🎉 5 years of Dream Networking and Automation (and a bit, I’m late to my own party). What a journey it’s been.
For the past 5 years, running Dream Networking and Automation has meant one thing above all: helping teams find a better way to run their networks — through architecture, automation, and training, without a vendor agenda pulling the conversation in one direction.
No badge to defend. No quota to hit. Just the best solution for the problem in front of me. That freedom is still, five years in, the best part of the job.
The journey so far:
🔹 Jul 2021 — Went all-in as a freelance Network Automation Solution Architect
Starting this journey was a somewhat thought-out plan, though I had no idea where it would lead or what adventures would lay ahead. This included having a lot of conversations with peers and companies, figuring out what would be my next steps.
Since the start I’ve experience several companies and projects. Each with their own challenges and fun. Just a few highlights of this period:
🔹 Having 7 interviews before landing the first project
🔹 Joining a startup in California during Covid
🔹 Witnessing a startup fail
🔹 Having 0 interviews before landing the project
🔹 Having deployed multiple tech stacks in production on worldwide scale for configuration and monitoring
🔹 Switching between companies/projects and the different maturity levels for each
🔹 Going from mouse management to automated workflows
🔹 Working on 15 year old automation and the challenges for life cycle management around it
Next to that I’ve became more active in the community. Mainly in the last 2 years
🔹 Written a whole bunch of linkedin posts
🔹 Written several blog posts
🔹 Presented at several events in the space of Network Automation and Python
🔹 Participated on several podcasts
The real fun has been the side quests: I became a co-host for PyUtrecht and started my own event: NLNAM (NL Network Automation Meetup). Since this year I’ve been selected to the Network Automation Forum Advisory Board.
Five years ago I bet on “there must be a better way.” Turns out that bet keeps paying off — not just in projects delivered, but in a community I get to help build.
Here’s to the next 5. 🥂
What’s the best “side quest” you’ve picked up outside your day job? Curious to hear.
Check out the podcasts, blogs and events I’ve been involved in:
- Podcasts & public speaking
- Blogs
- Events: NLNAM and PyUtrecht