As we near the end of 2017 we find ourselves doing many different things – shoring up those unfished jobs, both at work and home, reflecting on our accomplishments throughout the year and planning and preparing for what 2018 will bring to the table, and of course receiving emails in regards to renewals and applications for influencer programs. Now I hold all of these programs fairly close to me, but there’s one that seems to stand out above the others – The Veeam Vanguard program – and nominations for 2018 are officially open!
Veeam Vanguard – What is it?
Just like other influencer programs Veeam’s Vanguard program simply gathers a group of individuals who seem to completely understand what it is Veeam does; their message, their software, their goals. But there are many things about the program that tends to separate it from all the others – I’ve outlined my top 3 below….
- Opportunities – Veeams Vanguard program brings with it many opportunities – with the most elaborate being the access and visibility into Veeam that you get. With pretty much unfiltered access into Product Strategy team at Veeam we are constantly getting updates and early access on whats being released, features being baked into products, and new products that may be sitting “on the shelf” ready to be pulled down. These opportunities come in many forms, be it webinars, early access betas, official briefings, and the most valuable in my opinion, access to the Vanguard slack channel (of which Veeam is heavily representative and even more heavily active in). It should also be noted that you have opportunities to interact with the other Vanguards as well – these are some really smart, intelligent, veeamy rockstars when it comes to technology and to be honest I’ve bounced a many ideas, Veeam related and not off of them and have never been unsuccessful in getting an answer to what I was looking for.
- Commitment – I truly believe that Veeam has really thought out this Vanguard process – meaning they have thrown a ton of resources at this program. Not just in terms of swag, but in terms of dedication and commitment from their employees as well. What I mean by this is there doesn’t seem to be any time of day that I can’t reach out and talk to someone from Veeam about something – there always seems to be someone active within every timezone inside of the slack channel. Also, we see this perks of this program expanding outside of the Product Strategy group as well – I’ve been lucky enough to go through training for both my VMCE and my VMCE-ADO just by being part of the program – and in the end have accomplished a task I didn’t think I’d ever reach on my own – getting the Veeam Certified Architect certification. There is also the commitment of funding – being part of the Veeam Vanguard program I’ve received travel and airfare to attend 2 different VeeamON conferences – and in the off year which there was no VeeamON we were all flown to London for a 4 day training/Vanguarding/VeeamON Foruming adventure – again, a place I don’t think I would’ve ever visited if not for this program. During these VeeamONs and special Vanguard briefings, we get access to some of Veeams top employees – an opportunity that just isn’t there being a normal customer/analyst/blogger.
- Swag – I know that everyone always says “it’s not about the swag” and honestly that’s why I’ve left it till last – but in some small way in the back of your mind you have to appreciate getting some swag 🙂 The Vanguard program doesn’t disappoint in this case – presenting you with a catalog, some initial credits, and the opportunity to spend your credits on what you want. No more backpacks or t-shirts being thrown at you, instead, go ahead and purchase those Beats headphones, wallets, or luggage trolley with your credits – there is always a plethora of options and it’s nice to have the choice of picking what it is I’m going to get in trouble for having at home later on 🙂
So there you have it! If this sounds interesting to you then apply with this link – there’s only one piece pre-requisite; you can’t be a Veeam employee! It doesn’t matter where else you might work, where in the world you live, or how old you are :). If you are interested in learning more certainly head over to the official Veeam Vanguard page here – or I’ve written other articles around the program and it’s benefits here and here Thanks for reading!
