David Yates
Technical Architect
Summary
Experienced IT Specialist with 24 years of expertise in implementation, development and maintenance of a wide range of IT systems from endpoints to hybrid on-premise & cloud based network environments. Utilising emerging technology to help drive users work more efficiently, be better protected and increase uptime. Proficient in implementing enterprise solutions for business infrastructure in broad scale, single or hybrid environments. Determined to deliver best technical solutions to meet functional and business requirements. Diligent troubleshooter, with strong communication skills to interact effectively with people on different levels of IT understanding. Demonstrated understanding of solution life cycles and the need to keep hardware, platforms and software updated and secure.
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
5
5
years of post-secondary education
2
2
Languages
Work History
Technical Architect
One Stop Stores LTD
Walsall, West Midlands
03.2020 - Current
- Joined a team of 3 technical architects to design, implement, maintain and support a technological estate of over 200 servers mostly virtualised, spanning over 3 sites within the UK.
- Took on the role of patching and server maintenance, upgrading the company's monitoring system (Solarwinds Orion) and also replacing the company's technical support, monitoring and remote assistance tool (Teamviewer and replaced with Solarwinds (now N-Able) RMM)).
- Lead project to replace the current computer imaging and deployment solution (SCCM) with Autopilot and InTune.
- Monitoring the company estate and responding to any issues proactively before they become an issue.
- Implement any new servers required by the business, plan and decommission old servers that are now EOL and also work with 3rd parties to resolve any issues or implement fixes required to keep the business operating.
- Be part of an on-call rota for any P1 escalations out of hours.
- Provided 3rd level technical support and troubleshooting to internal and external clients.
- Collaborated with internal key stakeholders and external clients to determine project specifications and scope.
- Developed network and system architecture according to business needs.
- Engineered architecture and infrastructure for 1000 users.
- Performed security reviews and removed technical debt and security vulnerabilities.
Enterprise Managed Services Consultant
OGL
Kidderminster, Worcestershire
01.2019 - 03.2020
- Transferred to EMS team (Enterprise Managed Services) as a consultant to provide support to other engineers and to also take on ownership of long term calls and those that require further investigation and 3rd party support.
- Liaise with 3rd parties for open calls that require further investigation.
- Assist with Implementation projects for customers either setting up new solutions or furthering existing projects.
- Act as standby Technical Lead when other Technical Leads are unavailable.
- Used strong analytical and problem-solving skills to develop effective solutions for challenging situations.
- Proved successful working within tight deadlines and a fast-paced environment.
- Demonstrated creativity and resourcefulness through the development of innovative solutions.
- Worked flexible hours across night, weekend and holiday shifts.
Hosted Services Consultant
OGL Computer
Kidderminster, Worcestershire
09.2016 - 01.2019
- Promoted to senior role within the company's hosted department to implement change control and to take ownership of complex technical setups within the datacentre for our customers.
- Senior contact within the team for internal colleagues and external customers.
- Take onboard and ownership of recurring issues that customers are facing.
- Mentor and assist other team members on customer solutions and any training needs required.
- Liaise with senior management giving regular reports on priority one calls (loss of service).
- Log calls and work with 3rd parties for call resolution.
- Become part of the On-Call rota for the entire company for 24/7 cover.
- Visit company datacentres for scheduled or unscheduled work as and when required.
Area Senior Engineer
OGL Computer
Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire
01.2015 - 09.2016
- Offered the inaugural position of Area Senior Engineer on the Technical Standard Team within the service desk.
- Assigned responsibility of the live information feeds within the service desk that all teams can refer to see any important information relating to customers and also internal information.
- Took ownership of service desk DMZ machines, worked with the hosted department to request access to new technologies and create VM's within company datacentre to allow all service desk engineers to test and validate solutions for customers before implementing them on live systems.
- Main technical support contact for the team to advise and support on issues which engineers were unfamiliar with.
- Liaise with different departments on progression of calls to hosted or field departments.
- Step in as team leader role as and when management and schedulers are not available.
- Schedule calls for engineers as and when needed or schedulers not available.
- Evaluate and test engineers within the team and create training plans for each employee as well as agree on training available on an annual basis with team leaders.
- Assisting other teams with their teams ASE is unavailable.
- Attend and assist in external interviews for potential candidates.
Field Technical Support Engineer
OGL Computer
Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire
09.2010 - 12.2014
- Primarily a server engineer but diversified into desktop and printer related calls as and when required to cover absent engineers, and a resident proactive maintenance engineer for high priority clients.
- Part of a rota situated on a customer site being a single point of contact for all IT related issues for a 250+ employee multi-site consisting of 10 physical servers, 9 virtual servers, a network based SAN solution and a multiple WAN connected site which has site to site VPN to sister company in USA as well as worldwide remote workers.
- Involved in application testing projects to ensure current and legacy applications work under new operating systems during a domain migration.
- Key server engineer for client based in the north of the country, but also covering south as and when required.
- Carrying out full DR situations either on site or within a workshop environment using tape backup, backup to disk or Off-site virtualised backup.
- Responding to calls within the SLA time frame and enabling the client to return to full functionality within the shortest time frame.
- Take ownership of calls until completion, creating solutions for the client and implementing them into existing infrastructures.
- Advising clients on replacement equipment and upgrade paths for improved and enhanced reliability and redundancy.
ICT Infrastructure Manager
Fortmere Group, Construction & Properties
Brierley Hill, West Midlands
08.2007 - 12.2009
- Managed network and system performance, conducting troubleshooting, security patching, and maintenance.
- Interacted and negotiated with vendors, outsourcers and contractors to secure products and services.
- Built, repaired and installed computer-related hardware based on deployment procedures.
- Guided organizational technology strategy and roadmaps.
- Communicated with executive team and CEO to maximize development efficiencies and resolve technology issues.
- Analyzed network security and current infrastructure to assess areas in need of improvement and develop solutions.
Desktop Support Analyst
Hammonds Solicitors
Birmingham, West Midlands
04.2005 - 08.2007
- Monitored systems in operation and quickly troubleshot errors.
- Documented technical issues and solutions to enable tracking history and maintain accurate logs.
- Upgraded operating systems and computer software to perform compatibility with programs.
- Connected to computer of client using remote link to install programs and applications.
- Collaborated with vendors to locate replacement components and resolve advanced problems.
Branch Network Administrator
Action For Employment
Birmingham, West Midlands
01.2004 - 04.2005
- Performed day-to-day LAN and WAN administration, maintenance, and support.
- Maintained network hardware and software and monitored network to support network availability to end users.
- Managed data backups and disaster recovery operations to comply with business continuity initiatives.
- Took initiative to improve system and configuration support for internal and external customers.
- Imaged hard drives for use in standardized system deployments running various operating systems.
Junior Systems Administrator
Eaton Automotive / AFCO
Amblecote, West Midlands
09.2000 - 06.2003
- Integrated and updated software products to boost system compatibility.
- Performed software installations and upgrades to UNIX or Windows operating systems.
- Configured and tested Windows Server operating systems with roles features.
- Planned and implemented upgrades to system hardware and software.
- Developed and documented network policies, procedures and standards.
Education
GCSE -
Thorns School & Community College
Amblecote, DUD 09.1993 - 06.1998
Skills
Windows Server 2003 - 2022
Timeline
Technical Architect
One Stop Stores LTD
03.2020 - Current
Enterprise Managed Services Consultant
OGL
01.2019 - 03.2020
Hosted Services Consultant
OGL Computer
09.2016 - 01.2019
Area Senior Engineer
OGL Computer
01.2015 - 09.2016
Field Technical Support Engineer
OGL Computer
09.2010 - 12.2014
ICT Infrastructure Manager
Fortmere Group, Construction & Properties
08.2007 - 12.2009
Desktop Support Analyst
Hammonds Solicitors
04.2005 - 08.2007
Branch Network Administrator
Action For Employment
01.2004 - 04.2005
Junior Systems Administrator
Eaton Automotive / AFCO
09.2000 - 06.2003
GCSE -
Thorns School & Community College
09.1993 - 06.1998
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