27 Astor Drive, Grappenhall Heys
Warrington, WA4 3DS
Tel: 07970 147663
Fax: 01925 212581
Email: c.speed@capesthorne.net
Claire Speed
Profile
A highly skilled senior systems, environment and network manager with 10 years+ experience across a
wide range of platforms and technologies. Key skills include UNIX systems & application
administration, particularly Solaris; infrastructure management; network technologies including
Internet and security; and Perl development / training. Excellent project and people management skills
and a strong team builder and player.
Technical Skills
Operating Systems
Extensive experience in UNIX operating system installation, configuration, networking and
administration. Also, some experience with Microsoft operating systems.
Solaris 5 - 9 (inc F15k & Cluster), SunOS 4.x, Linux, HP-UX, AIX, Tru64, FreeBSD, IRIX
Microsoft Windows 2000, NT 4
MacOS 7 - 9
Networks & Communications
Wide ranging experience of the design, implementation and administration of both LAN and WAN,
particularly with regard to Internet and Intranet sites. Also PABX experience with BT Meridian
systems.
TCP/IP, DNS (BIND), DHCP (inc Cisco Network Registrar), NFS, NIS
Routers, Switches & Hubs (Cisco, 3Com)
Email (Sendmail, Exim)
WWW (Apache, Netscape, CERN)
Usenet (INN, NNTP)
Firewalls & Security (risk assessment, security measures, monitoring, alerting etc)
Dialup Server (Annex, Netblazer, RADIUS) & Client configuration (slip, ppp)
Development
Worked through the full project lifecycle from design, through implementation and into testing and
documentation. Using revision control systems as appropriate (CVS, RCS, SCCS).
Perl, C, C++
Shell Scripting - Sh, Csh, Ksh & Bash
Web - HTML, CGI, Java
Application Software
Strong familiarity with various third-party packages, including:
Checkpoint Firewall-1
Axent E-security Manager (ESM) Enterprise
MQ Series
Veritas Netbackup/Volume Manager
Solstice DiskSuite
Sun iPlanet Web/Portal Server
BMC Patrol / HP Openview
IBM Tivoli Maestro (scheduling application)
IBM Tivoli (user and software management)
Cisco Access Control System (RADIUS)
Liberate Digital TV Suite
Microsoft Office Utilities (Word, Excel, Access,
Powerpoint, Publisher) & Visio & Project
Remedy ARS
Professional Skills
Project Planning & Management
Familiar with work estimation and planning, project planning (inc. Microsoft Project 2000), budgeting,
project leadership and reporting.
Change Management
Experienced with implementing change management systems from both a technical and organisational
perspective.
Risk Management
Able to identify risks in potential solutions, weigh and compare them and also develop risk management
contingencies.
Documentation & Training
Enthusiastic supporter of clear and concise documentation and effective information sharing. Highly
skilled at training and mentoring.
Experience
Client
Dates
Role
Shop Direct Group
Jan 2005 – present
Environment Design Management
Providing technical design and commissioning of all development, test, training and production
environments for a Business Optimisation Programme merging the Littlewoods and Shop Direct Group
systems over a 3 year project lifecycle of six transition stages. Responsibilities included requirements
capture, technical design management, capacity planning, environment scheduling, configuration
management, change control, documentation and resource management.
Client
Dates
Role
Sapient Consulting Ltd
Oct 2003 – Jan 2005
Application Infrastructure Support Manager
Managing a team of five providing application and deployment support for an international consulting
group building a new water billing system for United Utilities, written in Tenfold and running on
Oracle on Solaris F15K platforms. Providing 24x7 second/third-line production system support; and all
levels of support for around 45 development and testing environments. Release management,
configuration management, perl & ksh scripting, documentation, training of first-line support staff,
batch scheduling support using Maestro, code packaging and delivery to all environments. Also
responsible for designing and delivering technical solutions for new process requirements.
Client
Dates
Role
Unilever plc
Oct 2001 – Oct 2003
Middleware Specialist
Responsible for setting up new Middleware team for the Global Infrastructure Organisation within
Unilever, supporting all Unilever interfacing requirements across Europe and migrating business
critical systems to the new datacentre. Implementations using MQ Series, SSH, FTP and email with
Perl and ksh scripts. Implementation of version control (CVS) and requests process and the
development of a suite a bespoke monitoring utilities. Plus defining standards and process for the team,
improving team visibility and defining team role within GIO structure.
Client
Dates
Role
HBOS (Halifax & Bank of Scotland)
Jul – Aug 2002
Unix Security Operations Team Leader
Responsible for security auditing with ESM, testing (tripwire etc), user access control (Tivoli),
developing Perl scripts to automate routine functions and planning server changes to comply with
security policy on ~150 UNIX servers, primarily Solaris (including Sun Clusters and E10k) with some
HP-UX and AIX servers. Providing full support and 24x7 cover with a team of four. Also supporting
training and development of junior team members. Temporary cover for permanent manager absence.
Client
Dates
Roles
Telewest Communications plc
Jan 2000 – Jun 2001
Interactive Digital TV Server Support Team Leader / Security Analyst
Leader of a five strong team providing administration and 24x7 support for approx. 600 Sun E450
servers (Solaris 2.6/7/8) and other UNIX hardware (including HP-UX & OSF) distributed across 80
sites to form the backbone of the national digital TV broadcast and interactive service. Including
DHCP and DNS services for all set top boxes and cable modems, monitoring hardware and software
(BMC/HPOpenview), backups and recovery procedures, firewall (Checkpoint Firewall-1), support of
Oracle DBA’s. Remote access administration, management of Liberate iDTV Suite (Apache/SQUID),
extensive Perl and Shell script development, LDAP/iPlanet and RADIUS configuration and general
unix administration (including Solstice Disksuite, patching). Also task delegation, reporting of team
activities and liasing with leaders of other teams within Telewest.
Also undertook IT Security Consultant role for the iDTV platform, producing recommendations, advice
and documentation for suitable security precautions across the platform and also implementing
recommendations where required.
Client Computacenter
Dates 2000/2001
Roles Consultant
Several short-term contracts for ComputaCenter designing and rolling out Enterprise Management
Software (e.g., Veritas Netbackup , Checkpoint Firewall-1) on UNIX/Oracle and NT for different
clients at the Exodus Centre in Park Royal, London.
Client Harlequin Ltd
Dates Aug 1998 – Dec 1999
Role
Senior Systems Administrator
Systems manager on site of 20-30 users for an international software development company.
Responsible for all aspects of hardware and software purchasing, installation and maintenance, plus all
local network management. Also a key player in the international systems team, co-ordinating
company policy and support across all company sites worldwide. Platforms supported include SunOS,
Solaris 2.5.1/5, Windows NT & 95 (in all languages) and IRIX. Systems supported include DNS
(BIND), DHCP, Exim, Samba, Amanda (backup), Netblazer (dial-up), Annex (terminal access), and
internal development projects using Perl, Shell and C. Involved with company-wide rollout of new
backup service, consisting of Veritas Netbackup (across UNIX, Microsoft & Macintosh platforms) and
Exabyte 8mm Mammoth robot drives. Provided documentation for front-line user support.
Professional
Qualifications
August 2001
Certified Solaris Network Administrator for Solaris 8
Sun Microsystems qualification of competency in Solaris Network Administration.
November 1997
Certified Solaris Administrator for Solaris 2.6 (Parts I & II)
Sun Microsystems qualification of competency in Solaris Administration.
1994 - 1995
Manchester University
Manchester
MSc in Cognitive Science
Advanced study into theories of brain development and their application to computer techniques.
Included a 6 month development project writing a syntactic parser for natural language using the
functional, object-oriented and parallel language: United Functions & Objects (UFO).
1991 - 1994
Warwick University
Coventry
BSc (hons) in Computer Science
Degree in mathematics and computer science, including courses in management and business.
Included a 12 month development project writing a process control system and human-computer
interface for intelligent buildings in C++.