IT | Meet the IT department

By the Newsletter Team

The IT department at GetSmarter has two main responsibilities: building the software necessary to promote and present our courses, and making sure that the network, computers, and other electronics in the office work as they should. Or, more simply according to Brad, “Our department fixes things. Occasionally we break things – but then we fix them again.” IT Dept

The IT department was founded in 2006 with one member, Willem van Zyl. The team grew to three in 2009 with the arrival of George Holt and Hannes Brink; soon after, Willem left and Bradley Scannell and Reyaan Boltman joined. The team reshuffled again in 2010, when George and Hannes left and Willem rejoined as department manager. The team now consists of three members and is actively looking to expand.

Brad does technical support, graphic design, video editing and networking. Reyaan does software development, testing and technical support. Willem is responsible for project management, software development, server administration, and database design and optimisation.

Software development can be very complex. Willem explains, “Programming requires a lot of typing: the GetSmarter website's new theme alone consists of 130 files and 4,000 lines of code, and the entire GetSmarter website consists of about 19,000 files and 3,000,000 lines of code.” But the work can also be very rewarding. Reyaan loves coding, and Brad enjoys, “Bringing joy and happiness to everyone in the office.” Willem says that the most rewarding part of the job is, “Finding ways to make systems or processes faster and more efficient, then seeing those changes being put into use.”

The IT guys usually take their job very seriously. “There’s nothing funny about technical issues,” says Reyaan. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have the time for a bit of levity. Brad’s favourite team quote is, "Cool, all fixed…oh…no, that's not right." They also share silly jokes like, “Chuck Norris can throw a dartboard at a dart and still get a bull's-eye,” and “Three IT guys walk into a bar – you'd think one of them would've seen it.” They especially enjoy IT-related comics.

cartoon