Behind the Scenes with Alan Beaubien

Can you describe what your role is at SVA Software and what it entails?

Alan Beaubien: My role at SVA Software is that of a Senior Mainframe Technical Consultant. Duties and responsibilities include collaborating with my peers at SVA Software to collect mainframe data from customers, analyze the data, prepare presentations for the customers, and then meet with those customers to review their system data, point out any performance issues and provide performance enhancement recommendations.

The performance improvement recommendations are also designed to help customers save money which is always a good thing!

What's the most exciting project you've worked on as a Senior Mainframe Technical Consultant?

Alan Beaubien: I’ve only been with SVA Software since the beginning of 2024 so I haven’t worked yet on a great number of customer projects, but I am currently working with my fellow mainframe colleague Tobias Linke on a project. It involves a major retailer and this particular project is quite enjoyable (if not exciting) since I used to work for the customer in question and I have a very good relationship with the IT director.

That helps to set the expectations perhaps a bit higher than they might otherwise be but it’s a challenge and an opportunity for which I am excited to be a part.

We’ve heard about your incredible work rescuing senior dogs. Could you share more about that?  

Alan Beaubien: My wife, Susan, and I started rescuing dogs many years ago. Over the course of time, the focus of our efforts turned to senior dogs because of the terrible situations in which older dogs too often find themselves through no fault of their own.

Older dogs have a quiet dignity about them and rescue dogs (and cats) never forget that you saved them! At present we have 8 rescue dogs, of which six are seniors. Believe it or not, at one time we actually had 12 rescue dogs under our roof.

If you could live in a house with any architectural style from any time period, what would it look like?  

Alan Beaubien: My wife and I love older houses. They have character and personality. We lived in Massachusetts for five years and the house we bought there dated back to 1787.

The original parts of the house still featured original hardware such as square nails and door handles. I wish we could have brought that house with us when we moved back to Texas.

What’s your hobby outside of SVA Software?

Alan Beaubien:  I am a big music buff and I’ve been buying records since I was six years old. I have a huge collection of records – both vinyl and CD – with the totals numbering well into the thousands.

Between my dogs and my record collection, no wonder I’m always broke! I’m also a huge history buff, and especially the history of the American Old West and military history.