Peter Lorant

Career so far:

I have more than 15 years of sales and marketing experience in B2B technology leaders across the entire IT spectrum: hardware (IBM), software (Business Objects), services (ECsoft) and channel (Computacenter). The last four years have been in the cloud world at Google.

If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be and what would you do?

My dog. She gets pampered and loved and sleeps all day. Given one dog week equals four human weeks, I get four for the price of one!

Cloud - friend or foe?

It depends on your business model. If you like over-charging customers with legacy technology that hasn't innovated in the past five years, then you might find the cloud to be a threat. If, however, you like to offer your customers choice, innovation, cost-savings and a better way to communicate and collaborate, then jump into the cloud. Go Cloud. Be Proud!

Has 2011 been as bad as everyone said it would be?

Our business is not cyclical - people want innovation, choice and value for money in all economic cycles. We now have more than four million businesses running Google Apps and we're coming out with some great new products, like Google Chromebook, to keep our growth rates running at gravity-defying rates.

What would you have as your last meal?

A space cake from the Bulldog Café in Amsterdam.

Who would you like to be stuck in a lift with? George

Osborne. I would sleep through the entire ordeal.

Have any of your predictions come true this year?

I have learned my lesson last year after predicting that England would win the World Cup.

What do you see as the channel's biggest challenge in 2012?

The same as last year - identify how you are adding value to your customers, differentiating yourself from your competitors, building a recurring and predictable revenue stream and retaining your best talent and most loyal customers. Get back to basics and make sure your sales team know how to sell (not just take orders or win deals based on price, inertia or relationships).

What is the best part of your day?

Taking my beautiful Golden Retriever out for a walk in Bushy Park first thing in the morning and when I come home from work. Work, wives and children all create stress - dogs relieve it!