Ian Kilpatrick

Chairman, Wick Hill Group

Career so far I've spent half a lifetime in accountancy and a whole lifetime in the much more exciting world of IT.

Do you care about green IT? Yes, we have a number of solutions in that area and we were advocating green IT before it became the bandwagon it is today - with everyone pretending that last year's dirty technology is now greener than green.

If you could be in a rock/pop band, which one would it be and who would you be?
My cousin is Charlie Burchill (aka Charlie Piranha) of Simple Minds. They're good to watch and great backstage company. But he got all our family musical genes so I have no musical ambitions.

What is the best corporate jolly you have ever been on/taken partners on? Any and all involving speed and adrenalin.

Has 2009 been as bad as everyone said it would be? Thanks to our strong channel and vendor partners, we experienced considerable growth in 2008/2009 in the UK and Germany and we are on track to achieve the same in 2009/2010.

Have any of your predictions come true this year? While not exactly the Oracle of Delphi, 10 out of 10 predicted growth areas in security have come to pass.

What do you see as the channel's biggest challenge in 2010? In the security area customers require security to be a business enabler, so cost effectively delivering value add with increased security will be very important. For the whole channel really greening up our act will be crucial.

What is the best part of your day? The run at the end of the day.