My journey to vExpert and beyond(part 2)

Alright, so I'll fess up. I've been slacking on my posts. It has been a busy year and I feel I'm just getting my head back above water. Between work and two additional speaking sessions at the Cincinnati and Orlando UserCons, followed up with my VCP6.5-DCV upgrade/renewal, crazy barely describes it.

I'd like to clarify what vExpert is to me. It's neither a certification nor an accreditation. It is an acknowledgement. A tip of the hat as it were. It is recognition of those with valuable knowledge and skills whom instead of hoarding it, share it freely with others to enrich the product, the community and the experience. It is know-how that could be sold, but is instead shared with only the request to "pay it forward" as the only form of compensation.

That is the reason I see value in putting effort into the program, and it's appreciated that program partners choose to reciprocate by granting access to products we may not otherwise get a chance to try out.

So back to the year. As a Backup Admin I generally am in a pretty thankless role that is invisible 99% of the time and only show up as an OPEX line or in the rare case when a restore is truly needed. Needless to say, that makes you question your value to your profession. It was surprising when I was presenting my sessions. Admins, Architects, Consultants, Directors and C-level staff wanted to hear what I had to say. This is something I doubt I would have experienced without the vExpert program and the UserCons.

Meeting all the awesome people at the cons was another treat. People that I normally only see the names listed as authors and industry leaders sitting down to break bread and discuss everything from technology to games to food preferences.

I'm sure there will be more to experience as I continue on this wild ride, with Ariel Sanchez (the ever-demanding task master) sitting back there laughing like the guy who got to push the newbie in the deep end. There are too many people that deserve credit, but Al Rasheed and Richard Kenyan come to mind with all of their help with sanity checks. vExperts, in general, give so much just to help someone they may never meet face to face.

To sum it up, Thanks. Thanks for the help, the experience and the opportunity.

/steps down from the soap box

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