At Excalibur we have always wanted to be a great place to work and be renowned for fantastic employee and customer engagement. We work hard to achieve this and have been recognised as a top 100 UK Best Small Companies to Work For 2021. To give prospective employees and customers an up-close idea of what it’s like to work at Excalibur, we have invited one of our great IT Engineers to talk about their role and experience at the company.
Q: What do you do when you arrive at Excalibur first thing in the morning?
A: One of the perks working at Excalibur is the freshly ground coffee machine. This is where you will find most of the engineers first thing in the morning.
I drive in after I’ve dropped my child off at pre-school in the morning. There’s good company parking within the business and outlet centre campus.
Q: What do you spend most of the day doing?
A: My primary role is the configuration and deployment of customer IT equipment. I spend most of my time in the office or with customers on-site, configuring equipment such as Laptops/PCs, routers/switches and new WIFI solutions. I also carry out all of the warranty customer repairs.
Q: How often do your travel to a client on site? Is there an Excalibur uniform/dress code?
A: I travel to client sites two to three times a week, sometimes more if we’re working on a large deployment project. Excalibur doesn’t have an official uniform, but we are expected to dress according to the situation. For site visits I find polo shirts and black jeans or trousers are both smart and practical, especially when crawling under desks!
Q: What sort of clients do you have?
A: One of the great things about working for an MSP such as Excalibur is that the customer base is so broad. No day is the same. We have clients in hospitality, manufacturing, retail, emergency services, charity and just about every other sector.
Q: What do you enjoy about being an IT engineer, how did you get into it?
A: I’ve always enjoyed techie stuff. From a young age I would take stuff apart and try putting it back together. Later on, this translated into a hobby where I would build computers for friends and family. This eventually transitioned into a full-time job building and repairing laptops and PCs for clients.
Q: What aspect of your job/role do you find particularly rewarding
A: The positive reaction a client makes when I hand them a fast shiny new laptop to replace a slow old PC which has given them grief for several years. It is usually a massive smile or a big thank you via email.
Q: Do you have any special IT engineer qualifications? How do you keep up to date with the latest technologies?
A: I studied IT at school and college, but it wasn’t until I started working that I realised that not much of that was relevant in the real world of IT, which relies heavily on hands-on experience. At Excalibur, I’ve since gone on to become certified in more specific fields within IT which includes: hardware diagnostics and repairs, cloud services and security. All these certs require you to keep up to date with the latest technologies along with retaking exams to maintain competency.
Q: What type of technology are you particularly interested in and why?
A: Quantum Computing. The next big evolution in IT will be the use of quantum computing. Although still in the early stages of R&D, the possibilities of this technology are literally endless.
Q: What advice would you give to someone looking at going into IT engineering as a career?
A: Working for Excalibur brings many opportunities for anyone wanting to move into IT as a career. With such a large and broad IT client base, an engineer working for Excalibur can gain experience in just about every aspect of IT support. Couple this with an emphasis on self-study, engineers can expect to further their progression in the industry in a relatively short period of time.
Q: Can you give an example of a particularly interesting technology challenge that you have overcome for a customer?
A: A client wanted to reduce the time and cost of setting up new machines for its employees. I took up this challenge and worked towards automating the process using Microsoft’s Intune and Autopilot technologies. I was able to cut the configuration time considerably, while still maintaining a consistent end-user experience.
Q: What’s it like to work at Excalibur, do you work with other colleagues outside your team?
A: I work in my own department alongside the IT service desk and projects teams. They work with me on larger jobs when I require additional resource. I also work with colleagues across the business, from sales to service which is great. It means you get to know everyone.
Working at Excalibur is very good, however it is a fast moving business so it can be tough when there is a lot going on. The last two years have been challenging working throughout the pandemic, sometimes with reduced resources and moving offices just as lockdown started. Luckily things are now returning to normal and the new office is a great space to be based from.
Q: What Excalibur events, celebrations and non-work activities do you get involved in?
A: All of them. It’s the one time we can all let our hair down and enjoy each other’s company. Excalibur does a great Christmas party and we had some fun online events during lockdown including a company wedding celebration.
Q: What is the best thing you have been part of since joining?
A: Heading up a newly created department dedicated to building and configuring new equipment. It’s grown it into what it is now, an essential part of our IT practice.
Excalibur has a great track record in developing IT apprentices and hiring experienced IT engineers. If you would like more information about a career with us please email: recruitment@excaliburcomms.co.uk
