We catch up with PROIV expert Declan Lyne, to hear all about his latest ventures and find out how he’s enjoying life down under

For those who aren’t familiar, can you briefly explain what your position is, and what your role entails?
My title is Solutions Architect and my primary role over the next few months is to project manage the move to PROIV Version 6 of a number of our large financial customers.  A lot of our customers are moving to Version 6 from very old versions of PROIV, so one of my roles is to help them realise the power of PROIV so they can use it in new and existing applications to drive their business forward.

Have you been with Northgate long? Tell us a little bit about your background?
I have been working with Northgate since 2004 but have been working with PROIV for over 20 years.  Prior to joining Northgate I worked as a contractor on various PROIV sites including a number of large banks in the UK.  I have also designed and presented PROIV training courses for many years.

Where are you based these days?
I’m based at Northgate's offices in Sydney, Australia.

Have you been there long?
I moved here with my wife and childrein September 2007.

And what made you decide to make the move?
The main reason for moving to Australia was to give our kids the chance to grow up in a safe, outdoor environment…And for my wife to get a great tan!

Sounds very different to life in the UK, how did you adapt to the culture change?
We have noticed the people here are extremely friendly which has really helped us settle in.  Obviously the main difference here is the weather and the emphasis on spending more time outdoors, leading a more active lifestyle, which the kids love. We obviously miss our friends and family back in the UK, but with these factors taken into consideration it would be hard not to love living here.

How is life different over there?
Life in Sydney is generally much more laid back than in the UK.  A typical weekend for us now involves driving ten minutes to the beach and cooking lunch on one of the free barbeques provided. Even though they speak ‘English’ here some of the terms take a little getting used to - not sure I will ever get my head round calling flip flops ‘thongs’!

So, on a business front, what exciting developments are currently happening in your area?Our customers here in Asia Pacific seem very excited as to how PROIV version 6 will allow their existing applications to sit in a Service Orientated Architecture.

Sounds like it’s all very positive, so what’s in store for the future?
A lot of work has been done here in Asia Pacific in the last couple of years and I’m looking forward to helping PROIV grow further and adding some real value to our customers.  Obviously then I need to work on getting a house on the beach, boat…

Declan Lyne can be contacted at declan.lyne@northgate-is.com