I just returned from VMware EMPOWER in Lisbon. EMPOWER is a technical training event for VMware partners. The event delivers a very broad and in-depth VMware technical training. It’s not only a technical event for consultants but there are also many sessions for salespeople. VMworld, on the other hand, is for Partners and customers. In this post, I’ll explain what my personal highlights were day by day.
Day 1
At VMware EMPOWER you can take an exam for free. I tried the VMware Certified Advanced Professional 7 – Desktop and Mobility Design (VCAP7-DTM Design) exam and I passed! I couldn’t think of a better way to start the event. My first session was “So, you think you want to be a VCDX? What it really takes”. It was a great interactive session with our own VCDX champions Marco van Baggum and Johan van Amersfoort. They talked about their own experiences and gave some great tips. It’s not about achieving the title VCDX, it’s the journey, the experience and the personal development in becoming a VCDX that matters.
Other great tips were it all starts with the blueprint! It contains all the information to get started and what needs to be in your design. It’s not something to take lightly it takes a lot of effort and personal drive to become a VCDX. I have the ambition to become one, and I hope I can someday not too far from now shine next to our champions.
Another great session was VMware and Microsoft better together with Spencer Pitts aka the Spoinster. He talked about the new partnership with Microsoft and how the different products can extend each other instead of choosing for only one solution.
In the evening there was a pleasant BeNeLux partner drink in the old part of Lisbon. It was a great event talking to other partners and their challenges in the market.
Day 2
The second day I attended a session Windows 10 Adaption Methodology. It was interesting to see what was possible with Windows 10 Modern Management with Workspace ONE UEM. We even got the chance to test it. You can try it out as well in this VMware Hands-On Lab.
In the afternoon I attended a great Livefire workshop Implementing Endpoint Security and Conditional Access for Office 365. It was presented by Reinhart Nel and Simeon Frank. They are both part of the EUC Livefire team. They give awesome courses on how to design and deploy Workspace ONE with knowledge and insights from the frontline. For more information click this link. It was a challenging lab but I learned a lot.
In the evening it was time for the Partner Appreciation Party it was held in the old lx factory. It was a great party with lovely food, a great vibe, and good entertainment.
Day 3
The next day I attended a session What is new in vROPS 7.x. I was impressed with the new features. You can now very easily create, share and export dashboards to different people or departments. You can even embed them in an intranet site for example. The best part is you don’t have to be logged on in vROPS. You can try the new features yourself in this VMware Hands-On Lab.
Johan van Amersfoort our Technical Marketing Manager gave a great presentation VDI by day and compute by night. He talked about how vGPU’s can be used as a force for good. If you haven’t had the chance to attend his session. You can see him at the VMUG in Belgium or at vEUC Techcon in the Netherlands.
In the evening vExpert Pro Stijn De Pril organized a vExpert drink at the Sky Bar in the center of town. It was a nice bar with an awesome view. It was a great drink talking to other vExperts and how they experienced the event.
Day 4
The last day of the event I had some energy left and I attended a session Horizon Design and Roadmap on VMware Cloud Powerd by AWS. They explained what is possible and the most common use cases are. They also revealed some information about what new features are coming to the platform and they look promising! You can visit techzone.vmware.com for more information and see what is supported today.
The last session I attended was Workspace ONE Intelligence Advanced Technical Topics. They talked about what is currently possible, showed a lot of demos and what new features are coming in the near future.
Conclusion
VMware EMPOWER was a great event, I learned a lot and achieved my VCAP 7 DTM Design. I met a lot of interesting people and we talked about everything that is going on in the field. I want to thank my employer ITQ and my awesome colleagues for an amazing time! What would make the event even better is more sessions from VMware Partners and there experiences from the field.
The original article was posted on: maartencaus.be
