What’s It like To Present at Tech Field Day?

Tech Field Day is an unorthodox event to be sure, and it can be a challenge to explain the event to new presenting companies and delegates. That’s why we are so pleased that Ryan Woodings, CEO of MetaGeek took it on himself to write a piece about his Tech Field Day experience. It certainly is interesting to see our event from the other side of the table!

Tech Field Day is an unorthodox event to be sure, and it can be a challenge to explain the event to new presenting companies and delegates. That's why we are so pleased that Ryan Woodings, CEO of MetaGeek took it on himself to write a piece about his Tech Field Day experience. It certainly is interesting to see our event from the other side of the table!

Head over to NewComBiz to read “Sometimes, It's the Smaller Events That Matter” by Ryan Woodings!

It seems that Ryan really gets what Tech Field Day is all about: Building lasting relationships with the voices that really matter in the industry. Like most companies, MetaGeek was pleased with the short-term coverage that came out of their presentation at Wireless Tech Field Day earlier this year. But their presentation and long-term effects, solidifying their relationship with folks they already knew and building new connections throughout the wireless space.

Thank you, Ryan, for taking the time to write this flattering piece!

Symantec Presents at Tech Field Day 8

Symantec presented at Tech Field Day 8 at their San Jose, CA headquarters on Thursday, September 15, 2011. Watch the presentation below, and follow our TFD8 Links page for reactions and responses from the delegates!

Nutanix Presents at Tech Field Day 8

Nutanix presented at Tech Field Day 8 at their San Jose, CA headquarters on Thursday, September 15, 2011. Watch the presentation below, and follow our TFD8 Links page for reactions and responses from the delegates!

Nasuni Presents at Tech Field Day 8

Nasuni presented at Tech Field Day 8 on Thursday, September 15, 2011. Watch the presentation below, and follow our TFD8 Links page for reactions and responses from the delegates!

Tech Field Day 8: Video and Presentation Schedule

Tech Field Day 8 will be held Thursday and Friday, September 15 and 16, with a great group of independent delegates coming together in and around San Jose, CA. The event brings our delegates together with great tech companies like Nutanix, DataDirect Networks, SolidFire, Nasuni, and Arkeia!

If you're not one of the delegates, please consider tuning in to our live stream (embedded below) to watch the presentations and interact on Twitter!

Official Video

Presentation Schedule

The stream window will show "off air" before and after the presentations. We try to begin on time, but please bear with us (and leave the window open) if we're not live exactly at the time scheduled!

All times listed are in the Pacific US time zone. Click on the time for conversion to your local time zone!

Thursday, September 15

Friday, September 16

Join us live on this page, or at TechFieldDay.com. And watch our Tech Field Day 8 links page for blog posts and event coverage!

Veeam Presents at Tech Field Day 7

Veeam presented at Tech Field Day 7 on Friday, August 12, 2011 in Austin, TX. Watch the presentation below, and follow our TFD7 Links page for reactions and responses from the delegates!

Dell Presents at Tech Field Day 7

Dell Storage presented at Tech Field Day 7 on Thursday, August 11, 2011, at their headquarters in Austin, TX. Watch the presentations!

Dell Storage presented at Tech Field Day 7 on Thursday, August 11, 2011, at their headquarters in Austin, TX. Watch the presentations below, and follow our TFD7 Links page for reactions and responses from the delegates!

Thursday Presentations

The Evolution of Dell as a Storage Solutions Leader

Dell Scalable Filesystem Demo

EqualLogic

Friday Presentations

Compellent

Dell DX Object Storage

Cloud: Extending Storage Beyond the Array

Symantec Presents at Tech Field Day 7

Symantec presented at Tech Field Day 7 on Thursday, August 11, 2011, at their Austin, TX office. Watch the entire presentation here!

Symantec presented at Tech Field Day 7 on Thursday, August 11, 2011, at their Austin, TX office. Watch the entire presentation above, and follow our TFD7 Links page for reactions and responses from the delegates!

SolarWinds Presents at Tech Field Day 7

SolarWinds presented at Tech Field Day 7 on Thursday, August 11, 2011, at their headquarters in Austin, TX. Watch the entire presentation below.

SolarWinds presented at Tech Field Day 7 on Thursday, August 11, 2011, at their headquarters in Austin, TX. Watch the entire presentation above, and follow our TFD7 Links page for reactions and responses from the delegates!

Tech Field Day 7: Video and Presentation Schedule

Tech Field Day 7 will be held Thursday and Friday, August 11 and 12, with a great group of independent delegates coming together in Austin, TX. The event takes place on-site at the offices of great tech companies like SolarWinds, Symantec, Dell, and Veeam. If you’re not one of the delegates, please consider tuning in to our live stream (embedded below) to watch the presentations and interact on Twitter!

If you're not one of the delegates, please consider tuning in to our live stream (embedded below) to watch the presentations and interact on Twitter!

Presentation Schedule

The stream window will show "off air" before and after the presentations. We try to begin on time, but please bear with us (and leave the window open) if we're not live exactly at the time scheduled!

All times listed are in the Central US time zone. Click on the time for conversion to your local time zone!

Thursday, August 11

Friday, August 12

08:00-12:30 - Dell
13:30-15:30 - Veeam

Join us live on this page, or at TechFieldDay.com. And watch our Tech Field Day 7 links page for blog posts and event coverage!

Zerto Offers Tech Field Day Delegates a Sneak Peek

Tech Field Day has been the launchpad for many products, but we are especially pleased when companies choose a presentation to our delegates as part of their corporate launch. Such was the case this month with Zerto, a disaster recovery solution provider. The server virtualization experts brought together for Tech Field Day 6 were extremely impressed with the Zerto solution, and we are pleased that the company is finally out of stealth and ready for closer examination.

Data replication for disaster recovery is nothing new, but server virtualization is a key enabler of real disaster readiness. Unlike conventional “operating system on hardware” architectures, virtual servers can run on dissimilar hardware and are self contained in disk images. But virtualization-based disaster recovery solutions are not yet mature and widespread, since many integration and deployment challenges remain.

The Zerto solution is unusual in that it is implemented entirely in software and thus supports any storage array hardware. Like many virtualization specific backup applications, Zerto's disaster recovery solution is fully integrated with hypervisor management tools and enables automated testing prior to an outage or recovery. To be sure, other vendors are working on similar technology, but the Zerto solution appears well architected and the background of the Zerto team is impressive.

Seven Clever Presentation Ideas From Tech Field Day

Tech Field Day is an unconventional event to be sure, and the delegates reward companies that go the extra mile. For our recent Boston event, we were pleased with the clever ideas the presenting sponsors came up with. I’m sure you’ll agree that they helped show the uniqueness of our sponsors!

Tech Field Day is an unconventional event to be sure, and the delegates reward companies that go the extra mile. For our recent Boston event, we were pleased with the clever ideas the presenting sponsors came up with. I'm sure you'll agree that they helped show the uniqueness of our sponsors!

Clever Slides and Inside Jokes

VKernel elicited a groan from the Tech Field Day delegates when presenter Bryan Semple introduced a slide of analyst quotes. But the tables were turned as they were revealed to be clever jabs at the state of that industry. Rather than self-serving quips or wild guesses, his "analysts" bemoaned the power and authority of the independent folks invited to Tech Field Day!

Embotics also delivered the goods, answering organizer Stephen Foskett's "what took you so long" joke from the night before. Again, this slide showed a solid understanding of the event and the industry and cast a positive light on their presentation as a whole.

Streaming and Sharing

NetApp acquired Akorri earlier this year, and we were pleased to have them join us for this virtualization-focused event. All Tech Field Day presentations are streamed live by our pro video team, but NetApp decided to make the stream available after the fact as well.

Allowing post-event streaming requires great faith in one's own presentation skills as well as the delegates: It can be difficult to convince folks up the corporate ladder to allow uncensored and unfiltered feedback to be aired in public! Zerto's presentation will also be streamed once they come out of stealth, and others may join in as well.

Long-Term Commitment

The SolarWinds presentation at Tech Field Day 6 was their third at our events, and the company will return in August. This long-term commitment demonstrates the value of the event, as well as the breadth of their product range. Rather than trying to pack everything into a single 2-hour slot, SolarWinds focuses each presentation on an area they hope will be of interest to the assembled delegates.

SolarWinds is also working with Tech Field Day delegates on other projects, including briefings and reviews. And, with Foskett Services, SolarWinds is working with the delegates to develop custom content for their web site.

An On-Site Barista

Embotics was concerned that their after-lunch time slot might include some drowsiness on the part of the delegates, so they hired a barista! He whipped up delicious espresso drinks in the lobby while they presented inside, and even brought along pizelle and chocolate-covered espresso beans.

This was a great idea, since it recognized the busy three-day schedule the delegates faced, as well as the fact that many came from many timezones away. But be sure to check with the venue first: The Westin Waltham was happy to allow the barista on-site, but not all hotels and offices are as accommodating!

A Surprising Topic

VMware has been involved with Tech Field Day since the beginning, but this marks the first time they have officially presented at the event. Rather than talk about topics the delegates already knew (after all, most were VMware experts) VMware decided to bring in some local flavor.

The Cambridge, MA facility used for the VMware presentation is home to some exciting research and development projects, including the mobile virtualization platform, MVP. Although not a product yet, MVP provoked a thoughtful dialog on the future of virtualization and client computing.

Honest Interaction

Every Field Day presenter is encouraged to interact openly and honestly with the delegates, but it can be difficult for companies to put the right people in the room. Symantec has a long history with our event, having presented at the very first Tech Field Day back in 2009, so they knew who to bring in. The Symantec presenters were product managers, extremely interested in the feedback of the delegates. And a note-taker at the back of the room made sure nothing was overlooked.

A Sneak Peek

Tech Field Day has seen many product launches and was chosen by Druva and Nimble Storage as a venue for public unveiling. But Zerto went to a whole new level, giving the delegates a sneak peek at their still-in-stealth company under embargo. Although we can't comment until June 22, suffice to say we were impressed by the company as well as their faith in our delegates!

Tech Field Day 6: All Wrapped Up

Tech Field Day is all about creativity and honest interaction, and we were pleased to see everyone really "get it" this time through. Not everything worked, and not all questions could be answered, but the process and the event included just the right balance of chaos and organization. We would like to thank our Field Day delegates and sponsors, and look forward to more clever ideas in the future!

“Virtual” Tech Field Day Streaming and Presentation Schedule

Tech Field Day 6 is under way, with a great group of server virtualization specialists coming together in Boston today, June 9, and tomorrow, June 10. If you’re not one of the delegates, please consider tuning in to our live stream (embedded here) to watch the presentations and interact on Twitter!

Tech Field Day 6 is under way, with a great group of server virtualization specialists coming together in Boston today, June 9, and tomorrow, June 10. The event takes place on-site at the offices of great tech companies like VMware, Symantec, and Netapp, as well as signature venues like Dogpatch Labs (for VKernel today) and the Westin in Waltham (tomorrow for Embotics and our secret stealth start-up). If you're not one of the delegates, please consider tuning in to our live stream (embedded below) to watch the presentations and interact on Twitter!

Presentation Schedule

The stream window will show "off air" before and after the presentations. We try to begin on time, but please bear with us (and leave the window open) if we're not live exactly at the time scheduled!

Thursday, June 9

08:00-10:00 - VKernel
13:30-15:30 - VMware
16:00-18:00 - SolarWinds

Friday, June 10

08:00-10:00 - Stealth company (stream off-air for now...)
10:30-12:30 - Symantec
13:30-15:30 - Embotics
16:00-18:00 - NetApp

Join us live on this page, or at TechFieldDay.com. And watch our Tech Field Day 6 links page for blog posts and event coverage!

Party Update

Tickets are still available for tonight's VMunderground Party at Fenway Park! If you're in Boston, come meet the delegates and enjoy the view!

Join the Tech Field Day 6 Delegates at VMunderground Beantown Party as a Service (BPaaS)!

On Thursday, June 9, VMunderground, Tech Field Day, and the New England Area VMware User Group will converge on Fenway Park for the Beantown Party as a Service! We will gather in the gorgeous EMC Club, overlooking the cathedral of baseball, for an evening of drinks, food, and conversation.

Join us for the Beantown Party as a Service!

Every Tech Field Day event includes an informal mixer for the delegates and sponsors on Thursday night. We have rented the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley and the Museum of Flight in Seattle, but our favorite venue in Boston is Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox. For Tech Field Day 6, we decided to step it up a notch and invite local virtualization enthusiasts to join us for our party.

Get your free tickets here!

The VMunderground parties hosted by Sean Clark and Theron Conrey are a highlight of the annual VMworld conference. They throw a great bash, renting a bar or restaurant and handing out free tickets for attendees. Since Sean and Theron are both Tech Field Day delegates (though only Conrey will join us in Boston), it seemed natural to invite them to bring VMunderground to Tech Field Day!

Tickets are free for end users and user group members, but attendance is limited to just 100. Half the tickets will be released this afternoon on the VMunderground Eventbrite site, and the other half will be released on Monday, June 6 in case folks are away from their computers this afternoon.

This will be a great crowd, and companies interested in attending and sponsoring this party should contact Stephen Foskett or Theron Conrey quickly, since we are only offering a limited number of table spots.

Special thanks to EMC for helping secure the Club, VMunderground and the NE VMUG, and Jason Boche for continued support!

The Details

What? Beantown Party as a Service - VMunderground at Tech Field Day
Where? EMC Club, Fenway Park, Boston, MA
When? Thursday, June 9, 7-10 PM
Who? End users (with tickets), Tech Field Day delegates, and sponsors
Why? Why not?

Announcing “Virtual” Tech Field Day 6!

The Tech Field Day event series returns to Boston on June 9 and 10, 2011 with a special twist: This event focuses on the server virtualization universe, with a wide variety of virtualization management and operations companies joining the dominant player in the space, VMware. The Tech Field Day 6 presenters include Embotics, NetApp, SolarWinds, Symantec, VKernel, and a special preview of a stealth company. On the delegate side, Gestalt IT is proud to welcome back four alumni from previous events as well as seven who will experience Tech Field Day for the first time.

Tech Field Day comes to Boston with an event focused on server virtualization

Presenting Sponsors

Some Tech Field Day events include a variety of disciplines, but Tech Field Day 6 is centered entirely on server virtualization. We are pleased to be welcoming a raft of key companies who are moving the ball forward in creating virtual server infrastructures.

VKernel returns to Tech Field Day for the second time, kicking things off Thursday morning
VMware will headline the event, presenting on Thursday, June 9 from their Cambridge, Massachusetts R&D facility
SolarWinds returns for their third Tech Field Day presentation on Thursday afternoon
Friday begins with a special presentation by a company still in stealth mode
Symantec returns to Tech Field Day for their third presentation Friday morning at their Waltham facility
First time Tech Field Day presenters, Embotics, present Friday afternoon
NetApp is scheduled to present their Akorri BalancePoint product to close our Friday session

Each presenting company has their own dedicated time with the assembled panel of delegates, and will present their products and technologies in an interactive format. We look forward to seeing creative and detailed presentations from each of these fine companies!

Field Day Delegates

Each technical day event includes a set of hand-picked delegates assembled live, and our Tech Field Day 6 delegate list includes many well-known names.

Theron Conrey, Conrey.org, @TheronConrey
Ed Czerwin, vSoup and vNinja, @ECzerwin
Chris Dearden, J.F.V.I. and vSoup, @ChrisDearden
Edward Haletky, The Virtualization Practice, @Texiwill
Tom Howarth, PlanetVM, @Tom_Howarth
Mike Laverick, RTFM Education and SearchServerVirtualization, @Mike_Laverick
Christian Mohn, vNinja.net and vSoup, @h0bbel
Todd Scalzott, Don't Call Me Scott, @TScalzott
Shannon Snowden, Virtualization Information, @ShannonSnowden
Gabrie van Zanten, Gabe's Virtual World, @GabVirtualWorld
Chris Wells, vSamurai, @wygtya

Dearden, Haletky, van Zanten, and Wells are returning for their second Tech Field Day events, while the rest are experiencing the event for the first time. All Field Day delegates are selected by their peers based on their independence, technical knowledge, contribution to the community, and fit with the event. We are pleased to welcome the entire vSoup podcast crew, Czerwin, Dearden, and Mohn, and will reserve time in the schedule for recording.

Vmunderground at Fenway

Gestalt IT is pleased to announce that vmunderground, long a staple of VMworld, will hold their first event outside that conference as part of Tech Field Day. Organized by Field Day delegates, Theron Conrey and Sean Clark, vmunderground is a casual and exciting way for virtualization enthusiasts to socialize and get to know key companies in the space.

The Tech Field Day delegates will join vmunderground ticket holders at the EMC club at Fenway Park in Boston for a special event Thursday evening, June 9. Vmunderground will begin offering free tickets to this event shortly!

Live Streaming

Interested in Tech Field Day? This event will be streamed live over the Internet, allowing all to join in on June 9 and 10! Streams will be available at TechFieldDay.com as well as on the blogs and web sites of event attendees and sponsors.

Follow along on Twitter using the #TechFieldDay hashtag, and watch for photos and videos from the event!

About Tech Field Day

As "the independent IT influencer event," Tech Field Day brings together experts in IT and the companies they cover. Now in its third year, Tech Field Day is a grass-roots event organized by Gestalt IT for the benefit of the entire community. Companies interested in presenting at future Field Day events should visit our web site, TechFieldDay.com, or contact Stephen Foskett.

Welcome to the new TechFieldDay.com!

Tech Field Day began as an experiment by a group of Gestalt IT bloggers, but it has matured into a real force in the enterprise IT industry. With this maturity came recognition, organization, and the need to branch out. So we are pleased to introduce t …

What's Changed?

Tech Field Day remains, as it always has been, a grass-roots event organized by and for independent influencers. We aren't changing a thing, really. We are still open to new ideas and input and free to try new things. And we're still associated with Gestalt IT.

But Tech Field Day needed a better home than a single menu in GestaltIT.com. We needed a place to hang our virtual hat, complete with social networks and links. So the real change is TechFieldDay.com, not the event itself!

Druva Launches at Tech Field Day 5

Druva is not as new a company as the “launch” nomenclature indicates. The company has spent years building a data protection product, inSync, for remote enterprise PCs and already boasts hundreds of customers. The company is profitable and successful already, but decided to come to the United States and initiate a growth effort.

The Tech Field Day staff have added live streaming from Tech Field Day 5 in San Jose this week.

Tech Field Day always includes innovative companies and sometimes sees launches, but it's rare to have a company launch itself at an event like this. Nimble Storage was successful in using our 2010 Seattle event as their springboard, and remote data protection newcomer Druva followed their lead this week.

Druva is not as new a company as the "launch" nomenclature indicates. The company has spent years building a data protection product, inSync, for remote enterprise PCs and already boasts hundreds of customers. The company is profitable and successful already, but decided to come to the United States and initiate a growth effort.

The Druva staff felt that the influential delegates invited to Tech Field Day 5 would be key to achieving notice in the crowded enterprise IT market, and their February 10 presentation was the first time the company engaged with this audience.

Following the Druva presentation, W. Curtis Preston and I met with Jaspreet Singh, co-founder and CEO of Druva to discuss the product and the market.

A 30-day trial of inSync is available for download if you would like to try it out.

The entire presentation is embedded below.

Data Robotics Is First Three-Time Tech Field Day Presenter

The surest sign of success for the Tech Field Day event series is the return of past presenters and delegates. We are pleased to announce our first three-time Tech Field Day presenter: Data Robotics will make a third presentation as part of Tech Field Day 5!

Tech Field Day has come a long way since the first event back in 2009. The hectic rush to pull together delegates, presenters, and logistics has been replaced by a steady and predictable process. A crew of professionals has been assembled to make everything happen smoothly, from contracts and paperwork to travel planning to streaming video. After selecting over 50 presentations and almost 100 delegates, we've gotten good at making this thing happen.

But we didn't start the Field Day series to become event planners; we wanted to build a community of the new guard of freelance writers, bloggers, and other influential folks that included interesting companies in IT infrastructure. Measuring success can be challenging, but the surest metric is repeat visits: Most of the companies that presented in the past have asked to join us for another event, as have most of the delegates.

The two previous Data Robotics presentations are favorites among the Field Day delegates!

This is why I'm so pleased to announce our first three-time Tech Field Day presenter: Data Robotics was quick to come on board for our very first event, and returned for Tech Field Day 2. Now they will make a third presentation as part of Tech Field Day 5! Data Robotics will host the afternoon presentation at their headquarters in Santa Clara, following Symantec's morning session on Thursday, February 10.

Data Robotics gave those first Field Day delegates an advance peak at their new Drobo S and DroboElite models, and launched their Drobo FS product at Tech Field Day 2. Will the Drobo product line continue to grow at Tech Field Day 5? I'll definitely be paying attention! The Field Day presentations, including Data Robotics, will be streamed live on February 10 and 11!

The new Sr. Director of Product Marketing at Data Robotics, Mario Blandini, explained why he wanted to bring the company back a third time. "Tech Field Day events are a great value for us at Data Robotics," he told me. "There is never a shortage of productive input among the delegates, and the intimate gathering makes for fantastic technology discussions." I couldn't have put it better myself. We're glad to have you back!

Announcing Tech Field Day 4: This Week in San Jose!

Gestalt IT is pleased to announce our next Tech Field Day event. The Field Day delegates will convene this week in San Jose, CA, engaging some of the most innovative and interesting IT infrastructure companies.

Gestalt IT is pleased to announce our next Tech Field Day event. The Field Day delegates will convene this week in San Jose, CA, engaging some of the most innovative and interesting IT infrastructure companies.

The unique Field Day℠ concept brings together as equals two groups that rarely meet: Product vendors and independent thought leaders. The event includes 11 delegates and just five speaking slots. Both vendors and delegates are nominated and selected by an independent team of volunteers based on interest, technology and passion. The resulting discussions are packed with technical information, with feedback and questions flowing both ways across the table.

Presenting Sponsors

Just seven companies will sponsor and present at Tech Field Day 4. Delegates will spend two to four hours with each vendor, learning about their products, technology, and relevance to modern IT practices. The Gestalt IT Tech Field Day events have attracted some of the biggest names in information technology, and this event is no exception.

Tech Field Day 4 begins Thursday, November 11 at the NetApp campus in Sunnyvale. We will spend the morning learning about their unified storage technology and looking into their latest product updates. After lunch, the delegates will move to the PlugandPlay Tech Center to learn about the virtual I/O products developed by Aprius. Avere Systems is up next, presenting their tiered NAS appliances.

Friday begins with data management startup, Actifio. Intel hosts the delegates next, covering converged networking and their latest Xeon server processor technology. Friday afternoon will be hosted by The Hoffman Group in San Jose. There, Field Day veterans, SolarWinds, will cover their management and monitoring software. We will conclude the event with a look at the cloud backup capabilities made possible by Asigra.

Selected Delegates

Only eleven hand-picked delegates will attend this Tech Field Day event. Our selection process focuses on the unique characteristics of thought leaders: Independence, open-mindedness, technical knowledge, and influence are key criteria. The global team of delegates come from a variety of backgrounds, including server virtualization, enterprise storage, networking, security, and systems administration.

Field Day alumni, Brandon Carroll, Matt Simmons, Derek Schauland, and Robin Harris will be joined by seven new delegates: Jon Owings, Edward Aractingi, Frank Owen, Chris Dearden, Bill Hill, Paul Miller, and Joe Onisick. Each has distinguished himself in his community, and each was selected by a team of delegates from past events.

About Gestalt IT and Tech Field Day

Complete delegate and sponsor lists are available at the Gestalt IT web site. We encourage those interested in IT infrastructure topics to follow the delegates on Gestalt IT (gestaltit.com), Twitter (bit.ly/TFD4TL and bit.ly/TFD4TS), Facebook (bit.ly/TFDGFB), LinkedIn (bit.ly/TFDLI), Flickr (bit.ly/TFDpics) and Vimeo (bit.ly/TFDvids).

For the first time, Tech Field Day will be streamed live over the Internet. Visit the special Tech Field Day 4 live stream page during the event to follow along!

The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. This is the concept behind Gestalt IT - that experts in a variety of disciplines are stronger when they work together. As a group, we formed a media organization focused on promoting community among independent thought leaders in IT infrastructure topics. Our productions include the Gestalt IT web site and the series of Tech Field Day events. Gestalt IT Media LLC community organizer, Stephen Foskett, can be contacted at http://GestaltIT.com, [email protected], or (508)451-9532.

Announcing Gestalt IT Networking Field Day 2010

Gestalt IT is pleased to announce the next date in our ongoing series of Tech Field Day events. The Field Day delegates will convene in Seattle, WA on July 15 and 16, engaging some of the most innovative and interesting IT infrastructure companies.

Gestalt IT is pleased to announce the next date in our ongoing series of Tech Field Day events. Twelve networking-focused Field Day delegates will convene in San Jose, CA on September 16 and 17, engaging some of the most innovative and interesting enterprise networking companies.

Learn more at Gestalt IT's Networking Field Day page!

The unique Field Day℠ concept brings together as equals two groups that rarely meet: Product vendors and independent thought leaders. The event includes a dozen delegates and just seven speaking slots. Both vendors and delegates are nominated and selected by an independent team of volunteers based on interest, technology and passion. The resulting discussions are packed with technical information, with feedback and questions flowing both ways across the table.

Sponsors and Delegates

Just seven companies will sponsor and present at our 2010 Networking Field Day event. Delegates will spend hours with each vendor, learning about their products, technology, and relevance to modern data networking practices. The Gestalt IT Tech Field Day events have attracted some of the biggest names in information technology, and this event is no exception. Our presenting sponsor list for this event includes industry leaders Arista, Cradlepoint, Force10, HP, Juniper, SolarWinds, and Xsigo.

"We value the blogger community but since most bloggers operate virtually, finding a means to cost-effectively meet them not only face to face, but as a group, is extraordinarily valuable to us" notes Steve Garrison of Force10 Networks. "It's rare to get the chance to sit down and have a candid conversation with the folks behind some of the best practical guidance and thinking in the networking space," agrees Josh Stephens, SolarWinds' Head Geek and VP of Technology.

The Tech Field Day delegates have immense influence on the ways that products and companies are understood in the IT industry. The world of media has changed, with social media and blogging gaining importance, impact and reach. The Field Day events provide an opportunity for these writers (and their readers) to interact with top technology providers.

Only twelve delegates were nominated for this Tech Field Day event. Our selection process focuses on the unique characteristics of thought leaders: Independence, open-mindedness, technical knowledge, and influence are key criteria. The global team of delegates come from a variety of backgrounds, but all are focused on high-end data networking.

Two-time Field Day delegate Bob Plankers commented, "Networking Field Day offers me access to networking vendors so that I can talk directly and honestly with them about their technology, to learn and ask questions and give feedback. There is no other event like this, where marketing takes a back seat to the technology itself, and I'm honored and excited to be part of it." New Field Day delegate Jennifer Huber agrees, adding "I'm looking forward to learning about technologies I'm not familiar with and bringing back that new information to my co-workers as well as anyone who might be following my blog."

The Networking Tech Field Day delegates (L-R): Brandon Carroll, Stephen Foskett, Jeremy Stretch, Jennifer Huber, Bob Plankers, Josh Horton, Jeremy Gaddis, Jeremy Filliben, Greg Ferro, Ivan Pepelnjak, Steve Rossen, Ethan Banks, Terry Slattery

About Gestalt IT and Tech Field Day

Complete delegate and sponsor lists are available at the Gestalt IT web site. We encourage those interested in enterprise networking to follow the delegates on Gestalt IT (gestaltit.com), Twitter (bit.ly/NFD1TL), Facebook (bit.ly/TFDGFB), LinkedIn (bit.ly/TFDLI), Flickr (bit.ly/TFDpics) and Vimeo (bit.ly/TFDvids).

The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. This is the concept behind Gestalt IT - that experts in a variety of disciplines are stronger when they work together. As a group, we formed a media organization focused on promoting community among independent thought leaders in IT infrastructure topics. Our productions include the Gestalt IT web site and the series of Tech Field Day events. Community organizer, Stephen Foskett, can be contacted at http://GestaltIT.com, [email protected], or (508)451-9532.

Field Day is a registered trademark of Gestalt IT Media LLC, an Ohio company.

What’s It like To Present at Tech Field Day?

Symantec Presents at Tech Field Day 8

Nutanix Presents at Tech Field Day 8

Nasuni Presents at Tech Field Day 8

Tech Field Day 8: Video and Presentation Schedule

Official Video

Presentation Schedule

Thursday, September 15

Friday, September 16

Veeam Presents at Tech Field Day 7

Dell Presents at Tech Field Day 7

Thursday Presentations

The Evolution of Dell as a Storage Solutions Leader

Dell Scalable Filesystem Demo

EqualLogic

Friday Presentations

Compellent

Dell DX Object Storage

Cloud: Extending Storage Beyond the Array

Symantec Presents at Tech Field Day 7

SolarWinds Presents at Tech Field Day 7

Tech Field Day 7: Video and Presentation Schedule

Presentation Schedule

Thursday, August 11

Friday, August 12

Zerto Offers Tech Field Day Delegates a Sneak Peek

Seven Clever Presentation Ideas From Tech Field Day

Clever Slides and Inside Jokes

Streaming and Sharing

Long-Term Commitment

An On-Site Barista

A Surprising Topic

Honest Interaction

A Sneak Peek

Tech Field Day 6: All Wrapped Up

“Virtual” Tech Field Day Streaming and Presentation Schedule

Presentation Schedule

Thursday, June 9

Friday, June 10

Party Update

Join the Tech Field Day 6 Delegates at VMunderground Beantown Party as a Service (BPaaS)!

The Details

Announcing “Virtual” Tech Field Day 6!

Presenting Sponsors

Field Day Delegates

Vmunderground at Fenway

Live Streaming

About Tech Field Day

Welcome to the new TechFieldDay.com!

What's Changed?

Druva Launches at Tech Field Day 5

Data Robotics Is First Three-Time Tech Field Day Presenter

Announcing Tech Field Day 4: This Week in San Jose!

Presenting Sponsors

Selected Delegates

About Gestalt IT and Tech Field Day

Announcing Gestalt IT Networking Field Day 2010

Sponsors and Delegates

Event Calendar

Latest Links