My Life

I have worked in the IT industry for more than 29 years. I enjoy learning new technologies, cycling, swimming, and up until a few years ago, a passion for playing football. Lately, I have been trying to put more effort into learning photography techniques.

For most of my life playing football was my passion. Even when the aches and pains started in my legs I kept pushing on. 3 – 4 games a week consisting of at least 2 five-a-side games and one outdoor (either 7’s or 11’s). You never think about it at the time but there comes a time when you just can’t do that anymore.

I just got into cycling again. I am definitely not one for the lycra squad but it is a nice way to spend an hour seeing the local countryside.

I used to play the odd round of golf and was club treasurer for a local golf society. Unfortunately it folded but maybe one of these days I’ll get back out. Until then, as Mark Twain quoted “It is a good walk spoiled!”.

I read the odd book, mostly science fiction. Have a passion for Lord of the Rings and have read most of the back stories including The Hobbit, Silmarillion, Book of Unfinished Tails and The Children of Hurin. It’s all about Tom Bombadil!

I visit the cinema occasionally, again with the science fiction but with movies, I love horrors. Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s with the likes of slasher specialist’s such as Freddy, Jason, Michael and Elliot (a bonus point for anyone who know what hellish character he would become). With role models like these I am surprised I never ended up in prison.

I also love going to the theatre in particular musicals. Since reviewing West Side Story in a music class at school, I have been hooked. Classics such as Rocky Horror, Little Shop of Horrors, Jersey Boys, Grease, Les Miserables, Rock of Ages, Fame … It’s all good. Although I wish I got to see shows like Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Cats and Starlight Express in the late 80’s early 90’s.

My Career

Current post as a member of Information Governance Team, engaging with departmental directors, clinical leads, DPO, SIRO and Head of IT is managing information security and compliance with internal and external stakeholders. This includes translating information security risks from NOC, SOC and Pen Testing and generating actionable work streams. Leading on 27001 as internal auditor and supporting other key accreditations such as Cyber Essentials, DSPT and PCI-DSS.

Prior to that, competent IT Lead working 17+ years within fast-paced environment for healthcare software company. Reporting to Operations Manager, responsible for IT estate, ensuring regulatory compliance, internal compliance to company processes, leading on ISO27001, also covering Cyber Essentials, DSPT and supporting the ISO9001 internal lead.

During my time with CIS some of the main projects have included;

  • Support for 30+ staff including IT Induction, ISO27001 and InfoSec training. Have provided IT assist supporting 100+ staff located in Wales, London, Iceland, Holland and Germany. Implemented IT service desk and SLAs. Primary contact for communications on disruptions, upgrades, and improvements.
  • ISO27001 internal lead responsible for implementation, review and improvement of ISMS. Included Problem Management, Incident Management, Disaster Recovery (including DR Testing), Risk Assessments. Provide ongoing support for ISO9001 processes.
  • Completed annual HSCN Data Protection and Information Security Toolkit supporting secure remote access to the NHS backbone. Included secure room, dedicated VLAN and OTP 2-factor authentication for remote support.
  • Set annual IT Budget with COO and providing monthly reports. Engaged with suppliers such as Dell, BT, Vodafone, NHS Digital and Microsoft.
  • IT Lead for 2x head office site moves including creation of server rooms, office fit-outs and site security. The largest of these moves was a £0.6 million demerger from parent company.

From the web arena I have extensive experience developing web sites, internet and intranet applications. I have in the past run a small hobby-horse business providing SME's consultancy and web applications development. Current solutions developed using Visual Studio 2019 Professional, ASP Net, ASP Core, Web API, IdentityServer4, MS SQL, LINQ, EntityFramework (Database First), jQuery, HTML, Javascript and CSS. I don't tend to do front-end deign anymore. There are plenty of templates available for those that don't have the time to re-invent the wheel in every project.

Recent solutions include;

  • Custom IdentityServer4 authentication for Presentation and API services.
  • Custom Web Site Management Engine including site settings, meta information, debugging and log management. Includes secure root level user recovery and remote call logging for helpdesk requests.
  • Compliance engine for handling time sensitive records.
  • Custom record checks for providing data integrity against data manipulation
  • External Website Monitoring engine and remote instance restart
  • Training Management system including generating certificates in PDF format
  • CSV imports for education system – including profile generation, pupil results and pupil records.
  • Facebook Link Metadata Management