In our latest installment of the Meet the Aces blog series, I had the pleasure of speaking with Maurice Kevenaar. He has over 30 years of experience working as a programmer, system engineer, and network engineer for a myriad of companies in industries ranging from travel arrangements to software development to media agencies.
Clearly, he’s an IT veteran whose passion for technology is apparent in everything he does. In our conversation, Maurice shared insights into his journey, experiences, and future expectations for the IT industry. Here’s a look at the key questions from our discussion.
Can you tell me about your journey into the IT industry? Was it your first career choice, or did you explore other paths before landing here?
Maurice's journey into the IT industry was not just a career choice but a lifelong passion. From the age of five, he was captivated by technology. It all started when he removed the game cartridge from his family’s TV-connected gaming computer, and he could not put it back in correctly. Despite his father having explicitly instructed him never to do so, he chose not to be angry about the disobedience. Instead, he gifted his son "The Basic Cookbook," a book focused on programming. His father supported him at a pivotal moment of his childhood, nurturing his early interest in programming languages.
Image courtesy of Internet Archive. The first edition of this book by Ken Tracton was printed in 1978.
Looking back on your career, what experiences really shaped who you are today? Any advice for those just starting out in the IT world?
To Maurice, you must embrace failure as a learning opportunity. He advises newcomers to the IT industry to dive in and "just do it," noting that there shouldn’t be any embarrassment attributed to failing, as it is a natural part of the learning process.
“If it fails, toss it aside and do it again. And if it fails again, toss it aside and do it again. There's no shame in failing. There is only shame in not doing because you're afraid, in my opinion.”
—Maurice Kevenaar
Based on his own positive experiences, he encourages aspiring IT professionals to create virtual machines and experiment, learning from mistakes rather than fearing them. His philosophy is that each setback is a steppingstone to future growth.
What do you love most about Veeam? Is there a particular feature that stands out to you? Have you had a chance to use it in a real situation, especially when it comes to restoring data?
Maurice’s answer was short and concise when asked this question: "It just works." Having worked with various backup solutions, he appreciates Veeam’s stability, reliability, and ease of use. He points out features like instant recovery allow for quick restoration of virtual or physical machines. The ability to get back online and running instantly is what sets Veeam apart in his experience.
How do you think IT is going to change in the coming years? What are you excited about, and what gives you pause?
Maurice believes that AI will play a significant role in the future of IT. However, he thinks that AI should be integrated into IT with caution. AI must be installed with a finite scope and concrete boundaries to ensure it serves its intended purpose without overstepping—and that is where the danger lies.
Maurice also predicts a potential shift from cloud solutions as costs become prohibitive for many businesses, citing Netflix as an example. The company transitioned back to on-premises locations, finding it more cost-effective to stream movies from physical machines they control rather than relying on an AWS environment. On a wider scale, he believes there will be a shift toward on-premises systems for certain applications.
What has your involvement in IT communities meant for you personally? As a Veeam Vanguard, what have been some key moments of that experience?
Being part of the Veeam Vanguard program has provided Maurice with a platform to connect with like-minded individuals. He values the peer communication and collaboration that come naturally from such communities, noting that they have enriched his professional life. From his perspective, finding like-minded individuals with similar interests and software connections in an IT community is significantly easier than in traditional user groups and events, where the large number of attendees makes it challenging to connect with those who share your mindset.
Overall, the opportunity to share knowledge and insight with others as a Veeam Vanguard and as an Object First Ace has been foundational in his involvement in the IT community.
What do you think the future holds for IT communities—do you see them thriving or facing challenges?
Maurice is optimistic about the future of IT communities as long as they are founded and run correctly. He believes that IT communities can alleviate support burdens and grow as a team by harnessing collective knowledge—much like a hive mind—and by leveraging the vision of the theme product suite. He suggests that by processing both blog posts and user questions with insightful responses through AI, then integrating this information into a community platform, you can assist users in resolving issues before they even must post their questions. Typically, someone else has already uncovered the solution.
When you’re not busy with your IT job, what do you enjoy doing?
Outside of his professional life, Maurice is passionate about 3D printing. He enjoys creating practical items, usually customized and useful gadgets that enhance his daily life. His enthusiasm was evident as he described his projects, including a unique temperature sensor and a network-connected clock, both of which are pictured below. The device operates using a planetary gear system, featuring a central axle with gears arranged around it. While there is a mathematical function that describes its operation, the fundamental principle is that the arrangement of gears allows it to function efficiently.
Interested in learning more about our Meet the Aces program? Follow our Aces page for updates and to read about new members to the community.
