EMC World 2011: Day 1

In my previous post, I talked about the pre-conference festivities. Today was the official kick off of the show. After a quick breakfast, I started my day in the Blogger’s Lounge at Social City. If you have not seen this place, you should check it out. EMC’s Social Media team has provided an amazing space with plenty of couches, chairs, power strips, WIFI, and a Cappuccino Machine. They have made this a great place to sit down, have a great conversation, and do some blogging.

The morning kicked off with two great keynotes by Joe Tucci and Pat Gelsinger. I could go on and on about what was talked about, but everyone is covering that information, so you’ve probably already read about it. If not, feel free to check out the press releases on the EMC Website.

One of the first areas of EMC World that I checked out was the vSpecialist vLab. This is a great way to give customers a hands-on approach to trying out several of EMC’s different products. The lab setup has a large number of dual screen terminals powered by Wyse thin clients. This allowed the actual desktops and lab terminals to be thousands of miles away in Research Triangle Park. Leveraging this virtual setup, the lab can actually be deployed anywhere which will cut down on cost and setup time for future conventions.

Lunch was very good and efficient. The convention staff has really brought order to the chaos that is feeding 10,000+ people. I really have to give it up to them as there were no problems getting food and finding a place to eat.

After Lunch, since the Solutions Pavilion was not open yet, it was time for some breakout sessions. EMC World has a wide variety of presentations and hands on labs available to customers and it ranges from introductory level to advanced topics. Along with all the breakout sessions, the EMC Education Services staff are here and offering exams for half price. This is a great way to become proven and I plan on taking a specialist exam while I’m here.

Towards the end of the day, the solution pavilion opened and I was able to check out all that our partners had to offer. There is a lot going on in the area with demos of all the great products. Almost everyone is giving away an iPad 2 or a shirt. I didn’t spend too much time there at first, but I will be making another round before I leave Las Vegas.

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