by Nicolas Ignoto, CTP, NY Metro CUGC Leader

Citrix recently announced few changes in its organization including the consolidation of all Citrix Communities under the management of Ron Oglesby. 

Ron is a popular figure within the Citrix Community and I was fortunate to chat with him about his new responsibilities. 

Being a former CTP and MVP, what are your vision and goals for the Citrix communities?

Interaction with the engineering side of the house is a goal of mine. Actually, it may be my number one goal here as I take over. Getting our customers (and consultants) involved with the development teams so they can provide feedback, constantly, throughout the process is huge. Asking questions like: Is this a good idea? Do customers want this? Here I have designed this… is this what you wanted? I think that these programs need to be a two-way street where they are just as valuable to the participant as they are to Citrix. And, I think the most value we can find, as a company, is feedback on product, early enough that it can save dev time and focus our efforts.

What are the challenges facing the Citrix communities right now?

Right now, I think some of the groups want more content and more presentations from Citrix. I don’t necessarily believe that Citrix employees need to present that content, but the community needs VALUABLE, HELP ME TODAY, THAT WAS AWESOME content. I have always believed (as a presenter) that the audience is giving me their time. And their time is just as valuable (if not more) than mine is. I need to pay for that time by making sure they walk away with something useful. Something that they can say, “that was worth me driving in and sitting there for 45 minutes.”

I have seen the difference in groups that are giving rote presentations on basic features, and those that have users or CTPs or someone from Citrix presenting a “Here is a cool way to do this/fix this problem,” something that has immediate value to that audience member. I want to enable more people in the community to give presentations with harder-hitting info, that will, in-turn, drive admins and architects to get to the meeting. I want them thinking “Man, I can’t miss this meeting, they are doing a presentation on X.” 

In your opinion, what benefits do the Citrix communities bring to its members? What ways can Citrix continue to incentivize and encourage participation from (and provide value to) to its members?

I think, that when done correctly, the community should make someone’s daily life easier. Full stop. Maybe that is through a presentation they saw outlining best practices for design (saving someone time at their job) or maybe it’s a troubleshooting doc they got from another member that takes a problem from a 3-hour fix to a 10-minute fix (saving time when that phone call comes at 9pm while they are at home). I mean, the real value in tech communities is their ability to support each other. The only incentive, I think, that means anything to drive participation is that they feel the content and people are making their lives easier. If you don’t see a benefit, didn’t learn something new, why spend the time and effort?

Read the full interview, where Ron talks more about his career and other Citrix insights here.