Back in 2022, my co-founder Simon and I were pestering Databricks to create something similar to the Microsoft MVP programme. They said no.
But they were already thinking about something else: Databricks Champions. They asked us to help think through what the programme could look like, how it might work and what being a Champion should actually mean. We shared our thoughts, and around six months later, the programme was born.
Many people know Simon as a part of the original Databricks Beacons and one of the founding Databricks MVPs, but he's also been a friend of the Champions programme since it's inception, involved in many of their sessions, events and activities.
The Databricks Champions programme has grown considerably since then, and so has the number of Champions at Advancing. We now have 16 across the business at the time of writing, and we are immensely proud of every one of them - but this isn't a numbers exercise.
We want Advancing Analytics to be the Home for Databricks Champions. Not just a company that employs them. The best place to become one, the best place to remain one and the best place to use that expertise to make a difference for customers.
There are a lot of technology badges in the world. Some take a short course and a multiple-choice quiz. Some mainly provide a new image for your LinkedIn profile. Databricks Champion status is different.
Champions combine deep technical knowledge with real delivery experience. They contribute to customer projects, work with Databricks teams, share what they know, and take an active role in their technical communities. They're not only good at using the platform; they need to understand why a particular approach is right, where it might fail and how the platform is developing.
They also have to explain that clearly to other people. That might mean mentoring a colleague, helping a delivery team through a difficult decision, speaking at a meetup or challenging an architecture before it becomes an expensive problem.
Nomination and acceptance are not automatic, and maintaining the status requires continued contribution. Champion status is earned - that is exactly why it carries weight.
If we say that Champion status matters, we should treat it as though it matters. That starts with recognising the time and work involved.
Eligible employees who achieve official Databricks Champion status can receive a £10,000 gross annual Champion bonus in the UK or a €10,000 gross annual bonus in Portugal, subject to our Reward Programme Policy.
Our Champions can also receive:
Dedicated time for Champion and Databricks activities
Access to development and community opportunities
An invitation to our annual Champion Day
The chance to attend Data + AI Summit through our Champions ballot.
There's also Champion swag, including a jacket that I'm apparently not allowed to have. Rude, but fair.
The financial reward matters, but this isn't just a bonus scheme. The bigger commitment we're making is creating an environment where technically ambitious people have the time, support and opportunities to keep improving.
That means helping people gain the right project experience; it means supporting certifications and learning; it means connecting candidates with Databricks Solution Architects and existing Champions. It also means giving people opportunities to mentor, write, speak and contribute beyond their immediate project.
We know that customers don't choose a data and AI partner because its people have the longest email signatures, they choose a partner because they need difficult work done well.
Our Champions bring practical experience from customer work, strong knowledge of the Databricks platform and closer engagement with the wider Databricks technical community. They have opportunities to hear about platform developments, take part in technical discussions and bring useful knowledge back into our projects and Centre of Excellence. For customers, that matters in several ways.
Databricks is developing quickly. There is rarely a shortage of possible features, architectures or opinions. The difficult bit is deciding what is appropriate for a particular organisation.
A Champion can look beyond the product announcement and ask the less glamorous questions. Will this work in production? How will it be governed? Is the team ready to operate it? Does it solve the actual problem, or are we adding another interesting piece of technology for somebody to maintain?
The best technical experts share what they know. Our Champions mentor others, contribute to our Centre of Excellence and help convert project experience into reusable guidance, technical patterns, demonstrations and learning.
For a customer, that means access to more than the experience of the people immediately assigned to a project. Our Champions can support complex decisions, challenge proposed approaches and bring in relevant lessons from elsewhere in the business.
Champions work closely with Databricks Partner Solution Architects, account teams, field teams and the wider Champion community. That doesn't grant a magic answer to every technical problem. Sadly, nobody has invented that programme yet.
But it does create a stronger connection between what's happening across Databricks and what customers are trying to deliver in the real world. Our responsibility is to turn that access into practical value, rather than just repeating product announcements.
Community is really important to us, and Champions are a part of that. They speak at events, create technical content, contribute to workshops, and take part in Databricks community activity.
This then improves their ability to explain complex ideas, defend technical decisions and listen to different perspectives - valuable skills when you're trying to build a data platform, governance programme or AI application.
We're super proud to have 16 Databricks Champions. We would like more, but the goal isn't a bigger badge collection.
We want to build an environment where great Databricks practitioners can do the best work of their careers. Somewhere they're recognised for technical excellence and contributions, and are supported to keep growing. It creates better opportunities for our people, and raises the standard across Advancing.
Most importantly, it gives our customers access to people who fully understand the platform, have delivered with it loads, and care enough to keep making the wider team better.
That's what being the Home for Databricks Champions means to us. If you want to join our team, you can check out our careers page - or drop us a message if you want to chat about delivering a platform built by Champions.