–By Debra Jacob for FIU News
Even before Covid-19, remote work was on the rise because of its clear benefits to both organizations
and employees in positions ranging from sales to marketing to programming.
A recent study conducted by Enterprise Technology Research reveals that the percentage now permanently working from home worldwide is expected to double in 2021. Given the severity of the pandemic, remote work is becoming the new “normal”, and FIU electrical engineering alumnus Rick Feijoo at Citrix is at the center of it all.
Feijoo, a vice president and engineering fellow at Citrix, leads the architecture and design for Citrix Cloud Platform. During the past 23 years, he has been a member of the CTO Office, the architect of various Citrix XenApp technologies and products including SmartAuditor, Citrix Password Manager and CloudPortal Services Manager. Before joining Citrix, Feijoo spent six years working on real-time OS drivers for Encore Computer and Sun Microsystems.
Reflecting on Citrix meeting such a critical need and on the future of remote work, Feijoo says there has been an enormous surge in product use.
“Our large corporate base of customers is finding plenty of positives to the work-from-anywhere solution,” he says. “The pluses of off-site or hybrid work are that it expands the workforce to enable companies to hire from all over the world to attract talent. The result is that the remote office becomes an all-inclusive, all-encompassing pool of worldwide talent. If the entire team of workers is remote, everyone is on a level playing field. Companies have figured out that working from anywhere on any device is viable and efficient. We spend a lot less time commuting.”
Some big negatives to working remotely, Feijoo says, is there is less of an opportunity to walk into someone’s office and interact personally to discuss a project. During his time as a student, FIU helped him develop good team-building skills, which he considers critical to his career development. In addition to the team factor, he says, the average workday has become less time defined. Workers are in 24/7 mode or working at times inconsistent with other team members.
Feijoo, who was inspired by his mother’s love of technology and his architect-father, offers strong advice to ECE students.
“Be the type of worker who can find a solution and bring it to reality. Always ask ‘why’ and ‘how’ and keep up with the latest technology. These are the people who become the most successful and meet the greatest need. Be a problem solver and thirst for new technology and knowledge. Have a passion for what you do. College education molds you and gives you a key to the door. What happens once you are inside is up to you.”