I have over 20 years of experience working with on-premise and cloud-based solutions, having worked with all iterations of Windows from both workstation and server families before developing an affinity with Microsoft’s cloud-based Microsoft 365 portfolio including Azure Active Directory, Exchange Online, Sharepoint Online, Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams. I also have experience with various Linux distributions such as RedHat, SuSE, Ubuntu, Fedora, and Mint.
My career began in 1997 with a high street computer retailer, working in their Technical department. In this role, I performed upgrades and repairs, both hardware and software, and advised other members of staff and customers on technical issues. After a short while, I became the technical team leader, overseeing the team of 5 other technicians.
In 2000, I moved into the world of corporate IT, joining a business based in Ashford, supporting 250 users in a team of 3. Our landscape changed much over the next 10 years with the move from Novell Netware to Windows 2008, via Windows 2000 and 2003, and a change in physical infrastructure as we implemented a vSphere solution replacing our ageing physical estate. It was partway through this period that we took on a 4th person in the infrastructure team and I was promoted to a senior technician, with a specific interest in Active Directory, IIS, and core Windows servers.
In 2012, the company was purchased by a much larger business, and our team of 4 joined an existing team of 6 with the 10 of us split across the country. This acquisition opened the door to moving the majority of our on-prem hardware to a managed datacentre, where much still resides today, freeing me from managing the physical tin and releasing me to focus on the day-to-day operations of a mostly-Windows estate.
I have been heavily involved with the migration of 1200+ users from a self-hosted Exchange platform to Microsoft 365’s Exchange Online solution, along with moving telephony to Teams via Skype for Business first to build user confidence in a product that is similar to that used by many at home. In addition, files are being moved to Sharepoint online from legacy file shares, and DFS shares for much greater resilience and flexibility for off-site working.
I live in Kent where I’m lucky enough to have many decent walking opportunities. I enjoy travel, eating out, and am an avid commercial aviation enthusiast who is just starting to experience drone flying.