Computing welcomes new Editor

Tom Allen will lead the title as we invest in our research, events and global presence.

I am delighted to introduce myself to you as the new editor of Computing, taking over from the inestimable Stuart Sumner.

It doesn't seem that long ago that I was taking my first steps into the tech industry, but in fact more than than a decade has passed since that day in 2011 when I sat down and began learning about what makes an LCD different from a CRT.

As you might guess from the above sentence, I didn't begin in the world of IT, but rather of hardware - specifically, displays. It felt like something of a homecoming: I am, at heart, a geek, and spent many of my formative years in front of a screen, although generally playing games rather than thinking about backlights and quantum dots.

It wasn't long until I was drawn to data, security and systems, an area that moves incredibly fast compared to just about any other industry - especially funerals, the subject of one of the first magazines I ever worked on (it's true. Check LinkedIn).

I joined Computing in May 2017, which you might remember as 'WannaCry Month'. Ransomware, naturally, was the first thing I ever wrote about, and security remains at the forefront of our coverage today - as seen with the launch of the Cybersecurity Festival in 2020.

That's far from our only new event. Over the last five years we've added a host of brand new conferences and awards to our calendar around major upcoming topics in IT, like artificial intelligence, sustainability and diversity. We also continue to experiment with the format of our events, diving into the virtual space with our Deskflix series and hybrid multi-day festivals, like the IT Leaders Festival, Cybersecurity Festival and Women in Tech Festival.

And that's not all we've done. Our research arm, Delta, began life as a body of industry reports focused on UK IT, to compete with the host of US-centric market intelligence. We rethought that approach during the pandemic and it now stands as an exciting addition to our reporting portfolio, bringing you the opinions and lived experiences of IT leaders on a host of topics: from specific technologies and systems to wider industry trends like vendors' green initiatives and recruitment. Going foward, Delta will continue to be the home for Computing's industry-leading research, and as always we value your opinions on what we should cover next.

As a brand and business, we continue to evolve with Computing's recent acquisition by The Channel Company, owner of CRN.com. This move gives Computing more resources to invest in our core businesses of research, events and IT leader relationships, and there are great things on the horizon.

One of those things is an expansion of the Computing brand to a worldwide proposition. For many years we have focused on UK IT, and that remains our bread and butter; but with The Channel Company we will be reaching out to open new arms serving North America, Europe and soon across Asia and South America - giving us a global reach.

It's an incredibly exciting time to be taking the helm of the industry's leading IT publication, and I look forward to continuing the journey with you.

I'll close with some words from outgoing editor Stuart Sumner, who remains with The Channel Company but is moving on to lead all of our content brands on a global scale, with which I wish him luck:

"Computing has grown and evolved hugely over the last 12 years, going from a print-first publication to a truly multi-channel, digital-first brand with an industry-leading events portfolio and incredible proximity to senior IT leaders in the UK and across Europe.

"The brand is in extremely safe hands with Tom Allen now at the helm, and will continue to provide the in-depth information that senior IT leaders need."