NOTE: After 12 years with Accent, Kenny has moved on and is now Windows & Cloud Systems Administrator (Operating Systems Analyst - Expert) at Cal Poly Pomona. We wish him the best!
Kenny Riedell’s years at Accent Computer Solutions have been anything but boring.
Starting right out of IT trade school as an apprentice, Kenny worked his way through different positions before arriving at the role that he now fills as Senior Technology Architect. The primary goal of his position is to build, train and enforce standardization of client IT systems. Each day Kenny has opportunities to learn something new which means that he never stops expanding his knowledge and skill set.
“I have a little bit of fear of stagnation,” said Kenny. “But I know that as long as I stay here, I’ll never stagnate. We’re always researching and deploying new technologies.”
Company Environment Conducive to Career Growth
Kenny is naturally an eager learner which is one of the attributes that makes him so good at his job, but he recognizes that the environment at Accent has been an important factor in his career growth.
“Accent is an amazing place to work for an engineer because you’re always working on different environments,” said Kenny. “Every client is unique so you’re learning about new things all of the time, versus working for a single company on one infrastructure day in and day out.”
Management Encourages Professional Advancement
Variety helps Kenny thrive in the fast-paced IT world, but he also points to the culture at Accent as a key contributor to his job satisfaction and his ability to advance his career.
“We’re pretty lucky to have really good leadership and to have good mentorship,” said Kenny. “People here encourage you to learn and not just be a button-pusher. They encourage you to improve your skillset and move up.”
Team Members to Lean On
Working in IT can be a thankless job because the work that sustains quiet IT is mostly done in the background. Management at Accent, however, makes sure that employees know that they are appreciated and that all of their individual roles in the team contribute to client success.
“We have a lot of really great people that work here, at all levels of the organization and to me having a whole team of people that you can lean on is huge, both personally and professionally,” said Kenny. “One person can’t know everything, right?”
New Facility Designed for Collaboration
The company recently expanded their facility to include the building next door to their main office on Red Oak Street. The new space was designed to encourage collaboration amongst team members, to promote creative problem solving and to give people something fun and stress relieving when they want to take a break.
“We have really great facilities here. We have an arcade game and a ping pong table,” said Kenny. “Accent provides snacks and Friday lunches, and we have great Christmas parties."
Continuous Learning is His Favorite Part of His Job
The new building is great, teamwork is valued, and professional development is supported, but ask Kenny about the best part of his job and what you’ll hear is that he doesn’t need to be concerned about being put in a box or becoming bored.
“I love learning and in my role, I do a lot of research and development, so I’m learning about new technologies and figuring out how we can fit that into our puzzle,” said Kenny. “It’s always exciting for me to find creative ways to use existing technologies or work with new and emerging technologies. That’s by far, my favorite part of my job.”
