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Community Member Spotlight - Bryon Dwyer

  • 1.  Community Member Spotlight - Bryon Dwyer

    Level 3 Contributor
    Posted 03-11-2022 10:37

    Let’s connect with Bryon Dwyer of Christian Brothers Services. Please leave your comments and questions for Bryon below.  

    Watch Bryon describe his 8x8 journey in this short video.

     


    Tell us about your organization:  

    Christian Brothers Services is a nonprofit organization that administers cooperative programs in the areas of health, retirement, property/casualty, technology, school management and consulting services to Church organizations.  We are based in Romeoville, Illinois, about 30 miles south of Chicago.

     

    Describe your role. 

    As an operations manager, it's my job to make sure everybody's getting what they need.  Our team takes care of everything that has a light on… from a calculator, to a printer, to the communications platform!  When I joined CBS 17 years ago, we had a Fujitsu phone system that no one was managing.  I saw an opportunity to step up and learn something new.  I started at the bottom.  About six months after I started in my role,  we transitioned to an Avaya on premises system, which I maintained until we switched to 8x8 in 2019.  


    How did you get interested in technology?

    I started my career as a machinist, working 14 hours a day on my feet.  It was taking a physical toll, so I returned to school to study network communications. The field was exploding at the time; there must have been 80 people in my class.  I find the work very interesting.

     

    What is one piece of advice you would give to others who are just starting out in IT? 

    Young people often want to know everything immediately.  They assume everything can be learned in a classroom or a book.  I explain to our interns that when they're in their labs, everything is in a vacuum.  It's the perfect scenario and everything works as it should.  In real life, you have to push a button without knowing with certainty what it will do, and you have to have the confidence that you can figure it out.  It takes working five years to get five years of experience.  There are no shortcuts.  

     

    What types of things interested you during the COVID pandemic lock down?

    During COVID, I completed an online training course on project management, and brushed up on my 8x8 administration skills via 8x8 University.  Those tips and tricks can help you find more efficient ways to do things.  On a personal level, I read over 15 books.  I'm a fan of historical fiction.  Some of the books I read are Kristen Hannah's The Nightingale and Clint Hill's Mrs. Kennedy and Me.

     

    What do you like best about 8x8?

    8x8 puts their personal touch into what they do.  When we began looking for a new communications provider, we had nine different vendors.  Most responded to our RFP with cookie cutter responses.  8x8 took the time to learn about our business and understand our requirements.  When the pandemic happened and we sent employees home, our biggest challenge was getting monitors to staff.  Had the pandemic happened prior to 8x8, we would have had no way to communicate.  With 8x8, it was business as usual.


    What do you plan to do next with 8x8?

    We have an IVR project under consideration, and we are looking forward to implementing FrontDesk.  

    I've tested FrontDesk already.  I like that it is built into 8x8 Work and you don't have to open two applications.

     

    What do you do for fun? 

    I enjoy supporting my daughter's theater and choral pursuits.  She is a high school senior, and I like volunteering and helping with her productions.  She'll be starring in Mamma Mia this spring.

    What question would you like to ask our community?

    Occasionally when we open 8x8 Work, it doesn't always hook up to the audio and we get a red exclamation point.  Has anyone else experienced this?