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Eric Starkey
Supervisor Network Operations Center at Arkansas BlueCross BlueShield
Professional Background
Eric Starkey is a seasoned professional who combines his expertise in network operations, microservices analysis, and technical education to tackle complex business challenges. With an objective to leverage people, processes, and technology, Eric has developed a remarkable career trajectory that showcases his commitment to excellence and his passion for problem-solving.
Currently, Eric serves as the Supervisor of the Network Operations Center at Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield (ABCBS), where he oversees the operations and ensures the smooth and efficient functioning of critical network systems. His leadership in this role highlights his ability to facilitate communication and collaboration among team members, ultimately enhancing the organization's operational effectiveness.
Prior to his current position, Eric made significant contributions to ABCBS as the Lead NOC Analyst. His relentless dedication and technical acumen in network operations played a crucial role in improving service delivery and reducing downtime. Eric's career at ABCBS has also seen him excel as a Lead Micro Services Analyst and a Senior Micro Services Analyst, where he was responsible for implementing and optimizing microservices architectures that support the organization’s goals. His work in these positions not only elevated the technological framework of the organization but also equipped him with a deep understanding of how technology can drive business solutions.
Eric’s professional journey began earlier in his career at GDH, where he flourished as a Senior Micro Services Analyst. This foundational experience laid the groundwork for his subsequent roles, reinforcing his technical capabilities in the microservices domain and how they relate to large-scale enterprise environments. Additionally, he has held the position of Network Administrator at The Episcopal Collegiate School, where his responsibilities included managing network operations and ensuring a robust infrastructure for educational purposes.
Eric's career is further distinguished by his commitment to education and empowerment through technology. As the Director of Technical Education for the Visually Impaired at iTec, he led initiatives aimed at providing education and training in technology for visually impaired individuals. His dedication to inclusivity in education stands as a testament to his belief that technology should be accessible to all.
Additionally, Eric served as the Assistant Director at iTec and as an Instructor - MCT, where he taught and guided students on various technological subjects. His ability to educate others and foster growth in the field of technology greatly contributed to the positive impact he has had on students’ lives.
Education and Achievements
Eric Starkey’s educational background is rooted in his studies in Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. While his degree may seem atypical for a career in technology and business operations, Eric's unique educational experience enabled him to approach problem-solving with creativity and innovation. The skills he honed in theatre design—such as collaboration, attention to detail, and project management—have proven to be advantageous in his professional roles.
Eric’s transition from theatre design to network operations illustrates his adaptability and passion for learning. His commitment to continuous improvement is reflected in his career progression and the various roles he has embraced within the field of technology. He consistently seeks to broaden his knowledge base and stay ahead of industry trends, ensuring that he remains at the forefront of problem-solving in his domain.
Notable Achievements
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Leadership at Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield: As the Supervisor of the Network Operations Center, Eric has successfully led a team in improving network reliability and operational efficiency, directly contributing to enhanced service delivery within the organization.
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Microservices Optimization: His role as a Lead Micro Services Analyst at ABCBS saw him implement significant architectural changes, resulting in improved scalability and performance of applications—key factors in meeting the organization's business objectives.
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Inclusive Education Initiatives: As the Director of Technical Education for the Visually Impaired, Eric played a critical role in developing educational programs that empowered visually impaired individuals to harness technology effectively, demonstrating his commitment to accessibility and community service.
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Teaching and Training: Throughout his time at iTec, Eric’s efforts as an instructor helped shape the next generation of technology professionals, enhancing their skills and capabilities in a rapidly evolving industry.
Eric Starkey continues to be a powerful force in the intersection of technology and education. With a clear objective of solving business problems through innovative approaches that leverage people, processes, and technology, he is poised to make lasting contributions to any organization he is a part of.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
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Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Clay isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Clay instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Clay is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Clay can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.
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