Rob Hughes

Software Team Manager

Biography

Published Autumn 2010

For positive-minded Robert Hughes even the downs are ups.

Keen skier Rob is Samarind's Software Team/Project Manager. His important role is to manage the work of the software developers and the department's tester/trainer. He is also responsible for the technical project management of all Windows software - a key position in a Microsoft Gold Partner company like Samarind.

Rob believes in reaching high, the higher the better. Hills and mountains are something of a passion. He lives in Rhes-y-cae on Halkyn Mountain, not far from Samarind's Deeside office, with his wife Wendy, a primary school teacher, and their 15-year-old son Tom. From North Wales originally, Rob says he has "always loved the hills".

"What's great about Halkyn Mountain is that you can just stroll out onto the heaths and moors and enjoy the wonderful views," Rob says. "It's very open and you can take your mountain bike almost anywhere - although you have to watch out for mine shafts. The whole area is riddled with old lead mines and holes in the ground can appear overnight!"

He and Wendy love the area so much that when Tom began to grow and they felt they needed a bigger house, they decided to extend rather than buy a new home elsewhere. They effectively bolted a two-up-two-down onto their existing cottage.

"It's so much cheaper than buying and moving, I often wondered why more people don't stay put and extend," Rob recalls. "I soon found out - it's a nightmare. There's dust everywhere, you end up with no electricity and great gaps where walls used to be. But it's lovely now."

A growing child had another positive effect.

"Wendy and I have become much fitter trying to keep up with Tom," says Rob. "As parents you try to get involved in your children's activities, so when Tom got into skiing, we did, too. I wish we'd learnt to ski years earlier. We all love it."

They learnt to ski in Finnish Lapland, in temperatures barely touching -20°C. Subsequently they've enjoyed family skiing holidays in the Swiss Alps. Even when there's no snow on the ground, this doesn't deter the intrepid Hughes family. Off-season at an Alpine resort in France they went mountain biking where in winter they would be skiing.

This can-do attitude and flexible approach pays dividends for Samarind's customers. Rob has always worked in IT but in a variety of industries, as diverse as geo-science and house-building; he even worked on the systems for a nuclear power station simulator. This has provided Rob with a thorough insight into the IT needs of companies across the business spectrum.

"Most companies find off-the-shelf products won't do everything they want," says Rob, "and they can't just ask the product designers to create specific additions because that would be prohibitively expensive. Even getting in touch with them in the first place is hard work.

"It's much better value, and you get a better product, when you ask Samarind to write your software from scratch. We make every effort to fully understand a business's processes and requirements so that the software we develop is completely tailored to its needs.

"Using our bespoke software will give our customers a much more efficient and integrated solution, saving them time and money. You also get good communication with the builders of the software - you don't get that with off-the-shelf products.

"In addition, of course, we can then support the company's IT on an ongoing basis, tweaking or adjusting it as the business needs change."

Does this busy man never relax?

"Oh yes," says Rob. "Sometimes I like to just sit at home and listen to music - I'm at a stage in life where I enjoy most genres and I can't say I have any particular favourites these days.

"Sometimes, though, my teenage son will come and tell me off for playing it too loud! That's the wrong way round, isn't it?"