Interview with Optiform Chief Technology Officer, Jim Middleton

When you begin doing business with a company, if you are like a lot of people today, you wonder what the leadership looks like within the company. We wanted to start at the top of the Optiform team, so we interviewed Jim Middleton, CTO of Optiform. We think the world of him. He is a United States Marine Corps Veteran, a father and husband, a key member of our overall business operations team, and just an all-around great guy.

After you read the interview and feel compelled to do so, reach out and connect with him on LinkedIn.

While Jim, Shannon, and I had lunch at Pizzology in Indianapolis, I discovered that Jim is much more than just the CTO of Optiform. He’s been to a lot of places, seen a lot of amazing things, made history in the U.S., and has so much knowledge of the document scanning and processing industry. Take a look:

Alright Jim, tell our readers a little about yourself…

Well, my first job out of college was with Delco Electronics, a division of General Motors in Kokomo, Indiana. I was hired as an Engineer working on automotive engine and radio IC (integrated circuit) devices and I ended up creating a custom data collection and reporting mechanism for automated test results.

I have a wife, 4 children, and 2 dogs. My wife and I just celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary and my children are almost out of the house. As of August this year, I will be an empty nester. 🙁

I enjoy a variety of sports but spend most of my time playing tennis, running, and backpacking. The photo below is one from a recent trip out to the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. It was a breathtaking view from the top!

You are a Veteran of the U.S. Military. I would love to hear more about that phase in your life.

I am a Marine. My official title was Automatic Flight Controls System Technician. I worked on Autopilots, Synchrophasers (used to ensure propellers turn out of sync), Bomb Release Systems, Compass systems, and various other electronic controls and systems. Over time, I worked on just about every aircraft that the Marines supports.

I was discharged as an E-6 after 4 years and 1 months in service. I have traveled to so many Marine and Navy bases around the United States and Far-East, so my fondest memories were seeing all the other Marines that I had met over the years as I traveled from base to base. It was a lot of fun to see who was going to turn up and what they had been up to.

My favorite time was spent snorkeling and sailing in the East China Sea.

What led you to the career you’re in today?

In the 80’s I worked as software engineer at a startup company where we were developing B1 Secure UNIX Operating Systems. After four years of working tons of hours, I was burnt out and needed a change of pace. I got completely out of the field.

About three years later, a friend from the aforementioned job was looking for some help breaking into the document scanning and processing market. I worked with him for a couple years and then started doing UNIX Security consulting work with a spin-off from my former employer.

From there, I started finding document scanning/processing consulting contract opportunities, and slowly began to build that business and eventually dropped the security work.

A few short years later, I merged my custom software development business with Optiform.

At the time, Optiform was primarily a reseller of solutions with very little custom development. Now Optiform does both; resells software and provides custom solutions.

Of all solutions Optiform provides, which is your favorite and why?

Personally, I still like the development aspect of my work.

I think I would say that my favorite is the solution we provided Speedway. We created processes for Credit Card Applications, Credit Collection Processes, and Employment Application Processes.

I like to talk about it because of the components and third-party solutions that are all tied together to provide a solution. It was fun to implement. (If you’d like to learn more, I’d love to set up a call with you to talk more about it – email me: jimm@optiform.com).

What is the biggest hesitation regarding automating a manual business/invoice process that you hear when talking to a decision maker?

Ultimately, ROI is the key concern. We will help customers identify the costs and benefits of automating any business process allowing them to make an informed decision.

Fast forward 5 years, what do you see happening with Content Management?

This is an easy one. Content Management will all be cloud based. The cost savings and ease of implementation will make this a natural decision for everyone.

As far as company culture goes, what is it that you strive to foster?

Basically, I want to foster an environment where individuals can learn, develop their skills and problem-solve autonomously (providing assistance when requested).

For the business unit struggling with paper overload, what do you want them to know?

• We can help!!!! The problem can be tackled slowly.
• It doesn’t have to be a wide reaching culture change.
• We can help identify what are the best areas to tackle and then implement a solution with as little disruption to normal business as possible.

Thanks for the time (and lunch), Jim!

If you want to reach out and connect with our super cool CTO, he’s on LinkedIn or you can also reach him via email jimm@optiform.com