If there was one word to describe you it would be autoprogscriptimesaver (automation, programmer, scripter, timesaver) 😉.
And if there was one word to describe how much of IT is currently working today, it would be: manual.
Whether you just need to create a new user in AD, or if you have to automate entire deployments of Windows, Azure, Office 365, SQL etc etc — you're in the right place to get the help you need.
Since you are here right now, something tells me that you're a problem solver, an improver of processes and generally someone with good ideas.
But maybe you...
- don't know PowerShell/Scripting so well.
- don't know how to get started automating.
- think there is a better way (p.s. someone always knows a better way).
No matter where you fit in this group, you want to make your life easier by AUTOMATING the things you do.
- You want to save yourself the time doing repetitive manual tasks.
- You want to make sure that the important imports/deployments work the same in production as it did in test.
It would be amazing but sometimes we can't know everything, you need a way to make that a reality.
It's frustrating, you feel stuck. Trust me, I've felt exactly the same.
Hammering away at same script or method and just feel you're going in circles and not going anywhere.
C:\> Get-User -Identity RyanBartram
Username : DFTAI\RyanBartram
UserType : PowerShell and general Automation enthusiast
DailyWork : developing, testing and improving automation environments
How did this become my thing?
Well, like most people I started in help desk. Helping people when they couldn't get their internet working, or couldn't start outlook because the PST file crashed for the 100th time (why oh why are you storing your 10GB PST on a fileshare). From there I moved to Windows Server support and engineering. Dabbling in HP storage, VMware Virtualisation, Cisco Networking, SQL maintenance and Skype for business deployments. If it ran in my company's datacentre, I was somehow related to it. Jack of all trades and not yet master of one
After using scripting UIs for systems like Cisco and SQL, it slowing became more common for me to be using tools like PowerShell aswell. Projects would come like where you would need to move 18,000 users from Lync 2010 to Lync 2013 and I wasn't going to do that by hand. Overtime, project by project I slowly became more proficient with PowerShell and used it exclusively over the GUI.
New country, new start
After moving from the UK to Australia to the UK again and finally to Switzerland. I found myself needing to show my worth without being able to speak german. PowerShell became the way I was able to show my colleagues my worth. Since landing a position solely as an automation engineer, I've really hit my flow. Becoming a part of the Open Source community and contributing to DSC and other PowerShell GitHub projects, I have learnt from others as I hope you can learn from me. I would never have thought I would be here doing this when I first started out in IT.
but as my wife says, "Crazy, right?"
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And hey, thanks for being here. I genuinely appreciate it...and you.
Don't Forget To Automate It.