I never realised IDUG could be so eventful or so much fun until I joined Triton and found out that not only do the team work hard, they party hard too! I think I can just about remember getting back to the hotel after last night’s excellent meal at The Meat Club – worth looking up if ever you’re in Rotterdam.
It was very gratifying to chat with so many customers and former IBM colleagues over the course of IDUG; they were without exception enthusiastic that I now work for Triton, saying that this is a great move for me (and I hope a good one for Triton too).
There was an outstanding presentation from old friend Adrian Collett, “Top 10 Missed Performance Opportunities”, with some useful tips even for grizzled old veterans like me. It was a testament to Adrian that he draw a large audience, even though he was competing with DB2 for z/OS heavyweight (not literally of course) speakers Terry Purcell and Chris Crone. And it was a matter of pride that our very own Julian Stuhler was the only consultant on the DB2 Experts Panel, which puzzlingly wasn’t staged in the main auditorium but one of the meeting rooms. As might be expected, the room was packed to the rafters, with some people having to stand. It was well worthwhile, with a flow of penetrating and sometimes tricky questions and very full answers – perhaps more detailed than people expected.
Although nothing specific can be mentioned, IDUG provided the opportunity to discuss some interesting business leads. I think that alone demonstrates the importance of IDUG, let alone all the other benefits.
Now to unwind a bit at the IBM dinner, and hopefully a much-needed early night – or is that just a pipe dream?
About: Gareth Copplestone-Jones – Principal Consultant
Favourite topics – Configuring for high/continuous availability, performance tuning, maintenance strategies, food, wine, and music
Gareth, a DB2 for z/OS specialist, has worked in IT for an unfeasibly long time. He has broad and varied experience as a DBA, Systems Programmer, member of the DB2 for z/OS Development SWAT Team, and consultant. His first contact with DB2 was a release migration project way back in 1988 , and he hasn’t looked back since.
In his DB2 for z/OS SWAT Team role, he worked with many large and demanding customers around the world in both consultancy and trouble-shooting roles. Despite concentrating on DB2 for z/OS, his focus on resilience and high/continuous availability means he has expertise in many of the areas around DB2. Gareth has written several technical papers and presented at a large number of conferences and user group meetings.
When not obsessing about DB2, Gareth likes to obsess about improvements to his hi-fi system.