Cloud
Future of Cloud Computing with Dell, VMware, etc.
Here’s the secret to getting the most out of conferences: hang out in the hallway outside the sessions and talk to the people you meet.
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I go to cloud computing and security conferences about 40 times a year as a part of my job as VP of cloud security at Trend Micro. To be an effective technology evangelist, you have to know a lot of things that are outside your core technology expertise, and going to these conferences to stay informed gives me the opportunity to share my work in the form of keynotes and technical presentations.
Here's the secret to getting the most out of conferences: hang out in the hallway outside the sessions and talk to the people you meet. The "Clouderati" like me are very selective about which sessions we attend because the real stuff happens between executives from different companies at these conferences, and the last thing anyone wants to hear is a bunch of IT vendors in suits pitching their products on stage. The best IT vendors are confident in their solutions and spend their time educating and informing IT professionals, knowing they'll approach a trade show booth and ask for product info when they fully understand the technology and the problem to be solved.
That's why I'm excited to be a part of Dell and VMware's "Future of Cloud Computing" Think Tank. They've assembled a collection of leading cloud computing experts, bloggers, analysts, educators, and technologists (including yours truly) for a full day of intellectual discussion and interaction on various cloud topics via a live streamed social media happening. No vendor pitches here!
The #FutureCloud discussion will be moderated by Rob La Gesse, who was recently listed as the #2 Social Media Thought Leader by Forbes Magazine and will include three four Dell Cloud Executives and one VMware executive, along with a who's-who list of cloud thinkers, some of whom I've worked with (at different companies) for more than a decade, including:
- Lydia Leong (@cloudpundit) – Research VP, Gartner
- Krishnan Subramanian (@krishnan) - Principal Analyst, Rishidot Research
- John Willis (@botchagalupe) – VP Client Services, enStratus
- David Linthicum (@DavidLinthicum) – CTO and Founder, Blue Mountain Labs
- Dave Asprey (@daveasprey) – VP Cloud Security, Trend Micro
- Nati Shalom (@natishalom) – CTO and Founder, GigaSpaces
- Jim Plamondon (@JimPlamondon) – Director Developer Experience, Rackspace
- Jeanna Matthews (@jeanna_matthews) – Associate Professor, Clarkson University
- Dave McCrory (@mccrory) – Cloud Innovator, Cloud Foundry
- JP Morgenthal (@jpmorgenthal) – Technology Evangelist, EMC
- Derrick Harris (@derrickharris) – Blogger, GigaOm
- Ed Saipetch (@edsai) - Sr. Technical Director, Joyent
- Margaret Dawson (@seattledawson) – VP Marketing, Symform
- Richard Mark Soley - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of OMG.org
- Stephen Spector (@SpectorAtDell) – Cloud Evangelist, Dell
So check out our no-BS conversation online this week. You won't be disappointed, and I won't pull any punches with my comments! :)