A Challenging Year for Community

For a lot of us in the IT Industry, 2020 made it difficult to advocate technology like we had done in previous years. No doubting that the impossibility of in person events and distractions of the last twelve months have taken away the focus on extra activities in and around work life that make advocacy worthwhile. For many, tech advocacy is something done out of passion for specific technologies and vendors… a lot of it is self driven, but an equal amount is fueled by the community… and when there is effectively zero direct community interaction, then things will suffer.

It seems that even general content suffered last year as I mentioned in my year wrap… peoples minds are just not as focused as they were.

That said, I’ve seen a great deal of support in the various online communities I still frequent, and maybe… more than ever, that is the greatest advantage of being part of an advocacy program. Forget the swag and the trips, it’s about the support in times of need. I’ve made many great mates and contacts from being part of technical communities and advocacy programs and that side of it can’t be underestimated.

Not only is it a challenging time for those in these programs, but it is also challenging for those that run the programs. There is considerable time, effort and funding that goes into making these programs a success and it has been hard to adjust to a situation that has greatly shifted the goal posts in terms of what is considered to be reasonable output, contributions or otherwise that lead to program renewal or induction. With that in mind, both the VMware vExpert and Veeam Vanguard Program 2021 intakes are still active, with details below.

Veeam Vanguard 2021

Being very close to the Veeam Vanguard program, I know that we tried to keep things interesting and engaging throughout the past year, but the bigger ticket events like the Vanguard Summit held in Prague obviously didn’t take place. Yes we still maintained contact through online communication and collaboration, but the driving force of such programs is community spirit and networking… something almost impossible to achieve when everyone is stuck at home in their kitchens. All that

To become a Veeam Vanguard, the key element is to show your passion for Veeam products in such a way that other users can benefit from your expertise and knowledge. Becoming a member of the Veeam Vanguard program is not a life-long honor, but something that members have to earn every year through their continuous activity. If you would like to become a Vanguard, or you know somebody who is notorious for their green heart, there’s nothing easier than filling out the application we have ready for all of you right here!

The submission process is open till January 15th, after which we’ll evaluate all received applications and announce a new class and its members during February.

https://www.veeam.com/blog/vanguard-2021-class.html

vExpert 2021

Previously set as the 9th of January as the cutoff day for vExpert renewals and nominations, that has now been extended to the 15th. Interestingly there has been a couple of emails from the program organizers over the past few weeks almost pleading for people to apply. I’m not sure what that means by way of numbers, or if this represents a drop in overall enthusiasm for the program, but suffice to say there is still time to apply! It should also be noted, that for all previous 2020 vExperts, all you need to do is apply and you will be automatically renewed.

The VMware vExpert program is VMware’s global evangelism and advocacy program. The program is designed to put VMware’s marketing resources towards your advocacy efforts. Promotion of your articles, exposure at our global events, co-op advertising, traffic analysis, and early access to beta programs and VMware’s roadmap. The awards are for individuals, not companies, and last for one year

https://vexpert.vmware.com/apply