I have worked in the IT
industry for 39 years. Up to 1985, I had spent 11 years in Application
Development (of commercial systems) and 7 years in Technical Services,
including the development and modification of low-level systems software. I
joined a large UK systems house in 1985, specialising in hardware sizing and
performance activities for new applications, from the initial bid stage,
through development, to production launch. Other work included: Pre and Post
Sales Support for an analytic performance modelling tool; helping clients to
introduce Capacity Management systems; and performing many individual Capacity
Planning studies for production systems. I acted as the champion for a sizing
and performance initiative within the company, where the objective was to raise
the general skill level of the technical consultants. I have lectured and given
courses on various aspects of Capacity Management, particularly sizing and
performance.
I became a freelance
consultant in 1996, specialising in technical infrastructure solutions during
the bid and design stages, including: vendor and product evaluations; hardware
sizing; and designing for performance, scalability, and resilience. Since 1985,
I have undertaken circa 450 technical assignments. Hobbies include theatre,
art, reading and gardening.
I am an adaptable person
who has fulfilled a variety of roles, including consultant, hardware sizing
& performance specialist, technical manager / authority, technical
architect, project manager, through to technical / operations support and
development programming manager. My major strength is arguably my pragmatism. I
am used to working against very aggressive time scales, and I am highly
conscious of the benefits and indeed the dangers that technology brings to a
business.