Aviatrix Blog 
As the cloud networking experts, Aviatrix wants to elevate the work of cloud networking heroes who labor to keep networks secure, effective, and performant. We’re proud to highlight people who have taught themselves the necessary skills, designed and managed successful networks, and have the expertise to share, including several who joined Aviatrix in New York at the NASDAQ tower.
Our third hero spotlight is on Maxime Deraet, Global Senior Cloud Network Architect. See our previous hero spotlights on Adam Stipkovits and Toby Foss.
From On-Prem to the Cloud: A “Renaissance Man” of Networking
Like many network engineers, Maxime began with legacy hardware and eventually transitioned to the cloud. Over 23 years, he has built expertise across the breadth and depth of the industry, working in on-premises and cloud environments and overseeing networking operations from architecture and design to deployment. He’s overseen networking and networking security in a variety of organizations, including finance, stock exchange, SI, pharmaceutical, cloud software startup, and mobile manufacture. He holds multiple certifications, including Cisco CCIE, AWS, GCP, Azure, and Aviatrix ACE.
Seeing so many networking situations, requirements, design patterns, decisions, and developments has equipped Maxime as a thought leader both as a people manager and a cloud networking expert. He has spoken on podcasts and sofa summits on topics in hybrid and multicloud networking as well as serving as a teacher and mentor.
The Network is the Cloud
When asked what “the network is the cloud” meant to him, Maxime provided clarity about what matters in a potentially complex, crowded, and confusing industry. He described three categories where the customer spends the most money in the cloud: networking, compute, and storage.
“A good cloud network architecture is the key to success,” he said. “We always talk about application-centricity, but never underestimate the importance of the network layer. It is the foundation of everything in the cloud.”
The Challenge of Design
Maxime explained that his greatest challenge as a Global Senior Network Architect working for a systems integrator is being quick and proactive in design. When facing the customer, he and his team have to understand their network infrastructure and identify risks and pain points. Then, they suggest new solutions for a well-architected framework based on the Aviatrix “CRAMPS” design pillars – Cost, Recoverability, Availability, Management, Performance, and Security.
“This is quite demanding but worth it as your learning curve is exponential,” he said.
A Career “Aha” Moment: How the Cloud Surpasses Legacy Hardware
Maxime described an “aha” moment in his career that is linked with the visibility that the Aviatrix platform offers.
“When I started to work on cloud networking, deploying cloud infrastructure with AWS Hyperscaler, I could not figure out what was wrong and discovered Aviatrix to figure this out with its CoPilot and Day 2 Ops capabilities,” he said. “Since then, I never looked back and would not go back to legacy network for anything!”
A second “aha” moment came when Maxime witnessed the amazing potential of the cloud vs. last-generation tech, such as being able to spin up a Linux VM “in the blink of an eye,” something that was impossible in legacy networking.
Outside of Work
Outside of work, Maxime pursues excellence and expertise in other disciplines. He used to do endurance sports, including marathons, Half Ironman (Triathlon) & cyclosportives with his road bike across the mountains. He chased the passes across Europe, though primarily in France to fulfill his dream of doing the routes of the Tour de France when he watched his own “Cloud Heroes” on TV in the mountain stages.
“Maybe my passion for the cloud comes from there,” he joked.
Today, he still enjoys riding his bike. Another “altitude” activity he enjoys is skiing, which has become a family activity.
When asked what career he would have pursued if not tech, Maxime said that he had dreamt about becoming an airplane pilot since my childhood.
“I always have been fascinated by aircraft (military and commercial) so much that I have built dozens of model kits,” he said. “But I don’t regret the career path I embraced at all.”
Curious about other cloud networking heroes like Maxime?
- We’ll keep highlighting networking professionals on this blog.
- Learn more about the Cloud Networking Heroes program and apply on the The Cloud Network Community.
To learn more about Maxime, listen to this episode of the Altitude podcast in which he walks through a networking “masterclass” with Bryan Woodworth and Rob DeWeese.