Channel Awards 2024: Q&A with Steve Low, managing director at Titan Data Solutions

As specialist distributor Titan finds itself on the Channel Awards nominees list again, we catch up with MD Steve Low on what the nod and the awards themselves mean to the growing company

CRN: Why do you think events like the Channel Awards matter? What would winning this award mean to your company?

SL: They’re very important, especially for businesses like Titan. We’re still a young company and therefore the recognition is very influential for us as we grow. As a specialist, we only enter one category, Storage Distributor of the Year, and have been fortunate to win multiple awards in the past. It means a lot that the judges have recognised our specialism, and these awards have helped to promote our business within the industry.

CRN: What would you say is your company’s proudest achievement over the past year?

SL: I’m going to give you two if you’ll indulge me?

Firstly, we launched our graduate programme which has been one of our greatest achievements as a company. It’s been a privilege to bring new recruits into the business and see them flourish in a short space of time. Our programme equips graduates with practical skills and knowledge to thrive in the data storage space and has established a pathway for graduates to enter the channel.

Secondly, I’m proud of our growth last year, it was a record-breaking year up 46% on the previous year. This was our fifth financial year, and it was brilliant to continue our trend of double-digit growth. It’s testament to the hard work of our team that we continue to go from strength to strength.

CRN: What have been the biggest challenges of 2024 so far and how have you overcome them? How have your people helped with that?

SL: We’ve seen a lot of unrest, globally, this year, but that’s nothing new for Titan, having been through so much since we formed in 2018, we’re yet to see a ‘stable’ year! However, this has made us resilient and adaptable!

We’re a vertically focused distributor, so the uncertainty surrounding the new government, policy shifts and budget constraints created a ripple effect, particularly in the public sector. There’s been noticeable hesitancy in committing to large-scale investments, impacting everything from infrastructure projects to technology upgrades.

We’re also strong within the Media and Entertainment industry, who’ve really felt the effects this year from the Writers’ Strike. We’re coming out the other side of that now, so our customers need points of differentiation, now more than ever.

Our vendor set excels during times of unrest, and our technical team will develop cost effective strategies for our customer’s end users. The team has been pivotal here, collaborating closely with customers to identify high-impact areas where they can maximise efficiencies and achieve strategic goals without overextending their budgets.

CRN: How do you think the channel has changed over the past year and what changes do you think it still needs to make?

SL: We’ve long said the Channel is broken, and if the Broadcom acquisition of VMware isn’t a wakeup call to those chasing partner status logos, MDF and rebates, then I don’t know what is!?

This year we’ve seen the largest VARs in the country start to pull away from those in the middle of the field. As many medium-sized resellers fight to compete with the big guys for tier one vendor business, they’re being left behind and we’re seeing a widening gap emerge. As a result, we’re seeing more acquisitions, layoffs and credit limit reductions. I think that small and medium-sized VARs need to focus on specialist solutions that set them apart from the behemoths of our industry. That, combined with a host of wrap around services can help partners stay relevant and competitive. Like the tale of David and Goliath, now is the time to be more David.

CRN: What do you see as the main opportunities for the channel in the coming year? How do you plan to capitalise on those opportunities?

SL: The UK channel is missing a trick when it comes to UK-founded technologies. As a channel, we specialise in taking vendors to market, and I think we’re ideally positioned to champion local, emerging technologies.

There’s also a broader opportunity for the UK to invest in building a sovereign cloud with British-born solutions. The UK has some of the world’s greatest minds and institutions, and advancing projects such as this would benefit our economy and provide digital independence.