What do you do at Fordway?
I’m part of our service operations team, where I’m responsible for service continuity. My team are the people who work evenings and weekends providing 24x7 support for our customers. There are six of us in total. I’m the one who’s less of a vampire as I’m actually at work during the day!
The team’s main function is “keeping the lights on” for all systems Fordway manage. As well as handling any issues that might arise out of hours, we’re responsible for everything that can’t be done during the working day for all our customers, such as patching and implementing upgrades. We follow the same processes for everyone, and our goal is always to ensure that all services are fully operational by the time they come to work in the morning.
Because much of our work is hidden – you could say we work in the dark – I think people underestimate the amount of work we do. We only tend to get feedback when things go wrong. If we’re doing a good job, we go unnoticed, which is fine by me! My team members understand the importance of what they do and the impact on both other team members and ultimately customers. They support each other and do a brilliant job.
What are your ambitions for your team?
It’s important for us to understand what out of hours work is planned so we can assess the potential impact on systems. We also aim to automate as much as possible, such as putting scripts in place, so we don’t have to carry out manual checks. That enables us to concentrate on the more complex tasks.
Why did you join Fordway?
After working for large organisations for more than 20 years, with a huge amount of travel, I decided I wanted a role where I could spend more time at home and stop working shifts. I like working for smaller companies so Fordway was exactly what I was looking for. I’ve been here around four years now.
What do you like most about working at Fordway?
I really feel part of the team. I work with all our systems and can speak directly to anyone in the company, from my team to our CEO Richard. We’re all treated as equals and I really feel part of something here.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
My hobbies are mainly sport related, including going to the gym, cycling, playing football and squash. However I have a family now with four children, so I don’t get as much time for sport as I used to! I also used to DJ but the hours it involves don’t really work with a family, so I don’t do much of that at the moment.
