• Home
  • Reseller
  • Distributor
  • Vendor
  • Finance and M&A
  • People moves
  • Cloud
  • Technology and trends
  • Women in channel
  • Events
  • A-list
  • Top VARs
  • Printer Supplies
  • Women in Channel
  • CRN Essential
  • Newsletters
  • Sign in
  •  
      • Newsletters
      • Account details
      • Contact support
      • Sign out
     
     
    • Please contact your account administrator for more information on your access.

  • Follow us
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • Newsletters
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • Register
  • CRN Essential
  • Events
    • Upcoming events
      event logo
      CRN Sales & Marketing Awards 2021

      The CRN Sales & Marketing Awards recognise and reward the achievements of those individuals and teams that are responsible for making the UK IT channel truly great.

      • Date: 08 Jul 2021
      View all events
  • Whitepapers
    • LATEST WHITEPAPERS
      What are the opportunities for the channel with the growth of AI?

      Encryption, privacy, & data protection: a balancing act

      This white paper examines the risk posed by encrypted threats; considers the business, privacy, and security implications of managing that risk; and presents constructive measures for balancing security needs with employee privacy rights. In the end, the best way for IT leadership to ensure the rights of the individual employee is to protect the organization from threats and attacks.

      Download
      How do MSPs really feel the channel will shape up by 2020?

      On borrowed time?

      Cybercrime has become a huge part of our economy and it is a topic that is getting more and more attention in the news media. The cybercriminal stories making headlines involve big companies such as British Airways and Marriott etc. However, smaller companies are just as susceptible to cyber- attacks. Often these attacks are much more damaging to smaller businesses, sometimes forcing them to shut down completely. One report from Verizon claims that 43% of email attacks target SMBs.

      Download
      Find whitepapers
      Search by title or subject area
      View all whitepapers
  • A-list
  • Top VARs
  • Printer Supplies
channelweb
channelweb
  • Home
  • Reseller
  • Distributor
  • Vendor
  • Finance and M&A
  • People moves
  • Cloud
  • Technology and trends
  • Women in channel
 
    • Newsletters
    • Account details
    • Contact support
    • Sign out
 
 
  • Please contact your account administrator for more information on your access.

  • People

John Harber

John Harber
  • CRN staff
  • 18 November 2019
  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
0 Comments

Managing director, Arrow Business Communications

What was your dream career as a child?

Related articles

  • 93 Probrand
  • 82 Technoworld
  • 40 Vohkus
  • 94 CSI

I wanted to be James Hunt.

What has been your personal highlight of 2019?

We have an in-house IT development team and we re-built and re-launched POD, our CRM and Customer Portal for Pulse, our energy broker. It can report on live energy consumption data and help people manage and reduce it. We have since had two customers roll it out to large numbers of employees and their energy consumption is now 7-10% lower than two years ago.

Which famous person deserves a (gentle) slap?

Most people with the letters MP after their name.

What two things (apart from family) would you grab if your house was on fire?

Nothing much to be honest, as long as my family are safe. Car keys and warm clothes?

Which of your 2019 predictions have come to pass?

England winning the Rugby World Cup (when are you printing this?).

What TV show have you binge watched this year?

I watched Ricky Gervais's After Life start to finish in two evenings. Heart-breaking and hilarious all at the same time.

How has 2019 been from a business perspective?

Fantastic. We bought seven companies during 2017 and 2018. 2019 was  a break from acquisitions to make sure we integrated them all properly. That's tough work but a great feeling when you come out the other end with even better performance and the feeling that we've built one, big, high-performing team.

What annoys you most about your commute?

My friends tell me off for moaning about trains on Twitter, so I really shouldn't start here. But honestly, South Western Railways!

If you could witness one past event, what would it be?

I lived in Berlin for a couple of years in the early 2000s. I'd love to have been there on 9 November 1989 when the wall fell.

How do you explain the channel to people?

The channel is the magical step that brings technology to life. We take stuff out of boxes and give it a vital role within a company. Hardware doesn't add value. Solutions do. We build solutions.

What have been your favourite and least favourite partner conference destinations?

I was lucky enough to work for Sony during its absolute glory years. Most Januarys were spent somewhere long haul with customers. Tokyo, Jamaica, Thailand, South Africa and many more.

And I've been to Telford.

What is the biggest challenge facing the channel in 2020?

Economic uncertainty for our customers will delay larger capital expenditure for many. Amortising Capex into monthly Opex-style charges will become more and more the norm for us, I expect.

  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
  • Topics
  • People
  • a-list 2020

More on People

VMware's Gelsinger takes top job at Intel

Virtualisation vendor's leader will return to old stomping ground when current CEO Bob Swan departs next month

  • People
  • 13 January 2021
9 channel stalwarts reveal their 2021 predictions

We asked a number of channel veterans to sum up what they believe this year has in store for the tech sector

  • People
  • 08 January 2021
New North CEO Williams open up on plans to scale through M&A and becoming the UK's 'de facto' IoT player

The channel stalwart opens up to CRN about M&A plans, heading the new entity and what attracted him to his new role

  • People
  • 05 January 2021
Five hiring trends that will shape the next 12 months

Recruitment guru Marc Sumner picks out the five key trends that hiring bosses should be aware of in the coming year

  • People
  • 21 December 2020
Wick Hill founder departs Nuvias and sets up STEM not-for-profit business

Ian Kilpatrick’s new venture is designed to encourage children into STEM subjects at an early age

  • People
  • 18 December 2020

More news

Why threat actors are targeting the channel
  • Security
Why threat actors are targeting the channel

The recent attack on Exclusive Networks is only the latest in a series which has seen cybersecurity vendors, distributors and MSPs suffer breaches to their systems. CRN asks why the channel is seeing itself become a popular target for cybercriminals

  • 15 January 2021
Five resellers secure places on £150m Welsh IT framework
  • Reseller
Five resellers secure places on £150m Welsh IT framework

Contract covers IT hardware to larger customer organisations

  • 15 January 2021
4 key challenges facing Gelsinger as Intel's new CEO
  • Vendor
4 key challenges facing Gelsinger as Intel's new CEO

The VMware boss is joining the chipmaker as it finds itself adrift and losing market share to rivals. CRN considers why he might be the best person to steer the company through its troubled waters

  • 14 January 2021
European IT channel on track for record breaking year in 2021, claims analyst
  • Reseller
European IT channel on track for record breaking year in 2021, claims analyst

Market analyst Context says European IT channel now on track to break first ever €100bn-revenue year in 2021, despite pandemic pressures

  • 14 January 2021
blog comments powered by Disqus
Back to Top

Most read

Industry Voice: How to get More Business Value for Customers with VMware Cloud on AWS
Industry Voice: How to get More Business Value for Customers with VMware Cloud on AWS
Eight resellers win spots on £5bn IT framework with East Midlands police
Eight resellers win spots on £5bn IT framework with East Midlands police
VMware's Gelsinger takes top job at Intel
VMware's Gelsinger takes top job at Intel
Which reseller featured in Glassdoor's Best Places to Work list this year?
Which reseller featured in Glassdoor's Best Places to Work list this year?
BT sets up new 'Digital' technology unit
BT sets up new 'Digital' technology unit
  • Contact
  • Marketing solutions
  • About Incisive Media
  • Terms & conditions
  • Policies
  • Careers
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

© Incisive Business Media (IP) Limited, Published by Incisive Business Media Limited, New London House, 172 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5QR, registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09177174 & 09178013

Digital publisher of the year
Digital publisher of the year 2010, 2013, 2016 & 2017
Loading