computer tech

NTAMBAZI GEORGE TAZ ERMAC

Mobile: +256********* WhatsApp: +256*********

Skype: ******@*****.*** Email: ******@*****.***

https://www.linkedin.com/in/taz-ermac-043058231/ https://x.com/ErmacTaz 21710 Kampala, Uganda, East Africa

Professional Summary

Highly skilled and detail-oriented IT Hardware Installation Technician with over 10 years of experience in the installation, configuration, troubleshooting, and maintenance of computer hardware systems, networking devices, and IT infrastructure. Adept at working in fast-paced environments, performing hardware upgrades, and ensuring smooth hardware integration into existing systems. Proven track record of providing excellent support for both internal teams and clients, ensuring timely and efficient hardware setup, system optimization, and technical support. Knowledgeable in networking concepts, cabling management, and equipment lifecycle management, with a focus on minimizing downtime and improving operational efficiency. Committed to delivering high-quality results while adhering to industry standards and safety protocols. Eager to expand skills and stay updated with the latest technologies in the IT hardware field.

Core Competencies

Hardware Installation & Configuration: Expertise in installing, configuring, and optimizing various IT hardware components including servers, workstations, storage devices, and networking peripherals.

System Troubleshooting & Repair: Skilled in diagnosing and resolving hardware issues, from simple malfunctions to complex system failures, ensuring minimal downtime.

Networking Hardware Setup: Proficient in configuring routers, switches, firewalls, and other network equipment to ensure stable and secure communication within the network.

Cabling & Cable Management: Knowledgeable in organizing and managing cables in server rooms and data centers to ensure safety, airflow, and efficient system operation.

Hardware Lifecycle Management: Strong understanding of managing the lifecycle of hardware, from procurement to installation, maintenance, and decommissioning.

Inventory & Asset Management: Experience in tracking, organizing, and managing hardware inventory, ensuring that all equipment is accounted for and appropriately used.

Data Center Operations: Familiarity with data center setups, including hardware integration, maintenance, and ensuring adherence to environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, humidity).

Preventive Maintenance: Proficient in performing routine checks and upgrades to hardware, extending the lifespan of critical systems, and minimizing the risk of unexpected failures.

System Testing & Optimization: Ability to conduct thorough hardware tests and stress tests to verify system stability and ensure optimal performance under load.

Safety Compliance: Adherence to safety standards and protocols, ensuring the safe handling, installation, and maintenance of hardware equipment.

Documentation & Reporting: Skilled in maintaining detailed records of hardware installations, configurations, repairs, and system updates for future reference.

Technical Support & Customer Service: Capable of providing direct support to end-users and clients, offering troubleshooting, repair, and maintenance assistance.

Project Coordination: Experience in supporting large-scale hardware installations or upgrades, ensuring all tasks are completed on schedule and within budget.

Problem-Solving & Critical Thinking: Strong ability to troubleshoot hardware issues, evaluate the situation, and implement effective solutions.

Collaborative Teamwork: Ability to work closely with IT teams and other departments to coordinate installations, upgrades, and troubleshooting activities.

Disaster Recovery Support: Knowledge of supporting hardware recovery processes, ensuring that critical systems can be restored quickly in case of failure.

Hardware Upgrades: Expertise in upgrading hardware components such as memory, storage, and processors, improving system performance and longevity.

Vendor Relations: Ability to liaise with vendors for hardware procurement, warranty claims, and troubleshooting support to maintain system performance.

Client-Facing Interaction: Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to non-technical users and clients, ensuring satisfactory outcomes for hardware installations and support. Professional Experience

IT Hardware Installation Technician

Ghezi Second Hand UK Computers Kampala-Uganda Jan 2015-Jan 2025

Installed and Configured Systems: Installed and configured over 500+ servers, workstations, and network devices, ensuring seamless integration into the company’s IT infrastructure.

Performed Hardware Troubleshooting: Diagnosed and repaired hardware failures on servers, desktops, and network devices, reducing downtime by 25% through efficient problem resolution.

Network Hardware Installation: Set up and configured routers, switches, firewalls, and other networking equipment to optimize communication between servers and workstations.

Cabling Management: Managed and organized cabling for over 5000+ devices, ensuring neat and efficient cable management that improved airflow and reduced equipment failure.

Coordinated Hardware Upgrades: Assisted in hardware upgrade projects, including replacing old servers and workstations, boosting system performance and reducing bottlenecks.

Maintained Inventory: Managed hardware inventory for over 5000+ devices, ensuring the accurate tracking and timely replacement of outdated or faulty equipment.

Supported Large-Scale Installations: Assisted in the installation of hardware for new office locations, ensuring seamless transition with minimal disruption to operations.

Conducted Preventive Maintenance: Performed regular preventive maintenance on all hardware to avoid potential system failures and extend the lifespan of critical IT assets.

Upgraded Storage Systems: Upgraded storage devices and backup solutions, improving data retrieval speeds and ensuring business continuity in case of hardware failures.

System Performance Testing: Conducted comprehensive performance testing after hardware installations to ensure systems were running at optimal capacity.

Monitored Hardware Health: Regularly monitored hardware health indicators and resolved any identified issues, reducing system downtime and increasing productivity.

Collaborated with IT Teams: Worked with network engineers and system administrators to ensure that newly installed hardware was compatible with existing infrastructure and met company needs.

Provided Hardware Support: Provided first-level hardware support to employees and clients, troubleshooting issues with desktops, printers, and other IT equipment.

Trained Junior Technicians: Mentored junior technicians in hardware installation procedures, ensuring that team members followed best practices and safety protocols.

Liaised with Vendors: Coordinated with vendors for hardware procurement, warranty claims, and repairs, ensuring timely delivery of components and minimizing downtime.

Ensured Security Compliance: Ensured all hardware installations complied with security protocols, protecting sensitive data and IT systems from unauthorized access.

Assisted in Disaster Recovery Setup: Supported disaster recovery planning by ensuring hardware systems were properly backed up and quickly restorable in case of a system failure.

Optimized System Storage: Implemented data storage optimization strategies, including RAID configurations, ensuring efficient use of storage space and improved data security.

Maintained Data Center Equipment: Responsible for the maintenance and proper organization of data center equipment, ensuring optimal temperature, humidity, and airflow for all hardware.

Handled Hardware Relocations: Assisted with relocating hardware and equipment during office moves, ensuring all devices were carefully transported and correctly reinstalled.

Configured Workstations: Installed and configured workstations for new employees, ensuring all necessary software and hardware was functional before their start date.

Performed Equipment Decommissioning: Decommissioned obsolete hardware, ensuring safe disposal or recycling in accordance with company policies and environmental guidelines.

Managed Firmware Updates: Applied firmware updates to hardware devices, improving system stability and ensuring compatibility with new software or security patches.

Provided On-Site Installation Services: Delivered on-site installation services for clients, ensuring hardware was set up correctly and operational to meet client specifications.

Monitored and Maintained Hardware Lifecycle: Monitored the lifecycle of hardware devices and planned for replacements based on age, warranty, and performance.

Setup Virtualization Hardware: Installed and configured hardware for virtualization systems, including physical servers to support virtualized environments.

Provided Remote Troubleshooting: Assisted clients and internal users remotely, troubleshooting hardware issues via remote desktop or phone support, ensuring fast resolutions.

Performed Backup System Setup: Installed and configured backup hardware solutions to ensure data integrity and business continuity in case of hardware failures.

Assisted with Network Cabling Projects: Played a key role in large-scale network cabling projects, ensuring proper connections and reducing network disruptions.

Documented Installation Procedures: Created detailed documentation for all hardware installations, ensuring future troubleshooting and maintenance could be performed easily.

Supported Client-Specific Hardware: Assisted clients with the installation and configuration of custom hardware tailored to specific business requirements, ensuring system efficiency.

Performed Hardware Stress Tests: Conducted stress tests on hardware after installation to ensure stability under load and long-term reliability.

Performed System Diagnostics: Ran diagnostic tests on hardware to identify potential issues and improve system performance across multiple platforms.

Optimized Server Configurations: Installed and configured high-performance servers, ensuring they were optimized for peak workloads and application demands.

Supported Hardware Testing Environments: Set up and maintained hardware test environments to support new software and hardware integrations for internal development teams.

Handled Hardware Inventory Audits: Assisted in quarterly inventory audits, ensuring that hardware was accurately recorded and accounted for across multiple departments.

Improved System Uptime: Implemented improvements to existing hardware setups, reducing system downtime and increasing overall productivity.

Provided Hardware Troubleshooting Workshops: Led internal workshops to train staff on troubleshooting common hardware issues, reducing reliance on external support.

Coordinated Hardware Decommissioning Projects: Managed the decommissioning of outdated hardware, ensuring proper disposal and transition to newer systems.

Monitored Equipment for Environmental Conditions: Collaborated with facilities management to ensure hardware was kept in optimal environmental conditions (e.g., temperature and humidity) to avoid overheating or component failure.

Key Achievements

Successful Hardware Deployment: Led the installation and configuration of over 1000 desktops, laptops, and network devices within a tight timeline, contributing to the successful rollout of a new office branch with zero technical issues.

Improved System Performance: Spearheaded a hardware upgrade project that increased server performance by 45%, resulting in faster processing times and improved overall system efficiency for the entire organization.

Reduced Downtime: Implemented a proactive maintenance program that decreased hardware-related downtime by 35%, ensuring continuous operations and reducing disruptions for end-users.

Efficient Troubleshooting: Diagnosed and resolved over 1000+ hardware issues in a 6-month period, reducing hardware-related support tickets by 35% and improving user satisfaction.

Successful Data Center Migration: Assisted in the seamless migration of hardware from the old data center to a new facility, managing over 80 servers and network devices, and ensuring zero data loss and minimal downtime.

Inventory Management: Streamlined hardware inventory management, introducing a more organized system that reduced hardware loss by 25% and improved tracking accuracy.

Cost Savings through Upgrades: Led a server upgrade initiative that reduced hardware costs by 25% while enhancing system capabilities, resulting in both short-term savings and long-term efficiency gains.

Enhanced Security Protocols: Implemented additional security measures during hardware installations, reducing the risk of unauthorized access and ensuring compliance with corporate security standards.

Customer Support Excellence: Provided on-site technical support and training to over 500 end-users, improving the team’s ability to self-troubleshoot common hardware issues and reducing the need for IT intervention by 25%.

Successful Vendor Management: Negotiated with hardware vendors to secure a 20% discount on bulk orders, significantly lowering procurement costs for the company’s hardware needs.

Optimized Hardware Performance: Conducted comprehensive diagnostics and system optimization for key hardware, leading to a 35% improvement in the overall performance of critical infrastructure.

Streamlined Hardware Decommissioning: Led the decommissioning of outdated hardware, ensuring safe disposal and recycling, reducing environmental impact while maintaining a sustainable and efficient IT asset lifecycle.

Disaster Recovery Implementation: Assisted in setting up a disaster recovery system that included hardware configurations and backups, ensuring quick restoration of critical systems after unexpected failures.

Network Infrastructure Setup: Successfully installed and configured network equipment, including routers and switches, increasing network reliability and improving data transfer speeds by 40%.

Awards for Excellence: Recognized by management for outstanding performance in hardware installation and support, receiving the "Employee of the Month" award three times in one year.

Software & Hardware Integration: Played a key role in integrating newly purchased hardware with legacy systems, ensuring compatibility and preventing disruptions to ongoing operations.

Safety and Compliance Success: Ensured all installations adhered to safety standards and compliance regulations, reducing incidents related to hardware failure and improving overall safety in the workplace.

Streamlined Troubleshooting Process: Developed a standardized troubleshooting guide that reduced resolution time for hardware-related issues by 20%, improving overall team productivity.

Remote Installation Efficiency: Successfully completed 200+ remote hardware installations for clients, delivering timely and cost-effective solutions without the need for on-site visits.

Enhanced Team Collaboration: Fostered a collaborative environment with cross-departmental teams, facilitating smoother hardware rollouts and improving communication between IT, operations, and vendors.

Key Qualifications

Proven Experience: Hands-on experience in the installation, configuration, maintenance, and troubleshooting of a wide range of IT hardware including desktops, laptops, servers, printers, routers, switches, and other network devices.

Technical Expertise: In-depth knowledge of computer hardware components, peripherals, network devices, and storage systems. Proficient in diagnosing and resolving hardware-related issues to ensure minimal downtime.

Network Setup & Configuration: Strong understanding of networking protocols and hardware setup, including routers, switches, firewalls, and network storage devices. Experienced in network cabling and configuring LAN/WAN environments.

Problem-Solving Skills: Adept at troubleshooting hardware failures, connectivity issues, and performance bottlenecks. Able to analyze and resolve problems quickly and effectively to ensure smooth system operations.

Maintenance & System Optimization: Proficient in performing routine maintenance, firmware updates, and system optimizations to extend hardware lifespan and improve system performance.

Inventory & Asset Management: Experienced in tracking hardware inventory, conducting audits, and managing the lifecycle of IT assets, ensuring all equipment is accounted for and regularly serviced.

Documentation & Reporting: Skilled in maintaining detailed records of installations, repairs, and hardware configurations. Able to create clear and concise technical documentation for internal and user reference.

Security & Compliance: Knowledgeable about security best practices for hardware installations, including physical security measures and adherence to organizational policies and procedures to protect against unauthorized access and data breaches.

Customer Support & Training: Strong customer service skills, with the ability to provide technical support to end-users. Able to train non-technical users on proper hardware usage, maintenance, and troubleshooting techniques.

Adaptability & Learning: Quick to learn and adapt to new technologies, hardware configurations, and troubleshooting techniques. Enthusiastic about continuous professional development and staying current with industry trends.

Team Collaboration: Ability to work effectively as part of a team, collaborating with IT departments, vendors, and other stakeholders to ensure timely and successful hardware installations and upgrades.

Safety & Compliance: Experience with following safety standards and organizational guidelines during hardware installations, handling equipment with care to prevent damage and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

EUCATION

MAKERERE UNIVERSITY – FACILITY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Uganda

Diploma in Cisco Networking Academy (CCNA),

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) December 2006

Computer Applications, March 2005

CompTIA A+ Certified, December 2007

Dropout: Bachelor of Information Technology, September 2008

Serebra Learning Corporation

Data Manipulation in C++, June 2006

Kithende College School

Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education,,(GED) December 2002

Nakasero Senior School

Uganda Certificate of Education December 2000

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