Department of Technology Operations

Richard Stainforth

MBCS CISM

I build technology teams that deliver. With 20+ years leading IT operations, infrastructure, and security across financial services, healthcare, and regulated industries, I turn complex technology estates into reliable platforms that enable business growth. From service desk to boardroom, I understand the full stack of IT delivery.

Initiate Contact
RS
Personnel File 001

Technology Leadership That Delivers

I started my career in the British Army as a Combat Medical Technician, spending nine years on deployments worldwide. That experience taught me how to stay calm under pressure, make decisions with incomplete information, and lead teams through uncertainty. Those lessons still shape how I approach IT leadership today.

After transitioning through the NHS, I found my calling in technology. I have worked my way up from help desk to Head of Cyber and Infrastructure at a publicly traded company. Along the way, I have managed 24/7 Network Operations Centres, transformed service desk functions, architected enterprise platforms, and built security programmes from the ground up. I understand technology from the ticket queue to the board report.

My approach combines operational rigour with strategic vision. I have reduced cloud costs by 36% while improving capability, cut phishing click rates from 18% to 7%, achieved Cyber Essentials Plus certification, and built teams that deliver consistent, reliable service. I believe great IT is invisible to the business. It works. It scales. It enables growth.

CISM MBCS ISACA IAGP DORA ITIL V4 PRINCE2

Operational Capabilities

02.1

IT Operations

Building and leading technology teams from service desk to infrastructure engineering. Experience managing 60+ staff through multiple reporting lines, developing talent from analysts to architects.

02.2

Service Delivery

ITIL-aligned service management with proven results. Service desk transformation, incident and problem management, SLA performance, and continuous improvement programmes.

02.3

Infrastructure

Azure IaaS/PaaS architecture, Microsoft 365 enterprise deployment, Infrastructure as Code with ARM and Bicep, FinOps cost optimisation, Cloud Adoption Framework alignment.

02.4

Cyber Security

ISO 27001 implementation, NIST CSF maturity progression, Microsoft Defender suite, Sentinel SIEM/SOAR at Silver standard, Zero Trust architecture, board-level risk reporting.

02.5

Automation

AI Operations agents with Azure OpenAI and Copilot Studio for intelligent triage and automated remediation. Platform as Code delivery, PowerShell DSC, automated deployment pipelines.

02.6

Compliance

FCA financial services requirements, GAMP 5 pharmaceutical validation, GDPR and Data Protection, DORA operational resilience, Cyber Essentials Plus certification.

The Operations Stack

I designed and implemented a unified digital operations platform that transformed IT service delivery from reactive support into an automated, AI-augmented capability. The model inverts traditional IT economics: instead of throwing headcount at complexity, it layers automation, AI orchestration, and platform engineering to reduce human intervention to genuine exceptions.

Work Distribution Model
HUM
Human in the Loop
Judgement, exceptions, escalations
5%
AI
AI Orchestration + RAG
Triage, correlation, knowledge lookup
25%
AUT
Automation Layer
Isolate, reset, scan, runbook execution
35%
CI
CI/CD Release Pipelines
Deploy, rollback, restore, drift detection
20%
IaC
Platform as Code
Harden, enforce, baseline, prevent
15%
95%
Automated Resolution
Only 5% of work requires human judgement
2.9x
Staffing Efficiency
vs industry sector average
40%
Faster Delivery
Aligned to McKinsey DevOps benchmarks

Unified Control Plane

[~]
Integration Hub
Connect

APIs, connectors, and data pipelines unifying M365, Azure, security stack, and external services into a single integration layer.

{>}
Orchestration Engine
Automate

Event-driven workflows, runbook library, and automated response. 69 runbooks covering incident, change, security, and maintenance.

[AI]
AI Agent
Assist

RAG-powered knowledge retrieval across 2,400+ articles. Intent classification, automated L1 resolution, seamless human escalation.

[#]
Governance Layer
Govern

Security posture management, compliance dashboards, and audit automation. Detect, respond, protect, govern, recover.

Standing Start to Best of Breed

Top 15%
Threat Detection
Silver standard globally
+34pts
Security Posture
vs sector average
+56pts
MFA Coverage
95% vs 39% national average
12/14
MITRE ATT&CK
Tactics covered vs 5/14 industry avg
20%
Cost per Head
of sector benchmark spend
100%
Business Resilience
Multi-region, ASR, verified backup

Completed Initiatives

Operation 04.1
IT Operations

Service Desk Transformation

Restructured IT service delivery function across 500+ users and two business divisions. Implemented ITIL-aligned processes for incident, problem, and change management. Integrated security awareness into service culture.

18%→7%
Phishing Rate
500+
Users
Operation 04.2
Cloud Architecture

Greenfield Azure Platform

Designed and deployed enterprise Azure tenant from scratch, aligned to Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework. Implemented full M365 ecosystem with hybrid identity, Conditional Access, and Zero Trust security model.

CAF
Aligned
Zero Trust
Model
Operation 04.3
Cloud Economics

Cost Optimisation Programme

Reduced Azure annual spend from £260k to £167k through rightsizing, reserved instances, and workload optimisation. Implemented cost governance frameworks and automated monitoring while improving capability.

36%
Reduction
£93k
Saved
Operation 04.4
Security Operations

Sentinel SIEM Implementation

Deployed Microsoft Sentinel achieving Silver standard, top 15% globally. Integrated log sources across Azure, M365, and on-premises infrastructure. Built automated playbooks for incident response and threat hunting.

Silver
Standard
Top 15%
Global

Public Repositories

Archive 05.1

azure-bicep-templates

Production-ready Bicep templates for Azure infrastructure deployment. Includes landing zones, security baselines, and monitoring configurations.

Bicep 24 Stars
Archive 05.2

sentinel-playbooks

Logic Apps playbooks for Microsoft Sentinel automation. Incident enrichment, threat intelligence integration, and automated response workflows.

JSON 18 Stars
Archive 05.3

m365-dsc-configs

Microsoft 365 DSC configuration baselines for tenant security. Conditional Access policies, security defaults, and compliance settings as code.

PowerShell 12 Stars

Initiate Contact

I am always interested in opportunities where technology leadership makes a real difference. Whether you need to transform IT operations, strengthen security, or modernise infrastructure.