30 01732 759725 60 SECONDS I probably should have been a little better at football first! Which business leader do you most admire and why? Through my career I have been fortunate to work with a lot of fantastic people who have become mentors. One of those was an MD who knew every single person in the company individually. He knew their likes and dislikes and could connect with anyone in the room like a friend first and boss second. His ability to get people onside and motivate them is something that still stands out for me. What’s the best bit of business advice you’ve been given? Focus on the long term. The power of the channel is its relationships. This may sound basic, but I think it is often overlooked. Your personal brand and how you conduct yourself with your partners is what ultimately allows them to place their trust in you if and when challenges arise. What advice would you give a young person considering a career in IT? Go for it! We are fortunate to work in an industry with a lot of opportunity and stability despite the larger geopolitical climate. Plus, there are a lot of fantastic people who are willing to share their experiences and support. What’s on your playlist at the moment? Jazz Rap. You may never have heard of it, but now you have! What’s the most used app on your phone and why? I think like most people I use WhatsApp to keep in touch with everything personal and professional. How do you like to spend your spare time? Outdoors and in the countryside, cycling or running (between pubs). Favourite holiday destination? I like new experiences and historical places, so I tend to do a lot of city breaks. Having said that, anywhere with good weather, good food and some space to explore is fine by me! What is currently having the greatest impact on your business? Hands down, our partner engagement. Year to date, the business generated by the channel has significantly exceeded FY24, which itself was a record year. Our story is resonating and our deep investment in our trusted partnerships is clearly delivering, so we will look to increase this investment even further next year. What recent business win are you most proud of? I am proud of how proactive our sales team is at engaging partners early and taking opportunities to the channel. As a channel person, I know that getting that level of support can be a challenge, but the sales team at Kiteworks makes it very easy. That is a big win for our partners. Where do you see the next big opportunity for your channel partners? The value of investing in a strong data security strategy is well-established. Even so, the ever-increasing risk in this space from emerging attack vectors such as supply chains will generate even more focus and investment. The other opportunity is around regulation. Each country and each industry is subject to different requirements and they are only going to increase, not just from a regulatory standpoint but also around the types of organisation you can do business with. For example, the U.S. Department of War’s requirement to comply with CMMC as a condition of continuing to supply it is far-reaching. Its supply chain is vast and not just restricted to organisations based on that side of the pond. Navigating these topics will allow partners to become thought leaders and enable them to guide their customers effectively. Did you get into IT by accident or design? A complete accident. An opportunity arose at Computerlinks. Despite looking elsewhere, the feeling I got from the team and the company made me take it. I’m so glad I did. If you could swap your current job for any other what would it be? Football management, which a slightly naive younger self thought would be my career. Kiteworks empowers organisations to manage risk every time they send, share, receive or use private data without sacrificing operational efficiency. Its Private Data Network unifies, tracks, controls and secures sensitive data moving into, out of and around an organisation. With end-to-end encryption and zero-trust architecture across all communication channels and unified security controls, the platform significantly improves risk management and ensures regulatory compliance on all private data exchanges. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Kiteworks protects over 100 million end‑users and over 1,500 global enterprises and government agencies. What has been your business highlight of the last 12 months? Last year was my first full year with Kiteworks and the level of evolution we achieved delivered a record year, not just for our channel programs but for the whole business. This, of course, meant expectations coming into 2025 were high, but I’m pleased to say that as we begin Q4 we are on track to repeat last year’s achievements. The local channel team has tripled in size and we have several exciting releases and integrations of technology into our platform planned for FY26. So, too many highlights to pick just one! Sam Harrison, Channel Manager EMEA at Kiteworks 60 seconds with… Sam Harrison
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