Meet Community MVP...
Allen Andreas
Hello Allen! So tell us a little on how you got started in your career and when was ServiceNow introduced to you?
How did your career evolve?
After using ServiceNow as an end-user, I began working as an ITIL user fulfilling requests and working incidents as a Service Desk Manager. Just a few months after that, I was asked to be the system administrator of the entire platform and took the Sys Admin training course and obtained my certification. The company I was with at the time was a ServiceNow Express customer; for those of you who don't know, there was a version of the platform that was a bit restrictive as far as the features go (no scripting, etc.) and it was meant more for smaller companies who wanted to see if ServiceNow was right for them, sort of like a "thin version". Within 6 months of obtaining my Sys Admin Certification, my company decided to upgrade to the full version of ServiceNow, but chose not to go with migration assistance (basically meaning they wanted to start from scratch). I was responsible for leading the implementation of ServiceNow and learned a lot of lessons very quickly during that time, haha. I was then tasked with developer responsibilities which then led me to eventually becoming a lead Developer. Fast forward years later, I've done 3 full implementations of ServiceNow, created numerous custom applications, have worked with ITSM, ITBM, ITOM, Discovery, Orchestration/IntegrationHub, SecOps, all sorts of other applications as well as earned 8+ ServiceNow certifications! Now I'm a ServiceNow Architect for a consultant firm working with federal clients.
How did you get involved with the ServiceNow Community?
I got involved in the ServiceNow Community almost immediately. Due to me being responsible for such a huge task at the company I was with very early in my career, I started out using the forums ALL the time. One thing that really impressed me was the ability to post a question and get a response relatively quickly. Due to the diverse population of the Community, there seems to be people submitting, reviewing, and answering questions at all hours of the day! I started to "lurk" the forums in my free time even if I didn't have a question myself, just reading questions and thinking to myself what the answer could be. I used to subscribe to questions I was interested in and would check back later to see if I was right.
You're very generous with your time. What inspired you to start answering in addition to asking?
Over time, I started to feel more comfortable with my ServiceNow experience and definitely felt the desire to give back to the Community that had helped me so much when I first started out. I began to offer solutions/suggestions which helped others little by little. All of which led to me eventually being awarded the ServiceNow Community Leader Award back in 2018, and the ServiceNow Community MVP award back-to-back for 2019 & 2020.
What advice would you give to someone who wanted a nudge to start contributing? T
There are a lot of questions on the forums, some are technically advanced, some are covering niche topics, and some are about foundational elements. The neat thing about ServiceNow is that it is growing at an extreme rate, becoming more and more popular as time goes on. There's always someone who has just started their journey. You don't have to be a "ServiceNow Pro" to reply to a question. Someone out there could benefit from your assistance so please contribute! I started out very slowly and have now given over 1,000 correct answers!
Where do you spend your time in the community?
I usually assist with questions who haven't had a reply yet. We have some amazing ServiceNow Community contributors and if a post has several replies already, I feel confident the author has gotten some great assistance. As far as the community topic, I usually assist in the Developer Community section of the forums, but don't purposely limit myself there. I feel I have a pretty diverse background and can help out in numerous sections so I'm usually helping all over.
Any other advice to share with those just starting on their journey with ServiceNow?
At times, especially when you're first starting out, it can feel a bit overwhelming. Please know that everyone has to start somewhere and there is an amazing community right here on the forums who are ready to assist you if you have questions. ServiceNow is an amazing cloud service and there are so many things you can do. It's truly inspiring to see how everyone is using the platform. The best advice I can give is...take advantage of the documentation and community forums! The search feature is amazing and helps people find answers pretty quickly. There's a high possibility that someone has asked the same question you have and it's been answered; which allows you to quickly get right back to working on your task/project!
Any other interesting tidbits, stories, hobbies you'd like to share?
Here's a few random trivia facts about myself: I served in the United States Marine Corps for 8 years, I've volunteered as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), I really like Retrowave/Synthwave music. This past year, I've begun creating my own music, digitally. I also like to go to gaming conventions, explore new places, and go on adventures!
Thank you, Allen
