David Drake

Dr. Strange Times - or how I learned to stop worrying about the pandemic and embrace change

David Drake

• 2 min read
Dr. Strange Times - or how I learned to stop worrying about the pandemic and embrace change

An Update from David Drake

The past few years ushered in a time of transition and change to my consulting business. With the onset of the pandemic in 2020, consulting opportunities quickly dried up. Fortunately, networking with long time associates opened new doors.

During my time at Vertical Management Systems, I had the opportunity to work along side of Jerry Glynn. Jerry invited me to join the development team that he manages at AccessNsite.

AccessNsite is a software development company in the Access Control industry. I have been working as a Development Lead for the past two years, offering my experience to evolve development processes and procedures. I am pleased with our progress, we managed to smoothly double our development team size over the last year.

Challenged to Learn

Although I had a lot to offer in my new position, I also had a lot to learn. Transitioning from my industry of expertise, Financial Services, to the Access Control industry has been a challenge. On top of that, changing from a Microsoft-based technology stack to a Java and Linux stack was like learning to swim by diving in the deep end. I am very grateful for the AccessNsite team, which went to great lengths to make me feel welcome and show me the ropes.

With Great Tools Comes New Opportunities

I am pleased to say that it has been a growthful two years for me, and I am excited about the new experience and skills. I have been able to work with a wide variety of new-to-me technologies, including: Java, Oracle, MariaDB, MySQL, APIs, Android & iOS apps, Linux, Docker Containers, and more. I'm looking forward to my continued work with our team and product, bringing innovation to our industry.

Me and the wall of controller boards at AccessNsite

What about Vestridge?

For now, I have decided to keep my consulting company alive, but on hold, as a fall-back for the future. My time and focus are with my position at AccessNsite, but I will try to make occasional posts on this site to share my thoughts and insights.