Are you an IT professional who has something to say? If so...

Submit for Call for Topics

Have you submitted your session proposals for Synergy Spring 2010 Call for Topics yet? Good news... the judging is underway and there are open session slots, so you still have a chance to submit! The second and final round of reviews starts Dec. 4, so submit your proposals as soon as you can before this date to make sure they're included in the review.

We are particularly on the lookout for topics about successful mixed environment, multi-vendor solutions, as long as you have an independent, fresh viewpoint with data to back it up (i.e., no sales pitches or unsupported opinions needed)!

Click here for information on how to submit your session proposals. For more details about Call for Topics, Kim Woodward provides a great overview.

Submit for Geek Speak Live!

We're now reviewing proposals and ideas for Geek Speak Live!, the ultimate unconference at Citrix Synergy. If you're a true geek at heart and you are ready to lead or participate in a rapid-fire technology discussion or debate, then look no further! Geek Speak Live! is the "platform" for you.

Geek Speak Live! will be integrated into the Synergy 2010 agenda from May 11-14, and we'll be keeping the discussion real with three distinct session formats: Geek Speak Tonight!, Geek Speak Track sessions, and the Geek Speakeasy. Within these three formats, it's always good to have variety so, in addition to looking for thought-provoking topics, I'm also on the lookout for interesting ideas about how we might run some of these sessions.

Don't delay! Send me your Geek Speak Live! session proposals via email at laura.whalen@citrix.com. We have a limited number of session slots and first come, first reviewed. I'm looking forward to hearing your topics and session ideas so... bring 'em on!

More about the Geek Speak program
Results from Geek Speak Live! at Synergy 09

Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.

Citrix is proud to announce that Citrix Technology Professional (CTP) awards have been extended to the following leaders in the technical community:

XenApp CTP Awardees

• Alaa Jallad
• Claudio Rodrigues
• Helge Klein
• Javier Sanchez Alcazar
• Nico Luedemann
• Pierre Marmignon
• Rene Vester
• Thorsten Rood
  
  

XenServer CTP Awardees

• Chris Rogers
• Chris Wolf
• Kirk Manzer
• Ron Oglesby
• Shannon Snowden
• Thomas Krampe
  
  

I'd like to personally congratulate each one of you on your award and welcome you to the CTP program. We'll soon be updating the CTP bio page with your information.

We reviewed many excellent candidates and had a limited number of seats to fill. Thanks to all of you who applied or were nominated. If you were not selected during this review cycle, your form will be automatically reviewed again in 2010, but we also suggest that you re-submit your nomination form in early Q1 to let us know about your most recent activities.

I encourage you to learn more about the CTP program and the nomination process.

Best,
Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.

Just wanted to remind you that we're running a Geek Speak VDI Expert Challenge Live Webcast with Citrix CTPs Brian Madden & Ruben Spruijt, and Citrix VDI expert Amitabh Sinha today at 1pm ET. You can still register at:

http://www.citrix.com/geekspeakvdi

Here are the details:

Event Date: 09/23/2009 01:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Join Brian Madden & Ruben Spruijt as they face off with Citrix VDI expert Amitabh Sinha, VP of Product Management, in this lively, unfiltered discussion on the hot topic of Desktop Virtualization. Be there & participate live online when Brian & Ruben ask Amitabh the right questions that get to the heart of what the industry wants to know. Don't miss this exciting opportunity to hear the experts uncover the truth about VDI.

Topics include:

• What's all the hype about VDI & is it worth it?
• What desktop virtualization vendors don't want you to know
• VMware View(TM) vs. Citrix XenDesktop
• Right & wrong reasons to implement desktop virtualization
• And much more...

Three reasons to attend:

1. Unbiased, unfiltered technical discussion
2. Live chat with fellow attendees and Q&A with the panel
3. A chance to win cool stuff

I recently returned from PubForum 09 that ran from June 5-7 in Dublin, Ireland. What an incredible event it turned out to be, further strengthening PubForum's excellent seven-year track record as one of the most well respected IT industry conferences in the world. All seats were filled prior to the event, and the speakers and attendees seemed to enjoy every minute of this content- and discussion-rich conference!

Event Highlights

As I described in a recent blog post, we ran a Geek Speak Live! track at PubForum this year that proved to be a fantastic addition to the event. Some highlights of Geek Speak Live! at PubForum included a Geek Speak room on Saturday, and the following individual sessions:

• Shawn Bass's thought-provoking "XenDesktop 3.0 and Its Impact on the VDI Landscape" session that was a follow-on to his Geek Speak Tonight! session at Synergy in May

• Radoslaw Smigielski's "XenServer Deep Dive" session, the informative opening session in the Geek Speak room on Saturday

• Rene Vester's provocative "Essentials for... Virtualization" session that turned into an active Q&A and sparked several related follow-on discussions

• Rich Crusco's discussion on "What's New in Provisioning Server," a great session that resulted in a very interesting Q&A

• The Geek Speakeasy Discussion Club...two hours of ongoing discussions covering a variety of technical topics from the Value of Today's Hottest Technologies to What Does Citrix Need to Do to Stay in Business?
  
  

Event Photos

I've posted a collection of photographs "hot off the presses" of the speakers and attendees at the PubForum keynote and Geek Speak Live! track sessions, as well as some great Dublin scenery that was within walking distance from the conference. If you didn't have the chance to attend PubForum this year, these photographs will give you insight into the good times that were had.

Click here to view the collection of event photos.

I'd love to hear your feedback, so please feel free to send me an email. For more information about the Geek Speak program, click here.

Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.

Those of you who attended Geek Speak Live! at Synergy from May 4-6, or read my previous related blog post know that we had more sessions, more discussions, and more fun this time than ever before!

Click here to view the entire collection of photos from Geek Speak Live! at Synergy 09 in Las Vegas.

If you attended Geek Speak Live! at Synergy this year, these photos will take you on a geektastic journey down memory lane. If you didn't have a chance to attend, they'll give you a good idea about what this year's event was like from start to finish. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words and, if you take the time to view all of these photos, it'll be the equivalent of reading an entire set of Citrix courseware. ...Enjoy!

Would love to hear your feedback, so please feel free to send me an email. For more information about the Geek Speak program, click here.

Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.

Get ready for the next Geek Speak Local! event...this time in Iowa City, IA. There's an excellent line-up of speakers and sessions, including:

• Dan Feller kicking off the event with "VDI Design Considerations"
• Matt Lesak leading a demo session on how to build a successful VDI solution using XenDesktop and XenServer
• Jason Conger delivering a follow-on to his "Workflow Studio Orchestration" session at the Geek Speakeasy at Synergy 09
• Michael Thomason delivering a follow-on to his 2008 BriForum session on "Provisioning Services in the Real World"
• Michael Keen on "Using the Citrix Delivery Center to Enhance Your Enterprise Architecture"
  
  

Event Details

Date: Thursday, June 25th
Geek Speak Session Times: 1:00 - 4:00pm Central Time
Geek Speak Happy Hour: Drinks and Hors D'oeuvres, 4:00 - 5:00pm Central Time
Location: Holiday Inn Conference Center, 220 First Ave., Coralville, IA 52241

If you're located in or near Iowa, or you would be interested in traveling there to attend this fantastic event, registration is still open, so please visit the Alliance Technologies Web site for more information and to register.

Event Resources

Get a better idea of what this event is all about! Click here to view photos and click here to view details from last year's Geek Speak Local! Des Moines, Iowa event that included notable speakers: Rick Dehlinger, Doug Brown, Charles Aunger, Rich Crusco, and more.

For more information about the Geek Speak program, click here.

Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.

The last seat has been filled for PubForum 09! With a rich 7-year history of events taking place in Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris, and many other key locations in Europe, PubForum has made its mark as one of the top IT industry events in the world.

This year, we are excited to announce that we're running Geek Speak Live! as part of this longstanding industry event. The Geek Speak Live! agenda is as follows.

FRIDAY, JUNE 5:

4:30pm - Geek Speak session

Title: XenDesktop 3.0 and Its Impact on the VDI Landscape
Speaker: Shawn Bass, Citrix CTP
Description: Now that XenDesktop 3.0 has come out, Shawn will provide information on what specific things that XenDesktop 3.0 brings to the table and where it still falls short. In addition, other VDI vendor products will be discussed in comparison to XenDesktop. A follow-on from Shawn's Geek Speak Live! at Synergy 09 session.

SATURDAY, JUNE 6:

CITRIX GEEK SPEAK ROOM 2:15 - 7:00pm

(NOTE: FREE ACCESS FOR CITRIX USER GROUP IRELAND MEMBERS)

2:15pm - Geek Speak Overview

Speaker: Laura Whalen

2:30pm - Geek Speak session

Title: Citrix Essentials for... Virtualization
Speaker: Rene Vester
Description: In this session, Rene will talk about the added value that is part of the Citrix Essentials product line that Citrix offers for both Microsoft Hyper-V and Citrix XenServer. Rene will also discuss the three major virtualization platforms and his views on the three from a "European" perspective.

3:15pm - Geek Speak session

Title: XenServer Round

Speaker: Citrix EMEA XenServer expert

4:00pm - Geek Speak session

Title: What's New in the Latest Provisioning Server Release
Speaker: Rich Crusco

4:45pm - Geek Speak session

Title: Remote Desktop Services Internals - System Components an Expert Should Know
Speaker: Bernhard Tritsch, Citrix CTP
Description: In depth follow-on discussion and Q&A from Benny's 3:15pm session. As an IT professional responsible for terminal servers and remote application delivery you need to dig beneath the 
surface if you really want to understand how the technology works. So let's go on a journey right down to the core. 
In his session, Benny introduces you to advanced Windows Server 2008 Remote Desktop Services concepts. 
This includes details about the system processes needed for remote sessions, the graphical user shell supporting 
RemoteApp programs, and the user logon sequence. Get in-depth information on terminal server installation and 
execution modes and their impact on file system and registry. Discover how to modify related system settings in 
order to fine-tune your terminal servers.

5:15pm - Geek Speak session

Title: Achieving Zero-Install Footprint with the Latest Microsoft and Citrix Clients
Speaker: Alex Danilychev, Citrix CTP
Description: In depth follow-on discussion and Q&A from Alex's 9:00am session

6:00pm - Geek Speakeasy Discussion Club

Facilitators: Alex Yushchenko, Laura Whalen
Description: Open dialogue on any topic! Suggested topics include:

• Citrix, Synergy, and the Geek Speak Program
• What Citrix Needs to Do to Stay in Business
• What Industry Trends Do You Like, What Don't You Like? For example, client-side hypervisors and the cloud. Virtual desktops and virtual servers. What new trends or technologies do you think should exist?
• Got Access? What is the Future for Accessing Citrix from Consumer Electronic Devices
• As We Are Moving to Virtual Desktops, Is There a Need for Virtualizing the WiFi Adapter? There may be an issue with wireless NICs not cooperating with multiple VMs; i.e., wireless cards able to use only one VM. Are companies looking into this issue?
• And many more!

If you are attending PubForum this year and would like to lead an informal topic in the Geek Speak room on Saturday, please email me or look for me at the event.

Related Resources

• To view the event homepage, click here.
• To view the online agenda, click here.
• To view photos and content from previous PubForum events, click here.

For those of you who are joining us for Geek Speak Live! at PubForum this year, I look forward to seeing you in Dublin!

Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.

Geek Speak Live! at Synergy 09 was a raging success, the result of having the most seasoned, skilled technologists from across the globe assembled in one high-energy location for a three day, content rich, audience interactive event!

Event Highlights

Some memorable GSL! at Synergy 09 moments include:

• A Geek Speak Tonight! session where three esteemed Citrix CTOs - Simon Crosby, Brad Pedersen, and Michael Harries, and three renowned Citrix CTPs - Rick Dehlinger, Brian Madden, and Bernhard Tritsch - shared their thoughts on the future of application delivery. When is the last time you witnessed six brilliant thought leaders on one stage discussing their ideas and projections about one of the hottest trends in IT?

• Two separate and unique Terminal Server vs. VDI sessions run by Rick Dehlinger, Brian Madden, and Bernhard Tritsch. In one session, Rick played Dr. Friedrich von Dehlingerhausen, IT specialist, who helped Benny and Brian's alter egos "TS" and "VDI" discover they had more in common than meets the eye. In the other, this triad of talented speakers began what was an excellent TS vs. VDI debate when, suddenly, the CTO speakers from Lounge B of the Geek Speakeasy decided to join in on their discussion. The result? An impromptu, highly entertaining twist on the already successful session. You'll just have to watch the videos to experience the sensation.

• At the Geek Speakeasy during Expo Hall, we had the opportunity to take a 50-minute journey toward a better understanding of "Client Side Virtualization: How Does It Help, How Does It Make Things Worse?" led by Simon Crosby and Ian Pratt. And how about Gabe Knuth's informative Geek Speakeasy session on the topic of "Client Hypervisors: What, How, When, Why, and Who?"

• A series of interactive Geek Speakeasy lab sessions on Mon-Wed were run by Jason Conger, Brandon Shell, and many other CTPs and technology experts. Demos and deep dives and test results, oh my!

• At Geek Speak Tonight!, Martin Duursma provided insight into "Why All Remote Access Solutions Are Broken," followed by Kurt Roemer and Charles Aunger who shed light on how to achieve "Security, Compliance, and Privacy in the Citrix Delivery Center."

• During Geek Speak Happy Hour, Ruben Spruijt and Jeroen van de Kamp, two Citrix CTPs, delivered a fantastic session about their "Project: Virtual Reality Check," a masterful follow-up to their Geek Speak Virtual! webcast that took place on March 26. We listened intently as they unveiled data and findings from this independent project, and shared their resulting analyses and best practices.

• Two Geek Speak Track sessions became a double-header lesson in awesome:  Steve Greenberg and Joe Shonk shared their expertise on "When to Use which Virtualization Platform," while Brad Pedersen and Richard Hayton gave us solid insight into the "Future of Remoting Protocols."

• And a Geek Speak Tonight! session that deserves a special highlight...Shawn Bass's "XenDesktop 3.0: One Year Later, What's the VDI Landscape Look Like Now?," a fantastic follow-up to last year's session that included Shawn's acute and thoughtful observations of the latest XenDesktop release, turned out to be one of the most thought-provoking and entertaining sessions of Synergy 09!

Acknowledgements

GSL! extends a warm "thank you" to all of the incredible speakers who contributed to making this event a success, including:

Citrix CTPs:  Alex Danilychev, Bernhard Tritsch, Brandon Shell, Brian Madden, Charles Aunger, Jason Conger, Jeroen van de Kamp, Joe Shonk, Michael Keen, Rick Dehlinger, Ruben Spruijt, Shawn Bass, Steve Greenberg  

Citrix CTOs:  Abolfazl Sirjani, Brad Pedersen, Ian Pratt, Jason Lieblich, Kurt Roemer, Martin Duursma, Michael Harries, Simon Crosby

Citrites:  Adam Marano, Chris Fleck, Gus Pinto, Matt Lull, Rich Crusco, Richard Hayton, Sai Allavarpu, Vishal Ganeriwala

Industry Experts & Partners:  Gabe Knuth, Andrew Chambers, Chris Carter, Christopher Viamonte, Clyde Hedrick, Dan Palmer, David Miller, Hector Angulo, Kenneth Duda, Lee Kaminski, Martin Casado, Matthew Gray, Param Desai, Percy Wadia, Robert Tooth, Travis Graham

...And special thanks to those of you who started out as audience members and became speakers mid-session, contributing your questions and comments, as well as your ideas about each and every topic that was covered. We truly appreciate your participation and hope to see you at future Geek Speak Live, Virtual, and Local events!

We'd love to hear your feedback about GSL! at Synergy 09, and also get your thoughts and ideas about our year-round Geek Speak program that includes live, virtual, and local events. Please feel free to send me an email. For more information about the Geek Speak program, click here.

Event Resources

Throughout the event, some of our CTP speakers participated in head-to-head interviews on Citrix TV. Click on the links below for a replay!

•    Shawn Bass & Jeroen van de Kamp - Reaction to Dazzle
•    Brian Madden & Shawn Bass - The layer cake approach
•    Brian Madden & Brandon Shell - Automation & PowerShell
•    Rick Dehlinger & Brian Madden - Offline VDI
•    Charles Aunger & Michael Keen - To blueprint or not

 And don't miss the Brian Madden TV Synergy 09 Wrap-Up, hosted by Brian Madden and Gabe Knuth.

Stay tuned to the Citrix blogs, because we'll be posting more GSL! at Synergy 09 photos, session videos, and content. Brought to you by the letters C, I, T, R, I, and X (and the number 20).

Best,
Laura Whalen

DID YOU KNOW that today is the Citrix 20th Anniversary? Happy anniversary, Citrix, and congratulations to every Citrite and member of the Citrix community whose contributions over the years have brought Citrix to where it is today! Here are some thoughtful wishes, interesting observations, and great memories from some of our Citrix Technology Professionals:

From Steve Greenberg:
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CADD2KihcEQ
Blog:   http://thinclient.net/blog/

From Jason Conger:   
Blog:   http://www.jasonconger.com/Citrix-turns-20.aspx

From Michael Keen:   
Blog:   http://www.dabcc.com/article.aspx?id=10574

From Alexander Ervik Johnsen:
Blog:  
http://www.ervik.as/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1602:happy-20th-anniversary-to-citrix&catid=1:latest&Itemid=139

From Ulrich Stamm:
Blog:   http://www.circleofexpertise.com/coeblog.html

From Joe Shonk:
Blog:   http://www.theshonkproject.com/index.php?option=com_content

From Jim Kenzig:
Video:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABn6t5Ly1T0
Blog:   http://kenzig.blogspot.com/2009/04/congratulations-to-citrix-20th.html

From Xavier Sánchez:
Blog and video:   http://www.ctxdom.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=208:feliz-20-aniversario-citrix&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=61

Your Video Anniversary Message to Citrix:

Citrix has achieved many milestones in our twenty-year history. To celebrate the occasion, we're creating a video montage of our customers, partners, Citrix Technology Professionals, and the wider Citrix community that we will share with the global team of Citrix employees in late April. We'd like to invite you to share your thoughts, observations, and wishes, by uploading a 20-second video message, including fond memories or anecdotes about your relationship with Citrix. The deadline for video submissions is Thursday, April 23th.

To upload your 20-second QuickTime or WMV video, please visit: http://web.citrix.com/go/videopostcard/

Laura Whalen

Citrix Systems, Inc.

 
We're going to have another exciting round of Geek Speak Live! at this year's Synergy! As many of you know, Geek Speak is a series of informal discussions led by technically minded folks about topics that interest us all; for example, "TS vs. VDI" and "IT in the Cloud." This year we have four different session formats planned: a Geek Speak day session track, Geek Speakeasy sessions during Expo Hall, Geek Speak Tonight!, and a Geek Speak Happy Hour.

For details about the different session formats, check out http://www.citrixsynergy.com/geekspeaklive

We've got several Citrix Technology Professionals (CTPs) and other industry experts lined up on the agenda to do what they do best...lead interesting discussions! Speakers include:

- Alex Danilychev  
- Bernhard Tritsch  
- Brandon Shell
- Brian Madden  
- Charles Aunger
- Gabe Knuth 
- Gus Pinto
- Jason Conger  
- Jeroen van de Kamp  
- Joe Shonk
- Michael Keen
- Rich Crusco
- Rick Dehlinger  
- Ruben Spruijt  
- Shawn Bass  
- Steve Greenberg
...and more!

And this time, we're going to have the Citrix CTOs mixing it up even more with the CTPs. The following CTOs are planning their GSL sessions as we speak:

- Abolfazl Sirjani
- Brad Pedersen
- Chris Fleck
- Ian Pratt
- Jason Lieblich  
- Kurt Roemer  
- Martin Duursma
- Michael Harries
- Simon Crosby  

You can vote on your favorite session topics and suggest new ones through our Geek Speak Live Topic Voting Tool. Just log onto the site to cast your votes!

We will also have sponsor sessions taking place at the Geek Speakeasy. These sessions will be led by:

- Microsoft
- HP
- Dell
- Intel
- NetApp
- Wyse
- Stratus
- AppSense
- IGEL
- Symantec
...and more!

We'll be posting more details about the Geek Speak session speakers, topics, and schedule soon, so please stay tuned to the Citrix Community and Synergy sites to find out the latest. Note that speaker and session details may be subject to change prior to the event.

Be there -and- be square! Hope to see you at this year's event.

Laura Whalen

Citrix Systems, Inc.