TechEd

TechEd 2009

Chris Haaker — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:18:10 GMT

Pssst! Registration for TechEd 2009 opens on December 10th. The conference has also been pushed back about a month earlier to May 11-15th, so I think I can actually go this year! Is it too early to start tweeting #teched2009?

Technorati Tags: TechEd,TechEd 2009,Tweets,#teched2009

WWDC Logistics Suck! Viva la TechEd Organization

Chris Haaker — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:18:57 GMT

Okay, I didnt know what to expect this being my first Apple WWDC. I am a vetran of ten Microsoft TechEd’s and a couple MECs. For the most part, Microsoft has cold the logistics of feeding, moving and running over ten thousand people around in an orderly fashion. People would joke about the strictness of the lunch ushers or the “soda and cookie nazis” that guarded the coolers and treats until just the right moment. We laughed at the guards that made us go a certain way and managed the ebb and flow of the geeky crowds. Having been at the Apple WWDC for one day, I laugh no more.

To say that there is no control over anything here would be generous. To wait through the ritualistic Jobsian hazing for this morning’s keynote was a case in painful point. My flight was late last night and I couldnt register on Sunday. Registration opens at 7am, three hours before the keynote. Even though I know the Apple fanboys are famous for lining up hours ahead of time, surely I say, registration would be a simple affair. Ha! How wrong I was. People waiting for the keynote seating and those waiting for registration are put together in one line. This I had to finally just accept as none of the guards or ushers at the front door could confirm this for me. I was told to just get in the big line. Later, some of my line mates confirmed this is indeed where I should be. Then the condensation of the line starts. As you move up you are instructed to make a line four across and the mass starts to condense. Then you are allowed in to the building in groups. At this point, you can continue on to wait in line or register. If you register you lose your place in line and have to then re-join the line wherever it happens to be when you are done registering. You are reminded not to lose your badge – you will not get another.

The way food is distributed is a nightmare. It is just wheeled out to the masses and you would think they just threw one hundred pounds of red meat to five thousand starving tigers. At 3pm, after a morning of nothing but coffee and little dixie cups of water, they put out Odwalla juices, cookies, fruit and chocolate. Chaos insued as people fought and shoved to get to the juices and snacks. People were literally shoving and pushing to grab a juice or a bag of chips. It was a repeat when they rolled out drinks and hot hors d'oeuvres at the reception later that evening. I didnt even stay. I couldnt find anything redeeming about the mess.

Lining up to get in to sessions isnt any better. Most of them fill up and you have to get in queue as soon as the previous session ends if you want to get in. There are plenty of Apple “staff” around, but not many get involved to make things a good experience.

Apple, send some people up to visit Brian’s team at Microsoft that runs TechEd. Take notes.

And lastly, why the top-secret, CIA type security at all the sessions with regards to giving out information and guarding what is presented? Again, Microsoft beats you hands-down with their transparency, open blogging by staff and information sharing. There arent many (if any) things they wont share and discuss with you, especially at their top technical conference. Community, learning and sharing are key examples they set.

Technorati Tags: Apple WWDC,WWDC,Apple,Microsoft,TechEd,Microsoft TechEd

TechNet Edge: Framework is Up

Chris Haaker — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:35:07 GMT

For a few days now there have been some posts concerning the new Microsoft community site for IT Pros, TechNet Edge. I decided to give the URL a try today and saw some of the framework is in place. I was hoping for something more along the lines of Channels 8,9,10 and Mix - fresh, energetic and design forward. I will hold judgement until the release, this could be a comp, but apparently IT Pros are people that hang out in a graffiti ridden park ... we might be "on the edge" but are we "edgy"? Long, can you whip up something killer for us IT Pros?

Technorati Tags: TechNet Edge,TechNet,Channel8,Channel9,on10,Mix

TechEd 2007 Keynote Stream

Chris Haaker — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 13:54:50 GMT

This is a raw and unedited stream of notes from the TechEd 2007 (via Virtual TechEd) keynote by Bob Muglia. This year's theme was Back to the Future. There were a couple of funny moments ... I am watching this remotely via the web ...

Optimization Models
- Basic, standard, rationalized and dynamic
- Very tangible
- Compare your organization vs. standardized models
- tremendous ROI
- Core Infra model
  - infra
- business prod model
  - Information worker
- business app model
  - get better results more quickly
  - come to market more quickly

DSI
- four year journey
- dynamic systems integration
- Four technology initiatives
  - User driven
  - b
  - c
  - d
  - Long term plan
- Technology is driving change to agile and dynamic
  - Needs to connect (partner, supplier, etc.)
  - Response time expectations are shrinking
  - Experience of kids today is very different
    - Get everything instantly and have no tolerance for delay
    - Next gen of customers and executives
  - Relationships are discovered, established, transacted and done
  - Smaller and faster, need to be captured and the first to do this wins
  - This is the need for agility - the differentiator
  - Gap is growing between agile and non-agile
  - Agility gives higher QoS
    - Ability to sense a change in the environment and do something about it
    - Balance between speed and operational efficiency
    - Not something done in one place - it must be system-wide as any single non-agile piece can bring down the entire system.
    - Business throws a need over the wall to the developers who in turn write an app and throw it over the wall to infra - but then scale and other problems crop up.
    - SoA and virtualization, operationally aware apps, etc will lead the way here.

How to measure agility? (Gartner speaker)
- Damning effect - 70% on maintaining - treading water
  - Some luck ones get to 50-50
  - How?
    - Focus on cost - change the equation
      - From more and more with less
        
        Pay for what the business needs
        Variable cost model
        Pay for each transaction
        QoS
        
        Every app doesn’t need five nines or millisecond response time. Build only what it needs.
        
        Is QoS a silver bullet?
        
        Not without agility
        Adjust for change
        
        If you cannot adjust for change then you are just a cost center and will be outsourced
        Outsourcing known for agility?
        Cost, agility and QoS are all a pendulum - all 3 are important
        Hard to measure QoS as businesses are hard to measure
        How do you measure agility?
        
        Ask the customer and then translate it to what you do in IT
        Measure and improve it
        You can then come full circle and demonstrate it to the business
        
        Maturity model
        
        What is holding you back
        
        Process
        Culture
        Unknown
        
        CMM
        
        Process
        Focus on process - you will get it right
        If process is right technology will change which will in turn mess up process
        Process alone is not enough
        Process, technology and organization
        
        Every step needs its own ROI
        
        ROI is not always about $$
        Squeeze cost out in early stages
        Take IT from cost center to profit center
        Later stages require investment
        
        It is a system
        
        Focus on cost, QoS and agility

Dynamic IT (Back to Bob)
- Foundation
  - Federated
    - Need to work with others more and more
    - Share identities
    - Share systems
    - Access for customers
    - SaaS
  - Security
    - Foundation for federation
  - InterOp
    - Wide variety of heterogeneous systems
    - Committed to making sure your data can be shared with others
      - Products are built to be interoperable
      - Communities (including open source)

Virtualization
- Virtualized and physical are cohesive and need to be managed from the same set of tools
- Windows Server 2008 and System Center 2007 demo
  - Server core demo
  - Sweet Windows Server 2008 wallpaper!

Well, I need to leave to a meeting so you're only getting the first half! :)

Technorati tags: TechEd, TechEd 2007, Keynote