Francisco Garcia de la Barrera – IT Solutions Architect
Areas of Expertise: IT Architect and Engineer, CA Gen User/Consultant, Application Life Cycle Management Architect including Business Modeling, Application Development Lifecycle and Change and Configuration management areas, artificial intelligence, training.
My role at QAT Global is giving technical solutions and directing the team when working with customers. I am a member of the architect team at QAT, and I also participate in selecting new technologies that we apply for the company. I am often the channel of communication between the customers and the development team, and I am able to give technical guidance to the team so we can fulfill the requirements for our customer and the project.
Being a software engineer since 1987 has allowed me to have a vast understanding of technology and new technology being produced. I also understand very well the business needs of the customers and am able to align what we have in our portfolio of technology to support those needs. The translation between the needs and technology is a key factor, and I do my best to assure that our client is left happy with the results. Having very high standards of our software production here at QAT helps our customers receive the best quality results, and by following these standards, I am able to meet our customers’ requirements. I always stay committed and put myself in the customer’s shoes. It is my goal to try and help them be successful.
A large contribution I give to this company is being bilingual. Because I can speak fluently in Spanish, I am able to help translate with many customers for projects. I am able to help gain an understanding of the technical terms and adapt to the context of the system or project. Another major contribution is my understanding and knowledge of the technology Cool:Gen.
My work excites me because this is a career where you have to learn something every day. It is a challenge to keep up with the technology, and I love that. I am always searching for new technologies and trying to find where to apply that technology, and that is a passion of mine. I have been with QAT Global for ten years, and I truly love the work I do. I really enjoy QAT, the size of the company, and the very talented people that are a part of this company. Everywhere you look at QAT there is talent- I love to see that in the workplace.
Q&A with Francisco Garcia
What do you believe makes QAT Global exceptional?
People, Process and Technology, the diversity, experience and high information technologies skills of the people that work for QAT Global make the company a big asset as an IT partner for several kind of business, the processes and standards used internally increase the quality and productivity of our solutions, and the available and state of the art technology that we can use, give us all the required elements to generate the best solutions for our customers.
What’s something about you that not many people know?
I am a very social person. However, not a lot of people know that I love soccer, and I love motorcycles.
What are you passionate about personally? What do you really enjoy?
I really enjoy spending time with my family. I believe family is very important, and when not at work quality time should be spent with them. I am also passionate about music, and I play the bass guitar.
What would be impossible for you to give up?
My family, working with computers and technology, and playing my bass guitar would be impossible for me to give up.
Where can we find you when you’re not working?
Usually, I will be spending time with my two daughters, possibly at the theater, or practicing/watching sports-especially soccer.
Anything else you’d like to tell people about yourself?
I’ve learned that it is a challenge to be from a different country, and be successful in this profession. In my case, I am from Mexico, and I have learned that one must overcome the impression and doubts that some people may have about being from Mexico, and being a software engineer- but I can say there are very many talented software engineers in Mexico, and all around the world.
Volunteerism
From the office to home, Francisco is involved in supporting the Omaha community. Throughout his years with the company he has been involved with its support of The Salvation Army, United Way, Madonna School, and other charities. “QAT Global is involved in a lot of community kind of projects, with the campaigns. I think that is a philosophy that the company has that is very good,” Francisco said. “I also think that we have to apply that outside of the company if we can; we always need to help the people in need.”
Francisco and his wife actively support the Millard South Food Pantry that their daughters are involved in. “One of the big projects Rebecca did in High School was to create a food pantry for students who did not have the resources they needed. They get the donations from stores like Hy-Vee so that they can have those resources available to the students in need,” said Francisco. While Rebecca has graduated, she continues working with the food pantry along with her sister Elena who is active in Student Council at Millard South. “Rebecca works at H&M, and through her work, she created a campaign, “The H&M Food Drive,” so they can collect more food for the pantry. It has been a very successful, nice project for the community,” Francisco said.
Francisco and his wife support their daughters’ community involvement. Over the last three years, he and his wife have created flyers and gone to the store to pick up food for the pantry, amongst other things. They are always supporting them in giving back to the community. To Francisco, it is in the satisfaction in knowing that you are helping your community that makes him feel good. “I gained satisfaction in knowing that some kids that do not have the needed resources are getting those resources. They do not have to worry about being hungry; they just have to worry about school. The fact that my daughters have the initiative to be so kind is also a big satisfaction,” said Francisco.
Volunteering is showing kindness to everybody, according to Francisco. “If someone receives something like this, I believe that the kids would do something like that in the future to give back to others. So, I think the public will have a great impact through the food pantry,” he said. Francisco likes the fact that the people are very family-oriented in Omaha and that they have excellent values, and are generally very kind.