Questions with "Jarian Gibson of World of EUC"

In the end, Citrix MetaFrame 1.8 on Windows 2000 ended up being the solution. From there I became a systems administrator and maintained Citrix through MetaFrame XP and Presentation Server upgrades. That's how I got my start in EUC. From there went into consulting for VARs/IT partners (MTM Technologies and Choice Solutions) for about 10 years, was independent for several years, and now at Nutanix since 2018.

Over the years I've made many friends in the community through events and community programs. Have been very fortunate to travel and experience different community events. Being embraced by and also embracing the community. I was helped by those before me in the community and will pay it forward by helping others in the community. Through those experiences and friendships is how I was able to come together with Dave Brett, James Kindon, and Ryan Revord. We came together with the idea of creating a centralized real-time community, the World of EUC (WEUC) in 2019. There were multiple communities popping up via Slack and other means, and our idea was to have a centralized place to bring those and ours together.

Now fast forward to 2024 and we are taking the next step with the WEUC. With things changing in the EUC community, Patrick Coble and I started talking about ideas for taking the next step in late 2023. Ideas tossed around were about creating a new community or building onto what WEUC started. So now here we are with the next steps for WEUC. I'm happy to be on the board with my peers and elected Chairperson by them. I'm extremely happy to help continue to lead this community.

"Who were the key figures behind the formation and vision of the World of EUC, and what inspired them to establish the organization? How did their vision shape the initial goals and direction of the World of EUC?"

For the initial real-time community it was Dave Brett, James Kindon, Ryan Revord, and myself. Our vision was to have a centralized real-time community in Slack. Bring people together to help support each other.

For taking the next steps, Patrick Coble and I came together to discuss what we could do to address some changes that were happening in the community. We had a great start with WEUC, but what more could we do? From there we started talking with Engage Strategies (George Abar and Jennifer Gibbons) and started reaching out to others in the community to join us to take this next step. Our goal was to make sure we continued the sprint of WEUC and to make sure it was an EUC-agnostic community.

As you can see our board (Janna White, Patrick Coble, Sean Massey, Stephen Wagner, and myself) and advisors (Dave Brett, James Kindon, Ryan Revord, Sarah Vogt, and Steve Greenberg) we all bring something different from the EUC community. We also want to be an inclusive community with members having a sense of belonging. We are for the community, by the community

"Considering the original vision of the World of EUC, as Chair of the Board of Directors, how do you align the organization's current goals with that vision? How has your personal journey influenced these goals?"

From the start, I always made sure we kept the same spirit WEUC had from the beginning. Bringing people together to help and support each other. With this next step and where we are going, that doesn't change. It's all about the community and will continue to be. We are just expanding and building on the original vision of WEUC. My community experiences over the years and the friendships I've made have brought me here where I am today. Those experiences have influenced and will continue to influence WEUC.

"Every organization faces formation challenges. Could you share some of the early obstacles encountered by the World of EUC and the strategies used to overcome them? How have these experiences influenced the organization's resilience and growth strategy?" 

When WEUC first started, there weren't many challenges. We were pretty lean. One of the nice things was we also had global coverage with two of us in the US, Dave in the EU, and James in APAC. With the next step, the main challenge was making sure we had the right people in place for the board and advisors. Our goal was to have people from different areas of the EUC community. It took awhile but I'm happy with how things came together. Having Engage Strategies involved and their experiences running other communities also made things for an easy transition. Their advice and experience really helped in some areas we either don't have experience in or may not think about as we take these next steps. With the team we have in place and being agnostic, it really helps make sure we can keep the WEUC community going.

"As we look to the coming months, what can members and supporters of the World of EUC expect in terms of projects, initiatives, or developments? Are there any milestones or events that we should be looking forward to?"

The community can expect more community engagement with blogs, podcasts, webinars, starting local groups, our diversity in tech initiative, giving back to local communities where we have local events, and our pie in the sky goal is to have a yearly WEUC world event. Events to look forward to would be our webinars and podcasts along with starting up a few local groups in the coming months. A milestone we have already reached was getting to over 3K members in the online Slack community. We are getting close to 1K members on the website, which would be a milestone we should be reaching soon. Other milestones will be launching our advisory committees and diversity in tech program. We are looking forward to the continued momentum not only for Slack but members on the website as well.

"Looking towards the long term, what is the envisioned impact or legacy that the World of EUC aims to achieve? How do the organization's current plans and activities align with this vision, and what can supporters do to contribute to these long-term goals?" 

Our long term legacy and impact would be to keep the community going by paying it forward for the next generation of the EUC community. We wouldn't be here today without the impact and influence of those before us and we hope to continue that by keeping that going. Our main goal is for the community, by the community. As long as we have community support and with the support of our sponsors, we can continue to keep this going. Community members can get involved by joining on the community website, presenting, writing blogs, joining and helping each other out in Slack, getting involved with local groups, joining the diversity in tech program, being a mentor to someone in the community, coming on our podcast, and following us on social media. 

All of those things are ways to get involved and we are always open to ideas for other ways to be involved. The community has been great at spreading the word. Please continue to do that. On a closing note, I would like to thank those who have joined the community and our early onboarded sponsors - Founding Partners Liquidware and Nexthink. Channel Sponsor Choice Solutions. We love the support from the community and our sponsors. Looking forward to continued growth. Always feel free to reach out to the board and advisors, including reaching out to me directly. Our lines are always open for input and feedback.