Congratulations to our most recent VMTN Community Warrior, vmiss!
Submit a nomination for the next VMTN Community Warrior. This program will continue to recognize users who commit time and energy to engaging with peers in the VMTN community. Learn more.
Congratulations to VMTN’s newest Community Warrior, Melissa, for being an active and helpful member to our community. We are so grateful for everything you do to benefit the vCommunity.
Learn more about Melissa:
How did you get involved in the VMware Community?
This has sort of a funny answer, because I thought about starting a blog way back in 2010, but didn’t do it until 2014. Around then I started also being really active on Twitter because I had left my job as a VMware administrator and architect to become a Systems Engineer at NetApp. I got involved with the VMware Community to keep up with VMware technologies because I enjoyed working with them so much. For me, it was a way to stay connected when it wasn’t 100% my daily focus anymore, however I wish I would have become more active in the community sooner!
Which VMware communities specifically are you involved in (VMTN, blog program, vExpert, etc.)?
I am involved the most with the blog program and vExpert programs currently. I spent a lot of time on VMTN way back when I was working with the vSphere 5 beta, and earlier in my career when I was just getting started with VMware. VMTN is a great place to go and learn how to solve a problem you may be having. When I find myself with some down time, and want to learn something new, I also like to head on over to CloudCred.
How do you work with VMware day-to-day?
Currently I am a Technologist in the Product Strategy Organization at Veeam. Veeam is a huge VMware partner, so I’m always working with my colleges and customers to create awesome data protection solutions. I also am a VCDX, so I make it point to make sure I always stay up to date with the latest and greatest version of VMware vSphere, as well as other VMware products. In addition, I like to work with and blog about many of the VMware features that make administrators’ lives easier, like vSphere Update Manager, Host Profiles, and PowerCLI.
What advice would you give to community members on learning more and becoming a better professional?
I absolutely love to learn – especially technical things. It is important to remember there is a lot more to being a professional than just the tech, though, and this can be hard to remember. This community has a number of great ways to help hone some of the softer skills, like writing and public speaking. A great way to lean more about something is to research it and work with it, then write a blog post and work on those writing skills along with the technical ones. Public speaking is another skill that can be scary at first, but your local VMUG is a great place to work on that skill, and learn from others. While both of these skills may be outside of your comfort zone, you have nothing to lose by starting a blog and presenting at your local VMUG! Skill are like a muscle, they take time to build.
What was the first VMware product you every used, where and when?
It was ESX 2.5.4 in 2007, which I thought was the coolest thing ever at the time, If I went back in time and told myself what vSphere 6.7 could do, my former self probably would not have believed me. It was my first job out of college, and was I working with different infrastructure teams in the server space. Eventually, I ended up joining the VMware infrastructure team full time at that company, and here I am now.
Are you currently working on any projects you think the VMTN community would be interested in?
Over the last year or so, I have been paying a lot of attention to the information security space, how it relates to VMware, and vice versa. It really is a fascinating intersection of things. I would say stay tuned for more on that from me. The other area I am very interested in is Project Pacific, and I’m looking forward to spending more time with that, especially on the design side of things.
How can people follow you or get in touch?
You can follow me on Twitter @vMiss33 and find my blog at https://vmiss.net.
Thanks for your time, vmiss!
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