Mark Davies

Cloud services director, Westcoast

What is your greatest career move to date?

Moving to Westcoast just over 12 months ago. Going from an 80-person business to a 1,300-person one has been an eye opener but the best move ever.

What is top of your bucket list?

I'd love to tour all of South America.

What has changed most since you started working in the channel?

I would say the biggest change for me has been the internet and what it has enabled for businesses. The first challenge was how to get your presence (website/domain) sorted on there and now it seems to be much more about your digital marketing and social media. A lot of businesses still struggle with both aspects.

How do you think Brexit is going to affect the channel?

I feel that as with any change comes opportunity and Brexit is no different. So it will be looking for these opportunities as they appear and capitalising on them. What is your least favourite task during the working day? Driving to and from work - it's a three-hour daily round-trip commute.

If you were an animal, what would you be?

A cat. They stroll around, do their own thing, get fed when they want, sleep when they want and have fun when they want. What's not to like?

If you won the big one on EuroMillions, what would you do?

I'd like to think I wouldn't give up work as I enjoy it so much, but the reality is that a round-the-world tour of everywhere I've always wanted to go would go ahead. I'd also make sure friends, family and charities were taken care of.

What is your worst habit?

I have a very good poker face so have been known to wind people up a bit and make it seem like it's all true when in fact it isn't.

How has 2016 been for you?

I've had a great start to 2016 both personally and professionally. Moving into a new house is the highlight personally and the team I work with smashing their Microsoft CSP targets would be professionally.

If you didn't work in the IT channel, what would be your dream career?

I love cinema so I've always liked the idea of being the manager of a cinema. Then I could go and watch any film we were playing and I'd also get all the cool collateral they send through to support the release of the films.

What major issues will the channel face in 2017?

The issues feel like they will be more of the same for partners. IT is speeding up with constant innovation, old business models are changing and the partners that adapt to these fastest will survive. The age-old challenge of where does my next new customer come from needs fresh thinking from a lot of partners.

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