William Bowers
Nutanix Business Manager
What is an NTC?
The NTC program acknowledges and rewards those in their field that “help their organisations and the virtualization community to challenge the status quo” as quoted from Angelo Luciani, Nutanix’s Senior Community Evangelist and organiser of the program.
In a nutshell, it’s a program that anyone can apply for but must meet certain judged criteria to be accepted onto. It provides a level of recognition for an individual around not just their expertise, but their continued engagement and contributions to the Nutanix community and wider industry.
I know what you’re thinking, ‘that’s great, but loads of vendors have similar awards/recognitions… what makes this one stand out?’. Well, there are only 107 NTC’s across the world and we at Softcat are now lucky enough to have 3 of these Nutanix champions in our midst; Peter Franz (Solutions Design Team Lead), Stuart Bland (Solutions Architect) and Aidan Thomson (Snr DC & Cloud Specialist) - a noteworthy achievement!
See here for full list of NTC’s and Angelo’s foreword: Welcome to the 2022 Nutanix Technology Champions (NTC) | Nutanix Community
Tell me more…
Community is important to us here at Softcat, especially with it being the latest of our core business values. One of the reasons we work so well with Nutanix is that we share similar cultures. Their NTC program isn’t just an acknowledgement; it’s a learning and sharing community that provides unique opportunities for those included to expand their knowledge further, amplify their brand and help shape the future of hybrid multi-cloud.
Some of the benefits that the NTC program provides include:
- Early access briefings about Nutanix products and announcements.
- Access to private betas and insight into ongoing product development.
- Participation in exclusive meetings with engineering teams.
- Access to discussions on the Nutanix NTC Slack channel with internal teams.
- Career development and mentorship for those seeking NCP, NCAP and NPX.
- Those inducted onto the program have access to a diverse Nutanix user-group community that exist to share and collaborate.
What does this mean for our customers?
Not only is it an incredible individual achievement for Softcat’s 3 Nutanix Champions, having Nutanix experts as part of our community means they are able to act as a conduit for our customers in open forums, user groups and the wider industry community. Resulting in our customers having access to the latest technology updates, product and vendor collaboration announcements, professional user groups and so much more – meaning this ability to stay as up to date as the vendor themselves will resonate across the solutions we can provide customers.
This can only raise the bar of value that we provide to our customers. We’re already capable of autonomy across the sales and project lifecycle of Nutanix projects, but the accessibility into the latest and greatest that 3 NTC’s can provide means that those projects will be galvanised throughout.
If you don’t believe us, believe them! Hear what Peter, Stuart and Aidan have to say on what being a Nutanix Technology Champion means to them.
“For me, being recognised as a Nutanix Technology Champion is about sharing my reignited passion for technology with as many active listeners. More than this, it’s also about being part of a diverse community of advocates who see Nutanix as a game changer and a company who doesn’t want to just succeed but to change the IT industry for the better. It’s why our partnership works so well because we share the ethos of ‘it doesn’t just need to do the job; it needs to make a positive difference’. Ultimately, Nutanix, and their community are a big reason I am here, now, at Softcat! The only question I ask myself is why I didn’t apply sooner – back when I was a customer.” Stuart Bland (Solutions Architect at Softcat)
“It is now my 6th year within the program and I’m once again honoured to be selected as part of the great community. The program provides me with early insight into the ‘what next’ for Nutanix and is most importantly a sincere and genuine group of individuals passionate about Nutanix’ technology. The group is formed from a diverse set of people across the globe and in job backgrounds & functions. You immediately have access to speak to System Admins, Architects, and end users; either as friends with a common level of connection, simply as a sounding board or to discuss technology specific queries. I encourage you to consider joining!” Aidan Thomson (Snr DC & Cloud Specialist at Softcat)
“Seeing where Nutanix is now is not just down to their amazing technology, but also having a huge number of peers in the community validating this and challenging the status quo together with Nutanix. My main goal as an NTC is to inspire colleagues, customers and partners who also love to give back, and network and support other folks in the community to apply for these select circles like the NTC program. Every one of us starts with a ‘first’ - so let’s help each other out!” Peter Franz (Solutions Design Team Lead at Softcat)
What does this mean for you?
As mentioned at the start of the blog the NTC award is open to anyone, if you feel you have value to add to a growing expert community and are already active on Nutanix community forums, have hands-on expertise of Nutanix’ products and services, create content etc. then I implore you to apply to the program! (See link here Make your Mark in 2022 and Become a Nutanix Technology Champion | Nutanix Community for more info and entry criteria)
Likewise, if you are interested to hear more on how Softcat’s NTC’s can help you, as a customer, reap the rewards then get in touch!