Cisco’s advocacy neighborhood, Cisco Insider Advocates, brings our prospects collectively and offers a manner for them to make highly effective connections, develop their skilled and private networks, and study from prime consultants of their subject. Certainly one of our targets with our advocacy neighborhood is to deepen {our relationships} with our prospects. Our Q&A sequence permits us to shine a highlight on a few of our most passionate advocates as we study extra about their tales and backgrounds.
Right this moment, we have now one of many friendliest faces locally becoming a member of us for a chat. I’m excited to welcome Wouter Hindriks from Avit Group BV.
Welcome, Wouter! It’s so nice to speak with you right this moment! Let’s kick issues off by studying a bit of bit about who you’re.
I’m a 45-year-old safety architect dwelling and dealing within the Netherlands. I’m married to Naomi, and we have now two kids, ages 12 and 16.
The place did you start your profession in IT? And what skilled choice or alternative introduced you to your present place?
I began working part-time on an web assist desk when many individuals have been getting on-line for the primary time with dial-up web entry. I had a number of jobs and roles after that and labored in numerous international locations earlier than accepting my present place at Avit Group, a community integrator and managed companies supplier.
The menace panorama retains shifting, with new unhealthy actors, exploits, and assaults on the horizon. As defenders, we have to hold altering with it. Avit Group protects and displays our prospects’ environments for threats and incorporates incidents earlier than they result in a disruption. In my function as a safety architect, I design our service choices to make sure we ship the most recent and biggest services and products to maintain customers and information safe throughout the globe.
I spend time with prospects, colleagues, and Cisco specialists to study evolving challenges and confirmed options to assist enhance our choices. As well as, by way of the Cisco Insider Advocates neighborhood, I get common updates from Cisco Talos, Cisco’s menace intelligence analysis group, in addition to insights from my trade friends and different safety practitioners worldwide.
What an unbelievable journey you’ve been on, Wouter. How has partnering with Cisco helped you in your function?
Cisco has performed an necessary function in my profession because the starting; I obtained a Cisco CCNA certification, which actually helped my profession early on. Working at a telco, you’ll encounter Cisco within the edge and core networks, after which, you’ll be happy to see Cisco options in your information heart, website networks, or safety setup. The standard of documentation and buyer assist makes Cisco reliable—each paperwork and TAC assist have saved my day (and evening) quite a few occasions!
It’s nice to listen to how Cisco’s options have been instrumental all through your profession! Let’s transfer on to our buyer advocacy neighborhood. How would you describe Cisco Insider Advocates to those that aren’t accustomed to it?
Cisco Insider Advocates is a worldwide neighborhood for know-how fans to attach with each other. New info, attention-grabbing articles about Cisco’s merchandise and applied sciences, and posts from different members are all the time out there. Taking part in actions on this neighborhood additionally provides you factors to change for cool rewards too.
The rewards are positively an amazing incentive! You’re one in all our neighborhood’s “Rockstars” and are part of the “Safety Heroes.” What made you wish to be part of, and the way has being part of this neighborhood impacted you each professionally and personally?
I joined the neighborhood at Cisco Stay Berlin in 2017 and was instantly impressed by the sheer scale and number of actions out there. On the occasion, I used to be in a position to take advantage of my go to by utilizing the Cisco Insider App, which supplied info on the accessible places and pushed me to discover totally different components of Cisco Stay.
Then, after the Cisco Stay occasion, I saved coming again to the neighborhood for the data, conversations, and invaluable alternatives. Being a member of this neighborhood has allowed me to assist others and shortly join with different consultants in numerous ICT fields. As a Rockstar, I get pleasure from unique challenges, rewards, and occasions. By collaborating with neighborhood managers and collaborating in actions, I’ve contributed to weblog posts, movies, and even spoken at Cisco Stay and safety podcasts. This enhanced my writing and talking skills and strengthened my private model, which helped me stand out to colleagues, prospects, and potential employers.
We’d love to listen to about your current expertise at Cisco Stay 2024 Amsterdam. We perceive that you simply attended together with your daughter this yr too. How was it sharing Cisco Stay together with her? On a scale of 1-5 (5 being the best), how would you fee your total expertise this yr in comparison with earlier conferences?
Residing simply 20 minutes from the venue, Cisco Stay Amsterdam felt like a house recreation. It was fantastic exhibiting my daughter round and introducing her to everybody I’ve met through the years. I’d fee my expertise a 4.5 this yr as I had an Explorer cross, which restricted entry to technical breakout classes. Nonetheless, the occasion was well-organized with good meals, many cubicles, and educated people prepared to help. Interacting with Cisco’s senior management this time was actually insightful; I used to be in a position to have transient conversations with Oliver Tuszik and Jeetu Patel, which enhanced my understanding of Cisco’s imaginative and prescient and allowed me to share my very own concepts and challenges.
By means of Cisco Insider Advocates, I used to be additionally in a position to meet with the Cisco U staff to share my ideas on a consumer’s coaching and academic wants total and supply suggestions on Cisco’s present certifications.
Since 2017, I’ve attended Cisco Stay in Berlin, Madrid, Las Vegas, Orlando, and Amsterdam. It’s all the time a pleasure to reconnect with pals and meet new individuals. Whereas the Cisco Insider Advocate actions add pleasure to those occasions, the devoted lounge for Insiders additionally offers a calming retreat through the busy occasion, and assembly neighborhood members and managers in individual is all the time a deal with!
Glad to listen to you loved Cisco Stay this yr, Wouter! As you talked about, we had tons of thrilling actions deliberate within the Cisco Insider sales space and one in all them was the chance to have a dialog with David Bombal, a British YouTuber and tech influencer. How was your interplay with him, and what subjects did you focus on?
It was a delight to have an interview with David Bombal. We spoke about what it takes to get forward in IT and what has helped me change into a safety architect. I emphasised the significance about staying curious, embracing challenges, and studying from each expertise whereas actively collaborating locally round you to facilitate development and studying.
I’m joyful for you, Wouter. It sounds such as you had a memorable expertise at Cisco Stay this yr. We’re virtually on the finish of our interview, and we’d love to complete with three issues you possibly can’t reside with out.
Moreover the apparent reply: Spouse and youngsters? It could be:
- New issues to unravel
- New issues to construct
- New individuals to fulfill
It’s been a pleasure to speak with you, Wouter. Thanks once more for becoming a member of us!
Learn extra advocate interviews.
You may get pleasure from this interview with Cisco Insider Tim Harmon.
Be part of us!
For our prospects who’ve already joined our Cisco Insider Advocates neighborhood, say hiya to Tim in the event you haven’t met but. And in the event you’re a Cisco buyer however aren’t a neighborhood member, contemplate becoming a member of. You’ll be capable of:
- Join with friends in a gamified, on-line neighborhood.
- Have a chance to fulfill with Cisco’s executives.
- Share your suggestions, questions, and finest practices.
- Get entry to ‘insider’ content material and sources.
- Develop your skilled and private model.
- Amplify your organization’s success story with Cisco know-how.
Able to get began?
Head over to the Cisco Insider Advocates Group and say hiya!
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