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During the current Covid-19 crisis, Garry Connolly, Founder & President of Host In Ireland interviews Ciaran Forde, EMEA Marketing Manager for Eaton, a power management company & Host In Ireland partner, made up of over 97,000 employees, doing business in more than 175 countries.
Garry: Ciaran Datacenter EMEA Marketing Manager, how are you getting on.
Ciaran: All good Gary good to hear you. Garry: You're holed up in Dublin. Working from home Ciaran: luckily we have the flexibility that were able to get most of the Eaton workers working from home where possible so in my own little office and guest room. And EMEA obviously a big region with a lot of people in a lot of geographic time zones. Garry: This is I guess is a test of the technology that you were part of building. Ciaran: Well, I guess one of those great applications that the data center industry has been able to support is the next Generation video conferencing and digital Communications. So, yeah, I guess in our way we've helped stitch this network together.
Garry: And how are your family and your cluster at home bearing up have you a group of people there banging door are we like to see little baby running in here in a few minutes.
Ciaran: You could see anything at any time. I can't promise. this is going to be an ordered interview. So no everybody's great. Thank God. Thank God everybody in my friends family c circle work colleagues everybody's all good. Garry: And what have you found to be your biggest challenge, you know if there was your biggest challenge is personally or business-wise. What are you finding? Ciaran: Well, I think just been a kind of strange quick adoption of the new forms of communications. So business-wise, we're expecting that this would hamper the ability to communicate. I think what's happening at the moment is people have justreadily embraced it video conferencing has shot up. And even when we had the facility before a lot of people weren't using it. So now a lot more people are using the video element. So that is humanises the communications and actually makes it much more effective. People are more engaged. So I think that's been a surprising plus don't know real impediment on that on that side of things and at home everything is just that little bit slower. I guess like many in feeling this surreal kind of moment. You don't know whether you're in a movie or not. Some sort of a zombie movie but you do they get this strange isolated feeling even when you go out and around Dublin City, you can see people but nobody's talking. Yeah I mean that's really unusual for Ireland very much so very much so. So I think you've identified there at the biggest challenge. You thought would be connectivity with your colleagues in the other locations. And that's proven to be the bit that is positive is people have embraced it absolutely I honestly think people are going to permanently unlock and use a new level of productivity. And what we will learn in this unusual situation is how to be more productive using the digital tools That we've had for a number of years. Garry: Have you learned anything about yourself that you didn't know? I know you're only 21 and you have a long road to travel but what have you learned anything about yourself is did you surprise yourself? Did you disappoint yourself anything? Ciaran: I guess I realized that I was used to say the. office commute or traveling as a way of switching on and off from work. ’Cause you would travel into the office. You're mentally preparing yourself for the day ahead. And on the way home. You're mentally disengaging. When you work from home. The lines are very blurred. So what I'm learning about myself is that I mentally I cannot switch off as well as I could. So I need the physical separation I think at to help me do that. Otherwise, like on Saturday night. I was wide awake 30 minutes past midnight. I just woke up wide awake and straight into work and I stayed up till 5:00 a.m. And that's just not normal. Right? So I know it's because you're working in the home environment and it lends itself to do that.
Garry: And the fridge you keep walking by the fridge on every journey. That's what I'm finding.
Ciaran: Who has been talking to you? I think it's the same with all of us and there's no, What's the point in having a bar of chocolate if you can't finish it. You know, I mean these disciplined people. I've came up with my new expression. Don't put off till tomorrow what you can eat today. Garry: I see a slogan coming up when you give up eating and I think cadburys chocolate are looking for a new PR dude so you're looking great and delighted to see you're holding up well if you were to use our capture in three words, finally, what would be three words you'd use right now.
Ciaran: three words be tough, but I tell you what, I am feeling and it's it's not only in the Eaton company. It's in the data center industry and it's in society as a whole. I think the people as a collective are realizing as a collective were vulnerable. You're used to your own sense of self being vulnerable. But as a collective were feeling it differently and that's actually bringing out a lot of positives in people's behaviors the support what you're willing to do for someone else and I think a lot of respect is bubbling up through people that were invisible to you beforehand suddenly if it's somebody at a checkout or its somebody a security guard in someplace keeping it open. We are so reliant on one another at all levels of society in all walks of life. So I think there's something very positive happening in that and I think my single message would be is that everybody first take care of yourself so that you can take care of others. Garry: Yes nice, and and finally as a member of the Executive Council of Host in Ireland obviously our motto is the power is in the collective. So in terms of your commitment to us and commitment to Host in Ireland, it's a great bunch of people and I thank you for that and stay well and we'll speak again very soon. Touch your collar there. Ciaran: My Eaton shirt.
Garry: Excellent.
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