Zoom In: 'It's heads or tails' - Logicalis UK MD on projects accelerating and stalling in the COVID-19 world

Alex Louth says Logicalis' revival plan remains on track, albeit rearranged slightly

Customer priorities have changed dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic triggered lockdowns around the world, according to Logicalis' UK MD Alex Louth.

Speaking to CRN as part of the Zoom In series, Louth said that many projects - particularly around migration - have sped up, while others have had the brakes firmly slammed out until the government offers guidance on when individual industries can start up again.

"I feel when I go into project reviews it's a game of heads or tails for which one will go faster and which ones are really slowing," he said.

"Priorities have changed so much in the last five weeks - not just business priorities but personal ones as well, and so they should.

"Certain projects can be sped up because a working day is slightly different. We're seeing an increase in migration projects because we don't have a barrier on things like testing. We've found it easier in this situation, but we have absolutely seen a slowdown in some.

"People are listening to the government at 5 o'clock and when they say that certain things are easing, that's when we'll start again."

Louth joined as UK MD last year with a remit to sharpen the firm's focus and lead its reinvention.

Speaking to CRN last year he explained how the business has already reduced the number of core vendors it works with and started to shift its sales teams' mentality to longer-term deals.

The plan is still underway, Louth said, but has had to be adapted for such a turbulent time.

"The timing was tough on our business and our plans, but that doesn't mean that it was a bad plan, it just means that we need to look at how we roll it out," he said.

"It is just going to take us a bit longer - we just need to be patient on certain teams being developed and how we put it into the market.

"But what I have found is that it's more [about] reorganising the events.

"We're doing a lot more around our training and getting everyone prepared for it, wherein our timeline that was more towards the middle or the end.

"So actually it is looking at the opportunity of having people at home."