Dell Technologies World 2018, here I come!

Posted by on April 18, 2018 Leave a comment (1) Go to comments

It’s that time of the year again: Las Vegas time! This year I once again got an invite from Dell EMC to visit this yearly conference. It’s less than two weeks before the event, but I already have a full agenda: from networking with the Dutch in the “Dutch Delegation” to a super secret meeting with the Dell EMC Customer Council and maybe even some interviews!

Remember last year? Well, here’s a quote of mine as a reminder:

Let’s see if we can do some more of that this year 😉

So what are my plans this time?

I’m very lucky to get a direct flight for once. I’ll be flying from Köln this time on a Saturday and it’s a direct flight as well! I’ll be traveling with a few colleagues of mine and some of them are DT World / Las Vegas virgins, so that’s going to be a culture shock for them!! Anyway, we’re here to help them get through it all in one piece so they’ll get the most efficient use of their time during one of the most interesting technology events this year.

What are my expectations and plans for this year? Well, I’m always looking out for big announcements, like the mega launch back in 2013 with the VNX2 in Milan or any other really cool new products. And it’s been a while since we had a really cool announcement. I’m hoping for news on a possible merger between the Dell SC-series and EMC Unity. There’s much to improve in that area, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that. And when was the last time we got a new VMAX? That must have been back in 2014 or so! Unity was in 2016, XtremeIO X2 was in 2017, but where did DSSD go? Every competitor now has NVMe storage, but what about legacy EMC products? I’m expecting a lot in this area and “in memory computing” as well. There was a lot going on back in 2014, but the hype is over, or is it? I’m dying to see new developments in the flash side of things. Will flash finally be able to catch up to the current CPU speeds and remove SAAB (storage as a bottleneck)?

So what does my agenda look like?

Saturday April 28

  • Flying on Saturday afternoon April 28 and checking in in the Linq hotel
  • Hanging out, have dinner with my fellow Open Line coleagues and try to stay awake until 10 or 11PM
  • A subset of the Open Line delegation is going to a party at the Hakkasan at MGM Grand, but I’m skipping that. It starts at 10:30 PM and with the 9 hour time difference and the very busy week ahead, that’s a tad too much for me. I’m getting old, yes, I know.

Sunday April 29

  • Sleeping a bit late on Sunday, get breakfast and get ready for the first Dutch Delegation activity: Scooter ride through Red Rock Canyon
  • I’m skipping the BBQ under the stars in Red Rock canyon because of the…
  • Customer Reference group appreciation event at the TopGolf
  • Drinks at Gilley’s bar with my fellow Open Line colleagues

Monday April 30

  • Breakfast in the Sands basement from 7 to 8:30 / get ready for 4 days of hectic DT World
  • 10AM: Keynote with Michael Dell
  • 11:30AM: Analyst lunch
  • 1PM: green screen interview
  • Breakout sessions / labs
  • 6PM: Grand opening of the Solutions Pavillion
  • 9:30PM: meet-up with old and new friends

Tuesday May 1

  • Breakfast with my friend Gina Minks
  • Breakout sessions / labs
  • VCE exam
  • Proven Professional party at the Public House from 16:30 – 18:30
  • 8PM – 10PM: Partner appreciation party at the Wynn Club XS

Wednesday May 2

  • Breakfast in the Sands basement from 7 to 8:30
  • Breakout sessions / labs
  • Dell EMC Heroes reception (Palazzo C/D) from 3PM to 5PM
  • Solutions Expo Happy Hour from 4PM to 5PM???
  • Customer appreciation party featuring: STING!!!! from 8PM to 10:30PM

Thursday May 3

  • TAP – VMAX Technical Advisory Panel 8AM to 12PM
  • The last set of breakout sessions
  • Visiting Las Vegas North Premium Outlets to get the shopping list completed for my women back home
  • Closing Dutch Delegation happy hour

Friday May 4 (Star Wars day = May the 4th be with you)

Saturday May 5 (Revenge of the fifth)

  • Mini road trip to … Red Rock Canyon / Hoover dam / Valley of Fire?
  • We might even choose from this wonderful list: https://www.jenreviews.com
  • Dinner with the last survivors
  • Flying home at 10PM or so (luckily a direct flight once again)

Sunday May 6

  • 6PM Arriving “home” in Köln, Germany
  • 7PM picking up lugage and driving home
  • 8PM: home at last
Dell EMC Elect, Dell EMC World, Dell Technologies World, EMC Elect, EMC World, predictions, traveling, , , , ,

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