If you are a virtualization fanatic, then August is a super exciting month for you. VMware’s annual virtualization conference comes around at the end of August and this year it’s in sunny Las Vegas, at the Mandalay Bay hotel and conference center.
You can expect around 20,000+ attendees this year and over 200 vendors to fill the Solutions Exchange floor. There is space for blogging, powering up your devices, eating, playing ping pong and getting off your feet to relax for a few.
There is so much to do and see at VMworld, the goal of this post is to help you get it all in order and have an enjoyable time. VMworld can be an absolute circus, but hopefully by sharing my experience, I can help you prepare.
The Solutions Exchange Floor
The Solutions Exchange Floor is an incredible experience in and of itself. There is an exhibitor floor at the conference where over 200 vendors will gather placed in booths of various sizes and amped up to meet you (and scan your badge). My first suggestions would be to use an email account that you don’t mind receiving emails from vendors on. Every time you visit a vendor booth, they will scan your badge and when they do, expect to receive a phone call and at least one email from them. Trust me, take my advice and get a new email address for the show.
On the exchange floor, you get the opportunity to meet with vendors like Cisco, VMware, Veeam, Vembu, Dell, Nutanix and more. What’s nice about meeting with these vendors is you will get to chat with some of their best technical people, and in
most situations, you will get hands-on demos where you can kick the tires on some of the latest and greatest techs they have on display. Granted, you will run into some sales people, and they mean good, so don’t blow them off. VMworld is about meeting people and making connections. You will be surprised to find out how many connections you will make from the Exchange Floor time you spend at VMworld.
VMware Hands-On Labs, Training & Certification
Hands-On Labs are always a big draw at VMworld. Yes, you can do the labs at home, but don’t let that stop you. In the Hands-On Labs section of the show you can do a ton of live labs in person with a full VMware lab staff there to help you along the way if you run into any issues.
People tend to knock the labs as a waste of time, but if you plan your lab time right, it’s usually a good opportunity to sit down and take a load off… trust me, your feet will thank you. You will find NSX labs, SDDC labs, VSAN labs and many more labs to let you get some real hands-on experience with VMware products and some from their partners.
Another major perk of attending VMworld is the big break you get on training and certification. At the show, if you decide to take a training course you can receive 25% off On Demand VMware courses, and 25% off a VMware Learning Zone Premium Subscription (I can personally vouch for the Learning Zone, it rocks). If you plan on taking a certification exam soon, hold off and take the exam at VMworld, VMware will give you 30% the cost of your certification exam. Given some of the VMware certification exams are north of $400, that’s a significant discount.
Sessions, Sessions and More Sessions
There are so many great sessions at VMworld with quality speakers and amazing content. What’s unbelievable is there are 800 sessions to choose from, and only 5 days to fit sessions into. You won’t get to attend all the sessions you want to, my suggestion is to make a list of sessions you can’t miss and then schedule them out over the week. Then try filling in other sessions that you would like to go to.
Don’t jam-pack your schedule with sessions all day every day, because you will miss out on the real essence of VMworld and that is learning, meeting people, building your network and having fun. Nevertheless, there are some sessions that are absolutely worth getting to, here is my list (this is my list, you might have a totally different list and that’s ok, there are too many good sessions to list them all here).
My Top Sessions List:
Keynote #1 Monday, Pat Gelsinger (roadmap announcements, new release announcements, welcome to VMworld announcement)
Keynote #2 Tuesday, CTO presentations (technical deep dives, demos, updates, etc.)
Top 10 Troubleshooting Issues for Horizon (EDU7515U)
Adopting a Real Hybrid Cloud (VMTN5603U)
The Power of Storage Policy-Based Management (HCI1270BU) – Cormac Hogan & Duncan Epping
Core Storage Best Practices (VIN2416BU)
Optimizing vSAN for Performance (HCI1246BU)
There are so many other good sessions that you will find value in attending. Being an AirWatch Expert, I’m interested in hearing more about the transition from AirWatch proper to VMware Unified Endpoint Management. I wrote a great post about the Death of AirWatch as We Know It awhile back and it lays out the basics, but I’m excited to hear about what’s to come with the new changes.
Again, let me stress the importance of scheduling every minute you have with sessions, you’ll find it falls apart quickly when things change, and they do when you attend VMworld.
Meeting New People & Building Your Network
I’ll say it again; the best part of VMware is mingling with the 20,000+ attendees and making new connections. You can’t go to VMware and be shy then wonder why you felt so lost in the sea of attendees at VMworld. The number of people traversing the show floor, in and around the sessions and at the breakfasts/dinners can really be overwhelming, don’t let it get to you. I’ve made so many friends throughout the 5 years that I’ve attended VMworld and any one of them would do anything for me.
The virtualization community is on full display at VMworld and you can find a place where you fit in whether you are a storage guru, networking nerd or virtual geek. The show floor is a good mix of technical individuals and salespeople, but somehow it never feels like a mind-numbing sales presentation. The vendors bring their best people and they are there to teach you and help you get a better understanding of how their product works and how it would fit into your own organization’s infrastructure.
VMworld presents you with an opportunity to meet and chat with some of the best minds in the business. You could meet well-known bloggers such as Duncan Epping, Chief Technologist at VMware and owner of the popular Yellow-Bricks blog. At my first VMworld I ran into Duncan and he took the time to meet me and chat about blogging and how to present technical material in a way that readers enjoy.
It wouldn’t be a surprise for you to run into the CEO Pat Gelsinger, he is always happy to meet people, take pictures and he does a good job of making you feel like you are important. Don’t be shy to approach people and make a connection, it’s a good way to get to know people you don’t normally get to converse with.
VMworld Party & Vendor Parties
The parties at VMworld are really entertaining. Just about all of the big premier vendors will have their own parties and most of them require tickets to get into the event. If you go to the opening of the Solutions Exchange Floor on Monday night, most of them will be giving tickets and wristbands away for entry to their party.
Personally, I love the San Francisco venue better than Vegas, the party venues are so much more interesting. Likely the vendor parties will be held in party rooms in the hotels and local Vegas strip restaurant. The food is usually amazing and sometimes there is live entertainment to enjoy while you chow down and chat.
The VMworld Part which traditionally takes place on Wednesday night is a great way to break the week up, and it’s always really fun. One of my favorite VMworld Parties took place at Giants Park when VMware rented out the entire ball park and Imagine Dragons and Train performed a concert. It was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to, absolutely fantastic. Make sure that you stay for the VMworld Party it’s a great way to unwind from a jam-packed couple of days attending sessions and traversing the Exchange Floor.
Tips to Know Before You Go
There is so much information going around, and this article has flooded you with even more information but there’s just a little bit more you need to know before you go.
One of the most important things you need to ensure you have with you at VMworld is a good, comfortable pair of shoes. There is so much walking and standing around, your feet will be wasted at the end of the day, which is ok. What’s not ok, is if your feet are wasted by lunch time. DO NOT wear dress shoes to VMworld, you will pay for it dearly, and its’ always good to have some sort anti-inflammatory (disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, but Advil goes a long way at VMworld).
The other important things you don’t want to come without are extra charging cords for your devices, and a portable power bank that is capable of charging your devices full. Download the official VMworld 2018 app on your phone so that you have your itinerary with you wherever you go and to get crucial updates as the show progresses.
Last but not least, it’s important to have a good backpack. Yes, you will get a brand-new VMware backpack, but as history has shown, the VMworld backpacks are not always well built. The one thing you won’t need is snacks and drinks, VMware does a great job of having many different types of snacks and drinks (soda, water, coffee, tea) spread throughout the show’s venue.
Have Fun
What’s most important is that you have fun, because VMworld is fun, don’t let it be just like work. The idea is to get away from work and have a great experience all while learning and networking. The sponsors and vendors, as well as VMware really go out of their way to make it a great show and if this is your first time, you are in for a treat.
My parting words to you would be this… Have a great time, this is Las Vegas, which can be very distracting. While it may be fun to take in the city, please be careful. Don’t do anything that would misrepresent yourself or your employer, it’s not worth it. VMworld is a great departure from sitting at your desk all week, and you are sure to get out of it what you put into it.
Meet Vembu @ Booth#2133 to understand how Vembu succeeds in providing the simplified data protection and also get a glimpse of the upcoming product release
Follow our Twitter and Facebook feeds for new releases, updates, insightful posts and more.
