New IBM i Events Spin Up In May
April 26, 2021 Alex Woodie
Last year, the coronavirus pandemic devastated tech conferences, those multi-day affairs that brought computing communities together and that resulted in a lot of cheese being eaten and coffee being dranken. So it’s big news that COMMON will be holding its first in-person event in over a year in May with its NAViGATE 2021 conference. But before then, HelpSystems will be holding its inaugural BuildIt event next week.
HelpSystems’ BuildIT conference will take place May 4 through 6. It will be an online-only affair, and feature more than 40 sessions covering a range of IT topics. Much of the event will be focused on IBM i tasks and technology, although not all of it will be. There is no cost to attend, and users can sign up at www.helpsystemsbuildit.com.
According to the BuildIT agenda posted last week, the sessions will cover a lot of ground in several IT disciplines, with a heavy dose of security and automation, which remains HelpSystems’ focus as an independent software vendor (ISV). Penetration testing, file transfer, forms management, business intelligence, job scheduler migration, and the history of IBM i journaling are also on tap at BuildIt.
All of the BuildIt sessions will be led by HelpSystems employees. That includes folks like:
- Director of Technical Solutions Chuck Losinski, who will present “Overcoming the IBM i Knowledge Gap” and “Monitoring IBM i in a Complex World”
- Principal Security Consultant Sandi Moore, who will present “How a Remote Workforce Affects IBM i Security” and “Server-Level Malware Protection”
- And Director of Solution Services Per Bauer, who will present “Jump-start Your Cost-optimization Initiative” and “Networking Technology Trends to Watch in 2021” and the “Infrastructure Automation Networking Room”
HelpSystems CEO Kate Bolseth said she’s looking forward to a gathering of thought leaders. “Now more than ever, overburdened IT professionals are looking for ways to automate and secure their environments and align business objectives,” Bolseth stated in a press release. “We’ve tailored BuildIT to provide direction on these and other topics while giving our customers the chance to interact with both HelpSystems experts and peers so their voices can be heard. ”
Twenty days later, COMMON members will be descending upon Columbus, Ohio, for the NAViGATE 2021 conference. This conference will be a hybrid event that features in-person session and a virtual option for those who don’t feel comfortable attending a physical event or just prefer learning and interacting with others over the Internet.
COMMON says it has lined up 100+ experts to present 250+ sessions during the two-and-a-half day event. The same sessions will be available to those attending in-person and those Zooming in over the ‘Net. There will also be an in-person expo, as well as virtual expo, where people can learn about the latest offerings from IBM i ISVs and service providers.
The user group says it has “completely reimagined” content for NAViGATE 2021. Instead of the hour-and-a-half long sessions that COMMON attendees have grown used to, the new event will sport short-format sessions “that focus on quick tips-and-tricks, business cases, lessons learned, and innovative technologies and solutions — education that can immediately impact your job and organization. ”
Among the speakers you will find presenting at NAViGATE are:
- Charles Guarino, the CEO of Central Park Data Systems, who will present two sessions on Rational Developer for IBM i (RDi) and two on the Internet of Things (IoT)
- Alison Butterill, the worldwide IBM i offering manager for IBM, who will present the “Hidden Gems of IBM i” session on May 24
- Mike Pavlak, a solution architect with Profound Logic, who has three sessions on Python and one on CRON on May 25
NAViGATE 2021 will take place at the Greater Columbus Convention Center and the Hyatt Regency Columbus. In terms of COVID-19 precautions, all attendees will be asked to wear face masks and practice social distancing throughout the event. COMMON recommends that attendees get vaccinated before attending, but it’s not a requirement. The group will require users to sign a waiver before attending.
COMMON members who are attending the in-person event are asked to pay $995 if they register by the early bird deadline of May 7, after which it goes up to $1,095. The cost for virtual attendees for NAViGATE 2021 is $495; after May 7 it goes up to $595. For more information or to register, go to www.common.org/columbus2021.
COMMON continues to plan for its bigger event this fall, the POWERUp 2021 conference, which is scheduled to take place October 4 through 7 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Registration has not yet begun for that event.
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