David Watts

Career so far I started with Computer 2000 in 1998, became general manager of PC Division in 2003, left to head Samsung Display Division in 2005 for two years, returned in 2007 to take current position within Computer 2000 collection of specialists.

If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be and what would you do? The prime minister, so I could resign.

What would you have as your last meal? An all-you-can-eat curry. I wouldn’t stop.

What is the best corporate jolly you have ever been on/taken partners on? The Sony Radio Awards.

Do you see the cloud as a threat or an opportunity? Absolutely as an opportunity – it will change everything, eventually, but not overnight. And we will still need real expertise and experience in solutions. The cloud will not replace intelligence and creativity. It will make more room for these qualities to flourish and grow, both in individuals and organisations.

Have any of your predictions come true this year? That we would have a coalition government and that it would last – at least until the end of the year. The only thing we can be certain of is that things will change.
What do you see as the channel’s biggest challenge in 2011? Being bold and brave enough to embrace new ideas and business models will be the key challenge. SaaS, IaaS, hosted cloud services, converged infrastructure and the increasing crossover between business and consumer will see the market change more in the next two years than it has in the last ten.

What is the best part of your day? Getting home to my family is the best part; while I’m at work, it is about seeing someone lifted by an achievement or success. It is all about people in the end.