John Edwards
Cisco Networking Academy
Director

What's my job…

This month we speak to John Edwards, Director of the Cisco Networking Academy Program

The value of data networking was never better illustrated to John Edwards than when he was asked to implement a major computer network upgrade in a financial institution. In 1993 John was working as a systems integrater and was charged with enhancing the network infrastructure in the treasury department of a large bank - whilst ensuring that there was no interruption to key financial services.

“My most memorable career experience? Well, they don’t come much more memorable than having to design, implement and oversee the migration of a whole new network for the treasury department of a major bank. We were given the brief on a Monday, by Wednesday we were at work.

“Imagine the scene – it’s stressful enough in the treasury department of a large bank, with stockbrokers dealing in billions of pounds over the course of an average day. Your responsibility is to ensure that those guys have uninterrupted access to their financial systems every day while you are hard at work behind the scenes overseeing the migration to an entire new computer network – safe-guarding the ability of the dealers to transact across the globe without delay.

A case of putting your money where your mouth is?

“Well, put it like this – it called upon every ounce of expertise I possessed at the time. We worked over a six-month period, long hours through the night, step by step, testing our changeover procedures with almost military precision as we went along. This was the biggest project the company had at the time and the client was pretty high-profile.

“I’m glad to say we managed the migration with no disruption to the bank.”

John’s career has been rooted in the Telecommunications and IT sector and over the course of the years he has witnessed the industry evolve from analogue to digital technology: “Gosh, we still had Strowger electro-mechanical telephone exchanges; eventually moving through the introduction of Stored Programme Control and eventually to System X. I can still remember implementing one of the first digital voice call centre systems – this used delta modulation as distinct from Pulse Code Modulation for you technology aficionados!”

He started out in telcommunications with British Telecom in the UK, doing a variety of roles and gaining a solid telecommunications and data networking foundation that reinforced his enthusiam for technology. One of the roles he particularly enjoyed was in the training department. The technical training campus could accommodate 1000 students, all fully boarded. Several years later he moved on to BISS Ltd and then joined Cisco in 1994.

“It’s been an interesting journey. I can say that I have had the good fortune to be able to do number of diverse roles, enabling me to broaden my knowledge and develop new skills in a field I was interested in.”

And if he hadn’t ended up at Cisco, what other paths might he have taken?

“Well telecommunications always had a fascination for me – two tin cans and a piece of string. I enjoyed my various learning and development roles. There is a real satisfaction in imparting knowledge. You see tangible and immediate results. It has a direct impact on people’s capabilities and opportunities for growth. Who knows, maybe I would have become a Cisco Networking Academy instructor…”

 

A piece of advice I was given…
‘Have clear goals and a vision of where you want to go’

Well I have never really followed that advice, but I guess it makes sense –I have always challenged myself, been keen to broaden my experience, and accepted and sought extra responsibilities, from which have come new opportunities.

A piece of advice I would share with others…
Well, there are a few things I would recommend. Firstly, keep going. Be resilient. If you fail at one thing, don’t let it stop you achieving what you want. Overcome disappointment and maintain a positive approach. I have found that another and better opportunity always seems to come along.

Secondly, enjoy what you’re doing. If you don’t enjoy your job or the environment you’re working in, get out! You spend too much time at work to not enjoy it.

And thirdly, always strive within your existing job to broaden your skills by seeking new challenges and experiences. That way you enlarge the job market for yourself. Whatever role you’re in you can always broaden your capabilities which will enable you to widen your horizon.

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