OCC Stories: Ari Silverman on Tackling Challenges Through Teamwork

September 16, 2024

Ari Silverman is part of Middleware + Infrastructure Software and Support at OCC, overseeing the Database Administration, Software Engineering: DevOps, and Software Engineering: Middleware teams. His OCC story describes how colleagues quickly come together when they’re needed to meet complex challenges. Read it below!

Ari Silverman – Executive Director, Software Engineering – is part of Middleware + Infrastructure Software and Support in OCC’s Chicago office

   

A couple of my teams are responsible for critical pieces of our operational monitoring at OCC, acting as our eyes and ears into how our clearing system, ENCORE, is performing. The tools my monitoring teams support are responsible for detecting issues and notifying our Production Operations team.

In addition, one of my teams oversees the tools that support ENCORE to receive trades, post trades, and other data from our participant exchanges and Clearing Members. The stability of this infrastructure is critical and ensures we receive data in a timely manner.

"One New Years Day more than a decade ago, in the very early morning, we were notified of a power outage at our backup data center. Despite the bad timing, everybody got online and worked through the day, many on little to no sleep, to confirm our backup data center was ready for the start of business the next day. This is just one of many examples that show the dedication of the people that work here."
 

Being close to operations, there are many late nights where people who were not expecting to work come together to solve a challenge impacting our business. A specific example – one New Years Day more than a decade ago, in the very early morning, we were notified of a power outage at our backup data center. Many people that we needed to bring everything back up and running were either still out celebrating or had recently gone to bed.

Despite the bad timing, everybody got online and worked through the day, many on little to no sleep, to confirm our backup data center was ready for the start of business the next day. This is just one of many examples that show the dedication of the people that work here.


Our Collective Commitment: Sharing OCC Stories


At OCC, we are one team, driven by a powerful purpose: serving a critical function in the financial markets, while inspiring confidence in everything we do. To meet critical regulatory obligations, we undertake ambitious, rewarding projects – taking pride in our work and empowering colleagues’ professional growth. By embracing diverse perspectives and fostering meaningful connections, we come together to help shape the future of our industry.

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