Over the next few months we will introduce you to the Highstream team.
Next up is Alan Roscoe, IT support technician at Highstream.
When and how did you decide to pursue a career in IT support?
I spent eight years in the army stationed in Germany, where I was a tank crewman. I originally signed up for three years and ended up staying in the army for seven years, until the regiment amalgamated with another regiment, and I felt that it was time to come home. After leaving the army as Lance Corporal and working as a security guard, I spent five years working at a local computer business, first on work experience and then full time, before it shut due to competition. I then applied to be a computer technician at a large firm in Altrincham for a year, before securing a position with Highstream Solutions in 2019.
What do you love most about working at Highstream Solutions?
The best things about the job are my colleagues and the customers. I enjoy helping people and I get a real kick out of resolving an issue. I also enjoy going out and meeting people, providing IT support on site.
Which has been your most challenging project or IT query?
One of my biggest challenges, but also achievement, was helping a client with its office move. I physically helped relocate 80-90 desktops from one building to another, getting them set up and running, and sorting out the infrastructure. It took three days over the Christmas shutdown period. In addition to the IT challenges, the physical element of cabling all hardware into new sit/stand desks was quite tiring!
What does ‘a day in the life of an IT Support Technician’ entail?
A typical day is manning the support desk phones, checking and replying to tickets to ensure we provide updates and resolutions to problems in a timely manner, chasing updates from third parties and connecting to devices remotely to resolve issues.
What advice do you have for businesses requiring IT support?
Problems and queries are many and varied. Regularly reboot computers is very important. ‘Turning it off and back on’ really does help both in resolving some issue, but most importantly by ensuring security updates are fully installed, as soon as possible. One important tip – restart your PC at the end of each working day!
What is it you enjoy most about working with computers?
I enjoy the constant change. IT is constantly evolving, and I enjoy researching what’s coming next. I am currently exploring and researching the benefits provided by Copilot AI.
How did you find the transition from the army to IT?
I have always had an interest in computers and was forever fixing my family and friends’ computers. So, when I left the army, I decided to do a two-year computing course at Carlett Park. The army installed in me a very structured approach to challenges. It has also helped me develop the discipline needed to resolve issues. I have found both these qualities very useful in my work with IT.
What advice would you give to someone interested in following the same career path as you?
You obviously need to have an interest in IT and the patience to sort out problems. Most importantly though, is a hunger to understand business in general. In our world, technology is a tool to help businesses achieve their goals.
About Highstream
Highstream is a growing, agile IT services and support company. Working with customers predominantly in the North West of England and North Wales, the company is happy to provide IT support throughout the UK. The company has a team which is experienced across many industries, fulfilling services from small office requirements to large, industrial-scale infrastructure installations.
