Meet Rachit from Cisco’s partner marketing advocacy community

Cisco would not be able to maintain success without our amazing partner companies. This is exactly why we created an online community, Marketing Velocity Voice, to connect with them. What is Marketing Velocity Voice? It’s our community for Cisco partners where they can connect with their peers, expand their professional networks, and share best practices for all things marketing in technology! We love putting our partners in the spotlight and letting them shine. I’m so happy to feature Rachit Gupta from HCL Technologies!

Hey Rachit! I’m excited to learn more about you! Let’s start with this, have you always wanted to work in technology? When you were younger, what career did you think you might pursue?

Hey Nic! I’ve always been very fascinated with gadgets and technology that changes the world every day. That was perhaps the first trigger when I started my own technical blog (S4U) by the age of 19, to spread awareness about computer tricks and hacks. I was very interested in computers. While pursing engineering in electronics, I became more interested in computers and programming. I understood the fundamentals of networking, like OSI layer and how IP packets travel from one point to another. After completing my engineering studies, I pursued a career in IP Networking and completed my first technical CCNA certification. That’s how my networking journey started, and today I can proudly say that I am CCIEx3 Emeritus #29824.

I started my career with a small networking startup company as a network engineer, which helped me learn about and deploy networking technologies. Later, I worked with other companies like IBM, BT and now with HCL.

Tell us about HCL! How did you arrive at your job there, and what are your current responsibilities?

HCL Technologies is a great place to work! It’s a next-generation global technology company that helps enterprises reimagine their businesses for the digital age. HCL is rated as a leader and is positioned as a #1 player in the 2021 Magic Quadrant for Managed Network Services. The company loves to explore new technologies. I feel privileged to be part of the Network Practice team. My current role is a Solution Architect, and I lead the SDWAN vertical.

Our Network Practice team takes care of network presales and COE (Centre of Excellence). My responsibilities here are to understand customer requirements in order to upgrade networks with niche technologies like Multi-Vendor SDWAN (Viptela, Velo Cloud, Silverpeak, Fortinet SDWAN) and  SDN Technologies such as NSX, ACI, and more. We manage end-to-end solutions from RFP stages to POC (proof of concept) and successfully winning bids. We also support the dedicated network presales team to run through SDWAN use cases in our network lab environment. I also mentor members of my team and other verticals to help them learn about SDWAN.

I have always believed that knowledge is the biggest power and I share relevant posts and blogs via my LinkedIn profile.

What challenge (or challenges) have you and your company had to overcome in the last year?

Amidst the disruption we are facing due to COVID-19, we are all concerned with the safety and health of our family, friends, colleagues, and communities. Over the past two years, we’ve learned new ways of operating our business. Things have been quite challenging in both my personal and professional life,  and this is important for me as a leader to ensure that my team is as safe as possible, while also ensuring that we run our business smoothly. We managed our business continuity online with virtual meetings. Online training also ensured that our colleagues were supported during the pandemic.

You’re a really active member in both Marketing Velocity Voice, Cisco’s marketing focused partner community, as well as The Gateway, Cisco’s customer advocacy community. What value does each community provide to you?

Our customers are the heart and soul of everything we do at HCL. I use the communities to learn, so that I can keep our customers updated and support them with the latest innovations. We participate in many vendor events. The Gateway is an awesome customer community, and I enjoy learning from my peers, building connections, and exploring new technologies. Of course, there’s always fun along the way. I often participate in Cisco events, and was named a Cisco Champion in 2021. As advocates in The Gateway, we have access to a variety of content, including the latest information on released Cisco products and services.

Being an advocate in the Marketing Velocity Voice community for the past year, what would you say you most enjoyed? What motivates you?

News & Events is my favorite channel! It helps me to get up to date on Cisco’s news and global events. Last year, I won a pass to attend the Cisco Live 2020 virtual event, and the Cisco Provider Elevate Event. And as I mentioned, I was named a Cisco Champion for 2021, which was a big honor!

With a glance to the future now, how would you like to see the program evolve?

I would love to see the Marketing Velocity Voice community have more challenges and more fun campaigns. Of course, more rewards never hurt anyone, either! That said, I believe Marketing Velocity Voice has been very innovative. I’d love to see more awareness around these communities, so that as many people as possible can join and begin networking.

 Which celebrity’s voice would you borrow for a day?

I am a great admirer of Amitabh Bachchan, a legendary Indian actor. I was so happy when Amazon gave users the option to change their Alexa voice to Amitabh Bachchan’s. I wish I had his pleasing baritone voice in real life!

Thank you again for joining us, Rachit!

You are welcome!

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Join us in The Marketing Velocity Voice community

The Marketing Velocity Voice community accelerates Cisco’s breadth around partner advocacy, helping us reach even more partners and bringing a depth to our relationships that prioritizes authentic, mutually beneficial interactions.

Our advocacy community is centered around interests and business challenges unique to partner marketing. It’s a dedicated space where partners can connect with each other and with Cisco, share feedback and best practices, and develop their marketing skills. Cisco’s partner marketers engage with us through dedicated channels and challenges as they:

• Connect with peers, and Cisco’s executives and marketing leaders
• Share feedback, questions, and best practices
• Get access to “insider” content and resources
• Develop career skills
• Boost personal and professional brand development
• Gain inspiration from the brightest partner marketing minds in the industry

Ready to get started?  Head over to the

Marketing Velocity Voice community

and say hello!