The agenda is set, presenting sponsors are in place, and delegates have been announced. The stage is now set for January 14-16 Tech Field Day – Virtualization Field Day 4. I’m honored and pleased to announce that I’ve been invited to attend the event, which will take place in Austin, Texas. The Tech Field Day events allow IT vendors an opportunity to present on products and independent thought leaders to discuss and share opinions. Who makes up these independent thought leaders you ask? The selected delegates come from various independent backgrounds such as authors, bloggers, speakers and podcasters. The key word here is independent; in order for you to participate as a delegate you can’t currently work for a vendor. For more information about the delegates and selection process check out the following link.
Sponsors
The eight sponsors presenting at Virtualization Field Day 4 are Commvault, Dell, Platform9, Scale Computing, Simplivity, Solarwinds, StorMagic, and VMTurbo. Some of which I’ve had the opportunity to work with their products, others I’ve only seen or heard of from presentations or podcasts. Either way I’m excited to have the opportunity to research their products and engage with them in discussion.
Delegates
As the title suggests, there are 12 delegates, some are first timers such as myself, others have had the opportunity to attend before. Looking through the list I’m happy to see some familiar faces of people I’ve had the opportunity to interact with at various events or on Twitter. Others I’ll have the pleasure of meeting for the first time, which is always exciting. I shouldn’t be the only one excited to meet or interact with these great folks, you should too! Follow them, say hi, and get to know these brilliant minds:
Amit Panchal , Amy Manley, Christopher Kusek, James Green, Jeff Wilson, Julian Wood, Justin Warren, Larry Smith, Marco Broeken, Matt Simmons and Mike Preston
Participation
The delegates and sponsors aren’t the only ones that get to participate, the audience does as well! You see the event live streamed for your viewing pleasure. Don’t panic if you can’t catch the live stream, the recordings will also be available on YouTube. Another way to join in on the discussion is through Twitter by using the #VFD4 hashtag, and by following the delegates and the @TechFieldDay account. Stay tuned for more information.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Stephen Foskett and Tom Hollingsworth for the invite. And thanks to those who pushed and guided me when I was debating if I should start blogging. There are too many to mention here, but you know who you are. Last, but certainly not least, a big thank you to the virtualization community for its great members and continuous support. I love being a part of this community!