What is your life like outside of VMUG and VMware?
First and foremost I am a parent of three college age children, all of which I am quite proud of. Outside of work I enjoy a variety of activities that include fishing and hunting and playing guitar. I play in a band, “Wild Vice”, the four of us play a variety of classic rock, blues and country songs.
Tell us a little about your background with VMware.
About 4 years ago I was asked to deliver a replacement for a virtual firewall system. We investigated and began implementing VMware’s NSX platform for tenant isolation and security – that turned into delivery of an entire cloud management platform that leveraged the entire VMware stack – all of the VMware vRealize components along with NSX. As I became embedded in the VMware technology I became a member of VMware’s customer technical advisory board and, of course VMUG.
How did you get involved in VMUG?
Some of my team members were VMUG members and suggested to me that it was a great organization and environment to leverage for continued learning. I went to a UserCon in Minneapolis over two years ago – that was my first experience. It was fantastic – a great venue to share information with other IT professionals.
There was a large variety of sessions, but as my primary focus was on NSX, I attended a number of NSX related presentations. While there, I had the opportunity to meet some of the VMware sales engineers and key drivers of the NSX platform. I found it a great place to network and connect with VMware as well as other organizations deploying VMware solutions. The venue is informal so it enables you to really connect and learn – there are stories beyond the headlines that you can learn from others- people that are in or have been in the same place as you.
Why is VMUG Important to You? How has VMUG helped you to Accelerate Your Success?
VMUG provides my team members and me with exposure to real-life use of VMware products. It is an unbiased source of information and a great place for people to problem-solve together. Somewhere we can go to get our questions answered and learn from our peers. It is simply an alternative, dynamic learning environment. The social interaction, networking and collaboration help us all accelerate our success – together.
What do you hope to achieve as a VMUG Board Member?
I am pleased to be a new member of the VMUG Board. As an employee of a Top Fortune 10 company, I intend to help build out and optimize the value-add of being a VMUG member for employees of larger companies, as typically they already have significant support from VMware in implementing VMware solutions. However, VMUG is about so much more than simply successfully deploying solutions. It’s about networking and being a part of a community, taking learning to the next level and giving back by sharing what you have learned.
What advice would you give to VMUG members?
Don’t be afraid to ask the questions. There’s no such thing as a dumb or a bad question. Go Ahead – ASK. You will find not only a wealth of information and support ,but others that had the same question!
How should other VMUG members contact you?
- Find me at a VMUG Event!
- Email me: [email protected]
- Connect with me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/david-sandberg
- Come hear my band, “Wild Vice” play at a local Minneapolis bar
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