What does your job entail?
Far too much. It is basically setting the strategic direction for IT,
co-operating with third parties and making sure our technology is implemented
correctly.
What was your first job and how did you get into IT?
I did electronic engineering at university and my first job was working
as a scientific technician at Bangor Grammar School in County Down. My first job
in IT was at ICL in Belfast, working on a managed service for Nortel Networks,
supporting 500 desktops.
If you were not in IT, what would you be doing?
It would be something in the medical profession.
What is the most ridiculous support request you have had from a
user?
I had a user who was convinced that her screen had frozen, but when I shadowed
the system remotely, I discovered that she hadn’t spotted a screen dialogue that
said “click here”.
Which person do you most admire in the IT industry?
Former HP chief Carly Fiorina. Do you know of one other female who has
held such a high-profile post in IT? Remember, she guided the company through
one of its most difficult periods – overseeing the merger with Compaq.
What technologies do you most rely on outside the office?
I have a BlackBerry Pearl and I introduced BlackBerry systems to the
organisation.
What do you feel has been the most significant IT news item of recent
months?
The one that should have the biggest impact on information management –
but probably won’t – is the loss of data at Her Majesty’s Revenue &
Customs. I have kids and I received a letter apologising for the data loss.
Those letters cost £2.25m to send out – a tremendous waste of money. What was
the point? Why not simply put out a statement on TV?
What keeps you awake at night?
Disaster recovery, but I know that as we are virtualised, we can get our systems
back up fairly easily.
Did you make any New Year’s resolutions?
I just try to get stuff done and be less stressed each year. The stress bit is
not working, though.
