05 October 2020
•
1 min read
Ronan McCurtin, vice president of Northern Europe at Acronis, on why Acronis is supporting CRN Women in Channel 2020
Why is Women in Channel an important issue for you and your company?
Acronis relies on its channel to deliver its world-class solutions to our partners and end users. Therefore, it's important to us that the channel represents all partners and all end users. Personally I have three girls, love technology and want our channel to be a place which welcomes diversity and fairness.
How do you think we can get more women into technology?
Some industries are male biased by their inherent male and female stereotypes. We need to show the diversity of roles within the channel. There are many roles within the channel that offer women an opportunity to excel. Channel is ultimately about relationships and we need women in these roles as well, to further develop businesses.
What do you think should be done to enable more women to rise through to the more senior roles in the IT sector?
Positive discrimination. Let's be honest it wasn't long ago that women had to give up their jobs in the UK when they got married. This has set Women in the Channel back and we need to promote women to senior roles based on merit but also positively balancing what has happened in the past.
What's your one piece of advice for younger people looking for a career in the IT sector?
Get a broad range of experience from all views in the channel… the vendor, the distributor and the reseller. Learn to love technology and the problems it solves and to put your customers first.
