Simon Wilsher Email & Phone Number

CloudStratex has been acquired by Brillio!

Working on Assignment at a major Utilities company. Initially engaged to review/improve Delivery processes as part of the Service Assurance team

Working at a UK Insurance company who had an urgent requirement to exit their Datacentres (Prod and DR). I led a small team tasked with developing a 'Command & Control' function to oversee the planning and execution of the migration of some 2,000 server instances (virtual and physical) all associated storage/data, tools & network access/connectivity. Migration was spread over a 4-month period with very aggressive timelines and also needed to ensure key business services were not significantly… Show more Working at a UK Insurance company who had an urgent requirement to exit their Datacentres (Prod and DR). I led a small team tasked with developing a 'Command & Control' function to oversee the planning and execution of the migration of some 2,000 server instances (virtual and physical) all associated storage/data, tools & network access/connectivity. Migration was spread over a 4-month period with very aggressive timelines and also needed to ensure key business services were not significantly impacted. Command and Control owned the 'event schedule', ensured all readiness tasks and business approvals were confirmed prior to each migration, oversaw the migration itself, providing regular communication updates to the identified stakeholders and acted as an escalation point for issues. The function played a key role in the successful execution of the migration and was recognised by the customers senior exec. Show less

Engaged at a global Financial Institution I was part of a small team tasked with a complete review and re-write of existing Incident, Problem & Change Management policy/process/procedure and supporting toolset (ServiceNow) which were considered no longer fit for purpose within the organisation. Existing artefacts were reviewed, revisions proposed and workshopped with senior stakeholders before being updated and successfully embedded into the Service Management team and adopted by the wider BAU… Show more Engaged at a global Financial Institution I was part of a small team tasked with a complete review and re-write of existing Incident, Problem & Change Management policy/process/procedure and supporting toolset (ServiceNow) which were considered no longer fit for purpose within the organisation. Existing artefacts were reviewed, revisions proposed and workshopped with senior stakeholders before being updated and successfully embedded into the Service Management team and adopted by the wider BAU function. Show less

Working with the CloudStratex leadership team, I was asked to review and revise the Sales and Delivery processes being used by the company to ensure all Sales and Delivery leads were using common processes in identifying new sales opportunities and subsequently effectively delivering services against formally agreed Statements of Work.

London, United Kingdom

Working on assignment at a Global Education company I was tasked with transitioning Digital Workplace Services (DWS) from Google to Microsoft O365 – Exchange Online, Teams, Teams Voice (Telephony) OneDrive & SharePoint.  Developed the required Operational readiness criteria and managed the adoption of these new ways of working.  Undertook a significant review and revision of the legacy ITSM capability (ServiceNow). Established the DWS Change Advisory Board to provide greater… Show more Working on assignment at a Global Education company I was tasked with transitioning Digital Workplace Services (DWS) from Google to Microsoft O365 – Exchange Online, Teams, Teams Voice (Telephony) OneDrive & SharePoint.  Developed the required Operational readiness criteria and managed the adoption of these new ways of working.  Undertook a significant review and revision of the legacy ITSM capability (ServiceNow). Established the DWS Change Advisory Board to provide greater rigour to the Change process which was key to the smooth adoption of the new services. Working as part of the DWS Leadership team I also contributed to the development of a new Target Operating Model CloudStratex had been asked to provide. Supported the DWS team in providing 20,000 users with the ability to work from home due to the COVID19 outbreak. Show less

London, United Kingdom

Thomas Cook had initiated a programme of work to in-source Network and Telephony services from their incumbent supplier. I was asked to work as part of the Programme team to define a new service design, develop an associated Target Operating Model and manage the transition of services to the newly defined model. This involved the management of the out-going supplier to ensure service was maintained during the exit period, stakeholder engagement and management, identifying additional… Show more Thomas Cook had initiated a programme of work to in-source Network and Telephony services from their incumbent supplier. I was asked to work as part of the Programme team to define a new service design, develop an associated Target Operating Model and manage the transition of services to the newly defined model. This involved the management of the out-going supplier to ensure service was maintained during the exit period, stakeholder engagement and management, identifying additional headcount and overseeing the recruitment, determining the scope of Knowledge Transfer and ensuring services were transitioned in an effective, seamless manner. N&T services were successfully transitioned during December 2018, recognising a near £4M per annum saving. As well as the management of the transition, I was asked to manage the migration of 1600 users from the WebEx Conferencing solution to Skype for Business as part of the deployment of O365.Over the last 3 months I have been asked to develop Service Designs / TOMs across other Thomas Cook delivery areas – EUC, DC Hosting, Cloud Computing and the introduction of Skype for Business to replace a legacy voice telephony solution. I have developed content for RFPs and Business Cases across these areas – establishing potential for in-house or alternative supplier solutions. Show less

London / Knutsford

During this period, I was engaged on two short-term assignments - one to help develop ITIL process test scenarios at a Global Financial Institution who were preparing to roll out Microsoft O365 to 120,000 users. As part of a pilot phase, I was tasked with developing and delivering test scenarios aimed at ensuring process changes to the existing delivery model brought about by the introduction of O365 were clearly defined, understood and then tested. The second was to conduct a Service… Show more During this period, I was engaged on two short-term assignments - one to help develop ITIL process test scenarios at a Global Financial Institution who were preparing to roll out Microsoft O365 to 120,000 users. As part of a pilot phase, I was tasked with developing and delivering test scenarios aimed at ensuring process changes to the existing delivery model brought about by the introduction of O365 were clearly defined, understood and then tested. The second was to conduct a Service Management health-check at a large housing association. Both short pieces of work were successfully delivered - further demonstrating my ability to quickly grasp the requirements of the customer and deliver the desired outcomes in a pressurised environment against a challenging timeframe. Show less

Reading, United Kingdom

Working as part of a small team tasked with performing an IT health-check at a UK Utilities company. Engaged at CIO level, I led a review of existing Service Management (ITSM) capability, process, tooling and delivery effectiveness. This resulted in a re-write of all key ITSM processes aimed at improving accountability and responsibility across a disparate supplier delivery model along with the development of proposals to introduce a more suitable Target Operating Model. Focus was improving the… Show more Working as part of a small team tasked with performing an IT health-check at a UK Utilities company. Engaged at CIO level, I led a review of existing Service Management (ITSM) capability, process, tooling and delivery effectiveness. This resulted in a re-write of all key ITSM processes aimed at improving accountability and responsibility across a disparate supplier delivery model along with the development of proposals to introduce a more suitable Target Operating Model. Focus was improving the quality and reliability of services provided to a diverse customer base where legacy solutions are mixed with new technology creating numerous support and delivery challenges. Part of this engagement included a review of BPM and Process Automation solutions to improve quality and responsiveness – reducing repetitive manual intervention.Process effectiveness was baselined to recognise improvement. All targets set as part of this engagement were successfully met/delivered. Show less

Working On Assignment At Jaguar Landrover

Position: Senior Service Management Consultant (client assignment)Working on short-term assignment at a global automotive brand undertaking an assessment of their Data Centre hosting capability across the UK and potentially globally. The initial area of focus was the review of existing and development of new Target Operating Model and associated processes aimed at improving service quality, supplier management and reducing cost. Output of the assessment will drive the introduction of a… Show more Position: Senior Service Management Consultant (client assignment)Working on short-term assignment at a global automotive brand undertaking an assessment of their Data Centre hosting capability across the UK and potentially globally. The initial area of focus was the review of existing and development of new Target Operating Model and associated processes aimed at improving service quality, supplier management and reducing cost. Output of the assessment will drive the introduction of a new Hosting capability model decommissioning expensive legacy hardware and providing a platform for cost effective growth. Show less

Hatfield

Role / AchievementsHaving returned Service Delivery responsibility to the HOSD, I was asked to manage a £1.5m program of work to deliver new Communications services across the whole of AW. This included new WAN / LAN equipment across 18 sites, the introduction of a BT managed Wi-Fi service across these sites and the replacement of a 1200 handset legacy IPT platform with a new Cloud based service. Working closely with BT as the primary supplier, the project increased bandwidth /… Show more Role / AchievementsHaving returned Service Delivery responsibility to the HOSD, I was asked to manage a £1.5m program of work to deliver new Communications services across the whole of AW. This included new WAN / LAN equipment across 18 sites, the introduction of a BT managed Wi-Fi service across these sites and the replacement of a 1200 handset legacy IPT platform with a new Cloud based service. Working closely with BT as the primary supplier, the project increased bandwidth / performance, replaced legacy hardware & introduced a full managed service whilst reducing cost. A major step in preparing AW for its 'digital journey'The project itself was a significant logistical challenge – replacing equipment whilst minimising service disruption, with the additional complexity of lot of legacy connectivity. Whilst it overran by a number of months, the project met its original objectives. Show less

Hatfield

Role / AchievementsAs the CaaS programme wound down, I was asked to assist the Service Management team with a further phase of development of the ITSM toolset. This involved further refinement of the Incident / Problem / Change processes, the introduction of formal Asset / CMDB processes & tooling, along with Request fulfilment and the development of a self-service portal all driven from the ServiceNow toolset. My experience gained in this area over a number of years contributed to the… Show more Role / AchievementsAs the CaaS programme wound down, I was asked to assist the Service Management team with a further phase of development of the ITSM toolset. This involved further refinement of the Incident / Problem / Change processes, the introduction of formal Asset / CMDB processes & tooling, along with Request fulfilment and the development of a self-service portal all driven from the ServiceNow toolset. My experience gained in this area over a number of years contributed to the design and scoping element of the project, developing the framework on which the CMDB will be built. Show less

Hatfield

Role / AchievementsWhilst running the CaaS program, I was asked to manage the Infrastructure Services team whilst a new manager was recruited. This involved the day to day management of 20+ infrastructure engineers covering all the usual ‘Tech Support’ functions and responsibility for the ongoing support and maintenance of an evolving legacy environment as the journey to the Cloud continued. A particular focus during this time was the adoption of new tools and capability required to… Show more Role / AchievementsWhilst running the CaaS program, I was asked to manage the Infrastructure Services team whilst a new manager was recruited. This involved the day to day management of 20+ infrastructure engineers covering all the usual ‘Tech Support’ functions and responsibility for the ongoing support and maintenance of an evolving legacy environment as the journey to the Cloud continued. A particular focus during this time was the adoption of new tools and capability required to successfully manage these new Cloud services.I was involved in the recruitment of the new manager who assumed responsibility for the function upon his appointment. Show less

Hatfield

Role / AchievementsI was asked to take on responsibility for the entire AW IT service function whilst the HOSD was building the new insourced team. Consisting of around 80 staff, many of who were assigned to the account from TCS, the major challenge was to maintain focus and quality of service with a team that had been served notice. This was achieved as demonstrated by continued high quality service provision during the period.I was also involved in a number of project initiatives… Show more Role / AchievementsI was asked to take on responsibility for the entire AW IT service function whilst the HOSD was building the new insourced team. Consisting of around 80 staff, many of who were assigned to the account from TCS, the major challenge was to maintain focus and quality of service with a team that had been served notice. This was achieved as demonstrated by continued high quality service provision during the period.I was also involved in a number of project initiatives running during this period. The Infrastructure Simplification project saw legacy services migrating from a traditional data centre solution into AWS, reducing a footprint of 800 physical / logical servers by over 50%. I was responsible for the adoption of new the Cloud based services, ensuring consistent service provision was maintained during a period of significant change.I worked closely with the project team and HOSD in creating the insource operating model and recruiting the right calibre of personnel to build the new delivery teams. Show less

Hatfield

Initially employed on a 3 month contract to conduct a ‘Service Management health check’, my contract was renewed a number of times as Affinity Water utilised my skills in a number of ways, demonstrating my flexibility and ability to successfully switch between roles utilising experience gathered over a period of time.During this period, Affinity Water’s IT department has gone through massive change. A full service insource and major projects to move services to the Cloud, implement… Show more Initially employed on a 3 month contract to conduct a ‘Service Management health check’, my contract was renewed a number of times as Affinity Water utilised my skills in a number of ways, demonstrating my flexibility and ability to successfully switch between roles utilising experience gathered over a period of time.During this period, Affinity Water’s IT department has gone through massive change. A full service insource and major projects to move services to the Cloud, implement ‘Communications as a Service’, the introduction of a new workforce management solution and a major initiative required as the water industry moves towards an open market. I was heavily involved in all of these initiatives, supporting the delivery team in their successful progression.Role / AchievementsTasked with undertaking a complete review of all ITSM processes owned by the incumbent supplier (TCS). Incident / Change effectiveness was quickly improved, reducing the number of service impacting incidents, benefiting business interaction and relationship development. The reputation & capability of the Service Management function was enhanced adding real benefit to the IT team as a whole.Introduction of a more structured Supplier Relationship Management function where the relationship with key suppliers was formalised and structured to track effective or poor performance. Review of Outsourcer functions, capability and effectiveness as part of the decision making process to insource all IT functions.Responsible for the selection of a new ITSM solution (ServiceNow) to replace the ageing HP solution that was in use and supported by the incumbent supplier Show less

Staines / Newbury / Leeds

Initially engaged on a 3 month contract, I was responsible for the delivery and support of all services provided to HCUK customers (internal and external).This included management of the entire Service Delivery function – people and process, across 4 main locations – approx. 1,000 end users and a number of 3rd parties.Reporting in to, deputising for and acting as the Head of Service Delivery, I was the focal point of all service related issues and initiatives whilst also… Show more Initially engaged on a 3 month contract, I was responsible for the delivery and support of all services provided to HCUK customers (internal and external).This included management of the entire Service Delivery function – people and process, across 4 main locations – approx. 1,000 end users and a number of 3rd parties.Reporting in to, deputising for and acting as the Head of Service Delivery, I was the focal point of all service related issues and initiatives whilst also managing and developing multiple teams of people across the different locations.Main achievements during my time at HCUK included:Review and re-launch of ITIL based processes for Incident, Change and Request Management. Included revision to policy, process and procedure, fit for purpose Incident priority definitions and clearer visibility of truly service impacting incidents. This included a review and subsequent ownership of the Major Incident process.Introduction of a centralised Service desk – creation of a dedicated first level incident logging / resolver function for basic end user issues such as password resets – heavy emphasis on first time fix and minimising user down-time. Regular involvement in IT Audit A further task that came out of an audit finding was a complete review of the Starter / Leaver process – this was also integrated into the Request Fulfilment element of ServiceNow.Involved in a number of projects. These included one to introduce ISO27001 Information Security accreditation into HCUK where I made a significant contribution to the creation of the policy/process documents required to under-pin this capability.Also involved in Project Chopin – a Microsoft Refresh initiative, introducing Windows 2012 server, and associated componentsA second element of this project was a desktop refresh – moving from Windows XP to Windows 7 – a standardised build amongst other things based on the need to meet the criteria outlined by the ISO27001 Information Security project. Show less

Working in a niche consultancy within Dell known as IT Simplification (ITS), as a Senior Consultant.ITS specialised in performing IT healthcheck/assessments across the entire IT spectrum, infrastructure, services and supporting processes – a short, sharp engagement analysing an organisations ‘AS-IS’ position, identifying associated issues, areas of weakness, then working with key stakeholders to define future strategy and direction in order to develop a ‘TO-BE’ view - the position the… Show more Working in a niche consultancy within Dell known as IT Simplification (ITS), as a Senior Consultant.ITS specialised in performing IT healthcheck/assessments across the entire IT spectrum, infrastructure, services and supporting processes – a short, sharp engagement analysing an organisations ‘AS-IS’ position, identifying associated issues, areas of weakness, then working with key stakeholders to define future strategy and direction in order to develop a ‘TO-BE’ view - the position the company strives to achieve in order to meet its business needs whilst improving efficiency and reducing cost..My role was that of Client lead, although given my previous experience, I also worked as a Subject Matter Expert on a number of engagements, particularly in the area of Systems/Service monitoring/management, Data Centre and EUC assessments, where my previous experience enabled me to gain a good understanding of how a customer works in these areas and how this could be developed or improved. The Client lead is the main point of contact with the customer, leading the engagement in terms of planning and executing the work, the associated commercials, regular reporting and ensuring that each element of the work was delivered as described in the statement of work agreed with the customer. They become the customers focal point and trusted advisor in delivering the initial package of work, then looking at further continuationMy background provided me with the experience and understanding to contribute to just about any engagement the team were involved in. I managed, or was involved in engagements across a wide spectrum of clients across the UK, Ireland, Holland and the US. These customers cover most industry sectors – finance (Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, TMF), manufacturing(Meyn), pharmaceuticals(BP), health(Royal Liverpool Hospital Trust), media(Redbee Media, A&N Media), online gaming(Betfair), retail(Morrison’s, Tesco’s), Telecoms(eircom) to name a few. Show less

2006-2010 - Employed as a Senior Delivery Consultant as part of Capgemini’s Service Delivery organisation, I was responsible for the day to day delivery of IT Services to a major client. This service comprised of almost 40,000 users across nearly 600 locations in the London area utilising almost 2000 servers (Wintel / Unix) and 300 TB of SAN storage split across two main Data Centre locations. I Managed the Infrastructure Management Command Centre – some 70+ staff providing ITIL… Show more 2006-2010 - Employed as a Senior Delivery Consultant as part of Capgemini’s Service Delivery organisation, I was responsible for the day to day delivery of IT Services to a major client. This service comprised of almost 40,000 users across nearly 600 locations in the London area utilising almost 2000 servers (Wintel / Unix) and 300 TB of SAN storage split across two main Data Centre locations. I Managed the Infrastructure Management Command Centre – some 70+ staff providing ITIL based Service Support functions Problem, Change, Major Incident, Software, Inventory, Configuration Management, 24*7 Operations plus technical support – Unix Oracle DBA, Storage Management, Automation, Enterprise Management for the entire environment.Having been involved in the successful bid process, I was involved in the initial ‘service take-on’ for this client that represents almost a quarter of Capgemini’s UK revenue – establishing the delivery approach to be undertaken in running the service, identifying the resources to work in the different teams.Main duties included managing the staff and budget for the area (approaching £10 million per annum) including recruitment, team and individuals performance management and target setting, ensuring that all teams delivered service in accordance with defined SLA’s, continually developing the solutions utilised by the teams in the area and indeed the individuals themselves. Significant involvement in a number of high level client driven projects – input to and validation of proposed solutions, identifying resources to work on projects, responsible for transitioning projects into support. Show less

2001-2006 - Prior to moving into this role, I was responsible for the ongoing development and delivery of Systems Management and Automation solutions across the company’s UK client base – both locally and nationally.Main duties included ensuring that the company’s strategic toolset was deployed and exploited in line with defined national standards & ITIL best practice, reviewing the suitability of such tools, providing guidance and advice on how this toolset could be most effectively… Show more 2001-2006 - Prior to moving into this role, I was responsible for the ongoing development and delivery of Systems Management and Automation solutions across the company’s UK client base – both locally and nationally.Main duties included ensuring that the company’s strategic toolset was deployed and exploited in line with defined national standards & ITIL best practice, reviewing the suitability of such tools, providing guidance and advice on how this toolset could be most effectively utilised whilst continually reviewing alternatives in the market place. I managed a team of 11 Automation analysts supporting a wide range of tools (Ca-Unicenter, BMC Patrol, MOM, Mercury Topaz, and Proxima Centauri).The role included involvement in new business opportunities, providing technical input and direction to the bid process as well as formally presenting solutions to a varied audience as required.Working closely with the vendors supplying these solutions, developing effective relationships and understanding where the tools could be further exploited to increase return on investment.I also had Project Management involvement in the establishment of a second IMCC delivery centre in Poland.I had several years experience in this role and have attained a detailed understanding of how Enterprise / Systems Management tools can be exploited to maximise Return on Investment, improving the quality of service provided to the client base.Most significant achievements whilst performing this role were the introduction and deployment of Centauri BSM as the company’s tool of choice for Business Service Management, as well as a number of sub-projects continuing to develop the use of the tools in place. Previously I had been involved in a number of high profile projects such as the design and development of a cross-centre automated backup solution, the introduction of Virtual Tape across the company and original build of the existing London Delivery centre Show less

Responsible for the delivery of all IT services to the business - 24*7 Operations, Production Support and Security