Stacey Sharp - Beyond the Command Line, building effective information systems.

WEBVTT
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Welcome to the Forge by Design Podcast.
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This is your host, Daniel Badigel.
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As always, thank you so much for all your support.
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You can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and of course our YouTube channel, Forge by Design.
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We have an amazing guest today.
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I always use that word amazing, but definitely amazing guest today.
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30 years of experience in information systems, director of IT, among many things, cloud serving, cloud computing, uh Linux.
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We're going to have a great conversation regarding infrastructure and all those changes that have happened throughout, I think, many decades.
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So very interesting.
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Help me welcome Mr.
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Stacey Sharp.
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How are you, sir?
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Doing well, thank you.
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So grateful that you made the time out of your busy schedule to be with us.
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We have some history together.
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We've we've shared.
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He was before this uh this program, he was saying that he previously read some of my emails.
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We uh we worked together uh quite uh a couple of years ago.
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I will say uh maybe a couple of decades.
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Over a decade, yeah.
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It's been some time.
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It's been some time, but uh our interactions have been always uh grateful, um, very professional, and uh you have been definitely a mentor in the IT world.
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Uh this is nothing, nothing new to you.
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You've uh uh you are a pillar in many of the companies that I know regarding uh maintaining their infrastructure, uh their uh information systems, cloud computing, and so many other things that have allowed many organizations to run successfully 24-7.
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So uh I'm I'm I'm sure that if I have a networking issue, I know who to call.
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I've got you on speed down now.
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There you go.
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Absolutely.
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So you started off uh with the Tandy Radio Shack computer back in the day of the 2080.
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We used to call it the Trash 80, that was a couple of things.
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The Trash 80.
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One of the things that uh was very astounding to me, because I had to do I had to go back and research because I was trying to remember the style of computer that there was with maybe a 20, a 12-inch monitor plugged into a cassette cassette uh mechanism, right?
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How in the world had a basic software system that you were able to customize.
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What were you doing at the age of what six, seven messing around with TR8 system?
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So to get give you a little backstory, my dad has been in IT since 1969.
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Oh, that makes a lot of sense now.
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So one year for Christmas, I think I was I think I was six that year.
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He brought home, we could we got up that morning, you know, Christmas tree, whatever, and there's a the TV has this weird thing on the screen.
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And what it was is a little computer, and we could type in our name.
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Yes, and it knew all kinds of facts about us, and it blew me away.
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I was hooked right away.
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And so, what it was he had written a program that knew all about us.
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So I was hooked on this thing.
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It's uh it's written in BASIC, and basic is still around.
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Is it it's still around in different different forms?
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But you would program line by line and you saved on cassette tapes, and it took about as long as it would to play an entire album back then.
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It took this this is a cassette, this is a this is a cassette cassette.
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Regular cassette.
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Was it one cassette, two cassettes?
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Well, it was it was it?
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Probably one per program.
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One per program was wild.
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But to get programs, there was no internet.
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You waited for magazines to come into mail, and you get pages of this stuff, like computer trend magazines, and you would type it line by line.
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Okay, so you the the the magazines had the code?
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They had the programs and release code for you.
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So I had I wrote Battleship.
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My own.
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You wrote all on it.
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That's amazing.
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And if you mess up one line, correct.
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Yeah, one period, one dash, four slash.
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It was oh man, that would that would have been exciting because just you were the anticipation of getting the magazine to to do this, right?
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That's that's outstanding.
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When I got my comic books, that was my thing, but when I got the computer programming magazines, I was truly nerding out.
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I think uh the first time obviously I've never programmed.
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Uh, I remember um I did start it off my college years, uh, studying networking at Augusta Tech.
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Uh, got a Microsoft's uh Microsoft's uh certified uh uh associate degree.
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And I did study A, A, server, 2000 server, what back back in the day.
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And um then part of the curriculum I had to take programming classes.
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And when I just to know the logic.
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Just to know the logic.
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But when I started to get into the AS400 mainframes, the visual basics, and some other man, it was so intimidating.
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And in my there was the you know, the infinite loops and this and that.
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Mind mind cannot uh handle because it's literally a language.
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It is, it is a language, and uh it's it's just like learning Spanish, and then the next semester you're learning Portuguese.
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And though there's some similarities, right?
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Right, it's definitely a different world.
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So one of the uh professors uh told me stick with something, stick with one language, master it, master it, and then off of that, once you get seniority, then para at parallel, learn how to to uh develop the skills to of another language.
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Right.
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My biggest problem now, which we'll I know we'll get into later, is the way they teach kids early programming, it pushes more people away.
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Okay.
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I had a kid that wanted to learn to program.
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He Minecraft was a thing, he wanted to learn Java, and so he took Java in high school, and the way they taught it was terrible.
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He showed me his books.
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I'm like, there's a much easier way.
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But it kind of pushed him away for a long time.
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He didn't want to do it.
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Oh wow so you need you need the right teacher and the right language.
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Oh, that's amazing.
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You know, my ex my exposition or my exposure to computers was the first that the I think it was like the Apple II computer, and it had this massive, I want to say it was a uh a five point five point twenty five floppy, not not a hard disk, uh five and a quarter uh floppy disk that you inserted, and then the there was uh Apple IIE.
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Apple IIE.
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That was the first computer I hacked.
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But that's the first computer you hacked.
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Well, uh let's not go there, but yes.
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So and then that one had two two hard drives or two floppies, two drives.
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And then of course the the then Macintosh came out with the three and a quarter uh hard drive with the spinning disc.
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It was still a floppy, you know?
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It was still a floppy, you know, but I can't tell you that you know, I how much money I spent at Walmart buying the floppy cases that you know you can hold 30 discs.
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Right.
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I still have a couple.
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You still have that?
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Oh my god, I I don't I don't even think I had that.
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I had so much information.
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A lot of it was not photos because there was not a not a not enough capacity, but uh a lot of documents.
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I'll tell you the funniest thing.
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So where that that original three and a half inch floppy survives today is in our infamous save icon.
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So everybody knows the save icon, every program you have on a computer, it's that that floppy disk.
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So I was cleaning out my garage going through stuff, and I this is several years ago, and I pulled out some and was gonna see what I had.
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And one of my kids looked at it and goes, Dad, I didn't know you 3D printed a save icon.
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Oh wow, oh my god, that was hilarious! Have a seat, Sud What eat a tallness.
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Well, so what you had a passion, your dad was in was in IT.
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Um this this passion obviously stuck with you.
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Is when you were in high school, did you see yourself entering college uh wanting to pursue an IT career, or was that uh something that you had on the sidelines?
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Maybe you wanted to pursue something else, but life life and experience and curiosity drew you to information systems.
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So knowing that this is how computers worked, back then computers were big, you know, the personality.
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Yeah, remember that.
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So my first degree that I pursued was electronic engineering.
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Second was computer science.
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I wanted to build computers, I wanted to be the guy soldering everything, you know, I wanted to build them.
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And then I realized very quickly, within I mean less than five years, the infrastructure of how computers are built started to get very complicated, and it wasn't as simple as a person with a soldering iron anymore.
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Okay, so but I I've I've always felt a passion for IT.
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Sure.
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It's always been there.
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Yeah, I tried it, Stacey.
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I did try to assemble and solder.
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Of course, you go through the courses of soldering and and all that.
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Uh I remember crimping Ethernet cable and cabling and the color coding and stuff like that.
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Uh, not successful, not not successful.
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But just want to throw it out there that uh it was not it was really not my forte uh as far as that.
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That's that's why I transitioned to programming robots because it was it was a different type of platform.
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Still programming, still programming, still programming.
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So I went to Dayton, Ohio, and uh there was a motorman uh robots right uh company called uh Millsco Manufacturing gave me the opportunity.
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And uh, you know, so anyways, that that's that's another avenue.
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30 years of IT, uh you've seen a lot of changes in technology, a lot of platforms in technology, especially around the CSRA and abroad.
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What do you think uh has been the the greatest shift?
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You know, I noted down, of course, that the 1970s there was the commercial microprocessor that came out, and then of course the 1980s, the World Wide Web, uh the 1990s, the open source operating system, Linux, which you are a guru in.
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Of course, the the 2010 was uh the cloud computing infrastructure.
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And what what comes to mind when you looking at these major leaps in technology that has left you uh you know curious about you know 30 years you go through a few different paradigm shifts.
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So cassette tapes.
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Okay I've saved stuff on real-to-reel uh tapes, so classic, classic real to real.
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Um had a data management job I worked with my dad, and we had to take stuff off of bank records that were stored on those and put them on actual computers.
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So just watching, I think one of the biggest things for me has been how we store our data.
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So we talk about you know the size of floppy disks.
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I still have an unopened box of eight-inch floppy disks.
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Nobody knows what those are.
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There's eight, five and a quarter, three and a half.
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But you know, even the size of our thumb drives and you know, micro SD cards and stuff like that that fit on your thumbnail, that's one thing.
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But I remember when a megabyte was a ton of space.
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Sure.
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You know, Bill Gates is famously saying, because he was asked by IBM, they're building a computer around him.
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How much memory does a computer need?
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And he famously said, no more than 640 kilobytes ever.
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Well, I guess everything he was thinking about cloud computing.
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They they built such a small computer space, and now we're looking at terabytes.
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So looking at big data, as they call it now, how much we store, how much we collect, how much information, to me, I think some of the biggest things that have that have floored me, you know, has got to be storage, you know, because memory has stayed about the same, it just gets bigger.
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Processors just started replicating and making multiple cores.
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Correct.
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But it's storage that has changed.
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To me, the big change between a spinning hard drive, which we some of us we call it a rush drive.
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Correct.
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So from a spinning hard drive to a solid state device, and now to NVMe, the really small ones that go in your laptops and your computers.
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Sure.
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I'm waiting to see what's next.
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Yeah, absolutely, especially in the in the gaming uh industry, you know, uh just myself, you know, I've I've had you know, you start to collect all these laptops, right?
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And uh, and some of the you add more RAM, more memory, whatnot.
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And then uh back in the day, uh I was talking to my producer that you know, one terabyte used to be like 80 bucks the world if you got it.
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If you have one terabyte, and but now one terabyte, two terabytes of memory can cost you three, four hundred dollars because it there's a high demand for people to start downloading all this information and putting it in on external hard drives and whatnot, uh, so you won't lose those those photos, those videos, and whatnot, especially on the podcasting side.
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I'm gonna have to get put this on the cloud somewhere because you know I can't say monthly to keep it there.
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Uh yeah, yeah.
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Somebody, somebody's got it to to analyze.
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We transfers got all my all my videos and what that's the next paradigm shift.
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It's one thing that I have seen uh change and not to jump too far ahead, but it used to be when you buy a computer, it's your computer.
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You buy your software, whether it be Windows or Office or whatever you need, it's yours.
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You keep it until it's no longer supported.
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Now everything is a subscription, it's software as a service.
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So the subscription model is the most common way because companies realize that once you buy it, I'm not making any more money off of you.
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Correct.
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So now they have a model that we are all inundated with.
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Like we subscribe to everything.
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Storage for your pictures, that's a cloud subscription.
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Want to use office, that's a cloud subscription.
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That's the next paradigm.
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That's where we are right now as far as who's making money.
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Yeah, so privacy is less sometimes less private because if you want privacy, that's another subscription.
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It's either private or it's built on your own proper your own stuff at home and you run the risk of it being lost in a fire or something.
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So from a um a company standpoint, of of course, uh the introduction of computers, uh, you know, typically back back then line managers or office managers, functional managers are the were the only ones that had computer systems.
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Now more and more people are using uh tablets, like for example, for auditing, uh, for quality management system auditing, later process auditing, anything lean six sigma six sigma for gamble walks and kinds and events and what you can do.
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Information as you get what you go, uh, with the uh evolution of scanners to scan barcodes to update the inventory, RFID technology, the chip technology to update your inventory, keep track of movements of raw materials, whip what the systems and people behind the scenes uh before a software monitoring all these logistics.
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You know, we didn't have that back in the day.
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It was more so, again, the office managers had some sort of computer, you know, and usually a hard drive and everything was stored there locally.
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If you lost your laptop or you lost your, you know, you you spilled your coffee on your on your desk desktop, that was it.
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You know, that that was it, and it happened to me once.
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And it happened to me once.
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I have to confess, I won't say what company, but it did, it did, it did happen to me.
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Well, well, now how do you how do you navigate uh the fact that uh as a director of IT, uh people are are wanting more and more accessibility and access to server, to cloud computer basing, to instant information uh on these platforms.
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So you've already hit it.
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So what it is is people need access to their information instantly and all the time and everywhere.
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So right now, if I need to go and look up an email, I can pull up a phone and spend seconds and I've got my email.
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I can search by last month, I can go find something instead of having to go back to my office, dig through files, or go through a computer that's sitting there on my desk.
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People now need access to stuff instantly.
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And I think that's what's driving people.
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We're in a we're in a microwave society.
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We want it now.
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Yes, and so that's the drive.
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Well, and how much obviously the the more uh computer devices or mobile devices employees have because of their roles and responsibilities, it needs more cloud storage, uh, uh a set of uh a server room.
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And you know, one of the things that I was looking at uh because I I remember, of course, as you uh as a you as an IT IT director, the bridges, the switches, the the um the uh the firewalls, right?
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Physical devices that you had to have uh back then it was a T1 line for for storage, and as the years progressed, to my surprise, I you know, I think uh it was it was to come.
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You know, T1 lines were replaced with uh fiber optic cabling.
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So uh no knowing that uh as an IT director, uh do how do you look at the infrastructure of a company to say, yes, we have the cloud computing power or computing storage necessary in order to have a successful company?
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Right.
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So if you've got your stuff in a cloud somewhere, and which by the way, cloud just means somebody else's computer that you're paying for.
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Sure.
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In this area, most of them are in Atlanta.
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Sure.
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So when all your stuff's up there, you need to have a fast enough internet speed to access it and bring it down to whatever building you're sitting in, whatever your your business is.
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And if you're walking around the floor doing gimbal walks, doing inspections, trying to check quality documentation, trying to move warehouse management, you have to have a fast internet and a fast Wi-Fi.
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So everything has to evolve and upgrade almost simultaneously at the same time.
00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:21.119
So we worked at a place before that went from on-premise servers, which means they were sitting in a room there sucking up air conditioning and electricity, to a cloud system, which we made that migration.
00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:27.279
And now all of a sudden we had to make sure the internet was fast enough so that we could still access everything we have.
00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:27.680
Sure.
00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:29.519
So things do move quicker.
00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:37.119
You have more data that has to move, and so making sure your network is up to speed and up to network, up to sp up to spec, rather.
00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:37.440
Sure.
00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:39.440
To keep up with what your demands are.
00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:41.680
And what about security on the on the cloud based?
00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:43.599
Oh, yeah, you're waiting for that one.
00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:53.119
You know, I guess you know, uh I'm gonna be honest, I guess as uh again, I I'm I'm the and a user, I'm not, I'm not part of the the IT department.
00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:56.640
I'm a functional quality shared manager and so so many other things.
00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:01.200
As a user, I'm always thinking about is is this inform the cloud?
00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:02.319
The cloud where?
00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:04.480
You know, is this uh you know uh the twilight?
00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:05.519
Does it go to the twilight?
00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:06.400
So where's the cloud?
00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:07.119
Where's the cloud?
00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:08.640
Where's my information going?
00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:09.839
How is it stored?
00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:11.039
And how is it audited?
00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:13.839
I mean, who's what's the what's the privacy there?
00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:20.640
So it's it's kind of wild when you think about so when you start talking about there's more and more devices on the network and there's more wireless devices.
00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:25.759
To an IT person, we just felt all the hair stand up on the back of her neck because why is that?
00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:26.880
Well, for two things.
00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:31.279
One, we have to protect company information, company secrets.
00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:34.079
That's critical to help this company succeed.
00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:35.839
That's their trademark, their trade secret.
00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:37.279
How do you do that?
00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:40.480
Well, the other part is protecting users from themselves.
00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:43.839
People click links, they don't think about it, they'll let things in the door.
00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:49.039
So part of what we have to do is from where the servers sit, full access control.
00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:51.680
We have to make sure that only the people with permission can get there.
00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:54.720
Then we look at the devices that the people with permission log into.
00:18:55.119 --> 00:18:56.720
What endpoint security do we have?
00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:00.000
Do we have a way to keep someone from trying to get in without it?
00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:01.759
You've heard of two-factor authentication.
00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:07.279
I need a password and a fingerprint, or a password and a pass key, or some kind of a some kind of a code.
00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:12.000
So we have to follow the chain on where people are accessing this information.
00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:13.759
And a lot of times you see it all the time.
00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:17.200
You read in the email or read read about emails, there's phishing schemes.
00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:19.200
People clicked a link that looked real.
00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:23.839
Office 365 is huge about this because people get a link.
00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:25.359
I think it came from IT.
00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:28.720
They click it and log in, and now someone has taken their account.
00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:34.079
And whoever has it can go up that chain and grab whatever information they were allowed to have.
00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:37.359
So it's a constant, it's a full-time job for that person.
00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:53.680
Well, you know, as a as as you know, one of the things that I have seen from uh from a shop floor level is that once an employee gets a hold of that guest password and they have access to you know, my phone's not working, it's bad, you know, transmission, I'm inside the building, right?
00:19:53.839 --> 00:20:11.279
I can't get on, I can't uh access my Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, as you know, how you know and you know I'm not sure if you're able to block it, but um, you know, once once you have that QR code and you scan that guest password, and or visitors come in from other companies and and the same the same thing.
00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:19.599
Um, you know, that that the the risk of of you know hitting I'm not sure if this terminology is still the tro Trojan horse so or spam.
00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:20.640
It's still away.
00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:21.599
Trojans are still a thing.
00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:25.920
Now now we have uh rats, which is a remote access trojan, so they can come in remotely.
00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:26.400
Correct.
00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:29.839
Um so one and install the software, install it'll install whatever it wants.
00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:32.000
If you gave it permission, it takes over your computer.
00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:32.640
Oh my god.
00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:36.960
So one of the biggest things now you're talking about different types of Wi-Fi networks.
00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:45.759
A lot of companies will have their corporate network, which is locked down, very long passwords, certain people get it and they're monitored heavily to see if new devices show up.
00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:51.279
But guest networks are usually segmented, almost like a DMZ.
00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:52.559
It's a demilitarized zone.
00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:55.200
It is outside of your network on purpose.
00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:55.680
Okay.
00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:58.640
It may get less resources, it has less permission.
00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:01.359
And it's monitored, but not strictly.
00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:07.839
Like we want to make sure that people can connect to access whatever resources they need outside of our network, outside of our structure.
00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:11.359
The corporate networks need to be able to access what's inside.
00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:12.880
So that's the guest password.
00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:14.000
We push that out.
00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:16.880
And if it starts getting abused, we slow it down or shut it off.
00:21:17.119 --> 00:21:17.440
Okay.
00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:24.480
So uh going back to that question, how how does um director of IT protect its users?
00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:32.720
Because then again, the the third party, maybe second party, third party service for firewalls or for protection is cloud-based.
00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:34.079
Is that is that a correct statement?
00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:35.119
So yeah, to a degree.
00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:36.559
How is that how is that monitoring?
00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:37.759
It's usually cloud managed.
00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:41.920
So they don't have a physical firewall gateway device.
00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:43.039
There's okay.
00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:46.240
And so his job is to l sniff everything that comes through.
00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:48.960
So if it smells bad, it goes back out, you know.
00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:51.119
So his job is to check everything.
00:21:51.279 --> 00:22:11.680
And nowadays you'll read in the news all the time, at least in in the tech forums, every major firewall company, and we're talking uh you You know, Naraki, we're talking Fortigate, we're talking SonicWall, yes, uh Cisco, all these guys, uh uh Palo Alto, all these guys have been in the news at least once in the last 12 months of major hacks.
00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:12.400
Yeah, major hacks.
00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:14.799
Because people want to go after the gatekeepers.
00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:15.119
Sure.
00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:19.119
So they have to stay on top of their game so that we can stay on top of our game.
00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:22.000
So again, the firewall is your first line of defense.
00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:23.440
If that's updated, we're good.
00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:25.359
It's cloud managed, but we keep it here.
00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:29.359
But again, uh another word, you know, we used to have antivirus software on our computers.
00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:31.519
We used to have uh malwytes, that was a big one.
00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:32.160
We used to love it.
00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:33.519
What about McAfee that keeps packing?
00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:35.759
McAfee's still it'll never die.
00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:36.640
It'll never die.
00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:38.160
Well, I see the pop-up every time.
00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:39.440
I mean, it's about to expire.
00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:41.279
I mean, I'm like, I never installed it.
00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:43.920
It's because you didn't uncheck a box.
00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:46.480
But nowadays, you know, antivirus isn't enough.
00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:46.720
Sure.
00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:52.559
Because AI drives virus creation, AI drives virus um destruction.
00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:53.200
Sure.
00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:55.519
So now it's called endpoint security.
00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:57.119
Your device is an endpoint.
00:22:57.200 --> 00:23:01.920
So there's a software that's running that's doing more than just viruses or virus protection.
00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:03.680
It's looking at everything.
00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:06.720
And not to get big words, but checks heuristic scans.
00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:09.039
It's looking at um all of your ins and outs.
00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:12.319
It's just trying to make sure everything is copacetic.
00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:13.359
Like, is this supposed to be here?
00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:14.160
Not supposed to be here.
00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:14.480
Sure.
00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:19.920
Like if you try to go go go to google.com, did you something on your computer go ask for yahoo.com?
00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:21.680
Like, okay, something went wrong.
00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:30.480
So that's its job is to really multi-layer security endpoint, midpoint, endpoint, try to find everything.
00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:33.599
So building versus buying.
00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:38.000
So you mentioned that you prefer building solutions when it when it makes sense.
00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:46.799
So how do you decide when to build something custom versus purchasing an off-the-shelf solution when it comes to software?
00:23:47.200 --> 00:24:03.440
I you know, I've had some experience where there's uh other IT directors or IT managers, whatnot, and uh, you know, they start building systems, whether it be for the shop floor functionality and or for security, and it's an in-house built-in system.
00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:14.319
Um, and they make it so complicated that sometimes you cannot, you know, uh they're they're irreplaceable because no one knows the intricacies of the of the coding.
00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:26.000
So when do you decide as a director of IT that this organization needs a custom made, custom built software system versus employing a second third party software?
00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:26.400
Right.
00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:31.279
So usually the the the two pillars that drive that is what's the budget?
00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:35.359
So I've I've been at places with you know six-figure budget.
00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:37.519
Is that is that like fundamental?
00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:46.799
It's like okay, I can I can just see Stacy just going into the CFO's office saying, I know you you need all the security, you need all this and stuff like that.
00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:48.720
Fundamental question what's the budget?
00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:49.519
What's the budget?
00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:52.480
Because I mean, really, the sky is the limit for what you can employ.
00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:52.799
Sure.
00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:55.200
So we're looking at uh manufacturing and monitoring.
00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:59.359
You know, we've I've done a handful of projects with this, I've inherited projects like this.
00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:09.519
So you can purchase some managing software that can be thirty thousand dollars a year after a couple, you know, a couple ten thousand here or there to get it built.
00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:13.279
And it'll do a pretty decent job, but not quite everything you want.
00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:22.400
Or you can build something that might cost you ten thousand dollars once and you upgrade it as it needs internally.
00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:22.799
Sure.
00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:27.039
So I think a lot of times it comes down to what is the what is the end goal?
00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:28.400
What does this need to do?
00:25:28.640 --> 00:25:32.160
How critical is it, and who's gonna keep maintaining it?
00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:35.519
Because like you said, sometimes person becomes irreplaceable.
00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:39.680
And I know we'll talk about this later, but that's where documentation becomes king.
00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:43.200
If nobody else knows it but you, it's as worthless as it can be.
00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:55.440
It needs to be replaced with something other people can know because at the top they will pay because let's say you've got a a system that monitors a manufacturing process that's making ten thousand dollars an hour.
00:25:56.079 --> 00:26:02.640
Well, if it is gonna make that much money, if you buy something and put it on that, it'll pay for itself in a day and a half.
00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:03.119
Absolutely.
00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:04.880
So you're done.
00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:08.559
But if it's something a little more critical, something more fine-tuned, you know, you build it.
00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:09.119
Sure.
00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:21.359
And I've had solutions that have been built that I have finished building, and you know, sometimes they just work better because a lot of times in manufacturing, I think you've seen this, not every single niche has been covered.
00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:23.920
I need something to do just this task.
00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:24.480
Correct.
00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:28.880
You know, I've got a custom system in my last place that collects 11 million data points a month.
00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:29.920
Wow, amazing.
00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:35.759
And it's done with Raspberry Pis and microcontrollers, SQL servers, and Python programs.
00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:38.720
People are using are still using IQMS software.
00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:39.519
Absolutely.
00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:40.480
It's uh it's still growing.
00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:41.759
They got bought by 3DS.
00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:42.319
Okay.
00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:45.599
Um, I can personally attest, I don't want to get anybody in trouble.
00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:47.519
Um, their support's different.
00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:48.079
Okay.
00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:52.640
You know, not not quite as as responsive as it was, but they're a much larger company now.
00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:57.519
They're they're involved or I'll say wrapped up into 3DS's uh eco uh ecosystem.
00:26:57.839 --> 00:26:58.000
Sure.
00:26:58.160 --> 00:27:00.960
But it's still big, it's still growing, and it's still getting better.
00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:01.519
Sure.
00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:12.640
I know one of the the passions that uh the IT department always has, and uh the the feedback that I get is that they will say, uh Daniel, the software is so underutilized.
00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:14.400
There's so many tools.
00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:16.319
You can do this, you can do that.
00:27:16.480 --> 00:27:27.680
What and we're still stuck in the Excel world and the and the other stuff in spreadsheets, and we want to code everything in Excel and and update and stuff like that, which is which is okay, right?
00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:28.880
We're talking about budget.
00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:39.279
But then again, you know, there's the the potentiality of growing the system and convincing uh, I guess, uh uh management or corporate that these tools are available for education.
00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:54.400
Uh sometimes I I feel that the there's um maybe uh they don't fully understand the capacity or the capability uh of what uh this the systems of the softwares can can do for the organization and um working smarter and not harder, right?
00:27:54.640 --> 00:27:54.799
Right.
00:27:54.880 --> 00:28:02.559
So by the last 20 years of my career, my my my boss has always been someone either C-suite, senior management, VP.
00:28:02.720 --> 00:28:06.400
I have to speak numbers, and the numbers they want to hear are dollars and cents.
00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:06.799
Sure.
00:28:07.039 --> 00:28:17.039
So if we have a product that is underutilized, can we utilize it to improve productivity, to increase productivity, to increase profit?
00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:18.559
Can we eliminate waste?
00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:24.400
Can we better give visibility to reports that our customers need that we need internally?
00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:30.559
Those are the things they need to know because if they push a button and try to see a report and nothing works, they need something else.
00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:31.039
Absolutely.
00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:39.119
If you remember uh the company that we worked together, one of my primary roles was to fully implement the IQMS software.
00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:39.440
Sure.
00:28:39.599 --> 00:28:41.680
We were using about eight percent.
00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:42.880
Wow, I didn't know that.
00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:44.079
It was it was very small.
00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:47.279
So within I think six years, we had it over 80%.
00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:54.640
And I have uh have friends of mine that had worked there with us co-workers that had moved on to other companies, like, yeah, so-and-so's got IQ as as well.
00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:56.880
They're not using it anywhere as much as we did.
00:28:57.119 --> 00:28:57.759
Oh, I'm saying.
00:28:58.079 --> 00:29:00.000
Well, I'm I'm glad you I'm glad you expanded that.
00:29:00.160 --> 00:29:02.400
It's that definitely uh a professional trying for you.
00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:11.839
I remember all the uh the PPAP documentation uploading the control plans, PFMEA's, and all the checks and balances for electronic signatures that I have to do.
00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:13.839
I love the the the quality stop.
00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:20.880
Nothing moved to the next phase or the next uh stage gate without these approvals being done in the full process.
00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:27.359
You know, and if not, we will I will get a call from another program manager saying, hey Daniel, you know, make sure you sign off because I'm waiting.
00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:28.240
Check the box.
00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:35.039
Well, check check check at least check the box that we know who you mentioned that you're comfortable writing Python.
00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:37.359
Uh for those that don't know, what it what is Python?
00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:38.240
That's a snake.
00:29:38.319 --> 00:29:38.480
Okay.
00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:43.920
So if that was an IT joke, maybe a dad joke.
00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:51.759
No, no, so uh comfortable writing pythons, crimping network cables and and serving as an IT director.
00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:58.799
How how has uh staying hands-on technically influenced your effectiveness as a leader?
00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:02.640
Well, for me, I have trained my boss in several jobs.
00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:03.279
Sure.
00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:15.359
So being someone that knows the in and out, that knows the process and can also manage the people that you hire to know the process helps you speak intelligently and really be part of the troubleshooting team.
00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:15.839
Sure.
00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:20.079
So, one, as a leader, you have the respect of the people that come in.
00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:20.400
Sure.
00:30:20.559 --> 00:30:24.480
You know, I have had managers that only know how to lead people and don't know the process.
00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:27.200
Now, not to overstep them, I don't want to micromanage.
00:30:27.359 --> 00:30:28.400
I need to macromanage.
00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:33.359
I need them to grow and evolve for to be successful in this job and their next job.
00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:36.400
Always look to your next year, what's your overarching goal here?
00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:44.000
So being hands-on has one kept me fresh because I truly enjoy the hands-on side of it.
00:30:44.400 --> 00:30:49.759
But it also has helped me better instruct and teach and develop the team that I'm responsible for.
00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:57.599
So there's a lot of train the schedule training throughout the year on software updates, maybe tools, uh, and uh or improv.
00:30:57.839 --> 00:30:58.880
It happens on the fly.
00:30:59.279 --> 00:30:59.599
Yes.
00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:05.119
You know, uh, one of the things that I I worked for a company, they were very good at uh new employee introduction.
00:31:05.279 --> 00:31:07.519
So they just did not throw us to the wolves.
00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:09.279
It was not on-the-job training.
00:31:09.440 --> 00:31:14.240
There was actually a program in place, and you would spend, I think, two days with IT.
00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:17.440
And not and not just here's your email, here's your phone.
00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:17.680
Right.
00:31:17.920 --> 00:31:19.359
It was not, it was not that type of thing.
00:31:19.519 --> 00:31:28.319
It was more so how to use the software, uh, the the security features, uh uh tickets, how to put a request of tickets, a troubleshoot, whatnot.
00:31:28.559 --> 00:31:33.920
We also, as a as a tier one, uh, we had access to all the OEM's uh software.
00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:40.799
So there was a lot of uh passwords and and privacy uh uh sign-offs, NDAs that we had had to sign off.
00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:42.960
So imagine two days with IT.
00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:57.119
For me was it was quite the experience because uh I knew that the organization as a whole, both corporate and the the local uh plant, uh took uh IT uh very seriously, more more seriously than uh I had experience in other.
00:31:57.599 --> 00:31:58.799
Automotive up notice does that.
00:32:12.240 --> 00:32:21.599
And not only a software, different platforms, AutoCAD, maintenance software, um gauging software, and whatnot, and you know, just the do's and don'ts.
00:32:21.759 --> 00:32:28.880
But the fact that you there were two days of it, you know, uh in in classroom training, this is what we use, this is how we use it throughout the year.
00:32:28.960 --> 00:32:30.480
We train on ABC DFG.
00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:31.680
These are your trains, right?
00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:40.319
Checks and balances, we expect for you to be at this proficiency level at you know the third quarter of your uh of your employment and and the pressure, right?
00:32:40.400 --> 00:32:56.480
That's okay, I gotta get these systems right because if the the more proficient I became in the systems that were in place, then the less I had to occupy IT right and take them out of their day, you know, their their normal job to help assist uh the functional manager.
00:32:56.799 --> 00:33:00.640
And a lot of times you have a full-time person whose job is that orientation step.
00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:07.839
So when I started working, it was an automotive company back in the um mid-2000s, they were sorry, early 2000s.
00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:11.039
Wow, they were very strong on system and structure.
00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:16.960
So everything was not just standard operating procedure, it was the culture, like it was built in.
00:33:17.119 --> 00:33:26.160
So we spent a day in orientation with just here's where the exits are, this is where you walk and not walk, this is a manufacturing facility, stay in this area.
00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:32.559
Day two was IT, and here's your badge, and here's how this works, and here's how the here's how you log into the system.
00:33:32.799 --> 00:33:36.559
We were using Lotus Domino back then, so Lotus Notes was the email system.
00:33:37.039 --> 00:33:39.039
So, how does that work compared to Outlook?
00:33:39.119 --> 00:33:41.200
So it brought everybody up to speed.
00:33:41.279 --> 00:33:43.839
So within your first week, there was a follow-up too.
00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:45.680
We had a person that would follow up with you after a week.
00:33:46.160 --> 00:33:46.640
How are you doing?
00:33:46.720 --> 00:33:50.640
How are you what everyone was on the same level within their first 30 days?
00:33:50.880 --> 00:33:51.359
Outstanding.
00:33:51.440 --> 00:33:53.119
That's that's an amazing uh ecosystem.
00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:54.160
Yes.
00:33:54.319 --> 00:33:59.519
So you know, IT also has the the the opportunity to update the uh the employee list.
00:33:59.839 --> 00:34:02.079
So in trouble times reporting.
00:34:02.319 --> 00:34:08.000
In troubled times, if your name was not on the employee list, you you might want to check with HR.
00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:09.679
All right, that's the sidetrack.
00:34:10.239 --> 00:34:14.480
He would go through and he would try to type in his password, it wouldn't work, so he didn't mean to get up and check his bad his badge.
00:34:15.119 --> 00:34:16.320
Yeah, it's like okay, I'm still in.
00:34:16.480 --> 00:34:19.119
I'm still in call IT outstanding.
00:34:19.679 --> 00:34:25.199
So the art of troubleshooting, you describe troubleshooting as a methodology rather than just a skill.
00:34:25.519 --> 00:34:33.519
So what does your process look like when you you're faced with a complex problem that no one else can solve?
00:34:33.679 --> 00:34:41.440
This is, you know, everybody's scratching their heads, banging their heads against the wall, and you're the go-to guy, you're the guru of the organization.
00:34:41.599 --> 00:34:44.239
How do you face those difficult challenges as a leader?
00:34:44.559 --> 00:34:48.079
So this the 10,000-foot view is way outside of IT.
00:34:48.480 --> 00:34:49.920
This applies to everything.
00:34:50.079 --> 00:34:54.079
And IT has just gotten more complicated, but you can still apply the same principle.
00:34:54.159 --> 00:34:56.559
Okay, everything is a system.
00:34:57.039 --> 00:34:58.719
Understand how the system works.
00:34:58.960 --> 00:35:06.719
So the more understanding, more hands-on you have of a system, you know what can go wrong, and you can start checking out your method.
00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:08.639
You start figuring out what is this okay?
00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:09.280
Yes, check.
00:35:09.360 --> 00:35:09.840
Is this okay?
00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:10.559
Yes, check.
00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:12.559
You go through all your checkboxes, really.
00:35:12.639 --> 00:35:12.960
Sure.
00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:16.960
So the troubleshooting methodology is one experience.
00:35:17.119 --> 00:35:21.679
So you know right off the bat, if it's in my top hundred things on the top of my head, I know there could be a problem.
00:35:21.920 --> 00:35:23.840
There's no troubleshooting, there's resolution.
00:35:23.920 --> 00:35:25.199
You push a button, you make it work.
00:35:25.360 --> 00:35:25.519
Sure.
00:35:25.679 --> 00:35:29.119
But when it is head scratching, then it's one of those walk the system.
00:35:29.280 --> 00:35:30.079
How does the system work?
00:35:30.239 --> 00:35:32.320
Okay, this level is okay, dig deeper.
00:35:32.400 --> 00:35:33.039
How's that level?
00:35:33.199 --> 00:35:34.159
Okay, those are okay.
00:35:34.559 --> 00:35:42.239
Everything in life, whether you're working on a car, you're building a country, or you're simply managing IT, it's a system.
00:35:42.800 --> 00:35:47.519
Figure out your system, know what layer you're in, and what your troubleshooting steps are here.
00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:49.199
Check them all, keep going down.
00:35:49.440 --> 00:36:17.599
Well, you know, when when the production lines, uh value streams rely on on the IT infrastructure to work, you know, I'm checking a gauge, it has to work at a certain certain torque, and and my my monitor goes out, and there's no connection to to record this data point or data might into the server, and the and online goes out uh above goes uh on above me, right?
00:36:17.760 --> 00:36:31.280
And somebody's calling it at the urgency because the the inability or the the the challenge of getting things resolved in a in in a reasonable manner it equates to finances.
00:36:31.360 --> 00:36:31.519
Right.
00:36:31.679 --> 00:36:37.360
You know, this line is down, I haven't produced X amount of vehicles, X amount of parts, or whatever they may be.
00:36:37.519 --> 00:36:39.280
Uh you know, what what happened?
00:36:39.360 --> 00:36:43.599
Well, we called IT and IT took two and a half hours to try to get it right.
00:36:43.840 --> 00:36:46.159
Oh, excuse me, I have to reboot the system.
00:36:46.400 --> 00:36:54.079
You know, we're gonna go down for about you know, 10 minutes or so, and then everything seems to reset and we're back, we're back online.
00:36:54.239 --> 00:36:55.199
How do you handle that pressure?
00:36:55.280 --> 00:36:56.639
Have you first of all have you been there?
00:36:56.880 --> 00:36:58.559
And how and how do you handle that pressure?
00:36:58.800 --> 00:37:02.320
I had a ringtone for certain people, so I knew how to respond when my phone rang.
00:37:02.559 --> 00:37:05.920
Oh my god, you had to I've been on call since 2001.
00:37:06.079 --> 00:37:06.320
Okay.
00:37:06.480 --> 00:37:08.400
Uh my wife was always called a digital leash.
00:37:08.480 --> 00:37:10.320
She goes, Hey, your leash is going off, you know.
00:37:10.480 --> 00:37:10.719
Yes.
00:37:10.880 --> 00:37:12.880
So being prepared to answer stuff.
00:37:13.039 --> 00:37:21.119
So one thing, and this this is this is um a philosophy that I've tried to stick with because I do not like repeating myself.
00:37:21.360 --> 00:37:24.079
I don't like fixing the same problem twice.
00:37:24.400 --> 00:37:27.360
If I get a call in the middle of the night, that became a project.
00:37:27.599 --> 00:37:30.079
How do I keep this from doing this again?
00:37:30.320 --> 00:37:30.559
Wow.
00:37:30.719 --> 00:37:32.960
So I need a way to automate this this solution.
00:37:33.039 --> 00:37:35.199
I need a way to empower the end user.
00:37:35.360 --> 00:37:37.840
So you remember because you mentioned value street maps.
00:37:38.320 --> 00:37:39.519
We've done a handful of these.
00:37:39.679 --> 00:37:43.599
You'd fill up an eight-foot wall full of sticky notes and figure out where you can eliminate waste.
00:37:44.159 --> 00:37:46.880
We've done that through IT and we did it at the same company.
00:37:46.960 --> 00:37:54.400
So if you've got a person trying to torque something and the spec they're reading disappears from the screen, they have to have a backup plan.
00:37:54.559 --> 00:37:55.519
What is their SOP?
00:37:55.599 --> 00:37:56.800
What is their manual plan?
00:37:57.039 --> 00:38:00.559
So we have to work on, we know this is a potential failure point.
00:38:00.719 --> 00:38:00.880
Sure.
00:38:01.039 --> 00:38:02.400
What can be the backup plan?
00:38:02.559 --> 00:38:06.880
So for us, every problem never needs to be repeated.
00:38:06.960 --> 00:38:08.559
It needs to be a project to resolve.
00:38:08.800 --> 00:38:09.280
Absolutely.
00:38:09.440 --> 00:38:10.559
Wow, that's that's amazing.
00:38:10.719 --> 00:38:14.960
I remember one time you just brought to remembrance something that that's hilarious.
00:38:15.199 --> 00:38:24.079
Um, uh, again, it was I was we had we wore many hats, and you know, I'm not I'm not gonna say that was part of the IT team, but I was on the lookout.
00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:25.360
It was everybody's on the IT team.
00:38:25.440 --> 00:38:26.239
Yeah, IT team.
00:38:26.480 --> 00:38:33.760
So something happened on a Saturday, and the operator was unable to enter information, especially the the data, into the computer.
00:38:33.920 --> 00:38:36.400
And he kept scratching the head, so they they called me, right?
00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:42.159
And of course, if you call an employee on a Saturday, it was a four-hour minimum OT, right?
00:38:42.239 --> 00:38:44.559
It was not just because they didn't know where they lived, right?
00:38:44.639 --> 00:38:46.320
Whatnot, to get there and so forth.
00:38:46.559 --> 00:38:51.760
When I got there, uh I I asked the person, please show me what's what's going on.
00:38:51.840 --> 00:38:56.320
It's uh I'm trying to enter this number in the numeric keypad, and nothing's going in.
00:38:56.400 --> 00:39:01.519
Now you remember, you have numeric keypads in the front of the keyboard, and then you had some on the side.
00:39:01.599 --> 00:39:03.760
And I'm doing this on the side, and nothing's happening.
00:39:03.840 --> 00:39:14.480
Nothing's they they didn't even think of using the top ones, but said, you know, so I I I look at it, I I I I hit the number lock, you know, the number lock.
00:39:14.800 --> 00:39:17.360
And and then he went, whoop, magic.
00:39:17.519 --> 00:39:22.000
You know, those are the type of things that I'm like, that was the easiest four hours overtime.
00:39:22.239 --> 00:39:29.840
But one of the greatest features features, greatest feature Microsoft ever added to an operating system started in Windows 7.
00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:38.079
When you're on the logon screen, and if the caps lock is on, yes, it says caps lock on and there's underneath the login.
00:39:38.239 --> 00:39:40.239
That wasn't a thing until Windows 7.
00:39:40.559 --> 00:39:41.280
Maybe that's why.
00:39:41.519 --> 00:39:45.840
Maybe maybe maybe those employees that I had to press the little number lock.
00:39:46.159 --> 00:39:49.679
You know, and it was the easiest four-hour overtime in my life.
00:39:49.920 --> 00:39:50.559
But you think about it.
00:39:50.639 --> 00:39:52.719
I mean, and that's and it's not a discredit to people.
00:39:52.880 --> 00:39:53.199
Sure, sure.
00:39:53.360 --> 00:39:58.480
They're normal humans, they are told to do a job, and I've I've noticed a generation gap.
00:39:58.639 --> 00:40:04.719
I mean, I have had people that didn't grow up with computers that I'm that are still working with me in their 60s and 70s.
00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:07.599
They don't understand more than outside of what they're supposed to do.
00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:10.719
And they're geniuses in their field, yes, but this is something different.
00:40:10.880 --> 00:40:11.119
Absolutely.
00:40:11.360 --> 00:40:15.440
So my instructions say to push these numbers, I'm not touching anything else.
00:40:15.519 --> 00:40:16.719
I'm following these instructions.
00:40:17.039 --> 00:40:17.519
This command.
00:40:17.679 --> 00:40:20.000
And if this doesn't work, I'm done.
00:40:20.320 --> 00:40:20.880
Wow.
00:40:21.199 --> 00:40:26.239
What um you you've migrated entire organizations to cloud very successfully.
00:40:26.320 --> 00:40:36.559
Uh, and and that's one thing that uh uh it's transformational in the industry now for for not only security reasons, but also data storage and and so forth.
00:40:36.719 --> 00:40:44.320
Uh, what misconception companies often have about cloud transformation and what should leaders focus on instead?
00:40:44.480 --> 00:40:47.679
I mean, what what what misconceptions they have about, you know, uh Mr.
00:40:47.760 --> 00:40:56.239
Tracy, I need, you know, we we have uh storage capacity or security capacity, or we're the company is growing, we're having multiple buildings, right?
00:40:56.400 --> 00:40:58.239
We need to a cloud transformation.
00:40:58.400 --> 00:40:59.519
How do you go about the process?
00:40:59.679 --> 00:41:01.440
What what misconceptions are there?
00:41:01.679 --> 00:41:04.960
So misconceptions uh to me, I believe they've changed over the last decade.
00:41:05.039 --> 00:41:15.039
So the first migration I did, there was no matter what I turned in as far as project information, it was such a shock when we were done to realize that oh, we have to pay every month for this?
00:41:15.760 --> 00:41:18.320
Like, yes, this is a subscription service, you know.
00:41:18.800 --> 00:41:24.559
So one of the one of the biggest things was well, can't we just copy everything up there and turn it on?
00:41:25.039 --> 00:41:30.559
You know, so trying to speak um trying to translate tech into English has always been a lot of fun.
00:41:30.800 --> 00:41:36.079
So some of the biggest misconceptions were um people think that it's gonna be incredibly fast.
00:41:36.639 --> 00:41:40.559
You're now at the mercy of your internet, you know, it will be fast when you're connected.
00:41:40.800 --> 00:41:44.880
Uh misconceptions will be that it's only gonna cost this certain amount a month.
00:41:45.519 --> 00:41:47.119
You talk about storage and capacity.
00:41:47.199 --> 00:41:51.840
One of my biggest reports I ran every single month was storage growth.
00:41:52.480 --> 00:41:57.280
Most companies, normal manufacturing companies, are gonna grow at 1.5% storage per month.
00:41:57.599 --> 00:42:01.199
And I would look at my reports and go, okay, my servers currently have this amount of storage.
00:42:01.360 --> 00:42:02.559
This is the on-premise stuff.
00:42:02.719 --> 00:42:02.800
Sure.
00:42:03.039 --> 00:42:08.960
I have this amount of storage left, we're growing at this amount, so within 13 months, we're gonna be hitting red line capacity.
00:42:09.119 --> 00:42:12.960
I need to start preparing to upgrade the solution or do something else.
00:42:13.280 --> 00:42:16.960
So translate that to cloud, it's now a subscription.
00:42:17.119 --> 00:42:24.159
You pay for the CPU usage, so the servers that are running, you pay for storage, and here's the hidden cost people don't think about is the bandwidth.
00:42:24.559 --> 00:42:26.880
You pay for your ups and downs, your ingress and egress.
00:42:27.199 --> 00:42:28.559
So I have to do the same thing.
00:42:29.199 --> 00:42:32.559
We're still growing at 1.5%, even though they're in the cloud.
00:42:32.719 --> 00:42:34.880
So this is what we're paying this month.
00:42:35.199 --> 00:42:38.320
But by that month, IT budget's gonna increase by X amount.
00:42:38.719 --> 00:42:42.880
So the misconception is oh, we're locked in, we'll never pay anything else.
00:42:43.039 --> 00:42:44.079
No, it goes up every month.
00:42:44.480 --> 00:42:55.920
So whenever I would turn in my reports, because my boss was always CFO, you know, or VP, I had to make sure they understood that this cost does not go down unless we remove something.
00:42:56.400 --> 00:42:58.400
This will be an ever-growing cost.
00:42:58.639 --> 00:42:59.039
Correct.
00:42:59.280 --> 00:43:01.119
Wow, so you said removing something.
00:43:01.280 --> 00:43:10.159
So if I'm the CFO and I'm seeing that the cost of subscriptions is going high, uh there are there it's a necessity, it's validated.
00:43:10.239 --> 00:43:15.519
You've presented your business case, uh, you presented your value proposition, we've approved it.
00:43:15.679 --> 00:43:29.039
But the other side of the cone is I need for you to do uh a lean project uh to analyze data redundancy, blockages, uh hard both software, but also we haven't talked about hardware.
00:43:29.280 --> 00:43:32.639
You know, how many computers, laptops do we have, how many phones do we have?
00:43:32.800 --> 00:43:36.000
Right, do we need all these monitors and all these conference rooms?
00:43:36.239 --> 00:43:38.480
Do we need all these firewalls and whatnot?
00:43:38.719 --> 00:43:40.719
I need to for you to reduce, okay.
00:43:40.880 --> 00:43:43.679
It went up 10% on subscription costs.
00:43:43.840 --> 00:43:46.719
I need at least a 7% cost savings somewhere.
00:43:47.039 --> 00:43:47.360
Somewhere.
00:43:47.519 --> 00:43:47.679
Right.
00:43:47.840 --> 00:43:48.239
Somewhere.
00:43:48.320 --> 00:43:49.280
What pressures have you had?
00:43:49.440 --> 00:43:51.840
What projects have you worked that have saved money?
00:43:52.239 --> 00:43:55.440
The easiest one that I can attack with that uh is still in the cloud.
00:43:55.599 --> 00:43:59.599
So one thing I'll look at is how much information do we need to keep out?
00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:00.559
Active.
00:44:00.880 --> 00:44:03.840
So you've got active information you can access anytime.
00:44:03.920 --> 00:44:06.159
Like you open your computer, open a drive, there it is.
00:44:06.400 --> 00:44:08.000
Then you have what we call cold storage.
00:44:08.159 --> 00:44:09.360
Amazon calls it Glacier.
00:44:09.440 --> 00:44:09.920
I love it.
00:44:10.079 --> 00:44:10.320
Okay.
00:44:10.480 --> 00:44:16.239
It you actually are taking files offline and then you store them outside of your cloud.
00:44:16.320 --> 00:44:22.000
You pay a much, much smaller amount, like two percent of what you were paying for that.
00:44:22.159 --> 00:44:26.800
Now that information's not gone, but if you want it, you make a request, it'll show up in two or three days.
00:44:27.039 --> 00:44:27.199
Okay.
00:44:27.360 --> 00:44:30.639
And on the back, and I'll tell you what's geeky because this goes back to my roots.
00:44:30.880 --> 00:44:36.960
Cold storage means they're removing it from hard drives, copying it to physical tapes, and putting it in a storage.
00:44:37.280 --> 00:44:38.079
They're offline.
00:44:38.239 --> 00:44:39.360
It is offline storage.
00:44:39.599 --> 00:44:40.800
So the first thing is I would have to do that.
00:44:40.960 --> 00:44:44.239
So you have a four Knox of cassette of somewhere.
00:44:44.639 --> 00:44:45.039
Somewhere.
00:44:46.079 --> 00:44:47.360
Is it on a on a disc?
00:44:47.599 --> 00:44:49.199
Oh, it's it's a physical tape.
00:44:49.440 --> 00:44:50.239
Yeah, it's a physical tape.
00:44:50.400 --> 00:44:52.960
It looks like a think about depends on which ones they use.
00:44:53.039 --> 00:45:00.159
I think we're up to TR eight or nine, I think, or LTO eight or nine as tape technology is still growing huge.
00:45:00.400 --> 00:45:03.920
So it's like a VHS tape or two VHS tapes together.
00:45:04.000 --> 00:45:05.519
Like it's it's it's magnetic tape.
00:45:05.679 --> 00:45:06.400
It's still tape.
00:45:06.639 --> 00:45:10.960
So one of the first things I'll do is try to see what we can cold store that takes care of cloud stuff.
00:45:11.199 --> 00:45:16.719
If I have to reduce on site, because here's something we haven't talked about, there's um a technology called an edge computer.
00:45:17.199 --> 00:45:20.800
It's just a fancy way of saying, hey, I love computers on site when everything else is in the cloud.
00:45:20.960 --> 00:45:26.800
So it's performing calculations or functions here instead of trying to copy it and do calculations up there.
00:45:26.880 --> 00:45:28.079
So you're saving bandwidth.
00:45:28.239 --> 00:45:30.320
So how many of those systems do we still need?
00:45:30.400 --> 00:45:31.119
What can we adapt?
00:45:31.280 --> 00:45:31.920
What can we change?
00:45:32.400 --> 00:45:36.800
Well, we know that every three to five years we have to swap out laptops, we have to swap out desktops.
00:45:36.960 --> 00:45:38.000
Who can share systems?
00:45:38.079 --> 00:45:43.039
If you're on a production floor, four employees are using this one workstation, or how can we do that?
00:45:43.199 --> 00:45:46.880
So there are there, it's a constant where can we trim fat?
00:45:47.440 --> 00:45:50.480
IT is always overhead.
00:45:51.119 --> 00:45:54.159
We are never one to make the company a ton of money.
00:45:54.239 --> 00:45:56.960
We are to we're cost avoidance more than cost savings.
00:45:57.199 --> 00:46:04.639
And so that mindset constantly has you knowing what you can do to maintain the uptime of everything else.
00:46:04.800 --> 00:46:06.559
So they're paying for IT.
00:46:06.960 --> 00:46:21.679
So now with the I would not say threat, but now with the introduction or evolution of artificial intelligence, uh, whether it be Gemini, Cloud, Chat GPT, and so many others now that are dozens now.
00:46:21.920 --> 00:46:26.480
Um how do how does that migrate into your functionality?
00:46:26.639 --> 00:46:50.719
Meaning that uh I the as an IT director or an IT department is now creating code to find out where, you know, all these algorithms to where I can find cost savings, and then of course, by the same token, you're writing, please develop the business case to to justify these changes, and uh in addition to that, make a list of all the risk assessments that things that can go wrong.
00:46:50.800 --> 00:46:53.519
So you can show me the gap analysis that I didn't think about, right?
00:46:53.840 --> 00:46:55.440
Yeah, the gap analysis and so forth.
00:46:55.519 --> 00:46:57.840
You know, it's all about calculating risks, right?
00:46:57.920 --> 00:47:06.559
Can you in the background create a scenario where this may happen and then and test test this algorithm out before I make this permanent change?
00:47:06.800 --> 00:47:19.440
And uh, have you in your last years, because this is all all evolving the last step, it's moving fast, and I think it's it's not only is it evolving and is it moving fast, it's also uh ever changing, right?
00:47:19.519 --> 00:47:19.679
Right.
00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:25.519
How have you used the um the artificial intelligence to troubleshoot?
00:47:25.760 --> 00:47:29.440
So this this is what I have spent a good probably the last 14 months on.
00:47:29.519 --> 00:47:34.239
Um I have worked on um AI enablement, like where can we use it?
00:47:34.320 --> 00:47:44.559
Uh we had a project that hit us where we were trying to you know update media on a website and none of us were qualified media developers, like we didn't know how to do that.
00:47:44.800 --> 00:47:47.519
Trying to use a video training, you know, you have your own images.
00:47:47.920 --> 00:47:48.079
AI.
00:47:48.320 --> 00:47:48.400
Right.
00:47:48.480 --> 00:47:49.199
You're trying to try to get it.
00:47:49.360 --> 00:47:49.840
AI bot.
00:47:50.079 --> 00:47:52.079
So I mean I I've used AI often unlike most people.
00:47:52.159 --> 00:47:56.320
You had you ask it general questions and it basically becomes a glorified search engine.
00:47:56.559 --> 00:47:56.800
Sure.
00:47:57.280 --> 00:47:59.920
My generation loves the search engine concept.
00:48:00.079 --> 00:48:00.400
Yes.
00:48:00.559 --> 00:48:01.679
Because we're lazy.
00:48:02.559 --> 00:48:03.360
That's our thing.
00:48:03.519 --> 00:48:03.679
Yeah.
00:48:03.840 --> 00:48:06.719
So learning how to properly, this could be a whole conversation.
00:48:07.119 --> 00:48:07.599
Yes, it can be.
00:48:07.920 --> 00:48:09.440
So I'll try to keep it light.
00:48:09.760 --> 00:48:14.079
Learning how to work with AI is what's critical.
00:48:14.320 --> 00:48:17.920
And I've I've spent time uh developing, you know, you know what a prompt is.
00:48:18.000 --> 00:48:19.360
Like when you type something, that's a prompt.
00:48:19.920 --> 00:48:24.079
Learning how to create master prompts, how to create system prompts.
00:48:24.159 --> 00:48:26.400
So a master prompt is this is who I am.
00:48:26.480 --> 00:48:29.599
This is my role as the person who is talking to you.
00:48:29.760 --> 00:48:32.480
Here's what I expect in my responses.
00:48:32.719 --> 00:48:37.360
For me, and if anyone, anyone that works with AI, remove M dashes.
00:48:37.679 --> 00:48:39.119
Anyone that works with AI, yes.
00:48:39.360 --> 00:48:41.679
Remove M-dashes from the responses.
00:48:41.760 --> 00:48:45.679
Because if people copy and paste and it has M dash, you know what M dash is, right?
00:48:45.760 --> 00:48:46.239
The longer dash.
00:48:46.400 --> 00:48:46.719
Yes, yes.
00:48:46.880 --> 00:48:49.440
That's not a key on the American English keyboard.
00:48:49.519 --> 00:48:49.679
Correct.
00:48:49.840 --> 00:48:51.760
So people know right away that you didn't write that.
00:48:52.000 --> 00:48:52.320
Correct.
00:48:52.559 --> 00:48:53.599
That that's that's right.
00:48:54.000 --> 00:48:55.280
That's my tech tip for the day.
00:48:55.440 --> 00:48:56.639
So remove M-dashes.
00:48:56.800 --> 00:48:58.880
But what I have removed M dashes.
00:48:58.960 --> 00:49:02.639
If you use Cloud, make sure that it doesn't have that, you know.
00:49:02.800 --> 00:49:12.320
Somebody did that, you know, and uh not to interrupt you, but you know how how Chat GPT or Cloud will give you a say, would you like me to analyze this further?
00:49:12.400 --> 00:49:17.119
Or they'll ask you a question, they'll give you the response and they copy the whole thing, paste it.
00:49:17.360 --> 00:49:18.079
That's all newspaper.
00:49:18.559 --> 00:49:19.519
This is my recommendation.
00:49:19.679 --> 00:49:24.639
Yeah, but at the bottom, you have that that that default response from this AI.
00:49:24.800 --> 00:49:26.400
It's like when you didn't write that.
00:49:26.559 --> 00:49:27.039
It's it's crazy.
00:49:27.119 --> 00:49:29.920
So one of my things with AI is people have to be super careful.
00:49:30.079 --> 00:49:33.440
I mean, you it can make you dumber because you're not doing your research.
00:49:33.679 --> 00:49:33.840
Sure.
00:49:34.000 --> 00:49:38.400
Our generation, we graduated high school without Google.
00:49:39.039 --> 00:49:39.679
Well, I don't know.
00:49:40.079 --> 00:49:44.159
Yeah, but I'm not gonna date myself, but maybe class of 96.
00:49:44.239 --> 00:49:47.599
Okay, we didn't have Google, we didn't have the internet, we had books.
00:49:47.679 --> 00:49:48.400
You remember what books are?
00:49:48.559 --> 00:49:48.800
Yeah, yeah.
00:49:49.519 --> 00:49:50.480
I spent my time in the library.
00:49:50.800 --> 00:49:53.360
Yeah, index, roller index, yeah, that's me.
00:49:53.760 --> 00:50:01.199
Nowadays, you know, we homeschool, so my kids can use AI gently and I teach them properly.
00:50:01.360 --> 00:50:04.719
But with most people, AI is making you dumber because it's doing all your work for you.
00:50:04.880 --> 00:50:05.039
Sure.
00:50:05.199 --> 00:50:11.039
So what I do with system prompts is I will say, This is who I am, and this is what I expect, no M-dashes.
00:50:11.199 --> 00:50:14.719
Don't offer to do anything else at the end of what I'm gonna ask you.
00:50:14.800 --> 00:50:16.000
So I'm not getting those prompts.
00:50:16.079 --> 00:50:16.239
Okay.
00:50:16.800 --> 00:50:20.719
And then what I do is I create a system prompt to say, okay, this is who you are.
00:50:21.039 --> 00:50:27.519
And one of the first things I do is, hey, interview me on this topic and just ask me a ton of questions.
00:50:27.679 --> 00:50:27.920
Sure.
00:50:28.079 --> 00:50:31.440
And so if you learn to work, people say, What do you use AI for?
00:50:31.599 --> 00:50:33.760
I don't use AI, I work with AI.
00:50:33.920 --> 00:50:34.239
Correct.
00:50:34.480 --> 00:50:37.679
To me, it's not doing my work for me, it's a coworker.
00:50:37.840 --> 00:50:37.920
Sure.
00:50:38.079 --> 00:50:46.400
And one of the biggest rules I have set for it, and this comes in handy when I'm like trying to troubleshoot and build reports, don't agree with me unless you have no other choice.
00:50:46.880 --> 00:50:49.679
And if you have a better solution, explain to me why.
00:50:50.239 --> 00:50:55.519
Because my purpose of using this tool, sorry, working with this tool is to learn.
00:50:56.159 --> 00:50:59.199
I'm always learning, I always want to evolve, I always want to be a better person.
00:50:59.440 --> 00:51:01.760
If you're doing my work for me, I don't need you.
00:51:02.159 --> 00:51:02.480
Correct.
00:51:02.719 --> 00:51:14.159
So knowing how to work with AI to get your reports, to get the proper information, if you just give it general questions, it's going to have to think about the rest.
00:51:14.239 --> 00:51:15.440
It's going to make up the rest.
00:51:15.679 --> 00:51:21.599
The more specific you are, the more tightly controlled and more accurate your information's going to be.
00:51:21.840 --> 00:51:37.360
Oh, that's that's amazing because I was talking to somebody that uh we we both agree that, you know, in a at a high, at least in middle school, high school level, uh, our students should be taught project management, uh, should be taught uh financing, business modeling, checks, how to, you know, so so many, so many things.
00:51:37.519 --> 00:52:10.239
And uh do you see uh obviously uh artificial intelligence curriculum uh should be already now that it's evolving so fast, uh should be uh uh an introductory course at least in in a high school level so people can use it, use uh use it with you know, use AI as a tool, not necessarily as a replacement, because we definitely definitely need a a physical body before the conference room because you're gonna have to explain this this algorithm or this code and whatnot, and you can't have AI doing that for you.
00:52:10.639 --> 00:52:11.920
They they call it AI slop.
00:52:12.000 --> 00:52:14.880
So again, if you don't give it enough context, I'm gonna give you a great example.
00:52:14.960 --> 00:52:17.280
Um I cannot remember his name right now, um, Carpathy.
00:52:17.440 --> 00:52:19.599
He was the uh used to be the head of AI at Tesla.
00:52:19.760 --> 00:52:19.920
Okay.
00:52:20.079 --> 00:52:21.840
And he got he used to use this great example.
00:52:21.920 --> 00:52:26.239
So AI, if it does not have context, cannot make proper decisions.
00:52:26.400 --> 00:52:27.360
Okay, here's the question.
00:52:27.519 --> 00:52:29.360
You can type this in, it's quite funny.
00:52:29.920 --> 00:52:33.039
I need to go to the car wash and wash my car.
00:52:33.679 --> 00:52:35.679
It's 50 meters away.
00:52:36.159 --> 00:52:38.239
Should I walk or should I drive?
00:52:38.880 --> 00:52:40.960
Now it's gonna do the math and say you should walk.
00:52:41.360 --> 00:52:41.599
Sure.
00:52:42.000 --> 00:52:42.639
50 meters.
00:52:42.719 --> 00:52:42.880
Yeah.
00:52:43.280 --> 00:52:46.639
But how can you wash your car if you walk to the car wash?
00:52:48.159 --> 00:52:51.039
It's a logic engine, it does not have enough context.
00:52:51.599 --> 00:52:53.360
So that's that's where you're dealing with the topic.
00:52:53.599 --> 00:52:57.280
So the expertise on the context is gonna give you better, better response and algorithms.
00:52:57.599 --> 00:53:00.800
So that's what they need to be teaching kids is how to properly use this tool.
00:53:00.880 --> 00:53:04.320
Plus, you know, whenever Skynet takes over, I want to know who the friendly people are.
00:53:04.880 --> 00:53:06.000
Remote access.
00:53:06.159 --> 00:53:18.559
People, let's say you have employees, now you're the IT director, and you have a company that's in Sweden, you have another company that's in Poland, another company, and uh, you know, we're talking about 24-7 service and so forth.
00:53:18.880 --> 00:53:21.519
Different time zones, different time zones and whatnot.
00:53:21.679 --> 00:53:34.400
Uh, a lot of times I've I've seen people use any desk uh to log in and to troubleshoot, uh, to take over your computer, uh, move your magically move your mouse around and make the repairs and so forth.
00:53:34.559 --> 00:53:38.480
Um the the the challenges of what you said, different time zones.
00:53:38.559 --> 00:53:40.559
Uh we were talking about different languages, right?
00:53:40.719 --> 00:53:45.519
Now the person speaks uh Swedish or Polish uh Spanish or whatnot.
00:53:45.679 --> 00:53:53.440
And going through those those different challenges, have you had ever uh have you had to work with international uh sister plants?
00:53:53.679 --> 00:53:56.559
So we have uh the last place I worked at, we had a location in Poland.
00:53:56.719 --> 00:53:57.280
In Poland?
00:53:57.440 --> 00:53:57.840
In Poland.
00:53:57.920 --> 00:54:05.280
Uh fortunately, he was very um the the team that was over there, um, he was very bilingual and very self-sufficient.
00:54:05.519 --> 00:54:05.760
Right.
00:54:06.000 --> 00:54:10.400
But when I did have to work on stuff, his computer is not in English.
00:54:10.639 --> 00:54:16.239
Fortunately, I could I would look at screenshots of like I know what I know what I needed to fix, I just know what the words were.
00:54:16.320 --> 00:54:23.760
So I'd pull up screenshots of my menus, or if I had the computer in front of me, my computer, I could look at like my menus and know what number to click on on it.
00:54:24.000 --> 00:54:24.239
Correct.
00:54:24.639 --> 00:54:29.039
So see, but uh again with AI tools nowadays you can actually have it translate stuff for you.
00:54:29.119 --> 00:54:31.119
You can have it, you know, speak through that kind of thing.
00:54:31.280 --> 00:54:37.039
But yeah, I mean having to do remote work internationally at various hours, like I'd send an email and get a response at 2 a.m.
00:54:37.360 --> 00:54:37.920
Oh, that's right.
00:54:38.239 --> 00:54:38.639
That kind of thing.
00:54:38.880 --> 00:54:42.960
And you have to be available because you know people are expecting those systems to be up.
00:54:43.360 --> 00:54:47.519
So here's uh what we you wanted to to end up here.
00:54:47.679 --> 00:54:50.800
Uh documentation and knowledge transfer.
00:54:50.960 --> 00:54:56.960
We were talking about people writing complex systems, so complex that they are irreplaceable.
00:54:57.119 --> 00:55:03.119
So you emphasize in documenting documenting everything so the next person isn't starting from scratch.
00:55:03.280 --> 00:55:06.880
So why is it why is documentation often neglected?
00:55:07.119 --> 00:55:12.239
And how can organizations build a culture that values documentation?
00:55:12.639 --> 00:55:16.800
So the first question why is documentation often neglected?
00:55:17.119 --> 00:55:20.880
Because it's on the wrong line item.
00:55:21.280 --> 00:55:23.440
So you know what tribal knowledge is.
00:55:23.599 --> 00:55:24.000
Yes, I do.
00:55:24.159 --> 00:55:27.119
We we live in a manufacturing world of tribal knowledge.
00:55:27.519 --> 00:55:31.119
This is just the way we've always done it, it's just the way we're gonna keep doing it.
00:55:31.679 --> 00:55:36.639
When documentation is not high on the priority list, it's not on the priority list.
00:55:37.039 --> 00:55:37.920
That's the way it works.
00:55:38.159 --> 00:55:43.280
A lot of times, like, okay, we fixed the problem, that fire's been put out, let's go after the next fire.
00:55:43.840 --> 00:55:45.679
No one thinks about documentation.
00:55:45.920 --> 00:55:51.679
So a lot of times I've had to go back and even myself go back and look at any scratch note I took when I was working on it.
00:55:51.760 --> 00:55:52.400
What did I write down?
00:55:52.480 --> 00:55:53.920
What did I have to go look up?
00:55:54.159 --> 00:55:55.440
What was not in front of me?
00:55:55.760 --> 00:55:59.599
Go dig through emails, what was the conversation, what was the troubleshooting methodology?
00:55:59.760 --> 00:56:00.000
Sure.
00:56:00.239 --> 00:56:19.039
So documentation has to exist because, like you said, when you're onboarding someone, if I were working in my company and the next day I was not, the next person needs to come sit at my chair and have something to open and within a short amount of time know everything, at least infrastructure.
00:56:19.280 --> 00:56:19.519
Absolutely.
00:56:19.760 --> 00:56:20.719
Where where what is this?
00:56:20.800 --> 00:56:21.519
Where is it located?
00:56:21.599 --> 00:56:22.159
How does that work?
00:56:22.320 --> 00:56:23.039
Where's the key for that?
00:56:23.119 --> 00:56:24.480
What's the password list for this?
00:56:24.559 --> 00:56:25.840
Where do I get this information?
00:56:26.800 --> 00:56:29.440
Someone needs to know where the stuff is located.
00:56:29.519 --> 00:56:32.079
Without it, your product is worthless.
00:56:32.239 --> 00:56:35.840
I've worked at companies that a person literally passed away.
00:56:35.920 --> 00:56:40.239
A guy had been there from his teens all the way to the end of his life.
00:56:40.800 --> 00:56:42.239
He was the guru.
00:56:42.880 --> 00:56:43.119
Yes.
00:56:43.360 --> 00:56:45.440
When he passed away, nothing was written down.
00:56:45.679 --> 00:56:46.719
He was the book.
00:56:47.039 --> 00:56:51.760
And at that point, his product was deemed obsolete because nobody knew it.
00:56:52.639 --> 00:56:53.760
And it was just simply replaced.
00:56:54.000 --> 00:56:54.719
Wow, that's amazing.
00:56:54.800 --> 00:57:14.159
You know one of the things when when the companies are audited, whether it be ISO 9001, uh ISO 14001, or IT 69, I 6949, a lot of times as a 21-year quality students manager, uh, you know, may uh depending if you're making software, the company's making software, absolutely.
00:57:14.320 --> 00:57:32.320
Everything's uh directed into auditing the the IT department, the software department, the methodologies to validate, verify the algorithms, uh cloud computing, setting up the profiles of employees, and so so many so many other things, especially when you're uh working perhaps in a military base, right?
00:57:32.400 --> 00:57:53.760
When security or or you're a a supplier to building tanks or aerospace and uh FDA, NASA, et cetera, Boeing, you know, those those type of systems, um, you know, there's there's there's that auditing portion with regular production and manufacturing may not be so heavy in the auditing, right?
00:57:53.920 --> 00:58:08.079
Uh what we're asked, maybe just in in in a historical sense, is how many threats has the company experienced and how many threats has the company been able to manage, detect, first of all, detect and prevent, right?
00:58:08.159 --> 00:58:15.280
We're talking about Trojan horses and and and spam emails, you know, how many threats has the company had and so forth?
00:58:15.440 --> 00:58:22.800
Uh, why do you think that perhaps they're not audited as much in the uh manufacturing production?
00:58:22.960 --> 00:58:26.800
You know, how what's you know, from your experience, from I'm an auditor.
00:58:26.880 --> 00:58:35.360
How many times has an auditor come to and say, you know what, uh, show me the intricacies because it's complicated, because it's hard to explain.
00:58:35.519 --> 00:58:36.559
Um, what would you say?
00:58:36.960 --> 00:58:41.440
It should never be too hard to explain because then you've got you know the question of what's under the covers.
00:58:41.599 --> 00:58:41.920
Okay.
00:58:42.079 --> 00:58:50.320
So uh the the place that you and I work together every single year, I had to complete an audit for our um for our legal team.
00:58:50.559 --> 00:58:51.599
I don't know what all they did with it.
00:58:51.840 --> 00:58:51.920
Yes.
00:58:52.079 --> 00:58:53.760
IETF required a lot of things.
00:58:53.920 --> 00:59:00.719
Now we did not manufacture um microchips or any software that went into an end-user product.
00:59:00.800 --> 00:59:02.480
So I'd have to worry about that part of the audit.
00:59:02.639 --> 00:59:02.880
Correct.
00:59:03.119 --> 00:59:09.039
But we had to know, or I had to give information on how our backups work, what are our disaster recovery plans?
00:59:09.199 --> 00:59:11.840
Do we have a critical infrastructure preparedness plan?
00:59:12.000 --> 00:59:15.840
Like what happens if the building is gone and we start from scratch?
00:59:15.920 --> 00:59:16.400
What do we do?
00:59:16.639 --> 00:59:19.679
That's you know, so I had to have these plans in place.
00:59:19.760 --> 00:59:24.239
And the place we worked together, I started in 06 by my one-year anniversary in 07.
00:59:24.639 --> 00:59:27.119
I had a basic disaster recovery plan.
00:59:27.679 --> 00:59:38.320
Because I have, in my in my experience, just even at that point in my career, that's critical because I don't want to walk in here tomorrow to an empty lot that used to be my building.
00:59:38.559 --> 00:59:39.039
Yeah, you know.
00:59:39.280 --> 00:59:45.199
You know, in my in my PPAPs, there's not a uh what's called a DFMEA, a design failed effect effects analysis.
00:59:45.360 --> 00:59:51.519
So from a DFMEA uh on IT, can it can I just want to be honest to the audience?
00:59:51.599 --> 00:59:56.480
I I rarely have seen a DFMEA from an IT perspective.
00:59:56.719 --> 01:00:00.079
Is that something that you guys do in secrecy in the background?
01:00:00.320 --> 01:00:09.519
We have a conference room, you know, saying, okay, we can't tell the employees all all the risks that are there there's there is a certain mythology and and legend around IT.
01:00:09.599 --> 01:00:11.599
We have to keep a reputation.
01:00:11.840 --> 01:00:29.280
Um we're watching everything that's when it comes to audits though, usually things are we it's audited internal and we have to be prepared to provide information, but a lot of the audit information, a lot of our you know, our structure has to be kept within a tight circle.
01:00:29.679 --> 01:00:35.280
So there was a notebook that I always created for for my boss that was basically the IT Bible.
01:00:35.679 --> 01:00:41.920
Everything was in there, including, of course, I'm not there anymore, so I'm gonna go ahead and share it, a sealed envelope of passwords.
01:00:42.639 --> 01:00:47.920
So this was broken up by it was 13 chapters of everything that made up IT.
01:00:48.079 --> 01:00:48.320
Sure.
01:00:48.480 --> 01:00:49.840
And it evolved and it changed.
01:00:49.920 --> 01:00:52.480
And we went to cloud, it gained another hundred pages.
01:00:52.559 --> 01:00:53.920
Like it was just there's so much stuff.
01:00:54.079 --> 01:00:54.320
Sure.
01:00:54.559 --> 01:00:55.920
So it is complicated.
01:00:56.079 --> 01:00:59.280
But as far as audits, I mean, there's a lot of standards out there.
01:00:59.360 --> 01:01:01.920
I mean, you've got um, I'm gonna mess some of these up.
01:01:02.000 --> 01:01:11.199
So there's uh SOC two, there's a lot of these that you have to really if if a company isn't holding you to it, if you don't have a customer that's holding you to it, most companies won't hold to it.
01:01:11.440 --> 01:01:13.679
But if a company holds to it, you have to follow it.
01:01:13.920 --> 01:01:16.559
Absolutely in automotive, there was uh Sarbanes Oxley.
01:01:17.119 --> 01:01:18.480
And that was uh we always joked about it.
01:01:18.559 --> 01:01:20.480
If you want to throw away a pen, it takes two signatures.
01:01:20.559 --> 01:01:22.159
Like they were very strict.
01:01:22.639 --> 01:01:29.360
But you know, the places we've worked, we've seen them move from ISO to TF to IETF to you know, just watching the evolution.
01:01:29.599 --> 01:01:29.760
Sure.
01:01:30.159 --> 01:01:35.679
And IETF for IT had three pages 30, 40 questions.
01:01:36.000 --> 01:01:36.159
Sure.
01:01:36.320 --> 01:01:41.599
You know, plus our uh insurance at the company, the lawyers needed me to do a a thing.
01:01:41.840 --> 01:01:50.000
But I mean we keep it internal, but there's not a lot that's done on IT separate unless it's already written in stone that it has to be done.
01:01:50.239 --> 01:01:56.320
Sure, because you know, uh as a again, as a I frame I frame to have done the framework for layer process audits.
01:01:56.559 --> 01:01:58.800
So before I do the quality management system audit.
01:01:58.880 --> 01:02:13.920
So if I'm doing layer process audits and and or any gamble walk where I have to go to the source of of the workspace or workstation, uh it's it's difficult to develop sometimes a layer process audit for for for IT from my experience.
01:02:14.079 --> 01:02:20.639
Um when you have how how big of a group have you managed uh as far as your IT personnel department?
01:02:20.800 --> 01:02:22.559
The biggest group and the smallest group?
01:02:22.880 --> 01:02:24.639
Smallest group is the Army of One.
01:02:26.320 --> 01:02:29.599
And I'll tell you what, I mean, I wrote that guy up all the time.
01:02:29.920 --> 01:02:31.360
Yeah, you wrote you wrote the Army of One.
01:02:31.679 --> 01:02:33.039
He'd sit around and watch YouTube videos.
01:02:33.199 --> 01:02:34.239
He had a lot of PTO though.
01:02:34.639 --> 01:02:35.519
Really long coffee breaks.
01:02:35.840 --> 01:02:37.360
You know, you'd go to the bathroom wait too long.
01:02:38.320 --> 01:02:42.559
Um the largest team I have run uh was I think 25 people.
01:02:42.960 --> 01:02:44.000
25 people.
01:02:44.559 --> 01:02:47.199
Uh what and and to me, really, that was it was two teams.
01:02:47.360 --> 01:02:48.880
So I mean, I had a lead on each side.
01:02:48.960 --> 01:02:50.000
It was a little heavy to keep up with.
01:02:50.159 --> 01:02:51.599
25 people, how big was that company?
01:02:52.480 --> 01:02:53.760
That's a big group.
01:02:55.199 --> 01:02:56.000
5,000.
01:02:56.239 --> 01:02:56.960
5,000.
01:02:57.119 --> 01:02:57.519
I think.
01:02:57.760 --> 01:03:02.960
I mean, in that building, probably well, that structure probably 500 in that location.
01:03:03.519 --> 01:03:07.760
But what I have found to be, and it depends on what you do, and of course, another paradigm shift, this has changed.
01:03:07.920 --> 01:03:12.639
When I got in IT, we had like five jobs in IT, and now there's over 400.
01:03:13.679 --> 01:03:25.280
So what I have found is keeping a tight team of five to ten people, of highly trained, highly specialized individuals that can do their job without much question.
01:03:25.440 --> 01:03:28.719
And I mean, that's junior to mid-level, mid-level to senior.
01:03:28.800 --> 01:03:30.960
You need people of all strengths.
01:03:31.119 --> 01:03:33.119
That is what I have found to be the most effective.
01:03:33.199 --> 01:03:37.920
If you're doing programming, you've got a scrum system, an agile system in place, that's your power team.
01:03:38.159 --> 01:03:41.679
If you've got network engineers, I'm not calling down a contact list.
01:03:41.760 --> 01:03:43.760
I know who to call, I know who else to call.
01:03:44.000 --> 01:03:45.119
It's not a waterfall system.
01:03:45.199 --> 01:03:47.679
It's you know, you have to be have some sort of diversity.
01:03:47.840 --> 01:03:48.000
Right.
01:03:48.159 --> 01:03:51.760
I I want to hit some some pointers here before before we before we end.
01:03:51.920 --> 01:04:07.039
Uh for this next generation, you know, with this the complexity of software languages, uh, the complexity of uh now AI, uh cloud computing, quantum computing, and and all these other things.
01:04:07.119 --> 01:04:18.639
Maybe it's it's a it's a different time of place with all the data centers that are popping up uh in in our local neighborhood, creating creating some opportunities, right, for for many neighborhoods, right?
01:04:18.719 --> 01:04:21.920
And we see it throughout the news, uh, but it's really unavoidable.
01:04:22.000 --> 01:04:29.440
It's it's gonna happen yes or yes, right, as we move more into the technology, the robotics and quantum fixes, physics, quantum computing.
01:04:29.599 --> 01:04:51.920
Uh, if if a young IT professional came to you today and asked how to build a long, successful career in technology, in IT, as a director of IT or software engineer, what advice will you give them that they would probably wouldn't hear from their college environment or from their uh close circle environment?
01:04:52.079 --> 01:05:06.079
What what from from a 30-year uh senior pillar in the community creating all these frameworks and and and transitioning organizations to work more effectively, what is it that a young individual has not heard?
01:05:06.639 --> 01:05:09.199
And a rec more so like a reality check.
01:05:09.360 --> 01:05:12.960
How do how do I become a successful IT individual?
01:05:13.519 --> 01:05:15.440
So again, 10,000-foot view.
01:05:16.000 --> 01:05:19.519
If you don't love what you do, you'll hate it when it gets hard.
01:05:20.400 --> 01:05:23.679
So when I started college in 98, I want to quote that.
01:05:23.920 --> 01:05:28.480
When you don't love what you do, it will you'll hate it when it gets hard.
01:05:28.639 --> 01:05:29.840
You'll hate it when it gets hard.
01:05:30.000 --> 01:05:31.119
Write that down, please.
01:05:31.440 --> 01:05:39.119
And I the the experience I can share with that is when I started college in '98, the inrush of IT people was huge.
01:05:39.280 --> 01:05:43.760
The the classes were maxed out, twenty seven students, you know, in these classrooms.
01:05:44.000 --> 01:05:46.960
By the second year, half were gone.
01:05:47.599 --> 01:05:50.559
A lot of people jump on it because like, oh, it's big money, we're gonna go be IT.
01:05:50.719 --> 01:05:52.880
I've been at IT thirty years, I'm still waiting on the big money.
01:05:52.960 --> 01:05:53.119
Sure.
01:05:53.360 --> 01:05:56.000
But uh what what people do is they'll follow training.
01:05:56.159 --> 01:05:59.519
My producer just like I I I heard like a wind over here.
01:06:00.159 --> 01:06:01.039
My producer laugh.
01:06:01.199 --> 01:06:03.039
I'm not sure why, but we'll talk about that.
01:06:03.280 --> 01:06:12.719
So what so so the biggest thing is you know in any job you have, when it gets hard, it's your passion that keeps fueling you.
01:06:13.199 --> 01:06:15.920
Because troubleshooting, I'm out of ideas.
01:06:16.239 --> 01:06:17.280
I don't know where else to go.
01:06:17.519 --> 01:06:19.039
What else am I gonna dig into?
01:06:19.599 --> 01:06:21.440
You have to love what you do or you'll hate it.
01:06:21.519 --> 01:06:31.360
If you I have seen people that graduate with thirty thousand dollars in student debt, the beautiful piece of paper, get a junior position somewhere, and after a year or two, this isn't what I want to do.
01:06:31.519 --> 01:06:31.840
Sure.
01:06:32.079 --> 01:06:35.199
And now you're starting over with student debt.
01:06:35.440 --> 01:06:36.320
What's your plan?
01:06:36.559 --> 01:06:39.360
Now that's great advice, but I mean, really good advice.
01:06:39.599 --> 01:06:40.800
And I tell my kids this all the time.
01:06:40.880 --> 01:06:44.880
I said, do what you love and find somebody to pay you to do it.
01:06:45.760 --> 01:06:48.239
If you can't find that person, it's time to start a business.
01:06:49.199 --> 01:06:54.719
Well, yeah, contractor work, uh create the job, create create the job, uh programming.
01:06:54.880 --> 01:06:56.960
You have to be also diverse.
01:06:57.280 --> 01:07:00.719
You know, uh you can be full-time, but you can also be a consultant.
01:07:00.880 --> 01:07:01.119
Right.
01:07:01.280 --> 01:07:09.519
Uh you can also be a mentor, subject matter expert, subject matter expert, and so forth, project manager, uh, part of the project management team and so forth.
01:07:09.679 --> 01:07:13.920
That's one of the things that that you know, uh, you know, try to be a little bit more diverse in the IT.
01:07:14.239 --> 01:07:22.159
So I think the last reality check here would be when you go to bed at night, are you excited to get up and go to work the next day or are you dreading it?
01:07:22.480 --> 01:07:23.440
All the flags are there.
01:07:23.840 --> 01:07:28.719
You will know I can't wait to go and fix something, or it's 6 a.m.
01:07:29.039 --> 01:07:29.360
Yes.
01:07:29.599 --> 01:07:33.360
What does 10 years from now look like in the IT world?
01:07:33.840 --> 01:07:36.000
Now just if I'm in the IT world or in general?
01:07:36.320 --> 01:07:55.599
Just in general, just in general, you know, we're looking at the artificial intelligence, cloud computing, quantum computing, uh a lot of the jobs, you know, have more being more and more somewhat replaced for automation and AI and AI role uh AI bots, sensors, switches, bridges, you know, the the the whole the whole uh technology.
01:07:55.840 --> 01:08:02.320
Uh where do you see the the IT uh world uh quantum quantum and AI?
01:08:02.400 --> 01:08:02.639
Thank you.
01:08:02.719 --> 01:08:03.360
Quantum AI.
01:08:03.599 --> 01:08:04.480
That's that's easy enough to do.
01:08:04.559 --> 01:08:08.719
I mean, quantum computers now are already smashing 900-year-old encryption in less than a week.
01:08:08.960 --> 01:08:14.159
Um so that there's there's actually a certification that encryption systems have to have.
01:08:14.239 --> 01:08:15.599
I think it's called Quantum Ready.
01:08:16.000 --> 01:08:19.039
So it's like uh QOC, I think I think the acronym stands for.
01:08:19.439 --> 01:08:21.920
So I would love to be proven wrong.
01:08:22.239 --> 01:08:24.239
So we'll find out in 10 years how this works.
01:08:24.399 --> 01:08:30.319
Um, I have seen IT go from a turtle's pace to a rabbit's pace to light speed.
01:08:30.479 --> 01:08:30.800
Yes.
01:08:30.960 --> 01:08:33.039
And in a in in five years, right?
01:08:33.119 --> 01:08:41.760
And it's it's so common that uh IT technology tells that CPU speed will double every 18 months.
01:08:42.880 --> 01:08:47.119
By the time that was stuck that quote was made, it was increasing every six months.
01:08:47.520 --> 01:08:50.800
We've almost hit critical mass on what we can do with CPU, so we're just stretching them out.
01:08:50.960 --> 01:08:55.039
So I think we're done on that one until IBM finishes the organic processors.
01:08:55.199 --> 01:08:56.560
Go Google that, that'll keep you excited.
01:08:56.800 --> 01:08:56.960
Sure.
01:08:57.279 --> 01:09:03.680
So I I think what we're looking at is we right now we are stuck at the ceiling of hardware.
01:09:04.000 --> 01:09:07.359
Hardware really can't get much bigger, it can only get wider.
01:09:07.600 --> 01:09:10.720
So there will have to be another paradigm shift.
01:09:11.039 --> 01:09:13.119
One of the big ones was solid state computers.
01:09:13.359 --> 01:09:13.600
Correct.
01:09:14.000 --> 01:09:17.520
That took a computer scientist and a theoretical physicist.
01:09:17.840 --> 01:09:18.640
I'm not kidding.
01:09:18.960 --> 01:09:24.880
Because instead of magnetic media that we're writing stuff to, we're storing data in electron stacks.
01:09:25.039 --> 01:09:26.159
Go look it up, it's crazy.
01:09:26.239 --> 01:09:26.399
Yeah.
01:09:26.640 --> 01:09:28.640
When I saw that, I'm like, okay, we're on to something.
01:09:28.800 --> 01:09:29.039
Yes.
01:09:29.199 --> 01:09:30.800
I'm waiting for the next thing there.
01:09:31.039 --> 01:09:31.439
Oh, that's right.
01:09:31.600 --> 01:09:35.199
Now, as far as AI, I think, I mean, there's a huge boom.
01:09:35.359 --> 01:09:39.359
And just like the the dot-com bubble, it's gonna pop.
01:09:40.000 --> 01:09:41.680
We're going to normalize.
01:09:41.920 --> 01:09:58.960
And I think a lot of the money, a lot of the data centers that we have going out there, they're either going to make it huge or they're gonna be dark within 20 years because we're going to normalize and realize what we need, or there'll be some phenomenal chip technology that hardware ceiling is gonna get blown out and it's gonna get much simpler.
01:09:59.359 --> 01:10:04.000
So I think AI is gonna be more of a partner than a than a uh a search engine.
01:10:04.239 --> 01:10:04.560
Wow.
01:10:04.800 --> 01:10:09.119
I think we're live, we're living for those you know, dating myself, the Star Trek days, right?
01:10:09.279 --> 01:10:18.159
The Star Trek, you know, I was telling somebody one when somebody calls me and I look at a hologram in my in my phone, I've got the meta glasses, instant information.
01:10:18.319 --> 01:10:22.399
I think uh Elon Musk said we're all gonna become cyborgs in somehow, some way.
01:10:24.079 --> 01:10:24.560
Absolutely.
01:10:24.800 --> 01:10:29.920
Well, I tell my kids I my generation, we went from nothing in our hand, we had calculator watches.
01:10:30.159 --> 01:10:35.840
Yeah, I remember that cast you to palm pilots, and I remember the first time I zoomed on a touchscreen tablet.
01:10:35.920 --> 01:10:37.760
I'm like, this is gonna be big.
01:10:38.880 --> 01:10:40.000
And that's so natural.
01:10:40.079 --> 01:10:41.039
My kids are born with it.
01:10:41.119 --> 01:10:47.840
Uh uh, you know, when I when I first got that Blackberry phone with a little typewriter, I mean, I was I was uh, you know, I'm telling you the best one we ever had.
01:10:47.920 --> 01:10:49.199
Yeah, that was the best one we ever had.
01:10:49.279 --> 01:11:05.199
Uh you know, wow, Stacey Sharp, director of IT Information Systems, Information Engineer, 30 years of IT experiences, seeing many of the paradigm shifts that he has mentioned, among many other things.
01:11:05.520 --> 01:11:13.760
We can spend weeks about all the projects that he has accomplished, the transitions that he has done for many organizations.
01:11:14.000 --> 01:11:27.600
What a wealth of knowledge uh to all those uh people that uh are are definitely interested in this amazing quantum physics, quantum computing, so many other things that he's keeping himself abreast because you have to.
01:11:27.680 --> 01:11:31.920
It's part of it, it's your job, and of course, don't forget the documentation.
01:11:32.079 --> 01:11:33.920
I hope you enjoyed this podcast.
01:11:34.079 --> 01:11:36.159
This has been Daniel Badijo.
01:11:36.560 --> 01:11:40.880
Check us out on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, the YouTube channel, Mr.
01:11:41.119 --> 01:11:50.079
Stacy Sharp has given us uh a whirlwind of information for us to dissect, and we're gonna be talking about this for weeks to come.
01:11:50.239 --> 01:11:53.840
I will see you on that next episode.