Disclosure

Overview

I’ve been writing about technology things for a while now. In my day job I get paid. On this blog I don’t. But sometimes I do get given things or offered incentives. I try to be transparent about that, so any article you read that may have been somehow influenced by an external party will include a disclaimer. The point of this page is to collect the major ones in one location for easy access.

 

Content

All the articles and content on this site are written because I’m interested in things. I don’t ask for nor do I expect to receive any gifts from vendors just because I wrote an article about them. I do write sponsored posts every now and then. These have a disclaimer. The sponsor suggests a topic but has no editorial control over the content.

 

Conferences, Expenses and Gifts

Sometimes I get to attend conferences or vendor events outside of my day job. If anyone has kicked in for travel, accommodation, expenses, etc. I’ll make an individual disclosure post. These are listed here for your convenience.

Storage Field Day 22 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Storage Field Day 21 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Storage Field Day 20 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Storage Field Day 19 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Veeam Vanguard Summit 2019 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Pure//Accelerate 2019 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

VMware – VMworld 2019 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Tech Field Day 19 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Dell Technologies World 2019 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

VMware – VMUG UserCon Sydney 2019 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Storage Field Day 18 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Storage Field Day 17 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Pure//Accelerate 2018 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Dell Technologies World 2018 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Storage Field Day 15 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

VMware – VMworld 2017 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Storage Field Day 13 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Dell EMC World 2017 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Storage Field Day 12 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Dell EMC World 2016 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

VMware – VMworld 2016 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Storage Field Day 10 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Nimble Storage – Predictive Flash Platform Announcement – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Storage Field Day 8 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Storage Field Day 7 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

Storage Field Day 6 – (Fairly) Full Disclosure

VMware – VMworld 2014 – Wrap-up

What the Dell just happened? – Dell Storage Forum Sydney 2012 – Part 2

 

Sponsors and Advertising

I will quite happily accept money from people to contribute to the cost of running the site. They sometimes get a banner on the side. There’s a PayPal button and everything. StorONE, Vembu Technologies and Tintri have contributed to the costs of running the site at various times. I’ve also written sponsored articles for Tintri and Druva.

 

Influencer Programs

I’m a member of a number of different social and “influencer” programs. This means that I sometimes get early access to information, or free licenses or evaluation software. Sometimes I even get the odd shirt. These are listed here for your convenience.

VMware vExpert 2013/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22

  • Invite to private #Slack channel
  • vExpert certificate signed by CEO Pat Gelsinger.
  • Private forums on communities.vmware.com.
  • Permission to use the vExpert logo on cards, website, etc for one year
  • Access to a private directory for networking, etc.
  • Exclusive gifts from various VMware partners.
  • Private webinars with VMware partners as well as NFRs.
  • Access to private betas (subject to admission by beta teams).
  • 365-day eval licenses for most products for home lab / cloud providers.
  • Private pre-launch briefings via blogger briefing pre-VMworld (subject to admission by product teams)
  • Blogger early access program for vSphere and some other products
  • Opportunity to receive a free blogger pass to VMworld US or VMworld Europe (limited to 50 for US and 35 for EU).
  • Featured in a public vExpert online directory.
  • Access to vetted VMware & Virtualization content for your social channels.
  • Yearly vExpert parties at both VMworld US and VMworld Europe events.
  • Identification as a vExpert at both VMworld US and VMworld EU.

As part of my participation in the vExpert program, Cohesity has provided me with a number of gifts, including:

  • Various promotional items at VMWorld
  • Car battery jump starter
  • Glassware

EMC Elect 2013/14/16 and Dell EMC Elect (Founder) 2017

A box of goodies each year, usually including a bag of some description, a shirt, a USB stick and some stickers. In 2016 Dell EMC covered all my expenses to get me to Dell EMC World in Austin. In 2017 they got me along to Dell EMC World in Las Vegas.

Tintri Experts 2017

As part of my membership in the Tintri Experts program, I’ve received a few gift boxes, including:

  • H2go Force stainless steel bottle
  • Tintri sunglasses
  • Tintri webcam cover
  • Stickers
  • 3 pens (1 of which is also a spirit level)
  • A light
  • Backup battery
  • A Tintri “Wolfpack” T-shirt
  • 2 pins
  • A Tintri scarf and gloves
  • Tintri-branded BlueBUD ONE Bluetooth headphones

Tintri have also contributed to the costs of running the site and pay for articles from time to time.

      

NetApp United 2018

As part of my membership in the NetApp United program I’ve received a gift box containing:

  • NetApp United cap;
  • NetApp United notebad;
  • Badge;
  • Stickers; and
  • A certificate.

Veeam Vanguard 2019

As part of my membership in the Veeam Vanguard program I’ve received a gift box containing:

  • Veeam Vanguard socks;
  • A Veeam glass plaque;
  • A Veeam-branded Beats Pill+ portable speaker;
  • Veeam-branded Samsonite backpack; and
  • Veeam Vanguard track jacket.

In 2020 I received a set of Veeam-branded Beats Solo Pro headphones.

Zerto

As part of ZertoCON 2021, Zerto sent me a backpack, 20.9 oz H2Go Jolt Copper Insulated water bottle, and an international power adapters.

Pure Storage

As part of Pure//Accelerate 2021 Online, Pure Storage sent me some glasses with a case, some stickers, and a Pure branded North Face cap.

Other

Rubrik have sent me swag from time to time as thanks for coverage, including:

  • 2 Rubrik-branded hoodies
  • 2 pairs of Rubrik socks
  • 3 soda can pint glasses
  • 2 Rubrik T-shirts
  • 2 Rubrik-branded mugs
  • 2 webcam covers
  • 2 Rubrik notebooks
  • 2 Rubrik pens
  • 1 Rubrik beanie
  • 1 Rubrik Timbuk 2 Backpack
  • Rubrik stickers
  • An Axle 16oz steel tumbler
  • 3 stuffed toys (Mr. Awesome Backup, Little Miss Cloud, and Mr. RESTful API)
  • Jerky