From the Field, Episode I: The Phantom Job Offer

I’m the Citrix Jedi.

Those that know me know that I have the word “Citrix” tattooed on my blood cells. I love the technology. I love working with customers. I love solving problems.

I’ve been around Citrix and XenServer (sorry, Citrix Hypervisor) in some form or another since 2004. Granted, I’m not quite as old-school as some of my #CitrixCTP peers, such as Steve Greenberg and Carl Webster, but I’m up there. My life has been fully Citrix-focused, consulting-focused and mostly NetScaler- (sorry again, Citrix ADC) focused for ages. 

So, in January, when I tweeted out that I had joined ControlUp as a Sales Engineer, the response was, understandably… one of stunned surprise.

I’ve held other offers of Sales Engineer positions at arm’s length, because sales. Ew. I’m a techie. I’m not sales. Along the way, I have had several trusted acquaintances tell me that I would be fantastic in sales.  I’m extremely customer-success oriented. Success starts with getting the best foot forward with a customer when introducing an unfamiliar concept or product. 

I had already been looking to get out of independent consulting for a couple of years. The volatility of contracts, the need to do my own business development, the lack of reasonable healthcare… All of these contributed to a rising sense of stress in my day-to-day life. I’m getting older, (I repeat, not as old as Webster, but I digress), but it was something weighing on my mind. I needed someplace to hang my hat for a good while. So, when I got wind of a position with ControlUp from my friend Melissa Case, I cautiously waded into that pool.  

Several great interviews later, I accepted the job. I have to thank Marcel, Barry, Amir and Breno for answering all my questions, and helping push me across the finish line.  I was still EXCEEDINGLY dubious about sales, generally.  But, six months in, I am happy to report that my fears are now gone and I’m settling in nicely. Being in isn’t so bad, and, don’t worry, I’m still The Citrix Jedi. It’s hard to get rid of those tattoos, ya know…

We’re spinning up a new territory, and I’m helping to train a new Account Executive (who I’m excited to work with) who’s got a ton of industry experience. I’m working in our demo lab to help update it. I’m doing new customer demos and existing customer updates, and all my conversations have been SUPER- positive.  It’s a good feeling.  

Remember, I LOVE technology.  

ControlUp provides a wonderful environment of innovation and passion for technology.  I seem to have come in at just the right time, as the company has released some great new products in 2021. EdgeDX, which makes it possible for our customers to monitor their end-users’ endpoints (not just VDI), Remote DX, which collects user experience metrics and helps IT correct performance issues without having to fly blind, and Solve, an infinitely scalable, SaaS-based version of the ControlUp you know and love, are all in active development to help expand the portfolio. 

It’s kind of a perfect storm of awesome. 

So when Melissa—her famous red pen in hand—came to me and asked me to start a blog series, I thought it was a great opportunity. We arrived at this idea about the interesting perspective of a consultant-turned-Sales Engineer and how I see the practical uses of ControlUp products and solutions.  

I’m excited to bring things down to earth for those interested in the technology. Make no mistake: we have GREAT authors of DEEPLY technical articles on our products. I’ll be sure to link to those articles, but my focus will always be on practical uses. First up next week is setting up a ControlUp POC. Hope to have you read, and hope it helps present the solution well.