Celebrating 21 Years with our Head of Dev Ops Dan Brown
Our Head of Dev Ops Dan Brown recently celebrated 21 years with Benchmark Estimating Software.
He gave us a quick snapshot into his 21 years at Benchmark:
- When did you start at Benchmark? June 2002
- Can you describe your career journey with the company over the past 21 years?
I have been through so many roles from support development, development, programming, testing, customer support, agile development, programming, DevOps, infrastructure, and developing corporate process.
- What role do you have now?
Head DevOps & Infrastructure
- What attracted you to working at Benchmark and why have you stayed?
I wanted a software development role locally (I live down the south coast of NSW) and I stayed because I got to work on so many different areas of the business and being a small company initially, I was able to work on tasks not restricted to my job title.
- How many employees did Benchmark have when you started?
We had 4 when we started and have grown into a 40+ strong team now.
- What have been the biggest changes you have seen at Benchmark over the past 21 years?
Without a doubt the transition from Benchmark Estimating Software on-premises into the cloud which has been an absolute game changer for us.
- What are some of the key factors that have contributed to your long-term success within the company? Commitment to problem solving and just getting the job done.
- Are there any memorable projects or achievements you’ve been involved in that you’d like to share?
I enjoyed working with a client one on one to extract, transform and load their data from their existing product into Benchmark. It involved gathering the requirements, programming, testing and liaison with the client. Was the complete software development dream!
- Looking back on your career, what are you most proud of achieving here?
Getting to terms with some of the many aspects on how Microsoft Azure and AWS Cloud Infrastructure works.
- Can you share any standout memories or experiences that have made your time here special?
Playing cricket in the office with a tube of cardboard and rolled up paper and bonding with workmates while the managers were away
But also programming the Roadworks Estimator and getting into the nitty gritty calculations on what goes into road construction. I never looked at roads the same after learning about all the different schedule items used in a road’s construction.
- What are you most looking forward to for the future of the company? I am most looking forward to seeing the organisation continue to grow and expand globally and continuing to improve our infrastructure to ensure our clients are provided the best possible experience when using our solutions.
