Introduction to Allen Pinkelton, Contract Program Manager, Unified Communications at Makpar Corporation
Allen Pinkelton, who began his IT career at the IRS in 1983, has joined Makpar as the Contract Program Manager, Unified Communications, where he will be helping our IRS customer to enhance overall business processes and performance.
To officially introduce Allen to Makpar’s ecosystem of government customers, partners, and employees, we recently sat down with him to get his take on why he joined the company and gain his perspective on overall government IT trends.
The following conversation has been edited for length.
Q: Please tell us about your background.
I started with the IRS in IT 1983. At the time, I discovered that the agency was very centralized in terms of tax processing and taxpayer assistance services. Field IT services was non-existent and it was clear that there was a significant need for distributive field data processing.
At that time, I was very fortunate because my District Director was a visionary. He wanted to develop field case management applications for IRS Examination, Collections and Criminal Investigations Field Divisions. So, he created the Charlotte Software Development Center.
It was there that I worked with the field business units to do the analysis of case management work processes. I was part of the Team that wrote the applications for case management, and these are still in use today. One of the first applications was for IRS employee travel vouchers.
I’ve been able to learn IRS field operations and specific processes and procedures from the ground up. This has certainly been an advantage throughout my career.
Q: Tell us about your role at Makpar.
Well, it seems that Makpar leadership is convinced that I know what I’m doing (said with a laugh). My roles will be Contract Program Manager and to provide Business Development insights into the IRS business processes and procedures to help identify the needs and direction that the agency is going – especially around enhanced performance and operations.
Q: Why did you choose to work at Makpar?
I had several other opportunities, and honestly it was about credibility, integrity and an employee-supporting work culture at Makpar. Additionally, over the years, I have learned that organizational leadership is important. Management is by default; leadership is a choice in any organization.
After meeting Mushtaq a few years ago, it was clear that Makpar has the values and culture that I am looking for in the next phase of my career.
Q: Where do you think IT modernization in government is headed?
Well, there are some drivers happening now. One of the challenges that we have to meet is the fact that 60 percent of the IRS employment base is eligible for retirement. The loss of experience, talent and institutional knowledge will create significant challenges for the IRS.
This IT talent gap needs to be filled, especially when it comes to developing cyber security solutions – given the taxpayer personal information that the IRS is responsible for. Any time we introduce a new technology or service, it needs to meet very strong security requirements to be operational and hopefully improve performance.
IPv6 is also coming, which is one of those technologies that the IRS is being pulled into because it’s necessity. Cloud computing seems to be the big cure all as well. Again, the IRS is so large (over 500 Field offices) and complex and each office needs the same level of service to carry out the work. Implementing the cloud across these enterprise offices is a challenge, especially around scalability and distribution of network capability.
Remote work is an evolving priority for the IRS, and this trend is continuing. There’s an effort to allow all employees to work from home with no requirement to come into the office. Managing and supporting a remote workforce will be challenging.
Q: Any personal information about yourself you would like share with our readers?
Anyone who has worked with me knows that humor is a huge part of my DNA. I take work very seriously, but I really do enjoy having fun. I like to remind people that there’s always something humorous in any situation, even when it’s serious. Having said that, it must be at the appropriate time.
I take great pride in my working relationships and being comfortable to cut up. I believe in making fun of yourself and not others. In my opinion, this is what makes the job environment more relaxed and engaging.
We would like to thank Allen for taking the time to speak with us, and we officially welcome him to the Makpar team!