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TechPro Jul/Aug 2015
10
ComputerScope — TechPro 30 Years
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<< business and Redstone’s storage
business in 2010 PFH became a
fully-fledged ICT Services
provider of depth and scale, with
the capability to effectively and
efficiently service any
organisation in these islands.
Ground-breaking developments
came in taking on the IBM PC to
gain credibility, attaining Gold
Standard with Microsoft and the
technical skills of real depth to
deliver on MS technologies. A key
People make change
happen. People are our
strength. It is our people
who create our
milestones”
tipping point was the vision to
expand nationally through the
acquisition of CK and then to
grow the breadth of offerings in
telephony, networking, and
storage by acquiring Redstone
and Siemens. All of this coupled
with the great people that joined
and believed in PFH from the
start, as well as those who joined
along the way through
acquisitions, helped us to service
and develop with the market.
As PFH Technology Group
celebrates its thirtieth year
anniversary this year, I can see
that, the more I look at this ICT
business the more see that it
really is all about the people we
hire and the people we work with.
People make change happen.
People are our strength. It is our
people who create our milestones.
Attracting and growing talent
allows us to address the cyclical
waves and challenges of the ICT
industry and to successfully serve
our Customers. 8
- Paul Hourican, CEO
RENAISSANCE CONTINGENCY SERVICES LTD
30 YEARS
seems a long
time, but also a
short time
because like all
time it flies by.
Change takes
place constantly.
Renaissance
started in 1987
with an
innovative
service in
Ireland, a
disaster
Recovery service based on the
delivery of mobile cold computer
rooms to subscribers on standby.
These were designed for
IBM4300’s, DEC Vax and ICL
equipment. This market developed
The youth of 2015 live their lives with computing and
communications being an embedded part of their
everyday existence”
and grew but server based
computing changed all.
The data security side of
Renaissance started in 1988 with
our appointment as Sophos
distributors in Ireland. The
landscape was very different then
and ultimately technology has
become embedded in our
everyday lives and is very much a
part of the way in which we live
and work. The advent of PC’s and
networking and server based
systems with the addition of the
availability of significant bandwidth
for all has changed things forever.
Systems were inaccessible and
linking systems together was a
nightmare, in particular, remote
communications was virtually
impossible.
In 2015 we talk about cloud
computing, the IoT and all that
entails. These were impossible
without the changes mentioned.
The youth of 2015 live their lives
with computing and
communications being an
embedded part of their everyday
existence.
PC’s and their relatively low cost
and their availability has changed
computing forever and also has
changed our lives. We live with
wireless and wired networks
virtually everywhere and 4G
telecommunications making life
now so very different to 30 years
ago.
From the point of view of
Renaissance, accessible and
flexible computing has changed
the perimeter of computing forever
and the threats and vulnerabilities
which such change has made
means that controls and security is
now key for everyone and every
organisation. 8
- Michael Conway, managing
director
INTELLICOM
WHO CAN
FORGET that
piercing, highpitched sound?
I smile with
fond nostalgia
when reflecting
on the days of
the humble 1200
baud modem,
when we
patiently sat and
waited, and
waited until
finally the
connection succeeded and we were
able to pick up our email or access
a bulletin board or browse a very
basic web site. Of course, these
were the days of text; no question
of exchanging high resolution
The wide availability of high speed connections has
spawned another industrial revolution, facilitating the
explosion of cloud services and changing consumer
and organisational buying behaviour forever”
images or viewing media rich web
pages or video streams.
How far we’ve come in such a
short space of time. And it’s all
down to developments in
telecommunications connectivity. In
fact, the wide availability of high
speed connections has spawned
another industrial revolution,
facilitating the explosion of cloud
services and changing consumer
and organisational buying behaviour
forever.
The geographical accessibility
and speed of the internet is one of
the most disruptive forces in our
recent history and as an
entrepreneur and managing director
of unified communications
specialist, Intellicom, we’ve been
able to capitalise on that.
Ireland’s high speed digital
footprint is the fundamental
building block of our business
model, based on hosted or on
premise unified communications
solutions; designed to help our
clients to better manage their
customer relationships and keep
their enterprise telecoms costs
down.
And with ever increasing, more
reliable bandwidth and a steady
flow of talented, creative software
developers emerging, the future
looks bright for those willing to
embrace it.
Over the years, TechPro has
helped us all to exchange ideas,
debate viewpoints and appreciate
some of the finer complexities of
the technology industry. I for one,
hope to be still reading it in 30
years’ time. 8
- Neil Wisdom, managing director,
Intellicom
SQUARE ONE DISTRIBUTION
FOUNDED IN
2004, Square One’s
history spans 11
years as Ireland’s
premier trade only
technology
distribution partner.
Undoubtedly
technological
developments over
the past 20 years,
especially in the
last five years, have
moulded the
business.
Interactive technologies have
played a fundamental part in
As technology advances it will be used in new contexts
and environments. User experience has had a
substantial impact”
providing the channel and end
users with products and solutions
for smarter, efficient and effective
ways of working. The market is
evolving to incorporate these new
products and companies are
moving fast with the trends. This will
only continue — with ‘Millennials’
driving technological trends and
changes.
As technology advances it will
be used in new contexts and
environments. User experience
has had a substantial impact.
If we look where the technologies
are used, interactive screens in t
he retail space, 3D printers in
primary schools, UST projectors
in the everyday meeting room
or communal area for a true
cinema experience in care homes —
reflecting the fundamental
value of interaction and customer
experience.
As our parent company since
2009, Midwich, a leading European
technology distributor has played a
big part in influencing decisions and
providing opportunities for growth.
In today’s market it goes without
saying resellers and dealers need a
distributor that delivers more than
boxes. The market is evolving and
moving fast, with trends including
cloud and Internet of Things
reinforcing our focus on interactive
providing endless opportunities. 8
- Garnett Stewart, general manager