WHAT WE DO
We provide
creative solutions for all your needs!
Dynamic IT Professional with over a decade of experience in spearheading office designs, headquarters relocations, remote site updates, and delivering cutting-edge physical & virtualised infrastructure services. I’ve had the privilege of serving a diverse clientele, from SMBs to global giants like CIPD, Teach First, Barclays, and AVIS. My technical prowess spans Azure, VMware, Microsoft 365, Office 365, Microsoft Windows Server (2022, 2019, and earlier), and Microsoft Windows (11, 10, and previous versions).
★ RESPONDING TO COVID-19 WITH STRATEGIC IT SOLUTIONS
Amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, I championed a pivotal migration to Azure, fortifying remote work capabilities. Harnessing the power of Azure AD and Autopilot, I seamlessly integrated Azure AD-joined devices, crafting a flexible and fortified remote work ecosystem. This strategic move not only ensured business continuity but also fortified team productivity during globally challenging times.
★ AMPLIFYING IT PERFORMANCE
While at Teach First, I identified and addressed the IT challenges hindering staff and management. Collaborating closely with the COO, I advocated for pivotal IT investments. My proposal for a state-of-the-art Wi-Fi solution was not only embraced but also expanded across all sites, reinforcing the IT team’s commitment to excellence and responsiveness.
★ CULTIVATING AGILE WORK ENVIRONMENTS
Following a major office transition in London, I took the helm in addressing critical IT concerns, particularly around space optimization and staff mobility. My vision for a new office space, where IT was a cornerstone, came to life after intensive workshops with vendors and industry experts. The success of the London initiative paved the way for its replication across all sites, leading to savings of over £1M annually for the non-profit. Our avant-garde approach garnered attention, with prestigious institutions like The Bank of England seeking insights into our technology-infused agile workspace.
OUR WORK
Projects
A few success stories.
Creating a Managed Service Desk
Creating a Superior IT Function
Creating an Agile Enviroment
OUR AWESOME CLIENTS
Client Testimonials
Don’t take our word for it – here’s what our clients say:
I’ve worked with Paul several times over the past 10 years, and am always impressed with his desire to achieve outcomes and customer success whatever the requirement.
He is an experienced swiss army knife who will tackle anything thrown at him across a wide array of technical and process capacities, with a level of focus that always ensures delivery.
Paul is highly diligent and a solid communicator to whatever level required, and would have no hesitation recommending him.
Gavin Jolliffe
CEO at Xtravirt | Digital Transformation | Cloud Consulting | Keynote Speaker
Paul played a key role at Teach First in getting our infrastructure technology to where it is today.
Paul has been instrumental in transforming all our infrastructure at Teach First, including leading on technical aspects of a complete office move, implementing an innovative unified Skype VC / Telephony service and achieving accreditations essential for our Government contracts.
His depth of technical knowledge and expertise combined with diligence and hard work allow me to recommend him as a highly effective contractor.
James Westhead
Exec at the leading Social Finance institution
Paul made an outstanding contribution to Teach First. He provided structure, stability and good sense as we sought to put in a risk-based approach to IT security, infrastructure and operations. He took a lead role in a large HQ relocation.
He worked incredibly hard and took on a huge workload. The new office has provided hugely enhanced capability to collaborate and work across multiple sites, providing significant business benefit and reduced costs.
Graeme Danton
Experienced not-for-profit leader
I worked closely with Paul throughout his time at Teach First where he played a vital role in every aspect of transformation within our estate. His expertise and depth of technical knowledge was instrumental in every improvement and project he was involved in.
Paul led on the movement of our services to the cloud, the build, setup and movement of our head office, implementation of VoIP telephony/web-conferencing and industry leading accreditation to name just a few of the projects Paul was involved in.
Paul is a firm believer that if something needs to be done, it should be done in the best possible way and be done correctly. I am happy to give Paul a personal and strong recommendation and know he would be an asset to any organisation.
Mohamed Imran Noorgat
Head of Solutions Architecture at Teach First
I worked with Paul on a large headquarter relocation project which involved a number of technological enhancements to our workspace and also improvements to support our Agile working culture.
The project was delivered on time and below budget and received really positively by the workforce.
I have no reservation recommending Paul as he is probably the most technically gifted colleagues I have the pleasure of working with.
Gareth Williams
Head of Workplace at Teach First
Would I recommend working with Paul Wood? Definitely! Paul is extremely knowledgeable in every area of networking and telecoms we have dealt with him on.
VIA implemented a Hosted Skype for Business solution across 11 sites and 650 users for Teach First with Paul leading the project from the customer. The solution was evaluated, piloted and implemented in less than 4 months which is testament to how effective and experienced Paul is.
I have found Paul to be direct with his approach but very fair which is all you can ask for as a supplier.
Alexander Tebbs
Co-Owner and Sales Director at VIA
I worked with Paul for 2 years whilst he was at Teach First and was impressed with his technical knowledge and expertise, as well as his integrity.
He made a significant contribution to maintaining the organisation’s information security status, making continuous improvements, and played a leading role in obtaining several other accreditations (including business continuity).
I always found Paul to be diligent and responsive, and would recommend his services as an IT contractor.
Tyrrell Wright
Governance & Company Secretarial Professional
Our Team
Paul Wood
Owner of VirtualOC
IT Consultant (BAU and Manager) with over a decade of experience delivering physical & virtualised estate
My project life-cycle experience encompasses a proven track record in delivering the creation of commercial solution proposals, High & Low level designs, customer workshops, partner workshops, infrastructure deployments, core service, and application migrations, supporting collateral and handover workshops.
I’ve gained a depth of technical knowledge and expertise combined with diligence and hard work that mean I always have the customer in mind when working on any size contract to make sure only the best is delivered.
Managed Service Desk
Xtravirt looked for new opportunities to assist clients that have had major change through Consultancy work. It was noticed that this left a skills gap and clients wanted help after the project was closed down and so the Manged Service Desk was created.
This has been a passion for nearly 2 years acting as the manager for the function, the technical lead and the TAM for the clients. This has seen the Managed Service Desk grow over time with clients renewing and extending the support required.Xtravirt looked for new opportunities to assist clients that have had major change through Consultancy work. It was noticed that this left a skills gap and clients wanted help after the project was closed down and so the Manged Service Desk was created.
This has been a passion for nearly 2 years acting as the manager for the function, the technical lead and the TAM for the clients. This has seen the Managed Service Desk grow over time with clients renewing and extending the support required.
Superior IT Function
The IT function at Teach First was causing an issue for staff and management. I quickly assessed the current infrastructure and services and formulated a strategy to improve some of the functions.
I advised the COO that investment was needed in IT, something that hadn’t happened for many years. I suggested a new Wi-Fi solution be rolled out across all sites but agreed a PoC in London first.
This was a success, and the plan was then rolled out across all sites. This alone gave the user base confidence that the IT team was listening to its pains and were taking steps towards improving the IT systems.
Agile Enviroment
Following a London office move, many IT issues needed addressing with regards to utilization of space and how staff moved. This was key to agile working and collaboration between teams.
This meant designing a new office space within which IT would play a role. Workshops were held with vendors and 3rd parties to make selections on the infrastructure to be used and which technological solutions to move forward with. With the final solution rolled out in London it was then rolled out across all sites.
The user base liked the new working space in London and the office move, which saved the non-profit company over one million per year and many outside companies coming in to see how technology was used to help with agile working, including The Bank of England.
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