutions.

Jim Anderson

Anderson joins AMD from Intel where he completed the successful acquisition of the Axxia processor business, and also previously spent some time at Avago Technologies and LSI Corporation. DR. LISA SU, president and CEO of AMD, said: ”Jim’s business and technical expertise make him another strong addition to AMD’s leadership team.”

AZLAN: Tech Data’s enterprise arm Azlan has appointed dedicated Dell business development managers for each product line, including storage, servers, networking, software and service. Azlan is putting in place 25 trained internal sales

specialists, plus eight presales experts and ten field sales specialists, who are fully trained in Dell solutions. ROB TOMLIN, director of enterprise at Azlan, said: “From day-one we will be the best-equipped distribution partner for Dell Enterprise solutions in the UK, with more

people and resources available to help partners maximise their potential.” As a distributor for the full Dell Enterprise portfolio, the firm has also created a new lead generation team to help drive new business for partners across its entire Dell Enterprise range.

EXERTIS: Following the departure from rival distie Entatech, JON ATHERTON has joined Exertis as the company’s new commercial development director. He will be based in Exertis’ Basingstoke office with immediate effect. Atherton brings over two decades worth of experience LENOVO: The computing vendor has announced that DAVID MCQUARRIE, current VP and general manager of Lenovo’s North region in EMEA, will take on the role leading Lenovo’s business in UK and Ireland. He succeeds MARC GODIN who headed up the UK arm for the last three years. COMPTIA: IT trade association CompTIA has appointed TRACY POUND to its Board of Directors. Pound is currently the MD of IT training firm Maximity, and she will now also advise on the strategy behind CompTIA’s UK channel community activity, overseeing investment and

14 | PCR July 2015

THE JOB of a tech PR is anything but boring. It’s an alwayschanging landscape of the next big thing, planning our next gen launch and samples, the next enterprise buzz like Internet of Things (IoT) or workplace transformation. But while the content is never the same, the days pretty much are with emails, calls and meetings. So instead, let me tell you about an atypical day in my life, let me take you to Jonkoping, Sweden. On top of my role as UK PR, I also support enthusiast and gaming marketing for Europe. And Sweden is home to Dreamhack, the biggest digital festival in the world. My day starts with breakfast at the hotel where I then walk over to the venue. It’s a setup day; I meet with the team, who have been building the two-story booth in the main hall over the past few days. My area is the Oculus Rift demo, six comfy chairs set up with high-end PCs running

“After a few rounds and a couple of high fives, the VIP opening ceremony event starts.” the space dogﬁghting pre-beta game, Valkyrie. Carl, from CCP, has joined us to help with setup and booth duty. Carl and I load up the game. It takes all day, with short breaks for a quick lunch and checking emails on our smartphones. After some register editing and LAN settings tweaking, all six systems are connected and in the right order to begin. We then get our local booth support to come and test out the game, so they can explain how to play it to the 26,000 people that will be attending Dreamhack over the next three days. We explain how to adjust the headset and headphones, how to centre the focal point and the controls. Then we let them try it out. After a few rounds and a couple of high ﬁves, the VIP opening ceremony event starts. After watching the lightshow, we start a line to get them to try out the demo. Immersive is probably the best way to describe it, but you can’t really know until you’ve really experienced it. And that’s why we’re there, to get people to experience what’s possible with Intel. The day closes with a late dinner, and then I pass out, getting as much sleep for tomorrow’s 12hour shift as possible. Not your typical day, but these are the days I love.

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EVENT PLANNER

Diary Dates

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

SEPTEMBER 2015

NOVEMBER 2015

IFA

PCR BOOT CAMP NORTH

SEPTEMBER 4TH – 9TH, BERLIN The annual trade show returns for another year, where attendees will get the chance to view some of the newest consumer electronics and home appliances. Taking place in Berlin, some of the latest products and innovations will be on show. The trade show attracts attendees from more than 100 countries and provides a meeting place for buyers, retailers and experts from the industry.

NOVEMBER, ROYAL ARMOURIES, LEEDS This year welcomes back PCR’s Boot Camp North event, where retailers and resellers are invited to join for free. Designed to cater for the retailers in the Midlands, Scotland, Wales and the North, once again, the event will take place at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. On the day attendees will be able to sit in on the panel sessions and expert brieﬁngs and check out the latest products on show.

OCTOBER 2015

JANUARY 2016

PCR WOMAN OF THE YEAR

INTERNATIONAL CES

OCTOBER 16TH, LONDON PCR’s Woman of the Year returns for the second time, celebrating leading women within the IT and tech industry. Several execs will be recognised for their achievements in the industry, while other attendees will get the chance to network with other members from the industry. Last year, Sarah Shields, Dell’s UK executive director and general manager, was named the ﬁrst ever PCR Woman of the Year.

JANUARY 6 TH – 9 TH, LAS VEGAS Showcasing more than 3,600 exhibitors, including a variety of vendors, suppliers and developers, attendees can view the new products and solutions on offer at this year’s trade show. With more than 152,000 visitors heading to LA, including business leaders and members from the tech industry, attendees can also sit in on the conference, which has 250 sessions across the event.

TOP: IFA in Germany is fast approaching, providing a key meeting place for the tech industry. ABOVE: CES attracts more than 152,000 attendees every year.

ALL EYES ON PC AT E3 2015

PC GAMING received plenty of love at this year’s Electronics Entertainment Expo video game trade show in Los Angeles. AMD showed off its Radeon R9 and R7 300 Series graphics cards at the event, ready for 4K, virtual reality and DirectX 12 gaming, including the top-end R9 Fury X GPU priced at

16 | PCR July 2015

$649. Based on the chip design previously codenamed ‘Fiji’, the GPU will launch from June 24th. AMD plans to bring a flagship Radeon Fury product based on two Fiji GPUs to market this autumn. The chip maker’s CEO and president Lisu Su also took to the stage to reveal the Project Quantum

compact PC from AMD. It features two Fiji GPUs and promises to run any 4K game at 60fps. But other details on the surprising new mini PC were scarce. Elsewhere at E3, as predicted by PCR, Microsoft announced it would be porting more Xbox games to PC in the future, including Gears of War:

Ultimate Edition and Killer Instinct. The firm also announced its Elite Controller, which Xbox boss Phil Spencer referred to as “an elite controller for the elite gamer” and will be available for both Xbox One and Windows 10. Additionally, Microsoft has partnered with Valve to ensure the ValveVR system supports Windows 10 games. It has also teamed up with ValveVR rival Oculus Rift. Microsoft showed off a couple of impressive virtual reality demos of Minecraft and Halo using its own HoloLens wearable tech too. In terms of the games themselves, PCR’s pick of the bunch has to be Doom. Bethesda and id Software are releasing a new version of the classic PC first-person shooter next spring, and it looks faster and bloodier than before. Other upcoming games confirmed for PC include Shenmue 3, Dishonored 2, Fallout 4, Dark Souls 3, Mass Effect Andromeda, Need for Speed, Rainbow Six Siege, Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst and For Honor.

www.pcr-online.biz

OPINION

The value of UK buying groups Director of performance system builder Utopia Computers, Craig Hume, responds to the recent criticism of buying groups and trade bodies made by PCR’s Counter Insurgent… value of the UK’s current trade WHEN MY dad started Utopia many associations, claiming that they don’t years ago, working out what margins offer true value or understand we should be aiming to make and retailers. They went on to imply that what products we thought we should these associations simply try to push sell was very much guesswork. retailers into new fads. Being a Fortunately, he had a good business member of Network Group for many mind and Utopia thrived. I was always years now, I guess it’s obvious to keen to find ways to inspire us and anyone that knows me that I would allow Utopia to grow faster. argue this simply isn’t true. As part of this effort to promote While the Network Group does growth I remember attending a bring new trends and encourages networking event put on by the then members to consider options to Technology Channel Association, or create profitable revenue streams TCA. As I entered the hotel, and saw a from managed services and the like, room full of my competitors looking you will often find Network Group back at me, I started to doubt myself retailers talking about much more and felt unsure how this trip was down to earth subjects, like what going to help Utopia. prices to charge for The meeting had a certain services, as well couple of vendors, as staff retention and one promoting blank “It’s the even how to repair media, relatively new collaborative common PC problems at the time, and the more efficiently. It’s the other talking of the nature of trade nature of opportunities around groups that fills me collaborative the group that fills me a certain yellow and with confidence.” with confidence. black anti-virus product. I remember Craig Hume, While not every thinking that this Utopia Computers group is for every retailer, I would wasn’t really going to challenge the retailer who wrote the help me take Utopia to the next level, piece to do more than simply talk to but felt comfort in knowing that the various trade bodies at events, I Utopia was already aware of these would ask him or her to attend some markets and products. It was meetings and see what actually goes afterwards when the retailers sat on. They mentioned trade bodies down and had dinner together that selling square wheels, but I would things really started to get exciting. I suggest that it’s retailers not was blown away by the openness of networking with other retailers are their answers to my questions. I trying to reinvent the wheel. By not certainly had more than one “so that’s learning from each other they all risk how you do it” moment. making the same mistakes. Our My day spent away from the store industry moves faster than any other I went on to pay dividends with the know. Without innovation and ideas and techniques I brought back. amazing service I would suggest any In a recent PCR Counter Insurgent IT retailer would struggle. article one retailer questioned the Craig Hume is director of Utopia Computers and retail director of Network Group. www.utopiacomputers.co.uk

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Desktop market set to thrive Mehryar Hamid, senior account manager IT at GfK, takes us through the highs and lows of the desktop market, and why he expects it to improve… quite timely in that they gave a THE UK PC market has been further boost to the market and experiencing a boom since August desktops continued to ride the wave 2014 following a series of initiatives until Christmas 2014. to invigorate growth at the low end In Q1 2015 this wave began to of the market. What was initially a subside and the category finally went programme to curtail the growth of into year-on-year decline in March devices with cloud based operating 2015. As year-on-year volume and systems, quickly ended up kickvalue contracted 14 per cent and 23 starting the long delayed per cent respectively for the month replacement cycle for both of April 2015, industry watchers notebooks and desktops. were quick to state that the decline The the sub-£250 offerings in desktops was here to stay. quickly made it one of the largest Although desktops will no longer segments of the PC market and display double digit growth rates became one of the reasons for the and will struggle to match the decline in tablets. numbers from 2014, the category is Despite these initiatives, desktops far from being written off for the have had a story of their own going rest of 2015. The as far back as impending launch of August/September a major operating 2013. In the run up “Although system in the run up to two major desktops will to the back-to-school console launches in Q4 2013, PC struggle to match period will most provide gaming was under 2014’s numbers, certainly some impetus to the the spotlight and that’s when we first the category is far category which traditionally is at its saw signs of from being highest share at that recovery in the time of the year. desktop market. In written off.” As the initiatives to a matter of months Mehryar Hamid, the market was in GfK grow the sub-£250 side of the market both double-digit cool down, the average selling volume and value growth, with the prices for notebooks will begin to value growth outstripping the creep up leaving more space for volume growth due to the high end, desktops to compete at the entry high performance devices being level. The high-end all-in-one (AIO) bought. In a rush to capitalise on desktop segment is also witnessing this growing opportunity several a lot of investment and could help vendors offered competitive and drive value for the category. The attractive offerings that kept the changing retail dynamics in the UK market buoyant. However, as we retail channels will also play their moved towards the summer of 2014 part with Black Friday and Cyber these growth rates began to slow Monday expected to be as big a down. The initiatives to drive phenomenon as they were in 2015. growth at the entry levels were Mehryar Hamid is a senior IT account manager at GfK. www.gfk.com/uk

PCR July 2015 | 19

OPINION

New desktop opportunities Louis Perrin, director of consumer products in HP EMEA’s printing and personal systems group, sees the evolving desktop as an exciting time for the industry…

enhanced connectivity, security, THE WAY in which we use our devices entertainment and functionality. is changing and this includes the For example, the first product desktop. A combination of economic, available in HP’s ‘Blended Reality’ technological, lifestyle and design ecosystem is the Sprout by HP, which changes has resulted in a shift in what combines the power of an advanced consumers and business users are desktop computer with an immersive, asking for from their technology. In natural user interface to create a new addition, we are seeing form factors computing experience. Combining a such as the all-in-one becoming even scanner, depth sensor, hi-resolution more popular with consumers who prioritise product design. For business camera and projector into a single device, Sprout by HP allows users to users, HP’s XP migration programme take physical items and seamlessly has led to an increase in customers merge them into a digital workspace. continuing to opt for desktops. We see an exciting and evolving The desktop is evolving to match future for the desktop. HP offers the changing demands from our innovative form factors in the customers in both a consumer and desktop space including the HP corporate environment. ScaledEliteDesk 800 G1 down desktops and Business Desktop all-in-ones are Mini, which is one of providing people with the industry’s smallest more options from “We continue to business desktop PCs, which to select the see exciting or the HP Pavilion Mini desktop that is best suited to their work opportunities for Desktop – a powerful and smart desktop PC and lifestyles. boosting performance Customers are able the desktop within a small, to choose from a through contemporary, and range of form factors innovative new energy-efficient design. that fit their needs. We already provide For example; small form factors and a range of different form factor desktop form factors to PCs are less expensive designs.” Louis Perrin, support the evolving and take up less HP desktop for both space or modular business and accessories can allow consumer users. Through the use of IT costs to be kept low for business colours and new attractive designs users, as they require only one these devices will also generate base-station. increased traffic in-store. We continue to see exciting HP will continue to provide opportunities for the desktop through innovative desktop solutions in the innovative new form factors and future. We have several new and designs. Increasingly we are seeing exciting products lined up for 2015 the benefit of the desktop as the and 2016 and will continue to expand ‘home hub’ that sits at the centre of our desktop portfolio. the home and continues to offer Louis Perrin is director of the consumer products, printing and personal systems group at HP. www.hp.com

20 | PCR July 2015

Improving talent in tech Getting creative with recruitment is what Mike Brooman, director at Vanti and CompTIA member, believes will help to close the skills gap in IT…

Unfortunately, that’s not going to A RECENT report by CompTIA found happen overnight. In the meantime, that the UK IT skills gap is slowly the channel can stop lamenting that improving. Some 55 per cent of academic courses aren’t up to businesses surveyed said they are where they want to be, or are seeing scratch whilst then advertising jobs requiring candidates to have IT skills improving in their business, degrees. At Vanti we were really compared with 48 per cent in the struggling to attract the right talent, same study two years earlier. and often finding ourselves in However, with almost half of UK competition with the big vendors IT companies still not happy with for the best graduates. So, we their ability to recruit the right staff, decided to change our approach to and 44 per cent saying the skills gap recruitment, by developing our own is having an effect on staff talent rather than acquiring it. We productivity, the issue could still think that this is the only true route severely hamper the UK channel’s to sustainable growth. So, we began potential for growth. to focus on personality and attitude All too often the finger is pointed a lot more. Technical at academia for not skill is important, but making their courses industry“Technical skill is being passionate, engaged and open to relevant or important, but learning is much producing candidates with the being passionate, more important. Once we find the right skills to step engaged and right people, we then into jobs in the use certifications and channel. However, I open to learning in-house training to often hear from is much more add the technical leaders in higher skills we require. We education who are important.” crying out to make Mike Brooman, are also looking at their courses more Vanti alternative recruitment avenues relevant. Academic like degree apprenticeships, so both institutions are judged on the candidate and organisation get the employability of their candidates, so best of both worlds. of course it is in their interest to Of course, nurturing your own ensure their graduates are best talent means you have to take a prepared for the world of work. But longer-term view, but we’re they can’t do this in isolation. already seeing the change starting The real way to improve the to pay off. Staff retention has pipeline of talent to the UK channel is to implement proper collaboration really improved. This focus on the importance of with academia to create courses company culture is one I’m looking that are applicable to industry forward to exploring further at requirements and can evolve at CompTIA’s next UK Channel the same pace as technological Community Meeting. advancement. Mike Brooman is the director at IT and audio-visual consultancy Vanti, which is member of CompTIA. www.vanti.co.uk

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PC Gaming & Hardware Distributor Award Winner 2015

FEATURE

As we start to see desktop sales tumble with sales declining by ten per cent in volume according to GfK, will the traditional tower continue to slow as alternative PCs storm onto the market, or will Windows 10 help to drive more sales? Jade Burke investigates…

here are now a wide range of computing devices users can fill their homes and office with, from the portable laptop and tablet to the compact all-inone (AIO). One that has stayed throughout the years is the humble desktop, but now with threats coming from all angles the tower is in decline. Analyst GfK states that desktop sales fell ten per cent in volume and 21 per cent in value in Q1 2015, while average selling prices (ASPs) have fallen ten per cent to £347. GfK’s business group director Megan Moore says: “The two areas declining are desktops and tablets, but allin-ones are up 50 per cent and laptops are on the increase.” According to IDC, the PC market will also continue to struggle as newer and smaller alternatives launch into the market, as Loren Loverde, VP for worldwide PC trackers, says: “In addition to educating clients, they’ll face tough

22 | PCR July 2015

competition from other devices, and weak spending in many regions. As a result, we see PC shipments stabilising in 2016, followed by limited growth for the next few years.” Analyst Gartner also predicts that PC prices are going to rise by up to 10 per cent this year, but consumer spend is due to drop by 7.2 per cent, which will cause a knock-on effect for the already declining PC market. Currencies are also impacting on sales, as vendors have begun raising prices to help offset Euro exchange rate pressures. Other initiatives within the industry could also impact unfavourably on PC sales, causing a further decline, as Lachlan Welsh, senior analyst at Context, adds: “Other factors such as the Windows Bing initiative has now been restricted which will lead to a rise in prices. The focus has been on the low-end recently

Hannspree’s PC on a stick is a smaller form factor consumers are using

“Laptops have taken over this market due to their portability and ease of use.” Stuart Carlisle, Ebuyer.com

to spur growth but we predict that the product mix will change to the mid to highend which will increase the average selling price of PCs.” In comparison, some retailers believe that the desktop is in decline because of low consumer demand. Steve Ling, executive director for Overclockers UK, says: “The reason that the desktop market is in decline is the lack of stimulus for mainstream users to upgrade. “Typically it is only when a user experiences hardware failure that they will look to replace their trusty old desktop and even then it could be replaced by a laptop or tablet.” As PC prices continue to rise, customers have a limited amount of income to splash out on more expensive new devices on a regular basis. Meanwhile, cheaper tablets and laptops are being snapped up. Alternative form factors are also starting to

make their mark in the industry, from Hannspree’s PCs on a stick, Intel’s Compute stick and NUCs (Next Unit of Computing), to a Compute Plug, which features a mini PC inside. The diversity of form factors is constantly evolving, and as more customers begin to look for smaller PCs, towers are becoming less popular. Stuart Carlisle, MD of Ebuyer.com, explains: “Very few people will use a desktop as their everyday go-to machine, laptops have taken over this market due to their portability and ease of use. “Laptops, mini-PCs, all-inones and netbooks are a great way to utilise space. Desktops are inherently large in terms of size so the introduction of these small form factors allows for near-desktop performance in small spaces or on the go. “For us the markets are separate, a businessman on the move isn’t likely to invest in a desktop PC, in the same way a gamer wouldn’t want www.pcr-online.biz

FEATURE

to use a slim-line laptop for his overclocking.” TOWER POWER Chip maker Intel has recently released details of its new processor Skylake, which has been named by the company as one of the most significant chip releases in a decade. Intel has since started to push these new sixth generation chips into mini-desktops such as NUCs, dramatically improving the power of these devices when it comes to the traditional tower. As these processors start to get more powerful within alternative PCs, towers may take a further back seat in the market. Daley Robinson, director at Stone Group, continues: “What I think is worth considering is that customers looking to re-invigorate their desktop estates very rarely just go for ‘more of the same’. Our customers are open and curious about alternative solutions and it’s our job to www.pcr-online.biz

provide them with as much comparative information as possible to be able to give careful consideration to each choice.” Desktops can be decked out with all sorts of components, from graphics cards, motherboards, HDDs and SSDs, improving their capabilities when it comes to tasks carried out either at home or in the office, something a small seven-inch tablet cannot provide. It is due to these functionalities that the desktop is still able to compete alongside tablets and hybrids, such as the iPad and Surface Pro. Andrew Line, business manager for consumer PC desktops at Acer UK, explains: “We often talk about the ‘hub of the home’ and consumers are enjoying the relatively large hard drives in desktops and using them to supply content to their other devices. A 16GB tablet cannot store a

NUCs provide an alternative to the desktop

“Smaller footprints and sleeker designs are attracting people to buying a desktop.” Daley Robinson, Stone Group

lot of movies.” There are also ways in which users can access their desktop from the cloud, meaning they do not require computing power or a desktop. Jonathan Birch, product manager at UK managed service provider Redcentric, continues: “According to market analyst company, The 451 Group, the market for virtualised desktop environments (VDI) is estimated to reach $5.6 billion (£3.5 billion) by next year. “The statistics show that the traditional PC desktop is on the decline and is now being replaced by cloudbased desktops.” Contrary to what some statistics have revealed from analysts, many retailers have in fact noticed that customers are showing more interest in desktops, and that sales have not dipped as much as reports suggest. Carlisle concurs: “Although there has been a decline in the global

desktop market, we simply haven’t seen the huge drop-offs reportedly affecting the desktop sales. In fact some of our desktop sectors have improved in terms of sales volume.” In addition, reseller Stone Group doesn’t believe the desktop is on its way out. “We don’t think the desktop market is necessarily dying, we prefer to think of it as being in a period of transition. It didn’t change for 20 years, and then the last 12 months has seen some incredible innovation,” Robinson adds. “Smaller footprints and sleeker designs are attracting people back to buying a desktop and being proud to display it. So, although sales are smaller, we think interest is piquing.” PC GAMING GEARS UP Gaming within the PC sector has really started to ramp up, with hardcore gamers looking to desktops for better visuals PCR July 2015 | 23

FEATURE

PCR’S RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD LOOKS AHEAD GAVIN HOLDER, DIRECTOR, GHI COMPUTERS: “The initial rise of the desktop was quite simply fuelled by the internet, the market was flooded with an abundance of cheap PCs to serve mostly that purpose. The adaptation of other devices such as laptops, tablets and smart TVs have broadened the offering of getting online, thus lessening the burden of a bulky PC on a desk. The desktop will always exist but in what form will ultimately be shaped by the consumers that still demand them going forward.” CHRIS INNES, OWNER, MICRO PLUS COMPUTERS: “We are finding that our consumer customers are spending more on higher spec systems and are also more willing to spend more on devices that look good or run quietly – a definite sign that the PC is moving to the living room space and becoming a home/family entertainment hub.” ESTELLE JOHANNES, DIRECTOR OF MEMBER COMMITTEES, COMPTIA UK: “I believe they are declining because more and more people are not working the way they traditionally used to – working flexible hours and not working in the office all the time or even at all, makes the desktop the least practical choice to meet the requirements of today’s workforce. “ CRAIG HUME, DIRECTOR, UTOPIA COMPUTERS: “I think more and more indie retailers are looking to attract talent that has serious knowledge about games as they can see the trends. As a PC gamer myself, I love that the desktop PC is riding a wave of success at moment with gamers, and I hope that this can continue for the foreseeable future.”

and graphics, something a tablet or laptop cannot provide to the same extent. This industry alone has helped to keep the desktop market afloat, with many system builders making unique PCs for gamers, but could this endanger the traditional desktop and put it into specialised territory? Carlisle disagrees, and believes the market should recognise this growing industry and start to embrace it. “The market simply needs to shift. Listen to the consumer, the industry needs to take gaming, custom PC building and modifications seriously and gear products towards that. “Gaming and homebuilding PCs is as strong as ever, these consumers will continue to grow the desktop market,” suggests Carlisle. With Steam Machines and the like, there may even be scope for the desktop to challenge consoles, as gamers look for more powerful capabilities from their devices. With this in mind, the desktop still has time to bounce back in the computing category. Ling continues: “Contrary to past beliefs, PC gaming is on the rise and consoles could ultimately be the platform to disappear. As games become more realistic, consumers

24 | PCR July 2015

desire the best in-game experience and will upgrade their hardware. “The console refresh cycle cannot keep up with changes in technology and deliver what consumers are looking for, for example 4K gaming.” Furthermore, the PC gaming industry is one that benefits independent retailers and allows them to showcase their expertise and PC building capabilities Clifford Johnson, founder of retailer PCs Made Simple, continues: “The gaming market is growing fast and we don’t believe this can ever get too specialised. “The sector is very important to us smaller companies, as this is where we shine and get a chance to show off our knowledge and skills.” Microsoft recently announced that Windows 10 will be released on July 29th, which has got many retailers excited as they believe the free upgrade will be a good incentive for customers to upgrade their devices. Carlisle adds: “We think the introduction of Windows 10 will have a very positive effect on sales, especially as upgrading will be so easy “Windows 10 is also geared towards cross platform use and gaming so it covers a lot

“The desktop will always exist but in what form will ultimately be shaped by the consumers.” Gavin Holder, GHI Computers

Ebuyer’s MD Stuart Carlisle believes gaming will drive the desktop market

“PC gaming is on the rise and consoles could ultimately be the platform to disappear.” Steve Ling, Overclockers

of the bases modern consumers look for.” However, other retailers and distributors have revealed to PCR that the free upgrade could be quite challenging to make a profit from, as some customers may put off upgrading their devices straight away and wait to check out the OS first. “Windows 10 may slow the decline in the commercial space but this isn’t expected to have an impact til late 2016, when businesses are sure that all the stability and security issues are ironed out in the planned updates and sufficient testing has taken place,” explains Welsh. On the other hand, various vendors have already revealed their own Windows 10-ready devices, including the likes of HP, Asus and Acer, which may help to drum up sales for retailers. Robinson adds: “The advent of Windows 10 will bring a renewed enthusiasm for the desktop – people will come out of upgrade and refresh retirement because there’s a hopeful atmosphere around the changes to the operating system. “After Windows 8’s lack of desktop friendly features and the omission of the Start button, Windows 10 will seemingly be much more

desktop friendly for consumers.” It is hard to say definitively what the future holds for the desktop, but currently retailers and vendors seem optimistic about its outlook. Thanks to the gaming industry, and the launch of Windows 10, many believe that the desktop will claw back market share. Paul Betteridge, owner of The Laptop Fixers, says: “I think the desktop will never die. Many of our customers see a PC on a stick and compare the cost of this against the cost of a full size desktop. Perceived value is higher in a desktop, probably because you physically get a lot more for your money. “It’s very difficult to convince a customer to spend £500 on one of these devices because of their size.” Even though there are smaller alternatives to the desktop, it has made its mark within the industry as a familiar figure within homes and businesses, and it is that familiarity that may help to maintain its position in the market. “ “We know there will always be a place for the traditional tower PC, in universities, scientific and academic research, for example,” explains Robinson.

www.pcr-online.biz

INTERVIEW

The sky’s the limit Tech distributor Computers Unlimited, which focuses on the professional creative and digital home markets, has been acquired by Exertis. But what does the move mean for the firm? Dominic Sacco asks CEO James Sanson…

because it wasn’t big enough anyway. So yes they’ve committed a new 450,000 sq ft facility, but they already have several 250,000 facilities around the place in the UK, and we’ll be fitting nicely into one of them.

ow will the acquisition affect your business? The number one thing for us is it addresses our biggest weakness. Historically, while we’ve done well with some retailers, we’ve not had the same breadth of penetration into a wider group of retailers. Exertis has a 70-person retail team – ours was six people. So being able to integrate and leverage off that team, to help some of our brands get into retail and telco, is the big win. And it saves us as we look at logistics. If we’d opened a new warehouse ourselves, that probably would have been a £2 million investment, and it avoids the need for that. Everyone seems to think it’s a smart deal for everybody. How long has it been in the works? Paul Donnelly, the founder of Gem (Exertis was previously known as Exertis Micro-P and Exertis Gem), has politely tried to sound me out several times in the past 10 years. And I’ve always said: “Thank you but the time is not right.” So this chapter of turning interest into reality has all been in 2015. It’s all been quite fast – it’s all happened in about three months. Will your customers automatically become Exertis customers now? There will be no automatic ‘if you’ve got an account with one, you’ve got an account with the other’ integration. A bit like within Exertis today, customers of Exertis IT (formerly Exertis Micro-P) don’t have the same account number or even an account with Exertis Home (formerly Exertis Gem). So for the next few years, it will be the same. I’m sure if you called up and said “I’m an Exertis customer –

26 | PCR July 2015

What makes your firm a good fit for Exertis? I think the simple thing is we’re a great incubator of young and medium sized brands, so we bring that to them. If you’re an American startup with no resource in the UK, you can get very lost in a big distributor – and that’s where we come in.

Exertis acquired Computers Unlimited in a deal worth £24 million

here’s my account number,” it will help them get an account set up a little bit faster, but they will need a separate account, because we’re running on separate systems. Exertis says it will be ‘business as usual’ for Computers Unlimited. Do you expect them to take a very hands-off approach? I think one of the things that appealed to me about Exertis is, if you watch what they did when they bought Micro-P and Gem and their other businesses, they left them alone for quite a while. And I think that while Micro-P and Gem and some of the other businesses aren’t quite broadline businesses, they do

a lot of volume with large mature manufacturers. What they like about Computers Unlimited is we are a bit of an incubator with young brands. And so, the agreement is they’re meant to leave us independent for the foreseeable future, other than warehousing, where there’s some synergies to be shared. Speaking of warehousing, Exertis is planning to build a new 450,000 sq ft UK distribution centre next year. What does this mean for your current warehouse? Our existing warehouse in the UK only has about a year left on its lease. And we were already using overflow outsourced warehousing

“We’re a great incubator of young and medium sized brands, so we bring that to Exertis.” James Sanson, Computers Unlimited

Computers Unlimited has annual revenue of around £140 million. Do you expect to see a significant increase following the acquisition? I don’t necessarily expect the revenue to rise dramatically. I think neither Exertis nor us are particularly focused on revenue. We’d rather focus on the quality of the business. And whether the revenues go up materially, or it just becomes a higher margin business with better profit, I’m not sure. Were there any other offers aside from Exertis? No – the interesting thing was they approached us. So in that sense, no, there were no other offers. We haven’t gone looking for this. Will anything else change? The board and all the directors are tied in on longterm contracts, so there should be no changes in the team, we’re in the same office building, there’s the same logo over the front door. It really is business as usual, but coming into their retail channels and using their logistics resources. www.pcr-online.biz

THE BIG INTERVIEW

Lenovo dares t Lenovo’s UK consumer director Alex Ebeid

Having worked at HP for more than a decade, Alex Ebeid is now Lenovo’s UK consumer director – and is planning on knocking his old employer off the UK’s No.1 spot by using innovation to grow in a consolidating market. He talks openly to Dominic Sacco about the PC vendor’s new look, new product categories and new strategy which has made Lenovo change with the times…

t’s been ten years since Lenovo acquired IBM’s PC business. You’ve just outlined a rebrand at your Tech World event – why is Lenovo changing? Ten years ago, Lenovo was ranked number nine in the PC industry and acquired the IBM PC business, with 2.3 per cent market share and $3 billion in revenue annually. Now, Lenovo is a very different company. It’s a $46 billion business and number one in the PC industry, with one in five PCs being sold by Lenovo around the world. Lenovo has changed into a ‘PC and other’ company I would say, with the ‘other’ being smartphones – we shipped 76 million smartphones last year, combined with Motorola, making us the number three player in the world. We are the number three player in the world in tablets too. If we put our PC and our tablet business together we’re number one. What you saw at Tech World were other things that we’re thinking about in the future, we’ve got the services part of our business 28 | PCR July 2015

around cloud computing, we’ve got some apps that have hundreds of millions of people around the world using them like the Shareit app, which lets you share info between devices. To cut a long story short, we’re not changing – we have changed. We’re a very different business to what we were ten years ago and it’s an exciting place to be. What kind of marketshare do you have in the UK and what are your aims here? My guess is that we want to become number one in the UK – we don’t give a timeframe but that’s our ambition. We are currently number two with a share of about 17 per cent. The leader is HP with a share of about 25 per cent. I look after the consumer side, so in the consumer segment we were number five a year ago, we’ve now got ourselves to a number two position, so we have really transformed our business locally. We have a 15 per cent share of the UK market and our ambition is to

get to 20 per cent as soon as possible. And we’re currently on track to do that.

“We’re not changing – we have changed. We’re a very different business to what we were ten years ago and it’s an exciting place to be.” Alex Ebeid, Lenovo

Lenovo has sold 100m ThinkPad laptops and your Yoga tablets are popular. Why do you think this is and what’s next? Yoga is a very strong consumer brand. The 2-in-1 market is a growing part of the PC business, particularly within consumer, and you can expect us doubling down in that area in the immediate future. We are investing heavily and it’s all a part of the re-branding – we’re really focused around how we drive more Yoga sales. In terms of ThinkPads, they are more the enterprise and B2B space – obviously this is the brand Lenovo inherited when it bought IBM PCs. It’s a very strong brand in its own right and goes from strength to strength. How does your consumer business compare to the B2B side? Just over half the market in terms of volume is in

consumer, and just under half the volume in the market is in B2B (SMB and enterprise). On the commercial side, the enterprise business is very, very strong. We’re near a 30 per cent share, and with the SMB sector, we’re quite close to where consumer is, around the mid teens kind of area. I would say we’re balanced and we have a very strong enterprise business which is growing. You’ve revealed your first streaming device – the Lenovo Cast. What are your sales expectations for that? We haven’t announced the launch date in the UK, but if you look at the home now there are multiple devices that you want to share content between. People are investing money in not only better routers and power lines, but they’re also investing in products to get their data and stream it across different devices. That’s why we are pursuing it. There are already products on the market and we can see them doing well. Lenovo’s going to www.pcr-online.biz

THE BIG INTERVIEW

o be different 10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW FROM TECH WORLD

Lenovo recently unveiled its new streaming device (left) as well as plans for the Magic View smartwatch (right)

Lenovo came under fire earlier this year around the Superfish ‘malware’ which was pre-installed in some of its devices. How did this impact sales and are you now on the road to recovery following this? As soon as we became aware of Superfish, Lenovo worked extremely hard to rectify the problem. Obviously it wasn’t ideal and Lenovo has publicly said it wasn’t our finest hour. We worked with Microsoft and McAfee as well as retailers to ensure that all our customers were protected and that Superfish was removed from our devices. Now going forwards, we have also talked about delivering a safer and cleaner PC experience and that will come when we launch with Windows 10, so there’s been an internal review about what kind of freeload software we put on our PCs to ensure we www.pcr-online.biz

providing maps and directions to places.

2. A Google Chromecastrivalling streaming device from Lenovo is set to hit the market, as is a PC on a stick product.

7. Smart Cast is a smartphone concept allowing users to project content and virtual interactive interfaces (such as a virtualised keyboard for typing).

3. Lenovo announced that David McQuarrie will lead its UK and Ireland business going forwards. He replaces Marc Godin, who has become EMEA VP of supply chain.

The firm is investing heavily in products such as its Yoga 2-in-1 laptop

be joining that and I would say watch this space soon for more products coming out of the Lenovo house directed at that part of the market.

1. Lenovo unveiled a new logo at its Tech World event, saying it “reflects Lenovo’s personality and incorporates its rich heritage of acquisitions and original innovation DNA”.

4. The company is working on a Magic View smartwatch with two screens and a virtual display. 5. A Smart Shoes concept was shown off. It’s an Internet of Things (IoT) product that tracks data including heart beats and calories consumed, while

give our customers the best experience going forwards. We have not seen any impact in demand on our products (following Superfish). We’re still gaining share.

6. Lenovo is exploring emerging fields such as robots and unmanned aerial vehicles.

8. There will be Cortana integration with Lenovo devices, including REACHit, whereby users can extend the search capabilities of the Windows 10 virtual assistant to non-Microsoft services. 9. A new ThinkPad 10 tablet was revealed to mark the fact that 100 million ThinkPads have been shipped to date. 10. Two SAN storage arrays were unveiled: the S2200 and S3200.

For retailers who aren’t aware, who are your UK distribution partners? Our UK distribution partners are Exertis UK and Westcoast. Analysts are saying that tablet sales are falling but notebooks, all-in-ones and 2-in-1s are more resilient. Is this something you’re seeing at Lenovo? If you look at the GfK monthlies, the tablet market has been in decline for the last nine months or so. The challenge for vendors in that market is to bring innovative products as well as a reason to buy. We have been growing share in that consolidating market and I firmly believe it’s because we’re bringing some of the innovation to what customers want. But I think that’s why the market is declining overall because

“You’ll see Lenovo provide solutions for both the PC on a stick and the small form factor markets in the near future.” Alex Ebeid, Lenovo

there isn’t enough innovation in that category. On the notebooks side, while they are growing, the challenge here is that ASPs have been declining. However, we’ve got a very strong gaming line which helps retailers sell hardware at higher ASPs. Then in the desktop market there’s a growth towards all-in-one; people are migrating from towers to all-in-ones. Now the great thing is we have about a 40 per cent share in all-inones so it’s a really good opportunity for Lenovo. How do you see the desktop sector changing this year

and next, in light of new form factors, and how will UK retail evolve? There are different form factors in the tower space, so on the entry level there’s the PC on a stick market and then the small form factor market. I think you’ll see Lenovo provide solutions for both, and we’ll go after both of them in the near future. In terms of tech retail, the shopping experience has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. You’re seeing this move into omnichannel, and think those retailers that have the best omnichannel experience with the customers will win. PCR July 2015 | 29

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FEATURE

Training in tech With over two million apprenticeships starting in the UK since 2010, more IT companies are starting to offer their own schemes. Jade Burke finds out how beneficial they are and how it can help students break into the IT industry…

pprenticeships are starting to cause a buzz in the IT industry. With political parties talking up schemes in the run up to the general election, and large tech companies such as Microsoft having their own ones in place, the future is bright for young people. According to Gov.co.uk, since 2010 there have been over two million apprenticeships in England, and now Prime Minister David Cameron wants more. Speaking in Parliament, Cameron said: “The last Parliament saw more than 2.2 million new apprenticeships start, and the Queen’s Speech will help to create three million more.” Many young people are snapping up apprenticeships as a means to get into an industry and the IT sector is no different, as more and more companies are starting to see the benefits of employing an apprentice. VIP Computers director Rich Marsden says: “We get to bring people in at an early age who we can mould to do the things that we want them to do. “They’re enthusiastic without a doubt because we gave them that opportunity and training.” By acting as an alternative to university, students are able to gain the skills they need whilst earning and learning at the same time. Graham Hunter, VP of skills certification EME at CompTIA, concurs: “Organisations that use apprenticeships get candidates with industryrelevant skills that are learning company culture as well as technical skill. “For the individual candidate, apprenticeships represent a credible alternative to university, offering quality opportunities

www.pcr-online.biz

The Government wants to create another three million apprenticeships

to ‘earn and learn’ and apply knowledge and skills.” IT trade association CompTIA also works with a range of further education colleges as well as training and academic partners including the likes of Just IT, TDM, New Horizons, Baltic and Firebrand. In addition, Microsoft recently celebrated its fiveyear anniversary of its Partner Apprenticeship scheme, which has seen over 7,000 young people placed in about 5,000 different companies since its development. But it isn’t just the large vendors and associations offering young people a hand into the industry, as independent retailers are also taking on apprentices. Tahir Muhammad, owner of Stamford Hill Computers, explains: “We take students from local educational establishments as well as from abroad. These are not apprentices in the exact sense

of the word, but rather students who have to complete a certain period as work experience as a requirement for their academic qualification.” Similarly, David Stroud from The PC Surgeon also takes on apprentices, and sees it as a very rewarding process by offering younger people an insight into the tech industry. He comments: “Mentoring young people regardless of if they stay or not, knowing that you have helped someone see a possible future in IT is very rewarding. We were lucky to have good mentors and it is our way to give back. “We need to do more to encourage new talent and diversity into the sector.” Apprentices have proved to be a successful means to gain a full time position within a company, with 90 per cent of apprentices staying in employment after finishing their apprenticeship, reports Gov.co.uk. Tech giant

“We need to do more to encourage new talent and diversity into the sector.” David Stroud, The PC Surgeon

Microsoft has also witnessed this through its apprenticeship scheme, with 93 per cent of the program’s apprentices remaining with the company they complete their apprenticeship with. Recently Microsoft also crowned the first ever female winner of its annual Apprentice of the Year competition. 19-year-old Tanya Stittle scooped the award, while Daniel Morrison won the Microsoft’s Modern Apprentice of the Year award in Scotland. Often apprenticeships have been associated with cheap labour, but Marsden believes this just isn’t the case. VIP Computers currently has six apprentices who receive the same commission scheme as employers and a training programe internally. “When you hear people say apprentices are just cheap labour you think that they are probably the wrong company to look at taking on an apprentice,” explains Marsden. Although apprenticeships are increasing, the IT skills gap is still an issue in the industry, with many companies still finding gaps in IT skills. But, young people in education are still unaware of the opportunities available to them, something Milward believes companies should be targeting more. Milward says: “In order to close the IT skills gap, businesses, the Government and schools need to work together to help raise awareness of the options open to those who are considering a career in IT.” With the Government’s plans to increase the number of apprenticeships in the UK and Microsoft campaigning to double its offering each year, the gap may close sooner than we think. PCR July 2015 | 33

INTERVIEW

Staying ahead of the game While sales of standard desktop PCs are down, the market for custom gaming machines is stronger than ever. Dominic Sacco speaks to Ben Miles, sales director at system integrator Chillblast, about his views on the shifting sector, quitting the components game and striking a deal with Batman…

“P

EOPLE HAVE been foretelling the demise of the desktop since I’ve been in this business – and it simply doesn’t happen.” Ben Miles is clearly unfazed when I ask him about the global drop in desktop sales and the fact that vendor giants such as Intel are seeing an even lower than expected demand for traditional PCs. He’s been at Chillblast for 13 years and describes himself as ‘part of the furniture’, so he’s seen the industry develop substantially in that time. Having started out writing tech news, he now leads a team of two other purchasers as well as heading up marketing and business development. “I think the key desktop market is evolving, so new form factors like tablets and convertibles are taking over the traditional entry-level desktop role,” he continues. “So Aunty May who wants to check her Facebook and answer emails can do that on a phone or tablet, and the need for a dedicated desktop for general browsing is no longer there. That whole slice of the entry-level market, which used to be big business, is small fry now.

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“But that is a business we have never dabbled in. We’re not interested in selling boxes with one per cent margin at £200.” What Chillblast is interested in selling, of course, is performance machines for PC gamers and enthusiasts. The online retailer is an expert in this field, having launched back in 2001 as a tech news and reviews website, before importing niche overclocking components to the UK and eventually becoming a fullyfledged system integrator in 2011. And last year was its biggest yet, with unit sales up. “What we’ve actually seen in our sector is the desktop market growing at the fastest rate that it has since we’ve been incorporated. We’ve also seen our ASP (average selling price) shoot up dramatically in the last 12 months. “With the new games consoles [Xbox One and PS4], they’ve set the bar pretty much at a GTX 960 level, so you’re looking at an entrylevel box of £700 to compete with a console in terms of graphics, which for a business like ours, is fantastic. If you look at the stats on Steam, 80 per cent of the users are running inadequate hardware

to play Assassin’s Creed Unity, so it’s a massive market. We reckon it’s £500 million worth of business waiting there to be snapped up.”

“Our systems are not your usual black gaming boxes with ﬂashing lights and coloured LED fans. It’s been done to death – people are bored of that.” Ben Miles, Chillblast

LICENCE TO THRILL Other than gaming PCs getting more affordable, what else has been driving this growth? Well, eSports (or competitive gaming) is becoming a real force, with gamers following their favourite pros and watching live streams. “eSports is a massive area of growth – the industry is expecting eSports to be more popular in terms of viewers than F1 and NFL and NHL combined by 2020. There are millions of people that would rather watch someone else play Minecraft than watch Eastenders; people like us can’t afford to pooh-pooh that as a fad or whatever because it’s anything but. People can see the graphics from a stream and think, ‘Well why can’t my PC do that?’, so it’s a driver of new business for us.” Chillblast gets hundreds of requests every week from eSports, Twitch and YouTube channels, and while it doesn’t yet sponsor eSports teams as

it says it’s hard to measure response on those, it does partner with some of the bigger video channels. It has a deal with Yogscast and produces branded PCs based on the popular UK gaming channel. Licences are important to Chillblast’s strategy. The firm has teamed up with 20th Century Fox in the past to make co-branded PCs around Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and it’s signed a deal with Warner Bros to bring official Batman PCs to market. It also partners with independent game developers, including the likes of R8 Games, which is making the spiritual successor to classic racing game Wipeout. Chillblast kits out their entire office and workstations, and in exchange it will appear in the game in the form of a branded racing team and vehicle that players will be able to drive. Looking at other growth areas, Chillblast is seeing more of its customers turning to small form factors and laptops as technology improves. “Laptops are one of the strongest areas of growth within our business and that’s www.pcr-online.biz

INTERVIEW

really been driven by a massive improvement in the quality of the product,” Miles comments. “On a £1,000 laptop, you can now get 80 per cent of the performance from a £1,000 desktop. “We also have a small form factor system called the Fusion Nano, which is half the size of the market-leading Bitfenix Prodigy case. The Nano is overclocked, has a quad core chip, i5 or i7, GTX 970, 16GB solid state, and dedicated hybrid. We’re seeing gamers embrace that small form factor.” While its machines sell well, Chillblast has actually stepped back from individual component sales. Why? “It’s such a massive business and requires a lot of focus, we don’t want to take our eyes off of our core business to try and compete with the likes of Ebuyer and Dabs,” Miles explains. “They know that business very well; yes we could go out with lower prices but we don’t want to trigger a price war, that doesn’t help anybody.” FROM B2C TO B2B Chillblast is proud of its standing in the consumer PC market. It has won PC Pro’s www.pcr-online.biz

customer satisfaction excellence award for five years in a row, says it has the best Trustpilot rating for an SI and has racked up a total of 15 ‘best PC brand’ awards across the board. Miles tells PCR: “Customer service is incredibly important, it underpins everything we do as a business. We know reputations can be very hard to earn and easy to lose. If something is not right, as a company we try and move heaven and earth to make it right and make sure the customer walks away having had not just a good experience, but an exceptional experience. Our aim is customer delight, not just customer satisfaction. We’re aiming to be the most customer service-centric SI, but we’re also not afraid to break the mould of the normal black gaming box.” It’s not just the consumer market that Chillblast has its sights set on. Like other PC retailers, it is targeting the B2B market with servers, networking, workstations and support. Miles says: “We’re still aiming to have strong doubledigit growth this year in our

Chillblast builds thousands of custom systems

“There are millions of people that would rather watch someone else play Minecraft than watch Eastenders.” Ben Miles, Chillblast

B2B sector. We actually have some pretty massive B2B customers – some of the biggest corporations in the world are powered by Chillblast at the top level. “We’ll continue to seek additional industry accreditation, with a view to expanding our B2B horizons. Last year we became ISO 9001:2004 certified.” Looking ahead, to say it’s an exciting time to be in the PC gaming industry is a bit of an understatement. Steam Machines are around the corner, AMD has a new highend graphics card to challenge Nvidia and PCI Express SSDs promise better performance to name a few. While it’s excited by all of those things, Chillblast is most looking forwards to Windows 10 and the impressive new API it brings: DirectX 12. “Windows 10 is going to be a big game-changer,” Miles adds. “Microsoft is back on form and Windows 10 has been overwhelmingly positively received. “DirectX 12 is a much lighter API for gaming, so it’s going to increase the performance on existing hardware and open up so much more opportunity for

the PC to distance itself from other gaming platforms, in terms of graphics quality. Games developers will use the extra horse power available to improve special effects and graphics to drive ever higher quality, so that’s exciting. “In terms of AMD and Nvidia, the market is showing people want quiet and power efficient – not just brute force performance anymore. And that is what AMD will rectify with its imminent 300-Series release. Saying that, I think unquestionably it will be Nvidia’s year.” So what of the future? What’s next for Chillblast – and the competitive market its in? Miles concludes: “The days of making massive margins in PC hardware have long since gone. Our systems are not your usual black gaming boxes with flashing lights and coloured LED fans. It’s been done to death – people are bored of that. We feel the key is to differentiate yourself with quality of service and innovative products that are unique in the market. “That’s where we aim to come out on the other side of a challenging market, ahead of the game.” PCR July 2015 | 35

INTERVIEW

Vorsprung durch Technik Forget the cars – another German company is aiming for ‘advancement through technology’ in the UK with its line of computers, monitors, workstations and servers. Wortmann AG wants to challenge the top tier 1 vendors with its Terra brand and help out the smaller reseller. To ﬁnd out how, Dominic Sacco sits down with joint UK MDs Neil Jensen and Gavin Rose…

Neil Jensen says the goal is to grow the Terra brand in the UK

hat sets Terra apart? Why should resellers be interested in a brand which is only two years old in the UK? Neil Jensen: We are a strict reseller-only company and we never sell directly. That means our reseller loyalty remains high – we have over 10,000 resellers now across all of Europe. We opened the UK office in April 2013 and have gone from having no UK customers to having over 300 customers in the UK so far. Gavin Rose: Our biggest challenge is to get our brand known in a very competitive marketplace where there’s a lot of aggressive tier 1s. But also that can be an advantage, as when people realise the brand is of good quality, they’re still not going to see it splashed across every etailer, advertised on Google or in every High Street outlet like some of the tier 1s are. So for a lot of the resellers, especially the smaller resellers who are perhaps more our bread and butter, that’s an advantage to them. Can you give us a brief insight into Terra and the history of the brand? Neil Jensen: Next year Wortmann AG will turn 30 years old. The two founding owners Siegbert Wortmann and Thomas Knicker set up the company in Germany

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with Siegbert’s wife Gabriele Wortmann, and they’ve built the company step by step. It’s a very family-orientated business – the three kids of Wortmann’s work in the company, it’s built from the ground up and is a very conservativeminded company – it’s not over-aggressive. The goals of the company when it was set up was to try to make a successful IT business, but obviously not to be greedy or to challenge yourself too much with 50 per cent growth or something stupid like that. But rather, the idea was to try to be healthy. It’s fully privately owned and fully self-financed, so it’s sitting on a very healthy profitable cash-rich company, which is the result of sticking to those goals, and trying to target five to ten per cent growth year-on-year. Tell us about your partner/ reseller strategy… Neil Jensen: We have two different programs. One is for partners, where we have a tier status. We also have something for our service partners, because if we’re doing on-site service agreements for desktops or servers, we actually work with the reseller to make them our service partner. So resellers have an opportunity to make their own money by selling services and doing them on behalf of us.

Gavin Rose: Where we’re really strong is with the smaller resellers. You know, you have your HPs and Dells focusing on the big deals and the big resellers; we’re targeting the smaller guys who basically haven’t been very well serviced in the UK for a long time. 2014 was successful for Wortmann, with group turnover of more than one billion euros for the very first time. What was that down to, and can this increase further? Neil Jensen: This year the company goal is to keep the one billion flat. Last year the Windows XP end of support was very strong for selling desktops. And now with Windows Server 2003 going away, we’ve seen some good server sales because people are swapping their servers now. This was a big influence on our revenue for last year. Roughly 50 per cent of our revenues are from distribution components and 50 per cent are from branded business. We’re not going to do as many desktops as last year – no one is. Last year was phenomenal in the business desktops segment. What are your specific goals and plans for the UK? Neil Jensen: It’s a case of us trying to internally benchmark ourselves rather than externally benchmark ourselves. We’re setting www.pcr-online.biz

30/06/2015 10:52

INTERVIEW

ourselves a goal for 2016 to become a £25 million operation in the UK, which is reasonable for a mediumsized company. If we benchmark ourselves against some of the successful players in the UK, our goal has to be to become a £50 million to £100 million company in the medium to long term. And that’s what we’re doing. In 2010 about 15 per cent of your revenue was generated outside of Germany. What is that figure now? Neil Jensen: Overseas business (outside of Germany) is today about 25 per cent of overall revenue. In the UK it’s about 0.5 per cent or one per cent of the one billion. We’re so new. We’d very much like to grow that substantially. As far as Wortmann goes, they’re quite conservative going overseas. The French and Swiss subsidiaries have been going for ten years now, so we’re celebrating that too. We also have offices in the Netherlands for Benelux, and Austria, and we’re just starting this year to open a Polish office. We do a lot of overseas business, we sell a lot in Sweden, Poland and Italy. Based on the fact they already have ten years’ experience working overseas in different countries, I think we can accelerate the UK faster than the other ones. Is your pricing more attractive than some of the bigger vendors out there like the Dells and HPs? Gavin Rose: Not always. Some of their pricing can be frankly quite ridiculous. So we’re not always the cheapest, but in most of the cases we can compete and give resellers a similar price and a similar product, or a better product with a similar price. We give them a lot more flexibility too, so they have account managers they can talk to; if they have a www.pcr-online.biz

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problem they can get hold of a director’s number and talk to me or Neil directly. We can support them, give them collateral and demo units. So that’s where we can make a difference. Which categories are you focusing on? Neil Jensen: I would say overall we’re very strong in all segments across Europe. We’re building and selling a lot of desktops, workstations and Android and Windows tablets. Our business tablets are doing very well – we’ve

“You have your HPs and Dells focusing on the big deals and the big resellers, but we’re targeting the smaller guys who basically haven’t been very well serviced in the UK for a long time.” Gavin Rose, Terra UK just launched a brand new i5based 11.6-inch tablet that is very much competitive against Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3. Our own LCD monitor range has 24-month advanced replacement warranty as standard. Then there’s server and storage, not forgetting cloud, military and medical; also thin-client solutions and MultiPoint Server solutions which are ideal for primary education. I think we’re probably one of the top ten Intel server customers worldwide, and our budget for investment is over 18

million to build our own new datacentre cloud system. What does your UK operation consist of? Neil Jensen: Right now we have nine staff and we’re growing organically based on what our needs are. One member of staff is a server centre manager, so we don’t have a warehouse as such – everything is shipped from Germany. But we also have a warehouse in the UK for any service or repair needs. Our office is based in Leamington Spa which is very central.

Gavin Rose believes the company is strong with smaller resellers

Who are your current distribution and buying group partners? Neil Jensen: We started in 2013 with Brigantia, and now we’re in the process of finishing signing with Network Group in the UK. We don’t use any distributor partners. Any reseller can approach us and we supply them direct. Where do you see yourself this time next year? What’s next for Terra in the UK? Gavin Rose: Our own aim is to have good strong healthy growth year-on-year. At the moment, as we’re fairly small, we want to double ourselves as a minimum target yearon-year. Neil Jensen: The goalposts are very high and flexible because we have a big opportunity and a big green field in front of us to play with. Even with the desktop market going down year-onyear, I think there’s an opportunity for a tier 2 brand like Terra to get in there, because the tier 1 brands aren’t as strong in that market anymore. There are weaknesses we can take advantage of and take market share even in a decreasing market. Our business is only on an uptake, so that’s our big advantage compared to a lot of disties and tier 2s in the UK. PCR July 2015 | 37

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FEATURE

Losing patents Perhaps the biggest cause of headaches for major tech vendors are ‘patent trolls’ who accuse a business of infringing their patent. Dominic Sacco looks at some major cases and asks law expert Daniel Glazer how to avoid being sued…

YPE ‘patent troll’ into Google and you’ll find thousands of bizarre articles, including several big stories going live each day. “How Apple lost $533 million to an 8th-grade dropout patent troll,” reads one. “Patent troll claims to own Bluetooth, scores $15.7 million verdict against Samsung,” says another. Then there’s the following: “Symantec must pay $17 million to world’s biggest patent troll.” These are just three I picked which have all happened in 2015. So firstly, let’s understand what a so-called patent troll actually is. Daniel Glazer, partner at US law firm Fried Frank Technology, describes them to PCR as “nonpracticing entities that typically make money by amassing a number of different patents, and then using legal action or the threat of legal action to obtain licensing fees from businesses”. “Patent trolls generally use the risk of incurring the time and financial cost of legal action to obtain monetary settlement from companies they target,” he says. Research shows this type of litigation has cost investors an estimated half a trillion dollars (£775 billion) since 1990. So how do these patent trolls actually win the lawsuits? One particular case that caught my eye was the Rembrandt Wireless Technologies LP vs Samsung case settled earlier this year. A Texas federal jury awarded won $15.7 million to Rembrandt IP over two of its Bluetooth patents, which Samsung apparently infringed with its Galaxy S phones. Samsung has even reportedly spent almost $1 38 | PCR July 2015

Samsung’s ice rink outside a court in Texas was built to appease locals

Daniel Glazer advises firms to take basic tax advice when it comes to patents

million (£645,000) on local projects to appease the community in Marshall, Texas, where the case was held – like opening a branded ice skating rink situated right in front of the court house. In a separate case earlier in May 2015, networking vendor Cisco was ordered to pay around $64 million (£41 million) to Commil, a holder of a patent for a method of implementing short-range wireless networks. But it won’t be getting the money just yet, as the court said it needs more proof that the defendant (Cisco) knew the acts were infringing – sending the case back to the US Court of Appeals. While Samsung declined to comment on its case, and Cisco was unable to answer some of our questions, it did offer PCR the following statement: “The federal circuit’s ruling vacating the

“Startups in the UK looking to expand to the US should not be discouraged by headlinegrabbing worst case scenarios.” Daniel Glazer, Fried Frank Technology

jury verdict in this case still stands. This decision simply eliminates one of many strong defences available to Cisco and we look forward to the retrial of the case.” Cisco has also joined a coalition of different businesses, United for Patent Reform, who are working together to ‘fight wanton abuse of the patent litigation system by patent assertion entities (PAEs)’. While a lot of these cases against tech giants tend to take place in America, there are plenty of reports of smaller-scale patent trolls in the UK. And as it can cost up to around $5 million (£3.23 million) to defend a patent suit, any firm would want to avoid such a scenario – especially a tech start-up who might not be able to afford such fees. However, Glazer adds: “Startups in the UK looking to

expand to the United States should be mindful of the risk – but also not be discouraged by headline-grabbing worst case scenarios. “To mitigate patent troll risk when doing business in the US, a startup can consider doing business through a US subsidiary that has limited assets that might be of interest to a patent troll. In other words, make yourself a relatively unappealing target. A startup also can consider taking out insurance against the threat. “If the startup has been served a lawsuit, it should go straight to an experienced lawyer to formulate a strategy – patent troll disputes very quickly can get complicated and expensive.” Glazer also advises firms to take basic tax advice, protect their key IP through patent and trademark filings, confidentiality agreements (for trade secrets), and employment and contractor agreements that assign developed IP to the company, as well as talking with a patent lawyer to discuss your invention, though he reminds firms that “obtaining a patent can be a lengthy process, with some taking up to five years to issue after the initial filing”. Things may also be looking up for tech firms in the future. Federal courts are now making it much harder for patent trolls to sue over the more unclear ideas, and in 2014, the amount of new patent cases filed in US courts fell 18 per cent to 5,020 (the first decrease in five years). But judging from the sheer number of articles on patent litigation online today, those trolls aren’t going anywhere just yet. www.pcr-online.biz

BEHIND THE SCENES

Home is where the heart is As NAS specialist Synology enters into a new market with its first router, Jade Burke goes behind the scenes at the company’s UK office to find out more, including plans in home automation…

alking through the industrial estate in Milton Keynes, I am soon welcomed by the iconic Synology logo emblazoned across the top of a building. Joanne Plummer, Synology’s UK marketing manager is the first face I see as I walk through the entrance, who insists I meet the rest of the team before we settle down, all of which don a Synology branded T-shirt. Surprisingly, just 15 employees work in the UK office, who have to manage tech support enquires, repairs, marketing and sales. While I wait to meet the company’s new sales manager, the team pauses to sit down and tell me all about the most memorable tech requests they have had from their customers. Some end users have on occasion sent back a NAS from a competitor in the hope it will be replaced or fixed, much to the team’s amusement. I meet Billy Knowles, the sales manager for the UK, Ireland and Nordics, who can’t wait to tell me all about the company’s new products. “We’ve got a router coming out, it’s still in development

40 | PCR July 2015

and we haven’t actually got a release date on that yet,” grins Knowles. “It is the RT1900AC and you can still use it as a small NAS. It’s got an SD card so you can install some packages and have videos and stream them directly from your router. So it is quite good for the home user.” Knowles also revealed that Synology will be updating its DS214+ with the new DS215+, as well as the new Visual Station 360HD, propelling the company further into the surveillance market. Having recently been promoted to the role, his days are far from dull. He tells me: “I’m very busy on the computer, answering emails, answering the phone and just catching up.” As always, the company has a line-up of new devices coming to the channel, and Knowles isn’t shy about sharing the details with PCR. Taking a glance around the room, I notice a line-up of framed certificates that litter the back wall, representing each award the company has won over the years, and there will soon be another two to

join that line-up. During Computex 2015 in Taiwan, Synology also bagged a Golden Best Choice Award for the new RT1900ac router, as well as securing a Best Choice award for the RackStation RC18015xs+, which the company says it couldn’t be happier about. Having previously held the role as sales manager for the Nordics, Knowles has had plenty of experience geared towards his new position within the company: “The UK market is a lot bigger so there’s a lot more work to be done, and we have a lot more events. “The workload is a lot more and it means we’re looking at expanding the team as well to get the extra assistance and support we need,” explains Knowles. What other plans does the firm have for the future? Home surveillance and automation are firmly on Knowles’ agenda, and the NAS will be the centrepiece for the company. As the NAS becomes more popular with customers, the company is looking to expand into more verticals and grow within the market.

From left to right: Sales manager Billy Knowles, sales and marketing assistant Michael Rickard and marketing manager Joanne Plummer

“The next step for the consumer market is going to be home surveillance and home automation. I can see NAS being a big part of that.” Billy Knowles, Synology UK

Knowles continues: “The NAS has grown and become more popular in the last few years, and I think it’s quite a growing trend. “The next step is looking at home surveillance and home automation. I think that’s going to be the next step for the consumer market, and I can see NAS being quite a big part of that, as people are looking for somewhere to store their data.” Industry events are an important aspect to Synology’s business, having previously exhibited at the Photography Show and Gadget Show Live earlier this year, and PCR Boot Camp, Knowles also attended DreamHack in Sweden to check out the gaming side of the industry. Plummer adds: “The photography industry and the gaming industry is something that we have looked at for a while but haven’t done anything with. Photographers really need us, and this year was the first time we exhibited at the Photography Show, and that was one of our busiest exhibitions.” www.synology.com 01908 366380 www.pcr-online.biz

PC on a Stick

10 cm

Quad Core Intel® Processor 2GB Ram & 32GB Storage

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Connectivity Transform a normal Display to a Computer

Ultra Mobile PC Windows 8.1 Pre-installed

“If you travel a lot, it’s an excellent investment.” WebUser

“The Hannspree Micro PC is an engineering marvel.” XS Reviews

“In a modern office it could serve as the ultimate hot-desking tool.” PC Pro

“the Micro PC is an undoubtedly cool little device rich with potential.” Eurogamer.net

“Editor’s Choice Award “A superb tiny PC, with more than enough performance.” Micromart

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SECTOR GUIDE

Sales Success With desktop shipments dipping, what should retailers and resellers consider when selling PCs nowadays – and what can they do to keep sales steady? Dominic Sacco and Jade Burke ask ﬁgures across the industry for their advice… ”Concentrate on form factors that have been selling well. For example, in our distribution data we have seen all-in-one (AIO) desktops become the strongest growth driver in recent quarters, in the consumer space. In Q1 2015, the format factor registered year-on-year growth of 49 per cent in the UK. In the business space, ultra-small form factors and mini-towers have been the strongest growing form factors and grew 253 per cent and 45 per cent respectively.” LACHLAN WELSH, Senior analyst, Context ”Pick a niche, and do not try to take on the big companies without having a large marketing budget. Sell on service and not price; charge for your knowledge not your time.” CLIFFORD JOHNSON, Owner, PCs Made Simple www.pcr-online.biz

”We like to offer bundle deals to our domestic users. This is a great way of driving the price up a little without having to discount or take money off the asking price. It adds more value to the deal – we go away with the price we want, the customer goes away happy with a great value deal. For businesses, we like to provide a few hours setting up and installation for the price of just one hour (so we get the asking price and call out charge). Again, it’s great value and no discounting. “On top of this, we offer monthly packages to maintain/monitor computers, as well as remote IT support and ongoing support plans.” PAUL BETTERIDGE, Owner, The Laptop Fixers ”Firstly, we haven’t seen sales of desktops dipping – quite the opposite in

fact – and that goes for our customers too. “Basically, there are two approaches to selling desktops: box-shifting by stacking high, selling cheap, or selling the right system for your customer’s needs.

“Sell on service and not price; charge for your knowledge not your time.” Clifford Johnson, PCs Made Simple

“The second approach is the one typical to indies – it promotes their expertise and customer care – and where we are seeing the most growth, particularly in customising systems to a customer’s exact requirements. This is great

news for indies, it’s what they’re best at. It differentiates them from the box shifters, it creates a higher sell price, provides higher margins and there is no stock risk. It’s also great for customers as they will get exactly what they want, from the people best-placed to advise them.” PAUL CUBBAGE, MD, Target Components ”Focus on what differentiates you – your expertise and experience, your customer care and your desire to sell the right product to the customer, not just the one you have in stock. “Customisation and offering a bespoke desktop should be your primary focus as it differentiates you from the (big) High Street chains. It also promotes you: your expertise, your integrity, your impartial advice and your trustworthiness. Others can copy your systems but they

can’t copy you – make this the centerpiece of your instore and out-of-store promotions, have facilities to help customers through the process, for example Target’s In-Store PC Builder, and promote your point of difference. Selling desktops is all about satisfying customers’ exact requirements.” JOHN COULTER, Business advisor, Target Components ”The advice that we give to our resellers would be to capitalise on the innovation going on in the PC market and use the new breadth of devices to attract a new audience. “We’d also advise really listening to what customers need from new hardware and encouraging them to think about the next two to three years in terms of user experience.” DALEY ROBINSON, Director, Stone Group PCR July 2015 | 43

SECTOR GUIDE

Desktops and other PCs As the desktop market continues to evolve, computer users are starting to look to unique form factors for tasks. Here Jade Burke rounds up both some of the traditional and more alternative options available on the market…

ASUS VIVO PC VM42

PHILIPS LCD DISPLAY LED BACKLIGHT ALL-IN-ONE

CELLO 20-INCH ALL-INONE PC

ACER VERITON Z2660G 19.5-INCH ALL-IN-ONE

Distributor: Tech Data

Distributor: Entatech

Distributor: DirekTek

Distributor: Northamber

Windows 8.1 comes installed with the Vivo, which accommodates up to two storage drives for added flexibility. An Intel Celeron 2957U processor and Intel HD graphics come with the small PC, as well as a 500GB SATA hard drive.

This all-in-one features a multi-touch 16:9 widescreen Full HD display. Users can also view content across its 21.5inch screen and connect to the internet thanks to its Wi-Fi or Ethernet port.

Available with either a touch-screen or without, this all-in-one runs on Windows 8.1. It features a 20-inch display, 500GB storage and a Dual Core Intel processor. A wireless keyboard and mouse also come with the device.

An LED display lights up the Veriton’s HD+ 1600x900 16:9 display, while its dual stereo speaker output provides theatre-like sounds effects. An Intel Core i3 4130T 2.9 GHz processor powers the all-in-one.

Specs: DDR3 1,600MHz, 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity, one HMDI port, support for Windows 8.1.

Specs: 16:9 aspect ratio, Android 4.2 OS, multi-touch optical panel, webcam and mic, SmartStand.

Specs: 4GB memory, Windows 8.1, 20inch display, Dual Core Intel processors.

Specs: 19.5-inch, Intel HD graphics, 4GB RAM, 500GB HD.

SRP: £147.19

SRP: £301.99

SRP: From £267

SRP: £599.99

LENOVO THINKCENTRE M73Z ALL-IN-ONE

PHILIPS SMART LINE DISPLAY ALL-IN-ONE

LENOVO ERAZER X510

ACER EXTENSA EM2 SERIES

Distributor: Ingram Micro

Distributor: Entatech

Contact: Lenovo

Distributor: Tech Data

An Intel Pentium G3240 processor powers this all-in-one from Lenovo, which also boasts a 20-inch screen. The ThinkCentre features Bluetooth capabilities and a full size keyboard and Edge mouse bundle.

Users can pinch, zoom, rotate, swipe and scroll thanks to the all-in-one’s (AIO) optical multi-touch display. It features a 23-inch screen and is powered by Android, plus it comes with a USB 2.0 hub with two ports.

AMD R9 290 4GB graphics come with this gaming desktop from Lenovo, along with a 4th Generation Intel Core i7-4770K processor. It runs on Windows 8.1 and boasts 16GB PC3 12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHZ.

Designed to target SMBs, this desktop comes with a choice of 4th generation Intel Core i7, i5, i3 or Intel Pentium and Celeron processors. A range of ports are available with the EM2, including six USB ports and a VGA port.

Specs: Windows 8.1, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, 20-inch display, 500GB SATA memory.

Specs: LED backlight, two-point touch panel, 16:9 aspect ratio.

Specs: USB 3.0 charging, 4th Generation Intel Core i7 processors, four USB 3.0 ports.

Specs: Intel HD Graphics 4600/4000, 8GB memory, 2TB storage, AMD Radeon or Nvidia GeForce graphics.

SRP: TBC

SRP: £279.99

SRP: £1,199.99

SRP: From £339.99

44 | PCR July 2015

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SECTOR GUIDE

HANNSPREE PC ON A STICK

APPLE IMAC WITH 5K DISPLAY

ASUS G10AC DESKTOP

HANNSG BY HANNSPREE ALL-IN-ONE MONITOR

Distributor: Entatech

Distributor: Westcoast

Distributor: Exertis

Distributors: Entatech, Exertis

As one of the smallest computers on the market, Hannspree’s PC on a stick transforms any HDMI compatible display into a Window 8 PC. It is less than 10cm in length and comes with 2GB memory and 32GB storage.

14.7 million pixels are packed into the iMac’s 5K display, while a 4th generation quad-core Intel Core i5 processor powers the device. It features AMD graphics with up to 3.5 teraflops of graphics compute power.

Windows 8.1 comes equipped with this desktop, while 4th generation Intel Core processors and Nvidia GeForce GTX graphics power the device. It features ASUS Smart Cooling technology, which helps to lower temperatures.

Available in either 23-inch or 27-inch display sizes, this all-in-one provides users with fast performance speeds thanks to its quad-core processor. It comes packed with 8GB of on board storage and 1GB DDR3 memory.

Specs: Quad Core Intel processor up to 1.83GHz, Bluetooth 4.0, Windows 8.1.

Specs: Thunderbolt 2 technology, up to 3TB fusion drive, 27-inch display size.

Specs: ASUS Power Pack, four USB 3.0 ports, Windows 8.1, up to 32GB memory.

Specs: Built-in stereo speakers, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, Android 4.4, touchscreen display.

SRP: £139.99

SRP: From £1,599

SRP: From £669.99

SRP: From £219

STONE NUC

ACER REVO ONE

INTEL COMPUTE STICK

GIGABYTE BRIX GBBXI3H-5010

Distributor: Stone Group

Distributor: Exertis

Distributors: Avnet, Microtronica, Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Hammer

Distributors: Exertis, VIP Computers, CMS Distribution, Entatech

A range of processors are available with Stone’s NUC, including 5th Generation Intel Core or i5 vPro. It can be VESA mounted onto the back of monitors, and uses 6.7w idle and 22w load, making it energy efficient.

Designed as an entertainment system, the Revo comes equipped with Windows 8.1 and 4GB of DDR3L memory. It boasts Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity and a range of ports including two USB 3.0 ports.

A quad-core Intel Atom processor comes with Intel’s Compute Stick, which can operate alongside Windows 8.1, Bing or Ubuntu. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity is available on-board, as well as a USB port.

With support for an HDMI and DisplayPort, the Brix can power two displays simultaneously. Bundled with a VESA bracket, the mini PC can be mounted behind a monitor.

Specs: Windows 8.1, Intel HD 500 graphics. VESA mount, 4x4-inch chassis.

Specs: 4GB standard memory, Windows 8.1, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, 64-bit operating system.

Specs: Up to 2GB memory and 32GB storage, HD Intel Graphics, Intel HD Audio, USB port.

Specs: Four USB 3.0 ports, VESA mounting bracket, Intel HD Graphics 5500, Intel Core Processors.

SRP: Varies

SRP: £239.99

SRP: Varies

CONTACT Microtronica (Arrow) .. 020 7786 3400

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

Ingram Micro............... 0871 973 3000

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

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

Exertis (Home) ............ 01279 822 822

Lenovo ......................... 020 3014 0783

VIP Computers ............ 0871 622 7500

CMS Distribution ........ 020 8962 2500

Exertis (IT) ....................01256 707070

Northamber ................ 020 8296 7066

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

DirekTek .......................01494 471100

Hammer ........................01256 841000

Stone Group ............... 08448 22 11 22

www.pcr-online.biz

PCR July 2015 | 45

SECTOR GUIDE

Desktop accessories There are plenty of peripherals available for retailers to offer their customers, either by themselves or for bundling. Jade Burke checks out some of the latest gadgets and extra desktop gear on the market right now…

RAZER BLACKWIDOW CHROMA KEYBOARD

MICROSOFT SCULPT COMFORT DESKTOP

GENIUS SW-2.1 SPEAKERS

RAPOO T8 WIRELESS LASER TOUCH MOUSE

Distributor: VIP Computers

Distributor: Westcoast

Distributor: Northamber

Distributor: Hama

Designed specifically for gaming, this keyboard features full mechanical keys and switches. Individually programmable backlit keys with customisable colour options are included, along with 10 rollover anti-ghosting keys.

Contoured for comfort, this keyboard features a curved design for a natural wrist position when in use. It features a detachable palm rest, as well as a Windows touch pad optimised for Windows 8.

Users can play music through the speaker’s three-piece 10-watt subwoofer system, which includes two compact satellite speakers and a solid wood subwoofer. The subwoofer also features four-inch drivers.

This mouse features a durable aluminium alloy base cover and a laser sensor with an adjustable DPI resolution of 800 to 1,600. The multi-touch surface doesn’t feature any buttons, instead commands are carried out via touch.

Specs: Razer Synapse enabled, mechanical switches, 60 million keystroke life span.

Specs: 10 metre wireless range, curved design, supports Windows OS, detachable palm rest.

Specs: Wooden subwoofer, 10-watt speaker system, four-inch drivers, bass and volume controls.

Specs: Wireless mouse, touch gesture controls, 800 to 1,600 DPI range, 5GHz wireless interface.

SRP: £139.99

SRP: £69.99

SRP: £23.99

SRP: £49.99

KONIG BLUETOOTH KEYBOARD

COMPUTER GEAR FOUR PORT USB 2.0 HUB

MAD CATZ GLIDE TE GAMING SURFACE

CHERRY J82-16000 BLACK USB KEYBOARD

Distributor: Westcoast

Distributor: Group Gear

Distributor: Entatech

Distributor: Northamber

Konig’s keyboard comes with Bluetooth connectivity, so users can pair it to devices wirelessly. It is travel size and can be taken with users on the go, plus it is compatible with iOS, Android, as well as Windows.

Users can plug in up to four USB devices at once with this hub, which also has the option to add further devices by daisy chaining numerous hubs. It comes with over-current detection and protection and is bus powered.

Mad Catz says the GLIDE surface helps to enhance sensor tracking performance by 400 per cent, while its heat-bonded edges prevent the mat from fraying.

Cherry’s keyboard comes with six hot keys for multimedia control and office functions. The space-efficient compact device features abrasion-proof writing on keycaps and is also fully Plug and Play compatible.

Specs: Multimedia keyboard, flat, soft touch keyboard, Bluetooth connectivity.

Specs: Data transfer speeds of up to 480Mbps, Plug and Play, compatible with USB 1.1 and 2.0 devices.

Specs: Ultra-smooth surface, heat bonded edges, water resistant, rolls up for easy portability.

Specs: Comfortable key action, six hot keys, space-efficient, Plug and Play compatible with USB or PS2 connection.

SRP: £19.99

SRP: £8.99

SRP: £34.99

SRP: £7.99

46 | PCR July 2015

www.pcr-online.biz

SECTOR GUIDE

CHERRY MX BOARD 6.0 – G80-3930LYBGB-2

ZALMAN ZM-K300M MULTIMEDIA KEYBOARD

COMPUTER GEAR MULTIMEDIA HEADSET

EDIFIER SOUND TO GO PLUS

Distributors: Entatech, Exertis, Northamber

Distributor: VIP Computers

Distributor: Group Gear

Distributor: Midwich

This mechanical keyboard uses Cherry’s Red MX key-switches and red backlight. It has a response time of 1ms using Cherry RealKey analogue signal technology. It also boasts full N-Key rollover and 100 per cent anti-ghosting.

20 hot keys are included with Zalman’s keyboard, as well as eight blue coloured direction keys. The ergonomically designed device features laser carved key caps, as well as an adjustable height that has a choice of two levels.

An adjustable head frame comes with this headset from Computer Gear, while the ear pads are padded and fixed to a pivot joint to help create a secure fit and cancel out any external noise.

A rechargeable built-in lithium-ion battery comes with this mini speaker system, as well as USB charging and streaming functionalities. Two channel audio speakers are included as is a built-in oval passive bass radiator.

Specs: 13 double function keys, quicksnap magnetic wrist-rest, Cherry RealKey technology.

Specs: Ergonomic design, USB interface, adjustable level height, key removal tool, direction keys.

Specs: Padded ear pads, adjustable head frame, 40mm drive unit, microphone, durable material.

Specs: Two channel audio speakers, auxiliary input, USB charging, rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

SRP: £149.99

SRP: £9.99

SRP: £14.99

SRP: £39.99

CHERRY MC-2000 MOUSE

MICROSOFT BLUETOOTH DESIGNER DESTOP

KENSINGTON SOLEMATE FOOTREST

MAD CATZ STRIKE TE KEYBOARD

Distributors: Entatech, Exertis, Northamber

Distributor: Exertis

Distributor: Westcoast

Distributor: Entatech

Suitable for both right-handed and lefthanded users, this mouse has a DPI resolution of up to 1,600. It comes with three buttons and a tilt-wheel for horizontal and vertical scrolling and an infrared sensor.

This Bluetooth Designer Desktop includes a wireless keyboard and mouse that can pair to devices via Bluetooth. The full size keyboard features chicletstyle soft touch keys, while the mouse has an ambidextrous design.

Users can keep their feet comfortable while using their PC thanks to Kensington’s Solemate footrest. It comes with a non-slip durable texture and helps to relieve pressure on the lower back, improving circulation.

109 Kailh Brown mechanical switches are included with this keyboard, which are housed in a metal frame and can withstand over 50 million keystrokes. A PCB track layout delivers anti-ghosting with 30-key rollover.

Specs: Symmetrical design, GS certification, three-button mouse, infrared sensor, 1,600 DPI resolution.

Specs: 4.0 Bluetooth technology, keyboard and mouse bundle.

Specs: Textured foot grip panel, 20-degree tilt angle, durable material.

Specs: 12 programmable macro buttons, illumination light, 50 million strokes, anti-ghosting technology.

SRP: £9.99

SRP: £99.99

SRP: £23.09

SRP: £119.99

CONTACT

www.pcr-online.biz

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

Group Gear .................. 0121 503 0666

Northamber ................ 020 8296 7066

Exertis (Home) ............ 01279 822 822

Hama............................ 0333 123 4262

VIP Computers ............ 0871 622 7500

Exertis (IT) ....................01256 707070

Midwich ....................... 01379 649 200

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

PCR July 2015 | 47

SECTOR GUIDE

PC Components With custom PC sales remaining resilient in a tough desktop market, the demand for components is still going strong. Dominic Sacco takes a look at the hottest new gear available to stock, from PSUs to GPUs and SSDs…

BEQUIET PURE POWER PSU

ASUS B85-PLUS MOTHERBOARD

ZOTAC GEFORCE GTX 970 GRAPHICS CARD

Distributor: Northamber

Distributor: Spire Technology

Distributor: Entatech

The Pure Power L8 600W power supply promises affordability, dependability and best-in-class features. Be Quiet says the PSU combines ‘rock-solid voltages, strong reliability, high efficiency’ and is also exceptionally quiet.

ASUS motherboards guard a PC with 5X Protection, using components like DIGI+ VRM digital power design for precise CPU power on demand, ESD units tested to strict standards that eliminate electrostatic interference, and resettable fuses around DRAM slots. A micro-ATX B85M-G PLUS version is also available.

The GeForce GTX 970 is a high-performance graphics card designed for serious gaming. Powered by new NVIDIA Maxwell architecture, the GPU doubles the performance of previous-generation cards and supports tear-free G-SYNC technology. Plus, it boasts 4K-quality gaming – even on 1080p displays.

Specs: 600W

Specs: Intel B85, 1150, ATX, CrossFire, USB 3.1 Type-C, 4 x DIMM RAM slots, 32GB max memory.

Specs: PCi-E 3.0 x16 (2 x DVI), HDMI DisplayPort (VGA Adaptor), 4GB GDDR5 7010MHz, Core Clock 1076MHz.

SRP: £69.99

SRP: £89.99 (micro-ATX version is £79.99)

SRP: £299.99

PANRAM DRAM

BEQUIET DARK ROCK TF HEATSINK

COOLER MASTER B SERIES V2 500W PSU

ASUS PCI EXPRESS ADAPTER

Distributor: Spire Technology

Distributor: Entatech

Distributor: Spire Technology

Panram’s DDR3 Value Series is ideal for the entry-level user with a competitive price, giving users an affordable way to improve the performance of their computer. It supports Intel Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP) technology.

This top-flow cooler with two powerful heat sinks is an extension of the BeQuiet product series Dark Rock. Spire says it strikes the perfect balance between cooling and serenity with ‘no compromise’ in silence and performance.

This power supply boasts efficiency higher than 85 per cent under typical load operation. It features Active PFC and PWM Combo Control, a silent 120mm fan and green power design to meet Energy Star requirements.

The ASUS PCE-AC68 is a new 802.11ac Wi-Fi PCI Express Adapter that upgrades a desktop from using Ethernet cables to industry-leading 802.11ac at up to 1.3GBps. Plus, the external magnetised antenna is adjustable.

Specs: 4GB, DDR3, 1600MHz (PC312800), CL11, DIMM Memory, Single Rank, OEM (Tray).

Specs: 4-pin PWM fan connectors, fan dimensions 135 x135x22mm, 1,400RPM rotation speed.

Specs: +12V rail, 120mm fan, over 85 per cent efficiency.

Specs: 1,300 max data transfer rate, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, frequency of 2.4GHz/5GHz, 64-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP.

SRP: £24.95

SRP: £64.95

SRP: £39.99

SRP: £55.49

50 | PCR July 2015

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SECTOR GUIDE

LACIE 1TB EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE

TP-LINK PCI NETWORK ADAPTER

MUSHKIN STRIKER 480GB SSD

SAMSUNG 850 PRO 512GB SSD

Distributor: Beta Distribution

Distributor: Spire Technology

Distributor: Northamber

This rugged external hard drive features Thunderbolt USB 3.0, SATA 5,400rpm and a 110MBps maximum read transfer rate. The portable device is designed for use on the go, with IP 54-rated resistance to the elements.

As a 32-bit 33/66MHz PCI-bus Gigabit Ethernet adapter, the TG-3269 is a 10/100/1,000Mbps unit with single UTP/STP and Auto-Negotiation (Nway) function support.

Mushkin comes with Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Phantoms game and a free Squad Starter Pack worth £29.99. It has a threeyear warranty, TRIM support, SmartFlush, SmartRefresh and is also shock resistant.

The Samsung 850 PRO SSD is based on 3D V-NAND flash, offering ‘exceptional’ read/write performance, reliability and power management efficiency. It delivers up to twice the speed, density and endurance of conventional flash.

Specs: USB 3.0, SATA 5,400rpm, max external data transfer rate 1,280MBps, max read transfer rate 110MBps.

Specs: 32-bit PCI, Supports ACPI, compliant with PCI2.2, IEEE 802.3, max data transfer rate 1,000MBps.

Specs: 2.5-inch, SATA3, 7mm, 91k IOPS, R/W 565/550 Mbps, read up to 565MBps and write up to 550MBps.

Specs: 512GB storage space

SRP: £111.67

SRP: £4.95

SRP: From £134.95

SRP: £219.99

COOLER MASTER HYPER 412S COOLER

BEQUIET DARK POWER PRO 11 PSU

COOLER MASTER CM STORM ENFORCER CASE

SAMSUNG 850 EVO 250GB SSD

Distributor: Entatech

Distributor: Spire Technology

Distributor: Entatech

Distributor: Beta Distribution

The Hyper 412S CPU Cooler is designed for optimum heat dissipation at low fan speeds. It features wider fin gaps and a precise heat pipe layout that directs each of the four heat pipes across CPU ‘hot zones’.

The Dark Power Pro 11 1,000W model has a power conversion topology that delivers 80PLUS Platinum performance, and BeQuiet says it’s the most technologically advanced power supply it has ever built.

The new chassis from Cooler Master contains a wealth of features for gamers including SSD drive support and a removable/rotatable HDD cage to support top-end video cards. It has two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 slots.

Samsung’s new 850 EVO is designed with state-of-the-art SSD advancements including 3D V-NAND technology. As predecessor to the 840 EVO, the 850 has a new three dimensional chip design that boosts performance.

Specs: Four heatpipe tower CPU air cooler, 120mm fan, 900RPM fan speed.

Specs: 1,000W, AC 100-240 V, 135mm SilentWings 3 fan, dimensions 193 x 150 x 86 mm, five-year warranty.

Specs: Dimensions 22.9 cm (W) x 52.35 cm (D) x 48.45 cm (H), weight 8.9kg, 200mm Red LED fan.

Specs: Internal drive, 250GB storage capacity, 512MB drive performance buffer, SATA/600 interface standard.

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PCR July 2015 | 51

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52 | PCR July 2015

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Retail Only

Mystery Shopper Retailer of the Month

A MISSED OPPORTUNITY?

APPLE PAY HEADS TO UK Contactless payment solution Apple Pay will launch in the UK in July. It will allow customers to tap their iPhone 6, 6 Plus or Apple Watch next to a reader (and keep a finger on the screen’s Touch ID scanner) to pay for purchases in stores. More than 250,000 locations will accept Apple Pay at launch, with support from American Express, MasterCard, Visa Europe, HSBC, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and more, with others to follow in the autumn.

APPLE PAY is a great way of letting customers pay for purchases, but UK law means it won’t transform bricks and mortar retail that much when it launches in July. Like current contactless systems already used in cafés across the UK, payments will be capped at £20. So regardless of how quick, easy and convenient Apple Pay is (tap your iPhone on a reader to pay for something), it won’t really be beneficial for tech retailers at all, unless you’re selling a mouse mat or charger. It’s been backed by most of the major banks and several big brands including McDonald’s, BP, Marks & Spencer, plus apps from Argos, The Trainline, and more will support it too. But unless the limit is waivered, High Street PC retailers will miss out on being able to offer this.

“Apple Pay won’t be beneficial for tech retailers at all, unless you’re selling a mouse mat or charger.” Apple is not charging retailers a penny for using their new service (PCR understands they will take a percentage of the payment provider’s fee). And of all retailers, tech stores are the ones that consumers would expect to offer Apple Pay, so it’s a missed opportunity. However, the situation could improve in the future. The UK Cards Association has announced the spending limit on contactless cards is due to rise to £30 in September, and some have suggested certain retailers will be able to get rid of the limit altogether at a later date. But perhaps Apple didn’t have tech retailers in mind (other than itself). It says Apple Pay is great for the customer ‘whether buying groceries, grabbing coffee, picking up lunch or taking the Tube’. Why am I not surprised? Dominic Sacco, Editor dsacco@nbmedia.com

PCR takes soundings from its Retail Advisory Board on the biggest issues in the industry. The current members are: RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD

Craig Hume, Utopia Computers

Jason Eccles, SimplyFixIT

Mike Barron, Synaxon

Iain Shaw, Brigantia

Duncan Rutherford, Dabs.com

Steve Ling, Overclockers UK

Jonpaul Warren, Ebuyer.com

David Chorlton, Maplin

CK, YoYoTech

Jat Mann, PC Pal

Ben Miles, Chillblast

Phil Browes, HMV

Phylip Morgan, Network Group

Juliet Ward, Argos

Gavin Holder, GHI Computers

Chris Innes, Micro Plus

James Gorbold, Scan Computers

John Church, Shop Direct

William Jones, John Lewis

Vladimir Kuznetsov, DinoPC

Steven Lightfoot, Pudsey Computers

www.pcr-online.biz

Estelle Johannes, CompTIA

PCR July 2015 | 53

MYSTERY SHOPPER

Brent Cross With its famous shopping centre, Brent Cross holds host to an assortment of tech retailers, making it the perfect place for our Mystery Shopper to visit. This month our shopper headed out in search of an all-in-one – let’s see how they got on…

STAR STORE

“I was told that

8/10 the HP 22 would APPLE THE STORE was buzzing with life as I entered, with customers playing about on iPads and testing out the range of MacBooks on show. But it was a bit of a struggle to get someone’s attention, as each assistant seemed to be busy with other customers. I finally spotted a lady in the far corner who I approached for a helping hand with Apple’s all-in-ones (AIOs). She pointed to the range of iMacs, but unfortunately she told me she didn’t know very much about the devices and suggested I 54 | PCR July 2015

asked someone at the front of the store. Once one assistant was free, a chap in an Apple-clad shirt offered to help. He asked me what I needed the device for, and whether I would require Office 365. He also suggested that I try out Apple’s Pages software first before purchasing Office, as it was an extra £100. He talked me through the specs of the product, and recommended that I pay an extra £150 for the 2.7GHz iMac, as he reassured me the device would last longer.

be a great option thanks to its touch screen display and cheap price.”

9/10 JOHN LEWIS AS ALWAYS, the department store held host to a wide range of tech gizmos and gadgets, but I struggled to actually find the AIO desktops. After asking a gentleman for some guidance, he soon referred me to another assistant who he said would know a lot more about such products. As he guided me over to the selection of AIOs, which included the likes of HP, Acer, Apple and Lenovo, my helper asked me if the device I was looking for was for me and what I was using it for.

I was told that the HP 22 would be a great option thanks to its touch screen display, cheap price and the inclusion of a keyboard and mice bundle. I was then informed about the importance of buying security software, and was told the pricing for Office 365 if I required it. The assistant even offered to check out the availability of the device in-store, and returned with a contact number to purchase it from another store, as it was regrettably out of stock here. www.pcr-online.biz

MYSTERY SHOPPER

7/10 MAPLIN

PC WORLD/CURRYS A FRIENDLY smile greeted me straight away as I entered the tech store, and the same smiley chap soon asked whether I needed any help with my visit. I told him what I was after, and he informed me that they only stocked the iMac range from Apple. I found the lack of range disappointing. After questioning me about what I needed the device for and what my screen preference was, he told me that I would benefit from upgrading to the 2.7GHz iMac for £1,049. He reassured me that the extra

6/10

bit of cash meant the device would last longer thanks to its processors. Plus, the 8GB RAM included was also a talking point for my helper, as he told me that I could store thousands more photos and videos with the amount of RAM included. The assistant also told me that Macs were his product of choice, and that his had lasted for over five years – a great personal touch. He then went on to show me the different display sizes available, before leaving me to have a final browse.

THE RETAILER was decked out with various tech goodies from speakers to components, and as I made my way around the store I was soon approached by one of Maplin’s staff members. As soon as I asked about AIOs, my question was met by the shake of a head, as the assistant soon told me that the store carried no such products. He did however show me the store’s range of barebone desktops, which included the Intel Nuc for £109.99 and the Gigabyte Brix for £99.99.

I was told that these devices were ‘so cheap’ because they can hook up to displays and peripherals and did not come with any RAM or other components. He honestly suggested that I should try Currys for an AIO, and that Maplin would indeed have everything I needed if I was interested in building my own PC. As I carried on looking at the selection, the assistant suggested he could double check to see if there were any AIOs in the warehouse and left me to my thoughts.

SUMMARY

6/10 CURRYS I DIDN’T doubt Currys for a second and went in with high hopes to find an AIO. A cheery gentleman scurried me along to the section, where he showed me the Lenovo B50, which was on offer for under £600. He demonstrated the device’s touch screen functionality and also informed me that the i5 processor would be best for carrying out multiple tasks thanks to its faster speeds. He then took me around the rest of the range, which featured ASUS, Acer and www.pcr-online.biz

7/10 ARGOS

other Lenovo devices. After asking me whether I needed Office 365, I was told that I could purchase a McAfee and Office bundle for a discounted price. As informative as my helper was, I did feel a little pressured to buy the item. I was asked more than a few times if I would return again to buy the AIO, which unfortunately made me want to speed up my visit and leave the store. But after my helper checked the availability, I told him I would return another day.

ONCE AGAIN, this store had ditched the traditional Argos catalogue and opted for touchscreen tablet devices to aid customers’ searches. It was simple enough to find the range of AIOs but I was looking forward to speaking to someone from the retailer. Soon enough though, someone appeared from the depths of the warehouse behind the tills and approached me. I asked her for some help with AIOs, but unfortunately she couldn’t help with my request. She offered to find someone who

knew a little more and a few minutes later a man ran towards me with a wide smile. He asked me what I needed the device for and told me that the Lenovo C260 would fit the bill. I was told about its specs, including the processors and screen size, plus I was also advised about Office 365 and informed that there was a bundle available if I wanted. With no pressure to purchase the product, I told my helper I would continue to browse the selection and I was left to make a decision.

IT WAS a tough decision this month, as each retailer performed well when put to the test. Even though Argos had no physical products on show, the information given to me by the assistant helped greatly when making a decision. Plus, although Maplin had no AIOs available in-store, I couldn’t fault the customer service I was given. Currys/PC World was a smaller store than usual, and had a limited selection of AIOs on offer, but the assistant’s friendly approach and informative manner was a great treat, plus there was no pressure to buy when my helper finished his sales pitch. There was also no pressure to buy in the Apple store and so I instantly felt comfortable discussing the specs with my helper. In comparison, when I entered Currys I felt pressured to buy and was asked numerous times if I would like to purchase the item and when I would return to do so. John Lewis made it to the top spot this month thanks to the assistant’s attention to detail, which made me want to return, confirming its place as my star store this week.

PCR July 2015 | 55

RETAILER OF THE MONTH

Fix My PC

FACT FILE

Established: 1992 Outlets: 1 Staff: 5

Address: 40 St Peters Street, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK40 2NN

T: 01234 27 3700 E: lorenzo.n@hotmail.co.uk W: www.fixmy-pc.co.uk

With partnerships with the likes of HP, Apple and Sumsung, and a strong focus on aftercare, consultant Lorenzo Notar-Angelo reveals to Jade Burke why the firm changed its name and how important its PC-help service is… According to analysts, tablets are in decline. Have you noticed this in your store at all? We’re not selling as many tablets, and what we’re finding is more computer illiterate people are using tablets that haven’t got a clue. It requires a bit of hand holding. For example, sorting basic configuration for them. From our part, this is a good gesture. We don’t earn any money from it but we’d rather they become more literate, then it’s less hassle for us. What opportunities are there with Windows 10? We’re running a beta version of Windows 10 at the moment, so obviously all the leading software houses are going to migrate to Windows 10 and they’ll offer their new version of stuff. I’ve not seen anything brand new, so we’re always up for it if we see something, we’re more than happy to get involved. www.pcr-online.biz

How and when did the company begin? The business started in 1992, but it’s changed its name since then. It started off as a company called Informatica and in Latin that means information technology, which a lot of people didn’t understand. So we then changed it in 2009 to Fix My PC. It seemed simpler: it does what it says on the tin. We are a small store employing five people and we’re in the city centre. We’re affiliated to a number of larger manufacturers, including an accreditation with HP, Samsung and Apple; we’re also associated with Acer. What services and products do you offer? We offer a whole range of services from straight repairs to upgrades; we assemble our own PCs as well as selling branded PCs. We stock a whole range of consumables, interface cables and Bluetooth speakers.

We offer good customer service and support, and we pride ourselves on the aftercare. Clients can either sign up to an extra warranty where they can have sameday service and if they have a problem we can solve it by remote access in the machine.

silver and bronze maintenance service for people, as we are beginning to see more of a need for it. As far as products, we’re always on the look out for new ones – if it’s new, we will offer it.

We provide a free 15-minute consultation, where we can gauge what’s wrong with the device. And from there we are able to give the customer a firm quotation of what it will cost to fix.

How do you compete with larger retailers? We have more one-to-one sessions so we offer more of a personal service. When somebody buys a machine from us, we spend half an hour at least on the dos and don’ts so they can look after their machine. So that’s a service that the large boys don’t offer. We also offer a three-year warranty at no extra charge. Plus, if a client has had a major repair, five days later we will call them back and see how they’re getting on and if they have any issues. Our forte is the aftercare, that’s key.

Are there any new products you’re looking to stock? We’re going to offer a gold,

You offer your own computer help service, PChelp. How important is this

“Our forte is the aftercare, that’s key. We offer a service that the large boys don’t.” Lorenzo Notar-Angelo,

to your customers? Anyone can ring up, we’ll spend ten minutes with them. Sometimes there’s a motive behind it and we miss out because people take our help and then go elsewhere. It’s a risk you take but you can’t have it both ways. There is a fine balance. If you divulge too much, then they’ll do it themselves. You have got to be careful, so we moan at ourselves sometimes that we have given too much away, but it’s one of the things and you have to live with it. What does the future hold for Fix My PC? We want to expand our business. Mainly what we want to do is more remote access and to try and standardise our product line a little bit. We want to grow the business by about 25 per cent in the next two years. To achieve that we’ll stock more leading products and streamline our services. PCR July 2015 | 57

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Recommended The latest tech Editorial planner

Computex 2015 product special

The eight-inch screen features an LED backlight

Users can capture shots with the 8MP camera

The ZenPad features interchangeable leather back covers

Asus’ Zensational line-up VENDOR ASUS has unveiled a handbag style tablet during trade show Computex 2015, which has been dubbed the ZenPad 8 and features ergonomic rounded edges and embossed leather patterning. It is the world’s first tablet to boast an interchangeable cover design, allowing users to customise their tablet with functional back covers. In addition the device

comes with the Zen Clutch, a new accessory from Asus, which provides a protection solution for the ZenPad, as well as the Zen Case. The case provides users with up to five different outfits, all of which feature a leather finish. The Audio Cover brings 5.1-channel surround sound to the tablet, while the Power Case helps to extend the battery life of the ZenPad, giving users up to

15 hours of battery life. The ZenPad also runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop and features an eight-inch LED backlight WXGA display, as well as an anti-fingerprint coating and Asus’ new Tru2Life technology. Jonney Shih, chairman of ASUS, said: “I am thrilled to be at Computex to unveil our newest Zen-inspired innovations. These exciting new creations strike a

compelling balance of power and beauty, and perfectly embody our ‘In Search of Incredible’ vision of creating seamless and connected digital lives for everyone.” LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity is available with the ZenPad, along with an 8MP camera, Qualcomm MSM8916 QuadCore, 64bit processor, 10 finger multi-touch support and up to 2GB of memory.

OTHER NEW ASUS GEAR Q ZenFone Selfie – smartphone features a 5.5inch display Q Zen AIO Series – includes a 23.8-inch and 21.5-inch AIO Q ZenWatch – smartwatch is powered by Android wear Q ZenPad S 8.0 – tablet has a 178-degree viewing angle Q ProArt PA329Q 4K/ UHD Monitor – 4K content is displayed across its 32inch screen

Release date: TBA | Contact: www.asus.com | Price: TBA

www.pcr-online.biz

PCR July 2015 | 59

RECOMMENDED

Another PC gaming boost from Nvidia CHIP MAKER Nvidia has revealed its new high-end GeForce GTX 980 Ti graphics card. The card is three times faster than the GTX 680, comes packed with 6GB of memory as well as 2816 CUDA cores, which will allow it to support for 4K games. It will also support Microsoft’s next-generation DirectX 12 graphics API (application programming interface). In addition, the card will combine Nvidia’s Maxwell architecture, Voxel Global Illumination and Dynamic Super Resolution. Plus, Nvidia’s GPU Boost 2.0 is available, to help push PC performance when in use. In a blog posted by the company, Nvidia stated: “We’ve supercharged all our GTX 900-series Maxwell GPUs with DX12 features that

unlock the full promise of the new API. “All Maxwell GPUs support DX12, including support for conservative raster and volume tiled resources. “Your games will be more immersive. They’ll run faster. And they’ll look better. And with a design that sips power rather than gulps it, gamers get quiet, cool operation. “Noise or heat will never become a distraction. And, for those with space constraints, you can even use GTX 980 Ti in a small form-factor PC.” Nvidia also confirmed that laptops featuring G-Sync monitor technology will be available later this month. Gaming notebooks with the technology will be available from the likes of Asus, Aorus, Clevo and MSI, which will be available during late June.

“With a design that sips power gamers get quiet, cool operation.” Nvidia

Gigabyte will also have two models with 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch monitors, while the Clevo P770ZM-G and P750ZM-G will come with Nvidia GTX 980M or 970M mobile GPUs. Nivida stated: “G-sync works by

synchronising your monitor refresh rate to the output from our GeForce GPUs. Sometimes called variable refresh rate, this fixes the challenge of stutter and tearing that has plagued gaming since its beginning.”

Release date: Out now | Price: GTX 980 Ti – $649.99 (£422) | Contact: Nvidia (www.geforce.com)

First ASRock Skylake motherboards impress ASROCK HAS teamed up with Intel, demoing its upcoming motherboards featuring the chip maker’s Skylake-S processors due this year. The line-up of motherboards has been designed for enthusiasts and will be powered by Intel’s Z170 core-logic, plus they will support numerous premium features and capabilities. During Computex, ASRock showcased the Z170 Gaming K6 Fatal1ty, the ASRock Z170 Gaming K4 Fatal1ty, the ASRock Z170 Gaming-ITX/AC as well as the ASRrock Z170 Extreme 7 motherboards. The motherboards feature dual-channel DDR4 memory, which can be overclocked to 3.40GHz and higher, an ultra M.3 connector, NVMe support, a USB 3.1 port with type-A and type-C connectors,

as well as integrated audio and Qualcomm Atheros Killer Networking LAN controllers. The ASRock Z170 Extreme 7 and ASRock Z170 Gaming K6 Fatal1ty boast a 12-phase

“They have been designed for enthusiasts and will be powered by Intel’s Z170 core-logic.” digital CPU voltage module for maximum overclocking, plus a four-way and three-way multi-GPU capability for AMD CrossFire and Nvidia SLI. Other specs include a

7.1-channel Purity Sound 3 audio sub-system, as well as numerous capacitors for improved audio quality. Three ultra M.2 and three Serial ATA Express ports have been added to the Z170 Extreme 7, which will allow customers to build RAID 0 storage sub-systems with up to 4GB and higher capacities. In addition, the motherboard also carries 10 Serial ATA6Gb/s ports. Skylake-S is a sixth generation processor from chip maker Intel, which will provide users with an increased processing bandwidth, plus more PCIe lanes. However, since Intel is moving to the LGA 1151 socket, customers will need to buy a new motherboard, like ASRock’s, if they wish to upgrade to the processors.

Release date: August | Price: TBA | Contact: Asrock (www.asrock.com)

60 | PCR July 2015

www.pcr-online.biz

RECOMMENDED

Acer AIOs thrill Intel

CoolerMaster’s cool PC case COOLER MASTER has developed a unique PC case for consumers, offering more upgrade and customisation options. Cooler Master has described the new MasterCase as ‘the world’s first mid-sized modular tower with exterior expandability’. It features a clip-and-click panel, and FreeForm allows users to vertically adjust or remove drive cages, allowing

“The MasterCase breaks new ground in the way PCs are designed.” Cooler Master multiple system setups including home servers, professional workstations and gaming rigs. It supports up to 6x140mm fans, including three positions in front and two on top. as well as up to three dual-slot extra-long graphics cards. Inspired by the MasterConcept, a concept case from the company, the

MasterCase 5 allows users to adjust the structure and aesthetic with a range of replacement panels and doors available. The case features a dual chamber design with a partition panel to help isolate the power supply and cables. Plus, two slip-and-clip solid state drive (SSD) pockets with four mounting positions are included. In a statement the firm said: “The MasterCase breaks new ground in the way PCs are designed, made, bought and used. Fundamental to this reimagining is FreeForm. “Cooler Master wants users to have absolute control over how their case looks and functions. “So FreeForm provides options to adjust the case exterior via the replacement of panels and doors, while also offering unparalleled flexibility for a mid-sized case in terms of interior layout.” Cooler Master has also developed the MasterCase Pro 5, which carries similar functions to the 5 but also features an additional top panel and a water-cooling bracket that allows users to make quicker and easier 240mm radiator installations.

Release date: August | Price: TBA | Contact: Cooler Master (eu.coolermaster.com/uk)

www.pcr-online.biz

ACER HAS unveiled the Aspire Z series all-in-one (AIO) PCs, which have been refreshed with the 23.8-inch Aspire Z3-710, featuring capacitive 10-point multi-touch, and the 19.5-inch ZC-700 AIO. Both new devices feature a Full HD (1920x1080) LED backlit display, Windows 8.1 and are supported by Acer for the free upgrade to Windows 10 when it is released on July 29th. Gregory Bryant, corporate VP and general manager of desktop client platforms at Intel, said: “We’re thrilled with the great innovation in Acer’s latest all-in-one PC. “Showing just how much the desktop has been reinvented, this slim design with amazing user experience is another example of what’s possible.” The Z Series boasts a 1080p Full HD webcam, stereo speakers with Acer TrueHarmony and Dolby Digital Plus Home Theater technology, which enables conversations to be heard clearly. Plus, built-in dual digital microphones can sense where voices come from to ensure they are picked up even in a noisy environment. All of this is packed into its 36mm form factor, which boasts up to 8GB of memory, maximum 2TB of hard drive

storage, an optional DVD Super Multi optical drive and an optional Intel Core Pentium or Celeron processor. Each screen can also be tilted from -5 degrees to 25 degrees. In addition, Acer showcased one of its new tablets designed specifically for gaming, dubbed the Predator 8. Four speakers come with the tablet, which have been built into each of its

“We’re thrilled with the great innovation in Acer’s latest all-inone PC.” Intel four corners that jut out from its exterior in a bold red colouring. An Intel Atom x7 and a 14nm-built chip with a quad-core processor powers the device, which can be clocked to 1.6GHz and up to 2.3GHz in Burst Mode. It features Intel HD Graphics, an eight-inch display and haptic feedback, meaning the device will shake to alert players when they have been shot in a game.

Release date: Q3 2015 | Price: TBA | Contact: Acer (0371 760 1005)

PCR July 2015 | 61

RECOMMENDED

Corsair caters for 4K gaming

“Bulldog is designed to take the 4K gaming experience and bring it to the big screens in the home.” Andy Paul, Corsair

CORSAIR Is making big waves in the PC gaming sector with a fresh twist on the desktop PC. Dubbed Bulldog, this new 4K gaming PC has been designed as a DIY living room PC with a highly-ventilated chassis. It features H5SF, which quietly cools the fastest CPUs, to allow users to continue overclocking. Users can top-end CPUs and GPUs with 600 watts in its SFX form factor, which helps to run the device quietly without overcooling it. Performance is also maximised with minimal noise thanks to the graphics card cooling system. Corsair’s HG10 adapter/heatsink and H55 liquid cooling are available separately, which users can choose from to manage cooling temperatures for cards. Andy Paul, CEO of Corsair, said: “Bulldog is designed to take the 4K

gaming experience delivered by desktop gaming PCs and bring it to the big 4K screens in the home. “We knew we needed to deliver a solution that was elegant, powerful and compact. By leveraging our leading expertise in PC case design and liquid cooling, we met that goal with Bulldog. We can’t wait to unleash it on gamers this autumn.” Bulldog supports the latest multicore desktop PC CPUs and packs a mini-THX motherboard, plus it allows users to choose the operating system that best suits them, including Windows, Linux or SteamOS. In addition, Corsair has developed the Lapdog, a new gaming keyboard that pairs with the Bulldog, which features an integrated mouse and mat, as well as a memory foam underside cushion for comfort. A hidden compartment is also included that can store cables neatly, along with a charging platform for tablets and smartphones.

Release date: Q4 2015 | Contact: www.corsair.com | Price: $399 (£257)

SanDisk develops new portable drives AMD’s new notebook APU PREVIOUSLY codenamed Carrizo, AMD has unveiled its new 6th generation A-Series processor, the world’s first high-performance Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) in a System-onChip (SoC) design. Designed specifically for notebooks, the new processor harnesses up to 12 compute cores – four CPUs and eight GPUs – using AMD Excavator cores and the third generation of AMD’s Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture. The processor boasts more than twice the battery life of its predecessor, up to two times faster gaming performance than other

competitive processors, as well as support for DirectX 12. Users will also be able to game smoothly thanks to discrete-class graphics built in. Matt Skynner, corporate VP and general manager of products at AMD, said: “The 6th Generation AMD A-Series Processor has been designed to deliver exceptional experiences never before seen in a mainstream notebook, truly making innovation available to everyone. “Our partners have plans to introduce our 6th-generation APU in many of today’s most innovative notebook platforms.”

Release date: From June | Contact: AMD (www.amd.com) | Price: TBA

62 | PCR July 2015

SANDISK HAS expanded into the portable SSD market, with its family of new products including the SanDisk Extreme 900 Portable SSDs, and the SanDisk Extreme 500 Portable SSDs, the company’s new rugged drives. The 900 drives feature speeds up to nine times faster than a standard hard drive, while the 500 drives offer speeds up to four times faster. In addition, the company has introduced

two new USB 3.0 flash drives, including the 28GB SanDisk Ultra FitTM USB 3.0 Flash Drive, and the 256GB SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 Flash Drive, SanDisk’s highest capacity USB flash drive to date. SanDisk also unveiled its new CloudSpeed EcoTM Gen II SATA SSD, which is a purpose-built storage device for cloud service providers with up to 2TB capacity.

Release date: Out now | Contact: SanDisk (www.sandisk.com) | Price: Ultra Fit USB 3.0 from $119.99, Extreme 500 SSDs from $99.99

www.pcr-online.biz

RECOMMENDED

Power up with the PC in a plug

Synology gets a route in to new market SYNOLOGY has announced it is entering into a new market with the addition of its RT1900ac router. The router features a USB 3.0 port, as well as an SD card slot so users can stream videos and content from the device to watch. The router offers IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ac, 2.4GHz and 5GHz dual simultaneous bands and 3x3 MIMO streams. Billy Knowles, sales manager for the UK, Ireland and Nordics, at

MICROSOFT has unveiled a round up of new devices designed specifically for the new operating system Windows 10, and one such product is the Quanta Compute Plug. Quanta normally develops products for third parties, including computers, notebooks and servers, and this time Synology, told PCR: “The RT1900ac router is still in development and we haven’t actually got a release date on that yet. “1900 will be the speed of the AC Wi-Fi, and you can still use it as a small NAS, as it’s got an SD card as well, so you can install some packages onto that.” Synology has also taken the same interface found in its NAS products, and applied them to the router, making it much easier to use.

Release date: TBA | Contact: Synology (www.synology.com) | Price: TBA

the vendor has produced something a bit different. The Plug is a mini PC in a power adapter, rather than a stick, which when plugged into a HDMI port can transform a TV into a smart computer. This then enables users to control their TV using Microsoft’s personal assistant Cortana via Bluetooth. Nick Parker, corporate VP at Microsoft’s OEM division, said: “Our device partners continue to push the envelope of innovation, developing stunning PCs that are sure to delight customers. “And our commitment to broaden the ecosystem opportunity with Windows 10 is revolutionising how people interact with their devices and create new opportunities for revenue growth.”

Release date: TBA | Contact: www.quantatw.com | Price: TBA

Editorial Planner

A look at the biggest features coming up in PCR…

AUGUST 2015

SEPTEMBER 2015

OCTOBER 2015

EDUCATION SPECIAL

GAMING SPECIAL

DISTRIBUTOR SPECIAL

We go back to school with our education issue this month, where PCR takes a look at the market and how retailers and resellers can sell to schools.

PCR takes a look at the state of the PC gaming market and explores how retailers can make more money from the ever-growing sector.

PCR finds out what resellers and retailers really think of the distributors within the channel. We also compile a list of distributors’ profiles for retailers, featuring contact and stock details.

Sector Guides: Back to school hardware, back to school software, monitors.

Sector Guides: Gaming accessories and headsets, gaming hardware, desktop cooling and cases, games/download cards.

Sector Guides: Apple accessories (Mac/iPhone/ iPad), Apple software.

Advertising Deadline

July 16th

August 17th

September 16th

www.pcr-online.biz

PCR July 2015 | 63

OUT OF OFFICE

‘The floor started moving’ After surviving the recent earthquake at Mount Everest, Ingram Micro’s Tony McMurray tells PCR about his time in Nepal and why his adventures won’t stop there… IN CELEBRATION of his 10th year of fundraising for The Alzheimer’s Society, Ingram Micro’s UK financial director Tony McMurray trekked to Mount Everest’s Base Camp in Nepal. But little did he know that he and his team would get caught between an earthquake and avalanche on their way back down the infamous mountain. It takes around 10 days to reach Base Camp, and McMurray set off on April 13th, reaching the camp on April 23rd. After camping for two days, he and his team set off back down the mountain, where they planned to catch their plane from Lukla.

McMurray tells PCR: “The morning of April 25th will be a day that I will never forget. The floor starting moving. We didn’t see much rock fall, but the one thing that we’ll all remember is the sound of the avalanche, we could hear a multiple explosion behind us with the avalanche at Base Camp.” The earthquake was ranked as a 7.8, and was a traumatic experience for McMurray and his entire team, who were fortunate enough to survive the ordeal. McMurray continues: “As we started to come down we could see the magnitude of the avalanche, because we saw

landslides, and for the next four or five days we had to be very mindful of the aftershocks.” McMurray has since been able to raise over £10,000 for The Alzheimer’s Society. But the earthquake isn’t stopping McMurray from taking on more challenges, as he hopes to swim the English Channel. “I feel very thankful, someone up there is looking down saying that I’m here for another purpose. I do like the fulfilling side of life and I have already got an idea for some other challenges,” adds McMurray. You can donate at www. justgiving.com/tonyeverest2015/

SCAN PUTS THE PEDAL TO THE METAL SCAN Computers celebrated the arrival of the new Nvidia GeForce GTX 980Ti graphics card with a special launch event. The firm even showed off its own Scan supercar on the day – a Nissan GT-R complete with custom Nvidia livery. Customers, staff and members of eSports outfit Team Dignitas flocked to Scan’s Bolton store, where they could try out PC games on a variety of different systems. Some of the more creative fans dressed up as their favourite game characters, including Batman and Katarina from League of Legends. Of course, we expect to see Scan’s management take the lead and get involved in the cosplay next time.

TEAM TOUGH ON TARGET ON MAY 22nd, Panasonic and Centerprise International teamed up to host their annual activity day for Toughbook and Toughpad resellers, including Steatite, Insight and Probrand. Taking place in Surrey, the teams took part in a host of challenging activities including off-roading, hover crafting and archery, followed by a three-course meal and free bar. “The event was a great success, and Centerprise would like to thank all their partners who took part,” a Centerprise spokesperson told PCR. 64 | PCR July 2015

www.pcr-online.biz

OUT OF OFFICE

OCUK HAS THE X FACTOR PCR checked out the Kingston HyperX pop-up shop in Soho, London, where customers could buy hardware from Overclockers UK and take part in competitions. Kingston’s UK and Ireland regional director Ann Keefe

and business development manager Jim Knee were in attendance, along with Overclockers UK executive director Steve Ling and Caseking’s Miodrag Relic, as well as overclocker Ian ‘8Pack’ Parry.

OCUK’s resident magician Steven Levitt was also there, where he faced competition from a local entertainer trying to impress the crowd outside. But don’t worry Steven, his tricks weren’t real magic (they were in fact rubbish).

140 CHARACTERS OF NEWS AND VIEWS What the industry’s been tweeting about this month… ASUS ROG @ASUS_ROG At #Computex15 ASUS and ROG won a total of 14 awards for their outstanding products!

Microsoft UK @MicrosoftUK Microsoft announces 19-year old, Tanya Stittle as Apprentice of the Year 2015 – first ever female winner #aoty Phil Smith, Cisco @phsmithuk Start of #LDNTechWeek on the 22nd floor of the shard - lots on this week

It came from…

EVER SINCE the release of Star Wars, we have all waited with bated breath for our

JAPAN

very own life-size R2-D2, but now we can all breathe a sigh of relief. Disney and Haier Asia have re created the robot, but this time the familiar character will come with a built-in refrigerator, capable of storing bottles of beer and snacks. In addition, its head can move, whilst also making the distinctive beeping

noises it is known for from the iconic films. The robot was first showcased at a presentation in Tokyo, where Haier Asia’s CEO Yoshiaki Ito demonstrated the droid. Although pricing hasn’t yet been revealed, it will be available to customers in 2016, so soon enough we’ll all have our very own R2-D2 walking around.

CROWDFUNDING CORNER EVER wondered how much water you should be consuming during the day? Well now you no longer need to, thanks to a new smart water bottle. HidrateMe tracks your drinking and even glows to remind you to drink more water. By downloading the Hidrate app and syncing up the bottle to your smartphone, and entering a few simple facts about yourself, users will never forget to take a gulp of water. www.pcr-online.biz

Craig Hume, Utopia Computers @CraigHume_ @pcr_online I think its great that @Corsair have listened to their fans and reverted to the sails logo. Well done them! MIONIX @MIONIX MIONIX retweeted PCR Online For our friends in UK, we’re coming to stores near you. #MionixUK #Mionix #MionixGaming Ann Keefe, Kingston @AnnKeefe It was great to catch up with 8Pack from @ OverclockersUK at the @HyperX pop up shop #meetthepros @IntelGaming #hyperx Entatech UK @Entatech Great to see our 25th Year Anniversary Cover gracing PCR Magazine. Here’s to the next 25 years! @pcr_online Sebastian James, Dixons Carphone @DCSebJ Three trophies at mobile industry awards. Well done to the team! COMPUTEX TAIPEI @computex_taipei Thank you everyone for coming to COMPUTEX and tweeting about it. We had more visitors than we expected, and our exhibitors were very happy!

The sensor stick in the bottle is the brains behind it, which sends information to the app, and tracks how much water you consume on

a daily basis with a percentage graph. So no matter how forgetful you are, you’ll never forget to take a sip of H2O.

Richard Tubb, IT expert @tubblog Great news @CompTIA appoints Tracy Pound of @maximity_uk to board of directors reports @pcr_online. Congrats Tracy!

PCR July 2015 | 65

THE LAST WORD

Thin clients are the future Paul Yung, product manager for Hannspree UK, believes that smaller form factors will continue to transform the desktop space, as more consumers show a greater interest in upgrading their tech. What does the future hold…? WE KEEP hearing about desktop sales being in decline, but is it because the format is dead or is it because it is evolving? We believe the loss in desktop sales is being taken up by the emerging thin client category. A surge of products with smaller footprints are entering the market. With recent advancements in the computing world from miniaturisation of chipsets, low hardware requirements of OSs and cloud storage being more popular, the thin clients are a viable alternative to the desktop – unlike the one trick pony thin clients of a decade ago.

ubiquitous desktop computer we now have in nearly every household. No one can argue that modern tech is becoming standard furniture in the home as well as the office. We no longer confine our computing devices to the desktop as we increasingly expect our computing devices to become part of our everyday life. Some could even argue that it is not the desktop PC in decline, but the desk itself. Are we on the verge of another momentous paradigm shift? Surely it was inevitable in this ever-evolving marketplace that the traditional desktop tower

“Some could argue that it is not the desktop in decline, but the desk itself. Are we on the verge of another shift?” Paul Yung, Hannspree Some great examples of these new thin clients include the Intel NUC, Raspberry PI devices and most recently the Micro PC which are able to travel well, and can transform everyday devices into more useful devices. If these thin clients keep pushing the boundaries of miniaturisation without any perceivable reduction of CPU power or workflow, they could well become the ‘desktop’ machines of the future. So will the desktop computing world look the same in a year’s time? In the past 30 years computers have moved from room-sized contraptions relegated to universities and large corporations to the

was going to have to show some further progress. With consumers becoming more interested in upgrading and confident in their tech purchases, we predict that these thin clients will be adorning our offices and living rooms in the very near future. But to say that the desktop market is in decline, we disagree. Firstly, the current available thin clients are not going to replace a powerful graphic design or gaming rig, so this market is likely to remain buoyant. But it shows what is possible through forward thinking development – the desktop market is re-emerging with new ideas, which can mean one thing – progress.

Editorial: 01992 535646 Advertising: 01992 535647 Website: www.pcr-online.biz Twitter: @pcr_online PCR is published 12 times a year by NewBay Media - Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford, Hertfordshire SG14 1JA. Fax: +44 (0)1992 535648. © NewBay Media 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher. The contents of PCR are subject to reproduction in information storage and retrieval systems. Printed by Pensord.

66 | PCR July 2015

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