As an IT consultant at Pearl Technology, Randy Middleton handles many different tasks during the day—from remote phone support to on-site work on equipment. He also works with our data centers as part of our IT Solutions team.
How He Serves
A member of the Pearl Tech team for about seven years, Randy says he provides phone support with different clients from home—helping with issues ranging from password resets to servers or networks that are down. He also works at our data center in Peoria other days… and may even work at a client’s location when needed.
“I may go on-site to make hardware repairs, install, or set up PC, laptop, or backup equipment,” Randy explained. “In some cases, I work on network equipment like switches. The majority of what I do, though, involves troubleshooting software related to Windows and application errors of all kinds.”
Randy’s history with Pearl Tech has varied. “I used to work on the project side, installing servers, switches, and wireless access points,” he said. “I still handle some of the network troubleshooting and server stuff as an intermediary. I’m like a jack of trades, master of none, and hard to put into a neat box.”
For example, Randy once worked as a contracted staff person for about 9 months as a system administrator for an entire plant, where he helped with their IT needs and network. He has also worked to backfill personnel when people are on vacation or busy working on other projects.
“Pearl Tech has two data centers, and I work part-time at the Peoria one,” Randy explained. “Sometimes I work at a client site to perform some type of hardware or software maintenance or repair. When I’m at the data center, I fill in to assist with clients and physical security of the building. I facilitate scheduled and unscheduled site visits and check them into their server rack, coordinating with the rest of the team as needed.”
What His Experience Means
Prior to joining the Pearl Tech team, Randy supported hardware and software at CAT Logistics and BCP Worldwide via the remote service desk for Advanced Technology Services. He was also part of a special project team at State Farm. In addition, he’s enjoyed building computers for many years.
“Working with technology requires hands-on experience and understanding of what you’re doing,” Randy said. “You can’t just walk in and take a computer apart without having some knowledge of how it all goes together and how it works. It takes patience, practice, and persistence, along with the time to gain the knowledge and skills needed to survive in this rapidly changing field.”
Randy has worked in technology and customer service since 2012. He has obtained many certifications including CompTIA, Cisco, Microsoft, and Palo Alto. He has two associate degrees from Illinois Central College (Law Enforcement and Network Administration) and a bachelor’s degree (Criminal Justice) from the University of Illinois in Springfield. Before working in IT, Randy served as a police officer. Though he never completed his master’s (Criminology) from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, he has a whole semester’s worth of credits from training there. This part of his experience assists with his security at the data centers.
What Sustains Him
Randy enjoys the “buzz” he gets when solving a technology challenge for customers. “I get to experience the positive change that the service improved somebody’s day. I like that I’m not doing just one type of thing all the time and that I get the opportunity to perform hands-on work, remote support, and account management on any given day. I get personal satisfaction knowing that I have had a direct impact on our clients’ reasons for staying with Pearl Technology because of the work I do for them.”
That goes in line with Randy’s philosophy: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” He says making sure the customer is satisfied makes him happy. “I believe where there’s a need, there’s a way to make someone’s day better.”
Randy shares this client story. “During COVID, we had a client who was in a bad situation due to a previous provider. When we took over, we did not have all the information we needed, such as proper credentials to manage their entire network. We had read-only access that didn’t allow backups, and the network controller itself stopped working… so there was nothing to go on after it happened. Regardless, I took it on and performed some research. I completely reset the networking computer in their entire environment, became familiar with every aspect of their setup, and rebuilt the network from scratch. This was a radical solution, but it was what the client needed. After doing this, we could make changes, manage, and fix any issues as they occurred and complete their backups. This was a big risk, but I was able to get it done over a couple of days and improve their network down the road. The customer was happy, and their confidence in us grew to a new level.”
As the result of keeping clients satisfied with quality service and uptime, Randy believes that Pearl Tech will continue to grow. He believes reliability and cost-effective solutions are critical to customers in today’s tough marketplace.
“They want to know we’re here when they need us most,” he continued. “Our customers learn to expect good service from the techs and are happy with the results. That makes the difference between us and our competition.”
A Peoria area resident, Randy loves to read, work out in the gym, and spend time with his friends when he has free time. But he really enjoys the chance to help others, as well as work with other techs to ensure the team runs well.
“At Pearl, we talk to each other constantly throughout the day and share information regularly by chat, email, video, and documentation,” he said. “On that note, I have learned to take better notes and document processes to not only help myself provide what clients need, but also help the other team members to better serve our customers.” That is, after all, in line with Randy’s philosophy to love others as himself.
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