"I have been passionate about technology all of my life and I remember from an early age watching Tomorrows World, marvelling about a future of flying cars and robot helpers. Since that time mankind has seen an unprecedented rate of change and I continue to feel excited about the possibilities ahead of us. I read of new innovations on a daily basis and I spend much of my time acting as a technology evangelist, spreading the word of how IT can help companies and individuals with the things that matter to them. I continue to believe 'you're never too old to learn, and you're never too young to teach'.
I have been lucky in being able to turn my passion for technology into a career, working in the IT sector for over 20 years. This career has spanned the private and public sector, provided a wide range of opportunities and experiences across many disciplines ranging from Development and System Administration to Enterprise Architecture and Consultancy. I have achieved an Honours Degree and a host of professional accreditation along the way, including TOGAF, Prince2, ITIL etc. An overview of my career history can be found on LinkedIn.
If you have an interesting project you wish to discuss, please contact me. I am always happy to explore new ideas, to talk about how technology can support real work problems or to meet for an informal chat about future trends over coffee."
Interests & Study
Through my work as an EA Consultant and also in my free time as a hobbyist, I continually test new technologies and review the latest business trends so that I may apply this knowledge to the challenges I encounter with Alto IT. A few of the recent trends that have struck a cord with me are discussed below.
Data & Analytics
Big data is a broad term for work with data sets so large or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate and distributed databases are needed. While working with a client recently, I had the opportunity to experiment with Hadoop and built a trial Hortonworks cluster as a POC and have also worked with clints to build enterprise class analytic envirnment within Azure Analytics. This Hadoop trial has allowed me to gain a detailed understanding big data tooling that make up the Hadoop ecosystem and to test the hype with some real world use cases.
Customer Engagement & CRM
I have led CRM project for a number of clients, working with Salesforce, SAP Hybris, Oracle Siebel etc. and I have witness it evolve from traditional on-prem solutions, to cloud based CRMs, to fully blown ecosystems in their own rights. Recently I worked with a client to expolore the adoption of Apttus and ServiceMax (two key salesforce partners) to understand what they can offer above and beyond the core Saleforce functionality. Apptus is built upon the force.com platform to provide a comprehensive CQP tool set, while ServiceMax (also built upon the Force.com platform) provides the best of breed Field Service Management.
Self Governing Organisations
After reading Reinventing Organizations by Frederic Lalaux I have become interested in self governing teams and how they can help to create more productive (and happier) organisations. Governance models such as Holacracy recognise that authority and decision-making are best distributed throughout an organisation. Companies embracing these practices have seen agility, efficiency, transparency, innovation, moral and accountability improve within their organisations so I continue to study this area to understand the proposed model and how best it can be implemented.
Achievements & Hobbies
Outside of work I have a number of hobbies and interests that allow me to relax, well perhaps 'relax' is the wrong word as most of them are athletic endeavours but they provide me with an alternative challenge to my professional life. I like to run, swim and cycling regularly and I take part in competitions as often as time allows. I also enjoy walking my dog, skiing, snowboarding, playing squash and football.
In September 2015 I swam across the Solent to raise funds for The Oakley Waterman Foundation along with 24 other volunteers. We swam from Stokes Bay to Ryde via two shipping channel markers (Browndown and Motherbank). The distance was approximately 4.5 miles (if I had managed to swim in a straight line), and I completed the journey in just under 3 hours.
The table below details some of the events I have taken part in over the past few years. Alongside these competitions I aim to take part in the Parkrun on a weekly basis and my times are avilible on Parkrun. My competition times are also availible on The Power of 10 which is a really good site for running analysis.
| Date | Event | Distance | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-12-18 | Portsmouth Coastal Marathon | 26 miles | 3:43:09 | Running under a friends registration. Tough race! |
| 2016-10-30 | Great South Run | 10 miles | 1:08:58 | Great conditions |
| 2016-06-05 | Blenheim Triathlon | Sprint | 1:28:00 | Sunny and hot |
| 2015-10-30 | Great South Run | 10 miles | 1:13:19 | Perfect conditions |
| 2015-09-22 | Isle of Wight Swim | 7 km | 3:00:00 (ish) | Cold and windy with 1.5m swells |
| 2015-08-31 | Applemore Triathlon | Sprint | 1:17:13 | Started wet, cleared during cycle |
| 2015-03-22 | Eastleigh 10k | 10 km | 0:43:08 | PB for 10k |
| 2014-07-13 | Wyvern 10k | 10 km | 0:45:03 | |
| 2014-05-01 | London 10,000 | 10 km | 0:46:29 | Nice course, great support |
| 2014-04-26 | Southampton Half Marathon | 13 miles | 1:36:27 | Hilly run |
| 2013-10-27 | Great South Run | 10 miles | 1:14:27 | Wet and windy day |
| 2013-03-24 | Eastleigh 10k | 10 km | 0:47:12 | Day after rugby and snowing |
| 2013-01-26 | Park Run | 5 km | 0:23:58 | 1st time participating |
| 2012-10-28 | Great South Run | 10 miles | 1:23:20 | Perfect conditions |
| 2011-10-30 | Great South Run | 10 miles | 1:30:04 | Great support |
| 2010-08-22 | Applemore Triathlon | Sprint | 1:30:00 | |
| 2009-08-23 | Applemore Triathlon | Sprint | 1:33:12 | 1st Triathlon |