ntc

Published: 10 September 2026

Written by Julien D.

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Categories: Events, Tech and Lab

Three dates in my October calendar, two cities, one vendor: Nutanix. On 7 and 8 October, .NEXT on Tour Paris 2026 takes over the Carrousel du Louvre, and I will be there both days, first at the Partner Technology Summit, then on the Inetum booth. Three weeks later, off to San Jose for NTC Tech Connect. If you are joining any of these, here is where to find me.

7 October, the Partner Technology Summit

The Paris edition of .NEXT on Tour runs over two days this year, and the first one is not open to everyone. 7 October is reserved for partners, with the Partner Technology Summit on the technical side and the Partner Sales Summit on the commercial side, each with its own registration. If you are a Nutanix customer, the day that concerns you is the one after.

I am going as an attendee, wearing my Solution Architect hat, and mostly for NKP, the Nutanix Kubernetes platform. This is the kind of day where you get to ask precise questions to the people who build the product, which beats reading release notes on a Friday evening.

One more change compared with the 2025 edition: we are leaving the CNIT La Défense for the Carrousel du Louvre.

8 October, on the Inetum booth

On the 8th the doors open to everyone, and that is the day I will be hardest to reach: I am running the Inetum booth with Mathieu Croisy, technical director of the Inetum CdSI, Jérôme Morlier, alliances director, and Arnaud Houllier, Product Line Expert, with two demos running all day long.

The first one is about getting off VMware. Nutanix Move relocates the machines and does it well, the hard part of a take out sits upstream: taking inventory of the source estate, analysing the workloads, splitting the migration into waves, validating every cutover… That is the part our migration tool industrialises, and the part we are showing, because that is what decides whether a project holds its schedule.

The second one is about AI-assisted cluster administration, with a tool we are developing at Inetum. I will not say more here. You will have to stop by the booth to see it run, which is rather the point of showing up.

If you want a feel for what the day looks like, have a look at my article on the 2025 edition: https://juliendumur.fr/en/nutanix-next-on-tour-2025-french-for-a-day/

Sitting a free Nutanix certification on 8 October

Here is the one piece of information that justifies blocking out the day on its own, even without a sales meeting: a testing centre is open on site on the 8th, and the exams are free.

The announced catalogue mixes two generations, and that is worth a look before you register. In 7.5 you have NCA, NCP-MCI, NCP-CN and NCP-US. In 6.10, NCP-MCA, NCP-EUC, NCP-CI for both AWS and Azure, and NCP-DB. NCS-Core stays on 6.8. If you have revised on a version other than the one on offer that day, you will feel it, so check this before booking your slot.

Two prerequisites you do not want to discover while queueing:

your laptop and its power supply, the exam runs on your own machine
an active MyNutanix account, created beforehand

Registration goes through here: https://event.nutanix.com/centredecertificationnext2026

That leaves you a month to revise, which is short without being unrealistic. If you are aiming at one of the certifications in the catalogue, the resources on ntnx-mastery.com are built for exactly that, and they are free.

26 and 27 October, back at NTC Tech Connect

Three weeks later, a change of scale and of time zone: two days at Nutanix headquarters in San Jose, with the other Nutanix Technology Champions. This is my second time, the first was in 2024, since the event did not take place in 2025.

The principle fits in one sentence: sessions with the product teams and the people who build the thing, inside their own walls. Part of the programme will be under NDA, part of it will be publishable, and I will not know exactly where the line falls until the agenda comes out, which has not happened yet. Whatever can leave the room will end up here, the rest stays in the room.

I am also looking forward to these two days for a less technical reason: catching up with Jeroen, Kim, Brad, Patrick, Drew and everyone I sadly missed at .NEXT in Chicago.

If you want to know what those two days look like, my 2024 write-up is still online: https://juliendumur.fr/en/my-2-ntc-tech-connect-2024-days/

Three dates, then, and as many articles to come, within the limits of what I will be allowed to tell: the Partner Technology Summit programme, the questions that keep coming back at the booth, whatever San Jose is willing to let out…

In the meantime, if you are at the Carrousel du Louvre on the 8th, come and say hello at the Inetum booth. We are there all day.

Published: 18 December 2025

Written by Julien D.

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Categories: Lifestyle

You might think that over time, you get used to it. That after two years, opening the email announcing the results becomes a mere administrative formality. Well, I must confess: not at all.

It is with immense pride – and undisguised relief – that I announce my nomination as a Nutanix Technology Champion (NTC) for the year 2026. This is the third consecutive year that I have the honor of joining this group of passionate experts.

To be completely transparent, I never take this distinction for granted. In the IT world, technologies evolve fast, and so do we. Staying relevant requires work, curiosity, and above all, the desire to share. Seeing my name once again on the official NTC 2026 list is a beautiful validation of the efforts put into the blog throughout the year.

What is an “NTC”? (Spoiler: It’s not just a LinkedIn badge)

I am often asked if it is an exam I passed, like an NCP-MCI certification. The answer is no, and that is precisely the beauty of this program.

The Nutanix Technology Champion program does not just reward passing a technical multiple-choice quiz. It is a distinction that recognizes community engagement. Basically, Nutanix spots those who spend their free time testing, breaking, fixing, and above all explaining their technologies to others. Whether through blog posts (like here), forum contributions, or talks at events.

For the purists, it is the equivalent of the vExpert at VMware or the MVP at Microsoft. It is the validation of what we call technical “Soft Skills”: the ability to evangelize a solution not because we are paid to do so, but because we master its intricacies and we love it. It is a recognition by peers and by the vendor, and that is what makes it so rewarding.

Under the Hood: Why this nomination matters for the blog

Beyond the shiny logo to put in a signature, being an NTC has a direct impact on the quality of what I can offer you on juliendumur.fr. It is not an honorary title devoid of meaning; it is a key that opens interesting doors.

Concretely, this status gives me privileged access behind the scenes. I have the opportunity to exchange directly with Product Managers and Nutanix engineering teams. This means that when I write a technical article, I can validate my hypotheses at the source, avoiding approximations.

Furthermore, we have access to roadmap briefings and Beta versions. Even if this information is often under NDA (I can’t reveal everything to you in advance!), it allows me to understand the direction the technology is taking. I can thus better anticipate topics to cover and offer you more relevant analyses as soon as features reach General Availability (GA). It is the assurance for you to read content that is not only technically accurate but also in phase with market reality.

Retrospective and 2026 Goals: Full Steam Ahead

This third nomination is the fruit of consistency. But above all, it marks the beginning of a new year of “lab”. The goal is not to collect stars, but to continue exploring the Nutanix Cloud Platform from every angle.

For 2026, I intend to keep offering practical tutorials and field feedback. While the AHV hypervisor remains the unavoidable foundation, I really want to move up the software stack a bit more this year. Expect to see topics covering container orchestration with NKP (Nutanix Kubernetes Platform), automation, and probably a stronger focus on security with Flow. The objective remains the same: dissecting the tech to make it accessible.

A huge thank you to the community for the daily exchanges, and of course to the NTC program team (shout out to Angelo Luciani) for their renewed trust. It is a pleasure to be part of this virtual family.

Now, the ball is also in your court: are there specific topics or features of the Nutanix ecosystem that you would like to see me cover this year? The comments are open!

Published: 10 December 2025

Written by Julien D.

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Categories: Lifestyle

I won’t lie to you: when you’ve had a taste of gold, bronze has a peculiar flavor. Last year, I had the immense pride of finishing first in the “Top Bloggers” ranking of the Nutanix Technology Champion (NTC) program.

This year, the verdict is in on the official community blog: I ranked 3rd.

Did I slow down? No. Did I share less? On the contrary. But in tech, just like in sports, staying at the top is often harder than getting there. This 3rd place is, above all, a signal that the competition has intensified. And honestly? It’s exactly what I needed to motivate me to get back in the fight for 2026.

The NTC Program is Not Just a Badge

For those new to the ecosystem, being a Nutanix Technology Champion (NTC) isn’t just about slapping a logo on your LinkedIn profile. It is a commitment. It means being part of a technical vanguard that tests, breaks, fixes, and—above all—documents Nutanix solutions. The “Top Blogger” ranking is the barometer of this activity.

1st in 2024, 3rd in 2025: Analyzing the Logs

So, what happened? I pulled my logs to compare. If my performance had dropped, I would have accepted this 3rd place with a shrug. But the data shows otherwise: my publication volume is equivalent to last year’s. Even better, my strategy was cleaner: instead of doing “bursts” (flurries of articles), I maintained a metronomic consistency, spread evenly over the 12 months.

The conclusion is simple and undeniable: the overall bar has been raised. My peers were absolute beasts this year. They produced more. This is excellent news for the Nutanix community: the ecosystem is alive, dense, and increasingly sharp. But for the competitor in me, it’s a wake-up call. Consistency is no longer enough; just like in cycling, I’m going to have to up the intensity.

Why Publish?

Beyond the rankings and the competition, why continue writing with such discipline? The answer is pragmatic. My blog is primarily my external memory. In our line of work, we don’t remember everything. We test, we configure, we hit a critical error, we resolve it… and six months later, we’ve forgotten how we did it. Blogging is about documenting my own “struggles” so I never have to look for the solution twice. It’s about transforming obscure troubleshooting into a clear tutorial. But make no mistake: every article is born from a real technical need, from a real infra that I built or fixed. No fluffy theory, just experience from the field. The icing on the cake: the feedback from our clients who stumble upon my blog and tell me, “We found a solution on your site.” That is the real reward.

Conclusion: See You at the Finish Line

Bravo to the two peers who finished ahead of me this year. You set the bar very high, and that is exactly what I like. The level of the NTC program is what makes it credible. But the message has been received. The consistency of 2025 was a good foundation, but for 2026, I’m shifting gears. I’m going to chase more specific topics, dig deeper into the guts of Nutanix AOS and AHV, and perhaps explore use cases that no one has documented yet.

The bronze medal is nice. But it will serve primarily as a reminder on my desk: next year, I’m aiming for the yellow jersey.

See you soon for the next technical article.

Published: 1 October 2025

Written by Julien D.

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Categories: Nutanix EN

A quick blog post to share that the Nutanix Technology Champion (NTC) program registrationssont are open !

From today, October 1st, and until October 31, you can fill the form and try to be a part of this program.

Applications will be reviewed in November and announcement for the NTC 2026 members will be published in December.

You have a blog and you want to share Nutanix knowledge with other experts ? Fill the form on the official webpage: https://next.nutanix.com/community-blog-154/step-into-the-spotlight-nutanix-technology-champion-2026-applications-now-open-44876

My application is already sent, and I hope to be part of this wonderful program for the third year in a row !

Published: 1 July 2025

Written by Julien D.

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Categories: Nutanix EN

From May 7th to 9th, 2025, I was invited as a Nutanix Technology Champion to the Nutanix .NEXT conference in Washington, DC.

On the second day of the event, we had a luncheon planned with:

Rajiv Ramaswami, President & CEO of Nutanix
Thomas Cornely, Senior Vice President of Product Management at Nutanix
Jason Longpre, Vice President of Worldwide Support at Nutanix

This luncheon was an opportunity to interact with them and ask questions directly, but not only that…

An Almost Surprise Ceremony

Angelo Luciani, the Nutanix Technology Champion program manager, had warned us that he was preparing awards to be presented to some of us at .NEXT, without giving us any further details.

Once lunch was over, he took the stage and launched the ceremony, which would recognize three program members for their involvement. The awards were as follows:

Nutanix Community Excellence Award, recognizing involvement on the Nutanix forums
Nutanix NTC Storyteller Award, recognizing involvement on the blog and social media
Nutanix User Group Champion Award, recognizing involvement in the NUG

Nutanix NTC Storyteller: Meaningful Recognition

When I started blogging, my goal was simple: to share. My tests, my struggles, my discoveries, my tech favorites. I had no ambitions or specific roadmap, just the desire to share in my own way.

The blog now has over 110 articles, each written in French and fully translated into English. It’s a colossal and long-term undertaking, requiring hours of research, testing, brainstorming, and more, culminating in simple posts or entire guides.

And there are moments along the way when all this behind-the-scenes work, all these words aligned together, end up resonating beyond the screen.

Today, I have the immense pleasure (and a certain emotion, I admit) of sharing with you the achievement of the “Nutanix NTC Storyteller” trophy.

Being recognized as a “Storyteller” by the Nutanix Technology Champions (NTC) program isn’t just a trophy that will adorn my shelf; it’s recognition of my ongoing commitment to making technology more readable, accessible, and understandable.

For me, this trophy is:

Recognition of my commitment to the technical community
A strong signal that quality, authentic, and consistent content matters more than quantity
A spotlight on the importance of the role of communication in our profession
But above all, it provides additional motivation to continue creating, sharing, and connecting ideas

Thank you to everyone who reads, comments, shares, and challenges me (you’ll recognize yourselves).

Thank you to Nutanix and especially Angelo Luciani, without whom none of this would have been possible.

Thank you to the NTC community, which has provided me with so much inspiration, connections, and learning, and especially to my two “partners in crime”: Jeroen and Maroane.

This trophy isn’t an end, but a new starting point. It pushes me to go further, to explore new formats (including a YouTube channel), and to continue talking about infrastructure and hyperconvergence with the same passion and energy.

Published: 12 May 2025

Written by Julien D.

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Categories: Events

This year again, I was lucky enough to be invited, due to my status as Nutanix Technology Champion, to the annual event organized by Nutanix: .NEXT 2025!

Heading to Washington DC!

Every year, .NEXT moves to a new continent. Last year, Europe hosted the event in Barcelona, Spain. This year, Washington DC, United States of America, has been chosen to host the event from May 7 to 9, 2025.

This is my second trip to the United States (the first was during NTC Tech Connect in San Jose), so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to spend an extra day as a tourist. It’s Zero Day!

A Relaxing Journey

The journey from my home in France to Washington, D.C., was relatively smooth. First, I took the TGV from Orange to Lyon on May 5th so I could sleep at the airport and be there the next morning.

May 6th, early 7am, baggage check-in at 8am and takeoff at 10am after passing through all security checks without incident. Landing in Dublin at 11am local time, 1h30 of transit, just enough time to pass through US border control before boarding my transatlantic flight. 8 hours of flight, 3 movies (Top Gun Maverick, Deadpool 2 and finally Deadpool and Wolverine), a meal, a nap and a snack later, here I am finally at Dulles International Airport.

Dulles International Airport, Washington DC

A final subway ride will allow me to arrive at the hotel around 5 p.m. local time, after a journey of about 15 hours… A shower later, I went out to walk around the hotel. I was able to see the Friendship Gate at the entrance to Chinatown and the FBI offices before the rain (it felt like Brittany) arrived and forced me to go back inside…

Federal Bureau of Investigations, Washington DC

Zero Day: A “stroll” through Washington DC

Completely jet-lagged, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. A quick phone call home (convenient, it was 11:00 a.m. there), a shower, and off I went, wandering the streets of Washington DC at 6:30 a.m., heading for the White House!

After asking the Secret Service twice for directions (you guys are so nice, thank you!), I was able to tour the Residence (a very good series on Netflix, by the way) before heading to Constitution Avenue and its array of monuments.

I started with the Washington Monument. I then headed to the World War II Memorial while answering technical questions from a concerned customer, then walked along the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to reach the Lincoln Memorial.

A quick detour to the Vietnam War Memorial and I headed back the other way, across the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, which opened at 10 a.m. and for which I had reserved a spot.

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC

After a very interesting two-hour tour (honestly, if you absolutely want to read everything, plan on three or even four hours), I was off again. I visited the Smithsonian Castle before heading to the Capitol, recalling the good times I had watching House of Cards…

You might think the end of the day was approaching, but… No, not at all! Since I left the hotel at 6:30 a.m., it was barely 1 p.m.

So I decided to visit the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History! And I can tell you, it’s worth the detour. I spent another two hours there (same time as for the first museum, and it takes about three or four hours to read all the little signs) and I was absolutely not disappointed!

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC

Now I’m off to the convention center to pick up my pass for tomorrow…

Picking up the .NEXT pass

To avoid the queue tomorrow morning, I decided to pick up my 3-day .NEXT pass early. Since it’s right next to the hotel, I didn’t even have to go out of my way to get there.

In 3 minutes flat I had recovered my precious sesame and found 2 of my NTC acolytes, Chad and Jason with whom I chatted for a few minutes before returning to the hotel to regain my strength before the evening with the Mikadolabs team!

Published: 10 December 2024

Written by Julien D.

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Categories: Nutanix EN

I am proud to announce that I have been selected to be part of the Nutanix Technology Champions program for the year 2025.

This is the 2nd consecutive year that I have the honor of being selected by Angelo, the program manager. He and his team have been great this year, especially at .NEXT in Barcelona or NTC Tech Connect in San José, a huge thank you to them!

You can find the full list of Nutanix Technology Champions 2025 here: https://next.nutanix.com/community-blog-154/introducing-the-nutanix-technology-champions-for-2025-a-celebration-of-excellence-and-innovation-43855

Congratulations to all the program’s elected officials, I can’t wait to see what Angelo has in store for us this new year.

Published: 2 October 2024

Written by Julien D.

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Categories: Nutanix EN

It has been a year since I first applied to join the exclusive Nutanix Technology Champion program. After my application was deemed admissible, I had the immense privilege of being included in the very select group of NTC 2024 by Angelo Luciani, the NTC program manager at Nutanix.

This year, I was able to meet incredible professionals from the sector with whom I was able to discuss Nutanix and the world of infrastructure in general. I was invited to exclusive online sessions reserved for members of the NTC program but especially to .NEXT in Barcelona during which we were able to benefit from privileged access (front row seats at the conferences, meeting with Rajiv Ramaswami (the president and CEO of Nutanix) or Sebastian Vettel (one of the personalities invited to the event), dedicated space…).

As is the case every year, registration is open again for the 2025 Nutanix Technology Champion class.

Introducing the NTC Program

This program recognizes Nutanix hybrid multicloud experts for their continued external contributions to the community and industry. Our Nutanix Technology Champions are our technology advocates and ambassadors, influencing change with practical advice and bold ideas.

The NTC program provides unique opportunities for individuals to enhance their knowledge, build their brand, and help shape the future of hybrid multicloud.

Program members receive the following benefits:

Early access information on Nutanix products and announcements.
Private beta testing and insight into product development are available.
Participation in exclusive meetings with engineering teams.
Access to discussions with internal teams on the Nutanix NTC Slack channel.
Unique activities at our annual .NEXT conference include pre-show briefings.
Career development and guidance for those aiming for NCP, NCM, and NCX.

To be considered for the program, candidates must complete and submit the online NTC application form.

The following criteria will be considered:

Be involved in the Nutanix community forums and actively contribute content.
Speak at community events and industry user groups.
Hands-on experience with our products and services.
Blogging, podcasting, YouTube videos, and being active on social media.
A desire to contribute to the IT community.
Demonstrate how to develop, deploy, and scale Nutanix environments.

The activity is held externally for others to see and learn from, as the NTC program is a community-driven program.

When accepted into the program, we expect you to:

Share best practices with your peers on our Slack channel.
Participate in discussions and research on products, brand, and other topics.
Join us for our monthly live meetings.
Contribute blogs or videos to the online community or your personal blog.
Participate in customer stories, case studies, and other marketing activities.
Interact with attendees and share your story on .NEXT.
Participate in user group or industry events.
Help people find answers in the online community.

We want to foster an active and collaborative group of experts, so space is limited.

If you think you have what it takes and are interested in joining the program, please fill out the application form on the official website.

Official article: https://next.nutanix.com/community-blog-154/nutanix-technology-champion-2025-applications-are-open-43601

Team Leader - Nutanix Technology Champion - Nutanix NTC Storyteller

Nutanix .NEXT on Tour Paris 2026: my October

7 October, the Partner Technology Summit

8 October, on the Inetum booth

Sitting a free Nutanix certification on 8 October

26 and 27 October, back at NTC Tech Connect

Nutanix Technology Champion (NTC) 2026: A 3rd Star on the Jersey!

What is an “NTC”? (Spoiler: It’s not just a LinkedIn badge)

Under the Hood: Why this nomination matters for the blog

Retrospective and 2026 Goals: Full Steam Ahead

Nutanix Technology Champion: 3rd Place Top Blogger 2025

The NTC Program is Not Just a Badge

1st in 2024, 3rd in 2025: Analyzing the Logs

Why Publish?

Conclusion: See You at the Finish Line

Nutanix Technology Champion 2026: applications are open !

Nutanix NTC Storyteller : an important milestone !

Nutanix NTC Storyteller: Meaningful Recognition

Nutanix .NEXT 2025 : Zero Day !

Heading to Washington DC!

A Relaxing Journey

Zero Day: A “stroll” through Washington DC

Picking up the .NEXT pass

Nutanix Technology Champions 2025 !

Nutanix Technology Champion 2025: registrations are open!

Introducing the NTC Program