Creating Resources for our Customers: Meet Paul Allen
Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do here at GoDaddy.
I didn't start my career in IT until I was 22 (I'm 35 now). I gained interest in tech whilst on tour with the United Nations in Cyprus, where I completed IT courses during my downtime. When I arrived back in the United Kingdom, I started night college, studying for my Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and working full time in a retail shop as well as having IT internship in a local warehouse. I applied for a Customer Technical Support position at a British domain registrar and web hosting company and was hired on full-time. I quickly moved up the management ladder to become a Team Manager within the organization. During my time there, I was studying Computer Science at the Open University and moved to the IT team to gain experience along with my degree. GoDaddy purchased the group in 2017 and I've continued my path, moving to the Engineering team to become a Site Reliability Engineer III. I specialise in the Windows platform but enjoy getting involved in anything that comes my way!
What real-life problems does your team solve?
We are a proactive team that look for solutions and improvements for our internal Windows, Android and Apple users. We manage devices via Intune, Jamf and Configuration Manager, providing the users with the tools they need to support our customers, whilst ensuring their devices are healthy and secure. We strive to prevent fires rather than fight them.
What has been one of your proudest moments at the organization?
I have many proud moments working at GoDaddy, including enabling employees to continue to work safely during the Pandemic and traveling throughout Europe supporting the reopening of offices after Covid lockdowns. However, my proudest moment was designing a new MDM solution to allow developers to test customer applications via physical phones connected to secure endpoints. This had an awful lot of restraints and barriers, including the technology not being readily available. With perseverance and research, I was able to connect various applications together to create the system we needed to suit our environment. Not only did this improve the situation for our employees, but GoDaddy customers will also benefit from our teams having better tools and resources!
If you had to describe GoDaddy's culture in one word, what would it be and why?
Diverse.
I'm proud to be part of a company that has staff all over the world. I've had the privilege to work with people from different cultures and backgrounds, either remotely or face to face. It's one of the most rewarding parts of the job for me and GoDaddy is amazing at celebrating our diversity, breaking down barriers and supporting all its staff members at work and home. I've had the pleasure to work with French, German, Serbian, Bulgarian, Romanian, American, Australian, Indian, and Colombian staff members. Some of these individuals I even call my close friends.
I've never worked within a company that looks after its staff members quite like GoDaddy. The organisation is phenomenal when it comes to recognition, benefits, and management.
What advice would you give to an individual looking to join GoDaddy?
Hurry up....I joke. But seriously, if you enjoy pushing yourself, working hard but playing harder, going beyond what you thought was your potential and are looking for a company with a great culture and atmosphere, you NEED to apply.
How do you recharge after a busy week?
I have 3 children (ages 7, 4 and 2-months), So, I'm not sure fully recharging is possible at the moment! However, I enjoy making memories with the kids, be that a day at the beach, jumping in the pool, or just reading them books in the evenings. For a bit of an escape, I run a Gran Turismo league with my friends and I enjoy drinking a pint at the local pub.
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