US computer giant Dell has agreed a deal to buy data storage company EMC for $67bn (£44bn).
EMC shareholders will receive $33.15 per share, $24.05 of which will be in cash.
If approved by regulators, the deal would be the biggest in history between two technology companies.
Falling demand for PCs means Dell is looking to expand into more lucrative businesses, and it has identified data storage as a key growth area.
“Our new company will be exceptionally well-positioned for growth in the most strategic areas of next-generation IT ,” said Dell boss Michael Dell.
EMC boss Joe Tucci said: “The waves of change we now see in our industry are unprecedented and, to navigate this change, we must create a new company for a new era”.
Mr Dell will be chairman and chief executive of the combined group that, Dell said, would be the world’s “largest privately-controlled, integrated technology company”.
‘Stunning coup’
The exact cost of the deal will depend on the value of shares in VMware, the software company controlled by EMC. VMware will remain an independent, listed company.
The price per share agreed represents a 20% premium on Friday’s EMC closing share price of $27.86. EMC shares were up about 4% in pre-market trading on Monday.
The deal is expected to close some time between May and October 2016.
Analysts suggested the deal was a brave move by Dell.
“Dell wants to become the old IBM Corp, a one-stop shop for corporate clients,” said Erik Gordon from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
“That model fell apart a couple of decades ago. Reviving it would be a stunning coup for Dell.”
Lynx are a specialist family-owned building, repair and maintenance company based in Uxbridge.
They offer a fast response and first-class customer service to their ever-growing list of prestigious landlord and management clients, and maintain over 3,000 properties across the south of England.Lynx are a specialist family-owned building, repair and maintenance company based in Uxbridge. They offer a fast response and first-class customer service to their ever-growing list of prestigious landlord and management clients, and maintain over 3,000 properties across the south of England.
Founder & Managing Director of Lynx Maintenance, Chris Moseley, relates, “Our entire focus is on making service improvements. We recognised that the technology we used was not going to support the level of growth we are experiencing; we had a back office job-management system that was 10 years old, producing so much paper, and a separate vehicle tracking system that we used reactively.”
Lynx decided that they needed a Big Change. They wanted one system that could manage all aspects of their business, and they wanted a fully-developed, proven product that wouldn’t cost them a fortune.
Chris Moseley went on to say, “We were recommended to contact BigChange, who had developed a system that did everything we wanted straight out of the box. BigChange spent time with us ensuring that the implementation process and training of our Head Office and Engineering teams went smoothly.”
The BigChange JobWatch system has everything – built-in service management, customer relationship management, job scheduling, resource time management, health and safety, equipment and stock management, mobile apps, financial features (from quotation to invoicing, with integration to accounting software such as Sage) and vehicle tracking. JobWatch features intuitive reporting, including reporting on customer service and quality, business productivity, driver behaviour and risk management.
Chris recalls how “Implementing the system completely did away with paper in the office and in the field. We invoice instantly when a job is completed, and have seen our productivity and service levels hit new heights. This is just the beginning, as we believe that this technology will enable our company to grow without the cost and risk that goes with expansion. We look forward to celebrating 20 years in business next year, and the BigChange JobWatch system has given us exactly the tools we need to progress and grow our family business.”
Martin Port, CEO of BigChange commented, “We are delighted to have completed another successful implementation of JobWatch with Lynx Maintenance. JobWatch has revolutionised Lynx practices and processes, eliminated all paperwork and time consuming manual tasks.”
Visit our stand P20 at Fleet Management LIVE and this will be on October at the 6th & 7th at the NEC Birmingham.
Fleet Management LIVE will be the definitive event for key company car decision makers, whether traditional fleet operator or non-fleet managers in procurement, finance, HR, travel and facilities management.
Fleet Management LIVE will cover all aspects of company car management from projecting the future direction of cars, vehicle technology and fleet management to practical and hands-on guidance on effectively running a fleet in today’s ever-changing market.
Coach & Bus Live is taking place on 30 September – 1 October ’15 at the NEC, Birmingham and is the major domestic showcase for the bus, coach and passenger transport technology sector.
The event covers everything needed to successfully operate a fleet of passenger vehicles – including buses, coaches and mini-vehicles, technology, workshop equipment, insurance services, finance advice and training and development.
Please visit the BigChange stand for a system presentation!
Entrepreneur Martin Port isto install 100,000 SmartWitnessinvehicle CCTV cameras over the next three yearsin a bid to help clients reduce costly insurance claims.
The cameras will be installed in the vehicles of Mr Port’s BigChange customers and will provide companies with court admissible video footage. Mr Port has teamed up with SmartWitness invehicle CCTV cameras, which are highly rated by insurance companies, to add video functionality to his BigChange BigChange mobile workforce technology system. SmartWitness evidence allows insurance claims to be filed in record time, which significantly reduces costs. Insurers have found that just two per cent of incidents recorded on SmartWitness cameras result in disputed claims.
This is against an industry norm of 40 per cent for all motor claims. At the moment Leedsbased BigChange provides customers with tracking information about a driver’s harsh braking, acceleration and speed which is a powerful tool to enforce good driver behaviour, but video footage will transform the operation.
“In a lot of incidents involving near misses or an accident you get harsh braking and to have video proof of exactly what happened is absolutely vital,”
said Mr Port.
“You can protect the driver and it’s encrypted so it’s admissible in court.”
Mr Port said that a trial run with a client that has 100 vehicles saw 35 incidents and all were documented by video footage.
“The technology is very. Very good. It’s a powerful tool,” he added. BigChange has approaching 300 customers, including HSS, Silentnight and Morrison Utility Services, and services 5,000 vehicles. In just over two years sales have soared “We’re growing at 100 per cent a year. This year turnover will be just over £2m, up from £1.05m and the year before that we were at £300,000”
said Mr Port.
“We hope to fit 10,000 vehicles by the end of December 2016.”
The cameras will cost £199 each plus installation costs and the link to the system. Customers will receive a text when there has been unusual braking activity. Mr Port, 52, sold vehicle tracking firm Masternaut UK in 2009 for an estimated £20m, He sees it as essential that the next generation of telematics include court admissible video footage. SmartWitness will offer a fully integrated solution as part of BigChange’s BigChange’s JourneyWatch Vehicle Tracking and JobWatch All-in-One Mobile Workforce Management systems. The SmartWitness SVC 1080 will now be offered as standard with these systems. Camera events will be automatically logged and will enable management to know the exact time and location of any accidents or nearmisses.
“Together with Smart Witness cameras, BigChange has a truly comprehensive risk management offering, protecting your business, your drivers and members of the public,”
said Mr Port.
“BigChange mobile workforce apps help companies to manage risk right across their operations. All customers have free use of a driver productivity app for android phones and tablets. It automates and enforces daily driver checks, can manage risk assessments and provides tailored debriefs and driver feedback.”
He added that video footage is now a key part of any telematics offering. BigChange looked at a number of other solutions, but Mr Port said SmartWitness was the clear winner, based on specification, features, innovation, value, reliability, quality, support and price. JobWatch was launched by BigChange as a paperless way to plan, manage, 9/21/2015 Footage admissible in court thanks to special software schedule and track a mobile workforce.
DRIVERS AT Stalkers Transport have seen their basic pay soar by 18% this year after working with the company to cut fuel costs.
The increase follows last year’s installation of BigChange Apps’s telematics system across Stalkers Transport’s 62-vehicle fleet. The system monitors drivers’ fuel economy and driving behaviour. The company chose the telematics system because it allows drivers as well as managers to monitor their scores creating a league table. Stalkers MD Karen Stalker said the system is friendly competition between drivers which had seen a significant impact on fuel usage and driving standards.
“We had the kits installed in all of our trucks and each one is driver-specific. It scores their overall driving behaviour so at the end of the day when they log off they can see where they are ranked against their colleagues,” she said. Stalker said the firm made it clear to the drivers that any savings would be passed onto them in the form of pay rises and monthly £100 bonuses. “We were aware that we weren’t paying the best rates of pay to our drivers in the leaner years. But for us to be able to change that, the drivers had to help us to help them.” Stalker said fuel savings have been significant. “MPG has improved by 8.2%.”
“It has massively reduced idling time and generally improved driving standards. This has also resulted in much lower numbers of accidents and incidents.” She added: “we have been able to give the savings back to the drivers firstly in terms of a significant wage rise, which equated to 18% onto their basic rate, and secondly as a fuel bonus if they get a perfect 10 score for the whole month.”
Article taken from 20/08/2015 edition of the Commercial Motor Magazine.
Are you fed up with running around after paperwork in your business?
Are you still waiting days for jobs cards to be returned to the office?
Is it taking too long to raise an invoice?
Is your back-office team struggling to schedule jobs manually?
Are you sure health & safety procedures are being followed?
Are your engineers and installers still struggling with paper job forms?
Well it’s time to go paperless – for less than a £1 per day per engineer or driver you can implement JobWatch – The paperless way to plan, manage, schedule and track your mobile workforce
BigChange is an established force in mobile resource management, offering a system that transforms the way companies manage their mobile workforces and mobile operations.
By challenging convention and through breakthrough innovation, BigChange is pioneering new intuitive and simple to use technology that delivers industry leading levels of return on investment.
We are seeking supplier arrangements with leading suppliers of fuel cards, tyres and fleet services for all types of vehicles from cars to trucks.
