Let's connect with Todd Blake of Community Health Connections. Please leave your comments and questions for Todd below. If you are interested in being featured in a member spotlight please email customerreference@8x8.com.
Tell us about the company you work for and how you support your organization.
Community Health Connections is a Massachusetts nonprofit community health center offering full medical care, behavioral health, dental care, optometry, and specialty services to everyone who walks through its doors, regardless of insurance status or the ability to pay. I am a senior IT specialist, providing all kinds of computer support for end users. 8x8 is one of the products I'm a lead on.
Growing up did you know technology would be your career choice?
Not really. I went to high school and college in the 80s, and computers weren't really much of a thing yet. I had a Commodore 64. I really liked computers, but I mostly used them for word processing, games and graphics. As time went on, I learned more and more about them.
What path led you to your current role?
I grew up in the Northeast, in Massachusetts and Connecticut. I graduated from Colby College in Maine with degrees in English and history. My first couple of jobs out of school were working in student activities, first at Colby, then at Brandeis University, where I started programming schedules for concerts and activities. The YWCA in downtown Worcester found out I knew my way around Windows, and hired me to do troubleshooting. From there, I went to work as the only help desk guy at an MSP, supporting 35 different companies. It was crazy, but I learned so much, so fast. One of the owners at the MSP went to work at Community Health Connections and I joined him a few years later.
How do you stay up-to-date on industry trends and where do you find professional inspiration?
If you're interested in technology in general, it kind of seeps into you. I followed and read all kinds of things over time, watched all kinds of videos; no one, per se, led me in any particular direction. It's like, if you like a certain genre of book, and you always read horror stories, or what have you, I just like tech. It's seeped into me just by paying attention to what's going on around me. Some of the malware and spyware forums 10 years ago were really important because those issues were devastating to the different companies I worked for at the time. I got in there to learn how to clean up computers and save data. It's a lot easier now than it used to be. People are much more aware about backing things up and paying attention. It's still out there, of course, but it's different. Now it might hit the whole company and bring them down. You can avoid it if you're smart. I can't point to any one thing to read or watch. In general, it's just been something that was interesting to me, so I always paid attention.
What do you like most about 8x8?
It's a quality product that offers everything we might want in a VoIP solution. My favorite piece is the app, be it on the computer or on my cell. It's gotten better and better over time, and 8x8 almost updates it too much, quite frankly. But 8x8 definitely pays attention to it. It gives me a ton of functionality. It offers me a whole second cell phone in functionality. It's kind of set up like a cell phone. It's very easy for users to absorb and understand and use. I lean on it all the time. I don't even have a physical phone, I don't see the need for one, quite frankly. So that functionality inside of that app is probably my favorite piece.
What was the last book you read?
I'm reading a book right now on the history of the Atari 2600 video game console. It goes through the making of the Atari on up to the video game collapse. Because of my long commutes, I'm re-listening to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series on Audible. It has been adapted to a series on Amazon.
What advice would you give someone pursuing a career in technology?
Don't be afraid of any given issue that you might be facing. Ask for help! If you can't figure it out, ask your coworkers and look for other resources to figure it out. Take a lot of notes. I love OneNote like crazy. It's been an absolute lifesaver for me. It's a digital filing cabinet where I keep all my information and refer back to it, because I just cannot remember everything, there's too many steps, too many pieces of software, too many pieces of hardware, you need to reference. And finally, challenge yourself, see what you like and then try to pursue that path. For me, I don't enjoy firewalls; they're not my thing. I prefer working with Nutanix for our virtual machines and fighting spyware and malware. Find what you like.
On a personal note, what are your hobbies?
I like to hike a lot - walk, hike, bike and get out in nature. I live out in the woods and try to go out every day. It's really good for my psyche, especially when I'm sitting at a computer for most of the day. It's extremely important to me to get outside. I also like to be geeky and nerdy. I played Dungeons and Dragons back in the 70s and 80s with my friends, and I'm still playing it with the same group or people! We meet once a month to play. My biggest hobby is painting miniatures for the game. I also enjoy cooking as a way to unwind.
Check out Community Health Connections 8x8 Customer Story.