What has been your personal highlight of 2020?
The entire team at Bamboo Tech have worked hard to deliver exceptional service throughout 2020. They have remained fully operational throughout and as a result we met our 2019/20 financial targets and have achieved very high levels of engagement from everyone.
My personal highlights have been seeing the team complete a successful relocation to a desirable new location and knowing that as employers we have been exemplary in our communication, consideration and care for our people. I am very proud of that.
Which three celebrities would you invite to a Zoom party?
Jack Vettriano, Idris Elba and Jennifer Saunders.
What has been your guiltiest lockdown pleasure?
Takeaway kebab.
Which tech figurehead has inspired you most this year, and why?
I tend not to look for figureheads in the tech space as I prefer to look outside my everyday sphere. Even so, in and out of the sector, I cannot pinpoint anyone who has inspired me from a figurehead perspective this year. On reflection, I am disappointed by the slim pickings.
What piece of technology, or app, have you not been able to do without during the pandemic?
The MyFitnessPal app has been my essential lockdown tool. Without it I would by now be purchasing an entirely new wardrobe - but not shoes. Finally, heels are surplus to requirements!
If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be and what would you do?
I would be a food critic or judge on MasterChef so that I could eat all week, guilt free!
Do you miss face-to-face events?
Yes. While I have enjoyed the lack of personal awkwardness around the decision to offer either a two-cheek air kiss, handshake or ‘we've met twice' embrace, it is much more about missing spending time in the physical presence of people I like.
How will COVID leave its mark on the way the channel operates long term?
As a provider to the channel I feel we got a laser-like view, in a very short space of time, of how tenuous some business futures are. We never really know the stresses our partners or supply chain are under until tested with acute disruption.
I am not overly confident that COVID will have much of an impact on how the channel operates as by virtue of what we provide a large percentage will have been sheltered from the impact. However, we may see sector-specific channel partners broadening their target markets which would be one element of risk mitigation. We may also see a swathe of channel partners introducing digital transformation offerings.
In both scenarios it will be important to consider digital assurance and resilience. Thus, I hope those businesses that found themselves worried for their short, mid and long-term futures will apply focus into their overall business resilience as a starting point.
As providers of critical services to the UK economy our resilience, or lack thereof, can affect channel partner and end-customer business in a heartbeat. We must be the resilient and reliable partners in the age of the digital economy.
