The VMware vExpert program came into the picture when I was encouraged to apply by some colleagues, back in 2014 (thanks, AJ!). I’ve been immersed ever since. It is a community program where people can get rewarded with a vExpert status to indicate they have made significant contributions to the VMware community.

To me, the vExpert community is nothing like other communities. The comradery, selflessness in helping others; people go above and beyond for each other. The need to share knowledge is huge amongst the vExperts.

After being in the program for 2 years, I reached out to Corey Romero (the program manager) to see if I could help in any way. Turns out there was; we came up with a plan to create a program portal which would replace the existing Excel sheets, Google forms, and other displaced data and centralize it all into this portal.

Currently, the portal is the primary focal point for the vExperts; they apply to the program there, they can get free VMware licenses from it and it’s a way for them to prove their actually a vExpert and show off their expertise.

I try to keep improving the portal, and probably still have a big backlog, but if you are a vExpert and have some ideas to for new functionality inside the portal; let me know! Let’s talk on twitter (@smitmartijn).