As of now, I am officially searching for employment. Prior to this, I spend six years working for Door Pro Systems as their IT manager. And a fine six years it was, too. Good group of people there. Leaving was not an easy choice, and if you ever need to buy doors, door frames, or hardware for a commercial building, give them a call.
Still, there’s a right time for everything to come to an end.
When I started with Door Pro in 2009, they were running off of obsolete Windows 2000 servers, Exchange 2000 email system, a totally inadequate and flaky backup system, and a generally creaky network infrastructure. I don’t know all the details, but a little bit of armchair forensic history tells me that, once upon a time, someone did a very good job setting up their systems, and then they coasted on that setup for a decade, through a whole string of IT managers.
By the time I arrived, there was a lot that needed to be updated, but I don’t want to undersell that accomplishment. Setting up rock-solid foundations for the company to spend a decade building atop is no small thing. I wanted to make sure that I put the company’s technology on just as good a footing during my time there.
And, frankly, I think I did. Moved to a virtualized server infrastructure, which gives a lot of options and flexibility. Updated the domain itself to current standards, upgraded the email system to accommodate modern needs and technology changes, put in a new ERP system and new backup systems. I don’t think the company should just coast for the next ten years on their current technology, and I hope they don’t, but I’m confident that they could. And I’m proud of that.
And so, it’s time for a change. Exit when you’re on top. I liked Door Pro, I liked working there, but I had reached the limits of what I could achieve. It was stable. The routine tasks were automated. The unusual events were rarer and rarer, because I worked hard to prepare for and prevent any serious problems I could foresee. It was just not as interesting anymore. It’s trite, but I like challenges, and I ran out of them at Door Pro.
So, now I’m looking for the next thing. And, I think it’ll be good. I’ve got momentum right now. It’s important to keep moving forward, keep pushing, keep growing. Door Pro was great, but I had no more room to grow there.