Shy Cohen

Shy Cohen

Shy Cohen is a Software Architect, Consultant, Speaker, Author, Coach & Entrepreneur. His primary technology and training focus areas are cloud and distributed computing, and software architecture.

Shy's engagement style spans the gamut; he enjoys speaking on stage to an audience of hundreds, discussing high-level value propositions and business strategies with executives and decision makers, whiteboarding system architecture and designs with architects and team leads, or writing code with developers.

When approaching a new technology project Shy draws on his highly varied background, which includes topics such as distributed system design & implementation, gaming and AI, framework design, database system design, software quality management, business process automation, software internationalization, project planning & management, marketing, and various other fields.

Previously, Shy worked at Microsoft as a Senior Program Manager on projects such as "Oslo", Windows Communication Foundation, MSN, Windows, ISA, and others. Prior to working at Microsoft, Shy worked at Intel and ran a small software company.

Shy has a passion for teaching. He taught as a college professor, is a published author, and an internationally acclaimed presenter. Shy is also an entrepreneur who thrives on finding how technology can help spark or support new business ideas. Shy holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science and a Computer Engineering degree from the Technion.

To keep up with Shy's activities and read his thoughts on various topics please see his blog and the events and presentations posted on the calendar of events.

Our Philosophy

Through every activity we strive to follow a common set of principles, guiding rules which we have found to be universally applicable.

Start With The End In Mind

We strongly believe that every action must begin with the end in mind.

Translated to practice, this means that we drive to clarify our and your goals for each engagement, and be very explicit about them. We work with you to identify your customers and stakeholders, understand the current and future goals, and design a solution to addresses them.

Carry Out Your Actions With Intent

To efficiently execute on a set of goals, every act must be carried out with intent.

Translated to practice, this means that we maximize the impact of every moment by focusing our thoughts and energy on the goals, and guiding our actions such that they get us closer to them.

Foster Trust

The foundation of a good relationship is trust, and trust comes from understanding - understanding each others' goals and actions, knowing where things stand in the relationship, and agreeing on where we are in our journey towards our goals. Communication is the key to understanding each other, and openness is the key to creating that trust. Surprises are only nice on your birthday.

Translated to practice, this means that we foster an environment of open and truthful communication, and strive for maximal transparency in all that we do.

Create Strong Partnerships

When people with common interests come together, identify a common set of goals, feverishly drive towards them, and work to establish and maintain trust in their relationship, they create a powerful team. A team where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We maximize our output and focus our energy through knowing where we stand in relation to our goals, what the other people are doing to further things along.

Translated to practice, this means that we relentlessly work to create an environment in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We work with our clients to establish strong, productive relationships that are based on trust and a common set of goals. We also seek to broaden and deepn our portfolio by creating strong relationships with partners who share our philosophy, and with whom we can build great things.

Accolades

  • "Shy is a rock-star. A few words that describe him are Passionate, Driven, Innovative, and Focused, not to mention his amazing talent for speaking. He has a 10 year+ track record of designing world-class distributed technology and is respected both throughout the halls of Microsoft and within the industry. I worked with Shy on several occasions and was impressed with his professionalism and deep level of technical acumen. I will definitely work with him again if the opportunity arises."
     
    - Glenn Block , Technical Product Planner , Microsoft Patterns and Practices
  • "Shy is a great presenter ... Definitely worth the price of admission!"
     
    - Julie Lerman
  • "Simply put: A thinker and an innovator with a mind as sharp as a razor-blade combined with a friendly demeanor and excellent communication/presentation skills."
     
    - Abdallah Toutoungi , Program Manager , Microsoft