Data is everywhere, and I'm here to manage it. Hi, my name is Noel Herrick, and I am an IT guy. Data is what I do. From programming, to managing databases, to setting up infrastructure, data management is the main discipline of information technology. What is a bit of code but data about what to do with other data? What is an e-mail server but a specialized database? Information is at the core of our lives, and it is the core of the IT guy's job to take care of it.
What do I bring to the data table? Well, I hope you gather that I enjoy working with data. You should also know that I like the software and the hardware that helps manage data, lots of data, of diverse types, for sundry purposes. I have create and manage data-intensive systems composed of many inter-locking applications, caring about the heart of the system, the data model, as well as the secondary details such as scalability and maintainability. And I do a good job, sometimes by having experience, but often by identifying areas where I lack knowledge, talking to the right people to get that knowledge, and experimenting to solidify what I learn. This is the other type of data that an IT guys are always dealing with: the information it takes to do our jobs well.
Learning for me is like breathing. I like new technology and the benefits it brings when it actually is new technology, not old ideas dressed up by acronyms and trademarks. There's nothing new under the sun for the most part, but when there is, it is a gratifying experience to comprehend and then apply it. Technology, like data, is a term often used too narrowly: it includes all the organized means we can use to accomplish a goal. Scrum is a technology, the stock market is a technology, and language is a technology. Computers are a part of a larger system, a tree in the forest, but this is my favorite one, and I like studying IT.
Welcome, have a look around.
