Principal Consultant Darren Williams talks about life at a fast-paced technology consultancy.
You are a Principal Consultant here at Triad. How would you describe this role?
My role is to deliver outstanding outcomes for our clients, by employing the breadth of Triad’s experience, often blended with the customer’s own talent. I deliver waterfall or agile projects for our clients, depending on the project requirements, usually running large teams delivering complex projects and programmes with large budgets and complex requirements.
I’m also a founding member of Triad’s Delivery Community of Practice, which consists of more than 35 project and delivery managers, and I am one of two who manage Triad’s internal Disability and Accessibility Network (DAN).
What do you most enjoy about your role?
How much work varies, from client to client, project to project. Over 30 years in IT, I’ve been fortunate enough to work across a range of technology areas, from infrastructure to policy and process, software development to cloud, across both the public and private sectors. I have seen how technology has changed over the years and things certainly haven’t stood still. However, as technologies come and go, the basis of good delivery remains founded on the same, time-tested principles of solid team management, open and honest communications, excellent stakeholder engagement, and complete clarity of vision. Whilst looking to the future at how innovations such as AI will augment our role, it is those core project principles that are at the heart of what I do.
Triad’s goal is to transform through technology. Since working for Triad, how have you helped make people’s lives better through technology?
Delivering new mobile technology for >10,000 users at a major government department. We implemented a new communications infrastructure, removing significant legacy components, and enabling users to better stay in touch on the go, and work effectively from any location. This allowed the department to deliver its hybrid working model at scale whilst reducing cost and opening the door for further modernisation of their underlying infrastructure. Delivering the UK’s first electronic system for processing proceedings in magistrates courts across the country was also a high point, reducing the margin for human error and ensuring records are robust, secure and immediately up to date. Knowing that we delivered this incredibly complex product across the country in a national first still makes me proud today.
What’s your superpower?
I have worked hard at the skill of building outstanding relationships with people at all levels of the business. After all, projects are about delivering for people. Who is using your new HR system? People are. Who’s using your infrastructure, building, and cloud platform? People. It can be a cuppa in the basement with the cabling contractors on a Saturday morning, or an open discussion with the CTO. Everyone has to be valued equally for their part in bringing a project to fruition.
Marketing spin aside, what do you think makes Triad different from other IT Consultancies?
Honestly, everyone here is passionate about what they do. Really, it’s not something I’ve seen so consistently in other organisations, at least not to this extent. Where one may expect that to lead to personality clashes, that is not the case with Triad, in fact, quite the opposite. Whether someone has been with the company for 3 days or 35 years (yes, there are a few), the people we employ are second to none.
You mentioned co-managing Triad’s internal Disability and Accessibility Network (DAN). Can you tell us a bit about this?
My colleague Lee Atkinson and I run a disability and accessibility network for Triad employees. It’s known locally as ‘DAN’. We operate DAN in our spare time. DAN is available for anyone who wants support within the Triad workplace. We’re here to ensure everyone’s journey at Triad is as it should be. We both have disabilities. And neither of us let our disabilities define who we are. So, what we offer is a friendly face who understands what it is like to work at Triad and can listen without judgement and support where needed, to ensure that everyone at Triad has the best possible experience, whether they have disabilities or not.
If you have a question for Darren or the Triad team, please get in touch.
