Forming my own company
in 1998, Information Technology For You Pty Ltd provided the opportunity to
expand and diverge into other areas. At the
time IT4U was formed there did exist projects and commitments to Praxa, which
required completion over the coming months, which were honoured.
Sample projects
include
"Thanks for your ( and Tania's) hardwork and making the transition to Alpha such a non-event from our staff's view”
Note During this period leave of 8 months was
taken while toured around
· Project managed two projects remotely.
· Designed Image application solution, and integrated into VAX to Alpha Migration.
· Managed a number of different projects, which completed on time and on budget.
· Managed multiple subcontractors within larger projects.
The following is a breakdown of my activities.
· Project Management 70%
· IT4U Management 20%
· Hands on implementation 10%
· Pro Active management 10%
Praxa are expanding their services and as such sought the services of experienced Project Managers to design manage, resource and implement solutions for their client base. My responsibilities include assisting Account Managers and providing a conceptual solution allowing them to secure the business, scooping the requirements, documenting those requirements and securing acceptance. Once this phase had been completed, typically a full estimate would be prepared, along with an implementation plan, an acceptance plan, and a Microsoft Project Plan. I would then manage the project through to completion, tracking all costs and ensuring the project completed on time and to budget.
At any one time I could be managing four or five different projects from actual design and construction of computer room facilities, including floor plan, air-conditioning, fire protection, cabling, voice and data integration, networking topology, and relocation schedules through software design and implementation of a call reporting package for XXXX.
Given my support background I was asked to design and implement a Facilities Maintenance support strategy which would be self funding and profitable in its own right. This called for full cost benefit analyses including a strategic implementation plan, which would also ensure the mechanisms were cost effective and manageable. Praxa have now secured a number of Facilities Management contracts in the IT field, which have proven to be profitable and beneficial to the other business groups. In the early stages I directly managed the staff providing the support and this was then passed on to a Group Project Manager.
With a growth rate in the order of 40% P.A a number of internal restructures we were required, and a relocation. I was appointed Project Manager for our own relocation, and prime responsibility for any Infrastructure projects, which Praxa secured.
In September 1995 I achieved the highest number of billable hours for any person for a given three-month period, which concluded in the relocation of the XXXXXXX from one multi story office building to brand new premises.
· Development an infrastructure project methodology.
· Developed a Facilities Management Business Group.
· Managed a number of different projects, which completed on time and on budget.
· Managed the implementation of a number of technical solutions.
The following is a breakdown of my activities.
· Project Management 60%
· General management 20%
· Hands on implementation 10%
· Pro Active management 10%
The following provides some additional detail to cross-sections of projects while at Praxa.
·
LAN
& WAN Design for XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As a Project Manager, I was responsible for directing the evaluation of XXX current networking environment, with the view to designing a LAN WAN structure, which would carry XXX through to the Olympics, a period where a significant increase in Infrastructure load was expected. The project encompassed the complete redesign of their LAN/WAN, which included the standardization of tools, hardware, methodology, management, and redundancy. The project developed short and long-term objectives combined with the associated cost benefits, returned direct saving to XXX. The project was divided into a number of phases; Network Review, Requirements Definition, Network Design, Network Architecture, Implementation Plan, Test Plan, and Acceptance Plan. Unfortunately due to changes in Government Policy, and Privatisation, this project ran out of funds during the development of the implementation plan. However the original Architecture and Design is being used today by XXX to complete the implementation.
·
Relocation – Infrastructure Design &
Implementation XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Praxa was awarded Prime Contract responsibility for the complete relocation and commissioning of all IT related services for XXXXXXX My broad experience enabled Praxa to assume responsibility for the physical relocation, the design of the computer room from a concrete floor stage, security system, fire protections system, UPS, Air-conditioning, and the cabling of a multi story office building, to Category 5 standards. Early in the project my diligence uncovered a significant oversight in the Telecommunications contract and Praxa was asked to Project Manage the PABX, and associated telecommunications infrastructure.
The team consisted of myself
as Project Manager with Praxa and contract staff all
reporting to the Board of XXX,
and the government watch-dog (Department of Administrative Services).
The Project completed on time and to budget
having relocated 5 VAX’s, setup all IT services including 600 category 5 connections
with no down time to production or XXXs core business. XXX will freely admit that
without Praxa’s Project Manager, they would not have
meet there schedule, nor would all services have been in place.
Separate roll on projects since completed
include:
· Desktop Standard
· TCPIP Standardization
·
VXT to NT migration
·
Relocation – Network Design and
Implementation ( XXXXXXX)
XXXXXX sort the assistance of Praxa in there relocation, and after consultation with myself as Project Manager they requested that I Project Manager the complete relocation of there WAN/LAN services including Interstate links, re-cabling, Voice and Data integration, and the migration of their Wang system to utilize 10 Base T.
Under my Project Management the project migrated all head office systems, including VAX’s, Wang’s and the desktops to the new location, which had been designed and set up by the Project team and its contractors. The infrastructure consisted of 2000 Voice and Data outlets, Digital Hub 900, Multiplexes, Repeaters, and the utilization of existing WAN/LAN equipment.
The project completed on time and in accordance with the fixed price quote.
XXXX sort the services of a successful integration organization, and Praxa was one of three companies selected. Praxa assumed prime contract responsibility and I project managed the project. The project included the migration away from Novell fro all services to a Microsoft centric solution, which included hardware software and network infrastructure. The project was divided into appropriate phases and ran for approximately 12 months completing on time and to a fixed price budget.
The project migrated all office, intra, and internet service, including external connections, from Novell 3.11 to Windows NT4 Servers, clients to Windows NT 4 workstation, MS mail to Exchange, Unix Internet to MS IIS, and their DOC’s open environment, including all data printing services, fax services, and library services.
The network was upgraded from a flat typology to a fibre backbone with per port switching and 100MB to the desktop. External connections were via frame relay using proxy server and checkpoint.
I was responsible for all
Networking and Internal Systems within
With a Budget of $1M I was responsible for keeping the company up to date, all satellite nodes on-line, upgrading operating systems & NOS’s, purchasing, backups, maintenance and maintenance contracts, software purchasing, licensing, and all other aspects required to administer a network of that size.
VMS mail was heavily used throughout the worldwide network interfacing to multiple platforms and to the Internet for the public network. As such security, capacity and resource planing played an important role. Approximately 20,000 mail messages per day passed around the Australian & New Zealand network.
Hands on operations consisted of checking, Backups, Queues, security, disk space, network performance, system tuning, upgrades to VMS and daily mail communications.
Administration included, Purchasing new and replacement equipment, documentation, adding of users, evaluation of new equipment, auditing of licensing, budgeting and progress against current budget, cost reduction evaluations, and maintenance contracts.
User support on Microsoft products, repairs to failing equipment, how to utilize the network to achieve the desired result, LAN or server connection problems, and mailing difficulties.
Pro active management consisted of Disaster management planing, replacing older technology equipment, line utilization calculation for capacity planing and budgeting, the implementation of a combined Voice Data network
Project management included the three office moves and associated services required, and the implementation of a private voice data network.
Ingres was taken over my Computer Associates and as a result approximately 65% of the staff worldwide were retrenched.
· Development of standards and internal conventions
· Relocation of three offices and the design, setup, and administration of a new office in NZ
· Designed and implementation of a combined Voice & Data private network.
· Design and implement redundancy & Disaster management plans for state office links.
· Implementation of a GUI interface for mail
The following is a breakdown of my activities.
· Hands on operation 30%
· Administration 20%
· User support 20%
· Project management 20%
· Pro Active management 10%
1. Daily tasks
included supervision of backups, queues, free disk space and general operator
type functions of the three primary VAX nodes including one in Wellington New
2. The company
also had an extensive email set-up, which was on-line and covered the world
from NZ through
3. There had been a lack of standards, and given the size of the network this meant that the LAN was getting out of control and made it difficult to administer. Part of my charter was to clean up that which I had inherited, and set some standards and conventions. Due to the number of offices involved this had to be co-ordinated with a full project implementation plan. Also taking into account the general resistance to change, the implementation became a delicate operation.
4. My budgetary responsibility was for just under $1M in MIS Capital and this was also used to implement the first stages of a disaster plan, which I have had previous experience with. The plan was designed for implementation over 18 months and based on very little additional capital. Cost justifications were prepared by individual Branch Managers for capital items, then submitted for me to approve based on budget, Technical requirements and general company direction.
5. The ASK Group
was expanding its operation in nearly all states, and over the past 12 months I
have relocated QLD,
6. Ingres strived to remain in the forefront of technology and part of my charter was to keep updated and bring new ideas forward in hardware terms, Network operation, and System software. When new facilities became available I would set up the required resources for testing by appropriate departments. This included new NOS’s through Beta versions of operating systems and the implementation of some network management tools.
7. As in most companies keeping track of real communications costs including phone and data is often difficult, given the number of differing charges, and the methodology. I combined all the current charges and via renegotiation I managed to reduce most costs or introduce a facility to fix the costs at a static level.
8. Generally
there were 2 or 3 major projects in hand at any one time. For example as part
of the network I introduced a private voice and data network covering
I took over from my predecessor who was unable to maintain the current technical challenges. Upon commencement, my first task was to quell the clients, and resolve the technical issues. The company started to grow on a far more constrained budget than I had been accustomed to. Initially with myself, and a secretary, progressing through the next two years, the business slowly grew.
A restructuring of the company
saw some changes, and the
I orchestrated the purchase of a competitor (MIS), and after valuation and negotiation the company was purchased which doubled our size, provided offices interstate and provided an immediate return on the investment, paying for itself in three months.
The Managing Director was often
away and resided in
For the next 12 months business began to recede, and the perceived expansion, coupled with increased costs, created some extreme difficulties. After cutting back as many of the unnecessary aspects as possible, it became evident that the Managing Director could carry all my functions and hence I became redundant.
· Resolved some of the company’s biggest technical challenges
· Migrated the previously written service systems and integrated into another accounting and stock control package
· Administered up to three offices
· Orchestrated the purchase of two companies, and participated in the purchase of two others
· Prepared and ran VMS training courses for engineer support
· Evaluated and implemented engineering and marketing tools
The following is a breakdown of my activities.
· Sales support 10%
· Administration/Management 20%
· Technical support H/W 40%
· Technical support S/W 20%
·
Project
management 10%
1. On a daily bases I was responsible for the service department via supervisor who handled the action items through the day. This meant checking to make sure response times (2-4 hours) for our contracted clients had been meet, providing Technical support to the supervisor and or going out on site as and when required. The support I provided covered all our hardware range (DEC including VAX 3000, 4000, 6000 through PC’s) and VMS support. With problems from system down, through to collisions on networks. Because Tech-Precision deals in third party equipment I was also supporting Emulex disks., and servers which emulate the original Digital product. In one example I was working jointly with Digital to prove a problem existed in a VAX 64xx which their Technical support department had pronounced error free.
Eventually I convinced them of their error.
As a part of Tech-Precision’s business we repaired equipment on behalf of Digital, it was my function to provide technical support to this side of our business as well. This included doing repairs to component level. It may seem bold but I doubt there is a Technical Hardware Problem I could not resolve, and I believe my references would agree.
2. Tech-Precision also provided extended cover, or out of hours support. This was covered by myself, via the mobile phone, here it would be my responsibility to see that any call was responded to, and further that the engineer had support. In the event of multiple calls it would also be my responsibility to attend to such calls. This would cover all contracts, including 7 days 24 hours.
3. Being totally responsible for the service department included Managing, holidays, sick leave, employment, and general manpower requirements. Accompanied with this was a number of motor vehicles which would be maintained, traded in, new vehicle leased etc...
4. In any service department you will always have clients with a different perception of the level of importance. In the event that our client was unhappy or there was any dissatisfaction it was my job to rectify that situation.
5. General office administration was also a daily task, from approval of accounts, to insuring that our clients receive the correct bill for maintenance.
6. With any growing company we often out grew the procedures and it became necessary to rewrite a new Policy and Procedures manual, which would be approved by the Managing Director.
7. Our sales people would also seek advice regarding the best way to support a product, and where that product was remote, (Cobar) I would put together a procedure.
8. If capital or expensive items were needed, either for support or for sales, I would verify the need (or configuration in regards to sales) and source the item. If bank transfers and extra insurance were required this would also be my responsibility.
9. Further with the introduction of new product by Digital I would evaluate the method and or cost effectiveness of Tech-Precision supporting these items. At which point I would set a maintenance price and a spares holding level.
10. I was responsible for administering our own internal computer system including hardware and software. This system (not VMS) performed all functions of our business from the service department through to accounts and W.P. We brought two other branches on-line and I proposed, budgeted purchased and installed the hardware. . The system was real-time on-line system and although it only involved 30 users, it was critical to the organization. The support entailed installation of operating system updates, specifications of proposed software changes, implementation and testing of new versions. There was no Service system when I joined Tech-Precision, and hence I have written the complete system (in BASIC) such that it interfaces to the accounting, and inventory packages for client balance, stock availability, price, and validity of contract checks. The system includes reports, Mail, and Data base management tools and a user manual.
11. While selling product was not our main function, we did sell complete systems, which would require the licensing of VMS, installation of VMS and then the acceptance testing. I am familiar with upgrading VMS and the licensing requirements. We would also assist our clients in upgrades where needed. I personally performed these tasks.
12. With each new release of VMS I would perform the installation first and attempt to trap any new problems or idiosyncrasies, which may not be documented. (Such as incorrect dates, loss of JBSTAT).
13. I have performed training course’s, the most recent of which was a VMS course targeted at our Technical staff.
14. We maintained both a technical library and software library for our own staff. It was my task to see that it was complete and kept updated.
15. While I have had exposure to different applications, it has not been my responsibility to rectify any such problems. However it was my responsibility as Technical support to define the problem, and if it was VMS related, to provide the solution. I would often be called upon to resolve issue’s relating to slow systems, unexplained errors, and system crashes, failed print queues, etc.
I joined MCSA as the fourth member of the team that started Mitsui, (initially a break off group from Datronics, financed by Mitsui and Co). Responsibilities included the servicing of printers and 8086 systems. This included the full Diablo range of printers, disks, and systems.
Shortly after joining I was promoted to a supervisory role, where I was responsible for four field engineers. The company then built new premises where I set up and designed the engineering facilities for the service Department including the repair centre.
It became apparent that the manual call logging system was not going to cater for the needs of this position, and there was a need to computerize the whole procedure. I wrote a complete Service package over 12 months, which logged calls, provided client/equipment history, statistics, details on contracted equipment, and interacted with the Accounts Receivable system for credit checking. Whilst at MCSA, I held a number of positions, finishing up with primary responsibility for engineering and support. The duties included product support and evaluation, technical support, repair centre support, software support and logistics management.
· Promoted from Field Engineer to Manager
· Designed and installed Service package
· Opened three other offices
· Managed locally a team of 27 staff and supported interstate offices
· Designed and relocated the Engineering Division
· Set up and documented Policy and Procedure in conjunction with the General Manager
· Became instrumental in a team which started with four people and $300.00 per month in contracts, and departed with a contract base of $290K per month.
I left Mitsui of my own accord to pursue a similar path in
third party maintenance.
Immigrated
from
As a team leader, we installed
the network side of what was the NSW Permanent Building Society and Person to
Person Finance. This included all teller and local comms
equipment for NSW and the communication back to the B7700 in
Shortly after, I took up the responsibility for network customer services, being responsible for installation.
I left Burroughs of my own free will due to the lack of apparent career path potential, based on the number of people who had held similar positions for many years.