Colt Ceano provides a new way for channel partners to manage, configure and sell ICT services instantly

London, 10 April, 2013 — Colt, the leading information delivery platform, today announced the launch of Colt Ceano, a unique suite of converged information and communications technology (ICT) services, across Europe. Colt Ceano will provide channel partners with a comprehensive range of on-demand ICT services for their SME customers within a single contract. Fully scalable and flexible, Colt Ceano allows partners and their customers to add or remove services via an online portal with speed and ease, without the need for upfront capital outlay on new hardware. The comprehensive portal enables partners to order, sell, configure and manage services to meet the individual requirements of their SME customers.
Services include: virtual server, virtual desktop, security and infrastructure management, communication and collaboration applications, voice and internet access*.

Designed to provide a simplified approach to ICT delivery, Colt Ceano enables SMEs to source a full range of network, communications and cloud-based IT services from their preferred Colt channel partner. Furthermore, Colt Ceano means that businesses only pay for the services and capacity they need, safe in the knowledge that these can be scaled up and down as required. With new services added on an on- going basis, SMEs will continue to benefit from access to an expanding and innovative portfolio, hosted in Colt’s datacentres. By reducing the cost and complexity associated with managing multiple IT suppliers, SMEs will be free to focus on what concerns them the most – their core business.

James Eibisch, Research Director for IDC commented: ―SMEs need clear and affordable services that are simple to use and can be scaled. Being able to cherry-pick from the services available and pay only for the services and capacity they need is the key. Colt’s offering and its strength in uniform SLAs, backed by its enterprise-class network and data centre facilities across Europe resonates well with the needs of SMEs who often have very specific managed service requirements.

Colt Ceano will help Colt’s channel partners serve the needs and delivery preferences of SMEs quickly and effortlessly, combining clear and competitive pricing with a wide range of state-of-the-art business technology solutions from a single provider. Channel partners also have the option to widen the Colt provided portfolio with their own services and solutions. Colt Ceano is securely hosted within Colt’s own datacentres, with extensive firewall and backup, underpinned by Colt’s extensive pan-European fibre network, so partners and customers can be confident that their business-critical data is securely held with maximum availability, all guaranteed by Colt’s industry-leading service level agreements (SLAs).

Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at EuroLAN Research states: ―For resellers, being a one-stop shop for network and cloud-based computing, messaging, collaboration and infrastructure services and offering first-mover status into cloud services rather than a ‘big-bang’ approach creates a competitive advantage. VARs and resellers are transitioning from selling products to selling solutions, Colt Ceano will enable channel partners to benefit from on-going revenue streams and deeper customer relationships through on-going service provision, with easy ordering, management and configuration of services through a dedicated online portal.‖

―Businesses are looking to gain increased efficiencies and improved performance from their IT investments as well as ensuring the integrity of their data. They also face challenges of how to integrate new applications with existing systems and employing the right resources to maintain these. Colt Ceano has been designed to help SMEs reduce this complexity while offering them the flexibility they need. Colt’s suite of applications, hosted in our own secure data centres, combined with our voice and network
services provide tangible business benefits to the SME by reducing complexity and cost,‖ states Francois Eloy, EVP, Colt. ―Colt Ceano provides our channel partners with a comprehensive portfolio of connectivity and managed IT services which will deliver new and on-going revenue generating opportunities.‖

Colt will deliver a comprehensive programme of training and provide resources and support around these new offerings to their expanding network of partners. Colt Ceano will be available in Europe this month. For more information about Colt Ceano or to arrange a trial of the new services, please visit http://www.colt.net/uk/en/ceano. Colt also offers a portfolio of IT, networking and communications services directly to large enterprises.

About Colt

Colt is the information delivery platform, enabling its customers to deliver, share, process and store their vital business information. An established leader in delivering integrated computing and network services to major organisations, midsized businesses and wholesale customers, Colt operates a 22-country,
43,000km network that includes metropolitan area networks in 39 major European cities with direct fibre connections into 19,000 buildings and 20 carrier neutral Colt data centres.

In 2010, the Colt Data Centre Services business was launched to deliver innovative high quality data centre solutions at a Colt or customer site. Our Innovative data centres are rapid to deploy, flexible and highly efficient.

In addition to its direct sales capability, Colt has four indirect channels to market; Agent, Franchise, Distributor and Wholesale which includes Carriers, Service Providers, VARs and Voice Resellers.

Colt is listed on the London Stock Exchange (COLT). Information about Colt and its services can be found at www.colt.net

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Nigel Church (MD)
First Solution Technologies Ltd, Worcester, UK
www.firstsolution.co.uk

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Customer Background

Established in 2008 and based in High Wycombe, Torix Managed Services provides a range of IT solutions, including everything from standard IT break fix, infrastructure management, through to consultancy, support and maintenance. Having become a Colt Ceano Gold Partner, Torix launched its ‘My Office In The Cloud’ brand in September 2012 – a new range of Cloud-based services built on Colt Ceano’s white-label platform.

The Business Challenge

While the company was performing well, it was still relatively new to the managed services space and found it difficult to differentiate itself from more established players. At the same time, like many service providers and resellers in this space, Torix faced a steady decline in traditional boxed/on-premise IT, and realised that they needed to adapt their offering. It was after implementing hosted exchange for a customer that was expanding into Serbia and Poland, that Torix recognised the potential of Cloud for the SME market.

The Solution

Torix analysed which cloud services had high potential and realised there was a real market for Desktop as a Service (DaaS). They began to review options for taking a DaaS product to market, and conducted evaluations with Citrix and VMware View. One of the main restrictions of these technologies was that Torix had to essentially build their own offering from the ground up – something which would incur a substantial cost and risk. So Torix looked at partnership options and entered into a conversation with Colt Ceano. Immediately, Colt Ceano’s HVDI service stood out from the competition due to it being a true DaaS experience, rather than a less customisable, less secure Terminal Services or Citrix deployment. Colt Ceano’s DaaS platform allows customers to move their entire network, including all their line of business applications, file shares and security polices, and place it in the cloud.

Results/Benefits

“White-labelling the Colt Ceano platform, instead of just reselling their products, has enabled us to create our own identity in the market and tailor the solution, which is very important to us” Tim Barber, CEO at Torix explains. “This is why we have spent a lot of time and resources creating a distinct brand to launch into the marketplace. Our expertise lies in helping SMEs understand how technology can support their businesses, and walking them through their options to identify the best fit for their organisation. The likes of Google and Amazon take a monolithic, one-size-fits-all approach, because they work to economies of scale,” Barber continues “but our understanding of the SME market tells us that every business is unique in its approach and requirements, and Colt Ceano gets that.”

“For example, many customers feel nervous about putting data into the cloud as they want to know where exactly it is. With Colt Ceano, we can give them this information and even provide bespoke offerings to enable customers to select the location that their data is hosted in – you can’t get that with the big providers. The service from Colt Ceano has been first-rate, and the margins are very favourable. They have not only provided technical support, they have also assisted in the launch and marketing of the My Office In The Cloud brand. Often vendors just give you a badge to put on your website and some products and send you on your way, but with Colt Ceano you can tell they really take our business seriously and it works as a true partnership.”

The Future

Under the My Office In The Cloud umbrella, Torix is now offering the entire range of Colt Ceano cloud computing solutions – including Hosted Virtual Desktops, Virtual Server Infrastructure (IaaS), Hosted Exchange and Soonr Workplace Collaboration, Software as a Service application delivery (SaaS), VoIP, Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery. Working as a ‘one stop shop’, Colt Ceano gives Torix the ability to provide cutting edge, value added cloud services, and respond to a very wide variety of customer requirements – all through one relationship.

Tim sees a bright future ahead – “We feel the combination of our expertise as a managed services provider, coupled with the support and market heritage of Colt Ceano in the cloud market, creates a compelling and unique offering. My Office In The Cloud is definitely a strategic and important step in our company’s evolution to becoming a cloud services provider.”

About Torix

With head offices in High Wycombe Buckinghamshire, Torix has been providing Managed IT services within the SME sector for 10 years. Run by business people who have a passion for IT and technology, Torix works in partnership with SME’s to determine the correct IT strategy for them in terms of cloud services, more traditional IT models or hybrid models combing both.

For more information please visit: www.myofficeinthecloud.co.uk

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London, 13 August, 2012. – Colt Technology Services today announced that it has acquired ThinkGrid, a channel focused cloud platform provider. ThinkGrid enables channel partners to become successful cloud providers in their own right by offering them a comprehensive portfolio of cloud-based services with a turnkey management platform and the commercial and technical training required to grow their cloud business. The acquisition increases Colt’s strength in cloud-based services for the indirect channel and adds approximately 200 resellers and ISV’s to its partner community in the UK.

François Eloy, Executive Vice President at Colt, explains the value ThinkGrid brings to Colt’s business; “The SME market for managed services is set to grow at 15% annually during the coming years. Colt is well positioned to penetrate this market through our indirect channels. The acquisition of ThinkGrid further strengthens our position with the addition of a complementary range of cloud-based services. We also gain a reseller oriented management platform and portal which will reduce our time to market across our European markets. This acquisition allows us to extend our channel community to include skilled managed services resellers who will help us to accelerate our growth.”

Colt’s channel partners will benefit from ThinkGrid’s advanced capabilities of auto-provisioning and fully flexible billing. ThinkGrid’s comprehensive training programme to facilitate the development of resellers’ cloud capabilities will be rolled out to Colt’s indirect sales team and channel partners. This move makes the information delivery platform real for Colt’s indirect channel, with a comprehensive range of cloudbased services guaranteed by Colt’s SLAs to provide a best-in-class partner experience.

Rob Lovell, CEO of ThinkGrid comments; “Becoming part of Colt Technology Services supports ThinkGrid’s vision to become the world’s leading cloud services enablement platform, offering great product and market development opportunities. ThinkGrid will gain access to Colt’s 20 state-of-the-art data centre facilities, extended research and development and support resources as well as an
opportunity to expand into 22 European countries.”

Joining Colt will accelerate ThinkGrid’s growth by leveraging Colt’s market reach, partner community and existing customer base across Europe while giving ThinkGrid’s existing resellers and customers access to Colt’s products and services. ThinkGrid will continue to focus on its three-fold proposition to partners: Platform, Services and Enablement, allowing resellers to build a profitable cloud proposition to serve their end-customers efficiently with a full range of enterprise-class business services.

About ThinkGrid

ThinkGrid is a worldwide enabler of cloud computing that equips IT providers with the tools and help necessary to establish or expand a revenue stream from the cloud. ThinkGrid’s three key component offering consists of a state of the art – self-service and billing platform, productized cloud services (including Hosted Virtual Desktop, Virtual Server, Unified Communications, Hosted Email) and above all an enablement and go-to-market program to help partners achieve success. We have office and datacentre locations in North America, Europe, UK, Ukraine, Australia and Asia to support our partner network. ThinkGrid has a partner ecosystem which encompasses over 300 partners who build and deliver public, private and hybrid cloud services and solutions for over 35,000 users, in all different virtual markets and regions. For more information please visit: www.thinkgrid.com

About Colt

Colt is the information delivery platform for Europe, enabling its customers to deliver, share, process and store their vital business information securely. An established leader in delivering integrated computing and network services to major organisations, midsized businesses and wholesale customers, Colt operates a 22-country, 43,000km network that includes metropolitan area networks in 39 major European cities with direct fibre connections into 18,000 buildings and 20 Colt data centres (one in development).

In 2010, the Colt Data Centre Services business was launched to deliver innovative high quality modular data centres which are rapid to deploy and power efficient.

In addition to it’s direct sales capability, Colt has four indirect channels to market; Agent, Franchise, Distributor and Wholesale which includes Carriers, Service Providers, VARs and Voice Resellers.

Colt is listed on the London Stock Exchange (COLT). Information about Colt and its services can be found at
www.colt.net.

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Help us make a difference!

ThinkGrid are a fast growing IT company whose staff spend more time tinkering with technology than worrying about their health and fitness, so we’ve decided to do something about it!

The British Heart Foundation is a charity that is close to a few of us, so we’ve chosen the BHF Blenheim Palace half marathon as our first event (possibly the first of many, we’ll see how it goes!)

Please support us in supporting the BHF by donating to this great cause, and we hope you enjoy the photos we shall be posting in the build up to and during the event!

Visit ThinkGrid’s Fund Raising Page

Donate Now

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London, UK – 12th July, 2012 – ThinkGrid, the world’s first cloud enablement platform vendor for the channel, has partnered with Soonr to offer Soonr Workplace, a Mobile Sync & Work Platform designed to enhance business productivity by allowing teams to securely access, share, sync and manage files across multiple platforms and mobile devices.

“We’ve all seen the rise of DropBox and Box.com as collaborative working across multiple locations and devices increases. However, they do not offer the management and security features that many businesses require. We are addressing this problem with the introduction of Soonr Workplace into our portfolio of cloud services. Our channel partners will be able to offer SMEs a way to share files and work collaboratively with internal and external teams without compromising on security,” said Rob Lovell, CEO of ThinkGrid. “Ultimately, alongside our other cloud services it allows SMEs to increase productivity by breaking the link between data and applications and devices. With these types of services employees can work from any device, anywhere in the world.”

With Soonr Workplace, ThinkGrid’s Channel Partners will be able to better address their customers’ mobility, business continuity and security needs. Businesses will be able to create organisation-wide and or function based file sharing projects that they can securely access, share and manage on and offline from any device such as Virtual Desktop, PC, iPhone or Android handset. Granting and removing file access, setting time limits can be done instantly, without the need for a dedicated IT resource. Enterprise grade security: 256 bit encryption, HIPAA and SAS 70 compliance makes collaboration with internal and external stakeholders secure and easy. For SMEs that are yet to have a business continuity plan, the automatic backup with built-in versioning will further increase the product’s value.

Soonr Workplace follows the cloud based on demand model, allowing businesses to pay only for the resources they need. ThinkGrid worked with Soonr to build a module that automates the delivery of Soonr Workplace through the ThinkGrid cloud platform. Managing customers, adding users and storage and tracking monthly costs are done via a ThinkGrid’s user-friendly web-based administration tool which gives resellers and end-users alike the control they need.

“We are thrilled to partner with ThinkGrid. Together we will help provide powerful business solutions that will enable global enterprises to extend productivity to all mobile devices,” said Martin Frid-Nielsen, co-founder and CEO of Soonr. “Soonr Workplace is the first and only business cloud service that transforms iPads and other mobile devices into real-time business productivity tools. Putting those powerful capabilities into the hands of the sales, marketing and enterprise teams can only help companies succeed.”

About ThinkGrid

ThinkGrid is a worldwide enabler of cloud computing that equips IT providers with the tools and help necessary to establish or expand a revenue stream from the cloud. ThinkGrid’s three key component offering consists of a state of the art – self-service and billing platform, productized cloud services (including Hosted Virtual Desktop, Virtual Server, Unified Communications, Hosted Email) and above all an enablement and go-to-market program to help partners achieve success. We have office and datacentre locations in North America, Europe, UK, Ukraine, Australia and Asia to support our partner network. ThinkGrid has a partner ecosystem which encompasses over 300 partners who build and deliver public, private and hybrid cloud services and solutions for over 35,000 users, in all different virtual markets and regions. For more information please visit: www.thinkgrid.com

About Soonr

Soonr transforms tablets like the iPad, the Galaxy Note and other mobile devices into business productivity tools powered by a secure cloud. Soonr’s secure cloud service enables Teams to work together on digital content from any device, anywhere in the world. The Soonr Workplace and Scribble apps are compatible with both the Apple iOS Android operating systems and RIM’s Blackberry platform. Built on a carrier-grade infrastructure, Soonr is trusted by the world’s leading brands, service providers and more than 120,000 businesses. Founded in 2005, Soonr holds several technology patents and is a privately held company backed by HighBAR Partners, Clearstone Venture Partners, Intel Capital, Cisco and Presidio Ventures. Connect on www.soonr.com, Twitter, and Facebook.

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SAN MATEO, Calif. – June 19, 2012 – IntelePeer, Inc., a leading provider of on-demand, cloud-based communications, and ThinkGrid, the world’s first cloud enablement platform vendor for the Channel, today announced that ThinkGrid is now offering IntelePeer’s CoreCloud® SIP Trunking services as part of its cloud-based VoIP and unified communications service offerings.

ThinkGrid delivers a range of hosted VoIP, hosted desktop and other productivity services, including Microsoft Lync unified communications software, solely through its global network of more than 300 IT solution providers who target small and mid-sized businesses. ThinkGrid’s cloud platform allows these resellers to provide their customers with enterprise-class IT services at very affordable prices.

ThinkGrid chose IntelePeer to provide SIP Trunking connections – an essential part of unified communications and VoIP services – after conducting a full review of competitive offerings. IntelePeer CoreCloud SIP Trunking received top marks as a cost-effective, high quality solution that delivers attractive revenue opportunities for resellers and exceptional value to end customers.

“By teaming with IntelePeer, ThinkGrid gives our channel partners access to high-quality SIP Trunking connections that provide customers with long-term cost savings and eliminate the hassles of traditional PBX systems,” said Rob Lovell, CEO of ThinkGrid. “In addition to the excellent value, IntelePeer SIP Trunking is the industry’s most feature-rich solution, with impressive sound quality.”

IntelePeer’s CoreCloud SIP Trunking services provide comprehensive communications services all delivered on-demand from the IntelePeer CloudWorx™ platform. IntelePeer’s solution is known for its rapid activation capability, which will allow ThinkGrid resellers to deploy Microsoft Lync and other hosted services to their customers in a matter of days. “The combination of ThinkGrid and IntelePeer creates a perfect solution for resellers, who can deliver a flexible, scalable hosted VoIP offering that meets the cost and quality needs of the SMB market,” said Margaret Norton, general manager, Enterprises for IntelePeer. “We are pleased to partner with ThinkGrid and its extensive reseller network to expand the reach of our SIP Trunking services to business customers.”

About ThinkGrid

ThinkGrid is a worldwide enabler of cloud computing that equips IT providers with the tools and help necessary to establish or expand a revenue stream from the cloud. ThinkGrid’s three key component offering consists of a state of the art – self-service and billing platform, productized cloud services (including Hosted Virtual Desktop, Virtual Server, Unified Communications etc.) and above all an enablement and go-to-market program to help partners achieve success. We have office and data center locations in North America, Europe, UK, Ukraine, Australia and Asia to support our partner network. ThinkGrid has a partner ecosystem which encompasses over 300 partners who build and deliver public, private and hybrid cloud services and solutions for over 35,000 users, in all different virtual markets and regions. For more information please visit: www.thinkgrid.com 

About IntelePeer

IntelePeer, Inc. is a leading provider of on-demand, cloud-based communications services for enterprises and service providers. The patented IntelePeer CloudWorx™ software platform, leveraging the scale and reach of the cloud, delivers multi-modal communications, including voice, video, unified communications and other rich media, with high quality and reliability. The IntelePeer CloudWorx platform combines an extensive Media Peering Grid™ service, a SuperRegistry® global directory of more than 450 million telephone numbers and end point identifying addresses as well as sophisticated and intelligent routing software, and the AppWorx® communication-enabling application development environment and tools. IntelePeer enables customers to rapidly and cost-effectively transition from legacy telecommunications networks to IP-based communications, with little or no additional capital expenditures. As a result, IntelePeer customers can improve their return on investment on communications equipment and services. For more information visit: www.intelepeer.com.

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London, May 2012 — ThinkGrid is improving its Partner Programme. The platform vendor, which allows customers to use IT services from the cloud, has today added a new silver tier, which it says doesn’t require any sales commitment for its partners. This means that resellers will not need to commit to a recurring revenue target and those just starting out can build and develop their cloud expertise without the pressure of guaranteeing sales until they move to the gold or platinum levels.

Rob Lovell, CEO at ThinkGrid said: “We’ve introduced the zero commitment level to our programme as a response to requests from both smaller resellers and those taking their first steps in cloud computing, who don’t want to make upfront financial commitments.

“It eases the initial pressure on our partners as it means they don’t have to sign up to specific levels of training and sales targets at the beginning, yet they can still benefit from the most comprehensive portfolio of cloud services and support that we offer.”

He claimed that this would in turn reduce the perceived risks from partners and could help them realise the true business opportunity from the cloud.

ThinkGrid will now offer three partner tiers; silver, gold and platinum. It added that the silver level was aimed at partners entering the cloud computing market with limited experience and expertise. It said through this partners would be able to receive in-depth sales and technical training through ThinkGrid’s Partner Portal as well as 10 percent discount pricing and a range of marketing benefits. This includes access to ThinkGrid’s Seminar-in-a-Box materials, product roadmap webinars and 24×7 technical support.

Gold and platinum level partners are offered business planning sessions; quarterly marketing development funding initiatives such as case study development, webinars, seminar and event support. They are also given greater discount pricing and more personalised support with a dedicated account manager.

For all partners online training will be offered through the ThinkGrid Partner Portal, which is said to cover everything from the basics of educating customers on the benefits of cloud computing to more complex issues such as integrating services with existing IT infrastructure, billing & provisioning.

It also includes how to structure a sales organisation around recurring, Opex-based revenues, which all levels can benefit from.

Lovell continued: “We hope our new entry-level silver tier will increase uptake of cloud computing, as we truly believe resellers can excel in this market. With the cloud, resellers need to transfer to Opex-led business models rather than traditional Capex-led models. For the channel, this creates a more sustainable and predictable business.

“However, for those that are used to selling products rather than services, it is a change and so we offer in-depth business consultancy from our experienced account managers to help compile business plans and strategy.

“To add to this, for partners who have performed particularly well, marketing development funding is also available. Rather than see their revenues cannibalised directly from vendor clouds, we want to help our channel partners build and grow their cloud business to its maximum potential.”

About ThinkGrid

Founded in 2008, ThinkGrid is a private corporation headquartered in the UK, with offices located in London, Seattle, Sydney, Belgrade and Lviv run by an experienced management team. We operate multiple highest tier datacenters across the world to house our platform, which delivers real IT services such as Hosted Virtual Desktop, Virtual Server and Email to our partners. Partners can then use our state-of-the-art software platform to manage and service their customers in real time, with or without white label rebranding options.

ThinkGrid have over 35,000 users accessing services on a daily basis, powered by our partner ecosystem – over 300. This encompasses VAR, MSP and ISV Partners who deliver and resell our services, packaging them for different vertical markets. For more information visit: http://www.thinkgrid.com

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