Russ Hobaugh

Migrate from on premise to Office 365 for the university.

ERM determined that the company needed to have a standardized file and folder structure rather than the legacy disparate systems in place. I was on the team to develop the standard, document the process, and test the implementation. I performed the first conversion as a proof of concept. Currently I am PM for the Americas for implementing across 90 servers. This includes categorizing the data, setting up the new structure, and then migrating all data to the new structure. This will enable ERM… Show more

ERM determined that the company needed to have a standardized file and folder structure rather than the legacy disparate systems in place. I was on the team to develop the standard, document the process, and test the implementation. I performed the first conversion as a proof of concept. Currently I am PM for the Americas for implementing across 90 servers. This includes categorizing the data, setting up the new structure, and then migrating all data to the new structure. This will enable ERM to better maintain data, work more efficiently, and reduce costs of storage. Show less

One of the modeling groups within ERM needed a new Linux server. The solution in place was a Linux cluster that cost @ 50K each and took several weeks to configure and test. A major job came in that needed an urgent acquisition of multiple clusters. To eliminate the wait and capital costs I created 4 Virtual Linux servers in Azure. Total setup and testing was done in days rather than weeks just to acquire hardware. This solution eliminated a major capital expense of 200K for hardware and… Show more

One of the modeling groups within ERM needed a new Linux server. The solution in place was a Linux cluster that cost @ 50K each and took several weeks to configure and test. A major job came in that needed an urgent acquisition of multiple clusters. To eliminate the wait and capital costs I created 4 Virtual Linux servers in Azure. Total setup and testing was done in days rather than weeks just to acquire hardware. This solution eliminated a major capital expense of 200K for hardware and enabled the group to complete the project ahead of schedule. The solution is still being used for a very low operating expense as we spin them up on demand and only pay for time used. Show less

ERM acquired Rescan in September of 2012. Rescan consisted of 7 offices across Canada. I was on the team to integrate them into ERM's networks and systems. In this role I directly supported the Canada IT staff during the transition and integration into ERM. This included managing the merge of 2 offices in Vancouver, and office moves in Yellowknife and Calgary.

The data contract for our WAN was up for renewal. I put an RFP out to several vendors to bid on our expanded footprint. I saved ERM $200,000 per year on a 3 year deal by consolidating to one vendor and also increased bandwidth at every ERM location.

Implemented Sonus SBA appliances to enable unified messaging through Lync 2013, eliminating 90K in PBX costs. Savings expected to grow as more offices migrate to the platform.

I was the project manager for the global migration from Exchange 2010 to Exchange 2013 at ERM. This encompassed almost 5000 user mailboxes being migrated along with their smartphones on Blackberry Exchange Server or Good for Enterprise. I was also one of 4 messaging team members that did all the migrations using PowerShell scripts, which I co-developed.

Developed process and framework to secure data to meet client security requirements and allow us to grow this facet of the business.

I planned and executed the upgrade of all Windows servers (52 servers) from MS Server 2003 to MS Server 2008 R2 within the Northern Division of ERM. I developed the project plan, and along with 2 others upgraded all servers. This project was completed on time and under budget.

I took on the responsibility to negotiate a new data contract for all ERM offices in the US. This included the RFP to multiple vendors. In the course of negotiations I was able to save ERM over 400K and also include a 3 month "ramp up" so we were not billed for the transition from one carrier to another. This also included upgrades in bandwidth to all sites.

ERM determined the need to move from the Lotus Notes platform. I was on the team that designed the Exchange 2007 platform and was a key member of the team from proof of concept through implantation and user migration. We migrated over 3500 users from Notes to Exchange 2007 and Outlook.

ERM determined a need for a unified MS Windows domain in 2004 to replace the disparate NetWare, Linux, and Windows domains in each local business unit. I was on the team that did the proof of concept and designed the domain structure along with Microsoft. We held the proof of concept in March of 2004, and were tasked with completing the entire project before the end of March 2005. I was personally responsible to complete the United States offices which numbered 50 sites at the time. I had to… Show more

ERM determined a need for a unified MS Windows domain in 2004 to replace the disparate NetWare, Linux, and Windows domains in each local business unit. I was on the team that did the proof of concept and designed the domain structure along with Microsoft. We held the proof of concept in March of 2004, and were tasked with completing the entire project before the end of March 2005. I was personally responsible to complete the United States offices which numbered 50 sites at the time. I had to coordinate new hardware, install the new OS, and then schedule the change to migrate the data from the old servers to the new domains. Finally we set up security on the new servers and did training for the users. I personally was involved in almost every migration. Project was completed on time and within budget in the US which was the only region to meet the deadline. Show less

The tape backup units in all of our remote sites were lacking capacity, going out of warranty, and becoming unreliable. To replace them with new units and tapes would cost @ 400K. I implemented software to replicate data (NSI Doubletake) from the remote sites to a central server where it was then backed up. This solution cost 80K for the software, and 20k for hardware in the central location. This was a realized savings of 300K. But the benefits also gave us a live “hot spare” for disaster… Show more

The tape backup units in all of our remote sites were lacking capacity, going out of warranty, and becoming unreliable. To replace them with new units and tapes would cost @ 400K. I implemented software to replicate data (NSI Doubletake) from the remote sites to a central server where it was then backed up. This solution cost 80K for the software, and 20k for hardware in the central location. This was a realized savings of 300K. But the benefits also gave us a live “hot spare” for disaster recovery at the remote sites. Numerous times when we had hardware issues at the remote sites I could point to the repository and keep the consultants billable while we repaired their server. Show less

ERM determined the need to become ISO 9000 certified. I was the IT lead for all ISO compliance documentation, testing, and internal auditing. I also participated in the steering meetings, and yearly audits with the external auditor.

ERM acquired Dell Engineering in January of 1999. I was tasked with integrating them into the ERM network. This included getting Dell onto our WAN, upgrading their Novell file servers and joining to our directory, integrating into Lotus Notes, and creating all user accounts. Finally, we pushed out our finance software and did training on how to use it. ERM was in an active growth period, and this acquisitions smooth transition helped us to grow our presence in the Midwest.

When I joined the company, ERM had no backup of any branch server in my division. Executed the project to purchase, install, document, and test backup in every remote office. Project was completed on time and under budget, while providing crucial backup of key data. This paid off in less than 3 months, when we lost a NetWare volume, and could restore from tape for the remote office.