IT Services Manager

• Apr 2023 - Present

Responsible for IT services and operations across both the Sitekit Solutions and Sitekit Care business units, operating a team of both systems administrators and devops.

Senior Systems Administrator

• Sep 2021 - Present

IT Systems Manager

• Feb 2019 - Sep 2021

As the Atalian contract was nearing its end, I was approached regarding a permanent role for ALMIS International. The company had had their IT out-sourced for the previous 15 years however that relationship had soured due to poor quality of the support on offer. I was offered a rare and once in a decade opportunity to go in to an existing company with no pre-existing in-house IT procedures or processes and build from the ground up a set of systems that adheres to modern industry standards. In the first 6 months, I have delivered: * Complete PC/Laptop hardware refresh. * Commissioning of an in-house development test server environment. * Delivery of a 6 figure Azure hosting solution including BC/DR resilience. * Full deployment of Sophos Central for Endpoint Protection & Firewalls. * Overhaul of AD structure and accompanying GPO’s. * Replaced expired Sonicwall with current Sophos XG. * Upgraded site primary & failover WAN. * Deployed InTune to manage company mobile devices. Across 2020 I have further modernised the rest of the ALMIS estate, including: * Total licensing review with substantial cost savings applied. * Migration of incoming comms from 3CX to Teams - ahead of the Covid Lockdowns which led to a seamless WFH transition with no loss of provided services to clients. * The migration of all traditional ADDS devices to AAD and InTune for full endpoint security and monitoring for WFH. * 3 Penetration Testing contracts with 3 different suppliers across the full range of products and services offered using different tactics and approaches to ensure our security controls were as competent as possible. * Project planning, supplier reviews and presentation to shareholders for ISO 9001 and ISO 27001. * A review of the completed roadmap's for 2019 & 2020 and the development of a comprehensive roadmap for 2021 and 2022 including additional staff hires, iterations of the provided hosted platform with associated cost measures and multiple additional services. Show less

Technical Support Specialist

• Dec 2018 - Feb 2019

Having spent 3 months during the summer with Servest Arthur-McKay, Atalian Servest requested me by name via Hays to provide further support during their imminent tenancy migration as the Servest Group gets incorporated into Atalian's AtalianWorld Azure/O365 structure. Having spent 3 months during the summer with Servest Arthur-McKay, Atalian Servest requested me by name via Hays to provide further support during their imminent tenancy migration as the Servest Group gets incorporated into Atalian's AtalianWorld Azure/O365 structure.

Systems Administrator

• Sep 2018 - Nov 2018

FNZ’s System Admin team have an operational remit between a traditional 2nd and 3rd line structure. During the initial induction week my previous experience of Windows imaging, Blade servers and Websense resulted in being assigned projects straight away. • Project 1: Collate and review all open support tickets & threads regarding the company’s SuperMicro Blade racks (336 nodes) with a view to understanding the source(s) of their on-going stability and performance issues. • Project 2: Work with the relevant development teams and provide a new Windows 10 gold image incorporating any and all fixes from Project 1 and including all desired and back-listed changes from both IT/IS and the development teams. • Project 3: Review and commence a staged rollout of Forcepoint’s Websense 8.5 Hybrid. All of these were completed within the first 10 weeks of my employment. The image is gold and was deployed to around 20% of the nodes at the time I left. The image addressed an additional dozen aspects of system stability and performance beyond the detailed software and package updates & additions. I opted not to stay in the role permanently however, https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6471093231537909760 Show less

2nd Line Support Analyst

• May 2018 - Aug 2018

Operating in a 2nd line role, providing support and insight for Servest IT Management in regards to one of the group companies, Arthur-McKay. A company bought 18 months previously but had struggled to be properly integrated on almost any level. • Operation and operational review of both Servest and Arthur-McKay Active Directories, covering the full range of service desk support queries for a user base of around 4,500 plus associated distribution and security groups at Local, Global & Universal levels. • Investigation and resolution of numerous infrastructure blockers surrounding the group’s DNS setups affecting WDS, SCCM, GPO & Office/Outlook functionality. Including UEFI PXE support for the latest generation of UEFI only laptops & workstations. • Acting as a point of escalation for both Servest & Arthur-McKay support teams with targeted problem investigations and taking ownership of long standing open faults; providing closures and pertinent documentation to expand the group’s knowledge base. • Reporting to Servest Group shareholders regarding process failures and breakdowns with details on potential corrective measures. • 3 months of being steadily the most capable call closer; bringing the service team’s backlog from nearly 1000 open service requests with some having been open for 3+ months to now less than 150 total outstanding requests. Show less

Service Desk Analyst

• Apr 2018 - May 2018

Short term contract: Providing a mixed of 1st and 2nd line support on behalf of the CSD service desk at NHS's NSS department. The service desk provides support for: * NHS.net e-mail to users all across Scotland from all NHS Trust networks. * Access management for all NSS data systems * End user devices for all NSS and Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service staff It's been a good opportunity to refresh my ServiceNow knowledge in a transitioning environment as the entirety of NSS moves to a single-sign on and self service architecture. Show less

IT Service Desk Officer

• Feb 2018 - Mar 2018

Short Term Contract: A mixed 1st line & 2nd line role due to demonstrated experience and knowledge. Catering to a user base of around 2000 people based around the UK; Shelter operates a mixed AD/Azure environment with Office 2016 & Office 365. As part of their front line team, we take queries through their ManageEngine ServiceDeskPlus ticketing system, by phone, e-mail and Skype for Business which is their primary digital communication platform. Daily duties include: • AD account management – new staff, leaving staff, AD entity updates, account unlocks and security group/distribution group memberships. • Server side file and folder management including primary and inherited rights. • On-going fault analysis related to Shelter’s Windows 7 to Windows 10 migrations. • Performance degradation investigations for user hardware, especially focussed on older platforms not yet migrated. • Networking support for both office based users, roaming users and the Shelter shop fronts working with NiSyst, PlusNet and Vodafone’s 3rd party support processes – this includes ADSL and roaming fault resolutions. • Outlook Dynamics CRM support, including associated OneDrive/Sharepoint issues. • Administrative assistance for additional software installations and troubleshooting out with the primary O365 environment; including BT’s Authenticator, ScreenCast and Adobe. Show less

Senior Service Desk Technician

• Oct 2016 - Dec 2017

After joining Exova in October of 2016, there was a period of adaptation to the new infrastructure, processes and policies. This process was two-fold, learning the new and also recognising the older aspects of what the company needs to maintain; working with legacy platforms and systems to provide a quantifiable level of support to each and every lab. In my tenure so far, ticket handling times for all Cisco telephone and Jabber related issues have been reduced significantly, which alleviated workload levied upon the infrastructure team. I created the first iteration of the new base image currently in testing; the successful delivery reducing deployment time by 75%. As the service desk team are situated in the middle of the office space, it is vital to provide the same quality of support not only remotely but also face to face with colleagues of all levels in the company. With a more comprehensive skill set and knowledge base to draw upon than the rest of the team; I was often scheduling support for non-critical issues in advance so as to minimise any interruption caused. Spent 4 months providing cover while the service desk manager took partial leave, demonstrating my commitment to service delivery. This opportunity allowed me to expand my understanding of the role at hand and my ability to handle the necessary adjustments to my own working style. These learning experiences have been invaluable to me personally and professionally, and set me in an excellent position to respond positively to the challenges of a new role. Show less

Systems and Requests Analyst

• Aug 2013 - Oct 2016

I originally joined Zonal on a contract basis as an additional resource for an on-going migration project, during that time I repeatedly exhibited strengths and talents that were felt to be of benefit to the company and was invited to take up a permanent position in the help centre; the original role became permanent in December of 2013. Since that time a role and title have been created specifically for me, and the remit has been amended to cover the following: * Management of the Service Requests system (in line with ITIL V3) - with scheduling & resource allocation for internal departments; working closely with estates and 3rd party contractors to provide the highest level of support possible. * Maintenance of desktop related support documentation and processes including the creation of bespoke deployment images and the on-going management of desktop fault diagnostics & repairs with a target specific knowledge base resource. * Ownership of desktop refresh and migration projects, including x64 conversions * Support for Zonal software upgrade schedules and update rollouts * IT/IS support and training of EPOS analysts During my tenure to date, I have achieved a 90% reduction in follow-up calls after deployments through the process and documentation improvements associated with PC builds and images; and an increase of 16 weeks between PC maintenance incidents – a metric that is continuing to improve as the process evolves. Given the growing client base and the growing cross-departmental staff base, the role provides a challenging atmosphere and requires a dedicated work ethic given the nature of the industry. Show less

Freelance Technical & Support Services

• Jun 2005 - Nov 2013

Responsibilities & Duties • User support, system builds & repairs, data recovery and database consulting for various clients, both private and commercial. • Structured cabling and network infrastructure design and upgrades. • Support and training with Microsoft products, in the small business environment. • Support within the Event, Stage and Theatre Industry, areas include AV/IT/IS, Rigging, PAT Testing and on-site repairs. • Warehousing and rig hire preparation – including equipment testing pre-deployment and ad-hoc repairs. • Broad range of technical rigging skills, including set, stage, projection, GFX control, lighting and audio. • One to One Technical Support for small businesses and residential clients. • Continual development and growth of technical knowledge and skills. • Some time working in a data centre, dealing with hosting queries, Static IP, Server Management, DNS configurations, Firewalls, VPNs, ADSL & Leased Line Management and Troubleshooting. • Current client list includes: Writer Pictures (http://writerpictures.com) The Electric Circus (http://www.theelectriccircus.biz/) The Hive (http://www.clubhive.co.uk/) MCL (http://www.mcl-av.com/) SIA Licensed for security work 2007 > 2016. Initially trained and licensed in Scotland, worked nationally throughout this period across a number of industry segments. Show less