Systems & Programming
Learn Linux first, then use Bash, Perl, Python, and PHP to solve real operational problems.
Open the path →MS
OPERATIONS · CLOUD · LEADERSHIP
TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP · FIELD-TESTED GUIDANCE
Build systems.
Build people.
Make both reliable.
I’m Marc Smith. I’ve spent more than 30 years moving from Unix command lines to enterprise cloud leadership—and I’m still convinced the best strategy is the kind an operator can actually use.
$ whoamioperator → builder → leader
$ focus –currentreliability · security · value
30+years in technology operations
$15M+2025 cloud savings delivered
269K+Azure and GCP resources governed
80%reduction in cloud security findings
01 / START HERE
Experience is more useful when it is shared.
This site is part professional record, part technical field guide. It connects the résumé evidence behind my work with practical training, cloud guidance, and the lessons that only show up after systems reach production.
02 / CHOOSE YOUR PATH
Learn from the systems up.
Start with the foundation you need. Go as deep as the problem requires.
Azure & Google Cloud Operations
Build governable cloud foundations and dependable day-two operations across Azure and Google Cloud.
Open the path →FinOps & Cloud Economics
Connect engineering decisions to financial outcomes through ownership, action, and verified value.
Open the path →03 / POINT OF VIEW
“A cloud bill is not a Finance problem. It is the financial shadow cast by thousands of engineering decisions.”
FinOps works when engineers can see the cost of a decision, owners have authority to act, and savings are measured after the change—not when a recommendation first appears on a dashboard.
THE NEXT CONVERSATION