ASG
IBM
Zystems
Cressida
Icon
Netflexity
 
  MQSeries.net
Search  Search       Tech Exchange      Education      Certifications      Library      Info Center      SupportPacs      LinkedIn  Search  Search                                                                   FAQ  FAQ   Usergroups  Usergroups
 
Register  ::  Log in Log in to check your private messages
 
RSS Feed - WebSphere MQ Support RSS Feed - Message Broker Support

MQSeries.net Forum Index » General Discussion » Impact 2010 - Post Conference Comments

Post new topic  Reply to topic
 Impact 2010 - Post Conference Comments « View previous topic :: View next topic » 
Author Message
FFSparky
PostPosted: Mon May 24, 2010 11:31 am    Post subject: Impact 2010 - Post Conference Comments Reply with quote

Novice

Joined: 23 Dec 2003
Posts: 16
Location: Des Moines, Iowa

I missed the 2009 conference, But there was a significant lack of familiar faces in 2010, thus I know there's probably only a few of you here that may have attended the Impact 2010 Conference. If your like me you left the conference very disappointed, in fact I was more disappointed this time around than I was back when the conference became Impact, back in 2007 (?) at Orlando.

I was disappointed from the start, when at the registration all that was given to me was the traditional "pocket guide" a "green" grocery bag with a couple of vendor flyers, and a rather smelly 5x7 portfolio that when I got back to my room all but the pocket guide, found a corner in my closet and never left what a waste. In my opinion, a better promotion of green would have been, USB flash drive with all the conference presentations and vendor flyers on it, and a nice quality polo shirt with the conference logo embroidered on it. Both are very reusable!

The sessions. It has become painfully apparent this conference has become more of a marketing conference for management than a technical education / exchange conference. Being a senior MQSeries Admin, outside of the "what's new" and "BOF", there was honestly only a few sessions and one lab of advanced nature, thank you T.Rob Wyatt, and Ant Beardsmore! Needless to say I had some down time, and fortunately since we were in Las Vegas…….

On a positive, The Solution Center / expo was good, the only negatives I could find was when it was busy, it was very hard to maneuver, that adding a 1/4 to 1/3 more space would have easily resolved the issue, and to me each business partner's space was also too small for them to present / discuss their product. And I did find a few things I will be looking into later this year.

It was sad to even see the technical IBM'ers making off the record comments on their frustration this year as it sounds like the organizers did not want to listen to them??

I miss the old Transaction and Messaging conference where every time I left, I was in a sense, re-energized. I work close to some colleagues who support Microsoft products and needless to say I am getting allot of grief as they never have had anything bad to say about Microsoft Tech Ed.

Although I have heard more con's than pro's on the SHARE conference, I would greatly appreciate your comments on where a MQSeries Admin can keep their skills sharp and hear what changes are coming and network, as unless IBM offers me a significantly reduced rate to give the Impact conference another chance, It's highly likely I won't be going back.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
zpat
PostPosted: Mon May 24, 2010 11:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jedi Council

Joined: 19 May 2001
Posts: 5866
Location: UK

Interesting. I had the same impression from the conference web site, and so did not attend (despite a free place being offered).

Let's hope the T&M in Dusseldorf later this year will be better (shame about the less than exciting location!).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
mqmatt
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2010 3:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Grand Master

Joined: 04 Aug 2004
Posts: 1213
Location: Hursley, UK

Thanks for your comments FFSparky; I'll make sure they're fed back to the conference organisers.

As for Dusseldorf, it should be good. We had T&M there in 2005; some fine drinking establishments FWIR.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bruce2359
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2010 5:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Poobah

Joined: 05 Jan 2008
Posts: 9469
Location: US: west coast, almost. Otherwise, enroute.

Verrrrry tall beers in Germany.
_________________
I like deadlines. I like to wave as they pass by.
ב''ה
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi. As we Worship, So we Believe, So we Live.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
mqonnet
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2010 7:50 am    Post subject: Re: Impact 2010 - Post Conference Comments Reply with quote

Grand Master

Joined: 18 Feb 2002
Posts: 1114
Location: Boston, Ma, Usa.

FFSparky wrote:
I missed the 2009 conference, But there was a significant lack of familiar faces in 2010, thus I know there's probably only a few of you here that may have attended the Impact 2010 Conference. If your like me you left the conference very disappointed, in fact I was more disappointed this time around than I was back when the conference became Impact, back in 2007 (?) at Orlando.

I was disappointed from the start, when at the registration all that was given to me was the traditional "pocket guide" a "green" grocery bag with a couple of vendor flyers, and a rather smelly 5x7 portfolio that when I got back to my room all but the pocket guide, found a corner in my closet and never left what a waste. In my opinion, a better promotion of green would have been, USB flash drive with all the conference presentations and vendor flyers on it, and a nice quality polo shirt with the conference logo embroidered on it. Both are very reusable!

The sessions. It has become painfully apparent this conference has become more of a marketing conference for management than a technical education / exchange conference. Being a senior MQSeries Admin, outside of the "what's new" and "BOF", there was honestly only a few sessions and one lab of advanced nature, thank you T.Rob Wyatt, and Ant Beardsmore! Needless to say I had some down time, and fortunately since we were in Las Vegas…….

On a positive, The Solution Center / expo was good, the only negatives I could find was when it was busy, it was very hard to maneuver, that adding a 1/4 to 1/3 more space would have easily resolved the issue, and to me each business partner's space was also too small for them to present / discuss their product. And I did find a few things I will be looking into later this year.

It was sad to even see the technical IBM'ers making off the record comments on their frustration this year as it sounds like the organizers did not want to listen to them??

I miss the old Transaction and Messaging conference where every time I left, I was in a sense, re-energized. I work close to some colleagues who support Microsoft products and needless to say I am getting allot of grief as they never have had anything bad to say about Microsoft Tech Ed.

Although I have heard more con's than pro's on the SHARE conference, I would greatly appreciate your comments on where a MQSeries Admin can keep their skills sharp and hear what changes are coming and network, as unless IBM offers me a significantly reduced rate to give the Impact conference another chance, It's highly likely I won't be going back.


I had echoed (http://www.mqseries.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=49087&highlight=impact+2009) what you stated and much more in 2009. Alas, looks like nothing changed. I am glad that i did not waste my time there. I thought at least an honest feedback would make a difference. Forgot that IBM is now only after money. No wonder IBM plans to reduce head count from over 400K to 100K (http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2010/04/23/55343/ibm-crowd-sourcing-could-see-employed-workforce-shrink-by-three-quarters.html) and are planning to reduce even more and go with "crowd sourcing". What more can you expect guys.

BTW, From all the folks i have met, i have had even worse reviews.
_________________
IBM Certified WebSphere MQ V5.3 Developer
IBM Certified WebSphere MQ V5.3 Solution Designer
IBM Certified WebSphere MQ V5.3 System Administrator
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
zpat
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2010 9:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jedi Council

Joined: 19 May 2001
Posts: 5866
Location: UK

There's something wrong with the system, when the stockmarket cheers every announcement of job cuts from corporations.

They forget that the same people are consumers, either buying the products directly or causing other corporates to need to buy them.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
exerk
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2010 11:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jedi Council

Joined: 02 Nov 2006
Posts: 6339

zpat wrote:
There's something wrong with the system, when the stockmarket cheers every announcement of job cuts from corporations...


Agreed, but unfortunately they're not seen as job cuts (that would personalise it and probably even the bean-counters have a smidgeon of conscience deep within their dark souls somewhere) but as 'efficiency' savings
_________________
It's puzzling, I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this before...and it's hard to soar like an eagle when you're surrounded by turkeys.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
PeterPotkay
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2010 11:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Poobah

Joined: 15 May 2001
Posts: 7722

Could it be the more "MQ" conferances you attend, the less new things there are to see and so the lamer they appear? I remember my first conferance - "Intro to MQ Clients" Oh boy, sign me up! No sarcasm intended, I couldn't wait to attend each session. After the 4th or 5th year, the problem became evident - its the same sessions pretty much year after year. They are great for newbies, but become useless filler for the more expirienced.

After the 2008 or 2009 conferance I posted here a bunch of suggested sessions that should be added. There should be sessions on MO71. After 9/11 there STILL isn't a session on Disaster Recovery?! There could / should be 4 or 5 sessions on security and audit compliance. There should be more Birds of Feather sessions, where the discussions can quickly get very interesting. And don't schedule them at the end of the day when most of your key players are fried and / or got better things to do in Vegas at dinner time (duh!)

The best sessions I had last time were these private sessions where no more than 5 customers sat with a couple of IBM people and brain stormed on very specific topics, like MQ Clustering. Need more of those.

Currently its impossible to justify in good faith why your boss should let you attend these anymore, unless you are a newbie.
_________________
Peter Potkay
Keep Calm and MQ On
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
RogerLacroix
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2010 1:45 pm    Post subject: Re: Impact 2010 - Post Conference Comments Reply with quote

Jedi Knight

Joined: 15 May 2001
Posts: 3264
Location: London, ON Canada

FFSparky wrote:
I miss the old Transaction and Messaging conference where every time I left, I was in a sense, re-energized.

The last conference I attended as a vendor was Impact 2007. Impact is too costly and too few MQ people (in relation to the total attendance) to justify me spending the money on.

A couple times a year I speak with my IBM PartnerWorld rep. and beg them to bring back the Transaction and Messaging Conference, and I told them that I would be the first in line as a vendor. I am told IBM is "thinking about it". I don't know if this is true or not but I hope so.

zpat wrote:
Let's hope the T&M in Dusseldorf later this year will be better

How big is the T&M in Europe? i.e. How many people attend?


Regards,
Roger Lacroix
_________________
Capitalware: Transforming tomorrow into today.
Connected to MQ!
Twitter
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
mqmatt
PostPosted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 3:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Grand Master

Joined: 04 Aug 2004
Posts: 1213
Location: Hursley, UK

The European conferences are typically hosted by IBM Education, and the emphasis is rather different, and a bit smaller in size.

As many of you know, I've organized the Message Broker technical track for IMPACT/T&M for a few years now, so if you have any suggestions for WMB sessions, please message me - I'm happy to take your comments. However, I have nothing to do with the overall conference structure, nor the number of technical sessions, nor do I get final approvals on sessions.

As I said before, happy to feed back comments to the conference organizers. I'm also interested to hear your thoughts on how the lab can effectively get technical content out to you folks (conferences, classes, one-on-one briefings, webcasts, phone confs etc.)
We've got a load of people in the lab who love talking technical stuff, and are happy to use whatever medium works best!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Michael Dag
PostPosted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 3:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jedi Knight

Joined: 13 Jun 2002
Posts: 2607
Location: The Netherlands (Amsterdam)

During conferences many (not all...) of the sessions are taped, the keynotes are nowaydays broadcasted live, but what happens to those session tapes???
_________________
Michael



MQSystems Facebook page
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website MSN Messenger
FFSparky
PostPosted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 5:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Novice

Joined: 23 Dec 2003
Posts: 16
Location: Des Moines, Iowa

Thanks everyone for your comments to date.

Has anyone attended the SHARE conference and what was your thoughts on it?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
sreea
PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 12:37 pm    Post subject: Dialog with IBM on Advanced Topics Reply with quote

Newbie

Joined: 23 Jun 2010
Posts: 1

hi Folks, I am with IBM and I am on the team that sets the agenda for the Technology Program for the IMPACT conference. So, we hear you loud and clear that you would like some more in-depth topics on WMQ. First, I would like to hear more about what advanced and in-depth lectures / best practices sessions you would like to see? We have also started a new concept called the Product Technology Center where attendees could network with developers. For those who were there, I do not know if you got a chance to stop by this year, perhaps it was not well-known. We are certainly open to adding more 'Meet the Experts' sessions on MQ, which as someone alluded to earlier, are informal discussions sitting around a round table.

So let's hear your suggestions on specific topics you'd like to hear more about, and whether you envision these specific topics as a) lectures or b) Informal Meet the Experts / roundtable type sessions. Look forward to the dialog..
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
zpat
PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jedi Council

Joined: 19 May 2001
Posts: 5866
Location: UK

IBM developers should be able to think of topics that they can provide interesting sessions on, perhaps ones that we (customers) wouldn't think to ask for.

Ones that I can think of would include (and should be quite detailed not just an overview)

Pub/Sub in MQ v7.
Using MQ via the JMS API.
Multi instance QMs and brokers.
Using queue statistic/monitoring features.
New(ish) features of MQ explorer.
Run-time problem diagnosis for WMB operations.
'Advanced' ESQL techniques such as propagate.
Best practices for WMB development.
Using the toolkit with source management (e.g. svm).
How to install/maintain MQ and WMB without root access.
Configuring MQ and WMB for HA/CMP.
Case studies of successful implementations.
Measuring/reporting MQ or WMB availability.

The list could go on....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic  Reply to topic Page 1 of 1

MQSeries.net Forum Index » General Discussion » Impact 2010 - Post Conference Comments
Jump to:  



You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Protected by Anti-Spam ACP
 
 


Theme by Dustin Baccetti
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group

Copyright © MQSeries.net. All rights reserved.