Jonathan Pickering

Career so far:

I have had various Cisco networking roles within the telecoms sector. I worked my way up to being network manager for Colt Telecom. Six years ago I set up Block Solutions.

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

I have no great aspirations to be anyone in particular but would love to be a top golfer for a week and compete in the British Open.

Cloud - friend or foe?

Definitely a friend but I still think there is a lot of hype, plus some of the predictions around transitioning to public cloud, especially for big organisations, are too ambitious.

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

We have had our best year yet, so I guess I have to say it hasn't been for Block. It is hard to win business but I think the current climate presents a great opportunity to differentiate.

What would you have as your last meal?

It would have to be an Indian curry.

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

I'd best keep this clean. Peter Kay for his jokes and to keep spirits up.

Have any of your predictions come true this year?

I don't like to be proved wrong so tend to shy away from predictions, but I usually go for Manchester Utd winning the league, so that came true!

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

Although there are well-documented economic challenges, I believe that the market is very much making decisions based on service. The challenges for many channel organisations will be working out ways to differentiate based on the service they provide

What is the best part of your day?

Coming home to see my wife and kids, and then having a bottle of Peroni.