Mark Phillips

Current

• Senior Consultant (Self-employed)

Past

• Senior Consultant at Macrovision
• Chief Technology Officer at SmartMonsters
• IT Management Consultant at independent

• Senior Director of Product Development at SmartAge
• Director of Application Development at Ziff-Davis Comdex & Forums / Key3Media
• Director of Advanced Technologies at Collegis

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Recommended

15 people have recommended Mark

Connections

102 connections

Industry

Computer Software

Mark Phillips’s Summary

I have an unusually wide experience set for an IT professional, encompassing nearly all aspects of Internet-based computing, from Java-based application architectures and software development to data centers to desktop support to network security. All of my experience since 1989 has emphasized the Internet, making me a fairly early adopter of what is now the dominant technology vision.

Mark Phillips’s Specialties:

World-class Java and Web-based application architectures; rapid and robust Java engineering; contributing to high-productibity teams; mentoring of younger professionals.

Mark Phillips’s Experience

• Senior Consultant

  Self-employed

  (Self-Employed; Myself Only; Computer Software industry)

  November 2005 — Present (2 years 9 months)

  I'm currently assisting clients with Internet-based application architecture and engineering projects. In the last year my clients have included SRA, Google, Macrovision, Revenuebase, Cal State East Bay, Middletone, Aptimus, the Defense Manpower Data Center, SmartMonsters, and others. Projects have encompassed product design; application architecture design; Java and J2EE development; server infrastructure design; network security auditing; technology planning assistance for executive management; project management; hiring and mentoring; and other senior-level tasks. Most recently, I've designed, developed and delivered the new RBEvents product for Revenuebase, a high-profile project completed on time and on budget; assisted Middletone with the Alpha and Private Beta phases of their jaxtr IP telephony product; assisted Cal State East Bay with a re-design of online resources for instructors; and assisted the Defense Manpower Data Center with a major migration of legacy systems to J2EE.

• Senior Consultant

  Macrovision

  (Public Company; 201-500 employees; MVSN; Computer Software industry)

  2003 — 2005 (2 years)

  Macrovision is a leader in digital rights management. After completing an ambitious J2EE/JSP-based deliverable for their Professional Services group ahead of deadline, I co-architected the J2EE-based redesign of the company's enterprise software licensing infrastructure, including the new FLEXnet Manager product. This was a multi-year project building the next generation of a core product line. Version 1.0 shipped on time and budget, winning the Codie award for Best Digital Rights Management Solution in 2004. In 2004 I was awarded the company's "Above and Beyond" special recognition award for my work on FLEXnet Manager and other products. Later in 2004 I transferred to Macrovision's Global Consulting Services group, where I designed and implemented integration and customization solutions for customers around the world.

• Chief Technology Officer

  SmartMonsters

  (Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Computer Software industry)

  2001 — 2003 (2 years)

  SmartMonsters pioneers next-generation multiuser role-playing games, which I believe are an emerging form of literature. As CTO, I brought SmartMonsters' flagship product to market a full quarter ahead of schedule and 40% under budget.
  
  SmartMonsters' Java infrastructure is significant: over 15,000 classes in all. The flagship product, TriadCity, is a client-server design in which Swing applet clients communicate with a highly-scalable all-Java server. The server combines J2SE 1.4's "NIO" Selector-based networking with a multi-tier architecture enabling unlimited horizontal scalability across application servers, a key enabler of the potentially infinite virtual "world" it hosts. The code makes extensive use of design patterns such as the "Strategy" pattern for reliability, extensibility, and dynamic runtime flexibility. The application design emphasizes speed and robustness, and will easily accommodate thousands of concurrent players.

• IT Management Consultant

  independent

  (Computer Software industry)

  2000 — 2001 (1 year)

  Independent IT management consultant assisting Bay Area firms with a wide spectrum of projects:
  
  * Technology due diligence management for clients contemplating multimillion dollar vendor relationships.
  
  * Technology needs assessment, matching technology choices to client business objectives and organizational cultures.
  
  * Merger and acquisition management, integrating organizations with disparate technology bases and management cultures.
  
  * Recruitment, from formulation of job descriptions to resume screens to the full interview cycle.
  
  * Data center migration from legacy in-house operations to state of the art first-tier collocation sites.
  
  * Network and host security architectures, including monitoring, intrusion detection systems, and intrusion response policies.

• Senior Director of Product Development

  SmartAge

  (Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Computer Software industry)

  1998 — 2000 (2 years)

  SmartAge.com was a leader of the business-to-small-business space during the dot-com boom. We were a pioneer of the "Application Service Provider" model, providing Web-based solutions to customers numbered in the millions.
  
  At SmartAge I recruited and led the company's technology organization during the startup phase; formulated technology strategies including platforms, languages, and architectures; managed application development, MIS systems, vendor relationships, and desktop support; designed and implemented the company's data center and enterprise security infrastructures; architected and developed the technology solutions underlying many of the company's major products; internationalized the whole kit and caboodle; and integrated acquired proprietary technologies. Fruits of this experience included over a million customers and $50M in venture funding during the first year. All of these projects were delivered on time and budget.

• Director of Application Development

  Ziff-Davis Comdex & Forums / Key3Media

  (Computer Software industry)

  1997 — 1998 (1 year)

  Ziff-Davis Comdex & Forums (now Media Live International) is the largest producer of computer industry trade shows and educational conferences in the world, hosting 2,200,00 IT industry attendees in 1997. The company produces Comdex, NetWorld + Interop, the Java Internet Business Expo, Windows NT Intranet Solutions, Seybold, the Domino Web Developers Conference, and many others.
  
  At ZDCF I directed the Information Engineering group, charged with in-house application development as well as traditional MIS data systems. I expanded the group from 7 to 27 on both coasts; designed advanced next-generation systems based on CORBA/IIOP, Java, Sybase, the Web, Notes/Domino, and others; and assisted in the merger of disparate organizations with contrasting cultures. Applications included event registration, attendee housing, inventory management, sales, lead retrieval, and financials.

• Director of Advanced Technologies

  Collegis

  (Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Higher Education industry)

  1994 — 1997 (3 years)

  Collegis is a national information systems management outsourcing firm specializing in higher education. The company manages IS departments at 30 colleges and universities throughout the country. Clients I worked with included the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Golden Gate University, Menlo College; the College of Notre Dame; Stanford University; and many others.
  
  At Collegis I was most commonly tasked with design and integration of clients' next-generation computing environments. At this time, "next generation" meant standards-based, interoperable, multi-vendor frameworks largely centered on the Internet Protocols: a very radical skill set for 1994 which is now all but ubiquitous. This experience spans a broad range of systems and projects.

Additional Information

Mark Phillips’s Interests:

Travel, photography, songwriting, experimental fiction.

Mark Phillips’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

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• consulting offers
• reference requests
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