Customer sessions at INSIGHT
Matthew Underhill
As a NetApp customer of nearly six glorious years, I’ve had the opportunity to attend NetApp® INSIGHT® five times and counting. Each event has been a unique experience, and this year with the event going virtual it will certainly be different. However, the agenda suggests that the number of great sessions is one thing that hasn’t changed.
I remember the first time I attended NetApp INSIGHT. It was all so exciting that I wanted to go to every session. The next year I was a little better prepared and more targeted. Since then I have my list of go-to topics, such as the breakout sessions “What's New in ONTAP” and “Securing ONTAP.” I also love the Hands-on Labs and visiting the NetApp booths at INSIGHT Central.
One of the advantages of going digital is being able to bookmark sessions and watch at your own pace, so there’s no need to pick and choose which sessions to attend. I might get around to everything this year!
After browsing through the agenda and session descriptions, I think it's safe to say that we’re in for a treat! I’ve always been interested in hearing about how other NetApp customers are doing things. In addition to the big names in the keynote addresses, I’ve found a lot of value in the smaller sessions where you can really interact with the presenters. I’m looking forward to participating in more of these.
There are a couple of items that I want to on, because I think they’re a little different from what we’ve have seen before—the customer sessions. As the name suggests, these will be presented by customers. Our perspective as customers is different from that of partners. We’re are in the thick of it. We want to know, does it really work the way it's supposed to? How do we get the most out of our investment? Why choose NetApp, anyway?
It’s valuable to hear about real-world cases that other customers have implemented. I find that there are some very creative ways to do things that have been born out of necessity.
Sessions to look out for include Chegg, Willis Towers Watson, Cannon Design, GumGum, University of Colorado, Hyland Software, Lawrence Livermore Lab, Red Hat, SK Telecom, Yahoo Japan, Tractor Supply, and of course, NetApp—sharing their own NetApp on NetApp story.
Here’s my pick of the sessions:
- Red Hat: Transformation to StaaS. This session should include some hot topics around efficiency through automation. It’s always good to see how a large organization does things, because many of the principles can be scaled for organisations of all sizes.
- Yahoo Japan: The Road to Stateful Application on Kubernetes. I’m particularly excited to see how Yahoo Japan is handling this one. It's certainly something to keep in mind as we architect our infrastructure going
- NetApp: NetApp IT on NetApp. This is always one of my favorites. How has NetApp IT managed their digital and cloud transitions? With a data strategy, of course! As a customer, having a data strategy is vitally important. This session is a chance to see how the specialists define theirs.
How to find me at NetApp INSIGHT Digital 2020
As a member of the NetApp A-Team, you can find me during the conference virtually. Be sure to connect with us during the Community Hours and in our live breakout room, as well as during the Tech Meet Elite Award session. I’m looking forward to joining NetApp INSIGHT from my home, and I hope to see you there online!
Matthew Underhill
Matt is the Head of Global Infrastructure at Alfred H Knight (AHK) based in Liverpool, UK. AHK has been providing scientific support to the mining industry since 1881. Matt has over a decade of IT experience, and has been working with NetApp since 2016. When he's not designing and implementing IT infrastructure at work, he can be found in front of his BBQ/smoker working on perfecting the perfect smoked delights. He's also an animal lover, with a whole farm's worth of critters in his back garden. Matt would say he's an "urban chicken keeper, a Jack Russel tamer, and a rabbit wrangler."