News in the Channel - issue #24

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Issue #24

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COMMENT

A fond look back As another year draws to a close, now is a good time to reflect on a largely positive year in the channel – as well as celebrate those who have performed outstandingly during the past 12 months.

So, that was 2024. As another year seems to have disappeared alarmingly quickly, now is time to reflect on the past 12 months. And they certainly haven’t been dull. Fortunately, this year isn’t one that has been overshadowed by huge world events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic – although that’s not to say there haven’t been geopolitical events that have made things more difficult for some. But with business carrying on largely as normal – and

businesses using more connected devices than ever as they seek greater automation, efficiency and data collection. Connected devices can make a real difference to businesses – including SMBs – and this is something resellers can capitalise on. Read more on 30. The end of the year is also a traditional time to celebrate successes. The second

Dan Parton

annual Stock in the Channel Awards – the Stockies – were held in November. Bigger and better than last year, there were more than 50 awards given out to companies that have excelled this year. The Stockies is an awards ceremony that differs to the norm, as winners

it is a post-COVID normal we are now used to – those in the channel have been able to focus on what they do best: selling. Many have been closely following trends in customer demand and

technology, with artificial intelligence (AI) starting to come of age as more businesses realise its potential to make their operations more efficient. As a result, we have had a slew of AI-enabled products released this year and those resellers who have been on board with it have been able to capitalise. In our review of 2024, a range of commentators from across the channel give their opinions on how the year was for their business and the wider channel. AI features heavily, but there have been plenty of other trends and challenges that they have faced up to and tried to capitalise on. Read more on p17. Another growth area in the channel this year has been with Internet of Things (IoT) devices. While these have been around for some years, IoT is now gaining popularity with

aren’t voted for, or chosen by judges, but based on data from Stock in the Channel compiled by experts – so there was no denying the winners were deserving. Who won? Find out on p38. It has been a positive year overall for the channel and, while there may be some bumps ahead, the outlook for 2025 looks positive too. After recent years, that is something to be celebrated. As always, I hope you enjoy the issue. As it is the final one of the year I would like to wish all readers a very merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year. News in the Channel will be back in January looking ahead to 2025. If you want to get involved in the issue in any way, drop me a line at dan@newsinthechannel.com

Stockies AWARDS

See who WON stockies.co.uk

2024

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00 03

CONTENTS

News You should know p6 Lenovo Sustainable protection p12 Review 2024 That was the year that was p17 Internet of Things Connected devices making a difference p30 Eagle Eye – BI Large screen TVs p34 STOCKIES 2024 The Event and the Winners p38 Partner Ecosystems ... in cybersecurity p44 Product Launch Tanium Autonomous Endpoint Management p46 Compliance-as-a- Service MSPs can capitalise p47 On the move p50

Eagle Eye BI – p34

Lenovo – p12

We end this year’s Eagle Eye column with a simple mantra – go big or go home. In such spirit, in this month’s edition we analyse large format televisions, that being any TV with a diagonal display of 65 inches or greater.

Data centres are increasingly important for many businesses, so it is imperative to ensure they are protected from cyber threats. But another important consideration is how sustainable they are too – and this must be investigated.

Partner Ecosystems in Cybersecurity – p44

Strong partnerships are key to navigating today’s complex threat landscape and collaboration between parties is the only way to establish true cyber resilience, argues Jamie Farrelly, vice president of EMEAI channel at Commvault.

Internet of Things – p30

Compliance-as-a-Service – p47

The Internet of Things has begun to come of age, with businesses using more connected devices than ever as they seek greater automation, efficiency and data collection. Connected devices can make a real difference to businesses – including SMBs.

The increasingly complex regulatory landscape in many sectors is taking up more and more of a business’ time – and means there are opportunities for MSPs to reduce the burden by offering Compliance-as-a-Service.

CONTENTS

Review of 2024 – p17

Editorial Dan Parton 07941 979 845 dan@ newsinthechannel.com Head of Sales Martin Jenner-Hall 07824 552 116 martin@ newsinthechannel.com Publishing Director Justin Penn 07816 573 186 justin@ newsinthechannel.com

It is the end of another year, and it has been a busy one in the channel. While there haven’t been the sort of global events that have coloured many years recently – thank goodness – there have nevertheless been plenty of challenges and opportunities for those in the channel in 2024.

The second edition of the Stockies built on the success of the first from last year with even more awards handed out to businesses across the channel that have excelled over the course of the past 12 months. Review and Winners – p38 2024 Stockies AWARDS

Published by: In the Channel Media Ltd Company registration number: 14363401 Registered office address 14-18 Heddon Street,

Mayfair, London, United Kingdom, W1B 4DA In conjunction with:

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NEWS

AI could drive more economic growth than lower taxes or less regulation – claim

Most UK business leaders (85%) feel that their productivity efforts are being held back, citing economic headwinds, employee stress and difficulty implementing new productivity tools as the three core issues, according to research from Celonis. As businesses look for new ways to improve productivity and drive growth, Celonis’ research, carried out with 500 UK business decision makers, found that this group believes that better support for AI implementation (39%) would be more beneficial for the UK’s economic growth than reducing red tape (36%) or cutting business tax rates (35%). Respondents also said that AI (46%) is more than twice as effective at driving employee productivity than return-to-office mandates (19%). But while 93% feel they are getting at least some value from AI investments, 36% say they still struggle to extract the expected value. For many businesses the benefits of AI can’t come soon enough, as employees are currently spending 154 hours per year

manually troubleshooting processes that could be automated. Almost half (48%) of business leaders are already investing in AI- driven solutions to improve productivity and 39% say that these investments are having an impact. Despite these investments, 31% cite a disconnect between senior management and staff as hindering morale, and a lack of digital skills adding to this productivity conundrum is reported at 24% of companies. “AI’s potential to accelerate business productivity is extremely attractive, especially at a time when UK companies face so many barriers to productivity and growth,” said Rupal Karia, country leader UK&I at Celonis. “Yet, there’s a gap between AI’s promise and its ability to deliver tangible results. Process intelligence closes this gap. It provides a unique class of data and business context that enables process improvement across systems, departments, and organisations. Process intelligence ensures AI has the knowledge to understand how the business runs and how to make it run better.”

Rupal Karia country leader, UK&I

celonis.com

Flip accelerates global expansion with strategic partnerships

Flip has announced partnerships with Work Networks in the UK and Tuxpas in Latin America. These partnerships further Flip’s mission to transform the employee experience for deskless and frontline workforces worldwide. In the UK, Flip’s partnership with Work Networks, a digital transformation firm and one of the first Workplace by Meta partners, unites Flip’s powerful frontline employee platform with extensive regional expertise in complex enterprise transitions. With a client portfolio that includes organisations like Danone, AstraZeneca, the World Health Organization and the NHS, Work Networks shares Flip’s commitment to creating significant organisational impact through technology and cultural transformation. “Moving a large, diverse workforce to a new communication platform can be risky, especially to employee engagement and adoption,” says Benedikt Brand (né Ilg), CEO of Flip. “Our partnerships with Work Networks and Tuxpas bring localised expertise to

help guide large organisations successfully through this transition. These partners know Workplace’s ecosystems inside and out, and they chose Flip because they see us as the ideal solution for former Workplace customers. Together, we’re

delivering a powerful, next-level platform that strengthens internal communication and operational efficiency for businesses worldwide” Nick Crawford, CEO at Work Networks, added: “Our collaboration with Flip is an exciting opportunity to

redefine how organisations connect with their frontline employees in the UK,” he said. “Having been at the forefront of Workplace from Meta, we understand that successful transitions require more than technology; they demand a strategic focus on employee engagement and support. Together with Flip, we're driving a cultural shift that enables companies to cultivate strong connections and foster a truly inclusive digital workplace.”

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NEWS

TD SYNNEX rolls out Copilot for Microsoft 365

TD SYNNEX is rolling out trials of Microsoft 365 Copilot across a number of its UK teams. Following a pilot with key members of the Microsoft team in the UK and Europe, a further significant wave of Microsoft 365 Copilot licences have now been rolled out across the UK Advanced Solutions, sales, marketing, finance, human resources and IT teams. Training has been provided for all the co- workers involved and, if these are successful, TD SYNNEX plans to extend availability to all co-workers across its three main UK office locations. “This is about practicing what we preach and taking the lead where we hope and expect others to follow,” said Simon Bennett, managing director, Advanced Solutions, UK and Ireland, TD SYNNEX. “Globally and here in the UK, TD SYNNEX has been investing strongly in helping both our own teams and our partners understand the potential of AI. The best way of demonstrating that is for us to lead by example and make use of AI in our own business.” TD SYNNEX has been using AI for some time to support automation and process improvements and enhance data and targeting. This new initiative will extend

the use of the technology right across the organisation. It has also launched several initiatives that enable and support partners in creating value around AI. They include Destination AI – a comprehensive, strategic aggregation of multiple services and resources that provides partners with a tailored route to developing their understanding of AI solutions and taking them to market. Earlier this year TD SYNNEX UK launched its AI Industry Ecosystem, a channel community initiative that brings together partners, ISVs, innovators and integrators to discuss developments, share experiences and advance the industry dialogue with the aim of forging new partnerships and AI solutions. “I believe we are leading the way in terms of helping partners understand and address the potential of AI,” added Simon. “There are many ways to travel and many different destinations on the path to AI enlightenment – we’re providing programmes and tools that allow every partner to take the route that is best suited to them. We believe that there is a vast and extremely varied potential with AI and we’re investing in our own business and in enabling ourselves and our partners to understand and uncover those opportunities.”

Simon Bennett managing director, Advanced Solutions, UK&I

uk.tdsynnex.com

UK businesses set to outsource security operations

Most UK businesses will soon be outsourcing their security operations, according to findings from Logpoint’s European Cybersecurity Sector 2024 report. The survey of 1,762 senior decision makers and influencers in leadership, technology and security roles across Europe found that while 48% manage their security operations inhouse versus 52% who use a third party, 28% of UK businesses intend to outsource over the course of the next two years. For comparison, in France 65% take an inhouse approach while 35% outsource of which 24% intend to outsource, while in Germany 77% opt for inhouse and 23% outsource and 27% intend to do so, and in the Nordic region, 54% keep operations inhouse and 46% outsource with 14% intending to externalise. All these markets are experiencing a swing in favour of outsourcing that will see the

practice become equal to or outstrip inhouse provision. Key reasons given for the switch include the ability to benefit from external skills and knowledge, cost efficiencies linked to clear and predictable pricing, and effective security management which is likely to see a spur in demand for managed security service providers (MSSPs). The main reason given for keeping security inhouse was utilising internal skills and knowledge, which could well change as organisations struggle to recruit the necessary expertise due to the skills shortage. In fact, 60% of those that do outsource said this was because they were missing internal skills and knowledge and 48% said it was because they couldn’t recruit candidates with the requisite skills/knowledge. Interestingly, 30% said they outsource security management to a third party to shift accountability. Organisations are

Innes Muir regional manager MSSPs, UK, Eire & RoW

logpoint.com

NEWS

increasingly relying upon an MSSP to prove compliance or to satisfy the requirements of a cyber insurance provider. It’s a factor that could prove an even bigger draw as compliance regulations such as NIS2 prioritise personal accountability and the need to maintain oversight of security processes and procedures. The main selection criteria for choosing an MSSP today is the quality of the service offering (46%), followed by the reputation of the provider (19%), price (12%), breadth (11%) and the ability of the customer to influence the technology used (9%). “The burden of regulatory compliance coupled with the onus being placed on individual members of the board and senior management is driving demand for MSSP services,” said Innes Muir, regional manager, MSSPs, UK, EIRE and RoW, at Logpoint. “Using a third party can provide the organisation with access to the latest technology and skilled experts but also enables them to prove compliance through tailored solutions that can meet the requirements of specific regulations such as GDPR and NIS2. “Going forward, the expectation is that more regulations, such as the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, will follow suit and make accountability part and parcel of risk management and incident reporting, further driving the shift to outsourcing.” The survey also questioned MSSPs to gain their perspective on what motivates customers to outsource. Reasons included the overall security benefits, external skills and knowledge, and availability of services 24x7, as well as cost efficiencies, trust and the offering

of a centralised hub or portal. Transparent and predictable pricing was deemed more important than offering a lower cost solution, demonstrating that cost isn’t necessarily king even during an economic downturn. The importance of the channel was evident, with MSSPs naming technology partners, specialists and suppliers as their primary source of information when selecting security solutions. Selection is predominantly focused on the solution’s effectiveness in managing and mitigating security incidents (63%) and proven effectiveness (62%) but in third place was the ability of the solution to meet GDPR and local regulations (61%). This reflects the growing demand for solutions that not only comply but offer compliance-specific monitoring and reporting. Likewise, compliance was third on the list for those that manage their security inhouse (56%) behind proven effectiveness (61%) and ease of integration (59%). The survey found compliance with these regulations was the number one factor for choosing a security solution from an MSSP in the UK for 93% of those questioned. Other key issues noted by 87% of respondents in each case were the ability to support growth/ change, to keep pace with cybersecurity trends and technology, and the storage of data within the jurisdiction of the EU. Looking to the future, the survey revealed that MSSPs are also likely to look for bundled offerings from cybersecurity vendors with solutions that align with the flagship platform, with 94% expressing an interest in this type of offering.

Boom launches ‘Meeting Room In A Box’ conference kit

Boom Collaboration has launched a dedicated ‘meeting room in a box’ video kit for large rooms. The all-in-one innovation features an intelligent videobar, expandable mics and one- cable connection hub – designed to simplify

CONTINUED installations and capitalise on high demand for bring your own device (BYOD) deployments. The BYOD Large Videobar Kit features the popular HALO videobar, two mics and the ZYGO multi-connectivity hub. It’s available in black or white colours. “In recent years the video conferencing market has been a rollercoaster ride offering two distinct ways forward – with dedicated in-room systems on the up, whilst bring your own device alternatives seemed to be heading down, particularly for many larger organisations,” explained Boom co-founder Fredrik Hörnkvist. “But wider industry analysis mirrors our own findings that the use of

Fredrik Hörnkvist Co-founder

boomcollaboration.com

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NEWS

CONTINUED

individual devices is taking over. From our conversations, sales and interest from around the world, it's an 80/20 split. BYOD is back with a bang with plug-and-play simplicity, lower costs and a platform agnostic approach some of the main driving forces. “Our new approach sees the creation of complete ‘meeting room in a box’ kits. These are designed to simplify the process of choosing the right equipment for the right rooms, to optimise the overall user experience and take away any installation headaches. Our new videobar kit for larger rooms will add further fuel to the BYOD fire.” The solution is spearheaded by the HALO videobar which boasts ultra HD 4K performance, a wide angle 120° field of view, AI Auto-framing and speaker-tracking, 10x ePTZ, six digital array mics plus the option of up to eight additional expandable mics. Many businesses are now opting for flexible, cost-effective solutions, adds fellow

Boom founder Holli Hulett. “The pandemic created a shift towards more agile, plug- and-play systems, where users wanted to use their own devices without relying on permanent room systems. There’s more personalisation too such as when screen sharing,” she said. “The flexibility and lower cost of BYOD solutions – where users bring their laptops or mobile devices to connect to a room's AV system – have seen a significant rise, as hybrid and flexible work models became more common. “This is especially popular for SMBs embracing hybrid work. They greatly outnumber bigger organisations by around 1000:1 so there’s more volume and more reseller opportunities compared to fully- fledged room systems. Our new dedicated kit for larger rooms makes it easy for installers and their customers to create the optimal BYOD meeting experience.”

Holli Hulett Co-founder

boomcollaboration.com

UK economy missed £111 billion boost from digital tech adoption

If all British-based firms had increased their digital technology usage in 2021, the economy could have seen a staggering £111 billion boost in turnover by 2023, according to a report from Virgin Media O2 Business and Cebr. The report’s findings, ‘ The economic and social benefits of digitalisation ’, exposed a key challenge to unlocking digital growth: a perception gap between businesses’ confidence in their digital readiness and the reality of their digital progress. Across all British-based firms, 75% have not significantly increased their digital usage since 2021, yet they still identify as having a ‘strong digital culture.’ The report reveals 81% of organisations with a strong digital culture feel their workforce is well-prepared for the future, compared to just 43% of those with weaker digital cultures. A strong digital culture embraces tools to boost performance and financial results, enhance customer and employee satisfaction, and create a positive societal impact. Digital leaders – organisations actively investing in digital solutions – experienced 12% turnover growth, compared to only 5% for their counterparts. On average, they also more than doubled the productivity growth of those lagging in digital adoption. Additionally, gross value added grew by 8% for digital leaders, while their peers saw no

growth at all. This illustrates digital culture is not just a competitive advantage, but a crucial component of business success. The shift to digital technology is not just an economic imperative, it has a broader societal impact. Increased tech adoption between 2021 and 2023 could have created 676,000 new jobs, including more than 313,000 new roles in small and medium-sized companies. This demonstrates the potential of digital culture to drive significant societal benefits through job creation and economic growth on a larger scale. “There’s a £111 billion boost to the UK economy to be unlocked for those organisations who build strong digital cultures, where technology underpins the way people connect and collaborate with colleagues and customers to drive business outcomes,” said Jo Bertram, managing director at Virgin Media O2 Business. Nina Skero, CEO at Cebr added: “Our findings clearly illustrate how digital leadership is directly linked to higher turnover, increased productivity and better performance across every economic metric. We encourage UK leaders to use this report as a guide to navigate the challenges and opportunities of a digital workplace. By prioritising cultivating a strong digital culture, organisations can unlock their full potential and drive sustained growth for the UK economy and wider society.”

The economic and social benefits of digitalisation

A Cebr report for Virgin Media O2 Business October 2024

10 31062

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LENOVO

Centre stage Data centres are increasingly important for many businesses, so it is imperative to ensure they are protected from cyber threats. But another important consideration is how sustainable they are too – and there are solutions available.

For many businesses, data centres form a crucial part of what they do, but with cyber threats continuing to grow in number, complexity and threat it means it is imperative to protect them effectively. “When considering the threat landscape and creating an effective cybersecurity strategy, it’s important to understand that threats have evolved to come from all angles,” says Ian Jeffs, UK&I country general manager at Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group. “In the past, we’ve thought of security as a fence in which data can flow freely across the business. As you move the compute capability closer to where the data is, the threat surface gets bigger. If an attacker can get at the amount of data that is in a server or storage system, they can access all the operations in the business. It’s potentially an existential threat.” Ian adds that in the data centre, companies and IT leaders require built-in security systems that can handle complex cyber threats. “It’s also important to recognise the reputational damage caused by a cyberattack,” he says. “It’s not just the loss of data; if you can’t get it back quickly, it can be massively impactful for customer trust and loyalty. In the eyes of the public, transparency is also a crucial element. If a company is hit by a cyberattack, it must be clear about what’s happened, communicate it with its customers, and outline what actions have been implemented to resolve the issue.”

Sustainability concerns While cybersecurity is a worry about data centres so is sustainability as they can consume large abouts of energy, but there are ways to address this. “There are a multitude of things that businesses can do to make data centres more sustainable,” says Ian. “Technologies such as warm water cooling enable high performance with far less energy use, provided a host of power consumption benefits. “For instance, in data centres that use warm water cooling, there is much less need for high-speed fans to dissipate heat. Air cooling systems can often consume vast amounts of energy in themselves. “Furthermore, any wasted heat can be reused effectively because warm water-cooling systems produce heat waste at a temperature that is more easily reused for other purposes. Not only will this improve energy efficiency across an entire data centre facility, but this energy can be successfully recycled in sustainable ways in the wider community. “By 2030, recycling the heat from data centres will become the norm, from heating nearby buildings and swimming pools to piping warm liquid under roads and walkways to melt ice.” Circular benefits There are other ways to boost sustainability, such as by adopting circular economy practices – and this can even help businesses to boost their cybersecurity solutions for their data centres. “Recycling servers brings many business benefits alongside the benefits for the environment,” says Ian. “Asset recovery services can offer a welcome cash boost when old hardware is reused. Recycling older units can also yield benefits in terms of energy use, with newer, more efficient servers often capable of doing the job of 10 or 20 older ones. “Refreshing hardware also means business leaders can ‘weed out’ older machines which have gone from being business critical to sitting at the back of a data CONTINUED

Ian Jeffs UK&I country general manager

lenovo.com

“

It’s not just the loss of data;

if you can't get it back

quickly, it can be massively impactful for customer trust and loyalty.

”

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CONTINUED

centre drawing power but not doing a great deal. All of this can help to cut emissions and energy bills, opening more resources that can be used to invest in cybersecurity defences.” However, some businesses have shied away from circular economy practices due to the perceived difficulty of implementing them. But adopting a circular economy practice doesn’t need to be difficult, Ian says. “As long as data centre providers offer tangible solutions to help customers extend the lifecycle of their devices with cost-efficient IT choices,” he explains. “Opportunities to embrace a circular economy in IT now exist in a way that they did not before. Technological solutions are revolutionising supply chains, product design and materials, allowing organisations to recycle, refurbish and use products and parts as raw materials in manufacturing. In the data centre sector, sustainability services are now enabling data centre operators to refurbish, recycle and reuse in a way that was previously impossible. “It’s important to recognise that even small, incremental steps will make a difference over the long term. Over the past decade, the adoption of technologies such as better cooling systems have kept the energy demands of data centres relatively stable,

but embracing circularity can help to boost efficiency even further.”

Reseller role Lenovo is playing its part in helping customers to embrace the circular economy. “Lenovo is helping its customers in their own sustainability journey and contributions to the circular economy, enabling reuse or responsible disposal of assets with end-to- end Lenovo services. Lenovo Asset Recovery Services helps mitigate end-of-life IT and data security risks and promotes the reuse of parts wherever possible,” says Ian. “With Lenovo Certified Refurbished, customers can give their devices a new lease of life. Resellers have a key role in helping customers find the right solutions that will help them embrace the circular economy and drive sustainability. “With customers, investors and the wider world increasingly conscious of the sustainability credentials of the companies they buy from, there has never been a better time to embrace the possibilities of the circular economy in the data centre sector,” Ian says. “Recycling, refurbishing and reusing can help to curb not just e-waste, but also electricity consumption, offering benefits for the environment and for forward-thinking business leaders.”

“

Lenovo services. Lenovo Asset Recovery Services helps mitigate end-of-life IT and data security risks and promotes the reuse of parts wherever possible.

”

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REVIEW

That was the year that was As 2024 comes to an end, a variety of commentators from across the channel give their verdict on the year and how it was for them and the wider sector. It is the end of another year, and it has been a busy one in the channel. While there haven’t been the sort of global events that have coloured many years recently – thank goodness – there have nevertheless been plenty of challenges and opportunities for those in the channel in 2024. Here, a variety of businesses from the channel give their take on how 2024 was for them.

Lance Williams , CTO, Distology 2024 has been a year of opportunity and challenge. We’ve seen the economy through uncertainty thanks to the political stage; we’ve seen the cybersecurity landscape through another year of novel attacks, with the most high profile coming through non-IT environments; and, once again, the channel has shown real resilience and agility in adapting to the challenges and making the most of the opportunities. We reflect the cybersecurity market and the channel – both have shown real appetite and ability to deliver innovation to customers. 2024 has been another year where end customers have shown rigour in their cybersecurity purchasing. They are not willing to take a punt, they want to know that their investment will return value, and they’re willing to wait to decide if they’re not satisfied. We have also seen an increase in OT cyber customer requests reaching IT channel partners.

a great sign that, despite the ongoing global economic uncertainty, the cyber community collectively stays focused on defending and responding to threat actors. Of course, AI is everywhere and being put to great use in cybersecurity tech. I anticipate the trends of 2024 to carry on in 2025. The AI steam engine continues down the track and will move through innovation after innovation to bullet train speed and beyond throughout 2025. This will bring an increasing pressure on organisations to be better organised and clear with their data security strategy and identity security strategies will need to incorporate machine identity management alongside human identity management. Seeing the rise of agentic AI and the slowing of GenAI, buyers will likely slow their unbridled enthusiasm seen in 2024 and be more considered and intentional with their application of AI technologies for fear of overinvesting too early. AI innovation will continue and become more helpful (in defences) and increasingly challenging (in attack) in cybersecurity.

Lance Williams

distology.com

We’ve seen more innovation in the cybersecurity market and a surge of

innovative and emerging cyber tech vendors compared to the same period last year. This is

CONTINUED

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WORKPLACE

Eliminating the Silent Productivity Killer

Every minute saved in meetings is a minute gained for productive work. Yet, many organisations overlook an essential component that can significantly impact productivity.

reliable and effective collaboration experiences while maintaining aesthetic appeal. The MXA902 combines three devices in one: an array microphone with 20’x20’ coverage for clear voice capture, a built-in loudspeaker for impeccable far-end speech, and onboard IntelliMix® DSP to eliminate noise and echo. Paired with the ANIUSB-MATRIX Interface, the solution offers simple USB connectivity to room PCs or BYOD setups, to allow use with your preferred conferencing platform. Shure’s new Audio Conferencing Kit is certified for Microsoft Teams Rooms, Zoom Rooms, and works with Google Meet. For users looking to upgrade existing video conferencing setups, the kit can be connected to room systems to provide better audio, while available video devices capture visuals. Such combined use boosts performance of existing investments and streamlines AV/IT workflows without significant costs. The scalability and flexibility of Shure’s Audio Conferencing Kit ensure organisations can adapt to evolving meeting room needs and collaboration forms. How well does this solution really work? Revolution Medicines, a leader in innovative cancer therapy developments, implemented the Shure MXA902 Integrated Ceiling Array across its facilities to improve collaboration between research teams spread across global locations. Alec Lessard, senior manager IT Infrastructure and Operations Revolution Medicines, said: “With the MXA902, all the participants in the room can be heard speaking naturally. Whether they are remote or in the room, the MXA902 automatically equalises voices between soft and loud people giving everyone an equal presence.” In such environments, team members are more likely to participate actively, contributing their ideas and insights freely. This inclusivity drives innovation and productivity and fosters a positive workplace culture where everyone feels valued and heard.

Video conferencing has revolutionised the way we collaborate. While high- definition video captures helpful visual cues and gestures, it’s audio that carries the conversation. Think about your last virtual meeting: How much time was lost asking participants to repeat themselves? How many crucial points were missed? Poor audio is the silent productivity killer lurking in many organisations. It can derail meetings and lead to disengagement, frustration and misunderstandings that cause more delays. There is a misconception that top-tier audio solutions are an unnecessary expense. On the contrary, quality audio translates into significant productivity gains: l Shorter Meetings: Clear audio eliminates repetitions, allowing to cover your agenda swiftly and efficiently. l Fewer Follow-Ups: Better communication reduces the need to revisit or clarify, freeing up time for actual work. l Efficiency from AI Tools: High-quality audio boosts AI productivity tools, improving transcription, speaker ID, and personalized note-taking to further streamline workflows. l Enhanced Focus: Good audio minimizes distractions, improves engagement, decision-making and problem-solving. l Reduced Fatigue: Struggling to hear or interpret muffled speech is exhausting. Quality audio reduces cognitive load, helping employees to stay sharp and energetic. The Foundation of Effective Collaboration Shure understands the crucial role of audio in streamlining communication. Solutions like the MXA902 + ANIUSB-MARIX Audio Conferencing Kit capture and convey every word with premium quality, guaranteeing

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REVIEW

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Neil Langridge , marketing & alliances director, e92plus 2024 has seen growth in the expected themes of cybersecurity – ransomware, AI – plus some big shifts with new

been on the rise, but demands from insurers are increasing and guidance is needed to help ensure customers don’t have gaps in their security posture that could invalidate their cover. On a similar note, compliance demands are rising, especially with NIS2 and DORA impacting those business operating in the EU. which represent more potential to support customers through the process. AI has also moved from noise to action – while it’s not yet ubiquitous, the roll out of Copilot as part of Microsoft 365 has seen mainstream deployment in businesses, and frequently ahead of organisations realising they need a data security policy and relevant controls in place. This is partly due to pressure – Shadow IT saw everyone accessing business apps on their smartphones while organisations lagged in embracing personal devices, and we’re seeing the same with employees finding their own AI apps if they don’t get what they need from their IT teams. So while strategic plans for AI are being built, it’s essential that cybersecurity is designed into the plans alongside the rush for automation and efficiency, to avoid embarrassing data leaks from their own staff.

priorities. For e92plus, we’ve continued to see strong growth over and above the IT channel average, as more complex threats, and the increasing inclusion of cybersecurity as part of IT strategy and business continuity sees budgets remain strong. The opportunity for channel resellers and MSPs shows no sign of slowing, and we’re seeing that particularly with cloud, networking and Microsoft partners who are embracing the potential of the strong revenues and growth that can come with cybersecurity. In terms of changes, there’s a strong move towards resilience rather than simple defence. Cyberattacks, while not always succeeding, are being seen by businesses large and small, and there is an acknowledgement that no organisation is immune. Security needs to be fully embedded with corporate strategy and business continuity plans and is another opportunity for partners to add value around consultancy rather than just product sales. A perfect example is cyber insurance – it’s

Neil Langridge

e92plus.com

Richard Eglon , CMO, Nebula Global Services 2024 has been a challenging yet rewarding year for Nebula. As we pivot our business to deliver more remote and onsite managed services to our customers, we have had to make significant investments in our people, systems and processes. Any change process always puts strain on a business. However,

all aspects of the channel from vendors, disties through to MSPs and resellers, we have experienced a longer time to revenue with the end client taking longer to make decisions. As we move to a more 50/50 managed services/professional services split we also mitigate the risk on the business with longer annuity-based contracts. Meanwhile, the exponential growth of AI has resulted in more demand for data centre- related project work such as cabling, rack & stack and decomm. The growth of IoT into the business world such as physical security with the likes of Verkada has been an exciting opportunity for Nebula. I anticipate the trends of 2024 will carry on in 2025 as it feels like we are at the beginning of an exciting growth period across AI-related technology areas, whether that be cloud-based or the physical infrastructure to support it.

now we are starting to reap the rewards. This move has been in response to market dynamics where the end client is demanding 'as-an-outcome', which aligns well to our global, vendor agnostic approach to the provision of technology. In terms of trends this year, as channel firms look to reduce their overheads we are seeing more requests for the outsource of back-office services such as remote service desk, technical triage and managed cloud capabilities. As a channel services business supporting

Richard Eglon

nebulaglobalservices.com

REVIEW

Mike Barron , managing director, SYNAXON UK We’ve taken another big step forward in 2024 achieving high double-digit growth for the second year running. We expect to carry on in the same vein in 2025 and to accelerate our growth even more. We’ve got even closer to our partners in the past year, and I can only see our relationships becoming even stronger.

customers – for service and support, and for new devices, software upgrades and protection from cyberattacks. As more technologies become integral to partner businesses knowing that they have a channel partner like SYNAXON that they can depend upon is more important than ever – especially to SMB resellers who are still developing in areas such as cloud, cybersecurity and managed services and I think even more partners will have a need for that kind of relationship in 2025. There is every reason to be positive about the year ahead. I’d expect to see a strong hardware sector, driven by delayed COVID refreshes, AI PCs, and Windows 11 upgrades. We are preparing to support our partners in taking full advantage of that opportunity.

Partners really value the personal service, account management, and the process automation and efficiency that we provide and which sets SYNAXON apart from other suppliers. They know that they can depend on us and that we will always be there for them. I think that’s been driven by a growing need among partners for closer interaction and engagement. It’s a challenge for them to keep on top of technological developments while also meeting the everyday needs of

Mike Barron

synaxon-services.com

John McKindland , head of partner channel UK, Sona Business We have seen some channel vender M&A this year especially in the Alt Net arena and although inevitable, it has happened faster than expected. Long-term it will be for the channel to bring networks closer together, driving further investment and bringing an already diverse product range to a wider audience. Network projects upgrading from GPON to XGS-PON over the last year have gathered

pace and have expanded the reach of symmetric speeds of up to 10Gbps This has had a major impact delivering a high bandwidth lower cost proposition across the regions to a wider audience. Building a high-capacity high speed network for Digital Britain is going to be critical for economic growth in 2025 and beyond. Vendor and reseller consolidation will continue in 2025, and we will see the addressable market shrink slightly, however we will also see continued vendor product development and competition, which can only be good for the channel. The contact centre market has rallied in 2024 with greater choice available from vendors. With better connectivity and reliability now available to a wider audience we will see a continuation in the deployment of cloud contact centres with omnichannel capabilities with channel partners looking for vendors such as Sona to provide a single proposition of a secure hosted contact centre with high-speed reliable connectivity.

In terms of key trends this year, the PSTN countdown clock continues to tick across the UK. In addition, there has been a lot of consolidation in the channel over the last year and the number of top tier communication providers has shrunk. But we have also seen the next batch of resellers striving for growth, brand building and looking for more white label solutions to bolt into their portfolios. Our biggest challenge this year has been building a proposition that differentiates from the market standard and ensuring we can deliver value and profitable white label solutions for our partners. We have focused on our network capabilities only onboarding Layer 2 products and services and targeting specific vendors in the Alt Net community to deliver our services.

John McKindland

sonabusiness.com

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Jamie Hughes , UK sales director, Evolve IP 2024 has been a fantastic year for us.

the international play is often what Evolve IP is referred to. Additionally, the rise of AI has been a major driver of conversation, but the reality is that for some players in the channel, it’s still more of a buzzword used to attract business, rather than delivering tangible benefits to users. Technological advances have had a significant impact this year. Customers are becoming more knowledgeable and confident, often preferring to handle tasks themselves. As a result, our ability to offer managed services and DIY solutions has proven to be a major advantage. Ten years ago, running a phone system or managing a contact centre required a specialist, but today, many key changes can be made through a self-service approach. This shift toward greater customer autonomy has reinforced the need for us to remain agile. I anticipate that many of the trends from 2024 will continue to gain momentum in 2025. Fixed mobile convergence will remain a key area of growth, and refining solutions to enhance business operations and customer experience will be a central focus. AI will play a significant role in driving these improvements. Ultimately, 2025 will be about making technology more intuitive, productive, and seamless for users.

We’ve introduced many new products and services, and we’ve seen significant growth in our partner base in the UK and US. We're now proud to be a Top 10 UK service provider, and we’re gaining recognition as a major global player. This year, our customers have increasingly recognised that it's the overall cost of doing business, rather than just the cost of licenses, that truly matters. While some licenses may appear inexpensive upfront, they often come with hidden costs – poor service levels and platform instability can quickly turn what seemed like a great deal into a long-term expense. Additionally, as many customers approach the end of their three- or five- year contracts, they are reassessing their technology choices in much larger numbers. This shift means resellers need to continuously raise their game to meet evolving expectations and provide more value. One of our biggest challenges has been navigating regulatory processes and ensuring that our partners, who hold commercial contracts with their customers, can overcome any associated hurdles and avoid hefty fines. This has required investment from Evolve IP from a personnel and commercial expense, as

Jamie Hughes

evolveip.net

Fredrik Hörnkvist , co-founder, Boom Communications 2024 has been a year of success for Boom Collaboration as we continue to expand our presence around the world, now operating in more than 30 countries, as part of an aggressive growth strategy. In recent years the video conferencing

but its impact is gaining traction and will continue to grow over the coming years. Some video conferencing elements have been around for a while such as echo cancellation in mics and speakers, together with ambient noise reduction. Hardware does have embedded features but platforms such as Teams and Zoom are now joining the AI party to further enhance the end user experience. The key is not to go too far too fast but to keep the user experience simple. Looking to 2025, for us it’s all about creating better meetings simply. This ethos will remain throughout 2025 as we continue to elevate the user experience to deliver the highest quality remote meetings that are as natural as possible. The latest technologies such as AI as well as our one cable connection ZYGO hub will help us raise the bar even higher.

market has been a rollercoaster ride offering two distinct ways forward – with dedicated in-room systems on the up, while bring your own device (BYOD) alternatives seemed to be heading down, particularly for many larger organisations. But 2024 has seen a dramatic return to BYOD deployments. Wider industry analysis mirrors our own findings that the use of individual devices is taking over. From our conversations, sales and interest from around the world, it’s an 80/20 split. In terms of technological advances, this year AI in many ways is still at an early stage

Fredrik Hörnkvist

boomcollaboration.com

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