Cisco’s advocacy neighborhood, Cisco Insider Advocates, brings our clients collectively and supplies a means for them to make highly effective connections, increase their skilled and private networks, and be taught from prime specialists of their discipline. Certainly one of our targets with our advocacy neighborhood is to deepen {our relationships} with our clients. Our Q&A sequence permits us to shine a highlight on a few of our most passionate advocates as we be taught extra about their tales and backgrounds.
As we speak, we have now one of many friendliest faces in the neighborhood 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 at present! Let’s kick issues off by studying just a little 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 resolution or alternative introduced you to your present place?
I began working part-time on an web assist desk when many individuals had 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 several nations earlier than accepting my present place at Avit Group, a community integrator and managed providers supplier.
The menace panorama retains shifting, with new dangerous actors, exploits, and assaults on the horizon. As defenders, we have to maintain altering with it. Avit Group protects and displays our clients’ environments for threats and accommodates 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 newest and best services and products to maintain customers and information safe throughout the globe.
I spend time with clients, colleagues, and Cisco specialists to study evolving challenges and confirmed options to assist enhance our choices. As well as, by means 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 middle, website networks, or safety setup. The standard of documentation and buyer help makes Cisco reliable—each paperwork and TAC help have saved my day (and night time) 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 aware of it?
Cisco Insider Advocates is a world neighborhood for know-how fans to attach with each other. New info, fascinating articles about Cisco’s merchandise and applied sciences, and posts from different members are all the time obtainable. Taking part in actions on this neighborhood additionally offers you factors to trade for cool rewards too.
The rewards are positively an awesome incentive! You might be one in every of our neighborhood’s “Rockstars” and are part of the “Safety Heroes.” What made you need 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 Dwell Berlin in 2017 and was instantly impressed by the sheer scale and number of actions obtainable. On the occasion, I used to be in a position to profit from my go to through the use of the Cisco Insider App, which provided info on the accessible places and pushed me to discover totally different elements of Cisco Dwell.
Then, after the Cisco Dwell occasion, I saved coming again to the neighborhood for the information, conversations, and beneficial alternatives. Being a member of this neighborhood has allowed me to assist others and rapidly join with different specialists 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 Dwell and safety podcasts. This enhanced my writing and talking talents and strengthened my private model, which helped me stand out to colleagues, clients, and potential employers.
We’d love to listen to about your current expertise at Cisco Dwell 2024 Amsterdam. We perceive that you simply attended together with your daughter this yr too. How was it sharing Cisco Dwell together with her? On a scale of 1-5 (5 being the very best), how would you charge your total expertise this yr in comparison with earlier conferences?
Residing simply 20 minutes from the venue, Cisco Dwell Amsterdam felt like a house recreation. It was great displaying my daughter round and introducing her to everybody I’ve met over time. I’d charge my expertise a 4.5 this yr as I had an Explorer move, 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 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 Dwell 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 supplies a soothing retreat through the busy occasion, and assembly neighborhood members and managers in particular person is all the time a deal with!
Glad to listen to you loved Cisco Dwell this yr, Wouter! As you talked about, we had tons of thrilling actions deliberate within the Cisco Insider sales space and one in every of 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 matters 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 grow to be a safety architect. I emphasised the significance about staying curious, embracing challenges, and studying from each expertise whereas actively collaborating in the neighborhood round you to facilitate progress and studying.
I’m blissful for you, Wouter. It sounds such as you had a memorable expertise at Cisco Dwell this yr. We’re virtually on the finish of our interview, and we’d love to complete with three issues you’ll be able to’t stay with out.
Moreover the plain reply: Spouse and kids? It might be:
- New issues to resolve
- 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 would possibly get pleasure from this interview with Cisco Insider Tim Harmon.
Be a part of us!
For our clients who’ve already joined our Cisco Insider Advocates neighborhood, say hiya to Tim for those who haven’t met but. And for those who’re a Cisco buyer however aren’t a neighborhood member, take into account becoming a member of. You’ll have the ability to:
- Join with friends in a gamified, on-line neighborhood.
- Have a possibility 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.
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