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BULLETIN
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Blake video
MBE for Brother UK MD Phil Jones
Phil Jones, managing director of Brother UK, has been awarded an MBE in
the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, in recognition of his services to business.
Phil said: “To be recognised by Her Majesty the Queen is wonderful. I’m
passionate about business as a force for good in people’s lives and in our
local communities. This is why I spend time sharing any knowledge gained and
encouraging other entrepreneurs and business people.”
Jones joined Brother UK in 1994 and was made managing director of the
£100m-turnover business in 2013. He is president of Forever Manchester, a charity supporting community
projects across Greater Manchester, a member of the Manchester Growth Company’s strategic advisory
board, a fellow of the Institute of Directors and a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute.
Brother was named as one of
The Sunday Times 100 Best Places to Work
in 2014 and earlier this year
became the second company in the UK to achieve Investors in People Platinum status.
Following the UK vote to leave the EU, IDC
expects a rapid curbing or cessation of
non-essential IT investments and projects,
on which basis it has cut its UK IT growth
forecast for 2016-2020 by more than 2%
(CAGR).
IDC has drawn up three possible Brexit scenarios:
1
A challenging transition characterisedby a fall
in GDP before the establishment of a negotiated
trade agreement in the medium term (70%
probability). This will see a slight drop in UK IT
spend in 2017 and 2018, before demand recovers
in 2019 and 2020, with the IT market returning to
pre-Brexit levels in 2020.
2
A disruptive transition, with economic
uncertainty, further referenda and immense
pressure on the EU model (20% probability). In
this scenario, IT spend will decline significantly
across Europe (and by up to 5% in the UK) in the
short-term and struggle to rebound before 2020.
3
A swift transition and an orderly Brexit process
that avoids short-term turmoil and drives economic
growth for the U.K. in the medium term (10%
probability). IT spend is affected mildly in the U.K.
in 2016, but rebounds quickly in 2017.
Andrea Siviero, senior research analyst for IDC
European Industry Solutions, said: “We expect IT
spend in financial services, manufacturing and
retail to be the most negatively affected by a Brexit
decision, together with the public sector, which
will face further cuts and austerity measures.
Restructuring the financial single market on one
side and the impact on the U.K. current account
on the other could potentially lead these industry
sectors to struggle as a result of Brexit."
BULLETIN
IDC expects ‘challenging’ transition
to Brexit
New CompTIA MSP standard released
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) has released
the second in its series of new channel standards, which it is providing
free of charge to encourage best practice amongst tech companies.
The
CompTIA Channel Standard for Managed IT Solution Providers
is geared
toward companies that deliver technology solutions as a managed service. It provides
a checklist of best practice in the five areas of business generation, delivery and
operations, customer relations, business management and business direction.
The release of the standard comes at a time of growth in managed services. In a CompTIA survey,
61% of small technology companies, 47% of mid-sized firms and 52% of large companies said they were
looking forward to significant growth in their managed services business.
Earlier this year, CompTIA published the
CompTIA Channel Standard for IT Solution Providers
.
Digitisation creates
new role for CDOs
The growing significance of digital
transformation has led to a surge in the
number of Chief Digital Officers (CDO) in
European businesses.
Research by Claranet shows that 95% of
mid-market businesses in the UK, Germany,
Benelux, France, Spain and Portugal have a
digital strategy. Of these, 15% are now led by
a CDO, compared to 6% 12 months ago.
Digital strategies are still most likely to be
led by a Chief Technology Officer (34%) or
Chief Information Officer (29%), but the rise
of the CDO suggests that there is a growing
appetite for digital transformation to have
distinct representation at board level.
Andy Wilton, CIO of Claranet, said: “The
fact that we are seeing a broad split in
leadership between CTOs, CIOs, and now the
growth in CDOs, demonstrates the different
approaches organisations are taking toward
digital transformation. It is also indicative of a
changing IT department where traditional roles
are becoming more hybridised.”
He suggests that instead of focusing
on increasing operational efficiencies and
delivering stable IT performance – the
traditional CIO priorities – the role of IT today
has much more strategic significance.
Wilton said: “Where IT used to play a
supporting role to business strategy, it now has
the opportunity to drive it. Businesses can lead
change by empowering their IT departments,
by appointing a Chief Digital Officer or by
increasing the remit of the CIO to generate
profit rather than to provide cost-savings.”
CompTIA
Channel Standard:
Managed IT Solution
Providers
Blake, the envelope expert, has launched a new video
highlighting the commercial printing opportunities
made possible by using Blake envelopes in
conjunction with Ricoh printers. Blake’s are the only
envelopes accredited by Ricoh for use in its printers.
Blake Director Tim Browning said: “Using the right
envelope with the right printer can increase marketing ROI
by maximising in-house printing capabilities. Digital printing
has revolutionised traditional marketing, and targeted
personal communications can be produced in seconds.”
As part of the partnership, Blake has
installed a Ricoh C7100SX printer at its
Somerset HQ, which doubles as Ricoh’s
south west regional demonstration
centre.
