Michael Whitehouse

Professional profile

Trusted IT adviser, trainer and execution specialist with decades of industry experience. Michael combines hands-on systems knowledge with the ability to make difficult technology understandable, whether he is leading a project, advising a client or teaching a certification course.

His career spans enterprise infrastructure, cloud hosting, technical support, consultancy and education. He has managed international environments, supported demanding stakeholders and built automation that deploys and configures thousands of virtual machines.

Career experience

Consulting Technical Engineer and Co-founder

GoDeploy Ltd · January 2016 – Present

Co-founder and technical engineer for an international hosting company specialising in Microsoft training labs and custom hosted environments.

• Design and operate dynamic Hyper-V infrastructure across more than 50 physical hosts and approximately 500–3,000 virtual machines.
• Build PowerShell automation for large-scale VM creation, deployment and configuration.
• Deliver datacentre installations, switching integration and clustered Windows Server storage using Storage Spaces Direct and SMB.
• Implement pfSense networking, Azure storage and web-hosting integrations, Zendesk services and development-team infrastructure support.
• Support a worldwide customer base with resilient, repeatable training environments.

Freelance IT Consultant and Technical Trainer

Michael Whitehouse Consulting · September 2010 – Present

Worldwide technical training, rollout leadership and specialist consultancy across Microsoft cloud and infrastructure.

• Deliver Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, PowerShell, Windows Server and security training remotely and on site.
• Develop bespoke courses and practical workshops for technical and mixed-experience audiences.
• Provide specialist consultancy covering SCCM, SCVMM, PowerShell tooling, infrastructure deployment and architecture.
• Lead rollout activity, floor-walking support, reporting, problem resolution and project optimisation.
• Engagements have included NATO, Global Knowledge, Learning Tree, EZE Training and the United States Department of Defense.

Senior Wintel Support and Management

Simplex Solutions Ltd · July 2009 – September 2010

• Designed support solutions and deployed teams serving 40 client firms remotely and on site.
• Managed staff, project work, Windows Server and Windows desktop implementation.
• Maintained and patched server estates and managed the support team’s web presence.
• Worked with Veritas, Sophos, Fortinet, SQL, IRIS, Sage and VMware technologies.

Senior Citrix and Wintel Administrator

3i plc via Allied Worldwide · 2008 – July 2009

• Supported an active Citrix and Windows infrastructure spanning 37 global offices.
• Managed an enterprise hardware estate valued at more than £20 million.
• Worked closely with senior stakeholders across investment, buyout and venture-capital teams.
• Delivered infrastructure projects, Active Directory administration, technical research and senior advisory support.

Technical Tutor

Computeach International · 2007 – 2008

• Prepared and delivered CompTIA and Microsoft courses for cohorts of up to 30 students.
• Produced compliant coursework, performance reporting and recommendations for senior leadership.
• Collaborated across departments while maintaining a high standard of learner support.

IT Administrator

Cookes Furniture Ltd · 2005 – 2007

• Administered more than 100 Windows workstations and 15+ Linux and Windows Server systems.
• Implemented new stock-control and customer-communications systems.
• Negotiated infrastructure contracts, led software-development teams and managed systems integration.

Technical Support Administrator

Netgear International · 2004 – 2005

• Administered technical-support operations and handled escalated customer cases.
• Created a central knowledge base to improve consistency and share support best practice.
• Supported managed switching, VPN, Wi-Fi and Windows client/server integration.

Working style

Michael is comfortable moving between the classroom, the datacentre and the boardroom. He is an efficient remote collaborator and traveller who values clear communication, practical outcomes and going the extra mile for learners and clients.