Ask an F5er- AMA with guest Shaun Gouws

Hi Melissa, and hello to the DevCentral Community as well! 

A day as a Service Delivery Manager at F5 is dynamic and centered around ensuring the seamless delivery of F5’s services while building strong customer relationships. My day typically involves balancing technical expertise, strategic planning, and customer advocacy to meet both business and operational goals.

Firstly, I act as the primary point of contact for our customers—proactively communicating to understand their evolving needs and challenges. Whether it’s participating in kickoff calls, hosting regular touchpoints, or conducting service reviews, I ensure our solutions align with their objectives while delivering measurable value.

I also focus on orchestrating collaboration between cross-functional teams, including support engineers, account managers, and professional services, to guarantee successful service delivery. This means closely monitoring deliverables, triaging escalations for critical incidents, and managing service-level agreements (SLAs) to maintain the highest levels of performance and uptime for our customers.

Problem-solving and continuous improvement are key aspects of the role. I prioritize identifying opportunities to enhance our processes, implementing automation and efficiency improvements where possible, and leveraging data-driven approaches to proactively address potential bottlenecks. Keeping up with the latest innovations from F5's portfolio is also crucial so that I can act as a trusted advisor in recommending tailored solutions to clients.

Lastly, as an SDM, customer satisfaction is at the core of everything I do. I strive to foster trust and long-term partnerships by not only resolving immediate challenges but also demonstrating a deep commitment to helping customers achieve their strategic goals and maximize their investments with F5.

In short, no two days are the same, but my goal remains constant: to be my customer's trusted advisor, advocate and ensure their success within the scope of F5 services and beyond.