About the NetApp User Group
Who are we?
The UK NetApp User Group is an independent body made up of a governing committee of NetApp Users.
Membership Details
The UK NetApp User Group is an independent organisation which works closely with NetApp UK Ltd Limited and is funded by Corporate membership fees (download Membership application form)
Membership is open to all users who are in possession of at least one NetApp UK Ltd maintenance contract. The Corporate joining fee is per company and not per individual – each member company can bring up to 3 representatives along to any/all of our meetings.
Company Membership Fee £500.00 per annum (+vat)
Our subscription runs from 1st January to 31st December inclusive. For those organizations who wish to join throughout the year, a pro-rated rate is available. We also offer a reduced rate of £299 for all local government and universities. Please contact our administrator for details.
Money Off Incentive - 1st Year
What’s more, NetApp UK Ltd have offered to refund £500 off of any web-based NetApp University training course to all new members upon joining – ask our administrator for full details.
Partner Membership
Partner members are permitted to join the group but have to be in possession of a least one NetApp UK Ltd maintenance contract and must not use the group to solicit for business – should these rules be breached then the committee reserve the right to withdraw the partners membership without refund. The fee for partner membership is as per above.
The Committee
Simon Govier is the current user group Chairman – Simon is a Senior solution designer within BTexact who has specialised in the design, deployment and operation of IP based solutions. He has a deep understanding of a broad range of technologies, covering networks, storage, servers, databases and Internet applications. He has detailed knowledge of performance engineering which has been used to deliver scalable and cost effective solutions by exploiting technology to its full potential. Track record of innovative solutions with a number of published case studies. He heads up a view of IT market place, with a particular focus on vendors such as Sun Microsystems, NetApp UK Ltd, Veritas, Cisco and many others - anticipating future issues and solutions.
Hoomi Chadirchi - Hoomi has been with ARM since its early days and was largely responsible for the development of the company's IT infrastructure. He and ARM have been NetApp customers since late 1997 when they switched from Auspex. Today Hoomi is in charge of ARM Engineering IT systems
Simon Daykin works for Logicalis and joined the committee of the NetApp user group in 2006. Simon has been instrumental in the design and build of a number of NetApp environments over the years in various organisations. Simon is particularly interested in Data Centre architecture from underlying infrastructure up to the application layer, including the integration of Snapshotting with live applications and operating systems. He has extensive experience of most of the core filer product set including the integration with VMWare, Oracle and use of FlexClone etc. Simon is really a network guy which drives his passion for the network side of storage, particularly native IP storage and the emerging FCoE protocols
Alec Skinner - Alec works for HSBC Technical Support Services where he is responsible for the design and installation of the UK based NAS storage. HSBC are using a number of NetApp filers (FAS3020, FAS3050, FAS3040, FAS3070) and NAS equipment from other storage providers. He is also a member of HSBC's Global NAS storage team where standards are created to be implemented around the globe. Alec joined the user group at the start of 2008.
Brendon Higgins describes himself as a digital plumber and has a broad background in IT support and administration, having worked on most operating systems in one capacity or another. A computer enthusiast who has been interested in computing since childhood. He is a is very hands on systems engineer in the legal sector, working for DLA Piper UK LLP, where he is responsible maintaining the global infrastructure services including SAN, VMware, Citrix and other key platforms. Brendon is an active member of the NetApp online community, regular presenter at IT conferences and joined the NetApp user group committee in 2009.
Administration
Linda Symons and Sarah Palmer - Linda is the manager of the group and is assisted by Jill. They are responsible for all day to day management issues, new members, event co-ordination and liaison between the user group and NetApp UK Ltd. Linda’s company also runs a number of other user groups within the IT marketplace. Please call Linda should you have any user group enquiry on 01189 784148.
When/Where do we meet?
We meet every 3 to 4 months in different locations. The events themselves are highly focused one day events. Previous agendas can be viewed using the the Agendas link. The next meeting venue and date wil be shown on the home page of this website.
How do I join?
The UK NetApp User Group is an independent organisation which works closely with NetApp UK Ltd Limited and is funded by corporate membership fees. Membership is open to all users who are in possession of at least one NetApp UK Ltd maintenance contract. The Corporate joining fee is per company and not per individual – each member company can bring up to 3 representatives along to any/all of our meetings.