Meet Tobi from Cisco Insider Advocates

Our prospects are the guts and soul of all the pieces we do at Cisco and every considered one of them has an fascinating story to inform! Our Q&A collection permits us to shine a highlight on a few of our most passionate buyer advocates as we be taught extra about their tales and backgrounds.

Cisco’s advocacy group, Cisco Insider Advocates, brings our prospects collectively and supplies a approach for them to make highly effective connections, increase their skilled and private networks, and be taught from high specialists of their area. One in every of our objectives with our advocacy group is to deepen {our relationships} with our prospects and immediately, we’ve one of many friendliest faces in the neighborhood becoming a member of us for a chat. I’m excited to welcome Tobias Baader from BASF.

Welcome, Tobi! Let’s kick issues off by speaking about what you needed to be whenever you have been 16 years previous?

Thanks, Rashik, for having me! After I was 16, the web was nonetheless in its infancy. We related with a modem. I additionally keep in mind utilizing Web Relay Chat (IRC). At the moment, networking was broadly unknown to me till pals and I bought our first NICs (10BASE2) to have the ability to meet and play iconic video video games with one another like Age of Empires, Quake, CounterStrike, and Starcraft. I truthfully didn’t suppose my skilled profession would take me down the IT route. As an alternative, I needed to hitch the police.

That’s fascinating, you and I had the identical LAN experiences rising up. We additionally performed Warcraft, along with the titles you talked about above! The place did you begin your profession, and what skilled determination or alternative helped lead you to your present function?

Alright, I counsel you sit and get comfy!

After passing my A-Ranges, I ditched my plans to grow to be a police officer, although not solely resulting from failing the sports activities screening check, hahaha! I then began classes on the College of Mannheim within the area of Technical Laptop Science. Nonetheless, once I heard Vodafone was hiring, I made a decision to depart. I utilized and began an thrilling apprenticeship as a system electronics technician with a concentrate on cell communications. Right here I obtained hands-on expertise with my first Cisco {hardware}. One in every of my first experiences was configuring static routes for the administration of a Base station, together with a colleague. Following the apprenticeship, I made a decision to proceed my studying by way of a cooperative research with Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State College in Enterprise Laptop Science on the insurance coverage firm Mannheimer Versicherung (now a part of Continentale).

After graduating, I began as a community administrator in an SMB-sized managed service supplier. Right here is the place I actually obtained my toes on the bottom! I rapidly discovered the foundations of networking from scratch, together with expertise working with service desk, troubleshooting, and first-level assist roles. I discovered the way to configure switches, routers, firewalls, and way more. I consider I did all of the potential networking duties at the very least as soon as throughout this expertise!

I then transitioned into the consulting and structure group, which I see as the inspiration for my present function. From SMB and MSP, I moved to the shopper aspect in an enterprise section. I labored first as a senior architect at Heidelberg Cement after which moved to the same function at BASF. Though I don’t consider in destiny, I used to be lucky that nice alternatives have been offered to me and I really feel fortunate to have capitalized on them.

What a wealthy and in depth background, Tobi. I really like that your expertise with networking was so hands-on, and your function as an apprentice sounds invaluable. On to the subsequent query, how has partnering with Cisco helped you in your function?

Partnering with Cisco made the distinction! I used to be capable of drastically increase my networking data after changing into licensed in CCNA, R&S, and now I’m certified within the CCNP Enterprise monitor. The connections I made helped me community with different prospects by way of the Cisco account group. I keep in mind my first Cisco Expo in Berlin again in 2012 or 2013. Throughout a dinner organized by a Cisco account supervisor on the day earlier than the occasion, I met colleagues from Heidelberg Cement. A pair years later, this turned useful once I obtained my function there.

You touched on one of many big worth add’s from partnering with Cisco, particularly, the occasions we set up for patrons and companions that assist them community with different professionals within the trade. What’s been your largest problem in your organization lately, and the way did you overcome it?

In January of 2022, I used to be promoted to my present function as product proprietor for our firm’s Broad Space Community. Earlier than this, I used to be a WAN architect. Altering to a leadership-oriented function and supporting an agile digital transformation has thus far been my largest problem. I’m nonetheless studying, every single day, together with my group.

Thanks for sharing a number of the challenges you confronted since shifting right into a management function. Let’s transfer on to our buyer advocacy group. How would you describe it to these aren’t acquainted with it?

Neighborhood describes it very effectively! Furthermore, you may even name it household!

The Cisco Insider Advocates group is a world, numerous and open-minded collective of execs who come collectively to share passions and pursuits. You get entry to nice insights, useful data, and an enormous community of extremely expert friends—paired with a number of enjoyable stuff!

We actually are a household. You’re considered one of our group “Rockstars.” What made you need to be a part of, and the way has being a part of this group impacted you each professionally and personally?

The primary time I turned acquainted with “The Gateway” (the earlier title for Cisco Insider Advocates) was at Cisco Stay 2017 in Berlin. I keep in mind the circle brand, and on the second or third day I began some pleasant conversations with the group on the sales space. After that, I used to be in!

On knowledgeable degree, I take pleasure in that the group supplies me with a single-entry level to the world of Cisco. Through the years, the content material throughout the group pointed to so many different matters—webinars, trade insights, weblog posts, and services choices—all of which I’d not have come throughout so readily with out being in the neighborhood. This content material has helped me to suppose exterior the field for my very own function.

We’d like to know extra about your expertise at Cisco Stay in Amsterdam this previous February. In case you might describe your expertise in a single phrase, what wouldn’t it be? How did it evaluate to earlier Cisco Stay conferences you’ve attended?

Overwhelming! To start with, it was truthfully nice to be again at my first Cisco Stay in three years. The ambiance and power of this occasion is nothing a digital occasion can recreate, and I’ve heard from different Cisco prospects that they share this viewpoint.

This yr, Cisco Stay felt very particular to me! Beforehand, I’d attend with my colleagues, nevertheless I used to be travelling by myself this time. This meant I might spend high quality time with former colleagues, friends, and the Cisco World Buyer Advertising and Advocacy group. On a technical {and professional} degree, this yr was actually completely different. Usually, I spend a number of time on the “World of Options” to find new issues. This yr, nevertheless, I centered on Cisco SD-WAN.

You talked about you had an opportunity to satisfy for the primary time or reconnect with friends from the Cisco Insider Advocates group in addition to a few of my colleagues from Cisco’s World Advocacy group. How did you take pleasure in that reconnection?

That reconnection was the gamechanger in my relationship with the group. It was the primary time I met a number of the individuals in individual, and it was additionally the primary yr I attended Cisco Stay as a “Rockstar” from the Cisco Insider Advocates group. By the second day, the expertise felt extra like “coming residence” then “going there.” Once more, many due to Cisco’s World Buyer Advertising and Advocacy group for making my time at Cisco Stay a tremendous expertise.

I’m glad to listen to that, Tobi! What would you say to those that are on the fence about going to a Cisco Stay convention, primarily based in your expertise this yr?

Don’t hesitate!

Earlier than attending Cisco Stay in Berlin all these years in the past, as I discussed, I had attended Cisco Expo and Cisco Join, which have been additionally nice occasions. However, as a result of they have been smaller, these occasions lacked a number of the technical depth you discover at Cisco Stay. I additionally actually like that attendees can create customized agendas, primarily based on what we need to see and be taught.

We’re nearly on the finish of the interview and we’d love to complete with three issues you may’t dwell with out?

1. Pasta
2. Household
3. Associates

I don’t suppose many individuals can argue with pasta being on that listing! It’s been a pleasure, Tobi, thanks once more for becoming a member of us!

You might be welcome, Rashik!

Learn extra advocate interviews

You would possibly take pleasure in this interview with Rik Aragoza.  

Be part of us!

For our prospects who’ve already joined our Cisco Insider Advocates group, say hi there to Tobi when you haven’t met one another but. And for these Cisco prospects who haven’t but joined, take into account doing so. You’ll have the ability to:

• Join with friends in a gamified, on-line group
• Have a possibility to satisfy with Cisco’s executives
• Share your suggestions, questions, and finest practices
• Get entry to ‘insider’ content material and assets
• 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 Neighborhood and say hi there!

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