Profile four – Christopher Prowse

Degree: BSc Computer Science (2004)

Position: Associate Manager
Organisation: Accenture (Technology Services)
Industry: IT/Computing

Current Role:
Development Architecture Environment Management Lead – I currently run two teams providing Development Architecture services across two large government projects. The first team is responsible for the Siebel (a leading Customer Relationship Management [CRM] package owned by Oracle) implementation, and the second for the IBM WebSphere implementation. My teams are responsible for building and maintaining the environments that allow the project teams to work, along with deployment of code. We use Windows XP desktops, with nearly all servers running Sun Solaris. We also offer second line support to the live systems. My teams consist of 15 members, split between London (UK) and Mumbai (India).

Likes and Dislikes:
Likes: My favourite aspect of working at Accenture is the people that I get to work with – everyone is keen to help out, and through this network I’ve been able to learn a great deal, and further my own skills even more than I imagined. I also like the amount of responsibility that you are given, even if at a relatively junior level within the company. I was leading a team within two years of graduating from Southampton… This naturally leads into some great promotion opportunities!

Dislikes: Accenture are known for their long hours, and sometimes this can be pretty hard. However, you are generally rewarded for your time and effort. Weekend work is a reality of the job, but not something most people enjoy.

How Did You Get This Job?
Applied online through Accenture's graduate webpage

Career History:
Sept 04 - Aug 05 - Junior Software Engineer: Seebeyond e*Gate 4.5.2, Siebel 6.x and Cutover (preparations for major Go Live)
Sept 05 - Aug 06 - Software Engineer: Siebel 7.7x. Began running the Siebel team
Sept 06 - Aug 07 – Senior Software Engineer: Siebel and WebSphere. Began running the Environment Management teams