We caught up with IT captain Daryl Care and quickly learned why he’s a leader. Understanding how we and our clients use and apply technology is a priority for him. He listens. He sees the big picture. Maybe that’s why IT’s latest initiative, Everest, embraces so many departmental needs.
Us: Thanks for taking time to talk with us. In July, your team launched Everest, which you describe as an effort that will improve the way we build our products and, in turn, boost sales. What are some of the key elements of Everest?
D.C.: Well, the main element is to empower our business with much-needed new technology capabilities that reduce costs and set the stage for new market opportunities. Two of the most noteworthy projects within Everest are the Learning Content Management System, or LCMS…
Us: (interrupting) Before you go further, what is an LCMS?
D.C.: An LCMS is used by developers and authors to assemble lessons. They write lesson content for students to read about a subject, and add images, video, games, what have you. These lessons are essentially a web page viewed online by students through a Learning Management System like Buzz. Right now, we’re using a product called SoftChalk as the LCMS, but it really limits us. So, we are busy building a new LCMS to replace it. The new, custom-built LLS LCMS will improve performance and sophistication, which, in turn, will make our curriculum development process much more efficient. Hopefully, it will eliminate all the headaches for folks who work in SoftChalk!
Us: Got it. So, you were saying (before we rudely interrupted) that rebuilding the LCMS is a crucial part of Everest. What else are you tackling?
D.C.: We’re also implementing our solutions at Amazon Web Services, or AWS, which involves…
Us: (interrupting again): OK, sorry to do this again, but…how does AWS work?
D.C.: No worries. I’m used to being interrupted. Essentially, it’s an on-demand, cloud computing platform that provides a secure place for our content to reside for our clients. AWS has these locations, called server farms, all over the world. We are adding servers located in China. As you might imagine, it takes a lot of planning and comes with a pretty steep learning curve.
Still, moving to AWS gives us large-scale capacity more quickly and cheaply than our current approach. So, in order to leverage its state-of-the-art capabilities and improve our business, we’re adapting our capabilities. We expect to be using AWS data centers in both the U.S. and China by the time spring rolls around.
Us: It sounds like a massive undertaking.
D.C.: It is, but that’s our world. It moves fast. In fact, we just finished building an academic assessment player that teachers can use no matter what LMS they choose. Up until now, we could only deliver assessments to them from the Buzz LMS. So this is yet another effort to provide our educators with the flexibility to create valuable educational experiences for their students.
Us: Great note to close out on. Thank you. We look forward to catching up with you again for the next edition. Meanwhile, we’ll all undoubtedly be keeping the ServiceNow team busy and looking forward to the next security assignment.
D.C.: Sure, my pleasure. And that reminds me. Before I sign off, I really want everyone to know the important role they play in keeping LLS secure. Many thanks for your continued participation in the security program.
