What to do during Citrix Synergy 2015?

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We are only a few days away from the start of a new edition of the Citrix user conference which will take place in Orlando, FL. It has been few years since last time we had this conference in the East Coast and to be honest I’m very excited about it. This year marks my 12th edition of the conference that has been around since 1998, if you want to learn about the history of the conference you can read it here. Things have definitely changed during all these years, one of the big changes for this year IMHO is having to pay $100 to attend the instructor-lead hands-on-labs that used to be free, nonetheless most of classes are full. So are you still deciding on what to do during Citrix Synergy 2015? Please keep reading.

1. Network. One of the most valuable things for me during all these years has been to meet new people and catch up with others. Understand how they use the different products, their challenges and their solutions, what other products are out there that I’m not aware of that are interesting or which ones I shouldn’t spend any time on. It is a great way to share knowledge with peers.

Lunch is also a great way to network and it is even better if you can sit down to freely talk about topics that are of interest for you. Citrix introduced the Lunch table tech talks last year and they are back this year (#SYN020) with an even better location in the Solutions Expo hall. I will be one of the close to 20 volunteers that will be moderating the conversations on topics such as DaaS (my topic), Virtualization, IoT, etc. Please join us and share your knowledge

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2. Do a lab or two. There are two types of labs available during Synergy, instructor lead hands-on-lab and self-paced labs. I was able to discovered last year that the content sometimes is the same between the two modes, the main difference is to have instructor guiding you on vs you guiding yourself with the help of the computer. If you are considering the self-paced labs but are concerned about asking question, don’t worry they have experts in the area so you can ask questions.

If you have signed up for instructor-lead-labs, this is a BYO-Laptop type of room; so for the benefit of every one please bring a laptop, not a tablet so we can start on time and we don’t have to wait until the instructor runs around to find you one of the loaners that they have sitting around.

3. Take a certification exam. Even if you haven’t read all the material or are not sure you know enough, it is free with your Synergy conference fee. If you are on your certification path or simply want to assess your knowledge, this can is a great exercise and will help you to prepare for the exam in case you don’t pass it and have to take it again.

4. Geek speak live. This has been a great addition for a few years now and it has grown a lot. These presentation are very honest, without a lot of marketing stuff delivered by industry experts like you and me and are not afraid to get up on the stage and share. Most of the time, you get free drinks and food and you can participate in the conversation and it is another perfect place to network, but please keep your side conversations quite Winking smile

5. Blogging Live. If you are not coming please make sure to tune in here for our live coverage of the Keynote sessions. As anything on this blog, we will take the marketing stuff out and concentrate on what it really means from a customer perspective.

Thank you very much for reading.. Until Tuesday’s keynote.

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