The Very Important Parallels Professional (VIPP) Program

Alex Cooper is an experienced EUC Architect with over 25 years of successful EUC project implementations throughout Europe, in different industries. He is a certified instructor and trainer for key EUC vendors, with high scoring feedback from training classes.

Andy Milford is the CEO and Founder of RDPSoft, a Parallels VIPP, and a former 7x Microsoft MVP in the Enterprise Mobility / Remote Desktop Services area. His company, RDPSoft, is dedicated to producing affordable tools that make monitoring and managing RDS and other EUC environments much easier for admins. He is also a published author in the area of how to properly secure Remote Desktop environments, and runs a YouTube channel, RDPHard, featuring videos on how to fix and optimize RDS environments. Prior to starting RDPSoft, Andy was the CEO and Founder of Dorian Software, a log management company acquired by Ipswitch in late 2009.

I am an IT Specialist and Microsoft MVP with solid experience in cloud, Microsoft infrastructures, and End User Computing. I design and manage modern environments for secure access to business applications, with a strong focus on Parallels RAS as a modern alternative to traditional VPN solutions. I am actively involved in the technical community, where I share real-world experiences, best practices, and use cases related to the Digital Workspace, helping organizations improve security, productivity, and data control.

Barry Browne is a seasoned expert in the End User Computing (EUC) and cloud technology space. With over 25 years in IT, Barry is committed to advancing secure, flexible, and efficient computing environments that meet the evolving needs of businesses in today’s dynamic tech landscape.

Barry is committed to the IT community. He is a VMware vExpert, IGEL VIP, IGEL Insider, VMWare Tanzu Vanguard, VMUG and CUGC leader.

I'm a passionate modern workplace and graphics remoting expert, end-user experience analyst, speaker and author. In my role as a technical evangelist, principal consultant and software designer I work with customers and partners across Europe and North America. My EUC Score toolset introduces user-centric quality criteria, scientific benchmarking methods and telemetry data analytics to the digital workplace market.

Carl Webster has had a long career in the IT industry. He has built an unsurpassed reputation in giving-back to the end user community, particularly with his documentation scripts. He is now retired but still spends time working on documentation scripts for Parallels RAS as well as volunteering for Lions International.

Carl is Retired after 47+ years in IT, but still around to update the RAS documentation script.

Prior to the program disbanding, Dane Young (@youngtech) was recognized as a Citrix Technology Professional for 10+ years. Dane is currently an Omnissa Tech Insider, NVIDIA Enterprise Platform Advisor (NEPA), Nerdio Valued Professional (NVP), and Parallels VIPP. Dane is a self-employed virtualization and cloud architect, specializing in the design and deployment of application, desktop, server virtualization, end user computing and cloud technologies from Citrix, Microsoft, Omnissa and others. Launching independent as an entrepreneur, Dane inspired and created YOUNGTECH where he is presently functioning as CTO, leading a team of Professional Services Consultants. Together, they empower clients to convert their technology roadblocks into a roadmap to success. Dane does this by working with clients and partners to develop and execute End User Computing projects at every scale. Dane has maintained and contributes to several industry recognized technical blogs, primarily writing on LinkedIn and blog.youngtech.com.

Efrem Pozzati is Technical Director and Trainer at Ready Informatica, with more than 20 years of experience in server-based computing and application virtualization.

He's daily work include pre-sales, design of IT architectures, professional services and teaching as an official and certified trainer for vendors.

As a technology enthusiast, Efrem is always ready to discover new technologies and make them functional to improve people's digital lives and help customers in modernize and streamline their IT infrastructure: if it's easy to use, it will work better.

Looking for the next big thing in the IT industry and curious to see how it will impact our digital life.

Trond Eirik Haavarstein, known online as Eric, is a Norwegian IT expert and digital nomad currently based in Fortaleza, Brazil, where he has lived since 2012. A recognized leader in virtualization and automation, he holds prestigious titles including Microsoft MVP, Citrix Technology Professional (CTP), Nerdio NVP, and Parallels VIPP. As Chief Automation Officer and independent consultant, he specializes in Microsoft Intune, Azure Virtual Desktop, application packaging, and endpoint management solutions. Through his popular blog xenappblog.com, Eric shares in-depth guides, training courses, and community resources on modern workspace technologies. A former adventurer, he sailed the Caribbean from 2005 to 2007 before transitioning to a location-independent career in IT. Passionate about efficiency and emerging innovations like Tesla's Robotaxi, he continues to empower IT professionals worldwide from his home office near the beach.

Esther works as a Sr. Solutions Architect and DevOps Engineer at cognition IT. She designs & implements Cloud solutions and helps customers with their IT process automation. In this role, Esther has been awarded as a Microsoft MVP, Parallels VIPP and Nerdio Valued Professional (NVP). Over the years, she has become a respected professional in the DevOps and EUC community, presenting at international events like the Workplace Ninja Summit and ExpertsLive.

Guy is a 30-year veteran of the EUC world and is known for his PowerShell abilities (with development experience spanning 5 decades), troubleshooting and dad jokes. He is currently CTO of a US EdTech company providing hosted Windows desktops to students & teachers.

Julian is an experienced IT Architect with over 15 years of expertise in designing and delivering enterprise IT architectures that improve performance, reduce downtime, and align technology with business objectives. He has a strong track record in evaluating emerging technologies to drive innovation and increase platform reliability. With deep expertise in Microsoft Azure, Julian specializes in building secure, cost-efficient, and fully automated cloud infrastructures. A core focus of his work is Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and End-User Computing (EUC), where he designs and operates scalable Azure Virtual Desktop environments, covering networking, identity, security, image management and user experience optimization. A strong advocate of Infrastructure as Code (IaC), he applies automation and DevOps principles to deliver resilient, repeatable platforms. Julian is a Microsoft MVP in Azure Infrastructure as Code and Azure Virtual Desktop, recognized for his technical leadership and community contributions.

Leee Jeffries is an IT professional with over 15 years of experience in the IT industry. Leee's main focus is on End User Computing (EUC) with a good amount of experience in performance testing EUC environments. He works with large and small organizations across the IT industry. Leee is keen on exercise and likes competing in triathlons, obstacle races and running. You will see him around at EUC Forum events and other conferences, he enjoys being involved in community events.

Mark Vincent brings over 20 years of IT leadership experience and excels in strategic direction and innovative solutions. Mark has held key roles in various companies and holds a degree from UC San Diego.

Patrick Coble is an Nerdio NVP, Parallels VIPP, and Nerd who has worked in IT for over 28 years, with 10 years as a customer, 9 years as a Partner, and now 10 years working at VDISEC, providing security, deployment, and architecture services. He is passionate about presenting on INFOSEC and EUC topics, conducting Penetration tests to breach companies, and training people in cybersecurity and privacy. He is a board member of the World of EUC group, which brings EUC in-person and virtual EUC events to everyone worldwide. @VDIHacker

Remko Weijnen is an Innovation Engineer at Cloudhouse Labs with over 25 years of experience in application and desktop delivery, Windows internals, software development, and security. He combines a strong developer foundation with a practical, hands-on approach to complex challenges. Remko is an active contributor to the international EUC community, a co-founder of the Dutch Citrix User Group, and a frequent speaker at industry events. He's currently exploring agentic AI and AI-assisted development — and how these tools can accelerate engineering velocity without eroding the core skills and sound engineering judgment that underpin quality software.

With 20 years of experience in the EUC field, Roger has worked for major MSPs across Switzerland. Now running his own company, he consults MSPs and helps small and mid-sized businesses find modern, well-fit IT solutions. Active in the EUC community, he attends events such as SwissEUC and E2EMVC and values the exchange with international peers. Outside of work, he enjoys endurance and mountain sports and lives with his wife and children in a Swiss alpine region.

Ryan Mangan is a recognized technologist specializing in End-User Computing (EUC), AI, cloud solutions, and cost optimization. As CEO of EfficientEther Ltd, he focuses on developing AI-driven IT solutions and cloud cost management tools. Previously, he founded and led Systech IT Solutions, supporting businesses with managed services, and has built other successful companies. A Microsoft MVP and Chartered Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS CITP), Ryan has contributed to the industry through research, writing, and public speaking. He is the author of both editions of Mastering Azure Virtual Desktop, a widely referenced book, and has published articles in Computer Weekly and BCS IT Now. A regular speaker at industry events, he shares insights on AI, cloud technology, and EUC. His blog, democratising-clouds.com, explores emerging trends in IT. Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn for speaking engagements or collaborations.

Ryan is a self-employed technologist at GO-INIT, specializing in EUC (End-User Computing) and code. His primary focus is optimizing the user experience in centralized desktop environments. With strong development skills and an agile mindset, Ryan excels at quickly adapting to customers' needs. While he jokingly admits to being "lazy," it's the kind of laziness that drives innovation, Ryan is passionate about automation and avoids repetitive tasks whenever possible.

Samuel Legrand is Field CTO at ControlUp where he works with customers partners and internal teams to define Digital Employee Experience and End User Computing strategies. With a strong background in VDI automation and endpoint analytics he helps organizations move from siloed monitoring to proactive experience management across the modern digital workplace. Samuel regularly speaks at industry events and advises enterprises on large scale EUC transformations.

Silvio Di Benedetto is the founder and CEO of Inside Technologies, with more than 20 years of experience in the IT industry. A Microsoft MVP for Cloud and Datacenter Management since 2012, he supports organizations in driving innovation through cloud solutions, cybersecurity, and digital transformation.

Steves Begin has been passionate about IT infrastructure for nearly 25 years. After gaining solid experience as a client-side professional, he decided to specialize in EUC (End User Computing) as a consultant. A few years later, he founded his own company, specializing particularly in Citrix solutions. Always in learning mode, he has developed expertise with multiple technologies, constantly adapting to his clients' evolving needs. His primary objective remains client satisfaction, and he consistently delivers high-quality projects, whether for small-scale or enterprise-level environments. Recognized across the Montreal region, he has earned his clients trust through a personalized approach, dedicated commitment, knowledge sharing, and a proven track record of delivering concrete results. Committed to continuous improvement, he consistently seeks to maximize performance while adhering to industry best practices and applying security best practices. When not working with clients, he dedicates time to his home lab, where he experiments with emerging technologies and new product versions.

Thomas has worked in the IT industry for more than 20 years, with the biggest technology consulting companies in the world. Since 2013, he has worked at Previder Deutschland (fka. Orange Business / Login Consultants Germany), taking the role as Director Managed Services and Senior IT Architect as part of the management team. He shares his knowledge with the worldwide community via presentations on events, social media and old school printed media. In addition to his daily job, he writes books, whitepapers and articles for the German IT-Administrator Magazine. In addition to Parallels VIPP, Thomas has been also awarded as Citrix Technology Professional (CTP) started October 2009 and LoginVSI Technology Advocate.

Thomas Poppelgaard is the CEO and Principal Technology Architect at Poppelgaard.com. He has been recognized with multiple prestigious awards, including the Microsoft MVP in Windows 365/AVD and Azure/AI, as well as distinctions as a Parallels VIPP, NVIDIA Enterprise Platform Advisor, Nerdio NVP, Citrix Technology Professional, and VMware vExpert. In his role, Thomas specializes in consulting with businesses on virtualization, graphical computing, and AI solutions, helping them to integrate and leverage emerging technologies. He works closely with clients to support their digital transformation and adoption of cutting-edge innovations. Additionally, Thomas is a sought-after speaker and has presented at numerous high-profile events, including AI Day, Autodesk University, NVIDIA GTC, HPE Discover, E2EVC, and various EUC (End-User Computing) community gatherings.