An EPiC Adventure!

In late October 2009, I formed Electric Pillow Company (aka EPiC), LLC (a Delaware company) as a home for intellectual property and business arising from my avocation of biomechanical R&D.  Upon being RIF’d from Sun Microsystems in November of 2009, I immediately shifted to making EPiC my full-time endeavour.  While the charter purpose for EPiC remains R&D, my primary activities for the foreseeable future will remain centered on the delivery of consulting and training in the area of computer systems performance and capacity, which I’ll deliver under the trade name of “EPiC Performance Associates”.  Government customers can easily contract for my services via GSA Schedule GS-10F-0144J, and all other customers can inquire with me directly.

In my almost 13 years at Sun, I was blessed to learn quite a lot about what goes wrong with computer systems performance and with the processes and politics that arise when things don’t work.  I played a major leadership role in Sun’s internal communities focused on performance and Oracle, and was the driving force in the creation of the Sun team that handles performance-related service calls.  I cherish the many amazing – and sometimes confounding –  colleagues and customers with whom I’ve had the privilege of working.  I now feel like I’ve graduated — with honors!  In my “post-grad” work, I will continue seeking opportunities to apply and extend my knowledge and skills in the areas of computer systems performance and capacity, and I will continue to be active in forums such as the Computer Measurement Group (CMG) and the annual Hotsos Symposium.

For years I’ve fought the notion that “premium talent is too expensive” in industry – though everyone of that opinion always seems to expect the very best medical care if they themselves ever happen to end up in an Emergency Room!  When the stakes are high, experience counts!  After years of “smoke jumping” for Sun, I’m now feeling like an IT analog to “Doctors Without Borders”.  My business model for consulting will be simple; leverage premium experienced resources for triage, diagnosis, strategy, and training – and thereby empower IT organizations to succeed using their own wits and staff talent.  Between myself and my broad network of expert associates, I believe I’ll be able to help some companies find their way out of their performance and capacity miseries, and onto smoother waters.