As IT professionals, we thrive on learning new things, tackling challenges, and growing our skills. While this is work inherently satisfying, we can only find real meaning in our work when we understand why we do it, when we are able to contribute value to the community, and when we take care of ourselves. These ideas drive my passion to keep growing and to connect with others who feel the same. Plus, as you may have guessed, I love geeking out about PowerShell, Microsoft 365, Windows Server, and securing all the things!
Since moving to the Charlotte area, I’ve been searching for an active user group focused on these interests. I haven’t found one yet, so why not start one? Building a community takes a community, which is why I’m sharing this request:
Will you help me organize and get a Charlotte Systems Management User Group running? 🙏
Vision
To get things started, here is the initial vision that I would love your feedback on:
The core purpose of the Charlotte Systems Management User Group is to foster growth and connection as an IT community. The primary technical focus areas are automation, cybersecurity, hybrid cloud, infrastructure, PowerShell, and the Microsoft 365 ecosystem (but is not exclusively limited to these). Other core topics that are fundamental to the identity of this community are career development, soft skills, mental health and wellness, and family.
Who is this group for?
- Support Specialists / Technicians
- Systems / Network Administrators
- Systems / Network / Infrastructure Engineers
- Solutions Analysts
- Solutions Architects
- Leaders of any of the above
- People aspiring to be any of the above
There are no superstars here. We’re all at different points on our journey, all experiencing a different phase of life. Everyone has something to contribute and things to learn!
What topics could we discuss?
I have my favorites, but any of the following could be great topics to discuss!
| hybrid infrastructure | identity & security | operations & productivity | personal development |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure | Active Directory | Microsoft 365 | career growth |
| virtualization | Microsoft Entra | PowerShell | leading |
| datacenter management | Microsoft Defender XDR | Ansible | speaking |
| storage | PKI | automation | writing |
| networking | configuration management | GitOps / DevOps | personal interests |
| Terraform | Intune / GPO / SCCM | GitHub / Azure DevOps | networking |
Sounds Good!
Are you interested in joining or helping? I would love to continue the conversation! Please take two minutes to let me know here.
Cheers!
Sam
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash