Introduction......

So here it is my first ever blog post....

Now I know that I am behind the times and I know that there are many people out there blogging about IT and infrastructure topics and there are many people with more experience than myself out there.  However I have a huge amount of experience working in one of the toughest corporate environments that most people will never experience (but there are plenty of stories about that for later).

For those people who want to understand my point of view and my background I am currently managing a global network of ~170 locations I am 100% responsible for LAN / WAN (outsourced) / Wireless / Voice (Traditional/IPT/VOIP/Mobile) / Edge Security (Firewalls).  When I say 100% responsible we are responsible for business analysis, architecture, design, implementation and operational running of all aspects of these technologies.  This I deliver with a truly amazing team of eight people globally (not including my two interns).  My background is actually from the server and messaging environment where I worked for years as a Microsoft / Novell engineer and eventually managing these environments.

Achievements..... there are too many to talk about and I am sure I will reflect on some of these in future blog posts but off the top of my head here is a basic cut down list of projects that I have run (and I mean actually run either as a PM, Program Manager or Functional Manager):

• Datacenter infrastructure retrofit for a $6bn per year datacenter including changing from a flat network to a three tier network based on the Cisco Nexus platform, new cabinets/power/structured cabling throughout.
• Deployment of Cisco IPT to over 30 locations globally, building a global CUCM cluster architecture to support a new global dial plan with least cost intelligent call routing based on e.164 standards
• Deployment of Cisco Unity Connections to build the foundation of a true global voicemail platform
• VMWare server implementation of 20 hosts migrating 300+ physical machines in eight months.
• Microsoft Exchange 2007 migration from Lotus Notes while centralizing all mail functions from a distributed network of 200+ servers supporting 18,000 mailboxes.
• Conversion of 17,000 workstations and users from Novell e-Directory to Microsoft Active Directory 2003 R2

I am a very logical person and I get driven insane by people who do not think logically and feel there is a need to discuss everything to death.  I am results driven and like to work in a clear structured fashion I work using clearly defined strategies that are broken down into easily deliverable projects.

So that is me.... I intend to use this blog to talk about the technology I touch on a daily basis, to discuss issues and to at times just complain about the crap that we have to live with....