Introduction
15 August, in Italy, is a national holiday. Most Italians spend their well-deserved summer holidays at the seaside or in the mountains to beat the heat.
But the day before, I checked my emails and found a welcome surprise. It starts like this:
CONGRATULATIONS! You have been selected to be a member of the Veeam Legends Program for the Second Half of 2023!
WOW! I couldn’t believe my eyes. I started to work with Veeam in 2015, I’ve installed and managed more than 300 Veeam infrastructure servers, I worked hard with it and when Community Hub allowed me to become a local leader I started to share my experience with the Italian group and with worldwide community.
I can share this badge on my blog:
This interaction on Veeam Community Hub and as User Group Leader was also seen as really valuable.
It’s been almost two years now, and I thought it’d be a good idea to share my experience as a Veeam Legends. That way, people can get a better idea of what it’s like to be part of the program and in the Veeam100 directory. And it might also help those who are thinking of joining.
What is the Veeam Legend program?
The email said: “The Veeam Legends program is part of the Veeam100 programs that embrace the spirit of technical evangelism and is a mission of the Veeam Product Strategy Team.”
What does this mean?
Born in 2021 Veeam Legends program has 2 intakes every year.
Veeam Legends program is an award that Veeam gives to technicians who have excelled in the community or in the R&D forum.
There are many ways to contribute, such as answering questions in the forum, writing articles or sharing insights in the community.
You can also add technical articles or videos to your blog, or technical descriptions of your product or process.
My Experience as a Veeam Legend
Initially, I was named leader of the Italian user group. From that moment on, I started a series of activities in my spare time.
I have become involved in many software topics while working at my current company. Always trying to go deeper, I have written technical articles about backing up VMs on different hypervisors, databases and other components.
Thanks to this I have kept my VMCE certification up to date and successfully passed the Architect exam by obtaining the VMCA certification.
Some of the milestones in my journey can be attributed to the in-person presentations at the Italian VUG meetings over the years, in front of an audience of technicians from all over Italy. And a few online webinars also.
VUG ITALIA – Milan October, 16 2024 (Madalina Cristil, Marco Luvisi and me)
VUG ITALIA – Milan October, 16 2024 – My session about Veeam and hypervisor support from v12.1
Thanks to these events, and to the Veeam 100 Summits (Prague 2023 and Berlin 2024), where I was able to meet technicians from all over the world, I can confidently say that my knowledge of Veeam’s features is constantly growing.
During Veeam100 Summit is possible to have memorable interactions with other Legends, Vanguards and Veeam MVP included in Veeam100 Directory (https://community.veeam.com/p/veeam100directory).
Another surprise I received this year at Berlin Summit. Veeam presented us with a trophy made of eco-friendly material.
What are the benefits of Being Part of the Legends Program?
As I said before, everything that’s done in the community is based on a spirit of collaboration and, most importantly, it’s done in your own time. Veeam gives you a great set of benefits that go way beyond just financial recognition.
The Veeam Legends get to meet in a video conference every 2 weeks to share ideas, solutions and a bit of news about upcoming events. Being part of this group makes it feel like being part of a family.
Here I try to expose a list of some benefits:
Professional growth: Early access to resources, network and explore opportunities.
Personal impact: Building connections with people in your country and abroad, getting help and guidance from mentors, and feeling like you’re part of a well-run community.
Career development: If potential customers know you’re part of a top vendor program, it looks good on your pitch. You’ll get invites to events and the chance to give presentations.
Software bonus: Early access to software beta to improve your knowledge in preview, obtaining NFR Licenses to build your own lab, and exclusive content when Veeam releases several exclusive and preview content, splitted into three categories. There’s some red content that we aren’t allowed to talk about because of the restrictions imposed by Veeam, some yellow content that we can talk about after a certain date, and some green content that’s also open to the public.
SWAG: Last but not least every year we receive some swag from Veeam as Backpack, shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, caps, pens
Inspiration for Others
If you’re looking to expand your horizons and gain access to some of the most exclusive privileges in the industry, the Veeam Legends program could be your perfect fit! I highly recommend that you start your journey by applying to be a Veeam Leader of your country’s user group. Get involved in as many discussions as you can, write technical articles and the results will come! It might not be a quick journey, but the rewards will be worth it. Just look at Berlin as an example – it was the first year in which 10 VUG Leaders were invited to Summit100!
Every moment you spend in the community is an opportunity to learn and grow! Get fully immersed in the discussions and be open to learning something new at every turn.
Call to Action
Do you have social accounts such as LinkedIn or Twitter? Well, there’s no better way to share your articles with your professional network, your colleagues and visits will increase! Make sure that you generate curiosity with your articles and always provide appropriate answers to other users questions.
Ready to start your journey as a VUG Leader? Get in touch and I’ll show you how to make it happen!
Conclusion
There’s no doubt about it: the Veeam Legends program has unique advantages, a very special community and a group of users who inspire in everything they write and share.
Just to show you how much the community enjoys the events.
Italian bunch at Veeam100 Summit in Berlin
This program has given me a different view and approach to technology. It has deepened my understanding of solutions and provided many opportunities for collaboration.
So what are you waiting for? Get involved!