Founding director, VADition
Career so far I have been the founder of VADition, Equip Technology, Data Connectivity, and Data Connections - before that Data Guardian. I started off at The Surrey Advertiser in sales!
Do you care about green IT? Yes, in as much as it's a major issue for IT infrastructures. All the new products we select have to have green credentials - and many do. Of our last three vendor signings they've all come in with a 25 per cent space and 30 per cent power play, which equates to 75 per cent and 70 per cent savings for both.
If you could be in a rock/pop band, which one would it be and who would you be? U2, Bono. They've been around recreating themselves for years and are still hitting the sweet spot.
What is the best corporate jolly you have ever been on/taken partners on? I've done all the cliché ones: Monaco, golf in Valderama, Gulf stream jets. Nothing beats being taken to lunch or taking someone to lunch in Borough Market, just off Southwark Bridge. Good honest British fare beer and wine - and plenty of traditional boozers for afters!
Has 2009 been as bad as everyone said it would be? It has been very challenging - but there's no substitute for hard work - and we've reaped what we've sown! It has been a great trading year for us and many of our partners - but even though the results are swan like, below the water we're paddling like mad and I love it!
Have any of your predictions come true this year? For the last two years we've been telling people about Web 2.0 - most people couldn't spell it, even more understand it. When we set out on this journey, we had a good feeling that somehow social networking would have a big impact on the enterprise and present great opportunities for our partners. We may have been wrong, but we weren't confused; it turns out we weren't wrong after all!
What do you see as the channel's biggest challenge in 2010? We'll still be educating and evangelising about the social enterprise. The biggest problem and challenge will be the channel embracing it and harnessing the opportunities, but it's a challenge the channel is up to. Notwithstanding this the move to cloud and SaaS will challenge traditional business models; if the channel doesn't embrace this, I fear they could become the HMVs or EMIs of the IT industry. Remember, it wasn't really the musicians who moaned about Napster and other download models.
What is the best part of your day? Whenever there's a din in the office from the sales floor. There's no substitute for activity and the more we're on the phones, the more we sell.
