EMC Proven Professional Spotlight: Angela Au

Employer: EMC

Function/Role: Advisory Field Support Specialist

Location: Hong Kong

Certification(s) Achieved:

• EMC Proven Professional Certifications
  • Information Storage Associate Version 2 (EMCISA)
  • Cloud Architect, Virtualized Infrastructure Specialist Version 1.0
  • Cloud Engineer, Hybrid Cloud Solutions - Federation Specialist Version 1.0 (EMCCE)
  • Implementation Engineer, Storage Area Network (SAN) Specialist Version 6.0 (EMCIE)
  • Implementation Engineer, Symmetrix Solutions Specialist Version 6.0
  • Implementation Engineer, VMAX3 Solutions Specialist Version 1.0 (EMCIE)
  • Platform Engineer, Business Continuity Specialist Version 4.0 (EMCPE)
  • Platform Engineer, Networked Storage - NAS Specialist Version 4.0 (EMCPE)
  • Platform Engineer, Symmetrix Specialist Version 6.0 (EMCPE)
• Other Certifications
  • Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE): Microsoft Windows 2000
  • HP Certified IT Professional - HP/UNIX Systems Administration
  • Sun Certified Systems Administrator (SCSA)
  • Brocade Certified Fabric Professional (BCFP)
  • ITIL V3 - Foundations Certification
  • VMware Certified Professional (VCP) on vSphere 4
  • VMware Certified Professional (VCP) - Datacenter Virtualization on vSphere 5

Education: Master of Science in Information Technology (The Chinese University of Hong Kong ), Bachelor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering  (The University of Hong Kong)

ECN: Angela_Au

LinkedIn: Angela Au

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What’s your background? Have you always been interested in technology? What drew you to work in this field?

I graduated from The University of Hong Kong with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) but discovered that Electrical and Electronic Engineering did not hold much interest for me beyond that. Subsequently, I applied as a Software Engineer trainee for Hewlett Packard after graduation and this started my career in the computer industry.

What most interests you about your work? In your role, what work do you do in a typical day?

I am working as a Field Support Specialist, providing instance support or consultation advice to field colleagues including Customer Engineers, Delivery Specialists, and Systems Engineers (what we call pre-sales guys). What keeps me in the same position for 14 years is that the problem(s) encountered daily are mostly different and most of them are pretty challenging. I enjoy it very much when colleagues report back to me that the resolution I provided satisfies their customer’s need.

In the end of 2015, you managed to earn 3 Specialist certifications in just 3 months. What was your method for preparing for 3 separate exams on 3 different tracks?

Frankly, I am quite good at Symmetrix (VMAX) so I don’t have to spend much time to review the training material. I gained certification pretty easily.

For the other two certifications – Cloud Engineer - Hybrid Cloud Solutions Specialist and Cloud Architect - Virtualized Infrastructure Specialist – I had to study quite hard after attending the necessary trainings and spending time preparing for exams – as long as 2-3 weeks for each.

Can you describe the value to you of your EMC Proven Professional certifications? Why did you choose to get certified? How has the EMC Proven Professional Program benefitted you professionally?

Getting certified for certain EMC products (particularly those that are Cloud-related), helps strengthen the technical knowledge of ETD (Emerging Technology).

What big project are you working on now? Or what major project have you recently completed?

I will provide assistance for the upcoming VPLEX VS1 to VS2 conversion in Macau and the first VMAX3 Engine Upgrade in Hong Kong.

In December 2015, I provided assistance for a dark-site customer for Engine Upgrade on VMAX which had a very tight upgrade schedule. The upgrade ran smoothly.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Are there any new technologies/skills you want to learn?

I imagine I will be working with much broader prospects than today since FSS should be working more on Solution-based instead of Product-based.  I would like to acquire knowledge on EMC’s flash storage e.g. XtremIO, DSSD, etc.

Name a major achievement in your career or any awards that you have won.

I received EMC Silver Level award in 2014 for my involvement in the Atmos Software Upgrade which lasted for 9 consecutive days. I also received Best TCE award in November 2014.

What advice would you give to someone entering the Proven Professional Program?

First, select a reasonable date when registering for the exam (let’s say 3 weeks from now). This will drive you to start studying the training material. Always revisit the practice test provided. This will give you a better idea of how the questions will be given during the actual exams.

Read other EMC Proven Professional Spotlight interviews in the Proven Professional Spotlight Archive