Headquartered in Cardiff, M7 is a Premier IBM Business Partner providing simple solutions to complex problems. M7 combines managed services, technical capability around IBM infrastructure and financing to meet organisations’ IT requirements in innovative and cost-effective ways.
Global solutions are provided via ISV and SI networks with IBM international support.
M7 has built strong partner relationships with major Technology providers in order to bring the right solution to the right place at the right time for the client. We utilize these partnerships to keep our processes and knowledge at the highest level across all our services, which allow M7 to make the proper decisions with our clients for their business advantage.
M7 is pleased to announce the confirmed list of industry experts for its 4G seminar - The Race for New Opportunities – held at IBM forum, Southbank on the 31st May. Amongst the list of highly regarded speakers is Everything Everywhere (EE) Chief Technology Officer, Fotis Karonis.
Fotis will deliver an exclusive presentation on the Service Provider’s view of 4G, discussing the impact that the latest mobile technology network has had on the products, services and solutions being delivered into the 4G market. Fotis is responsible for the IT and network development strategy and implementation at EE, and has overseen IT since EE was formed in 2010 through the merger of Orange and T-Mobile.
Fotis is in good company at the seminar with a host of other experts who will share their industry insights. Helen Kelisky, VP Telecoms and Media at IBM UK, who has been recently appointed as Partner Executive for M7, will also be speaking at the event, along with IBM CTO Network Solutions, Zygmunt Lozinski.
Chris Lewis, Senior Vice President, Communications Sector at IDC will be providing the analyst view, presenting IDC’s findings on the 4G opportunity, and JDSU Solution Architect, Brian Grant will be speaking on the opportunities that 4G presents from an ISV perspective.
The event provides attendees with an unparalleled networking opportunity and the chance to learn from the wide range of knowledge offered by the specialist speakers.
Places are filling up fast so please visit our registration page and book your place now!
A week or so has gone by since the IBM Value Partner study tour in the La Gaude client solution center in Nice.
Now I can hear you all saying, “Study tour in Nice – that sounds tough”, but let me assure you all, IBM wanted us to get the message regarding their new technologies in the server and storage space, before letting us loose in the Cote D’Azur sunshine.
It was the first anniversary since the launch of IBM Pure Systems, so the mid morning break consisted of delicious birthday cake before getting back to the session on the Pure Systems message. There has never been any doubt over the Pure Systems technology advancements, but there has been some skepticism over the marketing message. This thankfully now seems to be back on track; here is my very high-level take on it:
Flex System
Long term replacement for blade and the base infrastructure for customer IT divisions and MSP’s to deliver IaaS with their own wrapping.
Pure Flex System
As above only including the software elements required to deliver IaaS as a package.
Pure Application System
Built on the Flex Components and optimized for delivering the infrastructure for PaaS, typically for web and transactional applications.
Pure Data System
Again built on the Flex Components providing optimized database platforms for “Big Data.” In other words; a ready, scalable, optimized database engine, ideal for transactional applications in the data analytics space.
Delicious lunch in the sun (that’s real sun, not a pub) was followed by an overview of the storage market place and IBM’s products, specifically the Flash technology recently introduced. Although this technology won’t replace the traditional disk solutions immediately, it will be integrated with existing IBM storage technologies (e.g. V7000), where super fast low latency access to data can differentiate.
Combine the IBM Pure Systems and Flash Storage sessions with updates on the Intel chipsets and network convergence from Qlogic, and a thoroughly informative event this was. Thanks must go to all from IBM and the TBT team who organized the event.
The sessions ended very nicely in a Provencal restaurant where a very competitive game of Boules was had. You would have expected the French partners to have cleaned up here, well there was none of that … champagne and medals for the Brits! M7, APSU, SCC and Barrachd were happy to be on the same side for once.
On Friday 31 May, M7 will be hosting a 4G seminar for Mobile Network Operators, Independent Service Providers and Developers to discover more about the impact of the latest mobile network technology and the business opportunities that it presents.
Experts from IBM, Everything Everywhere, JDSU and Industry Analysts IDC will share their insights at this exclusive event - providing attendees a great opportunity to draw on the expertise and market knowledge of the speakers. Full details of the speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.
The event follows M7’s successful participation at this year’s Mobile World Congress and gives attendees an excellent opportunity to meet with Operators, Developers and Service Providers who are focussing on delivering new products, services and solutions into the 4G market.
M7’s Managing Director, Neil Cornish, will also be speaking about IBM’s ISI Programme, a global programme supporting ISVs and SIs extending their reach into existing and emerging markets.
The event will be held at the prestigious IBM Forum on the Southbank against the backdrop of the river Thames, with refreshments and lunch provided for attendees.
For more information and to book your free place at the event please contact Danielle Ford at dford@m7ms.co.uk
We have been busy making waves in the telecommunications sector, and recently secured a deal to provide IBM product and services to a major UK 4G network provider. As a result we released an eBook providing important advice for Communication Service Providers on the best way to embrace 4G and monetise their LTE networks. The news of our eBook has been picked up by Comms Business, a trade magazine for Voice, Data/IT and Mobile Professionals. The article was published on page 21 of the April edition that arrived on desks last week.
If you missed the article we’ve included a summary below for you to have a read or if you would like to access our eBook please click here.
M7 Shows the Route
M7 Managed Services Ltd has released expert insight for Communication Services Providers (CSPs) looking to embrace 4G and monetise their LTE networks. CSPs are often keen to avoid the common mistakes made with 3G, and with each investing an estimated £5 million in the UK’s latest network, they are understandably keen to see a return on investment.
Existing 3G network monitoring is creaking under the strain of huge amounts of data and ageing technology – if 4G networks are to be successful, CSPs need to take a far more rigorous approach. They need to: Extract data from network traffic to improve insight into network health, ensure quality and security of the service. Consider the longer term value of this data to provide new advertising and marketing opportunities. Exploit data usage to move beyond flat rate data plans into more complex tariffs.
Neil Cornish, Managing Director at M7 Managed Services Ltd, explains, “According to research analysts Informa, despite an ever growing demand for connected devices and services, we are not paying the Content Service Providers any more money. Differentiation has become more and more difficult with price becoming a key factor. 4G offers a chance for differentiation and in this market first mover advantage is essential. Quality of Service, network availability and corporate specific data mining will become critical components in service differentiation. Many customers are now moving to shorter contracts. They are expecting service levels and offerings to improve in shorter timescales, so they don’t want to be tied in to a long term agreement. How does the CSP keep these customers from moving at the end of a shortening contract life?”
Cornish continues, “The CSP that can gain swift insight into both network performance and customer behaviour can achieve rapid market differentiation that will create higher customer satisfaction and enable essential revenue generation.”
M7 Managed Services has been awarded a place on the IBM European Study Tour to Nice, from the 17 – 19 April 2013. The award is open to IBM Business Partners and the winners were chosen on the basis of their qualifying sales of IBM Flex Systems, IBM BladeCenter and/or IBM System x high end focus products in the last quarter of 2012. M7 was one of only two UK winners and was the top UK IBM reseller for most improved results in Q4 2012 compared to Q4 2011.
Based on the investment M7 has made in developing it’s offerings in the telecommunications sector, M7 confirmed a large contract to provide IBM product and services to a major UK 4G network provider. M7 delivered the IBM BladeCenter technology and Storage Area Network (SAN) into the Telco. This win contributed to M7 being rewarded by IBM and receiving the invitation for our Business Development Director, Martin Davies, to join the European Study Tour.
Speaking of this award and resulting opportunity, Martin comments, “Winning this award is a great achievement for M7 and is in recognition of the outstanding work we have been doing as an IBM reseller. We have dedicated significant resource to the development of the collaborative offering to the telecommunications sector and we are confident that the solution can provide network operators with essential insight into their network performance. This insight will enable them to understand the detailed customer behaviour required in order to drive new revenues and create a flexible business model.”
The IBM European Study Tour is designed to provide winners with an insight into other European Technologies and takes place in the La Gaude IBM Telecom solutions lab. . Martin will be on hand to discover more about IBM’s latest developments, their focus for IBM technology rollouts and any upcoming announcements from IBM - providing M7 with a preview of IBM’s plans for 2013 and beyond.
MWC 2013 has come to a close which now begs the question, has it been a success? The overall consensus is a resounding “yes”! Attendance numbers have been very high and the eight halls, stretching over 1.2 kilometres, have been packed throughout the show.
MWC is renowned for being a catalyst for the industry and this year is no exception – the key benefits of the congress have been:
As predicted the key themes of 4G/LTE networks, cloud and enterprise mobility have dominated. There is definitely a feeling that mobile connectivity, and all which that implies, has come of age and is now critical to the future of the world's economies.
The pace of technology development is ever increasing and mobile service providers (MSPs) will have to become both fleet of foot and efficient to survive. There will, inevitably, be causalities and you can expect the M&A lawyers to be busy in the coming 18-24 months as we see some much needed consolidation in the industry.
Olaf Swantee, CEO of EE, spoke yesterday about the need for MSPs to learn how to partner in order to succeed. I would go further and suggest that without a well thought out and effective partner ecosystem, modern MSPs will not even survive. As Bernard Darwin said, "it is not the strongest that will survive but the most adaptable to change."
Not all the small companies who have attended MWC 2013 will survive until next year's congress. There are simply too many companies offering similar solutions in areas such as Near Field Communications, Mobile Payments and Network Backhaul - Mergers and Acquisitions are to be expected in this space as well.
On the flip side of the coin, an insufficient number of companies offered managed and cloud-based services, and enterprise mobility solutions. I predict that this is an area which will experience substantial growth in the near future and I would expect to see far more of those at next year's congress.
As usual we are left with some unanswered questions and to me the key one is this:
"What are the key services/solutions that will need a 4G network infrastructure, and how will they generate revenue for the MSPs rather than add to the coffers of the Over The Top players?"
Perhaps by MWC 2014 we will begin to see some answers to that question. Time will tell.
The combination of 70,000 people attending MWC 2013 and 100,000 people watching ‘el Clasico’ match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid proved too much for the road system of Barcelona to handle last night, resulting in gridlock. However, some of the technologies on display at MWC2013 could have helped the city traffic planners ease the congestion!
We sometimes forget that only a third of the world's population is connected to the Internet. One of themes discussed on the second day of MWC 2013 was how will the next billion subscribers join the party? The answer - Mobile broadband! Given the fact that the new wave of adopters are likely to come from third world countries, the price points for connectivity and handsets will be crucial.
Operators such as Bharti Airtel in India are well aware that their future success will be determined by their ability to get their business and financial models correct in order to get the anticipated wave of Internet users safely on board. Nokia have already developed a range of handsets that specifically target this emerging group of mainly young but very keen users. And don't forget once the next billion are Internet-enabled that's still only half the planet - there is still a long way to go and a lot of business opportunity available in providing connectivity to the other 50%.
Apple and Google dominate the mobile platform market in the applications space and yet neither has attended MWC 2013, which to my mind is a risky strategy. The future of both companies is irrevocably bound up with the future of mobile communications and I think that this is the last time they will stay away from MWC. Meanwhile Mozilla, Ubuntu and Jolla are all seeking to join the party and provide alternative mobile platforms. Can they succeed? I suspect that Apple and Google are already too far ahead but I applaud the others for trying and who knows, if one of them is innovative enough to provide a platform that enables a new wave of 4G applications, then maybe they could become the third force in this very lucrative area of the market.
Mobile World Congress is changing. This is no longer an event covering just a niche part of the telecommunications industry but rather an event that will help define some of the key technological advancements that will influence world economies and affect the lives of millions. With 70,000 people descending on Barcelona, the feeling is that this year’s MWC is the most important to date and as the wisdom of crowds are seldom wrong; I am inclined to agree.
The key themes of the event are 4G/LTE networks, Cloud and Enterprise Mobility. In the words of Randall Stephenson, AT&T's chief executive, "LTE and cloud is the most powerful technological combination we have ever seen. Technology innovation is moving at warp speed." Stephenson anticipates mobile data traffic in the US will increase by an incredible 30,000% between 2012 and 2017, spurred on by access to cloud-based applications over low-latency and high-speed LTE networks. If he is correct, then the implications for communication service providers (CSPs) and society as a whole are significant.
Unsurprisingly the handset manufacturers are at the forefront of MWC with HTC, ZTE, Nokia and Huawei all displaying new 4G ready handsets. IDC and other analysts are all predicting a momentous increase in the number of tablet devices over the next five years as both consumers and businesses change their whole approach to the use of mobile connectivity. Expect continuous developments and announcements in this part of the device market this year.
But the handsets and tablets are valueless without the networks and one of the core questions the CSPs are asking is this: "In a world of increasingly tight legislation, and with Capex constrained by economic circumstances, how can I finance the rollout of my LTE network when it won't generate a real return on investment for two, three or even four years?"
This question will influence the economic and financial models of CSPs over the next few years and there will be much debate about handset subsidies and how to manage the influence of the over the top providers such as Google and Amazon. The OTT Companies have had an easy ride from the industry up until now but they have been taking significant chunks of the CSPs revenues ever since they came into being.
The debates continue..........
Mobile World Congress (MWC) is now in its 13th year and is unrecognisable from its beginnings in Cannes at the turn of the millennium. Then, the 3G licences were being auctioned, famously swelling the UK chancellor’s coffers by £22.5 billion. Now 4G/LTE is the focal point of the industry.
So what can a visitor to Barcelona this year expect to see and do?
They could catch one of the 100+ presentations during the course of the congress. However the keynote speeches from industry leaders from around the globe such as Olaf Swantee, CEO of EE, Xi Guohua, chairman of China Mobile and Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, looking at the major industry trends will no doubt provide nuggets of insight into which direction the mobile world is heading.
For many, however, the reason for attending the congress is all about networking with customers, suppliers, independent software vendors and system integrators. Meetings that would take weeks if not months to arrange in a normal business environment can be organised and completed in a single day. A phenomenal amount of business is closed at MWC.
There are eight separate halls, most of which are given over to exhibitors, many of whom will be concentrating on demonstrating capabilities/solutions in and around 4G networks, devices and applications. 4G is in its infancy in the UK, so many will be keen to learn from the likes of Verizon in the US, who have already been operating a 4G network for two years.
The price of entry to the main presentations is high, so for those with a smaller budget there are quite a number of seminars and workshops available to those with exhibitors’ passes and these are well worth attending. There is also an ‘App Developers’ workshop that runs all week so the more technically minded can swap the latest ideas in one of the fastest growing areas in the industry.
But just in case you think it is all work and no play - let me assure you there are plenty of receptions, cocktail parties and late night parties to attend- and then there is always Barcelona’s night life to enjoy! In days gone by the Nokia party was always the main event but times have changed, so the title of whose party will be the ‘can’t miss’ event of MWC 2013 is up for grabs?
IDC presented at the Avnet Cloud Computing event yesterday and had some interesting statistics on the UK IT market and the growth of Cloud computing.
IDC values the total UK IT market at around £20Bn with Cloud associated revenues growing to around 20% of that by 2015.
According to their 2011 EMEA CEO study, 50% of all businesses have at least one Cloud Application running today. This is regardless of company size.
The key concerns to Cloud adoption for CEOs, similar to the Cloud Industry Forum findings, are Security, Data Location and Auditability.
IDC believe that 80 % of all Application Development is now targeted at the Cloud and that 30% of 2014 Software Revenues will be Cloud based.
The view was that IT Infrastructure had converged over the past 5 years but that this convergence probably peaked last year, making it difficult for hardware manufacturers to differentiate themselves. However, with the growth in Cloud there is more divergence again with existing hardware and software vendors taking very different routes and large new vendors such as Google entering and changing the market
All this is happening at a time when IT is becoming more important to business yet the money to invest, for many, has reduced. The role of IT within a business then becomes one of debate. Is it an operations business running as a cost centre, or is it business development, finding new markets and new routes to market, becoming in effect a profit centre?
The people and skills in one are a lot different to the other. Putting IT operations into the cloud can allow IT to assume a business development role. A tele-sales team doesn’t need to manage the telephone exchange, why should the IT business development team need to manage the servers?
So what does IDC believe will make businesses move to the cloud?
Where there is immediacy of using a service or application, ‘pay now, use it now’ not ‘pay now, get something in 3-6 months time’.
Where the cost of the cloud based solution is less than the in-house solution.
Where the associated risk of the cloud based solution is less than the in-house solution.
When the CEO and the CFO become aware that these can all be achieved.
IDC believed there would be an increasing importance in the role of Managed Service Providers. Public Clouds would never be the answer to everything; IT would not be ubiquitous as with electricity or water. MSPs would offer private clouds and provide integration with public clouds and the skills that would enable this would be found within the service providers.
For more information on how Cloud Computing might support your business or to discuss the topic further, please contact us at M7 Managed Services.
Growth in cloud computing saw IBM beat Wall Street expectations for its fourth quarter earnings.
With full year profits of $16.6 billion for 2012, a 5 per cent increase on 2011, IBM said that cloud computing revenues had jumped 80 per cent year on year.
Ginni Rometty, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer, also identified big data, mobile technology, social business and security as investment areas for 2013.
Cloud computing services combined with developments in mobile computing, are enabling small and midsize companies to access a level of technology that has traditionally not been available to them. Large enterprises continue to invest in cloud computing to make their IT systems more flexible and to reduce their cost base.
Companies of all sizes are seeing a reduced time to market as IT systems can be developed and implemented without many of the restrictions previously associated such as capital funding, support staff training and deployment delays in the underlying infrastructure. Waiting for data centre space sign-off, network integration and project prioritisation is being replaced with a new focus on getting the benefits of the application to the end users as quickly as possible.
With cash still important to many companies this new Opex model for computing services will continue to see growth during 2013.
As the analysts continue to forecast that Cloud computing is going to grow even larger in 2013, traditionalist firms will find it increasingly difficult to ignore the pressures from both staff and customers.
As employees continue to build skills and knowledge through their own personal use on Mobile and Cloud Technologies, company IT resources are forever explaining why they can’t keep up with their demands.
Add to that the increasing pressure on businesses to reduce cost and remain competitive, whilst providing a first class product or service, and the argument for Cloud Computing is made.
However, stories of major outages at global players and perceived issues with security provide reasons enough for some to not start introducing cloud based solutions.
The problem for many is the term Cloud. It suggests something that will float away, something you can’t control; something that brings bad weather. Why would you want to put all your vital business data into something like that?
There is still much explaining for those of us in the Industry to do to help businesses understand what, where and when to put business applications into the Cloud. We need to provide assurances about security, both in terms of the data and in terms of business continuity.
Ironically, the introduction of Cloud Technologies makes it easier than ever for businesses to survive an IT disaster. My advice to businesses for 2013 that haven’t put their Cloud Strategy together is to start there. Once you have a secure Business Continuity plan you’ll feel a lot better about putting applications and data into the Cloud.
During 2012 managing change began to replace managing survival for many businesses.
During the year M7 has seen major growth in both it’s established customer base and in new customers, who have started investing into new and innovative uses of technology.
Growth in manufacturing and the telecoms sectors in the second half of 2012 led to significant new wins in both data centre hosting contracts and IBM Infrastructure roll outs.
This success has been recognised by IBM through their Business Partner Organisation with M7 attaining Premier Partner Status in Q4 2012, the only Independent Partner headquartered in Wales to do so.
We wish a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to all our Customers and Partners and look forward to working with you in 2013.
As at June 7th 2012 IBM SmartCloud Enterprise (SCE) has been recognised as achieving ISO 27001:2005
What is ISO 27001:2005? ISO/IEC 27001 is an auditable international standard which defines the requirements for an Information Security Management System (ISMS). The standard is designed to ensure the selection of adequate and proportionate security controls.
What does this certification cover? The planning, design, implementation and operation of IBM Smart Cloud Services, including SmartCloud Enterprise (SCE), encompassing local and global capabilities. The certification covers all SCE data centres in Canada, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the United States.
As an IBM SCE Partner this enables M7 Managed Services to offer both locally managed and hosted services provided under the AccredIT UK Certification or as part of a global cloud solution using IBM SmartCloud Enterprise.
For more information on our range of managed cloud services please contact us: 01443 657100
Yesterday IBM UK launched a new initiative to bring together Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) with the aim of building eco-systems in the cloud.
With the IT industry experiencing a major change in traditional business models, moving from large capital projects to monthly charging, ISVs and Vendors need new routes to market and a delivery model that they can afford.
The large outsourcers have built businesses on a model that often requires significant up-front investment from their customers, a model that many mid-market businesses cannot afford.
The conference, held at Vinopolis on the Southbank, heard how IT systems were considered by businesses within a Cost, Agility and Risk matrix. While many larger, listed businesses were still being wary of cloud based solutions because of their risk adverse nature, mid-market customers were recognising the opportunity to become more agile whilst reducing cost at the same time.
This new delivery model, using highly available, secure, shared environments that can be personalised to a business, would provide huge growth opportunity over the next 4 years. There was a big emphasis on localisation, services being delivered in country or within local geography rather than internationally. The conference was told that customers wanted to know their service provider and have a solution that was tailored for them, not an off the peg, one size fits all, which invariably it doesn’t.
For more information on IBM’s Cloud Club and participation as an ISV or for customers looking for a UK based MSP to help them put together their IT delivery strategy, please contact M7 on 01443 657100.
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Tel: 01443 657100
