Photo of Ian Saunders

Ian Saunders

Poole, Dorset hello@ijsaunders.co.uk

With over 20 years of post-graduate experience, I am a Platform Manager with a strong background in .NET and SQL Server web platforms. Most recently, I led the migration of a production platform from on-premises infrastructure to Microsoft Azure, ensuring a smooth transition with minimal disruption. Alongside my technical work, I am passionate about mentoring team members, embedding AI tools into day-to-day workflows, and building strong, collaborative teams. I possess excellent interpersonal and organisational skills, and build effective relationships with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels.

Experience

2022 - Present
2022 - Present

Platform Manager

Newsquest / Exchange and Mart

Successfully led the migration of our platform from on-premises hardware to Microsoft Azure, moving a .NET and SQL Server based web platform to a fully cloud-hosted environment. Managed the transition to ensure minimal downtime and improved scalability, leveraging Azure services including Application Insights for performance monitoring and bottleneck identification. This resulted in significant site performance improvements and a better user experience for our users.

2019 - 2022
2019 - 2022

Development Manager

Newsquest / Exchange and Mart

Stepped up into a management role leading the development team, taking ownership of day-to-day delivery and team coordination. Worked closely with product managers and commercial stakeholders to align development priorities with business goals. Facilitated regular stand-ups and managed the team's workflow through a Jira Kanban board, ensuring visibility across tasks and keeping delivery on track.

February 2010 - 2019
February 2010 - 2019

Lead Developer / Developer

Newsquest / Exchange and Mart

Progressed through developer and lead developer roles over nine years, contributing to and leading a range of significant projects. Delivered a mobile version of the site and developed an iPhone app, extending the platform's reach to mobile audiences. Implemented DFP (DoubleClick for Publishers) with geo-targeting to improve ad relevance and delivery. Replaced a slow database-driven search with Apache Solr, significantly improving search performance and the overall user experience. Worked across the full stack in a .NET and SQL Server environment, collaborating closely with the wider team to deliver ongoing platform improvements.

October 2007 - January 2010
October 2007 - January 2010

Analyst Developer

Towergate Partnership

My role here involves the design / development of the companies internal systems. These are written in ASP.NET / C#, with SQLSERVER backends. Projects are developed in .NET 3.5, and made use of the ajax control toolkit wherever possible. Reporting Services set up for the property management team. Bug fixing of legacy classic asp systems where required.

June 2004 - October 2007
June 2004 - October 2007

Developer (Contract role, 6 extensions)

Devon County Council

Developing e-enabled forms using Mandoforms, and configuring the Lagan CRM back end. Worked closely with Business analysts, and directly with the customers to tailor forms to meet bespoke requirements. Also writing Oracle and Actuate Reports for Social Services.

June 2003- June 2004
June 2003- June 2004

Technical Consultant

Inspire IT

I worked on the coding of the product, classic ASP Front End with an Access backend database. Migrated the db to SQL Server

June 2001 - September 2002
June 2001 - September 2002

Analyst Programmer (Industrial Placement Scheme)

Zurich System HOuse / ISS ADM South Coast

Largest project worked on was Customer Information Platform (CIP) project. This was a web-based portal with the front end written in Java Server Pages with JavaScript, and a back end in Java code. I wrote an Interest Calculator for the site, which has been used throughout the claims department, produced documentation and demonstrated to management and colleagues. My placement was extended from the original 48 weeks for another 2 months.

2004 - Present
2004 - Present

Sole Trader / co-founder

BOAN DESIGN

Due to redundancy, I registered as a sole trader enabling me to find web dev work. Have continued the odd site for friends to keep skills up to date and practice.

Education

Bournemouth University

BSc (Hons) Business Information Technology (2:2)

BSc (Hons) Business Information Technology (2:2) Whilst being focused around IT, my degree also encompassed the following key business areas: Finance, Accounting, Law and Marketing. My final year project involved the internationalisation and customisation of an e-commerce site.

1999 - 2003

Poole Grammar School

10 GCSE's, 3 A-Levels, Young Enterprise Certificate

GCSE: Mathematics (B), Technology (B), English Language (B) English Literature (B), Economics (C), Geography (B), French (C), Religious Studies (C), Double Science (CC)

A LEVEL: Computing (B), Economics (E) and General Studies (D)

1994 - May 2009

Skills

A sample of skills I have used during my career listed below.

  • AI tools: GitHub Copilot, Copilot, Perplexity, Office Copilot, Google Stitch, Google Jules, and Antigravity.
  • Azure (App Insights, Functions, Storage, DevOps), Firebase, Cloud Functions
  • .Net Framework ASP.Net / C# wth Visual Studio, VS Online, .Net Core, MVC, Web API, Entity Framework, Linq to SQL
  • Front end skills including Javascript, JQuery, Html, CSS. Task runner utilisation with SASS, Gulp, Node
  • SEO, Cross Browser Testing, Selenium, Cypress
  • SQL Server, SSRS, and in the past have uses Oracle / plSQL, MySQL.
  • Source control currently use Git but have used TFS and Source Safe.
  • Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics, Launch and Tealium Tag Managers, Screaming Frog.

Interests

  • Cycling (commuting, Mountain Biking, Road Cycling)
  • Playing basketball
  • DIY Projects
  • Socialising with friends
  • Trying out new cooking techniques / recipes