We’d like to welcome our newest delegate to the Tech Field Day community: Brian Knudtson! Brian brings a mix of experience to the IT industry ranging from system administration to marketing and sales. He will be attending Cloud Field Day 13 as a delegate and took a few minutes to tell us a little about himself.
Check Brian out on Twitter @BKnudtson, on the Tech Field Day Website, or his website.
How did you get into Technology and IT?
My family got an Apple IIe one year for Christmas and I started playing, leading me to a summer school class to learn Apple BASIC programming while I was still in grade school. In high school, we connected to the internet and I picked up a copy of Creating Webpages for Dummies to start learning HTML. It wasn’t until I was planning for college that I realized that working with computers could be a career, so I decided to pursue a Computer Sciences degree. My first IT job was a web development internship I started my freshman year of college.
What do you do now? Tell us a little about your current role.
Today I focus more on the marketing and business side of the industry for iland (an 11:11 Systems company), a cloud services provider. My duties vary widely, but they all generally lean on my technical background, long history in the industry, and analytical capabilities.
What are your biggest challenges?
Technology is so expansive and complex, it can be hard to comprehend it all and put the proper focus on all the areas that are, or will be, meaningful. This is one of the reasons I’m so excited to finally be joining Tech Field Day as a delegate: to be able to get a new perspective of where key players and new startups are headed.
Where do you see IT going in the next 3-5 years?
Lots of places! Cloud adoption will continue at a fast pace, which is going to create some new challenges, especially in regards to connectivity and management of multi-cloud infrastructures. VR and AR are getting some serious investment and attention lately, which will likely result in more impact on our day-to-day activities. AI/ML has become a major differentiator in many places, so I can see that becoming table stakes in some product areas. Despite the strong focus on Security lately, we collectively seem to be continually losing, so I expect some rapid and interesting innovation to happen in this space.
What was your first computer? What was great about it? What is your go-to computer now?
First computer I had was an Apple IIe. It had a color monitor and two floppy disk drives, so we were pretty advanced back in the 80s. Today I still lean towards Apple computers, but prefer Android phones and also maintain a self-built Windows PC, mainly for tinkering.
How do you manage your work/life balance?
The key to me has always been (even when I was “carrying a pager”) to be aware of the load on either side. There are times when one side may require more time than the other, so being flexible and maintaining balance over the long-term is important. Being hyper-aware when one may be negatively affecting the other has helped me immensely. Fortunately, my wife is pretty good at letting me know when work is negatively affecting the family.
If you weren’t working in IT, what would you be doing instead?
I have a number of “retirement jobs” already in mind, including park ranger and politics.
What do you do in your spare time? Do you have any hobbies?
I like to build things. I have been a fan of Metal Earth models for many years. Recently, I’ve done a few projects to teach myself more about electronics. And, of course, Lego. I also enjoy doing crossword and sudoku puzzles.
What are you most excited about seeing at the event?
As mentioned before, I’m most excited to hear the direction the different companies are headed. With a mix of established and startup companies, it will be enlightening to see where they’re betting the industry will be heading.
What is the coolest thing you’re working on right now?
iland was acquired in December, so we’re just getting started on being integrated. The potential that exists with an acquisition like ours is huge, so I’m excited to see how it pans out for the company, my coworkers, and myself.
Who inspires you?
There are no particular individuals I look up to for inspiration. Collectively, anyone who excels at what they decide to pursue inspires me, no matter the field.
As a child, what did you want to do when you “grew up”?
Pretty much my entire childhood I wanted to be a paleontologist. The dream burst when i started considering colleges and realized the job field was extremely small. Interestingly, one of my daughters followed the exact same path, including independently realizing the career prospects were limited and consequently choosing a different field.
What super hero movie character would you like to be and why?
Never really considered this question before. ? I guess Batman is the one I admire the most. His ability to overcome adversity and using that to drive him to achieve peak physical and intellectual feats, then using those to do good is inspiring to me.
What is your favorite thing about what you do?
I’m really enjoying applying my wide range of experiences and a broad view of company operations to help guide the trajectory of my company.
If you won the lottery and could retire, what would you do with your time?
Hire an assistant to minimize my “busy work” and reduce my daily usage of technology, then spend my time enjoying nature and helping to improve the lives of others.
Thanks for sharing, Brian!
Be sure to see Brian as a delegate at Cloud Field Day 13 February 16–18th!
