Next year, in 2027, I will have worked in this crazy IT industry for 40 years… Of which 17 officially in the VMware realm and hopefully 10 years as a vExpert (get out the cakes!). You can check my vExpert homepage, the counter is at 9 years and I am in the PRO and VCF groups at the moment. As a vExpert PRO I try to help others join and find meaning in the program. You can always contact me, I also speak French, German and Dutch.

I have written about the vExpert program in previous years, but I want to reiterate some important, actual points.

We all know that it has been something of a bumpy ride these last few years. It is hard to keep your game up-to-date at the moment. That is especially why you should consider the vExpert program at the moment. Some points to consider:

• vExpert is working more closely with VMUG, which means you get things like a VMUG Advantage subscription. Hello licenses!
• The VMUG UserCons have been replaced with more regional VMUG CONNECT events. A great place to learn, interact and share your knowledge.
• We have a very active Discord board to interact, ask questions,…
• There are more local events, in Belgium we have a vBeers every month, hey it is Belgium…

Being part of the vExpert network has some more intangible benefits too. You are part of a community, you can talk to others, ask help, offer advice. It is also an environment to advance your skills, like public speaking. Opportunities that you might not have in your day-to-day job.

I was reminded last week how important this is in another way: I joined my local Repair Café in my village. If you do not know, this is a volunteer organization where people can bring their broken appliances, bikes, PCs and we try to repair them. We gather every Saturday and work together. So far I am proud to announce I repaired a coffee bean grinder and a steam iron. But what is important is that I did my first repair together with a more experienced volunteer. He said: ” Hey we work together, share our knowledge and it is more fun”. Afterwards I thought this is exactly what we want to achieve in the vExpert program…. Just don’t bring me broken coffee grinders…

Let me know if you need help or want more info! As always this post is AI free.