The tradeshow of tradeshows is almost upon us. VMworld 2018 starts in a week and we couldn’t be more excited.
Why?
As a VMware-based cloud provider, this is our favorite time of the year. We love the chance to attend new sessions, show off our one-of-a-kind cloud, network with other VMware-minded techies, and of course, party.
iland Cloud Technologist and resident VMworld expert, Brian Knudtson, sat down with me to talk about what he’s looking forward to. Take a look at what he has to say:
Q: What sessions are you looking forward to? What sessions would you recommend?
“Personally, I’m going to be digging into NSX and vCloud Director. Those are two key technologies for our platform, so I want to spend most of my time focusing on those topics.
Overall though, I think the wide variety of great sessions this year is really amazing. If you’re looking to learn from and/or meet some of the best vSphere experts out there, I’d recommend Meet the vSphere Experts Panel [VIN3032PU]. Just make sure you hang around afterward and ask questions of the panelists
Or, if you’re trying to get more information on artificial intelligence/machine learning, I’d check this session out: Driving Organizational Value by Virtualizing AI/ML/DL and HPC Workloads [VAP2340BU].
I’m not usually one to get excited for General Sessions these days, but VMware recently announced that Malala Yousafzai will be part of the Tuesday keynote, so I’m going to make sure not to miss that one.
With over 600 breakout sessions, panels, labs and quick talks to choose from, you can build a schedule catered exactly to your needs. Just set aside some time, and check out the Content Catalog – it will really help you get the most out of your time at the show.”
Q: What parties are you planning to attend?
Q: What is VMunderground and Opening Acts? Why should someone go?
VMunderground started as a way for people attending VMworld to get to know each other. It’s essentially become the community’s kick-off party for the conference. I’ve been attending VMworld for a while, and have gotten the chance to meet a lot of great people. This party is where I can see them and catch up before the conference starts and our brains turn to mush. It’s a relaxed atmosphere, with food and drinks. So, whether you’re a VMworld veteran or a rookie, you should come out to VMunderground and reunite with, or meet for the first time, many of your fellow conference-goers.
As for Opening Acts, that started four years ago as a way to ‘warm up’ mentally for the conference. This year, there are three different panel sessions, about 45 minutes each. We crowdsourced the topics to find out what people are the most interested in. Here’s what we’ve got planned:
This session is for the folks that want to move up in their career, but don’t know how. We’ll get tactical and talk about the specific skills you need to have to get to the next level professionally.
This has been a hot topic the last several months. Our speakers will talk about what’s happened to them, and how they beat the IT burnout.
Many organizations are using multiple clouds these days, but how have they managed to make this change effectively? This panel will discuss the complexities of utilizing multiple clouds.“
Q: Anything else attendees should know?
We’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about what iland has lined up for the show. As Gartner’s Leader in the 2018 Magic Quadrant for DRaaS, we’re going to make sure we give a demo of our award-winning console and platform. Stop by booth #1616 to talk to our team and see first-hand how iland Catalyst and iland Recovery Assurance sets us apart from the competition. Oh, and if that doesn’t strike your fancy, maybe the opportunity to win a Lego Millennium Falcon will? That’s right. Come to our booth. Nerd out. And take this puppy home:
Don’t forget – visit iland at booth #1616
