Season 1 Episode 2 The PHIT Podcast with Dave Rawle
For episode three of the Putting the Human Back into Technology (PHIT) podcast, we spoke with Bytes Chief Technology Officer Dave Rawle. Bytes are one of, if not the largest reseller of software licenses in the UK, but there is much more to them than “Just licenses” We spoke to Dave about how his role fits into the wider business and how his teams strive to deliver value for Bytes.
- You can watch Dave’s interview on our YouTube Channel
- You can listen to the interview on this page, or most of the main podcast platforms, you can listen on Anchor here
Tell me a little about what you do, your business, job role?
Dave Rawle is the Group CTO with Bytes Technology Group and has been in post since March 2020. Bytes are renowned for the license and procurement skills. Bytes is a big beast, and there is much more to it than it. Communicate technology customers on behalf of Bytes. There is much more to it than reselling licenses. Part of Dave’s job is to get the messaging right and helping Bytes customers and staff.
How has the last year impacted your business? And how do you keep up with the rate of change?
Dave said the lockdown and pandemic had minimal impact on the business, the volume of business has not been impacted, but the business makeup changed. There was high demand for Citrix and Teams licenses. On the downside, hardware refreshes and change projects were put on hold. “Nobody wanted to do anything.”
Technology is changing so fast. I worked for a smaller business in the Bytes group until March last year. The higher you go in a business means you can get isolated, and you have to work twice as hard to keep close to what’s going on with your customers, your people and so on. The pandemic and remote working could have increased that feeling. Dave describes himself as “a meddler in the business” in his quest to fully understand what Bytes are doing and how he can help. He gets involved in a lot of customer calls, this hasn’t changed during the pandemic, and he does this to understand better the problems he’s trying to solve. Dave was very keen on people continuing to learn. “Don’t be afraid to do your own research”
“I miss trade shows, kicking some ideas around, having beers over lunch, water cooler chats, I miss driving the most – driving is my thinking time.”
How do “people” fit into your IT departments/business delivery model?
It’s funny, but in many businesses, especially here in the UK, “it’s culturally not acceptable to not be busy.”
Dave doesn’t think it’s wise to try and prevent staff from thinking. Thinking is a good thing, and while it’s not directly revenue-generating, those thoughts and ideas and research will lead to better solutions for Bytes customers.
Dave said, “It’s tough to get people to tell you that they are not 100% busy.” I need them to understand that not being 100% busy is a good thing. it promotes thinking time and the ability to look up and look out and see what’s happening.
“This [the Putting the Human Back into Technology podcast] is a genuinely good thing to do” We couldn’t agree, more Dave, if you are reading this and would like to get involved, please do get in touch and let us know.
“Are we adding value by sending a burnt-out consultant to the customer to deliver? The answer is no.” “Don’t burn out from 100% occupancy.”
We asked Dave if he measured stress in teams. “We try. Stress is a difficult one. Some people bring stress onto themselves. You can only do so much.”
To encourage thinking, Dave sets KPIs for his team with Lab time. They have to spend so much time learning new skills. After all, people do what you measure them by
When it comes to recruitment interviewing is key to getting the right people on board. Dave is brutally honest with people at interview.
“If you are the kind of person that looks for the next thing to do, you will thrive. If that’s not, you don’t accept the offer.”
How do you drive value from data /technology for your business? Are you on a cloud journey – which cloud? And are you there yet?
I can share pieces of it. You won’t find a business that doesn’t use the cloud in some capacity or other, even if it’s just Power BI for your reporting.
The data itself is critical, “Crap in – crap out” and “Lies, damn lies and statistics”. One of the hardest elements for any business s what you do with it. Despite all the available tools, the hardest thing is getting quality data input and is Bytes biggest challenge. Capturing high-quality data is an important goal and trying to balance that with allow your people to do their jobs is critical.
The stock exchange floatation didn’t mean a significant change for most people at Bytes. There was a dedicated team delivering the floatation. There have been no problems challenges as a result of this process
What advice would you give your younger self or those starting out or changing their career into the IT industry?
Dave’s advice to his younger self “chill out and grow up” – if I’m concentrating and working to a deadline and I get interrupted, I can get tetchy!
Sometimes you just have to wait and look. You don’t need to say something just to say something and maybe having that patience sometimes come with experience. Fail fast. If it is not working, try something different. Understand what change will make a difference and drive that change.
We have a culture in the UK that people think if you aren’t a manager, you are not succeeding. We need to break that culture.
Tell me a fun fact about yourself that perhaps nobody else knows about you?
Dave is a keen diving enthusiast and also a diving instructor and fast approaching 1000 dives. He finds his diving hobby as a great way to switch off from work. “It’s the only thing I have found that lets me completely forget about work…Everyone should find something outside work that lets them switch off.”
I can’t help but think the fear of drowning in a muddy quarry would be enough to take everyone’s mind off work, at least for a short while!
You can watch Dave’s interview on our YouTube Channel
You can listen to the interview on this page, or most of the main podcast platforms, you can listen on Anchor here
You can view our previous episodes here
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