As a Senior System Engineer at Kidwell, Derek Loseke is entrusted with the responsibility of leading complex technology projects, leveraging his extensive experience and expertise to deliver results that exceed customer expectations.

One of the most noteworthy projects he has worked on involved replacing existing storage and computer infrastructure, updating the VMware vSphere environment, and consolidating outdated NAS arrays.

This project required meticulous planning, coordination, and problem-solving skills to address various challenges and ensure a seamless implementation.

Overcoming Challenges

One of the biggest challenges Loseke faced during this project was in the pre-sales engineering phase. Both Dell and Broadcom, two key vendors, made significant changes to their partner programs, which affected the quoting, ordering, and licensing processes.

Loseke had to stay up-to-date on these changes and act quickly to complete transactions before the new policies were implemented.

“The largest obstacles I encountered were during the pre-sales engineering phases of the project in which Dell made changes to their partner program and altered the path by which hardware was quoted and ordered,” Loseke said. “Broadcom also altered their VMware licensing model and their partner program which required staying up-to-date on the licensing changes and increasing costs, as well as changing how licensing can be purchased.”

Managing project timelines

Managing project timelines was another crucial aspect of Loseke’s role. The project was deployed based on the customer’s timeline, with the only major delay being the arrival of some hardware due to supply chain constraints.

To address this, Loseke and his team utilized regular weekly meetings, email, and Microsoft Teams to ensure effective communication and coordination.

“Regular weekly meetings and communication tools such as email and Microsoft Teams are utilized to check in on the project status, as well as to address any possible roadblocks that could slow or stop the implementation of the project,” Loseke said.

“Documentation tools were also utilized to document information about the hardware and software being deployed that could be handed off to the customer point of contact and utilized by Kidwell operations engineers both during and after the conclusion of the project.”

Ensuring seamless communication

By leveraging these tools, they were able to stay on top of project statuses and promptly address any potential roadblocks.

Documentation tools also played a vital role in providing information to the customer contact and Kidwell operations engineers, ensuring a smooth transition both during and after the project.

Loseke takes immense pride in the knowledge and effort required to design a solution that meets the customer’s requirements and anticipate their future needs. He is particularly proud of the pre-sales lifecycle, where he took the workload off the customer by providing all the necessary information for executive approval and completing the sales lifecycle before vendor changes were implemented.

“I’m proud of the knowledge it takes to design the solution that meets the customer’s requirements, as well as the ability to generate a plan to implement the solution,” he said. “I’m also proud of the amount of effort that was required of me during the pre-sales lifecycle in order to take the workload off of the customer and provide them with all of the information to present the company executives for approval of the project implementation.”

Pride In A Job Well Done

Additionally, Loseke takes pride in deploying a well-organized, quality solution with minimal disruption to the customer’s daily operations.

This turnkey solution not only fulfilled the customer’s current needs but also positioned them for future growth and infrastructure changes.

“I’m also proud of being able to cleanly deploy a quality solution that is well organized and implemented with little to no interruption to the customer’s daily operations. This provided them with a turnkey solution at the conclusion of the project with little to no workload placed on the customer,” Loseke said. “This project was also designed and deployed with additional future infrastructure changes in mind and was designed as a solution that will continue to grow with the customer as their business operations also grow.”

Through meticulous planning, seamless communication, and a focus on customer satisfaction, Loseke has consistently delivered exceptional results. His ability to overcome challenges, manage timelines, and provide turnkey solutions showcases his dedication to excellence and his commitment to meeting customer requirements while anticipating their future needs.

As a Senior Systems Engineer at Kidwell, Loseke embodies the company’s values of quality, innovation, and customer-centricity.