I woke up to the news that I’m continuing my streak of being an HCL Master, previously IBM Champion. And we are now three in Norway!

So, what is an HCL Master, you ask? Let me quote the email I received from HCL today:

HCL Masters help the community and HCL to respond quickly to partners and customers demands and deliver a higher level of support and service to everyone.

I think the main reason I’ve been chosen as an HCL Master for 2020 is the following:

• I am the leader the Nordic Collaboration User Group (NCUG), previously the Norwegian user group ISBG
• I blog quite a bit about HCL products (previously IBM products), social media, technology and stuff about collaboration
• I sell, develop with and promote the HCL products
• I assist, not only my customers, but other users and people in the HCL community and get people information and pointers on where to go
• The people listed in the point above, colleagues and other Masters and people I work with nominated me
• My charm and good looks!

Thank you to all of those who nominated me, I really appreciate that. And congratulations to my fellow champions. Not least my two fellow Norwegians! We are three Norwegian HCL Masters this year:

• My good friend Arne Nielsen
• And my fellow NCUG board member, Tore Søgård!

I nominated them both, and I’m so happy to see they are rewarded for their work. Congratulations, guys!

So, what being an HCL Master mean for me and my customers? Here’s a taster:

• I get immediately access to Level 3 support, which means I bypass level 1 and 2. This means faster service for my customers (as well as for myself)
• I get early access to betas and new software
• I have a HUGE pool of other masters to lean on and to get support and answers from
• I’m treated to swag and merchandise
• HCL arranges monthly Master meetings where we get the inside scoop on things (some of it is NDA, but it helps us keep the excitement up)
• At conferences and other events HCL gives us special treats and arrange meetups and get togethers

All of this combined means that I can be even more effective and useful for my customers! And, I get to learn a lot and have fun and meet old and new friends!

What an early Xmas gift!

Here are all the HCL Masters for 2020.