Let’s get to know the team behind the SPARKL technology!

Dr Andrew Farrell

This week, it’s Dr Andrew Farrell, our lead software and research engineer. He joined the team in 2014 after spending a number of years at HP Labs in Bristol researching cloud computing and blockchain technologies. He holds a special interest in security systems. Andrew lives and works from home on the South Island in New Zealand with his family, taking advantage of the excellent snowboarding and mountain-walking activities there.

In a nutshell, what do you do?

I make SPARKL work well with other technologies to their mutual benefit for enterprise computing and the Internet of Things. I shape the technical direction of our product, ensuring that what we develop meets the business requirements derived from specific customer engagements and overall strategy. I also capture the value of SPARKL in whitepapers describing various use cases.

Why did you join SPARKL?

I joined the company way back in its early days in 2014 - the vision for SPARKL is exciting, the team is really nice and has a great feel to it. I also have the flexibility of working from home in New Zealand.

I have a love of working for startups - there is a particular imperative to get stuff done, and you have the freedom to have a real say in the direction of the product.

What's your favourite part about your role?

Uncovering the many gems of value that SPARKL brings in a range of contexts, and developing solutions around those in an agile and dynamic way. There is never a dull moment as we shape our product in a more nuanced way.

What makes you excited about the SPARKL Sequencing Engine?

It’s a technology that hits a number of sweet spots and solves real problems which exist in many fields. I’m particularly excited about the combination of SPARKL with blockchain technology for tamper-proof enforcement of smart contracts.

Image courtesy of Andrew Farrell.