Team Spotlight – Andrew Jones’ journey into Software
At Transvault, every career journey is different, and that’s exactly what makes our team so interesting. This time, we’re shining the spotlight on our Head of Technology, Andrew Jones. Whose path began not in a classroom but with a CB radio and a Sinclair ZX81.
Where it all started
Andy grew up in a conventional family with his parents and sister. School was not where he found his stride. “I didn’t excel academically,” he admits, “but I could focus obsessively on things that interested me to the exclusion of all others.” When it came to computing, that turned out to be his saving grace.
The spark came from an unlikely place. CB radios were legalised in the UK in November 1981, and Andy got one for his next birthday, using it to chat to complete strangers. “A nightmare scenario for parents today,” he laughs. Someone he met that way showed him their Sinclair ZX81, and from the very first command he typed, he was hooked. He got his own shortly afterwards and set about learning everything he could, soon outgrowing Sinclair BASIC and moving on to Z80 machine code to get around the hardware restrictions of the machine.
Learning the craft
Andy came of age alongside the personal computer, and a Youth Training Scheme position with an IBM PC dealer in Bristol gave him his first real break. “They took me on to develop travelling salesman software for one of the first Toshiba laptops that appeared around 1986,” he recalls. “I learnt to develop commercial software with them and never looked back.”
Finding the Right Fit
When Andy joined Transvault, it was not the salary that decided it. “I joined because they had the right feel. It’s hard to articulate exactly what it was.” After four interviews, he chose the role over another, higher-paid position for that reason alone.
What keeps him engaged is the company’s appetite for exploring new territory. “It seems to me that any idea is considered and could, in the blink of an eye, take us down a new path.”
The values align closely with his own, too. “I always try to deliver to the highest standards and treat people fairly. I’m happy to spend as much time as necessary to help someone get to grips with something or work out the problem they’re trying to solve.”
A Whole New Industry
One thing took Andy completely by surprise when he arrived. “When I joined Transvault I had no idea anything existed in the space beyond Microsoft Exchange Server. To discover there was an entire industry built around email archiving was a real eye-opener.”
No two days look the same. “It never ends the way I expect it to at the start. There’s always something new to discover, questions to be answered and problems to be solved. I have meetings with nearly every department, and each brings its own challenges and opportunities.”
Embracing AI
Andy was not always an AI enthusiast. “I, like many people, dismissed AI as a science with applications that wouldn’t really touch my life.” What has emerged has changed his mind entirely. “It’s something that I embrace and use constantly to do the things I wouldn’t otherwise have the time, knowledge or skills to achieve.”
His advice to anyone starting out reflects that same balance of enthusiasm and responsibility. “Although AI is taking over the middle ground of software development, it’s still really important to learn about all the aspects of the craft so you’re able to judge its output and understand what it’s doing. Don’t blindly follow whatever it says. You still need to take responsibility for what it produces.”
Life Beyond the Code
Most of Andy’s hobbies are technology-related, with one notable exception: his love of woodwork, which he does not get to practise as often as he would like. Ask him what he might have done otherwise, and the answer comes quickly. “I’d like to be a shopfitter. I like the idea of working with my hands and creating something new, a project with a distinct start and end.”
As for picking a favourite book or film, he freely admits defeat. “I struggle to enumerate books I’ve read or films I’ve watched. Every time I pick one, someone suggests another and I think, oh yes, I’d forgotten about that. That’s much better.”