Derek Sailors, Director of Information Systems and Information Security Officer at McCook Community Hospital recently wrote about his experience as a Nutanix User Group Champion and how it has benefitted his career.

Here’s what Derek had to say about his experience being a NUG Champion for the Nebraska NUG Chapter:

When you think of innovation, you're probably not picturing McCook, Nebraska. Yet our town's hospital has been a significant driver of technology investment. McCook Community Hospital is a critical care center that operates 24/7, 365 days a year, serving communities across southwestern Nebraska and northwestern Kansas. The solutions we use need to be available at all times and flexible enough to scale at a moment's notice. Focusing on innovation helps us attract top medical talent, which is critical for patients and the hospital's viability.

We initially used Nutanix only for virtual desktop delivery, but over the last few years, we've cultivated a meaningful partnership and expanded our investment significantly. Nutanix helped us become one of the first hospitals in the state to use hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI), and we now run seven clusters throughout the hospital. Nutanix has become the backbone of our facility.

After we adopted Nutanix, I started a Slack group with about six other users to ask questions and share experiences with the platform. Nutanix noticed this grassroots attempt to form a community and jumped in to support it. Our informal bunch eventually became an official Nutanix User Group (NUG). Nutanix generously provided a budget for us to host in-person meetings in Nebraska, which we've done ever since. When the Nebraska NUG first started meeting, it was just a group of engineers hanging out and enjoying some beers. Over time, the Nutanix team has helped us formalize and structure our meetings and events. We're now part of a network of other NUGs around the world, led by professionals like me who are in the weeds with the technology every day. It's great to be part of such an awesome community.

As a director, I spend a decent amount of time shaking hands and kissing babies—in other words, socializing and networking is really important, especially when I'm hiring. McCook Community Hospital's rural location can make it challenging to find tech talent in the region, and the more personal connections I have, the easier it is to reach out when I'm looking for new team members. When you're a part of the NUG, you get front-row seats to other Nutanix instances, including those outside the healthcare industry. 

In addition to being a co-leader and Nutanix User Group Champion of our local NUG, I'm a Nutanix Technology Champion, working to mentor, support, and encourage others. I'm passionate about HCI, especially for organizations like hospitals that want the security and reliability of on-premises networks without compromising on the flexibility of the cloud. I think everyone needs to know about Nutanix because it enables organizations to deploy exactly that—essentially, a private cloud. I gladly make the 10-hour round-trip drive to attend NUG meetings, and I drive out of my way to bring non-Nutanix users into our NUG meetings to show them the technology's potential. 

Being a part of the group has helped me expand my skills and ingenuity as an engineer. It's made me a better leader and decision-maker, and our leadership can see the value of taking that extra time for education and networking. The NUG community gives me access to a pool of knowledge, talent, and product insights that make it far easier to use and innovate with Nutanix. This exponentially increases the value of our investment in the platform and enables us to deliver the best services in our rural hospital.

Check out Derek’s full story here.

Interested in becoming a Nutanix User Group Champion? Apply to become a Champion in your area today!