"Tech Champions" with Jim Walker from UiPath

Each week on “Tech Champions,” our host Daniel Beaty sits down with experts in the information technology world. This week, Daniel spoke to Jim Walker from UiPath.

UiPath started in 2005 as a 10-people team based in Bucharest. Now, UiPath is the world's leading RPA software company.

To learn more, visit https://www.uipath.com.

Short company description:

We see boundless potential in the way we live and making work better for all what we strive to achieve. Automation driving the way we work is a goal so that employees can work smarter and clients/citizens can received smarter services.

We take bold risks, always striving for humility so that we remain open to even greater possibilities.

We erase boundaries between ourselves and our customers through continuously shared learning and growth. Our successes aren’t merely linked, they’re inseparably fused.

We accelerate our efforts so that we can innovate and evolve with speed.

We are defined by diversity of all kinds, open in the way we listen, honest in the way we speak, voracious in our appetite for understanding unique viewpoints and experiences.

We believe in using the transformative power of automation to liberate the boundless potential of people.

What was your first role in the technology field?:

My first role was helping deploy a global defense platform and training Solaris and Unix security and systems administration for the Dept of Defense. Then I served as Deputy IT Ops at the counter drug task force in Key West. Deployed early collaboration tool in the middle east for the Dept of Defense, served as Operations Chief at the Missile Defense Agency in Washington DC and Huntsville, AL. Finally, I was the Deputy CIO for the NASA Shared Services Center.

What IT project are you most proud of?:

Along with my team we identified the value of robotic process automation for government use and deployed the first robot (named George Washington) in the federal government. That first robot has kicked off a government-wide use of RPA at more than 100 agencies or departments. Instead of a technology that creates more work we finally see we can take the robot out of people.

What is the biggest challenge that IT departments are facing today?:

IT department - what in the Wizard of Oz there was a question about who was behind the curtain. IT has been (necessarily so) behind the curtain for years. In the outstanding book THE WORLD IS FLAT and more in THANKS FOR BEING LATE it is clear IT is going to be democratized. IT departments have to be the guardians with respect to cyber security but also the enablers with respect to technologies. Work from home creates new issues, cell phones (BYOD) creates issues, automation creates issues yet is all creates incredible new opportunities. Additionally, their 2nd and 3rd challenges would be is automation a band-aid and the expense of legacy migrations.

Who is someone you would consider a mentor?:

As I have moved from agency to agency I cannot distinguish mentors. My Ops lead at the counter drug center taught me as much as the CIO of MDA and the NASA CIO. Each taught something different. I think the most influential leadership guidance I received was from writer John Maxwell. His writings so insightful and impactful that I think everyone should consider his works.