Andy Watson

Experience

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  DHL

  Jan 2001 - Oct 2002

  Junior Database Administrator

  Technical Informix Database Administration for environments serving EMEA performing housekeeping exercises, monitoring, performance and capacity planning, troubleshooting, new environment builds and upgrades. As a first role since university this role provided the opportunity to benefit significantly from the experience of team colleagues, support from the team manager and repeated company investment in external training across Informix and Unix. In a complex environment this resulted in a steep learning curve that quickly enabled the execution of a range of duties to actively contribute to the team in terms of day to day operations, participation in the on-call support rota, scripting of processes and data migrations. Show less

• 

  Ardenta, a Claranet Group Company

  Oct 2002 - Apr 2018

  Pre-sales Consultancy role reporting to the Technical Director to deliver continuous improvement for existing customers and in new business development by raising company profile, requirements gathering, solution design, pricing, presentation, contractual definition and transition into delivery. Outcomes delivered include:Raised company profile by speaking on expert panels at industry events and in preparation of material for submission in successful industry award processes.Reduced cost of sale and increased response accuracy through design and pricing tool development both internally and alongside a strategic application partner.Developed proposition collateral to increase responsiveness, align with delivery and remove opportunity for ambiguity or scope creep in project definition.Personal development in delivering presentations to different internal and external stakeholders; responsibility for wider commercial and contractual elements beyond solely the technical. Show less Technical Professional Services implementation, configuration and support transition role working closely with the Professional Services Manager predominantly in eGaming and Sportsbetting. As the company grew the role evolved to replace 3rd line 24*7 operational support duties with solution design as well as its delivery. Outcomes delivered include:Large scale business critical database migrations from proprietary UNIX to Linux to realise significant commodity hardware and license savings on future proof platforms.Critical storage tier deployment for a large Sportsbetting customer to provide capacity, future proof performance, increased diverse site data protection and recovery testing capability.End to end internal system and process development to align customer obligations with clear service definition and reporting capability for both internal training and recruitment and customer service discussion purposes.Personal development in nature of customer facing interaction; internal mentoring, training and transition; technical documentation for project planning and operational procedure definition; development of an internship. Show less Technical Managed Service support role for customers predominantly in retail, media and sportsbetting developing an in depth understanding of database, operating system and storage administration in highly pressurised, business critical, security focused 24*7 environments. Outcomes delivered include:Documentation of customer systems, key processes and operational tasks ensuring a consistent and appropriate internal response to customer needs that could also act as a reference point for new staff – key to company growth.Streamlined support procedures through scripting of automated processes for monitoring/notification and troubleshooting/automated resolution improving support response times and customer service experience.Personal development in technical troubleshooting approaches; understanding practicalities of operation within an ITIL framework for governance and quality assurance. Show less

  • Principal Consultant

    Jul 2013 - Apr 2018

  • Senior Technical Consultant

    Mar 2009 - Jul 2013

  • Senior Technical Analyst

    Oct 2002 - Mar 2009
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  Claranet

  Apr 2018 - Jul 2019

  Consultancy Lead

  Pre-sales Solution Architecture and Team Management role reporting to the Consultancy Director, responsible for the bid engagements and submissions and approach development across the Hosting Business Unit in the emerging Consultancy Practice. Outcomes delivered include:Securing a range of successful customer opportunities, including the largest Claranet Hosting DealIncreased visibility of team workload to associate with cost of sale and identify prioritiesInstilled principles of business outcome focused solution design, evaluation and presentationDeveloped and delivered business unit proposition training to sales team to drive customer opportunityPersonal development in management (1-2-1, appraisals, objective setting, company policy/process); financial reporting and opportunity forecasting associated with a large service provider; collaboration with wider teams; development of a strategic partnership to deliver licensing Show less

• 

  Strategic Blue

  Oct 2019 - now

  As Chief Product Officer at Strategic Blue I ensure we deliver value adding solutions to challenging customer and partner problems that remain aligned with our overall business strategy.Collaborating with most areas of the business, and with my team, a data-driven approach is used to prioritize features and manage resources to make informed, deliverable product decisions that help us outperform competitors and capture market share. Advanced financial modelling and risk management to provide the commercial flexibility to adopt; visibility and guidance to govern and cost optimisation to maximise the business benefits offered by cloud computing.

  • Chief Product Officer

    May 2023 - now

  • Head of Product

    Apr 2021 - May 2023

  • Product and Consulting Manager

    Oct 2019 - Apr 2021