We are two short weeks out from the first European Explore since Broadcom acquired VMware, and I am genuinely excited to see how the message, vision, and technology have evolved, and will continue to do so. Â
Given that this might be the first time for some, I thought it would be good to pen some thoughts from many years of attendance. If you have not yet signed up, there is still time.Â
Registration link:  https://tinyurl.com/ExploreBNCRegisterÂ
The Event: It’s a big old place!Â
One thing that strikes everyone is the size of the venue. It’s like moving around a large airport, including the moving walkways, which help speed you along. The keynotes are delivered from a massive auditorium, and the breakout sessions are spread throughout the venue; time is your biggest enemy if you want to cram everything in. Here are five tips to help you navigate the event:Â
- Dress comfortably and wear sensible shoes!Â
- Get in early if you want the event Rucksack - they go quickly.Â
- Pay attention to scheduling your breakout sessions; it can take some time to get from one end of the venue to the other.Â
- The taxi queue can be long if you’re leaving with everyone else! Consider the short walk to the subway if you are going back to the centre of Barcelona. Or consider staying local to the venue and getting a taxi into town.Â
- The weather is usually nice; there are a couple of outside areas in the middle of the venue - take time to grab some fresh air. Maybe schedule a meeting there. Â
There is something for everyone, so take your time to view the session catalogue and consider hands-on labs, breakout sessions, and the Expo hall. Also, don’t miss out on the Expo Bash (Wednesday 5-7; usually free drinks and nibbles) and the afterparty (Wednesday 7-10).Â
Keynote: Information downloadÂ
The keynote is the main kick-off session and should anchor the rest of the event. Arrive early to get a good seat and have your phone ready to grab some snaps of the announcements; you can then make some last-minute session changes to get more deep-dive info. Sometimes, these sessions have been a bit long, so I am glad to see this year it’s a nice short 1-hour slot. I’m hoping for maximum information download!Â
Networking: The Power of the Expo Hall Â
One of the best parts of attending Explore is meeting people and exchanging ideas and opinions while learning something new. One of the main places this takes place is the Expo Hall. Talking to the mass of Partner experts, VMware experts and other community members, it’s almost impossible not to learn something new each time you visit. I always make plenty of time in my schedule to wander around, keep an open mind, be receptive to the people around you, and join in the conversations. There is so much experience in the room that it would be criminal to miss out, so make sure you take the time to wander. Â
Sessions: Time to learn somethingÂ
One of the great things about Explore is the depth and breadth of content on offer, from Business 100 sessions to introducing a topic to Technical 300 for the subject matter experts. When I started coming to Explore (VMworld as it was back then), all my time was spent in the T300 sessions gathering the latest features and capabilities to take back to customers and projects I was working on. Now, I find it harder to pick sessions as my techie background pulls in one direction, and my more strategic learning needs pull in another. This year, I wanted to balance innovation and updates on existing capabilities; with that in mind, here are my top picks from the 2024 catalogue.Â
- A Customer’s Perspective of the VMware Cloud Foundation Operations Journey [VCFB1651BCN]Â
- Beyond vSphere: The Future of the Private Cloud with VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) [VCFB1795BCN]Â
- Building End-To-End Networking with Azure VMware Solution [VCFB1604BCNS]Â
- Maximise Uptime: Cyber Recovery and Site Resiliency with VMware Live Recovery [VCFB1853BCN]Â
- Take Control of Your AI Future With VMware Cloud Foundation on Dell VxRail [VCFB1637BCN]Â
- What's New in Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA [VCFB1805BCN]Â
- Edge Lessons from the Trench: Industry Roundtable [SDEB1489BCN]Â
- Real-Life Examples and Best Practices Running SD-WAN on 4G/5G and Starlink [SDEB1326BCN]Â
- How to Plan For, and Recover From, a Ransomware Attack [ANSB1686BCNS]Â
- VMware Cloud Foundation Infrastructure Design with VMware NSX [VCFB1260BCN]Â
Don’t miss the sessions running in the expo hall either – there is some great content there.Â
Lastly, it would be remiss for me not to mention that you can come and see me on stage this year! I will join forces with fellow vExpert Kyle Davies to talk about AI. Join us for a no-nonsense view of the AI market and practical approaches to unlocking value:Â
- AI FOMO: To AI or Not To AI? That is the Question [INVB1830BCN]Â
One final tip: if a session you really want is full, it’s worth heading over in advance as you can usually get in even if it’s standing room only.Â
Sharing the Knowledge: Customer and CoworkersÂ
As a final thought, one of the great things about exploring is the amount of information you can obtain in such a short period of time. Please find a method to share that with your coworkers when you are back in your home country and share something with the community. Not everyone will get the chance to attend the event, and if all that do can share just one bit of information, the whole community will benefit Â
Hope to see you at the event.Â
Contributors
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Rob Sims
Chief Technologist - Hybrid Platforms