Meet an ISC Engineer – Ben Scott!

We’re back with another look at one of ISC’s staff members: Ben Scott!

Ben started with us as a support engineer in December 2024 and has been quickly getting up to speed; if you’re an ISC support customer, you may already have had the pleasure of interacting with him. So far, he’s been working hard to learn all the ins and outs of our software and the related protocols.

After studying computer science as an undergraduate, Ben started his career in support working at a small software company as a help-desk technician. He then joined an IT consulting firm, where he worked with a wide variety of customers in different industries, using different technologies, and facing different issues. He eventually became the IT manager for a small, family-owned manufacturing company, where he helped build their IT operations essentially from the ground up. After that company was acquired, he spent several years doing consulting and contract work before coming to ISC.

Ben was happy to join our team because he recognizes the value of open source. He says, “I find Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) is often technically superior to proprietary offerings. I suspect because profit is less of a driving force, FOSS sees less fluff added, and certainly less stuff like data mining. There’s less motivation to tie everything into an unwieldy mess just to sell a package.”

He adds, “The lack of licensing costs and limits is also a big plus. Yes, this means one often has to pay extra for support, but that is completely normal in the world of proprietary software as well. And the freedom provided by FOSS is also significant: anyone can fork the software and add their improvements or fixes. When the software is owned by the community, the whole community benefits from enhancements.”

Ben’s far-ranging educational and work experience is serving him well at ISC so far, and he loves that he’s encouraged to continue learning every day. “Most of my education has come from innumerable books, manuals, FAQs, e-mail discussion lists, web forums, user groups, and yes, even the occasional class. The open nature of the Internet and Free/Open Source Software has helped me immeasurably, both throughout my career and here at ISC so far.”

Ben enjoys the challenge of ISC customer support: “I solve problems for a living. Whether it’s a customer who has a question about how to best use the software, a document that needs updating, or a bug that needs to be tracked down, it’s all about solving problems. It’s equal parts technical knowledge, detective skills, and communications. In the process, I get to work with some of the foundational protocols of the Internet, and a variety of customers and scales of operation. I’m not worried about getting bored!”

Ben says his favorite part of working here at ISC so far is his coworkers. “Everyone here has been welcoming and helpful from the start. It’s a crowd of fiendishly-smart people who are all willing to share their knowledge and collaborate. Mistakes are treated as mistakes and not character flaws. There is a strong sense of camaraderie, which is not always the case in remote-work teams. Managers listen and clearly have everyone’s best interests in mind. It’s like a dream come true.”

And it’s our good fortune to have him as part of the ISC family!