HPE RUG events worldwide, 2018

GTUG, or as it was more formally branded, the European NonStop HotSpot / IT-Symposium 2018, is now well and truly over and even as we left with a lot of impressions concerning what was covered, where HPE takes this NonStop journey over the next couple of months should prove very interesting. The city of Leipzig was an ideal location and, from the comments made by the attendees, it certainly lived up to its advance billing even though for many it wasn’t a city that they were familiar with – formerly a part of East Germany it is now a thriving industrial town with a major assembly facility of Porsche, a clear sign that the integration with West Germany is now little more than a memory.

As for content, and there was a lot of content, much of the conversations over coffee centered on the number of times HPE presenters referenced NonStop being consumed any way a customer wants – and with as many references as there were to consumption pricing and yes, potentially different ways to consume, including NonStop-as-a-Service (NSaaS), there is no longer any lingering doubts over the commitment by HPE to NonStop nor any harbored thoughts about whether NonStop today had left its legacy past as just a few reminders of former NonStop platforms remain.

As for attendees, there was a sizable crowd split pretty evenly between customers, vendors and HPE which created the level of intimacy where private conversations between all the parties could be seen being held over coffee and adult beverages. There is no question whatsoever as to whether HPE is engaged with its customers when it comes to NonStop as HPE made sure many of its senior managers were present for the duration. Of course, the presence of Randy Meyer, HPE VP & GM, Mission Critical Systems, also ensured the general session keynote would be well attended but even so, seeing attendees lining the back wall with all seats taken was also a reminder of former big-tent ITUG events long ago. Good to see the regional community gatherings are still as lively as they have always been.

If you would like to check out the presentations, GTUG has now provided us all with a link that you can use to see nearly everything that was covered during the event:
www.gtug.de/hotspot2018/presentations.html

And if you want to know whether your favorite vendor participated in GTUG, then the organizers have provided a list you can check out as well:
www.gtug.de/hotspot2018/exhibition.html

As for the rest of the month, attention returned to the Americas with RUG events held on the East Coast and as NonStop Insider was in the process of being published, N2TUG was about to kick off with the addition of special guest, Jimmy Treybig, continuing to prove to be a big drawcard. Having presented at GTUG I will be presenting at N2TUG and am looking forward to catching up with a lot of familiar faces and yes, capturing the occasion on my mobile phone – whoever thought there would be a business, as one speaker at GTUG observed, from combining an iPOD with a phone? Go figure!

Following GTUG there will be considerable traffic heading down to Santiago, Chile where there will be a gathering of the LATUG community followed just a few days later with MEXTUG. Already promotion for both of these events has started and when combined with N2TUG certainly lend a certain Latin atmosphere to the occasion. Should you need more information about any of these upcoming events or want early information on other events already on the calendar (and of course, don’t forget the big one, HPE Discover) then check out the following list:

N2TUG – June 7 (Dallas, TX)
LATUG – June 12- 14 (Santiago)
HPE Discover June 18-21(Las Vegas, NV)
MEXTUG – June 21(Mexico City)
NonStop Partner Technical Symposium – July 9 (Palo Alto, CA)
OzTUG – August 21 (Sydney, Australia) and August 22 (Melbourne, Australia)
VNUG Conference – September 11-12 (Stockholm, Sweden)
ATUG – September 19 (Atlanta, GA)
CTUG – September 26-27 (Toronto, Canada)
NonStop TBC – November 11-14 (Burlingame, CA)
As for your team here at NonStop Insider continue to keep an eye out for us as we will be attending many of these upcoming events and we really appreciate every conversation we have with the NonStop community and before I forget – safe travels to all those road warriors heading up and down the Americas this month. And yes, hope to see y’all in Texas!