Our meet the team blog series highlights the amazing people behind Xalient. This week we met with one of our Solutions Architects, Paul Orange, to learn a little more about him and his role at Xalient.
To kick things off, could you tell us about your career background and current role at Xalient?
I left university and started working at the Co-Op in Manchester analysing utility bills for the Co-Op estates. This led me to a different job as a telecoms analyst at another company before I started to work for ‘Thus’ in Scotland as part of the telecoms and networking pricing team. Thus was purchased by Cable and Wireless (now part of Vodafone), and I took a job there as a Trainee Sales Engineer. From there, I went to Orange Business Services via a few years at Global Crossing (which became Level 3, now part of Lumen). I was at OBS for ten years.
I’m a Solutions Architect here at Xalient, it’s a home-based role, but I enjoy coming into the Leeds office.
What is it that attracted you to Xalient?
Having come from a huge Tier 1 global network and telecoms provider, I like that Xalient is a young, agile company. I see being ‘born in the cloud’ as a significant benefit when competing against some legacy providers in the market. We don’t have old infrastructure, such as an MPLS network, to keep supporting and paying for.
What’s the first thing you do when you start your working day?
Coffee and porridge. Check my diary to see what the day has in store. Stop the kids fighting. I might try and go for a run or cycle if it’s dry and I’m in the right mood.
And what does a day in life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent work day?
If I’m working on a live bid, my day will include:
- Scoping and creating a Bill of Materials (BOM) for the prospective customer.
- Completing RFP response questions.
- Joining bid team calls.
- Preparing internal sign-off documentation.
Once a bid is ‘won,’ I’ll work on Statement of Work (SoW) docs. Plus, there’s constantly training to do. I’m currently working towards the CISSP qualification.
How would your colleagues describe you?
I don’t know – you’ll have to ask them 😊
What do you like most about your job?
The best thing about this job is how varied the role is – I get to work on different opportunities, each unique. It’s essential to keep on top of technical developments, and training is key.
What would you do for a career if you weren’t doing this?
Honestly, not got a clue!
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I’m a season card holder at Manchester City, so every other weekend, I’m at the Etihad Stadium plus, I try and get to as many away games as I can. I also enjoy mountain biking and try to get out on my bike a few times
a week.
In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits that have changed your life?
I’ve been trying to reduce my carbon footprint by travelling less by car – with my old role, I was away a lot flying and driving, so I’m glad that has reduced.
Are there any products, gadgets, or apps you can’t live without?
I use a great app – ‘Komoot’ – for finding and following cycle trails and routes – I’d be (literally) lost without it.
Who/what inspires you (work, personal or historical)?
I always looked up to my Grandad – he fought for his country in the 2nd most dangerous role in the second world war – he was a pilot in bomber command (most dangerous: submariner on a U-boat). He worked hard so his family could have a good life, was great fun to be around, was always positive, and was a great human.
What’s a fun fact about you many people might not know?
My dad has a racehorse named after him (Mr Orange).
