Interview Eddy Bergiers

How has your professional experience led to your current role as Sales Director at Datacenter United?

Eddy: “Before I joined Datacenter United, I have worked for over 40 years in the IT industry. I spent most of my career in the IT distribution area, mostly in managerial and business development roles. It has provided me with a sharp insight into what’s required to build and further develop a business. In one case, I have started the Belgian branch of an international distributor as a one-man-show and when I left this company, my division had a headcount of about 90 employees. That’s an achievement I’m particularly proud of, and an asset which will surely help me in realizing the growth potential we have defined for Datacenter United.”

What is DCU’s growth potential?

Eddy: “On the one hand, there is the huge growth potential for the datacenter market as a whole. The not so recent trends of increasing digitalisation and cloud computing, which still feed the need for computing power and space, are now joined and even eclipsed by these current technologies that scream for exponential growth of the digital infrastructure: AI and IoT. The biggest challenge for datacenters will be to keep up with these increasing demands.

On the other hand, I see many reasons why DCU will be thriving instead of surviving. Belgium is still lagging in datacenter adoption. One out of three Belgian companies relies on a datacenter for its digital infrastructure. In the Netherlands, we are talking 2 out of 3, and these markets are not so very different. So this is a huge margin for growth. And I’m convinced that we are well positioned to play a leading role in the Belgian datacenter market and to grow faster than the market.”

Why is that? What does DCU have that differentiates you from your competitors? 

Eddy: “There are a number of reasons. For one, we are very present in the Belgian market. We have no less than 8 datacenter locations in Flanders. Our CEO, Friso Haringsma, has always believed that every customer should have one of our datacenters at 40 kilometers or less from their front door. No other datacenter provider in Belgium even comes close to us in reaching that goal.

Another important differentiator: DCU is the only Belgian datacenter provider that can offer a certified Tier IV datacenter, and this may remain so for quite a while. This may sound like a technicality, but it is a quite huge differentiator. It means that we are the only ones who can guarantee this near 100% redundancy that several industries are so desperately looking for. Banking, medical, education, military: they are all industries who cannot afford being offline for even a split second. Obviously, this is one of the main pillars of our strategy for the years to come: convince these markets that we are the best – or even only – solution for their mission-critical needs.”

What other components of the strategy will further DCU’s market growth?

 Eddy: “One major component will have a huge influence, according to me. As a seasoned manager in the retail and distribution area, I strongly believe in the power of the channel. I am determined to use my channel knowledge and network to create many new partnerships. I’m a firm believer of building ecosystems. The channel is more than an integrator housing his infrastructure in our datacenter to serve his customers, we can also truly collaborate as partners, for instance when a reseller refers to us when their customer is looking for an additional datacenter or when we point our end customer in the direction of a trusted local security provider. By building such ecosystem of datacenters, vendors, distributors, resellers and end customers, we can significantly enhance all parties’ businesses.”

Why did DCU choose you to help them hone their strategy?

Eddy: “You would have to ask them (laughs). I presume it is a combination of my experience and my management style. My experience in the distribution area has taught me the importance of swiftly responding to the customers’ needs. In the past, this has not been a priority for datacenter providers, but we expect customers to become more demanding in the future, and we will have to be able to respond to these needs, also in terms of speed and agility.

As a manager, I am told to have a high EQ and a decent set of people skills. I do believe in the importance of creating a strong team, because we will have to really rely on each other to meet the challenges of tomorrow. This also means that we have to really listen to each other and understand what drives every single person.

This is not limited to our colleagues and employees, by the way: we also have to carefully and regularly listen to our customers and partners to understand what keeps them awake at night and how we can help them get a good night’s sleep.”

This might be the last job in your impressive career. When do your consider your mission here as successfully completed?

Eddy: “When I look back and all the boxes are ticked:  each member of the sales team proudly contributes to the sales results, not only the revenue has grown but also the wallet share, there is a healthy level of profitability, and the team continues to enjoy working hard and playing hard. And when, at the end of the day, the management and employees agree in saying: ‘Choosing Eddy four years ago has really made an impact on our business.” Then I can happily say goodbye and go to Spain with my loved ones.”

 

Xavier Warnier, CCO at Datacenter United: “Building towards the ultimate customer experience”

“Eddy’s elaborate experience in the IT industry and his unwavering support of our mission make him the perfecte sparring partner to strengthen our teams and to further develop our channel strategy. Furthermore, we can rely on his expertise to broaden our strategic vision and sales support, allowing me to enhance Datacenter United’s growth and to engage in strategic partnerships. Eddy does not only bring his professional qualities to the job, it is also extremely pleasant to work with him, and we are sharing the same vision on many levels. In close collaboration with the team, we are building towards the ultimate customer experience and developing new solutions to ensure our customers’ and partners’ business continuity. Here’s to many jointly succesful years!” 

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Name: Eddy Bergiers
Age: 62 
Function: Sales Director
Previous roles: Country Manager - Regional Manager - Sales Manager - Development Manager
Previous companies: Bell Micro– Avnet – TD SYNNEX - Westpole
Personal info: Married, 4 children