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The heavy hitters in technology are lining up to join the conversation at Citrix Synergy. You already heard about the best selling technology author Nicholas Carr
, the versatile comedian Dana Carvey and the Senior Vice President from Microsoft Bob Muglia. The line up of intriguing keynote speakers does not stop there.
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Vishal Sikka Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
SAP
Reporting directly to Henning Kagermann, Sikka is responsible for driving the company's technology and architecture strategy across its product portfolio. Sikka is ensuring a clear and harmonized roadmap for SAP products to deliver new innovations and increasing value to customers. As CTO, Sikka also leads the company's forward-thinking efforts around emerging technologies and is responsible for mapping SAP's next-generation architecture.
Scott Farrand Vice-President, ISS Software
HP
Scott is VP ISS Software and leads the ISS Software team. Scott and his team are focused on the total business for ISS software and related internal and external partnerships. The ISS software team includes base ISS management software, operating systems, SmartStart, and Virtualization software technologies.
Scott joins Hewlett Packard by way of acquisition of RLX Technologies in October 2005. Scott joined the founding team at RLX Technologies in December 2000, Scott Farrand has been responsible for operating systems support, ServerBlade management and solutions development for scale-out applications.
Roberto Moctezuma Vice President and GM, Desktop Solutions Global Business Unit
HP
Roberto Moctezuma is the vice president and general manager for Desktop Solutions. Based in Houston; he is responsible for the global business unit (GBU) that focuses on the emerging thin client and virtualization market. It includes Thin Clients, CCI (Consolidated Client Infrastructure), Blades Workstations and Retail Point of Sale solutions.
Patrick P. Gelsinger Vice President and Co-General Manager, Digital Enterprise Group
INTEL Corporation
Pat Gelsinger is senior vice president and co-general manager of Intel Corporation's Digital Enterprise Group (DEG). This group is Intel's largest business group accounting for more than half of the corporation's revenue. As co-general manager, Gelsinger is focused on delivering leading platforms and products to businesses worldwide. These platforms span the full gamut of business needs including servers, business clients, storage, communications and embedded applications. In addition to delivering platforms, DEG designs and develops many of the platform ingredients such as microprocessors, chipsets, motherboards, networking components and software.
David Booth, President, Sales and Marketing
CSC
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Mr. Booth is president of CSC's global sales and marketing. He is responsible for designing and implementing CSC sales and marketing strategies worldwide to help create and sustain competitive advantage in bringing service offerings to market. His responsibilities also include sales and marketing strategies to increase penetration in key markets; strengthening and enhancing sales and marketing capabilities across the business; creating and maintaining alliances to augment growth goals; and establishing strategies, programs and practices that define CSC's presence in the marketplace. In addition, Mr. Booth is responsible for developing and implementing a focused market segmentation strategy, improving the alignment of the sales function with the overall business, developing CSC's brand, and strengthening the sales and marketing culture within CSC across the globe. These programs, and others developed as part of Project Accelerate, will help transform how CSC goes to market. The appointment supports Project Accelerate, the company's comprehensive new strategy to accelerate growth and improve customer service.
George Kurian VP/GM, Application Delivery Business
Cisco Systems, Inc.
George Kurian is the Vice-President and General Manager for Cisco System's Application Delivery Business Unit. He leads the development and implementation of the Cisco-wide strategy for Application Delivery products including product strategy, development, acquisitions and investments, and coordinating the company's Go-to-Market capabilities for this Advanced Technology segment.
The keynote lineup includes the CTO of SAP, a Senior Vice President of Microsoft, TWO VP's from HP, a VP from Intel, a VP from Cisco, a President from CSC AND a best selling IT author and a great comedian. This promises to be the best lineup of keynote speakers we have ever had at a Citrix event.
You can click here to register for Citrix Synergy. I look forward to seeing you in Houston next month.
This years conference Will Feature Leading Virtualization and Networking Analysts from Global Research Firms Including Forrester, Gartner and IDC
Citrix Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTXS), the global leader in application delivery infrastructure, today announced its featured industry analyst presenters for Citrix Synergy 2008, the all-new industry conference where virtualization, networking and application delivery meet. Industry analysts participating at the conference will discuss best practices and reveal proven tactics for success in today's ever-changing business environment, offering a holistic perspective on emerging enterprise technology. Citrix Synergy will take place May 20 to May 23 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.
Industry analyst sessions will highlight the latest research in application delivery, networking and virtualization, and outline strategies for implementing and leveraging these cutting-edge technologies, including:
- Keeping Pace with Rapid Innovation - Best Practices for IT Leadership
- End-to-End Virtualization - How Do We Get Real Value, Now?
- The Hot Seat: Three Views of Desktop Virtualization
- IT's "Invisible" Silver Bullet - Application Delivery Networks
- Transformation with Virtualization: New Approaches to Data Security
Citrix Synergy has assembled an impressive lineup of industry analysts well regarded as experts in their field, including:
- Chris Wolf, Senior Analyst, Burton Group
- Mark Bowker, Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group
- Natalie Lambert, Senior Analyst, Forrester
- Neil MacDonald, Vice President and Gartner Fellow, Gartner
- Mark Margevicius, Research Vice President, Gartner
- Joe Skorupa, Research Vice President, Gartner
- Frank Gens, Senior Vice President and Chief Analyst, IDC
- Robin Gareiss, Executive Vice President and Senior Founding Partner, Nemertes Research
Continue at Source: Citrix News Releases
The Citrix Support Engineering Institute of Technology (CSEIT) is an exclusive free training event for our support and maintenance agreement customers to learn the latest troubleshooting techniques to support the Citrix application delivery infrastructure. The event provides a unique opportunity to gain real world experience from the experts, who can answer your technical issues and provide you with the power to understand how to do your job more effectively and efficiently. The event will take place at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston, on Monday, May 19th from 9:00am to 5:00pm.
Agenda for Citrix CSEIT 2008
Monday, May 19th, 2008
8:00 am - 9:00 am Registration and breakfast
9:00 am - 12:15 am Classes
12:15 pm - 1:15 pm Lunch
1:15 pm - 5:00 pm Classes
XenApp Classes
Printing in Citrix XenApp Environments
This presentation will give a better understanding of the Citrix XenApp printing architecture.
Troubleshooting Tools for a Citrix XenApp Environment
This presentation will go over the tools used and developed by the Citrix Escalation Team to troubleshoot a Citrix XenApp Environment.
Citrix XenApp Case Studies
This presentation will review the troubleshooting methodology of various Citrix Global Escalation Team case studies.
Citrix XenApp Health Monitoring
This presentation will illustrate the tools available to monitor the health of your Citrix XenApp Server farm and show the various configuration options available to the Citrix Administrator.
Understanding and Troubleshooting Citrix EdgeSight 4.5
This presentation will give an overview of Citrix EdgeSight 4.5 and go into troubleshooting tips and best practices.
Understanding and Troubleshooting Citrix XenServer 4.x - Optional
This presentation will cover an introduction to Citrix XenServer 4.x and go over some basic troubleshooting methodologies and tools.
NetScaler Classes
Troubleshooting and Deployment Best Practices
This presentation will go over troubleshooting techniques and tools as well as relevant data required by Technical Support when opening a support incident. This session will also cover best practices in deploying Citrix NetScaler in various environments and common issues experienced during initial deployment. After attending this session you will have an understanding of troubleshooting tools available and ways to deploy Citrix NetScaler.
Case Studies
This presentation will cover various real case scenarios showing troubleshooting techniques used to resolve common problems encountered with configuration and performance. Issues evaluated will include problems with High CPU, Persistence, and other advanced troubleshooting situations. After this session you will have an understanding of what practices and methodologies are used when working to resolve issues and see how some of the tools previously presented are utilized in real life situations.
L2 Networking and Hardware
This presentation will provide an overview of the various hardware platforms and configurations of Citrix NetScaler. We will also cover various L2 deployment scenarios including 802.1q tagging, Vlans, Link Aggregation and High Availability. Upon completion of this session you will have an in depth understanding of the different platforms and how to deploy Citrix NetScaler in L2 environments.
Global Server Load Balancing
This session covers the GSLB feature of Citrix NetScaler, various deployment scenarios and ways to troubleshoot various common stoppers. It will show the usage of built-in counters, logs and tools available to effectively use this feature and resolve known problems found in real life deployments. Upon completion you will have an in depth understanding of deploying GSLB on Citrix NetScaler and some of the troubleshooting techniques you can use to resolve problems.
Registration
Click here for Citrix CSEIT 2008 Registration
Bob Muglia and Nicholas Carr are not the only headliners at Citrix Synergy this year. Dana Carveywill provide the entertainment on the final night.
(Pictures from DanaCarvey.net)
Dana Carvey is most well known for his work on Saturday Night Live and Wayne's World. After a botched open heart surgery in the late 90's, Carvey took some time off from his career and started a family.
Here are some great clips I found of Carvey on the web.
Garth Algar Highlights from Wayne's World
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You can find many more Dana Carvey videos on YouTube
. Some language on these videos is not safe for work or children.
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The SNL site on NBC.com has archives of some of Dana Carvey skits, including the hilarious "Hans and Franz".
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You can click here to register for Citrix Synergy. I look forward to seeing many of you in Houston.
In an earlier post, I covered some of the background on one of the keynote speakers at Citrix Synergy, Nicholas Carr. Another major keynote speaker at Citrix Synergy is Bob Muglia, Senior Vice Preseident of Server and Tools Business at Microsoft.
Here is a bit about Bob Muglia from his official Bio on Microsoft.com -
Bob Muglia is Senior Vice President of the Server and Tools Business (STB), a part of the Platforms & Services Division at Microsoft. STB is chartered to deliver Microsoft's unique vision for information technology professionals and developers: "Empower People across the IT Lifecycle through Integrated Software Innovation." As STB business leader, Muglia is responsible for developing and marketing Microsoft's infrastructure and developer software. This integrated set of products provides the foundation for IT operations, security, application development and integration. This portfolio includes Microsoft Windows Server, SQL Server, Visual Studio, System Center management products and the Forefront line of business security products.
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Since joining Microsoft in January 1988, Muglia has served in a variety of positions, including managing the development of the MSN network of Internet services and Microsoft Office family of business productivity applications, Windows Server applications, and productivity appliances such as Pocket PCs, eBooks and Tablet PCs. In addition, Muglia helped to bring together the Visual Studio family of developer tools and drive the Win32 API, customer requirements and product specification for the Microsoft Windows NT operating system.
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Here is a link to an interview I found with Bob Muglia on Technet Edge. In this interview, Bob admits to having NINE servers at his house.
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VP by Day - IT Pro by Night
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Steven Bink posted an interview with Bob Muglia last month on his site. Here are a few snippets -
Hyper-V
First of all I asked the obvious question about Hyper-V, if he would be more detailed on the release date than "after 180 days of the release of Windows Server 2008" He smiled and just repeated "180 days of the release of Windows Server 2008"
I asked him about Hyper-V and the stand-alone SKU it will be released in, can you walk in a store and buy it from the shelve for the announced $28?
He said it probably will be popular in the OEM channel and not in the retail.
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SCVMMv2
Now that Hyper-V beta is out, it is a pity there is no System Center Virtual Machine Manager that can mange Hyper-V. When can we expect a beta of SCVMMv2? He said the beta will be out this spring (which meteorological) is now) The final version is to be expected the same time as Hyper-V RTM is available.
I told him that I was kind of surprised when Microsoft announced a few months ago that SCVMMv2 will manage Vmware (ESX) servers. He said this was all customer demand, It should be manageable, integrated and easy. So also not just Microsoft but also Vmware, not just Windows VM's but also Linux.
Last year Bob Muglia did a video with Citrix in regards to the Windows 2008 Launch and our aquisistion of XenSource.
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(If you cannot see the video embedded, follow this link_._)
If you would like to see past examples of Bob Muglia keynote sessions, the Microsoft TechNet Spotlight site has three for you to watch
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You can click here to register for Citrix Synergy. We look forward to seeing you in Houston.
At Citrix Synergy, customers can take the latest Citrix Exams at our on-site testing center and get a second chance to pass - free! If needed, customers will receive an exam retake voucher for the same exam, which can be redeemed at any Prometric testing center worldwide.
The following list of Citrix Exams will be available at Synergy. Click on the exam number for detailed exam information, including related certifications and preparatory recommendations:
- A01 Citrix XenServer Enterprise Edition 4.0: Administration
- 256 Citrix Presentation Server 4.0: Administration
- 259 Citrix Presentation Server 4.5: Administration
- 264 Citrix Presentation Server 4.5: Support
- 306 Citrix Access Gateway 4.2 with Advanced Access Control: Administration
- 308 Citrix Access Gateway 4.5 Advanced Edition: Administration
- 309 Citrix Access Gateway 8.0 Enterprise Edition: Administration
- 731 Citrix NetScaler 8.0: Administration
- 900 Citrix Provisioning Server 4.5: Administration
Registration Information
To reserve a spot for this special offer, customers must pre-register by May 16th, 2008.
Don't miss this opportunity to get Citrix Certified with the no-risk assurance of a free exam retake!
Join Citrix Education at the Citrix Synergy Conference in Houston, May 20-23, 2008. Stop by the booth and learn more about these special offers:
- SAVE up to $750 on a Citrix Training Pass (CTP)
Customers who participate in a Citrix Technical Workshop (HOT Sessions) at Citrix Synergy will receive a coupon for 15% off of a Citrix Training Pass - a savings of up to $750! For more information, click here. - WIN a trip to Nassau, Bahamas!
Citrix Education is giving away a trip to Nassau, Bahamas at Synergy. To enter, customers must complete the entry form found in their attendee bag and drop it off at the Citrix Education booth during Exhibit Hall hours. The drawing will be held at the Exhibit Hall theatre on Thursday, May 22nd at 1:00pm and attendees must be present to win. To learn more, click here. - Citrix Exam "Take 2" Special Offer
At Citrix Synergy, customers will have the opportunity to take the latest Citrix Exams at an on-site testing center and get a second chance to pass - free! If needed, test takers will receive an exam retake voucher for the same exam, which can be redeemed at any Prometric testing center worldwide. For more information, including a list of exams and registration details, click here.
Haven't registered for Synergy yet? Click here to sign up!
One of the most intriguing keynote speakers at Citrix Synergy is Nicholas Carr. Carr became very well know in 2003 for his article "IT Doesn't Matter".
DOES IT MATTER?
Nicholas Carr poses this question in his 2004 book "Does IT Matter" , a follow up to his very controversial 2003 Harvard Business Review article - "IT Doesn't Matter". In this very controversial article and book, Carr argues that technology itself does not give you a competitive advantage and that IT should focus on risk management and cost management. Carr does admits in interviews that failure to keep up in the use of technology can put a company at a significant competitive disadvantage.
Carr's original article created alot of controversy within the IT industry. He has posted a thorough article that links to those who agree and strongly disagree with his thoughts on his website. You can find links to both sides of the discussion on this page. You can find an interview he did with ZDNet on this controversy below -
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(If you cannot view the video, you can see it at ZDnet's website)
Carr's most recent book is called "The Big Switch:Rewiring the World from Edison to Google". Carr's description of
"The Big Switch" is below -
A hundred years ago, companies stopped generating their own power with steam engines and dynamos and plugged into the newly built electric grid. The cheap power pumped out by electric utilities didn't just change how businesses operate. It set off a chain reaction of economic and social transformations that brought the modern world into existence. Today, a similar revolution is under way. Hooked up to the Internet's global computing grid, massive information-processing plants have begun pumping data and software code into our homes and businesses. This time, it's computing that's turning into a utility.
The shift is already remaking the computer industry, bringing new competitors like Google and Salesforce.com to the fore and threatening stalwarts like Microsoft and Dell. But the effects will reach much further. Cheap, utility-supplied computing will ultimately change society as profoundly as cheap electricity did. We can already see the early effects — in the shift of control over media from institutions to individuals, in debates over the value of privacy, in the export of the jobs of knowledge workers, even in the growing concentration of wealth. As information utilities expand, the changes will only broaden, and their pace will only accelerate.
Nicholas Carr is the ideal guide to explain this historic upheaval. Writing in a lucid, engaging style, he weaves together history, economics and technology to describe how and why computers are changing — and what it means for all of us. From the software business to the newspaper business, from job creation to community formation, from national defense to personal identity, The Big Switch provides a panoramic view of the new world being conjured from the circuits of the "World Wide Computer."
Here is a short video interview Carr recently did for the Search Engine Strategies conference (in London) on this new book -
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Carr blogs about these topics and many more at is personal blog site - The Rough Type.
Finally, Carr created a short little video regarding his keynote at Citrix Synergy.
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Nicholas Carr provides a unique insight in the current state and future of IT. You can hear more from Nicholas Carr at Synergy.
I will be posting about other keynote speakers and sessions speakers later.
You can click here to register for Citrix Synergy.
Citrix offers a variety of technical Webinars and Webcasts with their TechTalk and On-Demand series of online events. You can join in on a TechTalk Webinar or Watch an On-Demand Webcast, the choice is up to you.
These events are another way for you to participate and learn about technology and application delivery. Citrix is also excited to announce some new ways for you to particiapte and learn about technology, GeakSpeak Live (the un-conference event) at Citrix Synergy will be an event that will allow for you to meet in an informal group and collaborate about topics you choose, and give you a chance to make a difference in making it more of an event that you get out of it what you want.
Continue to Source:
Citrix Webcasts
Learn more about Upcoming Citrix Events:
Citrix Synergy
Citrix GeekSpeak
Citrix BarCamp
In a previous post, I wrote about putting together a barcamp-like event after the GeekSpeak Live session on the second day of Citrix Synergy. We have approval now to extend GeekSpeak Live with these additional sessions. It looks like we will have one large space (up to 80 people) and five or so other small spaces for small discussions. We plan to have food (likely pizza, soft drinks and beer) and shirts for all attendees. We hope to have at least four 30-40 minute blocks for sessions, which means 20 or more sessions.
Now, we need session speakers. Anyone can sign up who is attending the Synergy event. You can speak about any IT topic you would like. The only rules are it must be an in depth technical topic (not a product or marketing pitch). This is open to attendees, customers, alliances partners, resellers, Citrix Technology Professionals and Citrix employees. Any one attending the Citrix Synergy event is eligible to speak and attend.
I am working with Vishal Ganeriwala (who runs the CDN) to create a wiki page for session sign up. Once we have the schedule finalized, we will post the new wiki page and the speaker sign up. If you have an idea for a topic but do not feel comfortable presenting it yourself, please post it in the comments or email me at citrixblogger @ citrix.com . We will post any topics ideas we receive on the wiki (once it is up) and here on the Official Citrix Blog.
The goal for GeekSpeak Live is to get a wider range of technical topics and to give you the chance to participate in creating the content for the event. Share your experiences and lessons learned with everyone at GeekSpeak, and we can all learn something new and useful.
You can click here to register for Citrix Synergy.
We will be flying up to Settle, WA to attend this year's MVP Global Summit 2008 at Microsoft. This is an NDA event, but we will do our best to report to you from the event on what looks like is going to be a great conference. I will do my best to keep Gus out of trouble, as we all know how he loves NDA's =)
For those who of you who are unfamiliar with the MVP Global Summit event, here is an overview of this year's event.
MVP Global Summit 2008
Over the course of four days, hosted at the Washington Trade and Convention Center in Seattle and at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, the MVP Global Summit gives you exclusive access to more than 400 sessions and panel discussions and a range of networking opportunities, as well as Microsoft top executives such as Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer, and Ray Ozzie, chief software architect.
What is the MVP Global Summit?
The MVP Global Summit is a four-day invitation-only event hosted at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in Seattle and at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington. With more than 400 sessions and a variety of networking opportunities, the MVP Global Summit enables Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) and Regional Directors (RDs) to:
- Connect with other MVPs and RDs
- Engage with Microsoft product managers
- Provide valuable feedback directly to Microsoft on its products and technologies.
Highlights for 2008 include:
- Event closing technical discussion by Ray Ozzie, Microsoft chief software architect
- Keynote by Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive officer
- Deep technical sessions by competency
- Cross-competency electives
- Highly dynamic and interactive sessions, where you'll be able to define topics, attend, or host
- Additional activities designed to promote networking and meet attendees' diverse informational and business needs
Microsoft 2008 MVP Global Summit
Microsoft Most Valuable Professional
Microsoft MVP - Terminal Server
Microsoft MVP - Rich Crusco
Part of the draw for this year's event is a lineup of industry luminaries as keynote speakers - a who's who of the technology elite. In addition to featuring industry analyst-, customer-, and partner-led sessions, Synergy will kick off with a round of keynote speeches delving into the intersection of IT and business from experts who drive change and innovation in the industry.
The Best Selling Author
Nicholas Carr, the best-selling author of "Does IT Matter?" and "The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google," challenges the conventional wisdom about business and technology. The former executive editor of Harvard Business Review, Carr has been called an "exceedingly lucid" speaker by Computerworld, and his featured keynote at Citrix Synergy promises to spark lively debate.
The Strategist
Count on Bob Muglia, senior vice president of Microsoft Server and Tools Business, to offer expert insight into the future direction of information technology, which Microsoft calls Dynamic IT. Muglia oversees a vast pipeline of innovation and is equally comfortable in the business and technical fields. He'll share strategies for making IT a stronger partner to business - using tactics he has honed through extensive experience working closely with his teams and Microsoft customers to drive his division's growth and technology leadership.
The Architect
Vishal Sikka, chief technology officer of SAP AG, leads the company's technology and architecture strategy across its product portfolio and its forward-thinking efforts around emerging technologies. Sikka plays a leading role in the long-term direction of SAP's research efforts and is chartered with mapping SAP's next-generation architecture. Sikka will share his perspective on business agility, adaptable business processes and how virtualization will accelerate innovation in business.
The Visionary
Known for creating fireworks onstage, Mark Templeton is the face of Citrix. As president and CEO, he helped propel Citrix into the business and technology spotlight. Templeton has his finger on the pulse of market trends, and his keynotes offer a compelling look at the cutting-edge technologies that drive customer growth. At Citrix Synergy, Templeton will offer his perspective on what the future holds for application delivery and its potential to impact the way business is conducted.
The Emmy Award-Winning Comedian
Dana Carvey, best known for his flawless impersonations, will headline the closing night party. A repertory member of Saturday Night Live (SNL) for seven seasons, Carvey is best known for his characters the Church Lady, Weekend Update's Grumpy Old Man, and Hans, of the Hans and Franz bodybuilding duo. In addition, Carvey received widespread praise for his uncanny and exaggerated comedic impersonations of political figures such as former president George Bush. Carvey has had a variety of television and movie roles, including a starring role as Garth, Wayne Campbell's "Excellent Cohost," in Wayne's World. In 1993, Carvey won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for SNL.
This is where the light dims, clouds start forming, light beams down from the sky, and it's all focused on you!
The Participant
Born as a user conference more than 10 years ago, it is the Attendees that are going to play a direct role in this year's event.
This is your chance to be a participant and not just an attendee, you will be able to pick the topics and facilitate the sessions.
You have a chance to play an active role in your conference experience by being part of Geek Speak and BarCamp
Geek Speak
You pick the topics, you run the discussions, you call the shots! Join tech geeks, analysts and bloggers at the ultimate "unconference".
BarCamp
You are the host. BarCamps are user generated conferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants.
Plus, you'll get a chance to check out the cool tools and gadgets-part of the event's "Tips, Techniques, Tools, and Toys" theme.
Here is a list of sites for you to really dive in and let Virtualization, Networking and Application Delivery meet You!
Citrix Synergy
Geek Speak at Citrix Synergy
BarCamp at Geek Speak
Citrix Community Blog
Want to Hear directly from top virtualization executives about how the value of Citrix and Microsoft solutions can benefit you today and into the future?
Well, now here's your chance!
Virtualization of applications, desktops and servers represents an exciting new frontier for IT. Join Citrix® and Microsoft® to learn how their combined forces offer the leading virtualization solution that is highly interoperable, transforms your data center into a delivery center, and lowers costs. Citrix's new server virtualization technology and next-gen Windows® and desktop virtualization offerings and the new Microsoft Windows Server® 2008 and Hyper-V hypervisor make an unbeatable combination that many customers are choosing as their virtualization solution today.
Hear directly from top virtualization executives from both companies about how the value of Citrix and Microsoft solutions can benefit you today and into the future.
Find out what the buzz is all about!
Register now. Seating is limited.
| Event Date | City | State | Registration | |
| 04/16/2008 (Wednesday) 8:30 AM - 2:45 PM CST |
Irving | TX |  |
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| 04/17/2008 (Thursday) 8:30 AM - 2:45 PM CST |
Houston | TX | |
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| 04/21/2008 (Monday) 8:30 AM - 12:45 PM PST |
San Francisco | CA | |
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| 04/22/2008 (Tuesday) 8:30 AM - 12:45 PM PDT |
Irvine | CA | |
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* Every attendee receives a Microsoft Virtualization book signed onsite by author Robert Larson!
* Win an 80GB Zune! [1 winner per city; must complete evaluation form to enter drawing]
Some of you may be familiar with the BarCamp concept. BarCamps are "user generated conferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants".
BarCamp.org is a great site for background on this concept. You can find the "rules of BarCamps" below.
BarCamp: What's this all about?
COMMUNITY AND INFORMATION
BarCamp is an ad-hoc unconference born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from attendees.
Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join.
When you come, be prepared to share with barcampers.
When you leave, be prepared to share it with the world.
NO SPECTATORS, ONLY PARTICIPANTS
Attendees must give a demo, a session, or help with one, or otherwise volunteer / contribute in some way to support the event. All presentations are scheduled the day they happen. Prepare in advance, but come early to get a slot on the wall. The people present at the event will select the demos or presentations they want to see.
Presenters are responsible for making sure that notes/slides/audio/video of their presentations are published on the web for the benefit of all and those who can't be present.
If you are familiar with the concept of BarCamps, you know that most of them are focused on web development. There have been a few BarCamps on IT in general, investing, self help and other topics. This is just a great way to get people together to talk tech. Since so many of us are going to be at Synergy anyway, I thought this would be a great way to get together to hear from a broad range of people on a wide variety of tech topics.
Here is a video from the first BarCamp in Orlando last year -
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Geek Speak Live is a part of Synergy for the first time this year. Geek Speak will span all three days of the Synergy event, and have discussions lead by several of the Citrix Technology Professionals and other industry technologists. (James Rabey blogged about Geek Speak Live here) The goal is to extend Geek Speak Live to include community generated content and discussions with this "mini-BarCamp".
We are working on a plan to hold a "mini-BarCamp" immediately after the Geek Speak Live session on the second night of Citrix Synergy. We will set up a page (probably on CDN) that lists the speaking slots where you can sign up for a slot. Some BarCamps only allow sign up for the session slots on the day of the event, while others allow sign up on a wiki before the event begins. We are going to stick with the Wiki for this first one to give those who participate a chance to plan ahead.
The goal for this is to give the technical audience at Synergy a chance to get together to discuss whatever technical content most interests you. No marketing slides, no features and benefits, just hard core technical discussions about any IT topic that interests you and the attendees. You can run a white board discussion, present a technical presentation on your latest project, or show a demo of your newest creation with an SDK. Anyone can sign up for a slot. You may be an IT admin, a technology consultant, a Citrix technical employee, a technical employee of a Citrix partner (or competitor), or a student who loves technology and wants to share it. We do not yet know how many speaking slots there will be (that depends on the room and amount of time we get).
Once we get final approval to use some rooms at the convention center where Synergy is hosted, we will be putting together a committee to run the mini-"BarCamp" event. This committee will include both Citrix employees and members of the community. We will need volunteers to help with coordination of the event on site, food and drink setup and live blogging and video of the sessions. We are also working on setting up a network gaming area in the lounge for use after the event concludes later in the evening.
As I have stated before on this blog, feedback is the Breakfast of Champions. If you have any thoughts on this event, please post them in the comments or send me an email at citrixblogger @ citrix . com (just remove the spaces).
You can click here to register for Citrix Synergy.
Do you have an interesting story to tell about your experience with Citrix products? Are you eager to share the wisdom you have gained about the relationship between business and technology? Would you like to discuss the valuable lessons you have learned about delivering applications with the entire Citrix Community?
Submit your session idea and you could get free admission to the conference ($1395 value) and four nights in the conference hotel (over $800 value) at Citrix Synergy in the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston Texas. Submit your session proposal at the Call for Presentations site now.
We are looking for presentations that address trends, technologies, needs and solutions in the following three conference tracks:
IT 2.0 Business Symposium Track: Strategic Considerations for the Business IT Professional
Sessions in this track will cover how application delivery and its underlying technologies - virtualization, application networking and optimization are transforming the IT industry and IT organizations. Topics in this track are intended for senior IT leaders. Sessions such as "The IT Department in 5 Years", "The Talent You Need: Engineers and Architects for the New IT World", and "Key Considerations for Infrastructure Consolidation" should be designed to help IT professionals survive and thrive in today's dynamic.
iForum Track: The Latest on Citrix Products from A to Xen
Sessions in this track will give attendees the latest scoop on Citrix products - from Access Gateway to XenServer. Topics that give attendees architectural insight, tips and tricks, and technical product detail - such as "Extending Virtualization to the Desktop" and "NetScaler for the Enterprise" to Industry Best Practices and Customer Case Studies - are well-suited for the range of Citrix customers who will attend this track.
Application Delivery Industry Track: Hot Topics and Solutions in Application Delivery
Realizing that no single vendor can address all of a customer's application delivery challenges, this track will bring together both hot topics and realistic approaches for making everything from the datacenter to the desktop work in the real world. Topics that provide insight and advice in this area - including "Making it All Work Together" and "VDI Comparisons" as well as "Best Practices in Green Computing" and "Considerations for Data Security and Compliance" - are ideal for the technical and business savvy attendees who will attend this track.
GeekSpeak - Geek Speak Live! Meet industry tech geeks, analysts and bloggers at the ultimate "unconference," where participants choose the topics and run the sessions. It's an informal forum for sharing ideas and learning from one another. Click here to read more about GeekSpeak Live, and here to find out the details of the GeekSpeak BarCamp.
You can get a full list of all the technical sessions at Citrix Synergy at this link.
Tell your story, share your vision, make new connections with others in the Citrix Community, and increase your own visibility. We are accepting proposals at the Call for Presentations site until April 4th. You can click here to register for Citrix Synergy.
For those of you interested in the Brussels event I blogged about yesteday; here is a 30% discount code for the event: XENORG