IBM Virtual User Group Days is arriving May 19th and 20th!
What is it, you say?
A consortium of over a dozen user groups, which runs each day from 08:00AM (0800) to 04:30PM (1630) Eastern Time.
This two-day FREE virtual event is branded with “This time, users take the stage.” A review of the agenda has now made this event a must attend. The notion of combining highlights and content from these popular groups and A-list speakers is incredible. Featured groups are The International Informix Users Group, COMMON (Power Systems), Northeast Maximo User Group (New York based, Middleware), IDUG (Db2), Maximo (UK and Ireland based, Middleware) and COMMON Europe (Power Systems). Their individual websites are www.iiug.org, www.common.org, https://community.ibm.com/community/user/imwuc/communities/globalgrouphome?CommunityKey=f660ff37-0cee-4ac3-bd2e-7cc83dca2836, www.idug.org, https://community.ibm.com/community/user/imwuc/communities/globalgrouphome?CommunityKey=23eb0724-51c5-4888-8e09-5c772ff5ec71 and www.comeur.org respectively.
How to get there and participate
The main event registration website is www.ibm.biz/usergroupday.
You can register with your existing IBM ID or you can create your virtual event profile directly on the site.
If you cannot attend any session in real time, don’t panic! All sessions will be recorded and available for replay for 90 days.
Once you are logged in, you will enter your basic demographics and select up to five areas of interest. The choices are AI, Automation, Cognos, Cloud Integration, Cloud Pak, Data Science, Data Ops, DB2, IBM Security, IBM Storage, IBM Z, Informix, Maximo, Netcool, Open Source, Planning and Cognos, Power Systems and WebSphere.
Important note – Once you accept the data sharing checkbox with IBM and BeMyApp, you will not be able to edit your answers once registration is finished.
More details
As per the IBM website, there are six tracks each day featuring expert advice, lessons, demos, keynotes, feedback sessions, and more. This is an excellent way to learn more about these particular groups. It’s quite possible you’ve been missing out on a good thing all this time. With “right-sized” session lengths of either thirty or sixty minutes, this is a great opportunity to quickly learn about other groups and their supported technologies.
Day one tracks are 1) Db2, 2) Planning Analytics and Cognos, 3) DataOps and Informix, 4) Automation, 5) CP4D (Cloud Pack for Data), Data Science, Netezza and AI and 6) IBM Storage and IBM Z. Day two tracks are 1) IBM Security, 2) Netcool and CP4A (Cloud Pak for Automation) – WebSphere, 3) Power Systems, 4) Open Source at IBM and The Public, 5) Cloud Integration and 6) Maximo.
In addition, at noon two featured talks appear, one for each day. The first day features Tom Rosamilia, Senior Vice President, IBM Systems. Day two features Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President, IBM Cloud and Data Platform.
For a detailed look at the agenda, click on this link – https://ibm-ugd-platform.bemyapp.com/#/agenda.
Final thoughts
I have added this event to my calendar and so should you. Many of the speakers are with IBM and still others are not. This mix looks to provide a ton of expert content from the trenches, without any fluff. Regardless of your IT specialty, you will surely find a session or three of interest. User groups play a vital role in the life blood of our communities, and our involvement is an excellent way to reciprocate our support.