Washington, D.C. native and University of Virginia architecture graduate Tracy Roche is public-sector ITxM Sales Manager at Ivanti. She’s a top-performing sales manager and is ITIL v3 Foundation Certified. We thought it wise to capture her industry insights and enthusiasm in this brief Q&A.

Q: If you only had a ride up an elevator to explain what Ivanti does, what would you say? tracy roche headshot

TR: Ivanti enables digital transformation with world-class IT Operations Management products and services. Imagine breaking down silos and expanding beyond both the human and brick-and-mortar limitations that encumber so many organizations today. That’s what Ivanti facilitates with our vision for Unified IT.

Q: Which way are the industry winds blowing?

TR: Automation, automation, and more automation. I don’t mean simply digitizing 20th-century paper processes and creating workflows around them, but truly automating repeatable processes and workflows, freeing humans to do more creative, innovative work.

Q: What’s your one key takeaway surrounding the future of Ivanti in the market space you’re primarily involved with? Where do you foresee both the challenges and opportunities for the company?

TR: Our customers are really excited about our vision of Unified IT, and so are my analyst friends. Ivanti Service Manager’s imminent FedRAMP certification also has us incredibly busy. People are excited to have a *real* choice in Federal ITSM.

The challenge I face most often is that the market has difficulty believing that tools which are easier and more intuitive to use can scale in the enterprise like those of our very expensive and complex competitors—that complexity somehow equals capability. We’ll shatter that myth—and be very disruptive.

Q: What has your professional journey been like to get where you are today, and how has your role changed over the years?

TR: I studied Architecture at the University of Virginia, and my first “career” was designing professional office space. During the dotcom boom, I got sucked into the IT business and have never looked back. It’s no accident that that words “architecture” and “design” are utilized in both art and IT. They are deeply connected. My whole career, be it in Interior Design or IT, has been about empowering and enabling people to be comfortable, productive, and efficient while at work.  

Q: Tell us something you’ve done in your life that you’re particularly proud of.

TR: I am engaged to a wonderful guy. When I met him several years ago, his three daughters were young teenagers. Not much scares me, but teenage girls do! (I was one once, I’m allowed to say that.) Becoming a trusted friend and “step mom” to these young ladies is something of which I am incredibly proud, and I am very excited to officially become “family” on New Year’s Day.

Q: Tell us a little about your name; its origin; who named you and why that name?

TR: I am the first-born in my family (two brothers followed). My mother was a teacher in NYC public high school at the time, and her students suggested the name “Tracy”. My parents loved it, but my conservative Irish grandfather was not as enthusiastic. Story has it that he exclaimed, “What are you going to call her for short, Dick?!”  😊

My whole extended family, however, calls me Zotz or Zotzy. My brother couldn’t say “Tracy” as a little boy, calling me “Zotzy” instead, and it stuck. 

Q: What are you reading?

TR: Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don’t Matter, by Scott Adams of Dilbert fame. Oh, and of course, The IT Imperative, by Kevin J. Smith, and you should, too.