Role: CEO, Bytes Technology Group
What’s been your business high point of the last 12 months?
The last 12 months have been about making a clear, deliberate choice about where we win.
We’ve moved from operating as a broad, generalist organisation to a more focused, sector-aligned model – with Bytes Software Services and Phoenix Software each serving distinct markets. That wasn’t a cosmetic change; it was about sharpening accountability and aligning ourselves to how customers buy and adopt technology.
Doing that while maintaining strong commercial performance – and keeping both teams delivering for customers – is something I’m particularly proud of. It tells me the organisation can perform through change, not just around it.
Name one thing your company is looking to achieve in 2026
Consistency of execution at scale.
We’ve proven the model works – where ownership is clear and activity is tied directly to pipeline and outcomes, performance follows. The focus now is making that level of discipline universal across the business, not isolated to our top performers.
That’s what turns strong periods into sustained growth.
What keeps you awake at night as a partner leader?
The gap between technology investment and realised value.
Customers are spending more than ever – across cloud, SaaS and now AI – but many still struggle to connect that spend to real business outcomes. If we don’t solve that, trust erodes quickly.
Our responsibility as a partner is to be the organisation that makes technology measurable, accountable, and genuinely valuable – not just deployed.
Is AI being over‑hyped?
No – but it is being misunderstood.
The cycle is early, and the market is moving quickly, but the real risk isn’t hype – it’s shallow adoption.
AI will create enormous value, but only for organisations that apply discipline to it: governance, cost control, and a clear link to outcomes. Without that, it becomes just another layer of uncontrolled consumption.
What’s been your most successful internal AI project to date, and why?
The most meaningful work we’ve done has been around embedding AI into operational workflows – particularly automation and insight generation within the business.
The success isn’t in the technology itself; it’s in how it improves decision-making and efficiency. When AI is tied directly to performance – whether that’s accelerating delivery, improving reporting clarity, or enhancing customer outcomes – adoption follows naturally.
That’s been the consistent theme in what works.
A surprising prediction for the UK IT channel over the next 5 years?
The channel will polarise – and generalists will struggle.
As buying groups expand and solutions become more complex, customers will increasingly choose partners who are deeply aligned to their sector and can prove outcomes, not just capability.
The future belongs to fewer, more focused partners who are embedded in their customers’ commercial reality.
Which tech gizmo could you not function without?
It’s less about a single device and more about connected systems.
I’ve been using Ultrahuman ring (similar to Oura) for my own personal health and sleep insights. Health matters to me immensely, so I try and do my best to understand how my body is coping with the high demands of being a CEO, that works at pace.
Which three famous people would you invite to a dinner party?
A mix of perspective and challenge:
- Nelson Mandela – leadership and compassion
- Elon Musk – speed of change and looking into the future
- Ada Lovelace – breaking convention
The best discussions come from contrast, not consensus.
If you had a warning label, what would it say?
“Will prioritise clarity and outcomes over comfort.”
Because ultimately, that’s what drives performance.
Which tech figurehead has impressed you most this year, and why?
What stands out this year is the consistent message from leading voices in technology: AI doesn’t reduce the need for software and services – it expands it.
The idea that agents, automation and AI increase the demand for tools, platforms and governance resonates strongly with what we are seeing in the market – and reinforces the opportunity ahead for focused partners.
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