Simon Ablett

“Simon's no nonsense approach backed by years of experience qualified, articulated and educated has taught and constantly reminded me architecture is a blend of skills I wish I had”

“I've known Simon for 6 months during which he has eased me in to not only a new client and new project but also a new company. He is unique amongst senior architects in that he maintains an admirably wide range of architectural knowledge while still retaining a warm and engaging personality. He is highly respected by both clients and colleagues alike and, being a proud Yorkshireman, is not afraid to provide some good old common-sense advice where needed. I look forward to continuing to work with him and learn from him on current and future projects.”

“I worked with Simon in his role as Principal/Consulting Architect in Mastek on numerous client engagements for over 3 years. Throughout this time it always struck me how Simon was able to focus on the bigger picture, whilst bringing a pragmatic and collaborative approach to the delivery of effective outcomes. I like and respect Simon as a friend and colleague, and look forward to working with him again some day.”

“Simon is a highly experienced enterprise architect with broad process, technology and domain expertise, an asset to any programme.”

“Simon is a long established and highly effective Chief / Enterprise Architect. Simon provides problem solving, business acumen and a team centric approach his engagements. He has an approachable nature and is also force to be reckoned with when needed. A very astute and politically aware operator who is able to navigate the most complex and challenging situations. Simon is highly trusted and respected by all he works with and adds value to all engagements he undertakes. Simon’s skills, knowledge and experiences lend him to work effectively across the business life-cycle – from pre-sales through to delivery. He is also very strategic which enables him to work closely with the C-Suite and advising them on the journeys. I have had the pleasure of working with Simon on a number of engagements from SMEs through large global Enterprise organisations. He is great to work with and many juniors have been lucky enough to have been mentored by Simon. I would strongly recommend Simon to any organisation looking to transform the business. I look forward to future opportunities of working with Simon again.”

“Simon is an excellent enterprise architect; able to shape and influence across systems, processes, Data and security. He has strong collaboration skills which he brings to both customers and colleagues. He is able to articulate his knowledge verbally and in writing, when creating compelling proposals for the future.”

“Simon is an experienced architect and leader with an exceptional eye for detail. He builds relationships with senior leaders, across various sectors, to understand business requirements and formulate corresponding technology strategies. Simon also has vast pre sales experience as has been fundamental to securing large deals over the past few years I've worked with him. It's been a pleasure working with Simon and I'd welcome an opportunity to work with him again in the future. ”

“I had the privilege to work with Simon on one the most challenging and strict deadlined project on analytics - needless to say it was a success!. As chief architect, he ensured delivery of optimal solution, security compliance and governance. Simon is a seasoned enterprise architect with excellent knowledge on wide range of technologies, architectures and processes. He carries both a holistic vision and meticulous attention to details. It was a pleasure and a learning experience working with him. I would highly recommend Simon as chief architect !!”

“Simon supported me during a very exciting green field transformation at Belron. It needed a complete rewrite of the digital and data strategy. Simon managed the stakeholders, gathered piecemeal data from various places in order to create an “as is” roadmap and create a well planned and modern “to be road”. Simon is awesome to work with , nothing phased him and he delivers to a very high standard. I really enjoyed working and brainstorming with Simon in order to deliver amazing outcomes. ”

“Simon is an Enterprise Architect who's not afraid to ask the difficult questions. His deep understanding of architecture and design processes and governance is invaluable in situations where chaos is ensuing. He brings a clear, level head to the table and will establish where the best value can be had immediately through to longer term industrialisation and robustness of strategic planning, design and delivery of IT.”

“I worked with Simon and it was clear he knew his stuff! Very refreshing. I’d gladly work with him again.”

“I worked alongside Simon for over a year whilst at Mastek/IPF account. Simon is a very hard working, dedicated and effective individual who drove through significant quality & technical performance improvements after taking up the role of Chief Architect across the entire account. I was particularly impressed with Simon’s depth of technical knowledge including leadership skills, customer handling, team-building skills and how he fostered & developed strong relationships within the Mastek team. Simon is calm and composed under pressure and strikes the right balance between firmness and flexibility when dealing with stakeholders in challenging situations and he knows how to deal with any kind of customers. I would recommend Simon as an asset to any organisation”

“I've worked with Simon over the last 18 months in his role as Chief Architect at Mastek and consistently find him to be an approachable, experienced and highly knowledgeable individual. His approach is always practical and pragmatic and I'm confident we find the most appropriate solution within whatever constraints we might be facing. He is always happy to impart his wealth of knowledge to our team and this has noticeably improved our performance in the time we've partnered with Mastek.”

“Simon and I worked together on Kerry Group within Mastek, Private Sector. He is a confident, trustworthy, diligent and tenacious leader within the CTO office. He constantly challenged me and is great to work alongside. Simon brings to the table great banter, which quickly built a rapport within the delivery centres offshore to the Executive offices both within Mastek and the customer in UK and Ireland. Simon was billed to the customer for Chief Enterprise Architecture and was perceived to deliver a high return-on-investment in all his engagements. Simon’ expansive knowledge, skills and efforts led to him directly identifying then validating multi-million GBP pipeline revenue for Mastek through guiding the customer, earning great respect internally/externally to make the ethically right decision; new revenue streams through data science, quality control and Brexit traceability solutions through IoT, agile project governance, automation of hybrid-cloud service management.”

“Simon is a very experienced and capable chief architect with an excellent grasp of design methodologies. He is a confident and articulate communicator and always willing to provide help and guidance. Good business acumen and excellent with customers with a friendly and enthusiastic demeanour.”

“I have worked with Simon at Morses Club for the past 6 months on one of the major initiatives of the company, and I have found him to be very knowledgeable in his role as a Chief Architect. He is very professional, approachable and a pleasure to work with; I would definitely recommend him.”

“I have worked with Simon at Irwin Mitchell for 2 years on a variety of projects during which I always found Simon to be very knowledgeable in his field. This can be said of many people however the thing that made Simon different was that he was generous with this knowledge and always willing to share with technical and non-technical colleagues alike. He would recognise the degree of understanding of his audience and adjust his communication style to ensure that what he was trying to say was understood. Simon is also very tenacious and I have found that if he was presented with a problem, he would persevere until a solution was found. I also found his attention to detail unmatched. Simon would be a good addition to any team.”

“Great leader, always supportive and knowledgeable. Although I have only worked for 1.5 years with Simon, I have learned so much from him. Simon is one of the few people I know who can actually apply theory in practice, especially in a field like Enterprise Architecture that can be vague and not easily understandable by Execs. He single-handedly put excellent structures and procedures in his team and ensure that the quality of their work meets standards described by frameworks such as TOGAF and Zachman. I will always look forward to working with Simon.”

“I have worked closely with Simon on a regular basis over the last two years - I have always found him to be highly professional, engaging, articulate and, above all, extremely effective in his role as Enterprise Solutions Architect. He is capable of describing the most detailed solution and technical components in a manner that supports communication across all stakeholders and facilitates essential discussion, analysis and promotes accurate decision making. He always has the wider picture in mind and makes judgement calls on the holistic objectives. I have enjoyed all of my interactions with Sinon and I very much hope to work with him again in the future. ”

“I have worked very closely with Simon for 2 years now, and found him to be very professional and extremely thorough in the pursuit of his duties. he is also friendly and approachable and a popular member of the team, and would be a good asset to any company”

“Firstly Simon is enthusiastic and passionate about what he does. Accepting second best isn't in Simon's vocabulary and this means he recommends solutions that meet business requirements and some. He also has in mind risk and benefits whilst providing a pragmatic approach. He is a master in trading off what can at times seem like conflicting priorities. This means that Simon is the perfect person to have onboard when considering internal client relationships. He challenges fairly, with integrity, intelligence and experience meaning that one never comes away feeling bruised but advised. Importantly I look forward to saying hello to him when passing in the work corridor. An asset who I can wholeheartedly recommend.”

“Simon is passionate about instilling the appropriate level of rigour, professionalism and governance into an architecture practice, such that he ensures a high quality of deliverable from the team at all times. As a manager, Simon always has time for his team members, ensuring he is available to offer support and coaching where needed and happy to share his extensive knowledge. His demeanour is one of encouragement and of attention to detail. He is an advocate of face-to-face communications and as such develops good rapport with the wider business areas. On a personal level, Simon has offered me consistent support and reassurance in my early months working underneath him, this has allowed me to gain in confidence in the role, for which I am very grateful.”

“Simon is a knowledgable, approachable architect and a pleasure to work with. I worked with Simon on a few projects in Vodafone Group and he always took the time to dive into the necessary level of details without losing track of the big picture. He is also technically Savvy and a team player. I would work with Simon again if I had the chance.”

“I have work with Simon on several deliveries. He has great technical background. He is solution oriented, structured hard worker , I would always recommend. ”

“Simon helped the Group Reward Team implement our Flexible Benefit / Reward Hub. His expertise and clarity of thought was invaluable. What struck me most was the breadth of IT awarenesses and knowledge Simon had, this meant his advice was in context, and sometimes he was able to help outside his specific area. Thanks Simon.”

“Simon is a dedicated architect with a breath of knowledge and experience and a pleasure to work with.”

“I have worked with Simon on a number of projects. I have to say he has impressed me on every occasion that I worked with him with his in depth knowledge and detailed expertise of the subject, as a system architect and as an IT professional. I found him very open, honest, hard working and intelligent. He has certainly become a valuable member of the System Architect team and I would gladly include him in or consult him on any project which requires his expertise or view.”

“I had the great pleasure of working with Simon in 2013 on a project where he was product owner and I scrum master. Simon was easy to communicate with, the tone was always good and lighthearted. He had a firm grasp of what was going on in the project and did a good job of figuring out dependencies and following up if he did not get the expected feedback in the expected time. He was on top of the technology we provided, and grasped new technologies and practices quickly. I hope to be working together on many future projects.”

“I found Simon to be both highly professional and very easy to get on with. He offered me plenty of advice and help during the project delivery phases of Online projects and programmes. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Simon for a future role and believe he presents very balanced, thorough and helpful views in his capacity as an architect”

“In Simon's role as Enterprise Architect at Vodafone Group's Online Centre of Excellence (CoE), I found him to be a highly knowledgeable, pragmatic, professional, hard working enterprise architect with an approachable and positive outlook. I really enjoyed working with Simon and found him willing to engage with our team to steer the developers towards building best in class, robust enterprise solutions. Simon was open to sharing knowledge and helped bring me up to speed with the Vodafone online stack. I highly recommend engaging with Simon if you're looking for a successful outcome on your next project.”

“Simon joined us for a significant project with a major customer. He integrated into a complex, multicultural environment involving significant travel andvaluable timezone challenges very well. Simon gives great attention to detail and is well organised. he is ablke to present views to clients in a cogent and concise manner without 'putting the customer's back up. All-in-all his contribution to the programme added significant value.”

“Simon joined us for a significant project with a major customer. He integrated into a complex, multicultural environment involving significant travel and timezone challenges with aplomb. Detail oriented, and capable of presenting his views cogently without causing friction or offence even in the face of concerted, but misguided contrary views. He added positive value to the project and should take credit for the improvements in the areas in which he was involved.”

“Simon is an Enterprise Architect in COE team of Vodafone Group, I work with Simon for Online programme. Simon is incredibly helpful and Knowledgeable person, he always provides efficient suggestions and tips to improve the system. He has saved my time in many occasions providing the correct solutions. He is an asset to the organization and the team. I heartily recommend Simon and happy to work with him.”

“As Simon's manager I came to appreciate his detailed approach to all tasks, and honest opinon on all matters.”

“I worked with Simon on a large scale (and challenging) greenfield development and deployment of a B2B and B2C website using Agile techniques. He is a highly capable architect with an extensive breadth of experience across the Information Technology landscape. His knowledge of current technology and techniques is complimented by extensive in depth experience, and lessons learned over a broad range of successful projects/programmes. He has a strong focus on quality and return on investment for the business, as well as appropriate use of technology. While being naturally amiable and good humoured, he will be as tenacious and assertive as necessary to ensure the integrity and quality of the end product isn’t compromised.”

“I work with Simon as part of Vodafone Group's Online transformation. As part of his role as an Enterprise Architect, Simon is responsible for providing architecture, design and process governance for the Online domain. I've always found Simon to be detail-oriented, sincere and hard-working, professional and personable in his approach. He has the ability to see out-of-the-box and is ever willing to provide the benefit of his vast experience in Architecture and Design areas.”

“Simon and I worked on a cross channel programme for a large mobile telecom operatori, I found Simon's clear thoughts and excellent understanding of enterprise business needs very valuable for the programme success. Simon was leading the ecommerce architecture team.”

“Simon is someone who has a very good technical knowledge; he is well respected in the online program team for his expertise in Online and Enterprise architecture. For the time I worked with Simon, I have always found him to be someone who is clam, approachable and always willing to work together to reach a win-win situation. He brings in flexibility and stability to an otherwise stressful environment. He is also very helpful and resourceful person and he is good at handling conflict situation and manages to get the desired results for his team, which mostly means making me and others do the additional work but he manages to convince me to go with his recommendations. Simon not only displays great technical leadership skills but also someone who displays strong stakeholder management skills. It’s indeed a pleasure and a privilege to have worked and known Simon and he would be a great asset to any organization.”

“Simon combines the ability to see the big picture while being detailed-oriented when required depending on the situation. He is technically proficient and highly experienced. He is also an excellent team player and knows how to articulate the message depending on the audience (commercial audience or technical as one example). I would highly recommend Simon and would definitely work with him anytime.”

“Simon is an approachable and knowledgeable ATG architect. I have worked with Simon on two occasions and found his contribution to be invaluable.”

“Simon knows his way into the project very quickly and holds a steady position as an solutions architect in the team. His designs are thorough and well-thought. He's very good in what he does and I like his humour. Surely a team player.”

“Simon has a great knowledge of the ATG platform and a good overview of working in larger projects. As an architect his knowledge is very valuable.”

“I worked together with Simon in our first (succesful) ATG project. Simon was one of our key-players in a big project. He set up a fantastic SAD from where the developers had a good starting point for their marching route. Simon has been a real team player and has shown he's a real professional; he oversees the overall impact of a broad variety of technical challenges. I hope to have the opportunity to work together with Simon again in the future!”

“I worked together with Simon at Sonepar, where he was lead ATG e-Commerce architect from Spindrift. I found Simon to be a team player and very knowledgeable, which makes him a real asset to work with. He is able to jump between in-depth and birdview architecture level with ease. He is able to create and present clear solution proposals which are understandable by management as well as developers. I hope to work with him again in future.”

“Simon was a key player in the architectural team of our successful ATG implementation project. In the discovery phase of our first ATG project, Simon delivered an excellent architecture document, in which he has described all aspects of the architecture in outline. With his broad experience in architecture field, Simon has added a very valuable contribution in all areas of the architecture (enterprise, application domains and business solutions). Through his thorough knowledge of the ATG-/Java platform Simon was also the main driver behind the quality of the delivered applications. Simon also regularly played an important role in the cooperation with both the user organization and the infrastructure department. During the past 12 months I have worked closely together with Simon and I have got to know him as an excellent, enthusiastic, motivated and customer-focused IT professional. Key features of Simon are: • Always pro-actively to add value to the project. • Open in sharing his knowledge and experience. • With a positive, motivating, honest and reliable approach for collaboration. When we will start a new challenging / complex ICT project in which expansion or modification of our architecture is necessary, Simon will definitely be on our shortlist of candidates!!”

“Simon has played a key role in helping us deliver at Sonepar from inception right the way through to a very successful launch of their new ATG platform. I would not hesitate in recommending Simon to a prospective employeer, I have every confidence he will provide value and focus for many more successful projects in the future.”

“Before Simon worked for me, he was responsible for ATG architecture within the eShop area. Simon then transitioned over to a green field project working for me. Simon provided ATG and e-commerce expertise. He brings excellent product knowledge; real world commercial experience and an eye for detail. If you need an ATG expert - hire Simon!”

“I worked with Simon only briefly, which was a shame. I was struck by his passion and dedication to solid engineering practice. He never faltered even when those around him were trying to tread the path of mediocrity. A very knowledgable person who will improve any team.”

“I have worked with Simon in one of VF UK account projects, during that time he showed a professional a attitude in managing customer requirement and expectation, it was my pleasure to work with Simon.”

“Simon is very representative person, has system architectural view, very good at dealing with customers.”

“Simon is a very capable and knowledgeable person regards all things ATG. He has a clear view on approaches and options to adopt and is able to articulate to the client in a comprehensible way. Furthermore he is able to converse at multiple levels regards ATG, from a detailed technical conversation to a summarised 'business benefit' one.”

“Simon is a tenacious architect who considers all aspects of the solution from technical/functional detail to how it will be delivered. We have found him to be proactive with his considered views, recommendations and subsequent actions.”

“Simon has the ability to succinctly articulate technical information and recommendations to higher level stakeholders, whilst still very much being in the detail with a wide scope of architects and business users. He’s dedicated to his role and any tasks at hand, whilst working well with others and often putting in the extra effort with a very much “can do” attitude. Simon is able to manage a large amount of view points, ideas and concepts; and come to honest and balanced conclusions. I’ve certainly enjoyed working with Simon and would definitely recommend him to any other prospective employers, his knowledge and overall experience with ATG is unrivalled.”

“I have worked indirectly with Simon these last eight months as he has been a part of our solutions' design team at Aviva GI. I have sort his advice and guidance on topics relating to web service design and SOA best practices on a number of occasions and I have always been greatly impressed by his knowledge and background experience in this field. I would welcome the opportunity of working with Simon again.”

“Simon is a very focused professional, always personable and an excellent problem solver. I would not hesitate to work with Simon in the future.”

“I worked with Simon on a major integration programme involving three blue chip organisations, where Simon was the software architect and I was the business analyst. Simon had overall responsibility for driving the major technical decisions, expressed as the software architecture. This typically includes providing rationale for these decisions, balancing the concerns of the various stakeholders, driving down technical risks, and ensuring that decisions are effectively communicated, validated, and adhered to. Simon is a seasoned Architect who is well-rounded, possesses maturity, vision, and a depth of experience that allows for grasping issues quickly and making educated, critical judgment in the absence of complete information. He was the technical driving force behind the project, not a visionary or dreamer. He is the person who quickly earns trust of fellow team members, to persuade, to motivate, and to mentor. He is a pleasure to work with.”

“I worked with Simon at Screwfix Direct. Simon is a seasoned Architect with a pragmatic approach to challenges. He is eloquent and personable with a passion for quality and integrity that really comes through in the solutions he designs. Outside of work he has a cultured personality that makes his a pleasure to spend time with. I enjoyed working with Simon, and I wouldn't hesitate to work with him again.”

“Simon is a first-class architect with a 'can-do' attitude. He tackles problems in an intelligent, logical manner, and is able to bring his wide knowledge of enterprise systems to the fore. An excellent asset to any architecture team, I would not hesitate to work with him again.”

“Simon is a highly skilled and experienced Architect with excellent technical, business and soft skills. He is passionate about technology and leads from the front motivating everyone around him. As capable explaining concepts, decisions and providing guidance to senior management as he is getting his hands dirty in the implementation of his designs.”

“I can recommend Simon's solution architecture work over 2009 on a major programme deliverables. Simon demonstrates deep and detailed knowledge about many aspects of solution architectures, with expertise for SOA. His pragmatic approach was always valued.”

“Simon worked for me for some months as an architect on a variety of major projects and agile scrums. Simon is a very good architect with an great eye for detail. Not only does he have strong technical skills but he combines this with excellent written and oral communications making him able to deal equally as well with either developers or senior management. His excellent sense of humour made him a pleasure to work with and he was well liked by his colleagues. I look forward to having the opportunity to work with Simon again in the future and wouldn't hesitate to recommend him for any technical/enterprise architect position.”

“Simon is the highest skilled Enterprise Architect and Designer I have worked with. His knowledge and understanding of the technologies he works with is the best I have seen in this industry. He is extremely competent as an Enterprise Architect, understanding everything from the customer needs and business domain down to the nitty gritty details of using a particular API to solve a problem and all the implications therein. Will be glad to work with him again.”

“I worked with Simon in the architects team at Screwfix Ltd focusing on the business change program. Simon is a very talented Architect with lots of experience and deep knowledge of all exposed architectures. He has a engaging personality and is great to work with. Coupled with a drive to design and deliver the right solution I would recommend him to anyone!”

“Simon is an excellent software architect who provided the Treasury project with both a strategic architecture concept as well as hands-on implementation guidance and tutoring for the various developers. Through him the company was able to structure and streamline its Treasury backbone operations, cutting down time-to-deliver by 65%. Simon has tackled all given tasks with the very best results, proactively tackling all potential issues well ahead of time. He is affable and pleasant, very much a team player and very well liked by his colleagues.”

“I worked with Simon on an implementation project for a major European bank both on site in Eastern Europe and back at our office. I found Simon to be very technically capable, being able to see both the big picture and to focus in on the detail of a solution when the situation required. While being a skilled technician, Simon possesses polished client facing and management skills, making him able to deal with clients in a professional and effective manner at all levels of the organisation. He has a high degree of self discipline combined with an affable manner and a dedicated work ethic. I would be happy to work with Simon again in the future.”

“Simon has been a memebr of more than one project team I have had the pleasure of managing. Simon is a very strong Technical Architect and at the same time a very strong team member. Simon takes nothing for granted and can always be relied upon to deliver what is best for the project both technically and professionally. I would have no hesitation in recommending Simon to others. Jamie”

“Simon is a highly experienced Architect with in depth knowledge of SOA and associated technologies.”

“Simon is an excellent Architect, who demonstrates his technical, business and interpersonal skills with every activity . Simon was contracted as a Application Architect but always added value to Security, Deployment and Enterprise Architecture discussions and initiatives. Simon demonstrates the trustworthy, honesty and reliablility qualities expected from permanant employees. This allowed him to seemlessly integrate with the team. I highly recommend Simon to you.”

“I have been very pleased with Simon's work. Simon was contracted as a Technical Architect but could quite competantly work as an Enterprise Architect. Simon can be totally trusted to represent your company as if permanent. Simon has represented Fair Isaac in client technical workshops and other meetings with a major European bank and done much to improve that relationship. Simon has travelled at our request within Europe and been totally flexible in meeting our needs. Simon has a wide range of technical experience and I have no hestitation recommending him.”