This week I am participating in the annual European IDUG conference in Athens, Greece. And, as usual, the conference is informative and enjoyable. This week there are over 120 educational presentations available covering everything from DBA and development topics, to trends and communication issues, to tackling topical issues like XML, SOA, and compliance.
I was fortunate enough to be asked to present a topic at the event. My presentation was on database archiving and it was titled Managing Data for Long Retention Periods: Requirements and Challenges. I had a room full of attentive attendees who asked pertinent questions - - and that really is the best a speaker can ask for. The presentations are being videotaped this year, so if you are a premier member of IDUG you will be able to view the conference presentations over the web. So keep an eye out for this new perk by regularly visiting the IDUG web site.
I have also had the opportunity to take in many technical sessions so far this week - and I plan to take in a few more before the week is over. Highlights include the keynote on "Databases: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" presented by IBM Fellow Pat Selinger, Greg Lotko's coverage of DB2 for z/OS futures, Robert Catterall's intriguing summary of "What DB2 People Should Know About SOA," and Software Engineering's Ulf Heinrich's three presentations spanning the topics of pureXML, DB2 recovery health checks, and "Why Does My Wife (Still) Not Understand What I Am Doing?"
Another highlight was this morning's expert panel. Every IDUG offers an IBM expert panel, but IDUG Europe adds this extra panel of non-IBM experts, and it is always nice to get a non-IBM twist on things. The panel had a nice mix of consultants and vendors and the answers were well-thought-out, especially for an early morning session and especiallu because I know some of them were out long into the night the previous evening. (Please don't ask how I know that...)
I look forward to IDUG Europe every year and it is not too early for you to begin planning for your trip to the conference in 2008. And next year IDUG Europe will be held in Warsaw, Poland the week of October 13 thru 16. If you are keen on attending but have trouble getting approval from your management, never fear! IDUG has put together a justification kit (freely available over the web, just click!) that you can use to help convince your superiors that IDUG is the place you need to be for your continuing DB2 education.
In summary, this year's IDUG Europe was every bit as educational and beneficial as last year's European IDUG conference... and it is this consistency that has rightly earned IDUG a place of honor among the various options that DB2 professionals have for their on-going education.
Congratulations to all of IDUG volunteers for pulling off yet another spectacularly successful event.