Following on from Rob’s IDUG EMEA blog yesterday, with Iqbal Goralwalla’s excellent keynote kicking off proceedings in Edinburgh, it’s worth reflecting on how good it is to be back at IDUG in person after what seems like an eternity of virtual conferences.
Iqbal introduced one of the most memorable IDUG experiences I can recall when he announced the IDUG lifetime award for John Campbell on his retirement. It was quite a moment when the entire audience spontaneously rose to their feet to give John a prolonged standing ovation!
But what the in-person conference gives us is the opportunity to meet face-to-face with old friends and to connect with new ones. Presentation highlights for me on day two were an unexpected session on SYSIBM.SYSCOPY and its complexity and importance, and a really outstanding one by Standard Life’s Andy Green, SDUG regional leader, on Access Paths Meet Coding.
I also met Brian Laube of Manulife Financial who had some very positive things to say about James Gill’s presentation on implementing SSL – great to get such good feedback!
Tonight, of course, is more socialising and networking!