As a Solutions Architect I work with existing and new customers to translate business requirements into fit for purpose Microsoft and Open Source based solutions through the complete project lifecycle.I undertake requirements gathering, planning, estimating, design and technical assurance of Microsoft and Open Source solutions. I work closely with both internal and external customers on a variety of projects. My typical responsibilities include:• Provide support and guidance to both Project Managers and Technical Architects on Microsoft and Open Source solutions;• Provide technical direction and expertise to the Microsoft and Open Source Development teams;• Active participation in project planning, team meetings, reviews, retrospectives, sprint and release planning, demos and other meetings;• Ensure all Microsoft and Open Source development work meets the agreed architecture and coding standards and take personal accountability for assuring design documentation and coding;• Adhere to, proactively maintain and improve agreed practices, accreditations, procedures, quality and development standards;• Identify, review, select and recommend new technical products which can be used to improve the overall quality of the Microsoft practice;• Provide pre-sales support as required.Against my personal goals I am working towards TOGAF certification with the help, guidance and advice of the experienced members of the team around me.

Reporting to the Head of IT at London Luton Airport (LLA). A 12 month contract to provide consulting architectural services at the beginning of LLA’s digital transformation. My contract also stipulated that I should facilitate the delivery of a development environment and a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) to support the immediate needs of LLA’s projects.LLA were at the start of a full TOGAF cycle of which my role was to perform a Gap analysis on the current setup of the IT department. In addition, prepare for a planned business objective to upgrade the Airport Operations Database (AODB) to use a new database. There is also a requirement to join disparate data sources to support the future demands of LLA’s business and its customers to improve access to data, applications and automation within the Airport environment; I performed baseline discovery on existing connections and discussed, planned and documented Target requirements. Using Mulesoft ESB I then applied the Target designs to the implementation plan and worked closely with the developers to build the connections. These connections linked the Tower (EFPS/FUMS), Noise Control (Topsonic), ACL for flight scheduling and many other critical systems required for the smooth operation of an airport.I worked closely with developers and provided an API to pass Flight Information System Data (FIDS) to suppliers and partners throughout the Airport environment. This API included providing documentation, commercial agreements and overseeing the process from start to finish for all suppliers.I also built and documented O365/SharePoint architecture for use with the ITSM (ITIL) for better change, process and document management.

Direktek a trade only leading channel provider for imaging, optical, home and office product distribution. Responsible for all areas of the IT department’s contributions to business success, a varied and challenging role that required good planning and ability to get hands on when necessary to ensure the continued running of the business. • Ensure staff enforced data protection in line with terms set by trading partners.• Ability to explain systems and processes in a non-technical language.• Responsible to design, document and Implement business continuity plans.• Ensure security of data, network protection and backup.• Migration of key services to Office 365 environment.• Management of staff by recruiting, training and encouraging employees, communicating job expectations and appraising their performance. • Structured training courses for internal teams.• Managed relationships with EDI partners OB10, Tradacoms, Context, GFK, Virtual Stock• Organisation of regular team meetings, socials and stand up’s.• Management of the development team to build, test and evaluate the internal systems using an agile, scrum methodology.• Willingness to get hands-on with teams.• Develop, test and create policy for automated order placement by working closely with companies including Tesco, DSGI, Debenhams, Argos, JDW Williams and Office Depot.• Development of B2B EDI transaction systems for delivery of daily stock feeds, order confirmations and invoices to customers. • Implemented automated order processing direct form online stores including DSGI, Tesco, Debenhams, Argos, JDW Williams and Office Depot via various EDI methods and specifications requested. Orders received ranged from 50 to 500 per day depending on seasonal demand.

Responsible for in house development team, EDI processing team and Web site and content team.Direktek distribution was the distribution company for The Imaging Store LTD, frequent discussions with the Direktek directors lead to recommendations of how the company might best update its systems following the discontinuation of their accounts package (Dimensions Access) on Macintosh to a PC model using SQL, a migration was required for the whole company.Approached with the exciting opportunity to start and manage an IT department as there was no dedicated IT department coupled with the solution of using an ASP.NET website as a cross platform internal sales system to support the sales team would reduce the requirement to migrate by 50% saving the company thousands of pounds of unrequired expenditure. • Built a web based intranet sales system using VB/C# ASP.net and SQL using Access Dimensions Accounting package API to integrate. • Provide transaction and order data to Sales team. • Provide product information in a digital format. • Order placement, average around 80-150 orders per day. • Developed UI for custom pricing templates for multiple account types. • In house development of Warehouse Management system introducing use of Motorola/Symbol scanners to the operation. • Integration directly to logistical courier partners City Link, TNT, DX, Yodel and MetaPack to provide delivery documents automatically speeding up the packaging process. • Development of external web sites (ASP.net) • Product content and information creation for Direktek products. • Introduction of search data keywords for faceted searching. • Helped develop in-house photography studio for Direktek products. • Creation of a large hosted image library management/storage and client delivery system. • Development for returns/customer service system. • Policy documentation to support all in house systems. • Organisation of Training for in house systems.

Brief was to design, build and host an e-commerce web site to sell digital media, providing online payment in the forms of Pay-Pal and Credit card transactions (DataCash). Starting as a developer and later moving into managing the team involved in order processing and content for the site. Although orders didn’t exceed more than 12-35 orders a week a lot was learned from setting up and creating policy for order processing and the design of websites. The site was redesigned and upgraded at the request of the CEO due to changing business models and plans.• Development of site using ASP with VB.• Back end powered using Dynamics. (before MS acquired it) (SQL)• Hosting on Windows box using IIS.• Policy creation for Order Process Fulfilment, Cancellation and Returns.• Management of small team of in-house content provider and order facilitator. • Ongoing maintenance and development of the site.• Upgrade from ASP to ASP.net and the new C# language.• Database and Site backup

Joining an already established team created to facilitate the migration from Macintosh to PC across all Nortel's 5 sites in the south west.- Created using Microsoft Access an additional add-on to an existing Access set-up to allow a staff option to buy outgoing Mac equipment. - Module allowed for collection and receipts of monetary transfers. - Stock inventory of outgoing equipment- Working closely with the IT team to complete migrations on schedule.- Responsibility to oversee correct disposal of unwanted or unneeded equipment.- Arrange collection of orphaned computers and peripherals left over after migration completed.

From Apprentice to head chef my first career was hugely enjoyable. The key things I took with into my current career was :-Management of a team under pressureOrganisationAttention to detailsForward thinkingRecognising problems before its to lateand of course how to cook !!!