Two distinguished software experts, Rick Watts and Vikas Sharma, have joined Quandary Peak Research’s growing team. Watts and Sharma each bring extensive experience in software litigation to their new roles, further strengthening Quandary Peak’s capabilities and expertise in critical areas such as enterprise architectures, ERP systems, and software patents, among others.
“I’m exceptionally proud of the team we’ve built at Quandary Peak. Rick and Vikas will add to the incredible momentum we’ve had recently,” said George Edwards, Quandary Peak’s President & Principal Computer Scientist. “It’s not always easy to recruit the caliber of talent Quandary Peak is known for, but the past six months have been extraordinarily productive in enhancing our team.”
Rick Watts, Expert in Enterprise Software and IT Systems
Growing demand for enterprise IT systems expertise led Quandary Peak to recruit Rick Watts, an industry veteran with over 30 years of hands-on experience and leadership as a technology executive.
Watts’s impressive background encompasses software development, IT services, enterprise commercial software such as ERP and CRM, data management, security compliance (including NIST, COBIT, and ISO standards), architecture assessment, risk and compliance governance, and a variety of popular technology platforms for cloud infrastructure, networking, virtualization, and data warehousing. Before joining Quandary Peak, Watts held technology leadership positions in healthcare, higher education, and gaming.
At Quandary Peak, Watts’s practice will include providing expert witness testimony in civil litigation arising from large-scale software development projects and IT system failures. Large and complex IT projects sometimes result in litigation when they fail to achieve their original objectives or run significantly over budget. Such cases frequently require an expert with Watts’s comprehensive knowledge of enterprise architecture, software development processes, technical architecture design, project management, and system integration.
“I’ve designed or deployed dozens of successful enterprise software systems over thirty years, so I know what should happen,” said Watts. “When litigation arises from complex enterprise projects, my job is to explain how the technology or the process went awry, to help my client prepare their arguments.”
Vikas Sharma, Expert in Software Patent Analysis
Since its founding, Quandary Peak Research has been known for excellence in software patent consulting. Adding Vikas Sharma as Director of Patent Services further strengthens Quandary Peak’s team of outstanding software patent experts.
For over fifteen years, Sharma has been leading teams examining gigabytes of source code, performing software and firmware reverse engineering, writing expert reports for patent validity and non-infringement, and providing technical support during depositions and trials. Sharma’s work has contributed to multimillion-dollar settlements, creating positive outcomes for clients. Sharma also brings over a decade of experience analyzing large patent portfolios and helping clients monetize their patents through licensing and selling patent assets.
Sharma’s arrival coincides with Quandary Peak’s expanding presence in Texas. Sharma now leads the office in Austin, Texas, placing him in a hub for patent litigation. Sharma will play a leading role in Quandary Peak’s plans to aggressively grow its team of software patent experts and code reviewers in Austin.
“Quandary Peak works on many interesting and unique projects across the technology industry. I feel fortunate that my engineering background and knowledge of smartphones, wireless networking, Internet applications, and software and firmware reverse engineering has prepared me for this role,” said Sharma.
About Quandary Peak Research
Quandary Peak Research is a nationwide consulting firm that provides expert analysis of complex technology to companies, law firms, and investors. Quandary Peak’s clients utilize their computer and software expertise in various types of civil litigation, including patent infringement, copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and breach-of-contract cases. In addition to providing expert witness testimony, software experts at Quandary Peak perform source code analysis, technical due diligence, software quality audits, and forensic investigations.
