Hey everybody it’s Patrick again from the new blog site (yes I finally made it to GitHub with a static page build with Hugo),
this time I want to share my story around why I believe the vExpert program has helped me become a better architect. As some of you know, I started my IT career already a while back in 2009 where I completed an apprenticeship at IT-Haus (a local German consulting firm and reseller). I started to dig deeper into emerging technologies, got my first steps in vCenter done, learned how cool vMotion is and what it means to host and manage larger IT estates. Moving forward in my career I brought cloud technologies like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services etc. to the mix and I transitioned slightly from the on-premises three tier architecture towards more cloud consultancy.
But from who did I learn all these things, and what are my resources? Is something I got asked frequently. And to tell you the trough, besides reading books and searching the internet for the solutions I needed, most of the time I landed on pages from vExperts, MVP’s etc. Those guys I considered as my rockstars (and they obviously are) in the industry. The knowledge they shared, the passion for technology combined with the willing to help the community inspired me a lot, which is the reason why I started my first blog page back in 2020 with wvdlogix.net. The blog should help me get into EUC and to share my thoughts around Azure Virtual Desktop, VMware Horizon and later on the combination of both.
After one year of blogging I thought that I should give it a try to apply for the vExpert program, as I want to contribute even more to the awesome community and to learn how to ask the right questions and to help the product team to even improve the technology that we love and that we kind of grew up with.
And it happened! I got accepted for the first time to become a VMware vExpert myself in 2021. Which by the way should later be the year when I join the incredible company VMware is.
# But what did the vExpert program supported you with?
First of all, it’s important to mention that the vExpert program is meant to share knowledge and to collaborate with other tech enthusiasts. That was the first support and one of the most important things I always mention when somebody asks me about the program. I got access to the group of people via Slack where I was able to ask questions, share my thoughts and get comments and ideas on other peoples experience which helped me also a lot in improving the content that I’m sharing with the community.
It’s a great place and actually one of the greatest assets of the program to get access to these fantastic people!
Second, it was the licenses for your lab infrastructure. These helped me a lot to improve my architecture and automation skills while implementing the technology in my homelab, tinkering around with the VCF stack, destroying it, rebuilding and starting to become more solid in my conversations with customers which indeed helped to become a better architect. And this again helped me to become a better community member who wants to share expert knowledge and experiences with others.
Besides all of that there is a fantastic community lead named Corey Romero, who build the program and has several opportunities and events for you to learn from the product groups and get into deep technical details!
# But what do I need to do to become a vExpert?
To become a vExpert yourself it’s important to understand that this recognition is not only a badge to polish your CV, it’s also not just an entitlement, it means dedication and willigness to support. To be part of the community a good thing is to connect with other vExperts or vExperts pro via Twitter / X or LinkedIn and ask them for guidance and support (I’m sure most of them will be open to support! Otherwise reach out to me at any time). Next should be that you start to blog! Write about your experiences, start to share knowledge regardless how easy it may seem to you, I’m sure somebody else with profit from it! Next could be to sign up for a variety of VMUGs (VMware User Groups or UserCons) or even speak at those events! And if you are new to speaking, ask the vExpert community again to provide you with tips and tricks and help to get you prepared for your first showtime, I’m sure everybody is willing to help!
Once you get into blogging and speaking, it may be time to apply for the vExpert program at https://vexpert.vmware.com
There you have to select if you are an Evangelist, customer, partner, VCDX, Moderator or VMUG Leader and provide as much details as you can to your application! After the registration / application time closes you will be notified if you are eligible to become a vExpert!
# But what happens if I didn’t get the vExpert status?
Don’t worry! Sometimes it takes time and patience. Most importantly is, that you do what you love and share knowledge with the wider community. If you need any assistance please feel free to reach out and I try to be as supportive as I can!
Cheers, Patrick