About the Reviewers
Alex Stanier has worked in the IT industry for twenty years. He started with Ford Motor company on mainframes and minis, and on artificial intelligence solutions before discovering PCs and networks. He spent ten years in the BBC, running an outsourced IT support contract before starting a new company to service the SME market. For the past five years, he has been providing consultancy to a variety of smaller and larger clients. He plays an active and vocal part in the SBSC community.
Ian Watkins started working with computers in 1983 when he worked for Thomas Cook as an Analyst/Programmer writing in COBOL and CICs. Since then, he has moved to working on the Microsoft Platform for many small businesses and charitable organizations helping them to derive real value from the money they spend on IT. He is passionate about seeing IT used effectively in small organizations and helping them solve their real-world problems to drive their organizations forward.
Leslie Cupitt is a veteran of IT, earning his living from IT since 1981. He is a graduate in Management & Economics from the University of Bath. After various marketing roles in large companies, he moved into the marketing of IT, first at the UK's National Computing Centre, then with a large distributor, and then with a large IT retailer.
He has run Business Solutions Ltd. since its formation in 1988. Business Solutions Ltd. is a Microsoft Small Business Specialist. The focus is on supporting small businesses and building the return from their IT investment.
Leslie is an active member of the North West Small Business Community.
Dr. Simon J Orebi Gann is a Non-Executive Director and Senior Executive with a background of extensive commercial and IT experience in BP, Marks and Spencer, and the London International Financial Future Exchange (LIFFE). He has Board experience, which includes US public and UK private company non-executive roles, as well as line roles on company operating boards. With a doctorate in high energy physics, which gave him his first experience of the power of computing, he always seeks opportunities to use new technology early, aiming to gain the longest economic life and maximize return from investment. He ensures that he remains up-to-date with technological developments to identify and assess new commercial opportunities.
With a background of successful delivery of many major IT programs in the Retail, Finance, and Energy industries, Simon assists businesses that are considering or engaged in technology-enabled change to ensure that their strategy is appropriate, goals set are both challenging and achievable, and that the approach and governance will deliver. As well as working at a major international scale, he also undertakes small business projects and often pioneers key technology in his own business. He is an active advisor to venture capital firms on potential investments and on exit strategies.
Steve Davis is a passionate believer in business computing and a member of the British Computer Society. He is also a close colleague of David Overton and the pair often collaborate on Small Business Server issues. Steve has the advantage of working in the "wilds" of IT, with responsibilities towards a wide variety of customers including many business critical applications.
Vijay Singh Riyait is a Chartered Engineer and a Member of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET), which is the largest professional Engineering institution in the UK. He is the Technical Director of Ardent iSys, which is a Microsoft Small Business Specialist. He has over 15 years experience as a software developer. He graduated from the University of Wales, Bangor where he studied Electronic Engineering, having won a sponsorship from Marconi Radar Systems Ltd.
He spent five years as a Research Associate at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, where he was researching signal processing techniques for underwater sonar systems. He is the author of a number of academic papers and first author of a paper published by the IEEE Transactions on Image Processing. Vijay has also worked for GPT, Ericsson, Concept Design (a Nottingham-based software consultancy specializing in GSM/3G telecoms), and ID Data on Smartcard Technologies.
Vijay is currently a Microsoft SBSC PAL (Partner Area Lead) for the UK, which is a recognition by Microsoft of his commitment to promoting engagement between Microsoft Small Business Partners and Microsoft.
Vijay is a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) on Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.