Meet Sean Doyle – our APAC Sales Director, based in Singapore. He recently delivered our first EMEA and APAC webinars. Among other interests, Sean is passionate about sustainable IT, and extends this into his personal and professional life. We caught up with Sean to gain some insights into his daily life, and our new Singapore office – which is now over a year old.
WHY ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT THE SUSTAINABLE IT INDUSTRY?
As with many people right now, I chose to place the consideration of the planet as number one. We cannot afford to avoid some of the damage that is going on. I take this personally, ensuring that I don’t eat a lot of red meat, which has been linked to huge environmental impacts. I also choose to take public transport wherever I can to reduce my footprint on the planet.
A few areas in particular have really hit home for me in terms of what needs to change in IT. Firstly, we need to stop the endless refreshing of hardware and e-waste when it simply doesn’t make sense. Recent Gartner’s research tells us that 79% of organizations simply replace their equipment every 3-5 years, and global switching is around $24 billion with Cisco alone. This means a huge amount of hardware are being disposed of that doesn’t need to be.
“We have to act to stop the continuous pursuit of new hardware and look to reduce what we are wasting. Reusing hardware is one very viable option in addressing this.”
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR ROLE WITH ALITER?
As Aliter are still very much in the start-up phase here in Singapore, I enjoy the multiple decisions that we have to make on a daily basis. But what I enjoy the most is seeing customers embrace some of the differences that we promote and deciding to chose a different path from the norm.
“I think I can say that all of our clients LOVE to deal with Aliter, as we are truly different and 100% focused on putting the customer first.”
TELL US ABOUT WORKING IN SINGAPORE WITH THE APAC TEAM? WHAT IS A TYPICAL DAY LIKE?
My day starts a little earlier than the rest, as I focus on some markets that start earlier. This also means a little peace and quiet where I get to spend the early hours talking to my clients before the team arrives. Once the clock strikes around 3pm, things tend to slow down and we start preparing for the next day. It’s also when Amsterdam HQ comes online, so we often check in with them to make sure things are flowing well. Then it’s either gym or home to enjoy a home-cooked meal!
Looking back, I also took great pride in onboarding the new EMEA sales team at Aliter – who are all individuals developing their sales experience, but importantly, have a thirst for learning and a passion for sustainability too. We’re very proud to still have most of them with us today.
HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE IT?
I am very much aligned with the concept of Circular IT. That we look to consume – or reuse – what is already out there and redistribute what already works. I think businesses are getting more and more frustrated with the rate and pace at which Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s) are deploying new hardware and are looking for a moment to pause. Aliter can bring that pause.
We also need to recognize some of the new products that are coming out to market do help to improve the impact that IT has on the environment.
“If we can disrupt some of that onset of new hardware and disposing of old, we will have already made a huge difference to the constant consumption and disposal, as the linear IT model suggests.”
WHAT HOBBIES AND INTERESTS DO YOU HAVE OUTSIDE WORK?
I might claim myself to be a bit of a self-improvement nut. If you were to look at my audible catalogue you would see it’s filled with books around self-development and continual learning. I always try to get through one book a month to include some of what these high achievers mandate in their life.
I have also been DJ’ing for around 20 years now. In my earlier years I got to play for some of the biggest record labels and clubs, and today I still really enjoy listening to music and sharing that with people.
Some people might also think of me as a keen cyclist, but I’m actually a cyclist with a charity problem! Each year I look to give back by challenging myself to join one of the charities to cycle around Asia. Next year will be my sixth year riding for charities in the region.
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So that’s Sean. We’re proud to have him on board and couldn’t be happier with the Singapore team, who is slowly but surely helping to shift the APAC market towards more sustainable IT.
