Established and respected European manufacturer of printing, computer and network related systems and hardware (and actually, a LOT more).

My two prior jobs (at Softsel and TIS) had been in Sales – completely at odds with everything in my entire previous career positions based on engineering and technical support.

I had failed to develop my career in Sales (if I remember right, on one occasion I recollect being told I was "too honest"). Keep in mind – an Engineer tells it like it is!

So to get the job, and not be a fraud any longer, it was time to re-invent myself in the likeness of a former success – a technical support engineer.

I joined Olivetti from Softsel as a Pre- and Post-Sales Systems Analyst, specialising in their Client-Server based Office Automation and Groupware product "IbiSys", based on Unix servers and early Windows PC’s (version 3.1, later version 3.11).

I had extensive experience of Unix and networking since 1983 (8 years prior), and nearly two years experience of Microsoft Windows since the first release of Windows3.

This was a precursor and rival product to Microsoft Exchange and technically far in advance of anything on the market at that time. Microsoft had just released version 3.51 of Windows NT Server, before NT4.

I spent four very happy years with Olivetti (who I cringe to remember I had never taken seriously before as a computer systems manufacturer), and only left them as IBISys died a natural death (overtaken by MS Exchange) leaving me with no real alternative but to seek pastures new.

I joined HP Hewlett-Packard Company at their UK HQ in Bracknell (only 2 miles away after 12 years of commuting 3 hours every day – woohoo! or so I thought…)

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