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.
SYMANTEC ANNOUNCES 1,200 JOB CUTS
Symantec has confirmed that it will be cutting 1,200 jobs – a tenth of its staff.
The reason behind the job losses is an attempt to cut costs by $400 million. The company will close some sites and CFO Thomas Seifert has confirmed that sales for Q4 fell to $873 million – below the top estimate of $915 million.
Seifert said Symantec was improving organisation efficiency to ‘remove layers of management, consolidate operations and rebalance some positions to lower cost regions’.
UTOPIA’S 24HR CHARITY GAMING MARATHON
Utopia Computers held a 24-hour gaming marathon over the weekend of the 14-15th of May, raising £1,025 for charity.
The event was streamed over Utopia’s Twitch channel as part of the Macmillan Game Changers in 24 Hours Challenge, where gamers raise cash for the charity by gaming for a whole day and night. Every single penny raised goes directly toward funding Macmillan Cancer Support’s vital work.
The event kicked off at 18:30 on Saturday 14th of February, with the team at Utopia and some VIP guests enjoying pizza and drinks while taking on all comers at Doom & Rocket League. Over the 24 hours, viewers of the stream got to find out more about the team at Utopia with insights into Utopia’s build process, what it takes to be a system builder at Utopia and even a handstand competition. Other games played included, CS:GO, League of Legends, GTA 5 and Dark Souls 3.
Find out more about the Macmillan Game Changers is 24 Hours Challenge here.
Utopia isn’t the only one livestreaming gaming marathons. On May 18th, the Ebuyer gaming team, Sumonix Bears, will attempt to break a Guiness World Record by gaming continuously on Halo 5 for over 50 hours and 4 minutes. The team will be gaming from Ebuyer’s headquarters and will be live streaming their efforts on the Ebuyer Twitch channel.
LOOKOUT AND LENOVO K5 AVAILABLE FROM TECH DATA
Tech Data Europe has announced a new Europe-wide agreement with Lookout. Lookout’s cloud-based solution, offered through Tech Data Mobile, protects individuals and enterprises alike by predicting and stopping mobile attacks before they do harm.
With this agreement, Tech Data Mobile extends its product portfolio to include licenses of Lookout Premium and provides its reseller community with another revenue stream to complement their mobile offering across accessories, wearables, companion products and software. Lookout’s consumer application for iOS and Android delivers the essential security needed to keep mobile devices safe, including automatic protection from viruses, malware and spyware, lost and stolen phone remediation, privacy controls, and backup.
Tech Data Mobile has also announced that the new Lenovo K5 smartphones is now exclusively available in the UK through the distie.
The Lenovo K5 is the latest Android smartphone to provide a high-end media experience on a modest budget. From the 13 megapixel camera and five-inch LCD display to the Dolby Atmos speakers and octa-core processor, the K5 is designed for consumers looking for good quality music and video playback wherever they go.
AVNET UPGRADES UK DEMONSTRATION CENTRE
Avnet has announced the latest technology available in its newly upgraded UK demonstration centre, the Resource.
Geared to support solution selling and demonstrations, the Resource showcases latest IT trends in converged and hyper-converged infrastructure, cloud, mobility, social, big data and analytics, and security solutions.
The demonstration centre is purpose-built to provide Avnet business partners with a venue to demonstrate working solutions to their customers. Avnet engineers, solution architects and certified trainers work with partners to provide proof of concept testing and performance benchmarking, and to demonstrate working network, infrastructure and software solutions.
AGILITAS RECOGNISED AS ONE OF THE UK’S LEADING SME EXPORTERS
IT services firm Agilitas has been recognised for the fast growth of its international sales by The Sunday Times.
The Sunday Times Heathrow SME Export Track 100 league table ranks the top 100 private, small and medium-sized companies with the fastest-growing international sales over the last two years.
Ranking number 45 in the UK, the recognition follows a highly successful year for Agilitas in which the company has seen significant growth in new business and continued expansion of export functions across European markets.
Richard Eglon, marketing director at Agilitas, commented: “To be recognised as one of the country’s leading exporters is a fantastic achievement for Agilitas. It highlights the strength of our IT services proposition, dedicated team and quality of service across multiple markets.”
