System Administrator

THOMAS D. DICKINSON

**** ********** ***** • Kennesaw, GA 30152

678-***-**** • ******@*******.*** • Connect on LinkedIn DIRECTOR OF IT/SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR

Problem Solver Infrastructure & Deployment Microsoft Technologies Agile, forward-looking IT generalist with proven success building IT infrastructures to sustain rapid growth, drive market competitiveness, and maintain business viability in evolving market conditions. Track record of deploying innovative/emerging solutions that improve performance/stability and grow business capabilities while reducing/controlling costs. Experienced in a wide range of IT solutions and products. Excellent problem solver with experience building strong IT teams and finding ways to get the job done. STRENGTHS & VALUE OFFERED

Microsoft Technologies Software Deployment and Imaging Disaster Recovery Planning IT Security Technology Roadmap Planning Infrastructure Building Vendor Selection & Relationship Management Asset/Inventory Management Staff Recruitment, Retention & Performance Management Office Startup & Relocation PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

THE PRESTON PARTNERSHIP, LLC – Sandy Spring, GA 1998-Present Multidisciplinary architecture firm that grew from 75 employees and $10M in annual revenue to 350 employees and

$58M in annual revenue at peak; formerly operated as Preston Phillips Partnership until business split in 2001. Director of IT/System Administrator (1998-Present) Brought onboard to directly manage IT operations for a young 75-employee firm housed in a single location, and expanded IT infrastructure from one workstation and aging patchwork servers to a stable enterprise-class environment with standardized workstations, file servers, IT security policies, and disaster recovery and archiving processes. Promoted to a hands-on management role and sustained rapid growth of firm to 350 employees in nine offices across six cities and $58M in annual revenue at peak, building IT department up to a staff of 12 and an annual budget of $2.5M. System/Network Performance & Business Productivity Enhancement:

• Spent 19 years as a hands-on technical manager. Directly planned and implemented dozens of complex IT infrastructure projects.

• Designed, managed and implemented a multiphase, 12-month, $75K project to deploy Altiris Deployment Server, Notification Server, asset management, software management, and helpdesk solutions, enhancing network reporting, usage monitoring, and software license management capabilities and streamlining helpdesk operations/analytics.

• Replaced aging Cisco Call Manager 6 system to Call Manager 10.5. Worked with hardware vendor to specify system, planned implementation and executed the plan. Developed and led training on new system.

• Improved network performance from nearly daily unplanned downtime to less than an hour per month within the first six months, saving $22K a week in lost time in productivity.

• Deployed and supported a broad range of software packages (100+), including line of business applications, specialized software for engineering disciplines, and required plugins, browser installs, codecs, and add-ons.

• Largely automated building custom PCs and updating the portfolio (100+ applications) via Altiris’ Deployment Server/desktop deployment software, reducing build time to less than two hours, saving 12K+ annually.

• Develop and maintain network and systems configuration documentation using Visio.

• Worked with ISP and SAN vendor to specify, plan implementation of and install cloud based SAN. Worked with ISP to develop network redundancy to insure up time in the event of a network failure. Installed and configured SAN for our needs. Planned and executed the data migration of over 8TB of end user data with minimal user downtime.

• Researched and implemented backup and disaster recovery technologies like Veeam, SingleHop, Backup Exec and Nasuni.

• Coordinated Lessons Learned sessions with vendors after network or system outages to help improve our disaster response.

THOMAS DICKINSON Page 2

• Hands-on experience racking and building HP and Dell server equipment.

• Hands-on Windows 2008, 2010 and 2016 Windows Server products. Experience in Microsoft networking technologies including Active Directory and Group Policy.

• Experience building VMware ESX Host and Guests (5.x and 6.x).

• Continually evaluated business/end-user needs, developed business cases, and deployed new hardware and software technologies to improve business productivity, capabilities, and market competitiveness.

• Worked with the CAD management team to improve desktop and network performance in support of CAD software products. Evaluation of application performance at both the network and desktop level.

• Increased efficiency, information accessibility/retrieval, and interoffice file-sharing capabilities by researching and deploying Riverbed WAN acceleration ($250K) and Data Domain storage/archiving ($120K) solutions.

• Improved system performance and user productivity by implementing hardware that allowed 64-bit OS and software/SSD hard drive technologies and upgrading switching infrastructure to support gigabit to the desktop.

• Introduced a new helpdesk system and spearheaded the implementation and training for the new system. Championed the use of *HELP to improve end user satisfaction. IT Infrastructure Expansion:

• Managed 2002 move of Atlanta office to a larger site with minimal business disruption, executing move over a long weekend; designed IT spaces, low-voltage wiring and conference room setups, and dedicated server room.

• Sustained two-year period of rapid growth from 100 to 350 employees (2006-2008) by more than doubling Atlanta office space; opening nine offices in six cities; and establishing an offsite IT services team.

• Managed all IT components and logistics of new office startups determined specifications for infrastructure and systems, designed telecom and electrical systems, and selected/coordinated movers and vendors.

• Planned and managed integration of two acquired engineering firms into infrastructure.

• Restructured IT operations in response to 2008 downturn eliminated all IT staff, coordinated closure of all but two offices, and eliminated nonessential IT services, enabling firm to remain viable and ride out recession.

• Spearheaded systematic replacement and upgrade of IT infrastructure as economy and business rebounded. TECHNICAL SKILLS

SERVER TECHNOLOGIES: Microsoft Server OS Technologies (2008, 2012,2016) Microsoft Server Technologies (WSUS, Exchange, Active Directory, DNS/DHCP) Desktop Management Solutions (Altiris, Ghost Solution Suite, Imaging) Phone Systems (Nortel PBX, Cisco VOIP, Cisco Call Manager, Unity) VMware (ESX, vSphere) Cisco Switches and Routers Firewalls (SonicWALL and Fortinet)

SSL VPN Technologies (SonicWALL)

Wireless Networking (Meraki) SAN Technologies (EqualLogic, Nasuni, Tegile) Server Hardware (HP, Dell)

DR & Backup (Backup Exec, Veeam, SAN Snapshots)

Cloud Services (Veeam Cloud, AWS, Azure)

DESKTOP TECHNOLOGIES: Microsoft Desktop Technologies (XP, 7, 8.1,10) Microsoft Office / Office365

Hardware (Gateway, Dell, Microsoft)

Mobile (iOS, Android)

Collaboration Tools (Video Conferencing, Go2Meeting, LogMeIn, Skype) Print Technologies (HP, Large Format, Scanning, Print Tracking)

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