As the digital world continues to evolve, organizations must pivot how they do business to meet consumer needs. Through Perficient’s People Promise, and our award-winning Growth for Everyone programming, we’re providing resources to further enable the success of our colleagues and the industries they support.
We recently sat down with Andrew Hammond, senior solutions architect, Microsoft, to learn more about his role working in the Microsoft business unit (BU) and expertise with Microsoft Azure. Continue reading to discover more about Andrew’s experience at Perficient and to catch a glimpse of his family’s spooktacular Halloween traditions!
What is your role? Describe a typical day in the life.
I do a little bit of everything, and I actively work on sales pursuits and on my own projects. I also assist others on their projects. I’m in Perficient’s Microsoft BU, and work with the Azure team specifically. The Microsoft BU includes Azure, Modern Work, and Dynamics.
My responsibilities reflect the projects I’m assigned. That could include attending client meetings, deploying things in Microsoft Azure, and writing code. In addition to working on client projects, I also help my fellow colleagues work through problems and find alternative methods to deploy things. I work with our sales teams and directors to create presentations and resource plans for sales pursuits. I also meet with new or existing clients to discuss opportunities and projects.
I love to learn new things to stay challenged and engaged. While I think I know a lot about Azure, it seems like every day there’s something new I’m learning and picking up. We do a lot of infrastructure-as-code, and I really enjoy that.
Read More: Learn About Perficient’s Microsoft Azure Consulting Solutions
What are your proudest accomplishments, personally and professionally? Any milestone moments at Perficient?
There was a new service in Azure, the Azure VMware solution, and I was the first one at Perficient to lead a project on this and be successful. I created pursuit artifacts that we can use for Azure VMware projects in the future.
What has your experience at Perficient taught you?
One of the things that I’ve learned is that you need to speak up and not be afraid to propose new ideas or alternative solutions. Clients come to the table and want something done a certain way, but there could be a better option. Instead of only doing what is asked, suggest alternatives and better ways to do things. Within the cloud space, whether it’s Azure, AWS, Google, or any of the clouds we work with, there’s always evolving tech and new ways to do things.
What motivates you in your daily work?
I hold myself to a high standard, and I also hold my work to that same standard. Making sure that I’m delivering the best I can for my customers, and ensuring the highest quality, is what drives me forward. I take pride in that.
What advice would you give to colleagues who are starting their career with Perficient?
Andrew and his family exploring Arkansas.
Always be open to learning new things and continuing to grow. Don’t be afraid to go out and get certifications because they help you continue your education. Also, don’t be afraid of new things. A lot of the technologies that I work with were new to me as I had not deployed them before. I went out and learned them, and through this, I was able to deploy them for customers and make the project successful.
When I came to Perficient, I did not have any certifications. Now, I have six Microsoft certifications and completed SAFe 6 Agilist certification.
Learn More: Discover How Perficient Prioritizes Growth for Everyone
Whether big or small, how do you make a difference for our clients, colleagues, communities, or teams?
The first project I worked on at Perficient was with a team of relatively new colleagues. Through that experience, we all created a strong bond and became friends. After completing the project, we continued to stay in touch. One of my fellow colleagues ran into a few challenges, and I acted as a pseudo-mentor by providing advice. It was a nice opportunity to share my knowledge and experience, while helping my peer grow and overcome problems. It was a great experience for both of us. I’m always willing to help.
What are you passionate about outside of work?
I’m passionate about my family. I’m married and have a daughter. We spend as much time as we can together and are very close. We like to travel, but always seemed to take beach vacations. We have started going to random places to find something new, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Tennessee. It’s exciting to travel all over the place to see what’s out there.
My favorite place to visit is Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We loved going hiking in the mountains and seeing the wildlife and bears. It’s very nice and laid back, so we enjoyed it.
What’s one thing you wish your colleagues knew about you?
One of the things I like to do is create Halloween displays in my yard. My family does a lot of digital decorations with projectors, screens in our yards, and physical objects. We built a large display last year and have a goal to continue growing it. 
Read More: Check Out Andrew’s Spooktacular Halloween House Feature
My parents work at a campground in the summer, and they have a Halloween party every year. People decorate their house or campsite with Halloween decorations. It’s a competition with three categories: campsites, RV sites, and cabins. My family does a large display there too. It’s always fun to set up.
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