Nick Ioannou

Part of the IT Leaders 100 - a list of the most influential IT leaders in the UK in 2025.

Passionate IS & IT pro, security champion for SMBs and a speaker at major UK IT events since 2015, Nick has given talks and webinars on all aspects of cybersecurity, AI and GDPR. He is author and co-author of eight books on cyber security (and one on GDPR) and regularly writes blog posts.

Also an awards judge and emergency panellist for Computing if he happens to be in the audience and Tom Allen is in a bind (it happened once! - Ed.).

What's the most exciting part of your current role?

Never knowing what the day could entail. Good types of exciting is the rare joy of setting up new tech that just works.

What do you consider your greatest IT achievement of the last 12 months?

Getting our first ISO27001 audit ready and a major office move on schedule

What's the biggest challenge facing IT leaders today, and how are you tackling it?

Our dependence on so many cloud and SaaS vendors and their third parties. Every week we are troubleshooting issues due to a problem in the supply chain. Having to look at alternative platforms, real-time granular backups and workarounds.

What piece of technology could you not live without, and why?

My Netgear M1 4G hotspot with its ethernet port and that doubles as a phone charger. Actually, it's the oldest bit of tech I still use, at over seven years old. Signal strength tends to be higher than a phone and I can leave it on a window ledge a few metres away (not something I care to do with a mobile), for when I need to use something other than my mobile to resolve an issue regardless of where I am.

What excites you most about the future of IT?

Seeing all the promises for carbon nano tech making it into batteries and solar panels.

What’s the strangest job you’ve ever had?

Working as an evening cleaner in a private hospital, polishing in the minor surgery theatre and physiotherapy

If you could instantly master one new skill, what would it be?

The violin, that way I would have a backup career that did not rely on any form of technology.