It’s important to find reasons to smile during the difficult times of pandemic. Having worked with the biggest festival in the Netherlands, our today’s guest knows a thing or two about staying positive and bringing joy to others. Meet our next Extreme Hero, Kees Brouwer from Indicium B.V.!
Hello, Kees! We think that proper congratulations would be in order. Some time ago you obtained ExtremeDojo Black Belt #259. How does it feel? And what are your eyes set toward this year?
Hi, and thank you! A few years ago I started with the Extreme Networks certifications, right before the Dojo was rolled out. I liked the challenge of obtaining a Purple Belt or even Black Belt when I looked at the certification path. Due to COVID-19, we had more opportunities to do training. Thanks to Extreme Networks and Indicium I have achieved this goal and I’m very proud of that.
As for the plans for the nearest future, I’m focusing more on design, both for LAN and WLAN. In fact, I’m currently attending a vendor-neutral training for WLAN design. On top of that, security is also becoming more and more important. I guess the Extreme NAC training that I will be taking soon couldn’t have come at a better time!
And what would you consider your more long-term career goals?
Creating even bigger and better networks, ha ha. 😁 But on a serious note, our options in the networking industry are already impressive yet still there’s a lot going on right now. Personally, I’d like to change or grow more into the role of a solutions architect. To work along with the customer and our sales team to get the best possible solution that fits the customer needs best, in terms of both security, management, and network access solutions. You know, the whole picture.
Can you tell us some more about what you do at Indicium right now?
I’m responsible for the technical department of Indicium. The department consists of engineers, contract management, support and repair. We have a nice, smart, young team with already a lot of experience under our collective belt. And we do like a challenge. We dare to tackle difficult projects and we’re not afraid to implement complex solutions. I’m also involved in some day-to-day work and projects. I’ve been an engineer for too long and I like it too much to stick to the management tasks!
Indicium is specialized in automating logistics business processes. As we know, the COVID-19 pandemic is holding a major impact on this industry. How is your work and your business doing today?
We still do have some customer visits, but for the sake of our and their safety, we can limit these to urgent matters only. I believe the keyword here is ‘remote management’. A few years back we started to show our customers the benefits of different network management models. This proved useful in helping to respond to the ongoing crisis, at least in terms of networks.
Sure, a lot of customers are struggling because of COVID-19, while some businesses are actually booming. Customers from the healthcare sector, and for sure online shopping, are often showing a tremendous growth. We are able to support this growth, as we always make sure that we have enough stock of our high-runner products. We also support customers with various financing options.
Can you recall a particularly difficult issue that your client was struggling with? Or maybe you could share with us some details of a project that you’re most proud of?
We have served customers from the entertainment business for quite some time now, too. The list includes Zwarte Cross, the largest paid festival in the Netherlands, and the largest motor event in the world with 200.000+ attendees each year.
The challenge in this project is the fact that the site is basically a farmland for most of the year. Each time we need to build the entire festival village from scratch in merely 3 weeks, that includes getting our connections to every part of the location. Thanks to Extreme Fabric, we can use all kinds of connections and routes to get the network reliable and fully resilient in a very short period of time.
Unfortunately, because of COVID-19, this event did not take place, so we could not deploy it in 2020. But we will definitely use it in the future!
Has any specific Extreme technology or solution become crucial for you and your work in the past twelve months?
We can see the huge benefits of using Extreme Management Center and the ExtremeCloud IQ. Without physical presence, we are able to maintain and configure entire networks. I’m absolutely convinced that these technologies will be the new standard for the coming years.
Extreme NAC is becoming more of a standard, too. With the higher security demands for both wired and wireless networks, that product is a perfect fit!
Indicium BV’s office is located on the outskirts of Rotterdam. And since there is no Dutchman in the entire world who doesn’t love football, we’re guessing you’re a Feyenoord fan. 😉 What do you do to unwind now that the only football we can watch now is the one on TV?
Cry, ha ha. 😂 Anyone who has ever been to a stadium knows that it’s not the same to watch football on TV. The atmosphere, friends, the excitement… these are the things you miss the most. But it is what it is and hopefully we can enjoy it again in the (near) future!
Manoah Coenraad, our Senior Systems Engineer who recently talked about Effortless Cloud-Managed Networking, is a passionate Ajax Amsterdam fan. Hope it didn’t dissuade you from attending his session… 😉 But on a serious note – how did you enjoy TechTalks 5.0?
Every sport needs rivalry. I guess we’ll need to have a word on our next meeting, ha ha. 😁
But jokes aside, there are new features coming to ExtremeCloud IQ literally almost every week, so it’s hard not to get excited. I’m especially interested in the upcoming features and releases regarding XIQ and the switching portfolio, but I’m also keen to learn what the recently added applications, like Extreme AirDefense and ExtremeLocation, will bring to the table. The demand for asset management and locationing solutions has increased during the last year, so ExtremeLocation could be a great addition to the existing portfolio.
Do you feel like a hero sometimes?
Ha ha, hero is a very short word with a very big meaning. 😉 I always like to give a hand to my colleagues and help customers choose the right products, assist with some technical challenges or solve difficult problems. The ExtremeDojo training surely helps with these day-to-day challenges. So, if doing all these things means that I’m a hero, then so be it! 😄
