Craig Ward

I am a dynamic, professional, honest and loyal employee who thrives in a busy IT environment. I have a flexible approach to my duties with the ability to prioritise and switch between projects and tasks when required. I have experience of people management, both with direct reports and external contractors. I have always built and maintained good working relationships with external contractors and suppliers.

Experienced in Microsoft environments, I have attended all the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) courses for 2003. I fully understand TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, Sub netting, Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange server 2003 & 2007, Windows Server 2003 & 2008, Microsoft Windows Server Update Services, Microsoft SQL 2005 Server, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, Microsoft IIS, corporate anti virus solutions, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 Apple OS X and Microsoft Office. I have configured many different hardware devices including wi-fi points, SonicWall Firewalls, Barracuda Spam Firewalls, switches from HP, 3com and US Robotics, Servers from Dell, HP and IBM as well laptops from HP, Toshiba, Dell, Lenovo and Apple.

I have had full commercial exposure to industry standard leading applications such as Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Flash and Fireworks and I can also hand code HTML and CSS and have experience working with PHP, MySQL, Jquery and API's. I am comfortable developing on a Mac or PC and have commercial exposure to both. I have experience of managing online systems and working with developers and designers to build major B2B e-solutions.

At British Cycling (the national governing body for cycle sport in the UK) I analysed the existing IT servers, network andsupport and then identified and implemented improvements to meet the organisations needs. I had full responsibility for onedirect report and an external contracting company who are used for project work and our outsourced helpdesk. British CyclingIT currently supports 200 users at two Manchester offices and locations throughout the UK and Europe.

• Managed and implemented a £120k overhaul of the IT infrastructure and phone system. This was a complete replacement of allservers, switches, firewalls, server operating systems and environment.
• Planned and implemented moving two thirds of the company to a new office - installing ISDN at the new office for localbreakout of voice calls, installing a new faster Internet connection using Manchester Metronet's Point to Point wirelessservice and installing a 100MB connection between the two offices.
• I was involved in the set up for the IT kit for the newly launched TeamSky Pro Cycling Team. I advised on the specifications and build of the laptops needed and built a virtualised Desktop with VMware for running Windows 7 on the MacBooks which enabled them to use bespoke software that had been developed. Active directory was setup to allow a new email domain and seperated from the British Cycling accounts so security could be handled independently.
• British Cycling hosted the UCI Track World Cup and I was heavily involved in this prestigious event held at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester. I was responsible for ensuring that the track centre, which held around 50 members of the press from around the world, was networked to allow fast internet access across our 20MB connection. We also deployed a set of SonicWall SonicPoints for wireless access throughout the stadium so the participating teams also had internet access. I was on hand during the two main days of the event to assist with any problems which arose. It was very rewarding to hear some very positive feedback from the press including the BBC.
• Sourced and implemented an outsourced helpdesk to manage the high volume of calls from our end users, reducing the workload of the internal IT team, enabling them to concentrate on business critical tasks.

de Poel consulting is one of the fastest growing consultancy firms in Europe and a leader in its field. I enjoyed a varied role, requiring me to multi task and prioritise my workload whilst achieving tight deadlines. I managed many projects and implemented numerous technologies into the business infrastructure. I had full responsibility for specification and procurement of the current Company IT infrastructure.

• Managed and implemented a complete overhaul of the IT infrastructure moving the environment from a static single server running Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 to a scalable infrastructure consisting of 8 servers.
• Designed and implemented a robust backup procedure hosted off-site by a provider sourced by me.
• Implemented an IT helpdesk with full ticketing system and full monitoring of all servers for pro active management. This helped identify potential server problems enabling them to be resolved before they reached end users.
• Worked closely with each department in the Company to provide solutions to help them work more efficiently including a helpdesk for our support services team who handle around 1000 calls a month from external companies requiring support on our e-solutions. I designed and developed this using Microsoft Office SharePoint.
• Designed a software and hardware asset management solution to hold information about our regular IT audits using Microsoft Office SharePoint.
• Managed projects undertaken by our contractors including a custom built web based CRM package, VOIP phone system and office moves which needed full CAT5 cabling and fibre optic links installing between two offices.
• Fully involved in the recruitment and interviewing process of the IT technician which included devising a test for the candidates to complete using a virtual environment.
• Managed, trained and mentored the new IT technician.
• Worked closely with the marketing department to create the last three corporate websites included full web statistics using Google Analytics.
• Played a prominent role in the design process of three new e-solution packages and a 12 month project to redesign our main e-solution e-tips™ which has a weekly turnover of over £3m per week.

• Provided phone support to a large number of users for our main e-solution e-tips™ (an electronic timesheet and invoice processing system with users from numerous blue chip clients).
• Provided over the phone training on the system to external users.
• Trained new members of staff on the use of the system.
• Generated weekly management reports for internal staff and external contacts.
• Reported any bugs or errors with our flagship product e-tips to the external development company including helping to pinpoint a major problem regarding Internet traffic routing for external clients to e-tips.
• Liaised with the external development company for any new features and enhancements to e-tips. It was my responsibility to make sure all the documentation was correct and test the new features before they were rolled out.
• Attended meetings for e-tips™ to discuss feature upgrades and system issues. It was very satisfying to see a significant number of my recommendations incorporated into this industry leading software.

• Redesigned existing sites, created online and print adverts, banners and new websites for the Company.
• Designed the Company logo and produced the Company letterheads and business cards.
• Worked closely with the development team to produce a set of time saving tools to help with the administration of the websites and I also worked closely with the marketing team on matters of content management.
• Developed a website banner rotation script that presented appropriate banner content on relevant sections of the website. Each banner was part of either pay per click campaign or affiliate schemes.
• I had the responsibility for purchasing the software and hardware for the Company and installation of new client machines.
• Installed and fully configured the company's Microsoft Small Business Server with Exchange, Wifi points and Backup routines.

• Customised an “off the shelf” ecommerce package to meet the client brief.
• Prepared Hi-Resolution images for national newspapers such as the “Daily Mirror” and “Telegraph” for use with features on Toybugs, often to tight copy deadlines.
• Designed adverts for print for use in local magazines and papers and business cards for the Company.
• Set up e-mail accounts and checked and maintained the website.
• Checked site statistics, and logged them on a daily basis.
• Liaised with customers either by phone or email about order problems, technical difficulties and general enquires.
• Researched the systems security issues and implemented a procedure to cut out attacks from hackers or viruses.
• Designed and implemented procedure for backing up the system data and web site.

• 2006: Full MCSE courses at Remarc Manchester
• 2005: Introduction to Ethical Hacking (Security) 1-day course
• 2000: Web architecture and Multimedia Design at Huddersfield media centre
• 2000: E-commerce at Huddersfield College
• 1996-1999: Computing at Sheffield Hallam University
• 1994-1996: Computing at Rochdale Hopwood Hall College

My hobbies include Football and Mountain Biking. I love football and I am an avid supporter of Manchester United. Although I don't get to as many games as I would like to anymore I always try to watch them whenever I can, whether this is at Old Trafford or on TV. I also like to keep my knowledge of the Internet, technology and IT at the forefront at all times. I love how quick advances are made in these fields and how they can help people and businesses to work smarter and more efficiently.