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Earlier this week I held the Q4 meeting for the SouthWest Ontario Veeam User Group (SWOVUG) in Mississauga, and thus far the feedback has been great. This time around, we had Mid-Range and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise sponsor the event, as well as some great giveaways (iPad Minis and a speaker). We kicked things off with a great high-level overview from Garth Reid of where Hewlett-Packard Enterprise is heading. One point that was made clear is that they are striving to work with organizations to not only make sure they can find storage solutions that fit but that those data sets are properly protected. ...

In a previous post, I covered off some of the podcasts that I listen to on a regular basis. I tend to consume a lot of audio content, so that list was far from done. I still have a fairly long list of podcasts, but I am going to cut the remainder down to ones that I think are worth recommending to most folks. So, once again, in no particular order, here are some more podcasts you should check out if you have already. ...

Today I was fortunate enough to present at the Toronto VMUG. That’s two talks that I’ve given at the TO VMUG this year - not bad considering I only started ‘participating’ in the vCommunity earlier this year! As always, I see these opportunities not only as a way to give back to the community but also as a way to practice and develop my own skills. I am constantly trying to improve my public speaking - I have found that the key for me is to be able to turn my presentations into a conversation (admittedly it is a one-sided conversation). It still takes me a bit of time to ‘slip into’ that mode, but I’m definitely getting better at it. ...

Since I was first alerted to the fact that you didn’t need an iPod to listen to a podcast (that probably dates me), I have been consuming podcasts whenever I get a chance. I am usually able to squeeze in a couple of hours of listening a day. This comes from listening to them at 2x (this may require some ‘practice’), but also finding the opportunities, such as when driving, walking the dog, cleaning the house, barbecuing, etc.. ...

I was fortunate enough to be selected into the Veeam Vanguard program earlier this year, and it is still something that holds a lot of meaning to me personally. I’ve touched on it very briefly in the past, but I wanted to share some insight into what makes this program so valuable. First off, the Veeam Vanguard program is aimed at advocates for their products, which is fair enough. Veeam employees cannot be part of the program, and in at least two cases now, Vanguards have made the transition to Veeam employees, and thus have had to relinquish their Vanguard status. There are currently about 50 of us, which creates a nice team-like environment where we almost all know each other by sight. ...

For those of you who subscribe to my blog, be forewarned, you are about to be barraged with blog posts. After serious contemplation earlier this year, and last year, I have decided to take part in the VDM 30 in 30 challenge. I have no idea what my posts will look like, and I’ll try to keep them somewhat technical / IT related, but I may go off-topic at some point - you have been warned. ...

Given how big of a success the last SWOVUG (Southwest Ontario Veeam User Group) meeting was, planning the next one started shortly after. Now that we’ve come far enough along, I am excited to announce the details for the next gathering. The upcoming SWOVUG meeting will be held Wednesday, November 23rd 2016. We’ll be sticking to the Mississauga area given the great turn out from the last meeting. This time around we’ll be at: ...

Just a short (but exciting, for me anyways) post today. I’ve been having some pretty good Friday’s as of late - that being said, Monday couldn’t come fast enough for me this week. Why would I say something crazy? Let me paint picture: October 18th, 2016 - it was a simpler time: the Blue Jays were still a contender for the World Series, the third US Presidential debate still hadn’t taken place, and Anthony Spiteri was still a Veeam Vanguard (massive congrats to him!). Meanwhile, I happened to catch the latest Tech Field Day Extra, which was great because I didn’t even know that it was going on. The stars must have been aligned because Paessler (the makers of PRTG) were presenting. The timing couldn’t have been better as I am currently evaluating their solution (which I quite like so far). Something cool happened shortly after the event ended - I had a new Twitter follower: Stephen Foskett (cool!). ...

If you look *really* hard, can you find me? Probably not … I wasn’t there. I looked at my calendar recently while trying to book an appointment, and I quickly realized that I have a lot of vCommunity stuff going on for the next little bit (assuming my plans don’t get altered). In the off chance you are reading this and will be attending one of the events below, please feel free to reach out, even if for no other reason than to say ‘Hi’. ...

VMWorld 2016 is in the books and now it’s time to decompress. This was my second VMWorld and my first one in Las Vegas, as well as my first time being in Las Vegas. Pros and Cons to SFO vs LAS, but at the end of the day I think I prefer Vegas. It is better suited for large conferences and rooms can be quite cheap, unlike SFO which only has Moscone Center and expensive hotels. Either way, VMWorld 2017 will be back at Mandalay Bay. The downside is that it is ridiculously hot. ...