Ben Woods | Technology Analyst
We caught up with Ben, Technology Analyst at Bank of America, to learn more about his experience.
Can you explain your role at Bank of America?
I work in Corporate Mobile Service Assurance. We are a global team that are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the 130K + mobile devices at Bank of America in over 35 countries ensuring high quality service and user experience.
What does a typical day look like in your role?
A typical day begins by coming into the office and saying hello to my team. I then check the emails I received overnight from teammates in Asia and the west coast of America as our team use a ‘Follow the Sun’ model and we work with other international teams regularly.
After that I would normally check my work tracker to see if there are any tasks I need to complete throughout the day and look to prioritise the tasks. I also check my calendar to see what meetings I have upcoming and if I am hosting any of them, I will make sure I schedule time to prepare for it.
As I work in service Assurance most days I have calls with different mobile carriers in different countries. During these calls we discuss any user issues, device stock levels, any new technology being released and identify process improvements.
I also have calls with our engineering and operations team. During these calls we discuss a range of topics including new app releases, Apple iOS updates and any security risks we need to be aware of. From a service assurance perspective, we look to add input by communicating any corporate mobile changes across the bank through email communications etc. and we also have a large database of all corporate mobiles in the bank so we can analyse the data where necessary.
What was the role like when you first started?
I found the role rather fast paced when I joined. In the mobile space there are always new items such as new Apple iOS releases, new phones being released and lots of other items to consider. Having just graduated from university, I was also used to a very structured way of working but this role and joining my team has helped improve my organisation skills and note taking ability.
There were also a lot of opportunities to take ownership of small projects straight from the start, so I was able to get involved in lots of projects and host meetings which helped me get up to speed with corporate mobile and gain more confidence in my abilities.
How did you get into this role?
I first joined Bank of America as an industrial placement intern in-between my 2nd and 3rd year at university. Following the internship, I was lucky enough to be offered a full-time role as a graduate at Bank of America.
Corporate Mobile was not a team I worked on during my industrial placement but I was aware of them through other colleagues in Global Technology, so I chose them during my graduate discussions.
Can you tell us about a project you’ve really enjoyed in your role?
A project that has been a big learning curve has been helping to on-board a new mobile carrier. There have been so many different factors that I have needed to consider; from regulatory and compliance risks, business reputation and technical infrastructure that needs to be built. Working alongside experienced colleagues in this project has helped open my eyes to project management and understanding all the different factors involved in technology projects.
Corporate Mobile has been a great team to join, with being in contact with the engineering, operations, product, and commercial management teams on a nearly daily basis it has been a great opportunity to learn a broad amount of knowledge in my role and expand my network.
Another benefit is that a lot of my team members work in the Chester office and regularly come in the office 3-4 times a week. We frequently have team lunches and events which has made coming into the office great fun.
