Cisco’s advocacy neighborhood, Cisco Insider Advocates, brings our prospects collectively and gives a manner for them to make highly effective connections, develop their skilled and private networks, and study from prime specialists of their discipline. One in all our targets with our advocacy neighborhood is to deepen {our relationships} with our prospects. Our Q&A sequence permits us to shine a highlight on a few of our most passionate buyer advocates as we study extra about their tales and backgrounds.

As we speak, we have now one of many friendliest faces locally becoming a member of us for a chat. I’m excited to welcome Damian Erni from Swisscom.

Welcome, Damian! Let’s kick issues off by speaking about what you wished to be if you had been 16 years outdated?

That’s an fascinating query. In Switzerland, you normally begin your apprenticeship or your examine if you flip 16. At the moment, I used to be very excited by mechanical engineering or constructing development. 

An apprenticeship is a really hands-on method to mix training and profession. Talking of careers, the place did you begin yours? And what skilled choice or alternative helped lead you to your present position? 

That’s an extended story. I began my skilled profession within the printing and promoting enterprise as a typesetter and graphic designer. Throughout all these years, I at all times maintained and supported the IT infrastructure of the businesses I used to be working for. It was form of a pastime on prime of my common job, which was nice enjoyable with plenty of studying. In 1999, throughout a go to to an IT truthful, I met somebody from Cisco, who was recruiting for a networking boot camp. I signed up for that chance and shortly began my IT profession as a mission engineer, constructing giant MPLS networks globally.

Wow! You and Cisco have had a connection for fairly a while. How has partnering with Cisco helped you in your profession and your present position?  

All of it started with the actual fact that Cisco made it doable for me to start out my profession in IT, a few years in the past. I’m nonetheless grateful for that chance. As we speak, a few years later, I proceed to be linked to Cisco as an advocate and ambassador of Cisco Insider Advocacy applications, that are improbable. For the every day enterprise, I can depend on the native Cisco group right here in Switzerland.

What’s been your greatest problem in your organization just lately, and the way did you overcome it?

My job is at all times evolving and that’s what makes it nice. In fact, there are many challenges on this fast-turning trade, however one of many larger challenges we face is the scarcity of expert IT employees. At Swisscom, we have now a number of applications to draw younger expertise, together with our “junior program,” which exposes individuals to profession alternatives in a variety of fields. For instance, these in this system for system engineers can develop into licensed engineers for Cisco, Dell, or Microsoft with specializations in areas like knowledge middle engineering or community engineering.

Let’s transfer on to our buyer advocacy neighborhood! How would you describe Cisco Insider Advocates to those that aren’t acquainted with it?  

The Cisco Insider Advocates neighborhood is a gaggle of individuals which are obsessed with what they do. The all have an intrinsic motivation to study and discover expertise and are obsessed with Cisco. I met a few of them at Cisco Dwell, and it felt as if we had identified one another for a very long time. All of us had a good time in the course of the occasion and are nonetheless in touch since then.

You’re certainly one of our neighborhood “Rockstars,” Damian. What made you need to be part of, and the way has being a part of this neighborhood impacted you each professionally and personally?

I joined about 4 years in the past after I was on the native Cisco workplace for an occasion. They promoted Cisco Insider Advocates, and I used to be curious and signed-up. At the moment, I didn’t know what to anticipate. Throughout my time locally, I obtained increasingly concerned in numerous actions, from being a part of a problem to participation at a panel dialogue at Cisco Dwell. I feel for each, the private {and professional} facet, I get extra visibility for my work, and I can depend on the help and information of an enormous and extremely expert neighborhood.  

Cisco Dwell 2024 is only a few months away! We’d like to know extra about your expertise at Cisco Dwell 2023 Amsterdam this previous February. Should you might describe your expertise in a single phrase, what would it not be? How did it examine to earlier Cisco Dwell conferences you’ve attended? 

Inspiring could be the very best phrase to summarize my expertise. If I examine it to different Cisco Dwell occasions, my favourite remains to be the one in Barcelona in 2019. However each Cisco Dwell has its personal highlights, which I don’t need to miss. 

Through the convention, you spoke at certainly one of our buyer panel sessions. How was your expertise, and what did you talk about on the panel? 

It was an incredible expertise, getting out of my consolation zone and being within the highlight. We had been a gaggle of 5 advocates. We spoke concerning the intersection of buyer expertise and buyer advocacy and the way we see that taking place in observe via the Cisco Buyer Expertise and buyer advocacy applications and initiatives.  

You additionally had an opportunity to satisfy for the primary time or reconnect with friends from the Cisco Insider Advocates neighborhood, in addition to a few of my colleagues from Cisco’s International Buyer Advertising and marketing group! How did you get pleasure from that reconnection?  

As I discussed earlier, it felt like we’ve identified one another for a very long time though we’d by no means met in individual. The day we met felt like seeing outdated pals. You are feeling that all of them share the identical ardour. We had nice enjoyable. I’m wanting ahead to seeing all of them once more in 2024 in Amsterdam. 

We are able to’t wait to host you once more, Damian! We’re nearly on the finish of the interview and we’d love to complete with three issues you’ll be able to’t dwell with out?

1. My household and pals
2. Having a job the place I can study one thing new on daily basis
3. A humorousness

Nice checklist! It’s been a pleasure and thanks once more for becoming a member of us, Damian!

Learn extra advocate interviews

You may get pleasure from this interview with Jyrki Halonen.  

Be part of us!

For our prospects who’ve already joined our Cisco Insider Advocates neighborhood, say hey to Damian should you haven’t met but. And should you’re a Cisco buyer however aren’t a neighborhood member, take into account becoming a member of. You’ll be capable of:

• Join with friends in a gamified, on-line neighborhood
• Have a possibility to satisfy with Cisco’s executives
• Share your suggestions, questions, and greatest practices
• Get entry to ‘insider’ content material and sources
• Develop your skilled and private model
• Amplify your organization’s success story with Cisco expertise

Able to get began?

Head over to the Cisco Insider Advocates Group and say hey!

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