Steve Turner
Telarus Solutions Engineer
What is your role at Telarus?
I am a Solutions Engineer. I work closely with our customers, Account Executives and other key resources within Telarus to qualify a customer’s requirements and design the best solution for their needs. I also play an active part in service provisioning and deployment activities and act as an escalation point for technical matters and faults.
What are your key responsibilities?
I design solutions using the most appropriate technology to meet customer requirements, oversee the deployment of services and assist in managing the work flow between the various teams within Telarus. Once services are deployed, I am available as an escalation in relation to technical matters raised by our customers or their Account Executives.
How long have you been in the ICT industry?
I have been in the ICT industry for nearly 7 years.
What areas/technologies do you specialize in?
My specialty areas include IP networks, Internet and telecommunication services, configuration and management of equipment from Cisco and a number of other vendors, LAN/WAN design and internal corporate server management.
What have been the highlights of your career?
Starting with Telarus and moving through various roles from NOC Analyst, NOC Team Leader and now Solutions Engineer has been a really positive experience. Working in a close knit team with a focus on customer service and complete solutions brings a lot of interesting challenges and opportunities.
Prior to Telarus I worked for four and a half years at Spotlight Stores - a large retail company with over one hundred sites - where I did everything from SOE design & deployment to LAN/WAN and voice service management. This experience has given me a real insight into what our customers expect from their service providers and vendors.
What challenges have you faced in your career (and how did you overcome them)?
A big challenge was my involvement with the evolution of a WAN spread over three countries. From humble beginnings using dial up PSTN it developed into a far more sophisticated private VPN network employing various access technologies to address diverse business needs and objectives. Though the network became fairly large, as I had seen it grow from the ground up I understood it at a very detailed level.
In my current role at Telarus, I work closely with a large variety of customers and need to quickly gain an understanding for their networks, systems and business requirements. The result is a dynamic environment where you need to adapt quickly. Managing the fast pace and constant changes can be a challenge, but remaining focused on the customer’s requirements and occasionally taking a step back to gain a broader perspective allows me to stay on track and deliver the best results.
Which technology is going to have the biggest impact on the industry in the next 5 years?
IPTel and the use of data networks for voice services is well upon us with many different vendors offering solutions to common business challenges at a fairly sophisticated level. Customers now approach IP Telephony with a broader perspective than simply wondering “how is this going to save me money?” as was previously the case. Over the next 5 years we will see deeper integration with business processes and the growth of a new breed of independent third party application developers who will drive the technology even further.