PEOPLE PROFILE: DONAL FOLEY
Donal is an IT Infrastructure Consultant at MiX. He joined the company 3 years ago and hasn’t looked back since. Donal has worked on projects ranging from 10,000 ft2 to over 220,000 ft2 and in within a wide range of market sectors delivering for clients in including legal, financial, technology and charit/not for profit.
Tell us a bit about what keeps you so busy at MiX:
My role is the design and implementation of IT Infrastructure solutions for clients. I work closely with clients end users and the rest of the fellow professional team members to give advice, oversee the tender process and monitor during the construction phase of projects.
How did you find yourself in IT Infrastructure industry?
I started out as a graduate trainee at BICC, a cable manufacturer. I then moved on and worked for Delta, which at the time was the second largest cable manufacturer in the UK. I was responsible for marketing and product development in highly specialised sectors, for example – the petrochemical sector. Following that, I worked for a couple of structured cabling contractors before joining MiX as a consultant.
What do you think the biggest challenges in the IT Infrastructure industry are today?
One of the biggest challenges is to keep abreast of all the changes that happen in the industry. Technology changes rapidly and different types of standards relating to technology are constantly being updated so it’s important to make time outside of my day job to keep up with these.
What kind of skills do you need to have to succeed a role like this?
You need to have an eye for detail. A level of adaptability – a willingness to work with what you’ve got sometimes – is important too. You must be self-reliant and be able to work well with a broad range of personalities. It’s not unusual to work with teams who don’t really understand the complexities of what we do, so there is a level of patience required and the ability to get your point across.
What do you like about working at MiX?
I like the variety of work – each new project has a different team so that keeps things interesting. The people at MiX are a great team and I believe liking the people you work with is just as important as liking the job you do!
With such a busy day job, what do you do to unwind and relax?
Well with two teenage children around, I don’t get too much time to relax. My son plays football to a high standard, so I spend quite a bit of time at training and matches. A while back, I owned a motorbike but after an incident involving a broken leg, my wife said that hobby would have to wait until the kids are 18 years old before I’m ‘allowed’ back on one!
