If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn, chances are Tony Lam has already appeared in your feed, usually front and centre in one of his trademark videos. Now, it’s time to get to know the man behind it. Tony began his technology career in junior IT support, where he discovered a passion for helping people solve problems. That led him into sales and, 13 years ago, into distribution.
“I started my career in tech as a junior IT support person. I was supporting a lot of people, and I realised that when you help people, they’re generally quite receptive. I got into sales and did the same thing: I tried to help people solve problems, and I ended up here in distribution. I didn’t know what distribution was, and that was 13 years ago. I joined Express Data, then Dicker Data, and I’ve been here ever since.”
Tony may have entered distribution by chance, but he now has a memorable way of explaining the channel’s behind-the-scenes role.
“I run this joke by people all the time: we’re like the Johnnie Walker of technology. If you think of Johnnie Walker as the man behind the man behind the bar, we’re the people behind the tech behind the tech. We’re never in front of customers; we’re always with partners, but we’re also not the people who own the bar. We’re here to make sure the tech keeps moving. If partners need a new drink, we help them create it, and they deliver it.”
His move into cybersecurity followed the market and a growing focus on protecting data, understanding assets and stopping attacks before recovery is needed.
“In software, we have a lot of cyber resilience players, such as Veeam, Commvault and Arcserve. It was a natural progression to understand that, if you’re backing up and restoring data and keeping it resilient, you first need a way to stop attackers before you get to that point. We also started to get into asset management because we understood that, if you didn’t know all your devices and everything you were managing, there was no way you could be secure.”
Tony has watched the channel evolve from transactional sales to managed services, cloud and security. He sees AI as the next major shift.
"We’re still on the precipice of change. When cyber incidents have real-life effects on people’s lives and industries, we’ll see another shift. We’re seeing that ramp-up now. Cloud was the first major change, but AI is next. Those breaches will mean something because the machines are faster than a standard attacker can be.”
After 13 years at Dicker Data, Tony still values its supportive culture and commitment to partners.
“That’s what I think Dicker Data is about. It’s about the channel. We respect the channel, we serve the channel, and without the channel, we don’t exist. I think that’s the main thing people miss about us.”
His advice to partners is to stay close to customers, share useful knowledge and help turn them into advocates.
“If you have a champion customer, they’re the person who will help you find your next customers. Engage them, enrich them with knowledge and make sure they understand what you stand for.”
Outside work, Tony has swapped basketball for calisthenics and fits exercise around his working day.
“What I’ve realised is that we’re so sedentary that we need to exercise. I have a pull-up bar behind my work desk, so when webinars or meetings get too long, I put myself on mute and do about 10 pull-ups or some push-ups. I think that’s a good thing about being able to work from home. Imagine how strange it would be if I started doing push-ups in the office.”
Behind the camera and the jokes, Tony’s approach remains simple: help people solve problems, keep learning and create value for those around you. The videos may be what first catches your attention, but it’s his commitment to people and the channel that keeps the story moving.
Connect with Tony on LinkedIn here.
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