Carol Thomson

Experience

• 

  IBM UK

  Jan 2000 - Jan 2003

  IT Specialist

  • Outsourced to IBM UK• Working on Bank of Scotland (Outsourced IT Contract) providing 3rd Level Support for approximately 100+ Microsoft Windows 2000 & NT4 Production Servers.• Assisting in delivery of multiple Projects delivering Windows 2000 Infrastructure.• Providing 3rd level support for Desktops, servers, software upgrades, networking.

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  HBOS Plc

  Jan 2003 - Jan 2008

  Technical Infrastructure Developer

  • Insourced back to HBOS Plc• Delivering projects for all divisions of the bank by building a Windows 2003 Server Platform.• Provide third-level support for all Core business systems, including on-call for out-of-hours service incidents.• Working mainly with Windows Server legacy systems NT/ 2003 and Microsoft Virtual Server technologies, desktop support for Windows NT / WindowsXPProviding an IT Support Service • Train and coach colleagues in existing and new process/technologies. Show less

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  Lloyds Banking Group

  Jan 2009 - Jan 2017

  Technical Infrastructure Developer

  Responsible for the design and implementation of Wintel platforms consisting of servers across all Route to Live environments within the project delivery life cycle. Managed the portfolio of projects for the team ensuring deliverables were fully understood and resource planning was undertaken to support successful project delivery. Ensured the team adhered to the Group Security guidelines, ITIL process and SOX regulations. Provided third-level support for all Core business systems and experienced in on-call and out-of-hours service• Delivered Servers using VMware Tool and Server Automation (HPSA) tool, documented Blueprint, Recovery Guides and Implementation Guides for the new servers which safeguarded that anyone in the team could pick up these documents and fix or rebuild if required.• Captured vulnerabilities and missing patches for servers which mitigated technical risk and impact to IT service and business operations. Undertook testing until confirmation received that they were updated and secure. • Managed software updates which involved application testing, piloted deployments and full deployments within documented timescales. Investigated any failures until fully resolved. Minimized disruption to the business areas that used the software.• Installed server hardware and software requirements for projects. Configured network cards managed Active Directory Groups and Group policies in accordance with the Bank’s Security Standards• Change Champion who managed the end to end Change Management System and achieved excellent change success results and improved the team’s morale. Acquired SME knowledge of Axis tool for change, incident and problem management. Show less

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  IBM

  Sept 2017 - Aug 2020

  IT Resource Manager

  Responsible for the Wintel Platform project delivery team resource management. Leading a resource pool of 45 personnel to deliver projects within time and budget. Change Champion, managing and approving all change records, guiding and coaching, ensuring all Changes are Risk assessed and fit for purpose. Achievements• Re-focused a disconnected Delivery Team through the provision of leadership, establishment of professional standards and procedures. Integrated 3 teams under one common goal through the creation of a strategy and process for project requests. Managed provision of project resources, confident MI reporting capability and robust cost management.• Led and coached delivery team, enabling them to raise IT System Change Records in accordance with a documented process and discipline strategy. Achieved 97% of accepted changes without rejection in the first month and stayed above the 96% service level agreement requirement.• Managed internal and external key Stakeholders requesting escalations and dealt with queries which generated fantastic feedback and personal recognition.• Role model for the team by fulfilling my responsibility for ethics and integrity across IBM by actively participating in compliance and operations governance activities including time reporting, client regulatory policies, data handling and other practices. Thus provided IBM with timely and accurate records of policy and reporting completions.• Managed and led the team through transition of new software resourcing tool. Within the team, coordinated pilot testing and business scenarios to achieve successful delivery and smooth crossover prior to implementation for the Customer. Developed operational guidelines and guided the team’s learning development.• Managed deployment of security patches for Lloyds Client Estate. Provided pilot testing and utilised a phased deployment approach to approximately 10,000 machines while maintaining Live service for the customer. Show less

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  Lloyds Banking Group

  Aug 2020 - now

  Cyber Technologies

  Responsible for managing the Infrastructure as Code for the Google Vulnerability Analytics platform. Keeping a robust and secure environment via Terraform code. Managing and mitigating vulnerabilities from Security Command Centre.Adept in Microsoft Azure cloud security policies and DevOps methodology.