The Secrets of a Systems Administrator
Mark Peglow, Systems Administrator at Commio
Working behind the scenes, Mark Peglow has been a Systems Administrator at Commio for four years. He’s spent 35 years working in similar roles in a number of other industries. We recently had a chat with him to get to know him better.
What do you do at Commio?
As a Systems Administrator, I work on maintaining and updating the core systems and network infrastructure for all of the Commio voice and messaging products to prevent or minimize any impact to operations.
What sets your team apart from similar jobs at other companies?
Decisions are often made quickly and decisively when a situation arises; other times, all viewpoints are considered before deciding on a course of action. Input on changes or actions are fairly considered. Many places I have worked, the work and actions are dictated, and suggestions or input is not welcome.
What excites you about going to work in the morning?
There is always something new to learn and something new to try. Working to improve redundancy and resilience, along with improved performance and monitoring, and improved automation is the work that excites me most.
If you could do some other job, what would it be and why?
If I could have any job, I would want to be a LEGO master builder. The ability to create anything I can imagine would make this the most enjoyable job in the world.
Mark and his wife Catherine, dog Halley
Who has influenced you in your approach to work?
I have been very fortunate to work for many excellent leaders. What made them great to me was they would provide honest feedback and let me know when I did not perform a task to the level they expected and what I needed to do to improve. I was also given advice and that advice can be distilled down to these thoughts:
- Be thorough and diligent with your work.
- Admit mistakes and state how to resolve them.
- State your thoughts and accept that others may see things differently than you.
- Work on projects proposed by others with the same effort and diligence as if they are your own.
Mark is a racing aficionado
What sport or sports do you like to watch?
I like to watch college football, just not any team in particular. There are three games I do try to watch each year: The Game (Harvard/Yale), the game (Ohio State/Michigan), and Army/Navy. I did learn this year that the Coast Guard Academy and the Merchant Marine Academy both have football teams, very unexpected.
I also enjoy auto racing, such as IMSA, Rally Car, and short track racing. And I enjoy watching the big races, the Indy 500, The Coca-Cola (World) 600, and Formula 1 Grand Prix races.
Can you keep a secret? Give an example.
Yes.
It is a secret.
Halley posing prettily
Best movie ever! And what makes it so great?
This is a tie between “Plan 9 From Outer Space” and “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.” They are great because both of these movies are hysterically awful, pure entertainment.
