A Merry Channel Christmas
CRN gets nosy as it asks some top channel players what their plans are for the festive period and also what they hope to get from Father Christmas
After a tough year where we have had more than our fair share of knockbacks and shocks, as well as said goodbye to some true legends, it is time to enjoy family and friends and most importantly, some downtime.
As the big day draws ever closer, CRN asked some of our channel contacts what they would be doing for Christmas and what their dream present would be.
Neil Sawyer, commercial channel director UK and Ireland at HP, is facing a mix of family and work related festive fun.
"What am I doing for Christmas? What I have had to do for the last couple of years," he said. "Drive frantically round the country and over to my family in Ireland to parade another new-born child. Return home on 30 December and sit at my desk coordinating the delivery of millions of pounds of HP equipment to all our partners who have a financial year end (not mentioning any names - they know who they are!)."
He added his dream present would be to go on a Lions Rugby Tour to New Zealand for the whole month.
"This would be amazing but no chance until our kids have flown the nest now!" he said.
Paul Stringfellow, technical director at VAR Gardner Systems, had a more relaxed festive period planned.
"Christmas day is with my family, so wife and kids, over with my mum and sister; then boxing day with my wife's family - so a couple of super days to look forward to.
"Boringly I don't really want much on the pressie front. Genuinely the thing I like the most is everyone just having a nice time, catching up with family, enjoying the company and eating, drinking and being generally merry."
He said his idea present if pushed would be a commercially suitable installation of Sky Q.
Entatech's sales director Alicia Shepherd had a slightly different wish for Christmas.
"We will be spending time with family and then on the 29th escaping to our bolt hole by the coast for New Year. My dream present would be superfast broadband. Grrrr! Living in the North Wales hills we get ‘ultra rural broadband' - yep that is actually what BT call it."
Mark Ash, director of print, enterprise business team at Samsung, said: "My Christmas day will be spent at home in Suffolk with my wife Heidi and two boys Jacob and Samuel. We'll start it off properly with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot for breakfast while the boys delve into their presents - which I'm sure I'll have to assemble, play with and then break.
"The rest of the day will be traditional with lunch, buffet and a walk. Not very exciting, but absolutely essential when you live away from home in a hotel for most of the year!"
He said his dream present would be a week's break on Necker Island.
Westcoast's Alex Tatham said his day starts with a traditional sailing of a handmade ‘boat' across the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens.
"My dream present would be a new kitchen," he quipped, "so I no longer have to say ‘what's wrong with this one?' to Sue."
Sarah Shields, vice president of sales at Dell EMC UK, said she is in for a noisier Christmas than ususal.
"The Shields household will be noisy as I have stupidly got both my boys drum kits. I will be queen of the kitchen as I prepare a Christmas spectacular for my family. And my dream present this year? A Dyson hairdryer!"
Softcat's CEO Martin Hellawell's response was typically tongue in cheek.
"[It will be an] early dog walk on Hampstead Heath before the family awakes, a bit of reflection on the year gone by and life ahead, [I then] get briefed on my children's names and interests, present opening when I get to discover what great things 'I bought', pre-lunch drinks in my local with friends, out (first time) for lunch with family in Highgate pub, snooze, a board game of some description (I win or sulk), more food, Christmas family film. Start looking for bargains on eBay, buy next year's Christmas cards at 75 per cent discount…"
He said his dream presents would be a full head of hair, eternal life and an improved rebate scheme from Microsoft.
Ash Khagram, digital marketing manager at VAR South West Communications, was slightly more traditional in his approach.
"Our Christmas morning tradition is waking up at 8am and making bacon sandwiches which we eat while watching Home Alone in bed with my wife and my 10-year-old daughter," he said. "Every Christmas Eve me and my wife watch the best Christmas movie ever, Die Hard, while drinking a bottle of wine and chips with curry sauce. For Christmas I would love to have an inflatable Minion with wheels so I can control it and move it round the office/house."
Richard Eglon, marketing director at Agilitas said he was hoping for a white Christmas.
"As with every other year I am hoping for snow at Christmas. It would mean the first outing for the sledge I bought my children 10 years ago - I suppose that's what you get for living on the south coast! Christmas morning for me is generally spent picking up ripped-up pieces of wrapping paper and sticky tape across the house, being asked by my children to put batteries in every toy with a Christmas cracker screwdriver, drinking cold cups of tea, all while trying to prepare the Christmas dinner! It's one of the only things you can predict each year but I never grow tired of it!"
Andy Dow, marketing director at Tech Data said the day was all about family.
"The kids will be around, as will their grandparents. I am in charge of the cooking (I fancy myself as a bit of Master Chef), and the wine (I do like my wine), and we will eat, drink and party until we are partied out. And then next morning I'll head to an airport in search of a week's sunshine."
He said his dream present would be……a week in the sunshine!
Finally, the last of our festive revellers, Ingram Micro's director of cloud Northern Europe Apay Obang-Oyway said he cannot wait for some downtime and to strut his stuff in the kitchen.
"For Christmas I will be spending time getting some much needed R&R and family time. After too much time away through the year it's their time. So I will be CTO (chief turkey officer). I I have a very special marinade process which lasts a week. Involves soaking the turkey in wine, sherry, dates and other family secret ingredients for days. Then cooking on Christmas day for hours in garlic butter, herbs etc."
He said his dream present would be Christmas dinner with the ‘BOMBS' - Branson, Obama, Musk, Biko and Sorrell - at his home.
Whatever you are doing at Christmas, and whether your dream presents materialise or not, we would like to wish you all a very happy and peaceful festive period and a healthy and prosperous 2017.