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AgataWlodarczyk
Community Team
Community Team

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We can see that in recent years, technology and art have become interconnected and interdependent. Technology plays an important role in the life of modern art, but we might even venture to say that working with and developing technology is pure art. Why? It requires a great deal of creativity and involves using new perspectives to create something special and to innovate.

Creativity is the driving force of all artistic processes and can be found in all aspects of our life and can be learned daily through exploration and discovery. But as it happens in life, sometimes we have to make choices that are not always the desired ones but the ones that help us change our lives for the better. And sometimes, you don't know when life will give you a chance to discover new talents and allow you to return to your passions again.

Why such an introduction to this article? After reading it, you’ll understand. 😉

Please get to know Jessielaine C. Punongbayan, @jellypuno – our Employee member of the month for December.
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My first time in Linz after my final interview.My first time in Linz after my final interview.
Can you share some details about your past? What is your story, and how it happened that you decided to work in IT / APM area?
My childhood dream was to be an artist. I like sketching, painting, paper crafting, dioramas, etc. My plan was to take fine arts and be a professional artist, but that plan didn’t happen.

I took Computer Science, and that started my career path in IT. My first job was as a Programmer Trainee for a local bank. It is like a paid internship where we’re trained with the technology that they’re using, and if we’re selected, we can be full-time. During that time, they were using two types of technology platforms, Mainframe and Visual Basic. And I chose to pursue Mainframe.

I became a COBOL/CICS developer for that local bank, and I learned a lot about Mainframe. Those learnings and experiences opened a lot of opportunities for me, and they allowed me to travel to different countries, such as Singapore, the Czech Republic, and now, Austria.

For 14 years, I worked as a “hard-core” mainframe developer, where I used pure Mainframe tooling and used applications that are installed inside the Mainframe. I started using “modern tooling” when I worked in Prague as a Modern Mainframe developer. In this job, I am part of the R&D team where we’re trying to innovate the Mainframe and integrate it with modern technology. I worked as a Software Engineer / Product Owner for an open-source project called the Open Mainframe Project.

As an open-source mainframe engineer, my experience and knowledge evolved in a very different way. I saw the mainframe as an opportunity for innovation. Since I have the knowledge and experience in using modern and mainframe tools, I tried to create POCs that could integrate them together. This led to opportunities to write blogs, join hackathons, and speak at conferences and webinars. In the end, I became an Ambassador for OMP.

Medium Blogs: https://medium.com/@jessielaine.punongbayan
OMP: https://www.openmainframeproject.org/ambassadors

This is me speaking at the GSE conference in UK.This is me speaking at the GSE conference in UK.

I started working for APM because I thought it was interesting. I thought that working for AIOps is something that will give me more knowledge and experience. I am interested in cloud and AI so it just makes sense that I work in a company that offers that.

When Dynatrace presented this job offer, I thought that it was very interesting. They have a unique mainframe offering, and they’re a cloud and AI company. It is not so common, at least for me, that you see AI, cloud, and mainframe in one sentence. So, I thought joining Dynatrace would be good, and don’t regret it.

Can you tell a little bit about your professional life? What is your role in the company, and what do you do in your job?
I am a Technical Support Engineer with a specialization in Mainframes. My normal responsibilities are handling tickets and providing support to customers. On a normal day, what I do is attend meetings in the morning, reply to several tickets in the afternoon, take calls and have debugging sessions, and write tutorials or onboarding materials for the internal folks/Community.

The challenge that I’m experiencing today is learning Dynatrace and all its offerings. It is easier for me to learn about the mainframe part of the product, and it is a challenge to learn the other side. It is always a win if I learn something new. I like learning new things. And once I learn something, I make sure that I share it with others.

What I value about working in Dynatrace is the culture of learning. It could be learning about different technologies that I use at work, technologies that I am interested to try out, or it could be about your passion, in my case, art. I love that Dynatrace supports me in my passion for art and my passion for learning.

What do you like the most about the Dynatrace platform? What parts of Dynatrace do you use?
The first time I heard about Dynatrace, I was really impressed. I was looking at the z/OS monitoring offering, and I thought that it was unique and something that I hadn’t seen before. I was so impressed that I wrote a blog about it.

After trying it out, I said to myself that “If we had Dynatrace before, we could’ve debugged our problems way faster and easier”. This platform provides you with good visibility of your transaction and code-level flow, and it is easier to pinpoint the root cause of the problem.

The beautiful artwork I saw at the Berlin wall.The beautiful artwork I saw at the Berlin wall.

Have you ever had any interesting use case for the Dynatrace platform that you found to be particularly intriguing? Could you tell us about it?
I still consider myself a newcomer, and I learn new things every day. The most intriguing use case that I encounter is mostly about the installation of z/OS monitoring in the customer’s environment. I like seeing how customers use Dynatrace, and I like hearing their comments when they compare it with other mainframe monitoring tools.

What brought you to our Community? What is your best memory about it?
The first time I joined the Community was when I was trying out Dynatrace, and I was looking for answers to my questions. The best memory that I have is when I was able to give back to the Community, and they liked my contribution.

What part or parts of the Dynatrace Community do you like the most?
What I enjoy most is seeing the Dynatrace Community members from different companies all over the world, work together and help each other to solve a problem. I like being part of that kind of community.


Why do you think it’s worth being a part of the Dynatrace Community? Why do you contribute to the Community?
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I like writing blogs, especially tutorials. I enjoy sharing the things that I know and discussing them. You share what you know, and you learn new things from others as well.

This is my art room.This is my art room.

And how about your life outside IT – what is your biggest passion?
Art! I love art! My biggest passion in life is art. 😊 Art, for me, is like breathing. I can’t live without it. Whether it is painting, drawing, playing an instrument, or singing, I live and breathe art 😊 It is a big part of who I am.

I get my inspiration from a lot of things, but mostly, it is from nature. My artwork varies from landscapes, ocean paintings, flowers, animals, and, sometimes, portraits. I like all of it. My favorite artists are Klimt, Caravaggio, and several Instagram artists.

Other passions of mine are playing the piano, playing the Cajon, singing, and writing. I am part of a choir, so I get to sing and play musical instruments. If you would like to hear how I sing - it’s me singing at a church service during the pandemic.

For writing, I like blogging. I write about technology, mostly about the modern mainframe, and my journey as an artist. I created my own website where you could see my artwork and read my blogs.

Website: https://jittycreativestudio.com/
Tech Blog: https://medium.com/@jessielaine.punongbayan
IG: https://www.instagram.com/jittycreativestudio/

LEFT: This is my first Dynatrace wellness day and I went to Traunsee.  / RIGHT: This is my first art exhibit. It was displayed at the ArtNumber23 gallery in Salzburg.LEFT: This is my first Dynatrace wellness day and I went to Traunsee. / RIGHT: This is my first art exhibit. It was displayed at the ArtNumber23 gallery in Salzburg.
It would also be great if you could share with us your favorite movie, song and/or book. Let other Community members discover something new and interesting to watch/hear/read. 😊
I don’t have a particular favorite because it changes depending on my mood. Currently, I am into audiobooks and podcasts. I listen to Brene Brown’s Unlocking Us and How to be a better human. I also started listening to C.S Lewis audiobooks, and I just finished Screwtape Letters and like it a lot. As for music, I like pop music. I don’t have a favorite artist, but I have favorite Spotify playlists:
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Technology opens a high speed in world evolution but it is also a great evolution in itself. It’s amazing to see that there are new approaches and ideas that emerge every day. More even excited is to be a part of this art process and shape our reality and future together with others.

Even if Dynatrace members seem to be far apart because of working in different areas and in different parts of the world, we can see that they go better together – that is why the Community exists.

Jelly, you give a lot of support in the Community, and by doing that, we can say that you’re adding some bright colors into other Dynatrace user’s life and painting some smiles on their faces.😉 Keep going!

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