From an overseas import for a cricket team in Northern England… to a leader in the HPE community, how did Justin Farrow, our Solution Architect and HPE Ambassador, find his way to Dicker Data?
Justin’s journey in the IT industry started way back in 1998! He began working with the HPE portfolio in the mid-2000s, dedicating a quarter of a century to mastering the intricacies of this global technology company.
“I stumbled into the IT world on the back of returning from a short stint in Northern England as an overseas player for the local cricket club. Money was short, and I needed a job! Having previously worked as an electronics engineer, I took a role at a computer hire company and slowly built up my knowledge and skills. Things snowballed from there through various systems engineering and pre-sales roles until I landed here at Dicker Data.”
He joined Dicker Data in 2014 as an HPE Solution Architect, which was part of the historical BPSA (Business Partner Solutions Architect) program and is now part of the HPE Tech Pro Presales program as an HPE TechPro Champion.
“My role sees me engage across HPE Teams for Sales and Presales on current sales opportunities. Then I also work downstream into HPE Channel Partners and their customers in discovery, design, and enablement of the HPE Portfolio for their own knowledge as well as their customers as part of solution delivery, focusing purely on the HPE Hybrid IT technology.”
Our dedicated Dicker Data experts bring more than 100 years of collective HPE experience to the table and have helped service thousands of partners over our 31-year partnership with HPE. Justin believes experience really is the difference.
“The decades of experience we have in the industry first and foremost, but also the experience we have working with and within HPE Teams is where we can provide knowledge and apply skill sets only learnt with time. The relationships we have with both Partners and HPE gives us the advantage to make sure solutions are closed to completion with required results.”
Justin and the wider Dicker Data HPE team have been involved in a few special milestones during his time here.
“Our team remains at the forefront of implementing innovative solutions, such as the world's first HPE Greenlake Private Cloud Business Edition win and the first global HPE Greenlake deal via the channel.”
Speaking of impressive stats, Justin is one of just two members in Australia to be part of HPE’s Storage Ambassador program!
“The HPE Storage Ambassador program provides me with early insights into future releases and roadmaps across the Hybrid IT platform and provides a voice to the Global/Worldwide HPE technical teams for our local region. Allowing feedback from local partners and the broader local HPE community to be heard by HPE Head Office across Business Units and Technical Marketing teams. Being part of the program allows me to have confidence in the HPE roadmap and where they are taking technology as I design solutions for end users. I get to hear of new developments or potential product launches at the same time as the HPE Presales Teams and can provide feedback on how these technologies may or may not be received in our local region.”
Justin says that Dicker Data’s flexibility allows him to play a significant role in the Australian HPE community, enabling him to enjoy the best of both worlds and occasionally be in two places at once.
“As an organisation, Dicker Data really values their employees and everyone is very approachable. We have the freedom to work independently but always know the support is there if required.”
When Justin’s not designing HPE solutions for our partners, you’ll find him cycling for a good cause.
“Over the past 12 years I’ve ridden over 30,000km and raised nearly $50,000 as part of my traditional October Great Cycle Challenge fundraising campaign for the Children's Medical Research Institute (CMRI).”
And when times can get challenging, Justin asks himself this:
“How hard can it be? Get started and see where it ends”
You can find out more about our Dicker Data HPE team here.