Curriculum Vitae

Lane End, Buckinghamshire

Phone: +44 (0)7885 549187

Email: nick@sqladvice.co.uk

LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/in/nicklaroche

Nick La Roche

Personal Profile

An accomplished, certified database specialist with excellent communication skills, and a proven track record in implementing and supporting high-performance, stable database and business intelligence solutions. A team player, Nick combines solid technical expertise with a dynamic attitude, and a willingness to embrace change. He faces challenges head-on in good humour, and possesses a demonstrated ability to remain calm during a crisis.

 

Professional Qualifications


MCSE: Data Management and Analytics 2016, 2017, 2019

MCSA: SQL Server 2014
MCSA: SQL Server 2012
MCSA: SQL Server 2008

MCITP: SQL Server 2008 Database Administrator
MCITP: SQL Server 2005 Database Administrator

MCTS: SQL Server 2008 Business Intelligence
MCTS: SQL Server 2008 Implementation & Maintenance
MCTS: SQL Server 2005 Implementation & Maintenance

MCDBA: SQL Server 2000 Database Administrator

 

Key Technical Skills

SQL Server Database Technologies:

Advanced Transact-SQL Programming Backup & Recovery Solutions
Capacity Planning Reporting & Management Data Migration (P2V / V2V / Version Upgrades)
Database Engine Tuning Database Mirroring
Disaster Recovery Planning / Testing Maintenance Suite Implementation & Automation
High-Availability Solutions Index Analysis & Maintenance
Log Shipping Monitoring & Alerting
Query Performance Tuning / Plan Optimization Post-Installation Server Remediation
Replication Security
SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Groups SQL Server AlwaysOn Failover Cluster Instances
SQL Server AlwaysOn Multi-Subnet AG's SQL Server Installation & Configuration
SQL Server Licensing SQL Server 2000 to 2016 Administration
SQL Server Profiler SSAS Installation & Administration
SSIS Development (ETL) SSRS Development (Reporting)
SSRS Installation & Administration Troubleshooting (3rd Line)
Windows Server Failover Cluster Administration Windows Server Failover Cluster Installation

 

Other Technologies:

Data Migration (Heterogeneous Sources) Microsoft Access Forms Development
Performance Monitor PowerShell 3 Scripting
SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer Team Foundation Server
VBA Programming Visual Web Developer
VMware vSphere 6 / vCenter Windows Server

 

Academic Qualifications

Higher National Diploma: Computer Science (Distinction)
3 A Levels: Computer Science, Mathematics (Pure & Statistics), Economics

 

Employment History

Opel Vauxhall Finance
Lead Senior Database Administrator		 2017 - 2021
(Contract)

Working within the UK-based team to perform Transitional Service Agreement activities to ensure seamless separation from GM Financial with minimal risk. Responsible for the management of every aspect of SQL Server 2012 / 2014 / 2016 for the Enterprise. Lead the SQL Server DBA team to ensure technical and skilled resources are managed as efficiently as possible, and that procedures and standards are both put in place, and adhered to.

Key skills / Milestones:

 

• Physical to Virtual (P2V) cluster migrations, involving three separate clusters and over 30 applications (300+ databases) across managed environments. This required a high level of planning, change control and extended periods of continuous focus. The migrations were successful in every case; any issues encountered were fixed forward during the migration.

 • Introduction of Multi-Subnet Availability Groups onto the SQL Server 2014 / 2016 clustered instances eased the separation of Disaster Recovery (DR) testing onto the application level. This provided the business with a crucial audit requirement to be able provide individual DR.This also reduced the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) from 24 hours down to 15 minutes.

 • Developed bespoke database administration toolkit for use by the internal team. This provided a suite of procedures that could be used for troubleshooting & performance tuning, in addition to a configurable one-stop post-installation procedure to set up maintenance plans. This standardized the SQL build process across the estate.

 • Worked alongside team members to define, agree, and implement build standards, naming standards and processes to ensure supportability of all SQL Servers, with the goal being that all SQL Servers are supportable ’as one’.

 • Developed Capacity Planning monitoring & reporting solutions, using a mixture of PowerShell, Transact-SQL, and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS). This provided a rolling daily snapshot of predicted time remaining across all storage volumes, based on the previous 60 days growth. Backup Exception reporting was then added to ensure that all databases across the estate had been backed up in the previous 24 hours. Any exceptions could then be raised with the Back-Up Recovery (BUR) team

 • Undertook SQL Server reviews. Documentation produced detailing the current state of areas of interest such as server configuration, security, wait statistics, backup / recovery, maintenance plan schedules, file management, indexes / statistics, and database consistency. Results were then shared with vendors (where externally-supported), or used as a remediation template (where internally-supported) to bring servers up to a Production-supportable standard.

 

GM Financial
Senior Database Administrator		 2015 - 2017
(Contract)

Working within the International Operations team as the UK’s SQL Server Infrastructure / Production DBA, alongside USA counterparts based in Arlington (Texas), and the Architecture & Engineering team based in the UK (High Wycombe). Responsible for the management of every aspect of SQL Server 2008 R2 / 2012 / 2014 / 2016 for the Enterprise.

Key skills / Milestones:

• Lead the design, implementation and support of a highly available SQL Server infrastructure platform.

• Installation of database server software, design and build of databases, schemas, stored procedures, and other database objects.

 • Worked alongside the Architecture & Engineering team to ensure that proposed solutions followed the recommended practices for the design, performance, high availability, and sustainability of Enterprise-level SQL Server installations.

 • Configured Windows Server Failover Clusters / AlwaysOn on Windows Server 2012 to support multiple instances, including shared platforms. Provided DBA support and documentation for Multi-Subnet (Site-Level) AlwaysOn Failover Cluster Instance Disaster Recovery testing.

 • Provided 3rd-level support for Microsoft SQL Server for end users, application, and administration teams.

 

Dentsu Aegis Network
Senior Database Administrator		 2014 - 2015
(Contract)

Working within the data migration team, part of the Global Finance ERP programme. Provided initial and ongoing DBA consultancy for an under-performing data migration platform. Undertook analysis of the existing database architecture and provided performance and stability enhancements. Implemented a DBA ‘Strike’ package to enable hands-off monitoring to the non-DBA team. Took ownership of data objects through extraction from multiple legacy systems, data transformation and load into the new Dynamics AX system.

Key skills / Milestones:

• Data platform DBA architecture consultancy and support.

 • Performance tuning of SQL Server engine, storage, and application indexes.

 • Implementation of a bespoke monitoring and alerting solution.

 • Transact-SQL (T-SQL) stored procedure & function development and deployment.

 • Extract, Transform & Load (ETL) routine builds for migration data objects using SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS).

 

Brightstar Corp.
Senior Database Administrator		 2013 - 2014
(Contract)

Responsible for the management of the company's UK-based SQL Server estate to ensure security, scalability, stability, and performance. Working within the Global Core Development Team, tasked with creating Business Intelligence reporting & pricing algorithm solutions for internal management, and external customer use (Apple, EE, Vodafone). Working with teams based in the US and India to produce detailed statistical analysis of CRM, profitability and pricing requirements.

Key skills / Milestones:

• Database architecture, design and development of a Global Pricing Platform to enable strategic pricing and logistical decisions. Successfully deployed the platform and associated Business Intelligence solutions onto the cloud (AWS) using SQL Server 2012.

• SQL Server 2012 (64-bit) installation & configuration (local and on the cloud, via AWS).

• AlwaysOn Availability Groups implementation & testing.

 • Performance tuning of Production application stored procedure, function & native T-SQL code.

 • Performance tuning, monitoring, and alerting of Production database engines.

 • Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery consultancy (HADR) solutions including clustering (AlwaysOn Failover Clusters), and log shipping.

 • Transact-SQL (T-SQL) stored procedure & function development and deployment, using complex algorithmic programming based on competitor benchmark pricing and profitability criteria.

 • SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) & Integration Services (SSIS) development & deployment.

 • Report rendering to HTTP Portal, Excel, and PDF destinations via schedule or on-demand.

 

The Share Centre
Senior Database Administrator		 2012 - 2013
(Contract)

Working within the Share Funds project, a programme designed to provide application and reporting solutions to the company’s Fund Managers and their associated support teams. Responsible for the installation & configuration of SQL Server 2008 R2 & 2012 hosts (stand-alone and clustered builds on Windows Server 2008 R2), together with business continuity and disaster recovery solutions. Designed and developed SSRS reports and report parts using Report Builder 3.0 and Visual Studio. Provided training on the use of Report Builder with Report Parts.

Key skills / Milestones:

• SQL Server 2008 R2 (64-bit) clustered, and SQL Server 2012 (64-bit) standalone installations & configuration; working with NetApp to provide the most appropriate storage infrastructure solution (NAS) to the business.

 • Additional Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (HADR) consultancy including log shipping.

 • Performance tuning, monitoring and alerting solutions into Production.

 • Transact-SQL (T-SQL) stored procedure & function development and deployment.

 • SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) development and deployment using Visual Studio (BIDS).

 • Report Builder 3.0 with Report Parts development and deployment.

 

Michael Page International
Senior Database Administrator		 2010 - 2012
(Contract)

Responsible for the design and development of the company’s configuration management database system, providing continuous improvement and support to ease the management of complex implementations across the SQL Server estate, involving dozens of environments and hundreds of machines, both virtual and physical.

Key skills / Milestones:

• SQL Server 2008 (64-bit) administration and optimization.

 • Reporting Services (SSRS) & Integration Services (SSIS) 2008 development and deployment.

 • Transact-SQL (T-SQL) stored procedure and user-defined function development and deployment.

 • Visual Basic for Applications (VBA, using Access Forms) development and deployment.

• Design ratification, performance tuning, and load testing of databases for newly developed systems.

 • VMware Labs management.

 

QBE
Senior Database Administrator 		2008 - 2010
(Permanent)

A key member of the IT Operations Project Team, responsible for the design, build and implementation of SQL Server infrastructure solutions.

Key skills / Milestones:

• Managed the transition of change through all environments into production, ensuring appropriate testing and quality assurance was maintained; also ensuring solutions were aligned to the business strategy.

 • Designed and implemented SQL Server 2008 systems onto the HP PolyServe High-Availability platform.

 • Developed new packages, and upgraded legacy DTS packages onto SSIS for many high-profile projects.

 • Provisioned technical reviews on SQL Server installations, and made recommendations relating to capacity planning, performance, hardware alternatives and associated costs.

 

JPMorganChase
Senior Database Administrator		 2003 - 2008
(Permanent)

A senior member of the Tier 1 Investment Bank’s database administration team, responsible for the management of key stock and commodities markets trading systems databases.

Key skills / Milestones:

• Resolved performance issues and provided expertise and support to the global development teams.

 • Installed, configured, performance tuned, and supported over 150 SQL Server instances hosting stock market and commodities trading systems in highly transactional processing environments.

 • Provided UK office-based support on a rotating shift basis, in addition to 24/7 global on-call support.

 • Designed an infrastructure for high-availability and disaster recovery (HADR). Planned for multiple points of failure, with solutions including database mirroring, replication, log-shipping, and clustering.

 

CSC
Database Administrator		 2002 - 2003
(Permanent)

The key database consultant for several global web products using SQL Server.

Key skills / Milestones:

• Resolved performance issues and provided expertise and support to the global development teams.

• SQL Server 2000 Production database administration.

 • Worked with a 3rd party provider to install and tune a count engine (Omnidex) for web page searches against the data.

 • Database architecture & design of a Data Warehouse and associated load process analysis.

 • SQL Server Data Transformation Services (DTS) development and deployment using Visual Studio.

 

Dun & Bradstreet
Database Administrator		 1993 - 2002
(Permanent)

Provided the support and continued development of a European product charging system, based on the SQL Server platform. Subsequently secured a position in the UK Company as part of the Web Solutions programme, where various projects involved working with ColdFusion developers to provide internet-based product solutions.

Key skills / Milestones:

• SQL Server Production database administration (versions 4.2, 6.5, and 7.0).

 • SQL Server installation & configuration of onsite hosts in all major European markets.

 • Database design & implementation.

 • 3rd Line application database support.