Technological Synergy

“Best-of-Breed”. I’ve always found that term interesting. It means selecting the best product there is in the market for your specific need. When you think about it, it is a great idea. Why not reach out and acquire the best widget for every single project? Different companies make different widgets and solutions for different purposes. Some are good, some are better, and some are the best. As you shop around the world of technology and acquire different solutions, you start to notice something…making these widgets and solutions work together requires a lot more time and attention than you realized. If you ever read the Choose Your Own Adventure book series, each choice could lead to success or headaches and disasters. Choosing solutions for the org should not be like that. Continue reading “Technological Synergy”

Why Cisco Meraki Makes Sense

What do many IT teams want? Simplicity. They want to see simplicity not only in the implementation of a solution, but in its operation and troubleshooting. However, often times we end up implementing complicated solutions or making them more complicated than necessary. Before you know it, only EngineerA knows how it works. If EngineerA leaves the org, everything falls apart. It should not be that way. It does not make business sense. What does make business sense is the way Cisco Meraki makes things simpler for enterprise networks around the world. Let’s take a look at three ways Cisco Meraki does this. Continue reading “Why Cisco Meraki Makes Sense”

From Ops to Sales

It’s been about nine months since I made the jump from an operational role to a sales role. I have been in operational roles my entire career, so it was a different direction moving into a Systems Architect role at Cisco. These months have flown by and its been great to see the other side. If you are thinking about making the move from ops to a sales role but are unsure of what to expect, keep on reading. I’ll be diving in to some of the myths I’ve heard. Continue reading “From Ops to Sales”

Engineering Our Qualities

What is the most important thing you need to learn about in order to succeed in your IT career? Is it mastering a certain system? Is it programming like an expert? Is it creating the best disaster recovery plan? Maybe. Those can be individual accomplishments that can help open doors. However, once you have your foot in the door, how do you maintain a presence that can continue to elevate you in the workplace? It’s great to know everything, but if your attitude stinks your value drops. I put much more value on those humble techs and engineers who try their best, have good attitudes, and are there when their colleagues need them. It’s tough to show those qualities on paper, but they do get noticed by good leadership. I am going to bring up a few qualities that I believe are important to have for anyone that wants to shine in their role. Continue reading “Engineering Our Qualities”

2021: Thinking Forward

Who doesn’t love to make plans and have goals? It’s January of 2021. Let’s not discuss what happened last year. Many of us accomplished different things and many of us did not. No matter what happened last year, I’d like to look forward to making plans for this year. However, making plans is not enough. Executing is what needs to happen. Sometimes our execution is derailed by many outside factors throughout the year. This will happen. I believe it is best not to thrust all of our worries on the things we cannot control. Let’s focus our energy on the what is within our reach. As a network engineer, there are a few goals I want to briefly write about. I am hoping writing it will help keep me accountable. Continue reading “2021: Thinking Forward”

Study Tips for the Time Challenged

If you are reading this, you are probably trying to study and a very important question has come up: “How do I even make time?”. I look across social media and that is one question that seems to be a concern for many of us. Whether you are studying for a certification, class or even to acquire a new skill, time must be dedicated. If you can show up at every test without taking the time to study and you ace each test, there is no need to read further. However, if you are like the rest of us who often struggle juggling work, family, and everything else that comes behind it, the next few paragraphs will hopefully provide some encouragement. Continue reading “Study Tips for the Time Challenged”

5 Tips for New Engineers

Next year will be my tenth in a network engineering role. I’ve seen team members come and go, leadership change and roles changes as well. Nothing is ever static, especially the technology. For those looking to enter a network engineering role or are simply young in their IT career, I wanted to jot down a couple of tips that I hope can help them be successful in their roles. I originally was going to make this network-centric, but honestly it applies to any type of role you might be in. Continue reading “5 Tips for New Engineers”

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