Reflecting on 10 years of #ITQlife

This morning I woke up with a message from our internal social hub called The ITQ Hub, telling me today marks my 10 year anniversary at ITQ . It's bizar how fast those 10 years have passed by. Although every day is a good day to look back, I wanted to spend some time on this special day to share some of the highlights (in random order).

From start-up-ish to number one partner in EMEA

The feeling I got when I had my very first job interview with Paul Geerlings , was that ITQ had a family-like culture with passionate people and a work-hard/play-hard mentality. A bunch of folks who are intrinsically motivated to drive succes at customers on the peak of their game. A culture that to-date still exists, but is now carried out by 230 professionals, spread across 5 countries and 7 different locations. Something we are very proud of, and wouldn't be possible without the strong leadership of Francisco Perez van der Oord and Robert Hellings . We are the number one partner in EMEA with 400 different engagements per year at customers across the globe. This is surely what makes us different. Most partners sell licenses and subscriptions, where we sell solutions and outcome.

#33

My employee number is 33, but I started as the 8th consultant in (what we called back then) the vUnit. A team focussed on VMware technology, and in my case, the first person with a focus on the EUC-side of the portfolio. Since 2014, the EUC team grew to what it is today. Within ITQ, we have over 70 people that directly or indirectly work with or at customers that consume our digital workspace services. Something I am extremely proud of!

Individual development path

Like mentioned, I started as a consultant with a focus on EUC. I have had many hats on, from teammanager EUC, to tech marketing manager, to technologist and today as both Chief Evangelist and VP of Digital Workspaces. These roles and this growth isn't something that happened overnight. It's also not something that is thrown at you. I really enjoy being an entrepreneur within our company and continuously seek for business opportunities that would feed our passion for tech, but also contribute to the success we drive at customers. It's a real pleasure working with mentors like Francisco Perez van der Oord , Robert Hellings Bertwin Oudenampsen Dennis Hoegen Dijkhof and Jeffrey Kusters , who continue to challenge me on these entrepreneurial skills!

From stage fear to happy place

When I started in 2014, I had a dream to become a public speaker. I just had one massive challenge: I had a huge fear of stages and presenting. Still, it was a dream for a very long time to be able to inspire other people during a presentation. With the help of the VMware User Group (VMUG) and presentation coach Andrew Taylor I overcame the stage fright and made a profession out of it. Being on stage is my happy place and the positive feedback I get after presentations is something that keeps the flame burning! If you like to know more about that journey, check out this interview I recently had with Brad Tompkins :

https://youtu.be/ZETEVq_NKbk

Our studio

This surely brings me to our hobby-gone-wild. Somewhere in 2016, I published a first video. Shot at VMworld, with an iPhone and a gimbal. 385 videos later, we have a professional studio (the baby of Hans Jaspers ) for lightboard videos, interview videos, greenscreen videos, live streams and a professional producer, and Sjoerd Versteeg and Rick van der Weide are our onsite production team at events like VMware Explore and KubeCon. What started as a small side hustle, is now an entire media & production team with a content strategy.

#ITQlife

In 2015, I used the #ITQlife hashtag for the first time. Back then it was just a hashtag. #ITQlife has now evolved into a lifestyle brand within our company where it reflects our employee value proposition (EVP) into actions. Not just the trips to VMware Explore, VMworld, and KubeCon, but also the annual ITQonnect weekend, the family BBQ, the birthday flowers, the gym at HQ with a vitality coach, the Friday afternoon drinks, the focus on mental health, the sustainability and social initiatives, etc, etc. I'm an #ITQlife ambassador and it always gives me a smile when I see the enthusiasm of my ITQ family in the #ITQlife regard.

Evangelism

It's a given, but I'm very proud of the different content, certifications, accreditations I achieved (sometimes with the help of my ITQ peers or others in the community). The VDI Design Guide Series, the #VCDX certification, the #vExpert accreditation, the various podcast (with Duncan Epping Frank Denneman and Jeffrey Kusters ), the numerous events I've presented, all highlights because of the decision to apply for a job at ITQ.

Friendships for life

Because of this job, I got the opportunity to meet people of who most of them I now also call a friend. These are friendships for life. All of these people have one thing in common: we have the same passion for our job and treat each other with respect and admiration.

With a couple of these friends, I will be taking my career to another (physical) level. In September, I will join Francisco Perez van der Oord Robert Hellings and Bertwin Oudenampsen in a trip to Tanzania, where we will climb Mount Kilimanjaro. 5900 meter high. 8 days of hiking and mountaineering.

Conclusion

If a job feels like a hobby, you are doing it right. This is exactly how I feel about my 10 years at ITQ..