Evolution of B2B Buying

THE EVOLUTION
OF B2B BUYING
Policing
Digital
Procurement
Danny Bradbury explores the growing

appeal of digital marketplaces
Page 26
Peter Smith
Page 30
Putting Machine
Learning into
Practice
Rob Bamforth
Page 18
CLOUD
COMPUTING:
CIO:
Building your
Digital Strategy
TIME TO ADAPT OR DIE
Mark Lomas
Page 48
Mark Lomas
Page 16
ISSUE 4
PROBRAND_Issue4_Book.indb 1
23/01/2017 13:32
Champion of the buyer

Partner of the supplier
Probrand is your digital marketplace for hassle-free

procurement of IT products, services, and solutions.
Were not like traditional resellers.

We connect buyers with our suppliers in an open and free-to-use
marketplace environment thats personalised to you, and we offer
customisation for deeper procurement control and savings. Of course,
our sector and technical experts are there when you need them.
More choice
More transparency
More savings
300,000 products and

services updated with
live price and
stock every minute.
Real-time price comparison

shows open competition
across suppliers.
Digital advisors support
quick decisions when you
have options.
Automatically get
personalised discounts
youre entitled to but
wouldnt normally see.
Start saving today at probrand.co.uk

0800 262629
23/01/2017 13:32
Welcome
Peter Robbins
CEO, Probrand
Welcome to the latest edition

of Probrand Magazine
As 2017 begins to unfold, were already seeing how
the big trends in technology are impacting day-to-day
working lives. Businesses are continuing to embrace
the cloud, mobility and data solutions in new and
inventive ways.
price, showing comparison across suppliers, as well

as personalised discounts buyers are entitled to that
often get swallowed up by the middlemen. Of course,
our sector and technical specialists are there when
buyers need help.
The change this is bringing about is now clearly visible

in our buying habits highlighted in our market review
conducted by analyst Gfk (p 6-7). Were not just seeing
a difference in what businesses are buying, however.
Weve witnessed a fundamental shift in how people
are buying IT, with the B2B market being increasingly
influenced by online shopping experiences within the
consumer market.
Were immensely proud of this development, which

firmly sets our sights on enhancing the way the UK
IT supply and services market works, for the benefit
of both buyer and supplier communities.
Whether its for hardware, software or services, IT

buyers are now looking for a simpler, more efficient
way to acquire the tech they need. This is leading to a
rise in user friendly digital marketplaces, such as Azure
and AWS. In our lead article (p26-27), Danny Bradbury
looks at how these digital platforms are evolving and
why IT buyers and procurement professionals are
moving over to these marketplaces. The growth of
online self-service within procurement is something
Peter Smith also picks up in his column (p 30).
Its a trend that has seen Probrand collaborating
with sister company Mercato Solutions to adopt
and run our business on its game-changing digital
marketplace platform. Probrand is challenging the
norm in the IT market, connecting buyers with our
suppliers openly via a consumer shopping experience
for business, and offering customisation for deeper
procurement control and savings.
Our CIPS accredited marketplace connects over 40,000
registered users to 300,000 IT products and services
from multiple suppliers, with price and stock checked
every minute. It delivers complete transparency on
Always with an eye on the future, this edition of the

Probrand Magazine has also reviewed several areas
of emerging technology. Rob Bamforth has examined
the growing use of artificial intelligence within
businesses (p 18-19), while Mark Samuels talks to CIOs
embracing app development platforms within their
digital strategy (p16-17).
There is also practical advice throughout the magazine
on how technology can be incorporated within your
business. This includes a section on audio visual
equipment (p12-13) and Jenny Brookfield speaking
with security experts to share the latest guidance on
protecting against cyber threats (p38-39).
Technology never stands still and it continues to
reshape businesses not least our own. As it does so,
we continue to offer the technical expertise necessary
to support businesses innovating. Well now also be
supporting you with an expanded team and premises,
with our new home in the iconic Alpha Tower of central
Birmingham. So please feel free to drop by and talk to
us anytime. Until then, we hope you enjoy this edition
of the Probrand Magazine.
23/01/2017 13:32
CONTENTS
Products
6
8
10
12
14
15
Business
Transformation
Tracking the market

2-in-1s breakthrough
IWBs rise and fall
Audio visual advice
Growing Pains
MFPs in demand
31
32
34
Security
Driving Innovation
16
18
CIOs talk digital

Machine learning
Supply Chain
20
22
24
36
38
40
41
42
Security landscape
SMEs under threat
Cyber Essential accreditation
Hybrid security
The https attack
Cloud computing:
Time to adapt or die
Infrastructure
Benchmarking works
Being a savvy buyer
Avoid high margins
43
44
45
46
48
50
Procurement
26
28
29
30
P48
Business app trends

Enterprise mobility
Apps in practice
B2B buying evolves

The Amazon approach
Efficient procurement
Policing digital
P41
Infrastructure stats
Future proofing IT
Consultation is key
SANs still dominant
Cloud adapt or die
College breaks free
P12
P18
Choosing the right
audio visual device
Get security up to
speed with new tech
Contact us
0800 262629
P32
enquiries@probrand.co.uk
Probrand Magazine provides news,
views, analysis and information
on pivotal subjects relevant to IT,
procurement and business leaders
looking to thrive with technology.
Bringing mobility to
the workforce
Putting machine
learning into practice
P22
Please get in touch and share

your views on any of the subjects
tackled or any you would like to
read about.
probrand.co.uk
How to make big

savings on your tech
4
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:32
NEWS
Technology
news in brief
Employees value mobile working
more than company cars
Most employees would prefer mobile working options
to a company car, research from BT has revealed.
The companys survey found two thirds think better
technology would enhance their working lives, with
employees looking for improved use of mobile devices
and remote network access.
Its important for companies to future-proof
their business by investing in mobile collaboration
technology to support a flexible working model.
The more employees have a good experience of work
on the go, the more benefits their organisations will
see, said Andrew Small, vice president of unified
communications at BT.
Cloud computing has become a

mainstream powerhouse, says IDG
More than half of business applications and
infrastructure will be hosted in the cloud by 2018,
according to an IDG Enterprise report.
The research found that on average 45% had already
been migrated to the cloud, while IT decision makers
plan to spend a quarter of their budgets on cloud
services in the next few years.
The concept of cloud computing has transitioned
from being an emerging technology to a mainstream
powerhouse going beyond basic storage, the report
said. As digital enterprises continue to require agile
solutions for their workforce and customers, the
growth in cloud technologies has proven beneficial
from speed, to cost reduction and access.
Three quarters of organisations

have embraced BYOD
Almost three quarters (74%) of organisations have
implemented some sort of BYOD (bring your own
device) programme, research from Accusoft has found.
Only half of these organisations require employees
to have personal devices approved by their IT
department, however.
The report said this is leaving many businesses
vulnerable to data breaches, either by hapless
employees accidentally sharing data or by malicious
cyber attackers gaining access to private networks.
Ofcom says improved connectivity

has boosted flexible working
Almost half of UK internet users think that being
online has helped them to work flexibly, according
to Ofcoms 2016 Communications Market report.
The study found the distinction between work and
home was becoming less distinct as more employees
check emails or finish off work at home. Nearly half
(46%) of those surveyed said that the internet is
enabling them to adopt these flexible practices.
For those who have jobs which involve working on
a computer and communicating with others online,
greater connectivity has encouraged more working
on-the-go in locations outside the workplace, such
as at home or on public transport, the report said.
Shift to cloud computing set to

impact $1 trillion in IT spending
Widespread transition to cloud computing will
directly or indirectly affect $1 trillion in IT spent
by 2020, according to research by Gartner.
The report said IT managers are shifting their
spending priorities away from traditional IT to
cloud-based services.
As organisations pursue a new IT architecture
and operating philosophy, they become prepared for
new opportunities in digital business, including nextgeneration IT solutions such as the Internet of Things,
said Ed Anderson, research vice president at Gartner.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:32
TRACKING
THE IT
%
+11
PRODUCT
MARKET
NETWORKING
HARDWARE UP
Demands of modern
business culture impacted
the B2B IT market in 2016
Dominic Ashford, of
leading market research
company GfK, takes a
look at the IT product
market to review the latest
trends and forecast the
future of product buying.
The IT business-to-business market was relatively

buoyant in 2016 with the overall value of B2B
markets tracked by GfK increasing by 2%
compared with 2015 (NB: figures for December
were not available at the time of writing). The
decision to leave the European Union does not
appear to have negatively impacted businesses
investment in this sector so far, with the value
growth rate in the five months since the
referendum increasing to 11%.
In general, the big winners of 2016 were
networking, computing and peripherals, while
the value for printers, storage and software
all declined.
Computing
COMPUTING
MARKET UP
+9%
Within the computing market segment, laptop

sales in particular have been strong, with the yearon-year sales value of these products increasing
by 9%. This demonstrates the ongoing need that
businesses have for mobile computing solutions.
Organisations have been investing in more
advanced hardware, demonstrated by the fact that
the share of the laptop market for devices with
8GB of RAM grew 14%. Furthermore, the average
price of laptops sold to businesses increased by
1% comparing the year-to-date, showing that
the need for more comprehensive computing
hardware is being recognised.
Networking
Networking hardware is another area that has seen
positive levels of demand, registering 11% year-onyear value growth in 2016. This growth has come
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:32
PRODUCT
LAPTOP
PERIPHERALS UP
+40%
from several areas including transceivers, routers,

access points and switches. This comprehensive
growth is the result of an across-the-board need
for strong connectivity. Another area of growth
within networking is docking stations, which
links directly with laptop growth and this trend
could result in IT suppliers looking to offer more
comprehensive solutions
Peripherals & printers

Another area that has benefitted from the
resurgent laptop market is peripherals, with both
keyboards and mice seeing year-on-year growth
rates higher than 40%. The average price of
peripherals sold through B2B channels has also
increased 21% during 2016. What is significant
is that the increase in peripherals sales is much
greater than that for desk or mobile computing,
suggesting that these sales havent just been
replacement or attached sales, but an area
that companies are investing in independently.
As mentioned earlier, however, printing is an
area of the IT market that is in decline. This is
understandable given the move towards paperless
offices and the use of managed-print services.
Storage
Storage has also seen a fall in demand in 2016.
This is somewhat surprising given the amount
of data and backup that businesses need. But it
may well suggest that organisations are making
more use of cloud storage solutions. Flash-based
storage solutions are, however, an area of growth.
The value of the B2B solid-state drive market
increased by 21% year-on-year in 2016. There is
SSD STORAGE
MARKET UP
SECURITY
SOFTWARE UP
+12% +10%
correlation here with businesses demanding higher

specification computing hardware. It is a similar
story for memory, a category which has declined
in value by 22% in 2016. The value of the DDR4
market, however, has increased by 29% over the
same time frame.
Software
The fact that the software market declined by
2% in 2016 is surprising. As with the storage
market however, there are areas where demand
is evident. The value of security software sold
through business-to-business channels increased
by 10% comparing Jan-November 2016 with the
same period of 2015. This demonstrates that
businesses are recognising the need to protect
their IT assets. In a similar way, the direction that
companies are heading can be seen in the fact
that the value of the client-server software market
has increased by 14% year on year. This is software
that facilitates remote working and shows how
companies are moving towards more flexible
working cultures.
Overall
To summarise, the B2B IT market saw a lot of
positives in 2016, and Brexit doesnt appear to have
had a major effect on demand. It remains unclear
how the decision to leave the EU will affect the
markets when the separation takes place. What
is clear is that businesses have demonstrated a
clear need for more comprehensive computing
hardware and networking infrastructure, as well as
software that protects them and facilitates more
modern working cultures.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:32
PRODUCT
TECH TRENDS
CONVERTIBLE 2-IN-1s BREAKTHROUGH
TO THE MAINSTREAM
Ian Nethercott, Probrand Supply

Chain Director, reviews trends in the
current technology products market
Weve been predicting for about 24 months that the
convertible 2-in-1 is the computing form factor to follow
closely and in 2016 it appears they have finally made a
key breakthrough.
In contrast to the traditional laptop where demand is
waning, the popularity of the 2-in-1 is riding the crest of
a wave FutureSource predicts that 2-in-1s will grow from
6% of device shipments in 2015 to 18% in 2017.
This has been helped in no small amount by the huge
sums being spent to promote these devices. You may have
seen Microsofts recent advertising campaign with Marvel
Studios, featuring the Surface Pro 4.
This increase in popularity cannot be fully explained by
marketing spend alone, however. Here are five strong
reasons that explain the rise of the 2-in-1.
The hybrid concept

The key selling point of the 2-in-1 is the ability to replace
two devices the laptop and tablet without losing
functionality. Convertible 2-in-1s provide a full operating
system, which allows the end user to be as productive as
they would be on a traditional laptop. While the detachable
keyboard means users can switch to tablet mode whenever
they need to conduct presentations, collaborate with
colleagues, etc. This offers convenience but it also makes
sense economically, as you dont have to buy twice.
Evolution
When convertible computers first came on to the market in

the form of the Lenovo Yoga and the HP Revolve, they were
more cumbersome than the models we have today. Although
innovative, they were hampered by heavy glass screens which
made them difficult to use in tablet mode. But as these devices
have become lighter and the keyboards have become fully
detachable, they have become much easier to handle.
Price
Any new technology is expensive when it initially launches
on the market. Youll pay a premium for the new functionality
as R&D costs money. But as the technology becomes more
standard, it also becomes cheaper to produce, hence the
price will come down. Thanks to this, devices that were
once considered out of reach for ordinary people are
now accessible to all.
Enterprise mobility
Microsoft was a slow starter when it came to embracing
tablet and mobile technology. Business users looking for
this functionality had to resort to iOS or Android powered
devices. This left IT managers with the pain of connecting
different operating systems within the corporate infrastructure.
However, with the convertible 2-in-1, business users now
have mobile functionality with the added control and security
afforded by Microsofts operating system.
Continuum
With Windows 10 available on convertible 2-in-1s, business
users can now have continuum across devices. If you want to
use the Office 365 productivity suite for instance, users can
now have familiar functionality whether they want to use a
desktop, laptop, tablet or mobile device.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:32
CASE STUDY
Reliance Precision saved

three days each month on
IT procurement
A specialist engineering company, Reliance Precision is focused on producing
custom-built, highly reliable instrumentation to a range of global customers.
A specialist engineering company, Reliance Precision
is focused on producing custom-built, highly reliable
instrumentation to a range of global customers.
To ensure the smooth running of the business, the

company requires more than 250 staff to have access
to the latest IT equipment. The procurement team was
finding, however, that kitting out the business with
the most appropriate tools was taking a significant
amount of time.
As the team was keen to achieve best price, they
would conduct a series of price comparisons via webbased research, and have several conversations with
multiple suppliers. Even for routine, everyday items,
we found we were spending a large amount of time
going back and forth to different suppliers to navigate
the best price, said Ben Sheard, IT Administrator
at Reliance Precision. This was a labour-intensive
experience and not a good use of the teams time.
Purchasing IT equipment now

takes us about 30 minutes per
week. I cant imagine going back
to how we were operating before.
The procurement staff were also finding that, in
some cases, suppliers would take too long to answer
queries, by which time stock and price may have
fluctuated. Other scenarios saw suppliers come back
with equipment that was not in line with user needs.
Ben and his colleagues needed a more efficient
method that would save them time while still
achieving best value. They found their answer in

Probrands Digital Marketplace. Europes largest
B2B IT marketplace, the platform helps save users
time and money procuring IT by delivering price
comparisons from multiple suppliers in one place.
Staff at Reliance Precision can also see pre-approved
discounts personalised to their sector, including deals
on everyday items such as laptops, desktops and
servers or printers, for example.
In a fast moving market, the platform is allowing
Reliance Precision to browse and buy direct from
a catalogue of over 300,000 products from 2,500
brands, all updated with price and stock by the
minute. With over 10 million automated price
checks each day, it removes the need to call around
and manually compare prices from three or more
suppliers.
By using the Marketplace, Reliance Precision has
streamlined the whole purchasing process and
improved efficiency. The procurement team calculates
that this is saving nearly three team days per month.
As a result, staff can be more effective with their time,
focusing on other priority tasks.
The process we had in place previously was
inefficient. We would typically spend a couple of hours
each week reaching out to suppliers before collating
all the information and manually benchmarking
prices, said Ben. With the Digital Marketplace, were
able to remove all of that; purchasing IT equipment
now takes us about 30 minutes per week. I cant
imagine going back to how we were operating before.
For us, it is a no-brainer!
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:32
EVOLUTION IN AV:
THE RISE AND FALL OF
THE INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD
The interactive whiteboard was

considered a major advancement in
audio visual (AV) technology 25 years
ago. Yet, for all its promise and the
investments made, from the education
sector in particular, many were left
under-used becoming little more
than expensive projectors.
Analysts have suggested that this was because the target
audience simply wasnt ready for this type of technology,
there was a lack of training and the software was limited
in what it could achieve.
In the early 1990s there was an initiative to get interactive
whiteboards in to every classroom but problems existed.
For example, if a teacher moved on you would often have
someone come in next who didnt know how to use it,
said Rob Xenos, business and marketing manager at
Sahara, which manufactures flat panel displays and
interactive whiteboards.
The technology did, however, enjoy a resurgence thanks in

part to the prevalence of handheld devices most people
are now used to mobile and touchscreen technology and
feel more at ease using interactive whiteboards too.
Yet, according to vendors, investments in interactive
whiteboards are now beginning to wane in the UK as the
technology has been overtaken by its glossier cousin,
the interactive flat panel display. Xenos said: People will
now only buy an interactive whiteboard when they havent
got the budget for the interactive touchscreen. Interactive
whiteboards certainly have their place but touchscreens
have superseded them. Its more of an investment but you
do get that investment back over the life of the screen.
The future is flat panel

Interactive flat panel displays are now expected to overtake
projectors and interactive whiteboards in market share by
2019, according to interactive screen vendor Alpha Digital
Networks. The forecasted uptake is on an exponential
curve upwards. Once youve seen an LED flat panel display
youll never want to put a projection-based system back in
place, said Paul Vitali, managing director of Alpha.
Extensive research and development is going on all the
time and this has allowed us to use the screen as if it was
a large Android tablet. Weve also integrated Mirracast
so you can cast up from a PC or laptop. In a classroom
environment that means you can share information with
other people, in other rooms and even other buildings
around the world.
The vendors predict that, as interactive screens become
the norm, users will end up demanding even more from
this technology. Xenos paints a future picture that would
not seem out of place in the sci-fi film Minority Report,
with multiple users displaying desktops from multiple
devices, all at the same time. For the time being, however,
he says anyone wanting cutting edge AV features should
ensure their devices offer the high level of connectivity
needed to facilitate features such as Mirracast and Airplay.
Jenny Brookfield
Business Journalist
10
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:32
PRODUCT
Making
meetings
work
properly
Samsung takes a
look at how the latest
interactive displays
can promote creative
and collaborative
problem-solving
The best and most productive

meetings are about collaboration,
brainstorming and creatively solving
problems. Unfortunately, traditional
whiteboards have always been
something of an obstacle to inspiring
true teamwork, as they tend to
encourage one person to lead a
meeting and the rest to follow.
Too many meetings fail to stimulate
and motivate participants to contribute
their ideas and thoughts, for a variety
of reasons. Presentations might be
dull and lifeless, or there may be few
opportunities for junior team members
to share their opinions.
Thankfully, interactive displays now
bring a touch screen experience to
your large meeting room display.
They allow you to browse the web,
show documents, share ideas, and
collaborate on the big screen.
If youre giving a presentation to your
colleagues, you want to captivate their
imaginations and engage their brains.
You need your team to really think
about and focus on your messages
and arguments for them to respond
with creative and constructive input.
Otherwise, why bother having a
meeting in the first place?
wireless technology allow presenters

to access and share content from
colleagues anywhere in the room.
Plus, they look utterly stunning. Clear
and deeply immersive displays with
a phenomenal 5,000:1 contrast ratio
and an anti-glare touch overlay mean
that your content whether its copy,
infographics, videos or interactive
applications will be more eyecatching than ever before.
An intuitive PC-less
large tablet experience
Samsungs PC-less interactive
whiteboard has a pre-installed player
built on Android that offers users an
experience that they are comfortable
and familiar with it is essentially an
intuitive large tablet experience.
This means no more mid-meeting
lulls while you fiddle around with
awkward slideshows or temperamental
presentation tech.
This user-friendly nature of the
touchscreen means your meetings
participants are far more likely to
interact with each other and become
involved in sharing ideas. It turns a
typical presentation into a two-way
discussion, seamlessly merging
visual content and essential data,
and allowing teams to work together
collaboratively.
Sharing transforms
team communication
Samsungs AirScreen app also makes
sharing simple. It allows you to connect
up to four Windows devices to your
interactive whiteboard at any one time.
This way, colleagues and delegates
can get far more productively involved
in group discussions sharing
documents, multimedia content and
anything else on their screen with
everybody in the meeting.
With the Samsung Interactive Display

you can inject that much-needed
energy and dynamism into your
meetings. The latest interactive
whiteboard software and AirScreen
Overall, better collaboration and

innovation in meetings gives your
business the edge. Sharing and
engaging with ideas is the key to
improved decision-making at every
level. So why not transform your
organisation from the ground up with
a new interactive display?
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
11
23/01/2017 13:32
Choosing the right

Audio Visual device
Audio visual (AV) equipment was once more closely associated with
schools, but these products are now common throughout modern
workplaces. As teams look to collaborate and share content in group
settings, interactive devices have become commonplace in offices. Yet for
many, a traditional projector may be just as effective and cost a lot less.
The question is what AV device should

you choose: a projector and screen, an
interactive whiteboard or the new kid on
the block, the flat panel display? There
are several factors to consider depending
on your budget, how often you plan to
use the equipment and for what purpose.
We take a look at the three options in
more detail in order to help you decide.
Traditional projector and screen

Perhaps the entry-level AV device, the projector and screen
may also be the cheapest option. It has the advantage of
being simple to control for all users but may be more suited
to occasional, rather than constant, use. If you are merely
replacing an existing projector and screen, there is the added
benefit that the same brackets, cables and accessories from
your original equipment can be reused.
Top tips:
Decide on your budget and balance that against
the quality of display required.
Judge how often you will be using the projector.
If you require regular use, this option may not
actually be that cost effective replacement bulbs
are not cheap.
12
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:32
PRODUCT
Decide where the projector and screen will be
situated. Rooms that are too bright will interfere
with the quality, and it may not be practical
to go around closing blinds and turning off
lights before every presentation. Shadowing on
the screen caused by the user should also be
considered.
Bear in mind that maintenance will need to
be carried out at regular intervals, with filters
needing to be cleaned and bulbs having to be
replaced after so many hours use.
Take into consideration the time and effort
required to calibrate the projector before
every use.
Interactive whiteboard
Mostly used in education but now growing in popularity
for businesses, the interactive whiteboard has the bonus of
having pre-installed software, which is used in conjunction
with a personal computer and a digital projector.
Navigation via pens or fingers allows you to write notes,
drag, click and copy. Text or drawings can also be saved
or shared.
Top tips:
Allocate time for users to receive the training
required to use the whiteboard to its full
potential. If you are not going to use all the
functionality then this is perhaps not the right
option.
Interactive flat panel displays

Interactive flat panel displays are an all-in-one solution,
offering high quality LED images with multiple touch
points to enable several users to work at the same time.
The devices are pre-loaded with software so they can
be used in conjunction with mobile or desktop devices.
In-built connectivity means that attaching cables is also
less of an issue.
Top tips:
This is the most expensive option, so consider
how often you will be using the device and what
functions you will need.
Despite the initial upfront costs, low wattage and
low power output could keep running costs down
and should see a display lasting 10 years.
Screens are available in 4k or HD, so there is no
need to alter the brightness of the room. Likewise
there is no need for calibration.
Allocate some of your budget to staff training
to ensure users get the most out of your
investment.
Ensure your software enables all the features you
require. There is no point of investing in multitouch technology or 4k if the software is only one
or two-point touch or you dont have 4k playback
technology.
Whiteboards are heavy and large, so work out

a preferred location and assess how you will
physically install it on the wall.
While this technology encourages greater
creativity than the traditional projector, the
interactive whiteboard is still operated via a
projector so it can cause similar issues with
image quality.
Although initially more expensive than
traditional projectors, they can actually work
out cheaper in the long run when factoring in
replacement parts.
Whiteboards are not a stand-alone technology,
so decide whether this will be right for all users.
Rob Xenos, business and marketing manager at Sahara,

manufacturer of flat panel displays and interactive
whiteboards, says that before committing to the more
expensive options, buyers should be aware of some of the
obstacles people encounter using interactive technology.
Common issues include technologies not working together
and the limitations of a badly set up wireless network
meaning that products cannot communicate with each
other. There are a lot of new options on the market and it
can be confusing. Buyers should research the brand and
evaluate what they are buying. They need to look at how
they want to use the product, especially the software.
Whatever the customer decides, its vital they leave budget
for training, training and more training.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
13
23/01/2017 13:32
CASE STUDY
Aston Manor Brewery

gets support to tackle
its growing pains
Like many expanding businesses, Aston Manor Brewery has
experienced its fair share of growing pains. Formed in 1983,
the company is now the UKs largest independent producer of
own brand and labelled cider for supermarkets and wholesalers.
Its success has seen its workforce increase to more
than 185 staff, based in Birmingham and Devon, and

supporting them had begun to create headaches for
the companys IT department. But with the brewerys
filtration and production processes also dependent on
the IT infrastructure, the company needed assurance
that its systems were reliable. This issue came to a
head when Aston Manors IT manager decided to
leave the business.
With the company predicted to grow rapidly,
finance director James Ellis recognised that a 24/7
IT support function was required. This support
needed to provide business continuity that would
insure against any potential IT disasters and future
proof the company as it expanded.
Aston Manors solution was to employ a fully
managed support service from Probrand. On a
foundation level this provided the organisation with
a proprietary application that could identify IT issues
before they could impact production, as well as the
technical engineers needed to proactively deliver the
maintenance needed to minimise potential incidents.
Further to this, the brewery also received anti-virus
security and cloud-based disaster recovery via
Probrands remote storage vaults in Birmingham and
Manchester. A reconfiguration of IT and networking
equipment on site also significantly improved
internal communication speed and quality. Crucially,
the company achieved all this at a fraction of their
previous IT support cost.
14
With Probrand, IT has become a business enabler

rather than a daily distraction, said James Ellis. We
have been able to reduce and control our IT overhead
more efficiently, eliminate unnecessary downtime,
maximise our IT estate and reduce cost of ownership.
This is the first time we have used an outsourced and
scalable IT support function and it is the best decision
we could have made given our growth forecast.
IT has become a business enabler

rather than a daily distraction
As financial director I now have peace of mind that
the cost-burden and operational overhead of IT has
been brought under control. Fixed IT overheads mean
we can plan and forecast more effectively. We get the
creative, proactive approach of a full IT department
without the cost. This means we can focus our efforts
more strategically on growth knowing that our IT
system will support us all the way.
Probrand was also able to help the brewery increase
flexible working across the business. By providing
employees with secure access to the network, staff
can now work remotely.
With our managed VPN, firewall and routing
solution we have unlocked workforce capability.
The remote access functionality is helping employees
operate seamlessly from their desktop even if they
are out of the office, opening the door for increased
productivity.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:32
PRODUCT
THE GROWING DEMAND FOR

MULTIFUNCTION PRINTERS
RICOH EXPLAINS WHY
THE DEMAND FOR THE
MULTIFUNCTION PRINTER
(MFP) IS INCREASING
There was a time when offices had to

be ready for anything, they would need
to invest in several machines, from faxes
to printers to copiers to scanners. A lot
of time would be spent getting all these
devices connected to a network and
working well.
Ricoh has certainly made a huge impact with SMEs and

micro offices by building functionality into a range of A4
printer copiers.
However, that meant tying up IT departments and calling

support lines. Fortunately, technology has made life a bit
simpler. And a bit more cost conscious.
This market share has been achieved due to ongoing

initiatives such as the Ricoh Quality Pledge. This pledge
offers customers the chance to return their Ricoh printer,
from a selected range, if theyre not 100% satisfied with
their purchase.
Multifunction devices are by no means new, but they are

really coming into their own. This is backed up by a recently
reported 30% growth in the UK MFP market since 2011.
This growth is reflected in the need for businesses to find
efficient, affordable solutions that are all singing, all dancing.
In addition to this, and rather practically now that office
space is at a premium, space saving devices can make all
the difference.
No one wants to choose between having desk space or a
stack of devices. Theres an even stronger case for this with
workforce mobility on the increase, leading to the creation
of more home and micro offices.
Staying ahead of the game

For decades, Ricoh has developed technologies such as
office printers, production printers, duplication, conferencing
devices, software and imaging. Production houses and print
rooms of businesses have relied on these products, whether
thats for small companies or large corporations. As a brand
A drive to innovate, while listening to customers and the

challenges they faced, led Ricoh to create the UKs most indemand MFP. The UK market share for Ricoh multifunction
printers is 22.4%, significantly greater than their closest
competitor. Whats more, 10% of the single function colour
printer market space is taken up by Ricoh.
A vision for a flexible workforce

As a business, Ricoh is at the forefront of the development
of print and copy devices, with in-built innovations and
technology to make life as easy as possible for the user.
These versatile machines are designed to offer a fullyrounded solution for any office space, as well as home offices.
Workforce mobility has been a key part of that development
in recent years, building a portfolio that extends beyond
printers and copiers. In receptions and boardrooms around
the world youll find Ricoh screens and projectors for
clear, easily editable digital signage. A range of Interactive
Whiteboards has also revolutionised collaborative working,
allowing for real time editing and sharing.
Its innovations such as these that are helping to make Ricoh
MFPs a future-proof investment, shaping the world around
us for better productivity.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
15
23/01/2017 13:32
How are CIOs building their

organisations digital strategy?
Mark Samuels
Technology Journalist
Fulfilment is a strategic opportunity, she says. Our

customers have great access to technology now and
retailers must look to meet ever-increasing service
expectations. People are beginning to expect next day or
same day delivery. Successful CIOs will piece all of those
various elements together.
Wide scale availability of mobile devices is pushing similar
rises in expectation within enterprise. Internal customers
want to use their smart phones and tablets to connect and
collaborate. CIOs and their trusted partners must work to
develop applications that meet fast-changing customer
demands quickly and cost effectively. However, meeting
such demands is tricky.
Digital transformation is the new

business constant. A confluence of
trends such as consumerisation, cloud
and big data continues to have a huge
impact on the way organisations operate.
The scale of change during the past
decade has been remarkable, yet all the
evidence suggests more is to come.
Half of chief executives expect their industries to be
substantially or unrecognisably transformed by digital
technology in the next five years, according to Gartner.
The analyst says examples of digital changes include selfdriving cars, the rise of blockchain in banking and the
potential impact of the Internet of Things in insurance.
IT leaders, as the guardians of information technology
within the business, will play a crucial role in building the
digital strategy. Take Jaeger CIO Cathy McCabe, who is
pushing digitally enabled change at the luxury retailer.
She is running a range of transformation projects that
are drawing on big data and mobility.
16
Additional Gartner research suggests the demand for

enterprise mobile apps will grow at least five times faster
than internal IT organisations capacity to deliver them
through 2017. So how can CIOs help the business build a
strategy that meets the demand for change in an age of
constant digital transformation?
Delivering on heightened
customer expectations
Camden Council interim CIO Omid Shiraji says it is crucial to
recognise that, despite the huge focus on expectation during
a digital age, customers continue to want the same things:
high quality services that are accessible and convenient.
The key change is that customers now want to access
services on their mobiles or wearable devices, says Shiraji.
Your clients dont always know what theyre looking for, but
they do want organisations to offer unique services that they
can play with and create value. As CIOs, its our job to think
about what our customers want today and to then focus on
the future of experience.
Shiraji says the key demand is often to be able to access
services as efficiently as possible via any mobile device. He
says this kind of accessibility can provide great benefits. Yet
CIOs should not make the mistake of mixing such advances
in mobility with true innovation.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:32
DRIVING INNOVATION
Demand for enterprise mobile apps will grow at least five times
faster than internal IT organisations capacity to deliver them.
Thats simply giving customers what they want which is

access to as many channels as possible in order to deliver
new kinds of experiences, says Shiraji. Real innovation
comes when technology provides the tools for organisations
to quickly automate their own business processes without
having to invest heavily in application development.
Here low-code and no-code platforms can help. Such
platforms allow non-developers to create and release
business software to end-users, typically using visual, drag
and drop editors. Shiraji says CIOs should lead business
change and think about how their organisations can fully
exploit the value of this technology.
substantially shorter timeframes than would be expected

with typical mobile development, says Ridley, suggesting
the speed of deployment can sometimes be days, rather
than months.
He says the burgeoning low-code/no-code space offers the
potential for wide scale change. Ridley says these platforms,
like the cloud for hosting, offer a valuable tool when they are
selected for the right task.
CIOs must think about how they can use these digital tools
to build the kinds of experiences that customers might not
have anticipated, such as communities of like-minded users
for engagement and self-help, says Shiraji.
Enterprises have shown great success with apps designed

to collect and share information across geographically
diverse and mobile teams, he says. Low-code platforms
are also valuable in enforcing and training business
processes, especially in situations where the user interface
can be implemented with standardised design elements
that are visually pleasing and easy to use, rather than
completely bespoke.
In all sectors, employees can really learn from other peoples

experiences. Its an incredibly powerful concept in social care,
for example, where using technology to enable those with
complex needs to connect to people who have overcome
similar challenges delivers a really positive social impact.
The rise of these platforms, however, does not mean the

end of traditional developers. Ridley says consumer-focused
applications, where app store ratings and satisfaction are
critical, still often require custom development for Android
and iOS devices.
Understanding the role of

low and no-code platforms
Where customisation is required, he says other platforms

such as Xamarin and Ionic, both of which are used at
Reed.co.uk provide a great way of maximising developer
efficiency. The basic premise, however, is that low-code
and no-code platforms are here to stay and are opening
application development to a whole new audience.
Mark Ridley, director of technology at online recruitment

specialist Reed.co.uk, also recognises the potential power
of shared experiences. He says low-code and no-code
platforms are often held up as the next generation of
application creation.
Many enterprises have seen great success using these
platforms to push applications to their staff and suppliers in
These tools are showing us a direction that will put mobile

app development within the reach of many more businesses,
says Ridley. Low-code represents the democratisation of
business logic and application development.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
17
23/01/2017 13:32
MACHINE
LEARNING:
Rob Bamforth
Principal Analyst at Quocirca
DO LESS
(BUT BE MORE EFFECTIVE)
WITH MORE
There have been many grand promises

that IT would automate complex business
processes and boost productivity, but how
successful have these actually been?
What seems good on paper can be difficult
to turn into reality as the automation process
all too often requires a more sophisticated
skill set than anticipated. So could computers
learn how to do it themselves?
23/01/2017 13:32
DRIVING INNOVATION
One
opportunity to take advantage of machine learning

comes from the cumulative surge in the availability of
business data. However, despite the huge potential to extract
more value from collections of data, the reality is again more
complicated. Data mining, data warehousing and now big
data all validate the concept that if having some data is
good then having more must be even better. But gaining real
business value comes from the ability to act quickly and gain
disruptive insights from combining different types of data,
rather than simply accumulating sheer bulk.
This analytical challenge is an ideal one to address with
automation through machine learning. Combined with rapid
application development, it should lead to insights that can
be directly applied to the business, tested for their impact
and then refined.
Machine learning is not new. It is founded on principles such
as pattern recognition and the idea that computers do not
have to be programmed to perform all tasks, but can learn
as they feed on data to hone their results. Machine learning
algorithms typically provide a degree of confidence alongside
any results. The more the process is repeated, through trial
and error or sometimes with an element of training, the
higher the accuracy and confidence will become over time.
Putting machine learning

into practice has historically not
been for the faint-hearted. However,
this has changed dramatically.
Many forms of machine learning are already in use.
Pattern recognition can be applied to all types of data,
but applications where the data is rich provide an immediate
and often easily understood opportunity. For example,
using images or sounds such as facial or musical recognition.
There are also highly valuable uses such as spotting
anomalous use of banking services for fraud detection,
or when recommendation engines learn how to serve up
appealing offers.
Putting machine learning into practice (and into applications)
has historically not been for the faint-hearted. However, this
has changed dramatically in recent years with third party
data sets and cloud-based services. For example, Googles
recently announced Cloud Machine Learning makes it easy
to build predictive models from scratch, but also has pretrained modules such as its Translate, Cloud Vision and Cloud
Speech APIs. Microsoft has cloud based analytics as part of
its Cortana Analytics Suite, and there are machine learning
as-a-service offerings from Amazon, BigML, IBM (Watson
Analytics), DataRobot and FICO.
Cloud services make machine learning readily accessible and
offer ever greater data sets to learn from. But it still needs
to be intelligently and efficiently incorporated into business
processes and applications. Organisations looking for new
opportunities to exploit machine learning need to plan their
approach and should consider the following key steps:
Adopt a business first strategy

The technology is fascinating, but as with all new technology
there is always the risk that initial attempts or pilots could
resemble science projects rather than a serious investment
in the business. Identify gaps in business knowledge or
understanding and use these as a starting point.
Start with a real problem to model

Focus on an outstanding business issue that needs to be
tackled and it will be easier to get buy-in. It should be
significant, but not crucial, as it might not be fixed first time.
But adopting a rapid application development approach will
allow for different ideas to be quickly incorporated, assessed,
honed and refined or replaced.
Data science grounding

Build a team to include an understanding of multiple data
science subjects: statistics, machine learning, and data
visualisation. It may or may not be composed of pure data
scientists, but a strong understanding of statistics is critical
for correct data analysis and interpretation to avoid drawing
the wrong conclusions. Machine learning provides great
techniques and algorithms for data pre-processing and
modelling. Subsequent data visualisation then ensures that
the results can be shared with external stakeholders.
Automation and rapid application

development
Making technical data science accessible to create insights
that drive efficiency for the average user is not easy. This is
where experimentation, automation and application builders
will be useful. If new applications that exploit machine
learning can be built rapidly, tested for their impact on user
processes and then refined, they are much more likely to
eventually prove of value to the business.
Measure, refine, iterate

Really ground-breaking machine learning initiatives will
take time. So machine learning will have a tangible impact
if the adoption process starts small, addresses a real issue,
incorporates rapid app building and then tests the effect on
the business process. This means identifying the business
intelligence gap at the outset and then measuring how much
has been bridged.
Machine learning as-a-service cloud platforms offer the
flexibility and elasticity required for dealing intelligently
with mixed big data. Combining this with rapid application
development ensures that machine learning can be effectively
integrated into existing business processes and logic.
At the end of the process, IT people get what they want a centralised, manageable and flexible system. The users
get what they need - something that is responsive and
immediately useful. And finally the business gets what it will
benefit most from - big data insights in the quickest time
possible and with the minimum cost and effort.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
19
23/01/2017 13:32
SUPPLY CHAIN
BENCHMARKING
HELPS HOME
GROUP SAVE
50,000 IN
SIX MONTHS
CASE STUDY
It is not easy for procurement

teams to purchase IT at the lowest
cost possible. This becomes
especially difficult when their own
suppliers dont even know the
best possible price on the market.
This was the situation that Home
Group, the UKs largest housing
association, found itself.
With more than 4,000 employees
and a turnover in excess of 330m,

the organisation is a heavy consumer
of IT products. Its procurement
team decided to review spending in
this area when it noticed significant
discrepancies between the prices
being quoted within its monthly
framework and on ad hoc purchases.
It found, on average, purchases
made outside the framework were
costing 21% more.
To help understand why this was
happening, Home Group decided
to adopt the benchmarking tool
KnowledgeBus, which automatically
reviews daily trade price guides and
stock levels for more than 250,000
live products in the market.
The procurement team quickly
realised that some suppliers were
quoting prices with mark-ups over
100% of the trade price. On several
occasions they also found that the
suppliers didnt actually know what
the guide price was themselves as
20
a result they didnt know what the

best price looked like.
How were we meant to know if we
could do better if our suppliers didnt
even know? said Laura Davidson,
assistant procurement manager at
Home Group. The suppliers may
have been getting a good deal on
laptops but we could see they were
being charged a mark-up of 60% on
the laptop bags.
She added: Before we had
KnowledgeBus, we would have
to accept that the lowest price
submitted was the lowest available,
and we couldnt negotiate further.
This is no longer the case at Home
Group. The association has been
able negotiate contracts with
suppliers that stipulate that the
mark-up on all purchases is kept
below 3% of the guide trade price.
As a result, Home Group has made
huge savings. Laura said: Our cost
avoidance figures showed that Home
Group saved 50,000 over the first
six months of using KnowledgeBus.
Beyond these overt cost savings,

Home Group also realised that it
was gaining a number of additional
benefits from benchmarking. This
included the time saving achieved by
having easy access to live prices. The
team previously spent up to a day
each month checking prices before
making purchases. Having this
information immediately available
freed up the team to perform other
pressing tasks.
Furthermore, the ability to conduct
spend analysis and measure that
against seasonal price trends
enabled Home Group to identify
when prices are likely to be at their
lowest. By analysing the stock levels
in the market, they are now able to
determine the best time to make
large purchases.
We were already buying in bulk
but KnowledgeBus has given us
confidence that we are getting the
best price possible. We are now
taking advantage of the stock level
notifications to help us spot the best
times to buy.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:32
23/01/2017 13:33
THE
SAVVY
BUYER
Ian Nethercott, Probrand Supply
Chain Director, looks back over the
last year to see how savvy buyers
could have made big savings.
There are several factors that affect the price of an IT product

and a savvy buyer needs to be aware of all these variables
if they are going to extract the best possible deals.
New technology product launches have had a particularly
big impact. Whenever new technology lands on the market,
offering end users new features and functionality, it comes at
a premium price. There are a few things to remember when
this happens.
Firstly, people will always be attracted to latest, shiniest
devices and this will move demand away from older models
effectively devaluing products already in the market. Vendors
selling these older products will then be forced to cut prices
or face being left with stacks of inventory that nobody wants.
For example, the release of Windows 10 devalued machines
using Windows 8.1 they are looked upon as if they are
second hand but they are not. They are brand new machines
that will cost you a lot less. So ask yourself, do you really
need the latest model or would an older product serve your
purpose just as well?
Top tip - Buy with usage in mind

A second thing to remember is that in a few months time
another new product will come along. So its well worth
considering whether all the latest bells and whistles are
an immediate essential. If you are not sure whether new
functionality is actually necessary, it might be better to wait
six to 12 months, when they will cost less.
22
The emergence of convertible 2-in-1 devices over the last

year has complicated the situation slightly as they can replace
two devices; your laptop and your tablet. There are savings
to be made there straight away, but even here further savings
are possible.
A top-of-the-range Surface Book is likely to cost you close
to 2,000, but do you really need the most powerful mode?
If you have a desktop in your office which you can access
remotely (with a tool like LogMeIn) all that power could be
unnecessary. And by choosing a less powerful model you
could save yourself hundreds.
Top tip - Buy at the right time

Of course new technology is not the only factor impacting
prices. Over the last year the strong performance of the
dollar in the foreign exchange markets has been significant.
Every component going in to a computer device will have
been affected by these currency fluctuations reducing the
margins vendors can achieve in European markets. As a
consequence vendors have increased their prices.
It is important for buyers to know, however, that currency
fluctuations do not necessarily mean prices will increase
straight away. For instance, if the vendor is at year end and
there is still a sales target to hit, they may resist an immediate
rise even if it means taking a 4% hit for that month. But if
that happens, expect an 8% increase in the following month
to compensate.
If you know the vendor and the seasonal trends affecting
prices, you will know in advance whether prices are likely to
go up or down on the back of currency fluctuations. Armed
with this knowledge, a savvy buyer will be able to judge the
best times to buy.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:33
SUPPLY CHAIN
EVENTS
THAT
IMPACTED
PRICES
OVER THE
LAST YEAR
January
More than 28,000 product price rises took place in a single day
TrendForce predicts that virtual reality technology will provide a
boost for the PC industry
February
European Central Bank promises stimulus if the economy

doesnt pick up
HP launches Windows 10 smartphone featuring fingerprint
and iris recognition security
IDC claims a quarter of tablet sales in the last quarter were
detachable 2-in-1s
March
UKs EU referendum blamed for plunging confidence in

the euro to its lowest level in a year
IDC claims tablet sales will bounce back due to the
popularity of detachable 2-in1s
April
27,750 new IT products were launched on to the market

on April 27
Apple records 43.8% fall in iPhone shipments in Q1 2016,
down to 42m from 75m
May
The global wearable device market grows 67.2% YoY,

with Fitbit claiming 24.5% of market share
TrendForce reports that Lenovo has become the top
notebook brand, surpassing HP on market share
June
Britain votes to leave the EU in referendum on June 23
July
Lenovo is one of several tech vendors to confirm it will push

up UK prices by 10% following Brexit
IDC says the 3D printer market will grow at a 28% compound
rate YoY until 2020
August
IDC reports that global tablet shipments fell 12% YoY for the
quarter, to 38.7m units
TrendForce reports that global notebook shipments fell by
4% YoY for the quarter, to 74.18m units
September
British pound hits a 31-year low against the dollar

IDC forecasts that the Android operating share will reach
an 85.3% market share for the year
October
FutureSource predicts that hybrid 2-in-1 devices will grow

from 6% of device shipments in 2015 to 18% in 2017
Samsung suffers biggest ever smartphone sales decline in
Q3, following problems with Galaxy Note 7
November
Donald Trump achieves shock victory in US Presidential

election on November 8
Political uncertainty impacts Eurozone, and European
Central Bank considers quantitative easing
Printer and multifunction shipments fall 1.5% YoY to 5.3m
units in Western Europe
December
Probrand records more than 26,000 price rises in the

UK IT product market on June 24
TrendForce predicts notebook shipments will fall 4.5% in

2017 due to shortages in the LCD panel market
Analyst firm Canalys predicts that IT spending in the UK

is set to drop by 10% in 2016
IDC predicts that global PC shipments are set to fall

another 2.1% YoY in 2017
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23
23/01/2017 13:33
How to avoid paying high

margins to suppliers
When an organisation is paying
up to 11 times the trade value
for an IT product, you know
the procurement process has
gone seriously awry.
Yet this was one of the findings in the
fourth annual KnowledgeBus IT Margins
Benchmarking Study. The case in point, a
1095% margin, was what one council paid to
procure SD memory cards. Given the political
climate in recent years, it doesnt seem
believable that a local authority could agree
to such an inflated price.
However, there are plenty of organisations
paying suppliers similarly huge mark-ups. The
study found that a telecoms company had
paid a 989% on a printer product, while the
NHS had paid a 962% on an IT peripheral.
When set against the industry best practice
level of 3%, these margins seem scandalous,
but they are not uncommon. Analysis of
purchases with these extreme markups also
show there is a clear trend one that every
procurement professional should note.
24
The majority of high margins are found on

the low volume, spontaneous, as and when
IT purchases. These are the memory sticks,
power adapters and cables. Usually perceived
to be of a lesser value than major pieces of IT
infrastructure, these purchases often fly under
the scrutiny radar. Yet they can make up a
good 25% of the IT budget.
Awareness is filtering through

On the whole, the IT Margins Study revealed
that greater awareness of the high markups
being applied by some suppliers is beginning
to filter through to organisations. The average
margins paid across the board came down to
17.6%, from 19.7% in the previous study. The
public sector in particular has done a lot to
reduce unnecessary expenditure. The NHS
and housing associations have historically
been amongst the worst culprits for paying
high markups, but both have managed to
consistently reduce their averages since 2012
from 28% to 20% and from 36% to 19%
respectively.
However, the further education sector has
gone in the opposite direction, paying an
average margin of 25%, up from an average
of 12% in 2012.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:33
SUPPLY CHAIN
This was not the worst performing sector

however. That status fell on the utilities
sectors, paying an average margin of 28%
on IT products. This is in contrast to the best
performing sector, retail, which paid 11% on
average.
How to reduce the margins

paid to suppliers
Although the easy answer would be to
increase scrutiny on each and every purchase,
this is not always practical. The IT Margins
study reviews more than 250,000 IT products
on the market and their trade prices change
on a daily basis. This is affected by numerous
variables, not least by the constant arrival
of new products on the market and global
currency fluctuations. In April 2016, we saw
more than 27,750 products launched on the IT
market on just one day, while the pound hit a
31 year low against the dollar in September.
Keeping pace with this rate of change would
be a full time job for anyone but there are,
however, ways that companies can keep the
margins paid permanently low.
1. Benchmarking
Organisations can empower their negotiators,
and speed up the IT procurement process,
by deploying benchmarking tools, such as
KnowledgeBus. This provides IT buyers with
access to up-to-date and validated trade
level information that will identify the exact
margins that suppliers are charging.
2. Cost plus contracts

Companies can negotiate cost plus contracts
with suppliers. This ensures that no IT product
purchased exceeds an agreed maximum
margin level. Procurement teams can police
these contracts with their benchmarking tools.
3. Monitor trends
When IT buyers analyse historic or seasonal
trade price trends they can identify the
best times to buy. When trade prices are at
their lowest, suppliers often try to maximise
margins so benchmarking data procurement
professionals can counter that behaviour.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
25
23/01/2017 13:33
The Evolution of B2B Buying

Danny Bradbury
The internet should have been a boon for business
procurement managers. After all, search engines and online

catalogues offer up a universe of options when looking for
products and services online. A growing glut of information
(and misinformation) online has proven a mixed blessing,
however. It seems that quantity is no substitute for quality.
The internet is not without limitations as a research tool,
argues Paul Mandell, founder and CEO of Consero, a niche
conference company that organises regular industry forums
on strategic procurement and sourcing. As there are no
official gate keepers or fact checkers on the internet, it
can be difficult to determine whether information yielded
is accurate. Moreover, when assessments are provided its
almost impossible to know whether these are tainted by
conflicts of interest.
The emergence of the digital marketplace

As a consequence of these uncertainties, B2B marketplaces
have evolved to refine this process. They make it easier for
buyers to find and deal with suppliers and filter out bad or
irrelevant information by aggregating useful contacts and
product offerings in one place.
Gary Price, product and category manager at Probrand,
explains that this is increasingly important as technology
products and services have become more complex, creating
a requirement for information to be more structured.
Historically, picking the right product or service was
relatively easy. The higher the number of the processer the
better it was, he quips. Now the choice is harder and there
are so many options; cloud, virtual, physical, two-in-one,
mobile and so on.
Researching online can only get the modern B2B buyer so
far, he explains. You cannot beat speaking to an industry
professional or vendor directly, or using guided tools that
can help you make informed decisions.
We have seen many successful versions of this approach in
the B2C space, with marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay,
and although B2B marketplaces may not yet have achieved
the same recognition, they are catching up. Analysts Frost &
Sullivan anticipate a potential $6.7 trillion worldwide market
for public B2B marketplaces, a prediction that puts them on
course to eventually outpace B2C portals.
26
A more nuanced approach

Large public marketplaces dont suit every buyer, however,
especially when dealing with nuanced, complex sectors such
as IT. Conseros Mandell highlights some of the issues.
B2B purchases are often conducted according to a one size
fits all approach to procurement, he warned. In addition,
some B2B marketplaces require a bit more effort on the
part of procurement managers to develop the supplier
relationships that provide for long-term procurement
success.
Consequently, B2B marketplaces are evolving to solve some
of the difficulties inherent in complex business sales. More
niche marketplaces are emerging, where more intimate,
higher-quality relationships between buyers and suppliers
are nurtured.
The successful B2B purchasing portals will be those that
provide solid, reliable information, along with direct
purchasing access and personalised information. They also
need to deliver complex information at a product code level
in a standardised format that makes price comparison easier.
B2B marketplaces should provide competition, information
and clarity. They should allow comparison, speed decisions,
and reduce lead-times and associated costs, said John
Malloch, head of procurement for the University of Exeter.
Buyer-driven B2B
According to Malloch, there are still challenges. [These
include] ensuring sufficient competition and linking the
output (and input) to corporate systems. He adds that public
sector organisations must also be careful to ensure that the
process is compliant with the Public Contracts Regulations
2015, which lay out specific rules for how government
organisations can purchase goods and services. Buyers must
also ensure the continuity of any services purchased through
marketplaces. He warns: What will happen when a service
ends? How is the service transferred?
Yet despite the challenges, Malloch sees an opportunity to
establish B2B marketplaces in many UK industry sectors, such
as higher education, which have yet to embrace modern,
automated procurement models. As uptake increases, it will
be the buyers who become the key drivers of these services,
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:33
PROCUREMENT
There are no
official gate keepers
or fact checkers
on the internet.
in contrast to the traditional large, public B2B portals which

in the most part were supplier-focused. The new wave will be
focused on the customer, and will give them the tools they
need to properly compare and evaluate products.
As these marketplaces develop, they promise a range of
benefits. Buyers will have access to more suppliers and
the sales cycle will be shortened, reducing procurement
and inventory costs. Newer technologies will allow a more
fluid and open transfer of information. Payment processing
methods will be easier to integrate, reducing the entry barrier
to small and medium-sized buyers wanting to get in on

the action.
And its about time. Buyers are more knowledgeable about
their IT than ever before but its been a while since the broad
web has been able to provide an easy answer to the questions

being asked. Its been even longer since calling around
suppliers and asking them to fax or email over their quotes

has been an efficient way of working. Perhaps we are now
ready for B2B marketplace 2.0.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
27
23/01/2017 13:33
PROCUREMENT
COULD A LOCAL
AUTHORITY BEHAVE LIKE
?
Danny Bradbury
In the consumer world, online
brands like Amazon allow businesses

to compete openly for customers by
listing product prices and specifications
on their platform. Businesses are also
starting to use B2B purchasing portals
to connect to multiple suppliers
and vendors instantly leading to
frictionless trading. But could we see
similar marketplaces develop for local
government?
Traditionally, government contracts
are renowned for being cumbersome
and mired in paperwork. Things have
begun to change, however, as the UK
government attempts to modernise
its procurement operations. And one
of the key focal points has been the
use of digital marketplaces for public
sector procurement.
The government has already
developed an internal market for
buying digital services online. Both
central and local government buyers
can use the Digital Marketplace as a
procurement hub. It consists of three
different entities, designed to replace
individual procurement frameworks
between public sector organisations
and suppliers. These include:
28
G-Cloud. A cloud-based
procurement framework for digital
services which has facilitated over
1bn in sales since its launch in
2012.
Digital Outcomes and Specialists.
This has a simplified application
process designed to help smaller
suppliers get on the list of
approved vendors. There are over
1200 listed today.
Crown Hosting Data Centres.
This is a joint venture between
the Cabinet Office and Ark Data
Centres for government-hosted
data centre services.
When it comes to IT infrastructure
contracts, things are less clear.
Suppliers are still forced to search
for contracts using tools such as the
governments Contract Finder service,
which lists contracts currently up
for grabs. Would an Amazon-style
marketplace be viable for these kinds
of sales?
We have already seen some shared
service solutions, such as One Source,
a joint venture between Londons
Havering and Newham councils to
provide a range of back-end services
including ICT. However, shared service
sites still typically filter suppliers

through a single internal service
provider. The concept of an internal
many-to-many marketplace, in which
local authority partners can choose
from a range of ICT providers, is
still relatively new. Although Derek
McCallan, chief executive of the
Northern Ireland Local Government
Association (NILGA), believes that they
are possible.
The principle challenge is getting one
up and running. Thats an attitudinal
rather than a legislative issue, he said.
If overcome, then the councils who
have clustered together are well on
their way.
McCallan nonetheless issued a warning
about the challenges of compliance.
Legislation and subordinate legislation
can often be seen to conflict with one
another in terms of procurement must
dos and must not dos.
It seems likely that councils will
continue to follow the path towards
more open models of procurement.
Whether they can also find ways to
navigate complex sets of regulations
and fully adopt the new breed of
digital marketplace remains to be seen.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:33
CASE STUDY
West Suffolk Council

finds more efficient
procurement process
Being a public sector body, West Suffolk Councils IT
department is required to follow numerous guidelines when it
comes to procurement. As buying IT equipment is no small job
for West Suffolk, this creates a major challenge.
Being a public sector body, West Suffolk Councils
IT department is required to follow numerous

guidelines when it comes to procurement. As buying
IT equipment is no small job for West Suffolk, this
creates a major challenge.
The 24 staff team supports more than 1,800 users
across the council and a number of service partners,
which include the East of England Local Government
Association and Abbeycroft Leisure. As the guidelines
insist that purchases are unbiased based purely
on the requirements of the team rather than any
particular brand loyalty the team needs to compile
a list of specifications for each purchase. This can
require them to carry out extensive web-based
research.
No longer do we spend time bouncing

back and forth between multiple suppliers
In order to secure the best price for each purchase,
the team would historically conduct price comparisons
by telephoning various suppliers. The task was often
elongated by suppliers coming back with quotes for
products that did not meet the exact specifications.
Typical purchases might include consumables,
network cables and toner cartridges items that
are fairly routine or for everyday use, said Andrew
Brindle, unified communications support engineer at
West Suffolk Council. We purchase these items as
and when we need to, and having to go through this
whole process for a couple of network cables,
for example, would be really frustrating.
As the process of buying IT equipment was eating

up two full team days each month, Andrew started
looking for a more efficient process that would still
allow them to achieve best value. He realised that
the answer lay in Europes largest IT marketplace
for business users, Probrand. Its Digital Marketplace
helps users save time and money procuring IT by
delivering price comparison across products from
multiple suppliers, and personalised discounts to the
customers sector direct from manufacturers.
Using a unique log in, West Suffolk Council can now
automatically see pre-approved framework discounts
exclusive to the public sector, including deals on
laptops, desktops and servers or printers, for example.
In a fast moving market, Probrand enables West
Suffolk to browse and buy direct from a catalogue
of over 300,000 products from 2,500 brands, all
updated with price and stock by the minute. Probrand
conducts over 10 million automated price checks a
day and saves users time over calling and manually
comparing prices from three or more suppliers.
No longer do we spend time bouncing back and
forth between multiple suppliers, sourcing and
comparing prices, said Andrew.
Previously we would spend half a day each week
compiling, emailing and phoning around; it now
takes us about 30 minutes. It has also proved
incredibly efficient. We no longer have to raise
multiple purchase orders for different suppliers.
That level of convenience, knowing we can source
everything from one place, is a major help.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
29
23/01/2017 13:33
PROCUREMENT
DIGITAL BRINGS NEW CHALLENGES

FOR IT PROCUREMENT
Peter Smith
Lead editor of Spend Matters UK/Europe
Life is tough for an IT procurement or category manager;
it always has been. Over the last 25 years the pace of

change has been greater than in any other period. Simply
keeping up with product and supplier knowledge has been
a huge task. The need to find successful ways of working
with IT managers the key internal stakeholder group has
added an additional challenge. Something which frankly,
only the best IT category managers were up to.
is an obvious area of concern, as is the potential loss of

consistency. We are seeing this trend in our own core
area of procurement-related software; imagine if every
department or business unit in our organisation started
using their own local ordering and invoicing systems.
Maintaining control of expenditure would be virtually
impossible, and deriving spend data across the whole
entity could become almost impossible.
The digital revolution has brought even more complexity

to the role. Previously, the internal stakeholders sat
firmly within the IT department, now, every executive is
potentially their own CTO. With the growth of cloud-based
software and solutions, apps that can be downloaded in
seconds. We also have far greater technology awareness
and capability among the Millennials now rising up our
organisations. These factors have combined to make life
challenging.
In that particular case, we would suggest that a key role

for the Chief Procurement Officer of today and tomorrow
is to define the procurement systems infrastructure
that the organisation will adopt, and explain to senior
management why a certain amount of governance is
needed to implement and police it. However, it is vital that
systems also meet the needs of the user remember, our
colleagues wont accept technology that does not match up
to their expectations in terms of usability and functionality.
The business user now expects the software they use at

work to be as intuitive and user-friendly as the platforms
they use in their personal lives; such as Amazon, eBay,
Facebook, YouTube. They expect high functionality and
resilience; but above all, greater usability. And if the IT
department is not providing the right tools, the user of
today will find, download and implement their own and they probably wont involve procurement.
As to the wider questions around what we might call the

user revolution, IT category managers need to work
closely with the IT function to put processes in place that
allow users some flexibility and freedom. Procurement
should understand and highlight the commercial risks of
spend anarchy but both functions need to recognise
that the world of digital is different, and it has led to a more
informed user community. So IT procurement professionals
must work out how they can help users get the most out of
the digital genie not try to put him back into the bottle!
Now this brings real issues for the wider organisation as

well as for the procurement and IT functions. Security
If the IT department is
not providing the right
tools, the user of today
will find, download &
implement their own.
30
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:33
BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
Trends in Enterprise
Mobile Apps
In their modern form,
the smartphones we
know have been with
us for around a decade,
and the mobile app for
almost as long. But ten
years on, what trends
are we now seeing in
app development?
The emergence of new technology Rapid mobile

and changes to business culture
development will
have certainly helped mobile
gain traction
applications to mature within
enterprise environments. There are
now a number broad developments
beginning to surface within this
landscape. Here are five to watch
out for in 2017:
Indoor location tracking

Location data to within ten metres
has been available for several years
on mobile devices. Now, companies
are experimenting with indoor
tracking using a variety of techniques.
Beacon technology, as pioneered by
Apple, connects with mobile phones
using low-powered Bluetooth and
enables organisations to know exactly
where specific phones are in the
building. Retailers are experimenting
with it for customer engagement,
but it could also be used for sensible,
non-intrusive location tracking in
work environments. Now, a new
standard called Wi-Fi Aware will
enable wireless devices to identify
each other and communicate their
capabilities. The result? Apps that can
detect which employees are nearby
and invite them into a meeting.
Developer skills
in short supply
Danny Bradbury
Demand for mobile apps is growing,

and it is outstripping the supply of
developers to build them. Gartner
has predicted that demand will
outstrip the capacity to build these
apps fivefold this year. This will lead
to mixed-sourcing approaches in
which companies will be unlikely to
rely entirely on their own in-house
development teams for application
design and coding, the analyst
firm said.
The lack of appropriate developer

skills will drive interest in rapid
application development tools with
mobile capabilities. These tools
will downplay traditional coding
approaches with features such as
drag and drop interfaces narrowing
the gap between business analysis,
app design and deployment. Gartner
has predicted that this will enable
those with no coding skills to build
relevant enterprise apps, using agile
development capabilities that shorten
refresh cycles.
IoT ready
Integration with connected Internet
of Things (IoT) will create new
opportunities for enterprise apps.
A mobile device communicating with
a smart shelf sensor in a warehouse
could provide employees with realtime information on what products
need to be restocked, for example.
Value recognition
The term app has been devalued
by cheap app store fodder aimed
at consumers, but the maturation
of mobile applications for business
has altered opinions. In 2017,
enterprises are finally realising the
value of workforce mobility and
will invest appropriate amounts to
generate results.
If youre talking true, secure,
data-intensive, enterprise-class
applications that happen to be
mobile, then this has a cost and a
value, said Steve Vallis of application
developer Mercato. If they dont,
no one will create them. No one will
have the ability to do this in a secure
and auditable fashion.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
31
23/01/2017 13:33
Bringing Mobility to the Workforce

While the first era of the web brought us websites, and the second saw the
emergence of social media sites and user interaction, the third may not involve
websites at all. Welcome to the era of the mobile app.
Danny Bradbury
Many business-focused considerations

can get lost in translation when dealing with
a traditional development team.
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23/01/2017 13:33
As enterprise mobile apps continue to develop they are
digitally transforming businesses, by making paper-based

processes available electronically at the time and place
theyre needed most.
Until now enterprise mobile apps have enjoyed mixed
success. Many employee devices are littered with apps
that have failed to deliver on their promises, and often go
unused by employees. One of the reasons for this stems
from poor decision-making at the start of the process of
app creation, explains Steve Vallis, of application developer
Mercato.
We can produce anything on mobile, he says. The
question is not whether you can, but whether you should.
For one thing, there may simply not be a business case for
an application to be available in someones pocket all the
time. Companies should be asking themselves who will be
using it, and whether those workers will find access on the
move helpful.
Some applications also dont transfer to mobile devices
very well, adds Vallis. Applications that gather and deliver
copious amounts of information are often difficult to fit
onto small screens, making it difficult to create phone or
even tablet-based versions of them. In such circumstances,
designers should consider the context in which the apps will
be used. For example, filling out extensive web forms may
not be possible for a field service engineer on the move.
Is there a requirement that could be cut down? Could you
have less of the application? Vallis asks. When you have
a complex insurance application process with a hundred
inputs, it may not transfer well to a mobile experience.
What might make sense is to have an application that
makes it easier to submit claims, said Vallis.
Application development
How to manage huge amounts of information via a mobile
sized app was a problem encountered by Legends, a firm
of personal trainers in the UK. The company had previously
been using spreadsheets to map out and deliver training
programmes to clients. Developed over two and a half
years, its worksheet had over a hundred interlinked sheets.
Legends wanted a mobile app to take this functionality to
the training sessions, where most of the data was gathered.
The application, however, had to also support users in
different roles: clients, their trainers, and their back-office
administrative staff. Trainers would use the app to assess
and record client fitness, while clients had to be able to
book sessions and amend bookings using the app
which would also automatically prompt them to book
their next session.
Squeezing this business logic into a mobile app was a tall
order, and attempts to develop such an application with a
number of technology providers had proved unsuccessful
in the past.
The weak point in the process had proved to be that

the technology providers did not fully understand the
requirements. Vallis explains that many business-focused
considerations can get lost in translation when dealing
with a traditional development team that doesnt
understand those nuances.
Legends was able to circumvent this obstacle by using the
rapid application development platform, KnowledgeKube.
This allowed them to quickly build an application, using an
iterative process, and make adjustments as the app was
developed.
Application management
Astute design and development of mobile apps is crucial
if any enterprise app is to succeed. The team working on
the Legends app were able to draw on a cribsheet within
the KnowledgeKube platform to access common design
elements and reusable assets. This enabled them to design
an interface appropriate for a busy gym environment with
large, stylised tiles for buttons.
But there are other important considerations beyond design
and development, such as deployment and management.
This includes a requirement to protect the enterprise data
gathered especially information about customers.
High availability is another key requirement for business
applications, as is solid performance. High-volume
throughput and adherence to service-level agreements are
a necessity for mature apps that companies can rely upon.
This makes cloud computing an important part of the
puzzle, according to Cathal McGloin, VP of mobile
platforms at open source solutions provider Red Hat.
The cloud is where data is stored and managed for
maximum performance and availability, while the mobile
device is the point of consumption, he said. Storing
back-end app code in the cloud not only allows for
seamless updates to be made on the back end but also
enables the scaling of mobile projects.
Consequently, utilising platform-as-a-service providers like
Microsoft Azure can be useful when deploying mobile apps.
The benefits that it offers in terms of business continuity
and scalability on demand makes it far easier to develop
and deploy apps than it would be using an in-house
development team and on-premise resources.
Using a rapid application development tool in conjunction
with cloud-based mobile deployment can, therefore,
remove the friction between software development and
operations. This is paving the way for a DevOps culture in
which the two work seamlessly together and maintain a
regular, rapid upgrade cycle for mobile apps. Ultimately,
bringing these processes together will ensure end users will
have enterprise apps that will remain relevant and useful in
the long term.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
33
23/01/2017 13:33
CASE STUDY
How digital
transformation
is helping
to reshape
organisations,
& industries
People have great ideas all the

time. These may well be digital
initiatives that have the potential
to transform an organisation.
Even better, they could
revolutionise an entire industry.
As exciting as these initiatives might be, many
remain just pipedreams if they dont get the buy-in
from the decision-makers that matter. These are
usually busy people who are quick to see obstacles
and raise objections. It will prove too expensive
or it will take too many man hours to develop
and where are the guarantees it will work?
Overcoming these barriers is difficult without a clear
proof of concept that can remove the negativity and
fill those decision-makers with confidence instead of
doubts. One business that found themselves in this
scenario was U.S. start-up GAPro Systems.
The company had an ambitious idea. A plan was
put in place to revolutionise the insurance industry
by removing the admin-heavy paper-based system
required for customers to demonstrate proof of
insurance.
Although this is a fantastic concept, that will benefit
all stakeholders, convincing investors that it was
possible would not be easy. Chester Gladkowski,
CIO of GAPro Systems, said: We could have gone
straight to investors for funding but they are
naturally sceptical and would have said nice idea,
come back when you have something working.
As a start-up we needed a cost-effective solution
and could not afford any more risk.
Proof of concept
The problem was that the task was highly
complicated and would require a sophisticated
application that could integrate thousands of data
sources. This included 2,500 insurance carriers in
the U.S. alone. The application would also need to
provide different stakeholders with varying levels
of secure access so that they could view the data
that would be updated in real time.
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CASE STUDY
GAPro burnt through two separate technology
partners simply trying to build their proof of
concept. To get their concept on track, the business
then turned to KnowledgeKube, a no-code rapid
application development platform, and within three
weeks GAPro had a functional prototype.
Chet said: KnowledgeKube allowed us to produce
a proof of concept at a significantly lower cost, 90%
quicker and importantly, with deeper functionality
than we imagined.
With this prototype GAPro has been able to approach
insurers and investors and the feedback has been
fantastic. People are genuinely excited about this
and our GAPro Systems branded solution is truly a
disruptive approach, said Gladkowski.
While Bill Wilson, VP of research at the Independent
Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA),
has gone as far as to say its win-win for all parties.
He added: This has the potential to dramatically
reduce the time and costs spent compiling and
verifying this information manually.
Getting internal buy-in

The ability to quickly develop a prototype and
demonstrate that current systems could be replaced
by something better is now helping numerous
businesses turn ambitious internal projects into a
reality also. When market leading insurer in the small
ship sector, The Shipowners Club, wanted to see if
it was possible to replace their existing system
they also turned to KnowledgeKubes application
development platform.
The company struggled for years to develop a policy
management system that was both user friendly and
able to keep up-to-date with changing requirements
such as the need to meet new regulations. Negative
experiences of bespoke software development in the
past, meant that a proof-of-concept would be vital if
the companys CIO was going to get buy-in from the
management board.
If all we had was some presentation notes, a
functional spec and the ability to articulate what we
believed the developers could achieve, it would not
have been enough, he said. With a proof of concept,
however, the brakes were off and the company
decided to push ahead with the new system.
Agile development
With a no-code rapid application development
platform such as KnowledgeKube, amendments to
the application can be made as the build develops,
giving companies complete control over their project.
This iterative, agile development approach ensures
that companies are not relying on the interpretation
of a programmer. Nothing gets lost in translation and
changes can be made on-the-fly.
This ability to refine the requirements was something
that digital forensics business CCL Solutions Group
successfully exploited. The company needed to create
a system that would ensure its analysts followed the
correct processes. This was vital as their work needed
to be compliant with standards required by the UK
courts. However, when the company realised the
KnowledgeKube platform allowed them to add extra
functionality they opted to do so.
Andrew Krauze, chairman of CCL, said: It
became clear during the development phase that
KnowledgeKube could create a tool more feature
rich than we anticipated. Line managers and analysts
could assess each job on a more granular level to
see how long each process takes and identify where
efficiencies can be gained.
Commercial potential
As a result, CCL has been able to create a
comprehensive application which has commercial
potential. The company now intends to sell their
system as ISO accreditation in a box. Specialist
landlord insurer Godiva, also found that their digital
transformation project has opened up commercial
channels.
The business originally wanted to automate its policy
management system in order to reduce manual
administration work. However, the digital platform
created has allowed the company to form commercial
partnerships, sell insurance out of hours and engage
in automated cross-selling. One partnership with
Property Mentor has helped the company reach
6,000 developers and lettings agents.
Barrie Roberts, commercial operations manager
at Godiva, said: With our own branded trading
website we are driving business with a more
customer-centric approach, writing well-articulated
business whilst we sleep.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
35
23/01/2017 13:33
THE SECURITY LANDSCAPE:
IN NUMBERS
& WORDS
Cyber risk now encompasses more than our traditional
view of computers: weve observed a sharp increase in
attack activity involving the Internet of Things, including
cars and household devices.
PwC
65%
of mid-market firms are

pausing mobility plans due
to security reasons.
Dell
Everything from credit card details to hacker-for-hire

services are now being sold online. While law enforcement
remains vigilant, business appears to be booming, and
underground forums continue to thrive.
Dell SecureWorks
2/3
RDS
of data breaches involve weak,
stolen or default password.
Verizon
Ransomware attacks increased in

frequency by 35% in 2015.
Symnatec
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SECURITY
Half of UK businesses believe they will suffer

from cybercrime in the next two years.
PwC
74%
of SMEs were the victim

of cybercrime in 2015.
HM Government
The majority of [UK] companies are not prepared to

respond to a cyber security incident. Only 18% have a
well-defined cyber security incident response plan.
Larry Ponemon, chairman of the Ponemon Institute
34%
Only
of companies say they are fully

protected from DDoS attacks.
Kaspersky Lab
Only 36% are confident in their ability

to recover from a cyber attack.
Ponemon Institute
30%
of phishing emails
are opened.
Verizon
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
37
23/01/2017 13:33
SMALL
BUSINESSES
ARE PROVING
EASY PICKING
FOR CYBER
CRIMINALS
Business journalist Jenny
Brookfield looks into why
SMEs are often considered
the lowest hanging fruit
Weve all heard of any number of high profile
cyber breaches. Companies like TalkTalk, Sony and

Tesco Bank have all hit the headlines as the victims
of embarrassing attacks.
There are many cautionary tales like these but
it seems that many small to medium sized
businesses still dont believe that cyber criminality
will affect them. According to research conducted
for the Department for Business, just 27% of
small businesses deemed this a risk worthy of
insurance cover.
Maybe this is because smaller businesses dont
believe they will be targeted. The same study,
however, revealed that 74% of SMEs have suffered
a cyber breach and on average small businesses
suffer four breaches a year.
It has been suggested that this increase is
because small businesses actually present the
perfect target for a certain breed of cybercriminal.
The type of criminal that doesnt fancy taking on
the sophisticated security measures deployed by
large enterprises when there is easy money to be
made elsewhere.
This is costing small businesses huge sums.
The government survey revealed that the average
cost of the worst security breaches falls between
75,000 and 311,000. But simply looking at the
monetary value doesnt paint a true picture of the
real impact. You also have to factor in the intangible
after-effects of business disruption, the loss of
potential sales and intellectual assets, as well as
the potential damage to company reputation.
The growth of ransomware

One of the fastest growing attack vectors
causing this damage is ransomware which saw
a 172% increase in the first half of 2016, according
to Trend Micro. This type of attack involves
criminals breaching a company network and
encrypting corporate data, which employees are
then denied access to until a ransom is paid.
DS Gary Sirell, a cybercrime protect and prevent
officer with West Midlands Police, says criminals will
often use spear-phishing emails. This approach
uses personal information (often obtained on social
networks) to appear trustworthy in order to dupe
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SECURITY
We have to make it harder for them

and force them to invest more time and
money into hacking. Hopefully, in the
meantime, theyll be caught.
victims in to downloading ransomware. This technique
claimed a number of high profile victims in 2016,
including the social media company Snapchat and
data storage firm Seagate Technologies.
DS Sirell claims its important for companies to train
their staff how to spot these threats as prevention is
better than the cure.
Its important for companies to train

their staff how to spot these threats as
prevention is better than the cure.
A lot of companies think they need technical
solutions, whereas often what is just as important is
regular staff training around cyber threats and how
to spot phishing emails, DS Sirrell said. Obviously
the response to cyber threats isnt just owned by the
IT department, or the company directors. It has to be
everyones responsibility, as anyone can click on the
wrong email and leave the whole business vulnerable.
regular staff training around cyber threats and how
to spot phishing emails, DS Sirrell said. Obviously
the response to cyber threats isnt just owned by the
IT department, or the company directors. It has to be
everyones responsibility, as anyone can click on the
wrong email and leave the whole business vulnerable.
The weakest link

With individuals often seen as the weakest link in
the corporate armoury, criminals are using any
number of methods to trick employees in to letting
their guard down.
Tactics witnessed by IT managed service provider
Probrand have included the use of cloned email
addresses which can look almost identical to an
internal company communication. One such incident
saw a PA almost conned into believing her managing
director had requested a bank transfer. Other
techniques have included brute force attacks
where hackers try a large number of password
combinations to try and gain access to your system.
Hackers are out there with very heavy resources at
their disposal, looking for computers to compromise.
As much as any antivirus and anti-malware software
is there to prevent these things from getting through,

the criminals are adapting, said Mark Lomas, IT
consultant at Probrand.
He adds: Theres often an attitude among SMEs that
its not going to happen to them because theyre not
a big target, but everybody is a target by virtue of
them having IT and being online.
In the eyes of the cyber criminal youre just an
internet address and if they can get in they will probe
to see what they can do, regardless of the size of your
business or IT estate. If your system has vulnerabilities
they will find them.
When it comes to ransomware, there are cases where
companies have managed to combat this by finding
relevant unlock codes on the internet, but it appears
most businesses end up paying the ransom. To
avoid such incidents DS Sirell advises organisations
to consider the implications of any cyber attack and
ensure a suitable business continuity and disaster
recovery plan is in place.
Compare it to physical security; you wouldnt dream
of going out without locking your door but in a virtual
sense many people dont do these sensible things,
he said. Its becoming too easy for criminals at the
moment and they are targeting the low hanging fruit.
We have to make it harder for them and force them to
invest more time and money into hacking. Hopefully,
in the meantime, theyll be caught.
Top tips to avoid becoming a victim:

Adopt the right attitude. Accept that if you have
an internet connection you are a potential target.
It is essential, therefore, to have a good firewall,
anti-virus software and that software patching is
kept up-to-date.
Train end users. Anti-virus can only provide
so much of a safety net. Its important that
employees are aware of why they need to have
strong passwords and exercise caution when it
comes to suspicious emails.
Put policies in place. Do you have a bring their
own device (BYOD) policy protecting the network?
Think about who you are granting permissions to
and what areas of network they can access.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
39
23/01/2017 13:33
CASE STUDY
The Childrens
Family Trust gets Cyber
Essential accreditation
As an independent fostering agency, The Childrens Family
Trust faces a number of unique challenges. With four regional
offices across the UK, the charity works with over 100 local
authorities supporting foster placements from Durham in the
north of England to Hampshire on the south coast.
When it comes to IT, however, the problems it has
encountered have been similar to any business that
has experienced rapid growth in recent years. This
includes supporting flexible working arrangements
for staff across the country, without compromising
sensitive data. Given that many of the organisations
staff work in the field, the charity specifically wanted
to facilitate remote and paperless working for up to
50 users across the UK.
We have a lot of staff out and about, often carrying

physical documents. We wanted to help them
go paperless and at the same time adopt simple
measures that would address our security concerns,
said David Homer, finance director at The Childrens
Family Trust.
To address these worries, the charity asked Probrand
to carry out a Cyber Essentials assessment, which
identified a number of ways the organisation
could secure systems and processes. Probrand
then implemented several security measures and
developed a series of data security policies to be
adhered to by the charitys staff.
As a result of the changes to The Childrens Family
Trusts IT security practices, the charity has now
been awarded the governments Cyber Essentials
accreditation.
David said: We are a lot more confident in our
security processes since Probrand took the lead and
introduced new measures. There is of course a tradeoff when it comes to the practicalities of how staff
40
work. For instance, our computers now require us to

re-enter passwords after a short period of inactivity
but we see this as a necessity when our staff are
frequently out and about.
Cyber security is an issue for

every company, but its especially
pertinent for a fostering agency
I wouldnt be surprised if, in the near future, local
authorities make cyber security a key requirement
for all fostering agencies. Cyber security is an issue
for every company, but its especially pertinent for a
fostering agency, David added.
After doubling in size over a four-year period, the
charity also needed to upgrade to larger regional
offices but needed a new IT partner to support this
move. We dont have a lot of internal IT knowledge
and had previously worked with a small IT company
but we needed to find a partner that had deeper
resources, said David.
A review of the charitys IT estate also resulted in
Probrand replacing a legacy email server, that had
been experiencing capacity issues, with cloud-based
Office 365 a solution which was better suited to
a highly mobile workforce. Wed eventually like to
move more to the cloud and were working... to see
what else can be done to improve the way we work,
said David.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:33
SECURITY
Make sure your security keeps pace

with the shifting IT landscape
With organisations rapidly taking
advantage of major technological
trends such as cloud computing
and mobility, it is vital security
keeps pace.
The security perimeters that traditionally protected
businesses have been stretched thin by the growth of
flexible working and bring you own device. Modern
business are also utilising virtualised environments,
often outside that company perimeter, to support
new ways of working.
These developments cannot be ignored by
security professionals. When it comes to virtualised
infrastructures, however, you dont see the same level
of protection being applied as you do with physical
servers and devices. Maybe this is because they
are not as visible, or maybe its because they worry
security measures will slow performance.
If a physical server has 20 virtualised machines with

20 security products running anti-virus, this will
have an impact. As performance is already an issue
in virtual environments, you can see why this might
be unpopular. Thats why Bitdefender developed
GravityZone Enterprise Security, which can manage
all those 20 virtual machines through one appliance.
This uses less resources, and we take great pride in
the fact that it offers 25% better performance than
any other vendor.
Furthermore, it allows security professionals to
monitor that modern hybrid IT landscape end point
computers or exchange servers, virtualised servers
and mobility devices all through one console.
When IT teams are already understaffed, this type
of solution is allowing staff to spend less time
worrying about vulnerabilities and more time
developing solutions that can provide a competitive
edge to their business.
Bogdan Botezatu
Senior e-threat analyst at Bitdefender
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
41
23/01/2017 13:33
SECURITY
IS HTTPS PROVIDING
CRIMINALS WITH
A SECURE TUNNEL
INTO YOUR
NETWORK?
The appearance of https in your
web browser used to provide an
assurance that it was safe to carry out
a transaction on that website. Yet, in
the ever-changing internet landscape
we navigate, this is now often far
from the case. Cyber attacks continue
to evolve in order to evade security
measures, and criminals have found
ways to use https to do just that.
Https was developed to protect the privacy and
integrity of the data being transferred via the internet.
It encrypts data using Transport Layer Security (TLS)
or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) so criminals cant see
the information you are send. This inability to see
what is being sent, however, is now being exploited
by those criminals.
Encryption has, in effect, created a secure private
tunnel which can bypass older legacy firewalls
and provide ready access to a corporate network.
With https connections accounting for 64.6% of
web connections , this is serving up plenty of
opportunity for cybercrime. A typical phishing
campaign will now entice victims to click through
to an https website that, when visited, will begin
downloading malware on to their computer in the
background without their knowledge.
42
Jenny Brookfield
Business Journalist
That malvertising campaign, which tricked an

automated ad network into delivering malware,
found a way to target Yahoo users via vulnerabilities
in the Microsoft Azure platform and was reported to
be one of the largest ever attacks of its kind.
Florian Malecki, international product marketing

director at Dell Security, says although the growth
of SSL and TLS encryption is a positive trend in
many ways, it has provided this tempting new
threat vector for hackers.
While older firewalls are not equipped to cope

with this type of threat, many vendors have
responded to this by producing next generation
firewalls. This technology can dig deeper, scan
encrypted traffic and carry out deep packet inspection
(DPI) ensuring nothing slips through the net.
Using SSL or TLS encryption, skilled attackers

can cipher command and control communications
and malicious code to evade intrusion prevention
systems and anti-malware inspection systems, he
said. This tactic was used in a crafty malvertising
campaign to expose as many as 900 million Yahoo
users to malware by redirecting them to a site that
was infected by the Angler exploit kit.
Malecki advises businesses to avoid falling victim to

this type of attack by making sure software is updated
and security best practice procedures are followed.
He adds: In addition to this, companies must upgrade
to a capable, extensible next-generation firewall with
integrated SSL-DPI inspection combined with adaptive
sandboxing services, to ensure their networks monitor
clear and encrypted traffic simultaneously at all times.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:33
INFRASTRUCTURE
Cloud-based IP traffic will

rise from 3.9 zettabytes
to 14.1 zettabytes between
now and 2020 - Cisco
38%
of mobile workers have

never used a VPN (virtual
private network) - iPass
Two thirds of organisations
implementing hybrid cloud
infrastructures say they
are gaining a competitive
advantage - IBM
JUST
37 %
of the UKs IT decision

makers know the location
where their enterprise
data is stored - VMware
40%
of enterprises have
adopted hyper-converged
infrastructures
- 451 Research
The move to cloud
computing will see on-site
servers shipments
DROP
5%
- McKinsey & Co
INFRASTRUCTURE REVIEWED:
IN NUMBERS
& WORDS
No matter the level of adoption, cloud technology
is becoming a staple to organisations infrastructure.
As both cloud and businesses evolve, organisations
continue to explore how cloud computing fits into their
workplace and applications while cloud vendors realise
and accommodate the needs of their clients.
IDG Enterprise report
Enterprises plan to reduce the number of workloads

housed in on-premise traditional and virtualised
environments, while dedicated private cloud, virtual
private cloud, and public infrastructure-as-a-service are
expected to see substantially higher rates of adoption.
McKinsey & Cos Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure survey
Loyalties to traditional, standalone servers are

diminishing in todays IT ecosystems as managers
adopt innovative technologies that eliminate multiple
pain points. Innovation inherent in converged systems
and in hyper-converged infrastructure in particular,
is driving process efficiencies and agility that are
increasingly tangible.
Christian Perry, research manager at 451 Research
Virtualisation is a strategic priority, yet

organisations are still not fully ready for the
security challenges this environment brings.
Hybrid infrastructures have become the major
common architecture in the enterprise environment
and CIOs have to adapt to the new world.
Bitdefender
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
43
23/01/2017 13:33
CASE STUDY
Swanswell improves
productivity by future
proofing IT
Swanswell, a charity that hopes to create a society free
of problem alcohol and drug use, provides a vital support
service to more than 10,000 people each year.
As an organisation, however, it had found that the
technology which was supposed to helping them

deliver those services was beginning to prove more
of a hindrance. The charitys 300 employees found
themselves struggling to send emails or
even open files.
It all came down to the infrastructure at the back

end, said Kashmir Heer, Swanswell IT Infrastructure
Manager. Our ageing architecture had become the
cause of a major headache.
Furthermore, the charity found
these problems had started to
affect productivity and morale, with
employees spending an increasing
amount of time on the phone reporting
issues to the IT team.
These changes have proved significant, according to

Kasmir. The statistics speak for themselves, support
calls have dropped by 40% per month within two
months of the solution being implemented.
We have fewer team members wasting time on
calls to the support desk and that clearly has a
knock-on effect for productivity. People can get on
with what they are supposed to be doing without
the distractions created when the tools of their job
let them down.
Support calls
dropped by 40%
per month within
two months
Probrand was asked to investigate

Swanswells IT infrastructure and
discovered that several legacy
virtual servers in the data centre
were responsible for many of the issues staff were
encountering. As the inherited virtual environment
was proving to be unstable, it was decided to reprovision and migrate ten servers to a more robust
VMWare environment. In addition, Probrand rebuilt
three existing virtual servers to future proof the new
infrastructure.
Probrand also replaced several network switches with

the intention of removing potential bottlenecks and
increasing traffic speed. The physical hardware hosting
the virtualised environment was also replaced by two
faster and more efficient HP servers.
With a large number of employees

working in the field, Swanswell also
needed to improve remote access.
Given the nature of its work, and
the data privacy requirements of its
partners, it was imperative that systems
were accessed securely and that data
was safe at all times. We needed
a robust solution which would give
access without compromising our
systems or data, Kashmir said.
To ensure remote workers can access systems safely

and efficiently, Probrand deployed a Dell Sonicwall
Secure Socket Layer Virtual Private Network (SSL
VPN). It also protected the organisations network
with a Dell Sonicwall next generation firewall.
Our team members can now stay out longer in the
field as there is less need to come into the office
they can do most things remotely now. This is better
for our team members, our partners and ultimately
the people we are here to help. It has radically cut
admin time and has enabled us to deliver a better
service in the field, Kashmir added.
44 PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:33
INFRASTRUCTURE
The importance
of consultation in a
commoditised world
Brian Macnamara
VP of Sales - Europe at Tripp Lite
When it comes to data centres, peoples

thoughts almost immediately turn to servers
and storage. But it was not a lack of computing
power that Icomm Technologies deliberated
over during a recent data centre update at its
Birmingham headquarters.
As an IT managed service provider (MSP), Icomms range of
solutions includes hosting, data storage and backup. In order to
accommodate these growing services, the business was tasked with
upgrading its data centre to ensure reliability, protect against failure
and plan for future growth. The renovation included upgrading the
fire suppression system, installing redundant air conditioning and
designing a complete IT infrastructure solution to organise, protect,
power, manage and connect the new equipment.
When it came to ensuring these needs were met, Eugene Muller,
Icomms project manager, decided to seek advice rather than go
it alone. He reached out to Tripp Lite, the only consultant-vendor
whose experience and product offering were extensive enough to
address all of Icomms infrastructure needs. After speaking with a
Tripp Lite application specialist, Eugene gained a deeper understanding of the potential issues he was likely to encounter
during the fitting out process.
For example, each of Eugenes racks contained 20 servers and 40
three-metre power cords. Tripp Lite pointed out that by changing
to half-metre power cords, he could remove over 100 metres
of cable clutter per rack and increase air flow by 70%. Tripp Lite
also designed a custom expandable UPS solution which provided
Eugene with the flexibility to add UPS capacity when needed.
Furthermore, Tripp Lite helped Eugene overcome challenge of
moving large cabinets through narrow hallways and stairways
by recommending heavy duty cabinets that could be easily taken
apart and reassembled in place.
Tripp Lite provided Eugene with a detailed specification that
included cabinets, power distribution, UPS backup and cabling,
plus a KVM console to manage all the servers. This made it easy
for Eugene to plan for the budget, manpower and time needed to
complete the project. This was of the utmost importance because
the omission of a single part could have resulted in a costly delay.
Lastly, Eugene realised the hidden benefit of utilising a one-stopshop as he was able to avoid having multiple meetings with
multiple vendors to produce the single specification.
As Eugene explains: I was surprised by how willing Tripp Lite was
to engage with us, the end user; as well as their breadth of product
knowledge. Other vendors are just not willing to do that. They really
knew what they were talking about and it went so well, we recently
asked Tripp Lite to help fit out a second data centre for Icomm in
Manchester.
Infrastructure equipment may constitute just five to 10% of total
system costs, but it is the fundamental building block of the data
centre, without which nothing works. Collaborating with a multitiered vendor who will provide valuable advice on data centre builds
can help ensure that your project runs smoothly, under-budget and
without surprises.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
45
23/01/2017 13:33
STORAGE
GROWTH:
SEPARATING REALITY FROM THE HYPE
The importance of data is undoubtedly

growing in all industries. As evolving
technology finds new ways to gather
and process information, data is
becoming the life blood of any business.
A data bulge?
With every new tech trend that emerges, whether that is the
Internet of Things or Big Data analytics, our reliance on data
seems to grow. The analyst IDC has predicted that this will
cause the volume of data in existence to double every two
years during this decade.
When you consider the macroeconomic performance of

both the UK, and global economies, in recent years, that
finding is not actually that surprising.
The experts say that this data bulge will create headaches
for the organisations having to manage and store all this
data. The much proffered solution to this is cloud computing,
which can provide on-demand scalability.
However, is this realistically what is happening in UK
businesses? Are they really scrambling to find a cloud partner
to help them handle rapidly growing quantities of data?
Data growth does not come out of thin air, explains

Mark Lomas, IT consultant at Probrand. There will always
be a correlation between the performance of a business
and the amount of data being produced.
For companies wanting to predict future data growth
rates, Lomas claims it makes sense to simply look at the
organisations performance in recent years and its historic
levels of data accumulation, and match that against forecast
growth of the business.
Cloud adoption?
3/4
MORE THAN
It is undeniable that some organisations are using cloud

computing for storage. The Cloud Industry Forum estimates
that cloud adoption in the UK has actually grown 75%
over the last five years. The industry body expects half of
businesses to move their entire estate to the cloud at some
point in the future. But that point is not now.
STATE THAT ANNUAL

GROWTH RATES ARE
NO GREATER THAN
10
46
The answer appears to be no. A survey of almost 500

mid-market organisations, by Probrand, found that just 3%
of firms are having to handle data growth rates higher than
25% year-on-year. The vast majority (77%) are actually
dealing with a steady growth of less than 10%.
The Probrand survey found that just 13% of firms are using
cloud as their primary storage platform. The reality is that
most organisations still prefer to keep their data on-premise.
Almost two thirds (61%) are using SAN solutions, while 16%
are still using NAS or DAS.
There may well be an element of protectionism behind why
IT managers are not utilising the cloud they might not fancy
the idea of making their role of maintaining this infrastructure
redundant just yet. When asked about the future of storage
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:33
INFRASTRUCTURE
MORE THAN A
TH
ANTICIPATE CLOUD WILL

BECOME THEIR FUTURE
STORAGE STRATEGY
8
ONLY
however, the number remains low just 22% believe

cloud will become their primary solution. What is clear
is that there is not a big rush to move to the cloud at the
moment, said Lomas.
Demand for new innovations?

This reluctance to convert to a new storage model is also
notable with the emergence of another new technology,
converged infrastructure (CI). This solution seems to have a
lot of appeal; lower operating costs, reduced downtime and
the ability to deploy applications faster. Adoption levels also
grew 50% last year, according to Gartner. However, the study
found that only 29% see this as a serious proposition for their
organisation, while 70% remain unsure of its value.
What actually matters most to organisations when it comes
to storage is the cost (30%) and performance (20%). Storage
is often viewed from a utilitarian perspective by many
businesses, said Lomas. They may be willing to hear about
new features but they will not always be willing to pay for all
those bells and whistles especially when the FD takes a look
at the cost. In fact, just 8% said they wanted to see greater
innovation from storage vendors.
2/3
ALMOST
OF ORGANISATIONS
USE SAN SOLUTIONS
OF RESPONDENTS WANT TO
SEE GREATER INNOVATION
FROM VENDORS
Improving performance
When it comes to what improvements organisations
would like to see in storage, however, performance (32%)
tops the list ahead of lower prices (25%). Lomas points out,
however, that improved performance may actually mean
paying more upfront with the likely savings being delivered
in the long term.
If your SAN can do more with your data, you start to get
additional value from storage. Features like deduplication
allow companies to maximise the amount data on a SAN, and
its not unusual to see organisations get an extra year out of
a product before filling up the capacity available, says Lomas
Deduplication can provide positives for businesses of any
size, and the bigger the capacity requirement, the bigger
the savings are likely to be.
With the vast majority of mid-market firms choosing to keep
their data on-premise at least for the typical life expectancy
of their next storage product this may be the best way
forward for companies looking to sweat their assets and get
maximum value out of their storage.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
47
23/01/2017 13:33
Mark Lomas
Icomm IT Consultant
IT managers can have very contradictory

views when it comes to cloud computing.
There arent many who would openly argue against it
playing a future role in IT. Solarwinds has even conducted a
survey which shows that 92% of IT professionals believe the
adoption of this technology will be important to the longterm success of their business.
The research found that key reasons for this view include
reduced cost of infrastructure, increased flexibility and agility
and the freedom it provides for IT personnel to concentrate
on strategic projects. So in theory, IT managers should see
cloud computing in a positive light.
There is a danger that if cloud projects

are managed in the wrong way, people
will feel that they have less to do.
But in truth not everything is rosy in the garden. Gartner
analyst Tom Bittman recently produced a blog looking at
why some cloud projects are failing. Reasons included IT
protecting its turf and a failure to get internal support.
Bittman added: Your staff can be your biggest supporters, or
your biggest roadblocks. Google the possible etymology of
the word sabotage.
The contrast in attitudes doesnt surprise me one bit. Ive
observed far too much conventional wisdom that IT is being
lost to the cloud. And there is a danger that if cloud projects
48
are managed in the wrong way, people will feel that they
have less to do and that their jobs are at risk.
In truth, it is the opposite. As the cloud makes sophisticated
solutions more accessible to business, IT managers are likely
to have their work cut out.
Opportunities are being created

Currently, an IT manager may spend just 10% of their day
managing hardware, nursing stacks of equipment. But
the vast majority of their time actually involves managing
software and that work is still going to be there in
abundance.
If you look at software-as-a-service (SaaS), the big players are
producing productivity boosting solutions that would be too
complex to deploy on-premise but they are in reach via the
cloud. As companies demand this technology, they will need
IT managers to act as the administrator.
CIOs need to explain that this type of deployment does not
take anything away from anyone; it is actually providing
us all with more tools. This development is providing an
opportunity for IT managers to branch out and be of greater
value to the business.
A recent study by EMC and VMware revealed that 88% of
businesses feel that they currently lack the skills necessary
when it comes to cloud technology. This is clearly an area
where jobs will be created and the most likely people to fill
those positions are todays IT managers.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:33
INFRASTRUCTURE
By allowing the cloud to take care

of the operating system, IT managers
will be able to focus on company
platforms and applications.
The evolution of the cloud
A different path for SMBs
As cloud computing evolves we are likely to see the role

of the IT manager develop in two different directions,
depending on the size of the organisation.
For small to medium sized businesses, however, it is a

different world. We are seeing the engineer style of role
where the IT manager is concerned with keeping the lights
on move towards more of a consulting position.
Large companies will have more budget and this will allow
them to take bits of their IT workload and see what can
go into the cloud. Research by JP Morgan has found that
enterprise-size organisations will almost triple the proportion
of their workloads being moved to public cloud services over
the next five years.
The report says: A near- tripling of the public cloud-based
workload mix represents a monumental architectural shift,
which shows no signs of abating and is likely to create a
major ripple effect across the entire technology landscape.
As these workloads move to the cloud, large businesses
will most likely look at a model that focuses on servers.
When you look at the client server model, prevalent within
organisations for 30-40 years, it did begin to change 10-15
years ago with virtualisation resulting in consolidation. But
all that did was to reduce the size of the footprint, while the
model remained the same for IT managers. The cloud is
changing this, however, as mainframes are now being created
using a cluster of servers in the cloud.
By allowing the cloud to take care of the operating system,
IT managers will be able to focus on company platforms and
applications. This new approach is closely aligned with the
concept of DevOps, as it is blending the administrative and
the development side.
When companies are looking to deploy productivity

solutions, such Microsofts Skype for Business or Office 365,
these types of IT managers will find they have their hands full.
They will need to help organisations extract maximum value
from these tools, especially as new versions are released.
There may be less installation work to do but there will
be more administration as companies deploy more tools.
Companies will also need to identify what new software can
be rolled out: what is available and what could create a real
business benefit?
These tasks will need to fall to someone who will also be
responsible for ensuring there is buy-in at the highest level,
and that there is the appropriate level of investment. And
there is a need to manage all the relevant third parties too.
If IT managers dont step up and take on these roles then
they run the risk of allowing a younger generation for
whom cloud computing will be second nature to come
along and fill these positions.
Cloud computing is the new game in town and it will become
the norm. It will ensure that there is be plenty of work
available but if IT managers stand still and refuse to evolve
they could well become obsolete. The time has come to
adapt or die.
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
49
23/01/2017 13:33
CASE STUDY
Waingels College breaks free

from proprietary technology
When Waingels College converted to an academy in 2015, the school re-examined its
operations. This process included a review of its IT supplier contract.
An agreement, signed on behalf of Waingels by the local
education authority as part of a major refurbishment of the

school several years earlier, had resulted in RM Education
proprietary technology being installed across its estate. This
agreement also tied the school into a RM service contract.
It was an arrangement from which the schools business
manager John OKeefe wanted to break free.
We needed to do things differently because if we ever
wanted to change anything we found we couldnt do it
ourselves, said John. We also felt that, for the level of
support we received, the costs were astronomical.
The school wanted to end the service contract and to employ
its own staff. John realised, however, that the proprietary
technology installed at the school would make it difficult to
recruit IT staff from outside the education sector.
The decision was taken, therefore, to replace the technology
in the school with equipment more familiar to the wider
business environment. Waingels partnered with Probrand
and completed the work over a summer vacation when
students would not be affected. We wanted to work with
an organisation that wasnt just more tech savvy, but who
could also help us lower our costs, said John.
The project involved the installation of a new core network,
server and storage infrastructure. This work included the
migration of numerous systems from Apple learning suites
to cashless catering and the deployment of remote access
and management tools.
50
Realising the benefits

With the installation complete, Waingels was able to recruit
a network manager and two technicians, which has allowed
the school to take full control of its own IT infrastructure.
This move away from proprietary technology and the
associated service contract is also helping the school to
make significant savings. We will save about 90,000 in
the first year because of the transition, said John.
I believe this is because Probrand saw our requirements
in a more straightforward, sensible way. This has enabled
us to do things much more cheaply. These savings alone
made the decision a no-brainer.
Crucially, the school has also discovered that the IT network
is providing a significantly improved performance, compared
to the schools previous infrastructure.
The new network is noticeably faster, and the remote
product is far superior, said John. Log-on times are now
much quicker and, when you often have 400 users all
logging in within a couple of minutes at the start of each
lesson, this makes a big difference.
He added: The old network was clunky and prompted a
lot of complaints. Since we moved to the new network,
however, Ive not had a whisper of a moan which is all
you can ask for really!
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
23/01/2017 13:33
INFRASTRUCTURE
Probrand saw our

requirements in a
more straightforward,
sensible way.
Waingels College
PROBR AND MAGA ZINE
51
23/01/2017 13:33
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23/01/2017 13:33

Evolution of B2B Buying

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Evolution of B2B Buying

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THE EVOLUTION

Danny Bradbury explores the growing

TIME TO ADAPT OR DIE

Champion of the buyer

Probrand is your digital marketplace for hassle-free

Were not like traditional resellers.

300,000 products and

Real-time price comparison

Start saving today at probrand.co.uk

Welcome to the latest edition

price, showing comparison across suppliers, as well

The change this is bringing about is now clearly visible

Were immensely proud of this development, which

Whether its for hardware, software or services, IT

Always with an eye on the future, this edition of the

Tracking the market

CIOs talk digital

Business app trends

B2B buying evolves

Please get in touch and share

How to make big

PROBR AND MAGA ZINE

Cloud computing has become a

Three quarters of organisations

Ofcom says improved connectivity

Shift to cloud computing set to

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The IT business-to-business market was relatively

Within the computing market segment, laptop

PROBR AND MAGA ZINE

from several areas including transceivers, routers,

Peripherals & printers

correlation here with businesses demanding higher

PROBR AND MAGA ZINE

Ian Nethercott, Probrand Supply

The hybrid concept

When convertible computers first came on to the market in

PROBR AND MAGA ZINE

Reliance Precision saved

To ensure the smooth running of the business, the

Purchasing IT equipment now

achieving best value. They found their answer in

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The interactive whiteboard was

The technology did, however, enjoy a resurgence thanks in

The future is flat panel

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The best and most productive

wireless technology allow presenters

With the Samsung Interactive Display

Overall, better collaboration and

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Choosing the right

The question is what AV device should

Traditional projector and screen

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Interactive flat panel displays

Whiteboards are heavy and large, so work out

Rob Xenos, business and marketing manager at Sahara,

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Aston Manor Brewery

than 185 staff, based in Birmingham and Devon, and

With Probrand, IT has become a business enabler

IT has become a business enabler