8x8 shines the light on the amazing members of our community. In this post, we spotlight Ryan Stock of Terracon.

8x8: Tell us about Terracon and how you support the business.

Ryan Stock (RS): I'm the IT service desk manager for Terracon, a 100% employee-owned, engineering consulting firm with more than 6,000 employees in more than 175 locations nationwide. I've been with Terracon for 17 years.

8x8:  That's impressive. Tell us more!

RS: Our team runs an internal IT support service desk. We help employees with pretty much any IT request they need-from helping them with hardware, like replacing or repairing their laptop, to assisting them in accessing internal systems, to troubleshooting and installing software.

Employees can email IT or submit a ticket through the service portal, or use voice or chat. Our service desk operates from 6:30am to 7:30pm Central Time, and has agents on call for 24x7 emergency support. There are 30 people on the IT Service Desk divided into two tiers of support.  We use 8x8 Contact Center for voice and chat.

8x8: What path led you to where you are today?

RS: I grew up interested in computers, video games, and technology, but in school, I didn't think about getting into IT, necessarily. I went to school for AutoCAD drafting and planned to become an engineer, and that's where I started my career at Terracon. I worked in operations as a drafter for the engineers. Later on, I became the person in the office people would go to for tech support, and I would help them call into our help desk and whatnot.

Eventually, I decided I wanted to switch careers, but I loved the company. They had an opening on our help desk. I was able to interview and get that position. Since then, I've had several different roles in our IT department, ultimately landing in a position where I enjoy the support and working with people and helping them. I'm also fortunate to be in a leadership role, which I very much enjoy.

8x8: How do you stay current on technology?

RS: I've taken classes at a local school that provides in person and online Centriq IT training and certifications. I research the internet and read online. I've gotten the majority of my technical knowledge from my co-workers in the IT department. I work with a lot of talented people and learn from conversations with my coworkers. Our IT department is one where we do everything. We have support, network and system administration, architects, and information security. We also have an applications team, admins, and developers. I utilize my coworkers as resources and learn from them.

8x8: Do you have a mentor, and how has he or she helped you along the way?

RS: Early on in my career, I had two mentors: Bob and Jeremy. They really helped me with the responsibilities I had as a system admin and from a leadership standpoint, which is something that's really where my interest lies right now. My director, Patrick, and some of my peers, Kevin and David, have also helped provide guidance.  I've been fortunate to have quite a few mentors whom I've looked up to over the years and asked for advice from. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for their help.

8x8: What advice would you give to someone who was starting out in their technology career?

RS: Have an open mind and take in as much information as you can. Take notes because you're going to learn a lot, and there's only so much you can hold in your brain! Make sure that you have a passion for what you're doing because that will really help with your drive and consistency for learning.

8x8: What do you like best about 8x8?

RS: I really like the reliability and usability of the system. It's very simple, streamlined, easy to use, and I have no problems navigating the system. The visibility the team has through dashboards and reporting is helpful to ensure we are hitting our service level metrics for Terracon.

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