The Summer of Webinars ‘Virtual Meetup’ series kicked off on May 28th with an Intel-sponsored session on “Remote Control: Connecting Automation with SDDC” – and the participation level and depth of discussion validated the series’ founding principle: that in this time of physical isolation, the Canadian data centre community needs access to high-quality forums for engagement and professional growth.
More than 60 delegates tuned in to the webinar to hear Intel’s Rami Radi present a perspective on in-band vs. out-of-band data centre monitoring and management technologies, followed by a panel discussion featuring Rad, AVP, data centre operations and governance Rocco Alonzi of Sun Life, and Canadian technology executive Joe Belinsky. The discussion period in particular was highly interactive – questions from the audience, mixed into a set of topics tied to the “In-Band vs. Out-of-Band” best practice report published by InsightaaS and the DC Foresight community in February, led to a lively discussion that kept the panel on its collective toes. As one participant said, “I admire [the panel’s] professionalism, experience, and your perspectives. Thanks for the great conversation!”
What’s next?
With the first Virtual Meetup ‘in the books’, InsightaaS and the DC Foresight community are gearing up for the creation of new research, and for the next webinar in the series. The best practice review calls focused on “Scaling Inside the Envelope” are scheduled for May 5th (10:00-11:30 and 2:00-3:30) and May 7th (2:00-3:30). In these calls, contributors will have an opportunity to share their perspectives with fellow Canadian and US-based thought leaders, discussing keys to addressing exploding demand for delivery capacity, improving manageability and limiting sprawl, providing security across the IT stack, and structuring an orderly approach to infrastructure modernization. As the research brief notes:
In the current crisis, IT management is in a nearly-impossible situation. A recent survey of Canadians found a seven-fold increase in the number of Canadians working from home. Sales data indicates that new purchases of laptops and collaboration and connectivity solutions are skyrocketing. But at the same time, IT management is limited in access to core facilities…and the clock continues to tick on refresh of needed IT equipment and software licenses that provide the backbone supporting the changing work landscape. IT leaders need to scale, but without fundamentally breaking the processes that they have in place – without making the IT fabric unmanageable. In this environment, IT is searching for ways to scale inside the current envelope. What are the business drivers, best practices and metrics/milestones that IT strategists can use to optimize IT delivery?
The following week, on May 12th, InsightaaS will host the second Summer of Webinars virtual meetup. “When Your Hybrid Cloud Network is Secondary to Your Cloud-First Strategy” is an incredibly timely topic, examining the best practices in defining, implementing and optimizing networks that enable organizations to protect investments in legacy systems and facilities while capitalizing on cloud-resident resources and solutions.
If you would like to participate in one of the the May 5th/May 7th research calls – and get recognized as a contributor to the resulting “Scaling Inside the Envelope” research report (and the book, planned for this fall, that will incorporate it) – and receive a priority invitation to the research launch webinar on May 28th – please follow this link.
If you would like to register for the May 12th webinar on “When Your Hybrid Cloud Network is Secondary to Your Cloud-First Strategy,” and receive a copy of the report that is being launched at the virtual meetup, please follow this link.
If you’d like to be part of either or both events, and stay updated on future Summer of Webinars activities, here’s a page that describes the entire series, and which includes a ‘master registration’ link.
The organizers of DC Foresight and the Summer of Webinars initiative report that they are “thankful – awed, even – by the support, courage and leadership that we’ve seen as we have pressed ahead with the series. We understand that we have an obligation to provide support and growth outlets in these uncertain times, and we are delighted to engage with each community member who participates in the Summer of Webinars!”
