I am thrilled to return to speak at Interop next week, though not so much about returning to Las Vegas for the third time already this year. This time around, I’ll be on two Interop panel discussions in Mike Fratto’s storage track. If you will be at Interop and would like to meet up, let me know.
Considering Interop
The grand old tradeshow, Interop has changed a great deal over the decades. No longer affiliated with Novell (obviously), Interop is unusual in that it attracts a wide variety of companies in many different IT verticals. Fields like Wi-Fi networking, network security, data center and campus Ethernet switching, and (yes) storage have other shows, of course, but most are affiliated with one company or another. Interop has become the home of the independents, the upstarts, and the startups in enterprise IT. Shows like EMC World and Cisco Live are great draws for buyers and companies within their ecosystem, but what about their competitors? Interop has become the place to find them. Interop is really 2 different events: The tradeshow and conference. The show floor in New York and Las Vegas is reasonably sized and houses a diverse group of companies. Folks looking to browse the latest enterprise IT technology enjoy walking the floor for a day or so. Then there is the conference, with its educational tracks and speakers like me. This is a separate admission, so traffic is usually a little lighter. Panel discussions usually attract a packed house, however. This is especially true if, as is the case for my Las Vegas panels, they fall at the middle of the event. I am hopeful that we will have a good turnout this time.
My Plans For Interop
I will be arriving Monday, just before noon, and will spend the day on the tradeshow floor. If you would like to meet up for lunch or dinner, or just to walk the halls, let me know. I’ll probably be getting a few folks together for dinner and drinks Monday night! Tuesday, I have 2 panel sessions. “What’s Next in Storage” will be held in Lagoon D at 11:30, and “Great Debate: Cloud Storage Is Dead on Arrival” will be in the same room at 3:45. I plan to record and stream both sessions live from Interop, so watch this post for the embedded video.
What’s Next in Storage
- Location: Lagoon D
- Tuesday, May 8, 2012, 11:30 AM-12:30 PM
- Speakers:
- Moderator – Mike Fratto, Editor, Network Computing
- Panelist – Stuart Miniman, Senior Analyst, wikibon
- Panelist – Howard Marks, Founder & Chief Scientist; Contributing Editor/Blogger, DeepStorage.net; Informationweek
- Panelist – Stephen Foskett, Community Organizer, Gestalt IT
Storage continues to evolve to meet the demands of the enterprise. Whether you are supporting big data initiatives, building a private cloud, going to the cloud, or trying to reduce costs and make more efficient use of your existing storage systems, there are many options to choose from. We’ll also get their take on what is coming in the 12-18 months and how to prepare for it. Come prepared with questions as this session will be mostly Q&A driven.
Great Debate: Cloud Storage Is Dead On Arrival
Note: I’m debating Howard on cloud storage. He’s been asked to argue that cloud storage is dead, and I’ll be taking the stance that it is alive and well. I don’t think this is Howard’s true belief, but it should make for an interesting panel debate.
- Location: Lagoon D
- Tuesday, May 8, 2012, 3:45 PM-4:45 PM
- Speakers:
- Moderator – Mike Fratto, Editor, Network Computing
- Panelist – Howard Marks, Founder & Chief Scientist; Contributing Editor/Blogger, DeepStorage.net; Informationweek
- Panelist – Stephen Foskett, Community Organizer, Gestalt IT
The statement under debate is that cloud storage is dead on arrival. There are a number of benefits with cloud storage like huge cost savings and supporting public cloud applications, but there are also draw back such as governance and the potential for lock-in. In this debate, our panel of experts will be taking one side or the other and in an old-school debate format, will be arguing their respective points. We’ll ask the audience to vote before and after to see who wins. Bring your questions and stump our experts. We’ll have fun and learn something.
Join Me at Interop!
I’ll also be getting some folks together Tuesday for lunch and dinner, as well as evening entertainment. I know quite a few people who are attending the event, and I always like getting together as diverse a group as possible at events like this. I fly out first thing Wednesday morning. Although it would be nice to spend longer at Interop, I just can’t afford to take a whole week out of my schedule for the event.
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