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User Activity
Almost 5 years ago
Almost 6 years ago
Contributed a review of Sophos UTM: Allows our client to use cross-region AWS VPCs to connect remote dev offices
Almost 6 years ago
Contributed a review of Cisco Secure Firewall: Keeps costs low and provides granular control using appliances familiar to the team
Almost 6 years ago
Contributed a review of AppDynamics: Enables us to edit config files easily and make reports our own
Over 7 years ago
Answered a question: When evaluating backup and recovery software, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?
With GDPR coming to the EU in May 2018, granular control over data is getting higher and higher in the list of things to need.
Over 7 years ago
You don't have to go with partners they have chosen. I've worked with outside DWRE devs and it worked out fine.
Almost 8 years ago
Contributed a review of Salesforce Commerce Cloud: Cartridges take away the need to develop a lot.
About 8 years ago
"Development teams, especially scrum teams, need some type of tool. For geographically dispersed teams, the ROI has a quick payback period, less than three months."
True. JIRA is a good tool for working with multiple stakeholders.
About 8 years ago
Commented on Reliable Service, lots of change
"I wouldn't recommend adopting the first version of any of their new products."
Nice tip there.
"All of the marketing is about fanatical service but in practice it's very hard to live up to those expectations. "
In my experience (certainly the DB lot) they were pretty…
About 8 years ago
I'm with you on this: ...getting the full details on every networked component can be a challenge. The product has gotten better over the years but there are still some complexities you will more then likely struggle with
it's a bit of a grind to get all of the info you…
About 8 years ago
Commented on Merchandizing and website features are easy to master and set up but integration with other systems is not easy
Did you have any major problems with your demandware install?
Over 8 years ago
Contributed a review of SQL Server: High availability/failover clustering makes DR straightforward.
Over 8 years ago
Contributed a review of Sitecore Experience Manager: It's a CMS with the usual features and functions. It was an old version and for us to move to a newer version we had to take three separate projects with each one incurring significant cost.
Over 8 years ago
Answered a question: When evaluating Business Intelligence Tools, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?
Easy to use, performs well, cost, and not going to send me insane integrating it with other systems. Everything else is gravy.
Over 8 years ago
Answered a question: When evaluating backup and recovery software, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?
- Ease of set up and continued use (and also how easy it is to get it off your systems)
- Useful and easy reporting
- speed of backup
- Multiple recovery options
- cost
Over 8 years ago
Contributed a review of SugarCRM Platform: Very basic UX and UI, but does what it says on the tin.
Over 8 years ago
Over 8 years ago
Commented on The modules that are included with it will help us displace the local anti-virus that we're currently using.
Thanks for that. Why it's so hard to find catch rates is a mystery.
Over 8 years ago
Contributed a review of Meraki MX: We had a problem with our MX100 and Meraki sent us a spare the next day so we'd have it on hand in case of issues.
Over 8 years ago
Commented on The modules that are included with it will help us displace the local anti-virus that we're currently using.
I'd be interested in hearing about the catch rate comparison too.
Over 8 years ago
Commented on Problem free and effective AV
Yes, I hasten to add - AV is great in a suite of defences (including defence in depth: IDS, UTM, encryption, etc)
Over 8 years ago
Commented on Will Office 365 change the SharePoint vendors focus?
I've worked a lot in the charity sector and they have held onto the Finance Director as Head of IT (or at least controlling the IT purse strings) business method. This can make the cloud conversation hinge entirely on money, and working out a TCO can be complex if you…
Over 8 years ago
Answered a question: Gartner's Magic Quadrant for IaaS maintains Amazon Web Service at the top of the Leaders quadrant. Do you agree?
Yes. AWS's innovation is matched only by its ability to deliver. You can look at AWS at a distance and the breadth of their offerings are hefty. Basics like load balancing that is really simple to implement or CDN for websites. I mean, you can dip into AWS and use a…
Over 8 years ago
Amazon is interesting because you go away for 6 months, come back, and there are 5 new products that work. Not many cloud suppliers can match that.
Over 8 years ago
Contributed a review of Jira: Perfect for keeping track of large amounts of bugs, tasks queries and releases for fixes.
Over 8 years ago
Commented on IT Central Station Elite Squad
@Ariel: what solution will your next review be about?
Hmm, good question. I might clear up some of the stuff I used in charities like: Dropbox, JIRA, and probably AWS.
AWS seems to come up a lot in job interviews now...
Over 8 years ago
Commented on IT Central Station Elite Squad
Morning all :)
I'm currently Head of Tech and Cyber Sec. My love of IT goes way back. I got my first computer when I was 8yo. Since then I've built them, secured them, managed projects to enhance their capabilities, and generally enjoyed my time in the industry.
Which…
Over 8 years ago
Contributed a review of WordPress: WordPress - not just for blogs anymore.
Over 8 years ago
Contributed a review of VMware Workstation: It's enabled us to fire up speedy sandboxes to test software or malware in a closed environment.
About 9 years ago
Contributed a review of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN: We can easily monitor the up/down time so establishing KPIs and SLAs for the IT department becomes something attainable, but there can be problems if using older POS devices.
About 9 years ago
Over 10 years ago
Answered a question: Are there any reasons to opt for Rackspace vs. its cloud competitors?
Irrespective of any other points, Rackspace's support is pretty awesome and I think that is one area that they truly excel in. I found their products to be great and they do what they say on the tin but - it is the knowledge that should something terrible happen to the…
Over 10 years ago
Contributed a review of Microsoft BitLocker: Bitlocker - defence in depth
Over 10 years ago
Contributed a review of Symantec Endpoint Security: Problem free and effective AV
Over 10 years ago
Contributed a review of Spiceworks: Charities and IT monitoring
Projects
Almost 11 years ago
Application Integration ProjectManaged nine mission critical projects at the same time, with 0.5 members of staff.
About 9 years ago
Created an online learning platform in 1 weekCreated an online learning platform in 1 week using WordPress and AWS.
Over 8 years ago
Departmental transformationDepartmental transformation, for when your IT department just isn't working the way it should: - virtualisation- old infrastructure into the cloud- intro of SLAs and KPIs- Outro of underperforming contractors. - fit for purpose DR and BC plans- Software upgrade - Security…
Over 8 years ago
Back up app replacementEnsuring effective back-up and replication of data meant we had to replace the legacy app that didn't have the features we needed.
Over 8 years ago
Website app upgrade for a charityMicro-charities don't always have the resources or skilled staff to make sure their systems are uptodate and secure. Volunteering to help make sure basics like CMSs are current and plugins work and are the best available is a good way of helping out.
Over 8 years ago
Counter-intelligence database design and creationCounter-intelligence database design and creation so trends can be monitored from worldwide events using inputs from all around the world.
Almost 8 years ago
Launch a FMCG transactional website in three monthsLaunch a FMCG transactional website in three months because of a hard stop with old website (black box) server closure, with zero handover from previous project manager.
Experience
Following
Reviews
Almost 6 years ago
Sophos UTM
Almost 6 years ago
Cisco Secure Firewall
Over 8 years ago
VMware Workstation
Questions
Answers
Over 7 years ago
Backup and Recovery
Over 8 years ago
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
Over 8 years ago
Backup and Recovery
Over 8 years ago
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)
Over 10 years ago
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)
Comments
About 8 years ago
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
About 8 years ago
eCommerce Platforms
Over 8 years ago
Virtualization Security
Over 8 years ago
Virtualization Security
Over 8 years ago
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)
Over 8 years ago
Over 8 years ago
About me
I'm a Prince2 Practitioner with ITiL v3 It Service Management . A problem solver. A fixer. I smooth out issues in your processes and procedures. I deal with risk so it won't hit your finances or reputation. I will increase your businesses capacity and reduce costs - safely, in a controlled environment. I've dealt with corporates, charities and start-ups.
Interesting Projects and Accomplishments
Almost 11 years ago
About 9 years ago
Almost 9 years ago
Over 8 years ago
Over 8 years ago
Over 8 years ago
Over 8 years ago
Almost 8 years ago
