Ian French

Managing director, Siceo

Career so far I’ve been in banking, money broking, distribution, software and services.

If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be? My father because his calm, wise and caring approach to life and people summarises many of the things I aspire to be.

What will next year’s most overhyped industry buzzword be? Big data.

Has 2012 been a good, bad or ugly year? It has been a great year with many notable achievements and inspiration from the Olympics.

What would you have as your last meal? Fruits de mer, rare fillet and Eton mess washed down with 1983 St Julien.

What keeps you awake at night? Light.

What piece of technology could you not be without? My iPhone.

Have any of your predictions come true this year? Yes – especially the tailspin of large distributors and IT channel misunderstanding of cloud opportunity generally.

What is the best partner/customer trip you have ever been on? The Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka with a week exploring Japan.

What do you see as the channel’s biggest challenge in 2013? Fear of change and lack of adoption of true services-led engagements with customers.