Ian Joyner

I was somewhat recruited for my internship at Business Vitals. I was working behind the bar at the G allery at Nonnah's a few hours before it was officially 2005. As it just started to get quiet, a patron seated himself in front of me at the bar. We got to talking. I told him my major (TSTM) and he told me that he is the marketing director for Business Vitals, one of Columbia's few high tech firms. Business Vitals specializes in IT outsourcing for many companies, focusing on both managed services and consulting. They basically work to create the solution that will best fit the customers' needs. Some of these needs require that many branches be linked together through VPNs and constantly monitored. They also offer enterprise e-mail, critical applications hosting, disaster recovery/planning and a slew of other consulting and managed services.

I started working at Business Vitals in January 2005. I was put on Level 1 help desk which meant I actually did work in my internship (instead of following someone around or sitting at my desk playing FreeCell and taking naps). I, along with 2 others, monitor and troubleshoot over 1,000 branches of a financial institution's VPN deployment. The hardware we use to network these branches are SonicWall and Juniper internet appliances, which basically work like your home internet router, except that they can connect to all the other branches through the use of Virtual Private Networking. The devices are able to be monitored remotely from our Network Operations Center (NOC). It was one thing to learn all about this technology in TSTM 345, but quite another to actually see the encryption algorithms and IP schemas come together to create a working, nationwide network that is easily manageable by only 3 individuals.

I also got involved in a few side projects when I had some extra time. I used my Excel and Access skills that were picked up in TSTM 346 and 348 to help some co-workers format and calculate their spreadsheets better. I also built a database to keep track of our backup tapes, their contents and what date they are to leave the site. I increased my application knowledge by learning how to use Intuit's Track-It Enterprise edition of asset and support tracking software. For help desk functions, I would use Track-It and our web based monitoring utilities to monitor, make contact with sites, and document the process of actions taken to get the site back online. I was also eased into learning the inventory functions of Track-It as well. I am now the main controller of the inventory at Business Vitals. I check in new units and update the unit's location when they get shipped out. I also deal with collecting old equipment, checking it back into inventory and sending it over to Level 2 to test the device and RMA it if they need to. My business communications course (TSTM 342) helped me communicate a more effectively by teaching me how to write e-mails and talk to co-workers properly so that we can get the job done. Business Vitals also welcomed me to attend the weekly help desk meetings that started around March. These meetings proved to be invaluable because they allowed everyone that works here to know where we are and where we are heading in terms of projects. Everyone accepted me as a full-fledged employee and not just a lowly intern. These meetings have helped the team members collaborate more effectively which has lead to a lot of growth in the past couple months.