Group IT Operations Manager
Gulf Cryo
Total des années d'expérience :24 years, 2 Mois
Responsibilities:
• Responsible for all IT Operations (On-Prem and Cloud Infrastructure, Security, Networks, End-User Support) across Gulf Cryo and its subsidiaries across 10 countries.
Responsibilities:
• Reporting to the VP of Technology Services, I was responsible for some key Technology Projects, leading project teams of approx 20 members.
• Primary Projects were IT Fit-Out of new Mashreq Bank Headquarters in Downtown Dubai, Combined Windows 10 and Hardware Refresh projects and Data migration to Office 365 for approx 5000 Users
Achievements:
• Created a structured approach to each Project with proper Planning, Budget, Team & Vendor Management
• Improved the Reporting function of the Project Teams including detailed Dashboards, Measurement Data for periodic Review Boards
• Mentored my direct Team reports on different execution & communication strategies and how to work smarter and show value to the Projects.
Responsibilities:
• Reporting to the CEO, I was responsible for the IT Strategy definition, IT Budget creation, IT Security, Infrastructure and Product Delivery. With an in-house IT team of 10 FTEs and 7+ Outsourced FTE’s, this role was to structure & define the Target Operating Model, Roles & Responsibilities, along with the overall IT vision for the organisation across 15 countries.
• Initial topics in scope were a New Operations Platform (App & Web) deployment in Agile mode, Infrastructure Transformation, Move2Cloud Assessment & Contact Center CX platform Migration.
Achievements:
• Delivered a 3-year Program plan to address Obsolescence in the IT environment, along with aligned budget of approx x
• Delivered 3x Milestones for the New Platform Project.
• Defined Roles & Responsibilities, and Learning Needs Analysis for the IT Team and Vendors
• Launched IT Security Awareness campaign for Internal Users
Responsibilities:
• Due to internal promotion and reporting to the CIO, I was responsible for the overall Strategic Direction, Budget and Infrastructure Architecture of IT Service Delivery.
• Custodian of XXM USD budget for IT Service Delivery Capex & Opex
• The role saw me driving technology and supporting the business in the journey towards Cloud Adoption, Automation, Self Service provisioning, DevOps and Agile delivery.
Achievements:
• Delivered new Dell Hyper-converged Infrastructure in the Primary and DR Datacenters, saving on legacy maintenance, footprint and management overhead.
• Delivered greenfield IT Infrastructure for new Regional Office in Bahrain (Dell, Cisco & Meraki)
• Delivered Plan for Office 365 migration to AXA Group tenant
• Facilitated technical workshops with Azure and AWS Teams in the region to define Cloud strategy
• Advocacy for building a multicultural Organisation, including hiring the first Emirati Engineer into my IT team
Responsibilities:
• Key area of the role involves being the SPOC for all Project Planning, Budgeting, Stakeholder Management, Scheduling, Managing and Reporting of all Service Delivery projects across the GCC Region.
• Project Areas include Service Desk, Storage & Servers, Networking, Data Management, Application Migrations and Security
Achievements:
• I led a diverse team of 5x Technical Managers and 2 Project Managers to drive planning and delivery of a large scale IT Transformation.
• Introduction of ITIL processes, namely Change Management, Configuration & Asset Management, Problem and Incident Management.
• I reviewed existing Operational processes and recommended new and innovative ideas to the organisation - this included Vendor Management improvements, Licensing Consolidation & ensuring Support requirements are met.
• Redefined the TOM for the Service Delivery organisation and associated Transformation projects and budget for the next 3-5 years at AXA.
Responsibilities:
• Presales, Account/Relationship Management, Business Development, Team Mentoring, Solutions/Systems Design & Strategy for various Dell customers across the GCC region
• Technologies include Design & Implementation of Storage, Virtualization, Servers, Disaster Recovery, Backup & Recovery and Windows Infrastructure
• Deployed as Project Manager on the UAE Smart Learning Program. Managed the Relationships, Services, Support and Availability of 16000 Dell devices to almost 150 schools across the UAE.
Achievements:
• Improved efficiency of the Support Process for the Smart Learning Program, reducing turnaround times by 20%, thereby also improving the relationship with the customer
• Delivered Datacenter improvements in multiple customer sites, reducing their Server & Storage footprint, bringing efficiency and savings
• Worked as part of a specialist project team, responsible for Planning & Design of the infrastructure for Dubai’s new Smart Grid initiative
• The role varied significantly, demanding proficiency in a number of cross-functional tasks which included Project Management, Strategy Alignment, Business Requirements Gathering, Technical Consultancy, RFP evaluation, Consultancy Evaluation and Review and Gap Analysis
• Defined and documented the IT Infrastructure needs for the project
• Initially hired from a Consultancy to redesign the Virtual Environment and migrate to new hardware. New vSphere/ESXi 5.1 environment built on HP Hardware (EVA6550, c7000 G2, BL685c G7's, Virtual-Connect & Brocade FC).. Migration required from Dell Equallogic SAN (ISCSI) & Blades to this new HP Fibre Channel configuration.. vSphere later upgraded to v5.5.
• Virtual Environment Backup & Recovery, along with Disaster Recovery also implemented for the entire VMware environment during this project using Veeam v6.5, later upgraded to v7.. Dell Blade Servers & iSCSI Equallogic SAN rebuilt & wiped before return.
• Following this project, I managed the Datacenter move to a new building that Ryanair acquired.. This involved designing the new Datacenter layout & infrastructure, then planning the move of approx 200 systems, including the entire VMware & SAN environment with minimal downtime to the business.
• Technical Services, Professional Services, Technical Pre-Sales and Project Management all at an Enterprise Level. Specialising in NetApp Storage Technologies and VMware Projects. Many High Profile customers - Financial, Education, Healthcare, Insurance & Pharmaceuticals.
• Liaise with customers on Infrastructure projects that include NetApp Storage needs such as Hardware & Software Upgrades, Data Migrations, Consolidations, Change Procedures, Support and associated best practices.
• Similar efforts spent on VMware Technologies such as Upgrades, Migrations, Consolidations & Support - varying from VMware 3.5 to vSphere 5.1.
• Also assist internal IT as required around AD, Exchange upgrades, Best Practices in a Windows Infrastructure environment.
• Senior Datacenter Team Member - specialising in the management of ICON’s SAN & Virtualized infrastructure for EU/APAC.
• Projects included Datacenter Consolidation (5-1) - Storage Investigation of Vendors, Cloud Opportunities & Co-Location Opportunities.
• Managed our team of 5 in 2010 for 12 months while the Datacenter Services Manager was on Leave of Absence - included People Management (Projects, Vacation, Issues), and reporting directly to the IT Director in our US office.
• Manage and Support Windows Server 2000/3 Enterprise Environment. Approx 60 Windows Servers in various European Locations, primarily Dell Systems.
• Management of IT support for 5 depots across Southern Ireland
• Desktop, Communications, Network, Telecoms & Projects
Oct. 1997 - June 1998 University of Limerick, Castletroy, Limerick. Course:- Computer Systems Attended for 1 year only, left to pursue a technical future, not a programming one.
Sept. 1991 - June 1997 Abbey CBS, Tipperary Town, Co. Tipperary. Leaving Certificate '97, 5 Honours (incl. Maths)