[CONTEST ENDED] Celebrate IT Professionals Day

[AmyReyes]

UPDATE: This contest has ended. Congratulations to our 3 randomly selected winners: @Sophiejmitch , @GH2023, and @nerdocrat!!! 🎉

IT Professionals Day is fast approaching, and this year we wanted to do something a little different to recognize the folks in this community. It’s no secret that IT can be a thankless job. You typically only hear from someone when there is a problem, and most people are not aware of the hard work it takes to secure, manage, and maintain technology.

That’s why IT Professionals Day was first created back in 2015: to celebrate, appreciate, and raise visibility of the people who keep technology – and our lives – running smoothly at work and at home.

In the spirit of honoring IT professionals, we want to hear from you! We all have those folks throughout our careers whose influence has shaped us. We invite you to comment below and recognize a colleague who has inspired you, so we can champion our heroes of IT together.

You may note that we’re celebrating IT Professionals Day a little early this year. This is because the Meraki team will be featuring some of the IT heroes you call out here on our social channels on Tuesday, September 17th. Make sure to follow Meraki on LinkedIn, X, or Instagram and look for the hashtag #ITProfessionalsDay to see your posts!

How to win

In a comment on this post, share your own IT story or share appreciation for a fellow IT worker before 11 a.m. EDT on Friday, August 30th, 2024. Be sure to tag them in your post if they are a community member so they can see your words of appreciation. We’ll then draw three at random to win a Cisco Meraki Ironing Board tee! Your entries will be public and visible throughout the contest.

Terms & Conditions

• Limit one entry per community member.
• Submission period: Monday, August 26th, 2024 at 11am EDT through Friday, August 30th, 2024 at 10:59am EDT
• Prize will be a selection of Meraki swag with value not exceeding USD 50.00
• Official terms, conditions, and eligibility information.

[FreshFrank]

I would nominate Parker Teasdale as our companies IT Legend! He has been very influential in putting together various Meraki configurations with RADIUS, DHCP, firewall rules, Site to Site VPN's, and making use of many other features of MX appliances. He also loves utilizing the tools of the Meraki MR wireless platform that has great monitoring and troubleshooting visuals for wireless issues at various customer sites. 

[GH2023]

I’d like to recognize Francisco for their dedication and excellence in our work. Their innovative approach and ability to solve complex problems have been a constant source of inspiration for the entire team. Francisco not only excels in the technical aspects of their role but is also a natural leader who fosters collaboration and growth among everyone around them. They are a true example of what it means to be an IT hero. Thank you for your invaluable contributions!

[James44]

I would like to take this time to acknowledge the outstanding work of my manager.  Thanks to Pawel and his continued leadership,  our IT group is solid.  His work ethic blows us all away.  Thank you Pawel for keeping our morales high through the late nights,  the early morning and the hours in between.   I am writing this to let everyone know how much we appreciate your leadership.  You put a lot of effort into what you do,  which always shows in your great results.  Thank you so much for being a great leader,  you are our IT HERO!

[CloudStrife]

I would like to nominate Ed Walsh for IT Professional in Excellence. Ed has showcased remarkable skill and dedication, consistently going above and beyond to ensure our organization operates seamlessly. His innovative problem-solving and proactive approach have greatly enhanced our team’s performance. Additionally, Ed’s commitment to professional growth and his eagerness to mentor colleagues have been instrumental in our IT team’s overall success. His contributions have improved our operational efficiency and promoted a collaborative, forward-thinking work environment. For these reasons, Ed Walsh is truly deserving of this recognition.

[WizIT]

I want to express my sincere gratitude to Anis R for his exceptional leadership of our IT group. His unwavering dedication, tireless work ethic, and ability to keep our morale high have been instrumental to our team's success. Thank you, Anis, for your tireless efforts and for being the IT hero we worked together.

[Kevin101]

I nominate Samer Rashed, our Meraki Territory Account Exec. time again, Samer always answers the call, be it assistance with an opportunity or issue. His support, work ethic and quick responses are prime reasons why we win so many battles. Clearly, he understands the competitive nature of our business and is always willing to jump in to see how best we can help put our partners in a winning position. Where Samer really stands out, is his kind disposition. He is not a 'not my job' individual. He will always look to see if he can help in any way, even if the ask has nothing to do with his business or territory.

[Upendra01]

I would like to nominate Sam Saunders from our Solution Architect tree. He is always available for me for IT related queries even for Meraki queries if I have any. I want to appreciate him for his help and dedication for the team. Thank you, Sam, for your support!

[Jyrki_Halonen]

I have been working in IT networking almost 30 years with network architecture and technology. Technology platforms include firewalls, VPNs, load balancers, switches, WLAN, etc. with multiple vendors. I have been keen on configuring through "black screen" CLI and thought it is the only way to do it.

Currently I'm working as a network architect for networks and plan and consult customer network environments.
However last 3 years I have been working with Meraki platform, first to check it out and figure if we could use this to our customer environments.
After evaluation and being sure that Meraki platform would fit perfectly in most of our customer environments, we have implemented hundreds of Meraki appliances including almost full stack of Meraki devices, only SM and Insight is still bending for installations.
So today my first choice is to plan and use Meraki platform to our customers since the simplicity of installation and operation makes great value for the money.

[Sophiejmitch]

I would like to nominate @SallyWalker who has been doing a fantastic job in driving our Kubus Meraki-as-a-Service IOT offering into hospitality customers to improve on their operational efficiencies, save costs, and meet sustainability goals. 

[Inderdeep]

I would like to nominate @PhilipDAth as i saw he is helping everyone with his knowledge and skills. Moreover one of the most active member of this community as well. 

[nerdocrat]

I'm sure there's some rule saying I can't do this but I'll do it anyway. I'd like to nominate Cedric Tumaalii, a support engineer at Cisco Meraki. During an evening in May, he worked alongside me and our company's MSP. Skipping the tedious details, the resolution involved his discovering an L4 protocol that none of us had even heard of.

As a new network admin, I often find it difficult to keep up when conversing with network engineers and architects. Cedric's impressive combination of patience, professionalism, communication, and advanced technical knowledge was truly inspiring. He was an excellent collaborator, and I acquired a wealth of knowledge from our work together.

[Varad_Phadke]

I would like to nominate myself . moreover I am the most active member of this community as well. 😂

[Inderdeep]

@Varad_Phadke : Good Choice 🙂 

[van604]

i nominate Maxwell Alam, he came in green to the Meraki ecosystem and now a true campion of the catalog.  He has moved on from the company i worked with him but am still in touch with him and he still preaches the Meraki storey with passion.

[robertgains]

I would like to nominate Jesse Ryan Barrick. I started working with Jesse coming up on 2 years now and from the moment I met him he has sung praises about Cisco Meraki. While I was new and had no idea about Cisco Meraki networking equipment, his well versed knowledge paired with Meraki's ease of use network management through a Single Pane of Glass ecosystem, I to became a instant fan of Cisco Meraki. Jesse is an IT professional through and through, receiving phone calls and providing solutions day and night, hopping on planes to fly across the country to aid clients in a pinch at the drop of a hat. He thrives on helping people, simplifying their ever evolving, day to day IT needs and achieving their long term IT goals. If it touches the internet Jesse has got you covered and if by chance your needs stump him, he does not hesitate to think outside the box and make miracles happen. 

[Karberos]

In the fast-paced world of technology, where innovation meets necessity, there’s a group of people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep the digital world spinning—our IT professionals. Today, I want to shine a spotlight on one of the most inspiring IT heroes I’ve had the pleasure of working with: @Edrisse.

From day one, @Edrisse has been a beacon of knowledge and a relentless problem-solver. They’re the kind of professional who not only fixes issues but prevents them from happening in the first place. Their dedication to ensuring smooth operations, coupled with a passion for security and efficiency, has been a cornerstone of our team's success. Whether it's implementing cutting-edge solutions or simply being there with a helping hand during a crisis, @Edrisse embodies everything an IT hero should be.

What stands out the most is their willingness to mentor and share knowledge, helping everyone around them to grow. In an industry where you often only get noticed when things go wrong, @Edrisse consistently goes above and beyond to make sure things go right. Their influence has shaped not just my career, but the entire team's approach to technology and problem-solving.

So here’s to you, @Edrisse, and to all the IT professionals out there who make the impossible look easy every single day. Thank you for being the backbone of our digital world and for inspiring us to be better every day.

[AmyReyes]

UPDATE: This contest has ended. Congratulations to our 3 randomly selected winners: @Sophiejmitch , @GH2023, and @nerdocrat!!! 

Thank you to everyone who participated! I loved reading all of your thoughtful nominations recognizing colleagues (or in some cases highlighting your own impressive work) 😀