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Meet NPX 009 – Richard Arsenian

  • Name: Richard Arsenian
  • NPX Number: 009
  • Employer: Nutanix Inc
  • Blog URL: http://headintotheclouds.com
  • Twitter: @richardarsenian
  • Virtualisation background:Working with VMware technologies since 2005
  • Storage Background: Shared storage experience with a wide range of technology vendors, in particular EMC
  • Hyper Converged Infrastructure background:  Whilst at VMware I began to see a growing trend with hyper Convergence technology coupled with its benefits from a business and technology perspective. I maintained a close interest with Nutanix at industry/community events but it wasn’t until a colleague of mine (Josh Odgers) worked with me to convert my recent VCDX submission on 3-Tier architecture to Nutanix HCI where I quickly formed the opinion that HCI is the next wave of the datacenter. It was in late 2014 where I joined Nutanix to begin the next journey in my career.
  • Future of HCI and other emerging technologies: Evidently we are seeing a growing trend in the technology ecosystem, from the existing players to a surplus of technology startups all pitching their own HCI solution. HCI makes complete sense from a business and technology perspective; sharing the same benefits as what virtualization provides us.
    It’s the approach to HCI which sets one solution apart from the other.
    Since Nutanix has dramatically simplified the infrastructure stack, this is now a Segway for the containerization of apps coupled with mobility across datacenters as well as the public cloud providers.
  • Value of NPX: Whilst NPX does require knowledge of the Nutanix platform, it doesn’t just stop there. It’s the complete ecosystem around the platform and the relationship between those components to support the business outcome – e.g.., multiple hypervisors/Applications/Network/Datacenter/technology readiness etc
    As a Systems Architect, my job is to ensure a consistent and high quality business outcome for the customer – NPX is a methodology which helps support and deliver this.
  • What made you go for NPX: I was really fortunate to be given the opportunity to work on the NPX certification blueprint alongside our other VCDX’s @ Nutanix. It was amazing to be part of the process, where we all brought so much value, experiences and skills together to create something so unique to the industry – An “X” level certification that molds and shapes an individual’s thought process and in essence progresses their career to the next level – This was my reason for perusing the NPX Certification.
  • Advise to people looking into the NPX track: Ultimately anyone who is currently VCDX (or aspiring to achieve VCDX) is a great candidate or have acquired an “X” level certification are great candidates.
    if your day to day focus is not Nutanix, it’s not a show stopper. The skills and experience you will learn will help ensure your skill-set is well rounded covering traditional 3-tier and multiple hypervisors/management solutions.
    Set yourself a goal and ensure you have the proper time management in place. NPX is a lengthy process and there are no set hours. Be prepared to work!
    There are also individuals whom will have constraints regarding their day-to-day job eg. Systems Engineers that would like to achieve NPX however don’t have deep architecture knowledge or consulting skills.
    Since NPX doesn’t teach you this, perhaps work on a plan to start getting exposure in this area, whether it’s defining it in your employee career plan or even spending a percentage of your time in other areas of the business eg. Professional Services/Consulting etc.