As you may have noticed, our UK website has had a bit of a restructure with many new offerings added due to our recent acquisition of Excitech; one of them being IT Solutions. In this blog post, we'll introduce you to this new offering and the people behind the IT Solutions team.
As one of the first Autodesk partners in the UK, we have over 30 years' experience working with architects, engineers, construction and product design professionals. In that time, we have helped design professionals transition from paper-based-draughting to 2D CAD, grasp the complexities of today’s complex 3D modeling platforms, and adopt revolutionary concepts such as generative design.
This experience has given us a unique perspective on the demands these applications place on IT infrastructure that generic IT companies simply cannot have.
As a result, we partner with best of breed IT technology vendors such as Dell, HP, Microsoft and more, to bring our customers the right solutions to meet their business needs. Underpinned by our comprehensive range of support services to give you peace of mind that your core IT infrastructure and critical business applications will be available when you need them.
Our team is built up of experts who come from the core industries they support; they share and understand the challenges of the Buildings & Infrastructure and Product Design & Lifecycle industries and have the passion to explore, assess and evaluate the many new and varied developments in products and processes taking place in our industry today. So, let's meet the faces behind the expertise...
Richard Huggins - Head of IT Solutions
Richard joined us in 1997 as an apprentice IT engineer conducting on-site installations of CAD workstations and Microsoft and Novell network environments. After two years, Richard decided to take a year off to travel the world and returned to the UK briefly where he worked as a contract Helpdesk engineer for London & Scottish Marine Oil providing direct support to its 200+ users until re-joining Symetri again in a similar role, providing support to over 500 customers.
In 2007, Richard was promoted to Support Services Manager and worked in this role until 2016 when he decided to acquire new skills and widen his IT industry knowledge and left to work as an Operational Manager for one of the UK’s Top 20 leading Information Security companies. In 2019 Richard once again returned to Symetri as Head of Support and Customer Success to further improve the Symetri customer support experience and is now responsible for IT Solutions. Richard brings years of knowledge, great leadership skills, a hard-working ethic and the ability to quickly establish credibility and gravitas with customers and work colleagues alike.
In my spare time, I enjoy spending quality time with the family and getting out on the bike when I can. I have a keen interest in football, history, geography, martial arts, astronomy and why and how we all we got here!
Jim Bailey - IT Solutions Consultant
Jim joined in 1996, previously working in the communications industry with British Telecom and the burgeoning IT industry with Granada. He has worked within the IT industry for the past 25 years and his knowledge of IT technologies is broad. He's worked on many projects incorporating technologies such as virtualization (Hyper-V, VMWare, Nutanix), security (Dell, HP and Cisco), storage (Panzura, SAN, NAS, Cloud Providers Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure), and cloud (Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure Office 365 Nutanix XiFrame).
Outside of work, I'm a keen cyclist and enjoy outdoor life including birdwatching.
Jeremy Vessey - IT Solutions Consultant
Jeremy joined the business in 1998 as a Hardware Engineer and has now progressed to an IT Solutions Consultant. His knowledge varies across a broad range of technologies including virtualization, storage and cloud solutions. Jeremy also has a great deal of knowledge around the Autodesk suite of products regarding licensing and deployments. IT installations, pre-sales and fully supporting the Helpdesk for escalated calls are his main responsibilities.
I'm a big fan of motor racing & snooker
Lee Emery - IT Solutions Specialist
Lee joined in 1999 and has over 20 years' experience in IT support. He received a BTEC in computing in 1998 and is always on the other end of the phone to help customers with any IT related issues they may have.
My interests are cars, the outdoors and food!
Barrie Elliott - IT Solutions Specialist
Barrie Joined the business in 2007 as a Helpdesk Engineer and has now progressed to an IT Solutions Specialist. Prior to joining Symetri, he used to manage an Automotive Business as an Engineer and was a senior Electronic Engineer repairing mobile phones before that. He is a Qualified Electronics Engineer holding a City and Guilds 224 in Electronic Servicing and also an NVQ in Engineering. Engineering and IT has always been his passion since he was child and with this enthusiasm and keenness, he continues to enhance his knowledge in new technologies. His knowledge varies across the board including Virtualisation, Storage, Cloud solutions and much more. He also delivers client training, installations, pre-sales and consultancy for various products, along with fully supporting the Helpdesk for escalated calls.
I have a keen interest in photography outside of work.
Josh Timmins - IT Solutions Specialist
Josh joined in 2013 as a trainee IT Engineer with no previous IT experience. While learning on the job, and with in-house training, Josh has quickly progressed to become an IT Solutions Specialist. Josh assists with all aspects of IT Solutions, from pre-sales and installations to supporting the end-user directly via the helpdesk.
I enjoy fishing, football and going to the pub.
Andy Evangeli - IT Solutions Support Engineer
Andy Joined in 2014 as a Technical Support Engineer having previously worked in the corporate industry with Sainsburys at their head office in Holborn. Andy has over 15 Years’ experience in the IT industry and is skilled in various platforms including VMware, Hyper-V, Windows Server, Office 365, In-house Exchange, Windows 7, 8 and 10, Software-Hardware Installations and experience with in-house and cloud backup solutions. He is always happy to help customers with a smile with any IT related issues they may have.
In my spare time, I enjoy being with my family and am an avid supporter of Newcastle United FC.
Clive Dancey - IT Solutions Support Engineer
Clive has been in engineering most of his life, starting off at GEC Avionics, moving to work in a field service role with MFS group and then support at Santander. He has since worked in several IT support roles, supporting high level bankers and traders, to home users before joining Symetri to support our customer base.
Outside of work, you can find me acting at a local theatre around the Hertfordshire area.
Fabian John - IT Solutions Support Engineer
Fabian joined in 2019 but has spent over 16 years in IT. Before joining Symetri, Fabian spent over 10 years in the Education sector helping schools with bespoke technology needs from consulting on solutions, to day-to-day problems. Fabian has always enjoyed taking things apart and seeing if he can fix them again which has translated into a rewarding career in IT. Seeing complex problems resolved always brings great satisfaction to him.
Outside of work, I’m a Dad to 3 boisterous boys, I play the drums, cycle and like a good build in Minecraft from time to time.
Homayoun Ahmed - IT Solutions Support Engineer
Homayoun has over 13 years of experience working in the Managed Service Provider sector. He has experience in implementing, diagnosing and maintaining different technologies and is able to provide solutions for our customers' expanding service solutions. Homayoun is customer focused and strives to ensure our customers are not just given quick fixes to temporarily solve their problems, but to implement solutions and services that add value to their organizations.
In my spare time I l play badminton, and to de-stress we have a family movie marathon!
Jennifer Curtis - IT Solutions Support Administrator
Jennifer joined the business in 2011 as a Support Services Administrator, raising renewal quotes for IT Solutions and CAD Support. Jennifer sets up and maintain contracts and updates customer support and subscription licenses. She supports the sales team, Engineers & customers with their contract & general support issues.
I enjoy football, reading, going to the pub and theatre.
Jonathan Glass - IT Solutions Sales Support Assistant
Jon is involved in IT Solutions presales providing quotes for our sales team and hunting out the best prices possible.
He takes pride in getting things right and enjoys the challenges the role brings him daily. He is constantly learning about new technology and matching it to our customers’ requirements. He has a vast knowledge of Dell and HP workstation ranges and his established relationship with suppliers and vendors has allowed him to source the best IT solutions to offer our customers.
I have a degree in Audio Technology, enjoy collecting vinyls, DJing and all things music. I live on the south coast with my girlfriend and cat Chewie and enjoy walks on the beach and going to the arcades (not with the cat, that would be weird).
Daniel Gonzalez - IT Solutions Internal Presales
Daniel joined in early 2020 following a career in the Telecoms industry working with BT and many other companies. From a young age he has been passionate about IT systems; he is continually embracing new technologies to enhance his knowledge in order to provide for customers' ever-changing needs and ensure end-users get the best out of their equipment.
Prior to joining Symetri, he worked alongside senior engineers doing on-site visits with clients and provided sales support during client negotiations for bespoke proposals. His experiences have given him a good insight into every step of customer on-boarding from quotation stage, right through to end-to-end installations and aftercare. He has learned the importance of forming good customer relationships, and moreover to gain an understanding of their individual requirements.
In my spare time I enjoy playing and composing music on the piano, working on techie projects like repairs/upgrades on PC’s and laptops, gardening, and playing with my little one spending quality dad time whenever I can.
Nita Hoffmann - IT Solutions Service Delivery Manager
Nita joined the business in early 2020 and has been in the IT industry for 20 years. She started her career teaching IT to adults and children which included supporting students through GCSE and A level computing, before becoming an IT Support Engineer. She then moved onto become a Service Delivery Manager which she has now been doing for over 10 years, having supported a variety of different industries including medical insurance, educational and entertainment.
In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, sailing, camping and cycling.
Celal Yilmaz - IT Solutions Support Engineer
Celal joined Symetri in 2021 and graduated with a 2:1 in BSc Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence). Symetri has given Celal the chance to put his knowledge into practice, while also broadening his skills. At Symetri, Celal works on installations to backup checks, to supporting the end user directly via helpdesk.
I enjoy going to the gym and learning new things.
Julian Jones - Principal Data Management Solutions Consultant
Working in the construction industry for over 25 years, Julian has extensive experience in the creation, maintenance and distribution of design related information throughout the design, costing and construction teams. This allows Julian to work effectively with clients in order to determine the best working methods and solutions for their DMS implementation.
Paul Thurgood - Senior Consultant – Data Management
After training as an Architectural Technician, Paul moved into the Autodesk Reseller Channel, installing, supporting and training customers using Autodesk products across AEC, Mechanical Design and Data Management industry sectors. With over 25 years of experience, Paul helps businesses create project documentation in a controlled environment, providing great search facilities, clarity on documentation status, and the necessary availability to ensure the building, product or process is created on time.
Outside of work I enjoy DIY and listening to music.
Nicole Breeden - Marketing Manager
Nicole joined the business as a Marketing Assistant in 2017 after graduating from university with a degree in English Language & Communications with Journalism. Her role now involves planning and executing campaigns for the Architecture, Engineering and Construction division within Symetri and given her background in journalism, has always been passionate about keeping up with and getting others' thoughts on the latest trends and news.
Outside of work, I enjoy all things food, fashion and makeup.
Katie Li - Marketing Co-ordinator
Katie will work alongside Nicole to help implement marketing campaigns for the Architecture, Engineering and Construction division within Symetri.
In my spare time, I enjoy eating out and going on spontaneous trips.
To learn more about Symetri IT Solutions and how our team of experts can help you, get in touch with us or visit our webpage here.
