Congratulations to Ray Zick: Retiring After 41 years at AdvantageCS

After over 41 years at AdvantageCS, Ray Zick, Manager of Cloud Services, has officially announced his retirement.  Ray joined the company in 1983, shortly after earning his BBA with a specialty in computers from the University of Michigan. Throughout his tenure, he has held various roles, including Configurations Analyst and Programmer, before leading our Cloud Services team. 

Known for his delightful sense of humor - especially his clever puns - and his warm, caring personality, Ray has always been eager to help others. AdvantageCS is deeply grateful for his unwavering dedication to problem-solving, mentoring colleagues, and bringing joy and laughter to our office in Ann Arbor, as well as to our clients.  

Having grown up as the 12th of 13 siblings, Ray has joked that this upbringing has honed his ability to stay calm in chaotic situations- a skill that has has served him well here at AdvantageCS. However, perhaps he was a bit too calm at times, as one of his early bosses once quipped that he could stand to show a little bit more excitement now and then! 

Ray began his journey here at AdvantageCS as a Configurations Analyst, a role that involved installing software both locally and at client sites. Back then, Advantage was delivered on “reel-to-reel” tapes, magnetic tape spooled between two open reels, a common storage medium used before hard drives and cloud computing became the norm. (It seems quite the leap from reels of tape to services in the cloud!) In this role, Ray served as the “go-to” person for troubleshooting and issue resolution.

Ray’s career transitioned into programming with the “RATFOR” project, which would eventually become Advantage’s Circulation (CIR) module. A particularly memorable moment from this time was when Ray worked with both a medical publisher and farm publisher. In one instance, Ray mistakenly referred to a “BOV” publication as “Bovine” instead of “Bound Volumes.” The medical publisher found the mix-up amusing and began regularly sending him pictures of cows!

As Ray began moving further into programming and debugging roles, he took on a project known as “Trackstar,” (codename: Leonardo), focused on improving Tools-the Advantage programming language at the time-and making it more portable. When deadlines loomed, Ray and his team shifted to working at night to take advantage of the faster computers. He humorously recalls one unexpected perk of those later hours, saying, “We didn’t have to wear ties.” 

Throughout his career, Ray has developed many strong relationships with our clients. One standout memory involved meeting a client in-person, after they had worked together over the phone for over a year. Ray had envisioned the man as a tall Texan in a cowboy hat, but instead, met someone somewhat shorter, sporting a pocket protector and a calculator on his belt. The man’s first words to Ray? “I thought you’d be shorter.”

Following the Trackstar night project, Ray shifted between systems programming and application programming, continually adapting to the company’s needs. In recent years, he has played a key role on our Cloud team, focusing on scripting and automating Advantage installations. His work has been dedicated to enhancing the client installation experience, enabling real-time monitoring and immediate issue notifications to ensure quick and effective resolutions.

Jon Bartholomay, Team Leader at AdvantageCS, says, "Ray has been a joy to work with...I really appreciate how he was always willing to help me through complex systems issues. I don’t ever remember seeing him flustered. He would patiently stick with the issues until they were resolved. I will really miss Ray’s quick wit and timely puns. He brought us a 'Ray' of hope and is leaving big, bright shoes to fill.”

“Over his 41 and a half years at AdvantageCS, Ray made significant contributions each step of the way as our software and our company evolved,” says Matt Varblow, Executive V.P. of Engineering (CTO) at AdvantagCS. “He helped us adapt, many times, to new programming languages, operating systems, databases, libraries and platforms. Along the way Ray built up knowledge and expertise that he happily shared with co-workers and clients. Ray is a team player, generous with his time, someone who genuinely enjoys helping others. He has forged great client relationships and helped many of us along the way. I’ll miss sitting next to Ray where I can just look over, say “Hey, Ray!” and talk through thorny issues or run design ideas by him. Congratulations, Ray, on a well-earned retirement!”

Over the years, from Advantage on terminals to PCs and eventually to the more modern Windows and web version, Ray has enjoyed witnessing the progression of the Advantage product as it continues to keep pace with industry and technological advancements.

“I’m going to miss Ray’s calm demeanor, steel trap memory, creative problem solving, and endless supply of puns,” says Jeff Leonard, Cloud Services Team Leader, “It has been an honor to work closely with Ray on the Cloud Services team for the past 4 years. His dedication to AdvantageCS and our clients has been exemplary. Enjoy your well-deserved retirement, Ray.”

In retirement, Ray plans to embrace life as a “snowbird” during the winter months, enjoying daily neighborhood walks with his audiobooks, staying active at the gym, and attending daily Mass whenever possible. He looks forward to volunteering with the Knights of Columbus, joining committees, catching up with retired AdvantageCS employees over lunch every other week, and tackling some long-overdue home projects.

Reflecting on his career, Ray shares how much he has enjoyed and valued working alongside so many dedicated and talented engineers in a supportive and friendly atmosphere, all driven by the shared goal of creating a great product.

As he steps into retirement, Ray’s warmth, expertise, and humor will undoubtedly be missed by everyone here at AdvantageCS.

Congratulations, Ray, we wish you all the best!