I recently caught up with Eli Sprague, global IT support manager at InterWorks, and spoke with him about his journey with the company, the ins and outs of working in technology, and what work in an IT support role for a tech company really looks like.
Q: How you did you find your way to InterWorks?
Eli: I heard from a friend about InterWorks and sent in my resume as a freshman in college. I missed their follow-up call by two weeks (I was bad at checking my voicemail), and when I finally called back, I was asked to come in that same day. In my interview with Aaron Richardson [the IT services manager], after he skimmed my resume, he said, “Well, you don’t know enough to work here. But tell me what you like to do. What are you interested in?”
We talked for about an hour, and eventually he asked when I’d be available to work, which was anytime I didn’t have class. I wrote down my schedule, he saw that I didn’t have class for the rest of that day, and I began work immediately following that interview. My first task was affixing the paper towel dispenser to the bathroom wall. Day 1. The first month was random office stuff like that, but after a while, I got more plugged into the IT side of things. I’ve worked on the customer-facing side of the business, and now most of what I do is internal.
Above: Eli doing one of his favorite pastimes around the InterWorks Stillwater office.
Q: What does IT work look like for you on a daily basis?
Eli: The biggest adjustment recently has been managing a team. I’ve spent more time lately with others, working to build up their skills and be sure they understand how to do things. I still do lots of server maintenance, and anytime we want to test out a new product, we deploy it internally before serving it up to customers.
Q: What is the scope of the InterWorks IT support team?
Eli: Most people at InterWorks wear lots of hats, and that’s very true of support. We work closely with HR on lots of processes—anything from onboarding and team changes to broken desktops and printers. We perform monthly server maintenance to ensure we stay on the cutting edge. There is still normal helpdesk stuff, and even facility stuff, like installing new cables, lights, etc., and sometimes we still do get pulled into client work. Every solution we deliver is a little bit different. The business intelligence side is very proactive about looking at new things. Basically, if there’s anything technical going on, we want you to send an email to support.
Q: How does internal IT work differ from client IT work?
Eli: For our team, we still view ourselves as consultants. Internal employees who need assistance are still our clients. We strive to handle any request the same way with the same quality of work, etc., except we have the added advantage of closer relationship with employees. I do miss some of the newness and impact of going out to a brand-new external client and fixing their problem.
Internal work can be just as rewarding, though, because you establish and deepen relationships with your colleagues. There are distinctions between the work done for InterWorks vs. what’s done for external clients. Internally, more small issues pop up, but they’re less technical and often more operational.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges doing IT for an IT company?
Eli: Honestly, most InterWorks people who have problems are savvy enough to already try some of the simple fixes, like turn it on and off again. Everyone here is reasonably technical, even if you’re not in IT. Most people identify the things they’ve already tried, but this can make things tough because then the easy out is gone. On one hand, it’s odd supporting other IT people. There’s some overlap, and the question comes up, “What are they responsible for?” We expect IT people to fix their own stuff, though we don’t really expect clients to manage their own networks and systems.
It can also be challenging because we need to be sure that we’re tracking everything we do, but because of how naturally and organically relationships form, people approach you casually and ask questions about quick fixes. It’s good when people Slack you and ask questions that way, but we as a team need to be tracking the things we do. As much as I hate those little tickets, they’re really valuable for logging tech issues and going back to review patterns and history. Tickets are an important way we measure metrics in the way of a case load.
Above: Eli and Tony Kau taking a break with some deep dish at the AWS reInvent conference.
Q: What are some of the most rewarding aspects of doing IT at InterWorks?
Eli: A lot of people here are curious and want to do good work. This sets us up in a lot of positive ways because we can talk people through how and why things are set up the way they are, and people can pick it up and understand. Many people here expect change and are very dynamic, and this gives us the ability to be fast-paced, and people adapt really well. It lets us try a lot of new things that we maybe couldn’t elsewhere.
Q: There are lots of stereotypes surrounding IT. Is there any truth to them?
Eli: The only time we really run into stereotyping is with some new hires who are used to very traditional IT structures and systems. They’ve seen things in a previous scenario and bring that experience in with them. It can be very formal, but for us, we’re very informal and casual. I even had some of those expectations when I stepped into this job. It takes a while to get over some of those things. There’s lots of grace and flexibility when it comes to room for improvement. When you make mistakes, people want you to learn from them and they don’t freak out on you. I used to be afraid and think I’d lose my job, but people just say, don’t do it again.
Q: Do you feel more pressure doing IT for an IT company?
Eli: We want to get to the point where all eyes are on us. What are we doing for a client? Oh, well that’s what we’re doing here for our team. As far as pressure, no. People are a lot more understandable. With certain issues, I can talk with some other IT colleagues and they can relate to the challenge facing me at the time. More of the pressure comes from the scope of what we’re doing for other customers. When we’re redoing people’s infrastructures, there’s a lot to it, so that can bring pressure along with it.
Q: InterWorks has a very unique culture. Does your department have its own subculture?
Eli: I think the culture is unique and spans across all departments. We all realize that accidents are going to happen, and there’s an understanding that we all are going to make them. We all work together to solve problems that crop up. We work together as a great team, and people are receptive and patient—even after work hours or on the weekends—and want to help you out. Everyone wants each other to succeed.
Q: How has the IT Support group grown? Where do you see it going?
Eli: My personal hope is that things continue to grow. Even at 12 people right now, the team is the biggest it’s been. It’s always been pretty small, and people have always worn multiple hats. I think the bigger change is that as we get bigger, we may be losing the ability for people to wear multiple hats. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It can be nice for people to specialize in something and really own that area, but that will probably be the biggest change.
It’s really nice to be involved in everything. I love being a part of anything that goes on here. I like seeing the changes. It’s cool to see how each department handles things, what works well in certain areas, etc. The problem is that I want that involvement, but things are getting to the point where I don’t have the time to do all those things. It’s really exciting to see the growth and find the next person who’ll come in and latch onto something that becomes their niche. It’s really neat to see something click with someone. When you’re actually setting up this network or service that’s going to be spread out over all these different companies and areas, that’s big impact.
Above: Some of the IT support team at the AWS reInvent conference.
Q: On a high level, how do you go about tackling an IT problem? Do you have a set process, or does it vary from issue to issue?
Eli: It depends on the layer and what you’re familiar with. Sometimes, when you begin to get into creative problem solving, you can do something, but it may not be the best way to accomplish something. You can begin putting together all these different technologies, and it’s fun to come up with creative ways to get something done, but if someone were to come behind us and look at that work, it’d be a mess. So there’s a balance to strike between what we can do—which is super fun to explore—and what is best to do and will function well. Software development is really the creative side of tech where you can build whatever you want based on your vision.
Q: What about IT work is fun for you? Is there something specific that comes to mind?
Eli: It changes. From a management point of view, I want to do the fun work, but it doesn’t make sense. It really should be someone else learning and growing in that. Right now, I’m really enjoying functional scripting and containerization of micro-servicing, like Netflix and how they’ve micro-serviced their entire platform. A lot of our work has shifted to restructuring or strategizing how we should structure something from an operational standpoint. It’s fun to come up with your own solutions to things, almost like a creative endeavor. It’s less about googling something to figure out what it is, and more about how do we identify what we need to know, how it should be done, etc.
Q: For people who are interested in or curious about IT, what are the paths you’d recommend they pursue?
Eli: It’s really about passion. It’s most significant to me when people do IT work outside of the job. Curiosity is crucial. The biggest thing to me is exploring and having fun with technology at home, and you enjoy it so much that you want to have it spill over into your day job. Have something to show outside of the workplace that you can then bring into your career.
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