Today we're getting to know one of Paradise Computing's IT Support Engineers - Ashley Curtis. Ashley plays a vital role in supporting the IT infrastructure of our clients and supports them with his expert IT knowledge.
So, I work on the infrastructure side of the business, which involves looking after our clients' cloud servers, LAN and local IT support. This involves answering the helpdesk phone and replying to emails from clients, helping them with their IT queries and issues they have. I'm also responsible for project work, which involves building servers for companies that request new or upgraded servers. Then, if I have a bit of free time, I do a bit of professional development and technical training - I recently achieved several Microsoft and Acronis certifications.
The most rewarding part of my job is probably tackling the really tricky problems, it's a great feeling when you finally solve a problem that's taken a long time to figure out. Obviously, when dealing with smaller issues we tend to solve them on our own, but if there's a trickier problem then the infrastructure team often comes together to solve it as a team. We all have different experiences and specialisms so it's important to draw on each other's expertise and skills and consider everyone's unique perspective.
I first started work at a training company that used to do Office 365 training and things like that. I started there as an apprentice, then moved up to a junior role and then went senior. I joined Paradise Computing last year because it seemed like a really good company to join, I liked how involved the Managing Director Jonathon was and how everyone was positive and welcoming.
Going back to my earlier point about working as a team, I think that being understanding is crucial to good teamwork. You have to take the time to listen to and understand each other and consider where other people are coming from. Also when helping clients, it's important to listen to their queries and fully understand them before jumping in to solve them.
Yes, I love old cars, I’ve got an old Mark 2 Golf, the same car that Gareth has, which I've had fun fixing up a bit. And I spend a lot of my spare time with my family, I’ve got two girls who are four and three and a boy who’s coming up to five months now – three under five, as people say!
I really enjoy running, I previously ran the Equinox 24 hour race which was an 80km run! Later this year I'm taking part in the 100km Ultra Challenge hike with some other people from Paradise - it's going to be an interesting challenge! I've been training pretty regularly and go on walks almost every weekend, and we recently took on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge as a training walk - that was eventful! I'm looking forward to the Ultra Challenge, I'll let you know how it goes!
Let's meet Paradise Computing's Project Manager, Gareth Whyley. Gareth has a background in IT consultancy and is a specialist in compliance and project management. He is passionate about helping our clients achieve their goals.
Today, we’re shining the spotlight on Rachmann Joubert, a Sage Support Specialist who has brought his wealth of software development experience to the role to help build solutions for our clients.
In this update, we find out how Team Paradise got on with their Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge, what they learnt from the challenge and how their fundraising mission is going.