Frank Keogh Senior Systems Engineer TEC Communications Frank has been with TEC Communications since 2004, when he brought his prodigious skillset and built an extraordinary catalog of specializations and certifications: SPECIALIZATIONS: Cybersecurity Cisco Fire Jumper Data Center Cloud Routing & Switching CERTIFICATIONS: Cisco Microsoft Adtran VMware CCNA CCDA CCNP Security CCNP Routing & Switching 4011 Recognition 4013 Recognition CompTIA A+ CompTIA Network+ CompTIA Serve+ Q: What sets you apart from most of today’s IT engineers? What motivates you to continue to improve in today’s world of technology? A: I never lose sight of the overall vision regarding what our customers are trying to accomplish. No matter what area I’m working within my technical expertise, I make it my mission to ensure that every single technology interacts properly with the others to create the optimal overall business solution. (For example, Security impacts everything on a network.) Not only do I want to do the best job possible for the customer, I also want to help improve upon TEC’s already-distinguished reputation for superior IT knowledge and service. Q: What IT missteps do you encounter most frequently? A: At times our customers believe it’s their responsibility to give us the answers to their problems. But they call us because they don’t always have the depth of experience that we do. If they encounter an issue outside of their comfort zone, they may not always select the best roadmap to solve the problem. We provide the knowledge and proficiency to do just that. At TEC, I get to work in both IT minefields and with great projects every day. My depth of experience – and why our customers contact me – is based on continuous learning and being around accomplished engineers. Q: What do you see as the most significant IT development by 2020? Beyond? A: The growing trend towards Cybersecurity as THE most important pillar of an IT foundation is significant. The number of threats in the U.S. has nearly quadrupled from 2011 to 2017; as technology expands its functionality and the base of users grows, security risks increase accordingly. That – and how to stay two steps ahead of these threats – will be the prevailing issue for the foreseeable future. Q: Tell us about one of your proudest accomplishments at TEC. A: I’m reminded of several noteworthy projects over the years. In one instance, we received an urgent late-night call from a customer with an office and plant in Great Britain: their network had gone down during a critical time. My fellow TEC engineer, Chris Harris and I worked feverishly into the early morning hours. In short order, we got the system restored remotely and the company was still able to meet its deadlines. Q: What would our partners and customers be surprised to know about you? A: I’m a pretty big gamer in my free time; my favorite games are Destiny, Battlefield, Fallout and Skyrim series. That, and I helped mentor Alex Hervey, whom you’ll meet next week in this series’ final installment. Have an IT question for Frank? Maybe a problem he might be able to help solve? Email him at at fkeogh@tec4it.com, or he’s just a phone call away at (440) 333-5903.
