// about
Matt Roberts
20+ years in the IT Channel. Microsoft 365 from the beginning. Now Director of Global Alliances at Robopack, writing about what AI and modern workplace technology actually looks like from the inside.
The story so far
I started in IT doing what most of us did: helpdesk, break/fix, servers in cupboards under the stairs. Over time, that turned into a career in the IT Channel through VARs, Microsoft partner programmes, pre-sales, delivery, and eventually running a Modern Workplace practice at CDW UK.
Microsoft 365 has been my world for the better part of a decade. I've shipped Intune deployments, argued about Autopilot policy sets, explained Conditional Access to sceptical CISOs, and watched Azure AD quietly become Entra ID while everyone else was looking the other way.
I spent 2024 as an independent consultant, working with system integrators, FTSE-listed enterprises, and government organisations on cloud transformation, AI adoption, and cybersecurity resilience. That included cyber remediation work on behalf of the National Cyber Security Centre and speaking at Microsoft Ignite, Cisco Live, and Experts Live.
Then AI got serious. Not the hype cycle. The moment when GitHub Copilot landed in your editor and started actually working, when ChatGPT showed up and broke the internet, when it became clear this wasn't a feature, it was a platform shift.
I've been writing about it here since before it was mainstream, partly to think out loud, partly to build something I can point to. This site is also a side project: I built it myself in Next.js, deployed it on AWS, and used Claude to help. That story is very much part of the point.
Career timeline
2025 – present
Director, Global Alliances & Strategic Partnerships
Robopack
Building Robopack's global partnership architecture across EMEA and North America, enabling the SaaS platform to scale through service providers and system integrators. Launching the reseller and services ecosystem from zero.
2024 – 2025
Independent Consultant
Hybrid Cloud, Copilot & Cybersecurity
Advised system integrators and enterprise organisations on cloud transformation, cybersecurity resilience, and AI adoption. Worked directly with government and FTSE-listed organisations. Cyber remediation advisor for the National Cyber Security Centre. Keynote and panel speaker at Microsoft Ignite, Cisco Live, and Experts Live.
2019 – 2024
Head of Workspace Solutions + Interim Head of Partner Alliances
CDW UK
Led CDW UK's highest-value complex solution engagements across workspace, cloud, security, and managed services. Orchestrated multi-million-pound enterprise transformation programmes and built out the partner alliances function.
2012 – 2019
Senior Solutions Architect
CDW UK
Seven years architecting Microsoft solutions for enterprise and mid-market customers. Deep technical pre-sales, complex solution design, and a front-row seat to the shift from on-premises to cloud.
Pre-2012
IT Support → Systems Engineer
VAR / Reseller
Hands-on infrastructure work that built the technical foundations: servers, networking, desktop support, and early enterprise deployments. Where most careers in this industry start.