HPE NonStop RUGs

Remember that photo that appeared at the top of last month’s RUG update, the one depicting the gathering of senior managers from many of NonStop vendors? Received a number of inquiries as to where this photo was taken as it didn’t appear to have been taken at the last NonStop TBC. Turned out on further inspection, it would appear to have been taken at the last in-person NonStop Partners Summit. Again, if you have further input on this let us know – only too happy to hear from you.

It is a reminder all the same of how things used to be for the NonStop community. And if you weren’t a participant you might have missed hearing from our own boss of NonStop (and the rest of Mission Critical Systems), Jeff Kyle, giving a presentation to ATUG attendees in Atlanta all the way back on September 18, 2019. If you were in attendance, you would have heard Jeff make a remark that has resonated with the community ever since, “Data is created on NonStop!”

And it looks like we are gradually returning to some level of normalcy albeit that the dreaded ZOOM interactions will continue for some time. Having spent many hours in front of a screen watching presentations and even interacting with colleagues, fielding questions and more there is the possibility that by year’s end, we will be able to gather as we did in the past. I have to admit, I am getting tired of ZOOM, TEAMs and the likes.

It would appear that I am not alone with this admission. If you missed the May 5th update to the CNBC financial news channel covering the update to the Wall Street Journal CEO Council, JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon said “I’m about to cancel all my Zoom meetings. I’m done with it!” Dimon then told attendees, “We want people back to work, and my view is that sometime in September, October it will look just like it did before. And everyone is going to be happy with it, and yes, the commute, you know people don’t like commuting, but so what.” I suspect there will be many of us that share a similar sentiment after all that have transpired these past twelve plus months.

GTUG did hold its first event of 2021. The GTUG NonStop Spring Conference went ahead as advertised, as a virtual meeting. Two streams were offered where “current developments at HPE, technical innovations, experiences from the user group and solutions to application requirements were the focus of the conference.” One thing was clear; the event was well received by the NonStop community. “We had 166 registrations and 139 participations and the board of directors, advisory board and conference organizers would like to thank all participants for ‘coming’ and the speakers for their contributions.”

According to the German RUG group’s web site, WWW.GTUG.DE, “Other topics included current developments in SQL / MX and Virtualized NonStop. In addition, the software partners’ abat +, comforte, CS Software, CSP Computer Security Products, NTI, Nexbridge, OmniPayments, TANDsoft and XYPRO presented solutions.” It was an occasion too where Mr. Vlastimir Stankovic, the new Sales Manager EMEA – NonStop Enterprise Division, introduced himself with his presentation, “NonStop in modern IT.”

GTUG’s web site is also where you can go to download presentations that were given at this year’s GTUG NonStop Spring Conference, including that of well-known NonStop SQL evangelist, Frans Jongma. “I hosted a session where I showed the latest on webDBS; the main theme being ease of use,” said Frans. “And more help pages linking to relevant documentation for end users.” He also mentioned that this is part of a plan to expose NonStop SQL to people that may want to play with NonStop SQL without having to own their own system or having to prepare an environment for in-company trials. The presentation was called “Fault-Tolerance for all with NonStop SQL/MX”, so stay tuned for more.

BITUG will be holding its virtual Little SIG on June 22, 2021. If you missed the email promotions that have already gone out, you should know that registration for this upcoming event is now open. “Little SIG will be utilizing Zoom as the platform for the presentations and there will at times be a choice as to which ‘breakout room’ you can join as we have a couple of sessions being presented at same time. Please note we intend to record the sessions and make these available after the Little SIG on the BITUG website (via a YouTube Channel) so if you cannot make the 22nd June, or UK time zone inconvenient, you should still be able to catch up at your own date/time.”

One variant on the ZOOM theme comes to participants courtesy of comforte. According to the BITUG email, “We are also very pleased to announce that comforte has offered to sponsor the Little SIG lunch by providing the first 60 registered attendees with a lunch delivery voucher. Details will be shared closer to the event provided that you have registered for the Little SIG and are one of the lucky first 60 registered attendees. So hurry and register now!” I have to wonder; would this be good enough to attract participation from the likes of Mr. Dimon?

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

“In just two years, more than 50% of all enterprise data is expected to come from the edge1. So get ready. Don’t miss HPE Discover 2021, packed with actionable live and on-demand sessions, key announcements, and much more.”

Yes, registration has opened for this year’s HPE Discover 2021 that once again will be held as a virtual event. This is where you here directly from HPE executives including HPE CEO Antonio Neri and where you will be introduced to a number of new leaders including incoming General Manager for HPC, MCS and Labs – Justin Hotard.
To be held June 22 – 24, this is one event I now many of you are looking forward to even if many of the traditional social and networking opportunities will be missing, once again. To register you can access the registration page using this link –

https://attend.hpe.com/discover2021/?iLangID=1
Finally no update on RUG events worldwide would be complete without a reference to the upcoming NonStop TBC 2021 to be held in Denver. Planned as perhaps the first major in-person event for the NonStop community and given how registration is now open as is a hotel room block, I anticipate seeing a sold-out event.

Make sure you keep the dates free – it will be held October 5 – 7, but already I hear that there will be some festivities kicking off as early as late Monday afternoon, October 4th. Registration is now open, just follow this link –

https://www.nonstoptbc.com/register

Again, hope to see you all there and maybe, just maybe, you will be featured in one of the photos I will use in the NonStop Insider later in the year.