Episode 4: June 2020 Edition
Social distancing measures along with the accompanying shift to remote working and socializing has ensured that the answer to the question, where has Phil been these last few months is quite an easy one – he has been at home, pretty much like the rest of us have been during the lockdown.
Although the move into the easing of restrictions in Ireland has seen a greater opportunity to get out and about and stretch one’s legs, Phil has remained in his most comfortable of positions – in front of a computer monitor ensuring that both the staff and customers of Vistatec continue to enjoy and benefit from his expertise.
Delving a little deeper, we take a look at exactly what has kept Phil busy over the last few months.
For starters, not having to commute to and from the office, each day has given Phil an additional three hours back to his working day. Not one to sit on his laurels, Phil has invested this additional time wisely and spent the early stages of lockdown exploring different programming languages in depth. It might sound a little geeky (his words not mine!) but it’s what he most enjoys. You don’t get to be the Chief Technology Officer by standing still and it is this constant thirst for learning and improving his skills that keeps Phil at the top of his game.
In addition, Phil has discovered that a lot of computer programmers have regional groups where they meet (virtually for now) other developers and present on different topics of interest. Phil is now a proud member of five of these groups, which ordinarily he wouldn’t have enough time for as they are traditionally held in different countries around the world. For now, however, as the events are streamed and recorded it allows members the opportunity to join in and become a real part of the community. It’s a little bit like the Think Global Forum in that regard.
Vistatec has been very fortunate in that we have been working extensively on cloud infrastructure for a number of years. When lockdown happened, the company was able to move quickly and efficiently to ensure business as usual with a completely distributed workforce.
According to Phil, this has been very successful for the organization and customers have benefitted from seamless migration with no downtime or disruption in service. It is something Vistatec is very proud of.
On a more personal note, Phil has also seen the benefits of lockdown. Whilst it is difficult to ignore what is going on around you and the regular updates on the number of people impacted, Phil has tried to look at the positives and cites being able to now have dinner with his wife each evening as a real bonus of the last number of months.
Amazingly for Ireland, the weather has been very pleasant during the lockdown and so Phil has also enjoyed being able to spend quality time in his garden – it really is the simplest of pleasures that can mean so much.
About Vistatec
We have been helping some of the world’s most iconic brands to optimize their global commercial potential since 1997. Vistatec is one of the world’s leading global content solutions providers. HQ in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in Mountain View, California, USA. To learn more about Vistatec, please visit: https://www.vistatec.com