Interview: Alexander Stuart-Kregor, Experian, DevOps Excellence Awards finalist

Alexander Stuart-Kregor, Experian

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Alexander Stuart-Kregor, Experian

If we were to sum up DevOps in one statement, it would be to enhance overall workflow in the software development life cycle and minimise business expenditures.

Computing's DevOps Excellence Awards showcase outstanding achievements from organisations, personalities and solutions that have successfully applied DevOps methodologies.

This year's winners will be announced at a live awards ceremony on Tuesday, 14 March in London.

One of the finalists is Experian, which has reached the shortlist for two categories: DevOps Professional of the Year and Best Implementation of DevSecOps.

We talked to Alexander Stuart-Kregor, a finalist for DevOps Professional of the Year category, to find out how their organisation has used IT for success.

Stuart-Kregor has been working in tech for almost eight years and has been fascinated by machinery all his life. He moved to Scotland for university in 2010 and barely looked back, settling in Glasgow in 2015. He loves going skiing and playing piano; hobbies he has had for over 20 years. He is also an immensely proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.

He is motivated by enabling people and solving puzzles, especially in terms of the fundamental capabilities to support developers. In his words, "seeing the positive effects of improvements you make for people is addictive!"

Computing: Please provide some background on your company for our readers.

Alexander Stuart-Kregor: Experian is a company primarily known for its work as a credit bureau and for providing credit scoring to consumers, but in fact there's a lot more that we do than that! Experian is a company that works closely with data, which it uses to provide data-driven services to consumers, businesses and lenders. The UK business is headquartered in Nottingham, where its roots can be traced back to the late 1960s, and even further elsewhere in the country to before the start of the 20th century.

What makes you different from other technology companies?

A couple of things spring to mind here: the culture, and the devotion to security. The working culture within Experian is great in that they promote awareness of social issues, and things feel quite progressive (despite the age of the company). There's a great amount of flexibility and understanding when it comes to working with others in the business, along with support for mental health and other important topics that affect daily working life. The focus and care that goes towards security cannot be overstated either; it really is at the heart of what the business does. Security matters are taken very seriously and there are excellent resources within the business to help us ensure that we are keeping people's data secure.

What one company achievement in the last 12 months are you most proud of?

It seems like a small thing, but probably the workaround CreditLock where consumers can 'lock' their credit report to prevent credit applications being made without their knowledge. I feel it's a great step towards giving people more control over their credit data, something which impacts all our lives and often to a greater extent than we realise.

What are you working on this year?

We've had a strong focus on various security items already, alongside the usual maintenance activities. We're aiming to work closely with some developers as part of improving their pre-merge insights and getting more advanced testing built into their workflow. We're anticipating some incoming business changes as well, which means we may find ourselves working with different technologies, different teams, and different methodologies. Having those opportunities will no doubt be great as part of broadening our horizons and expanding our skills, as well as being able to bring the best of separate worlds with us into the future.

Why are events like the DevOps Excellence Awards important to the IT industry?

These kinds of events are great for emphasising the progression and achievement within the industry as a whole, rather than specifically within a particular company or department. We already benefit from others sharing experiences and particularly ideas at talks, meetups and so on. The benefits of the awards are that they allow us as an industry to celebrate each other's achievements, and in particular they encourage everyone to aim high and focus on doing amazing things.