Neil Broadley, team leader, information systems department, Baillie Gifford
From the age of nine onwards I had a massive interest in computing. However, at that time there was little technology going on at school – the focus was on maths. When I left I did an ordinary national diploma in computing at my local college and then went on to study computer science and maths at university.
Breaking into IT was difficult at the time I graduated
Breaking into IT was difficult at the time I graduated. Glasgow had been one of the key places in Scotland for IT jobs, but there were fewer opportunities around at that point. I took a postgraduate course in business studies and during this a helpdesk position came up at Baillie Gifford in Edinburgh. It got my foot in the door 13 years ago.
I now head up the network team, which looks after the network infrastructure for the organisation, such as cabling, switching, firewalls and telephony. My team of four supports this infrastructure for 200 servers and 600 users across five sites.
My biggest influence
I have worked with great people, but no single person has influenced my career. I have been motivated most by my own love of computing and my curiosity for all that was going on around me. This prompted me to seek out greater responsibility and more stretching technology projects early in my career.
The technology I have worked with has also influenced my approach. I got involved in networking technology early on and learned an amazing amount when we switched to using Cisco equipment. Their products often show great innovation and while I haven’t always employed their technology, it has shaped how I set about finding solutions and building networks for our specific purposes.
Technology for the future
In finance you have to move quickly to keep pace with the demands and developments. New technologies and the innovative application of current technology can have a significant impact. For example, finance companies can’t function without a disaster recovery (DR) cushion and business continuity strategy. ‘Virtualisation’ is not entirely new, but its application in DR is big news. The ability to run multiple systems on a single physical server, for example, makes DR recovery tests quicker and easier to run, and results in significant savings in capital investment.
Web-based technology and services also enable greater ease in deployment of applications. Now all we have to do is provide a web browser, the appropriate level of encryption and an internet connection. You will see greater take up of this capability within business.
Security is a very important focus for us and it’s an area where some of the most interesting technology is emerging. As a finance house, we have to deal with a lot of regulatory input from the Financial Services Authority (FSA). We not only have to be compliant with regulations, but also go the extra mile to prove due diligence in our processes and technology. Outside of the FSA, our clients also want proof that their data and investment is safe with us.
It can be high pressure, particularly when we are patching and upgrading critical systems such as firewalls or ensuring the uptime of our internet connection. However, without our input everything would grind to a costly halt.
Advice for graduates
When you start out in IT be flexible and open to working in a range of areas. This way you don’t restrict your future career opportunities. Attention to detail is also important. For example, in networking one IP address looks like another – you have to focus on what you read and type. Keep your common sense switched on. As a graduate, you have to accept that you can’t know everything in IT and your approach to problem solving during an interview is often more important than the solution itself.
