Women and Diversity in Channel Awards: Q&A with Sarah Shields, Head of Vendor Alliances, Computacenter

Sarah Shields is responsible for Computacenter’s global vendor strategies with the world’s leading IT brands. With over 25 years in the industry including 15 years at Dell, Sarah’s wealth of vendor experience helps build strong partnerships and trusted, long-term relationships with our vendor partners. Sarah is a passionate advocate for women in technology and previously won the CRN Woman of the Year award in 2019.

Why do you think awards like the WDCAs matter?

Since their inception, these awards have shone the right light onto our industry and I think they have helped drive a substantial change in both focus and policy. Companies have stepped up to the challenge set by the industry and I believe the recognition these awards have expedited this game-change. Kudos to the CRN team!

What would you say is your company’s proudest achievement over the past year?

I think this has been another great year of progress for us, with so many examples of us winning together – both with our vendor partners and our customers. On a personal note, though, I think the recent announcement that Computacenter has been named by TIME as one of the World’s Best Companies is something to be really proud of. It recognises our employee engagement, sustainability achievements, and our continued growth – all the things that help make us a great place to work.

What have been the biggest challenges of 2024 so far and how have you overcome them? How have your people helped with that?

I think most businesses would say this is a challenging year, particularly with market conditions in the UK and across much of Europe, too. Most organisations are being hit by head winds, the economy is under pressure and the geopolitical landscape is in a constant state of flux.

Culture is key in challenging circumstances. One of our core values is “considering the long-term” and that really does help us stay focused on making the right decisions for our customers and our business, too.

How do you think the channel has changed over the past year and what changes do you think it still needs to make?

I think it’s probably fair to say that we’ve never seen this much change in the vendor landscape. We’ve got AI dominating the dialogues of most tech companies and some major tech changes across the usually stable silicon and software foundations of technology. A great example of this is the unbelievable Nvidia growth story while an industry veteran in Intel is under pressure. In addition, consumption models continue to evolve, VCs are investing at an unprecedented rate, and we are seeing more consolidation than ever before. This is never a boring industry and the attraction of top talent from diverse talent pools remains a critical priority for the channel to continually evolve and meet the opportunities posed by this every-changing landscape in which we operate.

What do you see as the main opportunities for the channel in the coming year? How do you plan to capitalise on those opportunities?

AI, PC refresh, XaaS… the list goes on and on. What remains constant is the need to find the right place to work, the right corporate values that meet your personal goals and to have fun whilst doing it. There really isn’t a better industry and a better time to be in IT.

This article is sponsored by Computacenter.