My name is George Cross and I am lifelong learner who is dedicated to honorable achievement in every endeavor that I embark. I have varied interests and I attempt to be a Jack of all trades; however, I do attempt to master some. I have a passion for providing solutions to problems.

I have over thirty years’ experience in the information technology field. I currently work for DataStax, which sells an open source distributed database based on Apache Cassandra. I’ve had many different roles that have taken me to forty-three states and eleven countries. I’ve also worked at the following companies:

• Dun & Bradstreet (Data Engineer, Senior Engagement Manager)
• Microsoft (Director Business Development, Architect, Solution Engineer)
• Avanade (Director)
• IBM (Architect)
• Unisys (Practice Director)
• Temple University (Assistant Director)
• GDIT (Database Expert)
• All About The Data [AATD] (Chief Technical Advisor)

I’m also an educator who has taught at the following universities:

• Temple University (Graduate and Undergradate courses)
  • CIS 541 – Computer Systems and Operating Environments
  • CIS 543 – Methods in Information Systems
  • CIS 578 – User Interface Design and System Integration
  • CIS 741 – Networking and Communications
  • CIS 10 – Computers and Applications
  • CIS 55 – Computers and Applications
  • CIS 410 – Information Technology Process Management
• University of Maryland Global Campus (Graduate courses)
  • DATA 620 – Data Management and Visualization
• Purdue University Global Campus (Undergraduate courses)
  • IT232 – Software Design and Development Concepts
• Colorado Technical University (Doctoral courses)
  • CS872/CS877 – Introduction to Big Data Analytics
  • CS879 – Advanced Topics in Big Data Analytics
  • CS882 – Tools for Big Data Analytics
  • CS881 – Analytics for Big Data
  • CS828 – Advanced Topics in Database Systems

I’ve been involved with big data for many years. In 1998, I worked on a 2TB data warehouse solution for Microsoft, which at the time was one of the largest data warehouses not on a mainframe – an example of high volume. I’ve worked on a 99.999% high availability solution for NASDAQ that offloaded quotes from the mainframe to WinTel server – example of high velocity.

I have intermediate/expert knowledge of Microsoft’s application platform technologies (SQL Server, Visual Studio, Azure). I’m have intermediate knowledge of Oracle’s and IBM’s database technologies. I’m also have intermediate expertise of big data technologies such as Apache Cassandra and Apache Hadoop. I am knowledgeable in several other database technologies such as Postgres. I hold the following certifications:

• MCDBA – Microsoft certified database administrator
• MCSE – Microsoft certified system engineer
• MCSD – Microsoft certified solution developer (VB & C#)
• Microsoft Specialist – Azure
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate

I am an all-around sports and game fanatic. My favorite sport of the last several years has been tennis; which I am a solid USTA 3.5 player. I play table tennis where I’m rated about 1500 and I’m rated about 1500 in Chess. I also enjoy coaching and playing basketball with my boys.

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