Ken Rainforth Email & Phone Number

Worcester, Gb

Solihull, England, United Kingdom

In my current role, I am primarily responsible for the deployment of large Microsoft Azure/Modern Workplace/Windows Server solutions to organisations across the UK. In addition to this, as Lead I am responsible for driving strategy around Cloud Solutions, writing process documentation, automating deployment processes, carrying out training sessions, mentoring other Engineers, technical support escalations and supporting the administrative staff within our department with technical… Show more In my current role, I am primarily responsible for the deployment of large Microsoft Azure/Modern Workplace/Windows Server solutions to organisations across the UK. In addition to this, as Lead I am responsible for driving strategy around Cloud Solutions, writing process documentation, automating deployment processes, carrying out training sessions, mentoring other Engineers, technical support escalations and supporting the administrative staff within our department with technical queries.- Implemented numerous projects for large organisations. These projects primarily involved migrating them from legacy infrastructure to Private/Public Cloud solutions. Projects were carried out from the Consultancy Phase (discussion and formulation of a proposed infrastructure/solution), through to Project Planning, Infrastructure Deployment and Initial Migration, UAT, Go-Live and Project Handover. Typical deployments would involve dozens of virtual servers and PaaS infrastructure, each performing dedicated roles (DC, File, Print, SQL, Application Server, Azure Virtual Desktop Session Hosts etc.) and all designed and configured to follow the Azure Well Architected Framework.- Created Azure deployment scripts utilising Hashicorp Terraform to automate the deployment of common projects/infrastructure. These scripts in various forms consistently reduced deployment time of initial project infrastructure from 7+ hours to minutes and ensured all resources were deployed ensuring the Microsoft Well Architected Framework was being followed.- Kept up to date with developments within IT. Reviewed new technologies or evolvements of existing technologies and informed team members of the changes, or updated technical documentation to take new processes/best practices into account.- Engineer One to One’s- Identifying Engineer training requirements and implementing development plans to facilitate them- Interviewing candidates for Engineering roles Show less

Kidderminster, England, United Kingdom

- Implemented numerous on-premises server projects for large organisations. A typical deployment would include a set of HPE Servers configured in a cluster, a HPE/Nimble SAN, VMware ESXi, backup infrastructure and Stacked Aruba Switches to function as the network core. These solutions would be designed and implemented to be as resilient as possible, utilising redundant links and failover technologies where possible. All customer workloads would be migrated to this new infrastructure.-… Show more - Implemented numerous on-premises server projects for large organisations. A typical deployment would include a set of HPE Servers configured in a cluster, a HPE/Nimble SAN, VMware ESXi, backup infrastructure and Stacked Aruba Switches to function as the network core. These solutions would be designed and implemented to be as resilient as possible, utilising redundant links and failover technologies where possible. All customer workloads would be migrated to this new infrastructure.- Implemented networking projects for organisations across the UK, utilising the HPE/Aruba product set including Core Switches, Access Switches and Wireless Access Points.- Implemented Firewall solutions utilising the WatchGuard product set, from small satellite sites, to clustered, high-throughput, large sites.- Migrated customers from either on-premises or Private Cloud infrastructure to Microsoft Azure.- Created Azure deployment scripts utilising Azure Bicep and Azure PowerShell to automate the deployment of common infrastructure. These scripts were utilised by the Azure team during a large number of customer migrations, saving a total of hundreds of hours across these projects. Show less

Kidderminster, Hereford And Worcester, United Kingdom

In June 2017, I was promoted to a Server Installation Engineer. As well as the responsibilities in my previous role, I now lead or am involved in projects/deployments implementing the following technologies:• Servers (both virtualised and physical)o Windows Server (Domain Controllers, Remote Desktop Servers, MemberServers hosting specific applications, etc.) o VMWare ESXi (including clustering)o Microsoft Hyper-V• Microsoft Azure AD/Intune• Enterprise-grade Firewall… Show more In June 2017, I was promoted to a Server Installation Engineer. As well as the responsibilities in my previous role, I now lead or am involved in projects/deployments implementing the following technologies:• Servers (both virtualised and physical)o Windows Server (Domain Controllers, Remote Desktop Servers, MemberServers hosting specific applications, etc.) o VMWare ESXi (including clustering)o Microsoft Hyper-V• Microsoft Azure AD/Intune• Enterprise-grade Firewall Equipment• Layer 2/Layer 3 Switches (including VLAN implementation)• Network Attached Storage• SANs• Wireless Networking (Including site surveying) Show less

Kidderminster, United Kingdom

I progressed into a role that involved installing new desktops (Windows and macOS), network storage and networking infrastructure equipment at customer sites. These installations were either undertaken independently or with the involvement of a Project Manager. I also assisted with Field Support duties when required.

Stourport, United Kingdom

I joined OGL to progress into a 3rd Line, field-based support role. I provided hardware and software support for a variety of systems, including Servers/Desktops (Windows and macOS), hardware firewall appliances, networking equipment and enterprise AV solutions. In addition to the above, I would also perform network integrity checks for customers on a regular basis – discussing customer requirements and implementing changes to the network based on their business and security requirements.

Worcester, United Kingdom

Previously I worked for Open GI providing 2nd Line Support to both Insurance Brokers and staff within the business. I was a member of the Enhanced Support Services (ESS) team - as part of this team I was tasked with providing specialist support to select clients who pay a fee to get direct access to Level 2 and maintain their servers.I supported a wide range of environments, these included Remote Desktop Services/Citrix Xenapp deployments, Exchange/Active Directory, MSSQL, Group… Show more Previously I worked for Open GI providing 2nd Line Support to both Insurance Brokers and staff within the business. I was a member of the Enhanced Support Services (ESS) team - as part of this team I was tasked with providing specialist support to select clients who pay a fee to get direct access to Level 2 and maintain their servers.I supported a wide range of environments, these included Remote Desktop Services/Citrix Xenapp deployments, Exchange/Active Directory, MSSQL, Group Policy and various other Windows Server Roles. Every day these servers were checked and pro-actively maintained to prevent downtime.We also supplied Linux (SLES10/11) based servers to brokers' - these servers ran our emulated TRIPOS operating system and provide the environment for Insurance Brokers to go through the stages of quoting and selling policies. These servers are mission critical and so we also had the duty of maintaining them.I also had to mentor the 1st Line staff – training and assisting them. Towards the end of my time I began to take on Lead Technical Support Analyst duties. Show less

Worcester, United Kingdom

I was responsible for providing technical support to clients for their Macs, PCs, Mobile Phones, Tablets etc. whilst maintaining world class customer service.

Birmingham, United Kingdom

During my time as an IT Support Apprentice I was taught how to properly and professionally repair and maintain both PC hardware and software. It was here that I earned the MCITP, MCTS and CompTIA A+ certifications.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

I was the first point of call for technical support for the business. I was also tasked with automating MySQL databases using Fortra Automate (a no-code automation/workflow builder) and maintaining the data within them during my time there. I was given the flexibility to experiment with the IT infrastructure and practice using tools such as AD, Mac OS X Server and get a basic overview of networking concepts.

Education record

Education record