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Mastermind May: Meet New York-based Master ASE, Markus Gruber

Meet Mastermind Profile - Markus Gruber

Markus GruberMarkus GruberName: Markus Gruber

Employer: Comport Consulting Corp

Job Title/Role: Solution Architect

Location: Metro New York, NY

Education: AAS, Technical Careers Institute

LinkedIn Profile:  Markus Gruber

Certifications:  HPE Master ASE - Storage Solutions Architect V2

HPE Master ASE - Advanced Server Solutions Architect V3

HPE Master ASE - FlexNetwork Solutions V2

 

How did you get started? 
“I got into my role by being hired by Comport in 2003 to do EVA implementations. I already had my storage Master ASE at that time. And that actually helped me to get that position with Comport. Over time we started to do more consulting and this naturally led to solutions, not just point products. Because of my background with Digital Equipment Corporation, I was familiar with servers and networks and so it was just a natural for me to be able to work in the space of servers, networks, and storage.”

 

What is your favorite HPE technology?
ldquo;That’s a tough one. I think I’ll have to say it is pretty much storage nowadays. HPE has maintained a leadership position in storage over the years and I’m proud to be associated with that product set.”

 

Any interesting customer stories you would like to share?
“There is a healthcare customer who wanted a business continuity solution that would protect them if a disaster struck New York City. They selected a site that was 65 miles from the city. Working with them to implement the solution required me to use servers, storage, and networking skills I had acquired through my HPE education and validated by my certifications. Now they have an actual operating data center. There were some struggles, being so far away from the original site, but they are quite pleased. There were some areas where they had used an outside firm to do design and when we came in to implement, I had to point out to them that was beyond the supported capabilities of the equipment they wanted to use. So we wound up doing some testing with them where we actually proved they could not get the sustained throughput they needed to actually work that far from the city. We proposed an alternative solution, which they implemented, even though there was a huge cost associated with that. They were quite pleased we kept their disaster continuity from turning into a disaster.”

 

What are the benefits of being a Master ASE?
“The most direct benefit to my employer is using my certifications to help achieve platinum status in the HPE Partner program. My customers benefit from the knowledge I’ve gain from the directed learning. There is a divine path and it leads to mastery of the skills needed. The biggest benefit to me of being in the Master ASE program is the Master ASE community. You meet people from all over the world, and you build a network of people that have similar skills and they actually become your friends and they are people you can rely on.”

 

Any tips for others interested in HPE certifications? 
“I think it’s a great thing to get involved in, a certification program, especially the HPE program. I think you should choose something that you love and pursue it. As convergence becomes reality we all need to expand the breadth of our knowledge but we should have a specialization. I think that the directed learning of the HPE programs and the guidance to certification allows you to gain that breadth and depth of knowledge that you need to become successful in the hybrid IT world.”


As a Master ASE, you will be recognized as having reached the pinnacle in HPE Certifications. Customers will rely on you to bring rich technical skills to design and implement their most.

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SarahA

I’ve been in marketing in high-tech for 20+ years.