vexpert Archives

EMC announced today a new community recognition program called EMC Elect. Much like the VMware vExpert program or the Microsoft MVP program, EMC Elect provides individuals recognition for their contributions to the EMC community. Programs like this are incredibly beneficial – for the honoree as well as for the sponsoring company and the wider technology community. I’ve certainly benefited from being selected as a VMware vExpert, and I hope that VMware has benefited from my feedback as a result of my participation in the vExpert program. More importantly, the positive feedback from the vExpert program has encouraged me to contribute more as a VMUG leader, blogger, consultant and advocate – and I hope above all that my contributions benefit the community. With this in mind, I’m pleased to announce that I’ve been honored as a Founder in the EMC Elect program.

The ten founding EMC Elect honorees represent community members from customers, partners, community advocates and EMC specialists. The founders are charged with jumpstarting the program, beginning with a community-driven, peer-nomination program to onboard the freshman class of the Elect. Those honored by being selected for participation in EMC Elect will represent the EMC community at large. While many of the Elect will be storage rockstars, others (like me) will represent the partner, customer, and greater community of storage, virtualization, and security professionals – but we’ll all share the same goal of sharing knowledge, improving our craft, and driving the mutual success of the community.

Those selected to be an EMC Elect will earn a few great benefits:

Public recognition and status (and the responsibility that comes with being a leader)
Exclusive content and opportunities (think beta’s, briefings, a VMAX for the living room)
Privileged access and private communication channels (ability to shape and influence the products and community we all know and love)

There are pockets of top influencers hidden all throughout the EMC community – internally and externally; folks who really believe in driving excellence in what they do and sharing what they know with the community. This is your opportunity to recognize these contributors by filling out a nomination form (don’t be shy about self-nomination either). Nominate those employees, customers, and partners who you feel contribute significantly to the overall EMC community. Nominations are open through December 15th. I hope you’ll join us!

For all the details on the EMC Elect program, visit the EMC Community Network (ECN) site here: https://emc.im/RWbRKF

I’ve held off on posting this as I don’t like to toot my own vuvuzela too loudly, but in a fit of shameless self promotion and a desire to see the program grow, here goes nothin:

I am a VMware vExpert!

VMware notifed recipients of the designation last month. The 300 or so awardees are recognized for their “advocacy of VMware solutions, your contributions to the community of VMware users, and your willingness to share your expertise with others.” I find it an absolute honor to be included amongst the vExpert class of 2010 – a group full of folks who are on the cutting edge of virtualization and cloud computing, many of whom have helped me through their books, blogs, and contributions to the VMware Community. Arnim van Lieshout has compiled a nice list of vExperts here: https://www.van-lieshout.com/vexpert-2010/.

It’s an exciting time to be a virtualization professional – in terms of the technology, people and seemingly endless opportunities. I look forward to continuing my contributions to the community through this here blog, my leadership of the Washington, DC Metro Area VMware User Group, and through my work as a implementer of VMware solutions! Special thanks to John Troyer for sponsoring the program and doing so much to organize the VMware community through the weekly VMware Community Roundtable, Social Media and the many other programs he touches.