Entries have opened again to apply for the VMware vExpert program for the second half of the year. More information on the vExpert website.

I want to share my path and experiences in the program so far, hoping it might be helpful if you are considering applying (and you should …).

What is the vExpert program? It is a recognition by VMware for people that promote the company and products in certain ways. Evangelists you might call it. You can be a blogger, a public speaker, someone who solves issues in the VMware Communities, an end user, partner, employee. As long as you do something active in some way! It has nothing to do with certification programs like VCP. And it is renewed every year. It is a very active status. This is my version, you will find more info on the VExpert website.

What do I get you might ask? What’s in it for me? Quite a lot as a matter of fact. You get badges for your website or social media, test licenses for software, briefings, some freebies. But above all you get a community on slack. A group of peers there to help or just hang out with.

But allow me to dive into my personal experience. I worked for VMware for a few years, but the vExpert program only came to my attention when I was working for a technology partner – Blue Medora – some 3 years ago. Some guys in the Belgian VMware community decided there were far too few vExperts in Belgium compared to the Netherlands, there is always some healthy competition in the lower countries… (grab your maps app of choice ….). Kim Bottu, Tom Vallons and Stijn Depril convinced a bunch of us to apply. As a matter of fact all of these gentlemen are now vExpert Pro. If you are in the region and need help applying, talk to them too. I can hook you up.

Halfway through my first year I became jobless. I kept writing some blogs and talking to people. I continued as an independent contractor and actually found a few projects through the vExpert community! If you need more reasons to apply, tell me! I also noticed that for customers the vExpert title is becoming important, it is not a certification of course, but it shows that you are in touch with VMware. On top of that I hooked up with the guys at Comdivision and I now work together with them. You can check on our vExpert page that this a very important program for us!

In my second year I became part of the cloud management sub program and this year the security one. This is a specialisation, it means you get briefings on upcoming products and roadmap! Again an important advantage. There is no way I would get access to this kind of information as a lonely contractor… Also the cloud management guys have run some fun competitions…. and I attended the Carbon Black conference thanks to the security people. We also had meetings at VMWorld, but not sure if in-person conferences are ever coming back… Highlight was the vExpert reception in Barcelona that Pat Gelsinger attended!

You need to consider what you can contribute to the community, but do not be too hard on yourself. I wrote a few blog posts last year. I participated in briefings and published some vROps dashboards. I am not an expert on everything VMware. I do realise however that you have to contribute something to be part of this family! I am very grateful for everything I got out of the program so far!

On top of that if you are lucky enough to be in Belgium, you get vBeers and vBBQ meetings! But proof of citizenship is necessary to talk more about that!

So check out the website and the twitter channel, talk to a vExpert Pro or ping me!