30 01732 759725 AND FINALLY... 60 seconds with... Adam Bradley, MD at Ekco What are your IT predictions for the coming year? I would like to think that 2023 will see the costs of datacentre power falling and the talent markets easing, but I am not convinced either will happen. As for Ekco, the outlook is far more positive. For example, it is almost a certainty that we will make at least one major acquisition next year – it’s a really exciting time for our business. What currently is having the greatest impact on your business? (or how you are doing business) Talent resourcing – finding good people who can deliver both technically and to the customer, represent the company and brand, and deliver as you would like to receive service yourself. Where do you see the next big opportunity? For Ekco specifically, in the UK we will be focused on migrations to Azure/365 and expanding security services to our existing customer base. More generally, I see an opportunity for businesses to fully define their working practices and the office will see a resurgence as organisations realise the power of physical interaction. What do you see as the key developments for 2023? For our industry, I see further growth opportunities for helping to take our customers into public cloud and equally, if not more so, a focus on bolstering companies and their data against the threats posed by cyber criminals. This is certainly a key focus for Ekco next year. What are the business resolutions for 2023? Growth, growth, growth! What should IT managers do differently this coming year? For anyone who didn’t give cybersecurity much consideration before now, please include it in your plans for 2023. It’s not a case of if, but when your business might fall foul of some scam or another, whether it be exec impersonation, ransomware or a DDOS attack. You want to be able to confidently say that you did everything you could to prevent, detect and respond to it, even if the worst does happen. What’s the best bit of business advice that you’ve ever been given? Probably a cliché, but – be nice to those on the way up, as you never know when you might need them on your way down! If you had a crystal ball, would you have done anything differently in your life? That is a conflicting question! Crystal balls allow you to see into the future and the future is not yet written, though the pathway we have taken to the present will obviously give direction to the future. If you continually wish for the ‘what if’, or suffer long-term regret, then it will eventually consume you and you will never be successful, so we shouldn’t wish we had done things differently (except maybe certain criminal activity or the like!). Just crack on and push forward – it is almost never too late to improve one’s lot, or change career, for example, and I have seen several individuals achieve this successfully in the last 15 years. What was your first job? Does paper boy count? I started my own car valet business at 14… What would your dream job be? Top Gear/Grand Tour presenter. But only if I can pick the other two presenters … Favourite holiday destination? Anywhere that is continually 25-27 degrees Celsius and not packed to the gunnels with tourists (and therefore overpriced). How do you spend your spare time? Relaxing with family and socialising with friends. Adam Bradey
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