Paul Tomlinson

Managing director, Mirus

Tell us something most people won't know about you

I've been taking people on mountain walks through the UK for the last 20-plus years. I'm now working towards completing my Mountain Leader Qualification.

What has been your highlight of 2018 so far?

For me as an individual it was passing my CISSP qualification. Wow, that was a tough exam! For the business achieving £10m turnover alongside growing the business to more than 100 staff.

Who would play you in the film of your life?

That's a hard one - my life isn't very interesting so I'm sure it'd be an unknown actor. I'm pretty certain there are a few middle aged, slightly overweight, bald, out of work actors to choose from!

Which tech firm (other than your own!) do you most admire?

Air IT. Todd, James and the team all do a great job when it comes to service delivery and we've also always admired their approach to marketing.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Curry! I absolutely love curry.

What is the most irritating tech buzzphrase of 2018?

Pre-25 May, I think most would say ‘GDPR' but to be honest I think that's been a blessing for our industry and also protecting individuals' information. For me it's got to be ‘blockchain' - everyone seems to want to have it mentioned somewhere on their website or on their LinkedIn pages, and I think half the people who mention it don't understand the technology.

What would be your first act if you were made Prime Minister?

Investing money to help all SMEs work towards achieving Cyber Essentials to help reduce the number of cyber incidents we're seeing as a country.

What's the biggest untapped opportunity facing the channel?

Security for SMEs - as MSPs we're all looking at options on how we can protect our customers but I've not seen anyone delivering IT support and security services well. Through 2019 we want to be the MSP to do this.

What is your most treasured possession?

My walking boots. They're about 15 years old but have taken me on some great adventures and allowed me to complete lots of challenges over that time with family, friends and of course the Mirus team.

What do your family think you do all day?

Send emails. To be honest it's not far from the truth, although I am trying to use the phone much more rather than rely on email.

Who has been your mentor in business?

I've never really had a mentor as such. My management team are great though and we've got a great open relationship - if a decision I make is wrong, they'll happily pull me up on it.