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FOR THE UK’S PC & TECH COMMUNITY • No. 136 • JANUARY 2015

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EBUYER.COM has its sights on overtaking Apple Store and PC World to become the UK’s number one tech etailer.

“We’ve got a five-year plan, we’ve sat down with the board and the owner is massively behind pushing this brand forwards over the next five years,” said Ebuyer.com MD Stuart Carlisle. “Currently there’s Apple Store, PC World and then us.

“Over the course of the year we’ve already improved our online presence and our marketshare, so

we’ve gone from having a 6.4 per cent share of the UK online computing market (including business machines) to 8.6 per cent.

“We’re double Microsoft and HP put together in the UK. I’d love us to be the biggest online tech company in the UK, and that’s where we want to take it not just over the course of the next year, but over the next three to five years as well. I’d love to be above Apple Store and PC World.”Read PCR’s full report from the Ebuyer warehouse on page 18

No. 136 • JANUARY 2015

Tech on TVQVC’s tech buyer Paul Felix talks about the TV shopping channel

37 CES previewWhat we can expect to see from this year’s trade show in Las Vegas

27 CompTIA growthThe trade body reveals its plans for 2015 and European expansion

24

COMPUTER & IT RESELLERS RETAILERS SYSTEM BUILDERS DISTRIBUTORS VENDORS WWW.PCR-ONLINE.BIZ

W W W . P C R - O N L I N E . B I Z W W W . T W I T T E R . C O M / P C R _ O N L I N E W W W . F A C E B O O K . C O M / P C R M A G

MD Stuart Carlisle sets out five-year plan to become the UK’s biggest online tech retailer

‘WE WANT TO BEAT APPLE STORE AND PC WORLD’ 18

CONTENTS & COMMENT

COMMENT

Follow us @pcr_online

CONTENTSREGULARS07 Analysis: Tax changes

08 Analysis: Paperless NHS

08 PCR Brit List 2015

13 Number crunching

14 Appointments

16 Events

21 Opinion

FEATURES18 Ebuyer: Behind the Scenes

24 CompTIA interview

27 CES 2015 guide

31 PCR Awards 2015 preview

37 QVC interview

38 Laptop resurgence

RETAIL41 Robots at retail

43 Store of the Month: Gbiz IT

44 Retail Advisory Board

46 Mystery Shopper: Etail

desktop all-in-one special

48 Counter Insurgent

48 Synaxon Member Profi le

PRODUCTS51 Cloud storage/software

53 Storage

56 Smartphone accessories

59 Samsung Galaxy Tab

Active

60 More new products

OUT OF OFFICE64 In The Hot Seat:

Michael Groom

65 Challenge Jon Atherton

66 The Last Word: Exertis

The next big thingJANUARY has rolled around and the trade is again fl ocking to CES to discover the top-selling tech of the future.

But while wearable tech, virtual reality, Windows 10 and 3D printing are still whetting the appetite with impressive future releases, it’s robots that look set to steal the show in Vegas.

Experts predict these machines will change the way we live, whether at home, at work or in a public place (including schools and at retail), and of course, someone will need to sell them. While they may be a few years away from the big time, check out our CES preview on page 27 and retail analysis on page 41 for more details on how they could impact our lives.

Some retailers will be less concerned about looking for the next big thing, however, especially as the tech of the present is selling so well. Laptops are on the up (check out our feature on page 38), while PC gaming continues to provide retailers, vendors and disties with strong sales numbers.

January also brings with it the traditional post-Christmas sales. In fact, we’ve gone a little sales mad in the UK of late, with Black Friday breaking all kinds of records on November 28th (and Tesco customers seemingly breaking each other as they scrapped over cheap Blaupunkt TVs).

One order was made each second on Ebuyer.com on Black Friday, as thousands of customers scoured the site as early as 5am. You can read more about the etailer’s success and future plans in our special behind-the-scenes report on page 18.

Not all big things are tech-related. There are tax changes coming into force this year (page 7) that will give the Amazons of the world a reason to stop and think about how they pay their taxes.

Before I go, please join me in attempting to beat Enta’s director Jon Atherton in a new PC gaming challenge he’s set for retailers and vendors. Full details on page 65.

From all of us at PCR, we wish you a Happy New Year and all the best for your business in 2015.Dominic Sacco, [email protected]: 1742-8440

“While wearable tech, Windows 10, virtual reality and 3D printing are whetting the appetite, robots could steal the show at CES.”

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MEET THE TEAM

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Laura BarnesDeputy [email protected]@roradrum

Jade BurkeStaff [email protected]@JadeBurke77

Phil TottmanStaff [email protected]@phil_t707

Andrew [email protected]@pcr_online

Sarah GoldhawkAccount [email protected]@sarzgoldhawk

Jennie LaneSenior Account [email protected]@jennielane1

“TAX DOESN’T have to be taxing,” so said Moira Stuart from those rather odd tax TV ads.

Unfortunately it has been just that for some tech businesses over the past few months, as they struggle to adjust to several changes coming into force this year.

These alterations are generally good for independent retailers and resellers, bad for big etailers with offshore operations like Amazon, and just plain ugly for UK digital service providers (including cloud and digital software providers), who sell to customers outside this country.

First of all, the Government is introducing a diverted profi ts tax (aka the ‘Google Tax’) in April 2015 designed to clamp down on tax avoidance by multinationals, who move their profi ts from the UK to other countries. These profi ts will be taxed at 25 per cent.

Secondly, the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced an increase from £1,000 to £1,500 in the High Street discount for small business rates, while the Small Business Rate Relief has been doubled for another year, and the annual increase in business rates will be capped at two per cent from April 2015 to March 2016.

PCR spoke to several resellers who welcomed the news, including Anthony Lay from reseller AML Midlands, who is now already reaping the benefi ts.

“I just received my small business rate scheme through the post – and it helps us signifi cantly,” he says. “Our SMB rates for 2014 would have been in the region of £1,800, but now we’re paying £248 for the quarter up until April 1st 2015, and around £400 for the entire year.

“We’ve just moved offi ce – our previous landlord handled

business rates, but now we’re in a publically-owned building we’ve had to apply for our own rates. When we saw the £1,800 fee we were initially shocked, but after applying for the rate relief it’s defi nitely helped us out.”

David Gauke, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, adds: “The Government is committed to making the UK more competitive for business, supporting hardworking families and cracking down on aggressive tax avoidance.”

Dealer services collective Network Group and retailer/system builder Utopia Computers also reacted to the tax changes.

“The relief to business rates will be a help, but none of these changes go far enough in our view to support the decline of bricks and mortar retail businesses,” comments Network Group MD Phylip Morgan. “More support must be given to them against the online giants that continue to remove value from products and services by selling at reduced prices.”

Utopia director Craig Hume adds: “The ‘Google Tax’ that George Osborne announced is certainly interesting – we have these huge multinational companies operating in our country and they are not fully supporting our economy. While I am all for them paying their fair share of tax, I fi nd it diffi cult to see how Osborne could actually implement his proposal while remaining inside the current EU rules on corporate taxation.

“Utopia recently looked to move to a High Street store that was larger than the one we are in at the moment, with £50,000 of tax to pay each year in business rates, we simply could not see the value in the property.”

Helen Dickinson, British Retail Consortium’s Director General, comments: “We very much welcome the commitment to undertake a comprehensive review of the business rates system. We want a system that brings investment and jobs to the High Street without punishing retailers who trade online.”

Of course, the other big tax changes – the new EU VAT rules – have already come into force as of January 1st. These mean that for suppliers of digital services, including software downloads and cloud services, the place of taxation for their services will be determined by the location of the customer rather than the location of the supplier themselves.

Lee Sharrocks, consumer sales director at Kaspersky Lab, adds: “The 2015 VAT changes will impact all organisations within the industry that transact via Luxembourg, so it will be a problem that many vendors will need to address.”

HMRC’s Andrew Webb concludes: “Platforms realise that they have an obligation to make sure they take on the tax accounting responsibility for people selling digital services. If after January 1st the position has been left unclear, then of course it moves into potentially a compliance issue that we and other tax authorities would have with the platform.”

Tech’s taxing start to 2015A number of new tax changes are coming into force this year, including improved small business rates, a clampdown on big retailers who save money by diverting profits from the UK, and fresh European Union rules that will affect how digital products are sold from country to country. Dominic Sacco looks at how it’s affecting the channel…

ANALYSIS

www.pcr-online.biz PCR January 2015 | 7

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“The relief to business rates will be a help, but none of these changes go far enough in our view to support the decline of bricks and mortar retail businesses.”

Phylip Morgan, Network Group

Small businesses along the High Street will now receive a business rate discount of £1,500

ANALYSIS

GET THE LATEST STORIES SENT TO YOUR INBOX AT PCR-ONLINE.BIZ/EMAIL

THE NHS is making moves to go paperless by 2018 as part of a bid to become a more environmentally friendly and technologically savvy organisation.

Undoubtedly this has been dreamt up with the best of intentions, but it must have suppliers waiting with baited breath as to the health service’s plans for the coming years.

UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt has hinted that as much as £1.5 billion worth of additional funding could be allocated to the NHS over the next few years to support going green.

However, not everyone shares this enthusiasm for a paperless future. Brian Fortune, sales director at Fujitsu UK, says: “Not for one moment do I believe that we will ever see a paperless offi ce, paperless NHS or any government department. I think what we would like to see is less paper, and a more effi cient environment.”

The NHS on the other hand is all for the change, saying that the benefi ts of introducing more technology into its work practice would benefi t everyone.

Tim Kelsey, national director for patients and information in the NHS

commissioning board, adds: “I welcome Jeremy Hunt’s challenge to unleash the power of information and technology for patients and those who service them. We

are committed to transforming transparency and participation in the NHS – the digital data revolution is key to improving outcomes and putting patients and carers more in control.”

Could this just be another case of the Government talking the talk but not walking the walk?

Rob Brown, head of key accounts at print vendor Oki,

reckons so: “People have made reference to Jeremy Hunt’s quote about going paperless by 2018. Actually he originally said he wanted to go paperless by 2015. I wouldn’t be surprised if we

get to 2017 and he’ll make it 2021, or 2022.”

“It’s not necessarily about ridding our working environment of paper completely, it’s about being able to strictly manage the shear amount of paper organisations, such as the NHS, get through everyday.”

There are understandably technologies that have the potential to replace the trusty pen and paper, but it must be taken into consideration how much it would cost the NHS to replace every staff member’s notepad with an iPad, then the training, then the software, then the maintenance… The list goes on.

Print vendors sceptical over paperless NHSThe National Health Service is aiming to go paperless by 2018 – but will it actually happen and how will it affect vendors and managed print providers? Phil Tottman discovers the industry’s thoughts on the greener plans…

Last chance to nominate for PCR’s Brit ListPCR’S POPULAR Brit List is back. We will be compiling a list of the top 50 people working within the UK PC and tech industry.

From directors to CEOs, retail buyers to MDs, account managers to store owners –and even celebrities – we’ll be listing those inspiring innovators working within the UK tech channel.

This is your last chance to nominate a colleague, someone within another

organisation, or even yourself. All you need to do is email PCR’s editor Dominic Sacco at [email protected] and make sure you include the person’s name, company and job title, a high-res photo and a short explanation of why they should be included.

The Brit List will be published in the next issue of PCR in full, and aims to recognise those you think are doing an astounding job within the channel.

“Not for one moment do I believe that we will ever see a paperless office or paperless NHS.”

Brian Fortune, Fujitsu

News BytesINTEL IOT PLATFORM LAUNCHESIntel has unveiled a new platform designed to ‘unify and simplify’ connectivity and security for the Internet of Things (IoT). The idea is to enable companies to more easily test, deploy and secure a variety of smart devices.

UK PC SALES UP 15%Volume sales of PCs, including notebooks, desktops and workstations, have grown by 14.5 per cent in the UK.

According to analyst Context, sales in Western Europe grew by 16.9 per cent during the first seven weeks of Q4 2014 across distribution.

HP UNVEILS BUSINESS-CLASS NOTEBOOKHP has launched the EliteBook 1020, a notebook for the enterprise market.

It will be available in two editions: the EliteBook 1020, which weighs 1.2kg, and the EliteBook 1020 special edition, which weighs 1kg.

TOSHIBA’S NEW ENTERPRISE SSDSToshiba Electronics Europe is launching two new enterprise solid state drives.

The Value Endurance HK3E2 has been crafted for enterprise applications such as indexing servers, while the Read Intensive HK3R2 is designed more for read intensive applications.

UK GOV’S G-CLOUD ‘HEAD OF CURVE’ The UK government is ahead of the curve with G-Cloud, according to IDC.

The analyst believes that the G-Cloud program has increased the maturity of buyers and providers.

CREATOR C120 TO RIVAL RASPBERRY PIImagination Technologies has unveiled a high-performance micro-computer set to take on the likes of the Raspberry Pi.

The firm believes the Creator CI20 will be of interest to those looking to manufacture ‘Internet of Things’ devices.

08 | PCR January 2015 www.pcr-online.biz

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PROTECT CONNECT EXTENDThe programme has been designed to help simplify the choices on attaching Accessories to Tablet, Wearable Tech, Phone and Laptop Opportunities. It has also been used to articulate

our Network offering including NAS and Connected Home.

Asking the right questions…Really understanding how the end user will be using their iPad will help determine the best possible solution. Finding out the type of environment or type of user will be invaluable when selecting the

correct offering, below are some simple examples to assist.

• Who is using the iPad? Home/office/business user? Age?

• What is the main purpose of the iPad? Education/applications/social?

• What environment will the iPad be used in? Indoors/outdoors?

• Where is the iPad kept when not in use?

PROTECT EXTENDCONNECT• Does the iPad need to be paired

with a monitor?

• Do you need improved audio?

• How is the iPad being used?

• Do you need to charge? On the go/office based?

• Is extra memory/storage required?

• Is the iPad being used as main device or secondary?

ACCESSORIES

STATS


Number

crunching A round-up of important stats and facts in the tech channel this month…

World of Warcraft is now generating around £100 million every single month.(PCR, based on Blizzard Entertainment data)

Over half of UK businesses would consider hiring a hacker to bring inside information

to their security teams. (KPMG)

PC shipments in the UK grew by 29.1 per cent year-on-year in Q4 2014. (Context)

Two billion tablet and phone users will make a

mobile transaction by the end of 2017.

(Juniper Research)

2bn

65 HoursBusinesses lose 65 employee hours a day in the UK as a result of IT system and hardware downtime. (Epson)

£100 million

76%Three quarters of Brits would like a smarter home, but only one third are willing to pay

for the cost of connecting their houses. (GfK)

29.1%

50%

RECRUITMENT

New Exertis hiresFiona Cooke appointed marketing director Westcoast’s business development director named Channel Dragon CompTIA gains new exec council member PCR bolsters editorial team

EXERTIS: The distributor has appointed FIONA COOKE as marketing director. She joins from Microsoft, where she spent six years in both the OEM team and EMEA retail division.

Plus, KATI CHEETHAM has also been announced as Exertis’ head of purchasing. She has 17 years of IT experience in purchasing and

commercial roles, four of which were also previously spent at Exertis.

In her new role, Cooke will lead the marketing function for Exertis at the company’s Basingstoke office.

Cheetham will also be based at Basingstoke where she will analyse and streamline internal processes where necessary.

PCR: The editorial team has been boosted with another staff writer and promotion.

PHIL TOTTMAN joins the team after previously working on PCR’s sister title Mobile Entertainment, where he was responsible for creating content for the website.Tottman said: “I am thrilled to be joining the amazing PCR team. To be more closely

involved in such a great industry is a fantastic opportunity.”

LAURA BARNES has been appointed deputy editor from her previous role as staff writer. She said: “I am delighted to become deputy editor of PCR. I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in with the new responsibilities that this role brings.”

COMPTIA: Autotask VP MARK BANFIELD has been elected to the Executive Council of the UK Channel Community for CompTIA.

Banfield joins CompTIA’s channel community executive council (UKCC), where he will shape CompTIA’s key initiatives for the coming year.

The council represents vendors and distributors who

make up the UK IT channel.Banfield said: “I am honoured to be selected to a team of top-level executives from across the full spectrum of the UK IT channel to take on the challenges that are unique to the IT market.”

Prior to this role, Banfield was also managing director of EMEA for InnoPath Software and sales director at SmartTrust.

WESTCOAST: The Channel Dragons, a team of channel experts that are regularly pitched new products, has revealed that Westcoast is joining the team.

NICK AMER, business development director at the distributor, is the new dragon.

JAMIE PLUMRIDGE, founder and managing director of the Channel

Dragons initiative, said: “Westcoast’s ability to sell into a wide variety of customer verticals and broad range of both consumer and business technology makes them an ideal addition to the Dragons.”

Amer added: “Westcoast is delighted to be invited to join the panel of Channel Dragons and look forward to the regular vendor pitches.”

Fiona Cooke and Kati Cheetham, Exertis

Phil Tottman and Laura Barnes, PCR

Nick Amer, Westcoast

Mark Banfi eld, CompTIA

PETE MORLEY, COUNTRY MANAGER FOR UK AND IRELAND, BULLGUARD

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF…

MY DAY typically starts quite early – usually around 7am. Since I work from a home offi ce, the temptation is always there to check my emails and see what’s happened overnight fi rst so that I can plan my day.

Despite my home location, it’s still extremely important to touch base with the rest of the team at least once per day. This usually involves more of a coffee break Skype chat than anything formal, but making sure everyone is on the same page is vital and forms one of the most important aspects of my job.

A typical day will involve working with the sales team to ensure we meet company targets and objectives, balancing this with a focus on meeting the needs of our customers most effectively. My focus is always to make sure our customers’ needs are our highest priority, so they in turn can grow their business with the best possible support from us as a vendor.

Aside from this, my role each day is quite varied. This is one of the things I love the most about my job. Often I’ll be travelling, a part I’ve always enjoyed. I probably cover around 500 miles a week over a couple of days. I also spend my time identifying and approaching new partners in the mobile sector in order to support the launch strategy behind our BullGuard Mobile Security product.

However busy my day might be, it’s always good to take a break now and again. When working from home, the days can feel much longer because there’s no regimented nine-to-fi ve, so to help maintain my sanity I’ll try and leave the desk at lunchtime and indulge in one of my favourite pastimes – cycling. I’ll often do ten miles or so in a lunch break and fi nd it really helps to clear my head. If I’m not in the mood for the bike, I’ll take my Staffordshire bull terrier Rosie for a walk down to the beach. I’m fortunate to live in a nice part of the world (Formby, North of Liverpool), so there are plenty of opportunities for a bit of fresh air.

“My focus is always to make sure our customers’ needs are our highest priority, so they in turn can grow their business.”


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Diary DatesFEBRUARY 2015 DISTREE EMEA 2015FEBRUARY 24TH – 27TH, GRIMALDI FORUM, MONACODistree offers an opportunity for channel leaders across EMEA to meet and do business with their existing and prospective vendors. The event assembles leading technology distributors, tier one retailers and infl uential etailers from more than 75 countries with the leading technology vendors of the industry.

MARCH 2015CEBIT 2015MARCH 16TH – 20TH, HANNOVER EXHIBITION GROUNDSCeBIT is back for another year. Boasting an IT show and a conference programme for professionals, CeBIT aims to defi ne the latest IT trends. There will be talks by high-calibre speakers as well as forward-looking panel discussions and product innovations from all over the world.

PCR AWARDSMARCH 12TH – ROYAL GARDEN HOTEL, KENSINGTONThe PCR Awards returns this year where distributors, vendors and retailers are recognised for their achievements within the UK PC and tech industry. The ceremony will take place at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, where guests will get the chance to network, enjoy a party, as well as an evening dinner. Awards include Distributor of the Year, Software Publisher, Independent Retailer, System Builder and National Retailer.

MAY 2015PCR BOOT CAMP MAY 14TH – WHITTLEBURY HALL, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Free for retailers and resellers to attend, PCR Boot Camp will provide a day of conference sessions, as well as an exhibition where retailers can see the new product lines on offer from vendors. There will also be networking opportunities throughout the day and during the after party, giving dealers the chance to discuss with other like-minded individuals.

EVENT PLANNER

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

Distree (top) will take place in Monaco this year, while the PCR Awards (above) will recognise members from the tech industry

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Inside Ebuyer: How it plans to become UK’s top tech etailer

From the moment I meet Stuart Carlisle I know he’s not your typical

managing director. With a broad smile, firm

handshake and sprightly demeanour, he doesn’t give me the standard 30 minutes of his time for an interview – instead he frees up almost the entire day to show me around. And he’s clearly eager to run through the tricks and tools of the business.

Before I know it, we’ve donned some high-vis jackets and have stepped foot into the third floor of Ebuyer.com’s 280,000sq ft warehouse.

First I’m shown where the orders are processed. As soon as a customer pays for their items online, between five and 15 minutes later their order is assigned to an individual box, which makes its way around the warehouse to the correct product areas automatically via a conveyor belt. Stock is also replenished this way – a huge robotic machine picks up products from 4,000 shelves three floors down, then places them in a tote which is moved to the correct product area.

It means that staff only need to place nearby items into the incoming boxes, before each box moves to the next area. Once all the correct items are added, it’s off to be automatically weighed, hand-packed and shipped using Dx, Royal Mail or others.

“It’s easier on the staff and easier to get the stock,” Stuart explains. “We don’t need to have someone going upstairs or downstairs with boxes. Our staff are only walking short distances to pick and pack –it’s more efficient.”

As Stuart explains how things work, it’s clear he cares a great deal about the business, its 262 staff (of which 128 work in the warehouse across three floors and three shifts) and is proud of their achievements.

The warehouse gets through 600 orders per hour on average, but it can handle up to 1,200 per hour, and in the run up to Christmas it processes a minimum of 11,000 orders per day, while Stuart assures me the Ebuyer.com website can take ‘unlimited amounts’ of orders, with 1.8 million people reading its emails every week.

NEW ERA FOR EBUYERFollowing a controversial £1 sale in 2011, which Stuart

admits “was probably not the right thing to do”, as it saw the website crash leading to customer complaints, he has made a number of changes. Since joining the business in August 2013, Stuart has tweaked the pricing strategy, upped its marketing activity (it has just struck a year-long deal with TV channel Dave) and invested more than £1 million on the website’s infrastructure to cope with higher customer demand. And it’s paying off.

Black Friday (November 28th) 2014 was the biggest sales day for Ebuyer.com in its 15-year history, taking almost one order every second.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Stuart beams. “It was chaos in a nice way. What was

more exciting is it wasn’t high demand for just one item, like it is for our deal of the day, but it was across the board – our customers were buying lots of everything.

“I get up at 5 o’clock in the morning, and on Black Friday there were 1,200 people on the website then. By the time I got into work at 7am, this had risen to 2,800. It was absolutely crazy. We took on another 3,000 orders and had to do them on Sunday alone – I’m really proud of the guys.”

Stuart assures me he worked in the warehouse himself on the Sunday to help out his staff, managing to pick 1,000 orders by himself.

The journalist in me makes me automatically dubious of any MD that would do such

Having invested £1 million on its website infrastructure, UK tech etail giant Ebuyer.com broke sales records on Black Friday with one order made every second. To find out the secrets to its success, Dominic Sacco spends a day with the team, sees how the warehouse operates and interviews MD Stuart Carlisle in an exclusive behind-the-scenes look...

BEHIND THE SCENES


“Black Friday was absolutely crazy. 1,200 customers were on our website at 5am. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Stuart Carlisle,Ebuyer.com


BEHIND THE SCENES

a thing, but I can’t help but believe this cheery chap; his enthusiasm is infectious.

I ask Stuart if he got paid overtime. “I didn’t – I’m cheap labour,” he laughs.

Suddenly his mobile phone rings – Exertis’ retail director Mike Buley’s name flashes up. He takes the call as we proceed to a high walkway that overlooks a central conveyor belt below, (which even has its own mini traffic lights that signal if there’s a fault). Looking down, I notice hundreds of boxes making their way across the warehouse. One has an Nvidia Shield Controller in it, another has four copies of Panda Security, while the one behind it is packed full of USB drives – probably for a school or small business.

“In the past our customers were purely consumers, but as the business market becomes more mature and internet savvy, they’ve realised companies like Ebuyer are well suited for their needs,” comments Stuart.

Around 40 per cent of Ebuyer’s customers are consumers, 40 per cent are

B2B, and 20 per cent are ‘prosumers’, for example a school headmaster or a musician that needs tech for their recording studio.

GAMING GROWTHWhile there are a wide variety of items being passed around the warehouse, a large number of boxes are full of PC gaming gear, from keyboards and graphics cards to fans.

“What has probably played into the PC market more than anything is the slow launch of the PS4 and Xbox One – it’s moved a lot of kids (and big kids) back to computers,” explains Stuart. “We’re really looking forward to the Steam Machines coming out in 2015, they will take the market by storm and hopefully cause a bit of a resurgence in the components industry. We’re looking at offering our own system building offering too.

“Also, laptops have gone crazy and there’s been a resurgence in tablet sales too. We’re selling normal Microsoft laptops for £169 – I can’t remember any time in history when they were ever that low, and it’s come mainly from the

guys at Microsoft funding it, because they want to take some of that marketshare back from Apple.”

Stuart’s phone goes off again – this time it’s a call from a vendor. I ask him how challenging it is keeping them happy while also getting the best price for his customers.

“I tell them how good or bad they are! And we have an open and honest dialogue. We measure them all with a balanced scorecard,” he says.

“A lot of vendors have a one-to-one relationship with us and give us [good] prices. We price according to deals we get, and offer some great deals of the day, but at the same time we don’t want to destroy the marketplace.

“Sometimes amusing things happen with our competitors – they have been known to undercut us on price without actually having the item in stock, for example. Saying that, etail is becoming a bit more sensible in how it prices products overall.”

We head over to the area where staff manually pack each order. In a matter of seconds the lady working

here has boxed up several products, placed them in bubble wrap and used a hot glue system to seal the packaging. The finished box then spirals its way down a helter-skelter-style track to the ‘goods out’ area, to be stored in a lorry and delivered to another depot before reaching the customer.

It’s all incredibly efficient – but the company doesn’t want to rest on its laurels. It’s planning to expand further with more hires, offices and potentially retail stores.

“We’re in growth mode,” Stuart says. “When I joined in August 2013, we had two people in marketing. Now it’s 20. We’d love to take on more people in marketing, buying, sales and warehousing.

“26 per cent of our business is done within the M25, so it makes sense to have a sales office in central London, which is on the cards.

“At some stage we’ll look to open up a retail store. We’re readying ourselves for that eventually. It’s about finding the right format – if we do it we’d like to do it on a smaller scale and see if it works.”

In terms of what the future holds, Stuart believes wearable tech will take off in 2015, and is excited by the Microsoft Band device which Ebuyer.com will be stocking, but admits he’s not sure how well virtual reality devices like the Oculus Rift will fare. I ask him if he’ll be stocking the upcoming Apple Watch.

“No – the guys at Apple don’t feel as though we suit their current strategy, which is a shame,” he replies.

Well, if you can’t join them, why not beat them?

“I’d love to be above the Apple Store and PC World,” Stuart adds.

“Over the course of the year we’ve improved our online presence and marketshare, so we’ve gone from having a 6.4 per cent share of the UK online computing market to 8.6 per cent. I’d love us to be the biggest online tech company in the UK, and that’s where we want to take it not just over the course of the next year, but over the next three to five years as well.”

“I’d love us to be the biggest online tech company in the UK, and that’s where we want to take the business over the course of the next three to five years.”

Stuart Carlisle,Ebuyer.com

Ebuyer.com MD Stuart Carlisle gives PCR editor Dominic Sacco a tour of the warehouse, which can handle 1,200 orders per hour

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OPINION


WE ARE experiencing a rapid transformation of the retail landscape, largely due to a total redefinition of customer expectations in the recent years.

The proliferation of technology and resulting rise in e-commerce has meant that today’s increasingly time-pressed consumers now demand their shopping experiences to be as convenient as possible and for products to be available where and when they want them. Otherwise, they will most likely look for another, more suitable option.

Delivery is a key piece of the customer expectation puzzle and can have a huge impact on a consumer’s advocacy of, and trust, in a brand. In the last year alone, one in five consumers have needed to reschedule the delivery of a parcel leading to almost half (45 per cent) claiming they would order more products online if they saw an overall improvement in available delivery service options. This demonstrates the need for retailers, both multichannel and pure play, to keep providing flexible and innovative delivery solutions so customers can shop more conveniently and so that they in turn can benefit from an uplift in online sales.

This has resulted in a rapid rise in click and collect services. Many large retailers such as Debenhams were quick to implement it as part of their omnichannel offering, allowing consumers to buy online and pick up purchases in store.

However, whilst this model is financially and operationally feasible for big businesses, allowing them to leverage their physical assets and increase store footfall and upsell opportunities is not always a viable solution for smaller retailers and businesses to adopt. As such, until recently smaller internet retailers have been left to rely on home delivery services, which require customers to either wait at home during working hours or have parcels delivered to a neighbour or their offices.

However, we’re now entering a new era of click and collect services. Automated parcel locker networks are

revolutionising the retail industry by providing all types and sizes of businesses with the opportunity to give consumers an innovative, flexible and much more accessible choice for collection at check out. Almost half (45 per cent) of UK consumers have

specifically expressed a desire for a delivery option with longer opening hours as well as home delivery or in-store collection, and parcel lockers help meet that need.

Ultimately, consumers want their entire shopping experience to be as timely and convenient as possible. Integrating lockers as part of an omnichannel retail solution offers consumers a greater degree of choice, whilst offering retailers the chance to extend their reach and have their rightful slice of the click and collect pie, no matter what their size.

“We’re now entering a new era of click and collect services.”

Jonathan Smith,InPost

IN PRICE-sensitive markets, achieving any significant sales uplift without resorting to discounting might seem optimistic.

Yet, using a creative sales promotions strategy and tapping into buying trends is exactly what some of the biggest online and offline consumer electronics retailers in the UK have achieved – time and time again.

Their success is based on the understanding that, as long as consumers feel they have got a good deal, they do not always seek to buy goods for the lowest possible price. Large or small, the more retailers and resellers look for alternatives to price cuts, the more the market as a whole will benefit.

Cash back offers in particular are a highly effective promotional mechanism, especially when it comes to boosting sales of premium brands. Rather than following the traditional route used by retailers and resellers – i.e. selling new items at the highest price then gradually lowering the price over time –cashback, trade-in and trade-up help move inventory and maintain a price position for longer, while also giving customers a good deal.

As well as contributing to better margins, this can also lead to better relationships with manufacturers that want retailers to find more creative ways to appeal to their range of customers.

For large operators, this could mean building sales promotions around key seasonal events such as back-to-school or Christmas, as well as major sporting events. For the smaller, independent retailer without the budget for a big campaign, this could mean capitalising on a manufacturer’s marketing budget. In this scenario, the manufacturer optimises their promotional accrual, the retailer generates more sales and the customer gets a good deal, benefiting the market as a whole.

In the past, even large retailers with big budgets have been cautious about a promotion turning

out to be much more popular than anticipated – leaving them out of pocket. This is where a risk-managed promotion opens the door to a scale of risk that retailers’ and manufacturers’ profit and losses would normally reject.

Increasingly, in the shift away from discounting, consumer electronics campaigns are also moving towards generating future value and customer loyalty. For instance, the manufacturer or retailer may guarantee an attractive buy-back value on their customers’ purchase price when they buy a replacement within a set time. When a customer purchases from that brand or retailer today, they will be incentivised to upgrade again in the future, locking them into a shorter refresh cycle and deterring them from shopping around.

“Cash back offers in particular are a highly effective promotional mechanism.”

Steve Gales,Opia

Jonathan Smith is InPost’s UK chairman.www.inpost.co.uk

Steve Gales is sales director at Opia.www.opia-sp.com

Jonathan Smith, chairman of click and collect parcel delivery service InPost UK, argues small retail enterprises can compete with industry behemoths and deliver on consumer e-commerce expectations…

Smart sales promotions can make a viable alternative to price cuts, argues Steve Gales, sales director at consultancy Opia…

Small etailersvs the big boys

Better deals,better margins

THE headlines have been plagued with news of cyber hacks during the last year. From iCloud to eBay and more recently Dropbox, seemingly every tech giant has been targeted.

If we’ve learnt anything from these security breaches, it’s that the humble username and password is well and truly dead in terms of effectiveness. Yet despite this, it still remains the preferred method of authentication for many organisations. Why so? Some would speculate that it’s down to laziness, but the more likely explanation is a lack of education.

A recent consumer survey commissioned by Intercede in the UK and US found that despite concerns about the protection of their digital assets, many consumers continue to share their passwords with friends, family members and even work colleagues. Furthermore, many respondents remember all of their passwords without recording them anywhere else or using a password management system, implying either that society is bursting with geniuses capable of remembering multiple sets of complex passwords, or that consumers are using the same basic password combinations for more than one account (I suspect it’s the latter).

Late last year MasterCard and Visa announced plans to kill off password authentication altogether, explaining that they wanted a solution that was ‘safe as well as simple’. Contrary to popular belief, secure

authentication need not be complicated, nor need it be laborious.However, while a password may have sufficed as a secure method of authentication 20 or 30 years ago, this is no longer the case.

The standard of good security practice has transformed dramatically over the last ten years, but the average consumer is yet to recognise this. Today verifying the identity of a person and the device they’re using to access a website, app or system is of growing importance. Already a well-established method in the banking and finance space and with chip and PIN accepted around the

world, two-factor authentication is acknowledged in the industry as a more secure method of authentication than passwords.

Two-factor authentication verifies a person’s identity by taking something they have and combining it with something they know. With identity

comes accountability, in turn providing the best protection against online crime towards personal assets such as bank accounts and other financial services.

Companies like Facebook and PayPal have given users the option to adopt two-factor authentication, and it would be interesting to see just how many people have implemented it. There is still a large gap in consumer knowledge and perception, and with the Internet of Things set to explode in 2015, it is vital that this gap is addressed sooner rather than later.

“The humble username and password is well and truly dead in terms of effectiveness.”

Richard Parris,Intercede

AS WE look ahead to 2015, it’s safe to say that the cloud has well and truly won the confidence of consumers. Apps like Skype, Gmail and Dropbox are now firmly entrenched in our digital lives. Indeed so popular have these tools proven to be, that their casual deployment in the workplace is starting to cause IT managers real headaches; these apps fly in the face of most enterprise networks’ requirements for security, quality of service and reliability.

Nervous business owners and board directors have exacerbated the problem. Paradoxically, security fears have caused them to hold back on cloud migration, which, in turn, has created a demand vacuum resulting in workers choosing to arbitrarily install their favoured cloud applications on the network, in a bid to replicate at work the convenience they enjoy at home.

But the tide is turning; 2015 will be a year of opportunity for VARs. Those with the acumen and expertise to assemble a secure, multi-application corporate cloud environment that is tailor-made for their clients’ businesses, will prosper the most.

Microsoft Office 365, for example, is hoovering up corporate subscribers, many of whom don’t realise that they can voice activate their subscription by integrating Microsoft Lync (soon to become ‘Skype for Business’). When

integrated appropriately, this single move could enable a business to ditch its legacy phone system entirely and replace it with an OPEX based VAR-managed service.

As enterprise businesses have grown over time, many have deployed a range of different solutions, usually in a bid to satisfy varying demands from different departments. This has resulted in systems overlap, resulting in redundant functionality and problems with integration that are causing widespread inconsistency in business processes. All of which needlessly hike infrastructure TCO.

The opportunity for VARs lies in helping these organisations gain control of their cloud assets, consolidate where appropriate and put in place a tailored best-of-everything model. But to truly capitalise on this market, VARs need both vision and sensitivity. There is vast potential for the

channel in remote access VPNs, BYOD integration, collaboration tools, IP-telephony, network security, authentication and myriad other cloud-enabling technologies, but first the client’s trust must be won through the demonstration of technical expertise and its application to their unique business needs.

Only when the reseller truly appreciates the contradictions and complexities that make up today’s corporate attitudes to the cloud will this new age of IT truly begin to flourish.

“Microsoft Office 365 is hoovering up corporate subscribers.”

Indi Sall,NG Bailey

Richard Parris is CEO at Intercede.www.intercede.com

Indi Sall is technical director for NG Bailey’s IT services division.www.ngbailey.com

Richard Parris, CEO at software firm Intercede, says that while a password may have sufficed as a secure method of authentication 20 years ago,this is no longer the case…

Indi Sall, technical director at NG Bailey’s IT services division, explores why contradictions in corporate cloud mean opportunities for value-added resellers in 2015…

2014 was the yearthe password died

OPINION

Opportunitiesfor VARs in 2015


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THE BIG INTERVIEW


CompTIA’s CEO Todd Thibodeaux hopes more kids will become interested in tech

THE BIG INTERVIEW


What is new from CompTIA? How has the business grown over

the past year?We opened our membership in the latter half of 2014 and we’ve accumulated about 25,000 registered users. The companies that want to take advantage of the next tier of benefits have stayed on as premium members, so that’s something we can begin to use as a strategy to expand out into the rest of Europe and the Middle East this year. I think that’s something we’ll be focusing on in 2015.

We’ve launched our CertMaster training product – it’s training and test prep all in one, which has been on the market for a few months now, we’re getting some good pick up and activity around that.

We acquired Tech America and we’ve been working with the subsidiary of that – Tech America Europe – in Brussells. Having a base in the UK and Europe will allow us to get more of our message and programmes out into the rest of EMEA itself – the UK is our second largest market after the US.

So those are probably the biggest three things we have done in the last few months of 2014.

Tell us about your latest training programmes for 2015...For this year we’re looking at bringing out an online product called CyberSecure – a 60 to 90 minute training programme where anybody in an organisation can sit down and learn about the best practices for cyber behaviour within their company. For example, what happens if I click on a link and it’s got a virus? Who should I tell? What should I do? Is it safe to use Wi-Fi? Is it safe to put company files in Dropbox? What does a good password look like? There will be about 20 different cases that people will run through.

Another benefit is if you’re a premium CompTIA member you can make this available free to your own customers. Also, on the certification front, we have a new IT

fundamentals exam coming out. This will be the first exam that won’t be delivered in a test centre – it will be available online without any proctor. It’s meant to reach as many people as possible to give them the basics of IT fundamentals.

It will be looking at what flash memory is, smartphones and how they work, laptops and how they are different, networking, as well as connectivity basics.

CompTIA’s Nancy Hammervik gave a very interesting talk at our PCR Woman of the Year event late last year. How is your own Advancing Women in IT initiative progressing?It’s growing really well, it’s very active and we’re looking to broaden it out. It will probably double in size over the next 12 months. We’ve got very active LinkedIn groups, there’s also activity on Facebook, face-to-face meetings, phone calls as well as programmes.

Some of it is mentorship, some of it is best practices, some of it is bringing in speakers who have looked at the issue, talked about it and written books about it. Our members have also done research – they’ve been involved in our advocacy and lobbying efforts, so it’s a big block of very highly engaged ladies that are continuing to drive it.

There’s a product called Dream IT which encourages any of the women in the community to take a nice Powerpoint deck and some talking points, and go into a school to talk to girls.

We also support other programmes for children – we hope they bring in more kids who don’t yet know they’re interested in tech.

What would you say to resellers who don’t have any CompTIA training?I think the thing is, as a reseller you don’t know what you don’t know. For example, many companies start our Trustmark programmes and then realise they’re not following best practices.

We hear a lot of companies get ten questions in, and realise: “I wasn’t doing half of this stuff.” So they need to go back and learn what it is, then come back and finish the Trustmark.

It is shocking – this industry is one of the few where you don’t need a licence to destroy someone else’s business. I heard a story the other day about a company that one of our members went into to replace their IT systems. What passed for a server was one of those little portable WD Passport drives that was plugged into a USB port

into a really old computer. Those drives actually fail all the time – and it was all of the company’s data. That was their primary storage place and they were sharing that drive on the network. People were saying: “Why is our network so slow? Why are we running out of space all the time?” It was because somebody had felt like that was okay.

That’s why being able to look for companies who are a member of our organisation is valuable. If a company has our Trustmark, you know they’re following some of the best practices. Chances are, if you can pass our Trustmark, you’re going to do a good job.

What happens if a company with a CompTIA trustmark does something wrong – can a customer get their money back?In terms of getting financial compensation and recourse, all of that is governed by the service level agreements a company will have with their customers. There’s jurisdictions, rules, recourse and terminations involved in that.

Some have called for an ‘IT police’ – a trade association that will handle unscrupulous dealers and legal complaints. Is there anything CompTIA could do to police the industry?That’s not our role. That’s not our job. We don’t get involved in individual member issues.

Would you welcome an organisation that polices the IT industry? It would really have to be driven by the customers themselves instead and not by the industry.

Customers are interested in seeing Yelp ratings and reviews on sites like Angie’s List. There may be some in the UK that list IT solution providers, so some of that mechanism is already out there, but some harder quantitative physical numbers like you see in JD Power surveys for car reliability… I’d be really surprised if that ever actually emerged.

But there is a company we do work with called Service 800, which looks at companies in the service industry who are going out and doing a range of break/fix services. They also do follow-up surveys, but it’s mostly focusing on various large companies like Ricoh and Xerox, for example.

So a lot of it is the role of the solution provider. They need to go in and do a good job. But having some end user information, like the ten steps to choosing a good solution provider, we can certainly do that kind of stuff. But we wouldn’t get into validating one company or another – we’ re vendor neutral.

CompTIA’s Euro mission

“If a company has our Trustmark, you know they’re following best practices. Chances are, if you can pass our Trustmark, you’re going to do a good job.”

Todd Thibodeaux,CompTIA

The UK is the second largest market for IT trade association CompTIA, and now it’s hoping to grow across EMEA, with its first online-only training programmes, Advancing Women in IT initiative and more. Dominic Sacco asks CEO Todd Thibodeaux about the benefits of certifications for resellers and what’s next for the organisation…

CES SHOW PREVIEW

ALONGSIDE all of the other tech wonders that we can expect from CES, is something that until recently remained lodged in futuristic films and literature.

The world of robotics has gone beyond mere crane-like arms moving things about in warehouses, or Roombas dust-busting their way around our houses – to fully-fledged humanoid entertainment devices worthy of a role next to robot saviour Will Smith.

The number of robotic exhibits at CES this year has grown by 25 per cent, highlighting the fact that

this sector of the industry is no longer a gimmicky fairytale, but an innovative and possibly soon-to-be viable commercial opportunity for retailers.

Currently, higher-end bots are priced well into the thousands, which we presume is way beyond the everyday consumer’s disposable price range.

However some reckon that this could drop considerably now that production costs are falling, and demand for such tech has started to grow.

Tara Dunion, senior communications director at

the Consumer Electronics Association, tells PCR: “Robots promise to revolutionise the way consumers interact with the world and monitor their health and environment.”

The question is though, when robots do become more accessible, will the consumer still care?

Could it be a case of wanting what we can’t have, and realising once it is in our possession that we never wanted it in the first place?

Not everyone will see the point in having a robotised vacuum when a Dyson does just fine, or having a life-like

conversation with an Android when you can have a chat with someone who is actually alive. For all we know, in the next ten years or less, we could all have our very own little Wall-E following us around like an electric lost dog.

DRIVING TECH FORWARDSIf robotics isn’t your bag, then it isn’t the only thing to look forward to at this year’s show; in-car technology is also stealing the limelight, as it persists to be a driver in the consumer tech industry.

New automotive gadgetry from the likes of Audi, BMW,

Robotics, in-car tech, wearables and the Internet of Things will dominate this year’s CES in Las Vegas. Phil Tottman pulls together some of the things we have to look forward to, and asks the CEA what we can expect from the show…

“Robots promise to revolutionise the way consumers interact with the world and monitor their health and environment.”

Tara Dunion,Consumer Electronics

Association

Robot revolution to rock Vegas


Above: The Furo–S Smart Service Robot puts a smile on the face of robotics

IN AMONGST the robots, tech-filled automobiles and tiny wrist computers are a number of industry figures either exhibiting, or holding talks throughout the show. Executives from Condé Nast, Disney, Fox, Google as well as McDonalds will be joining a the brand matters panel, plus Nicholas Woodman, CEO of GoPro, Mark Fields, president and CEO of Ford and Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel are amongst those holding keynotes.

Exhibitors include the likes of AOL with TechCrunch, Bosch, Universal Electronics, Casio, Marvel Digital Group, Microsoft and Kaito Electronics Inc.

If that isn’t enough for you, then Bob Pittman, CEO of iHeartMedia Inc, and TV host Ryan Seacrest along with folks from Google and Yahoo will take centre stage as C Space headliners.

EXHIBITORS

Date: January 6th – 9thLocation: Las Vegas, NevadaTelephone: +1 703-907-7605Website: www.cesweb.org

KEY INFO

CES SHOW PREVIEW

Chrysler, Ford and Mercedes to name but a few will be unveiled in Vegas, with exhibits covering a massive 165,000 net square foot.

Dunion adds: “The new Vehicle Intelligence Marketplace will feature autonomous driving, collision avoidance and vehicle communication technologies.”

SHOW PREDICTIONSThere will almost certainly be a number of big reveals at this year’s show, and although Samsung’s TV boss Kim Hyun-Suk has said that there will be no surprises, there are rumours surrounding the unveiling of a new Galaxy Tab S tablet, along with a new Tizen TV.

Staying true to the wearable theme this year, Motorola has hinted at showing off a metal band version of the Moto 360.

LG could be displaying some new tech that’ll feature its next gen G Watch, and Lenovo has

confirmed that it will present its first smartwatch at the show.

Dell will hopefully be introducing a new 34-inch U3215W curved monitor that boasts the ability to connect with a smartphone via its mini-Displayport.

TV manufacturer Vizio has revealed that it will be bringing along a line-up of laptops and desktops including two new Ultrabooks. These will be competing against a range of affordable Ultrabooks being presented at the show by Intel in partnership with HP, Asus and LG.

Intel however seems to be stepping away from the PC side of things in an attempt to join Qualcomm in the mobile chip market.

So as we can see, there is plenty to keep those attending entertained.

WEARABLE FUTURETalk to anyone in the tech industry about the future, and they will bang on about

wearables until the cows come home.

Just think Google Glass, Samsung Galaxy Gear first and second generation, all of the different fitness bands and other wearable health monitors and of course most recently the Apple Watch (God forbid you call it the iWatch).

These are looking to be the next craze for the consumer market, progressively moving beyond being just a companion device for our smartphones and other

tech, to acting as standalone gadgets that are just as powerful as any other device.

All in all it looks as though the tech industry is on the verge of a mass overhaul, as opposed to just an update on the gadgets it is already occupied with.

Whether it’s smartwatches replacing smartphones, self-driving cars taking over from the cabby or robots taking the place of our friends, the consumer tech landscape is about to change. And we’re about to see just how at CES 2015.

“There will almost certainly be a number of big reveals at this year’s show. Dell will hopefully be introducing a new curved monitor.”

The event attracts 78 per cent of fortune 500 companies including Amazon, AOL, Apple, Chrysler, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube.

An average of 20,000 products are launched each year at CES.

Around 150,000 industry professionals from 140 countries are to attend this year.

The five biggest countries in terms of the number of attendees includes Germany, France and the UK.

The iProducts Marketplace will take up to 82,950 net square feet, and will contain the likes of Speck, Incipio, Griffin, Otterbox, Scosche, TYLT and Mophie.

The singing and dancing Obama doll jams along to your favourite songs when plugged into your phone.

Anyone trying to nick your phone will get the shock of their life from this stun-gun iPhone case, which delivers an electric 650,000 volts.

Glue-on fingernails that can be detected by touchscreens for the fashionistas amongst us.

The ChefJet 3D food printer moulds edible three dimensional sugar items, that can be used for cake toppers. The $5,000 price tag is less than sweet though.

The Sen.se Mother watches over all that happens in your household. It tracks what you eat, counting how many steps you take each day and checking where your kids are.

Five strange things found at CES


Sen.se Mother looks after your family

The show will be packed full of exhibitors, keynotes and maybe a few celebs

The Apple Watch is amongst the many new pieces of wearable tech

Five stats about CES 2015

The iRobot Roomba is the vacuum cleaning robot

SHOW PREVIEW

THE IT industry is incredibly fast-moving – and we’ve revamped

the PCR Awards to reflect this pace of change.

A handful of new and revised accolades have been announced for the 2015 PCR Awards, which will take place on Thursday March 12th 2015

at the popular Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington.

The event will boast a similar mix of networking, partying as well as recognition of achievements in the UK PC and tech industry, with a drinks reception, evening dinner and after-show party.

There are now 21 awards in total, across the three usual categories: Frontline, Vendor and Distribution. New ‘System Builder’ and ‘Online-only’ awards have been added to the Frontline category to reflect the greater number of tech etailers and specialist system builders in the market.


Entatech is on board as Headline Sponsor for the PCR Awards, while VIP Computers is Drinks Reception Sponsor, and Exertis is After-Show Party Sponsor. Gold Sponsors include Intel, Northamber and Philips/AOC.

There are a limited number of sponsorship opportunities available. Please contact Jennie Lane on [email protected] or call 01992 535647 for more information.

OUR AWARDS PARTNERS

When:WednesdayMarch 12th 2015

Where:Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, W8 4PT

How to booktablets or tickets:Contact Sara Mather [email protected] or020 7354 6001

How to sponsorContact Jennie Lane [email protected] or01992 535647

KEY INFO

“There are now 21 awards in total with new ‘system builder’ and ‘online-only’ awards.”

The big PC and tech industry awards bash returns in March with a selection of new and revised honours. Dominic Sacco explains the tweaks and runs through all the key info you need to know about the evening which recognises retailers, vendors and distributors…

The cream of the IT crop

New ‘Service and Support’ awards have also been added to both the Vendor and Distribution categories, to recognise companies with exceptional levels of customer service and support.

The PCR Awards aims to reward achievements in the trade in all their varying forms, from the independent retail store owner, to the global software publisher and the most impressive PC components vendor.

The Special Recognition award also returns this year, which honours an individual for services to the channel. This is voted for by the PCR Retail Advisory Board.

Finally, the Grand Prix award is given to a company

which has had an exceptional year and is chosen by the PCR team.

Entatech is on board as Headline Sponsor for the PCR Awards, while VIP Computers is Drinks Reception Sponsor, and Exertis is After-Show Party Sponsor. The Gold Sponsors include Intel, Northamber and Philips/AOC.

Entatech UK marketing manager Steven Parker told PCR: “The annual PCR Awards provide a highlight for the tech industry to join together and celebrate.”

Visit www.pcr-awards.com for more information or to book a table/tickets. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Jennie Lane at [email protected] or 01992 535647.

SHOW PREVIEW


FRONTLINE: Independent Retailer – Utopia Computers | National Retailer – John Lewis | Reseller – CCL | Service & Support – PCs Made Simple

DISTRIBUTION: Software Distributor – Exertis Gem | PC Gaming & Hardware Distributor – VIP Computers | Components Distributor – Entatech |Peripherals Distributor – Exertis Micro–P | Consumer Electronics Distributor – Exertis Micro-P | Marketing & PR – Westcoast | Distributor of the Year – Entatech VENDOR: Business/Utility Software Publisher – Microsoft | PC Games Publisher – EA | Peripherals Vendor – Turtle Beach | Components Vendor - Asus | Computing Vendor – LenovoNetworking Vendor – TP-Link

SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Jon Atherton – Entatech GRAND PRIX: Lenovo

FRONTLINESystem BuilderIndependent RetailerNational RetailerResellerOnline only

DISTRIBUTIONSoftware DistributorPC Gaming & Hardware DistributorComponents DistributorPeripherals DistributorConsumer Electronics DistributorMarketing & PRService and SupportDistributor of the Year

VENDORSoftware PublisherPeripherals VendorComponents VendorComputing VendorNetworking VendorService and Support

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

GRAND PRIX

2014WINNERS

CATEGORIES

With the exception of the Grand Prix and Special Recognition Awards, all PCR Awards are won the same way.

PCR takes lobbying from the industry before announcing a set of fi nalists in January.

The winners are voted for by a Judging Panel of more than 100 highly regarded representatives from all sectors of the business. They vote in confi dence and are only revealed after voting is complete. They can’t vote for themselves or associated companies.

HOW ARE THESEAWARDS WON?

“The annual PCR Awards provide a highlight for the tech industry to join together and celebrate.”

Steven Parker,Entatech

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Changing the channel

QVC INTERVIEW

What are the challenges of selling live on-air?

The beauty of QVC is it’s in real time. Every three seconds we get information like buying patterns fed back directly from consumers, so we are able to tweak our sale on-air. For instance, if we’re selling a tablet and start talking about its 12-hour battery life, we’ll know if that appeals to the consumer pretty much immediately. Then we can continue to know whether it’s the battery, processor or screen resolution they’re interested in.

Before selling an item live, will you have a starting price and lowest possible price in mind? Do you change prices on the fly?In a way that’s a misconception within TV shopping. The channel you’d be referring to would be the likes of Bid Up where they will set a price point then drop it to some ridiculous number. QVC doesn’t work like that. The first time you ever see a product on QVC it will have the most affordable price from us. The next time you see it, it will be more expensive.

We negotiate what we believe is the strongest price for a product. We will not reduce the price of a product at least 30 days after it’s been to air, and that’s only in certain circumstances.

What is QVC’s involvement in computing and tech? QVC as is a multi-channel retailer covering various categories, from jewellery to health and fitness, and electronics is a big part of the business as well. We sell traditional consumer electronics like TVs, mobile phones, satnav, audio and IT-related products – anything from tablet computers to

desktops and all-in-ones. I’d say tech makes up about 25 per cent of the business’ turnover, so we’re a pretty big player.

Do you have set tech TV shows each week?Yes. There will be dedicated live broadcasting airtime for tech, predominantly over the weekend. Also, we have what we call ‘Today’s Special Value’ which is our deal of the day. If that’s a tech product we’ll also have a dedicated home show on the weekend at 11am. We like to identify one big hero product and put all of the promotional activity behind it.

What sort of qualities do you look for in a product and a brand?As far as your core categories go, such as tablets, we’re still looking to maintain the ‘A’ brands. We do very well with gadgety products. For example, there’s a mouse that can scan pages up to A3 in size. If that’s sitting on a shelf

in PC World or John Lewis, it just looks like an expensive mouse for £80. But by demonstrating it and educating the customer, we really can bring products like that to life.

Do you sell to any businesses or are all of your customers end consumers?They’re predominantly consumers. There may be small offices or people working from home buying from us, but it’s mainly end users, especially female buyers with an average age of 35 to 65.

Do you source goods from tech distributors or from vendors direct?A good mix of both. We deal with the likes of Exertis, Tech Data, Westcoast and some others like Peak. I do all my negotiations, conversations and range planning with brands direct. However, the deal itself will go through a distribution partner.

You also have two QVC stores as well as a website – how do they compare to your TV channel?The sales we generate online are driven by what people watch on the TV. About 35 per cent of our customers will buy online or via our iOS/Android app. Our stores are heavily weighted in beauty, jewellery and fashion, with a smaller emphasis on electronics.

What is your focus for 2015? We’ll still be focusing on the core areas like tablets. There’s been a bit of a resurgence in laptops for us, predominantly driven by lower price points the manufacturers are able to hit because of the support they’ve been getting from Microsoft. We’re also looking at wearable technology opportunities and the connected home is a big focus for us too. We believe that’s still in its infancy, especially with our customers, so we’re not quite at saturation point with that.

With one million active customers, QVC offers computer brands an alternate sales avenue, but what tech sells well on TV and how does the business model differ? Dominic Sacco asks the channel’s IT and tech buyer Paul Felix to clear up some misconceptions around TV shopping and how brands can get involved this year…

“Every three seconds we get information like buying patterns fed back directly from consumers, so we are able to tweak our sale on-air. ”

Paul Felix,QVC

Tech devices like tablets make up 25 per cent of QVC’s business turnover


The laptop is backLAPTOP RESURGENCE

As more consumers look for products with higher specifications,

the faithful laptop is starting to witness a bit of a revival in the industry.

Brand new laptops from the likes of HP and Acer were unveiled last year, all with competitive prices helping to increase their sales, outshining smaller tablets.

For example, consumer-targeted clamshell laptop sales were up by 20.3 per cent year-on-year in Q3 2014, according to analyst Context, with low-end budget laptops leading the way.

We have already seen how popular desktops have been over the last year, with Apple revealing it had sold more Macs than iPads during Q4 2014, however, it seems the traditional laptop is also starting to really rival both desktops and tablets.

GfK’s business group director, Carl West, also revealed that laptops are indeed making a recovery, with a seven per cent increase in volume and 1.3 per cent in value in Q3 2014. Although, West believes there will also be a greater volume of computing hybrid products during 2015.

Thanks to the back-to-school season and various promotions on offer, paired with the range of budget-friendly devices, more consumers opted for a laptop.

It’s not just a rise in sales at big etailers or national stores, either. Independent retailers have noticed that laptop sales are increasing. Garry Stonehouse, owner of GBiz IT Computers, comments: “Our laptops are selling a lot quicker now than they ever were before, while our tablets have virtually stopped selling completely.”

With customers’ demands for faster download speeds and streaming increasing, the

mini computer seems to fit the bill over tablets.

Consumers are also beginning to look to laptops for their portability benefits, as charger wires are used less frequently thanks to longer lasting battery life. Plus, laptops have more powerful processors and technology embedded within that is similar to a PC.

The PC Surgeon’s tech advisor Rakesh Selarka adds: “Consumers prefer laptops because they meet the classic demand for a powerful and portable computer.”

But why are some consumers not content with their tablet? Context revealed that tablet unit sales were down by 23.5 per cent year-on-year in Q3 2014, and by 10.6 per cent for the first seven weeks of Q4 2014, suggesting consumers are now turning to other devices, such as laptops.

People are looking for wider screens and more

intense graphics, something not all tablets can provide, which in turn has caused sales to dwindle.

Anthony Lay, owner of AML Midlands, believes: “One thing which is becoming more obvious is the requirements for better graphics or HD screens and SSDs. These attributes have always been there in high end systems, but due to the falling price in GPU prices and SSDs they are now becoming run of the mill, which makes the requirements of the tablet appear to decline.”

However, it seems that laptop sales are increasing due to a particular customer, as Gavin Holder, director of GHI Computers, adds: “We intend to hold stocks of laptops as always, but our business model relies on the opportunist and impulse buyers of the passing trade.”

The company has seen a rise in its laptop sales overall, with sales up by 34 per cent

on last

year. “Laptops

have always been a strong category for

us,” explains Holder. AMD, also revealed that

laptops were the number one choice for many students last year. The company’s Back-to-School Technology Usage Survey found that 81 per cent of students couldn’t imagine doing school work without their laptop, and that the main considerations when choosing one were fast performance, price and battery life.

Regardless of the reasons why, laptops are back. Let’s hope the resurgence continues throughout 2015 and beyond.

From the HP Stream to Asus’ Zenbook, a range of different new laptops were unveiled last year. Thanks to their higher specs and greater performance ability, more consumers are turning back to the traditional device, Jade Burke reports…

“Laptops are selling a lot quicker now than they were before; tablet sales have virtually stopped.”

Garry Stonehouse,GBiz IT Computers


Laptop sales were up by 20.3 per cent year-on-year in Q3 2014





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BEFORE CHRISTMAS, Engage Production opened the doors to its Flux Innovation Lounge to let visitors get hands-on with some of the up and coming tech products on the market.

There was a lot to look at, including a virtual book, the Oculus Rift, 3D printers and giant interactive walls and tablets. But what really stole the show was Norris, a ‘RoboThespian’ (read the column on the right for our take on robots in the industry).

Norris the RoboThespian steals the show at the latest Flux Innovation Lounge event, while vistors got hands-on with other tech…

Norris uses cameras to capture people’s

movements and mimic them

Robots at retail?WITH THE news that a third of UK jobs will be at risk from robots in the next 20 years and Professor Stephen Hawking claiming robots could end mankind, you may be thinking that all those dystopian sci-fi films are starting to come true.

Well I finally had the chance to actually meet one of these job-stealing cyborgs and what I found is that rather than putting you out of business, they may just be another product line for you to sell.

Engage Production had a ‘RoboThespian’ called Norris on show at its latest Flux Innovation Lounge event, showcasing how the robot could be used in the tech industry.

“This sort of technology is what we’re seeing being applied in the retail world and it is going to become much more ubiquitous over the next couple of years,” Engage

Production’s commercial director, Andy Hasoon, told PCR.

“We’re showing the capabilities of what robots are able to do.

“What we’ve been finding is this tech is great at exhibitions and conferences. We can programme Norris with information and messages,” he added.

Whether supplying a RoboThespian to small businesses, having a robot in your store to provide information to customers, or selling them directly to consumers, Hasoon believes that the price of robots like Norris will decrease over the next few years from the current £100,000 price tag to around £1,000.

Laura [email protected]

“Robot technology will become more ubiquitous over the next couple of years.”

Andy Hasoon, Engage Production

Mystery ShopperCommentStore of the MonthCounter Insurgent

Phil Browes,HMV

Craig Hume,Utopia Computers

Phylip Morgan,Network Group

Jason Eccles,SimplyFixIT

Vaughan Shayler,CompTIA

Lorelei Gibb,Dolphin Upgrades

James Gorbold,Scan Computers

Steve Ling,Overclockers UK

John Church, Shop Direct

Jonpaul Warren, Ebuyer

David Chorlton,Maplin

Dean Kramer,Dixons

Will Fletcher,Toys “R” Us

Tim LeRoy,Novatech

William Jones,John Lewis

CK,YoYoTech

Vladimir Kuznetsov,DinoPC

Jat Mann,PC Pal

Steven Lightfoot,Pudsey Computers

Ben Miles,Chillblast

Juliet Ward,Argos

Mike Barron,Synaxon

Gavin Holder,GHI Computers

Iain Shaw,Brigantia

Chris Innes,Micro Plus

Duncan Rutherford,Dabs.com

RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD

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

GBiz IT Computers

STORE OF THE MONTH

How has the company changed since we last spoke to you? We’re doing less on the consumer side and we’re pushing a lot more on the business to business side. We got involved in the cloud, reselling Google Apps and we also started doing maintenance contracts. They seem very popular, but they are more beneficial for us because they give us a regular monthly income.

What services and repairs do you carry out in store?We do in-store repairs for consumers, we have a consumer retail shop and we also have a consumer workshop. We do other general PC repairs such as broken screens on laptops. We also have an ad hoc service, where customers will

ring us when they’ve got a problem and we’ll go to the site and fix it.

Following the New Year, are there any new products you’ll stock? We’re looking very closely at all this wearable tech. That’s obviously the next up and coming thing. There’s fairly limited scope for us in the wearable market at the moment though, because those are all purchased direct from the manufacturers.

What are the challenges of being a retailer and selling apps to businesses? We find it quite easy, but the challenges for retail are the same challenges that we’ve always had, in that there are extremely low margins on selling hardware, so you’ve got to be able to have a range

of services to sell as well. So not only do we sell the laptops to the consumer, we’re also selling them set-up services, online back-up services and anti-virus as well.

Do you think it’s important to stock cloud products as they become more popular? If you don’t move with the times you’re going to get left behind. That’s always been a

case in our industry and it’s no different with cloud services as well. You’ve got to be up there because there are people who are looking for that type of service. It’s no good saying: “We don’t offer that, we can’t help you.” The customer walks out of the door empty handed, and that’s the last thing you want.

After PCR Boot Camp North are you making any changes to your business this year? Yes, we want to change our approach to our customers and get as much out of them as we possibly can.

We’re already looking at buying in some home automation kits, because that’s something that we’re not doing at the moment and none of our competitors are. The rest of it was just really insightful and interesting.

Do you attend many industry events and find them helpful? I attend as many as I possibly can, I do find them very useful. I think it’s one thing that a lot of independents fail to see the value of, which is getting away from your business for the day and hearing what other people have to say, seeing how other people do it and what their thoughts and views are on the state of the marketplace.

Where do you see Gbiz IT going in the next few years? I see us increasing our B2B side, taking on more staff and I think our retail side will stay static. I don’t think we’ve got much scope for expanding that above and beyond what it is, so in order to grow the business we need to grow the other areas of it.

Year established: 1995

Number of stores: 1

Number of staff: 5

Address:9 The Wynd, Marske, TS11 7LD

Telephone: 01642 477200

Email:[email protected]

Website:www.gbizit.co.uk

FACT FILE

“We’re looking very closely at wearable tech. That’s obviously the next up and coming thing.”

Garry Stonehouse,Gbiz IT Computers

After expanding into cloud services and B2B, Garry Stonehouse wants to include home automation kits within the retail side of his business for 2015. Jade Burke finds out more about his plans for his store…

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PCR RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD

”Scan was actually the launch partner for G-Sync – we launched a

G-Sync monitor of our own about six or seven months before any others. We worked with Nvidia and Asus on a custom scan monitor, built it in the UK and distributed them across Europe. Now a lot of the monitor manufacturers have jumped on board too.

“We’re very close with Nvidia – we’re their biggest customer in the UK and we were very excited when we got the sneak peek.

“G-Sync continues to be very successful for us – it is such a popular technology. The ASUS Swift monitor in particular is the best selling high end monitor from ASUS, we’re doing fantastic business with that monitor. It certainly won’t be any challenge for us to stock FreeSync monitors.”

JAMES GORBOLD,Technical Marketing,

Scan Computers

”G-Sync and FreeSync are exciting technologies that fix a problem for

PC gamers. Without these

technologies a customer has to choose between VSync, which introduces stuttering if the hardware is unable to maintain 60fps at all times, or screen tearing if VSync is disabled. With an increasing number of very demanding PC games launching soon, the need to address this problem has never been more important.

“We offer a small range of G-Sync monitors from Asus and AOC on our high end systems, and we plan to stock FreeSync when it is launched in 2015. At the moment the cost of G-Sync solutions is prohibitive to all but the wealthiest of PC enthusiasts – more work needs to be done to publicise the positive effects of the technology.”

BEN MILES,Buyer, Chillblast

”AMD has to be commended for its marketing genius. They have taken a free

technology that is built into the new Display Port 1.2a standard, renamed it and created preserved value to potential customers. As monitors and video cards start to support this

technology, I predict that Nvidia will do a u-turn and start supporting ‘Adaptive Sync’, DisplayPort’s native technology. At Utopia, we find sales of G-Sync monitors are slow, with most gaming customers opting for a 144Hz screen and a high end card.”

CRAIG HUME,Director, Utopia Computers

”G-Sync monitors are selling very well. When a new piece of technology

comes out and delivers a significant performance gain, people jump on it.

“The competition between Nvidia and AMD is brilliant. It keeps the market going. At Overclockers we’re very fair to them – we have to respect both technology firms as equal partners. Sometimes one is ahead of the other one, but you definitely reap the benefits from their technological advancements.”

STEVE LING,Executive Director,

Overclockers UK

”It’s not enough that a new technology is cool – it needs to

serve a purpose and it needs to be affordable. There will always be lots of hardcore fans who buy the latest and greatest, but the other 95 per cent of the market buys with a strong sense of value.

“While G-Sync is interesting, the idea of a more open standard like FreeSync means that monitors with this capability could be significantly cheaper. If the price difference is too high, then customers will look at their graphics card and wonder, ‘maybe I should just get a better card – or pair of cards – and use V-Sync’.”

CK,MD, YoYoTech

”I applaud G-Sync monitors strongly. For too long graphics cards have

pushed boundaries while displays have struggled to keep pace. Prices are steep at present and probably always will come with a £100 premium over the standard offerings, given that they are

targeted at an audience which requires the best from their rigs.

“These customers are happy to pay excessive amounts for the latest graphics cards, headsets as well as peripherals, so I see no reason why the price point won’t be maintained as demand grows from an informed audience.”

GAVIN HOLDER,Director, GHI Computers

“G-Sync monitors should be a big part of the future monitor market as they look great, they’re are more affordable and have more compatible content than 4K displays at the moment.

“4K will be a big step forward but it’s taking a while for it to hit the mainstream, be price effective and work with true 4K content. We’re currently stocking the Asus 27-inch PG278Q G-Sync and the Acer Predator XB270HA 27-inch G-Sync.”

HEATH CHADWICK,TV and monitor buyer,

Ebuyer.com

Rivals Nvidia and AMD both have their own similar tech that reduces screen tearing and stuttering. Several Nvidia G-Sync PC monitors launched in 2014 and

AMD’s fi rst FreeSync displays from Samsung are set to arrive in March. But is there strong demand for them both? We ask the PCR Retail Advisory Board…


PCR asks its Retail Advisory Panel – formed of buyers and experts – about the biggest industry trends and issues each month. To join, email [email protected].

PCR RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD

Is new monitortech in Sync?




MYSTERY SHOPPER

This month our Mystery Shopper checks out the latest range of all-in-one desktop PCs online from some of the UK’s biggest online tech etailers. This is how they got on with £1,000 to spend…

EBUYER.COM

A LARGE image carousel was the first thing that caught my eye on Ebuyer.com’s site, which displays different deals on offer. I was looking for an all-in-one so I headed over to the navigation icons and selected computing, to which I was greeted with different options including laptops, computers and monitors. Below the desktops option was what I was looking for.

After selecting all-in-ones, at the top of the page a selection of ‘Top Products’ was shown along with images and pricing. I decided to pick

HP as my brand of choice thanks to Ebuyer.com’s navigation options and I picked HP’s Beats Special Edition 23 AIO Desktop for £879.99, well in my price range. A few specs were also listed alongside the product.

Starting the checkout process was very simple, plus I had the option to pay with PayPal, Visa and MasterCard. I was also able to add in a two or three-year warranty, which I thought was helpful, although I felt the £12.76 standard delivery charge was far too expensive.

AMAZON

I FOUND Amazon’s site a little cluttered with many different adverts dotted around the right-hand side.

I went to the top of the site where I was able to scroll through a range of departments. After choosing computers and accessories, I proceeded to type ‘all-in-ones’ into the navigation bar. Lenovo seemed to be the popular choice online, but I was able to select from a range of brands within the navigation on the side.

I chose Samsung and found the ATIV One 5 21.5-inch

Touchscreen all-in-one PC. I was impressed with the free delivery option and the range of images that were displayed, which I could scroll through.

There were three variants to choose, and I chose the i3 as that was the only one within my price range at £734.19. A range of specs were also listed and the amount of models left in stock.

I also had the option of choosing a two or three year warranty at the checkout process, which I thought would be beneficial for such an expensive device.

7/10

Etail desktop special

8/10


MYSTERY SHOPPER

THE WORLD wide web seemed like a promising place to try and find an all-in-one, but I was very disappointed with Maplin’s online offering, as there were minimal products to choose from.

Equally, I felt PC World didn’t have a large selection to choose from. However, the navigation and prices were very pleasing.

Dabs and Amazon had a great selection I could sift through, but I disliked the layout of both of their websites as unnecessary ads cluttered up the homepage on Aamzon while Dabs’ selection felt squashed.

Ebuyer.com and John Lewis were very similar in their offerings and I felt the product descriptions and specs that were included were very helpful, but it was Ebuyer.com’s expensive £12.76 delivery charge that swayed my decision.

John Lewis was my star site this month thanks to its simple navigation, competitive prices and free delivery. Although there was no customer service assistant, I felt I could easily navigate around the website without any hesitation.

SUMMARY

MAPLIN

KNOWN FOR its large range of electronic goodies, I was excited to enter the online world of Maplin. As I hovered over the computing and office navigation section, no all-in-ones were to be seen. I decided to click on ‘desktop PCs’ and again there was no option to select all-in-ones.

I decided to try and type in all-in-one PCs within the navigation toolbar, to no prevail. I had to scroll through the selection I was presented with and I could only find all-in-ones from MSI. There was an MSI product within my

price range for £801.70, which also had a 23.6-inch display.

Unfortunately there was only one image of the MSI, so I couldn’t tell what the back or the side of the product was like, whilst zero reviews didn’t help me make my decision any easier.

Maplin did try to make up for this with an extensive specs list and the option of home delivery or click and collect, but the best feature was the fact that I could proceed with my payment as a guest rather than sign up and make an account.

JOHN LEWIS

WITH ITS navigation toolbar along the top of the homepage, it was very easy to find the desktops within the electrical section.

There was a good range available online and I could pick which brand I preferred from Acer to LG. I opted for LG’s Chromebase all-in-one Desktop Computer for £279.95. There were a few images of the product for me to flick through, which showed the front, sides and back of the device. There was also two reviews that I could read through.

John Lewis also included a detailed spec list and product information which I found helpful, plus, a small paragraph concerning the company’s returns policy was also very useful.

Before heading to the checkout I noticed that a two-year guarantee was already included within the price, and I was also given free delivery.

The usual payment options were included, such as PayPal, Visa and MasterCard and I didn’t have to create an account to purchase the item, which was an added bonus.

9/10

DABS

A CHRISTMAS theme and a range of ‘Hot Deals’ first caught my eye on Dabs’ homepage. The simple navigation page was a welcome feature for me as I could find the desktops and monitors section easily. After being directed to the next page I selected all-in-one PCs.

I felt the layout of products was a little squashed so I appreciated the fact that I could choose a particular operating system, price point, and brand to start my search.

I decided to see whether there were any Apple all-in-

ones within my price range and there were two I could choose from. The Apple iMac 21.5-inch 1.4GHz Dual Core 8GB 500GB for £853.64 was within my price range, plus a list of specs and bundle deals were displayed. Dabs also included a drop down option where I could choose a few similar specs for another product if I wasn’t satisfied with Apple’s option.

PayPal, Visa and MasterCard were included in the payment options and I could sign up as either a home or business user.

PC WORLD

‘MAKE YOUR Christmas special with our best technology deals’ was the slogan which greeted me on PC World’s site, so I couldn’t wait to see what products the firm had online.

The navigation toolbar was spread out across the top of the page and I had no trouble finding the all-in-ones via the desktops option. I was a little disappointed by the small selection on offer form the likes of Lenovo and Asus, however, I was able to find a product within my price range. The Acer Aspire Z3-615

23-inch Touchscreen All-in-One PC, priced at £799.99, featured Windows 8.1 with a 2TB hard drive.

There was also an option to see the device via video with a 360 degree view, which I felt was helpful. Plus, a detailed list of specs was displayed underneath the product which I felt was much more beneficial compared to the brief product descriptions you get in-store. I made my way through the checkout process, and free delivery was offered. A questionnaire then popped up on screen.

7/10

STARSITE

5/10

7/10


COUNTER INSURGENT

What products and services do you offer?We are a full service IT and telecoms company, providing managed IT services, IT solutions such as cloud services, IT consultancy, telephone calls, telephone lines, telephone systems from Panasonic and Avaya, and hosted telephony solutions. We also have a fully stocked online IT store available on our website.

What’s been your biggest growth area recently?We are continuing to grow all aspects of our business but cloud services are particularly in demand at the moment, especially with the impact of Office 365.

How important is social media to the business?Social media is becoming more and more important for us in communicating with existing and potential clients. In particular, we are seeing quite an impact on enquiries coming from LinkedIn. We are also planning on doing a lot more with social media as part of our overall communications plan.

What are the biggest challenges you face?Despite the upturn in the economy, the market today remains tough and very competitive. Companies are starting to invest more now but have been through a bad recession, so they are much

more sensitive to price. We are in the fortunate position of being able to remain competitive whilst maintaining our excellent customer experience.

What do you have planned for 2015?We have made many changes in 2014 with the introduction of two network operations centres offering 24/7 system monitoring and maintenance, countrywide IT and telecoms engineering cover and a 24-hour helpdesk for fully managed clients. It’s been a very busy year. So, in 2015 we are planning on building on this platform and continuing our steady growth. We will

also be working closely with Microsoft to extend the benefits of the Microsoft Cloud to our clients.

What are the benefits of working with Synaxon?We use the Synaxon services extensively – they assist us with supply chain management, e-commerce and marketing. They have helped by introducing us to a number of partners that have greatly expanded our service offering, without compromising the service our clients have grown to love. It’s also great that they are willing to listen to ideas on how they can further their offering to companies like ours.

KnibbsKnibbs founder, Tim Knibbs, discusses how the IT firm is using social media to communicate with clients and how cloud services is its biggest growth area…

SYNAXON MEMBER PROFILE

“Despite the upturn in the economy, the market today remains tough and very competitive.”

Tim Knibbs,Knibbs

Contact: [email protected], www.knibbs.com

ARE DISTIES finally starting to listen to what retailers are saying?

As a retailer we all know the importance of engaging with our customers across all the platforms that will make our voices heard. So why should it be any different further up the supply chain?

Recently, I visited a number of events, which I left with the encouraging signs that the tables are finally turning for different tech distributors.

How many of us receive a call from a random distie that still have you on their books, proclaiming they have an awesome deal, but you choose not to believe it because you don’t know the account manager very well? I’m sure many of us have account managers we trust and would take that deal from them, but why? It’s simple. You have a relationship with them.

For me, some of the distributors who don’t attend

these events won’t be here in a few years’ time.

These events provide a store front where a distributor must engage and deliver their promise; it’s not just about showcasing products or gathering orders, it’s about your image and relationships that you strike up that will bring you the business.

Once a retailer’s confidence in you grows, they want to

know you and they don’t want you insulting them with monotone cold calls about how you have a rep in the area or, worse still, changing their account manager just when they were starting to get to know them.

Let’s hope the disties demonstrate an ability to embrace change in the marketplace and start to engage their customer bases.

DISTIES STARTING TO LISTEN TO USThis month our anonymous retail columnist talks about how tech distributors are building better relationships with retailers by engaging with them more at industry events…


Got a gripe you’d like to share with the industry? Email Jade Burke at [email protected]

“Retailers don’t want insulting cold calls about how you have a rep in the area.”

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SECTOR GUIDE

Laura Barnes takes a look at the what’s on offer for businesses looking to store important data in the cloud, enable their teams to work remotely and share files across a variety of devices…

Cloud software and storage

In addition to updating the traditional programmes, Microsoft has developed brand new subscription versions of Office. Each new subscription offer will include the 2013 versions of the Office applications for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote2, Publisher2 and Access, plus cloud services such as Skype world minutes and online storage with SkyDrive too.

SRP: From £59.99

MICROSOFT OFFICE 365Distributors: Entatech, Exertis, Spire Technology

Google Drive for Work includes unlimited storage for files, folders and backups. Sync all your files including Microsoft Office files across your computer, phone and tablet to access your work remotely. Google Drive for Work and Google’s data centres are SSAE 16/ISAE 3402 Type II, SOC 2-audited. Users can also have work files or folders in Drive, access them from any device and share them.

SRP: £6.60 per user per month

GOOGLE DRIVE FOR WORKContact: Google

Dropbox for Business includes admin controls and can protect information both inside and outside an organisation. It offers 24/7 access to files and includes tools for onboarding, offboarding and managing teams. Dropbox for Business gives users the option to share files with external collaborators. It syncs files in the background the moment they are saved – so content is backed up and ready to be restored.

SRP: £11 per user per month

DROPBOX FOR BUSINESSContact: Dropbox

Instantly edit scanned paper, images or PDF files in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML and Corel WordPerfect. Omnipage works with virtually all scanners as well as all-in-one devices, digital cameras, iPhone and iPad 2 using 3D correction technology. Nuance Cloud Connector provides easy drag-and-drop access directly to cloud services, including Windows Live SkyDrive, GoogleDocs, Evernote, Dropbox and Box.net.

SRP: £79.99

NUANCE OMNIPAGE

Distributor: Exertis

MAXFocus is a Managed Service Provider (MPS) platform that provides a range of features across key product areas – Remote management, Backup, Mail Security and Service Desk. Features include automated monitoring, remote access, data archiving, mobile device management as well as managed online backup.

SRP: Varies

MAXFOCUS REMOTE MANAGEMENT

Contact: MAXFocus

iDrive provides unlimited universal online backup for PCs, Macs, iPhones, iPads and Android devices. Users can transfer and store files with 256-bit AES encryption using a user-defined key that is not stored anywhere on the servers. Files and folders are synced in real time across all devices linked with iDrive and users can access files backed up from PCs and Macs on mobile devices via iDrive’s iOS and Android apps.

SRP: Varies

IDRIVE

Contact: iDrive


CONTACTDropbox.www.dropboxpartners.com

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

Exertis (Basingstoke)...01256 707070

Exertis (Harlow)............01279 822822

Google. www.google.com/en_uk/work/apps/business

iDrive ........................... 1818 251 4245

MAXFocus.....................01382 309040

Spire Technology .........01202 828444

SECTOR GUIDE

With files becoming increasingly larger, consumers and businesses are looking for better ways to store their data. There are many SSDs, NAS drives and other devices currently on the market – Jade Burke rounds up the latest offerings…Storage

Designed for notebooks and ultrabooks, the Atlas Deluxe can be used on any device with an mSATA slot. It has an optimal data flow and has also been approved by the SandForce Driven quality program.

Specs: mSATA form factor, read speed of 555MB/s, write speed of 525MB/s, TRIM support.

SRP: £59.99, subject to change

MUSHKIN 120GB ATLAS DELUXE SSD

Distributor: Spire Technology

Eight PCIe 2.0 ports are included with this Scorpion Deluxe SSD and it has a sustained random 4K R/W of 67000/107000 IOPS. The SSD also has read speeds of up to 2160MB/s and write speeds of up to 1960MB/s.

Specs: 480GB, SandForce driven, optimal data flow, read speed of 2160MB/s, write speed of 1960MB/s.

SRP: £525, subject to change

MUSHKIN 480GB SCORPION DELUXE SSD


This SSHD has been designed as an all-in-one for easier installation and has a SATA 6 Gbps with NCQ for interface speed. It utilises Seagate flash management technology to deliver SSD-like performance.

Specs: QuietStep, Native Command Queuing, buffer speed of 64MB, Spindle speed of 5400rpm, 1TB/500GB capacity.

SRP: From £55.99

SSHD INT LAPTOP THIN 1TB/500GB 2.5” SATAIII

Distributor: Tech Data

Combining a small form factor and fast transfer speeds, this mSSD from Freecom also features USB 3.0 technology. It has a read and write speed of 430MB/s and is up to four times faster than traditional HDDs.

Specs: Read and write speeds of 430MB/s, USB 3.0, no cooling fan, brushed aluminium.

SRP: £79.99

FREECOM USB 3.0 EXTERNAL MINI SOLID

Distributor: Entatech

SanDisk’s Extreme Pro SSD comes in 240GB, 480GB and 960GB variants, providing faster game loading speeds. It has a low power consumption and comes with read speeds of up to 550MB/s and write speeds of up to 515MB/s.

Specs: Read speed of up 550MB/s, write speed of up to 515MB/s, 240GB, 480GB and 960GB variants.

SRP: £164.99

SANDISK EXTREME PRO SSD (INTERNAL)

Distributor: Peak Development

BeyondRAID storage technology is used within the Drobo, which helps to protect data against hard disk crash. It also comes with four drive bays and a USB 3.0 port, plus a USB cable is also included. There is an instant capacity expansion of up to 24TB and also has a power fail protection with battery backup.

Specs: Four drive bays, USB 3.0, power fail protection, drive re-ordering, BeyondRAID storage technology.

SRP: Around £310 for bare unit

DROBO 4 BAY

Distributors: CMS Distribution, Computers Unlimited

Crucial’s SSD has write speeds of up to 500MB/s and read speeds of up to 550MB/s. It is available in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB variants. Users can also keep their files safe due to the AES 256-bit encryption.

Specs: Read speeds of up to 500MB/s, write speeds of up to 550MB/s, SATA 6GB/s, 1.5 million hours life expectancy.

SRP: From £57.59

CRUCIAL MX100 SSD

Distributor: Northamber


CMS Distribution ........ 020 8960 6000

Computers Unlimited . 020 8358 5858

Dynamode ................... 0845 375 2023

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

Northamber..................020 8296 7000

Peak Development ......01489 796979

Samsung ...................... 0330 726 7864

Simms ...........................01622 852800

Spire Technology ........ 01202 828 444

Smithie UK ....................01256 844028

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

SECTOR GUIDE


The Akitio has a tethered Thunderbolt cable that can deliver transfer speeds of up to 10 Gpbs and can also run on bus power alone. It is also fanless and has a read speed of 713MB/s and a write speed of 414MB/s.

Specs: Two mSATA SSDs, Thunderbolt transfer speeds of 10Gbps, compatible with Windows 7 and 8, bus powered.

SRP: £549.99

AKITIO PALM RAID

Distributor: Smithie UK

Available in capacitates ranging from 1TB to 3TB, the WD Red is designed for home and small office NAS systems. Western Digital’s NASware firmware technology also enables a more balanced performance.

Specs: 1TB to 3TB variants, NASware firmware technology, 64MB cache speed, lower power consumption.

SRP: £80

WESTERN DIGITAL RED NAS DESKTOP HD


This SSHD is available in either 1TB or 2TB capacities. NAND flash and HDD technology work together, while Seagate Adaptive Memory technology identifies the most frequently-used data and stores it in the NAND flash.

Specs: SATA 6 Gbps, 1TB/2TB capacity, 8GB flash memory capacity, compatible with Windows 7.

SRP: From £65.99

SSHD HYBRID 1TB/2TB DESKTOP 64MP 6GBS 3.5”

Distributor: Tech Data

With a slim 7mm form factor, the SSD can fit into notebooks and desktops, and comes in 120Gb and 240GB capacities. The SandForce SF-2281 controller with SATA Rev 3.0 performance delivers faster boot up.

Specs: Slim form factor, 120GB and 240GB capacities, read speeds of up to 470MB/s, write speeds of up to 220MB/s.

SRP: From £62, subject to change

KINGSTON HYPER X FURY SSD

Distributor: Simms

Samsung’s flash memory features 3D V-NAND architecture and is available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB variants. It has a SATA 6Gb/s interface that is compatible with SATA 3Gb/s and SATA 1.5Gb/s. A maximum read speed of 550MB/s and write speed of 520MB/s is included along with a Samsung 3-core MEX controller.

Specs: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB variants, read speeds of up to 550MB/s, write speeds of up to 520MB/s, 3D V-NAND architecture.

SRP: From £88.99

SAMSUNG SSD 850 PRO

Contact: Samsung

Mushkin’s shock-resistant SSD comes with a capacity of 120GB and provides users with next-generation responsiveness by utilising asynchronous NAND Flash technology.

Specs: TRIM support, shock-resistant, 120GB, read speed of 555MB/s, write speed of 525MB/s.

SRP: £49.99, subject to change

MUSHKIN 120GB CHRONOS G2 SSD


Western Digital’s SE HDD has been designed for bulk cloud storage, replicated environments, content delivery networks (CDNs), large-scale network attached storage (NAS), backup and archiving.

Specs: Dual processor, 4TB, 64MB SATA 6GB/s, internal HDD for servers and NAS, StableTrac, RAID-specific.

SRP: £142.45

WESTERN DIGITAL SE 4TB INTERNAL HDD


CONTACT

Crucial SSDsPerformance you can trust.

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and the latest NAND technology, the Crucial MX100 offers a low cost per GB, combined with unrelenting performance and one of the most complete feature

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Visit our websitewww.cmsdistribution.com

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SECTOR GUIDE


Smartphones are a prominent fixture in many consumers’ lives, making accessories such as headphones, speakers and cases a popular add-on. Jade Burke takes a look at some of the more interesting products on the market...

Smartphone accessories

Designed for use within the home or on the go, the PSYC speaker can connect up to iPhone smartphones and Android devices via its wireless Bluetooth technology. A rechargeable lithium-ion battery and mic are also included.

Specs: Mic, built-in Micro SD slot, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, Bluetooth connectivity.

SRP: £14.99

PSYC PYRO BLUETOOTH SPEAKER

Distributor: J&J Associates

This Selfy case has been designed for both the iPhone 5 and 6 and features a wireless remote camera shutter. It pairs to a smartphone via Bluetooth technology and slides out from the back of the case.

Specs: iPhone 5/6 case, dual-layer protection, Bluetooth connection, range of colours, remote included.

SRP: £40

SELFY CASE FOR IPHONE 5/6


Yamaha’s headphones allow users to listen to music wirelessly when connected to a Bluetooth-compatible smartphone. The pair have 8mm drivers that are closed and feature a max input of 30 mW.

Specs: 8mm drivers, 3.5mm connector, Bluetooth connectivity, 30 mW max input, pink, black and white colour.

SRP: £59.95

YAMAHA BLUETOOTH IN-EAR HEADPHONES


With a hinged bottom, users can prop their phone up for viewing or dock it to another device with the Harbour case. It has also been created with dual density thermoplastic polyurethane for drop and scratch protection.

Specs: Protective rim, dual layer construction, drop and scratch protection, soft touch TPU.

SRP: £19.95

STM HARBOUR 6/6 PLUS CASE

Distributor: Computers Unlimited

A multi-level zip lock system makes this Proper case waterproof in excess of 10 metres, plus a pair of waterproof headphones are also included. It is compatible with the Samsung Galaxy, Nexus 5 and iPhone 4/5/6.

Specs: Submersible by up to 10 metres, waterproof headphones, sand and dirt resistant, lightweight design.

SRP: £29.99

PROPER WATERPROOF SMARTPHONE CASE

Distributor: DirekTek

With four separate USB ports, users can charge up to four devices at the same time with AX’s charger. It has been fit for every AC 110-240V power plug and has a maximum 2000mA power output. A red LED charging light is also featured.

Specs: Red LED charging light, four USB ports, input: AC 110-240V, output: DC Max 5.0V/2.0A.

SRP: £12.99

AX 4-PORT USB MAINS CHARGER

Distributor: J&J Associates

Available for iPhone 4/5 and Samsung S3 and S4 devices, these cases offer waterproof protection thanks to the leather-type material. They’re also UV protected and a magnetic clip function is included on various cases.

Specs: Waterproof, UV protection, range of colours.

SRP: From £3.59

RALINO SMARTPHONE CASES

Distributor: Dynamode

Powered by a USB connection, this Wi-Fi reader allows data transfer to Apple and Android devices. Available in Basic, Standard or Pro variants, the reader must be connected to the internet via Wi-Fi or LAN.

Specs: Powered by USB, Basic, Standard and Pro variants, compatible with Android and Apple devices.

SRP: From £29.99

WI-FI CARD READERS

Distributor: Hama

SECTOR GUIDE

CONTACTComputers Unlimited . 020 83 585858

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

Dynamode .................. 0845 375 2023

Exertis (Basingstoke) ...01256 707070

Exertis (Harlow) ...........01279 822822

Hama.............................01256 374700

J&J Associates ..............01752 336465

Meroncourt ..................01462 680060

Northamber ................ 020 8296 7000

Peak Development ......01489 796979

Simms .......................... 01622 852800

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


Using a Selfy case, a smartphone can be mounted onto the tripod, plus a range of mounts are also available, including the car mount and bar mount. The mini tripod works with all standard cameras and comes with a main connector.

Specs: Flexible legs, lightweight, Selfy case needed, double locking system.

SRP: £19.99

SELFY MINI TRIPOD


This case can protect a range of smartphones against water, dust, sand and dirt. It can be submerged by up to six metres and will still remain waterproof. The Lenzflex back window also ensures photos can be taken.

Specs: Submersible by up to six metres, dust, sand and dirt resistant, aqua and black colours, fits most smartphones.

SRP: £18.99

OVERBOARD 100% WATERPROOF CASE


Available with either a 5600mAh, 8400mAh or a 11,200mAh rechargeable battery, this portable power bank also comes with an LED flashlight and battery charge display. The bank can also charge two devices simultaneously.

Specs: Compatible with Apple and Samsung devices, 2A max output, rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

SRP: From £19.99

ZALMAN POWER BANK WITH LED FLASHLIGHT

Distributor: VIP Computers

This privacy screen protector allows smartphones to be used privately in public, while stay-clean edge technology prevents dust and grime from collecting on the edges of the screen protector.

Specs: Dry application, stay-clean edge technology, protects display from dirt, for iPhone and Samsung S5.

SRP: From £12.56

3M PRIVACY SCREEN PROTECTOR


On-cord volume and track control allows users to adjust settings without touching their smartphone, while the in-line microphone lets users answer and end calls. They are available in red, black or blue colour designs.

Specs: Lightweight, foldable, on-cord controls, microphone, red, black and blue colour design.

SRP: £29.99

SONY ZX310AP ON EAR HEADPHONES


This hub allows users to increase the connectivity of their smartphone with Android 4.0 or higher, providing an additional four USB 2.0 ports. It has transfer rates of up to 480Mbp/s and a microUSB connector.

Specs: Integrated voltage regulator, transfer rates of up to 480Mbp/s, USB 2.0 ports, Plug and Play.

SRP: £5.99

APPROX USB 2.0 PORT HUB FOR ANDROID

Distributor: Meroncourt

The MobileLite adds storage to smartphones by allowing users to offload content to a flash card or USB drive. It creates its own Wi-Fi signal and works as a charger for a smartphone.

Specs: Charging functionality, supports SD/SDHC/SDXC and microSD/SDHC/SDXC, 3G dongle, Ethernet port.

SRP: £45 (subject to change)

KINGSTON MOBILELITE WIRELESS FLASH READER

Distributor: Simms

By securing the Selfy car mount to a car’s windscreen, users can navigate, capture video and receive incoming calls hands-free via their smartphone. A pair of adjustable arms and a suction cup are included.

Specs: Selfy case needed, double locking system, suction cup, pair of adjustable arms.

SRP: £19.99

SELFY CAR MOUNT


RecommendedDedicated monthly product coverage

SAMSUNG’S Galaxy Tab Active has been designed for businesses as well as the outdoor working environment and features anti-shock/drop protection. With an IP67 water and dust resistant certification, the tablet is also protected against the elements.

A covered USB port is also included, as well as a C-Pen and NFC (Near Field

Communication) technology, allowing users to connect the device wirelessly.

It has been built enterprise-ready with Samsung Knox security, and features a bundled protective case to help it endure drops from up to 1.2 metres.

A 4,450mAh battery delivers up to 10 hours of

battery life, while users can browse content across its eight-inch 1280x800 resolution LCD screen.

The Active comes with a 3.1MP camera with Auto Focus, which can scan barcodes, and an LED flash.

It runs on the OS Android 4.4 Kit Kat, has 1.5GB RAM and 16GB ROM, plus a 1.2 GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm APQ 8026 processor is included.

Graham Long, vice president of enterprise business at Samsung, said: “Samsung’s Galaxy Tab Active device has been designed to address the requirements and challenges faced by business users.

“The enterprise technology landscape has shifted dramatically, driven by the demand for devices that appeal to consumers while being able to cope with the challenging requirements of professional use.“

The tablet also features one speaker, a headphone 3.5mm output, a microphone, Wired LAN, Wireless LAN, as well as an AC Adapter 120V/60Hz, AllShare Cast.

An external Micro SD with up to 64GB of memory can be used on the Samsung Tab Active and the device has a width of 4.97 inches.

Plus, a 3-Pin Pogo charging connector is also included, which allows users to charge a group of devices all at once.

Make a splash with Samsung’s Active Tab

Contact: Exertis | 01256 70 70 70 (Basingstoke), 01279 822 822 (Harlow) | Price: £399

A C-Pen is included with the Tab


The latest tech Editorial Planner

“Samsung’s Galaxy Tab Active device has been designed to address the requirements and challenges faced by business users. ”

Graham Long,Samsung

The case can protect the tablet from drops of up to 1.2 metres

Users can browse across the eight-inch LCD screen

Contact: Acer | www.acer.co.uk | Price: £549.99

ACER has launched the world’s first 4K2K display gaming monitor, featuring Nvidia G-Sync technology.

The XB280HK monitor comes with flicker-less technology, which helps to reduce eyestrain whilst playing, low-dimming, which allows users to adjust the brightness to as low as 15 per cent, and ComfyView, which reduces reflection from other light sources.

Its 28-inch LED backlit display with 4K2K Ultra HD features 3840x2160 pixels, four times the resolution of 1080p Full HD displays.

The monitor also features 170/170 degree viewing angles and four USB 3.0 ports, while its DisplayPort v1.2 transmits video signals.

Its ErgoStand allows the screen to tilt from -5 degrees to 35 degrees, while its base

can rotate 120 degrees from left to right.

The panel height can be raised by up to 150mm and the screen can pivot from horizontal to vertical for more viewing options.

Acer has also unveiled an C205 gaming projector for casual gamers. Through its HDMI port users can hook the device up to game consoles and play with up to two hours of power cable free.

Acer gets ahead of the game

Synology has developed two new DiskStation enterprise NAS products for small and medium sized businesses.

The DS1515+ and the DS1815+ (pictured) have been designed to help facilitate data exchange, collaboration and backup among businesses.

Both models feature an Intel Atom C2000 2.4GHz quad-core processor and Intel AES Instructions encryption, as well as a RAM module expandable to 6GB.

With four Gigabit LAN ports supporting Link Aggregation and failover the DS1815+ can reach writing speeds of 410MB/s while the DS1515+ can reach speeds of 390MB/s.

The DS1515+ and the DS1815+ can also be scaled up to a raw capacity of 90TB

and 108TB respectively by connecting to the DX513 expansion unit.

Rosiel Lee, senior sales and marketing manager at Synology, said: “SMBs nowadays need a storage solution that is versatile and powerful at the same time – something that can fulfill diverse tasks with utmost reliability.”

Both NAS products also run DiskStation Manager, which offers a wide range of applications from backup to network management.

Synology has also unveiled it DS215j DiskStation, a two-bay NAS server, featuring 512MB DDR3 RAM and one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0 port.

It has been designed to manage data, stream media and synchronise files on the cloud. It is powered by a dual-core processor and has read speeds of 111MB/s and write speeds of 87MB/s.

Plus, DSM 5.1 is also available for x10 series NAS servers. The upgrade will bring x10 users system security, cloud productivity tools as well as a refined multimedia experience.

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“The monitor comes with flicker-less technology, which helps to reduce eyestrain whilst playing.”

“SMBs nowadays need a storage solution that is versatile.”

Rosiel Lee,Synology

BULLGUARD has revealed its new Internet Security Suite software that includes ‘unwanted app’ protection and a resource monitor.

The next generation software has been designed to safeguard users from unwanted software that can cause changes to their system, by identifying, blocking and removing any unwanted apps to help create a smoother browser for consumers.

BullGuard’s Internet Security has also received a VB100 rating from Virus Bulletin 21 for its detection, plus its defense system has been improved with an intelligent Resource Monitor, which ensures software does not affect performance.

The software also receives regular feature and performance updates throughout the license

period. These include weekly reports that allow users to see what threats BullGuard has protected them against via a series of graphics, including those blocked by the firewall, parental controls and spam filter.

Its interface has also been enhanced to make it easier for users to access the range of tools and control core functions. More notifications and progress bars have also been included, informing

users of any ongoing scans or checks.

Alex Balan, head of product management at BullGuard, said: “We’ve continued to tweak and improve Internet Security to push these high standards even further and importantly, many of these improvements have come as a result of listening to the people who matter most – our customers.

“We’re confident that with this unique approach we can continue to deliver the most comprehensive and fully-featured security suite of its kind on the market.”

Internet Security also has improved antispam and antiphishing protection, a revised firewall and has received tweaks to its PC Tune Up and Safe Browsing tools. A number of extra features are also expected to launch.

BullGuard blocks unwanted software

XMG adds devices to gaming line-upXMG HAS added a new 17-inch laptop to its range of gaming systems.

The P705 features an Intel Core i7 processor and combines the GeForce GTX

970M and GeForce GTX 980M graphics cards from Nvidia.

It has 4TB of memory, two m.2 SSD slots and one PCI-Express connector. 32GB of RAM is also included, while

the laptop has five hours of battery life.

The chassis is kept cool due to the dual fans for the graphics cards and the extra

fan for the processor, which quickly disperses

heat to

the outside of the laptop. It can also be upgraded with a PCI-Express interface, two hard disks with up to 2TB of additional storage and two m.2 SSDs.

A range of ports can also be accessed, including a HDMI, three USB 3.0 ports and one eSATA/USB, as well as connectors for microphones and headphones.

XMG has also released two overclocked editions of its Prime PC, with an Nvidia and AMD version.

The Nvidia and AMD overclocked edition offers users a choice of either an Intel Core i5-4690K overclocked to 4.3GHz or an i7-470K overclocked to 4.5GHz. Plus, it has a Corsair H80i Liquid CPU cooler, and Gigabyte GAZ97N Gaming 5 Z79 motherboard.

The AMD version comes with an R9 290X DD graphics card, while the Nvidia option comes with EVGA GTX 970 ACX 4096MB GDDR5 or EVGwA GTX 980 Superclocked 4096MB GDDR5 graphics cards.

“The P705 combines the GeForce GTX 970M and GeForce GTX 980M graphics cards.”

www.pcr-online.biz PCR December 2014 | xx

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RASPBERRY Pi has revealed the A+ board – the latest credit-card sized computer from the company.

Like the Model A, the Model A+ uses a BCM2835 application processor and has 256GB of RAM, however, it is significantly smaller than its predecessor.

This variant has a length of 65mm, versus the 86mm of the Model A, weighs 23g, and it also consumes much less power.

Its GPIO header has also been increased to 40 pins and it is compatible with the HAT standard for add-on boards, while its SD card socket has been replaced with a push-push micro SD version.

A range of ports have also been included, such as one USB 2.0, four pole stereo output and composite video ports, as

well as a full size HDMI. Plus, a Micro SD port has been added for loading an operating system and storing data, and it has a Micro USB power source.

Lastly, a CSI camera port has been included to connect the Raspberry Pi camera, and a DSI display port for connecting the Raspberry Pi touch screen display.

COOLER Master has launched its CM Storm NovaTouch TKL keyboard that features switches which have a debounce time of 3-5m/s.

The hybrid capacitive switch of the NovaTouch has a stem that makes it compatible with Cherry MX key caps for those who wish to customise the keyboard.

It is also equipped internally with N-key rollover and anti-ghosting technology for improved typing accuracy, plus, it comes with on-the-fly repeat rate adjustment keys.

The NovaTouch is a tenkeyless keyboard, which runs at 100Hz/1ms polling rate and is supported by 128KB on-board memory.

Raspberry Pi gets A+

Cooler Master’scool new keyboard


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

APRIL 2015 AWARDS SPECIAL This month we cover some of the highlights from the 2015 PCR Awards, where retailers, distributors and vendors are recognised for their contribution to the tech industry.

Sector Guides: Laptops and accessories, tablets and accessories.

Advertising Deadline March 12th

February 2015 THE BRIT ISSUE

We take a look at the state of UK PC manufacturing, reveal the Brit List – 50 influential tech execs – and highlight the top 30 young guns in the channel.

Sector Guides: Networking, retail services and security software.

Advertising Deadline January 14th

Contact: Farnell Element 14 | 08447 11 11 13 | Price: £15.51

March 2015 RETAIL SPECIAL PCR’s Retail Special will focus on our annual retail survey and retail buyers guide. We will also be looking at the world of managed services and previewing 2015’s PCR Awards.

Sector Guides: Keyboards, mice and mats, outdoor tech, wearable tech.

Advertising Deadline February 12th

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OUT OF OFFICE

FIGHTS broke out during the madness that was Black Friday, where customers flocked to stores to grab themselves one of the bargains on offer.

It was predicted to be the biggest shopping day of the year, with sales expected to surpass Boxing Day, and the scenes that unravelled certainly showed it could be.

Tesco and Asda in particular saw the most chaotic behaviour, as customers scrambled to get their hands on Blaupunkt and Polaroid TVs.

Some customers were injured, with one woman being hit by a falling television. Others were arrested for causing too much destruction.

It seems that the American tradition was very popular among UK shoppers this year, but let’s hope the carnage doesn’t return next year.

We’ll be trawling the web for weird and wonderful comments each month and printing them in PCR. This month, it’s a strange Amazon.co.uk customer’s views on the MSI GTX 970 graphics card…

“WANTED A card that could run Candy Crush at 60fps, so bought this card for £19,999.99. My wife wanted a car so she didn’t have to walk five miles to work every day, but I told her having a powerful gaming rig was more important to me. I said that I must have this card so I don’t become a console peasant; she was upset and didn’t understand what I was talking about. I told her that if she didn’t understand what being an elite PC

gamer was, then I probably made a mistake marrying her, with that I went to the pub to cheer myself up.

I came home the next morning and found a letter from her saying she had gone to stay with her mother. I am wondering if the Illuminati took her for secret alien experiments. I called her mother today to see if the men in black had visited her house recently, she said my wife moved in with some guy who works at the cracker factory down the street and that I was insane. I just laughed hysterically at her lies, put the phone down and went to play Candy Crush for 12 hours.”

London75

CUSTOMER COMMENT

OF THE MONTHIN THE

HOTSEAT

Cherry’s UK MD Michael Groom tells PCR his New Year’s resolution and his hopes for keyboard sales…What was your very first mouse? How does it compare to Cherry’s range of mice? Microsoft Intellimouse in white with a ball – by comparison to the latest range of infra-red sensor versions, like our MW-2300 with up to 2000dpi, it was very sluggish and the ball was forever getting clogged with dirt particles. No such problems these days! Tell us about the very first Cherry keyboard...The first Cherry keyboards were created around 40 years ago and were designed for both the VDU terminals of the day and as replacements for electronic typewriters and telex type machinery. The first keyboards were switch based – like modern mechanical keyboards – and very heavy and robust products. What is your New Year’s resolution? Having walked the Thames Path 185 miles and the Grand Union Canal 150 miles for the Keech Hospice and raised over £6,000, I intend to walk the Ridgeway and the London Loop. What’s your most memorable tech product? The wheel, followed by electricity. What was your favourite tech gadget as a child? Meccano.

What would you like to see more of in the industry throughout 2015?Certainly more keyboard sales to go along with the heightened interest in gaming products, as well as with the resurgence in interest in desktop PCs. Since reports are telling us that tablet sales are decreasing for the first time, I’d hope that the benefits of desktops, with choices in keyboard technologies and peripherals to attach to them, are a little more in customers’ thoughts.

TESCO acquires support specialist PC Guys… Lenovo enters thin-client market… Microsoft announces Office for Mac 2008… Sales of PCs boosted the performance of chip sales during October… Catalus signs partnership deal with image device specialist Mustek… Apple expands its retail operation in the UK… Microsoft buys Multimap… BT slashes call rates for business customers… Asus developing an XP version of its popular EEE PC…

PLUS: PCR’s sales team party with Gem Distribution… Jon Hart from J&J Associates describes himself as ‘focused, reliable and fair’…

PC Retail January 2008

FROM THE ARCHIVE

BLACK FRIDAY BRAWLS


OUT OF OFFICE

140 CHARACTERS OF NEWS AND VIEWSWhat the industry’s been tweeting about this month…

Midland Computers@midlandcomp We are running a Women in Tech workshop to combat the gender gap in IT.

Kingsfield @Kingsfield We’ve put the UK’s largest superstore right on your desktop. We’ve cut out the middleman & so we’ve got the lowest overheads on the market!

Brian Krzanich, Intel @bkrunnerAttending Intel Extreme Masters San Jose

Tech Data UK @TechDataUK Worldwide tablet market grows 11.5% last quarter

Target Components @TargetCompUK Microsoft are to remove clipart from both Word and Powerpoint. They are rumoured to replace with Bing images. Spire Technology @SpireTechnology Morning! We’re proud to announce that @pcr_online named 3 of our team in their Account Managers of the Year feature!

Lord Alan Sugar, Amscreen @Lord_Sugar .@JoshPrescottt RT:you can thank me later for this stream… NO thanks these dodgy sites take over you PC good luck

iCrackedUK @iCracked_UKTODAY’S THE DAY! iCracked is officially movin’ and groovin’ in the UK! #iCrackedinUK!

Westcoast @Westcoast_UK #SMBs using Windows Server 2003 after 14 July 2015 risk credit card compliance issues.

Chips Computers @ChipsPCWe cant believe how the New Mad Catz Mice and Keyboards are selling. We have a Large Delivery coming in tomorrow...


JAPANIt came from…

WE’VE ALL burnt a dinner or two in our time, but Humberto Evans is aiming to help budding chefs avoid future culinary disasters with the Pantelligent – a smart frying pan that tells you when your food is cooked.

Pantelligent has a temperature sensor that communicates with a smartphone app. Together, the pan and app guide you the whole way through the cooking process.

The app will notify you when it’s time to flip, stir, and even add

ingredients and, importantly, tell you when your food is cooked perfectly.

CROWDFUNDING CORNER

JAPANESE phone carrier KDDI is prototyping a bemusing gadget to aid amateur musicians.

The iCrout (yes, we also have no idea why it’s called that) is essentially a pair of gloves and a load of wires.

Users can choose a track online and ‘download the performance data’ to the iCrout, pop on the gloves, and play a recorder like a pro automatically.

The gloves are aimed at those who cannot read sheet music yet, such as young children, or to help musicians play particularly difficult traditional instruments.

ENTATECH director Jon Atherton has twisted PCR’s arm into running an industry PC gaming competition for resellers, retailers and vendors to take part.

Let’s be clear here – we aren’t running this for any other reason than to give someone the opportunity to beat him!

Atherton wins at golf, he regularly challenges staff to bets (and gets the loser to pose in a football shirt of a

team they hate, before posting an image on his Twitter feed for all to see). No, for too long Mr Atherton has humiliated, triumphed and disgraced his victims. This ends now!

To help the industry put him in his place, participants from several PC gaming vendors and retailers will take part in a league, challenging him to a game of the first-person shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on PC.

Each month, PCR will print the results of each challenge.

Unfortunately, and speaking from experience, he is quite good at Counter-Strike. But don’t let that put you off. Just imagine his face full of shame and despair after you humiliate him and are crowned PCR’s ultimate king of gamers in the industry.

If you’re interested in challenging Jon Atherton, email Dominic Sacco at [email protected].

ATHERTON CHALLENGES TRADE TO GAME-OFF

THE LAST WORD

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What does the future hold for mobile computing devices such as notebooks? Exertis’ head of devices Ewan Davies believes Microsoft will go from strength to strength as customers look for more innovation in new products…

IN 2015 iPhones will continue to dominate the cool stakes, however I believe that all tier one vendors will be a lot more closer in terms of marketshare this year.

There is no denying the power of Android, which is the market leader for mobile devices in most, if not all, countries. Covering a broad range of brands and a wide scope of price points, Android is definitely the one to be reckoned with.

Meanwhile, Microsoft will go from strength to strength in handsets and tablets over 2015, with both B2B and B2C really starting to embrace the Windows operating system.

With the Windows ecosystem ranging across desktops, laptops and notebooks to tablets as well as smartphones, this year is going to be about the continued rise of this platform as more and more enterprises embrace its end-to-end functionality.

As the SIM-free market continues to grow, consumers and businesses alike will stop looking for a big bundle and a long contract from a single mobile operator, and will instead strive for value.

This separation of device from airtime and data gives the tier two smartphone and tablet brands a fighting chance of gaining traction in a very brand-orientated market, as price becomes much more important for people putting together their own custom package of mobility.

However, the tablet market will continue to be fiercely competitive, which I believe will push many more manufacturers to consider their future in this

market space. However, it isn’t necessarily for everyone.

I believe consumers are now looking for the next wave of technology to arrive in 2015, and for vendors to be really successful, we have to see a greater depth of innovation.

These points of differentiation across multiple price points will ensure that the really innovative manufacturers come out on top, not only in 2015 but also in other years to come.

This is about delivering unique, useful, logical yet amazing technology to help make end user lives better through their relationship with their mobile device, be it smartphone or tablet.

The Last Word: The tablet market will be fiercer this year

“I believe consumers are now looking for the next wave of technology, and for vendors to be really successful, we have to see a greater depth of innovation.”

Ewan Davies, Exertis

Delivering Value in Distribution

Sales: 0871 622 7500





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Thank you to our customers and vendors who

have been part of our journey so far…

here’s to the next 25 years!

From our early days in 1990 to present day in 2015 where we celebrate our 25th year of trading, our Chairman - Jatti Sahni - has taken VIP on a journey from our roots in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, to our current

home in Warrington… and what an amazing journey it has been!

VIP is established in Cheetham Hill, Manchester

Launched VIP online shop in the UK

Winner of the PC Association ‘Best Broadline Distributor’ award

Winner of the Computer Trade Shopper ‘Distributor of the Year 2003’ & ‘Best Distributor Website 2003’ awards

Winner of the Computer Trade Shopper ‘Customer Service Award 2005’

Appointed master distributor of AMD

Hosts ‘Evolution’ in Manchester, our fi rst trade exhibition

New 40,000ft2 warehouse facility opened at Warrington head offi ce

Winner of PCR ‘PC Gaming & Hardware Distributor of the Year’ award

Celebrates 25 years of trading

Warehouse capacity was extended to 34,000ft2

Relocated to a 64,000ft2 warehouse in Warrington, Cheshire

Appointed distributor of ASUS

Winner of PC Retail ‘Sales Team: Home’ award

Winner of PCR ‘Distributor of the Year’ award

Winner of PCR ‘Components Distributor of the Year’ award

VIP Club membership programme launched for independent resellers

Relocated to a 28,000ft2 warehouse in Trafford, Manchester 1996

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