VMworld is the largest virtualization and cloud computing conference in the world and is hosted by VMware. The conference is being held in Las Vegas and Barcelona and will no doubt attract thousands of people from the industry world-wide.
Why visit VMworld?
Well, as a registered attendee you get the opportunity to participate in the following:
• Explore products and features in the Hands-on Labs area
• Attend breakout sessions to get the latest and greatest about the VMware portfolio
• Stroll around the Solution Exchange and meet sponsors and partners (and their products)
• Meet with VMware experts
• Network and party with peers during the welcome reception, hall crawl and the ending party
• Get VMware certified
Mark your calendar
VMworld US – August 27-31
VMworld EU – September 11-14
But before the conference kicks off there are two specific dates attendees look forward to. The first is the release date of the Content Catalog. And the second being the release of the Schedule builder.
On June 20th the Content Catalog became available. This gives attendees the opportunity to start thinking about what sessions they want to attend. For the US there are over 600 sessions to choose from. Europe attendees will have to with a bit less. There are over 350 sessions to choose from when you go to Barcelona this year.
(these links are now obsolete)
Content Catalog and Schedule builder US
Content Catalog and Schedule builder EU
Other important dates are July 18th and 25th because the scheduling option will become available in the content catalog (first US and later Europe). Attendees can then pre-register for sessions they want to attend. On the VMworld site they advise you to start building your schedule as soon as possible. And from experience I can tell you that you should definitely mark the date in your calendar. That way you can start building your schedule early so you will not be disappointed. You could also subscribe to my blog because I will update this post once the Schedule Builder is online.
UPDATE 25-07-2017:
The EU schedule builder is now live! People attending the Europe show can now register for their sessions. So start setting up your schedule quickly.
UPDATE 18-07-2017:
The US schedule builder is now live! And what you should do, is start building your schedule before the high demand sessions are full. There is nothing more frustrating than finding out that the session you absolutely want to see is full because you where too late with registering for it. Usually the high demand sessions are held twice but one of the two time might be at a more inconvenient time. You could choose to wait in a queue if you were unable to schedule a session, hoping some folks might not show up. Just keep in mind, hope is not a strategy, just be prepared.
More tips
When the Schedule Builder comes online you will see that some of the more popular sessions are held multiple times. Still, you should try to get your first time slot choice in because sometimes time slots overlap with other popular sessions.
If you are aiming to get certified at VMworld don’t do what I did. Do not schedule your exam early in the morning following an evening of partying, especially not the advanced 4 hour exams.
Talking about parties, the receptions and party at VMworld are included if you have a full-conference pass. There are also a lot of vendor parties that you should usually register for in advance. Want to know whats coming? Checkout this website for US and this one for EU, it usually has all the details.
The Hands-on Labs are awesome so be sure to visit those. Even more so this year because I will be working the Hand-on Labs booth this year as well 🙂 You can choose between using a computer at the booth or bring your own laptop. There is also the option to join an expert led lab so you have guidance during the lab.
For more information about VMworld visit the website
