The gadget guy

What's the hottest datacentre trend today?

A lot of the IT trends fall into the datacentre space at the moment. Things such as virtualisation, which is clearly a big trend. What used to be, and in a lot of cases still is, a corporate services issue - power and cooling for example - is pervading the datacentre. I think the next big thing is the green story. There's a lot of hype and it's almost a nebulous discussion - everyone is talking green, but what does it really mean? There are some organisations where the carbon friendly idea is front of mind, such as ANZ or NAB, but in the next tier down it's not about the green issue.

The thing about going green is that it still ties into the CIO's agenda: it's still about reducing complexity and reducing cost, it's still about ease of manageability. It just so happens that when you address them you're addressing your carbon footprint as well. I'm not seeing the primary driver being green yet, but the leading indicators are suggesting that will be the case in the next 12-24 months. Things such as environment clauses in tender documents, which make us prove our ability in that space and show how we're tackling the green issue, demonstrate this trend.

Any dislikes in the IT industry?

I'd love to see some more honesty and integrity in what happens in the sales side of transactions so that customers actually have trust in us. So when you're standing in front of them and telling them what you can do, they believe you. It's about having consistent rules of engagement.

What do you think will be the next big thing in the industry?

I think the next big thing is going to be how you manage all this new stuff we're doing. We see these trends around reducing complexity but we never get to simplicity. The other huge area is how to automate processes within the organisation.

What do you do when you're not at work?

I spend a lot of time with my family. I'm also a keen water skier and snow skier and rock climb occasionally. Then if there's any time inbetween it's spent playing with toys. I rarely sleep and I'm full of energy - nobody ever lies on their deathbed and wishes they slept more.

So you like gadgets?

I absolutely love gadgets. My friends say that if you want to get something, it's going to be in Ronnie's house - remote control helicopters, unified remote controls, digital cameras, stereos - you name it, I need to have the latest and greatest of everything.

What did you want to be when you were younger?

I always saw myself as a lawyer because I love talking to people, finding out more about them and trying to see my way through things. My family said I would either be in sales or law - my father reckoned I could sell Pepsi to Coke.

What is your biggest ambition?

To be recognised for the skills I have and at some stage to provide those skills to other people. I'd also love to get on the public speaking circuit. And on a personal level, live life to the fullest. We're here for a good time, not a long time.