PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
We round up the latest channel partnerships, distribution deals, partner programmes and more from the IT and tech industry.
HP’s ‘industry-first’ scheme helps schools get more value for money from technology
HP has announced the launch of an industry-first scheme to help schools get more value for money from their education technology. The programme gives schools that trade up to new HP hardware, credits of up to £250 per device to spend against discounted education software, training and/or device and service upgrades.
Supported by the Tablet Academy, in addition to other partners, schools will be able to claim for device training days for staff and students on HP Windows 10 tablets or Google Chromebook.
“At HP, we recognise that schools often face difficult decisions on where to invest their ICT budgets. We want to give schools access to the latest technology, matched with the best education software, training and support services on the market, so that they are truly getting the most from their ICT investment.” said Neil Sawyer, Education & Channel Director at HP.
The programme is available through HP’s top education channel partners; XMA, Academia, European Electronique, C-Learning, Insight, Misco, System Active, Lanway and Getech.
SolarWinds acquires LogicNow
SolarWinds has acquired LogicNow and plans to merge it with its N-able business unit to create SolarWinds MSP.
The new company will serve 18,000 managed service providers from across the globe, resulting in the management of more than five million end-points.
“This acquisition is the culmination of a journey which we’ve been on for the last 12 years,” said LogicNow’s general manager Alistair Forbes.
“We saw the opportunity to combine with SolarWinds and the N-able division, and really shift gears into the next phase of our business. Since N-able was acquired by SolarWinds we’ve really seen them become a much more prominent player in the market.”
Spire partners with Palit Microsystems for the UK Graphics market
Specialist component distributor Spire Technology has announced a new partnership with key NVIDIA Graphics AIC Palit Microsystems.
Jamie Plumridge, Head of Product Management for Spire Technology, commented: “The huge growth in high end PC gaming has seen Spire become one of the UK’s most respected distribution experts in PC gaming, working closely with the industry’s leading brands.
“Our exciting new partnership with Palit continues our passion for this area by bringing our customers an attractive range of graphics cards suitable for the value, as well as the high end gaming market. We look forward to introducing Palit to our customers, and to enjoying a successful partnership together for years to come.”
Graham Dark, Northern European Sales Manager for Palit, added: “Spire are a premier distributor for PC components and gaming in the UK and we are delighted to be able to partner with them to bring our high-performance GPU’s to a wider UK market. Spire will carry our full range of products including our award winning Jetstream series of cards and they will add to our presence in the retail, etail and SI markets.”
Plantronics settles out of court with Incom Telecommunications
Platronics has released a statement following its out of court settlement with Incom Telecommunications.
“Plantronics has agreed an out of court settlement with Executive Telecommunications (UK) Limited t/a Incom Telecommunications of Trafford Park, Manchester in connection with claims relating to the sale of non-EU Plantronics products that had counterfeit packaging components. Details of the settlement remain confidential. Incom has cooperated with Plantronics in addressing these claims,” said the firm.
Synaxon to welcome record numbers to national conference
Channel services group Synaxon is preparing to welcome a record attendance of over 300 representatives from its members, suppliers and other partners at its annual National Conference which takes place at the East Midlands Hotel and Conference Centre in Nottingham next week.
To date, over 150 of Synaxon’s partners – MSPs, VARs, retailers, and office products dealer members – have confirmed their attendance. In addition, there are 45 supplier and partner companies booked in as sponsors or exhibitors, and a number of interested third parties. The whole Synaxon UK team will also be in attendance and in total, the group is expecting between 300 and 350 people to attend over the two days.
Derek Jones, Managing Director of Synaxon UK: “Despite the obvious distractions of the Brexit vote and the European football championships, momentum ahead of the conference has been building up very nicely, so we are delighted to have attracted such a healthy number of committed attendees.
“I think that says volumes, not only for the esteem in which the group as a whole is held, but also how important the event itself has become to the UK channel.”
