Zak Virdi

What has been your personal highlight of 2020?

Seeing how the business has come together during a really challenging year and how our SoftwareONE culture has cast its net far and wide to embrace and include all our staff. Also, being able to hire, on-board and make productive new starters to the business all virtually.

Which three celebrities would you invite to a Zoom party?

Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. It would be interesting to hear their family banter.

What has been your guiltiest lockdown pleasure?

Late night binge-watching Ozark and The Boys.

Which tech figurehead has inspired you most this year, and why?

Satya Nadella, hearing his employees all independently defining how his change of leadership has inspired them.

What piece of technology, or app, have you not been able to do without during the pandemic?

To reconnect with friends - Zoom. To allow the kids to be educated and me to work across the business - Microsoft Teams.

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

My six-year-old son. I would love to see the world through his eyes and see what he gets up to at school.

Do you miss face-to-face events?

Of course, we are social creatures and need interaction.

How will COVID leave its mark on the way the channel operates long term?

Our customers are under immense pressure right now with reducing costs, enabling productivity, pivoting business models, and reduced workforces. The channel needs to have offerings that are crystal clear about how they address these pain points, with a short time to value. Empathy and trust will become key differentiators.