April 18
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MOBILE COMPUTING ISSUE #175
PCR Awards
2018
April 2018
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22/03/2018 15:36:02
TheEditor The Beast from the Easton
THIS MARCH has been one of the strangest months I can remember, and not just for the weather. To say the retail world has undergone a topsy-turvy time would be something of an understatement. The highest-profile cases were, as detailed in countless news reports, Toys “R” Us and Maplin. Toys “R” Us’ entry into administration was on the cards but perhaps more shockingly was the rapid deterioration of Maplin which took many by surprise. But it’s not limited to those two. Even Dixons Carphone, which curried much favour by offering jobs to the 2,500 soon-to-be unemployed Maplin staff, was in the news for the wrong reason as it emerged that more than 100 customers had been charged £40 for preconfiguration on their laptops that they didn’t request. But those cold days were not enough to obfuscate the highlight of our year: The PCR Awards 2018. It was a great night and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who came along and made the event extra special, the events team who put it all together, our partners and the judges who cast their votes. I’d also like to extend a huge congratulations to all the nominees and winners who were all incredibly deserving of their recognition. And speaking of recognition, the next major highlight in the PCR calendar is PCR’s 30 Under 30 which we are rapidly approaching. If you’ve got someone in your organisation, no matter their role, who you think deserves a shout out (you could even put yourself forward if you’re on the right side of 30 and reading this right now) contact me or head over to pcr-online.biz/30Under30.
“Those cold days were not enough to obfuscate the highlight of our year: The PCR Awards 2018”
Jonathan Easton, Editor jeaston@nbmedia.com
THE TEAM
Editorial: 0207 354 6002 Advertising: 0207 354 6000
Rob Horgan
Deputy Editor rhorgan@nbmedia.com
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Gurpreet Purewal Sales Manager gpurewal@nbmedia.com
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April 2018 | 3
22/03/2018 17:34
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PCR AWARDS
p16
Contents April 2018 Retail in trouble?
06
Following Maplin's collapse, we look at the retail sector
Mobility in business
30
How is tech reshaping the offices of today and tomorrow?
Big Interview - AMD
26
After an outstanding 12 months, PCR catches up with AMD
Laptop lookback
34
A timeline tracking the pivotal moments of mobile computing
At a glance 36 MOBILE GAMING PCR asks industry experts whether or not mobile gaming will ever be viable competition to console and desktop systems 47 MEET AOC UK From burning rubber in Germany to dressing up for the office, PCR gets to know the team behind AOC UK
Regulars 10 Life in the Channel 12 Industry opinion 38 Products 40 Sector guides 49 Logging off
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@pcr_online
PCRmag
April 2018 | 5
23/03/2018 09:37
Analysis
Make retail great again If the looming demise of Maplin is an indicatior of High Street retail’s past, Rob Horgan asks what has gone wrong, what does the future look like and what practices need to be shelved?
T
RADITIONAL RETAIL IS on its knees. Whichever way you spin it, brick-andmortar and big box retailers are falling by the wayside at an alarming rate, and have been doing so for the best part of a decade. Maplin’s demise is just the latest household name to take its place in the high street graveyard, with the retail sector facing its toughest test in recent memory. There are a multitude of reasons and excuses that can be offered to explain away the situation. Many high street retailers are suffering from a slowdown in consumer spending, a weakened sterling currency, competition from online sales, increase in the living wage, Brexit, rises in business rates and additional costs associated with same day delivery services. And while nobody disputes that these are all genuine factors, businesses have always had to adapt to survive and the sooner retailers face up to that, the better. With traditional brick-and-mortar retailers that thrived in the ‘90s and early Noughties consigned to yesteryear, it is time to look to the future. The rise of online retailers spearheaded by Amazon’s dominance cannot go unnoticed. And while online
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sales have taken away a significant chunk of sales away from physical retailers, there is no tangible indication that online will completely replace them. As Mike Buley, Exertis retail director, states ‘an omnichannel approach is clearly what the consumer wants’. He adds: “brick-and-mortar stores still have a vital part to play. Combined with a strong online presence, offering a great range of products, with availability and a choice of delivery mechanisms: same day, scheduled or click and collect and you have the perfect scenario for the consumer.” Likewise, Annika Fargstrom, head of Retail Sales and Distribution at Epson UK, believes that ‘the future of retail is true omnichannel’. “Online will keep growing, and when artificial intelligence finally becomes mainstream, the whole shopping experience will drastically change,” she says definitively. “On the high street side, pop-up shops will become increasingly widespread. Vendors need to get closer to their customers and by setting up temporary shops they can launch new products to a live audience and get first-hand market knowledge.”
www.pcr-online.biz
22/03/2018 17:42
Analysis
“I can envisage a situation where the popularity of online starts to decline over time” Paul Routledge, D-Link And there is evidence to back up the assumption that physical stores can co-exist and compete with online retailers. According to the European Hardware Association, specialist retailers are still sought after for hardware purchases. Interestingly enough, specialists – both online and in terms of physical retailers – came out on top, showing a greater demand for knowledge (see graph over the page). “In the past, these kinds of surveys would split online/ offline,” explains YoYo Tech managing director CK Kohli. “However, in this survey,
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there was a distinct split between specialist and nonspecialist. Alongside the usual Channel resellers, the ‘specialist’ category shows that there is a place for [physical] retailers. Specifically, when people want an experiential purchase and knowledgeable staff.” Interestingly, D-Link’s UK and Ireland country manager Paul Routledge believes that the popularity of online will eventually drop off, leading to rejuvenation within the physical retail space. “The future of retail seems to be moving towards vendors choosing to sell via easy-to-use online services such as Amazon,” he says. “While I see the future of retail continuing to move in this direction, I’d urge a note of caution. Online resellers need to innovate in order to crack the customer service conundrum, if they’re going to provide a complete offering to fully replace brick-and-mortar resellers. If they don’t, I can envisage a situation where, over time, the popularity of online shopping starts to decline.”
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22/03/2018 17:42
Analysis
“Brick-and-mortar outlets are still needed. Customers need to be able to see and touch products” Anika Fargstrom, Epson Meanwhile, Routledge also believes that bricks-and-mortar stores ‘are able to provide unmatched customer service, whether this is over the phone or in person’. He adds: “The customer is able to seek advice and support, in order to ensure that they purchase the most suitable product for their requirements, and leave feeling reassured and satisfied. Furthermore, resellers can offer advice on setup and installation, post-sales support, as well as complementary products and services. This is where brick-and-mortar retailers are invaluable compared to the online world.” However, for the time being online is still ruling the roost and brick-and-mortar stores have a way to go if they are regain some of the lost market share. Within the present and future omnichannel retail space the role of physical retail is to provide both ‘theatre and knowledge’. “Brick-and-mortar outlets are still needed – customers need to be able to see and touch products, and stores act as great vendor showrooms,” Fargstrom adds. “However, the huge profit margins and lack of staff expertise on retail sales floors can no longer be accepted or afforded. There are so few brick-and-mortar stores left, so retailers should ensure they create a good customer experience. Consumers want theatre and knowledge when they come through the doors; just providing space, heat and light is not enough.”
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Just as important as having knowledgeable staff is creating a ‘theatrical’ in store experience. Lino Notaro, Retail Sales director at TP-Link believes the way to achieve this is to think outside of the box. “The key is for retailers to arm themselves with the ‘wow factor’ or ‘create theatre’ in store,” he notes. “Let’s take Smart Home for example, the more effectively customers can be ‘shown’ how easy it is to ‘Switch on a Light Bulb’ with a voice activated device, the easier it will be to introduce new users to this segment. That said, I’m conscious that busy stores can be very noisy particularly at weekends, so ‘purpose built showrooms’ could be added for such demos.” He adds: “What about adding one of those very popular ‘concessionary coffee shops’ on your premises to keep your customer in store, (rather than have them step into the Costa next door). Another interesting concept is the trend of adding shop in shops within out of town retail stores. We have seen Tesco (for one) accommodate concessions like Next and Currys in a small number of its stores. Furthermore, the recent tip-up between GAME and Sports Direct is another intriguing idea, with Sports Direct placing a number of Belong ‘gaming areas’ in store, (with all of the latest equipment).” Retail is here to stay. While online will no doubt continue to thrive, there is still a place for brick-andmortar retailers, it just needs to continue to re-invent itself to the consumer, to stay relevant, up to date, informed, innovative and vital.
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“With a strong leader, people can easily overcome any current and future challenges�
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22/03/2018 12:51
Tech Talk
LIFE IN THE CHANNEL
Aileen Primrose As the Eureka Solutions Sales and Marketing director approaches a decade at the company, PCR finds out what makes her tick
How long have you been at Eureka Solutions and what is your role? I have worked at Eureka Solutions for almost 10 years now. In that time I have worked as the director for sales and marketing for just over two years. To put it simply, my role is to achieve our corporate sales objectives. But I don’t do it alone. In order to succeed in our ambitions it takes a phenomenal team effort and it is my role to orchestrate and oversee what everybody gets up to. I have to makes sure that my focus is spread evenly across the entire spectrum of the company, from business development through to the sales process. But most importantly I have to ensure that the customers we have in our portfolio continue to be delighted with our working relationship. What is the best piece of advice that anyone has ever given you throughout your career? The most important words of guidance that I’ve ever received in my working life is that a leader’s action should inspire other people to learn more, do more and become more. With a strong leader, people can easily overcome any current and future challenges that they come across in their working lives, and this is very important to me. For me, I believe that it’s also vital to never stop asking questions and to never stop learning. I’ll happily admit that I am the first person at any meeting to hold my hands up and say if I don’t understand something. I think that the perceived stigma of asking questions hampers the development of a professional in their carrer as a leader and can really put a dent in their growth within their chosen industry.
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What is the most unexpected thing that’s happened to you at work? There are so many things I could talk about here, but I’d have to say that the most unexpected thing that’s happened during my career really is the rate of the growth of our company. I have been lucky enough in my time at Eureka to witness the company experience massive growth in sales and the doubling of our staff in a relatively brief period. Once again this is largely thanks to the great team mentality we have here. I am certain that our huge levels of growth would have been much more difficult challenge if it weren’t for the strength of the team at Eureka Solutions. If you didn’t work in the Channel, what would you be? It might seem strange to say now, but when I was younger, I wanted to be a vet. Looking at that it seems a million miles away from what I’m doing now. I still love animals, of course, but I feel the same passion today about my carrer in the UK IT Channel as I felt for the animals when I was growing up. How should people get in touch with you? If you are planning to review your current business applications or wish to consider implementing a cloud solution, we should talk! Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like to seek some advice and would like an expert opinion from an enthusastic bunch of people for whom the Cloud is second nature. You can get in touch with us by picking up the phone and calling 01355 581 960 or by heading over to www.eurekasolutions.co.uk
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industryopinion
Luke Briner, chief technical officer, PixelPin
The future of Cybersecurity Governments, vendors and consumers need to be tougher and do more to combat cybercrime in 2018 and beyond people to trust software from one country over another, AS WE LOOK BACK over the last year, we have seen the perhaps it will help to segregate internet traffic between highest ever rates of cyber crime across some very high trusted zones and non-trusted zones. profile victims. The most recent Cyber Security Breaches Industry organisations can add value to the work as survey from the UK Department for Culture, Media and well. People like the ISC2, IISP, and the IEEE have whole Sport in April 2017 stated that 46 per cent of all businesses chapters devoted to information security. The hard work had identified an attack or breach, which increases to 65 of these organisations is how to avoid duplication of per cent as the company size increases beyond £2 million. similar but different – and confusing – guidelines. It is safe to assume that attacks will continue in In the equipment domain we have 2018 and that they will probably increase as competing standards, little standardisation more people copy other successful attacks, and seemingly zero security in their until such a time when the risk taken is products. Manufacturers need to up their greater than the potential reward. “Manufacturers game. I can see a day when a certification Although there are many ways to need to up their of a product for cybersecurity becomes a combat cybercrime, they span multiple game” requirement for selling in countries like countries, organisations and even ideals. the UK. All things considered, the journey needs Features such as fixed passwords or to work towards a time when people’s needs storing some types of data unencrypted would are aligned from the end-user all the way to fail the certification. Even though this can be the top of corporates and governments. Only a faked, at least a company can be blacklisted or fined. combination of measures and the desire to work So where does that leave end-users? I hope that our together is going to achieve something that will work. organisations will become much slower to adopt Government regulation is important but it’s usually technology for the sake of it and that our suppliers will be only applicable to a single country at a time, not useful if more honest and objective about security. We need to your attacker is based offshore or if they work for a stop using firms to provide IT services that cannot foreign government with no interest in stopping the provide proof that they understand how to configure our attack. That is not a reason to avoid them however, if networks and make them secure from attack. governments set out a workable set of rules that leads
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22/03/2018 12:54
industryopinion
Simon Buckingham – retail marketing and gaming manager, TP-Link
Time to wake up With Maplin being the latest big-name retailer to fall, retail business practices need to change – and fast far too much and the consequences are hitting hard. IN LIGHT OF RECENT news in the retail environment, Go into a typical store and try to find someone free, there is a lot of doom and gloom. When I worked in particularly on peak days. It can be very hard, so what retail on a shop floor it was during the last recession in do you do? The next best thing is to push the educational 2007/08. Our staff figures dropped from 15 people on a piece in the best way possible. The silent salesman! I Saturday to a five or six if we were lucky, while still take great pride in in-store execution, POS and trying to maintain the same level of service. customer education. A customer has limited time to In my current role in retail marketing I have seen the shop, and they get distracted or bored very easily. transition of independent retailers disappearing, and Retailers need to assess their stores, from a we all saw the likes of HMV among many other profitability perspective and visually. We all big name retailers struggling. Does anyone know online is taking over more and more remember Woolworths? “We stand here on every year, which is why it is even more If you were to imagine your own the brink of losing crucial to get it right in-store! finances, but make the numbers bigger… Are products positioned correctly? when you start to realise you are losing many more huge Does it reflect the market trends? Do you money – even if it was £400 or £1000 retailers and I am walk in and find Smart Home at the front – you’d sit there and worry. Then you’d not surprised” of your store or do you see fading tech? start to ask: ‘what am I doing that From a vendor perspective, the same currently needs to stop?’. But instead, a should be looked at. Are our products shown couple of years pass and news reports suggest in the best way, or are they just sitting on a shelf? you have over £200 million in debts. How? Price promotions only go so far. If you are not helping This was part of the recession mentality – wage drive traffic as you would online and shouting out why freezes and price increases. Today’s consumers are a lot the customer needs this product, you will struggle. savvier and businesses are being found out. Retailers of Too many businesses overlook the importance of visual course have to make money, but there are many factors store presence and the customer journey, relying on that come into play. computer information and not using the traditional We stand here on the brink of losing many more huge method of store visits and understanding what customers retailers and I am not surprised. There are some that need. It’s time to wake up and help keep what we can of have assessed consumer behaviour and ‘look through retail or our high streets will be just empty shells. the eyes of the recipient’. This mentality is overlooked
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April 2018 | 13
22/03/2018 15:15
industryopinion
David Ellis – director of Security Solutions, Europe, Tech Data
How to regain control of your company’s security As businesses adopt an increasing amount of mobile devices, how can you shore up your customers’ defences? opportunity to evaluate how your customer is protecting MOBILE DEVICES provide flexibility, allowing their devices. employees to work outside of the office. This translates The next thing you can do is regain control with into competitive advantages, productivity gains and improved access management. There are a few questions employee satisfaction benefits. It is no surprise that you can ask your customer to determine how vulnerable mobility is one of the fastest growing segments of the they are. First, determine which employees have access to enterprise technology market. Security remains a major what. Similarly, ask the customer if they were asked to challenge that continuously needs addressing. give a report of all people that accessed any one file on As computing infrastructure becomes less centralised their file servers over VPN within the last week, there is greater potential for malware entering could they generate that report in less than an devices that are being used remotely and hour. Ask if they can verify that previous increasing the risk of data being lost. The “37 per cent of employees have been decommissioned and financial, legal and reputational impact of organisations have have no access to their data. If the customer these data losses can be immense. is not able to quickly generate reports and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) experienced a fix any gaps, then the organisation is at compounds the issue as employees use breach directly the mercy of malicious intentions. their own devices to access corporate attributed to mobile If the customer can access vulnerability networks. It is highly alarming that technology” and breach reports, empower them to use approximately half of organisations that them to start conversations to turn things allow BYOD do so without any security around. Customers should begin proactively policy! It’s perhaps not surprising that 37 per sending vulnerability reports to management. cent of organisations have experienced a breach or The main thing to remember is to make things as data loss directly attributed to their mobile technology. difficult as possible for attackers. When organisations But there are some simple steps that can immediately neglect even the basics of cybersecurity, attackers see this improve your customers’ odds against threats starting as low-hanging fruit. Securing an organisation can be with patching. To start, ask your customer whether they very difficult, but most exploits occur with either insider are currently patching, are they able to quickly remediate help or by way of well-known vulnerabilities. The above a known vulnerability, and is it easy for them to produce a practical questions and their correlative remediation steps report from their fleet of machines. If your customer’s can help any organisation enhance its security posture. answer is ‘no’ to any of these questions, you have an
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22/03/2018 12:58
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PCR Awards Review
REVIEW 20 winners walked away with smiles on their faces and PCR Awards in their possession, as the UK IT Channel came together for the most anticipated evening of the year. Look through the next few pages for some of the night’s highlights
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PCR Awards Review System Builder Utopia
Online Retailer, Specialist PC Vendor SCAN
www.pcr-online.biz
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PCR Awards Review
Software Services & Support - Vendor BullGuard
“You get to meet everybody at the PCR Awards. Friends, competitors and customers, they are all here.” Paul Butler, AOC
Consumer Electronics Distributor CMS Distribution
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PCR Awards Review
Software Services & Support - Distributor Tech Data
Networking Vendor TP-Link
Cloud Services Westcoast www.pcr-online.biz
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As the
2018 Headline Sponsor We would like to congratulate all of the winners. Keep up the good work and see you next year!
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15/03/2018 14:22:30
www.cidistribution.com
www.herotouch.co.uk
Don’t hesitate to get in touch: 01256 378014 | sales@cidistribution.com PCR_DPS_426x271.indd 3
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PCR Awards Review
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PCR Awards Review
“It is such an honour to be recognised by your peers. This has made the whole of Scotland happy” PCR Company of theYear 2018 AMD
Craig Hume, Utopia Peripherals & Accessories winner HyperX
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PCR Awards Review
WINNERS IN FULL RETAILER CATEGORY System Builder
Utopia
CHANNEL SERVICES CATEGORY Dealer Services Provider
VENDOR CATEGORY Software, Services & Support – Vendor
Marketing & PR
Peripherals & Accessories
Synaxon
National Retailer
GAME
BullGuard
Gekko
Independent Retailer
HyperX
Cloud Services
Chips Computers Chesterfield
Components Vendor
Westcoast
ASUS
Online Retailer
DISTRIBUTION CATEGORY
RESELLER CATEGORY
Software, Services & Support - Distributor
PC Vendor
PRESENTED BY AOC:
SCAN
PRESENTED BY NORTHAMBER:
ASUS
Specialist PC Vendor
Tech Data
SMB Reseller
SCAN
Hardware Distributor
Ebuyer
Networking Vendor
Exertis
Corporate VAR
TP-Link
Consumer Electronics Distributor
Softcat
PCR COMPANY OF THE YEAR 2018
presented by Ci Distribution AMD
CMS Distribution
MSP Specialist
Transputec
SPONSORS HEADLINE PARTNER
AFTER PARTY PARTNER
DISTRIBUTION CATEGORY PARTNER
EVENT PARTNER
PLATINUM RESELLER CATEGORY PARTNER
DRINKS RECEPTION PARTNER
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RED CARPET VIDEO PARTNER
SMITHIE U K Ltd
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22/03/2018 14:47
Thanks to the Technology Channel for your valued support.
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thebiginterview
“Last year we took a huge step on our journey to high-performance computing leadership. We’ve been consistent in delivering the very best to the Channel and brought back innovation to the industry”
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thebiginterview
Trust the processor Following a game-changing 2017 that saw the company completely disrupt the processor marketplace, AMD topped off the year by claiming the Company of the Year award at the PCR Awards. Recapping what went so well for the company as well as looking towards the future, EMEA Component Channel Sales director Neil Spicer talks with Rob Horgan AMD HAS BEEN a household name for as long as we can remember, but just a few years ago the company’s impact on the market place was dwindling and it was in danger of becoming a shadow of its former self. However after shaking things up, the company enjoyed a stellar 2017 and has started this year in the same vein. As Neil Spicer, EMEA Component Channel Sales director, explains, the last year has been a ‘huge step’ towards making AMD an industry leader. “Last year we took a huge step on our journey to highperformance computing leadership with the launch of our Ryzen 7 processors in March,” he said. “Since then we have delivered 20+ Ryzen processors to meet the needs of the Channel and modern PC users. We’ve disrupted the market at every competitive price point by providing consumers more performance, more features, and more choice. We’ve been consistent in delivering the very best to the Channel and brought back innovation to the industry.” He adds: “We shipped millions of Ryzen processors in the last few quarters of 2017 and we saw great acceptance of Ryzen processors in the EMEA region among gamers and enthusiasts.
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thebiginterview “The PCR Awards play an important role within the UK PC and tech community” Ryzen Threadripper is doing extremely well and growing our share in the highest-end portion of the enthusiast market where we have not had an offering in recent years.” A true example of how rethinking things and taking risks is what this industry needs, AMD’s resurgence culminated in being crowned PCR’s Company of the Year. The only gong to be awarded by the editorial staff, AMD’s ability to turn things around rather than shy away from the challenge was a large reason behind the decision. “We’re thrilled and thankful for the overwhelming positive response we’ve received from the PCR editorial team that have recognised our efforts to continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible for developers, enthusiasts, consumers and businesses,” Spicer said. “The awards play an important role within the UK PC and tech community, enabling resellers, retailers, vendors, and other members of the industry to network as well as celebrate the achievements of those in our industry for the past 12 months.” As successful as AMD’s last year has been, the change in fortunes is no fluke and neither has it happened overnight. In fact, it has been a steady rise that stretches back to a business strategy put in place some three years ago. The overwhelming success of
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the company’s Ryzen processor line over the past 12 months may have come as a surprise to many but as Spicer explains it is the rewards of a carefully thought out strategy. “Three years ago, we set out a strategic plan to reshape AMD to become a high-performance computing leader through great products, deep customer relationships and a simplified and focused business strategy,” Spicer says. “Our 2017 product momentum has been strong but we have not yet seen the full impact of those products in the market. As much progress as we have made over the past three years, we really believe we are only at the beginning.” And while many could forgive AMD for riding on the wave of its own success, Spicer explains that nobody is taking anything for granted. In fact, the firm has a lot more planned and is confident that 2018 will prove to be just as successful – if not more so – than the year that has just gone. “As much as we’ve accomplished so far in the past year, we’re only just getting started,” Spicer adds. “We’ve just launched our AMD Ryzen Desktop
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processors with Radeon Vega Graphics including the Ryzen 5 2400G and Ryzen 3 2200G. In April we’ll be launching our Ryzen 2nd Generation range of processors and are excited to show the new features. I can’t reveal too much about what’s in store for 2018 but we can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on.” He continues: “While our 2017 product momentum has been strong, we have not yet seen the full impact of those products in the market. We believe the market is moving towards the highperformance technologies we are developing at AMD. There is a clear demand, and a growing need, for higher levels of computing and graphics performance to power workloads across a variety of industries. “We see that the world’s toughest applications – whether in high performance computing, machine learning or artificial intelligence – all require a mixture of CPUs, GPUs and other accelerator technologies regardles of if they are integrated on a chip, a multi-chip module or integrated into a system
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solution. AMD is uniquely able to bring these mixed technologies together and we are collaborating intensely with customers to make these solutions a reality. For this reason, we believe we are only at the beginning of the AMD story. “As much fun as the last three years have been, it’s an incredibly exciting time for us and we are really looking forward to what we can deliver over the next three years and beyond.”
“While our 2017 product momentum has been strong, we have not yet seen the full impact of those products in the market” April 2018 | 29
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Mobility in Business
Go with the flow
Mobility in the workplace is a vital aspect of the changing business environment. Rob Horgan examines how far along the line we are in pursuit of the ‘seamless flow’
THE WORKFORCE of today is changing. Work is no longer confined to the office and putting in a traditional nine-to-five shift is slowly becoming a thing of the past. The importance of mobility in the workplace has grown significantly in recent years, driven by technological innovations like smartphones, cloud computing and the Internet of Things. The traditional confines of 20th century business have been eroded and now customers, clients and employees demand the tools required to work whenever and wherever they need to. Over the last decade the number of companies introducing WFH (work from home) or BYOD (bring your own device) policies has greatly increased, reflecting a change in work attitude. It is fair to say that business has been undergoing a digital transformation since the first-ever BlackBerry was handed out to an employee so they could access their work emails on the go.
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Those who are unwilling to adopt mobility risk being overtaken by competitors who are willing to embrace the new workforce mentality. But in 2018, mobility in business is about far more than handing out smartphones or laptops to the workforce. Mobility has taken on new meaning, no longer referring exclusively to devices. Instead employees demand content, data and services are made mobile and accessible across multiple platforms and devices wherever and whenever. The concept of the mobile workforce was the focus of the keynote speech at Microsoft’s recent Future Decoded event. In his address, corporate vice-president of Devices, Panos Panay, focused on the ‘changing work environment’ in what he described as ‘the essence of the modern workplace’. “Your workplace is no longer bound to the office. People work everywhere and people work anywhere,” he
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“Your workplace is no longer bound to the office. People work everywhere and people work anywhere” ,
Panos Panay, Microsoft said. “Your customers and you can collaborate from different spaces. But probably more importantly, in your global companies, with that mobile workforce, bringing together all of these assets at one time to get all of your ideas in the same place is critical.” Panay also highlighted workers’ ability to move seamlessly from one device to another. To start your day on your phone, move on to your tablet and pick up where you left off on your laptop. It is an emerging work practice that he describes as ‘continuously staying in your flow’.
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Above: Microsoft corporate vicepresident of devices, Panos Panay speaks at the company’s Future Decoded event in London
“Once you start moving and the technology disappears because the tools are right, you’re using the right data, you’re using the Cloud and everything that’s coming with you,” he added. It is the concept of ‘staying in your flow’ that sparked the incarnation of Airtame. A wireless device that plugs into the HDMI port of any screen or projector and streams your content to the screen from a computer or mobile device, Airtame is effectively a Chromecast for business. And yet the point of it, as product manager Simon Hansen explains, is to allow the workforce ‘to be seamless’. “We wanted to create something that would allow for a greater flow in the professional work place,” he said. “Chromecast and other products already do a good job of streaming content for the consumer market. Airtame offers the ability to fully mirror any device onto a screen with just two clicks.” He adds: “The original concept was born out of a frustration with cables and adaptors. In the past workers spent more time messing about with cables than they did showing content.” The Danish entrepreneurs were clearly not alone in their desire to do away with
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Mobility in business
“It is integral to ensure workers have the tools they need wherever, whenever” Joanne Plummer, Synology
cables. After launching its crowdfunding page on Indiegogo in November 2013, Airtame accumulated $1.3 million worth of investment in the first two months alone. It was an incredible reaction from the world and one that tells you all you need to know about the demand for greater mobility in business. As well as creating a seamless flow in the workplace, mobility is also driving collaboration efforts. Cloud computing has allowed for employees to work together at the same time from different sides of the globe. Google Drive for example allows employees to simultaneously access, modify and collaborate on the same documents from wherever they are in the world. Likewise, Synology’s DSM (DiStation Manager) and Cloud Station offerings have been designed to allow employees to keep working from wherever they are. Joanne Plummer, Synology’s marketing manager for the UK, Ireland and the Nordics explains: “The recent weather is a perfect example of how being flexible and having working from home policies in place can benefit your business. With DSM you can give workers constant access to what they need or you can programme temporary access in cases where they are unable to get to work.” She adds: “As working remotely has become more and more important, it is integral to ensure workers have the tools they need wherever, whenever. With Synology’s Cloud Station app, you can access our equivalent of word or excel and work even if you are on
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a flight. Then when you reconnect to WiFi your work is updated in the Cloud. Having everything app based means that workers can even work from their phones or tablets if their laptop is down. The point of all of this is to increase productivity and reduce wasted time.” Yet for all the productivity that is being generated through mobility there is one note of caution that, now more than ever, cannot be overlooked. As William Downing, a specialist in employment law at Blake Morgan, points out: “GDPR will continue to place an obligation on organisations to ensure personal data is processed securely”. This is especially relevant to schemes such as BYOD that are designed to encourage mobility in the work place. Morgan continues: “Allowing staff to use their own devices for work has considerable benefits for employers, allowing flexibility for employees and reducing costs. However, organisations will remain responsible for securing all personal data and for guarding against unauthorised use of that data. In preparation for GDPR coming into force on May 25 2018, it would be prudent for organisations to review their approach to employees using their own devices for work. In particular, they will need to review and, if necessary, strengthen their security measures for data accessed by employees on their own devices.” With the caveat of being GDPR-aware, mobility in the workplace has, is, and will continue, to change the way we all do business. It is likely to change the way that everybody runs their business from the larger enterprises to the small independent employers. Likewise mobility is unlikely to be restricted to business and will soon seep into the education, personal and commercial spheres as demand grows for a seamless reality.
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22/03/2018 22:38
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2/15/2018 4:06:29 PM
Origin of History of mobile computing
Origin of the species Mobile computing takes all manner of shapes and sizes in 2018. PCR takes a look at the tech of today and charts its roots back to the very beginning 1978
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Modern day: Acer Swift 3 In truth, the Acer Swift 3 is just one of countless modern day notebooks that we could have included. With a 14-inch display, 8GB RAM and an Intel Core i7 processor, the Swift 3 is top of the range but includes nothing you wouldn’t expect it to. Weighing in at 1.5kg it is easily portable… something you couldn’t say about its early predecessors.
1981: Osborne 1 portable computer The first computer made for picking up and carrying with you wasn’t exactly designed with much practicality in mind. Weighing in at 10.6kg, the Osborne 1 portable computer offered a 5-inch diagonal screen, two full size floppy disk drives, a keyboard that snapped onto the system, and a handle in the back for easy carrying. The first device to resemble a modern day laptop was the Grid Compass 1100 clamshell laptop that hit the market a year after the Osborne 1.
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Modern day: iPhone X The 10th anniversary edition of the iPhone really is a technological joy to behold. Much-awaited, talked about and teased, the iPhone X was dubbed as ‘the future’. Launching with facial-recognition, dual 12-megapixel cameras and Animoji features, the iPhone X perfectly captures tech in 2018.
1992: Simon Personal Communicator The Simon Personal Communicator’s $1,100 price tag is fittingly similar to its modern day counterpart, however it was an astronomical amount at the time. There was no access to web browsing, however the Simon could send faxes and access emails.
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of the species Modern day: iPad Pro While not having quite the vociferous buzz of a few years ago, high-end tablets – particularly the iPad Pro – are often-times more powerful than a lot of PCs, with many people forgoing their desktops or notebooks for a more accessible, portable and longer-lasting device. With up to 2.39GHz in CPU and Apple’s own M10 processor, the iPad Pro is the prime example that mobile computing doesn’t have to be limited by the classic clamshell form-factor.
2000: Microsoft Tablet PC
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A full decade before Steve Jobs presented ‘one more thing’, Bill Gates presented the first ever tablet – the Microsoft Tablet produced by Lenovo – and it turned out to be a bit of a disaster. Running a full version 2012 of Windows XP 2014 on a touch screen was fiddly 2016 enough, but the 128MB of RAM and a 600MHz processor, with a storage capacity of 10GB meant that it was slow as well. The form factor was largely a joke until Apple came around with the original iPad in 2010 and the rest is history.
2018
Modern day: Nintendo Switch Mobile games consoles in 2017 had largely fallen to the wayside in favour of more accessible smartphones, but Nintendo recaptured the imagination with the launch of the Switch, its home/mobile console hybrid. The Nvidia GM20B Maxwell-based GPU and Octa-core CPU make for a solid experience both docked and undocked, but the Switch’s unique concept and compelling titles have refreshed the concept of portable gaming.
1989: Nintendo Game Boy Back in an age where absentmindedly playing Candy Crush on the tube wasn’t even a pipedream, everyone was obsessed with Tetris on the Game Boy. It wasn’t the most cutting-edge tech of the time (its 160x144 pixels, 47x43 mm screen is a far cry from the Switch’s 6.2-inch, 1280 × 720p LCD), but low cost and long battery life mixed with a selection of iconic games like Super Mario Land made sure that the Game Boy became the must have gadget that sold (combined with its Pocket and Colour revisions) 118.69 million units.
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27/03/2018 14:24
Gaming laptops
gaming The launch of the Nintendo Switch in 2017 once again shone the spotlight on gaming on a portable scale. Jonathan Easton asks what notebooks need to do in order to capitalise on this growing interest PORTABLE GAMING has never been taken entirely seriously by the mainstream gaming press, and to be honest, with good reason. While there have been compelling titles on handheld consoles, as well as (to an increasingly lesser extent) smartphones, and hardware has come on leaps and bounds, it still has a stigma of being less serious than home consoles. In March 2017, a large amount of the public perception shifted with the launch of the Nintendo Switch, a handheldcum-home console hybrid that completely shook up the preconceived ideas that gaming on the go had to come at some form of a compromise. But almost a whole year before the Switch had been swutched, Nvidia made its own statement that gaming on notebooks was the ‘ultimate gaming platform’ with the launch of GeForce GTX 10 series graphics cards for laptops. “It’s an extremely portable device,” said a rep from the components giant in the summer of 2016. “Why wouldn’t you want to be able to take your games with you wherever you go?” Certainly in the 20 months since, portable PC gaming has seen a surge in interest. While PCs are seeing a dip in sales figures across the board, market analyst Context noted that ‘enthusiast’ and VR-ready gaming PCs and notebooks saw year-on-year shipments increase by 11 per cent in the run-up to Christmas – a figure optimistically reflected by the big distributors. “We expect the gaming notebook market to grow steadily over the next few years,” notes Christian Cox, business development manager for
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Tech Data UK & Ireland’s Gaming, Consumer Technology Group (CTG). “We expect both desktop and notebook gaming to be popular – it just depends on whether the gamer wants to be mobile.” Notebooks are more capable than ever of running the latest games at an impressive level, but the key factors of cost and customisability continue to act as a barrier for many. A large premium is put on the laptop experience, with similarly priced desktops generally being significantly more powerful. And that desktop can be altered, changed and otherwise updated with the latest components should the user see fit. A desktop has the capacity for evolution; the laptop you buy is (save for maybe being able to expand memory) the laptop you will have until you decide to get a new one. As Cox summarises: “Some will continue to favour a form factor that gives them more room for expansion and customisation”. It leads to a rather simple question: who would buy a notebook for gaming when they are underpowered for the money, and limited by their form factor? But of course it is, to an extent, a discussion of apples and oranges. A big, bulky tower PC that is tethered down to a
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Gaming laptops
desktop with the extra cost of monitors and peripherals is hardly comparable to the portability and practicality of a notebook. Similarly, the exercise of putting the spec of a desktop head-to-head with a notebook would only tell part of the story. The selling point of gaming on a laptop isn’t the raw power of its desktop cousin, but being able to game on the go, particularly when it comes to esports. “One of the primary factors in driving that growth will be the popularity of esports,” states Cox. Gaming notebooks are certainly more appealing from a social perspective. Whether it’s a group of friends meeting at someone’s house, a team of players getting together in a public spot, or a huge tournament in an arena, the portability afforded by notebooks is hard to beat and can’t be overstated from the perspective of selling to customers. So maybe desktop PCs will always be favoured by the most hardcore of gamers, those who will want to build a system from the ground up and pick all the precise components as they go. But there are plenty of consumers who will want to play games on a PC – be it for mods, huge library, better graphics or simply because of the mouse and keyboard – who will see a notebook as a way to easily get into PC gaming. This is a point that Cox stresses
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as being the trend. “Mobile gaming is already big and it’s going to get bigger. This will be part of a wider trend that will see the ‘PC’ become the central focus of the gaming market. It’s certainly a major opportunity – at the Tech Data Consumer Technology Group we have started bringing vendors on-board to address this specific area and we’ll be doing more to help retailers and webstore develop their sales potential with mobile devices and gaming platforms of all kinds.” Ultimately in order for gaming notebooks to curry the same favour that the Switch has with the public consciousness, they need to move away from that idea that gaming on a PC is just for hardcore gamers. As Veho’s Ryan Davis argues: “We need to lose the stigma that every PC/ laptop gamer is an intense gamer. To make these laptops more attractive, they need to appeal more to casual gamers.” How much of that depends on marketing and messaging and how much of that is based on design (not making every single gaming laptop emblazoned with outlandish logos and bright red LEDs etc.) is a different conversation, but the message remains the same: broadening scope, not burrowing into a niche, will see gaming notebooks fulfil their true potential.
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New Products
Nintendo Labo SRP: £59.99-£69.99 OUT: April 27
New Products
It is often said that children like playing with the cardboard box as much as the toys inside. Well, Nintendo has made that cardboard box the whole toy. Announced in January, the Nintendo Labo is a cardboard kit that utilises the Switch in new and imaginative ways. It is both a construction toy and a gaming device, in a sort of Lego meets mobile gaming mash-up. Two separate Labo packs have been announced so far: the Variety Kit, which contains five different objects to build, and the Robot Kit which has one big giant one. PCR attended a special event at the Science Museum, where the kits were shown off. At the basic level, you follow a kit to put together things like a fishing pole or a robot suit and play the accompanying little piece of software. At the more advanced level, you might use the Labo ‘garage’ to build more complex creations from pre-made parts.
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Xiomi Mi7 SRP: TBC OUT: TBC With Samsung and Apple running away with top-of-the-market smartphones, Xiomi has found a market of its own and is capitalising on its place as ‘the best of the rest’. The Mi7 will see Xiomi jump on the 18:9 borderless display bandwagon with its next flagship product. And despite being much cheaper than the big two (we presume), the Mi7 will pack some powerful hardware, including the Snapdragon 845 and a colossal 8GB of RAM, and could be one of the first flagships to feature a fingerprint scanner embedded in the display. The screen is said to be an OLED panel from Samsung, however Xiaomi is not expected to implement a display panel with a higher than full-HD resolution. The company is however ready to include finger print scanning and wireless charging.
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New Products
Jabra Elite Active 65t
Toshiba Portégé X20W-E
SRP: £169.99 OUT: April 2
SRP: TBC Out: April 9
Jabra has followed up its Alexa-powered wireless headphones with an ‘Elite’ version. The Elite 65t will be available in three colours: Titanium Black, Copper Black and Gold Beige. The Elite Active 65t will feature an IP56 rating for sweat and include an accelerometer for fitness tracking via the Jabra Sport Life app. As before, the headphones will support Alexa on-the-go, so you can ask the digital assistant everything you would an Echo.
Toshiba is releasing not one, not two, not even three new e-laptops. The tech giant is in fact dropping seven new models which include the Portégé X20W-E and X30-E, Tecra X40-E, A50-E and Z50-E, along with the Satellite Pro A50-E and R50-E. The Portégé X20W-E is expected to lead in terms of sales, and boasts 8th generation Intel processors, along with DDR4 system RAM (clocked at 2400MHz) and a 1TB SSD.
Asus ROG Strix Gl12 Desktop
Dell XPS 15 2-in-1
SRP: TBC Out: April 9
SRP: £99.99 Out: April 16
Unveiled under the bright lights of CES (well mostly bright), Asus’s new desktop gaming PC boasts an 8thgeneration Intel 6-core CPU and a neat storage trick. The ROG Strix GL12 is a gaming PC built around Intel’s latest 8th-gen processors, capable of taking a Core-i7 8700/8700K (six-core with Turbo up to 4.8GHz), or a Core i5-8400 CPU and GTX 1080 graphics cards.
Intel and AMD’s Radeon team have joined forces to create a custom chipset for Dell that offers plenty of power, without slashing the storage of a discrete GPU. The Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 tablet is powered by an Intel 8th Gen quad-core i5 or i7 and AMD Vega graphics brought together with high-bandwidth RAM into a single, compact package.
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Notebooks From slim ultrabooks to gaming powerhouses, we take a look at the best laptops on the market
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Sector Guide
Porsche Design Book One 13.3 inch Convertible Touchscreen Distributor: Beta Distribution SRP: £2,399.99 Specs: Intel Core i7, Intel HD Graphics 620, 3.5GHz, 16GB, 512GB SSD Porsche teamed up with Intel and Microsoft to produce a state of the art premium 2-in-1 laptop that can be flipped 360-degrees into tablet mode. Coated in anodized aluminum, every bit of Porsche Design’s 13.3-inch machine feels and looks high quality. It makes for a grand first impression, as does its 3,200 x 1,800 IPS touch display.
Dell XPS 13 Distributor: Exertis, Ingram Micro, Tech Data SRP: £1,399.00 Specs: Intel Core i7, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti, 4GHz, 8GB, 256GB SSD Enjoy eye-popping clarity and detail with an Ultra Sharp Quad HD+ display (3200x1800) Infinity Edge touch display, which boasts an incredible 5.7 million pixels. Dell Dynamic power mode with new 8th generation processors delivers up to 44 per cent improved performance over 7th gen processors. The XPS 13 generation of Type-C connectivity, enabling up to 8x the transfer speeds and features a new Thunderbolt 3 port.
Acer Nitro 5
Apple MacBook
Distributor: Exertis, Westcoast SRP: £799.99 Specs: Intel Core i5, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti, 2.5GHz, 8GB, 256GB SSD
Distributor: Exertis, Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Westcoast SRP: £1,249.00 Specs: Intel Core m3, Intel HD Graphics 615, 1.2GHz, 8GB, 256GB SSD
Nitro 5 features Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 graphics and an Intel Core i5-7300HQ processor, an FHD IPS display and Acer Cool boost technology to deliver heightened fan speeds and cooling ability. You can see game worlds with consistent, brilliant colour and a full viewing experience from any perspective with a FHD IPS display.
The thinnest, lightest Mac notebook ever is now more powerful than ever. It delivers up to 20 per cent faster performance with new 7th‑generation Intel Core m3, i5 and i7 processors, and up to 50 per cent faster SSD storage. Not bad for a package that’s only 13.1mm thick.
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Sector Guide
Lenovo ThinkPad T470 Distributor: Beta Distribution, Exertis, Ingram Micro, Northamber, Tech Data, Westcoast SRP: £1,079.99 Specs: ntel Core i5, Intel HD Graphics 620, 2.5GHz, 8GB, 256GB SSD
Notebooks
With powerful processing, a superb operating system, and an 18-hour battery life, the ThinkPad T470 is designed to enhance your productivity, anywhere. Easy to use, deploy, and service, this 14-inch robust laptop has a host of cutting-edge technology, All of this, plus the legendary ThinkPad reliability and support.
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Acer Swift 1 Distributor: Exertis SRP: £399.00 Specs: Intel Core m3, Intel HD Graphics 505, 1.1GHz, 4GB, 128GB SSD The Acer Swift 1 is undoubtedly one of the best budget laptops on the market with a great design, build and features. It is affordable, but its price tag doesn’t mean you’re stuck with a bulky ‘practical’ plastic device. Its lid, keyboard surround and underside are all made of real aluminium – features that makes the Acer Swift 1 look far more expensive than it actually is.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Distributor: Tech Data SRP: £979.00 Specs: Intel Core i5, Intel HD Graphics 620, 3.1GHz, 4GB, 128GB SSD Microsoft brings its premium design to the notebook form factor with a luxurious Alcantara fabric-covered keyboard in a package that is ultra thin and easily fits in a bag. Surface Laptop is designed for Windows 10 S and streamlined for security and superior performance.
HP Stream 11-y050sa Distributor: Ingram Micro, Tech Data SRP: £149.99 Specs: Intel Celeron N3060, Intel HD Graphics, 1.6GHz, 2GB, 32GB SSD This simple laptop is a bargain buy for students, or a perfect option as a child’s first PC. The extraordinary low price is even better value for money as it includes an Office 365 subscription worth £59.99. Its fun toy-like aesthetic is complemented by a solid build and light weight to make it a great entry-level option.
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cmsdistribution.com @CMSDistribution CMS Distribution
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Tablets 44 | April 2018
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Microsoft Surface Book 2
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3
Distributor: Tech Data SRP: £1,999.00 Specs: Intel Core i7 processor, 256GB SSD, 13.3inch screen
Distributor: Exertis, Tech Data, Westcoast SRP: £599.95 Specs: 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera, 12 hours battery life
Merging the versatility of a tablet with the performance of a high-end laptop, Microsoft has created the stylish and highly portable Surface Book 2. Its detachable 13.5-inch PixelSense, 10-point, multi-touch and ink, capacitive screen provides colours with high contrast and low glare. It includes an eighth-generation Intel Core i7 processor and a 256GB solid state drive.
The new Galaxy Tab S3 comes with S Pen to offer fluid note taking and quick apps navigation. It features an enhanced 9.7-inch Super AMOLED display and HDR video to deliver an immersive viewing experience and quad speakers tuned by leading audio manufacturer AKG to produce a crystal clear sound.
Apple iPad Pro (12.9-inch)
Asus ZenPad 3S 10
Distributor: Beta Distribution, Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Westcoast SRP: £769.00 Specs: Wi-Fi, Touch ID, 12MP camera, 10X Fusion chip
Distributor: Exertis, Tech Data SRP: £299.95 Specs: Hexa-core processor, 4GB RAM, IMG GX6250 graphics
The 12.9-inch iPad Pro is immensely powerful, portable and capable, while the A10X Fusion chip delivers more power than most PC laptops. The redesigned Retina display is more responsive and immersive with smoother scrolling and swiping. It also comes with a 12MP camera, 7MP FaceTime HD camera and up to 10 hours of battery.
Cinematic entertainment meets supercharged performance, the ZenPad 3S 10 tablet with the stunning 9.7-inch 2K In-Plane Switching display (2048x1536) delivering lifelike videos and stills. Its ultra slim 5.32mm bezel means you get 78 per cent screento-body ratio for vast viewing yet a compact body.
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Sector Guide
Microsoft Surface Pro 4
Asus Transformer Mini
Distributor: Beta Distribution, Tech Data SRP: £799.00 Specs: 5MP front-facing/ 8MP rear-facing camera 1080p Skype HD video
Distributor: Exertis, Tech Data SRP: £359.95 Specs: Intel Atom x5 Processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB flash storage
Better than ever, the new Surface Pro gives you a best-in-class laptop, plus the versatility of a studio and tablet. The stunning PixelSense Display supports Surface Pen1 and touch, while up to 13.5 hours of battery gives you plenty of juice to work all day and play all night
The ultra-thin, feather-light, 10.1-inch ASUS Transformer Mini is two amazing devices in one. Built from magnesium-aluminum alloy, it’s a less-than-800g 10.1-inch ultraportable 2-in-1 with up to 11 hours of battery life, and it supports all the great new features of Windows 10.
Apple iPad mini 4
Lenovo Miix 510
Distributor: Beta Distribution, Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Westcoast SRP: £419.00 Specs: 7.9-inch Retina display, Touch ID, 2GB RAM
Distributor: Ingram Micro, Westcoast SRP: £699.97 Specs: 6th Gen Intel Core processor, Bluetooth 4.0, 7.5 hours battery life
Fast and powerful, the iPad mini 4 makes multitasking easy, packs two amazing cameras and includes all of your favourite features from previous iPads, including TouchID. Redesigned to get the most out of a small package, the iPad mini 4 with iOS 11 is minimal in the biggest way possible.
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The 12.2-inch Lenovo Miix 510 is the 2-in-1 PC that adapts to every moment, whatever you’re doing. With unique watchband hinges, the Miix 510 is both your laptop and your tablet. Use the keyboard to get through your tasks. Be creative with your fingers – or with the optional Lenovo Active Pen.
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IN MY TEAM
PCR talks about burning rubber on away days and getting down to business in the office with regional sales director Paul Butler
AOC UK
What projects are you currently working on? Who is in your team and what do they do? Ah… this would be telling and revealing our secrets… suffice to Here in the UK we are a precious team of six (plus one) very talented say we have exciting products for both B2B and B2C. Especially individuals. Nathan Blank is my right hand and manages not only with gaming and the imminent launch of our AGON III range, our key distribution partners but also some of our top key customers. AOC will be taking gaming to yet another level of unrivalled He keeps me on my toes and makes sure the team is aligned. Mano quality and excellence. Parmar has a love affair with spreadsheets and believes in very detailed planning. Simon Fuller and Richard James look after Last year you held a product launch at the Porsche the big guys: corporate, enterprise and public sector key factory in Leipzig. What was that like for you and, accounts. Simon has the connections and Richard has more importantly, who was the best on the track? a sweet spot for anything technical. “In general I was unfortunate to be called away the day of the Vanessa Burrows is our outside team member we all brush event so Nathan (without hesitation) took my but so valuable for the team organising all up pretty place. Together with our customers they took a marketing and event planning. Elena Strzelczyk is range of Porsche vehicles around the track and another outside resource and our adopted colleague well” even got taken on some professional ‘taxi’ runs with from Germany. Elena supports all the PR activity Porsche’s own drivers at the wheel. Nathan of course and press and especially getting us into as many told me he was the best but we also had customers who reviews as possible. Finally there is myself as the team have since told me that was absolute rubbish! leader. I look after three major accounts and handle key interfacing with our HQ in Amsterdam. Who are the best/ worst dressed members of the team? I like a good suit but don’t wear them often enough and dressing Who has been in the team for the longest/shortest period of time? down seems to be the trend these days. Worst dressed? Hmm... It Richard and I started within a month of each other back in 2011 so would be cruel to point a finger but in general we all brush up we are the long-termers (can it really be seven years?) and Mano is pretty well. the shortest but still with 1.5 years’ experience under his belt.
Contact: Email: paul.butler@tpv-tech.com Tel: 07738 753331 www.pcr-online.biz
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ISE 2019 SAVE THE DATES
S TAY C O N N E C T E D
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<Logging off>\\| Out and about in the industry
<Need for speed> Following their Channel partnership the teams at Kaspersky and GNR took to the track following the Kaspersky Motorsport SPIFF Day. Winning the event with a laptime of 95.27 seconds in a Ferrari 599 was GNR’s PC technician Dan Jones. GNR will distribute the full Kaspersky B2C product range to its reseller base. Excited about the recently announced partnership, GNR managing director, Dave Stevinson said: “We are exceptionally motivated and enthusiastic to assist Kaspersky Lab in reaching their goals in the UK independent channel.” David Mole, Kaspersky’s head of Retail UKI added: “We look forward to working with GNR given their focus and knowledge within the UK reseller Channel. Kaspersky Lab’s UK share has continuously grown over the past two years and now, with GNR’s support, we will be able to maximise this important part of our UK Retail business.”
<The chosen One(com)> Onecom’s 410 staff will be raising funds for the Countess Mountbatten Hospice Charity after selecting it as their chosen good cause for 2018. The telecommunications company’s 410 staff will now be tasked with coming up with ideas for fundraising challenges in support of the charity. Last year they raised £6,000 for Onecom’s 2017 chosen charity, Mind. Darren Ridge, CEO of Onecom, said: “Our staff are very engaged with their local communities and many of them are aware of the incredible work of the Countess Mountbatten Hospice Charity through friends and family.”
<Oh my GOSH> The team at Autotask has undertaken many charity events over the last 12 months, in order to raise money for Great Ormand Street Hospital. In their bid to raise funds, the team has taken part in activities including the Autotask Summer Festival for 200 people, participation in the gruelling Causeway Coast Marathon and regular bake sales. Austin McChord, Founder and CEO of Datto (now merged with Autotask) kindly matched the donation – helping raise £22,063 in total.
www.pcr-online.biz
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<Logging off>\\ www.pcr-online.biz @pcr_online
PCRmag
CONTENT Editor Jonathan Easton jeaston@nbmedia.com +44 (0)203 871 7372 Deputy Editor Rob Horgan rhorgan@nbmedia.com +44 (0)203 889 4924 Content Director James McKeown jmckeown@nbmedia.com +44 (0)207 354 6015
<OnBuy teams up with Teddy boys for rock ‘n’ roll> OnBuy.com is backing a popular rock festival that is helping to lead the fight against children’s cancer. Teddy Rocks Festival will take place from May 4-6 at Charisworth Farm, Blandford, Dorset, and is being
headlined by chart-topping rock bands Feeder and Ash. OnBuy is also working in close partnership with the Newton family, founders of the festival, by providing specialist online, commercial and design support.
<Gone but never forgotten > Around 100 staff from Tech Data attended a fund-raising quiz night for Newbury Cancer Care Trust at the Irish Centre in Basingstoke last month, in memory of their former colleague, Mark Whittle, who sadly passed away in March 2017. Mark had been with the company for over 12 years, latterly as Microsoft Business Manager, and was a popular and well-known figure.
Designer Marc Miller mmiller@nbmedia.com +44 (0)207 354 6005 Digital Director: Diane Oliver doliver@nbmedia.com +44 (0)207 354 6019 Production Executive Jason Dowie jdowie@nbmedia.com +44 (0)20 3829 2617 ADVERTISING SALES Sales Manager Gurpreet Purewal gpurewal@nbmedia.com +44 (0)20 7354 6029 SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE To subscribe, change your address, or check on yourcurrent account status, go to www.pcr-online.biz or email subs@pcr-online.biz
ARCHIVES Digital editions of the magazine are available to view on ISSUU.com Recent back issues of the printed edition may be available please contact lwilkie@nbmedia.com for more information.
Send stories to Rob Horgan rhorgan@nbmedia.com
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REPRINTS/PERMISSIONS 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 UK Channel Issue Next month PCR takes an in-depth look at the UK’s place in the tech world. Exploring all areas of the Channel we will be talking to key players from British vendors, distributors, retailers and reselllers. We will also be looking at the fallout from Brexit and determining how the referendum has impacted the UK Channel. The May issue will also see round-up of the top desktops and all-in-ones on the market.
Managing Director, Mark Burton Financial Controller, Ranjit Dhadwal Events and Marketing Director, Caroline Hicks Head of Operations, Stuart Moody HR Director, Lianne Davey Audience Development, Lucy Wilkie Printed by Pensord Press Ltd, NP12 2YA ISSN: 1742-8440 © NewBay 2018 NewBay is a member of the Periodical Puslishers Association NewBay Media, The Emerson Building, 4th Floor, 4-8 Emerson Street, London SE1 9DU
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'We are delighted to have won the award for Best PC Vendor! We would like to thank all of our partners and everyone at PCR' â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Steve Hope, ASUS UK & Ireland Country Manager PCR_FP_210x265.indd 1
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