Getting to Know our Featured User for February - Hal German

What is your current job title? Previous roles?

Principal Support Engineer for APM Support for three years. Previously I did a year in SiteMinder Support and 6 years on the road for APM Support.   Currently I assist other engineers with their cases, write Tech Docs, Act as APM KB Point of Contact and Serve as Liaison with Doc Team. My goal is to help you the customer, improve the product, and help my wonderful teammates and management.

Can you tell us a bit more about your current role?

I really enjoy working with my Support Team and Management. Some I knew before when I was opening cases in Professional Services. They “think well beyond the ticket” and work hard to find a solution for your problems as well as getting you to an optimized and scalable architecture. We do After Action Reviews to discuss “lessons learned” from cases. My teammates take the time to write Tech Tips and knowledgebase articles to help resolve customer situations that may arise. They attend meetings with development to provide input on future releases. They interact with the Documentation Team to identify gaps. A Support Engineer’s life is a constant balancing act or a dance depending on your perspective. The Support Managers Erik Bresnihan, Nancy Colangelo, Vanessa Nnaji and until recently Danny Gordon “all swim in the same direction” going the extra mile for customers. They are open to trying new technology and processes if it will improve the customer experience. I feel truly blessed and find it highly rewarding to work with my team and management each day.

Favorite movie of all time?

Favorites are always situational . . Princess Mononoke has to be in the top three. The themes of ecology, industrialization love, and rebirth etc. are wonderfully woven together.

Favorite book?

Again it changes. The Dhammapada is a straightforward book on how to overcome mental suffering.

What are some of your hobbies that keep you busy outside of work?

Fiction Writing (many genres), Walking locally , Watching Movies

Can you share an interesting fact about yourself?

I once had one of my songs quoted by Jim Goodnight CEO of the SAS Institute at the Regional User Group that I founded -- NESUG (Northeast SAS User Group.)