This month, we’re talking all things Oracle Cloud Infrastructure with our IaaS and DBA Practice Lead, Simon Clarke!
Tell me about your role within Namos.
I’m the IaaS and DBA Practice Lead here at Namos and these stand for Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Database Administrator. With IaaS, our team is responsible for looking after Oracle’s many different offerings within Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), such as Virtual Machines, VPNs, and Block Storage. In OCI, IaaS is essentially a Cloud-hosted data centre where you can spin resources up in minutes. Oracle have some cool technology in this space such as Autonomous offerings, Integration Cloud and Analytics Cloud. We get to play with all that cool stuff in OCI!
Can you talk me through your previous experience?
I’ve been working with Oracle products for about 16 and a half years now (how time flies!) historically as an Applications DBA. I began my career in the Public Sector before moving to a small Oracle consultancy who were later acquired by one of the Big 4. I moved to Namos last summer and joined during lockdown, which was an interesting but exciting experience! Not meeting any of my colleagues face-to-face for 5 months was slightly strange, but thankfully I was used to working from home from my last role.
What led you to join Namos?
I have known some of the Namos team from our previous workplaces, so I always knew that Namos was a great place to work. Key points that always cropped up were the great team ethos and the one team approach to everything they take on so when the opportunity came up, I was keen for a change in pace, and it’s been busy ever since!
What do you love about working for Namos?
I really enjoy working with the great people we have but it is also the trust that is put in me to do what I need to do. I’m allowed to get on with the things I need to and experiment on new thoughts and ideas for future use. I find it really motivating to be able to get on with things and deliver what you are supposed to be delivering.
Talk me through the typical roles you recruit for within your team.
We look for Oracle DBAs who have several years of project work experience, whether it’s upgrades or implementations, as well as Managed Service expertise. It is quite a dedicated career path to take as it takes many years to build up the knowledge that you’ll need to be able to do the role. The DBA role is also now working in tandem with the IaaS role, allowing us to taking advantage of the new Cloud based technologies.
What qualities would make someone a good fit for your team?
An important quality in our team is to be conscientious. As the range of Oracle products grow and expand, the list of possible products to implement or troubleshoot can be daunting, but if you can apply yourself and research into what is needed you can be successful in the role. Being able to logically troubleshoot and work through the problem is another critical quality as this allows us focus in on where the problem may truly lie. Finally, being able to communicate the message over to colleagues, clients or even Oracle themselves is vital to ensure everyone understands the meaning of what you’re trying to get across.
Which aspects of your work are you most passionate about?
Since we get to work with OCI, we do get to play with a lot of the new technologies that Oracle are bringing to the market. That’s not typically something you have historically got the chance to do as a DBA because you’d need to find or buy a server, configure it, etc. but now it is so quick to spin something up you can be playing with all the new shiny toys in minutes! We’re seeing an increase in the number of clients that want to use those technologies, so it’s a win-win situation for us since we get to learn new skills while also getting to implement them for clients.
What does the future look like for your team?
As more clients migrate to OCI to take advantage of the new technology as well as cost savings, I anticipate us pushing even further into the IaaS arena. The rapid provision of services really allows for a more agile project which gets this new functionality delivered quicker. The technology also enables for the migration of any workload to OCI, which opens up a lot of potential.
What advice would you give to candidates starting out in the Oracle world?
The Oracle documentation is really good so there’s no room for misinterpretation; it’s absolutely spot on. I would recommend reading up on every piece of information you can on the products you’re looking to implement, whether that is the official documentation, blog posts or webinars – the resources are all there. Depending on what product you are going to be implementing, you could even get a free OCI trial and spin up services for free (https://www.oracle.com/uk/cloud/free). Oracle give you a set of always free services as well as an amount of credits ($300 worth) to try other services. So, for example you can spin up a Virtual Machine and have a play at no cost to you. If you’re looking to develop as a DBA or within the IaaS arena, I would 100% recommend giving the trial a go.
Join us again next month, when we’ll be exploring the world of Managed Services with our Managed Services Delivery Lead, Adam Maxwell!
About Namos Solutions
Namos Solutions are an award-winning Oracle OPN Modernised Partner specialising in the implementation and support of ERP, EPM and HCM business solutions, both in the Cloud and on-premise.
Although based in central London, we work wherever our clients need us to be. Many leading organisations located all over the world trust and rely on our expertise to deliver industry-leading business solutions. Namos customers can currently be found in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, North America and Africa.
For more information, please visit www.namossolutions.com or email info@namossolutions.com.
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