Since 2016, Tom has been working as an IT professional in various forms.
Detailed here are some of the highlights.
In the education sector
Tom has had experience working in the UK education sector, both as a network infrastructure technician and with web filtering geared toward this.
In schools
As an infrastructure technician, Tom has had a variety of experience. In addition to network maintenance, he was also involved in general upkeep of any IT devices and systems in the school. This meant printers, projectors, interactive whiteboards and more.
Thinking outside the box helped improve the state of the school without breaking the budget: A new UniFi WiFi system was implemented to replace some aging Xirrus equipment. He also migrated them from on-premise Active Directory to Office 365.
As the school used lots of laptops, he coded a system to track if any went missing. This was complemented by experimenting with ways to track down missing laptops- software that would help work out where they might have gone.
In web filter and firewall implementation
Tom has also been involved in scoping and implementation of firewall and web filter solutions. These include advanced networking designs utilising Fortinet’s proprietary SDWAN technology (ADVPN).
In addition to this, he has experience with web filtering- HTTPS decryption and inspection along with some of the new developments interfering with this (QUIC, ECH).
This is all complemented with CCNP-level certification.
In the construction sector
Rapid deployment of connectivity
In the construction sector, we typically need to deliver services where there are no cables. This means an emphasis on wireless technology.
Tom has extensive experience with cellular technologies, and witnessed first-hand the significant impact of 5G connectivity.
It is important to check the estimated signal in an area to decide which cell provider to go with (there are four major carriers in the UK: EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three).
He would then remotely assist the engineers installing equipment on-site if needed, by advising which direction to point the receiving cellular antenna.
VoIP phones
Along with construction sites, Tom has also supported the sales offices which are also situated in the same areas.
A key requirement of a sales office is a phone! As such, Tom has experience configuring and supporting a variety of VoIP setups, from single extensions to complex IVR call flows. This was all achieved over the cellular connection.
In particular, Tom has worked with Yealink equipment along with BiCom Systems, which utilises the Asterisk PBX software. He also has good experience with 3CX, as this has been used in other deployments.
In the MSP sector
Communication is key!
While working at an MSP, Tom honed his skills talking to people of various technical skill levels, along with how to best obtain the necessary information to promptly resolve issues.
Because of the varied nature of working at an MSP, very little phases him in terms of issues now. He has seen all kinds of strange things, such as obscure printer models being networked in questionable places to extremely complex Excel macro programs without any supporting documentation.
This gives Tom a ‘can-do’ attitude towards challenges.
