My very first time attending RMOUG was a whirlwind of activity. This show is one of the ultimate user group events I have attended. I am not going to say it’s the “best”, since the shows I have attended over the years have always been great. Naturally the suite of volunteers at the show from the RMOUG membership has allowed this show to tick along like the well-oiled machine it has become over the years.
It all started with the normal run-around from the infamous United Airlines. It would not be fair to say they always let me down. From time-to-time I am not disappointed, but it seems that those experiences are not as plentiful as the “bad ones”. I checked on my flight before leaving home and found it already 90 minutes late with the status “waiting for crew.” That puzzled me this being the first flight of the day :). I was told by a colleague in Denver that meant the inbound crew that was targeted for my ride to DC probably got delayed the night before and would not have got the mandatory period of rest to leave on time at 6am.
Once airborne, the flight dropped me in the A concourse in DC and I did the Olympic dash to the C concourse not long before the doors closed on our Denver-bound 737.
I spent Monday afternoon at a client site some 25 miles from Denver in a small berg called Broomfield. Once at the hotel by 6pm, I was off to a VIP event for Oracle*Ace’s and speakers at RMOUG. That event was well attended and the Rock Bottom brewery instantly became my favorite hangout in Denver.
The show started in earnest Tuesday morning, and I spent a noticeable amount of time over the day in the Pythian booth – number 17 in the exhibit hall to be specific. There was a great deal of interest in what we do and interest in discussing job opportunities with myself and my colleague in the booth. Attendees helped themselves to the toys we had hauled from Ottawa (no thanks to my carrying – thanks HR :)) and showed keen interest in this well-known “love your data” company. There were lots of questions about remote versus corporate based work at Pythian. A number of people we spoke to were not based in North America. Considering Pythian’s mantra to expand service delivery personnel count to accommodate growing business opportunities, this was a ripe venue for people to discover what they can do for Pythian and what Pythian can do for them.
The focus of technical presentations was a combination of a handful of topics. Exadata was, for me, most engaging. Many of the industry giants were present, and I especially enjoyed seeing some of the familiar faces I have come to know and “love” over the 23 years I have been attending and presenting at Oracle user group and vendor events.
Pythian facilitated a discussion on Tuesday, centering on how we attract and retain some of the top minds in the tech industry. The attendance was good, and there were some dynamic exchanges of dialogue between the floor and the panel. Attendees were keenly curious about Pythian’s approach to keep their people on the cusp of emerging technologies. There were lots of acknowledging smiles and head nods as the panel and the floor conversed on a free form set of session topics.
Show recommendation? Full marks: right technical content and excellent networking opportunity for attendees and exhibitors.
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