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Northamber’s Director of Solutions, Tony Price tells PCR what the five pieces of technology are that have shaped his personal and professional life.
Car Phone & Brick
At the very beginning of my career, when I was young and fresh, I started as an Operations Assistant for a private air charter company. I was basically on call and had to respond quickly when flights were needed to be booked last minute. So, I had one of the first car phones that was fixed in the car and then this huge “brick” for when I was out of the car, so I could receive calls out of normal office hours to arrange flights for emergency transplants!
The Internet
How many people remember when the Internet was a new thing? Actually the timing was perfect, as I owe a lot to the Internet throughout my career. At the time I was asked to start a company called WStore that was the first B2B online reseller in the UK. We built most of our systems on the web, giving us real time content and easier configuration and purchasing. In hindsight that was a good call, it gave us competitive advantage and stood us in good stead for our future growth and development.
Fitbit
There are many benefits to having a Fitbit and a few disadvantages too! As well as tracking how few steps I have taken today, I can also measure my heart rate during exercise, with calories burned and consumed (not sure I like this one) and it even tracks my sleeping pattern. But for me the most important tool is the Fitbit scales, which automatically records and stores my weight! I call mine the FatButt!
Apple Pay
This is one of the biggest changes in tech for me. It’s simple to use, it’s secure, it helps to prevent fraud and it’s easy to integrate into my life. I no longer have to carry a wallet around with me, just my phone with cardholder attached (just in case the retailer does not accept apple pay or contactless payments). I just hope I don’t lose my phone!
WatchGuard Firewall & WAP
For both my professional and personal life, having a WatchGuard Firewall (available from Northamber) and two wireless access points while working from home has given me many advantages. My network is more secure and I have better coverage across the house, compared to the standard router provided by my broadband supplier. However, as a parent, the best advantage it offers is that I can set up separate SSID networks. So I have one for my wife & I, one for guests and then I have one for each of my kids, who are at different ages. So it allows me to control content for each of them or just to turn it off if the need calls for it.
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