No – I’m not about to leave IBM but, after nearly four years in IBM Software Services for WebSphere it’s time to hang up my travelling bag and, as in all good resignation speeches, spend some more time with my family. I’ve really enjoyed the chance to work closely with customers on some very interesting projects during that time and in many different countries (let’s see, from the top: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and the US). I have also had the opportunity to work with some very talented and knowledgeable IBMers. I can’t really claim to have enjoyed the travelling – one business hotel looks much like another after a while – but for some reason customers insist of the consultant coming to them rather than vice-versa! The real killer though is not knowing where you’re going to be next week or perhaps even tomorrow.
So where am I heading next? Well, I’ve just relocated to a desk in Hursley a whole 5 metres away from where I used to sit four years ago! Things have moved on it that time though and I will now be part of the WebSphere ESB development team. I have to confess that I’m looking forward to getting back in to a routine and even writing some code. With any luck my fitness may even take a turn for the better with the opportunity to cycle to work and run at lunchtime.
When I moved to a services role it was with the intention of gaining a better understanding of how IBM’s clients use our products and it has certainly provided me with that opportunity. I now hope to use that understanding to make those products better. And what about the technical posts on this blog? Well I won’t be revealing any upcoming functionality but still hope to find something useful to say about the products when they make it out in to the wild. And for those on the inside of the wall, I’ll be looking to restart my intranet blogging.
Congratulations. You lasted twice as long as me in services.
And on your new job – don’t come asking any questions about the WESB code, I’ve forgotten it all! Have fun.
Cheers Adrian. You make services sounds like a sentence to be served! I’ll confess that I half contemplated contacting you about some code last week but you’ll be glad to hear I thought better of it. If only I could expect not to receive any more e-mails from customers!
If I’m to continue to follow in your footsteps then I guess the next stop is Dublin… (or maybe it should be Google!)
Well, congrats Dave with new assignments. I really understand that you prefer to be with your loved ones. As a customer I will try my best to not bugging you with emails, I will respect that you have a new job.
Anyway it’s nice to read about you orienteering post, this fantastic sport has been even more funny after I have stopped running ‘shadow’ on my kids and tried to run my own cources in the Norwegian woods. And yes, there’s a lot of trees here, not much of open landscapes to run here…
BTW, we have decided to go to the orienteering in Italy next year. Me and my two kids are really thrilled, my wife not, but it’s 3-to-1, so….
Thanks Bjørn-Willy. As I say, I do expect to continue getting e-mails from customers and, at least to a certain extent, hope that this is the case as I think it’s important to retain that understanding of the issues that users are seeing.
As for the orienteering, I have to confess that it was nice to be able to run for 90 minutes without having to climb or descend any cliffs, or wading through bilberry bushes! Does the ice cream and pizza not persuade your wife that Italy’s a good idea?!
I assumes the italian pizza is a few steps ut from our famous Norwegian Grandiosa. I assume that you did try the Grandiosa at your stay here? It’s a piece of Norwegian culture….
We did try the Grandiosa and I’m not sure the Italians would recognise it as pizza!
Couldn’t say it better myself, Dave!
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. 🙂 Cheers! Sandra. R.