Hello world wide web! I have been asked to write another of my top ten reasons to attend blogs. This year however we are talking about some seriously cool things! What started with the EqualLogic User Group and the Compellent C-Drive conferences, jointly became the Dell Storage Forum last year. Well 2013 has some cool things in store for you! This year not only are we having all of our awesome storage platforms in attendance but we are changing the conference to the Dell Enterprise Forum! Because honestly, storage is just one part of the overall end to end converged enterprise environment and we want to showcase how amazing our Dell Servers, Networking, Services and Software are in addition to our amazing Storage.
This is THE one stop event for channel partners and customers to get some serious technical information, peer networking, best practices, and sneak peeks. DEF happens June 4th-6th 2013 and it is jam packed! DEF this year is going to be held in San Jose California. For more information, including how to register for the event, check out the website at: www.dellenterpriseforum.com
So let's begin with our Top Ten Reasons to attend Dell Enterprise Forum 2013!
#10. Breakout Sessions! With 100 different sessions that range from deep dive technical to best practices for implementation, there is no shortage of information to get from DEF. This is the most jam packed conference we have done! You can download the Agendas on the website and a quick view will show you there is so much information!
#9. Instructor led training. Are you a new customer or just want to get some more training while you are there? Then sign up for one of our Instructor Led Training Courses. These are available either before the show starts or afterwards and is a great way to get more training out of your stay.
#8. Ask the Experts! Throughout the show you will have access to highly technical subject matter experts (some who actually designed the stuff!) to talk to them about various things. Do you have a question about your environment? Or how about planning for a future project and want to get nitty gritty on the tech involved? Go ahead and ask because that's why we are there! We let our engineers out of their cubicles so they can come talk to you about the stuff they are working on.
#7. Networking with peers and colleagues. This isn't just a conference where you come in, sit down, watch a slide presentation and go home. Oh no! Half of the conference is just being in an environment with peers in your industry and sharing tips, concepts, best practices, and ideas. You may find out the person next to you at lunch just finished implementing the same project you are preparing and may have loads of ideas for you! During breakout sessions there are always lively discussions around what customers are doing and how they did it.
#6. Better Together! This year marks a first for us as we bring not only Dell Storage under one roof, but everything else that makes a working environment. Are you a server customer and just want to learn about storage? Do you have storage but didn't know about our amazing networking? Did you know we have a ton of software offerings to meet almost any challenge you have? Now in one spot you can learn the end to end solution provided by Dell and see how all of these things truly are better together for your environment.
#5. Channel Partners, Vendor Partners, and the Expo Hall. We couldn't do this all on our own so not only will we be there but we are bringing some of our best partners and channel partners to the show. Visit our partners on the show floor and even attend specific partner breakout sessions to learn how their products can enhance your data center.
#4. Hands on Lab. Over the years our hands on lab has become a huge part of Dell Storage forum and this tradition will continue for DEF 2013. We are even staying open later and opening sooner so people don't have to miss any sessions. With everything from an introduction to the equipment to advanced integration with operating systems, the hands on lab allows you to go in and practice some of the things you learned in the sessions or just get your hands on some environments that you can work on without fear of breaking them. With over 30 hours of available content it's a huge benefit to attendees.
#3. Fun! Even though the show is crammed full of technical information and labs and training, we still have a good time. With our customer appreciation event, reception dinner and even fun things around the area we are all there to get a lot of learning and have a bit of fun. Besides, can anyone complain about being in San Jose in June?
#2. What's new and Sneak Peeks! Not only will you get information on the newest software and hardware that has been released but this is the only place where you can go into some of our super secret NDA sessions which roadmap out the next year or two of plans. We even do some live demos of stuff that usually works! Sometimes ... it's pre-alpha but when it does whoohoo!
And if all this hasn't convinced you yet, the number one reason to attend Dell Enterprise Forum 2013 is ...
#1. Keynotes and the Direction of Dell! Where else can you go and hear keynotes from some amazing top executives on not only the direction of Dell, but the direction of the industry and how we plan to be there with you every step of the way. The Keynotes are a fantastic discussion on where we are going and how we are going to get there and should not be missed.
So there you have it, my top ten reasons to attend DEF in San Jose. Granted, I could have written another 20 things! This is one of the best shows around and this year with the addition of Networking, Software, Services and Servers, it will be one heck of a show. Year after year we get amazing complements on the technical depth of the show. People come away knowing more about their environment then they ever did before and we think that is the true mark of a great tech conference.
So what are you waiting for? Submit those requests! Talk to your sales rep for more information and we will see you in San Jose!
Keep it virtual :)
-Will
As always: I work for Dell as a Product Solutions Engineer in the Nashua Design Center working on VMware integration with the EqualLogic PS Series SAN products. The views and discussions on this blog are my own and do not necessarily represent my
Employer. The idea of this blog is to educate and entertain and hopefully it will accomplish that.
You can follow me on twitter at @VirtWillU.
Also, check out Dell TechCenter for these videos and other content on EqualLogic