Meet Hans Boef, Manager of Technical Consultancy and Support at Novadoc, based in Utrecht, The Netherlands. His company focuses on business automation, enterprise content management, and IBM-focused consulting and solutions. 2025 is his first year as an IBM Champion, an achievement he hopes will be the beginning of many more years to come. For Hans, becoming a Champion is about sharing knowledge, inspiring others, and helping people see the real-world potential of IBM technology.
Hans’s favorite IBM product is IBM Content Assistant, which he describes as a true game-changer. By embedding the power of Watsonx directly into IBM FileNet, it transforms the way people interact with information. No longer limited to searching for documents, users can engage with their content in conversational ways: asking questions and receiving precise answers, summarizing large reports instantly, or uncovering new insights previously hidden in the data. For Hans, this tool feels like having a research assistant built into the system. It’s smart, efficient, intuitive, and something that makes customers (and him!) genuinely happy.
When it comes to advocacy, Hans’s passion lies in speaking. As a former developer advocate, he thrives on engaging with audiences in real time, whether at conferences or smaller workshops. He enjoys watching complex technical concepts suddenly “click” for someone. At the same time, he believes speaking, blogging, community involvement, and social media form a connected strategy. A talk can spark curiosity, a blog can provide deeper technical detail, and community engagement ensures the conversation continues. For Hans, these layers amplify the impact and ensure the message truly resonates.
What drives Hans to give back to the tech community is the joy of sharing knowledge and seeing its effect on others. Early in his career, he benefited from guidance and support, and today he continues to pay that forward. Becoming an IBM Champion allows him to amplify this mission, helping not only customers but also the wider community connect, learn, and innovate with IBM technologies. For him, advocacy goes beyond explaining concepts; it’s about building trust and shaping new opportunities.
One of Hans’s proudest accomplishments is his work mentoring at hackathons around the world, often in unique venues like racetracks, factories, and even a train traveling from Amsterdam to Berlin. Supporting teams with IBM Cloud and Watson APIs, he helped around 15 groups each year get started with IBM technology. The winning teams from five yearly editions consistently used IBM Cloud or APIs to power their solutions. A particularly rewarding moment came when Hans later reconnected with a participant who had since founded his own company, with his product built on IBM Cloud.
Hans also has fond memories from conferences where he combined technical innovation with interactive fun. At one event, self-paced workshops he offered at a booth proved so popular that attendees lined up all day to participate. At another, he used IBM Watson to analyze a person’s personality and match them with a beer that best fit their traits, drawing a crowd and sparking countless conversations. For Hans, such creativity highlights the fun of tech advocacy as well as the relationship-building that can lead to wider adoption of IBM technology.
To those interested in becoming an IBM Champion, Hans offers this advice: “Becoming an IBM Champion is a great way to get recognized for your expertise and passion. It's a prestigious title that sets you apart as a leader in your field and boosts your professional credibility. Champions get direct access to IBM product teams and executives, allowing you to provide feedback and even influence the future of IBM technology. You'll also join a global network of top-tier experts, leading to new collaborations, friendships, and learning opportunities. The program provides access to exclusive events and resources not available to the general public, like private briefings on upcoming products and invitations to speak at major conferences. As an experienced IT professional, you can be an invaluable mentor for someone on this journey. Your role is to be a guide, offering practical advice and support.”
Lightning round:
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A: If I didn't work in technology, my dream job would be a travel journalist. This role would allow me to combine my love for travel and exploration with the opportunity to tell stories. I'd get to visit unique places, immerse myself in different cultures, and share those experiences with others through writing and photography. My work wouldn't just be about visiting a place; it would be about capturing its essence—the sounds of a bustling market, the taste of local food, and the stories of the people who live there. It would be a job that's always changing and never boring, offering endless opportunities for discovery and creativity.
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A: If I had a superpower, it would be flying. As a traveler, it's the perfect power. You could fly over traffic, mountains, and oceans to go anywhere you want, anytime. Flying is also a fantastic way to help others. You could fly to a disaster zone to help people or even catch someone falling. Best of all, you get a new view of the world. From up high, everything looks calm and peaceful, turning a boring trip into an exciting adventure.