Why I Joined InfluxData - Jay Clifford
By
Jay Clifford /
Company
Oct 01, 2021
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“Why did you join InfluxData?” You have to love an easy question, right? Though I have never been in the business of answering easy questions with easy answers.
I have, however, always been a visual learner so what better way to answer this question? Mind Map!
A platform with momentum
Back in 2018 I used InfluxDB (V1.7) for the first time, to store data I collected from a fuel engine simulator. Command line driven using the Influx CLI, the platform did everything my young IoT developer heart required to store and query my fuel engine data. Since then, InfluxData has been busy
- In 2020, InfluxDB2.0 was released with integrated dashboarding
- Telegraf reached over 200 plugins from its humble beginnings
- The announcement of InfluxDB IOx which will define a new standard of storing time series data within the industry.
InfluxData does not slow down. That’s why I joined the company: to be part of a movement continuously driving change and living on the bleeding edge of new technology.
Open Source is the heart of InfluxData
Throughout my career as a Developer, Cloud Engineer, Sales Engineer and now Developer Advocate there has been one constant: Open Source. In mathematics we love a constant that provides stability to our ever-changing algorithm which in this case… equals my career. Open Source provides a platform for accelerating learning, provoking new ideas and bringing like-minded individuals together under one cause. InfluxData has never lost its roots in this area. I have always found the forums and Slack channels to be afire with questions, new ideas, feature requests and most importantly answers. I now get to embed myself into this already great community and earn a living at the same time. I think that makes a pretty compelling reason why I joined InfluxData.
Experience in the OT and IoT sector
To be fully transparent, I cannot thank my previous company enough for the exposure and training they provided me in the OT and IoT sector. It has introduced me to technology which in most cases is overlooked:
- Communication protocols such as Modbus and OPC UA
- PLC architectures and analogue sensors
- More recently Vision AI based solutions
InfluxDB because of its versatility has always been at the heart of our IoT solutions. One of my main reasons for joining is to help share my experience in this sector, so others can benefit like I have from the Influx platform.
A fresh start and new challenge
If you made it this far I hope you enjoyed my rather lengthy answer to a very easy question. InfluxData in short just feels like it fits right, like when you try those new trainers on and say “these are the ones”. Like my new trainers I’m excited to get stuck in and running at Influx as a Developer Advocate. My job is to provide the best possible experience to our community and I hope to do that through a variety of media. I look forward to chatting with you all in our Slack and forums soon!
