Readers' lives: Darting all around

Once Neil Hillier he was flown first class to Hong Kong for a five-minute fix

Hillier: Sees happy times ahead

What was your first job, and how did you get into IT?
I was a pre-sales consultant for Ultra Electronics, selling baggage reconciliation systems.

Planes, trains or automobiles?
They all have their merits, but nothing beats the independence of a car.

What sport should be in the Olympics but isn’t?
For London 2012, it has to be darts – it is just so British.

Which fictional TV character is borrowing ideas from your life?
I’d like to say I plan and implement like Jack Bauer from 24, but some days I feel more like Homer Simpson at the nuclear power plant.

What could prompt you to give it all up and join the revolution?
A Euro lottery win, and I could spent years joining revolutions. It’s much easier when you have the money!

What is your favourite joke or the one you heard most recently?
It has to be any from the late, great Tommy Cooper: ‘I cleaned the attic with my wife the other day. Now I can’t get the cobwebs out of her hair.’

What was your best business trip ever?
In my first job, a storage array failed in Hong Kong. I was called out for technical support at midnight on the Friday. Saturday morning Virgin Atlantic flew me first class to Hong Kong. The fix took five minutes. Forty-five minutes later I was flying home again. Monday morning I was in the office, and everyone was asking why I looked tired. ‘Oh! You know, just popped to Hong Kong for a few minutes!’

If you had a week to live, how would you fill it?
I think a week to live is about the right risk level to take up bungee jumping.
Will we see businesses take green ICT more seriously this year?
The Carbon Reduction Commitment is going to put a lot of pressure on the biggest energy consumers from this year on. That will drive every vendor to offer power savings as a sales tool.

Print or online news?
Up-to-date information for me every time. Who in IT could possibly answer ‘print’?

Do you use social media?
I would not have the time to Tweet or use MySpace, but I do find LinkedIn and Facebook provide good social interaction.

Will the economic recovery continue?
Absolutely. We have all been stalling to see what happens with the coalition government, but I strongly believe there are happy times ahead.

What does the channel most need to learn in order to succeed and grow this year?
It is all about offering innovations to resellers to make them stand out from the crowd.

Do vendors do enough to help their channel?
Too many vendors provide marketing funding for the resellers without a drive to provide real value, such as resources.

Neil Hillier is Avocent senior channel manager at Emerson Network Power